The spectacle of Apollo's undignified pursuit seemed to have whetted the appetite of the newborn Eros. He drew several more Golden Arrows from his quiver, his eyes scanning the assembled deities in the Great Temple with mischievous anticipation.
The gods immediately went into a state of high alert. The chaste goddesses, led by Athena, were particularly wary; they had sworn sacred oaths of eternal maidenhood. If one were struck by an arrow of love and forced to break such a vow, the cosmic consequences would be catastrophic.
Just as the assembly was debating how to restrain this lawless little demon-god, Aphrodite stepped forward.
"Eros, my child... come here. Come to your mother."
The golden-haired goddess of matchless beauty opened her arms. Her azure eyes, mirroring those of the boy, softened with a rare touch of maternal warmth as she called to her scion.
"Mother!"
Hearing her call, Eros turned with a look of pure, unadulterated joy. His small white wings fluttered as he shot toward her like a swallow returning to its nest. He dove into Aphrodite's embrace, sighing with contentment at her touch.
Aphrodite cradled him, her movements slightly stiff as she stroked his pink curls. Her gaze flickered with a complex web of calculations. After a moment, she walked toward Zeus, carrying the child.
"Great King, Sovereign of the High Council," she began, her tone formal and heavy with intent. "In my name as the Goddess of Love and Beauty and as one of the twelve Primary Deities of Olympus, I request that I be allowed to share my seat on the High Council with my son, Eros, the God of Lust."
Share a seat? The gods were taken aback. Such a proposal was unprecedented.
However, the sharper minds in the room quickly deduced her reasoning. To birth this child, Aphrodite had overdrawn her Primal Essence to the point of exhaustion. Her rank had fallen to the First-Tier; her own divine power over Desire was likely a mere fragment of what it once was, the bulk of it transferred to her son.
A First-Tier deity occupying a High Council seat, and a Mistress of Love who could no longer command the heart—either point was enough to invite resentment and challenge from the other gods. By tethering Eros to her seat, she ensured the Temple of Love and Beauty retained its absolute authority. With Eros's power to manipulate the emotions of the divine, their combined faction would be more feared and respected than ever.
"...Two gods sharing a single seat? There is no precedent for this," Zeus noted, his gaze lingering on Aphrodite. He felt a flicker of renewed respect; it seemed that beyond her vanity, the goddess possessed a functioning tactical mind.
"Father," Athena interjected, her luminous eyes fixed on the child. "Aphrodite's power has waned due to labor; alone, she may struggle to uphold the dignity of her office. Since Eros wields the same-origin power of Desire, the nature of the seat remains unchanged. Sharing the position is a viable compromise. Perhaps, in matters of voting, the two of them might simply count as half a vote each."
Zeus hesitated, weighing whether to bring this unpredictable, childlike power into his inner circle.
"Father," Athena whispered, leaning closer, "Eros's power is absolute. If he is tied to the Council... he is tied to you." She gave him a knowing look.
Of course! Zeus realized. Those Golden and Lead arrows were strategic assets. If Apollo could not resist them, then neither could Hades or Poseidon.
"Very well," the King declared. "In light of Aphrodite's unique circumstances and the shared nature of their power, I decree that mother and son shall share the seat."
With his word, the throne of Aphrodite shifted, expanding into two joined seats. The divine pillar of light above them split into two intertwined spirals of pink radiance, like two fish swimming in tandem.
"Now, with that settled!" Zeus proclaimed, his voice booming with forced cheer. "To celebrate the birth of a powerful new deity and the coming stars of the firmament, I decree another banquet! Gods, let us revel!"
The King waved a hand, manifesting the Horn of Plenty (Cornucopia). Driven by his divine power, the artifact began to spew an unending stream of nectar and ambrosia. Zeus summoned the Oak Nymphs to serve the feast in the plazas of Olympus. The nine Muses, his daughters by Mnemosyne, were commissioned to provide music and dance, elevating the atmosphere to a fever pitch of indulgence.
The gods threw themselves into the drinking. After years of toiling for Faith among the mortals, they were indeed weary and eager for release.
Eros, perched in his mother's arms, watched the revelry with a predatory twinkle in his eyes. He fingered his golden bow, eager to "bless" the assembly with a few romances.
Aphrodite smiled and released him. "Go on then," she whispered. "But be careful. Do not let them catch you in the act."
Let them taste the bitterness of love, she thought. Only then will they truly revere the Temple of Love.
"I'm on it, Mother!"
The little god chirped with delight and took to the air, his tiny wings buzzing as he wove through the celebrating deities.
"Follow him," Aphrodite commanded the Graces. "Ensure he comes to no harm."
Once her attendants were gone, Aphrodite's expression turned cold. She slipped away from the noise of the plaza and made her way toward the Temple of Marriage.
As she stepped into the hall, the high-throned Queen and her three children were already waiting.
"Sit," Hera commanded, her face a mask of iron solemnity.
Aphrodite ignored the hostility. She felt no guilt; in her eyes, this marriage had been an act of persecution from the start. Now that the truth of her affair was out, she had nothing left to lose. If anything, the scandal would hurt Hera more. As the Goddess of Marriage, to have her own son's union fail so spectacularly was a stain on her reputation.
"Speak your piece, Your Majesty," Aphrodite said, her tone casual as she smoothed her skirts. "The banquet is lacking without its most beautiful guest."
"You!" Hera hissed.
The goddess's arrogance was a slap in the face. From the moment she emerged from the sea, Aphrodite had been a source of chaos, unable to maintain even a veneer of fidelity. In the eyes of the Love-Goddess, a marriage contract was a meaningless scrap of parchment.
"Mother... let us hear my brother first," Hebe interjected, smoothing the waters. She felt a profound sense of absurdity; as a soul from a different world, she found the tangled web of Greek divine relations exhausting.
"Very well. Hephaestus," Hera said. "How do you wish to punish this infidelity?"
The assembly turned to the God of Fire and Forge. The rugged, stoic deity remained silent for a long moment, looking between his brother Ares and his wife. He saw the flicker of guilt in Ares's eyes and the utter indifference in Aphrodite's.
Then he looked at his mother and sister. Their support was the only thing that kept his simmering rage from erupting. He had long known of the betrayal. As Aphrodite said, there was no love between them. He had entered the marriage with zero expectations, and thus, the betrayal of the wife did not sting as much as the betrayal of the brother.
For years, thanks to Hebe's mediation, the siblings had been close. Hephaestus had treated Ares with genuine brotherly affection—without his constant repairs, the War-God's armor and chariot would have been scrap metal centuries ago.
"Mother," Hephaestus said, his voice heavy. "I wish to be separated from Aphrodite. I will not continue this marriage."
"What!?"
The hall went silent. Even Aphrodite's eyes widened in shock. She was the most beautiful being in existence; she could not conceive of Hephaestus willingly letting her go.
"Hephaestus... you're serious?" Ares stood up, his face lighting up with an inappropriate excitement.
Hephaestus ignored him. For this betrayal, he decided that any future repairs for the Temple of War would carry a tenfold surcharge.
"Impossible!" Hera instinctively objected. "I granted this union. If you abandon it now, what becomes of my prestige?" As the Goddess of Marriage, defending the bond was her very nature.
But seeing her eldest son's desolate expression, her maternal heart ached with pity. "My child, believe me—this arrangement was for your benefit. You are the Architect; the Goddess of Beauty was meant to be your muse..."
"But I am not the one for her," Hephaestus replied, shaking his head. He was done with the pretense. "A goddess who harbors only resentment cannot inspire. Separation is the only path."
"But... there has never been a 'separation' among the gods."
"Mother," Hebe said, taking Hera's hand. "You govern Marriage, but your understanding of it is incomplete. You view it as a transaction of interests, forgetting that love is free. When a marriage becomes a tomb for love, it invites its own destruction."
Hebe continued, her voice soft but firm: "A marriage without love should have the right to end. Just as light requires darkness, the right to join must include the Right to Depart. If a being has the authority to forge a bond, they must also have the authority to dissolve it."
Hera felt a seismic shift in her Godhead. The core of her power vibrated in resonance with Hebe's words. It began to glow with a deep, crimson light, as if something suppressed for eons was trying to break through the surface.
"Hebe... I feel the shift... your words ring true. But I do not know how to manifest it," Hera whispered, her hand trembling. Her Godhead, already cracked by Zeus's infidelities, was undergoing a violent evolution.
"Aphrodite," Hebe said, turning to the Love-Goddess. "You still hold a fraction of the Essence of Lust. Exchange it. My mother will grant you a portion of the Marriage Essence in return. With that, you will gain Absolute Autonomy of Marriage. No god will ever be able to force you into a union again."
Aphrodite's eyes lit up. She loathed her current bond. With Eros handling the Temple's duties, she had no fear of losing her office. The promise of never being forced into another marriage was a temptation she could not resist.
The Goddess of Beauty manifested a swirl of pink radiance in her palm. "In the name of the Goddess of Love, under the witness of the Laws, I voluntarily surrender this portion of Lust to the Goddess Hera."
Hera's Godhead hungered for the essence. She manifested a cluster of crimson light. "In the name of the Goddess of Marriage, under the witness of the Laws, I voluntarily surrender this portion of Marriage to the Goddess Aphrodite."
The trade was struck.
The crimson light entered Aphrodite. She felt an invisible shackle snap. She now held absolute sovereignty over her own hand in marriage; she could end her bond with Hephaestus and, if she chose, forge a new one with Ares on her own terms.
The pink light merged with Hera. It wove into her Godhead like a vine. A new Godhead crystallized beside the original—it looked much like the Marriage Godhead, but its center contained a faint, shimmering image of a Broken Heart.
The two joined. The concept of Joining and the concept of Ending merged into a singular High Mystery: the Absolute Autonomy of Marriage.
Hera opened her eyes, her expression unreadable. How I once craved this autonomy for myself...
She set aside her old longing and looked at Hephaestus. "My child, since you are determined, I shall uphold your right. Do as you wish."
Hephaestus exhaled. He turned to Aphrodite. "You may go. Keep the artifacts, the jewelry, and the weapons I forged for you. I want nothing back. I have only one condition: I remain the sole Father of Eros."
"...Agreed," Aphrodite replied. She didn't love him, but she respected his dignity as a husband. With Hephaestus as a father, Eros's standing remained secure.
"Under the witness of the Goddess of Marriage," Hera declared, "the union between Hephaestus, God of Fire, and Aphrodite, Goddess of Beauty, is hereby Terminated."
The divine link snapped. Both gods felt a weight lift from their shoulders.
"Hephaestus! Thank you, brother!" Ares, unable to contain his joy, rushed forward to thank him. "I'll make it up to you, I swear—"
"..."
Hephaestus looked at Ares's grinning face. It was an eyesore. He fixed a smoldering, dark gaze on the pair.
"Our marriage is over," Hephaestus said, his voice dropping into a low, dangerous rumble. "But your insult to the dignity of a Primary Deity remains. You shall face my retribution."
I've been too indulgent with you, Hephaestus thought. Today, I teach you who the elder brother is.
He suddenly hurled two Golden Nets into the air. They expanded instantly, ensnaring Ares and Aphrodite. The nets were inscribed with the same sealing arrays that had once trapped Hera; if they could hold a Queen, they could certainly hold these two.
The nets flared with light as Hephaestus's curse took hold. When the radiance faded, Aphrodite had been transformed into a White Dove, and Ares into a Wild Boar.
"As punishment, Ares shall wander the earth as a beast for ten years," Hephaestus declared. "Aphrodite, for the sake of your son, shall remain a bird for five."
He released the dove into the sky and kicked the boar off the mountain.
Hera and Hebe did not interfere. Hephaestus knew his limits; they wouldn't die. Ares, for all his luck, needed a lesson in humility.