Olympia Island was rebuilt. The house and the barn looked very much like it had previously and I liked it that way. Once the structure was up, decorators, domestics, and followers worked to get my household set up once again. The gardener was able to salvage many of the bonsai plants and created a garden paradise that was much larger than the last one.
The final touch to my home arrived and the painter hung the portraits on the wall of my conference room where portraits of Zeus’ court once hung. I told him where to put each one, arranging them as they would be if they were seated at the huge mahogany conference table. The new portraits of my own court were all larger than life.
I carefully examined each one, noting brush strokes and looking for flaws. The artist had done very well. I could detect no imperfections in the hyper-realistic paintings. So realistic were the paintings, I expected each one to speak to me as I regarded them.
Helios was dressed in a knee-length purple toga and his hair was captured in a braid. He carried a staff with an eagle on the top. His golden sandals sparkled on his feet and he wore a golden crown that resembled the sun's rays. The color of his hair was perfect and his eyes sparkled, bright and yellow. He stood on a sandy beach, facing the sinister side which is to say he faced my portrait. Helios Sun God would always look in my direction. Wind blew his braid and tugged at the hem of his tunic. Helios Sun God hung to the right of my portrait.
Ares was dressed in a short bright yellow toga. He carried a golden shield, wore a golden helmet with a plume of horse hair that had been dyed yellow, a golden breastplate that mimicked my own, golden greaves and bracers and a sword with a golden hilt hung from his waist, as if he were dressed for battle. Ares’ eyes smoldered in darkness and the barest hint of black curls peeked from under the golden plumed helmet. He stood in front of a mighty army of similarly dressed warriors on an unnamed battlefield as if he were ready to lead the charge to victory. Ares War God hung on my left.
Bill, William Clarke Townsend, hung beside Ares. He wore a dark blue well fitting dress pants and a blue dress shirt with the collar open and the sleeves rolled up to his forearms. Bill had a gun on his black belt and a Law Book cradled in his right arm. His hair was neatly combed and his brown eyes intense with determination. He was in a library with a large mahogany desk right behind him and shelves filled with book beyond the desk.
Hermes Messenger God wore just a short white loincloth, but his winged sandals were golden, and his helmet had golden wings on each side. He carried his caduceus and his short white cape resembled wings. His fine blonde hair looked like feathers in the portrait and his blue eyes glowed. He looked as if he was ready to take flight from the rocky mountain top where he stood. Hermes hung beside Helios.
Apollo Sun God also dressed in a short white toga however his belt was woven from golden threads. He wore a long golden cape and carried his lyre. Gold sandals covered his feet. Apollo’s honey blonde hair was shoulder length and wavy and his blue eyes shone like Zeus’s eyes. He walked through a meadow of wild flowers, looking serene and mature. Apollo hung beside Hermes.
Artemis Hunter Goddess wore a long white dress with her right shoulder bare. Over the dress was a tunic of purple with silver embroidered moons decorating the collar and hem. She carried a bow and a quiver of silver arrows. Her long white blond hair floated in the wind and her blue eyes sparkled as much as her twin’s. The artist perfectly captured her glowing white skin. She walked in a moonlit misty forest at night. Artemis hung beside Apollo.
Metis Good Counsel Goddess wore a crimson evening gown, tiny golden slippers, and carried a golden book of Titan Laws. Her wavy strawberry blonde hair was worn in a tight bun on top of her head, held in place with a gold and diamond tiara. Looking very much like the Queen she served, her face was one of contentment. Her setting was also a library, but one that looked like it was straight out of the 18th century. She hung beside Bill.
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Mnemosyne Memory Goddess looked beautiful in her pale yellow gown, her crown of golden acanthus leaves and golden sandals. Her long golden blonde braid hung to her knees and her blue glitter eyes shimmered on the canvas. She stood in front of a small temple of marble that was surrounded by blue, yellow and white wildflowers. She hung beside Metis.
Themis Justice Goddess wore a lavender toga and carried scales of justice as she did in the olden days. Her raven hair hung to her waist and her glitter emerald eyes looked illuminated with an inner light. She stood in a courtroom that looked like something the United States Supreme Court would occupy. She hung beside Metis.
Titan Astronomy God wore a short midnight blue toga and a belt of laurels. His feet were clad in brown sandals and his head was encircled by the sapphire and gold crown of the race he ruled. The artist captured his red hair and his yellow eyes and his stern countenance. He stood on a beach under a star-studded sky, the Great Hunter clearly visible in the painted evening. He hung beside Artemis.
Dionysus Wine God was nude except for his purple loincloth and his place was beside Titan. His curly black hair was wild and free and his Zeus blue eyes danced with merriment. He carried a staff adorned with grapevines and grape leaves circled his head like a crown. His arm was casually draped across a grapevine that was in the middle of a huge arbor.
Next was a portrait of Zeus. He sat on a golden throne that was a replica of the one at the court of Olympus before he pounded it to dust. The elaborate chair was in a throne room with deep purple velvet drapes hanging behind the former king of the Olympians. He wore a long white toga and a royal blue over-tunic. His long black straight hair hung down his back and his blue eyes sparkled with merriment. His scepter was a jesters’ staff of blue ribbons and golden bells. While Zeus’ portrait was the largest, it hung on a wall to the left of my gallery. Smaller portraits of Heracles, Hebe, Ariadne, Jason, Boreas and Nike hung to the right and left of Zeus. Not part of the ruling class, but certainly very important to me.
A single portrait of the now-dead Demeter held a place of honor on the wall opposite Zeus’ portrait. It was just her face, neck, and shoulders, as if the artist did a close-up photo of her. Her background was simply swirls of deep blue, dark green, and black. She smiled serenely in the portrait and her blue eyes focused on something far away. Her blonde hair hung free and loose. I think she would have been happy with it.
What of the Queen? I looked over my own portrait last. The artist placed me on a rocky mountain top with wind blowing my hair and my long white gown that was decorated with golden embroidered flowers and thousands of pearls and diamonds. Tiny wild flowers covered many of the rocks in the area. I wore Zeus’ signet ring and held his staff of office. My crown was a simple tiara of gold with 12 different precious stones, each one representing one of my Twelve. Helios commissioned the crown for me and I wore it when I posed for the painting because I loved it and him. My strawberry blonde hair blew in the wind, but was kept out of my face by the tiara. The gray eyes stared toward a distant horizon and the future. I looked away.
The artist had been paid a queens’s ransom and was sworn to secrecy. I added a metaphysical spell to reinforce his promise to remain silent about the Great Athenians and the role we had in the 21st century.
I was well pleased with the end result.
This one room, the conference room on Olympia Island somewhere in the Sea of Japan, was the only official palace room I would ever own. My reign was going to be a much simpler one, and not one filled with pomp and circumstance and pointless ceremony.
Metis may insist every dinner is a formal one and I will just go with that, but I still would keep things much lighter in keeping with the 21st century.
I heard my court jester calling to me to join him in a game of chess and I smiled. Zeus was my jester, but he was no fool. I exited the conference room, carefully closing the door behind me.