Matpatius and the Tea Goddess

The Myth

Long ago, in ancient Greece lived a man, a demigod son of Athena by the name of Matpatius. He entertained the residents of Athens with his theories of the stories of the gods and with his beautiful singing. Many of the gods on Mount Olympus were enraged that he dare question their actions, and schemed with Aphrodite to strike Matpatius with a terrible curse: that he could never find love among mortals. However, Matpatius accepted his fate and continued to make proper sacrifices to the gods instead of harboring anger and bitterness.

It was during a festival one year, that Matpatius noticed a new shrine. Upon closer inspection, he found it to be dedicated to Stephanie, the goddess of tea. He chuckled at her title and read the scroll describing her virtues. Matpatius was surprised to learn she was one of the few gentle goddesses, one who thought through her actions instead of lashing out in a blind rage, and definitely not one to condemn a mortal for mere speculations.

He smiled as he looked at her statue, which was shorter than the others but held a more innocent beauty., then left the shrine for the agora to buy the finest tea there was.

Stephanie looked down at her shrine, hardly anybody paid attention to it. Naturally, she was intrigued when Matpatius lingered for so long. She had been in the minority when Zeus called for his punishment, as Stephanie found his theories quite amusing and his singing to rival Apollo's. The goddess, now lost in thought, smelt smoke from her sacrificial altar and looked down once more to find Matpatius burning her favorite tea and singing a magnificent prayer. Moved, Stephanie decided to risk Zeus's anger.

Matpatius finished his prayer only to see that a crowd had formed to hear his voice. He ignored them and turned to leave the festival when he felt a light tap on his shoulder.

He turned back and saw a small, beautiful woman with rich brown hair that matched her intelligent eyes. Her chiton fluttered in the breeze as she spoke in a quiet voice. "Hello, I heard you singing and I was surprised that you honored such an obscure goddess, not many people bother with making sacrifices to any of the gods not in the Olympian Council."

Matpatius sighed, "Well, I have some experience with some of the gods that are... quicker to anger. Why would I want to displease a goddess that, according to what I read, is kind and level-headed?

The mysterious girl laughed, "That is wise, would you care to visit her temple?"

"There is a temple for the goddess of tea?"

"The temple is small and simple, but yes, there is."

She led him to the temple that was not far away, where before entering, Matpatius asked, "What is your name?"

She hesitated for a second before tentatively answering, "Steph, and yours?"

"Matpatius, although you may call me Matpat."

They entered the temple, and were greeted by two men.

The elder of the two spoke, "Welcome to the temple of Stephanie, the goddess of tea. I am the priest, Jason. And this is Christophoros, the priest in training. Do you have a sacrifice?"

Steph answered, "No, we just attended the festival and we came to see the temple."

The priests seemed to accept that, and left Matpatius and Steph to wander around the marble building.

Matpatius looked at the Statue dominating the temple and was quick to note the similarities between the goddess and his companion.

They wandered around for a while and eventually Matpatius left after biding Steph a goodbye.

The two continued to meet at the agora, however. Matpatius would sing and create theories while Steph watched, captivated by his talents.

The two grew close, and Matpatius grew bitter about his curse.

One day, Zeus grew tired of being the subject of Matpatius's theories and struck him down with lightning whilst he was meeting Steph at the agora. Steph, horrified and filled with grief that her closest friend was dead, brought him to Asclepius, who had raised men from the dead before.

Unfortunately, Asclepius had been banned by Hades from raising the dead. Steph was desperate, and as she reminisced of Matpatius's latest theory, where Psyche's beauty had come from, she remembered that she had been revived when Eros brought her before the Council.

Steph morphed back into her true godly form, and carried Matpatius up to Mount Olympus. She pleaded before Zeus, who realized his mistake when he saw the fire in Stephanie's eyes.

The king of the gods thundered, "You have convinced me to save this mortal, however he can only be revived by giving him a place as a god, are you ure of your decision?"

"Yes, I am sure of my decision Lord Zeus." Stephanie said, filled with determination to bring back Matpatius.

Zeus summoned a grumbling Hades to release Matpatius's soul.

Stephanie could see a faint echo of his image and then there was a flash, and he was standing in front of her, glimmering with his newfound godliness.

He ran to her and enveloped Stephanie in a hug, she only whispered, "Matpat."

Matpatius turned to the king of the gods and bowed.

Zeus looked at the other gods and announced, "I present to you, the god of theories, Matpatius."

Stephanie cheered louder than any of the others when he accepted the title.