If I Had Words

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Chapter 80      Chapter 82

“Gods and Goddesses,” Athena began, as the last of the gods found their seats, “I have called you all here to ascertain the proper judgment of this mortal.” Athena indicated Psyche’s body lying on the couch, now in the center of the room. 

Groans were heard among the gods.

“Have you really assembled us here to discuss the fate of a mortal?” Apollo said, standing. “I have better things to do, Athena.”

Athena smiled. 

“This is Eros’s wife,” she said simply.

Apollo looked at Eros with surprise. 

“Finally felt the point of your own arrow, Eros?” Apollo said bitterly.

“How does this concern us?” Poseidon asked. “Her spirit is clearly in the Underworld and unless Hades is feeling particularly generous, which he never is, that’s the end of it.”

Before anyone could say another word Athena continued. 

“Gods and Goddesses, if you will permit me the opportunity, I will lay before you the whole story and let you judge for yourselves. By the end, I will prove to you that it is in our best interest to restore this woman to Eros, not as a mortal — but as a goddess,” she said.

The murmur rose to a roar.

Impossible!

“If you will, Council,” Athena said, breaking through the din, “I would like to call Aphrodite forward to explain the state of this mortal.” 

Aphrodite stood, confident. She was more than prepared to face Athena. 

Head high, Aphrodite stepped forward.

“Honored Council,” Aphrodite said, “I apologize that such a trivial matter has been brought to your attention. Indeed, I have taken care of this matter and move to dismiss this whole thing completely.” 

“Well, I’m curious,” Persephone said. 

Aphrodite stiffened. 

“Proceed,” Hades said. 

The entire council looked at the God of the Underworld. 

Rarely did he ever speak. 

Aphrodite scowled.

“It is my duty to safeguard love and beauty,” Aphrodite continued grudgingly. “These qualities are meant to be admired, shared, and enjoyed among mortals. 

“However, this mortal drew my attention because she started stealing away worshippers from my temple altars. She made people think she was a goddess. They began giving her tokens. They even built a shrine to her. 

“Did this mortal stop the misplaced worship? Did she correct the blasphemy? No. She let it grow. It grew until our own temples lay bare while hers enjoyed great numbers.”

There was a hum of disapproval for Psyche.

“If left unchecked, every pretty face would imagine herself a goddess,” Aphrodite said, encouraged by the council’s support. “It is my duty to protect these powers and see that they are not abused.”

“This all sounds very reasonable, Athena. What is the point of this? ” Zeus said, barely masking his annoyance. Various other members of the council vocalized their agreement.

“Dear council,” Athena said. “This is not a straightforward case. This mortal is not just a pretty face.

“We didn’t know the full potential of mortals when Prometheus and I first created them. And yet, here we stand considering the true height of their potential.”

Zeus looked uncomfortable. He had been happy for the creation of mortals. They had been a great addition — weak and easy to manage. That is, until Prometheus gave them fire. 

Now Athena was trying to suggest they could be meant for more. 

Zeus’s eyes met Hera’s. She seemed to share his concern. She was usually good at knowing how to maintain balance and control. If only she wasn’t so vengeful towards his lovers, she would be the perfect queen.

“This is very concerning,” Hera said carefully.“It might be worth understanding whether this can get out of control.”

“Alright,” Zeus said. “Let’s continue.” 

”Thank you,” Athena said to Zeus.

Athena turned back to Aphrodite. 

“When you discovered this mortal getting so much attention, what did you do to punish her?” Athena asked.

“Considering all of my options, and learning from the mistakes of others,” Aphrodite said, eyeing Athena with a haughty air, “I decided to ask Eros to make her fall in love with someone who would sufficiently humble her. If she wanted to use her powers wrongly, I felt it only fitting that a fellow abuser should be her match.”

“Notice, Council, that Aphrodite designed the punishment around pairing her with someone who equally abuses love,” Athena said, getting back to the flow of the trial. “The purpose being to humble her and send a clear message.”

Aphrodite couldn’t help feeling annoyed at Athena’s formality.

“Did Eros find such a person?” Athena asked.

“There was a mix up,” Aphrodite said.

“Oh, really?” Athena said. “Did Eros misfire? Accidentally hit the wrong person? Did someone get in his way?”

There were a few chuckles in the crowd. Apollo especially appreciated the joke. 

“I believe you’ve already stated that this is Eros’s wife,” Aphrodite said, replacing irritation with resolve. “What is your point Athena?” 

“Eros,” Athena called. “Step forward.”

Eros rose and joined Athena and Aphrodite at the center of the room. 

“Eros,” Athena said. “Did you marry this mortal?”

“Yes,” Eros said. 

He wasn’t sure where Athena was going with all of this, but he hoped he wouldn’t get in too much trouble.  

“Who here in this company has ever felt the sting of Eros’s arrow?” Athena said, facing the crowd with a flourish. “How many of us have been made to look the fool, falling in love against our will and going mad with desire? Eros has not been above misusing his powers, even for his own petty squabbles. 

“Wouldn’t you agree, Apollo?”

“Even Zeus, king of the gods,” Athena said mockingly, “has not been spared the humiliation and degradation of an arrow loosed by Eros.

“If Aphrodite wanted to punish this mortal for misusing her powers of love, can we think of any creature more fitting? Any creature who has toyed with it and abused it more?”

The room momentarily hummed as the gods reacted in various degrees to Athena’s words. 

“She was never meant for Eros!” Aphrodite said, stepping towards Athena. “He was supposed to find someone vile, someone revolting. That would be someone who could sufficiently humble her.”

Athena smiled.

“So why didn’t you find someone more to your mother’s liking, Eros?” Athena asked. “Why didn’t you do your mother’s bidding and find a vile suitor — someone who would make this mortal think twice before attracting worshippers again?” 

Eros stood absently gazing at Psyche on the couch. She hadn’t deserved any of this.  

“Eros?” Athena said, interrupting his thoughts.

“I couldn’t find one,” Eros said, looking at Athena. 

“What do you mean?” Athena said, growing serious now.

“There wouldn’t have been anyone who would have sufficiently humbled her. Psyche would have changed him,” Eros said.

“Go on,” Athena said.

“I took some time observing Psyche, trying to understand her well enough to select a proper suitor. Mother wanted me to punish her for her pride and vanity, but everything I observed showed me otherwise. Psyche loved everyone and everything around her. She would have even loved her tormentor,” Eros said. 

“But that was the point, wasn’t it? To make her love some monster and live out the rest of her life in misery?” Athena said.

“Her love is different. It changes people,” Eros said. “It changed me.”

“Explain,” Athena said.

Eros sighed. It was difficult being so open about his feelings to anyone except Psyche. To have to do it in front of the entire council was extremely uncomfortable. 

This was the only way to help Psyche.  

“I was touched by Psyche’s love for people and didn’t feel it would be right to simply give her over to someone who didn’t deserve her. I knew my mother wanted her to be punished, so we made an agreement. I would marry Psyche, but I would keep her in the dark. She would never know my true identity. I was to make her believe I was a monster,” Eros said.

“And did it work? Was this mortal made to believe you were a monster and able to be sufficiently punished?” Athena asked. 

“She never saw me as a monster,” he said. “She didn’t like the dark, but she wasn’t afraid of me. I made a few feeble attempts to convince her that I was a monster. 

“She loved me anyway.”

“How did it feel?” Athena said. “To be loved by such a person?”

“It — It was like nothing I’d ever experienced before,” Eros said. “It’s no secret that with my powers I could have any woman I desire. I have not always been honorable in the use of my powers. I even admit that I owe many of you in this room an apology.”

A murmur rippled through the council room.

Eros? Apologizing? 

“Having the love of this woman,” Eros said, looking down at Psyche, “has completely changed me. She is forgiving. She is generous. I watched her over and over again demonstrate her love for others. It was good. It was pure. She was willing to struggle and sacrifice when others needed her.

“She didn’t know who I was. It wouldn’t have mattered. I could have been the ugliest, the vilest creature and she would have loved me anyway.”

“What happened, Eros? What happened between you and Psyche?” Athena asked.

Eros looked down. It was all so silly now.

“I cast her out,” Eros said. “I returned her to her home.” 

“Why?” Athena asked.

“She lit a lamp and looked at me,” Eros said. “According to the agreement with my mother, she couldn’t stay with me if she knew who I was.”

“And then what happened?” Athena asked.

“She came to my oracle,” Aphrodite said, cutting in and trying to take back control. “She asked to be reunited with Eros, but she needed to settle things with me first.” 

“And what was your objective in settling things with this mortal?” Athena asked.

“I knew she was not worthy to be Eros’s wife. She is totally and completely unworthy of his love,” Aphrodite said. “I needed him to see it for himself.” 

“And how did you plan to do that?”  Athena asked.

“By putting her through a series of tests, giving her tasks which she would need to complete,” Aphrodite said.

“And how would that show Eros that she was unworthy?” Athena asked.

“By her inability to perform them herself. He would see how weak she is, how incapable of matching him. He needed to see that she is completely beneath him,” Aphrodite said, beginning to raise her tone. 

Aphrodite pointed at Psyche’s lifeless form. 

“As you can see,” Aphrodite said, triumphant, “she has failed. She is undeserving — unworthy to be married to a god.” 

The whole room could sense Aphrodite’s malice for this mortal. Psyche was a defeated foe and, still, Aphrodite hated her. 

“How many tasks did you give her to perform?” Athena asked.

“Three,” Aphrodite said, still proud. 

“And she failed the first task?” Athena said.

Aphrodite glared at Athena. 

“No. But she clearly cheated,” Aphrodite said. 

Athena moved away from the center, drawing attention to the audience.

“Do we have any witnesses to the first task?” she asked.

“Ho!” Phobos said, eagerly making his way to the front. Deimos followed close behind. 

Harmonia also stepped forward.

“What was the first task and why were you there?” Athena said.

“The first task was to sort and organize one of Mother’s granaries. She had made quite a mess of it,” Phobos said. 

“We were there because Mother gave us permission,” Deimos said. 

Aphrodite glared at her boys. 

“Gave you permission to do what?”  Athena asked. 

“To help,” Deimos shrugged.

“And how did she expect the Gods of Dread and Panic to help this mortal sort the grain?” Athena asked.

“By using our powers, I guess,” Phobos said, looking at his brother and then back at Athena. 

“And did you use your powers to help her?” Athena said.

“Yes, we did,” Deimos said.

“Really?” Athena said. “How so?

“Well, we worked with the ants, made enough of them and then scared them to go help with the sorting,” Deimos said.

“Why? Why help this mortal?” Athena asked.

“Well, to be honest, as horrible as we are most of the time, there was something about the way Eros brooded and sulked that took the fun out of making her fail,” Phobos said. “It was more fun helping her succeed.” 

“Interesting,” Athena said. “And did Psyche cheat in any way as she worked to complete the task?” 

“No,” Harmonia said, taking the opportunity to speak. “We had agreed with Mother from the beginning that she could have help from anyone but Eros. And, those helping would have to be willing and not compelled.”

“Well, surely she must have failed at the second task then. What task was she given to perform?” Athena asked.

“She had to gather golden fleece from the corrupted, man-eating descendents of Chrysomallos,” Harmonia said.  

“Surely she failed at that task,” Athena said, scoffing.

“She succeeded,” Harmonia said.

“But she cheated,” Athena said.

“No,” Harmonia said.

“So far, I’m not sure you’re reaching your goal of proving this mortal unworthy, Aphrodite,” Athena said, coming back to the center and facing her. 

Aphrodite maintained her composure. Why get riled up when she had already won? The evidence was there on the couch. Things had worked out even better than she had planned. 

“It was in the third and final task where she failed,” Aphrodite said, confidently. “And really, it was the truest test.”

“Indeed?” Athena said. “What was her third and final test?”

“Yes, tell us, Goddess of Beauty,” Persephone said, rising. “What was the third task you gave this mortal?” 

Aphrodite faltered. 

“What was it?” Athena repeated.

Aphrodite straightened.

“To get some of Persephone’s beauty,” Aphrodite said. “But it’s not what you think.” 

“Oh?” Persephone said.

“Explain,” Athena said. 

“This final task was specifically designed to test her qualities as a mock goddess. Did she possess those qualities necessary to live among us? Would she be worthy enough for my son? Or would she reveal her true self?” Aphrodite said. “As you can see, she has revealed herself. She is weak and lacking in the necessary qualities. She is unable to handle even a small dose of the beauty of a goddess.”

Gaining confidence, Aphrodite continued.

“She is not worthy of the admiration the mortals gave her,” she said. “She is flawed, susceptible to fears and insecurities which plague all mortals. She is unable to pull them to greater heights and inspire them as we can.”

She turned to the council. 

“Her failure is nothing more than a revelation of the truth,” Aphrodite said, spreading her arms. “She is where she belongs —

“– in the Underworld.” 

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