Chapter Text
‘Thank you! It will be a wonderful gift!’ exclaimed Prometheus. He considered stopping here but decided to continue: ‘This is your true spirit, as suits my friend of yore!’
‘What do you mean by “yore”?’ asked Athena.
Prometheus took a deep breath before answering:
‘Before I brought you out of the skull of your so-called father.’
‘You are not who you think you are,’ added Pronoia. ‘We have wanted to tell you for a long time, but it is not easy.’
‘And who do you think I am?’
‘You are the Oceanid said to be your mother. My sister Metis.’
‘You both are not well. I knew that Prometheus thought so but bugs in the head are his normal. However, I didn’t expect you to agree with him. You apparently miss your sister very much.’
‘How did you know that I thought it?’ asked Prometheus, amazed. He was sure that he had revealed it only to Pronoia, and she kept secrets well.
‘Because I know you. You live quite carelessly and only occasionally remind people about the swallowing of Metis, so that nobody forgets it. If you thought that my mother was still inside my father, you’d try to release her.’
‘Your old self would feel the same. Each wrong made your blood boil. You never found peace until you released the swallowed children of Cronus from his belly.’
Athena sat a little in silence, then asked:
‘Tell me about Metis.’
‘Metis…’ started Prometheus but corrected himself, ‘You were my childhood friend. My best friend, actually the only one. Other children insulted, beat and ostracized me because I had a feeble-minded brother. You never shunned me though I was six years younger and I suppose was often a nuisance. You taught me a lot. You were still a young maiden but people were already saying about you, and rightly so, that you were wisest among gods. And you were a worker of right actions. You told me how king Cronus swallows his children as soon as they are born, and how outrageous it is that the adults just stand by and let it happen. You said that you’d do whatever you can to release them. And you did it. You allied with Zeus and gave his father a potion that made him disgorge his other children. Later, after the war, Zeus decided to lay with you and courted you day and night. You were initially not sure whether you wanted him, but his efforts eventually softened you heart and you consented.’
‘I was younger than you and I remember you already betrothed to Zeus,’ said Pronoia. ‘However, you still found time for me. You somehow managed to find time for everyone you loved. I remember you playing with me, singing to me and telling me stories. I also learned a lot from you – swimming, reading and writing, sewing and many other things. Mom and Dad were busy with their new babies and never had time for me. I remember your sense of justice as well. I learned from you about good and evil because, if you ask our parents, good is what is useful for them. I loved you very much… and yes, I missed you much later.’
‘It was our dotard Grandma Gaea who brought the trouble,’ said Prometheus. ‘She drank too much at a feast and started prophesying. She said that very wise children were destined to be born of the wisest among gods, first the maiden bright-eyed Athena, equal to her father in strength and in wise understanding; but afterwards she was to bear a son of overbearing spirit, king of gods and men. You know how trustworthy Grandma’s prophesies are, but Zeus believed enough to get scared. And instead of simply parting with you, he decided to destroy you. He somehow compressed you and swallowed you, for fear that you might bring forth something stronger than his thunderbolt.’
‘And how do you know about this?’
‘When you disappeared, I was worried. I went to Zeus and asked about you. He challenged my right to inquire, and I said that I was your cousin and old friend. Then he admitted that he had swallowed you, and explained why. I started thinking how to set you free. Back then, I lived mostly on Olympus. I was setting up the Glass Hall and experimenting with various substances. When I found one that caused vomiting, I slipped into the kitchen and poured it into the soup. It made us all vomit our entrails out…’
‘Did you draw anyone’s suspicion?’ Athena was intrigued by the tale.
‘No, they had no reason to, and I vomited as much as everyone else. The suspicion fell on the mussel salad. But there was no benefit, either. I figured out that you were outside the digestive tract of Zeus, and it wouldn’t be easy to bring you out. Thinking of you inside him, I had no peace of mind, but I couldn’t do anything without knowing where exactly you were. I sought ways to observe the inside of a living body without cutting it, but found none. Happily, the problem resolved by itself. You somehow found yourself inside his head and caused him unbearable pain. He insisted himself that I opened his skull and saw what the problem was. As soon as I cut the bones, I saw you, unbelievably diminished in size. You looked at me but didn’t recognize me, and I realized that you had lost your memory. I was horrified, but this at least gave me an idea how to keep you safe. I told Zeus that when he put Metis in his belly, she was already pregnant with her daughter, and this daughter was you. So the Thunderer acquired a “daughter” he didn’t deserve!’
‘However, don’t you find it possible that your story was the truth after all?’ asked Athena.
‘No, I don’t. You were tiny but didn’t look like a baby at all. Your bodily proportions were those of an adult. And when I brought you out, instead of a cry of a newborn, we heard something like a battle cry.’
‘But from my mother’s swallowing to my birth, many years have passed, haven’t they? I may well have grown inside him.’
‘Well, I agree about this. But what will you say about the color of your eyes? They are grey-blue like those of Pronoia and many other children of Oceanus and Tethys. By contrast, none of Zeus’ children has bright eyes.’
‘Nevertheless, Zeus could carry the potential for bright eyes.’
‘Do you want to bet whether he’ll ever have another bright-eyed child?'
‘And why do you think nobody else recognizes me?’
‘Some don’t expect you to be Metis, especially after I declared you to be her daughter. Others may guess but keep silence for your sake, like us. Besides, you are slightly different after your second birth, with sharper features and lower voice. I think that the long stay in a male body has changed you. Nevertheless, you still have amazing resemblance to Metis as I remember her.’
‘It makes sense that I resemble Metis. Every daughter resembles her mother.’
‘Let me show you something and hear what you’ll say.’
Prometheus went to a drawer with old relics from before the war, and brought out a letter from Metis. He handed the worn-out parchment to Athena who read aloud:
“…I believe that if we help Zeus ascend to power, he’ll grant us what we need – freedom, justice and peace. I know that you still harbor doubts. But at least about Cronus you don’t harbor any doubts, do you? You remember what he did to his own children. A villain able to literally swallow the weaker if he considers them dangerous for his power does not deserve the throne. Zeus has solid ethical principles, but even if we were not sure about this, the important thing is the Cronus must fall – now! I think that you are worrying in vain about your kin who are supporters of Cronus. Zeus is merciful and as soon as he wins and consolidates his power, he’ll forgive his opponents.
Me.”
‘The “Me” is of course for Metis,’ clarified Prometheus. ‘Don’t bother with the content of the letter. Back then, we were very young and had only as much sense. Look at the handwriting!’
‘It resembles mine,’ admitted Athena.
‘It resembles yours for the simple reason that it is yours.’
‘I also want to show you something,’ said Pronoia. She went to the bedroom and soon returned, holding a small doll and two girls’ dresses, one light blue and one purple. She laid the dresses on the table so that Athena would see them properly. They were short and with straps, the sort worn by young daughters of the sea.
‘Don’t you remember this one?’ she asked, pointing at the blue dress which was smaller. ‘You made it as a present for my seventh birthday.’
Athena shook her head.
‘And you made the other one for your wedding,’ continued Pronoia, pointing at the purple one. It was larger and adorned with shining fish made of attached tiny gold rings.
‘I think I am seeing them for first time,’ said Athena.
‘You have lost your memories. All of them,’ sighed Pronoia.
‘I think that she has some memories but they are too vague,’ said Prometheus. ‘She wants to remain a virgin, which she in fact isn’t of course. She likes wearing armor – in peacetime. This reveals a need to feel protected. Apparently she has a vague memory of something terrible caused by a male.’
‘This is just a hypothesis,’ objected Athena. ‘And not a good one because it’s both far-fetched and untestable. And how do you explain that I was born with armor?’
‘Armor, really? I was the first to see these covers. They were shapeless, corroded small pieces of metal. Metis liked clothes adorned with metal threads or pieces, like these.’ Prometheus pointed at the fish on the purple dress.
‘Don’t you remember this at least?’ asked Pronoia and handed to Athena the doll. It was made of glued shells but had real hair. ‘You made it yourself for me. And cut a little of your hair to put on its head.’
Athena took the doll, examined it carefully and shook her head. Then she stretched a lock of her own hair to the doll’s head and remarked:
‘They are different. Mine is darker.’
‘Hair often darkens with age. Mine did,’ said Pronoia and turned to Prometheus: ‘Can the doll’s hair be tested in the Glass Hall?’
‘No, it will be pointless,’ he answered. ‘The hair contains little of the thread of life, and only of the part that is transmitted maternally, and hence is shared by mother and daughter. But Athena could compare her heredity with that of her relations. Athena, your thread has already been read, those of Oceanus and Tethys also. Look at them and you’ll see that they are your parents. And if you test Zeus, you’ll see that he cannot be your father.’
‘You know that he doesn’t subject himself to testing,’ reminded Athena.
‘You won’t ask him! He doesn’t deserve informed choice! You’ll take a sample without his knowledge, for example from the edge of his cup – need I give you ideas? You’ll assign it a number and won’t tell even Hephaestus whom it belongs to.’
‘Good!’ exclaimed Athena with newfound enthusiasm. ‘Why actually did you tell me? You hoped to awaken memories, or to make me hate Father and be entirely at your side?’
‘I hoped that you’d remember,’ said Pronoia.
‘I hoped for neither,’ admitted Prometheus. ‘I know that your memory will not return. And I don’t want you to hate Zeus, or him to realize who you are. As long as you love him and he thinks you are his daughter, you are safe and I am glad for this. I just wanted you to know.’
‘And do you think of me as Metis?’
‘No,’ shook her head Pronoia. ‘Without Metis’ memories, you are her no longer. For me, you are someone near and dear who entered my life after… after…’
‘After the death of Metis,’ finished Prometheus. Pronoia nodded and added:
‘We love you for who you are now, and would love you even if Metis had never existed. Let me tell you something. For the sake of our friendship, and because of what you did for Prometheus, if I ever have a daughter, I’ll name her after you. She will be a little Athena!’
‘Thank you! You gave me lots of food for thought,’ said Athena. ‘I must go now. Will you pour me a cup of water?’
When Pronoia went to the kitchen to bring water, Athena told Prometheus in a low voice:
‘I beg you again to reconsider. You are walking to an abyss. Obey my father! Or else he will smash you sooner or later and you may suffer worse than Metis. And even if he eventually forgives you, you won’t be the same. And I wouldn’t be able to accept you again as you accepted me after my second birth. Even if I were good once, I am no longer, and I have no time for the mentally degenerate.’
‘I know,’ whispered Prometheus and revealed his fear. ‘I sometimes see through the pink mist. There is no hope. Zeus doesn’t want to subdue me but to destroy me. And he will do it. Therefore I needn’t try to be cautious! Whatever I do, it will be a mistake at the end! Leave me do what I want, don’t poison the good moments I still have!’
Athena sighed and went silent, then spoke again:
‘At least try not to get Pronoia into trouble! She seems too involved with your deeds with the humans.’
‘You are right. She even wants to accompany me when I visit them. But I’ll try to keep her out of harm’s way.’
‘Let’s hope that what we fear won’t happen. Why are we fated to be unhappy?’
Pronoia entered with the cup. Athena drank the water and said farewell. When she stepped on the path, her strides were confident as always, but her shoulders were bent.