M³ Thunderbolt Aftershock

When you brag about sexually conquering a goddess, you can expect Zeus to be ticked off. He hurls a thunderbolt down at Anchises. Zeus, it must be said, is a good aim with his thunderbolts. They are his weapon of choice and has had to face down many titanic opponents (including his father) with them. He’s not going to miss. So it’s a safe bet that Anchises is a dead man.

F³ Instinctive Listening

“Leo and I have been having trouble. He doesn’t understand the pressure at work, I have. Every time I’m home it just seems like we start fighting. It’s just where I’m at right now, you know? It wasn’t even supposed to be my job, but the company laid off someone, and they need someone to do the job. I’m on my way home, this time, but I still have to teleconference and submit a plan, tomorrow.

M³ Mortal Love

If the affair was orchestrated by Aphrodite, well, she’s mostly satisfying her own lust, and possibly just emulating dear old (adopted) dad by chasing after mortals.

This particular mortal is Anchises, a prince of Troy. And whether it was Aphrodite acting alone or Zeus manipulating the chess pieces, Aphrodite eventually reveals herself to be a goddess to Anchises. She warns him, though, that he can’t tell anyone he’s sleeping with a goddess, or Zeus will get angry and strike him down.

F³ Filling The Void

I returned to my seat, smiling and nodding at Mikey’s mom. She looked skeptical, but had lulled her daughter into some semblance of exhausted sleep on her shoulder, and the baby was still asleep, so she didn’t say anything.

I picked up my book, ready to dive back in to Marlowe waxing on about blondes again, when the woman at the window seat spoke.

M³ Arranged Affair

Stories vary about the exact circumstances of this. Some say Zeus set up Aphrodite to fall in love, others say she chose out and seduced the mortal. If it was Zeus who set it up, we have to explore the exact reasons for this given how he called Hephaestus a fool.

F³ Reparation

We left the row, moving up to the first row where the grandmother was sitting, reading a large print book.

“Excuse me,” I smiled. “My name’s Matt, and this is my associate Mikey. We were wondering if we could get your help.”

M³ Sex & Marriage

Aphrodite will not be tamed, even by Zeus. He decided to give her to Hephaestus to try and keep her contained and to get Hephaestus to make him all the good toys, especially his thunderbolts. Hephaestus, inspired by Aphrodite’s great beauty, makes her legendary girdle, a belt woven of gold that enhances her beauty even more. It is so potent that, on occasion, Hera borrows the girdle so that she can entice Zeus into bed instead of going off and having another affair.

F³ A Cunning Plan

I hit the button for the flight attendant, then leaned over to get the attention of Mikey’s Mom, who was still cradling the infrequently sobbing girl.
“Mind if I borrow that?” I pointed at the doll and its head.

She gave the barest of nods.

M³ Seashells on The Seashore

After hitting the Bible pretty hard, let’s move on to lighter fare. I have been putting off a deep analysis of the goddess of love, Aphrodite. Every treatment I’ve seen of her in articles, film, and fiction has tended to treat her as somewhat vapid and very one-dimensional, but that portrayal is similar to many analyses of Zeus. However, like Zeus, when we look at the totality of her myths, a bigger, more revealing picture of her begins to emerge.

F³ Penance

“Matthew,” Nikki chided me, “I must protest your storytelling. While somewhat engaging, it seems as if you draw your stories out unnecessarily. This story feels as if it’s been going on for a year.”

I shrugged. “I can stop here.”

She glowered at me.