Authors: Mina Lobo
That Fatal Kiss (41 page)
Athena raised her now dusty face from the ground and saw Hecate doing the same.
“They can’t have reached the palace
already
!” the Witch said.
In reply, Athena let out a low, protracted chuckle which Hecate matched with a cackle of her own. Demeter and Artemis quizzed them mercilessly as to the cause of their amusement but, no matter how they pestered, threatened, or cajoled, neither the Warrior nor the Witch would enlighten them.
The End
Who’s Who and What’s What in
That Fatal Kiss
(Now with a handy-dandy phonetic guide to pronunciation!)
Acheron (ACK-er-ahn) | “River of pain” that flowed from the Underworld. |
Aeacus (EE-uh-kuhs) | One of the three judges of the Underworld. |
Amphitrite (am-fih-TREYE-tee) | A sea nymph who became the wife of the god Poseidon. |
Anchises (an-KEYE-sees) | A mortal, one of Aphrodite’s lovers. |
Aphrodite (a-fro-DEYE-tee) | Goddess of Love. Supposedly. |
Apollo (uh-PAH-loh) | God of oracles, healing, music and, later, the Sun. Twin brother of Artemis. |
Ares (AIR-rees) | God of War and Bloodlust. Kind of a douche. |
Artemis (AHR-tih-mihs) | Virgin Goddess of the Hunt and, later, the Moon. Twin sister of Apollo. |
Athena (uh-THEE-nuh) | Virgin Goddess of Wisdom, War, Weaving, and Justice. AKA Pallas (PAL-uhs, “maiden”) Athena. |
Blessed Ones, The | Souls of the virtuous who were granted a blissful afterlife in Elysium. |
Cerberus (SIR-bir-uhs) | Tri-headed hound of Hades. |
Charon (KA-ruhn) | Ferryman of the Underworld, gets the shades of the newly arrived dead across the Styx and Acheron rivers into the underworld proper. |
Cronus (CROH-nuhs) | Earlier ruler of the gods. Deposed his father Uranus by castration.* Consort of Rhea. * |
Danaids (DAN-ay-ihds) | Very bad girls who killed their husbands on their wedding nights at their father’s behest. |
Demeter (dih-MEE-tir) | Goddess of Agriculture. With Zeus, produced Persephone. |
Dionysus (deye-oh-NEYE-sihs) | God of Wine, Pleasure, and Festivity. |
Elysium (eh-LIH-zee-uhm) | A paradise in the Underworld where the virtuous found their reward. |
Erebus (AIR-ih-buhs) | Primordial God of Darkness, also used as alternative name for the Underworld. |
Eros (AIR-ohs) | God of Love. Son of Aphrodite and Ares. |
Eurydice (your-IH-dih-see) | Wife of Orpheus, who died on her wedding day. |
Fates, The | Destiny in female forms. Possibly more powerful than even Zeus, as even the gods were loath to tick them off. |
Furies, The | A trio of Underworld goddesses who avenged crimes. |
Gaia (GUY-uh) | In essence, Mother Earth, the first. With Uranus, produced Cronus, Rhea, and the Hecatonchires, among others. |
Hades (HAY-dees) | God/Lord of the Underworld and the hidden wealth of the Earth. AKA The Host of Many, Aidoneus (ay-DOH-nee-uhs), King of the Dead. |
Hebe (HEE-bee) | Servant-Goddess of the gods. |
Hecate (HECK-uh-tee) | Goddess of Magic and Witchcraft. Not as much of a wiseass as I made her out to be. Probably. |
Hecatonchires (brace yourself for this one: heck-uh-tawn-KEYE-rees) | Three giants, with one hundred hands apiece, who helped Zeus, et al, defeat the Titans (who were in league with Cronus) by hurling rocks as big as mountains at them, thus putting them out of commission. |
Helius (HEE-lee-uhs) | An early God of the Sun, whose place above ground was taken by Apollo. |
Hephaestus (hih-FEAST-uhs, or hih-FEHS-tuhs, take your pick) | Lame Smithy God, unwitting husband of Aphrodite, poor fella. |
Hera (HEE-ruh) | Goddess of Marriage and the Heavens, wife of Zeus. |
Hermes (HER-mees) | God of Travel, Trickery, and Messages. He also escorted the shades of the dead to the Underworld. |
Hestia (HES-tee-uh) | Goddess of the Hearth. |
Ixion, Tantalus, Tityus, Sisyphus (ick-SIGH-uhn, TAN-tuh-luhs, TIH-tee-uhs, SIH-sih-fuhs) | Very bad boys indeed, sentenced to eternal torment in Tartarus. |
Lethe (LEE-thee) | River of forgetfulness. One of five that run through the Underworld. |
Leto (LEE-toh) | A Titan. With Zeus, produced Apollo and Artemis. |
Leuce (your guess is as good as mine; probably LOO-see) | A nymph, one of the many daughters of Oceanus. |
Maenad (MEE-nad) | Frenzied female follower of Dionysus. |
Minos (MEYE-nuhs) | One of the three judges of the Underworld. |
Minthe (MIHN-thee) | A nymph who should’ve known better than to mess with a jealous goddess, 4 realz. |
Mount Etna (mownt-EHT-nuh) | A volcano in Sicily, playground of the youthful Immortals. |
Mount Olympus (C’mon, you know this one.) | Home to some of the gods. |
Oceanides, The (oh-SEE-uh-nids) | Nymphs, daughters of the Titans Oceanus and Tethys. |
Orpheus (OR-fee-uhs) | Son of the god Apollo and the muse Calliope. On his wedding day his wife, Eurydice, suffered a fatal snake bite and Orpheus went down to Hades to retrieve her. |
Penelope (peh-NEHL-uh-pee) | A nymph who would become Hermes’ bride. |
Persephone (purr-SEH-phuh-nee) | Goddess of Spring, Seasons, the Underworld. Daughter of Demeter and Zeus. AKA Kore (KAW-ree), August Persephone, Lady of the Underworld, Queen of the Dead, and a bunch more titles I can’t be bothered to type out. |
Poseidon (poh-SEYE-duhn) | God of the Ocean, Earthquakes, and Horses. AKA The Earthshaker. |
Psyche (SIGH-kee) | A mortal woman, beloved by the god Eros, who became his wife and, later, immortal. |
Rhea (RAY-uh or REE-uh, whatevs) | A Titan, mother of the gods. With Cronus, produced Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, Poseidon, and Zeus. |
Selene (sih-LEE-nee) | An early Goddess of the Moon, whose place above ground was taken by Artemis. |
Styx (sticks) | A river which forms the boundary between the Earth and the Underworld and runs around Hades nine times. Honored by the gods, an oath sworn by the Styx was binding, for some reason. |
Tartarus (TAHR-tuh-tuhs) | A region in the Underworld where sinners are punished for eternity. |
Thanatos (THAN-uh-taws) | Death, personified. |
Thesprotia (thes-PROH-shuh) | Coastal land in northwest Greece. |
Tisiphone (tih-SIH-fuh-nee) | A Fury. Punishes crimes of murder. Guards the gates of Tartarus when she feels like it. |
Uranus (YER-uh-nuhs) | In essence, Father Sky, the first. Father of Cronus, who sired Hestia, Hera, Demeter, Hades, Poseidon, and Zeus. |
Zeus (ZOOS, or ZEEYOOS if you want to be uppity about it) | King of the Gods, God of Sky and Weather. AKA Thundering Zeus, the Cloud Gatherer. |
Author’s Note # 1
The meat of what we know about the myth of Persephone and Hades comes to us from the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, which doesn’t paint a pretty picture. In it, Persephone is portrayed as a very young, completely innocent victim who was in awe of her captor and miserably weak and unable to defend herself against him, apart from refusing to eat while in his realm. I find this hard to believe—an immortal goddess, so afraid, so incapable? Puh-leeze. Even the young male gods were reputed to kick ass and take names, so why not the chicks?
Here’s what I think; the gals of ancient Greece had it pretty rough (talk about misogynistic repression!). Unless they were prostitutes or engaged in religious celebrations/rituals, they were pretty much stuck at home, like, ALL THE TIME. They had no power, either political or socio-economical, and forget about being free to choose pretty much ANYTHING. Appallingly, the ancient dudes liked it that way. For me, it’s just a hop-skip-jump to them painting their gods in the same light which, though depressingly lame, seems logical enough.
Anyway, I’ve always thought that an immortal goddess could at least hold her own, if not conquer a male god…and, actually, I like to think Persephone managed both. After reading the Hymn the first time, I immediately got to imagining alternatives to the story; how Hades got the jump on Persephone, what their first exchange in the Underworld might have been, how they got along nookie-wise, and what relationship problems they’d have to overcome without the aid of a thriving self-help book market or talk radio.
Here’s what I’m NOT saying: that abduction and rape are kewl. (They are totally not. Not, not, NOT.)
Here’s what I AM saying: mythic, Earth-shaking lovin’ by two gods who can’t keep their hands off one another ≥ HAWT.
Author’s Note #2
