Fascinating Myths to be Known and Retold
ATHENA
Greek Mythology
The following myths are a few of the most important and popular myths of the time. Mortals made up the myths as a way of explaining why things are in nature, and how they came to be that way. The heroes of mythology represented what mortal human beings could become themselves, if they tried hard enough. This we can appreciate through the fact that the majority of the Greek heroes were mortals themselves.
Back in the days when these myths were first created, they were told by roaming poets. Paper and ink were extremely expensive, and each page of each book had to be written by hand. Even if someone spent all the time to write a book, only a slight fraction of the population could read. Illiteracy was a condition of the times, you will remember. The only books existed in the small libraries of the best schools. (Please notice that the Greeks already had schools!) So as each poet told their story to others, without a written copy to read from, they changed it slightly to suit their purposes. Today there are almost as many different versions of each myth as there are myths! If you look in about 5 different sources, written by 5 different authors, you would probably find each story slightly different from the others. So if you've read a myth before that isn't exactly the same as one in here, don't worry about it. They're probably both right!
The Battle Between the Gods and Titans
The earliest times, when all the world was new and Cronus reigned, were called the Golden Age of Man.
Then all was peace and happiness upon the earth. Men had not learned as yet to hate and to make war upon each other.
Beasts had no fear of men, nor men of beasts.
None were envious, but all were content. The earth gave forth her fruit enough for all - cornels, and blackberries from the thorny bush, acorns and mountain strawberries. There was no need to tear the kindly ground with plow, for grain grew tall and ripened into rich harvests in the unbroken fields, while streams of milk and honey flowed down to earth from the heaven.
Men slept out under the stars, for there were no storms of tempests to frighten them, and neither the heat of summer or the cold of winter, but one unending spring throughout all the land.
But all this peace and happiness was not to last, for Cronus, the king of the Titans, took as his wife the Titan Rhea. She was the most beautiful of all the Titans, as he was the most powerful and cunning, and they were well pleased with one another.
But after a time Rhea had a child, and then Cronus was afraid - for Mother Earth, who was the mother of them both, had prophesied to Cronus that sometime he would have children who would become mightier than himself, and that they would take away from him his kingdom and his throne, and imprison him deep under the earth.
So he took the child as soon as it was born, and swallowed it. But still it didn't die, but lived and grew, for it was immortal.
And Rhea mourned bitterly because the child had been taken away from her but even more bitterly she mourned after her second child was born, for Cronus took it also, and swallowed it down like the first. And so it was with the third, the fourth, and fifth of her children - always he carried it away. But when the sixth child was born, she hid it before Cronus could come for it, and she took a stone and wrapped it round with clothes, and held it close against her breast as if it had been her baby.
And when at last Cronus came in haste, demanding the child, she gave him the stone instead, still wrapped about with clothes, and she wept and mourned as though it were the babe he were taking from her. And Cronus was deceived, and swallowed the stone, and he knew that Rhea would have no more and so believed that he now was safe.
This sixth child was a son, and Rhea sent him away secretly to the Isle of Crete, and there nymphs cared for him in a cave up on a mountainside. And Rhea also sent priests to the island and it was their task to shout, and sing wild songs, and clash their spears together whenever the child cried, so that Cronus would not hear it.
So the child lived there in safety, the the nymphs. Zeus, he was called, and with each day he grew in strength and cunning. He grew, not slowly as mortal children do, but swift as the sun that leaps at dawn above the mountain's crest. At one year old he already had begun to plot against his father, and to plan how he might overthrow him, and become kind in Cronus' place. When at last Cronus chanced to come to Crete, he found a son fully grown, and powerful as himself.
Then Cronus feared more than ever, but Zeus welcomed him there, and treated him with all the honor and respect a son should show toward a father. Presently Zeus bade the nymphs fetch a goblet filled with wine, and give it to his father. This they did, and Cronus, being thirsty, took the goblet in his hands, and drank. Secretly the nymphs had put in the wine a drug that Zeus had had prepared for this very time. The magic wine sickened Cronus so that he was obliged to vomit forth his children. They were all full grown, and tall, and bright with immortal beauty, and seeing their glory Cronus groaned aloud in his fear.
So the children fled from Crete, and Zeus led them up the steep slopes of Mount Olympus, highest of all the mountains, and there on its top they fortified themselves, and they called themselves gods and goddesses, and by this name they have been known ever since.
But as soon as Cronus had recovered from the draft that Zeus had given him, he called the other Titans to come to him. And Cronus said to them, :As long as we are below and the gods up above us on the mountain we can never succeed. Now let us tear up the mountain Ossa and heap it up on Mount Pelion. So we will build a place even higher than Olympus, and from it's heigh we can cast down our rocks and trees against the gods.
But Rhea had also heard this plan. She went to Zeus and told him all. "Now your danger is great indeed," she said. "But deep down below the earth lie, bound in chains, six giants. They are very powerful. They are called Cyclops, and have only one eye each. Go in haste and offer to break their bonds and free them all if they will aid you in this war."
Zeus was quick to obey the words of his mother. When Zeus offered to set them free if they would serve him they gladly agreed to all he asked of them. So he set the giants free. He took them back to Olympus, where they were set to forging out thunderbolts for Zeus.
The Titans were almost done, and had already started throwing things down upon the gods. But now the thunderbolts were forged. Zeus seized them in his hand, he lifted them high, and cast them at the mountains where the Titans toiled. The bolts struck with a crash that struck the mountains apart and crumbled them to pieces.
Groaning, the Titans freed themselves from the ruins, then kneeling stretched their hands toward heaven and prayed to Zeus for mercy. Most of them he imprisoned deep in the gloomy regions under the earth. Atlas, the leader of the Titan army, was set to bear the heavens up on his shoulders.
So ended the reign of Cronus, and with it ended the Golden Age. The silver Age now began, a time less happy than the Age of Gold, but happier than those that followed it. Zeus now reigned supreme in power, and the world was subject to him.
The Story of Arachne and Athena
Arachne, a proud peasant girl, was a wonderful spinner and weaver of wool. The nymphs journeyed from near and far just to watch Arachne steep her wool in crimson dyes, then take the long threads in her skillful fingers and weave exquisite tapestries.
"Ah! Athena must have given you your gift!" declared a wood nymph one day. Athena was the goddess of weaving and handicrafts.
Arachne threw back her head. "Ha! Athena has taught me nothing! I've taught myself everything I know!" And with that, she decided to challenge Athena to a contest. "Let's see which of us should be called 'goddess of the loom'!" she said.
The nymphs covered their mouths, frightened to hear such scorn heaped upon a powerful goddess of Mount Olympus.
Their fears were justified - for Athena herself was furious when word got back to her about Arachne's conceit. The goddess immediately donned the disguise of an old woman with gray hair and hobbled with a cane to Arachne's cottage.
When Arachne opened her door, Athena shook her gnarled finger. "If I were you," said the old woman, "I would not compare myself so favorably to the great goddess Athena. I would feel humble toward her and ask her to pardon my prideful arrogance."
"You silly fool!" said Arachne. "What do you mean by coming to my door and telling me what to do? If that goddess is half so great as the world thinks, let her come here and show me!"
"She is here!" boomed a powerful voice, and before Arachne's eyes, the old woman instantly changed in to the goddess Athena.
Arachne's face flushed with shame. Nevertheless, she remained defiant and plunged headlong toward her doom. "Hello, Athena," she said. "Do you dare to finally weave against me?"
Athena only glared at the girl, as the nymphs, peeking from behind the trees, cringed to watch such insolence.
"Come in if you like," Arachne said, stepping back from her doorway and bidding the goddess to enter.
Without speaking, Athena went into the cottage. Servants quickly dashed about, setting up two looms. Then Arachne and Athena tucked up their long dresses and set to work. Their busy fingers flew back and forth as they each wove rainbows of colors: dark purples, pinks, golds, and crimsons.
Athena wove a tapestry showing the twelve greatest gods and goddesses of Mount Olympus. But Arachne wove a tapestry showing not only the gods and goddesses, but their adventures also. Then she bordered her magnificent work with flowers and ivy.
The river nymphs and wood nymphs stared in awe at Arachne's tapestry. Her work was clearly better than Athena's. Even the goddess Envy who haughtily inspected it, said, "There is no flaw."
When she heard Envy's words, Athena lost her temper. The goddess tore Arachne's tapestry and hit her mercilessly - until disgraced and humiliated, Arachne crawled away and tried to hang herself. At last, moved to a little pity, Athena said, "You may live, Arachne, but you will hand forever - and do your weaving in the air!"
Then the vengeful goddess sprinkled Arachne with hellbane, and the girl's hair fell off, and her nose and ears fell off. Her head shrank to a tiny size until she was mostly a giant belly. But her fingers could still weave, and within minutes, Arachne, the first spider on earth, wove the first magnificent web.
A long time ago, there was a king by the name of Midas. Of all his worldly possessions, his most loved was gold. Although he had plenty, he always had a thirst for more. One day, King Midas awoke and cursed the god Apollo. He was upset with him for granting the gift of gold onto ordinary mortals, instead of giving it only to fair and just kings like himself. The following night Apollo appeared to King Midas in a dream. Instead of being upset with Midas for his slander, Apollo granted the king a wish. King Midas wished that everything he touches turned to gold. Befuddled by his dream, Midas decided to test his new powers. He reached to pick up a rose, and by the time the tips of his fingers touched the stalk, the entire rose, petals and all, turned to gold. Amused with his ability, the king walked up and down the royal garden turning all the roses to gold as he laughed. Puzzled by the laughter, the king's little daughter, the princess, rushed outside. Once outside, she broke down in tears, blaming her father of making the roses cold and ugly by taking the life out of them. Midas walked over to his daughter to console her. He gently caressed her golden hair, and by doing so turned her into a solid gold statue. Although taken aback, King Midas did not cease turning his other possessions into gold, before he continued, though, he promised he would figure how to rescue his daughter. Later in the day, the king felt great pangs of hunger. He rushed to his royal kitchen and picked up fork and knife to eat his lunch. As soon as his scrumptious meal touched his tongue it turned to gold. He promptly spat out the metallic glob before he swallowed and choked on it. As his famine grew greater, King Midas fell to his knees to ask forgiveness from Apollo and to ask him to take away his special gift. Apollo, seeing Midas had learned his lesson, changed all the roses and food back to their original form and gave the gift of life back to his daughter. As punishment, King Midas always had to wear a pair of donkey ears as a sign of his once foolish ways.
To cover up his donkey ears, King Midas wore a hat. Of all of his royal subjects, only his barber knew of the king's dark secret. The barber, being a blabbermouth, went into a forest one day and dug a deep hole. He placed his mouth into the hole and shouted as loud as he could "King Midas has donkey ears!!!". When he was finished, the barber filled the hole and went back to the castle. Unfortunately, the whispering river reeds overheard him and whispered to each other "King Midas has donkey ears". Eventually, a servant of King Midas heard the river reeds and revealed the king's true ears. Upset with his secret being revealed, King Midas ordered the barber's head to be cut off. The day before the barber's decapitation, Midas remembered the forgiveness given to him by Apollo and he decided to forgive the barber. Apollo, seeing King Midas' kind act, decided to revert his ears to original form.
King Minos was the king of Crete, Greece's largest island, off its south coast. His followers were named after him and called Minoans. King Minos ruled from his majestic palace located in Knossos, the heart of Crete. King Minos was generally viewed as a fair and just king by the Minoans, but his insult to the gods resulted in the birth of the fearful Minotaur.
One day, several people raised doubts about King Minos’s right to the throne of Crete. To prove to these dissidents that he was, in fact, the true king, he called on the gods to send him a sign. The Olympian gods obliged and had a beautiful white bull emerge from the sea off the coast of Crete. Common knowledge dictated that King Minos was to sacrifice the bull at once as a sign of pleasure and obedience. Instead, though, King Minos offered one of his ordinary bulls from his own herd in place of the gods' gracious gift. Displeased with his actions, the god Poseidon made King Minos' wife fall madly in love with the sea bull. As a result of their affair the Minotaur was born.
The Story Of
A long time ago, King Aegeus of Athens sent one of his young guests named Androgeus on a very dangerous mission. The boy was sent to fight a large beast that looked similar to a bull. The bull easily disemboweled the boy and ate him. The boy's father, King Minos, threatened to invade King Aegeus' kingdom for vengeance for his innocent boy's death. To prevent King Minos from starting a war, King Aegeus offered to send seven boys and seven girls to King Minos every nine years. The all died a horrible death, they were fed to the Minotaur. The beastly Minotaur had the head and body of a bull, but the face of a man. At its birth an oracle foretold that it would never be killed by club, knife, spear, or sword.
To protect his people from the Minotaur, King Minos ordered Daedalus, the world's greatest builder and architect, to construct a vast and complex labyrinth to restrain the hideous freak. Inspired by the infamous winding river Maeander, which seems to have no beginning or end as it flows to and fro as it travels to the sea, Daedalus made a labyrinth with a thousand doors and so many twisting paths that once inside, no one could find their way out. Every nine years, the floor was littered with fourteen, white skeletons from the poor boys and girls.
One year when the Minotaur was to fed, Theseus volunteered himself for the cruel fate of being Minotaur food. He, along with thirteen other terrified children, slowly made their way to the entrance and inside. Cleverly, Theseus had hid a spool of yellow yarn in his golden hair. He used this to tie at the entrance so he could have a return path.
When Theseus encountered the Minotaur, he recalled the oracle foreseeing that the Minotaur could not be killed with club, knife, sword, or spear. To end the life of the monstrosity he attacked it with his bare fists and defeated it.
When Theseus returned to Athens he was proclaimed King. But he did not accept. He refused to rule in a society where one person had absolute power. Instead, he organized the first democracy, where the citizens elected officials through a popular election where all people were equals.
A short time after Prometheus had stolen the gift of fire from the gods and given it to mortals, Zeus began thinking of ways to exact revenge. Zeus had Hephaestus, master craftsman of the gods, create a woman named Pandora out of clay. When Hephaestus had finished, Zeus breathed life into the clay sculpture and demanded the gods to bestow gifts upon her. She received some of the most glorious things in all the land, among which included a golden box from Hermes which he said never to open. Cleverly, Zeus granted Epimetheus, the brother of Prometheus, the gift of having Pandora as his wife. This was done to make up for the disgrace Prometheus put on his family's name. Once Pandora settled in with Epimetheus, her curiosity over the content of the box burned inside her. In an attempt to forget about the box, Pandora dug a vast hole and locked her golden box in numerous iron-clad crates. One day, in the middle of the night, she awoke, dug up the hole and unlocked the box. In doing so she released all the evils into the world. Things such as disease, famine, and death, which had before been unknown were now ravaging the world. Before the last creature had escaped, Pandora quickly closed the box. If the last little monster had left, things would have been much worse, for the last creature was that of Foreboding. If it had flown free mankind would know what was to happen to them before they did it, thereby eliminating any will to live. For though mankind can bear endless trouble, it cannot live with no hope.
