@everyone who doesn't know
The movie 300 was based on the Battle of Thermopylae.
This card's flavor text is referencing a quote made during that battle.
The battle happened over 2,000 years before MTG came out.
@Laguz
I agree, but at the time this was first printed (Alpha) reach was exclusivly a spider's ability.
Drvst
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
The flavor text is indeed a reference to Hdt. 7.226.1. "ὡς ἐπεὰν οἱ βάρβαροι ἀπίωσι τὰ τοξεύματα, τὸν ἥλιον ὑπὸ τοῦ πλήθεος τῶν ὀιστῶν ἀποκρύπτουσι: τοσοῦτο πλῆθος αὐτῶν εἶναι. " It is tucked inside a whole lot of indirect discourse.... so it turns out Herodotus heard about this guy named Dieneces who heard from the Trachinians that "When the barbarians shot their arrows, that they hid the sun by the great number of arrows... so large was the number of arrows." Translated by me. Cool, eh? 5 stars for a Herodotus reference!
TheWrathofShane
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@Laguz Maybe its a shortbow, and cant reach the skies.
Ibn_Shisha
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Interesting thing about the flavor text - this predates 300 by quite some time, one wonders if whoever wrote that particular bit of dialog in 300 was an old-school magic player...
@Eved; How do we know what anyone said at the Battle of Thermopylae? Herodotus may have used creative license in Histories vol VII.
@Drvst; Thank you for helping illustrate my point - "shade" is never mentioned, and the whole line is Herry writing what he heard someone said they heard someone said...
Comments (7)
Nice joke
@everyone who doesn't know
The movie 300 was based on the Battle of Thermopylae.
This card's flavor text is referencing a quote made during that battle.
The battle happened over 2,000 years before MTG came out.
@Laguz
I agree, but at the time this was first printed (Alpha) reach was exclusivly a spider's ability.
Cool, eh? 5 stars for a Herodotus reference!
Maybe its a shortbow, and cant reach the skies.
@Eved; How do we know what anyone said at the Battle of Thermopylae? Herodotus may have used creative license in Histories vol VII.
@Drvst; Thank you for helping illustrate my point - "shade" is never mentioned, and the whole line is Herry writing what he heard someone said they heard someone said...