DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Greek gods. You don't own the Greek gods. No one owns the Greek gods! (However, inspiration for this story is given to Rick Riordan.)
They all think that smart means ugly or uncaring, and that beautiful means ditzy and idiotic. It can, don't get me wrong, but inherently it doesn't.
Mortal women were treated badly until recently. Not everyone acknowledges that their minds are just a good as any man's, even now. It's rather ridiculous. But the same thing happens on Olympus.
Athena, of course, well, she's the actual goddess of wisdom. Only a complete imbecile would think to consider her less than genius, and if he did he'd be blasted to shreds.
Artemis is goddess of the Hunt. She's skilled, which means the gods take her as very intelligent, and that she is. She is also an eternal maiden (I can't imagine) and so she is seen without that perceived dumbness that supposedly all attractive, dating women have.
Even Demeter gets some credit for her wonderful agriculture and various farming techniques.
But Hera and I? No. The mortals give us no credit. Just because we lord over "old-fashioned" values like family and love, to them it means we are idiots who cannot function for ourselves.
On Olympus, everyone knows that Hera is smart. We've all seen her sneaky tricks on heroes. But me? There is no chance.
See, it's easier for, say, Athena. When you think of a smart goddess, you don't know if she's beautiful as well - maybe, maybe not. But when you think of a beautiful goddess, you think: idiot. Go ahead, think about it for a minute. You will, as I have, come to realize it's true.
And boy have I had a long time to realize it. Thousands of years. I'm older than many of the major gods, and for most that would mean wisdom, but no.
And lets say I'm having a not-amazing day. I tied my hair up a bit messy, didn't put much makeup on at all, just wore some nice-but-comfy clothes. At least ten minor gods, muses, and any number of other things will ask me things like, "oh, were you really busy this morning?" or the classic, "are you rushing somewhere?" Has it never occurred to you to that looking attractive for your enjoyment might not be my main concern?
In fact, looking attractive for your enjoyment is not my concern at all. I dress up and look nice for me, to make me feel clean and confident. Not so that you can look at me, you arrogant swine. So if I don't feel the need to look fantastic, I won't.
The bottom line is, don't look at the stereotypes.
Let me tell you a secret.
Athena wants to look nice.
Aphrodite can solve problems.
Not everything is two-dimensional. Nothing real can be.
A/N: This is also published on FictionPress, under my other account just-slightly-deranged. I believe it is both a fanfic and a story.
- only-slightly-deranged -