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Plot twist at the end there, as the author of the article is themselves a prince of the family of living descendants of Mark Anthony. Although he's pretty humbl

by tinco 4y ago

Plot twist at the end there, as the author of the article is themselves a prince of the family of living descendants of Mark Anthony. Although he's pretty humble about it before breaking the news it did make me double take. To me the amazing thing is that they managed to hold on to both power and money for so long. It took 1800 years for them to lose power, and 200 years later they're still sending their princes to Princeton. edit: sorry Princeton highschool, I've got to hand it to them that this high school essay is more well written and polished than anything I ever handed in..

thaumasiotes 4y ago
> Plot twist at the end there, as the author of the article is themselves a prince of the family of living descendants of Mark Anthony. That's not a plot twist. It's a strategy as old as civilization itself, probably older. It's mentioned right at the front of the piece: > In Ancient Greek and Roman cultures, having a distinguished family lineage determined your social standing. This practice has continued to exist within hierarchical societies to this day. Furthermore, many royal houses throughout history have claimed descent from ancient ruling dynasties and from famous figures both demonstrably historical (Alexander the Great, for example) and mythical (such as Hercules, Venus or Aeneas) to solidify their monarchical claim. It's entirely possible they are living descendants of Mark Antony, but if they are, so is every other person in the vicinity of the Mediterranean.
- fmajid 4y ago
  > That's not a plot twist. It's a strategy as old as civilization itself, probably older. Yep, the good ol' not-so-humble-brag.
probablynottrue 4y ago
As of yet, no one has managed to prove descent from antiquity. People claim it for various reasons, but none of the claims are provable. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Descent_from_antiquity https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Descent_from_antiquity
avgcorrection 4y ago
Humble to write an essay where you could do such a reveal?
googlryas 4y ago
Is he though? I would imagine in all those intervening years, at some point the male heir got cuckolded by his wife.
- Sunspark 4y ago
  There are other things that can happen as well, rape is a known thing, and of course, adoption as well. Romans definitely did adopt others and give them their family name. On a tree, none of this shows.

by tinco 4y ago

thaumasiotes 4y ago

> Plot twist at the end there, as the author of the article is themselves a prince of the family of living descendants of Mark Anthony. That's not a plot twist. It's a strategy as old as civilization itself, probably older. It's mentioned right at the front of the piece: > In Ancient Greek and Roman cultures, having a distinguished family lineage determined your social standing. This practice has continued to exist within hierarchical societies to this day. Furthermore, many royal houses throughout history have claimed descent from ancient ruling dynasties and from famous figures both demonstrably historical (Alexander the Great, for example) and mythical (such as Hercules, Venus or Aeneas) to solidify their monarchical claim. It's entirely possible they are living descendants of Mark Antony, but if they are, so is every other person in the vicinity of the Mediterranean.

fmajid 4y ago
> That's not a plot twist. It's a strategy as old as civilization itself, probably older. Yep, the good ol' not-so-humble-brag.

probablynottrue 4y ago

As of yet, no one has managed to prove descent from antiquity. People claim it for various reasons, but none of the claims are provable. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Descent_from_antiquity https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Descent_from_antiquity

avgcorrection 4y ago

Humble to write an essay where you could do such a reveal?

googlryas 4y ago

Is he though? I would imagine in all those intervening years, at some point the male heir got cuckolded by his wife.

Sunspark 4y ago
There are other things that can happen as well, rape is a known thing, and of course, adoption as well. Romans definitely did adopt others and give them their family name. On a tree, none of this shows.