Page 29 of Meduso
“Gods and mortals value beauty. If you have beauty, you will go far in their world. Kings only marry the most beautiful of women. Gods take the form of mortals in the world and mate only with those that are the most alluring. Even gods only marry goddesses that are pleasing to the eye and vice versa. Being beautiful and knowing you possess beauty will allow you to understand the power you truly hold. You can captivate, charm, and get your way with anyone. Manipulate others to fulfill your desires. Coax them into doing things to your own advantage.”
She seductively pressed her hands against my body once again. “You, brother, have that beauty. Your looks will tempt gods and make mortals jealous. Any male or female would flock to you in a heartbeat. They would sacrifice much in order to bed you. The fact that you charmed a son of Zeus speaks volumes.”
My face began to turn red, slightly embarrassed at her flattery.
“Never forget this, Meduso. For if there is something you truly desire in life, you need to use your beauty to your benefit. Use it to get whatever you want out of others.”
I couldn’t picture myself deceiving others for my own selfish gains. It was not like me at all. But I would do as Echidna had instructed and listen to her advice and remember it forever.
Who knows? It could help me in a desperate time of need.
Chapter 7
I departed Echidna’s cave and reached the Arima mountain top. When I closed my eyes, I was transported to a new land. Euryale and Stheno were now in front of me.
“Did you get what you needed out of our sister?” Stheno asked.
“Yes,” I replied.
“Good. Now come. Athena’s temple is just yonder,” she stated.
We pressed onward, and I was able to make out the temple on the Acropolis, in the distance. Its columns were massive, made of the purest limestone. The structure stood tall, rising above the fields of grass below. As we got closer, I noticed that it wasn’t just one temple I was staring at. There were four buildings fortified by high walls.
“Which one is the temple of Athena?” I whispered into Euryale’s ear.
She chuckled at my ignorance as we ascended the marble stairs.
“They all are, silly. The smaller building to the right of us is the temple of Athena Nike. Straight ahead is Propylaea, the gateway into Acropolis.” We passed under the archway and stood in the atrium of Acropolis. Here, we saw many priestesses and priests strolling by in their white tunics. Their clothes were so clean you could practically eat off of them. Three of the young ladies that passed by us huddled together and giggled. They were no doubt making insulting comments about our lesser quality beige garments, I imagined.
However, I would never know that they were actually smitten with me. Their snickering was not to make fun of us, but was because of their attraction towards me.
Who is he? Look at that golden hair!
Those arms and legs! Good gods!
He’s mine! Back off!
Those were some of the comments they exchanged with one another in secrecy.
Euryale then tapped me on the shoulder and nodded her head in the direction of the largest of the temples that were north of us. “That’s the Parthenon, which you’ve heard all about from the Graeae, and the structure next to that is our sleeping quarters.”
The Parthenon was even larger than I had imagined. It was described to me as being the main temple on the Acropolis, but I had not anticipated just how enormous it truly was. Hard to believe that all of these buildings were devoted to one goddess. I scanned the area and then to my left I saw a statue of Athena, holding a spear in her left hand and a shield in her right one.
What a sight she was. I could sense the pride and wisdom the monument itself invoked. Of all the gods and goddesses I was selected to serve, I was pleased that it was Athena, rather than an intimidating god like Ares or even a dull one like Hephaestus. Of all Zeus’s children, Athena was no doubt the most popular one and well-liked by mortals. Being a goddess of wisdom, courage, inspiration, and victory and strategy in war was easy for humans to find so appealing. These were values that mortals held to the highest regard. With this goddess possessing and perfecting all of them, patrons were more eager to serve the deity.
“And who might you all be?” a strange, cracking voice called from behind.
My sisters and I turned around abruptly to see the old woman who questioned us. Her skin was sagging and wrinkly. Her clothing was a bit different from the other priestesses, in that it was saffron yellow. The golden, bejeweled circlet that rested on her head also caught my admiring eye.
Stheno spoke up for us. “We are the daughters and son of Phorcys and Ceto. I am Stheno. This is my younger sister, Euryale and our younger brother, Meduso. We have come to serve Athena.”
“Ahhh! We have been expecting you three. I am Eschara, the high priestess of Athena. Come! Follow me.” The hunched woman slowly paced ahead of us. Euryale and I shrugged to one another, but once we saw Stheno was already trailing behind her, we decided to follow.
She led us into the Parthenon. There were countless rooms in this temple. I was beginning to seem unsure of myself, wondering how I could possibly get used to navigating this labyrinth. I would need to study and pay attention very carefully if I wanted to please Athena.
Eschara led us to the far back of the temple and we entered a chamber. There were golden shrines and carved images of various famous Greek heroes, heroines, and creatures from the tales I’ve learned about. A giant altar was at the front of the room. My sisters and I were led there and told to kneel on it. We followed her instructions.
“Now, close your eyes and stay put.”
