King Genethlios Poseidon (king_poseidon) wrote in the_greeks, @ 2010-07-12 13:52:00 |
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Entry tags: | athena, poseidon |
The Contest for Athens
Who: Poseidon & Athena
What: The competition for Patronage of Athens
Where: Attika, name changed to Athens by the end.
Rating: K+
Word Count: 2,871 total.
”You’re barely out of your father’s head and already you’re acting as if you’re twice the age of Ouranos, himself!” Poseidon’s voice boomed through the palace of Cecrops who had the misfortune of being witness to two very angry gods arguing. Athena stood there rolling her eyes occasionally which only seemed to upset her uncle more. “Your Majesty, I came before Cercrops before you arrived-”
“A moment, but a moment!” he retorted, “Which leaves you no better claim since I had been eyeing the city to serve as patron when you were still a half formed cretin. Don’t you try to lecture me, niece, I am Lord of the Oceans and I-”
It was Athena’s turn to interrupt, “Yea, but over the land do you hold no jurisdiction. We may share the city if you please, but I will not retract my claim because you are stomping your feet about like a child who has been sent to retire early for the evening. Really, of all the...” and so the arguing continued and the more they clashed the more worried the king became. At this rate the two would goad each other into battle and the city whom Cecrops had worked so hard to build would be trodden under their feet and left a wasteland of destruction.
Needless to say, Cecrops was in a bit of trouble. His city currently called Attika was in need of patronage and when he petitioned the gods for one, these two had stepped forward. The great sea god and lord of the oceans, King Poseidon was at one end of the spectrum and the other stood Athena, daughter of his Majesty King Zeus. Each were intimidating in their own right. Poseidon’s temper was well known, and being witness to it, Cercrops shrank back at each cutting word that he sliced at Athena. His patronage would indeed be valued for he was one of the three great kings that ruled over the entirety of the world that such simple mortals inhabited, a symbol of strength and power. Truthfully, if Poseidon had not been met with his niece who seemed equally stubborn as himself, it would not have been a contest at all. And no man wanted to be responsible for the gods arguing amongst themselves and surely one of them would be left angered. But the real question was...which one was Cecrops to choose to offend? He didn’t want to choose and that was the trouble with it all. The very fate of a city of hundreds was left to him, a responsibility of a king, surely, but still he had no desire to make an enemy among the nobility of the gods.
Now if there were only some way to avoid having to make the decision himself. Some manner in which they would decide amongst themselves or make it easier for him to choose...
“We should have a competition,” Athena suggested, drawing confusion from both kings. Poseidon had stopped mid-rant to looked perfectly befuddled at her words while Cecrops blinked a few times to make sure he had heard correctly.
“A competition,” Poseidon repeated as if the idea offended him. “You want me to compete for patronage to a city that I could easily sink under water if they do not choose me.”
“Yes, your Majesty,” Athena’s arms folded neatly across her chest and she sighed, “And clearly threatening them has drawn the king to the conclusion that a temperamental god is quite obviously the best choice. Worship through fear, is it? Exactly what they want to do. Live in fear.” Athena knew that her contesting against her uncle had put the poor king into a tight situation, they were nearly ready to go into battle, but while she loved to fight, she wasn’t ready to jump if there were other ways of solving this more civilly. There was a reason to go into battle, and she saw Cecrops looking at her gratefully with his eyes lowering as if to bow.
The spark of temper so easily flared in the sea king was there, glaring at his niece and lip curling into a sneer, “As if some woman would understand what it is to be patron. Run along and play with your dolls, niece, you have no business here.”
“Really? If I’m so little of a threat, than why would a competition be such a revolting idea?” she posed the question. Poseidon’s sneer transformed on his face into a frown, forming a grim line. He was aware of his brother’s favoritism of his daughter, and found the entire thing an insult. Competing against a woman was absurd but to even have it be necessary to have this contest just made the injury to his pride that much worse. His grip tightened around the staff he had taken to carrying with him. The trident. Three prongs at the top pointed to make the shape that would serve as a symbol of the great King. Knuckles going white, he was mulling things over. How mad exactly would his brother get if he just tossed Athena out? But then again, Athena, unlike other ladies of the court, hardly acted like one herself. Despite the gown and womanly figure, she could wield a sword as good as any man. His face continued to make silent convulsions as he contemplated.
“Your Majesty,” Athena knew that in front of mortals she was to address her uncle properly, though he’d been negligent of using her own title. Stormy gray eyes waited until he was looking at her, “A simple contest would only reaffirm your strength should you win. And no longer would you be questioned.” She was wise enough not to suggest the idea that she might overtake him in whatever the contest entailed. Athena knew of her uncle’s ferocious anger and he was already building up a hurricane within him that it was best to pacify, not provoke. Her words seemed to touch on him though, the anger stilling and his eyes going from raging to a calm that was just as often seen in him as were various other moods.
A laugh, “Yes, and when-” he felt it important to make it clear he would “-I win, you will not question me any further on the city of Attika and you will find another.” This would avoid the conflict with his brother and it wasn’t like Athena could really give more than what he could. Poseidon suddenly felt no threat at all, he even smiled which didn’t seem to put Cecrops at anymore ease than he had been in before.
“Pray, tell me what will the contest entail,” Poseidon questioned Athena and she explained, “We will compete using gifts. Each of us will present Attika with a gift that shows what we would bring the people. Whether it be power or prosperity. Then, King Cecrops will look at each gift, deciding whose value is greater and therefore choose the greater gift. Whoever wins becomes patron. Is it agreed?”
“Yes, of course,” Poseidon waved a hand and Athena looked to Cecrops, “And you?”
“Yes, your Grace,” Cecrops replied, looking a little less pale. Athena smiled, knowing that the look in her uncle’s eyes made it obvious he’d already knew what he was going to give.
“Outside, my gift will not be of use to the people if hidden in the palace,” Poseidon said almost sweetly. The king and Athena followed Poseidon outside and when he stopped, the other two did as well. He was confident that his gift would be clearly the better of the two. “I will now present my gift, which is the greatest of the two,” Poseidon’s voice echoed. He did not explain what it meant, or its purpose, but it would be a gift that would represent the power of the seas the city would have. It would be unmatched and their ships always safe no matter where they journeyed. Protected from the tumultuous waves and storms that plagued the waters.
Lifting his trident high, he struck it down against the ground, sending a wave of moving earth to ripple outward until the spot under where he’d hit had rent. Bubbling to the surface came the life giver. Water. It burst out and gushed in a way that it rolled over the hills. Cecrops stared in awe, and Athena looked almost...worried.
While sitting on the coast, the city could not use the water of the ocean save for pulling salt out in homes of adding flavor to meat. Fresh water, drinkable water, was harder to get and came from springs quite similar to this. And for this purpose had Cecrops had looked exhilarated at the sight of what could be a closer fresh water source. Cecrops stepped forward, a smile forming on his face and thinking of his people that would no longer have to travel to bring the water that they could drink from afar. For this is how he viewed the gift, not thinking it was a promise to protect the citizens. Less money spent on that would mean even more prosperous growth to Attika. Oh yes, this indeed was a great gift and it would be difficult for Athena to defeat. Poseidon’s smug expression irritated Athena, but she refused to let her anger get the best of her. Yes, he’d given a spring, she would have to figure out what was better...
“It’s salty,” Cecrops claimed, gasping after having tried to nourish himself. He hacked and coughed, and Poseidon looked shocked. “And?”
“The water, it is sea water,” Cecrops said and shook his head, “It...is a great gift, your Majesty-”
“But useless,” Athena amended to avoid Cecrops getting the nasty glare that was surely in store. It settled on her and she frowned, “Mortals cannot drink the sea water, your Majesty, they need fresh water. The spring does not do anything.” Wisdom would not allow her to decipher what the gift meant or was supposed to be, and indeed she was puzzled by her uncle’s choice in gift. Why present a spring of salt water to a people who already had enough sitting at the edge of their beaches?
“I know what salt water does,” Poseidon roared and Athena closed her eyes. She was patient and unaffected by his mood. The only time Athena might feel upset if someone shouted at her would have been if it were her father. With Poseidon, it felt more like a child throwing a tantrum when their toy was taken away. It would pass, eventually, when he realized how silly he looked.
Cecrops looked disappointed, having so high hopes that were dashed as soon as he’d scooped the water into his mouth. But the contest was not over and it was Athena’s turn. He turned to her and Athena nodded, “I will take my turn, but then it will become necessary for you to choose, Cecrops. You cannot put this off any longer.” He nodded solemnly, worried that her gift might end up as useless as Poseidon. Who had taken to looking irritated but still arrogant, not thinking that Athena could outdo him. Sure, the water the salty, but there were other uses for salt water beyond the salt itself. And the meaning was there, when given the opportunity he would explain his gift proper.
Stepping forward, Athena’s javelin appeared in her hand. The tip stabbed into the ground, creating a hole. Setting the spear aside, she knelt down to the ground, placing something inside the hole and then covering it with dirt. Rising to her feet, both Poseidon and Cecrops shared the same look of confusion, but that was only until something sprung up from where she’d pierced the earth. An olive tree grew before their eyes, branches stretching outward and even the plump olives sprouting out, which Cecrops took into his hand. Athena nodded and he ate it, his eyes widening.
“I present the city of Attika with an olive tree,” she announced, “The fruits thereof will provide food and oil, the shade comfort and strong wood that can be used to built homes and ships. A symbol of peace, and prosperity. A gift to you and your people, your Majesty.”
Cecrops blinked twice and beheld the tree. He looked back at the spring and then at the olive tree once more. The obvious winner was there but now came the time to announce it. King Poseidon would not be pleased, but the competition was fair and perhaps, by some grace, His Majesty the Lord Poseidon would have mercy and not hold any grudge. Even he had to see that he could not win, not after such a contest.
Poseidon did see, but still hoped that Cecrops would name him. Truly the intentions of his gift were there, but they did not understand, and did not see. But curse it, she’d given them a tree. It had multiple purposes and worse yet, she informed them of what it would symbolize. He opened his mouth to speak at last but Cecrops was already making his final decision known.
“I have chosen a winner...and that is, her grace, the Lady Athena.”
Thunderstruck, Poseidon did not move or say anything at first, for he thought it was all just a bad dream. There is no possible way that the man, nay, the mortal had actually chosen Athena over himself, it just couldn’t seem to register in his mind. Not even as Cecrops went on to promising a temple as well as a large statute to be constructed to capture her beauty so all could see, or as Athena informed Cecrops that it would now be known as Athens, Poseidon still could not comprehend how everything had transpired. Swallowing hard he waited until they remembered he was there, standing dejected as his gift was viewed as something unneeded. Something, as his niece had put it, useless. He was not so much angry with Cecrops as he was at their lack of vision. So blind was the king by Athena’s gift.
“Your Majesty,” Cecrops finally turned to Poseidon, “We are grateful for the gift you have presented us with, and if you wish to take it back since you-”
“Keep it,” Poseidon said bitterly, “But do not think that there will not be some retribution for the choice you have made. Aye, the contest was fair and you have chosen your winner, but you have insulted me and I do not and will never tolerate such an offense. Yes, your patron shall be as you choose, but your people will suffer regardless.”
Poseidon began to storm off and Cecrops looked like he was going to be sick. Athena assured him that all would be well and went to chase after her uncle. “Your Majesty-” she started once they were a considerable distance away, but Poseidon cut her off. The longest point of his trident inches from her face forcing her to stop abruptly in her walk. “You knew what that gift meant,” he scowled, “And you didn’t say anything.”
“I did not and even if I did, it was not my place to explain the purpose of your gift but yours, uncle. You did not, and he is but a mortal, how on earth was he supposed to conclude what your gift were to mean?” Athena protested and remained where she stood, “These are mortals and very few of them have the wit or knowledge to understand our ways. It is why we are their protectors and we guide them. It was why we punish them as well, so that they will learn. Cecrops is a good king, but he is not...” She frowned, feeling a bit of sympathy for her uncle but not enough to merely hand over the city. They’d had their contest and she had won. Fair and square. She didn’t feel a need to hand it over because he was misunderstood, he should have put the effort into making himself so. Poseidon swung his trident away, and pointed at her with his hand, “Don’t preach to me, niece. And I would that you address me properly, for while we are related we are not that familiar with each other. It is Your Majesty or Your Grace. And I’ve made my decision. I shall let them keep the gift I gave, but I will not let them think that I am one to be stepped over or forgotten. I am Lord of the Oceans and Earthquakes, I am King Poseidon and I will not let it be a folly of mine to allow a snit of a girl like you take something of mine. I have been eying this city, and having you barge in and snatch it...”
He trailed off and then lifted his chin, “You wish to be patron of this city, protect it and serve as a symbol of its greatness. Well then, we’ll see how prepared you are for the role.” When Poseidon turned this time and stormed away, Athena did not follow. Instead she stood, knowing that no matter what she did or said, Poseidon would not be satiated until he had nursed his wounded pride.
And Athens was sure to suffer for it.