Aphrodite's Curse Ch. 055

Back on Ephesus, Lydia was very pleased by the final contestants. The games had gone on for over a month, and hundreds had participated, all being the best shots or most accurate animal trackers in their village or town. Now, to add to the excitement of the prior thrilling weeks of competition, the strongest and most handsome men in all of Greece stood naked before her and a crowd of very admiring and increasingly unruly women. In addition to being exceptionally handsome (and to the delight of all of the women present, well hung) here stood the ten best and most fit hunters in all of the Greek World. Firm rippled asses, low hanging luscious balls, chiseled six packs, ripped biceps, strong firm thighs and full thick swinging cocks were on display for all to see, a virtual feast for hundreds of lustful female eyes. The men now squirmed a bit, cupping themselves to try and shield their privates from being on display, as they still were not quite comfortable being this exposed in public. There efforts were in vain as everything they had had been seen by every young woman in the city. The nudity wasn't as bad when they were competing but when they just stood still in the center of the arena, it was humiliating, and their growing erections and the pink flush forming on their cheeks seemed to only inspire more cheers and comments from the crowd.

Smiling to herself, she knew her Patron Goddess Artemis would be most pleased by this selection pool as already they were far more manly than the normal male devotees to Artemis. Sitting below her on a lower dais, the king's daughter, surrounded by her friends, was also immensely enjoying the show of such fine male flesh displayed before her, and her flushed face and obviously agitation as she squirmed in her chair indicated a high level of arousal.

King Croesus, sitting next to Lydia on the Royal dais was also pleased, but for a more complicated and base reason. He, like her, daily prayed that Artemis would soon be satisfied, as her wrath was seriously complicating his life (and finances) as the protector of her main temple. Additionally, however he was also pleased that these incredibly expensive games were coming to an end. Despite the revenues generated by charging admission to watch the competition (unmarried young women being charged double) a month's worth of this spectacle was significantly draining on the treasury. The fact that he also would have to provide such a large reward to the winner made him quite twitchy.

Despite his incredible wealth, Croesus was well known as being incredibly thrifty, stingy even. A myth arose, not completely untrue, that the reason his beautiful daughter Elmira was still unmarried, despite being stunning and a royal and highly sought after princess, was that he could no more part with the considerable dowry it would cost him than he could part with his own daughter. This was partially true, but he certainly did nothing to push his daughter to marry as most of the other kings did, and her natural aversion to her parade of suitors so far, he had actively encouraged. Glancing down at his daughter he grimaced though as the look that now formed on Elmira's face would cost him NO dowry as it was clearly focused on the naked men before them in the arena, and specifically on the handsome womanizer Orion.

Lydia, turning to Croesus said "Your majesty, I would like permission to complete the selection tonight. I will need your assistance though, as I have somewhat of an unusual request."

Intrigued, the King lifted his eyebrows but listened. "Do go on, what do you need from ME?"

"Primarily money your majesty, as the final selection will require the hiring of some, uh, well rather expensive entertainers."

"ENTERTAINERS!!! How many entertainers? How much is THAT going to cost? And, not to pry into these holy matters you usually take care of, but what do you need entertainers for? I had assumed this contest would continue until there was only one left, and HE would be declared the winner and sent off on the quest. Is that not the process?" the King questioned.

"No your majesty, it is not. The final candidate has to have a gift worthy of giving, and I need to be assured that this gift is not only FREELY given, but also worthy of him giving away. Artemis is already furious and her anger will not be assuaged easily. Nothing would insult her more, and thus bring ruination on us all, if she was insulted by a poor candidate. She is already most pleased that you promised 20,000 pieces of silver to the contest winner, but if she were to find that the winner was not truly worthy of serving her, well, all you would have done is further insult her, and we know what THAT would mean." Lydia grimly foretold.

Gulping hard King Croesus nodded. Pausing, he asked "When you say entertainers, what kind of entertainers are you referring to?"

Turning to him with a slight smirk, she replied "I need you to provide thirty of the most beautiful courtesans in the Kingdom for one week of work. Experience women such as them are the most qualified to judge these men and will be able to provide the final verdict on their worthiness. At the end of the week they will decide on the final winner."

"COURTESANS! What on earth would a bunch of COURTESANS have to say about who is best suited for this task! What is this all about?" Exasperated, Croesus took a long swig of wine from his goblet and continued, his agitation growing as he spoke. "I am totally confused here, what are they checking for? Are they experts on hunting?! I seriously doubt it. And another thing, what is this GIFT you keep talking about? What gift? What gift are they giving? I AM THE ONE GIVING THE GIFT!!! I AM THE ONE PROVIDING THE SUBSTANTIAL PRIZE!!!"

Irritated that the King was losing his temper with her, Lydia turned to him and coolly spoke, placing her hand on his knee to calm him. Her cold tone sent a chill down the King's spine and he immediately calmed down. Despite Croesus ruling Ephesus as king, Lydia was equally powerful as high priestess and was highly respected and much feared. As the one human on earth with a direct line to Artemis, her word carried much weight and none dared cross her. No King that wanted to continue receiving the blessings from Artemis would risk incurring her wrath, so she was in fact the true ruler of Ephesus as she ruled the King. Turning to Croesus she said "Your majesty, I thought you understood. The final candidate will need to be initiated into the Priesthood of Artemis before he would even be ALLOWED on Arcadia. Now, since this requires a lifelong vow of chastity I would assume most men would be consider that to be a big gift! You men are so protective of those silly things swinging between your legs, so I figured it would be a big deal for a man to voluntarily give up sex for life. Since most of the few male Priests of Artemis are either dried up old men, or withered weak sissy boys, the Courtesans will be able to best judge whose gift of their complete lifetime commitment of sexual denial is TRULY the biggest test of devotion to the Goddess, and thus worthy of serving her in this quest."

King Croesus felt his blood rush from his face as he heard Lydia speak. This was certainly news to him, and neither he, nor the men competing, were aware that lifetime chastity was part of the bargain. Croesus began to sweat as he realized that if this was made known, either the cash he would have to provide as a prize would need to be MUCH higher, probably a hundred or even a thousand times higher. The other likely scenario would be having them all of them quit simultaneously, thus ensuring an even MORE enraged Goddess. Both outcomes were quite depressing.

Looking out on the naked muscular men in the arena, he felt his heart sink further. This would be an impossible request! Every remaining candidate was a young, strong, handsome man at the peak of their sexual potency. To ask these men to give it all up would be a hopeless task and he doubted that ANY cash would compensate them. His mind racing, her revelation had at least finally solved a long mystery to him. The priesthood of the Goddess was OVERWHELMINGLY female, by a ratio of 100 to 1, and now it made complete sense. The few male Priests of Artemis he had met in his life were very old, and rumors abounded that they were unable to achieve normal male emissions. He had never really given it much thought before, but now, knowing about the high price for admission to the priesthood, he understood perfectly. His mind raced as he tried desperately to think of a way out of this horrible trap he now found himself in.

"Lydia" Croesus asked, trying to seem as casual as possible. "If you don't mind me asking, but, do the men, well, do they submit to voluntary, uh". Now crossing his legs, he finished "castration?"

"CERTAINLY NOT!" Lydia angrily replied. "WE are not barbarians!! One has to freely give their sexual desire to the Goddess and not through such artificial means. No castration, no chastity belt!!! The constant yearning for release is to be there lifelong sacrifice to Artemis! I am surprised, if you don't mind my saying your majesty, that YOU as guardian of the temple did not know more about the religious rites that went on there!"

She had his number. Croesus as King of Ephesus was the guardian of the temple and he was a good custodian of the physical aspects of the shrine, but as for the religious aspects he had absolutely no interest. His main focus was primarily on the financial aspect of his duties, and of course the cash that the great temple generated to the royal treasury, which was considerable.

Looking down, almost ashamed to ask, he turned to Lydia and spoke. "Well High Priestess, I am trying to learn here. If you don't mind, I have a delicate question to ask, uh, I really do not know how to put it. You see, how do you prevent, uh, I mean what is to stop a man from, uh, well."

Lydia, amused by the King's embarrassment and enjoying his torturously flustered question, she answered what he was painfully trying to ask. "You want to know how we can prevent a man from either jacking off or having sex AFTER his vow to the Goddess, is that your question"

Relieved that he would not have to say it out loud and thus embarrass himself further, the king nodded.

"You men really are pitiful! Those little twig and berries you have rule your lives; I don't know how you make it through a single day with those things! Well Artemis knows that men are weak, so in the initiation ceremony the candidate's ability to orgasm is given to the Goddess in a very short little ritual. After a few incantations, some incense and candles, POOF, no more seed! The magical incantations seal it safely away in his testicles forever. The only requirement for the ceremony though is the man must WILLINGLY say the incantations himself. A forced sacrifice from an unwilling initiate is no sacrifice at all and will be rejected."

Croesus said nothing, but spent the rest of the afternoon worrying about how he was going to resolve this situation. Deciding to say nothing to the candidates about the "sacrifice" he spoke to his main guards and made the arrangements for the concubines as Lydia had requested. His concern was justified, but he hoped that fortune would provide a way out, as she had always had in the past. Croesus, more than anyone, knew that Fortuna was a fickle Mistress but she had always shined on him before, and hoped that once again she would be kind to his fate.

Princess Elmira was having a wonderful day. Cheering on her new "hero" Orion, she watched his every move, and relished studying every inch of his incredible body. Wet beyond belief, she openly salivated as his ass muscles rippled during the long jump. Feeling her nipples grow hard she witnessed his strong muscled and chiseled chest stretch as he won the javelin contest. All day long it was a feast for her senses being drenched in so much male nudity in one sitting. Looking beside her, she saw that her ladies in waiting were also enjoying the show as much as she was, and as the wine flowed, their lips grew looser.

"Gita!" Elmira joked, poking her foot at one of her favorites sitting on the couch below her. "I am most disappointed that your boyfriend Antinous did not compete. My what I would give to see his naked sexy buns flexing out there on the field right now!" Her comment caused the other noblewomen to burst out laughing. Antinous was quite handsome, and Gita was constantly teased by not only Princess Elmira but the other ladies about his incredible good looks. She was no doubt quite proud that her man inspired such admiration from her friends, but was a little embarrassed at the obvious arousal he inspired from them.

Turning to the princess she said "Well your highness, I for one am certainly glad he did NOT compete, especially after what I just overheard!"

"Do TELL!" Elmira giggled, always loving hearing the latest palace gossip. Gita now relayed the story she overhead from one of the guards. It was almost instantly known that all of the final contestants were going to be serviced by thirty of the most beautiful concubines in the kingdom (three for one) over a whole week in a giant orgy of pleasure once the King had given the order to acquire the girls. She heard this from one of the guards who was commenting on how "lucky" the finalists were, not knowing of course about the significant "catch" the winner would have. Hearing this story, the girls all cackled in delight, growing even more aroused at the erotic images flowing through their minds. Each woman, imaging these sexy hot men exploding their pent up loads into so many willing women, sighed in bliss. Secretly they all wished they could be one of those concubines, if only for just one week, just to partake of such a feast of carnal pleasure. All may have fantasied about it but laughed it off as a hopeless schoolgirl fantasy, but one, Princess Elmira herself narrowed her eyes as her mind boiled in thought.

As afternoon dissolved into night, the warm darkness of the late summer evening descended over Ephesus, obscuring everything in its purple inky dark cloak. Lydia prepared herself in her chambers in the temple, running her long fingers through her silver streaked black hair. She was still a beautiful woman, and she had to admit, the sight of all of that firm male flesh all day had stirred in her feelings she had not experienced since she was a teenager. Normally her tastes, like her patron Goddess, tended to the more Sapphic side, but today was different. She had made her own commitment to Artemis as a very young girl and had never looked back. After witnessing all those young naked men however, she had to admit, it was different. She could not get those erotic images out of her head as she imagined those strong young muscles and tongues servicing her body. Chastity, never a burden before, seemed to weigh especially heavily on her tonight.

Hearing the wind chimes ringing on her balcony in the soft evening breeze, she looked out her window in the temple and across the plaza towards the palace. It was ablaze in light, and already she could see groups of women arriving. These were the concubines she had asked for, and from the look of them from this distance, Croesus for once had not spared any expense. Looking back at her own reflection in the mirror, she subconsciously pulled her gown slightly lower in the front, exposing more of her cleavage than normal. Spritzing herself lightly with oil of jasmine, she descended the stairs and made her way across the cool stones of the plaza, fully illuminated by the bright summer moon and headed straight for the Palace.

Inside, Orion and the nine other finalists stood naked and at attention in a long hall. Informed by the King himself that they had earned a special treat for such a stunning spectacle they had provided, each were salivating in anticipation of their reward. None were told what the "treat" was and certainly weren't told of the sacrifice the winner would have to provide. Informed to appear in the royal palace, naked and at attention, curiosity filled each man's head. As the door at the far end of the room slowly opened, each man's jaw dropped as the high priestess Lydia herself strode confidently into the room.

Looking down the row of naked young men, she felt her face flush as she grew instantly wet. Everywhere she looked were examples of the pinnacle of male perfection, and her body reacted automatically. Nipples hardening, panties moistening, she confidently strode into the room, eyes never rising above their crotches. The men were told to keep their hands behind their backs, so nothing was hidden from her view. As they saw her enter, and feasted their own eyes on her beautiful body, her long legs, her silver streaked black hair, her full womanly figure, each raised their own salute to her.

Walking down the line, Lydia inspected each man fully. All were fully erect, which pleased her, and some were already dripping pre-cum onto the floor. Stopping before each man, she gently ran her fingers up and down the underside of his shaft before feeling the weight of his balls in her palm. The small gasps and groans she coaxed from their lips sent an electric shock of arousal right into her clit, already throbbing in long denied need. Most of the men were simple country boys, and were quite embarrassed by this inspection, but also incredibly aroused. Few met her gaze and most sweated profusely as she ran her other hand over their stomachs and up their firm tight chests. Stopping before Orion however, she paused. He was definitely different, and as she inspected him, his balls felt incredibly full and his cock even harder than the others. Looking into her eyes, she was taken aback by his expression. Rather than embarrassed, he winked at her, staring back into her eyes with his smoldering gaze, he licked his lips as she stroked him. "Oh yes, his sacrifice would TRULY be worthy!" she thought to herself as she continued to the next candidate.

Having initially inspected all of the contestants, she was delighted that all would make for a worthy sacrifice, at least physically. Standing in front of the line, she clapped her hands in applause. "Well Done men, you all are amazing physical specimens! Now, the winner of the contest will be determined at the end of this week and I am quite certain you will immensely enjoy this part of the competition. Outside those doors are thirty of the most beautiful women in Ephesus, and all have been hired to provide their bodies for you to pleasure for the next week. Each girl gets one vote as to who among you has the most passion and is the best lover, and the winner will be announced one week from tonight. Use your erotic skills well men, and make these ladies fall for your charms."

Orion and the rest of the men broke into raucous hooting at this announcement. This was even better than they could have possibly imagined, and as the door opened and the gorgeous concubines entered, every cock twitched in anticipation. Orion, looked right into Lydia's eyes and winked asking "Noble lady, I hope YOU are also participating! I would love to show you my special skills!" he laughed, wagging his cock back and forth while he circled his hips.

Blushing but laughing, Lydia shook her head no and left through a side door. Every male eye now turned and stared intently as the parade of beautiful women entered, their cocks throbbing at the incredible erotic vision. Giggling, blushing, feminine hands flying up to their mouths, the concubines could not believe what they were seeing. Normally hired to service tired old men, or rich but pudgy and soft wealthy boys, this was a true treat. Here before them were ten of the most desirable men in the country and all were there to compete to see how well they could satisfy THEM! For the next week this feast of beef was totally at their service. Every pussy dripped and all nipples hardened as they lustfully stared up and down the row of naked gorgeous male flesh, lingering their gaze on the line of throbbing cocks before them. At the end of the line, even more beautiful than the others was Elmira, disguised perfectly as a very expensive and exotic concubine. Staring intently at the object of her desire, she stepped forward and extended her foot before her, her half opened eyes literally radiating her arousal. Orion, feeling her intense gaze on his body, smiled his panty soaking half smile, stepped forward and knelt, lifting her bejeweled and gorgeous foot to his mouth, he lightly kissed the top and looked up into her eyes. "At your service Mistress!" he winked, as she closed her eyes in pleasure.