Kyrosphera
Kyrosphera- A Greek Myth
A long time ago, when there were only gods on Mount Olympus and a few people in Greece, the sea started to bubble and foam sprayed up like water from the blowhole of a whale. The sea formed a hole and two gods rose up from the bottom. They were Aphrodite, the beautiful god of love and beauty, and Kyrosphera, the lost and forgotten sister of Aphrodite who was even more beautiful than she. Aphrodite was fair-skinned with brown curls of hair that bounced and seemed ever so delicate. Her eyes were golden-brown, like a fresh acorn. Her robes were flowing and colorful, playful yet pretty. Kyrosphera was just as beautiful, a tall albino with light pink eyes the color of a smooth seashell. Her hair was long and white, her face small and smooth. Her lips were elegant and just-so, her nose sharp but fitting. Her skin was white and pale, but not ghostly as it could have been. Long were her robes as well as elegant, white with a tinge of blue. Her appearance was striking and beautiful, too gorgeous for eyes to see. Everything about her was perfect, yet her heart was soon to be damaged as you will now see.
Aphrodite was tremendously jealous of her sister, so delicate and light. Because of this, she was mean to Kyrosphera, pretending that Kyrosphera was ever so ugly when really Aphrodite was just jealous. Poor Kyrosphera knew her sister hated her, but didn’t know of the jealousy behind it. Soon Aphrodite left Kyrosphera, unable to contain her jealousy around her. Aphrodite thought that she might try forgetting about Kyrosphera so that she wouldn’t ever have to feel the jealousy again. Soon, Aphrodite did forget about Kyrosphera and thought that she herself must be the most beautiful thing that ever walked the earth. In that way Kyrosphera was forgotten and erased form the past.
At times, Kyrosphera remembered her fair-skinned sister Aphrodite and missed her with all her frail heart. But then she remembered how Aphrodite hated her so and regretted ever wanting her back. Years passed, and Kyrosphera became more and more depressed. She kept remembering all the mean things Aphrodite had said to her and all the awful things she had done. Kyrosphera became madder and madder until she couldn’t stand it anymore. She wanted revenge. She would make something cold and bitter, so the people would feel the cold hate that Kyrosphera felt when her sister left her. Yes, she would get started right away.
Kyrosphera wandered through Greece in many forms- a sheep, a bird, a mouse, and even a little girl. She ventured near and far, everywhere she could go. Finally, she came to the last corner of Greece. Disguised as a poor old woman, she looked for somewhere to stay. Yes, there was a place that was perfect for all her needs! It was an old shed once used by a farmer, but now crumbling and squalid. Kyrosphera tidied it up and got to work at once. In her pot she tried mixing this and that; weeds and grass, cow hair and butterfly wings, potions and herbs. What came out of it was weak and clumsy, not fit to serve her purposes. Kyrosphera needed something powerful and harsh. She added some hair (hers and that of Zeus which Kyrosphera had stolen the night before), a few flowers, a fig tree leaf, a fish scale and just a pinch of salt. Alas, it was still too weak.
Kyrosphera spent days, weeks, months, and three years trying to make it just right, adding, mixing, crumbling, crushing, grinding, tweaking, and stirring. Her arms grew tired but she did not give up. Finally, finally, Kyrosphera’s creation was strong enough. But should it really be that terrible? Kyrosphera stopped, remembering the very early days, before Aphrodite left her. She had been kind, happy, and loving like a regular sister... but then Aphrodite had started to turn sour, like a rotten apple left out in the rain. Remembering her once-kind sister and the happy times she had gone through, Kyrosphera felt a tear fall from her cheek and saw it melt into the pot.
Ka-BOOM! Kyrosphera’s creation sizzled and whizzed, popped and fizzed while the tear quickly disappeared into the concoction. Some of the fluid flew into the air and fell from the eaves of the barn. She looked up and dried her cheeks, caught one of the odd little flakes in her hand and blew on it. Yes, it was perfect! Kyrosphera proudly stood. The flakes were beautiful, perfect. She should use them at once. Her job done, she lifted the pot and put the contents in her robes. Finally, she went back up to Mount Olympus. All looked at her strangely, but Kyrosphera continued on until she had reached the clouds. From there, she let her concoction fall, fall, fall, until it covered the ground. Each flake was white, shiny, cold, light, and melted but only for kind hands. Each one was unique, as different as Aphrodite and Kyrosphera. Kyrosphera thought up a beautiful name for them... snow. And with these clever flakes of snow came ice, which sometimes dropped in pellets called hail but usually formed on top of snow. The ice was colder than the snow and much harder, but it glistened in the sun. They were beautiful together, but satisfyingly punishing. She dropped them at the time as when Persephone went into the Underworld and Demeter made the earth barren so that the world was already cold and dry when she dropped her creations.
Kyrosphera knew that Aphrodite was back on Mount Olympus and heard that her poor friend, a mortal man whom Aphrodite adored, was injured in storm of cold cubes falling from the sky. The gods all thought it extremely strange that cold cubes had fallen from the sky except for Kyrosphera. She was satisfied and so every twelve months she returned to the clouds to drop some snow and maybe a little storm of ice.
In that way Kyrosphera got revenge as she wished, but only on the cruel people, as snow and ice will still melt for those with warm hearts.
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