Chapter 33: The Twelve Olympian Gods (7)
Athena sighed, lowering the spear she’d been holding in case things escalated.
“Phew, that turned out okay. Not everyone seems to think so, though.”
Unlike the six siblings, who quickly returned to their jovial banter, the other gods stared in horror at Hera, whose bleeding had stopped but whose severed arm left a lasting impression.
Even Athena, who struggled to understand these elder gods, found it best to simply accept their ways.
Thus, the matter concluded with Hera losing an arm and Ares being bound and imprisoned for a year.
***
As Ares was dragged away, Zeus took charge of the chaotic council chamber.
[TL Note: Changing Olympus Divine Authority Committee to Olympian Divine Council]
Once the gods had calmed, he stepped before the twelve chairs and addressed them.
“There was… well, quite a significant disturbance, but I swear in the name of the king of the gods that Ares will be punished. Any god harboring even a hint of dissent will face consequences, so let this matter drop.”
Boom!
With the thunderous echo of Zeus’ voice, the issue was firmly settled.
Suppressing all complaints or opinions in the name of the king of gods was a heavy-handed move, but understandable given the circumstances.
“First, I apologize for this unfortunate incident, as I, your host, bear some responsibility,” Zeus continued.
“…”
“But the reason I’ve gathered you all is of great importance. I have matters to discuss with both the gods of Olympus who follow me and others.”
Perhaps due to the earlier commotion, few gods paid close attention to Zeus’ words.
Undeterred, he pressed on.
“It is time to end the Silver Age and make the decision to move to the next era.”
At Zeus’ final words, the gods snapped their heads up, as if struck by his thunder.
The shock of his statement rivaled the earlier chaos.
‘It was bound to happen. Zeus never liked the humans Prometheus created.’ Poseidon thought.
“These humans on earth wield the fire of the gods and have learned to deceive and lie to us. Their wickedness has become unbearable. Thus, I, Zeus, propose here to destroy them and usher in a new era.”
“And in this new era, I will divide my authority among these twelve chairs, and the gods seated here will rule the world.”
Zeus’ consecutive declarations sent waves of shock through the chamber.
Destroying the remarkable humans of the Silver Age, created by the greatest seer, was no small decision.
But even more striking was Zeus’ plan to divide his authority into twelve parts.
“That Zeus, he’s clever. The twelve chairs distracted everyone from the destruction talk,” Hades whispered.
Poseidon nodded in agreement.
Zeus had nothing to lose.
In the original myths, over half of the Twelve Olympians were his children, and among them, only Poseidon could challenge him.
Besides, powerful gods like Hades and Poseidon himself belonged to domains outside the Twelve—Hades to the underworld, Poseidon to the sea.
As the gods murmured, Poseidon pondered the destruction of humanity.
While Silver Age humans offered sacrifices to the gods, they kept the best portions for themselves.
This stemmed from Zeus being tricked by Prometheus into accepting bones and entrails as offerings, but still.
What troubled Poseidon was that, contrary to Zeus’ claims, Silver Age humans followed Prometheus’ guidance, showing no arrogance or deceit toward the gods.
They were, in fact, an exemplary race in their devotion.
‘But it’s not my problem. There aren’t many humans in this era engaged in serious fishing or navigation anyway.’
Upon reflection, Poseidon realized he had little stake in the matter.
The humans connected to him were mostly island-dwellers or occasional fishermen.
Otherwise, they were devotees or priests of other gods.
Poseidon had no priests on earth to protect.
‘Guess some memories from my human days still linger.’
Unlike Poseidon, other gods were deeply troubled or began arguing over Zeus’ proposal.
— “I’m against it. I have humans on earth I favor.”
— “I’m for it. Those humans don’t respect me at all.”
— “That’s because you’re ugly.”
— “What? You wanna fight?”
Others were more focused on the Twelve Olympians’ seats than the destruction of humanity.
— “Hmm, who’ll be the twelve gods?”
— “My guess? Zeus’ siblings will all be included, and the rest will probably be his kids.”
— “But that’s not really dividing power, is it?”
— “Well, you could see it that way, but the other powerful gods belong to the sea or underworld, so it’s not that simple.”
— “Oh, right! That could split Olympus.”
Poseidon, having sorted his thoughts, stood in a corner of the chamber, observing the gods’ discussions.
Zeus approached him cautiously.
“Sorry, brother. We raised Ares poorly.”
“You? The Zeus I know, all arrogance and confidence, acting like this?” Poseidon teased.
Zeus gave a wry smile, visibly relieved.
“Even in this mess, you’re joking, brother.”
“Haha, I let bygones be bygones. Hera’s thing already settled it for me.”
“Yeah, that was a shock even for me,” Zeus admitted.
Poseidon nodded at Zeus’ mention of shock.
The rules the five siblings had set in Kronos’ belly were indeed a bit extreme.
“True, but I hear truly great gods don’t stoop to such things,” Zeus said.
“Exactly. No matter how many times I see it, I can’t get used to you siblings. Even Hestia, who looks like she wouldn’t hurt an ant, could do something like that,”
Zeus replied, visibly shaken not just by Hera’s actions but by the realization that Hestia and Demeter were capable of similar ruthlessness.
“Hmm… Hestia might be the most brutal of us all. She’d burn you to a crisp,” Poseidon teased.
Zeus grimaced, looking like he wanted to drop the subject, and thanked Poseidon again.
In the original myths, even minor insults to the gods could turn someone into an insect or animal. By that standard, Ares had been let off lightly.
Alternatively, he could’ve been locked away in Tartarus like the Titans.
Thinking about it, Poseidon understood why Gaia was so sensitive about the Titans’ imprisonment—his siblings, too, bore subtle scars from their time in Kronos’ belly.
“It’s fine. Hera and I settled it,” Poseidon said.
“Still, I’m grateful you spared Ares. His limbs will be restored in a year…”
“I said it’s fine.”
“Ahem… If you insist, I won’t press further,” Zeus conceded.
“So, why’d you call me here, king of the gods?”
Zeus scratched his head, looking sheepish, before explaining.
“Honestly, without that mess, I’d have brought it up sooner. It’s about Epimetheus and Prometheus—they’re sea gods, after all.”
“And?”
“I want to give them a chance.”
“A chance?”
“Yes. I plan to create the most beautiful human woman and send her down with a box. If she completes a pilgrimage safely, I’ll acknowledge Prometheus’ humans. If not, they’ll face destruction.”
Poseidon pondered Zeus’ words.
The story deviated slightly from the original myth, but it was essentially the same.
Pandora’s box would likely be a treasure, and some human was bound to steal and open it.
“So, telling me this means you want me to stay out of this destruction business?”
Zeus nodded, his expression resolute.
“More precisely, don’t help them. Prometheus was merely chained to a rock at your and Hera’s suggestion, but I can’t tolerate his humans.”
From Zeus’ face, it was clear he wouldn’t back down on this.
‘Petty as always,’ Poseidon thought. ‘He could at least consider the devotion humans have shown.’
“Fine, I’ll support you on this. It’s not like humans matter much to me anyway.”
Zeus’ face lit up.
He’d expected Poseidon to be the biggest obstacle, especially after the Ares incident, but things had resolved smoothly.
“Thank you, truly. I won’t forget this favor.”
Poseidon nodded, patting Zeus’ shoulder, and turned away, his thoughts light.
‘Worked out well. I didn’t care much anyway, and now Zeus owes me.’
***
The destruction of humanity was unanimously approved by the three chief gods.
Hades, in particular, had every reason to agree, as it would swell his underworld forces.
With humanity’s fate sealed, Zeus enlisted the gods’ aid to create a woman.
She was as beautiful as the goddess of beauty and as wise as the goddess of wisdom.
They named her Pandora and bestowed three gifts upon her.
“You are as beautiful as I am and can enchant and captivate men,” Aphrodite said, granting her charm and allure.
“You possess the spark of wisdom, so I gift you my skills,” Athena said, bestowing her vast array of crafts and techniques.
“The world below is full of deceit and illusion, so you’ll need the power to deceive without being deceived,” Hermes said, granting her his skills in trickery and guile.
Finally, Zeus imbued her with curiosity, ensuring she’d open the box if humans passed the test.
“Pandora, you will test the humans below. Take this box and journey through the world. Their fate rests in your hands.”
Thus, Pandora descended to earth and was sent to Epimetheus.
“Lord Epimetheus, I come by Zeus’ command,” Hermes announced.
“Oh, Hermes! What’s this?”
“Zeus has sent you this woman as a gift. You’re to journey the world with her.”
“Hm? I don’t need a woman.”
“Just take a look.”
Hermes lifted the veil, revealing Pandora.
Epimetheus, who’d sworn off women, fell for her instantly.
Her golden hair, cherry lips, doe-like eyes, and porcelain skin—crafted with Aphrodite’s meticulous touch—were irresistible.
“Oh, and Zeus advised that you must not use divine powers during the journey, no matter what. Here, these shackles will suppress your abilities.”
“Just these?”
“Yes. They wouldn’t work on someone like Father, but for most gods, they last about one or two years.”
Epimetheus nodded, immediately donning the shackles.
Hermes, seeing Epimetheus smitten and shackled, nodded approvingly and flew back to Olympus on his winged sandals.
“Father, Epimetheus fell for her at first sight.”
“Well done, Hermes. In the end, humanity will fall by the hands of Prometheus and Epimetheus.”
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