Byssus
Legacy Name: Byssus

Weave a tale

Byssus was a girl who loved the sea. Each morning she would get up early and swim like a fish till breakfast. In the afternoon she would sit with her mother and patiently learn how to weave warp and weft.

The goddess Athena was pleased with the speed at which Byssus was learning her craft. Poseidon had also noticed the abilities of the girl, but it was her swimming rather than her weaving skills that impressed him. Both gods wished to lay a blessing on the girl.

Zeus on the day of petitioning listened to both Poseidon and Athena.

"Only one of you may bless the girl," he said, "it is never well for a mortal to receive too many gifts."

Poseidon and Athena glanced at each other, their rivalry was as old as the city of Athens where they had once competed to become it's patron god.

Zeus sensing the tension pronounced that there should be a competition, the girl would need to prove what she was better at, swimming or weaving.

Neither Poseidon or Athena were pleased with the pronouncement but they went along with it.

The next morning as Byssus prepared to dive into the temperate azure sea a water spout arose from the surface, it's spray of droplets glittering in the sun until it drifted to the sand in front of her and Poseidon appeared. An owl flew down from a nearby olive tree and landed on the sand and in a burst of sparkling white light became the goddess Athena.

The girl was quite afraid to be visited by not one but two gods. She fell to her knees and bowed to divine pair.

Athena laughed gently and said "Be not afraid child, we have come to award you a gift."

Poseidon broke in with a smile "First you will need to prove your worth".

The two gods explained what they had planned for her to do. Byssus stayed on her knees her head slightly bowed glancing surreptiously at whichever god was speaking in that moment. When they had finished the bade her start.

Byssus dove into the sea and started harvesting the filaments from the large clams that lived on the seabed near her home. Each was carefully tucked into the small bag she wore around her waist. She cavorted in the water holding her breath for extended periods of time in order to gather the lengths needed for her task that afternoon. When she had gathered enough she rose to the surface and swam towards the shore. Swiftly running from the water to her home she shook off the excess water and rinsed her findings under a stream of fresh water poured from a jug.

Once inside she sat on her stool and started to carefully spin thread from the filaments and weave them together. She worked tirelessly at her task until she had finished then with one final motion dipped the piece into a concoction of herbal dye and laid it in the sun to dry.

The gods looked at the girl expectantly. She smiled at them and gestured for them to sit on the stools of the terrace. With deft motions she prepared a simple repast of olives, cheese and wine. Laying it out on the table next to them she sat on the floor and gestured that they help themselves to whatever was on offer.

With the sun bright in the sky the piece of cloth quickly dried in the summer heat. Touching a section near the middle Byssus picked up the delicate cloth and displayed it to Athena.

Both gods looked at the carefully constructed artwork. It shone brilliantly gold and depicted both an owl and a dolphin seemingly dancing with each other as the breeze rippled the fabric.

Athena and Poseidon were stunned. This was a piece worthy of Olympus. The girl had performed both tasks exceptionally. They argued which task she had completed better and slowly came to realise that without one the other skill would be of no use to her. In a rare moment of harmony they agreed that she may not receive a blessing from either god. Instead they granted her protection in the water as long as she was able to create things of beauty purely for the sake of making such items of wonder.

Byssus is a filament secreted by many species of bivalve mollusk that function as a means of attaching the mollusk to a solid surface. Byssus is also know as sea silk, which is woven from the collected filament.

Byssus or Sea Silk is extremely rare and in modern times is only created by one family. It is a dying art and there is a commonly held superstition that you should not sell Sea Silk. This was the inspiration for this story. Any mistakes in weaving techniques are my own.

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