Chaos and Love conceived but a single child, a
daughter spherical in shape and white like an artistÕs blank canvas. Earth, as she was called, born naked and alone, created Sky
for a companion and to cover her bare body.
Soon Earth and Sky became lovers, but they only produced
terrible things, like monsters with a hundred heads and a hundred hands apiece,
or oafish giants each with just one huge and hideous eye. The twelve Titans, some personifications
of the worldÕs natural disasters, reeked havoc on land and sea.
Sky was a
horrible husband and father. He
hated his children and imprisoned the most monstrous of them inside of the
earth herself. This angered their
mother Earth, for she loved all her children, man and monster alike.
And so
Earth devised a plan to destroy her heartless husband. From very sharp stone she fashioned a
scythe, a tool used for cutting crops, which has a large, hook-shaped blade
attached to a wooden handle. When
Earth asked the Titans for assistance, all were too scared to step up to their
father except for the youngest, Cronus, and together they conspired to sneak up
on the sky while he slept.
One
night, as Sky lay in bed with Earth, the child snuck up on his unsuspecting
father and castrated him with the scythe.
In a single, painful swoop Cronus sliced off his fatherÕs genitals and
tossed the dismembered body into the sea. It floated but did not drift,
bleeding below the sea while at the surface foaming neatly into the form of a
beautiful maiden. Indeed, as
bubbles blown upwards through the surface of the sea, so through this soapy
shape of a woman stood forth the aerial Aphrodite, goddess of love and
beauty. A soft breeze carried her
to the Isle of Cyprus.
Wherever the goddess stepped, her footprints turned into the freshest
grass or grew to flowers just in-bloom.
Dressed
only in a flowery robe and still dripping from the sea, Aphrodite followed the
seasons to the palace of Zeus.
She wore nothing else, save a carefully draped tunic of satin hair,
which fell below her knees and was more yellow than daffodils. As she looked around the great throne
room, where the gods now assembled to meet her, Aphrodite arched her neck back
and laughed with pure joy.
Hera
watched the scene with narrow eyes.
ÒYou must marry her off,Ó she whispered to her husband.
ÒYes,Ó
said Zeus. ÒA marriage of some
sort does seem like a logical thing to do. Brothers, sons, cousins,Ó he called, ÒAphrodite will be
married, and she will choose her own husband. Come and see me if you are interested in courting her.Ó With that the gods gathered hastily
around her, boasting and bragging,
promising to do this and that for her.
The
earth-shaking Poseidon swung his trident to and fro until he cleared a space
around himself for a crowd to gather.
ÒI claim you for my own,Ó he said.
ÒYou are born from the sea and thus belong to the sea. I offer you grottoes and lagoons. I will give you all the precious gems
and pearls in the world. I will
tell you my deepest secrets. You
will have more riches and power than anyone on land could ever know. Come with me. Be my queen.Ó
Thus
speaking, Poseidon slammed his trident on the floor. A tidal wave, green and tongue-like, swelled out of the sea
as if to lick up Olympus itself.
Then Poseidon raised his trident, and the mighty wave subsided into
barely a ripple. He bowed towards
Aphrodite, who smiled simply at the gesture but said nothing.
Other
gods then offered their own great gifts.
Apollo promised to give his queen a crown and throne of sun-gold, a
golden chariot drawn by white swans, and a band of several sisters to serve as
her handmaids. Hermes offered to
crown her queen of crossroads, whereto sit upon a throne and be told adventure
tales and the latest gossip so that she would never grow bored. Again, Aphrodite smiled politely
at her suitors but said nothing.
When
every eligible bachelor had stepped forward and Aphrodite had yet to accept an
offer, Hera was sufficiently annoyed.
She dragged her loathed son Hephaestus from where he had been hiding
behind the others. Into his ear
she hissed, ÒSpeak, fool. Tell her
exactly what I told you to say.Ó
Hephaestus
limped forward, greatly embarrassed by Hera, and stood before the radiant
Aphrodite. With his eyes cast down
he said, ÒI would make a good husband.
I work late.Ó
For the
first time Aphrodite smiled.
Though she still said nothing, she lifted the blacksmithÕs chin with her
fingers and kissed him on the forehead.
That
night Aphrodite and Hephaestus were married. At the wedding party she finally spoke, or rather whispered,
to each of her suitors when he might come to her with his gift.