Philologos

[freenarnian.livejournal.com]

On page 188 of A Conspiracy of Kings, when Gen is speaking about his attendants (to Sophos, in the wine shop), he mentions that he'd "had some hope for Philologos... but Sejanus won that hand neatly." The conversation then moves on to philosophical reminiscences of Ambiades, making the quip about our dear Philo look like nothing more than an off-hand remark. But this is Gen we're talking about (and MWT), and because all things Philologos amuse and therefore interest me, I wondered if one couldn't dig a little deeper. It struck me as something I hadn't picked up on or considered previously. To start with: What, exactly, did Gen mean by Sejanus winning that hand? Was Philo contested in KoA? Did Sejanus merely have the greater influence on the behavior of the younger man, or was there more at stake than just Philo's attitude toward/opinion of Gen? What did Gen see in Philo that initially gave him hope? Hope for what? (Also noted: In the character index at the end of ACoK, it says Philo is the youngest but highest in rank among Gen's attendants. I can't remember if I knew this during KoA? What does it all mean?)

Comments

[beth-shulman.livejournal.com]

I read that as Gen thinking he could trust Philologos initially, but then Sejanus corrupted him into hampering the king as much as possible, along with the other attendants, with mismatched sashes and pickles in a jar and loaves of bread, etc. I don't know what Gen saw, but KoA does present a side of Philologos that's capable and assertive (and hopefully there's hope for him yet). Though Gen's not at the point where he's ready to trust them yet, much as they now consider him a king.

And somewhere in KoA, Philologos is telling Gen they deserve to be banished for their behavior, and Gen points out that Philo is his father's heir, and later, when Philo nominates himself to be one of the three attendants accompanying the king to the prison (after Gen promised Irene he'd go to be), the others stood down and let him go, along with Hilarion and... a third whose name I can't remember, even though he was the youngest.

[freenarnian.livejournal.com]

Philo at least seems to have a sense of shame, ay? I'd love to see more of him in the future books, even if it's just continuing glimpses of his character development.

[freenarnian.livejournal.com]

Upon re-reading KoA, I think what is throwing me off about Gen's remark to Sophos is that I thought, time-sequence-wise, that Gen had won over his attendants (via the downfall of Erondites) before Sophos made his reappearance in ACoK. Yet it seems like they're sort of back to their old ways...at least in Gen's mind. So, it's kind of confusing me. Perhaps I need KoA Part 2 to set the timeline straight in my mind!

[beth-shulman.livejournal.com]

It's funny that you mention this, because this was one of my problems with ACoK - the attendants really confused me! And when you first posted this, I went digging this (http://sounis.livejournal.com/408528.html) up. It was a really interesting post back in (yikes) 2010. (I remember asking this - I can't believe it was so long ago...)

[freenarnian.livejournal.com]

Ooh, I think I remember this! Good thoughts all around.

[shelver506.livejournal.com]

I always kind of wondered if Philo reminded Gen of Sophos. And since this is during a time where Gen is deeply concerned for Sophos's safety... Well, I wonder if he had hope for more than just Philo's usefulness. I kind of wonder if he wanted a friend.

[shelver506.livejournal.com]

That's all sentimental wishing, though. :)

[freenarnian.livejournal.com]

This thought had occurred to me, as well, since I took an interest in Philo similar to the interest I had in Sophos during the first book. I suppose, since they were young, one wondered who they might turn out to be before the end (as Sophos/Bunny/Sounis did). As for Gen wanting a friend, I think the word "minion" comes closer to the mark. Fortunately he found that in Costis. :)

[kaeyko.livejournal.com]

I think that maybe Gen thought that Philologos was someone who might come around to Gen's side and see the king for who he was on his own before Gen exposed Sejanus? Pretty much after Gen crushed Sejanus, I got the feeling that Gen can't be certain that his attendants have developed a sincere loyalty and/respect for him or if they're behaving because now they're aware of how terrifying he can actually be and never want to risk getting on his bad side. But Philologos came around too late for Gen to really know if he can trust him, so...

There's a conversation between Sophos and Ion (one of Gen's attendants) that implies that most of them seem to regret following Sejanus's lead and are actually loyal to Gen, but they seem to think that he'll never trust them after the Sejanus incident and will throw them out at any time like a pair of excessively gold dusted boots.


And you're right - in KoA, it's mentioned that Sejanus could actually be overridden by Gen's other attendants given that he isn't the highest in rank (that would be Philologos, who is the highest in rank as his father's heir despite being the youngest attendant) or the eldest (who would be Hilarion).

[freenarnian.livejournal.com]

I think you're right. But I didn't pick up on this hope until Gen came out and admitted it in ACoK. Also, I think it's a stroke of storytelling gold how each attendant has different attributes/means of throwing their weight around where status is concerned, by either age or personality or social standing. I liked the part where Ion revealed a certain amount of regret over Gen's opinion of them to Sophos. I also find it intriguing that he manages to stand out among the rest by being the best-dressed. And what's with meeting up with his lady friend in the garden and leaving Sophos open to the slithering Mede? Tsk, tsk, Ion.

[frosted-feather.livejournal.com]

I just want to point out that I love how we can have such thoughtful conversations about side characters in MWT's books. Philologos doesn't have a lot of page time, like any of the attendants, and yet I feel like I know a lot about them. Those small details like a look, a few comments, is all we get, and yet they seem like real people just like the main characters. Who else can do that so deftly? (Well, I nominate C.S. Lewis for one.)

[freenarnian.livejournal.com]

I endorse your nomination.

MWT's gift for bringing handfuls of minor characters to life and bouncing them off the main characters, and vice versa, is a fine, rare thing.

[sgwordy.livejournal.com]

I don't have anything new to add to what has already been said but I wanted to say thanks for a great discussion topic. I really enjoyed reading all the ideas as I, too, feel constantly amazed that in depth conversations can be had about MWT's "bit" characters. ha! Like she does anything on the "bit" level. :)