"Goddess of Discord? I see."
Luo En suddenly saw the light and gazed intriguingly at the notorious goddess of calamity in front of him.
The Goddess of Discord, Eris, in the "Iliad," was the sister of the War God Ares, and the daughter of Zeus and Hera, spreading pain and hatred among opposing sides, and she single-handedly orchestrated the [Golden Apple incident] that triggered the Trojan War, pulling countless heroes and the gods into that strife, killing each other.
The reason she appeared in Thebes and bewitched King Pentheus into courting death, Luo En also roughly understood.
Simply put, because the city-builder of this city-state was the dragon slayer, Cadmus, and his wife—the Goddess of Harmony, Harmonia.
As the goddess representing harmony and concord in Greek mythology, Harmonia was a natural nemesis to Eris.
Now, with Cadmus and his wife Harmonia having abdicated and transformed into dragons due to the curse of the gods, their whereabouts unknown, Thebes without their protection, for Eris, was simply a piece of delicious pastry exuding a wonderful aroma.
To torment the descendants on her old rival Harmonia's territory, to stir up conflict in the sanctuary of harmony, for the small-minded Eris, was an irresistible pleasure.
Unfortunately, the obstinate Pentheus became the first victim of her deception.
That's why he vigorously arrested the followers of the Dionysian Sect, sparing not even his own mother and sisters, personally stirring up turmoil in his own land.
Moreover, counted up, Luo En himself also shared the blood of the Goddess of Harmony, Harmonia.
In a sense, he and the Goddess of Discord, Eris, were also enemies.
Having teased out a fair amount of useful information from this exchange, Luo En smiled faintly, feigning modesty as he shook his head and declined.
"Thank you for your favor, but I regret to say, I already serve someone—Lady Hestia, the Goddess of the Hearth."
The red-haired goddess of calamity remained unfazed, speaking haughtily.
"Just agree, and I can make the Father God nod!"
She could persuade Zeus?
Luo En's eyes narrowed slightly, his heart chilled, and he immediately overturned his previous guesses.
If according to the records of the "Iliad," she was merely the sister of the War God Ares, the daughter of Zeus and Hera, she could not possibly have this confidence and power.
After all, even Zeus himself had to show deference to Hestia.
For a mere daughter to attempt to go against the Celestial Order and make Zeus offend Hestia for her sake sounded like a fool's dream.
At this moment, Luo En's thoughts were racing, and suddenly he recalled another record from the "Divine Chronicle" and "Works and Days."
— Eris, also known as Enyo, was born from the death and bloodshed of Nyx...
At the same time, a passage Luo En had read in the Temple of Memory also surfaced in his mind.
"Enyo finds delight in war, even refusing to support either side in the battle between Zeus and the monster Typhon so as to prolong the war indefinitely. Enyo took pleasure in the ongoing death and destruction caused by the war. In the conflict, the Goddess of Discord, Eris (Enyo), escorted Typhon, while the Goddess of Victory, Nike, led Zeus. Amidst the reign of thunderbolts and lightning from the heavens, the just Enyo maintained the balance of power between Zeus and Typhon..."
Here, both Eris and Enyo's names appeared, indicating that they were originally the same entity.
Indeed, this Goddess of Discord did have the authority that made Zeus wary, such that in the [Golden Apple incident], a certain Divine King directly abstained from judging the issue of "who is the fairest goddess," which was no surprise.
Now, Eris's identity was on the verge of being revealed.
Like the Three Fates of [Inevitability], who also originated from Nyx, and Hecate of [Chance], she too was an extension of the will of the Goddess of the Night, and after the battle with Typhon, she sided with Olympus.
However, compared to the other two, Eris, while esteemed, had inherited even fewer powers.
Considering that she called Zeus "Father God," it was very likely that after the battle with Typhon, the trouble-making Eris was seriously weakened, then subsumed by Zeus, and underwent rebirth using Hera's womb.
And after many versions had been drastically revised, she was now reduced to squabbling with Harmonia, the harmony goddess of the fourth generation of gods, on a day-to-day basis.
No rush; just play along with her a bit.
Luo En observed the enigmatic goddess of calamity curiously, posing as if intrigued and cautiously inquired.
"I have a question, hoping you can enlighten me."
"With your status, why do you trouble yourself with Thebes? Without the protection of the dragon slayer and the Goddess of Harmony, they are at best ineffective descendants."
As Luo En asked the question, he looked down at the city of Thebes with pity.
In ancient Greek mythology, Thebes was as famous as Athens and Sparta, and even surpassed Troy in culture, history, and qualifications.
Yet, for some reason, this city-state always seemed to possess a tragic quality; Semele was struck by lightning to death, Oedipus committed "patricide and married his mother," Hercules slaughtered his own family, Antigone buried her brother, among other tragedies that took place within this polis.
A shadow named "misfortune" perpetually cast its pall over this city-state.
Moreover, Eris personally appeared and took part in the gruesome war of "The Seven Against Thebes."
Luo En truly could not fathom what grudge or resentment compelled this mysteriously ranked Goddess of Discord to tirelessly torment the minor city-state of Thebes.