My Greek Myth

Teardrops as Rain

. The wind blew a gentle breeze as adoring women watched that boastful man, Nereus, climb the highest tree, Zeus’s sacred one. Helios’s chariot was high in the air and going strong. However, the heavy frame of Nereus couldn’t climb upon the fragile branches for long. A branch cracked, causing Nereus to fall The wind started howling and the shocked girls ran away. The sky darkened with leaves rustling in the air. The air was whipping Nereus. Lighting lit up the sky and a voice boomed so loud that Nereus fell backward again. “You have disrupted this special place. You were boasting to make wood nymphs love you, so from now on you shall never be able to make another mortal fall in love with you!” Zeus boomed and thunder crackled.

“Be gone!” Zeus yelled and Nereus did run. With his whole body twitching with fear. From that day, he hadn’t boasted again.

   ***

Hephaestus, god of forgery, tried, he truly did. He made beautiful items with delicate gems everyday to try and impress his wife, Aphrodite, the beautiful goddess of beauty and love. He pampered her with her favorite sweets and special ambrosia everyday. He devoted all of his work to her, but alas, Aphrodite was always sad or angry. Aphrodite wanted a handsome husband. A brave husband. A strong husband. Not a crippled, ugly blacksmith. Aphrodite envied the happy women prancing along on Earth with their loving husbands. Hephaestus knew it as well as Aphrodite did.

The beautiful goddess stared down from the clouds and gazed upon the sweet mortals. There was always sunshine and happiness. She heavily sighed while a tear slipped out. She wiped it away. The drop fell of the clouds and hit a man. Aphrodite couldn’t believe her eyes. She had never seen someone so handsome. He was very muscular, and the was very tall. Like the man of her dreams. The man stared at the sky, shocked that water had just fallen from the sky. He had golden blonde hair, falling in waves of his eyes, which were the color of the ocean. He was more finely shaped than any of the gifts Hephaestus had ever given her. Aphrodite had to go down and meet this special mortal.

Aphrodite looked like a mortal on his polis, except for her exquisite beauty. Her every strand of hair seemed to catch a ray of sunlight, her face seemed to be something people could only dream of. There was no flaw. She was wearing fine satin and silk, implying that she was very rich. Aphrodite knew how to attract any man and knew exactly what she was doing. As soon as she stepped into the village, men were abandoning everything to take a look at her. Women, who must have been wives, were angrily whispering in the background. Everyone was doing anything to get her attention. Holding their most prized possessions, giving her amphora full of the best foods, promising their love forever and even saying they would kill themselves for her.

Aphrodite knew how crazy men could be for her, so she was very confident about taking her special man to heaven. She kept turning her head to look for him in the crowd, but she couldn’t see his face.

Girls were pulling her hair, men were pleading with their hearts and women were suspiciously questioning her, so finally, she just lost her temper. She screamed and called upon the sea to wash away the farmers’ grain so they had to work. Everything was havoc. Aphrodite disappeared into the woods.

She saw him. Peeking through the leaves, she saw his face. Zeus would be furious. Hephaestus would be furious. Every time this happened, somebody died. Aphrodite forgot upon seeing his face. He was there, using his powerful arms to chop wood with a solemn expression on his face.

“Hello,” Aphrodite cooed at him, prancing out of the greenery. Nereus stared at her, awestruck. Beautiful, and the most response he had gotten from anyone in years.

***

Nereus was at the village. His feet had carried him so quickly he couldn’t remember the trip home. Everything with Zeus flashed through his mind. The world was still as bright as ever, but had an eerie catch to it. No one was with him, no was paying attention to him and no one was looking at him.

***

Aphrodite did know that he probably would instantly fall in love with her. She didn’t, though, understand why no one else would love him as dearly as she. Aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty, knew that something was off about the fact that no one else loved him. But alas, Aphrodite had been captured by her own virtue, and love made her thoughtless on anything else. Nereus was very kind and polite to Aphrodite.

“What is your name o lovely one?”

“My name is, um...” Aphrodite trailed off. Could she tell him that he was the beautiful goddess? No, not yet.

“I am Xenia, visitor from a faraway land.” Nereus wondered what was happening. Maybe the curse, which had lasted for a long time, was broken.

“O fair maiden, I am the humble wood chopper Nereus.” Nereus boldly announced. Aphrodite spent many light filled weeks with Nereus and both were very very happy. Aphrodite was so happy that she decided to take him to Olympus and reveal her true identity the day he confessed his love for her.

“Xenia, what do you wish to do today?”

“Oh Nereus! I am willing to do anything you wish, for I am very fond of you.”

“Xenia, my heart is yours already. I love you!” Nereus gleefully announced that joyful autumn morning where light was shining through the golden leaves of the trees. Aphrodite started turning pink.

“In that case, why don't I take you to a special place? Close your eyes and promise not to open them.” Nereus closed his eyes and Aphrodite gently lift him up through the clouds up to Olympus. When Nereus opened his eyes, he could barely take in his surroundings. Crystal like clouds and a beautiful golden palace. The beige ground stretching for miles and the most beautiful people he had ever seen walking in his path. All of the gems and gold and silver being worn made him dizzy. This girl, this place. So exquisite. Too exquisite. Like Olympus would be. And Xenia must actually be...

“Aphrodite! O great goddess!” Nereus exclaimed dropping to his knees.

“Nereus, stand. I love you and you are as equal to me and as equal to anyone else here. Do not bow to me, for I must be bowing to you as I am your mistress,” Aphrodite commanded.

“Aphrodite, what about your husband?” Nereus reluctantly asked. The goddess was quiet.

“Forget about him for now, unless you wish for me to leave.”

“Oh no, I just wanted to know.”

They didn’t notice the fact that Hephaestus was close enough to hear. It greatly saddened him to know that after all he had tried to do, Aphrodite was with another man. Drop by drop, the simple god of forgery, Hephaestus, was filled to the brim with jealousy. Who did this man think he was, offending a god like him?

Aphrodite led him around and finally took him inside Zeus’s place. She was finally feeling good for once and had a friend who was completely perfect.

Nereus thought about it all. He was a goddess’s lover and the goddess loved him back. The goddess was Aphrodite. Everyone loved Aphrodite. he could finally show all of the people who had shunned him for years. Aphrodite was very beautiful and always smelled like a meadow. He was actually like a god now. He would request to be immortal and eventually become all powerful. He was still poor. He needed something to prove to himself he was truly important now. The jewels were almost making him drool. They must have been worth at least 100 drachmas. He was incredible now. The gold was shimmering in his eyes. He needed something special. The marble vase,worth 10 drachmas, which could give him a whole year of supplies in his little polis was dull in his eyes.

“Nereus, why are you looking so different?” Aphrodite chortled.

“Hush, I am fine.” Nereus replied.

“Your eyes seemed to be popping out and your chin was up so high! Like you wanted Zeus to neatly split you in half! And don’t get me started on your back...” Aphrodite said, still giggling as she was thinking it was a joke.

“Enough!” Nereus boomed. And Aphrodite shut up. If she hadn’t been so blind with love, she would have noticed his rough tone and ask herself why he was being so proud.

Nereus was now too powerful. Aphrodite was now too fragile. He was feeling on top of the world. They entered the throne room. Beautiful, so beautiful. Mosaics of hunts and peace were covering the walls.The throne, with woven strings of gold and silver and paintings with colors he had never seen in his life. So many delicacies he could merely dream about and the bolt. Servants playing ivory and silver stringed lyres just outside the throne room. The thunderbolt. The one and only weapon. Of Zeus. The one who cursed him. Lord of the Gods. He wanted the throne so badly, he wanted to sit on it and he wanted to have the prettiest goddess next to him. No one could ever doubt him again. The key to this door. The bolt. He felt to blazing heat almost burning his hand, though he was still on the other side of the room. He let the heat flow through his body and make him feel wild.

“Nereus?” Aphrodite softly whispered, but Nereus was too consumed with the fact that he could be over lord of everything.

Nereus started walking closer to the thunderbolt. Inhale. Exhale. Step. Step. Heart. Beats. Faster.

“Nereus!” Aphrodite shouted. Nereus ignored her.

“Stupid girl,” he viciously thought. He would take Hades’ helmet and Poseidon’s trident too. Then he would be too powerful to ever be defeated.

Aphrodite could see his eyes. They scared her. They were so red with anger and greed. Zeus would pay.

“Nereus!” Aphrodite screamed at the top of her lungs. Zeus was coming. He was coming so fast. So, so, fast. Aphrodite felt dizzy.

Zeus’s heavy steps shook through the all one stride at a time. Nereus was so close. Zeus was so close. Aphrodite was sprinting with her delicate feet. Nereus’s hair was flying everywhere and Zeus was hurtling towards him. His pearly white hair was whipping his back. Nereus lunged for the thunderbolt. Inches. Centimeters. Millimeters. Zeus was too close. Just a bit closer and Nereus could grasp it. Aphrodite was making an un-god and inhuman noise. Nereus tried to touch the tip. Wind was hurling everything and dust was everywhere. Zeus’s arm was pulled back. The sky lord’s old and worn knuckles collided with the greedy Nereus’ face.

Nereus fell to the floor and buds of pain exploded through his body. He could see a bright light zooming towards him as Hephaestus stormed in and a silver thing was also hurtling toward him. He saw the silver thing reach first.

Aphrodite was going crazy. Wild hair and a waterfall of tears still running down her cheeks.

“No! Stop, no! No!” Aphrodite cried out with her last bit of strength. She was weeping hard. The room was slippery with salty tears. The sword that her husband had thrown dug itself into Nereus. Her love’s blood exploded from him. Time slowed down. Hephaestus was screaming obscenities at Nereus. Aphrodite was shrieking with all her might, cursing the gods and screaming for Nereus. Zeus flexed his muscle. Nereus was as good as dead. His stomach had exploded from the sword and the thunderbolt would finish him off. This man had never changed, never earned his freedom from the curse. Zeus let the bolt go. Hephaestus yelled one more insult, Aphrodite, who was deathly pale, gave one more impossibly painful scream and Zeus granted the dying man a pitiful look. There was a blinding flash of light and everything turned black.

There were still tears on her face when Aphrodite woke up. She was at Hephaestus’ house. Everything hit her like a bomb and she started weeping again. Hephaestus was there. Aphrodite threw herself out of the window and ran for the empty meadow of clouds. She collapsed there and cried. Tears dripped off her face and fell down to Earth.  They fell down to Earth once, twice then pitter-pattering all day. She pounded the ground asking why he had to die. The people where hearing booming and wondering why water was falling from the sky and why the sky was booming.

Hephaestus was waiting behind her. He didn’t say, do or think anything. He just stood there. Aphrodite would take time, but eventually make it.

The Earth had always been sunny. Never dark clouds and rain. Then, Aphrodite started crying and rain happened. Her tears built up as big dark clouds and eventually fell. In the season where Aphrodite thinks the most about Nereus is rainy season. This was the day that rain began.