Thunder, Lightning...
The way you love me is frightening... you better knock.knock.knock on wood, baby...
Uh, sorry. Sleep deprivation takes a toll, and while I should be trying that whole wacky sleep thing now, thunder is shaking my house enough that sleep is most definitely not going to happen until this front passes through.
In the meantime, I was just wandering the wonderful world of the internet, and thought I'd share a few little things I found about Olympus and more specifically, the thrones.
Zeus had an enormous throne of polished black Egyptian marble, decorated in gold. Seven steps led up to it, each of them enameled with one of the seven colors of the rainbow. A bright blue covering above showed that the whole sky belonged to Zeus alone; and on the right arm of his throne perched a ruby-eyed golden eagle clutching jagged strips of pure tin. A purple rams fleece covered the cold seat. Zeus used it for rainmaking in times of drought. One of Zeus emblems was the eagle, another was the woodpecker.
[Am I the only one snickering at the whole woodpecker thing? Really, just me? Alright, then. *whistles*]
Hera had an ivory throne, with three crystal steps leading back, and a full moon hung above it. Hera sat on a white cowskin, which she used for magical rainmaking if Zeus could not be bothered stopping a drought. Her emblem was the cow, the most motherly of animals; but, not wanting to be thought of as plain-looking and placid as a cow, she also used the peacock and the lion.
[Editorial comment by Dionysus: You can stick as many feathers up a cow's ass as you like, it will never be a peacock.]
Poseidon, god of the seas and rivers, had the second-largest throne. It was of grey-green white-streaked marble, ornamented with coral, gold, and mothers of pearl. The arms were carved in the shape of sea beasts, and Poseidon sat on sealskin. He was married to Amphitrite, the former Sea-goddess, and allowed him to take over all her titles. His weapon was a trident with which he could stir up the sea. As his emblem Poseidon chose the horse, an animal which he pretended to have created.
Demeter, goddess of all useful fruits, grasses and grains. Her throne of bright green malachite was ornamented with ears of barley in gold, and little golden pigs for luck. Demeter's emblem was the poppy, which grows red as blood among the barley.
Hephaestus. Being the god of goldsmiths, jewelers, blacksmiths, masons, and carpenters, he had built all these thrones himself, and made his own masterpiece of every different metal and precious stone to be found. The seat could swivel and the arms could move up and down, and the whole thing could move along automatically wherever he wished, like the three-legged golden tables in his workshop. His emblem was the quail, a bird that does a hobbling dance in springtime.
Athena, Goddess of Wisdom, who first taught him how to handle tools, and knew more than anyone else about pottery, weaving and all useful arts. Her silver throne had golden basketwork at the back and sides, and a crown of violets, made from blue lapis lazuli set above it. Its arms ended in grinning Gorgons' heads. Athene was also a battle goddess, but never went to war unless forced, and when she fought she always won. She chose the wise owl as her emblem.
Aphrodite, Goddess of Love and Beauty. Aphrodite's throne was silver, inlaid with beryls and aquamarines, the back shaped like a scallop shell, the seat made of swan's down, and under her feet lay a golden mat - an embroidery of golden bees, apples, and sparrows. Aphrodite's emblem was the dove.
[Editorial comment by Dionysus: If you put your ear to Aphrodite's kit-kat, you can hear the ocean. Tru fax.]
Ares. Ares throne was built of brass, strong and ugly - those huge brass knobs in the shape of skulls. His emblems were a wild boar and a bloodstained spear.
Apollo, the god of music, poetry, medicine, archery, and young unmarried men. His highly polished golden throne had magical inscriptions carved all over it, a back shaped like a lyre, and a python skin to sit on. Above hung a golden sun-disk with twenty-one rays shaped like arrows. Apollo's emblem was a mouse; mice were supposed to know all secrets.
Artemis, goddess of hunting and of unmarried girls, a master of medicine and archery. Her throne was pure silver, with a wolf's skin to sit on, and the back shaped like two date palms, one on each side of a new moon boat. She chose as her emblem the she-bear, the most dangerous of all wild animals in Greece.
Hermes. His throne was cut out of a single piece of solid grey rock, the arms shaped like rams' heads, and a goatskin for the seat. On its back he had carved a swastika, this being the shape of a fire-making machine invented by him - the fire drill. Hermes also invented the alphabet; and one of his emblems was the crane, because cranes fly in a V - the first letter he wrote. Another of Hermes's emblems was a peeled hazel stick, which he carried as the messenger of the Olympians.
Dionysus’s throne was gold-plated fir wood, ornamented with bunches of grapes carved in amethyst, snakes carved in serpentine, and various horned animals besides, carved in onyx, sard, jade, and carnelian. He took the tiger for his emblem, having once visited India at the head of a drunken army and brought tigers back as souvenirs. His was the only throne not made of stone, having been given to him by Hestia when Zeus made him a member of the Pantheon.
From Bullfinch and also of note: Hephaestus was architect, smith, armourer, chariot builder, and artist of all work in Olympus. He built of brass the houses of the gods; he made for them the golden shoes with which they trod the air or the water, and moved from place to place with the speed of the wind, or even of thought.
He also shod with brass the celestial steeds, which whirled the chariots of the gods through the air, or along the surface of the sea. He was able to bestow on his workmanship self-motion, so that the tripods (chairs and tables) could move of themselves in and out of the celestial hall. He even endowed with intelligence the golden handmaidens whom he made to wait on himself.
[Hephaestus. Creator of the first sexbots. Hush your mouth.]