Heroes of Old
Here's a little one-shot that came to mind. I'm currently reading the Odyssey and Percy Jackson and the Olympians, so I felt I had to write this. I feel as if the old heroes don't get enough credit.
Bright eyed Pallas Athena, daughter of Zeus Almighty gazes upon the mortal world through her looking glass high above in Mount Olympus. There is a fine layer of dust clouding the surface that the goddess wipes away with her sleeve as she settles into the fine wooden stool beside the glass. Strong yet delicate hands carefully touch the golden rim and a misty image emerges from the view of the perfect sky swathed in clouds.
Rosy-fingered Dawn awakens the demigod children at Camp Half-Blood and they start their day. They are so full of youthful joy and energy that a smile graces Athena's lips. She gazes fondly upon her family, all heroes now and celebrating their victory in the war. Athena cannot recall how many wars she has witnessed and how many heroes she has seen fallen in battle.
For a time, she knows there will be peace in Camp Half-Blood and Mount Olympus. It is so rare that such a reprieve comes along and she intends to spend her day here, before her looking glass remembering painful events long past. She wishes to know what past battles have taught the new generations, what worth were the sacrifices of war. Athena knows that answer, but like humans she refuses to admit it and wants to see it before her own eyes.
She focuses her gaze on Percy Jackson, the Son of the Sea God and a hero. His name is short for Perseus, the hero who slew the gorgon Medusa. There are few heroes who receive happy endings, she recalls in amusement that quickly turns to a nostalgic smile. Perseus Jackson has been fortunate she conclfudes, for he has loyal friends beside him and the gods on his side. Bitterly, Athena recalls that he is Poseidon's son and she recalls her past rivalry with the God of the Sea.
Centuries ago there was another hero, not named Perseus, who suffered great tragedies and received a happy ending. Poseidon despised that mortal man and Athena favored him, always there to guide the way. Indeed, she held a special fondness for this mortal.
Yes, he was Odysseus Laërtiadês, the man never at a loss who endured many hardships and who brought the wrath of Poseidon upon him and his companions. The loyal and brave Odysseus who traveled far and only returned home after twenty long years.
Athena sees the similarities Percy Jackson shares with Odysseus Laërtiadês. She also sees the differences. The goddess gazes down upon the half-bloods laughing and training and she cannot help but remember that they used to make heroes very differently a long time ago.
Percy Jackson is sixteen and his adventures started when he was twelve. He has lived in the world of half-bloods and Greek gods for four years and already he has saved the world and faced all the tragedies past heroes faced in decades. The life achievements of heroes long past has all been completed by an adolescent boy within the span of four years. Athena is wise and knows the world but she does not fully understand the nostalgic feelings in her chest. She thinks it is a form of sadness.
She recalls Odysseus, that man never at a loss, the man who thought up the brilliant plan of the Trojan Horse. Odysseus and his comrades fought for ten years in that war and many mortals lost their lives. Even the gods had chosen sides, Athena remembers.
If there was one outstanding difference between Odysseus and Percy Jackson, it was the fact that Poseidon favored his son and caused all of Odysseus's troubles in the first place.
Percy Jackson is lucky to have loyal friends and his father's favor on his journeys. He is lucky that his quests have not yet killed him, though Athena believes that fate is responsible for a part of that. She recalls the adventures of Percy Jackson and his friends. How lucky they were to come out of it alive. She does see a semblance of bravery within those children, otherwise they would not have risked everything to save what mattered most to them.
They do not make heroes like they used to, she decides again. Their journeys have been far too short and lacking tragedy to be called heroes, Athena decides, though she will never say the words. For even Odysseus, full of guile and a god among men, with the blessings of bright eyed Athena, sailed home after twenty long years.
Perhaps, Athena considers, the gods have become too soft, for she recalls the grudges they used to enact upon mortals. Percy Jackson has brought the wrath of the gods upon him at times and she is shocked that he still lives, in peace nonetheless.
The gods and goddesses who live on Mount Olympus are passionate creatures. Humans are passionate creatures. Demigods are also passionate creatures. Passion can blind humans and lead to their deaths, so Athena wonders why some of these demigods are still alive. She thinks it is their blood, the blood of mortals and immortals. With their fatal flaws it is a wonder they are not dead.
Athena recalls the wrath of Poseidon now, watching Percy Jackson in combat against a child of Ares. She wonders how three demigods and a satyr escaped being consumed by the Cyclops Polyphemus when they were younger. Brave Odysseus and his men did not escape unscathed and indeed, Poseidon's curse followed them to Hades.
Athena finds that she is bitter because these young heroes are so lucky. They escaped the wrath of gods time and time again. She is thankful that they helped save Olympus, but she chuckles at how unfair the world remains. Those children are foolish. Even her daughter is foolish, though she is also bright. Let their confidence be their downfall, Athena decides quietly, as with the heroes who died so long ago.
There is a thundering presence behind Athena and she does not need to turn to know the identity.
"We do not make heroes like we used to," bright eyed Pallas Athena, daughter of Zeus Almighty muses.
Notes:
-Pallas is the same as Athena. In The Odyssey, this is her title that is constantly used. Homer's epithet for Athena is "bright eyed". Likewise, "Zeus Almighty" is also one of his titles commonly used.
-Heroes of Old references to Athena's line "We do not make heroes like we used to", because the heroes of the past suffered great tragedies and only after years of struggles were they able to complete their goals. Percy and his friends complete these in a matter of days. This is also significant because Odysseus has superhuman qualities like strength and cunnning, and he still took ten years to sail home from the Trojan War.