"Oh, Ares, you've come at just the right time."
As soon as Zeus saw Ares approaching, he raised his head and waved to him:
"Come, come, come, I remember you recently started another tribe, something called the 'Amazon'. I heard from others that the women there are all beautiful and well-built, and each one is more uninhibited than the last. Is this true?"
Ares wasn't surprised by this. Indeed, when he and Hecate created the Amazons, they also considered aesthetics, so these first-generation Amazons were all incredibly well-built, beautiful, and athletic women.
Furthermore, Ares did not interfere with the Amazonian system but found them a patron in Artemis. Artemis was a virgin goddess who genuinely enjoyed single life, so when the Amazons formulated their rules based on their own beliefs, they also considered this aspect.
Normally, the Amazons strictly forbade men from approaching their borders, but without any intercourse with men, the Amazons could not continue to exist. Therefore, the Amazons would visit the Gargareans in the Caucasus every year to hold a marriage ritual. They would engage in a contest there, and if there were strong men who could defeat the Amazonian warriors, these men would be temporarily accepted by the Amazonian women as intimate guests, where they would have a brief, dreamlike encounter with these beautiful female warriors.
After the marriage ritual ended, the Amazonian warriors who participated in the ceremony would return to their capital, Themyscira, located on the Euxine coast, and give birth to the children they carried.
If the child was a girl, the female warriors would keep her in the country, allowing her to become an Amazon. If it was a boy, these boys would be sent back to their fathers to be raised by their single fathers.
Those qualified to participate in such marriage rituals were basically powerful warriors with names and reputations in the Greek World. Many of them were also followers of Zeus, and Zeus most likely learned about this rather enchanting marriage ritual from them.
"Ah, Ares, is there any way you could introduce us?"
Zeus then put his arm around his usually disagreeable elder brother, Poseidon, and urged Ares:
"Look at you, a while ago you and your sister bullied your second uncle, making him furious. Now is a good opportunity for you to apologize. Introduce your second uncle and me to a chance to go to the marriage ritual, and your second uncle will calm down. Poseidon, don't you agree?"
"Yes, yes," Poseidon also nodded with a straight face, "Ares, it's up to you to show us."
"Alright," Ares sneered inwardly, but laughed heartily on his face, "I didn't expect you, Zeus, and Poseidon to be so courageous. I underestimated you before, Poseidon. I can introduce you to participate in the Amazonian marriage ritual, but I must warn you beforehand: my people, Artemis's followers, they believe in the rule of 'women are superior to men,' and in bed, these women are very proactive."
"Proactive is good."
The God King and the Sea King, those two old scoundrels, showed lewd smiles:
"We like those who take the initiative."
"The 'proactive' I'm talking about is not as simple as just taking the initiative."
Ares pondered for a moment and said:
"How to describe it? It's probably that when they are in bed, they like to break men's hands and feet, and they also use some particularly terrifying tools, from small knives to spears, everything imaginable. So, the men qualified to participate in the marriage ritual must be the strongest warriors. If they are not the strongest warriors, they might die."
"Uh…"
Zeus and Poseidon exchanged glances and asked hesitantly:
"So, is such a marriage ritual enjoyable?"
"It depends on you. If you find it enjoyable to have a woman straddling you and punching your face, wanting to beat you to death, then I don't care."
Ares shrugged and spread his hands:
"Anyway, the Amazon Queen seems to want a demigod offspring too."
"Then forget it, forget it."
Zeus and Poseidon waved their hands repeatedly, saying, "We still prefer normal women."
Although these two old scoundrels had strong tastes, they were ultimately gods with extremely strong desires for control. They certainly wouldn't want a woman to completely take the initiative in an intimate encounter, especially such a violent woman.
"Is that so? What a pity," Ares sighed feignedly.
After scaring away the two old perverts, the other main gods also arrived one after another. Then, the Olympus Gods began their discussion. Zeus first judged Athena's victory in the previous War between Atlantis and Athens, distributed the treasures the gods had wagered in the bet, and then began to discuss another somewhat serious issue.
"Because of the destruction of the humans of the Silver Age, a large number of souls have been accumulating in the Underworld," Ares stepped forward and spoke for Hecate:
"Not long ago, I learned from my teacher Hecate that due to the War between Atlantis and Athens, and simultaneously, the conflicts between other city-states and countries in the world, another batch of souls has accumulated in the Underworld. After crossing the river, all these souls are piled up in the Underworld Garden, awaiting judgment from the Underworld Gods. Although my teacher's pet, Cerberus, guards them, the number of these souls is simply too vast. Even though Hades has summoned all the Underworld Gods he can, he still cannot fully judge these souls. He fears that some dead might escape from the Underworld and cause chaos on Earth. As you know, current humans have no means to deal with souls and undead, so Hades asked my teacher to convey a message to Zeus through me: he needs some help."
"Hmm, this is indeed a problem," Zeus nodded. "Then, let Aeacus, Minos, and Rhadamanthus be the judges of the Underworld. I know these three children; they have always been selfless, noble in character, and their lifespans have also come to an end."
The three individuals Zeus mentioned were naturally gods and demigods born to Zeus and other goddesses or women. Because their maternal lines were relatively weaker deities or mortals, these three did not possess immense power and thus had limited lifespans.
No one among the Olympus Gods stood up to object to this, not even Ares.
Don't ask, it's all about self-interest.
And after Zeus arranged for the three Underworld judges, Hades also heard the oracle and proactively connected to the olympus holy fire enshrined in the center of the God King's Hall.
Seeing his taciturn elder brother appear, Zeus asked:
"Hades, how do you feel about this arrangement?"
"It's good, but not enough," Hades frowned. "Three judges, if they follow the judgment process, the souls currently accumulated in the Underworld are enough for them to judge for two hundred years without rest."
"Are there so many souls in the Underworld?" Zeus also frowned upon hearing this, asking.
He began to be suspicious again, thinking his elder brother was asking him for more people to strengthen the Underworld's power, intending to usurp his position in the future.
"It used to be fine, but ever since humans were born, it gradually became insufficient," Hades slowly said. "Humans multiply on Earth, and many die from disease, Famine, War, and beasts. Moreover, the Underworld not only accepts the souls of humans and gods, but the souls of other animals that die because of humans must also come to the Underworld to be judged."
"Hmm, well, if three aren't enough…" Zeus pondered, not wanting to add more people to Hades.
But just then, Athena suddenly spoke up: "Zeus, since Hades is short on people, why don't we give him a beautiful wife?"