All in

Chapter 21

Salvete viri. Ergo deus est hodie Attis. Gratias tibi. Fruor.

Translation - Hey guys. Today's god is Attis. Thank you. Enjoy.

In Greek mythology, Attis was the consort of the goddess Cybele. Originally a deity in the region of Phrygia, the cult of Attis and Cybele eventually spread to Greece. According to the cult, the origins of Attis were linked to the figure Agdistis. Agdistis was a daemon that possessed both male and female reproductive organs, which instilled fear in the Olympian gods. So, they plotted to kill the daemon; after Agdistis was brought to sleep with a sleeping potion given by Dionysus, the god tied Agdistis' foot to his own male genitalia with a rope. When Agdistis woke up and stood, he castrated himself; the blood from his genitals fell onto the earth, which was fertilised, and an almond tree grew. At some later point, Nana, daughter of the river god Sangarius, picked up almonds from the tree and kept them in her bosom. The almonds disappeared and Nana became pregnant with Attis.

Attis was beautiful and when he grew up, Agdistis fell in love with him. However, Attis was to marry the daughter of the king of Pessinus. During the wedding, Agditis appeared in front of the guests and drove everyone mad. Both Attis and the king castrated themselves, while the bride cut off her breasts. Agdistis quickly repented, and asked Zeus to keep Attis' body intact, so that it would not decompose at all.

Although a mortal, Attis was venerated and worshipped. Originally a part of the pantheon of Phrygia, the Greeks added him to their pantheon, also elevating him to an agriculture god. A statue of him stands at the Shrine of Attis on the Campus of the Magna Mater in Ostia Antica, Italy. Another statue which was at the mouth of Rome's river, now resides in the Vatican museum. It depicts Attis reclining post-castration holding a shepherd's crook in his left hand and a pomegranate in his right. He wears a pine garland with fruits interwoven and a Phrygian cap featuring a crescent moon. Attisian priests were eunuchs, following in the footsteps of their god. Artifacts found in Herculaneum, such as a wood throne that featured a relief of Attis beneath a sacred pine gathering pine cones, indicate the Attis cult was popular in 79 AD, when Mount Vesuvius erupted.

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Jason's POV

Our plans to spend the day on the Agua Fria were ruined by a couple of things. First off, no one dragged their butts out of bed until nearly one o'clock in the afternoon. And well, the rain. It was coming down in buckets, and I'm not talking about a nice, soft, summer rain. This was a full-on Phoenix sorry-about-your-luck kind of rain.

Whatever. Didn't bother me at all. I could have spent the entire weekend in bed with Cat. Even if all we did was cuddle, because the girl was soft and warm and she smelled amazing.

Also. Cat. Nuff said.

If it weren't for the other people in the cottage, we might have, but Luke was a total douche and kept banging on our door, making inappropriate noises, the kind that made Cat's cheeks go rosy and adorable. After the fourth or fifth time, we realized he wasn't giving up. The guy couldn't help it. He'd always been a bit of a dick.

And he wasn't staying either. Said the rain was depressing as hell and that hanging out with two couples was even worse. I knew he wasn't digging the fact that Noah and I weren't interested in getting loaded with him, and drinking seemed to be the only thing he liked doing these days.

After he ate a crap ton of eggs, he packed his stuff and took off for home. Said he'd catch up with us later, but I wasn't so sure I'd see him again before he left for Texas. The guy was different. But then again, I guess we all were.

So, the way I saw it, Cat and I had a couple of choices.

We could stay in the cottage, maybe play cards (strip poker? not likely), and cuddled on the sofa while Noah and Annabeth disappeared into the other bedroom. And in the space of two hours, they'd disappeared at least three times.