#plutus

It was ultimately the thunderbolt that made Zeus. Not as a weapon, but as an idea. The thunderbolt was the mightiest weapon of the heavens, strokes of divine flame that brought down buildings and men alike. Zeus was the lightning, it was the symbol of his infinite power, which could strike from the sky without warning or defense.

Until June of 1752.

Thereafter, the lightning bolt was neither mysterious nor all-powerful. The might of gods could be thwarted with an iron rod and some copper wire. It could, and would, be tamed, yolked, and put to work at the command of the creatures that once trembled at it.

Prophecies are, after all, often obnoxiously symbolic, and it's hard to argue that a nation-founding(adjacent) womanizing libertine who plays with lightning in his spare time isn't at least metaphorically a child of Zeus.

Irony proved itself a double-edged sword, as Sisyphus's judge would be lashed to wheels without end with nothing to do but push.

Each year that passed, Zeus grew more hunched and gaunt, as Hephaestus walked taller and more proud. The eagle no longer came for there was no liver to take. Fire and writing, those were his gifts. The first technology and the means to preserve knowledge. He might have become god of science, but such a irony was too great for god or titan to take.

Yes, storms would still kill, lightning would still destroy. But there would be warning, there would be procedures, there would be explanations. A storm was more a beast than a wrathful king: a hazard to be managed with preparation and caution, not a sovereign to be feared and appeased.

Kingship, too, would find the next few centuries just as harrowing, making a reliable fallback domain all but worthless.

Zeus was dangerous still, certainly.

The way cattle are dangerous.

At least he had a lot of practice being a dumb animal thanks to what I think we can all safely assume was a kink.

Imagine our chagrin, however, when the new guy stepped in. Was it Hephaestus, as the patron of technology? Perhaps Hermes as the god of messages and communication? Athena then? Hard to say war hasn't had her day millennium.

✨Plutus,

god of abundance and wealth, glowing with divine prosperity! 🌾💰 Son of Demeter & Iasion, and in my lore, the devoted husband (or male wife) of Lumina, the eldest Menai.

Plutus was born from the passionate union of Demeter and the mortal Iasion, a love that Zeus could not tolerate. The god of Olympus, envious and wrathful, struck Plutus blind under the pretense of making him distribute wealth equally among mortals. But in truth, it was punishment—jealousy disguised as justice. Plutus was a child of true love, a love Zeus himself had lost with Demeter, and the very idea of a mortal winning her heart enraged him.

Despite his blindness, Plutus remained kind, traveling between realms with a quiet grace. He often ventured into the Underworld to visit his half-sister, Persephone, bringing her fresh fruits as a token of love and renewal. It was during one of these journeys that he met Lumina, the eldest of the Menai, who had retreated into the depths after her painful split from Apollo. She drowned herself in witchcraft, seeking solace in shadows, far from the golden brilliance of her former lover.

In the Underworld, Plutus found a rare comfort. Unlike Olympus, where beauty and radiance were worshiped above all else, the dead did not judge appearances. His scarred eyes, a mark of Zeus' cruelty, were just another feature among many souls who bore their own wounds. Lumina, too, saw beyond them—not with pity, but with admiration. She was drawn to his selflessness, his quiet humility, a stark contrast to Apollo’s pride and vanity.

As they spent time together, Lumina learned the truth of his blindness. The realization struck deep—Zeus had done to Plutus what he had done to her father and brother, tearing them down out of spite. This shared suffering forged an unspoken understanding between them, a bond neither had expected. What began as companionship grew into something more profound—a love born not of shining perfection, but of resilience, kindness, and mutual respect.