12 Dec 2019

Zeus is a Machiavellian Psychopath: Zeus vs. Persedes

This is entry 4 of 4 in a series about Zeus and his role in the politics of LO. In previous installments we have talked about Zeus treatment of his brothers, and the other members of 6 Traitors Dynasty, and the rest of the Olympians. So far what I have been writing has been primarily an explanation of the past, and a description of way that Zeus is portrayed in LO. I have raised the possibility that Zeus is actually a psychopath, but one need not accept Zeus as a psychopath to agree with the otherwise factual descriptions of the state of affair in LO politics. Indeed, even if Zeus were a psychopath there is no narrative requirement that either the readers or the characters ever find out.

This entry is more speculative, although it too is primarily an explanation of the political implications of the system and events we have seen within LO so far. This conjecture outlines the worst case for Zeus, specifically that Persedes could collapse the Olympian political structure, but structure does not guarantee outcomes. Everything I have said so far is accurate, and what I will explain as a potential outcome is plausible under what we know about political systems, but there is always room for choice. In the case of LO, the choice actually belongs to the author, and the narrative choices are Hades and Persephone’s.

Persephone represents a mortal threat to Zeus’ reign for 9 reasons. First, Persephone redeems Hades. Hades is a political non-entity because his anxiety, neuroses and confidence issues make him incapable of challenging Zeus. Persephone doesn’t completely solve Hades’ problems, but she really moves the needle a lot. Hades before Persephone is a bundle of angst and sadness who struggles to get out of bed. Hades with Persephone is almost jovial, fun-loving and fully functional.

Second, Persephone give Hades a reason to care about power. Hades currently chooses not to participate in Olympian politics, but once Hades loves something at all, that “something” can become a lever to motivate Hades to get involved in politics, potentially even joining a cabal against Zeus. Zeus has run roughshod over Hades personally several times in LO so far, but if Zeus continues to do so in a way that harms Persephone, or gets in the way of Hades relationship with Persephone, Hades will fight back, potentially with disastrous consequences for Zeus or Olympus.

Third, Persephone gives Hades a powerful, loyal ally. Zeus allowed Poseidon to marry a nymph, and Zeus (like everyone but Hades) seems to not-quite-understand how powerful Persephone is, but her power is staggering. Her ability to create a forest in Tartarus and precipitate flowers throughout Olympus demonstrates that Persephone is one of the most powerful goddesses in all LO, equal in nearly every way to Hades. Persephone is also clever, and capable of plotting with Hades, who is himself a veteran of a war and coup, an extraordinarily powerful god in his own right, and master over some of the most powerful beings in the LO universe, including an army of the undead. Before Persephone entered the picture, the Royal Triumvirate included two married gods, a married god and a nymph, and a single god, implying that Zeus and Hera alone hold the balance of power among the five participants. When Hades marries Persephone, Persedes becomes at least as powerful and certainly more wealthy than Hera and Zeus, completely upsetting that apple cart. (Zeus 7, Persedes 2)

Fourth, Persephone is a lever to activate the TGOEM. While the TGOEM seemingly dislike Zeus’ policies they have no realistic way to challenge him. Demeter is not portrayed as the type to let her daughter go to war alone. Athena’s loyalty to Zeus is completely unknown. Athena’s relationship with Hades seems to be positive, however, so depending on how things played out it is not inconceivable she would defect. In real politics just the potential for reliable communication between two power bases is a threat, because they could coordinate action. Persephone has the capacity to bridge the divide between the TGOEM and the Underworld in spades. (Zeus 7, Persedes 5 +Demeter, +Athena, +Hestia )

Fifth, Persephone’s personal relationship could shear off Artemis from Zeus. It currently does not seem like Artemis is likely to support Hades for any reason, however Artemis is loyal to Persephone. Artemis defaced Zeus’ car on Persephone’s behalf. It is by no means certain that, Artemis would support Zeus in opposition to both TGOEM and Persephone’s interests, which would contradict Artemis’ own interests, at least somewhat. (Zeus 6 -Artemis, Persedes 6 +Artemis)

Sixth, Persephone’s personal relationship could help shear off Hermes from Zeus. We already know that Hermes can be bought, and Hades has plenty of money to buy him, but Hermes and Persephone have a longstanding relationship, which could make Hermes selling out seem more noble and less venal. (Zeus 5 -Hermes, Persedes 7 +Hermes)

Seven, Persephone could coordinate through Eros to the Hera-Aphrodite faction. The only thing that may be preventing an all out rebellion against Zeus by Ares is Hera, who also hates Zeus but so far seems to prefer being Queen. Persedes alone might be enough to persuade the Hera-Aphrodite clique to rebel, and coordination by Persephone with Demeter and TGOEM would almost assuredly be sufficient. Even if Hera checks Ares, the score still shifts (Zeus 5, Persedes 9 +Eros +Aphrodite)

Eight, Persephone and Hades’ relationships with Hera (and to a lesser extent Ares) would make a coup against Zeus more tolerable to Hera and Ares. Both Hera and Ares dislike Zeus, but toppling him greatly reduces their status. Hera likes both Hades and Persephone, and Ares likes Persephone and has a relationship with Hades. Once Hades and Persephone are in a position to outmaneuver Zeus, Hades and Persephone can plausibly promise Hera and Ares that they will be in nearly as good a position after as before deposing Zeus. As of <91> at least Ares might already be out the door in favor of a coup, so this is less of a lift. (Zeus 3, Persedes 11 +Ares +Hera)

While each of these eight points assume that something motivates Hades and Persephone to move against Zeus, if all eight turn on Zeus, then Zeus’ solid base of support is only Zeus, Apollo, and Hephaestus. A best case for Zeus is that Athena and Aphrodite remain loyal, but more likely they would remain neutral. It is almost inconceivable at this point that Hera, Ares, Aphrodite and Eros would not oppose Zeus given the opportunity. Because we know nothing about Hephaestus so far, there is no reason to assume he would defect or remain loyal, or matter. Best case for Zeus (Zeus 5, Persedes 8)

Finally, Zeus could easily place inordinate confidence in the value of supporting Apollo, given the miscalculations Zeus has already made regarding Hades and Persephone. From Zeus perspective Hades is either a thoroughly broken soul or as depraved as Zeus is. Zeus has shown no understanding of the quality of Hades’ character, repeatedly assuming that Hades would be willing, and sometimes even likely, to do exactly the same thing Zeus or presumably Poseidon would do (i.e. screw anything that walks). Zeus seems to view Persephone as everyone other than Hades (and perhaps Hera) sees her: an amateur goddess, a country girl, a lot like a bubbleheaded flower nymph given to flower picking contests, and no smarter than the average shade. If that were who Persephone were, she would do far less to shift the balance of power or move Hades out of his funk, making all of the remaining cascade less likely.

From Zeus perspective, therefore, if he looks to the Olympians, the smart move probably seems like he should double down on Apollo. Protecting Apollo should further alienate Demeter, might potentially scrub Persedes, and would keep Artemis in the fold. From Zeus’ perspective, as long as Hades stays broken, the worst Hades is likely to do is mope about his inability to protect Persephone and get white-girl-wasted like he usually does. Other threats could arise from other factions, but those threats would encounter the same struggles to unify opposition to Zeus as any other, unless and until a god/ess emerged to bridge the gap between the factions: a goddess like Persephone.

Zeus’ miscalculation about Persephone and Apollo simultaneously creates the structure which would enable Zeus’ anti-fans to mobilize against him, and gives the primary actors (Hades, Persephone, Demeter, Hera) reasons to oppose Zeus. It is by no means certain that Zeus backing Apollo would lead to a collapse of Zeus’ kingdom, since there are many off-ramps. But it is almost guaranteed, knowing what has already been presented in LO so far, that Zeus post-Persedes is less powerful than pre-Persedes Zeus.

So here’s the surprise at the end. Did you like this analysis? Consider taking a course in comparative authoritarianism. If you want, I can share supporting citations.