Aphrodite

Greek Goddess Aphrodite

Ever since your run-in with Pheme last week things have been relatively calm. Luckily, Athena has forgotten about Pheme's comments for the most part. You noticed Athena may be a little hot-headed. It also explains the fact that she's on the mock war team.

You learned your lesson as to what Athena meant when she said that the school was full of drama. If anyone else is like Pheme, then everybody knows everything about everyone. At least all she had to say about you is that you're a bookworm, right? There are much worse things to say.

Sixth period lets out so you're finished for the day. Today, you and Athena decide that it might be fun to go into town for some ambrosia as a treat for acing the War Strategy test earlier in the week. You meet up with Athena outside of her class and start walking towards the front of the school.

"Are you excited for your first trip into the big city?" Athena inquires with a smile.

"I never mind a trip somewhere new. I will say, I am a little nervous to try the ambrosia."

"I'm positive you'll like it." She laughs and adds, "Plus if you don't, I have no complaints eating it for the both of us."

You keep walking and pass the cafeteria on your way out of the school. At a table, you see Pheme sitting with a few other people.

You lean over to Athena and say, "I think I see trouble sitting over there."

"Lucky us. It's double trouble today," she says. Athena gestures to the girl sitting next to Pheme.

The first thing you notice about the girl is that she's strikingly beautiful. Blonde hair, a big smile, and what looks like expensive clothing and jewelry. You also notice that there are three boys absolutely fawning over her.

She explains, "That's Aphrodite. Only the biggest flirt in our ENTIRE school. You might remember her name from my story about the Golden Apple at prom and how she bribed people to vote for her. Honestly, she may have done more than bribe people. I wouldn't put it past her."

Pheme notices you both are looking and gives you and Athena a wave. Not wanting to get on her bad side, you give her a small wave back. Athena must not care too much about reputation, as she turns her head the other direction.

You get picked up by the cloud and taken into the city near the school. You arrive at a small cottage that is covered in ivy and very quaint. The sign above the store reads "The Ambrosia Shop." Athena orders for you both, as you have no clue what you're getting yourself in to.

You sit down outside and try the ambrosia. Honestly? It's really good. You both just sit and make small talk and enjoy the quiet outside.

You decide to ask about Aphrodite. "So tell me a little more about that girl with Pheme in the cafeteria earlier."

Athena rolls her eyes.

"I really couldn't tell you why she's even in school at this point. Oh that's right! Because her parents' money will pay for everything the rest of her life so it doesn't even matter. Anyway, all she ever does is flirt and fix her makeup. I don't think I've seen her in class once in my life. Well, actually, thats not true. I remember her flirting with the teacher to get out of taking a quiz one day. The worst part? It actually worked."

"She sounds like a real catch."

"Tell me about it. The girl literally had five boyfriends at once last year. She couldn't decide which one she wanted to keep. Her affair with Ares was a HUGE scandal last year. None of the boys actually minded though, for whatever reason, so she managed to keep them all around. I guess beauty makes up for a lack of personality. Or morals."

You have now found your second person to avoid. You saw her around Pheme in the first place, which is all you need to know about her. You feel what you think is appreciation for Athena, and can't help but also feel lucky that you ran into her first to keep you out of trouble.

Author's Note

This story was loosely based off of two tales that involve Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and beauty. Aphrodite was mentioned earlier in the story about Athena in the story of the golden apple. In the story of the golden apple, the goddess Eris was upset that she didn't get invited to a wedding, so she brought an apple to the ceremony that was meant to be a representation of beauty. Athena, Hera, and Aphrodite claimed it with the motive that they were the most beautiful goddess, but Aphrodite won the prize by bribery. This event eventually led to the start of the trojan war. The second aspect to the story is the myth surrounding Aphodite and her five loves. She promised herself to Hephaistos but was in love with Ares, so she committed adultery. Hephaistos cast them in a net in front of Olympus to punish them. In my version, I changed the aspect of her five different loves to her having five boyfriends, and didn't include much about the conflict with Hephaistos so that the story would reflect more on her personality.

Bibliography

Aphrodite Divine Loves. Theoi.com