"This was how mortals found fame, I thought. Through practise and diligence... But gods are born of ichor and nectar, their excellences already bursting from their fingertips. So they find their fame by proving what they can mar"

"This was how mortals found fame, I thought. Through practise and diligence, tending their skills like gardens until they glowed beneath the sun. But gods are born of ichor and nectar, their excellences already bursting from their fingertips. So they find their fame by proving what they can mar: destroying cities, starting wars, breeding plagues and monsters. All that smoke and savour rising so delicately from our altars. It leaves only ash behind."
          ~ Madeline Miller, from her novel Circe
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