Anouleth Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 Everyone know Myrmidons in FE - fast swordsmen, typically mercenaries. But where the hell did IS get the idea to call Myrmidons Myrmidons? http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Myrmidon I don't see how 'loyal follower' = 'sword-wielding mercenary'. Does anyone know more about this bizarre choice of name? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan's Aokage Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 ...come on. That's like saying "gay" can only be used as a slur against homosexuals. Check the other definition and so some research on it. That's why they're called myrmidons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shroudening Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 I don't see what's wrong with "loyal" swordsmen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luminothe Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 If you see a word you've never seen before in FE it probably has its roots in mythology. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anouleth Posted January 10, 2010 Author Share Posted January 10, 2010 And from Wikipedia: Aegina is the gathering place of Myrmidons, in Aegina they gathered and they trained. Zeus needed an elite army and at first thought that Aegina who at the time did not have any villagers was the perfect place. So he turned the ants (Greek: Μυρμύγκια, Myrmigia) into warriors who had 6 hands and wore black armors. Later on Myrmidons were known as the most fearsome fighting unit in Greece led by Achilles. So I don't see the connection between a race of insectoid 6 armed warriors with black armour created by Zeus and fast sword-using mercenaries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soviet Gregor Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 (edited) They wore gold light armor, quick as hell and used swords. (Ref: Age of Mythology, Yes, I did that.) They were soldier of the gods or something like that. Lemme look for a myth. Edited January 10, 2010 by Pahn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hero Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 So I don't see the connection between a race of insectoid 6 armed warriors with black armour created by Zeus and fast sword-using mercenaries. That's just what some modern scholars think based on the etymology of the word. Personally I think it's just as bullshit as the idea that V in ancient Latin was pronounced the same in its consonant and vowel forms, going against tradition in order to stand out. The term myrmidon was widely used a lot later to refer to elite soldiers, even after the Greeks themselves became so pious that they would very infrequently use such words of pagan origin in writing. When speaking of the sixteenth century "myrmidons" is practically a euphemism for Turkish janissaries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Camus The Dark Knight Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 Well their original name in most of the games was Sword Fighter if I recall. I am not sure why NoA (And NoE I guess) changed the name. Axe Fighters got renamed to Fighter. I think it was probably meant to save space due to more English characters being used for a name on average. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hero Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 (edited) It's pretty clear that's the reason. Myrmidon just has a better ring to it than SwdFighter. Edited January 12, 2010 by FreeKnt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VincentASM Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 IS called them Myrmidons in FE6. They went back to Swordfighter in FE7 and I think FE8. Fighters and Axe Fighters have always been separately named classes, even in the localised games (Axe Fighters only appeared in FE4 and 5). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catastrophe_2 Posted January 14, 2010 Share Posted January 14, 2010 (edited) Myrmidon: a hired ruffian or unscrupulous subordinate. And Archille's Myrmidons where called such because, according to legends, their ancestors were ants that Zeus transformed into Humans. Edited January 14, 2010 by catastrophe_2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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