a lion still has claws

jonfuckingsnow: ASOIAF ladies as Greek Goddesses —> Arya Stark as Artemis, maiden goddess of the moon and the hunt Artemis was a daughter of Zeus and the goddess Leto, and as a child she asked several gifts of her father, chief among them to remain a maiden, unwed, forever; and to possess a bow and arrow. Arya, too, tells Ned she never wishes to marry, and asks for the same weapons her brothers have- a request Ned grants by arranging the lessons with Syrio. Furthermore, Artemis asked Zeus that she might be known by many names, to set her apart from Apollo. Arya is arguably known by more names than any other character in the series: Arry, Weasel, Nan, Beth, Cat of the Canals, etc. In most versions of the Greek mythos Artemis took no consorts, but one story does tell of Orion, a hunting companion who, in many versions of the tale, she fell in love with. Although Orion eventually met a tragic end (at the hands of various people, depending on the version of the myth), one could argue that Arya has a similar companion: Gendry. Although Arya swears she never wishes to marry, during her travels in the Riverlands it is undeniable that she develops a particularly close bond with him, the same way Artemis did Orion as they hunted together. Another famous myth involving Artemis is that of Niobe, a Theban queen who boasted that she should be worshipped instead of Leto, Artemis’s mother, because she had fourteen children instead of Leto’s two. Enraged by the slight, Artemis and Apollo slew Niobe’s children with arrows. This harsh, vengeful kill is reminiscent of Arya’s “prayer”; Arya vows to kill all those that did her family wrong. The prevailing Artemis/Arya parallel, however, is simply that of both females as huntresses. Artemis represents the ultimate skill in hunting animals. Arya is training, in the House of Black and White to obtain the ultimate skill in hunting humans.

jonfuckingsnow:

ASOIAF ladies as Greek Goddesses

—> Arya Stark as Artemis, maiden goddess of the moon and the hunt

Artemis was a daughter of Zeus and the goddess Leto, and as a child she asked several gifts of her father, chief among them to remain a maiden, unwed, forever; and to possess a bow and arrow. Arya, too, tells Ned she never wishes to marry, and asks for the same weapons her brothers have- a request Ned grants by arranging the lessons with Syrio. Furthermore, Artemis asked Zeus that she might be known by many names, to set her apart from Apollo. Arya is arguably known by more names than any other character in the series: Arry, Weasel, Nan, Beth, Cat of the Canals, etc.

In most versions of the Greek mythos Artemis took no consorts, but one story does tell of Orion, a hunting companion who, in many versions of the tale, she fell in love with. Although Orion eventually met a tragic end (at the hands of various people, depending on the version of the myth), one could argue that Arya has a similar companion: Gendry. Although Arya swears she never wishes to marry, during her travels in the Riverlands it is undeniable that she develops a particularly close bond with him, the same way Artemis did Orion as they hunted together.

Another famous myth involving Artemis is that of Niobe, a Theban queen who boasted that she should be worshipped instead of Leto, Artemis’s mother, because she had fourteen children instead of Leto’s two. Enraged by the slight, Artemis and Apollo slew Niobe’s children with arrows. This harsh, vengeful kill is reminiscent of Arya’s “prayer”; Arya vows to kill all those that did her family wrong.

The prevailing Artemis/Arya parallel, however, is simply that of both females as huntresses. Artemis represents the ultimate skill in hunting animals. Arya is training, in the House of Black and White to obtain the ultimate skill in hunting humans.

(Source: myladymother)