EoM Bk 1: The Gift of Fire
Copyright© 2026 by Carlos Santiago
Epilogue: A Wedding and a Prison
“Stone walls do not a prison make,
Nor iron bars a cage...”
— Richard Lovelace (1617–1657), “To Althea, from Prison” (traditionally dated 1642). Public domain.
The wedding was everything Olympus expected, and nothing Aphrodite even remotely desired.
Hephaestus’ forge-palace had been transformed to accommodate the illustrious day. Everyone was invited. This event was second only to Zeus and Hera’s wedding. Its guest list including every god, titan, nymph, and satyr that was not imprisoned.
The air rang softly with music sung by the Muses and Apollo. Harps and lyres played in line with the harmonious singing, but this was beauty made by arrangement, not that of originated in yearning, burning passion.
Aphrodite entered her own wedding last. She did not care for everything around her. Often she wore a sheer white gown or allowed her hair to cover her nudity.
On this day, she wore a breathtaking dress of rose-gold and crimson mixed with pink made by Hera.
All eyes fell on her; so many forget to breathe with how luminous of a beauty she was. She was the prize of Olympus, and she was being handed to the crippled god of Hephaestus.
This was her domain. Attention was her currency, and so many appreciated her for all she was.
She turned when she was before Hera.
In the audience, Persephone stood near Demeter. Some eyes were leaving that of the love goddess for this young and unassuming being. As opposed to others, she did not try to be beautiful; she simply was.
Aphrodite felt the change like a slap. Her matrimonial moment would leave her as a secondly desired being, and when she looked she saw that even Ares glanced a few times at this young goddess.
Something cold twisted in Aphrodite’s chest.
Overshadowed. Replaceable. Changeable. Removable.
Innocence was coming to Olympus, and her ostentatious ways were going by the wayside.
Her gaze flicked to Hera, who had offered Aphrodite up to Hephaestus.
This was the reminder.
This was all Aphrodite offered in terms of value.
That would not do in the future. She did not know when or how but she knew why. Those around her would pay, and they would recognize that Aphrodite was irreplaceable.
Prometheus hung on the mountain limply.
Looking down, he saw the thin chains wrapped around him. Adamant links had been forged Hephaestus most likely. The mountain was old, so he was unsure of the name.
He was once the most trusted advisor to Zeus. He had helped with the Great War. He had positioned Poseidon to be King of the Sea. He had helped create humanity. His accolades could fill a resume that any god would be lucky to have.
Nevertheless, he had been left to suffer in solitude.