Immortal Heat (11 page)

 "I'm so sorry, Aglaia! I never imagined Eupompe would go to such extremes," Aphrodite said and hugged her. "If I had known what she was capable of, I never would have sent you. I would have dealt with the woman myself!"

 "It's all right, sister. I am completely recovered. I'm glad you sent me. Otherwise, I—“ Aglaia took a deep breath and finished, "I never would have fallen in love with Hephaestus."

 There! She'd said it. If Aphrodite had any reservations, now was the time for her to speak up. But Aphrodite broke into a wide smile and hugged her again.

 "I'm so happy for you. You know, I sent you to Lemnos hoping your paths would cross, but I never thought it would be under those circumstances. I was worried about him all alone on that island. I had hoped even if you two didn't fall in love, that you would bring him out of his doldrums and encourage him to return to Olympus." Aphrodite plucked a pink rose and handed the blossom to Aglaia. "Hephaestus deserves happiness, and so do you."

 Aglaia sniffed the sweet fragrance. "Thank you, sister, for everything. I believe we have found our happiness in each other."

 After saying farewell, Aglaia hastened from the rose garden. She was anxious to return to Hephaestus' palace and into his arms. She had no intention of leaving his side again...unless Aphrodite sent her on an errand of most importance, like a mission of love.

 THE END

 AFTERWORD

 Immortal Heatis a work of fiction. Aglaia, Aphrodite, Hephaestus, and others, as noted in the Glossary, are found in the original sources of Greek mythology and ancient history; they are not my creations and, while it could be argued that all mythical characters are fictional, they are used fictitiously here. Other characters are my creations and entirely fictional as noted. All names are authentic ancient Greek names, unless otherwise noted. Although I have researched details to the best of my ability, errors are sure to be found. Besides the fact that the myths contradict themselves, I can only say that there is too much material on the subjects of Greek mythology and ancient Greece and too little time to read it all. What I have tried to do is create an entertaining story, and I hope I have succeeded.

 GLOSSARY

 aether— The rarefied air of Mount Olympus.

 aetherize— A word I coined for the immortals' ability to appear and disappear at will. A hint of aether surrounds them whenever they pop in or out.

 Aglaia— See
Charis
. One of the Charites and the heroine of
Immortal Heat
. She is Hephaestus' wife in Hesiod's
Theogony
(one of the oldest original sources for many of the myths, Homer being the oldest source). As Charis, her bright headband is mentioned in Homer's
Iliad
.

 ambrosia— (immortal) The food of the gods. It is said the consumption of ambrosia results in immortality.

 Aphrodite— Goddess of Love and Beauty, former wife of Hephaestus.

 Charis— In the
Iliad
, Charis is Hephaestus' wife. Because Charis (Grace) is the singular of Charites (Graces), I prefer to think that Homer is saying "a Grace" is Hephaestus' wife, not that her actual name is Charis. Therefore, I use Charis as a title for one of the Graces, not a personal name.

 The Charites— The Graces. They personify the best attributes of humanity and bestow the gifts of charm, beauty, and grace upon mortals. They are Aphrodite's attendants, and Aglaia is her personal messenger. Ancient historians give differing accounts of their number, names, and lineage. For the purposes of this story, they are daughters of Zeus and Eurynome, an ocean nymph, and their names are Thalia, Euphrosyne, and Aglaia.

 chiton— A type of dress worn by both women and men in Ancient Greece. There were several styles, but typically the chiton was a tube of material, either linen or light wool, half again as long as the height of the person. The tube slipped over the head and was girted (belted) at the waist. The excess was doubled over to fall over the breast and fastened at one or both shoulders with clasps.

 Croco— One of Queen Eupompe's henchmen. A fictional character.

 Cydippe— Niece of King Euneus of Lemnos, cousin to Tebris, and in love with the Achaean Crown Prince Oileus. A fictional character.

 Dameon— Younger Achaean prince, Oileus' brother, in love with Princess Tebris. A fictional character.

 Euneus— The story of Jason and the Argonauts on the isle of Lemnos is straight from ancient sources. Jason consorted with Queen Hypsipyle who gave birth to twins, Euneus and Nebrophonus, but Jason never returned to Lemnos. Later, Euneus is mentioned as King of Lemnos during the Trojan War and having attended funeral games in Nemea. I couldn't find any further information about whom he or his brother married or any children, so I created them for the purposes of my story.

 Eupompe— Queen of Lemnos, married to King Euneus, mother of Tebris, aunt of Cydippe. A fictional character.

 fillet— A piece of netting in the shape of a scoop that holds the hair on the back of the head. The attaching stephane (crown) goes over the front of the head like an upright headband and holds the fillet in place.

 greave— A piece of armor worn by soldiers to protect the shin.

 Hephaestus— God of Fire and the Forge and hero of
Immortal Heat
. He was married to Aphrodite, but she had an affair with Ares. The story of the trap Hephaestus devised to catch them is told in the
Odyssey
. His two falls from Mount Olympus are related in separate passages in the
Iliad
.

 himation— A cloak or mantle. A large rectangle of material, either linen or wool, worn in many different ways as an outer wrapping. Some men wore only the himation and no chiton.

 ichor— Lifesblood of the immortals.

 Lemnos— An island in the Aegean Sea and part of Greece. In ancient times, Hephaestus had a strong following there. The modern spelling is Limnos.

 Mount Mosychlos— Ancient name for modern Mount Despotis on the island of Limnos (Lemnos).

 Neda— Hephaestus did indeed have serving maids he forged from gold. They are mentioned in the
Iliad
. I gave them the name Neda and their penchant for differing hairstyles.

 Oileus— An Achaean Crown Prince, Dameon's brother, betrothed to Princess Tebris but in love with Cydippe. A fictional character.

 Phlius— One of Queen Eupompe's henchmen. A fictional character.

 stephane— (crown) A metal upright headband that attaches to the fillet.

 Talos— A man of bronze forged by Hephaestus. There are differing stories, but one is that Zeus gave Talos to Europa to be the guard of the island of Crete. The Argonauts, on their return trip from Colchis, landed at Crete. Medea enchanted Talos and pulled out a nail near his ankle that allowed the ichor, the lifesblood of the immortals, to run out and causing his death. Being a creature that Hephaestus created in the first place, I thought Hephaestus should resurrect him.

 Tebris— Princess of Lemnos, cousin to Cydippe, betrothed to Achaean Crown Prince Oileus but in love with his brother Dameon. A fictional character and the only name with which I got creative. Tebris is the feminized version of Tebrus which is an authentic Ancient Greek name. (The
-is
suffix is the feminine of the masculine
-us
.)

 tripod— A three-legged stool, sometimes with a back. The little tripod with an attitude is a fictional character, although based on tripods mentioned in the
Iliad
that Hephaestus had created with ears, to hear his commands, and wheels.

 underlinen— Apparently Ancient Greeks wore the same thing under their chitons that the Scots wore under their kilts: Nothing! But I couldn't imagine a smith getting that close to a fire for any length of time without added protection. Thus, underlinen was born! :) If they didn't wear some kind of underclothes, they should have.

 wedding— Ancient Greek weddings differed according to local tradition. Basically, the marriage was arranged between the couple's parents. After the wedding supper, the groom and his best friend carried off the bride in a cart from her parents' home to his home with the families following on foot holding torches to light the way. At the bride's new home, marriage songs were sung and, at some point, the bride and groom retired to the marriage chamber to celebrate in private.