"My dear children, receive your Father's gift!"
The God-King lifted His hand slightly; golden-white lightning tracings spread across the air, and the Heavenly Order began to turn like a loom.
Zeus's holy, majestic voice rose: "Aglaea—my daughter of glory.
"I will grant you the honor of 'Splendor'! From this day, all beauty of attire, implements, and palaces shall be brought forth because of you!
"Amid the vast starry sky, you may cast forth the coronet in your hand; wherever it falls will be your own domain-palace of divinity.
"I shall have the Cyclopes forge for you that radiant coronet. I pledge you this blessing: beneath your crown, all mortal things may make a name for themselves—each receiving its due light and its due renown!"
"Euphrosyne—my daughter of goodness.
"I shall grant you as well the office of 'Harmony and Joy'! From this day, all festivals, rites, and oaths in the cosmos must be performed under your blessing—so that solemnity is not withered, and joy keeps its measure!
"Upon the broad earth I will grant you a 'Fountain of Laughter.' Any being who drinks of it shall have happiness and joy abide upon their hearts, and any sorrow that reaches your hem shall turn into song and dance.
"The Cyclopes will likewise forge the artifact most fitting for you; a bell of delight shall be placed in your hand. I bless you that this beauteous sound can awaken the instinct for joy hidden deep in every heart. Beneath your music, all beings shall reap hope and calm."
"Thalia—oh, my lovely treasure.
"I will grant you the honor of 'Feasting'! From this day, all public banquets, public sacrifices, and public celebrations must be held under your witness—you shall have the right to partake first of all offerings!
"My dear child, I will set aside for you on Olympus a domain of your own, and build for you a bounteous flower-granary that encompasses every kind of blossom and grain from past, present, and future.
"As your private garden, it shall be a paradise of eternal harvest, never to wither.
"Of course, my treasure, your artifact is indispensable—a Flower-Vine Scepter shall be your emblem.
"Where this scepter points, desolation shall turn into a banquet; when its bud blooms, fruit of plenty shall ripen in an instant. When you wield your scepter, a 'Garden of Ever-Blooming Celebration' shall appear before you, a festive garden under your sole command!
"Thalia, this is your exclusive domain of joy. I promise you shall forever hold unpolluted, authentic delight.
"I shall also grant you three layers of sacred, inviolable privilege: your names shall not be shamed; your love shall not be forced; your palaces shall not be trespassed!
"Lastly, I shall grant each of you thirty star nymphs to be your choir, and another thirty youthful ocean nymphs to be your attendants!
"Let starlight lead your way, and waves sing your harmony—wherever you arrive, may there be songs to sing and paths to walk!"
Zeus's voice echoed upon the firmament, becoming a vast, final proclamation: "My dear children! I say to you, and to all beings in this universe: when you hold fast to the justice and goodness I have established, then honor, joy, and happiness will follow in turn!
"Goodness shall be repaid! Virtue shall be honored!"
When the God-King's cascade of generous grants fell silent, the Temple of Wisdom was quiet for a beat, then filled to overflowing with joy.
Metis's eyes shimmered; her heart held a happiness and comfort beyond words.
Eurynome's divine heart-field was completely drenched by the sweetest god-honey; every inch of her divinity breathed fragrance.
The three newborn Grace-maidens were already all smiles, dancing with delight.
Looking up at their Father, their three limpid gazes shone with crystal-pure, unalloyed devotion and worship.
With a rush, they again became three fairest springs, circling their great Father, and offered strings of the merriest, loveliest words of intimate thanks like beads without end.
A godly family's harmony—the scene was warm enough to melt the hardest ice in the universe.
After a brief tender interlude, Zeus, upon the divine network channel, issued to all gods the most solemn proclamation:
First, he declared that the daughter of Ocean, Eurynome, Mistress of Pure Water, under the witness of the gods, had formally become His fifth wife—her station holy and not to be violated.
Second, he declared the sacred honors and offices of the three Graces—Aglaea, Euphrosyne, and Thalia—who would bring radiant glory, joyous goodness, and fair abundance to the universe.
The oracle rang to the eight quarters, and all gods heard the two glad tidings.
Then upon Olympus's peak he invited the gods of the universe to a grand celebration, and formally introduced his beloved wife and dear daughters to all deities.
Even the Ocean-god couple, under confinement, were invited and permitted to come to Olympus.
From that day, a brocade named "Grace" was gently spread upon the foundation of cosmic order.
Gentleness would bear abundance; honor would guard laughter.
Law would be remembered, beauty would take its form, goodness would bear its fruit, and honor would shine its light.
The universe would only be fairer hereafter.
The scale of the celebration was so great that even Prometheus and Epimetheus—busy on earth to the point their feet scarcely touched the ground for the newborn humans—and Zeus's nine dear daughters, the Muses, were all summoned back to Olympus.
After nearly two years of careful teaching by these eleven mighty deities, the newborn humans had at last learned, in rough fashion, how to stumble along alive upon that broad and dangerous earth.
And, with the law of death not yet perfected, not a single one of the original million-plus newborn humans had died.
Because their time was short, and because of the "Heavenly Fire" granted jointly by Zeus and Hestia as protection, and the personal care of the eleven deities,
though some poor humans ran into unheard-of oddities—born of their precious, wisdom-sprung curiosity—
leading some to fates hard to accept—missing a part here, or growing an extra there—fortunately, no irreparable tragedies occurred.
After all, Prometheus, the "chief engineer," was beside them.
Even if some rash one was missing a piece, or had grown something strange by mistake, it was but a trifle he could fix with a pinch of his hand.
At the feast, under the gods' gaze, Zeus presented Eurynome and the three newborn daughters with due ceremony.
Afterward, he solemnly recognized the great merits of the Prometheus brothers, Metis, and his dear Muse daughters in creating and educating humankind,
and, according to merit, gave all participants most significant grants.
Zeus specifically announced the lifting of the confinement earlier imposed upon the Ocean-god couple, Oceanus and Tethys,
and fully pardoned Atlas, the fierce Titan who had stayed quietly in Ocean.
He did not, however, grant him any honor; as for honors, they would await later conduct. For now he was a god without portfolio.
For the great gods of Olympus, ordinary material rewards had long lost their meaning.
Thus, apart from authority and honor, there were truly few things that could be deemed a grant.
The most important, and the one gods prized most, was the chance to receive pardon after a transgression.
For most were somewhat free in character and might, in a moment's whim, offend the sacred order set by the God-King.
No one wished to be punished for a bout of caprice, so the chance of pardon was the most precious, practical reward.
All the more for Prometheus.
He had some self-knowledge.
In his bones, he was no god who stuck strictly to the rules!
Above all, he had long wished to find a way to free his father and brothers.
Now, by his own merit, to win the elder brother Atlas's pardon was already quite good.
As for his father and second brother—he would seek chances by and by.
Seated upon the highest throne, Zeus, after announcing many matters, let his golden eyes sweep the gods' various expressions, and pondered in his heart.
In his view, honor was not a thing to be given lightly.
For once granted, it was essentially an eternal gift.
Unless a sin of the most heinous sort was committed, he would not recall authority and honor already bestowed.
Even if a transgressing god were cast into the river of the Underworld to sleep, or made to suffer some torment or hardship, such punishments were usually temporary—not to the point of stripping one's fundamental honor.
Zeus would never lightly employ such a measure as "depriving of honor."
This was the severest penalty after casting one into Tartarus; if abused, it would only diminish his credibility and majesty as supreme God-King.
The balance of kingship has two pans: one holds grace, one bears awe. Knowing when to fill which—that is the true art of rule.
For all wise beings, the sight of a grant indeed stirs longing and leads to order; yet fear of "loss" often shapes a deeper reverence.
Compared to gaining new things, losing what one has is always more painful, and harder to accept.
A god may covet, but he will not, for the sake of his own loss, force himself into greed.
Granting and taking—these are the most important powers in a sovereign's hand.
Yet neither is an end in itself. They are means to the final end of "order," reins that make the multitude more obedient, more willing.
Whether the hope of reward, or the fear of punishment, their greatest effect is always before they truly arrive.
Thus, the way of kingship lies in prudent use of supreme royal power.
When the feast ended, Zeus gave special instructions to the nine gold-crowned goddesses.
He gently bade them that, after they had taught humans the basic skills of survival, they must return to Olympus and not intervene too deeply in humanity's own development.
Under their personal care, humans would never learn to walk on their own.
As for the Prometheus brothers, they could still go to the mortal world to watch over humankind.
Moreover, Zeus gave Prometheus a new, pivotal task—to teach mortals how they should revere the gods.
Humans were the only intelligent life then in the mortal world.
Aside from them were the gods, high above.
As for the lowly beings not yet awakened or enlightened, the gods cared not at all.
In every sense the gulf between them and gods was like heaven and earth, not worth special attention.
Though even humans were hardly in the gods' notice now—and only after this day might some gods pay a little more heed—
for fragile and tiny humans, learning how to deal rightly with the gods would be the most important lesson.
The gods can grant; the gods can take away.
Only what humans create by their own hands and wisdom may truly belong to humankind.
Sadly, from their birth to the present, all that humans had was a grant from the God-King.
Though they also possessed that most precious thing—the wisdom to grow freely—humans were far too insignificant.
Between gods and men, nothing at all could be placed on equal scales.
What should be the relation of man and god?
For humanity, barely upon the road of civilization, this would be the weightiest, most serious, and most vital lesson.
Yet, to Zeus's surprise, Epimetheus requested to remain on Olympus for a time.
As for tending humankind, he said he was a bit fatigued and wished to rest a little.
This request made Zeus study him several times, thoughts racing.
Only after three full scans of the mind did he discover that the fellow's gaze had been sneaking, all along, toward the celebration's leading figures—his three newborn, peerlessly lovely daughters.
Which made Zeus marvel: Prometheus's ideas he could see through in a glance.
But this Epimetheus truly had a peculiar mind—Zeus had to look three times to make sense of those strange brain-circuits!
Indeed, Epimetheus had changed targets!
Together with the nine Muses, he had taught humans for nearly two years.
In those two years, he had spent three parts of his heart on teaching humans—and seven parts on courting the Muses.
Energetic he truly was, and active indeed; only he was both greedy and lacking in perseverance.
In these past two years he had tried to move Calliope with his own made-up, rhyme-less doggerel; had tried to please Terpsichore with awkward, odd dance steps;
had even used his own error-riddled star charts to "popularize science" to Urania about the cosmos's mysteries.
The results could only be called disastrous.
Today he pursued this goddess of the arts for two days; tomorrow he flattered that goddess of science for two days. Once it failed, he immediately switched targets.
The outcome, naturally—nothing to show for it.
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