Greek Myths

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Greek Myths

Postby Tiberius Dionysius Draco on Wed May 14, 2003 8:41 pm

Salvete Romani,

when starting a thead like this, why not start at the very beginning? Therefore I've posted the Creation Myths of the Greeks, which are called the "Theogonia",and were written by the Greek Poet Hesiodus (Hesiodos), who lived in the 8th century B.C.

His stories are one of the oldest known sources about the Greek view of the World. According to him, everything eventually came from Chaos, the empty void at the beginning of creation. From Chaos came five "elements": Gaea (Mother Earth), Tartarus (the Underworld deep within the Earth), Erebus (the Darkness of Tartarus), Eros (the Power of Love) and Night (the Darkness).

Mother Earth, Gaea, produced a son, Uranus, who was the sky. Then they had children. The marriage between them, a mother and her son, wasn't seen as inappropriate, two of their children and two of their grandchildren would also marry each other. Gods could do that, while it was strictly forbidden for humans. Rain fell from the sky onto the Earth, making plants grow; animals appeared from the rivers and ocean. Next, many strangely-shaped monsters and giants were born. Among these were three Cyclops--each of whom had only one huge eye in the middle of his forehead. Uranus treated them cruelly and banished them to the Underworld. Later, some human-shaped giants, called Titans, were born; they later became the first gods and goddesses.

Mother Earth could not forgive her husband Uranus for his treatment of her first children and encouraged the Titans, lead by Cronos, to rebel against their father. He attacked and overpowered Uranus with a sickle and took power from him. Three drops of Uranus' blood fell on the earth and formed the Furies (Erinyes). They had a dog's head and bat's wings and were the spirits of revenge and justice. They hounded murderers, especially those who killed a relative. Another drop fell into the sea, creating foam from which was born the goddess Aphrodite.

Cronos married his sister, Rhea, and became King of the Titans. They had five children but Cronos had been warned that one of them would kill him; so, he swallowed each one as it was born. To save her sixth child, Rhea tricked Cronos into swallowing a stone wrapped in baby's clothing and hid the child among some lesser nature goddesses called nymphs who brought him up safely. This child was Zeus. When he grew up, Zeus returned home in disguise and slipped a potion into Cronos' drink, making him choke. The children he had swallowed were coughed out, whole and safe. They were his daughters Hestia, Demeter, and Hera, and sons Pluto and Poseidon.

A fierce battle then took place. Zeus freed the Cyclops who made thunderbolts for him to hurl. They also made a forked trident for Poseidon, and a helmet that made its wearer invisible for Pluto. But, most of the Titans and giants sided with Cronos. After a terrible struggle the younger gods were victorious. The Titans were banished: one of them, Atlas, was made to hold up the heavens as punishment.

Zeus became ruler of the sky and king of all the gods. Poseidon was made king of the Ocean and Pluto of the Underworld. The home of the gods was Mount Olympus. At first, because it was relatively inaccessible, it was thought to be the actual home of the gods; later it became an imaginary place high above the earth.
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Postby Gnaeus Dionysius Draco on Wed May 14, 2003 9:25 pm

Chaire Tiberi,

Whoa! This is going to be a loooooooooong term project. It's virtually impossible to collect *all* Greek myths I think, first because there are usually two or more versions extant and secondly because we have to know what qualifies as a myth.

The theogonia is a myth but is of importance to religion at the same time. The Ilias and Odysseia are not only great legends but are also very important to literature and history.

Mind you, I'm not saying it's a bad idea! Just saying that you'll need a tremendous amount of time and/or energy to finish this.

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Postby Gnaeus Dionysius Draco on Wed May 14, 2003 9:27 pm

How about this angle, to give it an easier start?

What is your favourite Greek myth, legend or tale? And why?

Delight us!

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Postby Tiberius Dionysius Draco on Thu May 15, 2003 7:11 pm

Salve Draco,

it was never my intention to catalog al the Greek myths ever written. I just wanted to get this project started because I like mythology a lot and especially Greek and Roman myths.

Maybe it was a bad idea to start with the Theogonia because of its reliogious importance. Still, this doens't mean that we can still post our favorite myths here.

My intention is to create a thread here, similair to the thread in Collegium Artium concerning non-Greek myths.

So post away, fellow myth-lovers! :)

Vale bene,

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Postby Quintus Aurelius Orcus on Thu May 15, 2003 9:11 pm

Khairete
I thought beginning with the theogonia was a bad move considering the fact that there are different versions of this myth out there. You could post your favorite part of this myth here.
Also maybe we can post Greek legends here aswell and/or fables?
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The Twelve Labours of Herakles

Postby Quintus Aurelius Orcus on Thu May 29, 2003 1:09 pm

Khairete

One of my favorite myths are the 12 labours of Herakles. These myths show us that heroes are also humans. Harkles maybe the strongest halfgod, but he is also part human. He didn't do the labours because he had a good heart. Apollo through the Pythia ordered him to work for his cousin when he had killed his wife and children in order to purify himself. Its a shame what the producers of Hercules: the legendary journeys did with the hero. I admit: it was a fresh approach, but to me they damaged the integrity of both the hero as of mythology.
HERAKLES

Herakles was the son of Zeus and Alkmene. As Hera was always hostile to the offspring of her husband by mortal mothers, she declared war against Hercules from his birth. She sent two serpents to destroy him as he lay in his cradle, but the precocious infant strangled them with his own hands. He was, however, by the arts of Hera rendered subject to Eurystheos and compelled to perform all his commands. Eurystheos enjoined upon him a succession of desperate adventures, which are called the "Twelve Labours of Herakles."
The Nemean Lion

The first was the fight with the Nemean lion. The valley of Nemea was infested by a terrible lion. Eurystheos ordered Herakles to bring him the skin of this monster. After using in vain his club and arrows against the lion, Herakles strangled the animal with his hands. He returned carrying the dead lion on his shoulders; but Eurystheos was so frightened at the sight of it and at this proof of the prodigious strength of the hero, that he ordered him to deliver the account of his exploits in future outside the town.

The Hydra
His next labour was the slaughter of the Hydra. This monster ravaged the country of Argos, and dwelt in a swamp near the well of Amymone. This well had been discovered by Amymone when the country was suffering from drought, and the story was that Poseidon, who loved her, had permitted her to touch the rock with his trident, and a spring of three outlets burst forth. Here the Hydra took up his position, and Herakles was sent to destroy him. The Hydra had nine heads, of which the middle one was immortal. Herakles struck off its heads with his club, but in the place of the head knocked off, two new ones grew forth each time. At length with the assistance of his faithful servant Iolaos, he burned away the heads of the Hydra, and buried the ninth or immortal one under a huge rock.

The Augian Stables
Another labour was the cleaning of the Augian stables. Augias, king of Elis, had a herd of three thousand oxen, whose stalls had not been cleansed for thirty years. Herakles brought the rivers Alpheos and Peneos through them, and cleansed them thoroughly in one day.

Herakles & the belt of Hippolyta
His next labour was of a more delicate kind. Admeta, the daughter of Eurystheos, longed to obtain the belt of the queen of the Amazons, and Eurystheus ordered Herakles to go and get it. The Amazons were a nation of women. They were very warlike and held several flourishing cities. It was their custom to bring up only the female children; the boys were either sent away to the neighbouring nations or put to death. Herakles was accompanied by a number of volunteers, and after various adventures at last reached the country of the Amazons. Hippolyta, the queen, received him kindly, and consented to yield him her girdle, but Hera, taking the form of an Amazon, went and persuaded the rest that the strangers were carrying off their queen. They instantly armed and came in great numbers down to the ship. Herakles, thinking that Hippolyta, had acted treacherously, slew her, and taking her girdle made sail homewards.

The cattle of Geryoneos

Another task enjoined him was to bring to Eurystheos the oxen of Geryoneos, a monster with three bodies, who dwelt in the island of Erytheia (the red), so called because it lay at the west, under the rays of the setting sun. This description is thought to apply to Spain, of which Geryoneos was king. After traversing various countries, Herakles reached at length the frontiers of Libya and Europe, where he raised the two mountains of Calpe and Abyla, as monuments of his progress, or, according to another account, rent one mountain into two and left half on each side, forming the straits of Gibralter, the two mountains being called the pillars of Herakles. The oxen were guarded by the giant Eurytion and his two-headed dog, but Herakles killed the giant and his dog and brought away the oxen in safety to Eurystheos.

The Golden Apples

The most difficult labour of all was getting the golden apples of the Herakles, for Herakles did not know where to find them. These werethe apples which Hera had received at her wedding from the goddess of the Earth (Gaia), and which she had intrusted to the keeping of the daughters of Hesperos, assisted by a watchful dragon. After various adventures Herakles arrived at Mount Atlas in Africa. Atlas was one of the Titans who had warred against the gods, and after they were subdued, Atlas was condemned to bear on his shoulders the weight of the heavens. He was the father of the Hesperides, and Herakles thought might, if any one could, find the apples and bring them to him. But how to send Atlas away from his post, or bear up the heavens while he was gone? Herakles took the burden on his own shoulders, and sent Atlas to seek the apples. He returned with them, and though somewhat reluctantly, took his burden upon his shoulders again, and let Hercules return with the apples to Eurystheos.
A celebrated exploit of Herakles was his victory over Anteos. Antaeos, the son of Gaia, the Earth, was a mighty giant and wrestler, whose strength was invincible so long as he remained in contact with his mother Earth. He compelled all strangers who came to his country to wrestle with him, on condition that if conquered (as they all were) they should be put to death. Herakles encountered him, and finding that it was of no avail to throw him, for he always rose with renewed strength from every fall, he lifted him up from the earth and strangled him in the air.

Kakos was a huge giant, who inhabited a cave on Mount Aventine, and plundered the surrounding country. When Herakles was driving home the oxen of Geryoneos, Kakos stole part of the cattle, while the hero slept. That their footprints might not serve to show where they had been driven, be dragged them backward by their tails to his cave; so their tracks all seemed to show that they had gone in the opposite direction. Herakles was deceived by this stratagem, and would have failed to find his oxen, if it had not happened that in driving the remainder of the herd past the cave where the stolen ones were concealed, those within began to low, and were thus discovered. Kakos was slain by Herakles.

Herakles & Cerberos

The last exploit we shall record was bringing Cerberos from the lower world. Herakles descended into Hades, accompanied by Hermes and Athena. He obtained permission from Plouton (Hades) to carry Cerberus to the upper air, provided he could do it without the use of weapons; and in spite of the monster's struggling, he seized him, held him fast, and carried him to Eurystheos, and afterwards brought him back again. When he was in Hades he obtained the liberty of Theseos, his admirer and imitator, who had been detained a prisoner there for an unsuccessful attempt to carry off Persephone.
I think i forgot a couple of labours but i will post them later.
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Pygmalion and Galatea

Postby Tiberius Dionysius Draco on Sun Jun 08, 2003 1:39 pm

Salvete Romani,

Pygmalion and Galatea

Pygmalion, a brilliant artist who lived on Cyprus, tried to create the pefect woman. He sculpted a beautiful ivory statue and named the statue Galatea.

The statue he created looked very much alive and he perfected it each and every day until there was nothing left to perfect. The statue was beautiful and Pygmalion fell in love with it. He began kissing and caressing the statue, but because it was only a statue it couldn't kiss him back. He also gave Galatea jewels and flowers for in her ivory hair but the statue remained stone-cold. Pygmalion was terribly sad and tried to pretend very hard that his creation was alive.

Aphrodite, the godess of love, was very much impressed by this original and devoted love and decided to make Pygmalion's wish come true. At a festival honoring Aphrodite, Pygmalion asked the Goddess of Love if she might assist him in finding a maiden like his statue, but Aphrodite knew what he really wanted. She acknowledged his prayer by causing the altar flame to leap three times.

When Pygmalion returned to his home, he walked over to touch his statue and discovered that it was warm to the touch. So he kissed it, and its lips became soft. His creation was coming to life before his eyes! He joyfully thanked Aphrodite. She was present and their wedding, and Pygmalion and Galatea (what he named his statue) had two children, Paphus and Metharme.

Valete bene,

Tiberius Dionysius Draco

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The Rape of Persephone

Postby Quintus Aurelius Orcus on Sat Jun 14, 2003 11:42 pm

The Abduction of Kore/ Persephone

There are several versions of this myth and some of them are Roman versions. What it comes down to is that Hades falls "in love" with Persephone when he saw her.

Hades approached her but the maidens who accompanied Persephone tried to protect her but failed. Hades grabbed her for even the girls had the change to do anything after they recognize who the deity was. He grabbed Persephone, ran to his chariot and rid with her to the Underworld where he wanted to make her his bride. The only witness besides these girls of the drama was Helios. Hecate learned of this and want to Demeter like Helios did after a while. In between Demeter swore that nothing will grow until her daughter has returned to her. Zeus and the other gods felt unpleasant about the whole situation and tried to calm her down with no success. Nothing seem to work since Hades made a deal with Zeus that he could keep Persephone which angered Demeter in the first place because of the Persephone’ s parentage: Zeus & Demeter. Anyway Zeus send Hermes out to bring Persephone back or else there will be nothing alive on the Earth anymore if it keeps up.

Hermes went so fast as he could to the Underworld where he told Hades that he had to let her go. At first he was reluctant to do so, because of his love towards the girl. He as all the other gods knew that in order to be completely free you can not eat anything from the food of the dead which she did. She ate 6 pits of a pomegranate. When Hermes brought the girl up she was welcomed back by her mother. In the mean time the shepherd of the Underworld, Menoeitos , went to Hades saying that Persephone had eating 6 pits of the pomegranate which brought much joy to the Lord. He immediately went to the surface saying the Persephone belonged to him. Demeter claimed her daughter as did Hades but the whole situation was settled before Zeus who ruled that Persephone must stay with Hades for 6 months in the Underworld and the other 6 months with her mother. So that is how the winter came into existence. Its a simplistic story but a very famous one.

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