Disclaimer: I do not own the Greek gods in any way, shape, or form.
Artemis' POV
Is it worth it? Is love really worth the price?
When I was a little girl, I sat on my father's lap and asked him for one thing. "I want to be chaste for eternity. I don't want to be bound to a man in marriage." My father laughed and gave me what I wished. I was so happy.
Marriage and love seem to be nothing but trouble. I see Hera, my father's wife, either in a jealous rage, or crying alone in her room because Zeus found a new lover. She loves him, and yet he either ignores her or flaunts his lovers in front of her, openly mocking her. He might be a good father and a just leader, but a loving husband, he is not.
And yet she still remains with him, even as he causes her to weep. Is he really worth all this pain?
My half-brother, Hephaestus, suffers from a similar problem. He is married to the goddess, Aphrodite, who has never remained faithful to him. He knows about her infidelities; why, he even caught her and Ares in a lover's tryst, and invited us to come see them in their nakedness. Yet he doesn't cheat on her. I won't lie, he is not much of a looker, but he is intelligent and kind. Surely one woman would lie with him, and yet he upholds their marriage. Why would he feel the need to do this?
Even the humans rarely have luck with love. I hear their prayers every day, why doesn't he love me? Why does she cheat on me? What did I do wrong? And mortals willingly go through this heartbreak day after day, year after year, hopelessly searching for this thing called love! Most never find it.
It is times like this that I am relieved to be free from love and all its complications. And yet...
I see Hades waiting day after day by the hole to the Underworld. And when the first day of fall finally comes, and he sees his bride, Persephone, step out of the trees, there is a light in his eyes. A light that only appears whenever he sees her. She runs to him and he holds her close, as if she is the only ting anchoring him to the earth, and without her, he would drift away. He goes through six long months of loneliness, and yet he waits for her.
I see Eros flying from his duties on Earth, to be with his wife, Psyche. I watch in silence as she waits by the doors, eagerly awaiting his return. And when he does walk in, she throws herself into his arms, and he kisses her with longing and passion. Then, they go and check on their beautiful daughter, Pleasure. They seem so happy...
I have seen a few humans witness this true love. Perseus and Andromeda, they lived and loved, and when Andromeda died, I watched in the heavens as Perseus mourned her loss. Why would he allow himself to love her, if he was going to lose her to Hades? Was a few years of happiness really worth all the grief?
Orpheus, the son of the muse, Calliope, walked through Tartarus and back to rescue his wife, Eurydice. Why would he risk his own life for her? Surely, he valued his own skin over hers, most men do. Dionysus too loved a mortal woman, Ariadne. He stole her from Theseus and made her his queen. He even gave her a bejeweled crown for her to wear. And when she died, he placed the crown in the sky as a constellation! It twinkles above me as I pull the moon across the sky, the constellation Corona. Why would he do this? He knew that she was only mortal, that Hades would claim her at some time. But he let himself love her, and even now he grieves!
Why? Why do men and women risk everything for this foolish emotion? This so called love?
I look up at the sky, trying to make sense of my thoughts. Then, I see it. Orion's constellation high above me in the night sky. The only man that I had ever felt affection for. The only one I had thought of giving up my immortality for. I drive my chariot through the night sky, asking myself, Would it have been worth it?
