Week 4 Story: Hestia and Beatrice
Zeus called on all the gods and goddesses to create a spectacular meeting place for the gods, where grand parties and important events could take place. He said that whoever could build a place worthy of his company would be given an enormous prize.
Excited deities rushed about to make plans for Zeus' special project, hoping to win the attention and affection of the king of the gods. Most excited was Hestia, goddess of the hearth and home. She was the most gifted architect in the heavens, and she knew she would win the challenge. When others heard of Hestia's entrance into the competition, they dropped out, knowing they would stand no chance against someone of her talent.
Just when it looked that Hestia would be unchallenged, young Beatrice decided to join in and attempt to please Zeus. She had acquired great skill in architecture through an apprenticeship with her father, but she was unknown to Hestia, who quickly accepted the newcomer's challenge.
A few months passed, until the day of judgment arrived.
Zeus called forth Hestia to see her creation.
She had built a large palace in the city center. Noble columns reached up and centered the entrance to the building. Everything was made of a sleek, white marble, and there were rooms full of hand-painted artwork and beautiful furniture. There were carefully manicured gardens with sculptures of all the gods and goddesses who would one day gather there. Her craftsmanship was next to none.
Zeus congratulated Hestia on a job well-done and called forth her competitor.
Young Beatrice emerged from the crowd to show her creation.
She had built a stunning palace alongside Hestia's creation. The columns that framed the entrance were molded to look like tree vines. The rooms and hallways were lined with carved images of heroic acts performed by the gods and goddesses who would one day gather there. Each room was adorned with large windows that let in the sunshine and stars of the sky surrounding the building. The gardens were filled with shady trees that shot forth into the sky and produced sweet fruit to eat. Her craftsmanship was evidenced by her careful details.
Much to Hestia's dismay, Zeus declared Beatrice the winner of the challenge and extended an invitation for her to visit any time she pleased, a prize Beatrice never could have imagined.
Hestia, filled with jealousy, turned to Beatrice and said, "Congratulations. You are clearly talented. Now, your talents can truly go to use." With a point of her finger, Hestia turned Beatrice into a stout, hard-working beaver and banished her to the river in the woods.
Hestia was once again the best architect in the city.
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Author's Note: The original story is of Minerva and Arachne. Minerva is the goddess of weaving, and after being upstaged by Arachne, she turns her into a spider (hence, Arachne). I kept the structure of the story the same, with a newcomer challenging an established craftsman, but I wanted to play with the details and turn it into something else. I also enjoyed reading the detailed descriptions of the cloths that were weaved in the original story, so I enjoyed playing with the details of the buildings here.
Bibliography: Ovid's Metamorphoses II (Minerva and Arachne) translated by Tony Kline (2000)
Image: Minerva and the Triumph of Jupiter by René-Antoine Houasse, Source: Wikimedia Commons
Hi Courtney!!
ReplyDeleteFirst, I love greek mythology, I think it is so fascinating so I was excited when I clicked on your story. I was immediately hooked the first time the story mentioned a competition. Who doesn't love a competition story with drama and suspense. I also really enjoyed reading your descriptions of the palaces they had created and I liked knowing that you pulled that idea from the original story. After reading the description of Hestia's palace I knew that Beatrice's descriptions would be just as good. Architecture in ancient times is somewhat of a mystery to me, honestly how did they build the massive palaces, temples, and statues?? I'll never understand, but maybe you could throw in a few lines about people were excited to work on these new palaces where the gods were going to gather. I also had a thought of adding in a few lines of banter, sarcasm, competitiveness between the 2 architects. This could be a challenge because you placed the story so well in the era but a few silly insults about their robes, or head flower/vines crowns could an easy comedic moments.
I wanted to let you know I enjoyed your retelling of the myth. The building challenge was a great way to create tension in the story between Hestia and Beatrice. The descriptions of the buildings were helpful as a reader, and I could picture the image you created. After reading your author's notes, I understand why the descriptions were well done. Your story was well written, but I would like to a suggestion. The story reads like it is taken out of a textbook, which isn't bad. I believe your story would benefit from better narrative elements such as dialogue or being told from a first-person or third-person narration. I hope this helps.
ReplyDeleteHi Courtney! I really enjoyed this story! Hestia is one of my favorite goddesses, so it was weird seeing her in a negative lights (but I just appreciate someone else caring enough to tell a story about her!). I really love that you were able to preserve the definitive elements of the story, even as you flipped around the characters. It was so fun to read!
ReplyDeleteHey Courtney! Anytime I see greek mythology I'm automatically intrigued, and i loved this story! this isnt a story that im super familiar with, so getting to know a story thats a bit more niche was nice. i appreciate the background information regarding hestia and beatrice, that made it alot easier to undersand. plus the fact that she turned into a beaver was super cute. i enjoyed reading this!
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