They never touched, for then,
twice in this one day, a mysterious force intervened. Looking
upward he saw great dark clouds boiling. From their depth a
streak of lightning sundered the ground between him and Athena.
Dust and rubble filled the air, and the ground shook beneath his
feet.
A mighty voice, deep and vibrant, rumbled from the heavens.
"Mortal, dare you even think to consort with the Gods!"
For a moment he heard no other sound. He looked up in awe at
the darkened sky. The silence enwrapped him as a shroud. Even
the wind whispered not.
"On your way! Back to your valley!"
Lightless, the sky seemed only a black blanket drawn over his
head. The winds once more gusted, tearing angrily at trees and
bushes. The thunder rumbled ominously in preparation for another
lightning strike.
"Marry for yourself a simple galleymaid. Do not anger the
mighty Zeus! Husband to Athena? Bah!"
He shrank back in dismay, wide-eyed.
Though he was silent, Athena bravely replied. "He has saved me
from your evil brother, Pluto. He has risked his life for mine.
He shall be rewarded. Oh mighty Zeus, if you love me, grant this
to me."
Rumblings reverberated from the walls of the mountain canyon.
Finally they give way to silence. Then, with brief lightning
flashes from cloud to cloud, there is a response.
"Very well, my dear. Perhaps it shall be as you desire. He's a
brave young man. Striking down a minion of Pluto alone does not,
of itself, make him deserving.
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