Answer to Guest: Thank you for your comment. Delphina will show some signs of falling for Apollo but it will be very slow. I still have a lot of myths to cover and the relationship between them will be very complexe. I hope you will enjoy this new chapter.
Chapter 9: Marpessa
As a God of the Sun, Apollo had the power to watch over the mortals during the day. A power he appreciated a lot. Not that he paid that much attention to these beings so far lower than him, but some of them could prove to be very interesting.
Recently, one of them captivated his attention. Someone from royalty. Someone from the kingdom of Aetolia. Someone very beautiful.
Her name was Marpessa.
She was a bright young woman in her teenage. Her hair was like the sand with a shade of brown. She had a tall face that enhanced her gray eyes that shined like the calcite. And her skin was pale but with enough tanning to obtain a good balance.
Her personality was appealing. She was kind, generous, graceful, wise, strong and intelligent. For a mortal, she was almost perfect.
And then, he realized with time that after all these countless hours of observation, he fell under her charm. He would not say in love but he still wanted to possess her somehow. She was too special and worthy of a god. What a miracle that his lustful father didn't attempt to bang her yet!
But there was a single problem with Marpessa. Her father, the king Evenus, was highly protective of her. He rarely allowed her to leave their palace. He always surrendered her with only female servants. The few male guards who protected her were sterile. He really wanted to keep his precious daughter for himself. He swore to give her in marriage only to the man that would succeed to defeat him in a chariot race. The trick was that the King was totally unbeatable since he possessed powerful horses, gift of his father Ares, God of War. So, nobody ever succeeded. Even worse, Evenus always killed the losers for daring to desire his beloved daughter.
But what about Apollo, son of Zeus, master of the Oracle of Delphi, one of the most powerful gods ever?
With each passing day, he became more seduced by the princess. He became almost obsessed. He would stay inside his bedroom, isolated, using his powers to observe her. He went outside only to execute his duties.
Marpessa
He loved the sound of her name. It suited her so well. And she had such a lovely voice. He wondered how his name on her lips would sound. He liked her eyes. How it would be if she looked at him?
He began to understand the possessiveness of her father. Everybody gifted with such a gem would do anything to keep it forever. But the maiden was unhappy. She loved her father but clearly didn't want to remain a virgin all her life.
Apollo loved the idea of this innocent and gorgeous lady, longing for someone to deliver her of her golden prison.
He knew that he needed to have her somehow. But he still hesitated to act. But just what held him back?
But then, one day, everything got shaken. Something unexpected arrived. Something that displeased the god.
Marpessa had been taken away…by another man.
Apollo's eyes turned dark. A fire burned in his head. He was very angry.
This time, he was going to intervene!
…
If there was something that Delphina liked to do as much as swimming in the sea, it was walking around Delphi. Since the beginning of the rule of Apollo, the sanctuary grew to be immensely splendid. And it continued to be embellished with the gifts each city-state came to offer.
The goddess had taken a cloak and a veil to cover her beauty and hide herself among the mortals. She loved to explore and enjoy the place. After all, it was her shrine as well and she took great pride in it.
But her walk with the mortals wasn't a habit that Apollo approved very well. He deliberately judged that gods shouldn't interact with humans that much. Nevertheless, he was tolerant with her.
But Delphina once feared that he would forbid her to walk around the place forever. It happened when she had wanted to see the gymnasium where the athletes train before the Pythian Games, situated just below the sanctuary, closer to the bottom to the mountain.
The downside was that this place was firmly forbidden to women. Delphina knew that. However, she still wanted to see how it looked. She had tried to infiltrate secretly the building but totally failed. She had early been captured by the guards and got herself in huge trouble. The punishment for such transgression was not light and the mortals couldn't know her status as a goddess. She had been deeply scared. She would have no choice to reveal her identity to save herself but it would probably cost her a breach on her reputation.
Luckily for her, Apollo had intervened at time, disguised as a priest and using his authority to set her free. The God of Almost Everything always knew when she was in trouble and never lost time to come to her rescue.
As soon she had been safe again, she had decided to calm the atmosphere by laughing at the incident, thinking that the situation had been quite funny. But a stare from Apollo had made her close her mouth. He wasn't amused at all! He scolded her for her temerity and carelessness. Delphina hated to be treated like a child, but she could understand how much she had worried him. She hadn't acted like the responsible goddess she pretended to be. She had learned her lesson.
But since this day, Apollo assigned a raven to look over her. It was an intelligent white bird that the god used to spy and deliver messages. Delphina didn't mind it. The god could already spy on her whenever he wanted (except the night) by using the sun. So, a guardian bird wasn't very annoying. Quite the contrary, it made a great company.
And recently, she needed some company because Apollo was kind of…absent. But she didn't want to think too much about it. She had to distract her mind.
She continued to walk around the place, incognito. She stopped in front of the temple of Apollo. There was a stone standing, but not any stone. One of the size of a pig. It was shaped like a small round obelisk with mosaics sculpted on it.
It was the Omphalos. The mark of the center of the universe. One of the most sacred objects in Greece.
After all these years, Delphina was still impressed to see it for real like it was the first time. She stood there, watching the stone and admiring its details.
A cry from the raven, perched on a tree nearby, interrupted her contemplation. It was a warning to not touch the sacred stone, since it was forbidden to mortals and she was disguised as one. She gave it an annoyed face. She perfectly knew that, thank you! She wasn't that stupid and careless!
She advanced to the bird, determined to tell it to not be so unnecessary strict when a familiar voice called her. "Nice to see you here, Delphina."
The raven forgotten, she turned around to meet someone she knew. He wore modest clothes to hide his divine identity. She was able to recognize his godly muscles under his chiton. His hair was gray-brown, almost metallic and very curly, far more than Apollo and her. He possessed blue sky eyes and a very malicious but likable smile.
Delphina was happy to see him. She eagerly greeted her friend. "Hermes! How are you?" She said not too loudly, to avoid attracting the attention of mortals with the name of a god mentioned.
"I am very well, thank you very much." Her nephew responded. "I have a box to deliver to Apollo. Sadly, he is not at his palace. No one knows where he is."
Delphina's smile faded. Worries came back to invade her. These last months, Apollo had been immensely preoccupied. He spent most of his time in his bedroom and stopped paying attention to anybody in his free time…even her. His mind seemed gone, trapped in another dimension. He didn't play lyre anymore. He didn't even go out to hunt with his bow anymore. She had no clue about what was going on with him. Everything was normal until, suddenly, it wasn't.
She had talked to Artemis about it. His twin sister didn't seem worried. She stated that she would feel it if there was something really grave troubling her brother. For now, he was certainly just distracted. It would be wiser to respect his privacy and not seek any answer.
She understood. But it was still hard to be ignored by her friend like if she ceased to exist. How long it would be like this?
She stared at Hermes and finally told. "He left very early this morning. He didn't tell the servants why. We don't even know when he will be back."
"Exactly." The messenger God responded. "This is why I thought to give the box to you. You will probably see him at some point."
"I can but… Why did you not simply leave it at his palace to the servants?"
"It is a very precious package which I think should only be in the hands of the gods."
"You make it sound very important. What is it? And who is the expeditor?"
"I fear that I cannot answer any of those questions."
This made her raise her eyebrows, in suspicion.
"You are not planning a prank, I hope."
"Me?" He replied, pretending to be insulted. "I take my job very seriously! Don't insult me! I am hurt that you have such a low opinion of me."
She gazed at him, arms crossed. Her face gave him her answer.
"Ok." He admitted. "You are right. But trust me. This is just a box that I have been instructed to carry carefully. I trust you to take care of it and to deliver it to my brother."
"Thank you." She said, receiving the package. "I will bring it to the palace right now if it is that fragile."
"Good idea!" Hermes replied. "Well, I have to go. Duty calls me again. See you next time!"
Since he was disguised as a mortal, Hermes couldn't leave as fast as someone could expect from the fastest god on Olympus. But he was still gone very quickly and Delphina found herself alone with her guardian raven. Holding the box, she took the road through the forest outside the built trail. The access to the palace of Delphi was well hidden. And to be honest, only authorized persons could get there. The Goddess of Dolphins arrived to a wall of rock on the side of the mountain. She hit it with her hands twice and a door magically appeared and opened to allow access to stairs. The divinity took them to reach one of her secondary residences.
As soon she arrived inside the palace, she noticed that the box just unlocked a little bit by itself. Hum? She tried to close it but it reopened. She tried again. Same thing. What was that? Maybe there was something wrong inside. She opted to verify by totally opening it.
And all of a sudden, feathers exploded and dispersed everywhere! In a matter of some seconds, the whole throne room was covered with millions of feathers from different kinds of bird!
Panicked, Delphina looked inside the box, now empty, where she found a message written in Ancient Greek: "Ah! Ah! I got you!"
"Hermes!" She screamed.
"My Lady! What happened?!" A blond female servant intervened. "Why the throne room is full of feathers?!"
"It is a prank from Hermes! Let's say that he went very far this time!" She declared.
"Ho! No! My Lord is not going to be happy with that!"
She was right. Apollo was very meticulous about order. He would explode of fury if he ever saw that. He would probably kill Hermes too.
Delphina had no idea of what was tormenting her friend recently. But she didn't wish to make it worse with this incident.
"I have to clean it." She decided. "I have to clean it all before Apollo come back. I don't want him to worry about it."
"But My Lady, there are too many feathers. It will take hours to clean everything. You shouldn't burden yourself like that. It is our job after all. Don't act like it is your fault"
"But it is. I should have suspected that Hermes pranked me when the box strangely unlocked itself. And you are going to need the more help you can get. Apollo cannot be allowed to see this."
The servants gave up. Their mistress was just too stubborn. And they were better to start the long task sooner than later.
…
Marpessa opened her eyes. She was a little confused at first, being far from her home, but her memories quickly came back to her. She was in a barn, offered as a refuge by a farm's family for the night for her and Idas.
Idas!
She turned her head and noticed the young prince still sleeping beside her. He was charming. Tall with very short brown hair, a good-sculpted body and a little beard. Not the most beautiful man she had seen but he was strong, kind, brave and loving, even if she knew him since only a few time.
And their encounter had been complicated. When he came to ask for her hand in marriage, she didn't pay attention that much. She was just worried to see another guy dying in the hands of her cruel father.
But he appeared different, he looked far more confident. He had accepted the challenge of the chariot race without any fear. He had looked at her with a sparkle she had never seen before. For the first time, she felt attracted by a man.
That made her more afraid to lose him. Her father's horses were truly invincible! He would lose… But he didn't.
She learned that despite his status as a prince of Messenia, he was in reality a demigod. A son of Poseidon, the God of the Sea and of Horses. And his divine father gifted him with horses that eventually surpassed the speed of the ones from her grandfather, Ares.
When the unthinkable happened, all the spectators became speechless. Nobody could believe their own eyes. Not even Marpessa who shook under the realisation of what this exploit meant for her. Would her life as a maiden finally end?
But she should have known her overprotective father better. His pride got wounded but his stubbornness remained strong. He completely refused to honor his promise and just retorted that his reward would simply be to have his life spared. Marpessa was shocked. How could her father act like a coward, without any honor? He couldn't keep her forever!
And Idas felt robbed and betrayed for good reasons. He didn't take it well. He was furious! He looked at Marpessa who shared the same reactions. A simple coded message in her face gave him her approval about what he was going to do.
He kidnapped her.
And this is how they both ended up here, hiding, far away from her father. Marpessa knew that her life just changed forever. She didn't know how her new life with Idas would be like. She was excited and nervous as well. She had never been so far from her home. To be honest, she felt a little homesick. It would take her time to get used to this new lifestyle.
She got up, being careful to not wake up her husband-to-be. She went outside, wanting to enjoy the fresh morning air and the sunrise. She admired the mountains. They were truly magnificent with the sun getting up in the sky. But then, she felt like there was a shadow emerging from the shining object. She couldn't see it correctly since the sunlight blinded her sight, but she knew there was something…and it was coming closer.
And it came very fast. The silhouette grew bigger to the point of masking the sun. She could finally see what it was: a chariot.
A chariot led by swans, to be exact. It had to be godly and only one god was famous for driving a carriage led by those wild birds.
She froze at the realisation. But suddenly, the chariot quickly arrived in front of her. She closed her eyes, to protect herself from the dust caused by the landing.
The effect of surprise gone, Marpessa came back to her senses. She was in presence of a god. What did he want with her? Did he want to punish her for disobeying her father? Remembering the tales of the victims of the wrath of the gods, she became scared.
"Be calm, Marpessa. I mean no harm toward you."
The princess felt reassured. The voice was so melodious. It sounded like music to her ears. She opened her eyes and couldn't believe the sight presented to her.
She heard a lot about the beauty of the god Apollo, but wow! Not even in her greatest fantasies, she could have imagined someone like him. No description could do him justice.
The gold of his hair was so shining. His body looked perfect. His face was well shaped. His elegance seemed unequalled. She didn't know what to say more. He was so extremely handsome!
But suddenly, something just struck her mind. "How do you know my name, My Lord?"
"I have been observing you for a long time, Marpessa." Apollo simply answered.
"Really?" The Aetolian princess couldn't say if she felt honored or intimidated. "But why?"
"Your qualities as a woman please me. I just couldn't distract myself from your view."
He presented his arm toward her.
"And this is why I pledge you to take my hand and become my partner in life."
Marpessa lost her breathe! Her mind struggled to compose with what was happening. Did the most gorgeous god ever just propose to her? It was so sudden. What should she answer? Also…
"My Lord, I don't know. I am flattered, but I am already promised…"
"Marpessa!"
The voice jolted her. Idas! She turned around and noticed that her fiancé was now totally awaken and standing. And he didn't seem pleased by the presence of the Olympian for good reasons.
"You! Apollo, God of the Sun! Did you just intend to steal my wife?!" He roared.
"She isn't your wife." The divinity answered with a tone sharp like a knife.
"She is still promised to me! I won the challenge against her father!"
"But you still didn't get his approval. You just kidnapped her."
"But my father will never agree." Marpessa protested.
"He wouldn't have agreed. He is dead now. He pursued both of you but couldn't manage to catch you. He drowned himself in despair."
Marpessa gasped after hearing the news. No! She felt guilty and very sad. She had loved her father. He had only been too much overprotective. She wished that their relationship had ended up in another way. But now, it was too late!
She fell on the floor, beginning to cry. Idas couldn't stand to see his love in this state. He prepared himself to run and comfort her when he saw the god about to do the same. Angry, he took his sword and pointed it in the direction of his rival.
"Stay away from her! Don't believe that just because you are a god, you can get anything you want!"
Just like most gods, there was nothing that Apollo hated more than an arrogant mortal. He may be a son of Poseidon, but he was still a lower being. Not that he considered Marpessa as the same. She was truly special and he could perfectly relate to the will of Idas to fight for her hand.
Still, Apollo felt insulted by the statement. And so, he took his own sword from inside his chariot. He may be an archer first, but he still knew how to use the iron weapon.
And he replied defiantly. "Well. I can easily prove to you my worth. Come, mortal! I will not even bother to use my powers against you! I don't need them."
Stimulated by the challenge, Idas ran to him and attacked only to be easily blocked. Suddenly, the son of Leto counterattacked very fast. And then, a long and violent duel began between the two men.
Marpessa kept her hands in front of her mouth in shock. She was overwhelmed by emotions. Her sudden escape, the apparition of the great Apollo, the news of the death of her father and now a fight between two potential suitors for her hand.
She felt useless. She had no idea about what to do. She wanted them to stop but would they listen to her? They seemed prepared to battle until death (in a literal way since Apollo was immortal).
Both proved to be strong warriors. Despite being only a demigod, Idas was capable to give a good fight to the much more powerful god who admitted interiorly to be very impressed.
The fight lasted and lasted. None of the participants showed a sign of fatigue. But after many hours of intense clash, the sky became clouded in black, a thunder resonated loudly, followed by a thunderbolt at only four meters from the two fighters. This forced them to stop, completely disrupted by the electricity in the air. They turned their head.
Zeus appeared in front of them, very displeased.
"Can you both of you explain to me what is the reason behind your quarrel? You are so noisy that I could hear you from Olympus!" The almighty God yelled.
Idas was very impressed to be in the presence of the King of the Gods. Yet, he found the courage to respond. "My Lord, I won the hand of the maiden Marpessa by winning the chariot race against her father. So, according to the rules, she is my fiancée. But your son attempted to steal the woman I love away from me."
Zeus had listened to him attentively. Then, he pointed his attention to his son.
"And you, Apollo, what do you have to answer?"
The God of the Sun thought about it carefully. His actions had been controlled by his emotions. And since he was the God of Truth, he could not say a single lie. On the other side, he was the God of Reason. He didn't want to lose his face.
So after a quick reflection, he finally justified himself. "I have nothing else to say except the fact that I found myself very attracted by Marpessa. Idas may have won the race but he still didn't get the approval of her father. Besides, neither the princess gave officially her consent to this marriage. So, I consider that I possessed the right to try to court her."
After hearing both sides of the story, Zeus began to think deeply about the dilemma. He would not favour any party, not even his own offspring. It would not be wise since both had good points.
He had only one solution left.
He directed his stare toward Marpessa. The woman was nervous, tired and very confused. With a reassuring voice, he told her. "Dear princess of Aetolia, these two men seem very determined to obtain your favor. Consequently, you are the only one that can resolve the conflict. This is your choice. Chose the suitor that will suit you the best."
Marpessa opened her eyes widely. She felt blessed for being given the chance to decide for herself for once in her life but it was also a huge decision to take. One that would seal her fate. The impacts would be very important, so she needed to use all of her wisdom.
She watched both men. Idas wasn't that much good-looking. He wasn't ugly but still, for a demigod, his appearance was very average, even disappointing. But he had proved his value and his strength.
But Apollo, he was… Well, he was Apollo. The name itself signified beauty, greatness, wealth, power, respect. Just how many mortals, nymphs and even goddesses dreamed to have his attention for a single instant? He was the epitome of perfection! He would protect her like only a god can do. He would give her more gifts in a day than a king could hope to receive in a whole life. Being his consort, she would be treated as a goddess…
Wait! Would she truly be?
With her illusions surrounding the beautiful god, she had to come back to her senses.
First, did Apollo truly love her? He only stated that he was attracted by her, after all. So was it just because of her beauty? But, she was just mortal, so…
Suddenly, her eye caught a glimpse of Idas. The way he was looking at her, completely desperate and praying. This pureness warmed her heart.
And she recalled that contrary to his rival, he had described her as the woman he loved.
Her decision was taken.
She turned to the Master of Delphi and spoke. "Lord Apollo. Your interest for me truly flatters me. But look at me. I am only a mortal. You may find me gorgeous right now but I will grow old someday. You will remain beautiful forever. You will probably lose your interest when I will be able to pass for your grandmother. I don't want to offend you but I choose Idas. Because I want to be with someone that will age with me, someone that will not make me fear to be abandoned in the future."
Idas was stunned. He expected to lose but he didn't. He truly felt touched by the reasons motivating her choice. He swore himself that he will cherish his love forever. So she will never regret her decision.
For Apollo, the answer troubled him as well. How could someone dare to choose a simple mortal over a powerful god? But her arguments proved to be very convincing. She had expressed the wisdom, the courage and the honesty that had seduced him so much since the first day he put his eyes on her.
He couldn't be angry at her for rejecting him. He nodded to show her his resignation.
…
"Why didn't you offer her immortality?" Zeus asked to his son.
Apollo had passed the whole day on a hill, watching the mountainous landscape, isolated in his reflection. It was enough to worry his own father.
"You would have given her ambrosia?" He replied.
"Don't play games with me. You know that I would. You are my favourite son, after all. I only want your happiness. So I will repeat my question only one more time. Why didn't you offer her to be immortal with you?"
"To be honest, I don't know. Maybe I didn't truly love her, like she implied."
Zeus didn't add anything. He was certainly not the best to give advice in this matter.
…
When the sun came to set, Apollo decided it was time to go back home. He had come to plenty accept Marpessa's decision even if it deeply hurt his pride. It was time to get over it.
But when he returned, the first thing he saw was totally unusual. And he could do nothing except freeze in place.
Delphina was sitting on his throne, asleep with her head resting on the armrest. How she succeeded to fall in the kingdom of Morpheus in this position was a mystery, but she did.
Anybody else found on his throne would face a punishment so harsh that it would follow the victim in agony until the Underworld. Just for this small offense.
Fortunately, he could never harm Delphina. Nevertheless, he still wondered how she ended up there.
He spotted a blond-haired servant in a corner and immediately ordered her to come with a sign of his hand. Intimidated, the nymph obeyed, her head low.
"Can I know why Delphina is sitting and sleeping on my throne?"
"Well…" She hesitated, still unsure about what to answer.
"Just to be clear. I'm not in the mood to wait forever for an answer." He specified, impatiently.
"Sorry My Lord! Your brother, Hermes, passed and pranked Lady Delphina with a box full of feathers. She spent the whole day, cleaning the throne room. We helped her but she still overworked herself as you can see."
"Hermes? This little…" He stopped before letting vulgarity take control of his mouth. "Well, I understand now. But why she is not in her bedroom?"
"Well, My Lord… She was waiting for your return."
"My return?"
"Yes. Lady Delphina has been very worried for you recently. The fact that you left very early this morning without any explanation didn't improve anything."
The later subject mentioned caught his complete attention. Delphina was worried? Well, it was true that since the beginning of his obsession with Marpessa, he had been ignoring practically everyone.
Now, he realised how it might have impacted his relatives and that made him feel guilty.
"She insisted to wait here. She would not listen to us, even if she needed a good rest. This is probably why she sat on you throne to take a nap. We are sorry. We should have…"
"Don't." He interrupted. "It's alright. You are dismissed. I will take care of it myself."
She bowed and left quietly. Alone at last, Apollo approached his throne where his friend was still sleeping. He sighed.
"You don't change. And I hope you never will."
Then, he proceeded to carefully take her in his arms without waking her up. That required a lot of delicacy but he managed with a lot of patience and soon, Delphina was safe in his warm embrace, peacefully breathing with her head resting on his bare chest. The beating of his heart appeased her like a lullaby and kept her asleep. She was so beautiful with her eyes closed and her innocent smile.
He wanted to fully savour the moment. Rare were the opportunities where he could be that close to her. In fact, the last time he got that proximity with her was…the day he was born. And she had been the one holding him in her arms.
Well, it was now time to go to bed. By the way, he would need to remember to punish Hermes for that.
Or maybe he did it on purpose for a reason. His little brother could be very enigmatic sometimes… But he was still going to kill him.
When he finally deposited her in her bed, he used his powers to warm the blankets so she would already be comfortable. After everything was done, he looked at her again.
And before to leave, he said. "I'm sorry. For ignoring you like that without any explanation. I hope you will forgive me."
Of course, she didn't hear him, she was so deep asleep. He smiled and realized what a miracle it was that Marpessa managed to get all his attention. She may be very pretty but her beauty stayed still slim compared to the first woman he ever saw in his life.
He was glad she was still a part of his life.
But now, he had to go to his own bed. Tomorrow would be another day.
Thank you for reading.
Ok! So, I have to say that I ignored the chronology for once. According to Greek mythology, Idas met the twins Castor and Pollux (princes of Sparta and brother of Helen), making this myth very close to the Troy war, but we didn't see Hyacinth yet!
But, having put this myth later, it would have ruined the character development I planned, so I'm like: Screw it! Greek Mythology don't possess chronological logic neither!XD
I hope you liked it and this is the hint for the next chapter: Aulos.
See you soon!
