"In peace, sons bury their fathers. In war, fathers bury their sons." -Herodotus

Chapter 10: Paris and the Trojan War

The Trojan War began soon thereafter. Apollo and Hermes took different sides – Hermes supported the Greeks, while Apollo favored the Trojans.

Hermes knew that something had happened when he walked into the conference room one morning and saw Apollo, Artemis, Ares, and Athena standing in a small group. All four were dressed in full armor, weapons close at hand. Ares and Apollo had their hair braided in the style of Greek warriors. Ares was carrying his helmet under his arm. Apollo looked serene, as though everything in the world was perfect - even though, clearly, it was not.

"Er…What's going on?" Hermes asked, staring at them in confusion.

"The Greeks have declared war on the Trojans," Ares announced, sounding like Yule had come early.

"You don't have to say it like you think it's the best thing to have happened all century," Athena snapped at him. Athena and Ares were perhaps the two most argumentative gods in the pantheon. Both were gods of war, but had very different ideas on how to approach battle. Ares was bloodthirsty, but Athena did not believe in fighting without reason.

"Why?"

"Don't you remember what happened last month?" Artemis asked. Glancing at her, Hermes was struck by how similar in appearance she was to her brother.

"Um – a lot of things happened last month," he said, losing track of his thoughts momentarily.

"The golden apple," Ares said impatiently. Athena huffed at his words, muttering something about men never thinking with their brains. And then, Hermes remembered.

Flashback

"Hermes!" Zeus bellowed, striding towards his youngest son with a worried expression on his face. "I need you to do me a favor."

Hermes made a face at his father; practically his entire job was doing favors for the king. "What is it?"

"Do you remember what happened at Peleus and Thetis's wedding?"

Hermes smiled, recalling the rather comical joke that had been pulled by Eris, goddess of discord. "Yes."

"Three of the girls laid claim to the apple. They wanted me to decide who should be the rightful owner, but I want nothing to do with it. I need you to go to Earth and get Paris."

Paris, a prince of Troy, was considered to be the most beautiful mortal man of the decade. "You're letting a mortal decide?" Hermes asked, rather surprised. Zeus shrugged.

"Just go and get him."

When Hermes arrived with the prince, Athena, Aphrodite, and Hera were already waiting in the conference room. Hermes had never seen any of them looking so spectacularly beautiful. Aphrodite had flowers woven into her mane of shimmering hair. Her long red dress was strapless. She needed no makeup to have a breathtaking effect.

Hera was dressed in pink. Her eyelids were painted, and a golden crown was tucked subtly into her dark hair. Her light, ageless skin shone with majesty.

Athena was perhaps the most attractive of all – at least, in Hermes' opinion. She had made no attempt to look feminine and appealing. Her helmet sat atop her dark wavy hair. Her muscular legs were visible, and she watched Paris in an appraising manner. She was purely and simply Athena.

"These are the contestants," Hermes announced to Paris. "Your only job is to tell us which you think is the most beautiful." As he spoke, Aphrodite straightened up, making her breasts appear larger. Hermes rolled his eyes at her before returning his gaze to Paris. The prince was staring at the three goddesses with awe. His gaze flicked from Athena to Hera to Aphrodite and then back to Athena.

After several moments of silence, Hermes pressed, "Well?"

"I – I don't know," Paris stammered. "They're all so beautiful…"

The three goddesses glanced at each other, and then Hera turned to Paris and stepped forward. "If you pick me," she said, gazing into his dark eyes. "I will make sure that you become the sole ruler of all of Europe and Asia. You will be the greatest leader of all time, and your name will never be forgotten."

Athena hissed in anger at Hera's scheme, but she would not be undone. She stepped forward and shoved her stepmother out of the way. "If you pick me, you will be the wisest man that the world has ever seen. Everyone will know your name. And," she added hastily, seeing that Paris didn't look particularly interested. "You will be undefeated in battle."

Aphrodite smirked at her stepmother and sister. From somewhere within her robes, she pulled out a mirror framed with gold. She held it up for Paris to see. Hermes, Athena, and Hera all stepped forward in curiosity, and as they watched, an image that was not Paris formed in the mirror. A beautiful girl appeared. She had a yard of golden hair and sea-green eyes. She brushed her hair as they stared at the image. "Who is she?" Paris whispered. Aphrodite lowered the mirror, a smug expression on her face.

"Her name is Helen. She is currently considered to be the most beautiful mortal woman in the world. And if you pick me," she stopped, creating a dramatic pause. "You shall have her as your wife."

"Then I pick you!" Paris said immediately. Athena and Hera let out cries of anger. Hermes grabbed Paris by the arm, whisking him back to Troy before he ended up on the receiving end of one of Hera's infamous rages.

"What's going on?" a voice asked, and Apollo appeared in the room. He had been passing by when he happened to hear the sounds of a fight. Upon entering the room, he was met with the sight of Athena, Aphrodite, and Hera shouting at each other.

"Aphrodite is using her idiotic schemes to get what she wants again," Athena cried out, pointing at said goddess in accusation.

"You and Hera did it first!" Aphrodite contradicted.

Hermes reappeared just as Apollo was regretting having entered the room. "What a mess," the messenger sighed, shaking his head.

"What exactly is happening?" Apollo asked. He was thoroughly lost, not having seen this in the future.

"Aphrodite promised Paris that he could marry Helen if he chose her as the fairest goddess."

"What?!" Apollo shouted, bringing silence to the room. The three goddesses turned and stared at him, but he only had eyes for Aphrodite. "Do you know what you've done?" he demanded of the love goddess. "Helen is already married to Menelaus!"

"So?" Aphrodite said carelessly, flipping her hair.

"You don't realize what you've done," the blonde whispered. "You just started the Trojan War."

"Wait!" Hermes shouted, chasing after Apollo. The archer was storming through the temple, heading towards the throne room. "What do you mean, she started the Trojan War?"

"What do you think Menelaus is going to do when Paris shows up to take his wife? Say, 'oh, that's fine, you can have her'?"

"No…"

"Hence the beginning of the Trojan War."

Present

"Not another war," Hermes groaned.

"What do you mean, 'not another war'? There hasn't been a war in years," Ares very nearly shouted.

"Right. And now there's going to be another one."

Artemis laughed, and Apollo looked away to hide his smile.

"So what's happening?' Hermes asked, leaning against the wall and crossing his arms and legs.

"The Greeks are gathering soldiers," Athena told him. "Helen is in Troy, and Menelaus went to Agamemnon for help."

"Did someone summon Odysseus?"

"Yes, they summoned your precious Odysseus," Ares said with a roll of his eyes. Hermes and Athena grinned at each other. Odysseus was one of their favorite mortals, and was often visited by both gods.

"And, of course, Odysseus is bringing Achilles," Apollo spoke up, glowering at everyone in general. Achilles, of course, would be fighting for the Greeks. Apollo had decided to support Troy in this war, because the Greek leader, Agamemnon, had insulted one of his priests (or at least, Hermes thought that's why he had made the decision). Athena was supporting the Greeks because she was still offended by Paris's decision. Hermes supported the Greeks because – well, he was Greek. Artemis, of course, supported whoever her brother supported.

Hermes wasn't a war god, and thus wanted nothing to do with fighting. His father, however, didn't particularly care what his son wanted. That's how he ended up in the middle of Troy one dark night, waiting for King Priam to retrieve his son's body from Achilles. It was two years into the war. Many great heroes were dead. Just as many gods had been wounded.

The darkness of the night was interrupted by the arrival of Apollo, who always made his entrance with a flash of golden light. Hermes swallowed the feelings he felt at the way the moonlight hit his ivory face, and instead asked, "Why are you here?"

Apollo ranted on about Achilles for several moments, and then scorned the war hero's lover. Before the archer could do any more damage, Hermes grabbed him by the arm and dragged him away. "What do you think you're doing?" he hissed as Apollo wrenched his arm away.

"I was bored. Mother and Father are fighting again," Apollo explained, pushing his hair out of his face.

"So you decided to come and ruin my task?" Hermes scowled up at his beautiful face.

"I didn't ruin anything," Apollo responded carelessly.

"What happened to us 'staying away from each other'?" Hermes asked, beginning to walk away from the Greek camp.

"I didn't say anything about staying away from each other. I said that we need to control ourselves." Apollo gazed up at the stars as he spoke.

"Sorry," Hermes muttered, watching as Apollo's hair poured down his back like a golden waterfall. "It's hard to keep track of all your little 'speeches'. And by the way…It's a lot more difficult to control myself when you're right here."

"That's because you're too impulsive. You need to think about your actions before you do them."

"It's a little too late for the lecture," Hermes snorted, throwing himself on the ground and staring up at the sky. Apollo sighed and took a seat by the messenger's side. Hermes felt his muscles clench up when the archer laid his head on the herald's stomach. After a moment, Apollo murmured, "I think I'm tired of trying to control myself."