Note: This is one of my first stories. Please be gentle yet firm with the comments. I'm still not sure about this.

Warning: Yaoi and pederasty. If you don't like it, don't read it. If you don't know what pederasty is, look it up.

Our story begins with one artist's sin, the sin of pride.

Once on the island of Delos in Mediterranean, there lived a man named Aristides. He was said to be a descendent of Pygmalion, the fabled sculptor whose creation was brought to life be the will of the gods. If Aristides was indeed his descendent, he proved himself worthy of his ancestry as a sculptor of marble. His masterpieces unlike any made in all of Greece, maybe even the world. But like his ancestor, he had a flaw as all humans do. He despised the women of his city for all their imperfections and never found a woman that met his standards to marry. And he was determined to point out all their flaws. But as is a man's duty to his family, he needed to produce an heir, a son to carry on his line. Time passed and Aristides grew worried. He didn't dare embarrass himself by admitting his need to produce a son and didn't dare produce one naturally for fear that the woman's imperfection might afflict his son. He tried adoption as was common among sonless men, but no one was good enough. He wanted a son perfect in his eyes. Aristides was at a lost. He didn't know what to do. He was young, prideful, a perfectionist. He was unable to produce a son; he was a disgrace to his ancestors. Then a solution was found. His ancestor.

His ancestor pleaded with the goddess Aphrodite to bring a marble statue of a woman on the goddess' holy day. If a god can bring a statue of a woman to life, could an image of the perfect son be animated? A statue took months to perfect, but in a few months, the city of Delos would hold the festival of Delia in honor of its patron god Apollo. What is more was that, being the best sculptor of the city, Aristides made many statues for the city's temple, which would put him in the god's favor. He had a plan.

For months, he worked, pouring his heart and soul into this statue, carefully chiseling the statue's handsome features. On the day before Delia, the statue was finished. It was time to put his plan into play. On the day of Delia, the festivities took place, the gymnastic and musical contests, the choruses and dances. All were held in honor of Apollo. At nightfall, Aristides' plan was set in motion. He had his workshop decorated and a sacrificial tripod brought to the center in front of the statue. He made an offering to the honored deity and cried out for the god's help. Then Apollo came.

He was everything a god should look like and more. The Bright One demanded to know why he had been summoned, as was required of a being of his status. Aristides brought his plea to the god and showed him the statue. The statue was of a young boy, face carved in an expression of innocence and hair cropped short with curls. He was the most beautiful thing ever carved. Aristides glanced over at Apollo and was shocked at the look on Apollo's face. The sculptor did his work too well. Apollo was struck by the statue's beauty; he was in love with the stone child, much like Aphrodite fell in love with Adonis while he was an infant. Apollo wanted to possess this specimen. Aristides argued that it was wrong to take his son away before he even got a chance to know him. Apollo fell silent. Aristides was afraid he offended the god and expected death. Instead, Apollo made a deal. Aristides could have his so… for now. He can have his son until the boy grew old enough to attract an erastes1, as was common among many Greek boys. Then, Apollo would take the boy as his beloved and protégé to his palace in the east. Then, when the boy came of age, he can decide whether to go back home or stay with him.

Aristides was torn apart. If he agreed to Apollo's conditions, he would only have his son for a short time. And there was a chance he may never return. He could try to appeal to another god, but that might offend Apollo. The worse thing to do was offend a god. And what if he got the same reaction with another go? He couldn't deal with two amorous deities. Why did he have to make his statue so perfect? Aristides came to a decision, he would agree to the god's terms.

Apollo was delighted to say the least. He snapped his fingers and disappeared in a flash of bright light. Aristides glanced at his new son. If the child was beautiful as a statue, he was even more stunning alive. There before him stood a child of five years of age, his curly hair black as a raven, skin the olive tone one got from living in a Mediterranean climate. The child's closed eyes fluttered open and Aristides saw in his eyes a trace of the Bright One's power still glowing in his golden eyes. This was the man's only reminder of his deal, filling him with regret at the lack of time he had left with his son. Aristides will dread the day his son will grow old enough to attract a lover.

He named the boy Apollodoros. It means "gift of Apollo", for his life was the god's gift to him, forever binding him to the Immortal, whether the boy knew it or not….

This is, as the marker says, just the prologue. From here, I have the whole plot in my mind, but I'll only continue if I get any good appeal to this story. So please, review and be gentle, I'm really unsure about this story. Again, I can't make it anymore clearer; this story has pederasty in it. Don't like it, then please don't read it and don't review. By the way, the word erastes, or erastae in plural, is a Greek term for the older lover in a Greek pederastic relationship. The young boy was referred to as the eromenos, or eromenoi in plural. Please remember this for later reference.