Who are AFA and ACTA?
I
Once upon a time on the Greek island of Thasos, there lived a king and a queen.
They had a daughter of indescribable beauty.
Litus was her name, as she was born on the island's golden shore.
She spent her childhood in the magnificent marble palace of her father,
where she would often admire a flock of flamingos refreshing themselves at the impluvium.
Since her body had begun to adorn itself with the seductive charms of a woman,
suitors from all over the inhabited world came to seek her favor.
However, because Litus' father wished for a young man of intellect as his son-in-law,
he kept all the suitors away. He was certainly wise and particularly devoted to Venus,
for he was deeply grateful for the beauty that the goddess had caused to blossom in his daughter.
But one day, when Jupiter caught sight of Litus, he fell in love and transformed himself in order to approach her.
He took on the silhouetted form of a flamingo, drawn in soot-colored lines.
Litus admired this flamingo and allowed herself to be led by him to a deserted sanctuary of Apollo.
There, using the art of seduction to perfection, Jupiter succeeded in uniting with her.
Afterward, he left the young woman and regained his natural form,
ensuring all necessary provisions for her well-being at the remote temple site.
Litus kept her pregnancy a secret and appeared in the palace only rarely.
But as the time of birth approached, Apollo once again led Litus to the secluded sanctuary.
There, on a clear, starry night, the king's daughter gave birth to a semi-divine child.
And since her son was born on the gentle shore of the temple, she named him Afa.
II
In Afa’s appearance were reflected the human features of his mortal mother,
which were artistically contoured by a black brushstroke like that of the dark flamingo.
Apollo himself blessed him with artistic talents and gifted him a lyre.
However, in order not to bring Litus into disrepute because of her illegitimate child,
Jupiter allowed the noble Cautes to suffer shipwreck near the island,
only to have him rescued by the Nereid Acta at the bay of the Apollo sanctuary.
Thus, by divine will, it came to pass that Litus and Cautes met there,
and, having taken shelter in the temple, they decided to enter into a familial bond.
During the preparations for the wedding of this noble couple, which were kept secret from the islanders,
the palace servants were enchanted by Afa’s lyre playing and his appearance,
and they began to venerate him as Apollo’s favorite and to honor Litus and Cautes as priests.
The royal couple also traveled there, blissfully and gratefully praising the marriage of their daughter.
It wasn’t long before the popularity of the demigod rose, and lively activity returned to the sanctuary.
Thus, a flourishing religious cult arose around Afa himself and his magical lyre playing.
Acta, too, felt attracted to Afa and lovingly drew his form in the sandy beach.
However, driven by love for his appearance but also by jealousy over his admiration,
Acta, in her frustration over her neglect, turned to the vengeful Juno.
In her wrath over her husband's infidelity, Juno directed her anger not against him but against Litus and Afa,
and transformed Acta, the bearer of the evil message, into the likeness of the revered demigod,
thereby deliberately inciting a fierce conflict among mortals.
III
To be continued...