Aphrodite put down the half-made clay puppet, and the Nymph Fairy in the Temple of Fire brought him clean water to wash.
Aphrodite slowly dried her fingers with a cloth towel, and said to Hermes: "I understand, thank you for your perception, we will go to the Palace of the King of God later, do you have anything else to do?"
Hermes nodded, and his eyes flicked across Hephaestus's face: "Well, I have to notify the other great gods."
Aphrodite smiled and said, "Then I will take my leave first."
As Hermes left, Aphrodite slowly frowned, her expression indifferent.
Hephaestus asked: "Your Highness, are you unhappy?"
Aphrodite smiled lightly, he raised his delicate eyebrows and asked gently, "Is there anything that makes me happy?"
Hephaestus showed hesitation: "We will neutralize the temple among humans, and humans will dedicate their faith to us?"
Aphrodite looked indifferent: "But the new human beings have just been born, they have just been born, and the order around them has not yet been established. Today, they don't need love, reproduction, business, etc. The only thing they need is Demeter's agricultural priesthood, expecting Demeter to give them more abundant food."
"If Demeter can build a temple among humans, then when there is enough food, humans will also have the leisure to come out to worship the gods and dedicate to their beliefs."
"However, Demeter was asked by Zeus not to build temples among humans because of the previous Saturn pillar. Although Zeus did not allow her to stop the growth of crops, she is the god of agriculture. The harvest was not good."
"Under such circumstances, the new human beings can't even solve the most basic food problem, so how can they have the heart to offer it to the gods? And if the gods can't receive the faith from humans, how do you think the gods will treat this A group of new humans?"
Hephaestus' face turned ugly, and he murmured: "The God King is a little too eager..."
Aphrodite nodded, threw the cloth towel on the tray, stood up and said: "But these have nothing to do with us, he can do whatever he wants, but you should be mentally prepared in advance, don't worry about it." There is too much hope for the faith that humanity contributes."
Hephaestus nodded.
However, Aphrodite thought that even if there was no such thing as Demeter, there might not be many offerings to the gods by humans.
They are different from the group of silver humans brought to the world from the Olympus mountain by Demeter before, and everything has to start from scratch.
After all, human beings do not have divine power, so many things can only be done hard. In addition, human beings have a young age, and it often takes about a hundred years to establish a relatively stable system, so that they have the leisure to pray to God.
But the gods can't wait for a hundred years. They are high above and omnipotent, so they won't understand the difficulties of human beings.
And the disaster of Pandora's box in the memory of the goddess of love also came from this.
In the memories of the Goddess of Venus, Demeter did not restrict the growth of crops too much, but it would take a year and a half for crops to grow. Human beings relied on hunting to maintain food and clothing in the beginning.
At that time, Zeus also began to ask for human belief very early, and he also asked human beings to sacrifice prey to him.
But human beings can't even maintain their own food and clothing, so how could they be willing to sacrifice their prey to the gods
So Prometheus, the protector of the new humans, taught them to fool Zeus with cow bones wrapped in oil, but Zeus was not a fool. Fire, so that humans can no longer rely on fire to grill their prey for food, warmth, etc...
After that, Prometheus stole the inexhaustible sun god fire from Apollo's chariot and kept it as kindling for human beings. After being discovered by Zeus, Zeus sent people to catch him on the Caucasus Mountain, tied his limbs with chains, and nailed them with iron nails. Not to mention suffering from the wind and the sun, but also being gnawed on the liver by the Caucasus condor every day, it can be said to have suffered a lot.
But this is only the punishment for Prometheus, Zeus did not forgive the group of humans who dared to deceive and fool him after punishing Prometheus.
Zeus summoned the gods and sent Pandora, which symbolizes the nightmare of mankind, to the leader of the new mankind, the younger brother of Prometheus, Epimetheus the Awakened.
Pandora, endowed by him with a strong curiosity, released the so-called "gift" of Zeus among the human beings - the nightmare hidden by the gods, and finally the new human beings became extinct.
And the human situation in his world is worse than Venus remembers, and the tragedy of "Pandora's Box" will definitely happen again.
Aphrodite thought of what happened to Prometheus, and decided to find a chance to communicate with Pandora before being sent to the human race.
Siding, Aphrodite and Hephaestus said: "Your Highness, let's go to the Palace of the King of God."
Hephaestus frowned, sighed and nodded.
Aphrodite noticed his strangeness, and asked with concern: "Hephaestus, do you have any troubles?"
Hephaestus showed hesitation, and Aphrodite hugged Cupid over there, and while tidying his clothes, asked with a smile: "Is it something I can't know?"
Hephaestus shook his head quickly: "No... I'm just a little worried about Prometheus. If human beings can't offer their faith to the gods, I'm afraid he will be blamed by the gods as a defender of human beings."
Aphrodite thought thoughtfully, "Do you have a good relationship with Prometheus?"
Hephaestus shook his head: "It can't be considered very good, but it's not bad. I chatted a few times occasionally, and then came and went a little more. He doesn't have the uncomfortable feeling of the gods."
Aphrodite thought for a while and said: "If the gods want to build a temple among the human race, they must summon the creator of the new human race and inform him. After the council is over, you can invite him, and then Let's ask him what he thinks."
Hephaestus looked at him with some surprise, and some joyful colors flashed in his eyes.
"I'm a little interested in this prophet." Aphrodite held Cupid in her arms, and Cupid hugged his neck, lying on him, facing Hephaestus, squinting his eyes, looked at him curiously.
Hephaestus froze for a moment, and replied softly: "Okay."
They walked towards the palace of the god king, and when they arrived, many gods had already gathered in the temple.
They gathered together and whispered. Although the joy in their expressions was not obvious, it could be seen that they were still looking forward to the belief in human beings.
Aphrodite rested her chin in thought, while Cupid played by himself in the temple.
The gods still remembered that he used the golden arrow to make the death brothers fall in love and kill each other, and they hurriedly avoided him when they saw him flying over with the golden bow.
Cupid didn't feel that everyone was rejecting him. He was very happy that everyone feared him and revered him, holding a golden bow and pretending to be in front of the gods.
The more he wandered around, the more uncomfortable the gods became, but Aphrodite was there, and the power of Cupid's golden arrow was indeed terrifying, so that the gods didn't dare to scold him.
Cupid thought it was fun for the gods to hide from him, so he grimaced and chased after the gods with arrows, until the main gods arrived, and the most honorable god king and queen were also in front of the two goddesses. Accompanied by long overdue.
After all the great gods sat down, Cupid quietly flew to Aphrodite's side and sat down on the throne.
Zeus frowned and glanced at him, and said to Aphrodite unhappily: "Aphrodite, Cupid's golden bow can influence the gods, you should control him well, so that he will not spend the whole day with those golden bows. Arrow nonsense."
Aphrodite said indifferently: "Cupid's priesthood is blind love. Since it is blind, of course it is also reckless and unrestrained. I respect the characteristics of his priesthood."
Cupid kept nodding his head and glared at Zeus angrily. This bad god actually sued the father god about him, damn it!
Zeus frowned and glanced at him, and said with a sneer, "Be careful that one day you will fall into his tricks yourself, and you will regret some of them!"
Aphrodite raised her eyebrows, she couldn't deny it, and said softly: "The love between two hearts is joyful and brings joy to people. Even if you love someone blindly, you won't feel pain because of it."
Hera nodded approvingly, and Zeus glanced at her inexplicably.
Gaia stared straight at Cupid's three pairs of wings, and asked in disbelief, "Why does Cupid have two more pairs of wings?"
Cupid proudly puffed out his chest, flapped his wings and flew around in the air, speaking what Aphrodite had taught him.
When Gaia learned that the power she used to grow Cupid was used by Cupid to grow wings, the expression on Gaia's face at that moment was like a colorful picture scroll, which was wonderful.
Aphrodite's eyes flicked past Hera and Zeus. They were accompanied by a goddess, Athena and a strange girl with long emerald hair wearing a wreath and a white dress.
According to her divine breath, Aphrodite knew that she was Hebe, the newborn daughter of Hera.
Athena had already sat on her throne, and Hebe was dressing beside Hera with her head bowed. She had a beautiful face, and her sky blue eyes were as clear and clear as the sky after the rain. Compared with many outstanding goddesses, her appearance is not very beautiful, but she has a very special and fresh breath. The first time she sees her, it gives people a feeling of being bright.
Athena glanced at Hebe, gave Zeus a look, and Zeus said, "Let me introduce to you, the goddess standing beside Hera is her daughter and I, Hebe, the goddess of youth."
Aphrodite narrowed her eyes, and glanced at Poseidon vaguely. Poseidon curled his lips, seemingly disdainful.
Aphrodite went to see Athena again, and the goddess of wisdom was also looking at him with burning eyes. After meeting his gaze, she showed a fleeting smile, and then resumed her indifferent and dignified expression. appearance.
Aphrodite withdrew her gaze and said nothing.
After Zeus introduced Hebe, he kept looking at Aphrodite, as if waiting for Aphrodite's reaction.
Seeing that Aphrodite didn't even look at Hebe, he seemed a little disappointed, and he said, "I'm going to make Hebe the god of serving wine, and give her the golden cup."
The gods raised their heads one after another upon hearing the words, their faces showing astonishment.
Hera frowned. It was obvious that Zeus hadn't told her about Zeus's decision in advance. Hera refuted coldly: "No, Hebe is my goddess. How can she serve the gods? If you lack a cupbearer, you will Enlighten Nymph, don't order my daughter."
Zeus said lightly: "How can this be called ordering? I just pity her and give her one more priesthood."
Aphrodite sneered: "The gods each have their own priesthood, and they work together to run the order of the gods. Their functions have their own meanings. The only meaning of the priesthood of the cupbearer is to serve the gods. Hebe Your Highness already has a priesthood, so why bother to take such an unnecessary priesthood? Your Majesty, after all, His Highness Hebe is the goddess of you and the queen, and if you despise her like this, you are also belittling yourself, why bother?"
Hebe didn't speak, but her fair cheeks were flushed and her fists were clenched tightly. Zeus' words gave her a great humiliation and made her feel ashamed before the gods.
Zeus sneered when he heard the words, and gave him a vicious look, and Aphrodite raised his eyebrows slightly.
Athena was fidgeting, and a trace of dissatisfaction and annoyance flashed in Zeus's eyes. She couldn't help urging Zeus, reminding: "Your Majesty, the temple..."
Only then did Zeus retract his gaze, and said coldly, "Has Prometheus, the creator of the new human race, come?"
Prometheus walked out from the gods who stood in order, knelt down and bowed softly, and said in a loud voice: "Prometheus pays homage to His Majesty the King of God, His Majesty the Queen of God, His Highness Gaia and all the Lord Gods."
Zeus said indifferently: "Prometheus, as a god, you should also know what the meaning of human existence is. I gave them a month, and now they should offer their faith to the gods in return for the gods giving them life. "
Prometheus looked calm, and he said: "I understand what you mean, Your Majesty, but I implore you to give human beings another two years. The food they are using today has not yet matured, and the strong and powerful men who can hunt prey are also extremely weak. At least, they haven't even solved the most basic food problem, and they don't have clothes to cover their bodies. They rely on wild fruits in the mountains to cover their stomachs, and the leaves in the forest to cover their bodies. It's too embarrassing for them..."
The gods frowned and whispered.
Demeter casually caressed her beautiful nails covered with colorful patterns, and said softly: "What a poor human being, compared to that group of silver humans brought to the earth by me, they are much happier. And I am the God of Agriculture, so I can shorten the cycle of their crops and grow them for them to fill their stomachs. It's just a pity that the God King does not allow new humans to worship me, so they can only slowly endure the torment of hunger."
Prometheus did not speak, and Zeus said lightly: "Half a year is enough for some crops to mature, but hunting does not require time to wait. Prometheus, I order you to erect a temple of the gods among the human race immediately after returning." , and then I will give them half a year, half a year later, let humans use a strong bull as a sacrifice to me, after that, they will officially worship the gods, and there is no reason to shirk."
"My temple must have one hundred and four pillars, and each pillar must be 108 meters high and 40 meters high. Since my requirements are a bit high, I can give them a hundred years To be done."
You know you are demanding and you still mention it like this!
"This is the specification of the temple, and it can be completed later. But every three months, human beings will sacrifice to me, offering their delicious sacrifices and devout beliefs."
"As for the other gods' requirements for the temple and sacrifices, you will ask them later."
Prometheus suffocated for a while, and almost held his breath in his chest, unable to breathe, and fainted on the spot.
Prometheus stared at him dumbfounded, surprised and speechless: "Half a year is too short, Your Majesty the God King. What's more, human beings have no divine power, and it is difficult for them to hunt a bull."
Zeus said casually: "Isn't there still you?"
Prometheus said in a deep voice, "I can help them hunt once, but I can't help them hunt forever."
Zeus frowned and said, "I've given them a long time."
"However, human beings have to build temples for the gods, preside over sacrifices, and hunt and grow crops to stabilize food and clothing. These things are too cumbersome."
Zeus looked at him coldly: "Prometheus, as a god who is not very powerful, you have participated in the creation of new humans. This is a gift to you, and it is also your responsibility and obligation. You should do your best To accomplish all this, rather than constantly shirk."
Prometheus looked at Athena, and Athena suppressed her anger, and said calmly as much as possible: "Father God, why don't we give human beings more time, and the regular sacrifices will not start until the temple is established. The sacrifice must not be left behind, how about it?"
The gods frowned and said nothing, as if they were thinking and weighing.
Aphrodite didn't speak either. He didn't deal with Zeus. The more he spoke for humans, the harsher Zeus would be to humans. He had to wait until after the council had talked with Prometheus before considering what to do.
As for the regulations, let Zeus talk about it first, anyway, there are countermeasures and there are countermeasures.
Zeus looked at the gods angrily, and asked, "Everyone, what do you think?"
The main gods did not speak, which made the gods below do not know what to say.
The atmosphere in the God King's Palace was a bit awkward for a while, so Hermes had no choice but to smooth things over: "Our opinion is not important! We act according to the will of the God King!"
The gods immediately echoed, and Zeus kept shooting at the faces of the main gods with lightning-like eyes.
Aphrodite said slowly: "Whatever."
After that, the main gods including Hestia slowly expressed their opinions.
Zeus was angry with these main gods, especially Hestia, who did not expect her to be obedient.
Hestia felt aggrieved and dissatisfied after being glared at by Zeus. Why did Zeus stare at her? She just didn't want to appear too unique among the main gods, he should blame himself for being incompetent!
Hestia turned around with a stiff face, pointing the back of her head at him. Zeus was naturally pissed off again.
He said dissatisfiedly: "Okay, the regular sacrifices of human beings are temporarily exempted. At the same time, the establishment of the temple of the gods has been shortened to seventy years, and the formal sacrifices will start after the establishment of the temple. But after half a year, humans will hold a feast. , greet the gods with abundant sacrifices, and silently recite the names of the god kings and the gods they enshrine before waking up and falling asleep every day, and send them pious beliefs."
Prometheus didn't say a word, his face was cloudy and uncertain, and so was Athena. She hesitated whether to speak out the conjecture in her heart.
As the goddess of wisdom, Athena is not stupid, and she personally participated in the creation of human beings and had close contact with human beings. She also has enough understanding of human nature, and she has also considered the issues of human belief that Aphrodite thought of.
She worried that under the harsh conditions of the gods, human beings would not only not believe in the gods, but would hate the gods instead. Not to mention faith, it would be great if the gods didn't receive resentment.
She wanted to remind Zeus and the gods not to place too much emphasis on faith, but she didn't dare, because she was afraid that Zeus would be furious and explode on the spot.
After all, to the gods, human beings are as insignificant as ants, and their lives come from the gods' charity. If she knew that human beings were not religious to them at all, Athena felt that with Zeus' character, she would be able to destroy this group of humans on the spot and rebuild a group.
Thinking of this, Athena finally said nothing. Although the gods will be able to discover this when they sacrifice to the gods half a year later, that will be half a year later.
It is better to live one more day than to let human beings die now. She took advantage of this time to see if she could do anything.
Thinking of this, Athena felt depressed for a while. Or is it too unlucky for me, the position of the main god is firmly controlled by Zeus, under his control and unable to resist him, even expressing my true thoughts is so difficult...
Zeus had already spoken to this point, and it was basically impossible to make any further concessions. Seeing what Prometheus had to say, he said angrily: "Prometheus, why, I have pushed the temple to a hundred years later. , now the only thing humans need to do is a sacrifice in half a year. You can’t even do this, right? If you can’t even do this, why did you take the job of creating humans in the first place? ?”
With a cold face, Prometheus thought to himself, I take the job of creating man because I am the son of Iapetus, and the human vessel made by me can give birth to soul and contain wisdom...
Forget it, don't think too much. I am the son of a traitor, and I cannot expect Zeus to be trustworthy and friendly to me. Anyway, I did not lead the creation of man to express my loyalty to Zeus.
Prometheus lowered his eyes and said coldly, "I understand."
Prometheus was right, Zeus was indeed dissatisfied with his identity. Zeus didn't know that the godhead of the soul was deprived by Aphrodite, and he promised Prometheus that the purpose of creating humans was to use Prometheus' abilities.
He also knows how harsh the various requirements he puts forward are for new humans, but so what? If human beings can't fulfill his request, wouldn't it just give him an excuse to destroy and cleanse this group of human beings who have memories of being with Prometheus
At that time, as long as there is a pair of young men and women left, he will be tolerant of the new human beings they reproduce and who only know his name Zeus.
Zeus looked him up and down, sneered, and said lightly: "The council will end first, and all the gods will go to him to register their architectural requirements for the temple in a while. Don't delay too long, everyone, and cooperate well. Prometheus, after all they only have seventy years."
Prometheus stood up with a cold face, and Aphrodite finally said: "Prometheus, then follow me first."
"Hephaestus, let's go together. I also want to refer to your opinion and judge whether the building I envision is feasible."
Hephaestus nodded, got up and left with Aphrodite.
Prometheus apologized to the gods: "Everyone, please go back to the temple first. After I return from Your Highness Aphrodite, I will visit your temples one by one."
After speaking, they left behind Aphrodite and the others.
Zeus fiddled with the ring on his thumb, watching them leave with squinted eyes, his expression was cold and calm.
After leaving the Temple of the King of Gods, Prometheus tentatively asked: "Your Highness Aphrodite, the temples of the gods are a bit too complicated for humans. Rebuild it?"
Aphrodite stared at him for a while, then sighed softly: "I can, but what if I make a concession? The gods will not lower their standards because of this, and humans still cannot get rid of the predicament in front of them." .”
Prometheus said calmly: "If the fate of human beings is destined to be destroyed, then I can't help it, but before the fate comes, I will do my best to give them a hope."
Aphrodite murmured, "Hope..."