Secrets of the Silver Goddess
L. Joan Allen

Book I
Origin of The Silver Goddess

Once upon a time, when Odysseus was
King, there lived a colony of 12 sea nymphs
named Sirens. Not much is known about the
origin of the Sirens, but it is said that Zeus's wife
Hera gathered her husband's illegitimate daughters from
his many affairs with other goddesses, turned them into
nymphs, and banished them to a rocky island named Eternity.

Then she cursed them with loneliness, PMS, and boredom. Hera thought perhaps she was being a little harsh so she granted them the ability to attract men. But she also decided the men they attracted would always leave them. So after numerous unhappy affairs with mariners, the sirens sang sweet songs to lure sailors to the island and watched them crash into the rocks and die. In spite of the spell, one of the Sirens, the beautiful Oleaster, escaped Hera's curses. It is believed she was protected from the spell because she was bathing in the sea at the same moment that Hera pointed her silver wand at her siblings. When Oleaster came out of the sea, she cast a shimmery, silver glow.

While her sisters complained and sulked because they were bored, lonely, and resentful, Oleaster never felt unhappy. Unlike her sisters, she didn't participate in singing to sailors and watching them suffer. Instead, Oleaster enjoyed grinding herbs and making potions with healing powers, cooking delicacies from berries, nuts, grains, figs, olives and fish, and feeding her sad sisters. One day she came upon a hard dark seed that she particularly liked for its intense aroma. Oleaster ground it into a brown powder and boiled it with honey and milk. She fed it to her sisters and their moods improved to the point that they were actually kind to each other, at least for an hour.

Oleaster offered the drink she called Ambrosia to Hera and begged her to take the spell off her sisters. Hera agreed only if Oleaster would come to Mt. Olympus and create more concoctions containing Ambrosia. Hera was so delighted with Oleaster and her Ambrosia that in a special ceremony, she renamed her The Silver Goddess. And the name remained, passed down to each female child that came into the world. And that is how The Silver Goddess came to be.

Book 2
The Silver Goddess Goes to Earth

Hera grew very fond of The Silver Goddess, for she was kind, intelligent, hard-working, and more loving than her own children. Hera rewarded her with a lovely pink cottage, gowns for every occasion, and books of poetry and philosophy. The Silver Goddess loved Hera and her home in Mt. Olympus, and decorated it with silver urns and deep pink beaded silk pillows. She tested recipes in her huge, floating kitchen and catered parties for the other gods. When goddesses married, The Silver Goddess made candies from her brown powder, milk, honey, nuts, and coconut, and called them Ambrosia Temptettes. It was said that if the bride and groom shared an Ambrosia Temptette during the wedding ceremony, they would remain married forever.

When The Silver Goddess turned 25, Hera threw her a ball - one she didn't have to cater herself. The Silver Goddess never looked more beautiful. All heads turned to watch the maiden as she radiated a silver inner glow through her opalescent gown. But what at first seemed a perfect evening would not turn out well afterall. As The Silver Goddess waltzed in the arms of Adonis, Dora, the goddess of darkness, miffed because she didn't receive an invitation, posed as a servant and blew a curse at the guest of honor.

Hera, whose magical powers were keener than Dora's, heard the curse but she was too late to reverse it: the Silver Goddess would be banished to earth forever. Hera wept until Mt. Olympus flooded, and Dora was swept away, surrounded by snakes, never to be seen again. On the night before The Silver Goddess left the kingdom, Hera granted her two wishes and gave her a magical silvery plant to bring to earth called Oleaster, a memorial to her lovely spirit.

The Silver Goddess hugged Hera, and clutched her plant. She said, "My first wish is to find and give love, my second is to offer people something they will love forever - my recipes made from Ambrosia." Then she fell from the clouds and landed softly on sand in a tropical island, surrounded by a rain forest. She dropped to her knees and planted her dear Oleaster plant.

Book III
The Silver Goddess Finds Love

The Oleaster plant sprouted lovely berries and silver leaves, and grew into a lush home, surrounding The Silver Goddess with warmth and peace. In the mornings The Silver Goddess searched the island for herbs, and berries, and rejoiced when she found the same hard nuts she had brought to Mt. Olympus from the island of Eternity. She crafted tools and pounded the nuts and made her exquisite brown powder.

The Silver Goddess should have felt elated to reproduce her elixir in this strange island, but she did not. Instead she felt sad that she had no one to share it with. She sat in the jungle so still that her blond curls did not glide around her shoulders, so still that her tears did not flow down her blue eyes.

Then suddenly, wild animals crept and slithered towards her. Humming birds braided her hair and red parrots perched on her shoulders. Butterflies wove a silver shawl from Oleaster leaves. Pythons formed a circle around The Silver Goddess to protect her from harm. Goats and gazelles brought her eggs, butter, and grains. The Goddess was so touched by the kindness of her new friends that she felt inspired once again. She made hundreds of new foods with Ambrosia. The animals ate until their bellies were full. But one dish stood out; she called her latest masterpiece a brownie, named after the intense color of the seed and powder.

The sensuous aroma of the freshly baked brownies wafted off the island encircling a handsome dark fisherman wading in shallow waters. He followed the magical scent to the jungle where The Silver Goddess lived, drinking in the mingling of soft breezes and the rich Ambrosia. When the fisherman parted the Oleaster leaves of her home and looked upon her, The Silver Goddess said, "Thank you, dear Zeus and Hera. I am truly blessed for you have granted me my first wish." She fed the fisherman a brownie, and he said, "I am in love with a goddess."

Book IV
The Arrival of Amon

The Silver Goddess and the fisherman did not tell their daughter she was part human and part goddess. They wanted her to have a normal childhood and to learn how to cook with Ambrosia so she could carry it on to the next generation. Little SG played with the animals and searched for ingredients with her mother while her father went to sea to fish.

One day the fisherman returned without fish, but he did not come home empty-handed. He brought a young boy named Amon, who said his parents drowned and he was all alone. The Silver Goddess and the fisherman would not have more children and they would love this boy as their own.

Amon loved going to sea with his father. He said he wanted to travel the world and bring back treasures from many lands to his mother and sister. He and his father built a large sailboat and left for many months. The Silver Goddess and Little SG made paints from the seeds and plants on the island and painted pictures of the fisherman and Amon and the things they would see.

One day the boat returned, but only Amon came home. The fisherman was killed by pirates who stole the riches he and Amon had traded for Ambrosia. Amon fell on his knees and wept as he told the story. "They stole my dear father's life because he would not let them take 'a fine boy like me.' My father fought fiercely for my life while they tied me to the wheel. When they threw his body into the sea, I freed myself and jumped overboard to save my father, but he was dead."

The Silver Goddess and Little SG cried so loud that the island shook and the heavens opened and Hera heard them. She took Zeus by the hand, "Please do something to take away their pain. They are your blood." The waters opened and the fisherman waded once again onto the island. And they were a family again.

Many years later, Little SG and Amon fell in love and had a little girl who carried on the tradition of baking brownies. And so it was.

Book V
The Next Generation

Little SG and Amon had a beautiful little girl they called Olea after her grandmother Oleaster. When Olea grew up they brought her on a trip to a lovely hot country called Mexico where the people called her Ole. Olea loved this country and planted many Ambrosia beans, continuing in the tradition of her ancestors. She made hot Ambrosia for rulers and kings from all over the world and set up a successful business. Of course the many rulers who tasted it took credit for her recipe, but she did not care. She had enough - her family and her work.

But at times she felt a little lonely and would go to the rain forest to talk to birds and panthers. Olea thought all young women did this. One day while sharing her brownies with the animals, she spotted some herbs with beautiful yellow and pink flowers and brought them home to her mother. They discovered that this herb, when rubbed on the skin, took away pain and fever. Olea and Little SG made a salve with this and put it in silver boxes. They used the salve to help heal their skin when they burned it while baking brownies.

The villagers stood in line to get this salve and brought the family gifts of fruit, eggs, and chickens. They loved Olea and nicknamed her ghost because her long gold curls and blue eyes seemed strange in this land where people had dark skin and eyes like her father and grandfather.

When Olea turned 16, her parents planned a ball in her honor. People and animals from far and wide attended. A handsome young man with blue eyes and black curly hair, called Wolf, asked her to dance, and they were married two days later. He announced to her parents that he traveled a great deal to other continents to trade his spices, silver, silks, and gems and he wanted Olea to accompany him. Little SG and Amon were sad to see Olea leave but they knew she would be happy with Wolf.

They went to a place called Europe, where she became a doctor and made Ambrosia for the children in her small town. Wolf became a jeweler and they lived in a land named France. Their only sadness came when after many years they found they could not have children and so they adopted a frail orphan girl named Lily. Lily showed no interest in Ambrosia or in the herbs her mother grew to treat patients in the small village. She liked working with the sparkling gems in her father's shop and followed Wolf to work every day.

When Lily was 12, Olea gave birth to the first boy in the family, who they named Zeus. Zeus had blue eyes and thick black curls and adored his big sister. He cried when she left with Wolf everyday. "Lilla, Lilla," he called after her. At first Lily was jealous of Zeus, but she melted when she looked into his eyes and played with him until he fell asleep.

When he was old enough to walk, Olea took him into the woods and taught him how to identify wild flowers and herbs. He was fascinated by the Ambrosia seeds his grandmother, Little SG, sent his mother, and helped her grind them and bake the family's secret recipes. Olea knew only girls were allowed to do this, but Lily was more interested in cutting diamonds. Olea wrote to her mother and asked her what to do.

Little SG wrote back to Olea.

Dearest Daughter,

Lilly must do her life's work - only she knows her true purpose. So it is for dear little Zeus. He will follow the women before him and continue our secret work with Ambrosia as will his daughter. This is the advice of Hera. She sends her love to you.

Love,
Your proud mother