I am pleased to present the second of a pair of guest poasts that LRFotS Randale6 sent over from his fortress-lair, somewhere on the Asian steppes. In this instalment, our friend analyses the archetypes of the socio-sexual hierarchy by looking at past (and one present) historical figures. The analysis and key lessons he presents below are all intriguing in their own right, and worthy of consideration. I provide some brief thoughts of my own down below as well.

Before we continue, it is of vital importance that we remind ourselves what the SSH itself actually is, so please make sure you watch the video from the originator of the SSH – Our Beloved and Dreaded Supreme Dark Lord (PBUH) Voxemort the Most Malevolent and Terrible – which explains the whole thing in an excellent and highly accessible format:

As always, I am most grateful to our friend, and to my readers, for your continued and excellent contributions to and engagement with my work.

The SSH: Historical Examples

Today it’s time to look at the social sexual hierarchy as reflected in the historical personages I have chosen for this piece. First though I must lay out the ground work, this is useless if you, the reader, has no metrics with which to judge these historical figures. So let us look over the strengths and weaknesses of the various ranks of the SSH real quick.

Rank	Strengths	Weaknesses
Alpha	Natural charisma, good looks, and solid frame	Prone to paranoia1 and arrogant
Bravo	Good charisma, fairly observant, and good looks	Patronage seeking2 and complacency
Delta	Hardworking, specialization, and mobile3	Narcissism, patronage seeking2, mental laziness and worship of women
Gamma	Intelligence and obsession3	Bitter, delusion bubble, patronage seeking2, and obsession3
Sigma	Independence, natural charisma, good looks, and solid frame	Inattentiveness, inability to follow through on projects

A few notes first:

Omega and Lambda: not covering either one here, Omegas simply don’t produce figures of historical note and Lambdas are by the nature of their homosexuality mostly irrelevant.

¹Patronage seeking: This defect I will not dwell on much here save to say why it is a weakness. The need for a patron often causes a Bravo, Delta, or Gamma to take actions that are actively detrimental to their own self interest to satisfy that need. Many, many Delta car mechanics could make two to three times what they make at a dealership if they worked on their own. Yet the Delta’s need for a patron causes them to ignore their own self interest to keep slaving away at the abusive dealerships.

²Mobile: By mobile I mean that DELTAS have the most “range” within their own rank, the gap between a low Delta and a high Delta is truly a chasm. This the class of men most capable of “zero to hero”.

³Prone to paranoia: While this is a weakness of Alphas it must be understood why, like salt, paranoia is beneficial in certain quantities and dangerous in others. A little bit of paranoia helps and an Alpha maintain his reign and position, too much of it causes him to expend energy and time on threats that either aren’t there or that are grossly exaggerated.

⁴Obsession: Obsession is a double edged sword, representing one of the Gamma’s greatest strengths and weaknesses simultaneously. Obsession is what gives the Gamma the ability to achieve true mastery of a subject in a way almost no one else (save a few Deltas who are also obsessive) can. The downside is that this obsession leads to tunnel vision and sexual failure.

The good and Ur examples

Note one thing before I dive in, “good” here is not related in any way to morality or moral outcomes. Good in this context means that they exemplify the strengths of their rank while either avoiding or mitigating the weaknesses of it. Good examples are still members of their place in the SSH at the end of the day, they have simply covered up or overcome their weaknesses.

Ur-examples meanwhile represent those who embody all aspects of their SSH position and turn it up to eleven. These are the full on pedal to the floor avatars of their rank.

Alphas

Alexander The Great (Ur): While there are many, many who could be the Ur-example of being an Alpha I feel that it this man who takes the crown. Alexander the Great was by all accounts charismatic, handsome, immensely capable, prone to paranoia (witness what transpired in Babylon), and colossally arrogant.

He was able to hold an army together against an enemy who outnumbered him ten to one, he then took this army on a massive campaign of conquest that saw him bring the core of the middle-east and more into his empire. He was also so arrogant that he believed his men had no limits and could be pushed ever farther. The result of this was his war with an Indian principality that demonstrated that he and his men indeed had limits.

His return to Babylon from the campaign saw him punish his own men during the march (by basically forcing them to take the suckiest route back home) and revealed the paranoid side of his mind. Alexander’s paranoia was so extreme that it led to him murdering at least one of his close friends (an action he is recorded to have deeply regretted).

Genghis Khan (Good): As surprising as it may seem Genghis Khan was the Good Alpha, perhaps the best of them all. He demonstrated immense charisma and capability just as Alexander the Great did but he was neither paranoia prone nor arrogant. He recognized that men had limits and that mere charisma could only push those limits further, not eliminate them entirely.

Yet he still was able to push those limits to the limit before easing off the gas to make that hard right turn to avoid disaster. He also managed to conquer nearly a third of the world with what had been a disorganized coalition of Mongol tribes infamously prone to feuding and civil war. Indeed, by the time he was done these Mongols tribes had essentially been subsumed into his own for all intents and purposes. Their return to disorder only came after his death.

Bravos

Mark Anthony (Ur): Finding examples for Bravos can be somewhat challenging but Mark Anthony is clearly the Ur-example, showcasing both the potential of the archetype and the problem of complacency which doomed the man.

A brief rundown of Mark Anthony’s life is that he was in many ways a miniature Julius Caesar, he showcased the majority of his superior’s qualities (minus Caesar’s Sigma independence) and proved vital to the success of Julius Caesar. Yet Mark Anthony had his problems, problems that only became apparent in the aftermath of Caesar’s assassination. While Anthony did ultimately wind up in control of a large portion of the Roman Empire (including most critically Egypt) along with a large portion of the Roman senate and military, he was complacent.

An Alpha would have realised innately that Octavian was going to go for the full enchilada at some point. He would have been deeply cautious as a result and would have taken measures to prevent or mitigate the political intrigues that would follow. Mark Anthony did not do any of that, indeed he gave Octavian the excuses he needed.

Ranging from his will (which basically would have divided the majority of the eastern Roman empire between his and Cleopatra’s children) to the mistake of shacking up with Cleopatra in the first place (and divorcing Octavian’s sister, Octavia, to marry Cleopatra). His complacence in military matters did not help him either.

Anthony’s preference for naval warfare (one of the strengths of his military) led him to make the critical mistake of not aiming to settle the civil war with Octavian sooner rather than later. Octavian refused to give sea battle and instead embarked on a Fabian campaign to bleed out Anthony’s forces. When naval war finally did commence at the Battle of Actium the complacency of Mark Anthony was on full display, one of his own subordinates gave Octavian his battle plans.

From that disaster would come many more, ultimately resulting in Mark Anthony and Cleopatra committing suicide as Alexandria was encircled.

Lucius Vitellius the Elder (Good): Another Roman makes the list, this one though managed to avoid the fate of Mark Antony. Indeed, he proved to be one of the most politically adept and adaptable bravos in history. He benefited from the direct favor of no less than three emperors, Tiberius, Caligula, and Claudius.

He is an example of making patron seeking work for you, not against you. He was able to successfully transfer and amass more power no matter who wore the purple. He managed to claim the consulship not just once but thrice, the governorship of Syria, and the office of censor. To cap things off his actions set in motion the opportunity for his son, Aulus Vitellius to claim the purple in 69 AD.

Deltas

Emperor Claudius (Ur and Good): Here I am both lazy and demonstrate what I said earlier, Deltas have the widest range within their own rank compared to any other rank in the hierarchy. If early accounts of his life are to believed Claudius started off as a low delta with a limp and mild deafness and was hardly considered a political threat by anyone. In a way this was fortunate for him, it allowed him to survive Caligula’s reign and be declared Emperor by the Praetorian Guard.

From these lowly beginning he made a remarkable journey from the lows of his SSH to rank to its heights. He successfully brought the Praetorian Guard under him, embarked on a vigorous campaign of public infrastructure, retained the support of the citizens, and conquered Britain. He did all of that while successfully fending off multiple coups and intrigues against him during his reign.

Unfortunately though his reign would be marred by the one Delta flaw he could not overcome, his inability to control his own women. Agrippina the Younger, the last of his many wives effectively came into power over him. Her influence on him eventually reached the point where she convinced him to make Nero (her biological son and his stepson) the imperial heir. This would ultimately result in his assassination by poisoning and the murder of his real son by Nero.

Gammas

Adolf Hitler (Ur): As surprising as this choice may be read along with me, this man is the Ur-Gamma of all time. Examine the physiognomy of Hitler and you can already tell that he is not anything remotely resembling a natural alpha. Look at his early years and you can see that there was nothing that marked him out as a highly charismatic future dictator in the making. All he seemed to be destined for was being rejected by art academies.

Yet this is not how history played out, Hitler defied all odds and being a Gamma to become one of the most infamous figures in modern history. The answer to the paradox of how he achieved all of this is twofold, first is that he was in the right place at the right time (Weimar Germany) and the second is the sheer power of his obsession.

Remember how I said earlier that obsession was both a strength and a weakness for a Gamma? In this case it was mostly a strength for Hitler, particularly in the pre-WWII years. We must remember that Adolf Hitler had to endure poverty, persecution, and the horrors of the Weimar period itself. His march to power was fuelled by his obsession with restoring Germany to greatness.

That obsession led him to become one of the most skilled orators of any age, indeed his ability in that field could rival many Alphas. From nothing he built the National Socialist Workers’ Party of Germany (aka the Nazi Party), restored German industry, and created a war machine that almost succeeded in defeating Russia. Yet after the initial euphoria of the early years of World War II his obsessive tendencies became his undoing.

Hitler made the mistake of thinking that his political acumen and early military successes meant that he was a military mastermind. This delusion bubble led him to make the absolutely backbreaking decision to put Stalingrad under siege. In doing so he gave up every advantage that his armies had to engage the Russians in their favourite type of warfare, attrition. The result of this was the end of Hitler and the utter subjugation and humiliation of Germany.

Cardinal Richelieu (Good): The Red Eminence as he became known represents one of two possible “good” fates for a Gamma. Richelieu was perhaps the most (in)famous minister to ever serve any French monarch in all of history. He demonstrated extraordinary cunning, intelligence, and ruthlessness that was by and large unmarred by bitterness and delusion. His single-minded obsession with strengthening France allowed it to survive and even thrive in the chaos of the thirty year’s war.

He proved to be a better Machiavellian than any Italian could hope to be. He was of such indispensable value to the King, Louis XIII, that he simply could not be fired or deposed (for long). Yet all of this greatness and achievement still came with a cost. To be fair to the Cardinal though this cost was the same one that almost all gammas have to endure.

Richelieu was hated by many, both in France and abroad. Many Catholics despised him for siding with Protestant nations such as the Dutch Republic to counter the Habsburg monarchies of Spain and the Holy Roman Empire. Much of the French peasantry and nobility hated him for his taxes and purges (respectively). The King’s mother in particular had it out for him, leading to the Day of Dupes, essentially a trial by public opinion that still failed to drive the Red Eminence from power. Even the King’s own mother could not make the Cardinal replaceable in the eyes of Louis XIII.

In the end no enemy save death could defeat Cardinal Richelieu, for a Gamma this is a near miraculous achievement.

Sigmas

Julius Caesar (Ur): This man should not need an introduction for the majority of readers but many of you might be wondering why he is not classified as an alpha. You rightfully point to him doing many Alpha things, ranging from winning multiple wars (domestic and civil), bedding Cleopatra, and being immensely popular with his men. Yet there is a subtle difference between alphas and sigmas that reaches right to the heart of the matter.

The former are the masters of the hierarchy, the latter are outside of it but can also are at the top of it despite being outsiders. Despite this ability to succeed like an alpha though Sigmas suffer from a disability with regards to the hierarchy, that “infirmity” being their inattentiveness to the hierarchy. This inattentiveness explains to us why Julius Caesar was assassinated by surprise by the senators.

Remember how I said that Alphas can be prone to being overly paranoid? Sigmas can suffer from the opposite problem, many of them are simply not paranoid enough in the context of the hierarchy. This arises of course from being outside the hierarchy and generally not seeking leadership positions within it. An Alpha in Julius Caesar’s place would likely have sniffed out the assassination (and the broader conspiracy behind it) well before it occurred.

President Putin (Good): While everyone else on this list is dead I will use Putin for this last example, mainly because he is the one Sigma leader I can think of that has managed to avoid the inattentiveness pitfall of his SSH rank. There have been multiple rebellions and coups made against him, so far he has overcome them all. Each time he seems to learn from these events, making it easier for him to crush the next uprising or intrigue.

He may not have quite the attentiveness of an Alpha to the hierarchy but he is still well ahead of most Sigmas in this regard. I suspect what will finally dethrone the Neo-Tsar is death itself.

Lessons For Us All

Now for the reason why history is important (and not merely a hobby), the lessons we can derive from it. I will divide this rank by SSH rank – some of it, however, applies to more than one category and will be addressed as such.

Alphas: An Alpha generally has it pretty good truth be told, what he must learn to control are his twin tendencies to (over)paranoia and arrogance. The last one in particular needs to be strongly curbed, we all have limits and our limits are often shorter than the Alpha’s. An Alpha can indeed push those limits to an extent but only to an extent.

Bravos: Bravos there is only one sin specific to you, that is your tendency towards complacency. You are often too comfortable for your own good. Shake things up in your life to avoid this, you may get away with complacency in the good times but you will suffer for it when times turn bad.

Deltas: Deltas suffer from a similar problem to bravos but it is deeper than mere complacency, it is mental laziness. Out of all the ranks the delta is the most likely to be an NPC, he has precious little in the way of agency and for the most part doesn’t want to make decisions at all. Narcissism is also inherent to being a Delta, causing the Delta to be unable to grasp what others desires and motives are.

Gammas: Gammas (assuming they can overcome their delusion bubbles to read this) need to realise two things from these examples. First is that “victory” (at least by Gamma standards) is indeed possible for him. The second is that victory will come with a rather nasty price, Gammas by their very nature incur the hatred of others.

This does not downplay at all if the Gamma “wins” the great game of life, it only magnifies more. Notice that neither Hitler nor Richelieu escaped being hated by others, what they did do though was gain fervent supporters and (in the case of Richelieu) patrons. You must be ready for that reality should you succeed in life, your position will always be precarious.

Sigmas: There is not much to advise these men on truth be told, their issue of inattentiveness only becomes apparent in the context of leadership. If a Sigma avoids leadership (which tends to be their natural instinct) then they need not worry at all. If a Sigma does wind up becoming a leader though he must work ruthlessly and hard to overcome the flaw of his rank. As we can see from the Ur-example failure to do so can prove literally fatal.

Patron seeking (Bravos, Deltas, and Gammas): This issue plagues the lower ranks of the SSH and needs to be addressed urgently. First though do not flagellate yourselves over this issue, it is a bad habit that is addictive, like crack cocaine. Unlike most crack cocaine addicts you all have been on this “drug” since birth.

Patron seeking is much like the alpha’s flaw of being prone to paranoia, in small doses it can benefit you. In larger doses though it proves to be bad for you. Too often have I seen Bravos, Deltas, and Gammas laboring under a toxic patron for peanuts. Many of these men if they had possessed the gumption could have chosen to go out and make real money solo.

Yet they could not abandon the idea of working for someone else, like crack it was a habit these addicts couldn’t kick. You must overcome this addiction for your own benefit, you are closing off many avenues and opportunities for yourself by not doing so.

Didactic Authority

It is of vital importance, when reading through things about the SSH, to remember that the hierarchy is not a definitive guide to getting money, power, and women. It is a tool designed to show you where you fit into the overall hierarchies of society. More importantly, you cannot assign yourself into a particular slot – hence, I do not want to see any comments to this poast saying, “I’m a Sigma with some Delta and Alpha strains”.

No one cares what you think about yourself. That is not the point of the SSH.

The true point of it is to figure out what everyone else thinks about you.

In that respect, it is instructive to look at how historical figures stacked up against their target archetypes. You will quickly notice that there are many areas in which we could potentially debate the validity of these classifications. The astute reader would also note that the qualities of an Alpha, or a Bravo, etc., have proven somewhat elastic over time and across cultures.

By this I mean that, in the ancient world – particularly among the Greeks – intimate partnerships between men had a very different meaning than they do today. Their masculine ideals incorporated the explicit notion of male homosexuality. The Greek archetype of masculinity was Herakles – who had male and female lovers.

This is why the choice of Alexander the Great as the Ur-Alpha example would raise quite a few eyebrows among most of our readers – because his relationship with his best friend from childhood, Hephaiston, was quite possibly romantic. Yet, among the Macedonians – and, for that matter, many other similar cultures of antiquity – the homosexual aspects of his personality would not have caused any issue whatsoever, and especially not among the genuinely weird characters, like the Spartans.

By contrast, the Vikings would have considered any form of male homosexuality disgusting in the extreme. Their word for those who engaged in the practice, argyr, was about the most personal and deep insult you could throw at a man. Their archetype of masculinity, Odin, was a self-sacrificing god of great wisdom, power, and knowledge, who was also quite a legendary lover of many women (and, as it happens, giantesses).

None of these subtleties change the core facts of the matter. Alpha males are charismatic, bold, tough, risk-taking, and highly attractive to both men and women. Men want to be them, women want to be with them. Alphas are the natural leaders and conquerors, the men of might and renown who make things happen.

The other point I want to make is about the Neo-Tsar, specifically.

I think our friend has the right of it – The Putin is very clearly a Sigma. The interesting thing about the Neo-Tsar, though, is that he does not seem to suffer from the major problem that every Sigma – including Vox Day – suffers from, which is the inability to follow through on things of importance or meaning.

The Putin’s work ethic is astounding. His schedule would put most men HALF his age into an early grave. Yet, he is able to retain the capacity to plan and act over decades, consistently imposing his will and vision on his nation. He is also able to control very effectively the single most dangerous trait of the Sigma, which is their infuriating and extremely challenging tendency to disrupt any hierarchy in which they operate.

Sigmas are ENORMOUSLY disruptive. Anyone who has ever worked with one, can tell you this. The reason why is very simple. They literally give no f***s what anyone thinks of them. This is a very powerful trait for those who want to live according to their own rhythms and rules. It is an extremely poor one for anyone who wants to manage and run a bureaucracy and an administration, which by definition is a system with a hierarchy that must be obeyed.

The Putin went from being the quintessential Grey Man of the KGB – a totally forgettable nobody that looked more like an insurance claims adjuster than a future Emperor – to the singular source of authority of a nuclear superpower.

That is no small feat. And, if you look at the Neo-Tsar’s speeches and public pronouncements, you will find a level of consistency in vision and language that you will struggle to see in almost any other leader in the world today.

Anyway, these are simply some things to think about and consider, after reading our friend’s analysis.