The Creation of the Snake

There was once a man who was the most handsome human on the earth. He was so handsome that every woman wanted to be with him and every man wanted to be him. This man walked through the same streets at the same time everyday, causing a bubbly wave of fainting women and jealous stares from the men throughout the city.

The ruckus in the streets had swelled to such an extent that it could be heard in the Realm of the Gods. The sound traveled and eventually reached the ears of Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love and Beauty. A look of curiosity crossed the goddess’ face as the noise surrounded her.

“What is that racket?” she asked wonderingly. She walked gracefully to a window in the floor of the heavens to look down upon earth. Her eye caught the blanket of women who had fainted and she could feel the hate and envy flowing out of the men. Aphrodite’s gaze finally rested on the man causing the commotion.

“This man!” Aphrodite exclaimed, “This man has been given so much beauty! He is all but a god to the people of the city!” Aphrodite pondered on how he had received his beauty. Had she honored a human with such beauty by mistake?

The man continued to amble through the paved roads, attracting more attention. The women in the crowd looked as if they were gaining courage. Every now and then a small group would approach the handsome man with wide eyes and stuttering voices, only to walk away with tears or looks of misery. Anger flashed in Aphrodite’s stunning eyes; she would not allow a man of such magnificence adore any woman lower than a goddess.

Aphrodite left the window to find Peitha the Goddess of Persuasion. She called for Peitha once, and the goddess appeared before her. Aphrodite guided the Goddess of Persuasion to the window overlooking the world below. Peitha gasped slightly as she saw the man.

“My, my, Aphrodite…what have you done here,” she muttered sardonically, “He seems to have the allure of the gods. Quite a handsome man, if I do say so myself. I might pay him a visit…persuade him to--”

The glare Peitha received from Aphrodite cut of what the Goddess of Persuasion would have had the man to do.

“You will not persuade him to do anything,” Aphrodite’s voice was like ice. “I called upon you to persuade the people in the streets to retire to their homes early. I would like to meet this human—his radiant features deserve to be recognized by the Goddess of Beauty herself.” A wry smile split her attractive visage.

Peitha sighed dejectedly, crossing her arms over her chest. Her brow furrowed as the people below changed directions and made their way for their homes. Aphrodite smiled at Peitha before she faded out of the Realm of the Gods, and materialized an instant later on the now-empty streets of the city.

The Goddess of Love and Beauty peered around the filthy street. The Man stood twenty paces in front of her. As she approached, The Man turned and his eyes widened in shocked disbelief.

“Y-you cannot be human!” The Man stuttered. This happened to every male Aphrodite thought worthy of her presence. This man was the most worthy of them all. He continued to gawk, and was finally able to blurt out, “You are the most beautiful being I have seen in my years on earth.”

Aphrodite laughed. She could feel how much he desired to have the goddess as his own. Men were pitiful, but they had their uses.

“You flatter me,” Aphrodite laughed again.

“Please, may I know your name? It would honor me for all eternity,” The Man asked, bowing slightly.

Aphrodite raised an eyebrow at this statement. “You do not need my name.”

The Man took her hand. “Then honor me with your face. Please, walk with me. I know of a place where we can be together.” Aphrodite blushed as the man bent to kiss her hand. She had already fallen for him. With a nod from the goddess, The Man led her to the secluded spot.

----

This love affair had lasted longer than any other Aphrodite had experienced. The goddess was taken aback to find herself regularly wishing to become an earthly woman to live with this man until the end of a mortal life.

Aphrodite sat in the Realm of the Gods, staring through the window overlooking the earth. A longing for The Man’s touch had consumed her, and she wanted with all her heart to be with The Man rather than in her place in the heavens. The other gods would eventually notice her absence if Aphrodite stayed on earth too long, however.

As she watched the people of the city below meander along the streets, she discovered The Man within the multitude of people. A smile like that of a child receiving chocolate spread across her face, but fell as she realized he was not alone.

Another woman. Anger rose inside Aphrodite like she had never felt before. How dare that mortal! The goddess’ hands clenched into fists as the woman leaned toward The Man and kissed him. The couple laughed and danced among the people in the street, and randomly wandered into an inn. Aphrodite stood by the window, her blood boiling with hatred and her once-beautiful eyes enflamed to the brink of madness.

“Men such as he do not deserve your love, goddess,” droned a voice.

Aphrodite spun in surprise to find herself facing another deity. The sight of this goddess made Aphrodite’s skin crawl.

“Nemesis! What are you doing here?” The anger Aphrodite had felt slowly began to shift to vigilance. The Goddess of Revenge could use one’s emotions to her advantage, poking and prodding until the person asked for guidance from their problems.

“Unless I am mistaken, you have encountered a problem concerning your human. He has upset you, hasn’t he?” Poking and prodding. Nemesis knew how to lead conversations to her liking.

“No, everything is fine. I have it under control,” Aphrodite’s voice shook as she spoke.

“Do you? That lie rivals Apate herself. You do not have everything under control. That man has hurt you. All other mortal women are not even close to equaling you in beauty and passion. You are who that man deserves, and if he does not see this, then he does not deserve to live.” Nemesis’ words wrapped Aphrodite in a shawl of negative emotions. Hate, anger, jealousy and revenge overpowered all other feelings, and a malevolent grin came to Aphrodite’s face.

“He does not deserve to live,” Aphrodite repeated in a malicious whisper.

And so the two goddesses planned The Man’s death. Which would be the most painful? Which would provide satisfaction to Aphrodite when it was over? They eventually decided on poison. Kill him from the inside—make it a slow and excruciating death. The poison would enter his body swiftly through two punctures in his flesh that would sting horribly, just as the sudden sight of The Man with the other woman had affected Aphrodite. The two wounds were a signature of sorts, one lesion as a sign of Nemesis and one of Aphrodite.

The goddesses encountered a problem when they decided the way to transport the poison to The Man. A small, sleek killer—an assassin you could say—was all that they needed. Nothing any human would notice at the first glance, but with the second glance the thing would already be gone. It was required that it be close to the ground, and dark-colored so it could hide in the shadows.
The final item turned out to be a worm-like animal, with strong muscles to slide quickly along the floor, and a tongue with the great ability to sense its prey. Appendages on the animal’s body would only slow it down, so the goddesses hid the two rigid, fleshy daggers in the mouth. When the assassin found its prey, it would strike, opening its mouth to allow the poison-tipped daggers to extend and penetrate the skin. The assassin could be gone as quickly as it had come, but the poison would be at work until the prey died. Nemesis and Aphrodite had made the poison strong enough to keep the victim alive for a few hours, giving Aphrodite time to appear before The Man to make her revenge complete.

“A most excellent creation, Aphrodite,” drawled Nemesis’ voice. The assassin coiled upon itself where it lay on the ground and hissed slightly. It had already selected a sound, a reflection of its title: assassin. “I believe it is about time for this man to be dead.” The assassin faded at this statement, only to appear in the evening shadows in the city on earth.

Aphrodite strode to the window to watch the assassin hunt for its quarry. She wore a smug look on her face, seeming to have not a care on her mind. The killer slithered across the land following the trail of The Man. It finally came to the inn that The Man and his woman entered earlier that evening, and passed over the threshold. Once the animal was inside it could not be seen by Aphrodite, but she would feel the pain within The Man when the assassin attacked.
Minutes passed, and Aphrodite had not felt anything. Her tense muscles, anticipating the blow, relaxed as a frown creased Aphrodite’s face. Without warning, pain erupted in her forearm and a strange warmth began to gradually spread up to her shoulder. The odd feeling disappeared from Aphrodite’s arm. The goddess, now realizing the extent to which she had been blinded by her anger, gave a small cry and vanished to earth.

----

The new moon did not help Aphrodite on her travel through the darkened city. She could still faintly feel The Man; the poison was killing him faster than she thought it would. There wasn’t enough time. The Man would be dead by the time Aphrodite reached him.
Aphrodite ran faster. Almost there! she thought, Run faster! She could barely feel The Man. I must reach him!

Tears were now rolling freely down the goddess’ cheeks. When the inn finally stood in front of her, Aphrodite could barely stand up. The Man’s life flickered like the last embers of an already weak fire. Aphrodite ran through the halls of the inn toward The Man’s room. As she stopped at the door, the fire died. No!
Aphrodite flung open the door to find The Man lying on the only bed in the room, covered in sweat, his eyes still bulging with pain from the venom coursing through his body. The two wounds on his forearm were encircled by black flesh, and the veins closest to the punctures created black spidery lines leading away from the perforations.

Aphrodite approached the bed and touched his face. His skin burned even after death with a great fever. The Goddess of Love and Beauty fell to her knees at his bedside. She had been tainted by Nemesis’ words, and had killed her man. Grief racked her body and she retched, finally becoming aware of the smell of rotting flesh in the room.

The goddess stood shakily and gazed one last time at the once-most handsome man on earth. She turned and began to walk out of the room, only to fade halfway to the door and reappear in the Realm of the Gods. Never again did Aphrodite love a human man, fearing to come across the same dilemma. The Goddess of Revenge still tries to infect anyone she can, and still succeeds today. Revenge is bitter sweet, and will remain that way until the end of time.