The newly appointed Sun God, Russell, entered the great hall. The gods stepped forward with clasped hands to congratulate him on ascending to the heavens in a single step, with boundless glory upon him and eternal radiance for all ages.
Russell returned the gesture with clasped hands, smiling brightly as he said that he was a newcomer who had only just arrived and still needed guidance from all the big shots.
The gods hastily said they would not dare. Russell repeatedly acted modest, and laughter filled the hall as everyone declared that they would encourage one another, move forward hand in hand, and build a better future for Olympus together.
That was impossible!
Russell entered the hall with his nostrils in the air, striding as if no one in the world mattered. The veteran gods glared at him in anger, while Zeus's family gods wore equally unpleasant expressions.
Athena and Hermes hung back, acting as though it had nothing to do with them. Apollo and Artemis looked resentful. Ares was filled with jealousy and hatred. As for Aphrodite, she openly cast flirtatious glances at Russell, making him instinctively lower his nose and respond with animated looks.
Gods were people too. Within the hall, there was every shade of human behavior, with warmth and coldness alike.
Russell pretended not to see any of it, focusing entirely on exchanging looks with Aphrodite. The two agreed to meet in a little grove at midnight for a heart-to-heart talk between siblings.
Aphrodite was deeply interested in Russell. She was the goddess of love and beauty, the highest symbol of feminine physical beauty, but she alone did not represent female chastity.
She liked tall, handsome men, or powerful members of the opposite sex, such as Ares, Hermes, and so on... and so on.
Russell had