The main GG boys as epic heroes: Nate Archibald
I love epic poetry (especially Homer’s Odyssey) and Gossip Girl, and I can’t help but see the parallels between characters from these Ancient poems and modern telly. These aren’t EXACT matches, but I found that the most famous attributes of these epic heroes aligned with the best bits of our GG boys! (This is a post to celebrate me completing my first year at uni :D)
My A-Level Classical Civ teacher once said that “if Aeneas was a seasoning, he’d be flour.” I’ve always felt that this applied to Nate Archibald as well.
The Aeneid, written by Virgil, in (roughly) 30-19 BCE. The Republic had just fallen, and the Roman Empire was emerging under Augustus’ leadership.
Virgil attempts to bridge the gap between Ancient Greek mythology, Roman history, and the Augustan Regime. He does this by writing Aeneas’, who features briefly in Homer’s Iliad, tale. He depicts Aeneas’ journey, issued to him by the gods, to found a new home, after the destruction of Troy. This nation he founds would soon become Rome, bridging the past, present, and the future that Augustus would have hoped for, a vast and thriving empire.
Anyways, a good half of Virgil’s Aeneid is Aeneas attempting to exit his fate, the one imparted onto him by the gods.
When Troy is ruined by the Greeks, Aeneas tries to his wife, Cruesa, despite the gods telling him to leave to seek his new wife. The gods have their way. By Book IV, Aeneas tries to pursue a romance with the foreign Queen Dido, until Mercury, tells Aeneas to leave Libya; think of his son, who deserves a successful Rome:
"So you are now laying foundations for the high towers of Carthage and building a splendid city to please your wife? Have you entirely forgotten your own kingdom and your own destiny? The ruler of the gods himself, by whose divine will the heavens and earth revolve, sends me down from bright Olympus and bids me bring these commands to you." (Bk. IV)
These instances remind of me the conversations Nate has with his father and Chuck in S1, where he questions the path laid out for him, and is less than interested in Blair.
He at least has more of say in what he does than Aeneas does, but for argument’s sake, we’ll say he followed in his father’s footsteps to some degree in becoming a business man by owning a successful newspaper.
His business journey actually mimics Aeneas’ founding of, what will later become, the Roman Empire. He takes the crumbling New York Spectator and turns it into a successful newspaper, just as Aeneas goes from a refugee escaping Troy to the founder of a successful nation.
The classicist Sowerby wrote: “The relationship between father and son is the closest bond in the poem.” Although Nate and Howard‘s relationship is far from ideal, their relationship is just as central to Nate’s narrative as Anchises’ is to Aeneas’. There is a great deal of care within both dynamics. One of the most iconic images of the Roman Empire is the one where Aeneas carries his aged father on his back, escorting his family out of the destroyed Troy. Initially, Anchises refuses to leave Troy, it’s his home after all. This reminds me of Nate’s concern for his father once he discovers his cocaine usage and urges him to open up about it/get help, as they both demonstrate son’s trying to tackle their aged father’s bad habits:
“Did you suppose, my father, / That I could tear myself away and leave you? / Unthinkable; how could a father say it? / Now if it pleases the powers about that nothing / Stand of this great city; if your heart / Is set on adding your own death and ours / To that of Troy, the door’s wide open for it.” (II.2.857–863)
When I started to write this post, I didn’t think I’d find so many similarities between Nate Archibald and Aeneas. As a wannabe classicist, I find the parallels between modern media and Ancient texts beyond satisfying. They demonstrate how timeless classical literature is, and how they’ve shaped many, if not all, of our beloved shows.
I had so much writing this, and I hope you enjoyed reading it too! As you know, I start my summer holidays soon, so I’d love to write about Daniel Humphrey next.
Do you have any guesses as to who which epic hero I think is most like Dan?