Week 3 Story: Juno's Reaction to lo
Juno paced through the great halls of her palace on Mount Olympus. Her anger swirled insider her like one of her husband's great storm clouds. In her hand, she squeezed a pomegranate so tightly that the taught skin broke apart and the deep red juice dripped down her arm staining her cloak and the tapestries on the floors. The fresh sweet scent of the fruit stung her nose and she calmed herself by fastening her angry breaths to the steady dripping of the thick blood-like nectar. Juno steadied herself and thought to herself, Jupiter will pay for his injustice against me. In declaration of her resolution she screamed a war cry and threw the pomegranate off of Mount Olympus. With a quick wave of her hand she transformed her stained cloak into her favorite goat-skin pelt and left for the woods of Lyrcean Plains.
Juno stepped through the soft-grasses of the woods, careful to remain in the shadow of the trees. Thick fog was beginning to lift off of the ground. She held her hand to her nose. The heavy smell of Jupiter's infidelity still clinged to the woods. In the distance, Jupiter saw what she was looking for. A beautiful heifer lay on the ground bellowing in shame and sadness. Juno looked round and could not sense Jupiter's presence. She stole away across the meadow, coming to kneel beside the fresh beast. The heifer was alarmed at Juno's presence, for she had been a servant of the great goddess. Juno whispered in the ear of the animal, "Child, I apologize. You have served me well, but your beauty befell you. We will right this great wrong which has been done to you by the hand of my husband." With a crystalline tear, Juno transformed the heifer back into a trembling girl. lo humbled herself before the goddess and began to stammer apologies to the goddess. "Hush," Juno cooed, " It was not your fault, but Jupiter's".
Juno was seething with anger as her insurmountable wit formulated a plan against Jupiter. She whispered directions into the trembling lo's ears. lo ran off into the woods, headed for distant lands. Juno sent a blessing with her as she left.
Juno plucked the bright colorful head off of nearby flower. She smiled as she turned the purple petals into a beautiful heifer's head. The dripping sap from the stem became thick and hot and red as a pomegranate. She lifted the heavy head and carried it with her to Mount Olympus.
She greeted Jupiter in his dining hall. The great brute was jovially eating fine cheese and drinking the purest of wine. The brightness of his mood and magnitude of his palate disappeared as he saw his wife's bloodstained dress and the great beast's head she dragged behind her. Jupiter stammered apologies at Juno, but the conniving goddess just smiled and walked towards her husband. With a swift move she swung the bloodied head onto Jupiter's dinner. Jupiter fell to his knees and tore his cloak. He looked at the severed head of the beautiful heifer he had made of the beautiful lo, and he saw the destruction his perverseness caused. Juno turned and left the hall, the damage having been done. She smiled, he had stolen a flower and would in turn lose his mind over one.
Author's Notes: In Ovid's Metamorphoses, Juno is vengeful against the women who were victims of her husband's lust. Personally, I think that that is wrong, so I made the story of lo and Juno about enacting justice on Jupiter.
Juno stepped through the soft-grasses of the woods, careful to remain in the shadow of the trees. Thick fog was beginning to lift off of the ground. She held her hand to her nose. The heavy smell of Jupiter's infidelity still clinged to the woods. In the distance, Jupiter saw what she was looking for. A beautiful heifer lay on the ground bellowing in shame and sadness. Juno looked round and could not sense Jupiter's presence. She stole away across the meadow, coming to kneel beside the fresh beast. The heifer was alarmed at Juno's presence, for she had been a servant of the great goddess. Juno whispered in the ear of the animal, "Child, I apologize. You have served me well, but your beauty befell you. We will right this great wrong which has been done to you by the hand of my husband." With a crystalline tear, Juno transformed the heifer back into a trembling girl. lo humbled herself before the goddess and began to stammer apologies to the goddess. "Hush," Juno cooed, " It was not your fault, but Jupiter's".
Juno was seething with anger as her insurmountable wit formulated a plan against Jupiter. She whispered directions into the trembling lo's ears. lo ran off into the woods, headed for distant lands. Juno sent a blessing with her as she left.
Juno plucked the bright colorful head off of nearby flower. She smiled as she turned the purple petals into a beautiful heifer's head. The dripping sap from the stem became thick and hot and red as a pomegranate. She lifted the heavy head and carried it with her to Mount Olympus.
She greeted Jupiter in his dining hall. The great brute was jovially eating fine cheese and drinking the purest of wine. The brightness of his mood and magnitude of his palate disappeared as he saw his wife's bloodstained dress and the great beast's head she dragged behind her. Jupiter stammered apologies at Juno, but the conniving goddess just smiled and walked towards her husband. With a swift move she swung the bloodied head onto Jupiter's dinner. Jupiter fell to his knees and tore his cloak. He looked at the severed head of the beautiful heifer he had made of the beautiful lo, and he saw the destruction his perverseness caused. Juno turned and left the hall, the damage having been done. She smiled, he had stolen a flower and would in turn lose his mind over one.
Jupiter and Juno. Web Source: techly.com
Author's Notes: In Ovid's Metamorphoses, Juno is vengeful against the women who were victims of her husband's lust. Personally, I think that that is wrong, so I made the story of lo and Juno about enacting justice on Jupiter.
I love the way you show Juno's anger in the first paragraph. The comparison of her swirling emotions to one of Jupiter's storm clouds was really striking, since it relates her rage back to its target, even before you explain what she's mad about. I also like the comparison of the pomegranate juice to blood, and the way it foreshadows the "blood stains" that will be on her dress later when she fools Jupiter into thinking she killed Lo. Your characterization of Juno was great overall. It portrayed the vengefulness she's known for, but also makes her a more sympathetic character because she focuses her rage on Jupiter where it belongs rather than taking it out on his victim.
ReplyDeleteI do wonder how effective her punishment of Jupiter would be. It seems dependent on him caring enough about Lo to be upset that she was dead, and the story doesn't really indicate that he cared about her at all.
I am always for an improved sense of justice! I appreciate that you took a story about a woman's jealousy and turned it around so that Jupiter, the one who is guilty, pays the consequences. And your writing is so descriptive! You mentioned in your introduction that you like Ellison's writing because he is so descriptive right? I can totally see that you admire that writing style! I could actually imagine Juno, in my head, pacing and squeezing that pomegranate. I furthermore appreciate that she has compassion for humans in this story. It seems like in Greek/Roman mythology, the gods and goddesses are always willing to just throw humans under the bus.
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