Aphrodite the Beauty

by Joan Holub

The dogs completely ignored her. When she finally caught up to them by the main hall entrance, she couldn’t get them to go back upstairs, no matter how much she tugged at their collars. And from the way they were scratching at the door and whining, it was obvious they had to go to the bathroom.

  “Okay, okay,” she said. “But just for a minute. Then you have to come right back in. Promise?” If they were quick about their business, she’d still have plenty of time to meet Hippomenes at eight.

  The hounds wagged their tails as if in agreement. However, the second she opened the academy’s bronze doors, all three of them dashed outside in different directions.

  “Come back! Bad dogs!” Tails between their legs, the greyhound and the beagle paused at the bottom of the granite steps to wait for her, but Suez, the bloodhound, was in particularly high spirits and took off across the courtyard. Aphrodite had no choice but to chase after him. The other two dogs followed, stopping here and there to sniff things along the way.

  A trail lined with trees and bushes started at the far side of the courtyard and wound down Mount Olympus. Aphrodite glimpsed Suez’s backside as he vanished down the trail. The rascal’s tail was wagging—probably proud of himself for making such a grand escape!

  “If I’m late meeting Hippomenes it will be all your fault!” she called after him. But her words had no effect. Eventually, she caught up to him when he stopped by a bush to lift his leg. Folding her arms, she scolded him. “So you just had to come all the way out here to this particular bush to do your business, huh? You couldn’t possibly use one of the bushes right by the school?”

  She had planned to take the dogs back inside before meeting up with Hippomenes, but she was already halfway to Earth. If she went back to the dorm now, she’d be late for sure. “All right,” she said, “I guess you’ll be coming with me.” She hoped Artemis wouldn’t wake before they returned and wonder where her hounds had gotten to. The dogs wagged their tails, obviously happy to prolong their adventure. Even Suez seemed content to trot along beside her now as they continued down the trail.

  It was just past eight when they reached King Schoeneus’s palace. At the edge of the sandy racecourse on the far side of the palace a young man sat waiting. Aphrodite was pleased to see that Hippomenes was on time. He was a handsome youth with chiseled features and light brown hair. Glancing at the dogs with a puzzled look, he leaped up to meet her. “You must be Artemis!” His eyes shone with wonder. “Forgive me for staring,” he said. “I’ve never met a goddess before. And I was expecting Aphrodite!”

  “That’s me,” said Aphrodite. “But the dogs do belong to Artemis. Down, Amby!” she said as the beagle stood up on his hind feet and pressed his forepaws against Hippomenes’s knees. Amby liked attention almost as much as he did food.

  “It’s alright,” said Hippomenes, laughing. He gently pushed Amby off, then knelt beside him. The dog immediately flopped down in the sand and rolled onto his back so that the youth could rub his belly. “It’s wonderful of you to come,” Hippomenes said to Aphrodite as he good-naturedly obliged the dog. “I can’t thank you enough.”

  “You’re welcome,” she replied. She liked this young man’s good manners and his easy laugh. She was inclined to grant his request for help right away, but there was something she needed to know first. “The young maiden you’re in love with, this Atalanta,” she said. “Does she return your love?”

  Hippomenes ducked his head. “I . . . I’m not sure,” he said. “She pleaded with me not to enter the race. She said she was not worthy of the price.”

  “I see,” said Aphrodite. She watched idly as Suez and Nectar, the greyhound, trotted over to a nearby stream and began to lap up water. Amby, however, was content to continue with his belly rub. It seemed to Aphrodite that Atalanta would not have said what she had unless she cared about what happened to Hippomenes.

  Aphrodite fingered the double-G goddessgirl charm that hung from the delicate golden chain she wore around her neck. “And is she honest, your Atalanta?” she asked thoughtfully.

  Hippomenes’s eyes shone with love. “As honest as a mirror.”

  Actually, that was too bad, thought Aphrodite. If Atalanta was that honest she’d be unlikely to slow her pace to deliberately let Hippomenes win. “Are you fast enough to beat her?” she asked.

  The youth hesitated. Amby looked up at him and licked his hand. Then the beagle stood and stretched. “I am fast,” Hippomenes said, rising to his feet as Amby wandered off to join the other two hounds. “But Atalanta, I fear, is faster. Still, I will give it my all and die trying if I must.”

  Aphrodite shook her head. “That won’t be necessary, I hope. When will the race take place?”

  “Just after dawn in three days,” said Hippomenes. “Does this mean you’ll help me, O Gracious Goddess?”

  With more confidence than she felt—after all, she had no plan as of yet—Aphrodite nodded. “I shall return before the start of the race.”

  Hippomenes fell to his knees. “Thank you, oh thank you.”

  His gratitude and respect speak well of him, thought Aphrodite as she turned to go. Such qualities would make him a good husband, as Atalanta must surely know. As Aphrodite passed beneath one of the palace windows a minute later, she heard someone sobbing piteously. Glancing up, she saw a beautiful young woman, with hair as long and golden as her own, gazing wistfully down at Hippomenes as he began to stretch his legs beside the track, preparing for a practice run.

  The young woman must be Atalanta, of course. And her tears put to rest the question of her feelings toward Hippomenes. Leaving the palace grounds, Aphrodite began to jog back up the trail. Suez, Nectar, and Amby trotted along behind her, their tongues hanging out. They were almost to the top of Mount Olympus when Hephaestus came limping toward them on a silver cane. Without thinking, Aphrodite said the first thing that popped into her head. “Out for a run?”

  Immediately, she regretted her mistake. She clapped both hands over her mouth as if to recall the words. Hephaestus, however, only laughed and blithely waved his cane in the air. “Actually,” he said, “I’m out for a hobble. Want to join me?”

  Aphrodite hesitated. “I really should get the dogs back up to Artemis.” He looked so disappointed that she quickly added, “But you could walk me to the dorm if you’d like.”

  Hephaestus’s thin face lit up. “I’d love to.” The dogs bounced on ahead of them as they headed back to the academy. Aphrodite walked slowly to make it easy for Hephaestus to keep up with her. He seemed a little tongue-tied, so to put him at ease, she began telling him about Hippomenes and his request for help. “The thing is,” she said when she finished her story, “I want to help him, but I’m not really sure how to.”

  Hephaestus looked at her with shy admiration. “You’ll think of something. You’re very clever.”

  “Why, thanks,” said Aphrodite, though she wasn’t quite sure what she’d done to make him think so highly of her. Still, she couldn’t help feeling pleased. She was used to compliments on her beauty, but no godboy had ever told her she was clever before.

  “And if there’s anything I can do to help you with this,” Hephaestus continued, “you have only to ask.”

  “That’s nice of you,” said Aphrodite, “I’ll keep your offer in mind.” Truthfully though, she doubted she’d have any reason to take him up on it.

  Until this moment, her dealings with Hippomenes had pushed all thoughts of the party from her mind. But now they suddenly flooded back. She cringed to think how upset she’d been just because Ares had flirted with Athena. So what? She knew better than anyone that flirting didn’t mean a thing. “Anything interesting happen after I left the party last night?” she heard herself ask.

  Hephaestus looked down at his hands. “I don’t know. I left not long after you did.”

  An awkward silence fell between them. To fill it, and take her mind off her own problems, she said, “That’s a beautiful cane.” Etched into the silver in intricate detail, leaves and flowe
ring vines wound the shaft from top to bottom.

  “Thanks,” he said. “Made it myself.”

  “I should’ve guessed,” said Aphrodite, remembering that he was the god of blacksmiths and metalworking.

  “I love forging things from metal,” said Hephaestus. “It’s so satisfying to transform a boring lump of gold or silver into something beautiful.”

  Aphrodite nodded. She could understand that feeling. After all, hadn’t she gotten a lot of pleasure from transforming Athena last night? She and Hephaestus just worked with different materials—he with metals, she with makeup.

  “Heading up?” she asked as they reached the granite steps leading to the academy’s bronze doors.

  He shook his head. “Later. I’m going to keep walking. It’s good for my legs.”

  “Well, I’m glad I ran into you,” she told him. And it was true. It was nice to talk to a godboy she didn’t feel she had to flirt with, someone who thought she was clever. It made for a pleasant change.

  “Me too.” He smiled, waiting until she got inside before turning to continue his walk.

  5

  Gone Shopping

  IT WAS PAST TEN WHEN APHRODITE GOT BACK upstairs, but Artemis was just waking up. Wagging their tails, the dogs leaped onto her bed and began licking her face. Hugging them, Artemis looked at Aphrodite in surprise. “You took them out?”

  Aphrodite nodded. But before she could tell Artemis all that had happened that morning, her friend jumped out of bed. “You won’t believe what happened last night after you left the party,” she said, as she yanked open her closet. A small heap of clean but wrinkled chitons lay at the bottom. She grabbed the first one she touched and slipped it on.

  Aphrodite’s muscles tensed. What if it was something concerning Ares and Athena? “What happened?” she asked, as Artemis’s head popped out of the chiton’s neckline.

  Artemis grinned. “Poseidon and Dionysus decided to go swimming in one of the fountains. It was hilarious. I think they were showing off for Athena’s benefit.”

  Feeling somewhat relieved, Aphrodite crossed to the open closet and automatically began picking up the chitons. One by one, she shook out their wrinkles, then hung them up. “I bet she wasn’t impressed.”

  “You got that right.” Artemis poured water into a trough for her dogs, then scooped dry dog food into a large ceramic bowl. The hounds immediately ran over to slurp the water and gobble their food. As if to make up for his smaller size, Amby ate twice as fast as the other two. Artemis turned back toward Aphrodite. “She said it was obvious they’d missed getting brains the day they were handed out, probably because they were only being given to godboys who’d use them.”

  Aphrodite laughed. She resisted the urge to clean up the bits of soggy food that the dogs, especially Amby, were scattering around the bowl. “Did Ares go swimming with them?” she asked casually.

  “Ares?” Artemis repeated absently as she reached under her desk for her quiver of arrows. “No, for once he had more sense than the other godboys. Medusa got drenched though. She kept flirting with Poseidon, and I think he got tired of it. Anyway, he and Dionysus finally just picked her up and tossed her in.”

  Aphrodite smiled. She would’ve liked to have seen that. Artemis glanced out the window at the giant sundial below. “Wow, I really slept in, didn’t I?” she said. “I was supposed to meet Apollo for archery practice ten minutes ago.” She picked up her bow. “I’d better go.”

  “Me too,” said Aphrodite. As Artemis left, she returned to her own room next door and settled onto her pillow-strewn bed to mull over the possibilities for helping Hippomenes. After reaching into her bag for her notepad and feather pen, she began a list of ideas. Before she could get very far, however, there was a knock on her door.

  It was Athena. She had dressed again in the turquoise chiton Aphrodite had loaned her last night. “I’m going to the Immortal Marketplace for new knitting supplies,” Athena said. “Want to come?”

  “Sure,” said Aphrodite, setting her pen aside. “Why not?” As they left her room, she couldn’t help asking, “So did you have fun last night?”

  Athena rolled her eyes. “You were lucky you left early. Those godboys wouldn’t leave me alone. It was so annoying! And all because I’d had a makeover.”

  “Didn’t I tell you?” Aphrodite couldn’t help grinning. Now that Athena knew what it was like, she’d probably want to go back to being her usual self. And maybe that wouldn’t be such a bad thing. Her first crush would just have to wait.

  Before leaving the dorm, the girls grabbed winged sandals from the communal basket at the end of the hall and slipped them onto their feet. Immediately the sandals’ straps twined around their ankles, and the silver wings at their heels began to flap. In a blur of speed, they raced down the marble staircase to the main floor of the Academy. And then with their feet barely touching the ground, they zipped out the heavy bronze doors and sped across the courtyard. The wind whistled in their ears as they whipped past boulders and trees to descend Mount Olympus.

  The Immortal Marketplace stood halfway between the heavens and Earth, down below the cloudline. The two girls reached it within minutes, skidding to a stop at the entrance. Loosening the straps around their ankles, they looped them over the silver wings to hold them in place so they could walk at normal speed.

  The market was enormous, with a high-ceilinged crystal roof. Rows and rows of columns separated the various shops, which sold everything from the newest Greek fashions to tridents and organic nectar.

  “In here,” said Athena. Aphrodite followed her into Arachne’s Sewing Supplies. While Athena picked out several skeins of yarn and a new pair of knitting needles, Aphrodite stroked her palm over a length of glossy black-and-red-flowered fabric that would look fabulous on Artemis with her shiny black hair. She knew better than to buy the cloth, however. Artemis would say it was too flashy.

  “Let’s stop at Cleo’s Cosmetics,” Aphrodite said as they left Arachne’s. “I’m almost out of eyeliner.”

  “Okay,” said Athena. She hesitated a moment, then added shyly, “Maybe I’ll get a couple of things too.”

  Aphrodite arched an eyebrow in surprise.

  “Nothing fancy,” Athena said quickly. “Maybe just a lipstick and some of that silver eye powder you used on me last night.”

  “Well, what do you know?” Aphrodite said, smiling at her in amusement. But then a dark thought crossed her mind and she tensed up. Why was Athena suddenly interested in how she looked? “You’re crushing on someone, aren’t you?” Aphrodite excliamed. “Who is it?”

  Athena blushed. “No one, honest. It’s just that, thanks to your makeover last night, I actually felt—well, beautiful.” She glanced down at her sandals, looking embarrassed. “I’ve never felt that way before, and . . . I kind of liked it.”

  Aphrodite’s heart softened and she hugged her friend. “You’ve always been beautiful,” she said. “You were just too busy inventing things and being brilliant in school to notice before now.”

  “Thanks,” said Athena. “But the godboys didn’t seem to notice before last night either.”

  “Only because they weren’t looking,” said Aphrodite.

  When they reached Cleo’s, Aphrodite found the eyeliner she needed. Then she searched for silver eye shadow. “Here,” she said, handing Athena a little pot of the stuff. “This is the one you want.”

  Nodding, Athena took it and then held up a couple of lipsticks in two slightly different shades of pinkish red, one in each hand. “Which one do you think would look best on me?”

  “Neither,” Aphrodite said decisively. Her expert eye scanned the lipsticks on display. Snatching up an orangey-red one, she said, “This one will go best with your skin tone.”

  “You’re the boss,” said Athena, giving her a teasing smile.

  “Well, Beauty-ology is my best subject,” Aphrodite agreed. “Hey, isn’t that a new clerk?”

  Both goddessgirls stared at the lady behind t
he counter. Her purple hair was piled high on top of her head and her three eyes—two in the usual places and one in the middle of her forehead—were beautifully made up. She smiled warmly at the girls as they brought up their purchases. “Did you find everything you need?” she asked, slipping the items into a small papyrus bag, then handing it to Athena.

  “Yes, thank you,” said Athena.

  Aphrodite nodded. Then on an impulse she asked the clerk, “Are you married?”

  The eye in the middle of the woman’s forehead blinked. “Well, no,” she said. “Why do you ask?”

  “There’s this teacher at MOA, Mr. Cyclops. He’s not married either, and I bet you’d be perfect for—”

  The clerk just looked at her, blink, blink, blinking.

  “Never mind her,” interrupted Athena. “She’s always trying to match people up. Since she’s the goddessgirl of love, she can’t really help it.” Grabbing Aphrodite’s arm, she tugged her out of the shop. “Please tell me you didn’t think that clerk would be perfect for Mr. Cyclops just because she has three eyes and Mr. Cyclops has only one,” Athena said after they were safely out of the shop.

  Aphrodite grinned sheepishly. “Well, I admit it was the first thing I thought of. Also, she has lots of hair and Mr. Cyclops is bald.”

  “So?” said Athena.

  “So opposites attract,” said Aphrodite. That wasn’t strictly true, of course. At least not always. Still, she’d have to remember to mention the clerk to Mr. Cyclops.

  Athena rolled her eyes, but Aphrodite ignored her and changed the subject. “You’ll never guess what happened after I got back to my room last night.” She hadn’t had time to tell Artemis the story, and now she was itching share it with a girlfriend.

  “Tell me,” said Athena.

  But just then Aphrodite spotted Ares and Poseidon coming out of Arts of Warfare, a store that specialized in spears, tridents, and thunderbolts. Casually, she steered Athena toward the boys, while at the same time pretending not to notice them. “Well, this mortal named Hippomenes sent me a message, and—”