The Temple of Love and Other Stories: Hypergamy the Priestess, #1

By Freddie T. Camel

Tales of love and sex in Ancient Greece.

 

Three short stories set in the mythical city of Iolcos, from which Jason set sail on his quest for the Golden Fleece. But it is now five hundred years since Jason's time and the patron god of the city is Poseidon. However, hidden in the backstreets is the Temple of Aphrodite, occupied by Hypergamy the priestess. This is the temple for the heartbroken, the lonely and the unlucky in love who come to seek answers from the Goddess.

 

Story 1: The Temple of Love: In which a young man is in love with a girl who is out of his reach. Can the Goddess help him win the girl of his dreams?

 

Story 2: The Reluctant Nymph: In which a single mother encounters the man who made her pregnant and then abandoned her. To her horror, the woman realises that she is still in love with him. What in Hades is the Goddess playing at?

 

Story 3: The Young Husband: In which a young husband forced into a marriage of convenience discovers the meaning of great sex in the arms of the priestess.

 

Bonus Story: The Tale of Twelve Handsome Men: A short fictional 'myth'.

 

Book length: approx. 68 pages

• Language: English
• Publisher: Freddie T. Camel
• Release date: May 2, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223906414

Book preview

1

The Temple of Love

IN THE LAND we call Ancient Greece, there was a city called Iolcos which was famous as a port for trade and shipbuilding. Indeed, it was in Iolcos where legendary hero Jason built the Argo and set forth on his great quest for the Golden Fleece. The city’s chief gods were Poseidon, God of the Sea, and Hermes, God of Trade—male gods in a city ruled by a king and visited by enough seamen, traders and swords-for-hire to ensure that there were always more men than women. The Temple of Poseidon was a massive structure built on a rock overlooking the clear blue waters and it was said that as the Chariot of the Sun travelled across the sky, the temple’s shadow would touch every building facing the sea.

Tucked into a rockface in the western quarter of the city was a smaller, humbler temple around the corner from a brothel. It was dedicated to Aphrodite, Goddess of Love, and was occupied by a solitary priestess. Her name was Hypergamy and she was tall with long black hair and startling green eyes. There was talk that she had been a prostitute herself, although few people would dare say that to her face. Hypergamy was possessed of a stern beauty which frightened as much as it fascinated, and the men and women she encountered around town were invariably respectful to her. She was always seen alone, with neither partner nor servants, and if Hypergamy did have a lover, then it was the best kept secret in the city.

One afternoon, a young man came to the temple. He was tall and gangly, with curly brown hair and ears which stuck out from his head. He paid the tribute of two copper oboloi and introduced himself in a soft voice as Metrios. He seemed nice enough, but he was unable to look the woman in the eye and, despite his nineteen years, he seemed more boy than man. It didn’t surprise Hypergamy to learn that he lived with his parents and was apprenticed to his father, Grafios, one of the palace scribes. Metrios had probably never held a sword nor done an hour of manual labour in his life.

One of his tasks as apprentice was to collect blank papyrus scrolls from the merchant, Emporos. During these visits, Metrios would encounter the merchant’s daughter and he had fallen in love with her. He had come to the temple, he said, to ask for Aphrodite’s help and guidance. Hypergamy nodded, her expression a study in neutrality. She had heard versions of this story countless times from the lips of young men and their coming to the temple for advice invariably meant the girls themselves were totally uninterested in them. Still, one had to give a show of fairness.

‘Tell me,’ said the priestess. ‘Are your intentions towards this young woman honourable?’

‘Oh, yes!’ said the youth. ‘Absolutely!’

‘Then here is my advice,’ she said. ‘Tell the young woman how you feel. Tell her you love her. Tell her what your intentions are. And if she shares your feelings, then you are welcome to return and I will tell you how to proceed. But if she does not, then leave her alone. Respect her feelings and find another girl to fall in love with. Do you understand?’

Metrios stared at the floor. He was clearly unhappy with this advice.

‘What is it?’ said Hypergamy.

‘I just thought...’ Metrios blinked and swallowed. ‘Well, if I made a sacrifice, do you think the Goddess might ... you know...?’

‘...make the girl fall in love with you?’ said Hypergamy.

Metrios could tell by her tone that she was displeased. He scanned the floor, as though looking for cracks to disappear through. Hypergamy snapped her fingers to get his attention.

‘Listen, young man, and listen well!’ she said. ‘Aphrodite will not deliver a girl to you just to satisfy your longings! And if this girl doesn’t want you and you insist on bothering her, then you will make an enemy of the Goddess herself! Do you understand?’

‘Yes, Ma’am.’

‘Now, get out!’

Metrios scurried off. Hypergamy swore and went through a curtain into her quarters next to the temple building. A bowl of rosewater stood on a high table and the priestess stood above it, splashing her face and hands, trying to wash away her disgust.

***

A month later, a young woman came to the temple. She had a round pretty face, long dark-blond hair and, although only eighteen, she already had the full figure and curves of a grown woman. Hypergamy accepted the young woman’s tribute of two copper oboloi and offered prayers to the Goddess of Love. That done, the priestess led the girl to a bench by the wall where they sat down to talk.

The young woman’s name was Panamorphia, officially the only daughter of an important merchant. She said ‘officially’ because the girl had an older sister called Epithymia who had fallen pregnant to an unknown man; their father had thrown her out and forbade anyone in the family to speak her name. She now worked in a brothel and lived in a less savoury part of the city with her little boy, although Panamorphia would sometimes meet her in secret. It was the elder sister who had advised her to seek Aphrodite’s help for her ‘predicament’. Hypergamy’s insides twisted when she heard that carefully chosen word, but she kept her expression neutral and nodded for the girl to continue her story.

As a merchant, Panamorphia’s father would often entertain important business associates at home and at a recent dinner party, one of the guests was a strapping, long-haired man called Orthios. He was a swordsman hired by a ship’s captain to help protect his cargo both on land and at sea, but he was also a great storyteller. As the men sat outside drinking wine and