4
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I was born in a holy place,
holy for a separate reason.

I was met with a great man's face,
a sight that's been lost through the seasons.

I was killed in an empire's base,
victim to a violence and treason.

Who am I?

Hint:

A supreme leader, forty villains, and an apian sting.

Hint 2:

"Holy place" might be an understatement.

Hint 3:

I'm in da house

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5
  • $\begingroup$ it seems that most people think of Rot13(Wrfhf Puevfg) when reading this riddle, after I had checked out the answers below. I thought the same, but there were some lines I couldn't explain, so I abandoned the idea... $\endgroup$
    – Mr Pie
    Commented Aug 15, 2018 at 11:55
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ I think I might have gone with "I was born in a stable place" for that one :) $\endgroup$
    – Jafe
    Commented Aug 15, 2018 at 12:03
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    $\begingroup$ As @Joe-You-Know said, I believe that was the "expected answer" but not the actual one. (Hint 2 supports this thought.) Overall, nice riddle though! I can't upvote because of my daily voting limit, so I favourited $\color{darkorange}{\bigstar}$ $\endgroup$
    – Mr Pie
    Commented Aug 15, 2018 at 12:06
  • $\begingroup$ Just checking you didn't mean hint #2 the other way around? $\endgroup$
    – Mohirl
    Commented Aug 16, 2018 at 10:26
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    $\begingroup$ @Mohirl No, I'm pretty sure "understatement" is correct here. $\endgroup$
    – Jafe
    Commented Aug 16, 2018 at 10:33

7 Answers 7

Reset to default
4
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Are you

Ali

The cousin and the son-in-law of Muhammad, the last prophet of Islam.

I was born in a holy place, holy for a separate reason.

Mecca
Mecca is considered the holiest city in Islam, as it is home to the Ka‘bah

I was met with a great man's face, a sight that's been lost through the seasons.

Ali saw Muhammad, it is now forbidden to portray him.

I was killed in an empire's base, victim to a violence and treason.

On 19 Ramadan AH 40, which would correspond to 27 January 661, while praying in the Great Mosque of Kufa, Ali was attacked by the Kharijite Abd-al-Rahman ibn Muljam.

Hint 1:

Ali Khamenei, Ali baba, Muhammad Ali.

Hint 3:

Ali G

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6
  • $\begingroup$ Hint #1 actually refers to three different people :) $\endgroup$
    – Jafe
    Commented Aug 17, 2018 at 11:50
  • $\begingroup$ Oh right, I'll add the names ;) $\endgroup$
    – OfFPiR
    Commented Aug 17, 2018 at 11:52
  • $\begingroup$ This is correct, although the explanation for lines 3-4 isn't quite what I had in mind. I was thinking about rot13[gur svefg crefba Nyv fnj, jubfr snpr jr pna ab ybatre frr fvapr vg'f sbeovqqra gb qenj uvz]. $\endgroup$
    – Jafe
    Commented Aug 17, 2018 at 11:56
  • $\begingroup$ @jafe, Like this? $\endgroup$
    – OfFPiR
    Commented Aug 17, 2018 at 12:02
  • $\begingroup$ I'll make an edit and mark this as accepted. $\endgroup$
    – Jafe
    Commented Aug 17, 2018 at 12:09
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I'm pretty sure you are

Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth if you prefer

I was born in a holy place,
holy for a separate reason.

He was born in Bethlehem. The only reason it is holy is that he was born there.

I was met with a great man's face,
a sight that's been lost through the seasons.

This could be referring to any number of people, including the Father himself. Son of Man literally refers to Son of Man of Holiness (Man of Holiness being God). Jesus talks to/meets God at the mount of transfiguration. Or it could be referring to Pontious Pilate, John the Baptist, Herod the Great, etc.

I was killed in an empire's base,
victim to a violence and treason.

He was killed in the Roman empire, betrayed by Judas Iscariot.

Now, I doubt this is the actual answer you are looking for, but it fits really well.

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7
  • $\begingroup$ Well played -- I totally agree with you on this one! $\endgroup$
    – El-Guest
    Commented Aug 13, 2018 at 15:48
  • $\begingroup$ The more I read this puzzle, the more I think that jafe is looking for a historical object rather than a person...but this person that we've both thought of fits really well.... $\endgroup$
    – El-Guest
    Commented Aug 13, 2018 at 15:50
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ I agree. I'd wager that this was the answer he was expecting people to give but not the answer he wanted. $\endgroup$
    – Joe-You-Know
    Commented Aug 13, 2018 at 15:53
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ The working title was actually rot13[Vg unf gb or Wrfhf, evtug?] :) $\endgroup$
    – Jafe
    Commented Aug 13, 2018 at 15:58
  • $\begingroup$ The second line doesn't fit the explanation, does it? Or are you reading it as "[I'm] holy for a different reason"? $\endgroup$
    – Jafe
    Commented Aug 13, 2018 at 18:03
3
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Partial answer

Since I can't get away from

Rome

for the last part, I'm going with

Julius Caesar?

I was born in a holy place, holy for a separate reason.

Born near Rome. Something something Vatican/Holy Roman Empire? Although neither applied at the time

I was met with a great man's face, a sight that's been lost through the seasons.

No idea. Somebody blind?

I was killed in an empire's base, victim to a violence and treason.

Killed by violence and treason obviously, and the civil wars after that led to the foundation of the Roman Empire.

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1
  • $\begingroup$ Pretty good fit, there was definitely treason involved, but I agree that "holy place" might be a stretch. $\endgroup$
    – Jafe
    Commented Aug 13, 2018 at 18:01
3
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Could you be

Jesus?

I was born in a holy place,
holy for a separate reason.

He was born in Bethlehem, but the manger he was born in was run down and likely full of holes.

I was met with a great man's face,
a sight that's been lost through the seasons.

Jesus' face is in every church, but it is thought that the depictions of him now are not those of the original Jesus but have been modified slightly by artists over the years.

I was killed in an empire's base,
victim to a violence and treason.

At the time, Jerusalem was a base/outpost of the Roman Empire, and Jesus was accused of treason and crucified. The crucifixion is the violence part; the treason part comes from Judas Iscariot. In fact, the word traitor comes from Latin traditor, which means "one who delivers"....as in Judas' delivery of Jesus to his executioners!

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6
  • $\begingroup$ I see we have similar lines of thinking. $\endgroup$
    – Joe-You-Know
    Commented Aug 13, 2018 at 15:48
  • $\begingroup$ You nipped me by 50 seconds though! :) $\endgroup$
    – El-Guest
    Commented Aug 13, 2018 at 15:49
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ I like your reasoning for the second line, lol $\endgroup$
    – Jafe
    Commented Aug 13, 2018 at 16:38
  • $\begingroup$ "Victim of treason" and "accused of treason" aren't really the same thing, though...? $\endgroup$
    – Jafe
    Commented Aug 13, 2018 at 18:05
  • $\begingroup$ He's technically also a victim of treason in the way @Joe-You-Know described -- interestingly enough, the word traitor comes from Latin traditor, which means "one who delivers"....as in delivery of our answer to his executioners! $\endgroup$
    – El-Guest
    Commented Aug 13, 2018 at 18:48
3
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Are you:

A Queen Bee?

I was born in a holy place,
holy for a separate reason.

A beehive is full of holes. So not "holy" as in clean from a religious standpoint, but holy for a separate reason.

I was met with a great man's face,
a sight that's been lost through the seasons.

This could be the bee-keeper looking in on the hive, but that would only happen in honey-producing season.

I was killed in an empire's base,
victim to a violence and treason.

A beehive is kind of like the "base" of the hive. "Treason" is an act against the queen, and the bees in a hive may replace the queen.

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2
  • $\begingroup$ I wish I could upvote, but I can't; I have unfortunately reached my daily voting limit. I hope somebody gets rid of the number of the beast found in your rep number... hahah, thank you upvoter :) $\endgroup$
    – Mr Pie
    Commented Aug 15, 2018 at 11:57
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ This is an interesting take, taking advantage of multiple meanings. Most of the clues work, but I suppose it doesn't really fit the "history" tag :) $\endgroup$
    – Jafe
    Commented Aug 15, 2018 at 11:58
3
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Ok this is a work-in-progress answer.

Given the history tag you must be a historical figure of some kind. I was wondering if you are:

Ramesses III, second Pharaoh of the Twentieth dynasty in Egypt?

I was born in a holy place,
holy for a separate reason.

This is the bit I'm not sure of. Egypt is full of "holy" or sacred sites from the Ancient Egyptian period of history. Cairo, Giza, Luxor are all holy places. Trouble is, Ramesses III was born in Thebes and I can't find anything to say this is a holy site. But the other clues fit.

I was met with a great man's face,
a sight that's been lost through the seasons.

My reasons for thinking this is an historical figure from ancient Egypt is because this sounds like the Great Sphinx of Giza which had the face of Pharaoh Khafre but over the years (seasons) it has worn away. The nose and beard are missing.

I was killed in an empire's base,
victim to a violence and treason.

Egypt was an empire at the time of the Pharaohs and Ramesses III was assassinated following a conspiracy led by one of his wives.

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1
  • $\begingroup$ Nice reasoning for lines 3-4, sounds really convincing. But as you said line 1 doesn't really fit. $\endgroup$
    – Jafe
    Commented Aug 17, 2018 at 11:51
2
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2nd Attempt (Comedic, but it works):

Are you

Ben Kenobi (Obi-Wan)?

I was born in a holy place,
holy for a separate reason.

He was born in Star Wars. It's holy because of the way the fans treat the series.

I was met with a great man's face,
a sight that's been lost through the seasons.

Referring to Anakin Skywalker. He was the chosen one. His face was burned.

I was killed in an empire's base,
victim to a violence and treason.

He was killed in the death star, killed by a man who was a traitor to the Republic and the Jedi Order.

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4
  • $\begingroup$ I was so thinking this series too, but it doesn't fit the history tag..........unless you consider that it happened rot13(n ybat gvzr ntb va n tnynkl sne, sne njnl).... $\endgroup$
    – El-Guest
    Commented Aug 13, 2018 at 16:26
  • $\begingroup$ It fits the version of history I subscribe to. $\endgroup$
    – Joe-You-Know
    Commented Aug 13, 2018 at 16:27
  • $\begingroup$ @jafe can this please be right? I appreciate the comedic value if so (see rot13 comment, above) $\endgroup$
    – El-Guest
    Commented Aug 13, 2018 at 16:30
  • 3
    $\begingroup$ Haha I know what it says even without translating the rot13! $\endgroup$
    – Jafe
    Commented Aug 13, 2018 at 16:40

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