EPISODE 24

IN WHICH A MYSTERIOUS ARTIST ENTERS THE PALACE

Previously: Hermes has just witnessed his father’s birth and then his childhood. Pausania, however, has told him that his brother Hephaestus has need of him.

On his way back, Hermes wondered how he might be able to help Hephaestus. He often thought of this little brother whose mother had thrown him out of the window. He had tried hard several times to find again the cave where the nymph Thetis had received him, yet he had never been able to discover its whereabouts. On that day, Hermes sat on a rock by the seaside, all the while thinking of Hephaestus’ disappearance. The water was calm and pure, just barely disturbed by a light wind which formed delicate ripples on its surface. His gaze wandered in this way across the surface of the sea, until it was caught by something shiny. With a flap of his wings, Hermes swooped down upon the flash of light. It was a piece of jewellery, a splendid brooch. “It must have been made by a craftsman of exceptional skill,” Hermes told himself. The brooch was placed on a bed of seaweed and it floated on the surface of the water. Hermes took it and returned to Olympus.

When he arrived at his father’s palace, Hermes had attached the brooch to his tunic. This jewel did not pass unnoticed. No one had ever seen one as beautiful as this. The goddesses and nymphs pushed and shoved one another, the better to admire it. Hermes was flattered. White-armed Hera came by, however.

“Give me that brooch!” she cried.

“And why should I?” replied Hermes impertinently.

Scarlet with rage, Hera shouted: “Because I am the wife of the god of gods, and because no one has the right to wear jewels more beautiful than mine!”

Disgruntled, Hermes handed her the brooch. Then, the very next morning, when it was time for the assembly of the gods, a goddess appeared at the palace wearing on her head a magnificent jewel: it was a very finely chased diadem. It sparkled and every gaze turned towards its wearer. No one looked at Hera any more, despite her exquisite brooch. Furious, Hera leant towards her husband and asked him to summon the goddess to him. It was the nymph Thetis. She approached the throne.

Zeus questioned her: “Who is the artist who has fashioned a diadem of such beauty?”

“The same as the one who made your wife’s brooch,” replied Thetis.

“What is his name?” exclaimed Zeus. Thetis kept silent.

Hera lost all patience: “I demand to know his name, for I wish him to come here and remain close to me so that he can make me the most beautiful jewels in the universe!”

With a small sidelong smile, Thetis murmured: “Are you quite sure, O goddess?”

“Yes!” replied Hera.

And so Thetis asked leave to absent herself, so she might go and fetch the artist who could twist the precious metals with such divine skill.

The crowd that had gathered in the great hall of the palace was waiting for her return with great curiosity. It surely had to be a god. Yet which god? Suddenly, the heavy doors were opened. A stocky, hunchbacked figure came limping forth. He was still young, yet a shaggy beard hid part of his face. He was extremely ugly. A startled murmur ran through the throng. How could this vile fellow be the one who had fashioned such graceful objects? The man approached the throne of Zeus and Hera and then went down on his knee. Only his broad, bull-like shoulders could be seen, and his great unkempt mane of hair.

“I am at your service, O king and queen of Olympus,” he said. “My name is Hephaestus.”

 

To be continued…