Greek Mythology The Beginning

In the begining there was only chaos. Then out of the void
appeared Erebus, the unknowable place where death dwells, and
Night. All else was empty, silent, endless, darkness. Then
somehow Love was born bringing a start of order. From Love
came Light and Day. Once there was Light and Day, Gaea, the
earth appeared.

Then Erebus slept with Night, who gave birth to Ether, the
heavenly light, and to Day the earthly light. Then Night alone
produced Doom, Fate, Death, Sleep, Dreams, Nemesis, and others
that come to man out of darkness.

Meanwhile Gaea alone gave birth to Uranus, the heavens. Uranus became Gaea's mate covering her on
all sides. Together they produced the three Cyclopes, the three Hecatoncheires, and twelve Titans.

However, Uranus was a bad father and husband. He hated the Hecatoncheires. He imprisoned them by
pushing them into the hidden places of the earth, Gaea's womb. This angered Gaea and she ploted against
Uranus. She made a flint sickle and tried to get her children to attack Uranus. All were too afraid except, the
youngest Titan, Cronus.

Gaea and Cronus set up an ambush of Uranus as he lay with Gaea at night. Cronus grabed his father and
castrated him, with the stone sickle, throwing the severed genitales into the ocean. The fate of Uranus is not
clear. He either died, withdrew from the earth, or exiled himself to Italy. As he departed he promised that Cronus
and the Titans would be punished. From his spilt blood came the Giants, the Ash Tree Nymphs, and
the Erinnyes. From the sea foam where his genitales fell came Aphrodite.

Cronus became the next ruler. He imprisoned the Cyclopes and the Hecatoncheires in Tartarus. He
married his sister Rhea, under his rule the Titans had many offspring. He ruled for many ages. However, Gaea
and Uranus both had prophesied that he would be overthrown by a son. To avoid this Cronus swallowed each of
his children as they were born. Rhea was angry at the treatment of the children and ploted against Cronus. When
it came time to give birth to her sixth child, Rhea hid herself, then she left the child to be raised by nymphs. To
concel her act she wrapped a stone in swaddling cloths and passed it off as the baby to Cronus, who swallowed
it.

This child was Zeus. He grew into a handsome youth on Crete. He consulted Metis on how to defeat
Cronus. She prepaired a drink for Cronus design to make him vomit up the other children. Rhea convinced
Cronus to accept his son and Zeus was allowed to return to Mount Olympus as Cronus's cupbearer. This gave
Zeus the opertunity to slip Cronus the specially prepaired drink. This worked as planned and the other five
children were vomitted up. Being gods they were unharmed. They were thankful to Zeus and made him their
leader.

Cronus was yet to be defeated. He and the Titans, except Prometheus, Epimetheus, and Oceanus, fought
to retain their power. Atlas became their leader in battle and it looked for some time as though they would win
and put the young gods down. However, Zeus was cunning. He went down to Tartarus and freed the Cyclopes
and the Hecatoncheires. Prometheus joined Zeus as well. He returned to battle with his new allies. The Cyclopes
provided Zeus with lighting bolts for weapons. The Hecatoncheires he set in ambush armed with boulders. With
the time right, Zeus retreated drawing the Titans into the Hecatoncheires's ambush. The Hecatoncheires rained
down hundreds of boulders with such a fury the Titans thought the mountains were falling on them. They broke
and ran giving Zeus victory.

Zeus exiled the Titans who had fought against him into Tartarus. Except for Atlas, who was singled out
for the special punishment of holding the world on his shoulders.

However, even after this victory Zeus was not safe. Gaea angry that her children had been imprisoned
gave birth to a last offspring, Typhoeus. Typhoeus was so fearsome that most of the gods fled. However, Zeus
faced the monster and flinging his lighting bolts was able to kill it. Typhoeus was burried under Mount Etna in
Sicily.
 Much later a final challenge to Zeus rule was made by the Giants. They went so far as to attempt to
invade Mount Olympus, piling mountain upon mountain in an effort to reach the top. But, the gods had grown
strong and with the help of Heracles the Giants were subdued or killed.

Chaos was – most Greek cosmologies tell us – the very first of all, the origin of everything, the empty,
unfathomable space at the beginning of time. But, it was more than just a gaping void – as its name is usually
translated from Ancient Greek. Personified as a female, Chaos was the primal feature of the universe, a
shadowy realm of mass and energy from which much of what is powerful (and mostly negative and dark) in the
world would stem forth in later genealogies.

Eurynome, the goddess of all creation, arose from Chaos and separated the
sea from the sky. Then, dancing naked upon the waves, she created the wind and
rubbed it in her hands to create the serpent Ophion, who made love to her.
Pregnant, Eurynome became a dove and laid the World Egg, and Ophion coiled
about the Egg and hatched it. This Egg brought forth the cosmos and everything in
it. Then Eurynome and Ophion settled on Olympus, but their union was unhappy.
When Ophion proclaimed himself the Creator, Eurynome banished him to the
netherworld. Finally Eurynome established the seven planets, each with a Titan
and Titaness to rule it. When man appeared he sprang from the soil, and the first
man, Pelasgus, taught the others to eat acorns, build huts, and make a rude
garment.

The clever Titan Prometheus and his stupid brother Epimetheus were spared imprisonment in Tartarus because
they had kept their neutrality in the war between the Olympians and the Titans. According to one tradition Prometheus
shaped man out of mud, and Athena breathed life into the clay figure. Once man was created, however, Prometheus
allowed his scatterbrained brother, Epimetheus, to dispense various qualities to the animals and man. So Epimetheus
began by giving the best traits to the animals — swiftness, courage, cunning, stealth, and the like — and he wound up
with nothing to give to man. So Prometheus took the matter in hand and gave man an upright posture like the gods. And
this gift enabled him to survive.

Prometheus had little love for the Olympians, who had banished his fellow Titans to the depths of Tartarus. His
primary affection was for man. Now man had to make animal sacrifices to the gods, but a certain portion of the animal
was to be given to the gods and a certain portion to man. Zeus had to decide. So Prometheus made two piles. He
wrapped the bones in juicy fat and he hid the meat under the ugly hide. Zeus chose the bones wrapped in fat, much to his
anger.

In retaliation Zeus deprived man of fire. But Prometheus was not to be stopped. He went up to heaven and
lighted his torch at the sun and carried it back to earth. Zeus was livid with rage when he saw that man had fire. He
ordered that Hephaestus create a mortal of stunning beauty, and when Hephaestus had done so the gods gave this new
creature many gifts. But Hermes gave it a deceptive heart and a lying tongue. This was the first woman, Pandora, and a
worse calamity never befell man.

Prometheus had warned his brother Epimetheus about accepting gifts from Zeus. Yet when Epimetheus saw this
radiant creature Pandora he could not resist her. She had brought with her a jar that she was forbidden to open. But being
a woman, her curiosity won out. As she opened the lid a multitude of evils flew out and scattered over the world to afflict
man. Still, there remained in the jar one consolation for man — Hope. With all the misery Pandora had unleashed hope
was the only thing that could keep mankind going.

For Prometheus, Zeus reserved a special punishment. In addition to anger at the sacrifice trick and the theft of
fire, Zeus knew that Prometheus held the secret of the god who would finally dethrone him. In defiance Prometheus
would not tell the secret. Zeus had Prometheus chained to a rock in the Caucasus, and every day he sent an eagle to peck
out the Titan's liver, which grew back again every night. This agony was drawn out for ages. There were two conditions on
which he could be released from the rock: first, that an immortal must suffer death for Prometheus, and, second, that a
mortal must slay the eagle and unchain him. And in time the Centaur Chiron did agree to die for him, while Heracles killed
the eagle and unbound him.

According to another story the gods created man, and man existed on earth while the Titan Cronus ruled. The first
race of men lived in complete happiness. During that Golden Age men were free from pain, toil, and old age. Dying was as
easy as falling asleep. They enjoyed the fruits of the earth in plenty. And once this race had died out these mortals
remained as spirits to protect men from evil.

Then the gods created the men of the Silver Age, who were far inferior. These men remained children for a
hundred years under the dominance of their mothers. And when they finally matured they died off shortly because of
their foolishness. In this age men had to work, and the year was divided into seasons so that men knew cold and heat.
Crime and impiety also had their beginnings in this period, so Zeus put an end to this race.

Next Zeus created the men of the Bronze Age out of ash spears. These men were mighty, tall, and ferocious, a
violent race of warriors who worked in metal and produced a few rudiments of civilization. In the end these men
destroyed themselves with their warfare.

The next period was the Heroic Age, a time of notable heroes and deeds. Heracles and Jason, Theseus, and the
great men of the Trojan War existed then. As a tribute to them Zeus established the Elysian Fields as a resting place for
their spirits after death.

Still not discouraged, Zeus created the men of the Iron Age, the worst race ever to appear on earth and one
destined to become totally depraved. Hard work, trouble, pain, and weariness were the lot of this group of men, which
still exists. At the last the gods will totally abandon this vicious race, leaving it in utter pain.

At one time Zeus was so thoroughly disgusted with man and his impious, evil ways that he decided to annihilate
the species with a deluge. Prometheus, who was still at large then, warned his son Deucalion to prepare a chest. When
the rains began to fall Deucalion and his wife Pyrrha climbed into the chest, which was loaded with provisions, and they
floated on the ocean that drowned the rest of the world. After ten days the flood subsided, and the chest came to rest on
Mount Parnassus. When they emerged, Deucalion and Pyrrha offered a sacrifice to Zeus and asked him to restore the
human race. The couple also went to Delphi and prayed to the Titaness of Justice, who told them to cast the bones of
their mother behind them. At first this command mystified them, but Deucalion had an inspiration. His mother's bones
must be the stones that lay upon the earth, for the earth had given birth to mankind. As Deucalion started casting stones
behind him they became men, and as Pyrrha cast stones behind her they became women. In this manner the human race
was reborn.

Heracles (Hercules) and the Twelve Labors

The greatest of the divine heroes in Greek mythology, Heracles, known in the west by his Roman
name Hercules, was the son of the god Zeus and the mortal Alceme. There are many stories of
Heracles' strength and heroism but the most well-known one centers around the twelve labors he was
forced to perform. Driven mad by the goddess Hera, Heracles slew his own children and to atone for
his crimes he had to perform ten tasks or labors set by his archenemy Eurystheus, who eventually
raised the number to twelve.
The Twelve Labors of Heracles
1. Slay the Nemean Lion: With his bare hands, Heracles kills the lion that was attacking the city
of Nemea, wearing the fur as a cloak to demonstrate his victory.
2. Slay the Hydra: A fire-breathing monster with the body of a lion and nine serpent heads, the
Hydra was considered unbeatable. Heracles, along with Iolaus, was able to kill it, but it was not
easy. Every time they cut off a head, another two would grow in its place. Eventually, Heracles
and Iolaus cut off all of the heads and sealed the wounds with fire, preventing the Hydra from
regenerating.
3. Capture the Golden Hind: Instead of killing the hind, Heracles had to capture it alive and
present it to Eurystheus.
4. Capture the Erymanthian Boar: A wild and powerful boar was on the loose and had to be
captured and brought to Mycenae, with Heracles successfully capturing the beast.
5. Clean the Augean Stables in one day: King Augeas had a stable of divine cattle whose feces
was poisonous and voluminous. By rerouting the rivers Alpheus and Peneus, Heracles was able
to clean the stables.
6. Slay the Stymphalian Birds: Sacred to Ares, the Stymphalian Birds had beaks of bronze and
were incredibly violent, overrunning Arcadia. Since the birds had migrated into a swamp, Heracles
had to get creative, utilizing a rattle given to him by Hephaestus to scare the birds into the air,
shooting them down with his bow and arrow.
7. Capture the Cretan Bull: A wild bull was causing havoc on the island of Crete and Heracles
was tasked him capturing the beast. With his bare hands, he wrestled the bull to the ground,
successfully capturing it and sending it back to the mainland.
8. Steal the Mares of Diomedes: King Diomedes of Thrace had trained his horses to eat human
flesh and Heracles was tasked with bringing back these mares. Heracles headed to Thrace and
stayed awake all night until Diomedes fell asleep before cutting the bronze manger the horses
were tied to. Heracles chased the mares to the end of the peninsula before digging a ditch around
them, creating an island. Eventually, Diomedes appeared and Heracles slew him, feeing him to
the mares and calming them down so that he could sew their mouths shut and take them back to
Eurystheus.
9. Obtain the belt of Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons: Next Heracles was tasked with
retrieving the belt of the Queen of the Amazons, a fearsome group of warrior women. Hippolyta
was impressed with the exploits of Heracles and was ready to give him the belt. However, Hera,
who despised Heracles, had appeared before the Amazons, saying that someone wanted to steal
the queen away. The Amazons confronted Heracles, who then believed this had all been a plot by
Hippolyta to kill him. Heracles killed the Amazons, including Hippolyta, and took the belt.
10. Obtain the cattle of the monster Geryon: Heracles traveled west to steal the cattle from the
massive giant Geryon. The giant attacked Heracles but it was no match for his skills at archery,
with one of his arrows piercing Geryon's forehead. Heracles obtained the cattle and despite more
interference from Hera, he was able to take the cattle to Eurystheus.
11. Steal the apples of the Hesperides: Eurystheus claimed that slaying the Hydra (because
Iolaus helped him) and cleaning the Augean stables (because the rivers did the work) did not
count and gave Heracles two more labors. Heracles was tasked with stealing the apples of the
evening nymphs, the Hesperides. After finding the garden of the Hesperides, Heracles found the
god Atlas there holding up the heavens. Since Heracles could not reach the apples himself, he
asked Atlas to grab them while he held up the heavens. Atlas agreed and got the apples,
however, he then decided that he did not want to return to holding up the heavens. Heracles
tricked Atlas into giving him the apples, saying that he would remain to hold up the heavens but
first he needed Atlas to hold the heavens while he adjusted his cloak.
12. Capture and bring back Cerberus: For the final labor, Heracles was tasked with bringing back
the three-headed dog, Cerberus, who guarded the gates of the underworld. Heracles asked
Hades if he could bring Cerberus with him and the god agreed if Heracles could subdue the beast
with only his bare hands. Heracles was successful and slung Cerberus on his back, before
walking back from the underworld and presenting the beast to Eurystheus.
 Prometheus having his liver eaten by an eagle. | Source
Prometheus and the Theft of Fire
Prometheus was one of the original Titans who was overthrown by
Zeus and the other Olympians, however, he was one of the few to
survive from being banished to Tartarus.
Prometheus would constantly come into conflict with Zeus and
after Zeus withdrew the use of fire by mortals, Prometheus
famously stole the fire and gave it back to humanity. As
punishment for his transgressions, he was chained to a rock in the
Caucasus Mountains for eternity. Every day, an eagle (the symbol
of Zeus) would fly to the rock and eat the liver of Prometheus.
Since he was immortal, his liver would regenerate, only for the
cycle to repeat the next day.
Eventually, Heracles freed Prometheus from his prison.

Narcissus gazing
into his own
reflection. | Source
Narcissus and
Echo
Narcissus was
known far and wide
for his amazing beauty and one day in the forest, the
mountain nymph Echo saw him and fell in love with
him. As he followed him, Narcissus felt that
someone was following him and called out to Echo,
shouting "who's there?" again and again, only to have
Echo repeat his words. Eventually, Echo showed her
self and tried to embrace Narcissus, only to
have him reject her and send her away, leaving her
heartbroken.
This angered Nemesis, the goddess of revenge,
who then lead Narcissus to a pool deep in the woods
where he gazed upon his reflection of himself
as a young man. He did not realize it was his
own reflection, and instead, he fell in love with it, unable to leave.

Source
Sisyphus
Sisyphus was the king of Ephyra, and he
was known for his massive ego and cunning. He
defied the gods on many occasions,
cheating death through means of trickery
and deceit.
This angered Zeus, who then forced Sisyphus to
roll an immense boulder up a hill. Just when the
boulder got to the top of the hill, it would roll
back down to the bottom, consigning Sisyphus to
an eternity of unending frustrations. This
punishment was devised by Zeus for
Sisyphus for his hubris against the gods for
thinking that he, a mortal, could be more
clever and cunning than the gods.

Perseus holding the head of

Medusa. | Source
Perseus and Medusa
There are many great myths about the legendary
hero Perseus, but the most famous one would
have to be the slaying of Medusa.
King Polydectes of Seriphos whished to
marry Danae, the mother of Perseus,
something Perseus did not approve of. This
caused a rift between the two men so
Polydectes plotted to send Perseus away in
disgrace. At a lavish dinner party, Polydectes
asked every guest to bring a horse as a gift,
and when Perseus did not have any gift to
give, he asked Polydectes to name his gift. In
an attempt to do away with Perseus for good,
he asked him to bring him the head of
Medusa, whose gaze turned people to stone.
After receiving a polished shield, a knapsack
for Medusa's head, an adamantine sword,
and Hade's helm of darkness (giving invisibility), Perseus headed out to slay Medusa. Using his
polished shield to view Medusa's reflection as he approached, he was able to safely cut off her head
and put it in the knapsack.

Orpheus and Eurydice | Source

Orpheus and Eurydice
Orpheus was known as a great musician,
and it was said that he could get trees to
bend to listen to his music. Eventually, he fell
in love and married Eurydice, but on their
wedding day she was bitten by a snake and
died.
Orpheus was so sad that he only played
mournful music, and it was so sad that it
even touched the Gods, who felt sorry that
he had lost his wife. Eventually, Hermes
arrived to convince Orpheus to travel to the
underworld and convince Hades and
Persephone to let Eurydice come back to the
world of the living.
Through his music, Orpheus was able to charm Hades and Persephone to allow Eurydice to come
back with him. However, they gave him a stipulation: that Orpheus would have to walk ahead of
Eurydice as they left the underworld, and he could not turn and look back her until they were back in
the world of the living. Sadly, Orpheus could not overcome his anxiety and he turned to look back at
Eurydice just as he cleared the doorway to the underworld, causing Eurydice to instantly fade away.
 Theseus battling the Minotaur. | Source
Theseus and the Labyrinth
Theseus was a legendary hero and one of the founders
of Athens, and one of the most famous stories of his
heroism was his slaying of the Minotaur and escape
from the labyrinth.
The wife of King Minos of Crete, Pasiphae, had an
illegitimate son with a bull, a half man, half bull, the
minotaur. Instead of killing the monster, King Minos put
him in a maze called a labyrinth, and he would imprison
his enemies in the labyrinth, where they could not
escape and where they would become food for the
Minotaur. The Athenians were forced to send seven
men every year as a sacrifice to the minotaur,
something that greatly distressed Theseus.
Eventually, against his father's wishes, Theseus went to
Crete to slay the Minotaur and end the cycle of violence.
There, he met the daughter of King Minos, Ariadne, who
fell in love with him and decided to help him. She gave
him a long thread and told him to unravel it in the
labyrinth so that he would find his way out after killing
the minotaur. Theseus was able to slay the Minotaur
and escape the labyrinth, heading back to Athens with
Ariadne.

Icarus
falling
from the
sky. | Source
Icarus
Daedalus, who had constructed the labyrinth,
was imprisoned in a tower on Crete with his son
Icarus by King Minos so that he would not divulge
the true nature of the Minotaur. Eventually, Daedalus
devised a brilliant plan to escape the tower, he would
collect feathers use wax to glue the feathers together
to create wings. Eventually, he made two sets of
wings, one for himself and one for Icarus. Daedalus
warned his son to not fly to close to the sun, otherwise,
the wax would melt from the heat and the wings
would fall apart.
Icarus did not listen to his father as he was too
consumed by the wonder of being able to fly, so he
flew too close to the sun, causing his wings to
break apart and causing Icarus to plummet into
the sea.

Oedipus condemning his children after blinding

himself. | Source
Oedipus
One of the most tragic Greek tales, Oedipus is a
tragic hero who ended up fulfilling the oracle's
prophecy to kill his father and marry his mother.
Oedipus was the son of King Laius of Thebes
and Jocasta, and the oracle prophesied that he
would kill Laius. Upon hearing this, Laius
tethered Oedipus' ankles together and had his
servant leave him to die on a nearby
mountaintop. His servant did not do as he told,
instead giving the baby to a shepherd,
eventually becoming adopted by King Polybus of Corinth.
Once Oedipus had become a man, he heard that he was a bastard and not the biological son of
Polybus. In order to confirm this, Oedipus went to the oracle at Delphi, who told him that he was
destined to kill his father and marry his mother. Fearing this, he decided to not return to Corinth,
instead stopping in Thebes. Before he got to Thebes, he came into conflict with Laius, killing him when
he attempted to run him over with his chariot.
Eventually, Oedipus arrived and Thebes and answered the riddle of the Sphinx. Jocasta's brother,
Creon, had promised the kingdom of Thebes to anyone who could solve the riddle, thus Oedipus
became the ruler of Thebes and marries Jocasta.
Eventually, a plague falls upon Thebes, and after consulting with the oracle, Oedipus realizes that
justice must be brought to the killer of Laius. After angrily arguing with the blind prophet Tiresias,
Oedipus realizes that he is the one who killed Laius and that he was not the biological son of Polybus.
Jocasta had discovered this fact and hung herself in disgust for her actions, and Oedipus, upon
realizing what he had done and seeing Jocasta's dead body, stabbed his eyes out and was exiled.

The Trojan horse being pulled into the city of

Troy. | Source
Trojan Horse
The epic struggle between the kingdom of Troy and the
Greek alliance contains many fascinating stories,
however the most famous is most likely the story of the
Trojan Horse.
After 10 years of war, the Greek army grew tired of the
conflict and came up with an idea to finally breach the
walls of Troy. The cunning Odysseus suggested that the
Greek army use subterfuge to breach the walls. In the
span of three days, the Greek army constructed a giant
wooden horse, burned their tents, and sailed just out of sight, leaving Sinon behind to tell the Trojans
that the Greeks had indeed sailed home.
The Greeks had engraved an inscription on the horse, saying it was an offering to Athena, and Sinon
is able to convince the Trojans that the offering was in good faith. Despite reservations from some of
the Trojans that the horse is a trap, they take it into the city and begin celebrating. In the middle of the
night, Odysseus and the other Greeks who hid in the horse went out into the city, lighting the beacons
at the top of the walls to signal for the Greek fleet to return.
Thanks to this trick, the Greek army was able to finally breach the walls of Troy and win the war.