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As soon as I opened the heavy, golden doors to the throne room, I was met with a death glare from my dear wife. "Well well well. Nice of you to finally show up, my dear husband. It's not like we were sitting here, waiting for you or anything," exclaimed Hera. She was sitting on her golden throne, one leg crossed over the other, her fingers gently tapping on the arm of the throne. That was one of her telling tics. I knew she was angry.
Oh seriously? She couldn't even let me fully get through the doors before she had to start at me.
"Where have you been? I told everyone to be here by 7 pm sharp. What time is it right now, Zeus?" asked my wife.
I looked around the room and saw some of my children were waiting on me to answer. Most of them were pretending that they didn't hear Hera. The twins, Apollo and Artemis, were whispering to each while glancing between Hera and me. Ares, the god of war, was looking at me with a knowing smirk on his face. Smug little brat. Hermes, the messenger god, was also present. And then were was Hephaestus, my ugly son. He was the only one who was looking at me with some sort of pity. He knew how jealous and angry Hera could get.
I turned back to Hera. "My dear, I had an important meeting. I tried to leave early, but she kept-"
"SHE?" barked Hera. "Who is she?!"
"Ooooh," exclaimed my children. I hate them all.
"Hera, it was Thetis who I had a meeting with. Before you say anything else, it's not what you think. She just wanted to ask for my help."
"Yes, I'm sure. How did you help her then? As her king, or as her lover?" questioned Hera.
"Oh for Heaven's sake, Hera. Just be quiet for a few minutes while I tell you."
"Okay, alright. Go on then."
Then I recalled my meeting with Thetis.
I was sitting there, admiring the view of Olympus from the highest peak of the mountain when Thetis arrived. She looked like she was holding back tears. She knelt down before me, and she laid her left hand on my knees and with her right hand she grabbed my beard. This is not weird at all.
"Father Zeus, I need your help. My son, Achilles, was promised a girl, Briseïs, as a share of the spoil of the war. Agamemnon has taken away that gift. He was about to fight when Athena showed up and stopped him. She claims that one day Agamemnon will pay for all of the wrongs he has done. Achilles is left hopeless now. I am here to ask you to bring justice for Achilles. Make the Greeks see that without him, they cannot prevail."
I sat dumbfounded for a while. I knew if I was to help Thetis and Achilles, I would be in big trouble with Hera. Thetis and I have history. We used to be lovers, but I made her marry Peleus so I know I must do right by her. She still had a strong hold on my knees and beard.
"Promise me that you will help. I have helped you before in your times of need. Now I need you to return the favor. Nod your head that you will help. Otherwise I will know you despise me," said Thetis.
"This is too much you are asking of me. You know this will cause a fight between Hera and me," I told her. However, I told her I would help her. I needed her to leave first so I could think what would be the best way to fix this problem.
Thetis holding Zeus by the beard. Source: Greek Mythology.
"And that is all. I didn't want to tell you in the first place because I knew you would react like this," I explained to Hera.
Hera sat there quietly, staring at me with a calculating look. She was trying to figure out if I was lying or not.
"Mother, I think-" piped up Hephaestus.
"Shut up. Do not interfere," said Hera. She turned back to me and finally got up. "Zeus, I don't pry into your affairs. But how dare you think to not even tell me about meeting her? I am YOUR WIFE. I deserve to know!" she yelled at me.
"WHAT would be the point in telling you when you eventually find out everything anyway?" I yelled back at her. "Now I'm going to tell you this once. Sit down and be quiet before I do something I regret." Thunder could be heard rumbling in the sky. That usually happens when I get worked up.
Hera sat back down and did not say anything else. I knew she was afraid of me right then. I needed to be alone in this moment so I started walking out. As I was leaving, I heard my sons talking about me.
"Did you hear his threat, Hermes?" asked Ares. "I think Father needs to calm down. Lately his anger has been through the roof, don't you think? I think it's old age getting to his head."
How dare he!
"Mind what you say, Ares. If Father hears you, we both will get in trouble for talking about him like that," Hermes replied.
"Listen to your brother, my foolish son. You wouldn't want to get struck by my lightning now, would you?" I glared at Ares.
I left the room before he could even answer back. Gods, I need a vacation away from all of them.
Author's Note: I wanted this story to be a retelling of what happens in the chapter "What Thetis Did for Her Son" from Homer's Iliad. Thetis is a goddess of the sea. She was one of Zeus's ex-lovers as well so for Hera to be jealous when she finds out Zeus went to see her is pretty justified. She helped protect Zeus when the gods revolted against him. The original story starts off with Thetis going to Zeus to ask for help for her son, Achilles. Zeus tells Thetis it is a hard thing she is asking and that this will lead to a fight between him and his wife Hera. After he tell Thetis he will help, he goes to his palace and Hera is already there suspecting that he had met with Thetis. They argue about it and Zeus threatens to raise his hands on her. I wanted to turn this serious situation into something more comical by adding in dialogues and creating drama of my own. I changed up one plot point in my story and that is that Hera doesn't know that he had met with Thetis. I also wanted to start introducing his children as well, so I've included them in small parts throughout the story.
Information about characters mentioned in the story:
- Zeus: the King of the Gods.
- Hera: Zeus's wife, the Queen of the Gods.
- Apollo: the God of many things including: the Sun, Music, Poetry, and Art. Son of Zeus and Leto.
- Artemis: Apollo's twin. The Goddess of the Hunt. Daughter of Zeus and Leto.
- Ares: the God of War. Son of Zeus and Hera.
- Hermes: the God of trade, travelers, and the Messenger of the Gods. Son of Zeus and Maia.
- Hephaestus: the God of Fire and Metalworking. Son of Zeus and Hera or sometimes just Hera.
- Achilles: the hero of the Trojan War. He is the son of Thetis and Peleus, the king of Phtia.
Bibliography:
- The Quarrel. The Iliad retold by Alfred J. Church
- What Thetis Did for Her Son. The Iliad retold by Alfred J. Church
- Dialogue of the Gods. Lucian.
- Twelve Olympians.
- Theoi.
Banner Image: Hall of the Gods from Percy Jackson and The Olympians: The Lightning Thief. Source: Riordan Wiki.
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