Rhinus returned home in the body of a youth who had died unexpectedly.
His wife at first did not believe that this handsome young man was her husband, whom she had not seen for some time. But Rhinus knew all their unspoken secrets, which finally convinced his wife that he had been resurrected.
"The god of medicine, Asclepius, has granted me new life. I shall tell everyone of his might and build him a magnificent temple to spread his faith!"
Feeling his firm skin and his light, strong body, Rhinus was overjoyed. He excitedly caressed his smooth cheeks, praising the god of medicine, completely forgetting to inform the anxiously waiting Heracles of his return from the dead.
Before long, people from the nearby villages heard of Rhinus's wondrous experience, and their faith in Asclepius became unprecedentedly devout.
But as time passed, the excitement and joy of returning to youth gradually faded. Rhinus suddenly found that his white-haired wife was no longer willing to leave her room. She often wept secretly in the quiet of the night and rarely spent time alone with him.
Rhinus was greatly troubled by this. He could not help but ask, "My love, why do you look at me with such a cold face? Believe me, my love for you has not diminished. So, tell me why you weep."
His wife flinched, looking at her husband's handsome face with her somewhat clouded eyes and said, "This is undoubtedly a gift from the gods. But, my husband, I am tormented by the mocking glances of others! In their eyes, we look more like mother and son than husband and wife. I fear you will leave me, abandoning me, this ugly old woman."
Rhinus wanted to promise his wife something, but the words would not come out. He enjoyed those gazes; those admiring, reverent, and even desirous gazes made him so happy. Yet, he had never considered how much pressure his wife endured amidst these rumors.
What terrified Rhinus the most was that he avoided his wife's expectant gaze. Thinking of sharing a bed with his wrinkled wife, he involuntarily felt a sense of disgust. His young body was full of vitality, and his growing desires also tormented his soul in the quiet night.
Seeing her husband's avoidance, the old woman grew even sadder.
After everyone had fallen asleep, the wife left the home for which she had dedicated her youth and sweat. She returned alone to the now empty old house, where traces of her parents remained. The disheartened wife intended to live out her days there, never to return to her husband.
Her story evoked much sympathy from many women. Her relatives learned of her plight and cursed Rhinus fiercely.
"He was merely an abandoned infant left in the wilderness. Your father found him and raised him as his own son, yet he betrayed his adoptive father's promise and brought such deep suffering to his wife!"
The women gathered, lamenting the sorrows of being a woman.
"Among all rational and sentient beings, we women are the most unfortunate."
They said with emotion, "A woman who does not marry by a certain age is subject to criticism. And to marry, one must pay a hefty dowry, only to find oneself having acquired a master. Worse still, if one marries a bad man, her future life is ruined. For divorce is a disgrace for women, yet we cannot cast out a bad husband. This means that after marriage, a woman must first learn how to manage her husband. If successful, life is enviable; otherwise, it would be better to die."
The women's pent-up frustration and anger attracted the attention of the goddess Hestia. The goddess was sitting on a chair by the hearth, listening to the women's grief-stricken pleas. Upon learning that Rhinus had returned to youth by inhabiting another body, Hestia was astonished and immediately went to Mount Olympus to report the matter to Zeus.
The escape of souls from the Underworld was unprecedented. Both Hestia and Zeus thought of Rhinus, who had caused a stir among the gods.
As Thanatos brandished his scythe, contemplating how to punish Rhinus, Rhinus's soul had already left the stolen body and drifted before the god of death.
Upon discovering his wife's departure, Rhinus, while anxious, also felt a touch of secret delight. This was not a bad thing for him. When he heard that his wife had returned to her adoptive parents' house and was safe, Rhinus's guilt was immediately cast aside.
He joyfully went to a city-state, intending to marry a noblewoman who possessed both beauty and wealth.
His handsome appearance combined with a wise soul indeed won him the favor of many noble ladies. Just as he was scrutinizing potential wives with a discerning eye, a troop of soldiers burst in and took him away.
The king had also heard his story. He tempted Rhinus with piles of gold and silver jewels to reveal the method of eternal youth. Drink after intoxicating drink was poured, and Rhinus, unknowingly, revealed the entire experience of being revived by Asclepius with divine blood.
When the king heard that a god had personally stated that divine blood could allow one to escape death's pursuit, a strange gleam flashed in his eyes. He had his soldiers hang Rhinus, slit his throat, and drain his blood, hoping to regain youth.
Alas, poor Rhinus! Before he could tell the king that the body that received the divine blood had already decayed and that his current body was merely mortal, he lost his life. The king also met his retribution; a greedy minister killed him and seized Rhinus's useless blood.
This time, no god came to his rescue. Rhinus's soul would repent in purgatory until fire and ice wore away his sins.
Asclepius on the divine mountain also received his punishment. The god of medicine's actions were a betrayal of all the gods. The gods of the Underworld were disgraced, and the gods vying for faith would not forgive him for granting eternal life to a mortal. They all requested the king of the gods to make a just judgment and mete out the deserved punishment to the god of medicine.
Asclepius was the son of Apollo and the grandson of King Zeus; his lineage was noble. Precisely because of this, his deviation from the gods deserved a severe penalty. For his own advancement, the god of medicine did not hesitate to trespass into the domain of life, which Zeus controlled, and explore the mysteries of resurrection, a matter that only the king of the gods could decide. Selene, the moon goddess, and Eos, the dawn goddess, were both ancient goddesses. One possessed moderate divine power, and the other possessed great divine power, yet under the influence of love's curse, neither dared to covet the domain of life to extend their lovers' lives.
Even Perseus did not receive the honor of eternal life. Though Aphrodite, the goddess of love, and Hera, the goddess of marriage, pleaded many times, the steadfast Zeus remained unmoved. It was only when Tyche intervened and raised Perseus to the sky to become a constellation that the matter reached a happy conclusion.