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U MYTHOLOGY U GODS AND GODDESSES IN GREEK MYTHOLOGY Michelle M.

Houle

Copyright 2001 by Michelle M. Houle All rights reserved. No part of this book ma y be reproduced by any means without the written permission of the publisher. Li brary of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Houle, Michelle M. Gods and God desses in Greek Mythology / Michelle M. Houle. p. cm. (Mythology) Includes bibli ographical references and index. Summary: Discusses various Greek myths, includi ng creation stories and tales of principal gods and goddesses. ISBN 0-7660-14088 1. Mythology, GreekJuvenile literature. [1. Mythology, Greek.] I. Title. II. My thology (Berkeley Heights, N.J.) BL782 .H68 2000 398.2093801dc21 00-028782 Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 To Our Readers: All Interne t Addresses in this book were active and appropriate when we went to press. Any comments or suggestions can be sent by e-mail to Comments@enslow.com or to the a ddress on the back cover. Cover and illustrations by William Sauts Bock

CONTENTS Chart of Major Gods and Goddesses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Prefac e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 6 8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Creation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 The War Between the Titans and the Olympians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Prometheus and Earths First Inhabitants . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Pandora . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Demeter and Persephone . . . . . . . . . . . 60 Dionysus and His Followers . . . . . . . . . 75 Baucis and Philemon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 Echo and Narcissus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99 He lius and Phaethon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .109 Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .119 Chapter Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .121 Further Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .124 Internet Addresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .125 Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .127

PREFACE The word myth comes from the Greek word mythos, 1 which means story or speech. Myth is often the word used to describe a story that explains events or objects that occur in nature, such as the creation of certain flowers or animals, the locatio n of deserts or oceans, and even the origin and cycle of the seasons. Myths may also be stories about the origins of customs or traditions. While some real even ts or characters may be represented in myths, these stories should not be read a s if they are history. Though there may be elements of fact intertwined in their telling, these stories happen in a time and place that does not really exist, r egardless of how real the setting may seem. The Greek Landscape The landscape of Greece has always played a great role in the development of its people and its myths. The country of Greece is located on the European continen t to the east of Italy in the Mediterranean Sea. It is a country surrounded by m any islandssome very small and some quite large, like the island of Crete. The Pe loponnesus is a peninsula in the southern part of Greece. It is connected to the mainland by a thin strip of land, an isthmus, that is watched over by the old h ill city of Corinth. The Peloponnesus is home to the important cities of Sparta and Olympia. Athens, on the other hand, is on the southern tip of the mainland i n a region known as Attica. There are many hills and mountains rolling across th e Greek countryside. Therefore, while it might be snowy and cold in one part of the country, it can also be hot and dry 6

Preface in another. On the whole, however, the weather in Greece is warm, with sunny ski es and relatively mild winters. The soil is dry and rocky due to the intense sun and rolling hills, and farming has always been difficult. Grains, such as wheat and barley, and fruits, such as olives and grapes, have been common crops throu ghout history. However, because it was difficult to tease crops out of this roug h soil, the people who live in this area have also always depended, at least in part, on the sea. Thousands of years ago, the Greeks were already great seafarer s, and they sailed all over the Mediterranean. Because of their travels, the Gre eks came into contact with people of many different backgrounds. They met and tr aded goods with people in Asia Minor and Africa, Europe and the Middle East. Eve ry time the sailors came into contact with people from different backgrounds, th ey listened to the foreigners stories and added them to their own collection. The extensive travel of early Greek culture helps to explain why there are many dif ferent versions of each myth, and why the myths of many different cultures often seem very similar. History People lived in the area now known as Greece for thousands of years, but very li ttle is known about the areas earliest inhabitants. Archaeology, or the study of ancient civilizations, has taught scholars a little bit about the people who liv ed there between 6000 and 3000 B.C. Scholars believe that the early Greeks relie d on farming 2 and lived in small village-like communities. The years 3000 to 16 00 B.C. are often considered the beginning of Greek culture and Western civiliza tion in general. Scholars do not know much about the daily lives 7

Gods and Goddesses in Greek Mythology and customs of the people who lived on the mainland of Greece during this period . Like their predecessors, they seem to have been farmers. A lot of information, however, exists about the civilization then thriving on the island of Crete, wh ere the legendary King Minos was thought to have lived. Beginning in about 2200 B.C., the people of Crete, called the Minoans, built fabulous palaces and ruled the seas with a strong hand. In about 1650 B.C., Mycenae became an important cen ter of Greek culture. Mycenae was a wealthy and powerful city, located in the Pe loponnesus. The people who lived there spoke a language that is similar to moder n Greek. Other cities also began to blossom on the mainland. Thebes, Sparta, and Athens are just a few of the cities that were founded in the same era as Mycena e. Though the palaces of the Minoans on Crete were destroyed in about 1450 B.C., Minoan civilization had a great influence on its mainland neighbors in terms of art, 3 religion, and culture. As their civilization spread, the people of Greec e lived in towns that were independent of each other. The people who lived in wh at is known today as Greece were united by two factors: they spoke roughly the s ame language, and they thought of themselves as Hellenes, or fellow descendants of Hellen, the legendary founder of the Greek people. (Today the modern Greek word for the country of Greece is Hellas.) There was no single ruler, and there were often wars between the different communities. It is important to remember that the people we call Greeks today were, at one time, not unified at all. In the el eventh century B.C., an unknown enemy destroyed the ancient city of Troy, locate d in the western part of Asia Minor. It was against this city that the Greeks su pposedly fought as a single group in order to rescue 10

Preface Helen, the wife of Menelaus, the king of Sparta. Soon after this event, many maj or cities on the Greek mainland were destroyed. Later, Greeks blamed this massiv e destruction on an invading group of Greek-speakers whom they called the Dorian s. In about 800 B.C., the Greek alphabet was created, using the Phoenician alpha bet as a model. This invention began a period of great political and commercial development on the Greek mainland and the surrounding islands. At that time, the various communities began to think of themselves as living in separate politica l entities known as city-states. The Greek word for city-state is polis. In 508 B.C., Athens became the worlds first democracy when free adult males were allowed to vote on matters concerning the city. The word democracy comes from the Greek word democratia, which means ruled by the demos, or the people. It is important t o note, however, that only citizens could vote in this democracy, and not everyo ne living in Athens was considered a citizen. At that time, many Athenian famili es owned slaves, who were often captives of war. Slaves were not considered citi zens, and, therefore, not allowed to vote, and women held a nonvoting status as citizens. During the rise of Athenian democracy during the sixth and fifth centu ries B.C., great strides were made in the fields of philosophy, history, medicin e, and the arts. It was a period of great development, especially in Athens, whe re some of the worlds most influential thinkers could be found. This era is often referred to as the Golden Age of Greece or the Golden Age of Pericles, referring to the ruler at the time. In 338 B.C., Phillip II, a ruler from Macedonia, an area in the northern part of Greece, took control of most of the Greek mainland. Phi llip and, after his death, his son, 11

Gods and Goddesses in Greek Mythology Alexander, led military campaigns to build up their empire. At the height of his power, Alexanders empire stretched as far east as India. By late in the third ce ntury B.C., however, the Roman empire was beginning to gain strength, and by the middle of the second century B.C., Greece had come under Roman control complete ly. When Rome conquered Greece, the Romans adopted many of the customs, religiou s beliefs, and myths of their new subjects. Literature The Greek myths we are familiar with today are the product of generations of sto rytelling. Many were adaptations of stories that the Greeks gleaned from other c ultures. Before about 800 B.C., when the Greek alphabet was developed, myths wer e passed down from one generation to the next by word of mouth. It was also thro ugh oral storytelling that myths and legends traveled from one part of Greece to the next, as well as to other parts of the world. However, after 800 B.C., stor ies began to be written down, including most of the tales that we now recognize as the basic core of Greek mythology.

ecause the reek alphabet is different from the one we use in nglish, scholars will differ in choosing the nglish equivalent for a reek word. or example, t he name of the god of fire may be spelled ephaistos or ephaestus, depending on the writer. n this book, we 12

   
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The Greek Alphabet and the English Equivalent: D

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have tried to spell words and names so that they sound similar to their reek eq uivalents but are also easy to read. ometime in the eighth century . ., the po et omer is thought to have composed he liad and he dyssey (although many sc holars debate his authorship). hese two epic poems contain famous stories about legendary events in reek history. he liad tells the story of the tenth year of the rojan War, which may actually have taken place around 1250 . . when the real city of roy was destroyed. he dyssey recounts the adventures of dysseu s, a legendary ruler from thaca, a real island, located off the west coast of t he reek mainland. o one knows much about omer. egend has it that he was a bl ind poet who may have lived in sia inor or on hios, one of the islands off th e coast of sia inor. ecause oral storytelling was such an important tradition before the advent of writing, omers stories may have been told for generations before they were ever written down. nother important figure at this time was a poet known as esiod, who was born around 700 . . is two surviving poems are t he heogony, which tells the story of the mythic creation of the world, and Work s and Days, which tells other important stories. hese two works tell us a lot a bout the prevailing myths surrounding the various gods and goddesses in reek le gend and religion at this time. During the time when democracy was developing in thens, literature and the arts were also prospering. heater was one of these arts. hree of thens greatest playwrights were eschylus, ophocles, and uripid es. any of the myths we know today come from their plays. or scholars today, a nother important source of reek myths is actually the work of omans. When they conquered the reeks, the omans absorbed many aspects of reek culture. he po et vid, who lived from 13



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around 43 . . to .D. 17, was both a prolific writer and an influential figure in ome. ne of his most significant contributions to modern scholarship is his fifteen-volume work called he etamorphoses, which retells the stories of many reek myths. or centuries, this text has inspired other artists and poets. eligion and ulture he ancient reeks were polytheistic, which means they believed in the existence of many gods and goddesses. group, or collection, of gods and goddesses is ca lled a pantheon, and the leader of the reek pantheon was eus, the king of the gods and ruler of the sky. he reeks believed that the gods had enormous power over the world and that they controlled nature in all its forms. he gods were o ften worshipped in temples erected in their honor. ost cities had a particular god or goddess whom they considered a special protector. thens, for example, lo oked to the goddess thena and the god oseidon as its particular protectors. h e cities also held festivals in honor of individual gods at various times of the year. t many of these festivals, poets would dramatically recite the stories o f the gods adventures. ne of the most famous festivals in the ancient reek worl d was the festival in thens honoring Dionysus, the god of wine. During the fest ivities, plays would be performed and judged in a competition, and it was during this festival that modern theater was born. he worship of the gods often inclu ded a sacrifice. sually, it was an animal, such as a goat, that was offered. h e reeks also believed in oracles, or prophets. t the temples of various gods, the priests, who could be either men or women, were often called upon to interpr et 14

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omens, such as the sighting of a certain kind of bird or the appearance of some other natural event. ne of the most famous oracles was located at Delphi where there were many important temples. eople would travel from all over the reek w orld to visit the temples and honor the gods. he gods and goddesses were a majo r part of everyday life in ancient reece, and each god had a particular role. ometimes the gods had several jobs. eus, for example, the ruler of the sky and the leader of the gods, was also a protector of guests and travelers. era, euss wife, was the goddess of marriage and childbirth. thena was the protectress of thens, but she was also the goddess of wisdom and war. oseidon was another pr otector of thens but, as the ruler of the sea, he was an important god for sail ors and those who traveled by boat. ephaestus was the god of fire, and he also served in the role of blacksmith for the gods. he reeks believed that the gods lived on ount lympus, a real mountain in the central part of reece called h essaly. owever, according to reek tradition, the gods could leave their mounta in and go anywhere. yths and legends often told of the gods taking on human for ms and walking among the people. Within the pantheon, the gods often married eac h other, and some of them had more than one spouse or partner at a time. ometim es the gods married their siblings, parents, or children. he god eus, for exam ple, had many partners other than his wife, era, who was also his sister. hrou ghout the various mythological stories, eus appears to have had more than one h undred fifteen 4 mistresses! he gods and goddesses were often paired in differe nt ways because the myths were always developing and being retold. s people beg an to believe different things about different gods, they associated the gods wi th 15

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one another in new ways. eus, as the most powerful god, often seemed to be a pa rt of all the other gods lives. hough the gods had affairs and children by many different partners, real reek marriage customs were very strict. Women were mar ried at a young age, often to men who were much older; and the marriages, at lea st in thens, were usually arranged by families based on economic needs and poli tical tactics, rather than affection. t was not socially acceptable for women t o have romantic relationships with men outside of marriage, regardless of what t he gods and goddesses were thought to do. n addition to being part of the plays and poems recited at festivals, the stories of the gods and goddesses were also frequently told at home and in schools. he following myths, therefore, were an important part of the everyday social and religious life of the ancient reeks. 16

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n this creation myth, the development of the earth coincides with a rise in the powers of the ruling gods. he first entity that ruled the universe was called haos. he word chaos literally means a wide-open space, but it can also describ e a deep cavern or chasm. he goddess aias name literally means earth or land. he n ame of aias child and husband, ranus, means sky or heaven. here is a close connect ion between these god-like figures and the physical elements suggested by their names. n this sense, then, aia is both a goddess and the earth itself, and, si milarly, ranus is both a god and the heavens. 18

    

D ost cultures have myths that help to explain the creation of the universe and t he beginning of time. ecause the origin of the universe is unknown, each cultur e has tried its best to make sense of this mystery. n important reek creation story comes to us through esiods poem, the heogony. he heogony seems to have been the earliest surviving literary version of the creation of the earth and th e birth of the gods in the reek pantheon. n the heogony, esiod appeals to th e uses, the patronesses of the arts, for inspiration and wisdom as he begins to relate the succession of gods and the story of creation. nvoking the uses help was a common way for poets to begin their work: ell how at the first gods and earth came to be, and rivers, and the boundless s ea with its raging swell, and the gleaming stars, and the wide heaven above, and the gods who were born of them, givers of good things, and how they divided the ir wealth, and how they shared their honors amongst them. . . . hese things dec lare to me from the beginning, you uses who dwell in the house of lympus, 1 an d tell me which of them first came to be.

  

efore there was land or sea, people or gods, nothing existed, except haos. ha os was a space of neither order nor disorder. During haoss reign, there was no o rganization of any kind in the universe. here was no sun or moon. here were no mountains or rivers, nor any such features on earth. n fact, there was no eart h at all. t was a period of vast emptiness. ven time did not exist. ventually , haos divided itself into the earth, the sky, and the sea. When the division w as complete, everything was peaceful and perfect. fter haos divided into the e arth, sky, and sea, one goddess came into being without being born to any mother . er name was aia, which means earth, and she took control over the earth as i t took shape. ountains became separate from the plains, and rivers and oceans w ere formed. ike an artist at a canvas, aia was busy creating a beautiful maste rpiece. oon, however, the goddess began to long for children to help populate a nd rule this magnificent new world. aias desire for children was so great that e ventually she became pregnant by herself. he child she bore was named ranus, a nd he became the ruler of the sky. n every way, ranus was the equal of his mot her, and soon aia and ranus had children together. 19

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aias first three children were monsters, called the undred-handed nes. hey we re giants, and each had fifty heads and a hundred hands. lthough aia loved her children and was proud of them, ranus was afraid that someday one of these chi ldren would overthrow him. ecause of this fear, ranus hated the children and f orced them back into aias womb. fter the hundred-handed monsters had been born and were pushed back into their mothers womb, aia gave birth to three more monst rous children. hese were giants called the yclopes. ach had but a single eye, which was positioned directly in the middle of his forehead. lthough they were frightening to look at, these young gods were exceedingly strong, and they were excellent craftsmen who made thunder and lightning for

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reation their mother to use as tools and weapons. nfortunately, ranus was afraid of th ese children, too. o, in order to get rid of them, ranus tied the yclopes up and threw them into a deep cavern called artarus. artarus was far, far away, a nd ranus felt safe in believing that he would never see these monster-children again. addened by the loss of the undred-handed nes and the yclopes, and ang ry at the cruel ranus, aia gave birth to a third group of children. hese were called the itans, and there were twelve of themsix goddesses and six gods. hey were very different from their older siblings. he itans were beings with huma n characteristics, and they were not monsters at all. he goddesses names were e thys, heia, nemosyne, hea, hemis, and hoebe. 21

 

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he gods names were ceanus, yperion, apetus, ronus, rius, and oeus. ranus was still afraid that one day one of his children would overthrow him. ecause o f this fear, he pushed the itans back into aias womb alongside their siblings, the undred-handed nes. aia was enraged by ranuss refusal to allow her childre n to live freely. he desperately wanted her children to live without restraints and to enjoy the world. inally, she came up with a plan that would allow her c hildren to be born into the world and remain there. aia could speak to the chil dren in her cavernous womb, and she had no trouble convincing them to help with her plan. ronus, the youngest of the twelve itans, was the most eager to help his mother. o, the two set out to trick ranus and free the itans and the und redhanded nes from their mothers prison-like womb. ronus and aia waited for th e perfect opportunity to enact their plan. inally, one night, when ranus came to aias bed, ronus crept out of aias womb and stabbed his cruel father with a s ickle, a curved knife used to harvest crops. s ranus lay dying, his fears of b eing overthrown by one of his children having come true, ranus leaned forward a nd cursed his son: ronus, he pronounced, gasping for breath, it will come to pass that one of your children will do to you what you have just done to me. hen, wit h a final shudder, ranus died, a look of anger and betrayal in his eyes. fter ranus died, aia and her children felt free for the first time. he itans and the undred-handed nes were reborn from their mothers womb, and the yclopes wer e freed from artarus. ll of aias children decided to make ronus their king. ronus married his sister, the itan named hea, and ruled over the universe for a long, peaceful time. 22

 

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: : : : : : : : : :

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D W : : What existed before the earth was formed? haos is the name for the empty space that existed before the earth, the sky, and the sea were formed. haos was a spa ce of neither order nor disorder. Who was aia? aia was the first goddess to ex ist after the division of haos. er name means earth, and she gave the earth all its attributes. ow was ranus related to aia? ranus was aias son, who became the ruler of the sky. ranus was also the father of aias other children. e did not have a father himself. Why did ranus hate all of the children aia bore him ? e was afraid that one day, one of his children would overthrow him. What was unique about aias first children, and what happened to them? aias first children were monsters. ach undredhanded ne had fifty heads and a hundred hands. ran us pushed these three children back into their mothers womb. Who were aias second children, and what happened to them? hree yclopes were born after their hundr ed-handed siblings. ach yclopes had a single eye set in the middle of his fore head. he yclopes were strong, and they were excellent craftsmen. ranus locked them in a deep cavern called artarus. 23

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Who were aias third set of children, and what happened to them? aias youngest ch ildren were the itans who had characteristics similar to humans. ranus pushed these twelve children back into aias womb with the undred-handed nes. Who was ronus, and how did he save the itans? ronus was the youngest of all aias chil dren, one of the itans. e killed his father, ranus, with a sickle. y committ ing the act, ronus was able to set the gods free from their mothers womb. What w as ranuss final curse? s he was dying, ranus cursed ronus, predicting that on e day, one of ronuss children would rise up and overthrow him, just as ronus ha d overthrown ranus. : : : :

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he myths of the gods and goddesses were as important in reek society as religi on itself. ost people were familiar with these stories, and many could even rec ite them in their entirety. cholar ucilla urn notes: reek myths permeated reek life, private and public. n the well-documented soc iety of thens in the fifth century . ., for example, it is clear that a major part of education was learning and reciting epic poems on heroic subjects. uest s at drinking parties might entertain each other by reciting stories from myths, or they might listen to a professional performer, who would sing of the deeds o f heroes while accompanying himself on the lyre. rivate homes contained pottery vessels decorated with scenes from the adventures of the gods and heroes; these same vessels accompanied their owners to the grave. cenes of myth 2 could also be woven into fine textiles. lthough there are many stories about the first generation of gods, in many ways they still remain a mystery to modern scholars. he author of he ses of reek ythology, en Dowden, explains: he itans are a puzzle. We do not know where their name comes from and individu ally they are a rag-bag of persons, abstractions and even monsters. nyone born of eaven and arth, rather than from [ ronus] and hea like the lympian 3 gods , must apparently on that account be a itan. he story of the first immortal generation may have been symbolic of some kind o f agricultural or fertility activity among the early reeks. n his book reek ythology, John insent suggests: or ranus is cut with the sickle, an instrument which however well suited for t he purpose may legitimately suggest that the story has been also influenced by s tories of the 4 annual sacrifice of the corn or its representative. 25

      

   

      
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D ometimes real places are named in a myth. ount lympus, for example, is a real mountain in the central part of reece, not far from the egean ea. When ount lympus is referred to in myths, however, it becomes more than a mere geographi cal site. t becomes the home of the lympians, the generation of gods who succe eded the itans. hese two generations of gods eventually became rivals, fightin g a great war for power over the universe. he winners claimed ount lympus as their home. lthough there is an actual mountain, in these stories, ount lympu s is a mythical place that humans cannot visit. t is a place outside real time and space. ount lympus is not the same as lympia, a town in the western part of the eloponnesus. ike ount lympus, lympia was named for the lympian gods . here were important shrines in lympia, an area which 1 was settled even as e arly as the third millennium . . he first lympic ames were probably held the re sometime in the eighth century . ., although they seem to have been 2 a carr yover from an earlier tradition. he purpose of the games was thought to be a ki nd of reenactment of the rivalry between the lympian gods and the itans, and a commemoration of the triumph of the lympian gods over the itans in their war. During the lympic ames, quarrels were supposed to be set aside in order that athletes be allowed to take part in peaceful competition. lthough people did no t believe that the gods took an interest in their individual lives, they often w ent to the temples to ask the gods for insight and help. lympia was an importan t site in this respect. ccording to ark . . orford and obert J. enardon, professors of reek 27

 

 

      

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mythology, the gods were thought to send humans messages in the form of natural signs or omens, which were then interpreted by priests at the shrines of the var ious gods: he traditional methods for eliciting a response from [ eus] were by the observa tion and interpretation of omens, for example, the rustling of leaves, the sound of the wind in the branches of his sacred oaks, the call of doves, and the cond ition of burnt offerings. t lympia inquiries were usually 3 confined to the ch ances of the competitors at the games. he story about the war between the itans and the lympians is a vital one in reek mythology. n this myth, we learn that even the evolution of the immortal g ods was wrought with conflict. othing came easy for the lympian gods, but, alt hough the odds were stacked against them, they never gave up. s was also true i n the daily lives of the reek people, perseverance was an important qualityso im portant that it was central to their stories and their religious beliefs. 28

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W W D fter the death of ranus, the world was at peace again. ronus, the king of the itans, and hea, his most noble sister and wife, had matters well in hand. nf ortunately, the curse of his father, ranus, haunted ronus day and night. Was i t possible that one day he, too, would have a child who would overthrow him? ne day, hea announced that she was going to have a baby, but her husband was not happy. ronus was so afraid that history would repeat itself that he did, in fac t, manage to repeat history. ike his father before him, ronus reasoned that if he could keep his children from growing up, none could ever become strong enoug h to overpower him. o, when hea gave birth to her first child, ronus quickly grabbed it and swallowed it whole. hea was both horrified and saddened at the l oss of her firstborn child. n a similar manner, ronus swallowed all of the nex t four children that she gave birth to, and hea vowed to get them back, any way she could. y the time hea discovered that she was pregnant for the sixth time , she had figured out a plan to trick her husband and save the newborn child fro m being swallowed whole. o, when it was nearly time for her to 29

 

     

            

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give birth, hea pretended to have her baby. he took a large stone and wrapped it in a babys blanket. When ronus came to gobble down the newborn child, hea ga ve him the wrapped-up stone. uickly, ronus swallowed the stone, just as he had swallowed the other children. n fact, ronuss focus on swallowing the newborn g od was so great that he did not even realize that he had been tricked. ater, wh en the time came for hea actually to have her child, she fled to the island of rete. here, away from the glaring eyes of her husband, hea secretly gave birt h to a son, whom she named eus. e was a beautiful and strong baby, and hea kn ew that when he grew up, he would be a truly powerful god. hea realized that sh e could not return home to her husband with the child. ronus would only try to destroy the newborn god, as he had done with the others. herefore, for his prot ection, hea left eus to grow up secretly on rete where he was suckled by a go at and raised by minor native deities called nymphs. While eus was a child, ro nus never suspected that he had been tricked and that he actually had a stone re sting solidly in his stomach. When he had grown into a young man, eus left ret e to join his mother. hea arranged for eus to become a servant to his father. ronus did not know that his new servant was actually his son. ne day, eus bro ught his father a cup of wine, which ronus drank quickly. his cup of wine cont ained a special potion, which made ronus throw up. ronus was so violently ill that he even threw up the stone wrapped in a blanket. hen he threw up all of th e children he had swallowed before. he children emerged from their fathers stoma ch as fully grown adults. heir names were oseidon, ades, era, Demeter, and estia. hese were euss brothers and sisters, and they were all 30

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glad to see each other in the light of day. lthough they were happy to be free, the six siblings knew they must do something immediately, or their father would swallow them all over again. uickly, they ran away while their father continue d to moan and clutch his stomach. his young generation of gods fled to ount l ympus to escape their irate father, and because they claimed ount lympus as th eir home, the young gods were called the lympians. fter they had fled to safet y, the lympians quickly formed a plan. t once, they declared war on ronus and many of the other itans. he young gods wanted to rule the world in their fath ers place. et their struggle had a dual purpose: while they were fighting for co ntrol over the earth, they were also fighting for their lives, since they knew t hat ronus would swallow them again if he ever got the chance. nd so a great wa r began. t first, it seemed likely that the itans would be victorious and rema in in control of the earth. he young lympian gods felt outnumbered and overpow ered. he tide began to turn, however, when a few itans changed sides and fough t with eus and his siblings. rometheus, the son of the itans hemis and apet us, was one who switched his allegiance. rometheuss name means one who thinks ahe ad, and with his ability to see the future he could foresee that the itans would lose the battle against the lympian gods. rometheus and his brother pimetheu s refused to fight against the lympians because of this foresight. he yclopes and the undred-handed nes also joined the lympians in their fight against th e itans. hey did not feel bound to the itans, and they believed that the lym pian gods would rule with steadier hands. eus asked the one-eyed yclopes to ma ke weapons for his army, and these skilled craftsmen made a special weapon 32

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for each of the gods. or eus, the leader, the yclopes fashioned a special thu nderbolt, which could be thrown long distances with great force. or oseidon, t hey created a magnificent trident, or three-pronged spear, which could defeat an y enemy. inally, knowing that resistance came in many forms, the yclopes made ades a magic helmet that could make him invisible, even to the immortal eyes of ronus and the other itans. 33

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he war between the itans and the lympians was terrible. With the help of the undred-handed nes, who fought bravely without ever tiring, the lympians soon forced the itans to surrender. fter the itans had given up, eus challenged ronus to a wrestling match. he winner would control ount lympus, to which the itans were still laying claim. fter beating ronus three times, eus declared the lympian gods to be the winners. fter the war, the lympians sent most of the itans to artarus to be locked up for eternity. he victors built a bronze gate over the mouth of the cavern, and the undred-handed nes were placed outsi de as guards. tlas, another child of apetus and hemis, who had led the itans into battle, received a special punishment. e was forced to hold the world on his back for all eternity. his turned out to be a far more challenging task tha n imprisonment in artarus. ronus, the former ruler of the universe, was not se nt to artarus with his siblings. hough ronus had swallowed his children whole , eus and the other lympians did not want to destroy him in revenge. nstead, ronus was sent away to live on the sland of the Dead, where he stayed forever. lthough originally he had wanted to destroy the lympian gods, ronus, once de feated and exiled, sent dreams to his son eus to guide him from afar. fter all the punishments were handed out, eus, ades, and oseidon made a bet to determ ine who would rule each part of the world. ades became the lord of the dead and the nderworld, which was sometimes called ades in his honor. oseidon gained control of the seas and all the waters on earth. eus became the lord of the sky ; and since the sky covers everything on earth, he became the king, or father, o f the gods. 34

  

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fter these important decisions were made, the other lympian gods were also giv en jobs. Demeter became the goddess of agriculture and of all growing things. e stia became the goddess of the hearth, or fireplace, and the home. era, too, pr otected the home and became the goddess of marriage and childbirth after she mar ried her brother, eus. nce the lympians had defeated the itans and taken on their new roles, they, too, had children. ome of these gods were born under rat her extraordinary circumstances. thena, for example, was born out of the side o f euss head. he became the goddess of wisdom and the protector of thens. era became pregnant on her own and gave birth to ephaestus. ephaestus was the god of fire and became the blacksmith of the gods. res was the child of era and e us, and he became the god of war. pollo, the god of light and music, and his tw in sister, rtemis, the maiden goddess of the hunt, were the children of eto, w ho was the daughter of the itans hoebe and oeus. he goddess of love and beau ty, phrodite, had an unusual birth: she was born out of the waves of the sea. ermes was another son of eus. is mother was aia, one of the daughters of tla s. ermes grew very quickly, and he was swift-footed, even as a baby. ater, he became the official messenger of the gods because he was so fast. e was often d epicted with wings on his hat and sandals, and because he was always moving abou t, he was a particular protector of travelers. hese gods and others lived on o unt lympus after their victory over the itans. rom the height of this great m ountain, the new rulers could look down on all of reece and keep watch over the world, for the control of which they had fought so hard. 35

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D W : : Why was ronus afraid of his children? ronus feared that one of his children wo uld rise up and overthrow him, just as he had done to his own father. ranus had cursed ronus, predicting that history would repeat itself. ow did ronus get rid of his children? e swallowed them whole. Why and how did hea trick her hus band? hea was angry and upset at ronuss practice of devouring their children, s o she planned a trick for him. When it came time for ronus to grab the sixth ne wborn child, hea gave him a large stone wrapped in a babys blanket. ecause he d id not expect the trick, ronus swallowed the stone, blanket and all. What kind of weapons did the yclopes make for the lympian gods? ome of the weapons that the yclopes made were a thunderbolt for eus, a trident for oseidon, and a ma gic helmet for ades. ow did the lympian gods punish the itans? he lympian gods locked most of them away in the cavern called artarus. he undred-handed nes stood guard over this prison. he lympians also set tlas to work holding the world on his shoulders. e received this punishment because he had led the itans in battle. 36

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What happened to ronus? he lympians did not utterly destroy ronus. nstead, they sent him to the sland of the Dead where he lived for eternity. ow did ro nus wind up helping his son eus? rom his exile on the sland of the Dead, ron us sent dreams of advice to his son. ow did eus, ades, and oseidon divide up the control of the universe? eus became the king, or father, of the gods and r uled the sky. ades became the ruler of the nderworld, or the land of the dead. oseidon gained control of the seas and all the waters on the earth. hey deter mined these roles through a bet. : : : :

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any words in nglish can be traced to the reek language. owever, because many reek words sound alike to the foreign ear, sometimes they are easily confused. cholar ichmond . athorn explains: ven in pre-classical times the name of ronus seems to have been confused with the reek word chronos, time. erhaps the gods connection with the year-cycle contr ibuted to the confusion. he result was a spate [stream] of poetical and philoso phical speculation. ronus swallowing his children was not merely, on the agricu ltural level, a picture of the fertile earth engulfing the seeds, but a statemen t 4 of the grim truth that ime devours everything it produces. he names of places were often taken from the names of the gods. uthor John in sent writes: tlas stood in the west in the sea that is beyond cean, and 5 is called tlanti c after him. . . .

he scholars orford and enardon suggest the blending, or assimilation, of diff erent sets of beliefs and traditions in shaping the myths: When the inhabitants of rete began to build their great civilization and empire (ca. 3000), the religion they developed (insofar as we can ascertain) was edit erranean in character, looking back to earlier astern concepts of a mother-godd ess. he northern invaders who entered the peninsula of reece (ca. 2000), bring ing with them an early form of reek and their own gods (chief of whom was eus) , built a significant ycenaean civilization on the mainland, but it was strongl y influenced by the older, more sophisticated power of rete. he myth of the bi rth of eus reads very much like an attempt to link by geography and 6 genealogy the religion and deities of both cultures. 38

      

        

   

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D any of the myths show the gods acting in response to something a human has said or done. owever, in their daily lives, and in the practice of ancient reek re ligion, the people remained distinctly aloof from the gods. n fact, the people did not believe the gods loved themand, in return, they did not feel compelled to love the gods back. he people simply accepted the gods as all powerful and 1 u nderstood that their power was never to be questioned. ome of the stories about the creation of mankind show the gulf that lay between the mortals and their he avenly counterparts. ne of these stories involves rometheus and his brother p imetheus. hese brothers were sons of itans who had crossed sides and fought ag ainst their relatives in the war between the itans and the lympians. rometheu ss name means the one who thinks ahead, and he behaved as his name suggests, often making wise and anticipatory decisions. pimetheuss name, on the other hand, mean s the one who thinks afterwards, and he, too, behaved according to his name. rome theus was an important figure in the mythical development of the earth and the c reation of human beings. he reeks believed it was rometheus who had taught th em how to survive in the newly created world. owever, in trying to help the hum ans, rometheus got into trouble with the gods. ventually, the gods punished r ometheus by tying him to a rock on the top of a mountain. he aucasus ountains that are mentioned in the story are real, geographical mountains, located to th e east of the lack ea, far away from the reek mainland.

D fter the world was created and the gods had fought their wars, the land that la y below ount lympus remained unpopulated, even though aia, the first goddess, had long yearned to make creatures to inhabit the earth. inally, eus decided it was time. t was a good time to be created. o monsters roamed the earth, and the world was at peace. eus began to make creatures to populate this beautiful world. owever, just as he was beginning, he was called away to settle a matter dividing his fellow lympians. e decided to appoint rometheus and pimetheus, sons of itans who had fought with the lympians, to continue the project of cr eating earths first inhabitants. lthough the brothers were itans by birth, they had sided with the lympians in the war against ronus and the other itans bec ause, blessed with the gift of being able to see the future, rometheus had fore seen the lympian victory. rometheus was the more sensible of the two brothers, and he always planned ahead. pimetheus, on the other hand, always meant well, but he never planned ahead. pimetheus never thought about the consequences of h is actions until after he had completed them. 41

            

      

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eus had chosen these brothers for the project of creating the first people and animals on earth because rometheus was an excellent potter and sculptor. romet heus could make just about anything, and he had a good imagination. pimetheus w as invited to work on the project because he was always eager to help his brothe r. ecause eus had only just started to make the various earth creatures, the b rothers had a lot of work ahead of them. fter using clay to sculpt the new crea tures into their basic shapes, rometheus went to thena, the goddess of wisdom, for advice on how to complete the work. pimetheus stayed behind to give the un finished creations their final distinguishing features. thenas advice was simple . he told rometheus that since the creatures were already composed of earth an d water, having been fashioned from clay, the only element lacking for life was air. o, thena advised rometheus to hold each of the newly shaped creatures up to the sky. When the wind blew into them, she promised, they would breathe and be truly alive. eanwhile, pimetheus continued to work. e enjoyed showing off his creative powers and granted a wide variety of interesting physical attribute s to all the different creatures. pimetheus gave some of them fur and hair, whi ch would protect them from the elements. e gave others teeth and claws so that they could easily collect and eat food. n addition, he gave some of the creatur es strength and speed. When rometheus returned from his talk with thena, he fo und that once again, his brother had acted before thinking. pimetheus had been so excited about designing the new animals and so generous with his creative pow ers that he had completely forgotten to save any special gifts for the human bei ngs. y the time the sculptor had gotten 42

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around to the humans, he had run out of ideas. hey were left weak and defensele ss, and they would have remained so forever if rometheus had not stepped in. n ce he realized that his brother had created a species unable to stand on its own in the new world, rometheus set forth to fix the mistake and make human beings strong and capable of surviving among earths other inhabitants. irst, rometheu s decided to help the humans stand upright like the gods. e turned their heads upward to the sky. his adjustment gave them the power to reason. hen he raced to the heavens where he lit a torch, using the fire of the sun. e used this fir e to light up the new creatures powers of thought and speech. hese special power s helped set the humans apart from the other animals. t first, the gods approve d of rometheuss work. hey were glad to see that there was a species on earth th at had the ability to think and speak. ut rometheus was still not satisfied. e saw that pimetheuss poor planning had left the new humans physically weak comp ared to the other inhabitants of the earth. hey were hungry, sad, and scared. inally, to help the humans, rometheus left ount lympus and went to live on ea rth with the people, in order to teach them the skills they would need to surviv e in the new world. irst, rometheus showed the humans how to build houses so t hey would not have to live in caves. hen he taught them how to read, and how to write numbers and letters. e helped the people learn how to tame animals and h ow to sail on the seas. e showed them how to heal themselves when they were sic k. fter he had shown the people how to foretell the future and recognize omens by looking at the way birds flew, some of the other gods became impressed by the new people. hey decided to help, too. Demeter, the lympian earth goddess, tau ght the 43

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new race of creatures about edible plants. With this help, the humans had better access to food, and they began to prosper and live happily for the first time. lthough some of the gods were excited about the development of the humans, othe r gods were beginning to worry that the humans were becoming too powerful. owev er, despite the growing concerns of his fellow gods, rometheus was so pleased w ith his creations that he decided to help the humans even more. ntil this time, humans were only allowed to slaughter other animals if they were performing a s acrifice to the gods. hey ate only the plants that Demeter instructed them to e at. rometheus could see that the humans would probably need to eat the meat of other animals to survive. o rometheus came up with a plan. irst, he cut up an ox, as if for a sacrifice. hen, he divided the sections into two piles. n one pile, rometheus wrapped up the bones of the ox and hid them under shiny morsel s of fat. his pile looked like the more attractive offering in a sacrifice. or the other pile, rometheus took the lean meat and other edible parts of the ox and wrapped them in hide, topping the pile with entrails to make the offering lo ok disgusting. nce this was done, rometheus asked eus to choose one of the tw o piles and keep it as the sacrificial offering; the humans would take whichever pile eus rejected. ot knowing that the good meat was actually hidden beneath the hide and entrails, eus chose the pile shimmering with fat. nce eus had ma de his choice, he had to stick with it, even after he discovered that he had cho sen a pile with no edible meat in it. rom then on, people offered the fat and b ones of animals to the gods, and they kept the savory parts of the animals for t hemselves. eus was outraged that rometheus had tricked him, but he decided to save his revenge for later. 44

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his was not the only trick rometheus played on the lympian gods for the sake of the humans. ince the new race of creatures had no fur, they were often cold, and even though they were now allowed to eat meat, they had no way to cook it. uman beings did not know about fire or how to control it because, until this po int, fire belonged only to the gods. rometheus decided to change things. e wen t up to heaven and secretly stole fire from the gods. iding the fire inside the stalk of a fennel plant, rometheus brought it back to the people on earth. he n he taught the people how to cook grains and meat, and how to keep fire burning so that it would always be available. rometheus also showed the humans how the y could use fire to forge metal, just as ephaestus, the god of fire and the for ge, was doing on ount lympus. rometheus did all these things to help the huma ns because he wanted them to survive in the world now populated by other, more p hysically powerful creatures. nfortunately, rometheuss efforts angered some of the other gods. he new people were getting too powerful and too smart. eus tho ught they needed to be stopped before they believed their own powers were suprem e and they no longer heeded the authority of the gods. urthermore, eus was fur ious with rometheus for all his tricks. o punish rometheus for tricking the k ing of the gods and for making humans so powerful, eus had him captured and cha ined to a rock on the crest of one of the aucasus ountains. very day, an enor mous eagle came to the spot where rometheus was tied. he eagle was fierce and relentless, and each day it swooped down and pecked away at rometheuss liver, de vouring the greater part of it. ecause rometheus was immortal, his liver grew back every night, and he never died. Despite this 45

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intense torture, he endured the punishment for thirty years until ercules came and freed him. nfortunately, punishing only rometheus did not satisfy euss des ire for revenge. he king of the gods had other plans that would affect the enti re human race, and it was a punishment that would last forever. 47

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D W : : : : What are the meanings of the names rometheus and pimetheus? rometheus means th e one who thinks ahead. pimetheus means the one who thinks afterwards. What job we re rometheus and pimetheus given, and why were they chosen for this honor? ro metheus and pimetheus were given the job of finishing the creation of earths fir st inhabitants. hey were chosen for the job because rometheus was an excellent potter and sculptor, and he had a good imagination. pimetheus was reliable and could be counted on to help his brother. What element did thena advise rometh eus to add to the creatures? thena explained that since eus had used clay when he began to make the creatures, they were already made of earth and water, two essential elements. he told rometheus that the only element the creatures lack ed was air; when the creatures were held up in the wind, they would breathe and become alive. ow did pimetheus fail to think ahead in completing earths creatur es? pimetheus gave all the qualities of power and strength to other animals. o me of them were given wings, claws, teeth, and fur for protection and to help th em survive. umans were left defenseless, with no special gifts. 48

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ow did rometheus help make humans capable of surviving in the new world? irst he helped humans stand upright so they could turn their heads up toward the sky . e gave humans souls and the power to think and speak. rometheus also taught humans skills like building, reading and writing, and medicine. rometheus trick ed the other gods into allowing humans to eat meat. inally, he gave humans fire and showed them how to use it. Why were the gods angry at rometheus for giving humans fire? he gods feared humans would become too wise and too powerful. he y were afraid that the people might be able to compete with the gods. ow did e us punish rometheus? e chained rometheus to the top of one of the aucasus o untains, where every day an eagle devoured most of his liver. : : : :

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euss method of punishing rometheus for helping the humans seems excessively cru el to our modern sensibilities. owever, arry . owell, a professor at the ni versity of Wisconsin, explains that it would have been a punishment familiar to people in ancient reek society: his method of punishment actually existed: Vicious criminals were taken to the boundaries of a territory, stripped naked, nailed to a post, and allowed to die miserably, when 2 eaters of carrion [dead meat] consumed their flesh. . . .

lthough esiod and many other poets had told this story earlier, the myth of r ometheus and his punishment was immortalized in the fifth century . . by the t henian dramatist, eschylus, in his play rometheus ound. hrough these early w riters, rometheus became known as mankinds greatest helper. ven today, he is of ten referred to as the symbolic father of creativity. ark . . orford and o bert J. enardon write: undamental to both esiod and eschylus is the conception of eus as the oppres sor of humankind and rometheus as its benefactor. n eschylus the clash of div ine wills echoes triumphantly through the ages. is portrait, more than any othe r, offers the towering image of rometheus as the itan, the bringer of fire, th e vehement and weariless champion against oppression, the mighty 3 symbol for ar t, literature, and music of all time. 50

 

 

 

     

 
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D n ancient thenian society, women lived very difficult lives. hey had no econo mic or political independence, and even in the home, women were treated as infer ior and often lived in a special part of the house known as the womens quarters. irls were not formally educated like their brothers. hey lived in their fathers house until they married as young teenagers, at which time they moved to their husbands home. hey did not speak to men outside the intimate circle of family me mbers. When thens became a democracy at the start of the fifth century . ., wo men could not vote. Despite the fact that thenian women were not offered equal opportunities in their society, women often play important, and sometimes menaci ng, roles in reek mythology. t is a contradiction then that, in both myth and reality, women were expected to be virtuous and good; at the same time, however, it was commonly believed that they were devious and wicked beneath their noble faade. n mythology, andora was the first human woman, and her story may represe nt the contradictory issues associated with reek women. ephaestus, the god of fire and the forge, created andora at euss command. eus intended her to be a f orm of punishment for the newly created human males. eus and some of the other gods wanted to put the humans back in their place after their powers had been so greatly enhanced by rometheus. o achieve the gods ends, andora is endowed wit h many gifts, among them great beauty and charm. he gods also give her a gift t hat will ultimately set free all the evils in the worldan ornate box, or a jar, d epending on the version of 52

   

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the tale. Despite her own good intentions, the first female causes much grief an d pain for mankind. he story of andora and her intriguing but destructive box comes to us through esiods heogony. andora is a figure who has been interprete d in many different ways. uch of the contradiction surrounding this famous myth ological character is thought to come from esiods understanding, or misunderstan ding, of her name. ythology scholar ichmond . athorn explains, he name ando ra does not mean she who was endowed with all gifts [as in esiods version of the s tory] but rather she who is giver of all, and as such it was an epithet 1 [name] o f the earth-goddess.

 

D eus was furious. rometheus had tricked him, and the king of the gods wanted re venge. e also wanted to remind the humans that they would never be as powerful as the gods. o far, there were only men in the human population. Women did not yet exist, although certainly there were female gods, or goddesses. ntroducing women to the human race was part of euss plan for revenge. irst, eus went to t he forge of ephaestus and asked him to design a human being that would be femal e. arefully, eus explained that she should be like the men on earth, yet someh ow slightly different. ephaestus was happy to do eus a favor, and he went righ t to work. he god of fire and the forge was a very talented smith. verything h e made was beautiful, and his new creation was no different. When he was finishe d with the creature he showed his work to eus, who was very pleased with the re sults. he new creature was named andora. he was human, but she was clearly a woman. he was very beautiful and looked like a goddess. he had long flowing ha ir, flawless skin, and bright shining eyes. he was as graceful as a soft breeze , and she had a smile precious to see. eus hoped that her beauty would make the male humans accept and trust her. 54

fter ephaestus had put the finishing touches on the first human woman, the god s showered her with many gifts, including golden-threaded clothes, shining jewel ry, and fragrant smelling flowers. mong the gifts was a box that was covered wi th jewels, intricate carvings, and decorations. he box was very pretty, and an dora was certain that such a beautiful object must surely contain something of e qual magnificence. owever, the gods had given andora the beautiful box on one condition: he could look at it as much as she liked, but she was never to open it. andora did not understand the reasoning behind this rule, but because the b ox was so pretty, she agreed to follow the warning of the gods. oon andora wen t to live on earth with the other humans. When she got there, she met pimetheus who was living among the humans with his brother rometheus. pimetheus was ove rwhelmed by andoras dazzling beauty, and he fell in love with her instantly. ro metheus, aware of his brothers infatuation with andora, became suspicious that eus and the other lympians were planning a trick. rometheus warned his brother to be wary of any gift sent to earth by the lympian gods. s usual, pimetheus did not listen to his brother. e was very much in love with andora, and despi te his brothers warning, he married the wonderful new creature and brought her to his home. pimetheus never thought to ask his new bride about the beautiful box she always carried with her. he couple lived very happily after their marriage . very day, andora would lovingly admire her beautiful box, but she obeyed the order of the gods and never opened it. oon, however, looking at the box was no t enough. er curiosity became stronger and stronger, and finally one day she co uld no longer resist the urge to open the box, regardless of the consequences. 5 5

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When andora opened the box and discovered what was hidden inside its beautiful exterior, she knew at once that euss revenge had been accomplished. nside the m agnificent box were all the evil spirits known to the gods. ow that the lid was open, they all quickly flew out. orrow, hunger, anger, disease, madness, and a hundred other horrible conditions filled andoras room and, like smoke, they esc aped out into the world to plague mankind for the rest of time. s the evils swa rmed around her, andora became frightened. s quickly as she could, she slammed shut the lid of the box, but andora realized that it was too late to regret no t having obeyed the gods. heir revenge was final. owever, andora noticed that one spirit still remained in her box. his was the spirit of hope. oon, when t hey felt the effects of the various plagues and evil spirits that had flown out from andoras box, the people on earth understood that their time of peace had en ded. he people recognized the power of the gods revenge, and understood that for ces existed that were stronger than their own modest powers. rom that time on, the people vowed to do their best to keep from angering the gods any further and were comforted by the fact that hope was safe in andoras box. he knowledge tha t hope had not been destroyed gave the people faith that peace would return some day. 57

 

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D W : : : : Why did eus want revenge against the humans? e feared that with rometheuss hel p the people on earth had become too smart and powerful. Who was andora and how was she created? andora was the worlds first woman. ephaestus, the blacksmith god and expert craftsman, made her at the request of eus. eus wanted to use a ndora to punish the humans who were, until that point, all men. What did the god s give andora? hey gave her many wonderful gifts, like beauty, grace, lavish c lothes, and fragrant flowers. hey also gave her a beautiful box covered with je wels and intricate carvings. t was filled with every conceivable kind of evil. What warning did the gods give andora? he gods warned her never to open the bo x they had given her. Why did andora open the box? er curiosity had grown too strong. What happened when andora opened the box? vils of every kind, like sor row, hunger, anger, pain, disease, and madness flew out of the box and into the world, where they plagued mankind for all time. What remained in the box? ope r emained in the box.

n the story of andora, human curiosity is a key ingredient. andoras box has co me to represent the temptations of curious minds, but there is also much confusi on regarding the contents of the box. orford and enardon write: Details in the story of andora are disturbing in their tantalizing ambiguity [l ack of clarity]. What is ope doing in the jar [or box] along with countless evi ls? f it is a good, it is a curious inclusion. f it too is an evil, why is it stopped at the rim? What then is its precise nature, whether a blessing or a cur se? s ope the one thing that enables human beings to survive the terrors of th is life and inspires them with lofty ambition? et is it also by its very charac ter delusive and 2 blind, luring them on to prolong their misery? he story of andora and her role in the gods revenge against mankind suggests th at women were considered a mixed blessing in ancient reek society. arry . ow ell recognizes this apparent misogyny, or hatred of women, as it is presented in esiods version of the story: odern readers are struck by the virulence [extreme bitterness] of esiods attack on women, although it is not different in message from the biblical story of v e. he roots of misogyny are varied and not easily understood, especially in an age when womens rights are a prominent political issue. . . . mong the reeks, h owever, misogyny seems to be based not so much on primitive magical terror, or e conomic resentment as in esiods surly complaint, as on a male resentment of the institution of monogamy [marriage with one partner] itself. reek myth is obsess ed with hostile relations between the sexes, especially between married couples. n reading such passages we need to remember that, with only minor exceptions, ancient literature was composed by males for males in an environment 3 ruled by males (as was the ible).

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D Demeter, the daughter of the itans ronus and hea, was one of the first lympi an gods. fter the war between the lympians and the itans, Demeter became an i mportant goddess of agriculture. er name meant earth mother or grain mother. With eus, her brother, Demeter had a daughter named ersephone who was also called o re, which means maiden. he people of ancient reece prayed to Demeter for healthy crops and abundant harvests. he was often associated with Dionysus, the god of wine, who was also worshipped at harvest time. eople thought that it was Demet er who allowed vegetation to grow in the spring, summer, and part of the fall, a nd to die in the winter. When the ground was fertile and the grains grew success fully, Demeter seemed like a kind goddess; but when winter came, or when there w as a drought, people thought she must be angry or upset. er followers prayed th at she would always be happy and therefore kind to the earth. n one of the most important myths about Demeter, her beloved daughter ersephone is abducted, or kidnapped, by ades, the lord of the nderworld. ades, another lympian god, wa s an important figure in reek mythology: e was the ruler of the dead and of un seen ghosts. During the war against the itans, the yclopes had given ades a h elmet that made him invisible; even his name seems to come from the reek word m eaning the unseen. lthough ades played an extremely significant role in reek re ligion, he was considered an unlucky god to invoke. hus, not many religious cer emonies were dedicated to him, and he had few individual followers. s the ruler of the world under the earth, ades was 61

 

   

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thought to give the earth richness in the form of crops; at the same time, he wa s respected and feared as the governor of the dead. ecause of his connection to the earth, ades is appropriately connected to Demeter and ersephone, two godd esses who were thought to control the fertility of the land and the abundance of the harvest. ntil the fourth century .D., the greatest temples to Demeter cou ld be found in leusis, a town located near the sea not far from thens. very a utumn, there were festivals to honor Demeter in leusis, and they were some of t he most famous celebrations in the ancient world. nfortunately, no one knows ex actly what went on at these festivals because they were kept secret. oday the f estivals are known as the leusinian ysteries. he people who took part in the ceremonies, called initiates, were sworn to secrecy about the sacred rites that we re performed. any scholars believe that the main purpose of the leusinian yst eries was to thank the goddess for the 1 harvest and to pray to her for continue d bounty. he infertility of winter and its resulting hardships were undoubtedly a great mystery to the ancient reeks. he myth of Demeter and her daughter er sephone is one way that the people of ancient reece came to explain this inhosp itable season. 62

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D D Demeter and eus had a daughter named ersephone. With two powerful gods as pare nts, it is not surprising that the little girl grew up to be a beautiful maiden. er mother loved the child more than anything else in the world and cringed at the idea of ever being apart from her. fter she had grown up and become a young woman, ersephones beauty caught the eye of ades, the ruler of the nderworld. ades fell in love at the very first sight of her. e knew he wanted to marry no one else. vercome with love, ades went to eus, his brother and ersephones fa ther. e said, rother, am in love with your daughter, ersephone. et me have your consent to marry her. will make her the queen of my kingdom in the nderw orld. eus thought that ades would be a good husband for ersephone. ades was a fair and powerful god. owever, eus also knew that Demeter would never allow h er daughter to marry ades and go to live far away in the nderworld. f the mai den were to marry ades, the mother and daughter would be separated indefinitely . eus also knew that Demeter, the goddess of growth and fertility, would never wish her daughter to live in the stark, 63

 

          

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bleak world of the dead where nothing ever grew. lthough he was king of the god s, eus was wary of Demeters powerful influence over all the things that blossome d on earth. e did not want to upset her. eus pondered his dilemma for quite so me time. e wanted to please his brother and allow the marriage, but he did not wish to cause a conflict with Demeter. inally, eus found a clever way to grant his brothers request without actually saying so. arefully wording his response, eus said, rother, cannot approve of a marriage between you and ersephone. e us was telling ades that although he could not officially approve the marriage, he was not forbidding it 64

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Demeter and ersephone either. ades understood euss intention. e realized that eus was encouraging h im to mary ersephone without her parents blessing. ades felt certain that if he acted in this prescribed manner, eus would not be angry with him. e understoo d that eus was just trying to keep the peace by officially saying neither yes n or no to the marriage proposal. atisfied, ades returned to the nderworld to p lan the details of exactly how he would go about kidnapping ersephone. ne day, soon after adess meeting with eus, ersephone went to pick wildflowers with he r friends near the town of leusis. o one expected trouble in the peaceful mead ow, and the girls were looking forward to 65

 

 

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an amusing and relaxing day. fter a little while, ersephone wandered away from her friends, picking flowers here and there and adding them to her basket. n a small wooded glen near the meadow, out of sight and earshot of her friends, er sephone spotted a beautiful narcissus that she thought would make a lovely addit ion to the bouquet she was making for her mother. Dreamily, ersephone knelt to pick the flower. he was surprised to find that its roots were so deep that she could not wrench it out of the ground. uddenly, as she tugged mightily on the f lower, a huge hole opened up in the middle of the glen. he god of the nderworl d raced out of the chasm, the roaring noise of his chariot filling the air. uic kly, ades grasped the frightened maiden by the wrist and pulled her up beside h im onto his chariot. acing off to the nderworld, ersephone cried out in fear to her mother and her friends. p on ount lympus, Demeter heard her daughters t error-filled cries. he hurried to the area where the girls had been playing. e rsephones friends had been frightened when their friend failed to return, but no one could tell where she had gone. Distraught, Demeter roamed the earth for nine days and nine nights, searching in vain for her beloved daughter. n the tenth day, Demeter met ecate, a goddess who lived in a cave near the spot where erse phone and her friends had been playing. ecate had indeed heard ersephones cries for help, but alas, she had not seen what had happened to the girl. hough she could offer no new information about ersephones disappearance, ecate offered to help Demeter look for her daughter. ogether, the two goddesses set out on thei r search. he next morning, the goddesses came upon elius, the god of the sun. elius could see everything from his 66

 

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Demeter and ersephone lofty perch in the sky, so Demeter begged him for information about her daughters disappearance. elius pitied Demeter and promised to tell her everything he kne w. e confessed that he had seen ades kidnap ersephone, and that the girl had cried uncontrollably when she was made adess bride. elius was sorry for Demeters loss, but he hurried to point out that as ruler of the nderworld, ades exerte d power over a third of the world. e tried to console Demeter by saying, know you are sad to be separated from your daughter, but the powerful ades is a good match for the fair ersephone. owever, Demeter would not be consoled. he cried , y beautiful daughter? Why should she be taken so far away among the sunless de ad? hinking about her daughters situation all over again, Demeter became so upset that she left ecate and elius and began to shun her fellow immortals. oon De meter took to wandering the earth in the guise of a mortal woman. he allowed th e grain harvest to fail and the fields to become parched. he was so transformed by her grief that no one could recognize her. he looked like a gnarled, old wo man, as sad and weak as the parched and unyielding fields that were beginning to patch the earth. fter wandering for many months, Demeter came again to the tow n of leusis where she stopped to rest by a well. While she was sitting in the s hade of an olive tree, four beautiful princesses came to draw water. hey were t he daughters of eleus, the king of leusis, and all four were kind and well-man nered. When they saw Demeter, they pitied her because she looked so sad and wear y. hey had no idea that she was really a goddess. rying to help the old woman, the girls asked if she would be interested 67

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in being a nurse to their baby brother, Demophoon. Demeter gladly accepted this offer. When Demeter entered the palace, her golden hair had turn to gray, her sk in was wrinkled and loose, and all her inner radiance was hidden beneath a dark robe. evertheless, the princesses mother, ueen etanira, sensed that the new nu rse was not an ordinary old woman. he queen noticed a special glow about the ne wcomer, despite her dark robe and sad face. etanira offered Demeter her best ch air and asked one of the servants to bring some sweet wine, but Demeter, too sad to accept comfort, refused the chair and the wine. nstead, she sat on a low st ool and drank only water mixed with barley mead. hen Demeter asked to see the c hild for whom she would be caring. When Demeter first took the baby Demophoon in her arms, he smiled and gurgled. ueen etanira was glad to see that her newbor n son was comfortable in the arms of his new nurse. Demeter was happy watching o ver the young prince. he began to love the child so much that, eventually, she decided to make him immortal. y doing so, Demeter hoped to thank the royal fami ly for their kindness and, at the same time, to relieve some of the sadness of l osing her own child. o each night, after the family was asleep, Demeter lathere d the boy with ambrosia, an ointment of the gods. When he was well oiled, she pl aced him in the heart of the hearths fire to burn away all traces of his mortalit y. hough the baby was in the fire, Demeter watched him intently, and the flames never hurt him. he ambrosia treatment worked wonders, and the baby grew strong er and healthier every day. he royal family was amazed at the babys rapid develo pment. Demophoon was growing much faster than a normal child. oon, however, ue en etanira became suspicious 68

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Demeter and ersephone of her sons remarkable growth. ne night she did not go to bed. nstead, she hid, hoping to see what the nurse was doing each night to her youngest child. When etanira peeked into Demeters room, she was shocked at what she saw. here was the nurse, turning her baby in the fire like a pig on a spit! etanira screamed at the sight. nterrupted at her magic, the goddess angrily jerked the child from t he fire and threw him to the ground where he began to cry unhurt but frightened. earing his wifes scream, ing eleus came running into the room, just in time to see the old nurse transform herself into a towering, beautiful goddess. s her form changed, a blaze of light burst forth and filled all the gloomy corners of the palace room. hough she was furious with etanira for the interruption, Deme ters anger quickly turned to sadness. he decided not to punish the family for th eir reaction. he had, after all, loved the baby, and although he could never be come immortal without continuing the ambrosia treatments, he could still be hono red, since a goddess had been his nurse. Demeter told the king and queen to have the people of leusis build a temple in her honor. While it was being built, sh e told the townspeople how to grow corn and how to perform special ceremonies at her temple. n this way, the town continued to appease and pay tribute to the i nconsolable goddess, whose grief once again became focused on her lost daughter. When the temple at leusis was completed, Demeter went to live there, far from ount lympus and the other gods and goddesses. adly, she sat silently in her t emple for an entire year. While she sat, no crops grew, and the people became hu ngrier with every passing day. oon it seemed like every living thing on earth w as in danger of starving. 69

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eus feared that Demeters mourning was becoming destructive. e begged her to end the famine, but Demeter repeatedly refused the request. he said she would neve r grant her life-giving power to the earth so long as ersephone remained so far away in the nderworld. inally, eus realized that ades would have to give up his bride so that the world could be healed. With a heavy heart, eus sent erm es, the official messenger of the gods, to the nderworld to deliver a message t o ades. When ermes reached the nderworld, he found ades and his bride sittin g side by side on their thrones. ersephone looked miserable. he was weeping be cause she missed her mother and the world above. When she heard ermess message f rom eus, she cried out in joy. ades knew that he had no choice but to obey eu s and let ersephone go home to her mother. e begged his wife not to think of h im harshly. ades said, y beloved wife, remember that here you are the queen, th e most powerful woman of all. s the queen of the nderworld, you even have powe r over the living, because you have control over what happens to people when the y die. ecause of this, you have the power to be merciful, which is the greatest gift of all. Do not think ill of me or this kingdom when you are far away from here. eluctantly, ades prepared to let ersephone go, but before she left, he g ave her four pomegranate seeds to eat. ades knew, although his wife did not, th at if she ate anything from the world of the dead, she would have to return to h is kingdom someday. aving eaten the seeds, ersephone rode happily out of the nderworld with ermes. When their chariot finally reached leusis, ersephone jo yfully embraced her mother. he mother and daughter laughed and cried, and talke d as they had before. inally, Demeter asked her 70

 

 

 

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Demeter and ersephone daughter if she had eaten anything during her stay in the nderworld. ersephone replied, other, what a strange question. ll ate was four pomegranate seeds. Why should that matter? Demeter became so upset by this news that she took her da ughter directly to eus to discuss what could be done. n the way to ount lymp us, Demeter explained to ersephone that because she had eaten food from the nd erworldthe seeds of the pomegranateshe would have to return there. hat rule was u nbreakable. eus had witnessed the happiness of mother and daughter when they we re reunited, and now he could see the unbearable sadness in their eyes at the th ought of having to part again. evertheless, eus had to respect the rules of th e universe. herefore, to follow the rules, the king of the gods decreed that e rsephone must return to the nderworld. owever, eus offered a compromise: inst ead of returning permanently to live in the nderworld, ersephone need only liv e there for four months out of the year, one month for each pomegranate seed she had eaten. ppeased by euss compromise, Demeter allowed the crops on earth to g row again. rom that time on, mother and daughter spent two thirds of the year t ogether. During their time together, the earth bloomed and the crops flourished. ut when ersephone returned each year to spend four months with ades in the nderworld, the earth became as cold as ice while Demeter mourned for her daughte rs lost company. hen, every spring, when ersephone returned to her mother, the world would become green again in celebration of their joyous reunion. 71

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D W : : What was Demeters role as a goddess? he was the goddess of agriculture. Demeter was responsible for providing healthy crops, fertility, and bountiful harvests. Who was ades? ades was the god who ruled the nderworld, or the world of the d ead. Why did eus refuse to give his consent for ades to marry ersephone? eus did not want to anger Demeter, ersephones mother and the goddess of agriculture , who could cause the earth to become barren. Why did ades kidnap ersephone? e wanted to marry her. e knew that Demeter would never allow her daughter to ma rry someone who lived in the nderworld. e also realized that although eus wou ld not grant his consent for ades to marry ersephone, eus did not precisely f orbid the marriage. Without her parents official consent, ades knew he had no ch oice but to kidnap ersephone. What did ersephone eat while in the nderworld? he ate four pomegranate seeds. What is the significance of the four seeds? he four seeds came from the nderworld. nce she had eaten food from the nderworld , ersephone would be bound to return there. 72

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What compromise did eus make for Demeter and ersephone, and why did he make it ? nstead of forcing ersephone to return permanently to ades and the nderworl d, eus allowed ersephone to spend two thirds of the year on earth with her mot her. ersephone had to return to the nderworld for four months out of every yea r, one month for each seed she had eaten. eus allowed this compromise because h e wanted to keep Demeter happy. e knew that if she remained sad, the earth woul d dry up and become barren. ow does the myth of Demeter and ersephone help to explain the seasons? ach year, when ersephone went to the nderworld, Demeter grew sad. he did not let anything grow on earth, and winter set in. hen, when ersephone left the nderworld to return to her mother, the earth became fertile again, and spring returned. : :

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his myth and the celebrations of the leusinian ysteries, provide the nglish language with some important words. rofessor arry . owell explains: he word mystery, which has entered our language from this leusinian cult to De meter, comes from the reek [word] mysts (plural mystai) meaning one who closes hi s eyes, in order to enter the temple or during the sacred rites. rom the atin t ranslation of the word, initiatus, comes our word initiate, literally, one who ha s gone in, that is, into the 3 temple of Demeter to participate in the secret rit ual. he myth of Demeter and ersephone is also significant to modern scholars becaus e it helps to illustrate the fate of women during this period in reece. owell writes: ersephones fate resembles that of reek girls who, at age fourteen, were married to war-hardened men twice their age, whom they scarcely knew. . . . Demeters fat e is also typical of many reek women. s Demeter lost a child to ades, the lor d of death, so did many lose a child to war or disease. n the myth we see that Demeters loss causes her first to grieve and to rage, before she finally accepts that, although things have changed, the world will go on. any reek women would easily have identified with this 4 sequence of emotions. 74

he story of Demeter and ersephone is often considered to be the basis for many other myths, including some stories in modern hristianity. ichael rant, a re spected historian, writes: he tale of Demeter and ersephone, perhaps more than any other classical myth, has embodied and directed mans accumulated thoughts about being born and dying. t anticipates both aster (in which life and death co-exist) and 2 hristmas (th e time of annual rebirth and hope).

 

   

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D lthough thens may have been the most important, ancient reece had many other cities that were significant to the development of culture and religion. hebes, for example, was the major cultural and military center of oeotia, an area to the northwest of thens on the reek mainland. ccording to legend, the hero ad mus had come to the land of oeotia by following a cow there. ( he word oeotia is related to the reek word for cow.) e had sown the teeth of a dragon into th e earth like seeds, and after battling the race of men who had sprung out of the ground from these seeds, admus took control of the area and built the city of hebes. admus and his wife armony, the daughter of res and phrodite, had fou r daughters: utonoe, no, gave, and emele. he character admus is believed t o have originated in astern religion, and the story about the foundation of he bes may 1 reflect the influence of a foreign group on the area. hebes was thoug ht to be the birthplace of a very significant member of the reek pantheon. Dion ysus was the son of eus, the ruler of the lympian gods, and emele, one of ad muss daughters. Dionysus, the god of wine, was also called acchus. e was an imp ortant god of agriculture, and he was often closely associated with other earth gods, such as Demeter. ecause he was affiliated with grapes and wine, the reek s believed that Dionysus could control a persons state of mind, in the same way t hat alcohol does, and he is often connected to scenes of madness or various form s of wild behavior. During the fifth and sixth centuries . ., theater as we kno w it was born during the thenian festivals dedicated to Dionysus. hese festiva ls placed a heavy emphasis on 76

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the recitation of poetry, and the theatrical forms of comedy and tragedy that we know today developed out of the performance of this poetry. he most famous pla ywrights of the time were eschylus, ophocles, and uripides, who often based t heir plays on the prominent myths and historical events of the day. his story a bout Dionysus, and the development of his importance, has been passed down to us through the play he acchae by uripides. n the story, eus makes a promise a nd seals it by pledging an oath on the name of the iver tyx. his is the mytho logical river that must be crossed in order to enter the nderworld. ny promise sworn upon it could never be broken, not even by a god. 77

 

D D W emeles father was admus, king of hebes. he lived a happy and luxurious life i n the palace, along with her sisters utonoe, no, and gave. s the girls grew older, everyone remarked on their outstanding beauty. ife seemed perfect for th ese lovely princesses, until the day emele fell in love with a tall, handsome s tranger. aught up in her new romance, emele ignored the fact that she did not know much about her lover. he kept him a secret from her family and friends, an d although her sisters noticed a new radiance about emele, none suspected her f requent absences. emele had no idea that her secret lover was actually eus, th e king of the gods, who was visiting her in the form of a mortal man. eus was v ery much in love with the beautiful, quiet, and somewhat solitary princess, but he could not visit her in his true godlike state. f he were to reveal his true self, emele would die, since no human could look on an immortal in his or her t rue form without being consumed by the immortals power. herefore, when a god wis hed to show himself to a mortal, he needed to cloak his glory. owever, after e mele and eus had continued their love affair for some time, eus finally 78

  

       

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decided to reveal his true identity to emele. lthough she was shocked, the pri ncess believed her lover. ven though eus was in love with emele, he was, in f act, already married to era, the queen of the gods. When she learned of her hus bands affair with emele, era became enraged with jealousy. n fact, eus often pursued other women, both mortal and immortal, and although she was used to her husbands affairs, era still always reacted with the same intensity. he often to ok out her revenge on her husbands various accomplices. his time, era, disguise d as a servant, paid a visit to emeles bedchamber. With mock sympathy, era told the girl that she knew all about the secret romance. omehow she convinced the princess that it would be wise for her to behold her lover in his true form. em ele had just discovered that she was pregnant, and although she trusted her love r, she now became persuaded to be certain about the identity of her unborn childs father. o emele sent the servant out of the room and awaited the arrival of h er lover. When eus entered the room through a door from the garden, emele jump ed up and threw her arms around his neck. y love, she said, my servant knows all a bout us. We must be very careful or my father will discover our affair! ut this is not my only news. Darling, am going to have a child. wear to me that you will grant me the favor am about to ask you. eus was surprised at the princesss ardent tone of voice, but because he was so much in love with her, he agreed an d said, swear on the iver tyx in ades that will do whatever you ask of me. emele took her lovers hand and led him into the room. itting down, she begged t o see him in his true form. eus was caught off-guard and did not know what to d o about this new dilemma. e knew that emele would not 79

 

 

 

 

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be able to look at him without dying, and he did not want to hurt her. ut the g od had also made an unbreakable promise, for any promise sworn on the iver tyx must be fulfilled, and now he could not refuse her request. hough eus tried t o explain the consequences to emele, the princess insisted that, although she t ruly loved him, she still needed proof of his identity. herefore, reluctantly, eus kept his word. s he began to transform, the room filled with light, and fl ames shot out from his immortal body. emele screamed as the sight of her lover burned into her eyes. hen, consumed by the fire of euss immortality, her own bo dy was engulfed in flames. Just before she died, eus snatched emeles unborn bab y from her womb. uickly, he sewed the baby into his thigh to keep it safe from harm. hen eus wept for his love, and he left the heban palace in the same sec ret manner by which he had come. When nine months had fully passed, emeles child was born out of euss thigh. he king of the gods named his son Dionysus, and he asked some nymphs to raise the baby and keep him a safe distance away from uee n era who was still angry at eus for his affair with emele. any years later, after Dionysus had grown up, he bade a tearful farewell to the nymphs who had m othered him and set off to travel the world, slowly making his way toward hebes . e was a handsome young man with long flowing hair that fell in waves about hi s shoulders. e wore clothes made out of the skins of animals, and often he look ed like he would be more comfortable in the wilds of the forest than in the citi es and towns that he visited. s the young god wandered, he showed the reeks ho w to grow grapes and how to use the grapes to make wine. e was often followed a nd worshipped by groups of wild-looking women called acchae or bacchantes. hes e women also 80

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wore clothes made from the skins of animals, and they usually had flowers or lea ves scattered in their hair. ften the bacchantes would sing and dance like unta med animals in their rituals of worship, and they caused quite an uproar whereve r they visited. fter many years of travel, Dionysus finally arrived in his moth ers hometown, and he was shocked at the poor reception he received. he people of hebes did not believe that Dionysus was a god, nor did they believe he was em eles lost son. Dionysus also learned that his mothers memory had been dishonored b y the people of hebes. he hebans considered emele to have been a disrespectf ul daughter; they disapproved of her secret affair and felt she had received a j ust punishment in her death! Dionysus was furious at the heban people for both their disbelief of his immortality and their cruel treatment of his mothers memor y. t this time, the king of hebes was Dionysuss cousin entheus, the son of em eles sister, gave. ike the other hebans, entheus did not believe that Dionysu s was a god, nor would he recognize him as his cousin. entheus thought that thi s stranger was merely a troublemaker whose wild and unruly followers were distur bing the peace of his orderly city. ngrily, entheus commanded his guards to ar rest Dionysus and his disciples. lthough Dionysus was, in fact, enraged by ent heuss behavior, the god went to prison peacefully. owever, extraordinary things began to happen at the palace prison. he guards were amazed when they realized that it was impossible to lock up their peculiar prisoner. o matter how many ti mes they worked the locks attached to them, the chains on Dionysuss wrists always fell to the ground, and the doors of his jail cell refused to stay closed. hen , suddenly, a huge earthquake rocked the city of hebes, 82

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flattening both the palace and the prison to the ground. any hebans came to re alize that this devastation must have been the work of an angry god. Despite the se strange events, entheus refused to believe that Dionysus possessed any super natural powers, even after the prisoner had walked out of the rubble of the pris on without a scratch on his body. any heban women, however, became convinced o f Dionysuss powers, and after the earthquake, they joined Dionysuss followers. ft er dressing in animal skins, the women went to the hills outside hebes where th ey cavorted like animals, jumping and dancing in praise of Dionysus, whom they n ow recognized as a god. oon, a messenger came to entheus to tell him that his mother, gave, and his aunts were among the acchae dancing in the hills. he me ssenger also told entheus that guards had tried to talk to gave and the other women, but when they had approached, the women chased the men away. he guard ad ded that the women had torn the woods apart with their bare hands and ruined all the villages in their path with their wild revelry. entheus was furious at thi s news! e paced in front of his crumbling palace, fuming. y own mother! he cried . cting like one of those crazy acchae! Whatever will happen next? s entheus g rew visibly more and more upset, Dionysus approached, already planning his reven ge. entheus still did not believe that Dionysus was a god, but soon he fell int o a trance and agreed with everything Dionysus said to him, no matter how strang e. irst, Dionysus convinced entheus that he needed to climb the hill and see f or himself how the women were behaving. nly then would entheus be able to figu re out a way to make them stop their outrageous behavior. 83

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till in a trance, entheus begged Dionysus to help him find a disguise so that the women on the hill would not recognize him. hen Dionysus dressed ing enthe us in a long, flowing wig and a wild, multicolored dress. nder Dionysuss spell, entheus thought he looked quite dashing when, in fact, he looked very silly. i nally, Dionysus led the king to the hill where the acchae were celebrating. nc e they reached the top of the hill, Dionysus convinced the king to climb a tree to get a better look at the scene. hen, when entheus had settled himself in th e tree, Dionysus disappeared. he king was surprised that Dionysus would leave h im so suddenly, but he was confident that the women could not see him hiding in the tree. nfortunately for entheus, Dionysus had put the women in a trance as well. hus, when they looked up at the tree, they did not see entheus hiding th ere but a mountain lion readying for attack. errified at the sight of what she thought was a vicious, man-eating creature, gave shouted, ill the lion! ike ani mals stalking their prey, the women attacked entheus and pulled him from the tr ee. hough he begged for mercy, the women could not understand him since his wor ds sounded like the growls of a wild lion, not like cries for help from their ow n king. Dionysus had endowed the women with superhuman strength, and now, with t heir bare hands, the women tore entheus to shreds. hen, still in a trance, the women marched back to hebes. n tribute to their proud victory, gave led the march, parading the head of the victim above her like a trophy. When the women e ntered the city carrying entheuss head before them, the people of hebes were so horrified that they stood in silence as the shocking parade passed by. 84

 

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When the marchers reached the grounds of the palace ruins, gave called out to h er father, admus, to show off their prize. When admus saw what gave held in h er hands, his face paled, and he began to weep. olding the head of her victim h igh above her, gave said, ather, why do you weep? ook how have killed a moun tain lion! ook how strong and brave your daughter is! Why are you not proud? Wee ping for his dead grandson, and for his daughter who loved her son entheus more than anyone in the world, admus said, Dear gave, look again at what prize you have been blessed with, and then you will understand why am weeping. admuss sad words broke gaves trance, and when she looked again at the head in her hands, h er proud laughter quickly turned to terror. he saw that she had killed her own son! alling to the ground, gave wept, finally coming to understand the powers of the god Dionysus, whom her family had so vilely offended by their disbelief. 85

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D W : : : : Who were Dionysuss parents? Dionysus was the child of eus, the king of the gods, and emele, the daughter of ing admus of hebes. ow did Dionysuss mother, em ele, die? ecause she was mortal, emele could not look at eus unless he was di sguised. When she persuaded eus to reveal himself in his true form, emele was unable to withstand the power of the gods immortality, and she was burned to ashe s. ow did eus save the baby emele was carrying? s emeles body was engulfed i n flames, eus took the unborn baby from her womb and sewed it into his thigh. ater, the baby was reborn out of euss thigh. Why did Dionysus become angry with the people of hebes? he hebans did not respect the memory of his mother, eme le, nor did they respect his godlike powers and nature. Why did entheus arrest Dionysus? entheus thought the young visitor was a troublemaker, not a god. ent heus thought Dionysus and his followers were disturbing the peace of the city. W hy did gave kill her son, entheus? nder a spell induced by Dionysus, gave mi stook entheus for a mountain lion. When she came out of the trance, gave was s hocked and horrified by what she had done.

Dionysus was often thought to be a late addition to the reek pantheon, or set o f gods. s was true in this story, he was sometimes only reluctantly accepted, a nd often he was viewed as an outsider. e was known as the god of wine and of al tered states. t is important to note that people believed that Dionysus had the power not only to cause the intoxication of the body, as through the consumptio n of wine, but also the intoxication of the spirit, as through ecstatic or frenz ied behavior. ichmond . athorn writes: n his myths Dionysus invades from without because it was his nature as a god to apparently invade the individual from without: of all deities he was the one wh o most characteristically possessed his devotee; he filled the devotee with the god , sometimes through the medium of wine, more often directly, since he was essenti ally the wild spirit of intoxicated joy that thrills throughout the whole realm of 2 nature. Dionysus was also known in reece by the name acchus, and it is from this name that we have derived the term bacchanalia, which is a riotous celebration or sce ne of revelry. he people who worshipped Dionysus were considered wild and out o f control. n fact and in fiction, the supporters of Dionysus were associated wi th nature and insanity. n ythology, n llustrated uide, editor oy Willis ex plains: he mythical male followers of [Dionysus] were the satyrs, creatures who were pa rt man and part goat with horses tails. is female followers, both in myth and re ality, were called acchants (women of acchus) or maenads 3 (mad women). 87

 

   

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he worship of Dionysus is also connected to the birth and development of Wester n theater. rofessor arry . owell writes: Dionysus also played an important role in reek culture through his association with the theater. any of the bestknown reek myths are preserved as the plots o f tragedies performed in his honor. eginning in the sixth century . ., tragedi es were performed at a spring festival of Dionysus in thens known as the enea. . . . thers were performed at the more important ity Dionysia [or festivals t o Dionysus], probably reorganized sometime in the middle of the sixth century . . . . . ome elements in reek drama seem to be traceable to the cult of Dionys us, in whose honor these festivals were held, but more than a hundred years of i ntensive scholarship have been unable to clarify the precise rela4 tionship betw een the cult and reek drama. 88

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D reece has always had a close and tumultuous relationship with its neighbors to the east. n the ancient world, the civilizations in sia inor had an important role in the development of reek religion and culture. he groups of people in sia inor, a great part of which is now urkey, and the people of reece often had much in common. Due to trade and travel, they had many opportunities to shar e myths and religious beliefs. he story of aucis and hilemon probably crossed the cultural divide. he myth was written down by the oman poet, vid. hrygia , the land where aucis and hilemon live, was located in sia inor, but in thi s story, eus and ermes, gods who are reek in origin, visit the area as if it were just another part of their reek landscape. ecause travel was so central t o the lives of the ancient reeks, there were many customs related to the treatm ent of guests and travelers. or example, it was considered an honor to have a g uest in ones home. ll guests were to be respected and treated kindly, even if th ey were strangers. eus was the particular protector of guests, and ermes, the fleet-footed messenger of the gods, was considered to be a protector of traveler s and the god of the highway. n the myths and folktales of many cultures, a dis guised king or god sometimes visits common people. hese stories remind people a lways to offer kindness to strangers, since the true identity of a stranger can never be known. he story of aucis and hilemon demonstrates the importance of the custom of respecting visitors.

      

D aucis and hilemon lived in hrygia, a part of sia inor. hey had been marrie d for many years, and although they were very poor, they were happy and loved ea ch other dearly. heir farm was small, and they could grow only enough to feed t hemselves. ometimes conditions made it difficult to coax any crops out of the l and, so they often relied on the eggs of the single goose that lived on the farm . he goose not only laid eggs, but it acted like a watchdog, protecting the cou ples meager possessions. ne day, eus and ermes decided to visit hrygia. eus, the protector of guests, wanted to see if the people in hrygia were being kind to visitors. eus and ermes wore ragged clothes so that no one would recognize them. hey knew that as gods they would be treated royally, but they wanted to see how they would be welcomed as ordinary travelers. hus disguised, the gods w ent from house to house in hrygia. t the door of each house the ragged strange rs asked the owners if they could rest by the fireplace and have something to ea t and drink. ut each door was slammed rudely in their faces. fter this had hap pened many times, eus began to worry. e turned to ermes 91

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and asked, ow can anyone travel in such an inhospitable country where everyone s eems so rude and disrespectful? re there no people in hrygia who are kind to s trangers? ravelers far from home should not have to go hungry. wonder how the se rude people would feel if they were treated the same way they have been treat ing us? ermes had no ready answer for eus, and the pair trudged along. inally, after knocking on hundreds of doors and being refused hospitality at each one, the disguised gods found themselves before a hut that was smaller and more rundo wn than any of the houses they had yet visited. he house was situated near the bottom of a tall hill, and although the farm around the house was small, the gro unds were well-tended. When the strangers knocked on the door of the modest hut, a ragged couple appeared. mmediately and with open arms, they invited the stra ngers into their home. Ducking under the low doorway, the disguised gods entered into the small but spotless single room. he couples names were aucis and hile mon. aucis was a small woman with graying hair, a sweet face, and a friendly sm ile; and her husband, hilemon, was hard-working and strong despite his years. hey were kind and happily went to work preparing a meal and trying to make their guests feel comfortable. aucis and hilemon asked neither the visitors names no r their origins; the couple understood that it was up to the visitors to offer t his information only if they so chose. With sincere attention to their visitors c omfort, the couple invited their guests to sit near the warm hearth, and aucis threw a thin pillow over the single hard bench. hen aucis heated up the fire a nd began to boil water. While she cooked the evening meal, aucis spoke happily with the guests. We are so glad to have you with us, she said. 92

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We do not have much, my hilemon and , but we are happy to share whatever we hav e with our friends. s she said this, her husband smiled and nodded in agreement. inally, the meager meal was ready. aucis propped up their rickety table with a broken dish and served her guests. hilemon made sure that the guests had what ever they might need. he couple were so busy enjoying their company that nothin g seemed unusual. radually, however, hilemon and aucis both noticed that alth ough they had already used up their small supply of wine, the wine jug was as fu ll as ever, even though it had been emptied several times. learly, their guests could not be the poor travelers they appeared to be. uch a miracle must be the magic of immortals. mmediately, the couple fell to their knees, begging the go ds forgiveness for the meager dinner they had served and the shabbiness of their tiny home. mbarrassed at his poverty, hilemon got up quickly from his knees an d ran outside, hoping to catch the couples goose in order to cook it as a more ap propriate dinner offering for the gods. ut the goose sensed the old mans purpose and ran away. inally, the goose ran straight into the house and jumped into e uss lap for protection. eus laughed, and told the old man to stop his chasing. he god assured the couple that he did not wish to eat their only goose. till sm iling, eus and ermes said, ome with us, aucis and hilemon. ou have been won derful hosts, and you shall be rewarded. owever, the rest of the people in this country shall be punished for their rudeness. ervously, aucis and hilemon fol lowed as the gods hiked to the top of the hill behind their house. When they tur ned to look down at the valley, the couple was dismayed to see that all the hous es in the villageexcept 94

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their ownhad disappeared under the waters of a huge flood. ow, only the tips of the highest rooftops could be seen peeking out above the raging waters. he floo d had swept in so quickly and so silently that the entire village had been surpr ised. aucis and hilemon could not see a soul left in their town. ll that was left was their own tiny home, the floodwaters lapping at its doorway. n the hig h hill, safe and dry above the flood, aucis and hilemon looked down again at t heir farm, unable to speak. mazed, they watched as their house changed before t heir eyes into a magnificent temple made of gold and marble. hey had no idea wh y this was happening. When they looked questioningly to the gods for an answer, eus smiled kindly and said, ou shall have your reward now. ell me your wish, a nd you shall have it. or a moment, aucis and hilemon whispered together; they needed only a minute to decide what their wish would be. irst, they asked the g ods if they could be priests in the shiny gold temple that now stood in place of their house. hen they begged the gods to allow them to die both at the same mo ment, so that neither would ever have to live without the other. eus granted th e couple their first wish right away. efore returning with ermes to ount lym pus, eus sent aucis and hilemon off to serve in the great temple that now sto od where their farm used to be. he couple lived happily there for many years, g rowing very old but remaining ever faithful to the gods and to each other. ne d ay, while standing outside the temple, aucis saw her husbands body stiffen. igh t before her eyes, hilemons feet grew into the ground, and leaves sprouted out o f his hands. aucis was shocked, but suddenly she realized that her own body was also sprouting roots and leaves. he couple had only a moment to say a loving 9 5

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goodbye before they both turned into trees, their trunks touching and their leav es mingling. n this way, the gods fulfilled their promise to aucis and hilemo nthey would never be apart, even in death. fter this startling event, the people who came to live again in hrygia always told the couples story and hung wreaths on the trees that grew twisted together outside the golden temple. n this way, the people of hrygia honored the spirit of aucis and hilemon, the kind and f aithful couple who were rewarded by the gods for their kindness to others. 96

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D W : : ow was one supposed to treat a guest in ancient reece? t was customary to tre at guests or strangers with respect and hospitality. ven if a visitor was a com plete stranger, he or she was expected to be treated with kindness. Why did eus and ermes visit hrygia in disguise? he gods disguised themselves so they cou ld see how the people treated ordinary guests and strangers. What happened to th e people who refused to invite the strangers into their homes? hey disappeared under the waters of a huge flood. Why did eus and ermes punish the people of hrygia? he people of hrygia had been rude and inhospitable. his made the gods angry. Why did the gods reward aucis and hilemon? he couple was kind and fol lowed the reek custom of respecting strangers and travelers. lthough they were poor and had little to eat, they shared whatever they had. Why did aucis and hilemon turn into trees? y becoming trees, aucis and hilemon were able to rem ain together, even after their deaths. he touching trees are a symbol of their everlasting life together.

he story of aucis and hilemon includes a devastating flood, a symbolic event that appears in the creation stories of many cultures as well as in other reek myths. ichmond . athorn explains the frequency of flood stories in mythology: loods are a recurrent natural phenomenon, and flood-stories are a worldwide myt hical phenomenon. o connect any particular flood-story with any particular floo d is to confound myth, science, and history. . . . here are lesser flood-stories in reek mythology; the best-known in other mythologies are, of course, oahs in the ible and 1 tnapishtims in he pic of ilgamesh. athorn goes on to explain why floods are such a useful symbol. e writes: loods suitably symbolize the end of one era and the beginning of another becaus e they are baptisms in extenso: water destroys, kills, cleanses, purifies, reviv ifies, and is the 2 stuff of new life.

he importance of hospitality in ancient reece was also an expectation well kno wn to people of other cultures. lassicist arry . owell explains: bove all, eus protected the custom called xenia, which we can roughly translat e as a formal institution of friendship. enia enabled reeks to travel safely to distant lands where other reeks lived. relationship was established when a wa nderer [xenos means guest, or stranger] was received into someones household, enter tained, and given a gift. hould the host one day visit the wanderers home, he co uld expect to be received similarly. bligations of reciprocal hospitality fell not only on the individuals involved originally, but also on their entire famili es and on their 3 descendants. 98

         

     
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D any myths rely on the metamorphosis, or transformation, of a character in order to explain the existence or appearance of certain animals, plants, strange land formations, or odd events that occur in the world. etamorphoses are a common t heme in reek myths. n many, the climax of a story is reached when a main chara cter changes from a person into an entirely different creature. his type of cha nge occurs through the intervention of a god. he story of cho and arcissus is one such story. ometime around .D. 8, the oman poet vid wrote one version o f this story in his work called he etamorphoses, a fifteen-volume epic poem th at relates more than two hundred stories. ronically, the oman work he etamor phoses remains one of the most significant contributions to our knowledge of re ek mythology today. he tale of cho and arcissus relates the story of the trag ic love of a nymph for a young man. ymphs were minor nature goddesses who were usually represented as beautiful maidens living in the mountains, forests, trees , or water. cho was a talkative mountain nymph who fell in love with arcissus, the son of the river-god ephisus. either cho nor arcissus was worshipped as part of any religious ceremony in ancient reece, but their story became import ant to explain otherwise unfathomable natural occurrences.

     

D cho was a beautiful mountain nymph who was a favorite friend of rtemis, the go ddess of the hunt and a special protector of maidens. cho, friendly and fun-lov ing, adored talking to her many sisters and friends. evertheless, no one ever c omplained that she talked too much, because cho was so much fun to be with, and everyone loved her. ne of the other nymphs was having a love affair with eus, the king of the gods. ften, the couple would meet in a secret glade in the for est, far from the jealous eyes of era, euss wife. cho did not know about the a ffair, and she did not mind when her friends and sisters asked her to stand guar d outside the secret glade. he never even thought to ask them why the glade nee ded guarding. ll that cho knew was that her sisters and friends warned her tha t her most important job was to keep era away from the glade. efore long, era heard rumors that her husband was having an affair, and she became determined t o find out which nymph was tempting her husband away. s she entered the forest and neared the glade, era saw cho lounging near a shady group of trees. t was clear to cho that era wanted to enter the glade, and, remembering 101

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her sisters warning, cho struck up a friendly conversation with the goddess, try ing to distract her. While cho was busy chatting with era, eus and his lover heard eras unmistakable voice and managed to escape before they could be discove red. When era finally insisted on entering the glade and found that her husband had gotten away, she was furious! nd even though cho had played no part at al l in euss affair, era decided to punish her. n a high, shrill voice, the queen of the gods pronounced, oung lady, your chattering has done you in, and you wil l be punished for it! rom this moment forward, the only words you will ever be able to utter will be exactly those words, no more and no less, that other peopl e have said to you first. cho was very upset. he had not meant to make era ang ry. he had only been helping her sisters and friends. ow she was burdened with an unbearable punishment, especially for someone who loved to talk! t seemed l ike nothing could be worse than silence or being doomed to repeat someone elses w ords. adly, cho left the glade, waving silently to her sisters and friends and wondering what she was going to do. Distracted by her thoughts, cho suddenly f ound herself near a beautiful pond. here, sitting at the waters edge, was the ha ndsomest young man cho had ever seen. Desperately, cho wished to make conversa tion with this youth, whose name was arcissus, but since she had no way to talk to him, the young nymph hid herself behind a tree and watched to see what he wa s doing. arcissus was so good-looking that people were constantly falling in lo ve with him at first sight. e was tall and naturally strong, and his curly hair was cut in such a way that it framed his elegant face. aving never seen himsel f, however, arcissus had no idea how handsome 102

 

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he was, and he never understood why he received so much attention from those aro und him. n fact, that very day he had come into the forest trying to get away f rom all the people who had been gawking at him. hirsty from his long walk, arc issus decided to stop at the pond for a drink. s he knelt before the still wate r, he saw the most beautiful face staring back at him from beneath the wet surfa ce. ut when he reached down to touch the beautiful person in the water, the fac e got blurry and quickly disappeared. arcissus was so saddened at the disappear ance of the beautiful water person that he sat back on the bank and cried. few minutes later, he looked into the pond. here was the beautiful face, looking b ack at him. his time there were sad tears streaming down the handsome face. ar cissus felt sorry for the beautiful water person. e reached into the water to t ry to comfort him, but once again, the water person disappeared. uddenly, arci ssus heard a rustling in the leaves behind him. e did not know that cho was hi ding nearby, waiting for her chance to attract his attention. tartled and sadde ned by the disappearance of the beautiful person in the water, arcissus called out, Whos there? n reply, cho answered, Whos there? ince she could only repeat the youths words, as era had commanded her, this was all the conversation she could manage. cho thought arcissus was beautiful indeed, and she was beginning to fa ll in love with him. shamed of her inability to speak, however, she remained hi dden. arcissus was surprised to hear his words flung back to him, and he was a little annoyed. Why would anyone be so rude as to repeat the words of someone el se? xasperated, arcissus turned his attention to the person he saw in the wate r. ach time arcissus tried to touch the water, the beautiful person disappeare d. arcissus did not realize 103



 

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that there was no person living beneath the surface of the water and that he was actually seeing his own reflection. here was only arcissus sitting on the ban k, looking into the pond. s the sun set behind the trees, the youth could no lo nger see his reflection in the water. alling out to the person he believed to l ive under the surface of the pond, arcissus cried, Wait! ou are so beautiful! love you! ll he heard in reply was the sound of chos voice repeating his words from her hiding place among the trees. arcissus had fallen deeply in love with the person he 104

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thought he saw in the water, just as cho had fallen in love with him. Day after day, the youth and the nymph sat near the pond, arcissus staring at his reflec tion and cho staring at him. arcissus pined for his appearing and disappearing love, and cho sat nearby, fists clenched in frustration, wishing she could spe ak her own thoughts. s time went by, the unhappy lovers forgot to sleep, eat, o r drink, so distracted were they by their unfulfilled loves. fter some time, a rcissus noticed that the person in the water had grown thin and tired. e did no t 105

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understand that it was he who was withering away. rom her hiding place, cho co uld see arcissus wasting away, but she could not see how equally gaunt she was becoming herself. Day after day, arcissus became more and more distraught as he sat by the bank of the pond, staring mournfully at the water. ne day, overcome with frustration, he called out, y love, why do you ignore me? Do you not see t hat am dying for you? iding in the woods, cho responded, y love, why do you i gnore me? Do you not see that am dying for you? onsumed by his own overwhelmin g sadness, arcissus took no notice of the nymphs repetitive answers. e leaned d own, clutching at the water, but he could no longer go on. xhausted, arcissus died by the waters edge, trying to embrace his mysterious lover. t the moment of his death, the gods took pity on the youth and his misdirected love and turned him into the flower called the narcissus. cho, watching her love transform into a beautiful flower before her eyes, wept silently from her hiding place in the forest. hus weeping, she died too, leaving only her echoing voice behind. 106

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D W : : : : What type of goddess was cho? he was a mountain nymph, a type of minor nature goddess. Why did era punish cho? era had come to the forest to find her husba nd, eus, with his lover. ecause cho chatted so much and distracted her, era was unable to catch him. he punished cho for interfering with her plans. What was chos punishment? he would no longer be able to speak her own mind. he woul d only be allowed to repeat what others had said first. What happened when arci ssus looked in the pond? e saw his reflection in the water and thought there wa s a beautiful person living beneath the water. arcissus fell so deeply in love with the person he saw in the water that he did not realize he was actually seei ng a reflection of himself. Why did cho and arcissus die? cho and arcissus b oth died of unrequited, or unfulfilled, love. hey became so obsessed by their l ove that they stopped taking care of themselves and withered away. What are some aspects of nature explained by the connected myths of cho and arcissus? he c onnected stories of cho and arcissus help explain the reflection of sound, kno wn as echoing, and the nature of sight-reflection, such as images in water or mi rrors. he introduction of the narcissus flower is also suggested here. 107

here is also a moral to this story. arcissuss death and transformation demonstr ate the danger of excessive self-love. he nglish language has borrowed arciss uss name to decribe the term now commonly used for such self-obsessive love: narc issism. he story of arcissus illustrates the dangers of this type of behavior: eople with narcissistic personality disorder have a grandiose sense of self-imp ortance. hey seek excessive admiration from others and fantasize about unlimite d success or power. hey believe they are special, unique, or superior to others . owever, they often have very fragile 2 self-esteem. chos story is one that inspired much superstition in ancient reece. lthough sh e was not worshipped as a goddess, cho was regarded as an important figure in reek mythology. athorn describes her place in ancient reek society: cho had a shrine in thens, but seems not really to have had a place in reek c ult. er myth owes more to superstition than to religion; in folklore echoes are often thought to 3 be answers given by supernatural voices. 108

 

        

t the end of this story, both characters change, or metamorphose, into differen t aspects of nature. cho becomes the repetition of sound, and arcissus becomes a flower. efore vid, the myths of cho and arcissus seem to have been consid ered separately. ichmond . athorn explains: ither vid . . . or some predecessor must have combined the stories of cho and arcissus because of the associated 1 ideas of sound-reflection and sight-refle ction.

     
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D any reek myths illustrate the trials and errors of human existence. ften char acters are punished for failing to recognize their limitations. he reek word h ubris is often used to describe the human tendency to overstep ones boundaries. ometimes people in myths exhibit hubris by challenging the authority of a ruler or a god. ubris is sometimes thought to be the result of excessive pride. nfor tunately, acts of hubris usually end in tragedy. ubris and the way it may be en couraged by peer pressure are touched on in the story of elius and haethon. e lius, the god of the sun (helios is the reek word for sun), was the son of the itan gods, yperion and heia. lthough he was an important figure because of h is power over the sun, elius was not worshipped in any significant way by the a ncient reeks. ften he was linked to, and sometimes confused with, pollo, the god of light. elius had many mistresses with whom he had many children. ne of his lovers was lymene, an oceanid, or spirit of the sea, the daughter of the i tan gods ceanus and ethys. elius and lymene had a son, haethon, whose name means shining. he story of elius and haethon is told by vid in his etamorphos es. t is another story that helps explain certain wonders of nature. n this st ory, we are offered explanations for the origins of the ilky Way galaxy and the deserts of frica. he story also mentions real places thiopia in frica and th e ridanus iver, which is often 1 thought to be the modern o iver in taly.

       

D elius was the god of the sun. e ruled no particular area on the earths surface because he had not been present when eus was busy assigning jobs to the gods. eliuss main job was to ride a chariot across the sky each day. his chariot was v ery important because, in fact, it was the sun itself. he sun gave light and wa rmth to the earth, and its travels across the heavens caused day and night. eli us was careful never to let anything jeopardize the daily rising and setting of the sun. lthough he was very busy, elius had an affair with lymene, a mortal woman. lymene lived in the geographical area that is now known as thiopia. he couple had a son named haethon. oon after the birth of haethon, the love aff air ended, and lymene married a prince who raised the boy as his own son. he p rince and lymene had other children after their marriage, and they all lived ve ry happily for many years. he happiness of the royal family was shattered, howe ver, when lymene confided to haethon that her husband, the prince, was not the boys real father. lymene told haethon that his father was elius, the sun god. haethon was amazed at what his mother told him. 111

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haethon was so obsessed with this shocking news that he bragged about his impor tant father to the other boys at school. owever, the other boys did not believe him, and although they were his friends, the boys teased haethon about his sto ry. hey just could not believe that their friend was the son of a god, suspecti ng instead that this story was just another one of haethons fantasies. ne of hi s friends challenged haethon and said, f elius is really your father, show us some proof. hen we will believe you. Determined to show his friends that he was telling the truth, haethon went home and asked his mother to help him prove tha t elius was really his father. lymene had no physical evidence available to pr ove that the god was her sons father. owever, she promised to show haethon the way to eliuss palace where he could ask the god himself for some proof. With his mothers directions, haethon easily found the gods palace. e could hardly believ e his eyes when he saw it for the first time. t was the most magnificent buildi ng the boy had ever seen. n fact, it was probably one of the most beautiful pal aces ever built. ervously, haethon approached the majestic dais where elius w as sitting. he boy could not help but gawk at the splendor of everything around him. uge pillars of bronze and gold held up the ceiling of the throne room, ma king the chamber sparkle with light. ven the gods throne, carved out of solid em erald, was exquisite. here were lesser gods, who acted as eliuss servants, mill ing about the room, adding to the gods majesty. hese various gods were called Da y, onth, ear, the enturies, the ours, and the easons. haethon looked so mu ch like his beautiful mother with his striking physique and intense eyes that e lius 112

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recognized him as his son right away. he god told haethon that, indeed, he was his father, just as lymene had said. When haethon explained that he wished to have proof to show his friends, elius was surprised but understanding. e told haethon, y the iver tyx in ades, swear to give you whatever proof you ask for. haethon knew that the god was serious when he said this because no one, no t even a god, could go back on a promise sworn by the iver tyx. hen, with the assurance of this promise, haethon turned to elius and said, ather, believe that am your son. ut would like to prove it to my friends who teased me an d claimed that am only pretending that you are my father. know that you are very careful about driving your chariot across the sky each day, but if am you r son, you will allow me to drive the chariot tomorrow so that everyone may see me riding in your place. hen they will believe that am your son. hey will se e that can be as strong and as brave as a god. emember your promise, and let me drive your chariot. s soon as he heard his sons request, elius wished that he had not made such a rash, unbreakable promise. he sun god never allowed anyone else to drive his chariot for the simple reason that it was extremely difficult to manage. he horses were so unruly that they would obey no one but elius. v en eus, the king of the gods, could not drive eliuss chariot. elius begged his son to reconsider his request and to ask for some other kind of proof. e tried to make haethon understand the danger and futility of trying to drive the char iot. ven if he were eus himself, elius stressed, haethon could easily be kil led by trying to ride across the sky. Despite these warnings, haethon was deter mined to drive the sky chariot. e reminded the god of his oath 113

 

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upon the iver tyx. hus, elius was forced to allow the boy his wish, and he t old his servants, the ours, to hitch up the horses to prepare for the boys depar ture. haethon was bursting with excitement. e could hardly keep from shouting for joy as he watched the ours prepare the horses. While the servants held the horses steady, haethon climbed into the chariot, grinning at his father, who lo oked on with dismay. ather, haethon said assuringly, Do not worry. will show yo u all what a good driver am. ou will be so proud! With a final wave, the young prince dismissed the servants and tugged on the flaming gold reins to urge the magnificent horses onward into the sky. or one brief moment, the earth was bath ed in a calm morning light. elius began to breathe an audible sigh of reliefperh aps haethon would be able to drive the horses after all. nfortunately, this mo ment of calm was soon shattered. lmost immediately after leaving his fathers pal ace with the chariot, haethon lost control of the horses. e just could not kee p them on their path. he horses left the road they usually traveled and began t o race in different directions. he boy did not feel at all like the powerful so n of elius, the ruler of the day and night. nstead, he was terrified, and he c lutched the side of the chariot to keep from falling out. ournfully, elius wat ched his sons wild ride from his shimmering throne, but he could do nothing to st op the disobedient horses. irst, the chariot took haethon into the night sky w here he caused such damage that a huge burnt trail was left behind wherever the chariot happened to touch down. his scar became the ilky Way, and even now the etchings of haethons chariot ride can be seen streaking across the sky. fter l eaving the night, the horses raced 114

 

 

 

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back toward earth, dragging their frightened driver behind them. he horses swoo ped down over the area near the earths equator, where the land caught fire when t he chariot touched it. hese burned areas became the deserts of frica. ews of haethons disastrous ride soon made its way to ount lympus. aia, the first mot her of the gods, begged the other gods to help save the earth from destruction. s they watched, the gods began to realize that the entire world would soon be b urned to a crisp if they did not step in soon and somehow manage to stop the rac ing chariot. lthough he did not want to kill eliuss son, eus knew that this id ea would be the only way to save the earth. o eus hurled a bolt of lightning a t haethon. is aim was good, and haethon fell out of the chariot to his death in the ridanus iver. he wild horses and the splintered chariot also fell into the river. lthough they were sorry that the boy had died, most of the gods wer e relieved to see that the earth had been merely scorched and not completely des troyed. t his forge, ephaestus the blacksmith made elius a new chariot so tha t the world would continue to enjoy day and night. he new chariotcovered in jewe ls and intricate carvingswas even more beautiful than the first, in memory of the gods lost son. eliuss daughters, the eliades, were so upset about their brothers death, however, that they gathered along the ridanus iver to weep for him. h ey cried so many tears and for so many years that the gods took pity on them and turned them into poplar trees that grew along the banks of the river; their abu ndant tears were turned into amber, which dropped from the trees into the river. 116

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: : : : : : : :

117

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D W : : Who were haethons parents? haethons father was elius, the god of the sun. is m other was lymene, a mortal woman who lived in a land that is now thiopia. ate r lymene married a prince who raised haethon as his own son. Why did haethon want proof that elius was his father? haethons friends did not believe that he was the son of a god. heir disbelief caused haethon to prove to his friends, a nd the world, that he was the child of a famous and important god. Why was eliu s upset by haethons request to drive the sun chariot? elius knew how dangerous it would be for his son to drive the chariot. elius realized that he alone coul d control the horses. e knew that haethon would surely be hurt if he attempted such a dangerous ride. What astrological and geographical areas did haethons di sastrous chariot ride create? When the runaway chariot raced off into the sky, t he ilky Way was marked out for eternity. When it touched the earth, the deserts of frica were created. What is hubris? ubris is the reek word to describe a kind of pride that comes over people when they try to be better than the gods in some way. haethon committed an act of hubris when he insisted that he could dr ive the sun chariot across the sky. haethon refused to recognize his limitation s. s a result, his life ended tragically.

arry . owell suggests that vids version of the story has some very strong mor al lessons. owell writes: t is a good example how, in the hands of the urbane oman vid, descriptions of the worlds early days become a prettified fantasy embodying the teasing morals, D ont be too curious about your origins, and dont get too big for your 2 breeches!

he figure of elius is often associated with the island of hodes. n his encyc lopedia of reek mythology, ichard toneman writes: o make up for [being allotted no specific region on earth], eus allotted [ eli us] the newly arisen island of hodes, of which he became the patron. he oloss us of hodes was a bronze statue of elius. is portion is an appropriate one as hodes claims to receive more hours of sunshine per 3 year than any other place in the editerranean. he reeks, like people of many other cultures, often looked up into the sky at night and saw constellations, or pictures in the arrangements of stars. he ree k poets omer and esiod both mention constellations in their 4 works. n his bo ok, reek ythology, ichmond . athorn explains that the story of haethons wil d ride across the sky was sometimes used to remember the location of certain sta rs. e says: ventually the whole drama was transported to the sky: ridanus became a constel lation; haethon became uriga, the harioteer; and his sisters became the 5 yade s, the ainy nes. 118

 

            

ambrosia drink, ointment, or perfume used by the gods. Demeter used such an oint ment to anoint Demophoon, the baby prince of leusis. archaeology he study of anc ient civilizations. bacchantes emale followers of the god Dionysus. hese women o ften behaved like wild animals and seemed to have superhuman strength. chaos he d isordered order of the universe before the beginning of time. ventually, aia, the first goddess of the new world, divided it into earth, sky, and sea. he re ek work could also mean a wide open space or a deep cavern. yclopes he giant chi ldren of aia and ranus who each had only one eye in the middle of the forehead . hey were skilled craftsmen and made weapons for the lympians in their revolt against the itans. dais raised platform where a throne is often placed. echo he reflection of sound in nature. he word comes from the name of the nymph who wa s restricted to repeating what other people said to her. leusinian ysteries ecr et religious ceremonies in honor of the goddess Demeter. hey were held in leus is, the town where Demeter was thought to have stayed while mourning the marriag e of her daughter to ades, the god of the nderworld. glade shady part of the f orest. hubris xcessive pride. eople commit acts of excessive pride when they ign ore their limitations and go beyond their bounds. uch actions often end in trag edy. metamorphosis change or transformation. n reek myth, there are many insta nces where a person is changed into something else. or example, arcissus under goes such a change when he is turned into a flower. 119

 

  

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narcissism elf-love. nymph minor goddess or divinity of nature. he nymphs were u sually represented as beautiful maidens who dwelled in the mountains, forests, t rees, or water. oceanid spirit of the sea. lympia town in the western part of t he eloponnesus that has major temples to the lympian gods, the ruins of which one can still visit. lympians he group of gods and goddesses, including eus, wh o were descended from the itans. omen natural sign or occurance that can be int erpreted to predict the future. oracle prophet who interprets signs and omens. p antheon group of gods and goddesses. polytheistic elieving in more than one god o r goddess. iver tyx n important river in the nderworld. f a vow was made on t he name of this river, it could never be broken, not even by a god. sickle curve d knife used to harvest crops. ronos used one to kill his father, ranus. arta rus deep cavern where many of the itans were locked up after the war between th e itans and the lympians. itans he gods and goddesses who were children of ai a and ranus. heir leader was ronus, the father of the lympian gods. trident three-pronged spear. he yclopes made one for oseidon, the god of the oceans, during the war between the itans and the lympians. 120

 

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reface 1. iddell & cott, reek- nglish exicon ( xford, ngland: larendon r ess, 1948). ll further definitions of reek words will rely on iddell & cott. 2. ark . orford and obert J. enardon, lassical . ythology, 6th ed. ( e w ork: ongman, 1999), p. 16. 3. arry . owell, lassical yth, 2nd ed. ( ppe r addle iver, . J.: rentice all, 1998), pp. 25-27. 4. nne . aumgartner, omprehensive Dictionary of the ods ( ew ork: Wing ooks, 1995), p. 201. ha pter 1. reation 1. esiod, heogony, lines 110115, <http://www.perseus. tufts.ed u/cgibin/ptext?doc= erseus%3 text%3 1999.01. 0130&query=card%3D%234&loc=63> ( ct ober 30, 2000). 2. ucilla urn, reek yths ( ustin: niversity of exas ress, 1990), p. 9. 3. en Dowden, he ses of reek ythology ( ew ork: outledge, 1 992), p. 135. 4. John insent, reek ythology ( ew ork: aul amlyn, 1969), p. 22. hapter 2. he War etween the itans and the lympians 1. pyros hotinos, lympia: omplete uide, trans. ina c eorge and olin acDonald ( thens, ree ce: lympic ublications, 1989), p. 5. 2. bid., p. 7. 3. ark . orford and obert J. enardon, lassical . ythology, 6th ed. ( ew ork: ongman, 1999), p. 75. 4. ichmond . athorn, reek ythology ( eirut, ebanon: merican niversi ty of eirut ress, 1977), p. 8. 5. John insent, reek ythology ( ew ork: au l amlyn, 1969), p. 25. 6. orford and enardon, p. 48. hapter 3. rometheus an d arths irst nhabitants 1. arry . owell, lassical yth, 2nd ed. ( pper ad dle iver, . J.: rentice all, 1998), p. 46. 121

 

 

  

 

 

 

  

 

 

                    

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2. bid., p. 115. 3. ark . orford and obert J. enardon, logy, 6th ed. ( ew ork: ongman, 1999), p. 61.

lassical . ytho

reek ythology ( eirut, ebanon: merican niversity of 47. 2. ark . orford and obert J. enardon, lassi ( ew ork: ongman, 1999), p. 60. 3. arry . owell, pper addle iver, . J.: rentice all, 1998), p. 122.

hapter 5. Demeter and ersephone 1. arry . owell, lassical yth, 2nd ed. ( pper addle iver, . J.: rentice all, 1998), pp. 237-241. 2. ichael rant, yths of reeks and omans ( ew or k: eridian, 1995), p. 136. 3. owell, p. 239. 4. bid., p. 237. hapter 6. Dionysus and his ollowers 1. ichmond . athorn, reek ythology ( eirut, ebanon: merican niversity of eirut ress, 1977), p. 282. 2. bid., p. 135. 3. ythology, n llustrated ui de, oy Willis, ed. ( ew ork: arnes and oble, nc., 1998), p. 141. 4. arry . owell, lassical yth, 2nd ed. ( pper addle iver, . J.: rentice all, 199 8), p. 267. hapter 7. aucis and hilemon 1. ichmond . athorn, reek ythology ( eirut, ebanon: merican niversity of eirut ress, 1977), p. 18. 2. bid. 3. arry . owell, lassical yth 2nd ed. ( pper addle iver, . J.: rentice all, 1998), pp. 140-141. hapter 8. cho and arcissus 1. ichmond . athorn, reek ythology ( eirut, ebanon: merican niversity of eirut ress, 1977), p. 106. 2. ersonality Disorders, icrosoft ncarta ncycloped ia 99. 19931998 icrosoft orporation. 3. athorn, p. 106. 122

 

 

 

hapter 4. andora 1. ichmond . athorn, eirut ress, 1977), p. cal . ythology, 6th ed. lassical yth, 2nd ed. (

 

 

     

 

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hapter otes

hapter 9. elius and haethon 1. arry . owell, lassical yth 2nd ed. ( pper addle iver, . J.: rentice all, 1998), p. 81. 2. bid. 3. ichard toneman, reek ythology: n ncyclopedia of yth and egend. ( ondon: Diamond ooks, 19 95), p. 84. 4. onstellation (astronomy), icrosoft ncarta ncyclopedia 99. 1993199 icrosoft orporation. 5. ichmond . athorn, reek ythology ( eirut, ebanon : merican niversity of eirut ress, 1977), p. 51. 123

  

 

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D arber, ntonia. pollo & Daphne: asterpieces of reek ythology. ew ork: xf ord niversity ress, 1998. D ulaire, ngri and dgar arin D ulaire. D ulaires ook of reek yths. ew ork: antam Doubleday Dell, 1992. leischman, aul. Dateli ne roy. ambridge, ass.: andlewick ress, 1996. raves, obert. reek ods an d eroes. ew ork: antam Doubleday Dell, 1995. amilton, Virginia. n the egi nning: reation tories from round the World. ew ork: arcourt race Jovanovi ch, 1988. ies, etty onham. arths Daughters: tories of Women in lassical yt hology. olden, ol.: ulcrum ublishing, 1999. oewen, ancy. eus. ankato, i nn.: apstone ress, 1999. . thena. ew ork: iver ront ooks, 1999. . ercules. e ork: iver ront ooks, 1999. c aughrean, eraldine. reek ods and oddesses. ew ork: imon & chuster, 1998. tephanides, enalaos. he ods of lympus. thens, reece: igma, 1999. Vinge, Joan D. he andom ouse ook of reek yths. ew ork: andom ouse, 1999. eoh ong am. reece. ilwaukee, Wis.: areth t evens, nc., 1999.

he ncyclopedia ythica <http://www.pantheon.org/mythica/> xplores articles about various reek gods. lso covers other types of mythology reek ythology <http://www.greekmythology.com/index.html> list of gods, myths, and places. rief descriptions with links throughout.

reek ythology: ook ack in ime <http://library.thinkquest.org/18650/> hink uest site written by students for students. ncludes information about c onstellations.

reek ythology: rom the liad to the ast yrant <http://www.messagenet.com/my ths> nformation, links to other interesting sites, and a fun quiz game for all ages. reek ythology ink <http://hsa.brown.edu/~maicar/> ome pages also available in panish. or the advanced reader.

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DD he ncient ity of thens <http://www.indiana.edu/~kglowack/athens/> photo tour of archeological sites in thens.

ods and oddesses in reek

he llustrated ncyclopedia of reek ythology <http://www.cultures.com/greek_r esources/greek_ encyclopedia/greek_encyclopedia_home.html> ythweb <http://www.m ythweb.com/> llustrations, interesting facts and stories, and information for teachers. he erseus roject <http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/> nformation about classical texts and their translations, archaeology, and more.

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egean ea, 27 eschylus, 13, 50 frica, 7, 110,116, 117 gave, 76, 78, 8286 lex ander, 12 alphabet, 11, 12 ambrosia, 6869 phrodite, 35, 76 pollo, 35, 110 res, 35, 76 rtemis, 35, 101 sia inor, 7, 10, 13, 9091 thena, 14, 15, 35, 42, 48 thens, 6, 10, 11, 1316, 25, 35, 52, 62, 76, 88, 108 tlas, 34, 35, 36, 38 utonoe , 76, 78 cho, 100108 leusinian ysteries, 62, 74 leusis, 62, 65, 67, 69, 70 pimetheus, 32, 4043, 48, 55 ridanus iver, 110, 116 thiopia, 110, 111, 117 uripides, 13, 77

farmers, 7, 10, 110 festival, 14, 16, 62, 7677, 88 flood, 95, 97, 98 aia, 184, 41, 116 guests, 15, 25, 9098

ades, 30, 33, 34, 36, 37, 6174, 79, 113 armony, 76 harvest, 61, 62, 67, 72 eca te, 6667 elen, 11 eliades, the, 116 elius, 6667, 110118 helmet of invisibility, 33, 36, 61 ephaestus, 12, 15, 35, 45, 52, 54, 56, 58, 116 era, 15, 30, 35, 79, 80, 101103, 107 ermes, 35, 70, 9097 esiod, 13, 18, 50, 53, 59, 118 estia, 30, 35 omer, 13, 118 hope, 57, 58, 59 hospitality, 9198 ours, the 112, 114 hubris, 110, 117 undred-handed nes, 2024, 3234, 36 yperion, 22, 110 bacchantes, 8084, 87 acchus, see Dionysus aucis, 9098 oeotia, 76

admus, 76, 78, 85, 86 aucasus ountains, 40, 45, 49 eleus, ing, 67, 69 entu ries, the, 112 ephisus, 100 haos, 18, 19, 23 hios, 13 lymene, 110113, 117 oe us, 22, 35 constellation, 118 orinth, 6 creation, 1825,40, 48, 98 rete, 6, 10, 30, 38 rius, 22 ronus, 2225, 2938, 41, 61 yclopes, 2023, 3233, 36, 61 D Delphi, 15 Demeter, 30, 35, 4344, 6174 democracy, 11, 13, 52 Demophoon, 68-69 Dion ysus,14, 61, 7677, 8088

apetus, 22, 32, 34 liad, he, 13 initiates, 62, 74 no, 76, 78

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sland of the Dead, 34, 37 thaca, 13

acedonia, 11 aia, 35 marriage, 15, 16, 35, 56, 59, 6365, 72, 111 editerranean ea, 6, 7, 38, 118 enelaus, ing, 11 etamorphoses, he, 14, 100, 110 metamorph osis, 100 etanira, ueen, 6869 ilky Way, 110, 114, 117 inos, ing, 10 nemosyn e, 21 ount lympus, 15, 18, 27, 32, 34, 35, 41, 43, 45, 66, 69, 71, 95 monster, 20, 21, 23, 25, 41 uses, 18 ycenae, 10, 38 hrygia, 9092, 96, 97 playwrights, 13, 77 poets, 13, 14, 18, 50, 90, 118 polis, 1 1 pomegranate seeds, 7073 oseidon, 14, 15, 30, 33, 34, 36, 37 rometheus, 32, 405 0, 52, 55, 58 religion, 10, 13, 1416, 25, 28, 38, 40, 61, 76, 90, 108 , 61 hodes, 118 omans, 12, 13, 90, 118 hea, 21, 22, 25, 2930, 36

sacrifice, 14, 25, 44 easons, the, 112 seasons, 6, 62, 73 emele, 76, 7880, 82, 86 sickle, 22, 24, 25 ophocles, 13, 77 parta, 6, 10, 11 tyx, iver, 77, 79, 8 0, 113, 114 narcissism, 108 arcissus,100, 102108 narcissus (flower), 66, 106, 107 nymph, 30, 80, 100, 101, 102, 105107

artarus, 21, 22, 23, 34, 36 ethys, 21, 110 theater, 13, 14, 7677, 88 hebes, 10 , 76, 7886 heia, 21, 110 hemis, 21, 32, 34 heogony, he, 13, 18, 53 itans, 212 2, 24, 25, 2729, 3236, 40, 41, 50, 61, 110 trident, 33, 36 rojan War, 13 roy, 10 , 13 oath, 77, 113114 oceanid, 110 ceanus, 22, 110 dyssey, he, 13 lympia, 6, 27, 2 8 lympians, 25, 27, 28, 3238, 40, 41, 43, 45, 55, 61, 76 lympic ames, 27 omens , 15, 28, 43 oracles, 14, 15 vid, 1314, 90, 100, 108, 110, 118 nderworld, 34, 37, 61, 7073, 77 ranus, 18-23, 29, 36 andora, 5259 pantheon, 14, 15, 18, 76, 87 eloponnesus, 6, 10, 27 entheus, 8286 ericles, 11 ersephone, 6174 haethon, 110118 hilemon, 9098 hoebe, 21, 35

W wine, 14, 30, 61, 68, 76, 80, 87, 94 Works and Days, 13 women and society, 11, 1 6, 52, 59

eus, 1416, 28, 30-38, 41, 42, 4450, 52, 5458, 61, 6365, 7073, 7680, 86, 9098, 1011 07, 111113, 116, 118 128

 

 

          

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