The tale of Hera Vol. 1.1 Chapter 4.1 - The Golden Apple of Discord

4. The Golden Apple of Discord

 

During our wrestling match as a couple, the ceremony had silently come to an end. Peleus, who had offered libations to the gods, took a hearty gulp from his cup and then passed it to his wife. Thetis delicately sipped the drink her husband had tasted. The Naiades of Mount Pelion approached the bride and groom, placing crowns they had crafted upon their heads. Holding hands, the bride and groom began their procession. As they walked, nymphs standing by the roadside retrieved handfuls of pollen from baskets and gently scattered them over the couple’s heads. Thetis and Peleus shyly smiled as they were showered with a flower rain. Even if it was a fabricated joy, in my eyes, they looked truly happy.

The newlywed couple, after completing their procession, took their seats on a long chair adorned with wolf skins. It was merely ten meters away from the golden throne where Zeus and I sat. From that spot, they rested briefly while observing the laborers preparing for the feast. Guests who had arrived late and hadn’t been able to present their wedding gifts and congratulations approached the couple, creating a lively buzz around them.

“May everyone please pay attention.”

Nestor, the stalwart son of King Neleus and a close companion of King Peleus, stood up and spoke.

“What is unseen to human eyes, yet present in this gathering, are the gods of Olympus who have come to celebrate King Peleus’s marriage.”

“That is so.”

Then Heracles stood up, raising his glass, and spoke.

“Let us offer this hecatomb, prepared with utmost care, as a blessing for this marriage, to the all-powerful King Zeus and the revered Lady Hera.”

People cheered and applauded loudly. Friends of the groom, including Heracles, dismantled the plump livestock that had been confined near the woodpile by the fence. They skillfully separated the flesh and fat from the leather and bones, neatly stacking them. The smell of blood hung in the air, and flies buzzed around like ghosts. Chiron, the wise centaur who abstained from consuming meat, concluded his rites and quietly withdrew, as if his part was now complete.

Dismantling a hundred goats and two hundred cows took quite some time. The sun, which had been floating in the zenith, was now gradually setting, casting a warm glow over the bride and groom as they walked side by side on the green grass. Hot blood, like mine, flowed across the sacrificial offerings they trod upon.

Squelch, squelch.

The sound of bare feet stepping on blood echoed through the serene surroundings. Startled by the eerie sound, everyone shivered and turned to locate its source. When they spotted Eris, the goddess of discord, who had not been invited to the wedding, a collective gasp of surprise filled the air.

Eris was walking slowly toward the spot where the bride and groom, Zeus, and I were sitting, treading on the blood of the slaughtered animals.

“Hera, did you call for her?” 

Zeus asked me with a suspicious look. He was the one who had arranged a scheme to ruin Thetis’ wedding, yet he was sitting next to me as if nothing had happened, sending me a contemptuous look that was full of disgust. I had to say something utterly absurd. I looked at him as if he was pathetic.

“Hush, be quiet and listen to the voice of the goddess. She seems about to speak.”

Zeus, who couldn’t easily dispel his suspicion towards me, raised his head as if he wanted to shake off his bad mood and let out a deep sigh. However, he couldn’t help but wonder what the goddess was about to say, and he looked at Eris with a focused expression, resting his chin on his hand.

“Dear gods of Olympus.”

With her arms outstretched to the sides, Eris looked around us confidently. Her head turned slowly, and she directed her gaze towards the guests of King Peleus sitting in the right section.

“And to these detestable and foolish humans.”

Tilting her head sideways, Eris narrowed her eyes as she fixed her intense gaze on them. Her lips parted, revealing sharp yellow teeth like a wolf’s fangs. From her voracious mouth, a bifurcated, bright red tongue emerged like a snake, and it licked her front teeth. The scent of death pricked at our noses.

“I apologize. I had no idea there was such an event today. I hadn’t heard the news. However, I heard the cries of hundreds of goats and oxen being slaughtered. And the loyal scavengers of death, the flies, whispered to me. They told me that Thetis, the beautiful daughter of the sea, had married the mortal Peleus. In haste, I brought gifts for the bride and groom, but it seems I’ve missed the ceremony, haven’t I?”

With a bright smile on her face, Eris finished speaking. However, it was only after the goddess had finished her words that people among the humans began to foam at the mouth, stumble, and fall, dozens of them fainting in her presence.

“Eris.” 

Zeus spoke sternly. 

“The feast will commence shortly. Eris. How about waiting for a while and enjoying some nectar until then?”

With a sidelong glance at me, Zeus signaled his effort to use his eloquence to somehow mitigate this awkward situation. He is trying. I smiled as if I knew nothing and addressed Eris.

“You’ve come, Eris. It’s embarrassing that no one from the Olympian gods informed you about the wedding. Being a part of them, my face is burning with shame.”

“Hera… just…”

Beside me, Zeus growled.

“Why don’t you come over here and take my seat?”

I went a step further and said this. The seating had been arranged exactly to accommodate the number of attending gods from the hosting side, leaving no vacant chairs. Eris had been standing all this time until the blood on her feet dried up.

When I stood up and offered the golden seat, the gods comfortably seated on their thrones began to murmur. They seemed to be deeply concerned about who should stand up from the chair first before I, Zeus’s wife, gave up my seat.

“Respected Hera, I have no intention of taking your seat. I was planning on giving a gift and leaving anyway.”

Eris smiled and then conjured a sparkling sphere in her palm. She swiftly tossed it toward the table where Thetis and King Peleus were sitting.

“In the customs of humans, it is said that grooms prepare heartfelt gratitude gifts for the guests attending the wedding. I’d like to contribute to that gift. It might not seem as impressive as the golden apple tree that Gaia gave to Hera, but to my eyes, this golden apple is valuable enough. Whoever desires to have it, whether immortal or mortal, may take it. The one who possesses it first shall be its owner. Haha.”

Eris let out a cheerful laugh and spun around. At the same time, the flies that had gathered in a buzzing mass over the slowly drying pool of blood suddenly swarmed and flew towards the goddess, wrapping around her body as they ascended into the sky before bursting with a loud pop. The swarm of flies scattered in all directions, and the goddess’ form was no longer there.

 

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