Chapter 26: The King and Queen of the Gods (3)
Zeus was well aware of the gravity of his situation.
Especially after being outwitted by Prometheus, he pondered the issue even more deeply.
“What should I do… I made a promise, and even Prometheus can’t challenge my position, but I lack a goddess to stand by my side and anchor Olympus…”
Fortunately, Zeus wasn’t alone in his concerns. His mother, Rhea, was there to share his burden.
Rhea felt guilty about the Metis incident.
While Zeus had brought much of it upon himself, as his mother, she couldn’t entirely dismiss her responsibility.
“What should we do? There aren’t many goddesses suited for him,” Rhea mused.
Ultimately, she sought out her daughters—Hera, Hestia, and Demeter—who had stood by her during the Metis affair.
***
After the goddesses’ meeting concluded, Poseidon and the sisters, gathered due to his demand for gold, were startled by Rhea’s sudden arrival.
She rarely visited on meeting days, usually coming separately.
“Welcome, Mother!”
“Weren’t you in Olympus?”
“Exactly, why the sudden visit?”
“Poseidon, mind your manners,” Rhea chided.
Though surprised to see Poseidon at the goddesses’ meeting, Rhea accepted it.
She knew he was unusually close to her three daughters, a fact evident even during the Metis affair.
“It’s been a while since the Metis incident. I’m here because I have a favor to ask, though I feel guilty about it,” Rhea said.
The group nodded, already suspecting she had come with a request.
“I’d like one of you to become Zeus’ spouse.”
“…”
Rhea’s sudden request left the three sisters silent.
They had just discussed Zeus at the meeting, and the sisters had privately broached this topic before.
To Hera, the easiest way to seize power was through a strategic marriage to Zeus.
Cold as it sounded, with Metis gone, no goddess could rival Hera.
Moreover, Hera had been born in Kronos’ womb alongside Hades, imbued with an innate ambition for the throne.
Having quietly amassed power, she had even considered negotiating with Zeus to divide control of the earth and heavens, had Metis’ misfortune not occurred.
Though her power was slightly less than the three chief gods, it was far from inferior.
“We’d need to discuss this deeply, but the three of us have talked about it before. One of us would either stand by Zeus or split his domain,” Hera said.
Rhea wasn’t surprised by their response, particularly Hera’s.
She knew Hera’s ambition and the support she commanded from her sisters.
“So, you’re open to my request?”
“Yes. If it comes to marriage, I’ll do it. But it would be a strategic alliance,” Hera replied.
Rhea nodded.
Hera’s willingness to consider marriage to Zeus was enough. Other conditions weren’t for Zeus to dictate.
At present, no goddess surpassed Hera in strength or influence, and her personality ensured she wouldn’t settle for being beneath Zeus.
“Then can I assume you’ll enter a strategic marriage with Zeus?”
Hera nodded.
Though she framed it as a consideration in front of Rhea and Poseidon, she had already calculated her move.
A war with Zeus could benefit a third party, which she wanted to avoid.
But there were still concerns.
“I’ll need the support of the goddesses who follow me. I don’t want a war with Zeus to profit someone else, though some might desire it.”
Indeed, since the Titanomachy, some of Hera’s supporters, like Eris, the goddess of discord, would likely relish a conflict between Hera and Zeus.
“And above all, Poseidon needs to agree,” Hera added.
Poseidon, who had been listening quietly, pointed at himself, puzzled.
“Me? Why?”
“…”
“You idiot,” Hera muttered.
“Ugh, Poseidon,” Demeter sighed.
***
Hera wasn’t the only one exasperated by Poseidon’s reaction; Demeter and Hestia also looked at him with pity.
“Poseidon, don’t you remember? In Kronos’ womb, we swore not to turn our blades on each other,” Demeter said.
“Right, you called it some kind of ‘peach orchard oath’ or something,” Hestia added.
“I knew you’d forget. Hades refused, so we left him out, right?”
Their words jogged Poseidon’s memory.
‘Oh, right. Back then, I hadn’t fully shed my modern sensibilities.’
Knowing Greek and Roman mythology, Poseidon had proposed the oath as a precaution, binding them with their blood to think twice before betraying each other.
But having become one of the three chief gods and grown closer to his sisters—unlike the original myths—he’d pushed the memory aside.
“Aha!”
“You remember now, don’t you?” Hera said.
What Poseidon hadn’t realized at the time was that his modern-inspired oath was akin to an ancient vow from the era of Uranus, similar to the Oath of the Styx.
While not as absolute as the Styx’s oath, which punished oathbreakers with a decade of slumber and a year of exclusion from divine gatherings, this ancient vow was devastating in its own right.
Breaking it was like guaranteeing a debt that could ruin an entire household—divine essence and power would be utterly stripped away.
“I was shocked when I found out later,” Poseidon admitted.
“Yeah, we thought it was just a family promise not to fight,” Demeter agreed.
The ball was now in Poseidon’s court.
If Hera became Zeus’ wife and queen of the gods, she’d command even greater loyalty from the goddesses, who already largely followed her.
Hera’s cooperation became essential for Zeus’ decisions.
If Zeus ever clashed with Poseidon, Hera would likely have to side with Zeus, making overt hostility toward him, as seen in the Metis affair, impossible.
“Hmm…”
But did it matter?
It was a strategic marriage, after all. Couldn’t they just draft a contract, swear it on the River Styx, and call it a day?
The goddesses nodded at Poseidon’s suggestion.
“Poseidon’s mind works fast in these matters,” Demeter remarked.
“The challenge is convincing Zeus, but Mother can handle that,” Hestia added.
“As expected,” Rhea said. “It carries more weight coming from Poseidon than from me.”
Hera, as if anticipating this, was already recording Poseidon’s words.
“Wow… afraid you’ll start a fight if you say it yourself, so you’re using me again?” Poseidon grumbled.
“Hmph. Isn’t that the kind of cunning a queen of the gods should have?” Hera retorted.
It was, after all, Hera’s true nature.
“Then I’ll assume we’re settled and move forward,” she concluded.
***
Rhea went straight to Zeus to discuss the goddesses’ affairs.
Zeus found himself agreeing with her, particularly struck by the bond between the three sisters and Poseidon.
He hadn’t realized how close they were.
“To think they made an ancient oath… No wonder they got involved in the Metis affair.”
Though a minor misunderstanding arose, it wasn’t a bad thing for Poseidon or the sisters.
Thus, a contract bearing the seals of Zeus, Hera, and Poseidon was drafted, witnessed by the goddess Styx.
The contract’s key points were:
1. Zeus, the chief god, and Hera are equals.
2. Neither Hera nor Zeus shall infringe upon the other’s authority or divine essence.
3. Hera’s organization is formally recognized.
…
10. Poseidon respects the affairs between Hera and Zeus, guaranteeing Hera’s independent decisions unless exceptional circumstances arise.
This contract, endorsed by Poseidon, became the precursor to human marriage vows.
Thus, Zeus and Hera’s wedding was held on Mount Cithaeron in Boeotia, a grand affair attended by more gods than any other, with lavish gifts presented.
Notably, even Gaia, who disliked Zeus, blessed the union—likely because Poseidon, one of her husbands, vouched for it.
Gaia gifted Hera a tree bearing golden apples, knowing her love for them.
“Thank you, Lady Gaia,” Hera said.
“Thank your brother, not me. I wouldn’t have bothered for Zeus,” Gaia replied.
Hera cherished the golden apple tree above all other gifts.
Immediately after the wedding, she planted it in her orchard atop the mountain where Atlas held up the sky, entrusting its protection to the two-headed dragon Ladon and Atlas’ daughters, the Hesperides.
In return, she permitted them to tend to Atlas, showing how much she valued the tree.
***
All humans and races were invited to the wedding to proclaim the establishment of a flawless Olympus.
Among them, humans offered the grandest sacrifices, heeding Prometheus’ earlier advice.
But Zeus still harbored resentment toward them for the humiliation inflicted by Prometheus.
Through his marriage to Hera, Zeus aimed to create a perfect Olympus, and that meant addressing the blemish that was Prometheus.
“Hera, I want a perfect Olympus. I can’t let Prometheus go unpunished,” Zeus said.
“Fine, I agree. But no severe punishment. As you know, Prometheus’ deception was against you personally,” Hera replied.
“Then I ask you to agree to binding him to a mountain until he repents. He deceived the king of the gods, and my dishonor now affects your honor too.”
“That much I can agree to.”
After the wedding, Prometheus was chained to a mountain.
“Prometheus, I had my suspicions when you asked for Panopeus’ water and Psyche, but you went too far,” Poseidon said, visiting him.
“I’m grateful to you, Poseidon. You told Hera, sparing me worse pain,” Prometheus replied.
“Being chained to a mountain doesn’t seem much better.”
“Better than having Zeus’ eagle peck at my liver, isn’t it?”
Though Poseidon saw Prometheus’ predicament as self-inflicted, he couldn’t entirely dismiss him.
Zeus might be the king of a fractured realm, but he was still king.
More importantly…
“Zeus will agonize over prophecies I haven’t shared. Gaia will never tell him. In a way, Zeus and I are even,” Prometheus said with a laugh.
Poseidon couldn’t help but think Prometheus’ attitude toward Zeus was the real issue.
‘He probably knows Zeus will eventually destroy humanity.’
Poseidon studied the calm Prometheus, who smiled as if reading his thoughts.
“Lord Poseidon, please look kindly on humanity. I hope you’ll show them even a fraction of the love you give your sisters and wives.”
Poseidon frowned slightly, responding with a cold, neutral expression.
“I’ll consider it. If my children like and love humans, I might too. But you know how humans are… Still, I’ll think about it.”
“That’s enough,” Prometheus said.
“Tch.”
With a click of his tongue, a small wave crashed against the mountain, and Poseidon vanished.
Prometheus, as if expecting this reaction, closed his eyes and calmed his mind.
‘The odds of humans freely roaming the world have increased. Hera’s marriage, Poseidon’s acknowledgment…’