What were Semiramis true feelings for Onnes and Ninus? I was left wondering were there true feelings or just lust? As I questioned if she truly loved anyone

I questioned if Semiramis truly had feelings for anyone or just a desire to be in a position of strength and control. Her marriage to Onnes seemed a practical and political move for her, to get her out of her village away from her father. And Ninus seemed one of lust or desire. Did she really “love” either.

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I think that’s a very valid question, @Sonya_M. I do think she cared for both of them and was tied to them as well. But I think she had to be so independent all her life that perhaps she wasn’t capable of the selflessness required to truly love someone else. (And I think that as things progressed with Ninus, yeah, that was lust.)

I found the whole relationship with Ninus, confusing. While I understood her marriage to Onnes, I didn’t the sudden move to Ninus, and her willingness to betray Onnes. Unless it was part lust, part power move. I question whether, given her harsh background, that she was truly capable of much sincere love and certainly not affection. She’d never been shown any.

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To be honest, I’m wondering if anyone in that time period was capable of love. Everything seemed to be about power and survival

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I agree. Just look at her mother in law’s relationships.

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That’s a good point, @Rebecca_Gaulton. Especially in the aristocratic families, all marriages were to seal alliances. In the lower classes, girls were married off very young, before they could really develop love, I think.

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Semiramis seemed grateful to Onnes for improving her living conditions and status. And what did she even know of love since she had no experience of it? She could have felt something like love for Onnes at the beginning, but she seemed to withdraw and discover her own abilities with time. In addition the entire culture of the court was ambition only, and love was perceived as a weakness. She was overwhelmed by Ninus, certainly with lust but also feelings more tender than for Onnes. Those feelings seemed to be as close to love as she had.

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I believe Semiramis loved both Onnes and Ninus in her own way. She attached herself to Onnes for the escape from Mari he could give her and and at Kalhu for the security he could give her. When I saw that Onnes was addicted to the “poppy” I immediately knew that their partnership was doomed. Only closer to the time of their “separation” did I realize the cause of his addiction. She attached herself to Ninus because she knew her relationship with Onnes was coming to an end and she needed the security and protection Ninus could provide and also because she had truly come to care for him. But do I think she would have sacrificed herself for either Onnes or Ninus? Absolutely not! She was ultimately focused on her independent power and success which for her was security.

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I think you are right on target @Lana_Maskus. If someone has never experienced love, it is doubtful that they can the faith and belief of love. I do think Semiramis cared for Onnes and Ninus and for her she would have said it was love. But not only did she have a difficult childhood, she loved in a culture that valued power over everything, so she would continue to look for power even if it came at the expense of those that she loved.

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Rebecca and Laura and really all of you, I agree that what we see as romantic love probably was not here. But, in many ways, “romantic love” is a factor of our times and our more privileged environments. We have the luxury of waiting to get married in most cases and we are usually not property to be bartered. This is not true world-wide which I said “our privileged environments.” I think love either grows or dies during marriage and is dependent on so many things. So, I think Semiramis loved as best she could but she never grew to be dependent upon anyone but herself.

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I do not believe she truly loved Onnes but she got used to him and was fond of him. With Ninus I believe it was lust for both sex and power.

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I think she cared for them both. I believe she had true feelings for both, but on different levels, i.e. perhaps lust for Ninus, and I think she had a real connection with Onnes, that was possibly stronger than her feelings for Ninus -

Semiramis cared for Onnes mainly because he saved her from an abusive stepfather. She was attracted Ninus for many reasons but mainly desire. In her way, I believe she loved them both.

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You know, Semiramis was very young when she met Onnes. She probably did fall for not only his ability to rescue her, but his strength and certainty as well. (Reminds me of my first marriage, LOL.)