Curse

scuza2100 · Nov 24, 2006, 01:12 PM // 13:12

Could the first city in the original Phrophecies, Ascalon, possibly be a tribute to the ancient (or modern, there are two) city of Ashkelon? I found the name and instantly thought of the city in Guild Wars.

Here's the page on Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashkelon

Contempt · Nov 24, 2006, 01:21 PM // 13:21

There are referneces to lots of different works throughout the game, just like in most games.

Deleet · Nov 24, 2006, 01:26 PM // 13:26

Prophecies.

And yeah, it could be, it could not. It's not funny and we probaly won't ever know.

What does the bible say about Ashkelon?

scuza2100 · Nov 24, 2006, 01:36 PM // 13:36

Well, I'm not sure EXACTLY if it's in the Bible, but a different book (can't remember what it was) said something about it being a biblical city.
Title Fixed.

EPO Bot · Nov 24, 2006, 02:09 PM // 14:09

The ending of NF is pretty gnostic.
So i won't call it officially biblical.

Mister Muhkuh · Nov 24, 2006, 02:13 PM // 14:13

I don't think so... If they'd have named Droks or LA like that, hmm, kk, but not ascalon the way it is now
"Ashkelon was the oldest and largest seaport in ancient Canaan"

well, usually they take names that fit to whatever they are the name for(sry, for my bad english^^) and this is obviously not the case here

Sidra · Nov 24, 2006, 02:44 PM // 14:44

and then at the bottom of the page... it also refers to an alternate spelling of "Ascalon". Lol Muhkuh.

FalconDance · Nov 24, 2006, 03:12 PM // 15:12

Quote:

Ascalon was an important city near Jerusalem which changed hands several times during the Crusades. During the Battle of Ascalon in 1099, Crusaders successfully fought off an Egyptian army sent to relieve Jerusalem. In 1101, at the First Battle of Ramleh, An Egyptian army under emir Sa'ad ed-Daula al-Qawasi was defeated by Baldwin I, though at the cost of nearly half his knights. (http://atheism.about.com/library/FAQ...s_ascalon.htm)

Quote:

Antiochus was born in the latter part of the second century B.C.E. in Ascalon (whose site is in present-day Israel) and died in 69/8 B.C.E. Early in life he moved to Athens, at this time still the center of the ancient philosophical world, where he became a member of the Academy, the philosophical school that had been founded by Plato in the fourth century B.C.E.
(http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/antiochus-ascalon/)

To say that Anet's use of Ascalon is as a 'biblical' reference, it might be stretching the connection a bit.

If you were to say that they are re-using an important historical city placename, then you might be a lot closer.

But, of course, only someone who likes and studies history would likely know much about 'Old' Ascalon anyhow ..... unless you shortcut with wikipedia (and they are not always accurate, remember).

Sidra · Nov 24, 2006, 04:36 PM // 16:36

If I remember middle school correctly, Antiochus was the antagonist in the Channukah tales. Interesting.

Str0b0 · Nov 24, 2006, 06:00 PM // 18:00

I think it's just coincidence. Human beings tend to find analogs where they don't really exist. Shing Jea....awfully close to Shanghai both harbor towns I might add too. I could probably sit down and find tons of analogs between real world locations and the fictional world of Guild Wars but my gut tells me a lot of the analogs are coincidental, particularly in reference to the names of many places.

Maria The Princess · Nov 24, 2006, 10:05 PM // 22:05

Ashkelon is a city in Israel now... if i remember correctly some big prophet came from there

Uber Mensche · Nov 24, 2006, 10:50 PM // 22:50

Here's biblical reference for ya, Balthazar=One of the the three wise men and also a Babalonian king. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Wise_Men.

GreatLich · Nov 25, 2006, 12:02 AM // 00:02

Here's another biblical reference: Onan the spiritless

anyone remember what he's "famous" for?

arcady · Nov 25, 2006, 12:07 AM // 00:07

It's not at all improbable that someone with a moderately decent education worked on the first chapter of Guild Wars. The newest chapter shows signs of educated people being behind it to some degree or another.

So I wouldn't find it odd if a reference came from something one of the writers read previously that wasn't just 'another geek reference.'

It is also just as probable that they got the reference in a random net search or coffee shop conversation with someone else, and had no real idea where it came from, but felt it sounded catchy.

Relambrien · Nov 25, 2006, 12:13 AM // 00:13

You'll find that a lot of games use references to things, if only because the name sounds cool.

Final Fantasy X has a weapon in it called "Ascalon."

So yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if the inspiration was from the real city of Ascalon, but it's probably just because the name sounded nice.