Achilles
Achilles was the son of King Peleus of (Phthia) Thessaly and the sea nymph Thetis (daughter of Oceanus). He was
the greatest of the Greek warriors, although he appears to have been something of a barbarian. His anger was as
legendary as his prowess. Both Zeus and Poseidon wanted to have a son by the beautiful Thetis, but Prometheus,
the fire god, warned them that her offspring would be greater than his father. Anxious to avoid this the gods
carefully arranged the marriage of Thetis to the mortal Peleus. Their first child was Achilles. Because she was so
attached to her son, Thetis tried to make him immortal by various means. The best known was dipping the new-born
baby in the Styx, the river that ran through Hades, the world of the dead. Since Thetis had to hold him by the heel
(origin of the phrase "Achilles' heel", a person's weak spot), this one place was left vulnerable and at Troy brought
about Achilles' death from a poisoned arrow shot from the bow of Paris (or Apollo in some versions). Achilles
learned the skills of warfare from Chiron, leader of the Centaurs, who also fed him on wild game to increase his
ferocity. Under Chiron's care Achilles became renowned as a courageous fighter, but his immortal mother knew that
he was doomed to die at Troy if he went on the expedition. So Thetis arranged for him to be disguised as a girl and
hid him among the women at the palace of King Lycomedes. The Greeks felt that without Achilles their chances of
beating the Trojans were slim, but no one could find the hidden hero. At last, cunning Odysseus was sent to discover
Achilles, which he did by means of a trick. Having traced the young man to the palace of Lycomedes, Odysseus
placed weapons among some jewelery in the palace. While Achilles' female companions were admiring the
craftsmanship of the jewels, a call to arms was sounded and Achilles, ever the warrior, quickly reached for the
weapons, giving himself away. Unmasked, Achilles had no choice but to sail for Troy. This, his most famous
adventure, is told in the Iliad. This war lasted 10 years, through the first nine of which Achilles laid waste to the
surrounding countryside. In the last year Achilles sulked and refused to fight any longer after a quarrel with
Agamemnon, the Greek leader (a quarrel over who would get Briseis, among the spoils of war, as a mistress,
Agamemnon or Achilles). This caused the war to start going badly for the Greeks and Achilles relented enough to
agree to lend his armor and his chariot to his inseparable companion Patroclus so he could impersonate him in the
battle. Hector, the Trojan hero and son of the Trojan King Priam, killed Patroclus in the ensuing battle. Achilles
was roused to action by the death of Patroclus, his squire and lover(??). In brand-new armor Achilles sought out
Hector, who asked for respect to be shown for his body if he was defeated. Achilles refused, slew Hector with his
spear and dragged the Trojan hero round the tomb of Patroclus for twelve days. Only Thetis could persuade her son
to let the Trojans recover the corpse and arrange a funeral, a serious obligation for the living. Back in the fight,
Achilles struck fear into the Trojans, of whom he killed hundreds. But his own life was coming to an end, an event of
which he had been warned about by his steed Xanthus, before the Furies struck the divine horse dumb. Paris
(another son of Priam) found Achilles in the temple of Athena courting Polyxena, his sister. A poisoned arrow from
the bow of Paris, guided by the god of prophecy Apollo (or shot by Apollo), gave Achilles a mortal wound.
 

Ajax The Lesser (Aias)
A son of Oileus, King of Locris. He was one of the heroes in the Trojan War, but had severe
character flaws, such as being arrogant, boastful and quarrelsome. He captured Cassandra, a
daughter of King Priam, and raped her. He earned the enmity of his Greek allies because of this and
left Troy to return home. His ship sunk in a storm but he survived. He boasted, long and loud about
his escape, only to incur the wrath of Poseidon, who cast him back into the sea where he drowned.
 
 

Ajax the Greater
Son of Telamon, king of Salamis. He was considered to be the bravest of the Greek warriors, after Achilles, in the
Trojan War. He fought several times one-on-one against Hector, but each time he was about to deliver a death
blow, the gods (having decreed that Hector should die at the hands of Achilles) would intervene and save Hector. At
the end of the war Ajax hit a streak of bad luck; he wanted Helen put to death for her adultery, but lost the
argument to Agamennon and Menelaus, who secured her release to Menelaus; he demanded posession of the
statue of Pallas (the Palladium) which Odysseus and Diomedes had stolen from Troy, but was again thwarted by
Agamennon and Menelaus; he demanded Achilles' armor, which after Achilles was slain was to go to the Greek who
had most devastated the Trojans, only to see the armor (awarded by the vote of the Trojan prisoners) go to
Odysseus. Ajax became temporarily unhinged and during the night slew all the sheep (food for the Greeks) in the
camp thinking they were his enemies. When he realized what he had done, he committed suicide. The gods elevated
him to the heavens as a constellation.
 

Alcestis
Daughter of King Pelias of Thessaly. When she reached marriageable age her father devised a test to see who
would be most suitable as her husband. She would marry, the king proclaimed, the first man able to yoke a lion and
a bear (or boar, in some versions) together to a chariot. Admetus, a neighboring king, with the help of Apollo,
accomplished this seemingly impossible task. Unfortunately at the wedding he forgot to sacrifice to Artemis
(goddess of forest and wild animals) and consequently found his wedding bed filled with poisonous snakes. Apollo
came to his rescue and, by making the Fates drunk, got them to promise Admetus could continue to live if he could
find a family member who would die in his place. When no one would, Alcestis volunteered to take his place, and
committed suicide by taking poison. Persephone (goddess of the underworld) was so impressed by this devotion that
she restored Alcestis to life and returned her to Admetus. Alcestis bore him two sons who fought on the side of the
Greeks in the Trojan War. {Another version of this myth has Heracles (during his eighth labor, the capture of the
man-eating horses of Diomedes) rescuing her by fighting off Death when he arrived to claim her.}
 

Atalanta
Daughter of Iasos and Clymene (or any of a dozen others, no one is quite sure). Her father, whoever he was, wanted
only male children, so she was abandoned at birth in the forest. Here she was fed by a she-bear until found by some
hunters, who raised her. She took a vow of virginity as a young girl and dedicated herself to Artemis. She took part
in the voyage of the Argo (or was refused permission to join by Jason - differing versions) and in the Calydonian
boar-hunt. She was the first to wound it and so was awarded the head by Meleager, who actually killed it. She killed
the centaurs Rhaecus and Hylaeus, who tried to rape her, and defeated Peleus at wrestling. She refused all suitors,
challenging them to a footrace; whoever defeats her gets her hand in marriage, whoever loses to her, dies. She
marries (despite her vow) Melanion, after he defeats her in a footrace by distracting her with golden apples,
supplied to him by Aphrodite. They make love in a temple dedicated to Zeus. They are turned into lions, by an
affronted Zeus, for defiling the temple.

 
Helen/Hellena
The legends regarding Helen are extremely complicated and confusing as ancient writers from Homer onward
related differing stories about her. Most prevalent: Daughter of Zeus and Leda who Zeus seduced while in the guise
of a swan. Helen was one result of that union and has been described as having the stature and bearing of a
goddess, the radiant complexion and sleekness of a swan, and the most beautiful, large blue eyes extant. She was
abducted, at the age of twelve, by Theseus, who was enamored of her beauty even at that tender age. Castor and
Polydeuces, her brothers, followed to rescue her. As Castor was recognized as the world's best boxer and
Polydeuces as the world's best wrestler, they had little trouble convincing the aging Theseus to relinquish his prize
and allow her to return home. But her beauty was so great, and so reknown, that soon her father's (King Tyndareus)
castle was filled with brawling chieftains from everywhere, all contending for her hand. Tyndareus was afraid to pick
a husband for her, for he knew all to well the "losers" would declare war on his kingdom and lay it to waste.
Odysseus, one of the suitors(!), came up with a logical plan, which Tyndareus decided to follow. All the suitors would
join in swearing an oath to abide by Tyndareus' choice, keep peace among themselves, and unite in war against
anyone who might try to steal Helen from her husband. When they had all sworn this oath, Tyndareus, being no
dummy, chose Menelaus, brother to Agamennon, the most powerful king in the territory, and then declared that
Menelaus would succeed him (Tyndareus) as king. They lived happily (Menelaus and Helen) until Aphrodite
appeared to Helen in a dream, and explained to her that she, Aphrodite, had promised Paris (in order to bribe him to
award her the Golden Apple that was supposed to go to the most beautiful woman in the cosmos) that he could have
Helen as his own. So Helen was prepared to be abducted by Paris, and indeed was not reluctant at the prospect of
having a young and strong lover. This was the spark that set off The Trojan War.
 
 

Oedipus
                                         Oedipus Complex:
(In psychoanalysis, a subconcious sexual desire in a child, especially a male child, for the parent of the opposite
sex, usually accompanied by hostility to the parent of the same sex. If unresolved naturally, this complex may result
in neurosis and an inability to form normal sexual relationships in adulthood.- The American Heritage Dictionary)

Laius, king of Thebes, was warned by Tiresias, an oracle, that if ever he had a son, that son would kill him and bring
a terrible series of misfortunes upon his house. So when Laius fathered Oedipus by Jocasta, he had the boy left on a
hillside in the wilds, intending his death. To insure the child's death he had Oedipus' ankles pierced so as to join
them together with a strap. However, the boy was found by shepherds of a neighboring kingdom. They took him
home to their king, Polybus, whom they knew to be childless and in need of an heir. Oedipus was brought up by
Polybus until one day it was revealed to him that he was in reality only the adoptive son of Polybus. Oedipus set off
to consult the Delphic oracle as to the true identity of his parents. On his way there he met two strangers on the
road, one of whom, the herald of King Laius, Polyphontes, insulted him. In his anger he slew both the herald and the
other man, unaware that it was King Laius, his own father. Frightened by what he had done, Oedipus proceeded to
Thebes. There he met the Sphinx and successfully guessed her riddle. In so doing not only did he bring about the
death of the Sphinx, but he also freed the people of Thebes from its curse. In their gratitude they gave him the hand
of Laius' widow (his own mother, unknown to him) and made him king. Soon, however, the secret of Oedipus' birth
was revealed. In early versions of the story this is because of the scars on his ankles inflicted by Laius on the young
Oedipus. In later versions, a plague ravaged Thebes and would not cease until Laius' death was avenged. Oedipus
placed a curse on the murderer, and asked Tiresias, who had made the original prophecy, the identity of the guilty
man. Of course, Tiresias did not dare give an answer. When Jocasta cited what she thought was Tiresias' false
prophecy concerning the death of Laius, Oedipus was soon seized by a terrible suspicion, which was confirmed when
messengers from Corinth informed him that Polybus was dead and that he should go to Corinth, take the throne and
marry the queen. This would not be incestuous, they said, because be was a foundling. The account given of the
finding of the child left no room for doubt; Oedipus had killed his own father and committed incest with his mother,
Jocasta. When she realized what had happened, Jocasta committed suicide. Oedipus, distraught, blinded himself
and wandered aimlessly until his death.
 
 

Hector
Foremost of the Trojan warriors and the eldest son of Priam, king of Troy, and his wife Hecuba. He was married to
Andromache, daughter of king Aetion of Thebes (which had been sacked by Achilles in the ninth year of the Trojan
War, and Andromache's father and seven brothers killed). In the Iliad (which is only concerned with the tenth and
last year of the Trojan War) Hector plays a very prominent role. Whenever Achilles is not present on the Greek
side, Hector becomes the star warrior for the Trojans. Agamennon had wanted Hector killed from the outset
because he knew that the Greeks would never win while Hector lived. One of the more noted episodes is his
day-long fight with Ajax, at the end of which both combatants, still alive, retired and gave each other presents in
honor of the other's valor. The attack on the Greek ships, planned and led by Hector, was perhaps his greatest
exploit. The Greeks were hard pressed and Achilles refused to leave his tent where he was sulking. Patroculus,
Achilles' close friend, in an endeavor to turn the tide of the losing battle, donned Achilles' armor and fought, but was
killed hy Hector. This at last brought Achilles to his senses and he emerged into the fray seeking revenge. Hector's
destiny was to die at the hands of Achilles and so, no matter what the gods did to assist him (for example once
hiding him in a cloud from Achilles), his life could only he prolonged and not saved. The petty jealousies and
favoritism of the gods played quite a part in this. Athena took the form of Hector's favorite brother, Delphobus, and
urged him to stand against Achilles, promising to help him. Eventually Achilles and Hector met in battle; Athena, in
the form of his brother, disappeared and Hector knew his fate was sealed. Hector was struck down and, as he lay
dying, he begged Achilles to return his body to his father, Priam, but Achilles refused. Hector then foretold Achilles'
own iminent death. Achilles treated Hector's corpse abominably, piercing the heels and passing a thong through
them and then dragging the corpse around the walls of Troy in revenge for the death of Patroclus. The body was
then left exposed in the Greek camp. Achilles refused all appeals for clemency or offer of ransom until the gods
were so disgusted by his actions that Zeus sent Iris to order him to release Hector's corpse for decent burial. For a
large sum he ransomed the body to Priam, and Hector's twelve-day long funeral rites were performed under a truce.

Antigone
Daughter of Oedipus by his unknowing incestuous relationship with his mother Jocasta, who therefore was
Antigone's mother and her grandmother. Antigone epitomized the dutiful daughter and sister. When Oedipus
realized his unwitting crime and blinded himself, Antigone traveled with him, caring for him until his death. When he
died she returned to Thebes to live with her sister Ismene. When the war of the Seven Against Thebes ensued, she
found that her two brothers (Eteocles and Polynices) were on opposing sides in the war. Has fate would have it the
two brothers met in the battle and killed each other. Creon, Antigone's uncle, had taken over the throne of Thebes
when Oedipus left in disgrace. He buried Eteocles with the proper burial rites because he had fought for Thebes, but
refused to do the same for Polynices, a serious punishment under Greek religious belief. Against Creon's orders
Antigone buried her brother properly, and so was condemned by Creon to be walled up alive for her disobedience to
him. She hanged herself, rather than die a lingering death. Her fiancé, Creon's son Haemon, killed himself in
remorse, and then Creon's wife Eurydice committed suicide over her son's death. (That is a perfect example of "A
Greek Tragedy"!) In another myth version she does not die but marries Haemon and bears a son, Maion. The
place where she buries Polynices is known as the Surma ("dragging") of Antigone.
 
 

Aeneas
Aeneas' parents were the mortal, Anchises, and the goddess, Aphrodite. During the Trojan War Aeneas was one of
the most valiant of the Trojan heroes. He was always to be found where the fighting was thickest and on numerous
occasions was saved from being killed by the intervention of the gods who knew he was destined to rule the Trojans
and that his sons would continue the line. At the fall of Troy, when the city was burned down, Aeneas, carrying his
aged father on his back, was allowed by the Greeks, on account of his piety, to leave the town. Aeneas took also
with him his son Ascanius, his wife Creusa, and his household gods. Some others have said that Aeneas betrayed
the city of Troy, and that because of this service, the Greeks allowed him and his family to safely leave the city.
After leaving Troy Aeneas went to Mount Ida. Here he and his followers built a fleet of twenty ships with which
they sailed away to Sicily; here his father Anchises died and was buried. From there they intended to sail to Italy
but a storm sent by Hera carried them to the city of Carthage of which Dido was Queen. Queen Dido received the
Trojans with hospitality and fell in love with Aeneas, and wanted to marry him. He, though, decided to sail on. Dido,
feeling abandoned, committed suicide. After landing once more in Sicily Aeneas' fleet came to Cumae where
Aeneas, led by the Sibyl, descended to the Underworld. There he met his father and Dido, among many others from
the past and from the future. Afterwards he sailed on, eventually landing at the mouth of the Tiber river. He became
friends with the local king, Latinus and later married Lavinia, the king's daughter, and their son Silvius founded the
city of Alba Longa. Aeneas, after having settled his people in Italy, returned home and became king of Troy,
leaving the kingdom, after his death, to his son Ascanius. Aphrodite asked Zeus to make Aeneas immortal and Zeus
granted her request and made him a god, whom the people later worshipped under the name of Indiges.
 

Jason
Jason, leader of the Argonauts and the son of Aeson and Philyra, was a Greek hero and voyager, born in Iolcus, a
town in Thessaly. However, difficulties arose when Aeson, ruler of Iolcus, was deposed hy his half-brother Pelias (a
son of Poseidon) and Tyro, widow of Cretheus (Aeson's father). Either because Philyra distrusted Pelias' intentions
towards Jason, or simply because it would better for the boy if he were educated elsewhere, she placed him in the
care of the wise Centaur Chiron, who lived in the woodlands. Chiron was skilled in many things, including medicine,
and may have given the boy the name Jason ("healer"). The Delphic Oracle warned Pelias that he would he
removed from the throne of Iolcus hy a man wearing only one sandal. So the usurper king was amazed and
frightened when a mature Jason arrived in the city with only one of his sandals. The hero had lost one sandal while
carrying what seemed to he an old lady across a swift stream; it was in fact the goddess Hera in disguise. Unable to
harm the unwelcome guest hecause he had arrived at the time of a religious festival, Pelias decided to rid himself of
the threat he represented hy sending Jason on an impossible quest. He offered to name Jason as his successor
provided he should bring home from Colchis the Golden Fleece belonging to a wonderful ram which had left Iolcus.
Jason gathered together his companions, who became known as the Argonauts (among whom were Heracles, Argos
the shipbuilder, Tiphys the pilot, Lynceus who had marvelous eyesight, Orpheus with the magical powers of his
music and Polydeuces the boxer), and crossed a sea of marvels, overcame difficult tasks, defeated a guardian
serpent/dragon and returned with the magic fleece. Part of his success was due to the aid of the Colchian princess
and witch Medea whom Jason made his wife with the assistance of the goddess Athena. On returning to Iolcus, thc
Argonauts found that Pelias had assumed that they had died in a shipwreck and murdered Jason's father Aeson.
Two versions of the myth exist from this point onwards. In one of them Pelias is destroyed by means of Medea's
magic (she convinces Pelias' daughters that they could renew his youth by boiling him in a "magic" cauldron). In
another the Argonauts, seeing that Pelias will not honor his promise to Jason, sail on to Corinth after failing to
capture Iolcus. Jason seems to have accepted exile in Corinth with Medea, where for some ten years they lived
happily together and had two (or three) sons. Then the hero was offered the hand of a princess named Glauce.
When he deserted Medea for her, Jason brought down on his own head the full fury and magical powers of Medea.
For she not only killed Glauce but she also destroyed her sons by Jason. Alone and depressed, the hero lingered at
Corinth until one day, as he sat in the shade of the Argo (his old ship) a piece of rotten timber fell and crushed his
skull.
 
 

Odysseus (Ulysses)
Odysseus, king of Ithaca, was one of the Greek leaders who took part in the Trojan War. He was celebrated for
both his part in this conflict and his remarkable voyage home to his island kingdom in the Ionian Sea. A brave and
clever man, Odysseus was sometimes thought to have been the son of Sisyphus, the trickster of Greek mythology.
But his real father was probably Laertes, whom he succeeded as king of Ithaca. His mother was named Anticleia
and his faithful wife Penelope was the sister of King Tyndareos of Sparta. Odysseus was one of the suitors for the
hand of Helen, and so when she was carried off to Troy by Paris, Odysseus was bound, like all other suitors, to help
rescue her. Although he feigned madness in order to escape this obligation, he was subsequently portrayed, by
Homer, as not only cunning and energetic but also as good in counsel as in battle. From the start of the campaign
against Troy it is clear that King Agamemnon, the Greek leader, placed great store upon Odysseus' cunning. He
was sent with Nestor, the aged king of Pylos, to discover where the great warrior Achilles was hidden. Again, at
Aulis, where the Greek fleet was stranded by contrary winds, it was Odysseus who tricked Agamemnon's wife
Clytemnestra into sending her daughter Iphigenia from Mycenae, supposedly to marry Achilles. Instead, however,
Iphigenia was to be sacrificed to Artemis, goddess of the wild, in order to obtain a fair wind to Troy. Throughout the
ten-year struggle against the Trojans, Odysseus was important not so much as a fighter but as a counsellor and a
schemer. His eloquence was renowned, and it was probably Odysseus who thought of the Wooden Horse, which
gave the Greeks victory. Odysseus deceived the Trojans with this horse built of wood whose hollow belly was filled
with Greek warriors under his own command. The Trojans dragged the Wooden Horse inside their walls when they
learned from a Greek, deliberately left behind when the rest put to sea, that the offering would bring their city a
guarantee of divine protection. But during the night the Greeks emerged from it, and surprised the Trojans. Hence,
the ancient saying "Never trust the Greeks bearing gifts". After the death of Achilles a quarrel arose between
Odysseus and Ajax as to who was most worthy to get the dead hero's armor. The power of Odysseus' oratory
persuaded the army to award the armor to him. When Troy fell, the wildness of the looting and the slaughter deeply
offended the gods. In particular, the goddess Athena was enraged at the rape of Cassandra within the sanctuary of
her temple. Odysseus tried to appease Athena, and he escaped drowning in the great storm which the angry
goddess sent to shatter the victorious Greek fleet on its homeward journey. But he could not entirely avoid blame,
and Poseidon saw to it that he was the last Greek leader to reach home, after a voyage lasting some ten years. The
long period of wandering that Odysseus suffered was a favorite story of both the Greeks and the Romans, who
knew the voyager by the name of Ulysses. The exact route that he followed remains a mystery, not least because
his travels took him beyond known territory and into strange and dangerous lands. From Troy Odysseus sailed first
to Thrace, where he lost many of his men in battle. After this bloody incident the places he touched upon are less
easy to identify. Storms drove him to the land of the Lotophagi ("the lotus-eaters"), whose diet made visitors forget
their homelands and wish to stay on forever. Then he encountered in Sicily the Cyclops Polyphemus, whose father
was Poseidon. By putting out Polyphemus' single eye when the gigantic man was befuddled with wine, Odysseus and
his companions managed to escape becoming his dinner. They then arrived on the floating island of Aeolus, who was
the ruler of the winds. There Odysseus received a rare present, a sack full of all the hindering winds, leaving free
only the friendly wind that would blow his ships to Ithaca. It was of little use on the voyage because the curiosity of
Odysseus' men got the better of them and they opened the sack and the winds no longer blew in a helpful direction.
A tragedy overcame the squadron of ships that Odysseus led among the Laestrygones, a race of giant cannibals.
Only his own ship survived the attack and reached Aeaea, the island of the enchantress Circe. Odysseus resisted
her spells, with the aid of the messenger god Hermes, and made the enchantress restore to human shape his men
who had been turned to swine. Afterwards, on Circe's advice, he sailed to the western edge of the encircling sea, the
realm of Oceanos, where ghosts came from the underworld realm of Hades to meet him. The shade of the blind seer
Tiresias gave Odysseus a special warning about his homeward journey to Ithaca. He told him that if the cattle of the
sun god Helios on the isle of Thrinacia were harmed by him he would never reach his home. The ghost of Odysseus'
mother also spoke of the difficulties being faced by Penelope in Ithaca at the time. The ghost of Agamemnon, his
old comrade-in-arms, also warned him about his homecoming; when he returned home he had heen murdered by his
wife and her lover in the bathroom. Turning eastwards, Odysseus sailed back towards Greece and was the only man
who dared to listen to the alluring song of the Sirens, bird-women of storm. He filled his men's ears with wax and
had himself bound with strong cords to the mast. Odysseus then passed through the straits between Sicily and Italy,
where six of his crew were seized hy the six-headed monster Scylla. On the island of Thrinacia, as Tiresias had
foretold, the voyagers were tempted by hunger to slay some of Helios' cattle. Despite his warning, the desperate
men killed and cooked several cows when Odysseus was asleep. Later they deserted him, but were drowned in a
storm sent by Zeus at Helios' request. Alone, Odysseus was almost swallowed hy the great whirlpool Charybdis. In
an exhausted state he drifted to the wondrous island of the sea nymph Calypso, who cared for him and eventually
proposed marriage. But not even immortality would tempt him, and after seven years the gods forced Calypso to let
Odysseus set off again. Shipwrecked once more in the land of the Phaeacians, he was welcomed as an honored
guest and offered a passage back to Ithaca. So it was that he was secretly landed near his own palace, which he
entered disguised with Athena's aid as a beggar. Penelope had been patiently awaiting Odysseus' return from the
war. Although pressed to marry one of her 108 noble suitors, she had put them off for a while by pretending that she
could not marry until she had finished weaving a shroud for Laertes, her father-in-law. But Penelope unravelled it
each night, until one of her maids betrayed the trick. Finally, after ten years, Penelope agreed to marry the suitor
who could bend and string Odysseus' great bow. This challenge was proposed on the advice of the goddess Athena.
The only suitor who succeeded at the challenge was a beggar, who then threw off his disguise and revealed himself
as Odysseus. Assisted by his son Telemachus and two loyal retainers, Odysseus dispatched the suitors and hanged
the treacherous maid. Reunited with his family at last, including his father Laertes, Odysseus then defeated an
attack by the relations of the suitors and returned Ithaca to peace. Zeus himself threw down a thunderbolt to signal
an end to the fighting. As an aside, Penelope refused to acknowledge Odysseus as her husband even after he
revealed his true identity until he reminded her of the secret of their bed, which had been carved out of a great olive
tree grown in their own courtyard.
 
 

Perseus
Perseus was the son of Zeus and Danae, daughter of Acrisius, king of Argos. Danae had been shut up in a bronze
tower in order to thwart a prophecy that if she had a son he would kill Acrisius. But Zeus visited her as a golden
shower and Perseus was born. A terrified Acrisius placed mother and son in a wooden chest and cast it on the sea.
The protection of Zeus, however, was enough to bring them safely to the shores of the island of Seriphos, where
Perseus was raised by Dictys, a fisherman. On reaching manhood Perseus was sent by the local ruler, Polydectes
(who had fallen in love with Perseus' mother Danae, and who was the brother of Dictys), to fetch the head of
Medusa, a very dangerous task. Luckily for the hero the goddess Athena hated Medusa and instructed him how to
proceed. He was also helped by Hermes, the Nymphs (they lent him winged sandals, the helmet of Hades which
made him invisible and a special bag to carry Medusa's head). First he visited the Graiae, three old hags who
shared a single eye. Perseus seized the eye and obliged the Graiae to tell him about the nature of the Gorgons, their
three dreadful sisters. Most important of all, they informed him how a direct glance from Medusa's eyes would turn
him to stone. Ready for the exploit at last, Perseus put on the shoes and flew to the Gorgon's cave in the far west.
Careful not to look at Medusa directly, he approached, invisibly, by watching her reflection in his shield. Having cut
off Medusa's head (from her severed neck sprang a giant, Chrysaor, and the winged horse Pegasus) and stowed it
in his bag, Perseus flew away unseen by her two sisters. The chilling powers of the head were used to good purpose
by Perseus on his way home. Having saved the beautiful Andromeda (she was being sacrificed) from a sea monster
(turned to stone by Medusa's head), he married her, but several people had to be turned to stone before he and his
bride returned safely to Danae. She told him that Polydectes had tried to rape her, so he again used the Medusa
head, turning Ploydectes to stone and installing Dictys as the new ruler. Having returned his magical equipment to
Hermes, the messenger god, Perseus visited Argos only to find that Acrisius had already fled to Larissa on hearing
of his grandson's arrival. The prophecy was fulfilled, nevertheless, when Perseus was invited to compete in the
games at Larissa and his discus hit the old man on the head. Because of the accident the hero chose to be king of
Tiryns rather than Argos. Later on hearing of their deaths Athena placed both Perseus and Andromeda in the sky
as constellations.
 
 
 

Theseus
Theseus was the son either of Poseidon or Aegeus the king of Athens. His mother was Aethra. The childless
Aegeus consulted the Delphic Oracle and was told not to untie his wine skin until he returned home. He did not
understand what the oracle meant and so visited his friend King Pittheus of Troezen. Realizing that Aegeus was
going to beget a powerful son immediately after the celebration feast for his safe return to Athens, Pittheus made
his guest drunk and put him to bed with his daughter Aethra, and so Theseus was conceived. Before he left for
home, Aegeus took the pregnant Aethra to a great boulder underneath which he placed his sword and sandals. He
told her that, should she have a son, she must wait until he was strong enough to raise the boulder before she sent
him to his father's court. After Aegeus' departure the wily Pittheus said his daughter's lover was really Poseidon.
When Theseus came of age, Aethra explained that he was heir to the Athenian throne and he retrieved the sword
and sandals. On his journey to Athens he slew several desperate bandits, a fearsome son of Hephaistos, and a
dreadful sow, the daughter of the monster Typhon. At Eleusis, then a kingdom separate from Athens, Theseus was
forced to accept the challenge of a wrestling match with its king, Cercyon. The aggressive ruler died as a result of
the contest, so Theseus became king of Eleusis, which he later added to the Athenian kingdom. On his arrival in
Athens, Theseus learned that his father Aegeus was hardly able to hold on to the throne. Not only was the
apparently heirless king challenged by the fifty sons of his half-brother Pallas, but, worse still, Aegeus had fallen
under the spell of Medea, the former wife of Jason and a powerful witch. She hoped that her own son Medus would
succeed Aegeus. Although Theseus hid his true identity, Medea knew who he was and persuaded Aegeus to let her
poison the mighty stranger at a banquet. Theseus was saved when the king recognized his sword as the hero carved
the meat. The plot was revealed, Medea fled from Athens with her son, and Aegeus named Theseus as his
successor. The next cycle of Theseus' exploits was designed to secure the safety of Athens. First, he dealt with
Pallas' sons. Then he killed a wild bull that was ravaging Marathon, to the north-east of the city. He also overcame
the Minotaur, the strange offspring of Pasiphae, the wife of King Minos of Crete. An annual tribute of young
Athenians was fed to the Minotaur, which lived in the Labyrinth that had been designed by Daedalus. No one had
ever managed to find their way through this maze, so when Theseus volunteered to confront the Minotaur his father
despaired. It was agreed that if Theseus should, by some miracle, survive, he was to change the sail of the tribute
ship from black to white on the homeward voyage. At Minos' palace in Knossos the goddess Aphrodite gave
Theseus an invaluable ally in Ariadne, a daughter of the Cretan king who fell in love with the hero. Princess Ariadne
knew that the Labyrinth was so complex that the only way out was to follow back a thread fastened to the entrance.
After Theseus had promised to marry her, Ariadne gave him a ball of thread and a sword. The hero entered the
Labyrinth, slew the Minotaur and then set sail for Athens with Ariadne and the rest of the Athenian party. He then
left the princess on the nearby island of Dia. It is thought that he was in love with another woman, but whatever the
reason he was soon repaid for his heartlessness. As the ship approached Athens, Theseus forgot to change the sail
to indicateto his father that he was alive. Aegeus saw a black sail and, thinking his son dead, threw himself offthe
Athenian acropolis. The suicide meant that Theseus was now king of Athens, and he joined all the communities of
Attica into one state. Apart from enlarging Athens' tentitory, Theseus also undertook a number of heroic exploits.
On one expedition he captured Hippolyta, the queen of the Amazons, who bore him a son, Hippolytus, but she died
shortly afterwards. Theseus gave the accursed Oedipus and his daughter Antigone sanctuary at Colonus, near
Athens. But discord entered his own house when his second wife Phaedra, another daughter of Minos, came to
desire her stepson Hippolytus, to the young man's horror. Although he promised to keep her passion a secret,
Phaedra was so humiliated by his rejection that she hanged herself and left Theseus a letter in which she accused
Hippolytus of attempted rape. He was exiled and died in a chariot accident before his father discovered the truth. In
another version, Hippolytus was killed by a sea monster that was raised by Theseus' anger, and Phaedra, filled with
remorse, killed herself. Theseus later seized the twelve-year-old Helen, daughter of Zeus, as a future wife. He
claimed that only she was worthy enough to be his wife, possibly because of her divine father. But she had powerful
kinsmen, and her two brothers, the Dioscuri, defeated the Athenians and drove Theseus abroad. He died on the
island of Scyros, when its king, fearing the presence of such a man, pushed him over a cliff as he admired the view.