L Flashcards
Story of Pandora’s box
- brothers Epimetheus and Promitheus got in trouble for giving man fire without asking Zeus
- Promitheus was chained and Zeus made a beautiful woman called Pandora who then became married to Epimetheus and were happy.
- Zeus sent a box full of hatred things and knew that Pandora would be too curious and would open it
- although Epimetheus warned against it, when pandora heard their cries, she had to release them so she opened the box. Out came deceit, hate, despaire, war and jealousy and inflicted on the people in the town.
- pandora then heard another cry from the box but didn’t open it. Epimetheus did because he knew it was something good. Out came hope who went about trying to reverse the effect of the five others.
- Zeus said he believed in fair chances and congratulated pandora for letting out hope, hence filling mankind with hope.
- he freed Prometheus of his chains using his thunderbolts.
Pandora creation
In Ancient Greece there were two brothers named epimetheus and Prometheus. Both of them upset Zeusfor giving man fire without permission. As punnishment, Zeus chained Prometheus to a mountain and created a charming and deceitful woman called Pandora and sent her as a gift to Epimetheus.
Phaethon and Helios- the sun chariot
Some people say it was Apollo who brought up the sun each day. Some people insist it was Helios. Still others believe Helios and Apollo were the same god. That’s the thing about myths. It all depends on who is telling the story.
As one story goes ….
Phaethon was the son of Helios. Both father and son had curly golden hair and sparkling bright eyes. Both bragged about the other all the time.
Helios thought his son was the brightest and bravest kid in the world. He named his son Phaethon, because Phaethon meant “brilliant” in the ancient Greek language.
Phaethon was equally proud of his Dad. He thought his Dad had the most important job in the world. His Dad’s job was to bring out the sun each day. If the sun did not come up, the crops would die and everyone would starve.
Each morning, the Hours, his Dad’s servants, would harness four white horses to the most splendid golden chariot. It was so splendid that it even had a nickname. The people called it The Sun Chariot.
Each morning, without fail, his Dad would leap aboard his golden Sun Chariot and begin his perilous journey across the sky. (It’s not easy to haul a burning sun behind a chariot, even a special golden one, without getting burnt yourself.) No matter how tired he was, or how jarred by the jerking of the chariot, his Dad always managed to reach every corner of the earth, to bring light and warmth to all the crops and all the people and everything on earth every single day.
In the evening, after his Dad had tucked the sun out of sight, to give the sun time to rekindle, he returned home, weary but content. Each evening, he would gather his beloved son and his equally beloved wife and daughters, and together they would watch the moon appear in the sky. The next morning, without fail, his Dad would leap again aboard his glowing chariot, and fly off to bring out the sun.
Phaethon bragged about his father to anyone who would listen, and even sometimes to those who were not listening at all. He bragged about the golden chariot. He bragged about the four wild horses. He bragged that one day his father would let him drive the chariot across the sky. Phaethon bragged so much that after a while his friends no longer believed him. They knew his Dad brought up the sun. But they did not believe his Dad would turn over such an important job to a mere boy, not even for one day. The job was too important to risk.
First, his friends began to tease Phaethon. Then, after a while, his friends began to scatter away as Phaethon approached. They were tired of his incessant bragging.
Phaethon begged his father to let him drive. He knew he was ready. He knew he could handle the horses. He knew he could do the job without getting burnt. But mostly, he wanted to prove to his friends that his father trusted him enough to give him the reins. Finally, one evening, exhausted by his son’s perpetual pleading, his father said yes.
The next morning, Phaethon eagerly climbed aboard the golden chariot. He took the reins tightly in his hands. The horses knew at once that the driver was not the capable Helios. They jerked and reared but Phaethon hung tightly to the reins.
Phaethon caught the sun up behind him on his first swing by, and began to drag the sun across the sky. Bursting with pride, he dipped down towards the earth. He wanted his friends to see him. But he flew too close. The hot sun began to dry up oceans and rivers and left deserts in their place.
When Phaethon realized his mistake, his eyes widened with panic. He yanked the reins to pull the horses higher in the sky. The horses reared in anger at being jerked so hard. The reins were ripped from Phaeton’s hands. The runaway chariot tore across the sky, burning a trail behind it, a trail some call the Milky Way. The horses slowed finally to an amble, and turned towards home, eager for oats.
High on Mount Olympus, Zeus was sitting outside on his front porch. He had been enjoying his breakfast. But now, he was watching the sky. Something was definitely wrong. It looked like Helios’ horses were headed for home, but it was too early for them to go home. Could Helios have fallen asleep? Zeus hurled a lightning bolt at the chariot as it flew by to wake Helios up. It hit the side of the chariot with incredible force. The chariot tilted. Something or someone dropped out of the chariot, and fell into the Po River.
Zeus called for his magical horse, Pegasus. They quickly caught up with the sweating horses, who had slowed nearly to stop. Pegasus took the lead. Zeus grabbed the reins. Together, Zeus, Pegasus, and the four white horses finished dragging the sun around the earth. By the time they had tucked the sun in for the night, Zeus was in a raging temper. Pegasus had been nipped three times, which did not help matters any. Zeus roared towards Ethiopia, where Helios kept his palace.
Once Zeus understood that the young boy, Phaethon, had been driving and had probably been what Zeus had noticed dropping out of the chariot into the Po River, Zeus sent Hermes to organize a search party. It was no use. Phaethon had disappeared. No one knew if he was drowned. Perhaps he had made it to shore and was hiding, ashamed. No one ever heard from him again.
As for Helios and his family, their sadness was great. Some say his daughters cried so much that Zeus, as punishment for Helios’ bad judgment, changed his daughters into the poplar trees that lined the Po River. Some insist it’s only the wind, but others say you can still hear them crying even today.
Helios continued to bring out the sun, but his heart wasn’t it. He flew too high and let clouds cover the earth. The earth suffered gloomy day after gloomy day. He flew too low, and burned rivers down to creeks.
Finally, Zeus had to intercede. He made Helios give up his job, the job that had made him so proud, and give the job of bringing out the sun each day to Apollo. Some say he gave his golden chariot to Apollo as well. But others insist he gave his splendid chariot to Hades in exchange for a favor - that Hades would keep an eye out for his son.
Zeus and Prometheus- the gift of fire
From the very first, humans had trouble with the gods. Most gods thought of humans as toys. But some gods found themselves interested in the human race. Some gods even made friends with the humans. One of those gods was named Prometheus.
The first people created by the gods lived happily together. They thought the gods were wonderful. But their children were not as grateful or as content. The children argued among themselves, and sometimes even argued with the gods.
Zeus was very disappointed at mankind. He decided he was not going to give mankind a most important tool - fire! Without fire, humans were not going to last very long.
Prometheus felt sorry for his human friends. Fire was important for many things - like heat and cooking, and hundreds of others. Prometheus stole a lightning bolt from Zeus and gave it to mankind. That’s when man discovered fire.
Zeus was furious. He ordered Prometheus chained to a rock as punishment for stealing his lightning bolt, and for going behind his back to help the humans. To make Prometheus even more miserable, Zeus sent storms to beat angry waves against Prometheus, helplessly chained to his rock. Zeus made the sun shine really brightly now and then to burn his skin. Zeus even sent an eagle to nibble at poor Prometheus’ body. It was quite a punishment for a god who had only tried to help mankind. But he had defied Zeus, and that was what made Zeus so angry.
It was Hercules who finally released the helpless god from his chains. By the time Hercules saved him, nearly a thousand years had passed. That’s probably not a lot of time if you happen to be immortal. But humans had changed a great deal over 1000 years. By then, Zeus found humans quite entertaining. Zeus no longer cared if anyone rescued Prometheus or not.
Pandora’s box
Once up a time, a long time ago, there were two brothers named Epimetheus and Prometheus. They were good gods. They had good hearts. They were good friends.
One day, Prometheus got in trouble with Zeus. Angry over something or other, Zeus had declared that man did not deserve fire. Because he had a kind heart, and he knew how much man needed fire for food and warmth, Prometheus gave man the secret of fire even though Zeus had told all the gods not to do that. Zeus was furious that his order had been ignored. As punishment, Zeus chained Prometheus to a rock for many years.
But that was not enough punishment, not for Zeus. Once Prometheus was chained to a rock, Zeus went after Prometheus’ brother, the gentle, kind-hearted Epimetheus. Zeus did not chain Epimetheus to a rock. Zeus had a more sneaky punishment in mind.
First, Zeus ordered the gods’ handyman, the maker of things - Hephaestus - to make Zeus a daughter. Hephaestus made a woman out of clay, a beautiful woman. He brought her to life, and then brought her to Zeus. Zeus named his lovely new daughter Pandora.
Zeus knew that Epimetheus was lonely. Zeus told Epimetheus that his brother had to be punished and that’s why he was chained to a rock. But Zeus felt sorry that this punishment left Epimetheus without the company of his brother. That’s why Zeus had decided to give Pandora in marriage to Epimetheus.
Epimetheus was kind-hearted and gentle and thoughtful, but he was no fool. He knew Zeus was up to something. But he loved Pandora at first sight.
Zeus gave the newlyweds a gift. Some say it was a jar. Some say it was a box. Whatever it was, it was locked. It came with a note. The note said: “DO NOT OPEN.” Attached to the note was a key. It was all very curious.
You can guess what happened next. It was Pandora whose curiosity got the better of her. One day, she used the key to open the box. As she raised the lid, out flew all the bad things in the world today - envy, sickness, hate, disease. Pandora slammed the lid closed, but it was too late.
Epimetheus heard her weeping. He came running. Pandora opened the lid to show him it was empty. Quickly, before she could slam the lid shut, one tiny bug flew out. He gave Pandora a big buggy smile in thanks for his freedom and flew away. That tiny bug was named Hope. And Hope made all the difference in the world.
Zeus, Deucalion and Pyrrha- the great flood
Pandora’s box had caused quite a few problems. Zeus was horrified at what had happened. After the box was opened, Zeus looked down on earth from Mount Olympus. He saw fights and riots and wars and murders. Even though it was Zeus himself who had loaded Pandora’s box with all kinds of terrible things, Zeus was determined to punish mankind for the terrible behavior he saw.
He decided man had to go. Man was a mistake. Zeus ordered the waters to rise and flood the earth. Everyone drowned except two people. One was King Deucalion, who was considered the most honest man on earth. The other was the king’s wife, Pyrrha.
Some say the god Prometheus warned King Deucalion that a flood was coming. This was the same Prometheus who had given mankind the gift of fire. Not only did Prometheus have a kind heart, but King Deucalion was Prometheus’ son. He knew how much his son loved his mortal wife.
Prometheus told his son to build a sturdy boat and stock it well. His son knew that Prometheus could see into the future. (He also knew that his father had trouble explaining what he saw in his visions.) Prometheus told his son that when the waters receded, he must throw the bones of the Great Mother over his shoulder and to have his son’s wife do the same.
King Deucalion loved his father. He trusted his father. He did not always understand all of his father’s instructions, but he certainly could built a sturdy boat.
Just as his father predicted, the flood came. King Deucalion and Pyrrha sailed away on their boat for 9 days and 9 nights. When the waters receded, the boat settled down on the tallest peak in Greece, at the very tip top of Mount Parnassus.
King Deucalion had listened carefully to his father’s directions. They had not made much sense to him, but he had listened. The king mumbled to himself, “The earth is the Great Mother. Since the earth is the Great Mother of humans, her bones must be …… stones!”
King Deucalion picked up some stones and threw them over his shoulder. Magically, the stones became men! Pyrrha did the same. Her stones became women. Many stones later, the human race had started again.
Zeus, Hera, Io- Io gets turned into a cow
Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades were the three sons of Cronos. When Cronos retired, the boys divided the world up between them. Zeus took the sky, Poseidon took the sea, and Hades ruled under the earth, the home of the dead. At first, it was great fun. But things had been just a bit slow lately.
Zeus thought about what he could do.
He could turn himself into an octopus and visit his brother Poseidon under the sea, but he didn’t feel much like a swim.
He could visit Hades under the earth, but Hades was such a gloomy fellow.
He could hurl thunderbolts, but it wasn’t much fun without a target.
He could hunt up one of the other gods. But the truth was, all the other gods were terrified of Zeus. He did have a terrible temper, but only when someone lied to him. Since the gods often lied, they mostly avoided Zeus.
He could call for his wife, Hera. But the truth was, Zeus was a little frightened of his wife, Hera.
He could find a beautiful woman. But he couldn’t let Hera catch him. His wife Hera was very very jealous.
Zeus flew down to earth and looked around for something to do. He spotted two men walking along a lane. Zeus cast his voice to make it sound like somebody else was speaking. He was very good at that.
“Hey stupid,” Zeus cast his voice loudly, hoping to start a fight.
One man turned to the other angrily. “What did you say?” And before you could say Zeus, fists were flying. Zeus found that very funny.
A glint on the river caught his eye. It was Io, a lovely river nymph.
“What a lovely young woman,” Zeus said. He promptly fell in love.
Hoping to hide himself from the eagle eye of his jealous wife, Zeus covered the world with some really thick clouds. Then he flew down to Io. But Hera was not stupid. The thick coat of clouds made her suspicious immediately.
Zeus looked up. “It’s Hera!” he gulped.
Quickly, Zeus changed Io into a cow. When Hera landed, all she found was an innocent looking Zeus standing next to a little white cow.
“This little cow appeared out of nowhere,” he told his wife, acting surprised.
Hera was not fooled. “What a beautiful cow,” she gushed admiringly. “May I have it as a present?”
Not knowing what else to do, Zeus had to agree. Hera sent the cow away under guard.
Zeus arranged for Io to be rescued and set free. He sent his son Apollo to sing the guard asleep. When the guard closed his eyes, Io ran away.
When Hera heard about it, she sent a gadfly after Io. A gadfly is a fly that bites.
“Moo moo,” Io screamed, when the gadfly found her.
Io swam across a sea, hoping the gadfly would drown on the trip. No such luck, although Hera did name the sea between Greece and Rome after Io. Perhaps you’ve heard of it - the Ionian Sea? No matter.
Feeling very sorry for herself, a dispirited Io traveled next to Egypt.
It was then that Hera decided that Io had suffered enough. First, she made Zeus promise that he would never see Io again. Then she changed Io back into human form, and left her in Egypt.
Egypt was a dismal place for a river nymph. There are crocodiles in the Nile.
Back in Greece, Zeus gave a big sigh. Surely there was something he could do ….
Icarus, Daedalus- The labyrinth
An Ancient Greek Myth for Kids
Icarus and Daedalus
Once upon a time, a long time ago, there lived a talented artist. His name was Daedalus. He used his art to make buildings and temples. He was probably the finest architect of his time.
King Minos invited Daedalus to the lovely island of Crete. The king wanted Daedalus to build a maze, a Labyrinth, as a home for the king’s beloved pet, the Minotaur. The Minotaur was a horrible monster, with the head of a bull on a human body. The king loved that awful monster and wanted him to have a lovely home.
Daedalus was a bit amazed at the king’s choice of pet, but a job was a job. Daedalus planned to make the maze a challenge, so complicated that anyone who entered it would be lost until rescued. That way, the king would be happy, the monster would be contained, and the people would be safe. Daedalus had no doubt he could design such a maze. He really was a fine architect.
Daedalus brought his young son Icarus with him. He was sure the child would enjoy swimming and playing with the other children on the island. Both Daedalus and Icarus were happy they had come. King Minos was happy with his maze. It was peaceful and pleasant on the island. Daedalus was in no hurry to leave.
One day, a group of Greek children sailed to the island. The next day, they sailed safely away, taking with them the king’s lovely daughter, and leaving behind them one dead Minotaur.
King Minos was beside himself with grief. He did not believe anyone could have entered the maze and escape alive without help from someone, most probably help from the man who had designed the maze in the first place. (Actually, the children did have help, and not from Daedalus, but that’s another myth.) King Minos punished the innocent Daedalus by keeping Daedalus and his young son Icarus prisoners on the island of Crete.
Daedalus tried to think of ways to escape. One day, Daedalus noticed birds flying overhead. It gave him an idea. Wings. He needed wings. Daedalus began to gather all the bird feathers he could find. He glued them together with wax. When two pairs of wings were ready, he warned his young son not to fly too close to the sun or the wax would melt.
Daedalus fastened the wings to their arms. They flapped their wings and took to the sky. They left the island of Crete far behind them. Water sparkled beneath them as far as they could see. The sky was blue. The breeze was brisk, more than enough to keep them in the air. It was glorious!
Icarus flew higher and higher. He flew so high that before he knew what was happening, the sun had begun to melt the wax on his wings. Icarus felt himself falling. He flapped his arms faster and faster. But it was no use. Poor Icarus plunged into the water and drowned.
Sadly, Daedalus continued on alone.
Theseus and the Minotaur
Once upon a time, a long time ago, there lived a king named Minos. King Minos lived on a lovely island called Crete. King Minos had everything a king could possibly want. Now and then, King Minos sent his navy to the tiny village of Athens, across the sea.
The king of Athens did not know what to do. He was desperate. He figured if he had some time, he could build a strong navy, strong enough to send King Minos packing the next time he attacked Athens. The king of Athens offered King Minos a deal. If he would not attack Athens for 9 years, Athens would send 7 boys and 7 girls to the island of Crete to be eaten by the awful monster that King Minos kept as a pet, the dreaded minotaur.
The minotaur lived in the heart of a maze on the island of Crete. King Minos loved that old monster. King Minos only attacked Athens when he was bored. He really didn’t want anything. This way, his beloved monster could look forward to a special treat every 9 years or so. King Minos took the deal.
Although Athens did build a navy, King Minos did not attack as the king of Athens had expected. In fact, King Minos kept his word. And now it was time for Athens to keep theirs. Everyone in Athens was crying.
Prince Theseus of Athens knew the importance of keeping your word. He knew that a deal was a deal. But, he was also quite sure that it was wrong to send small children to be eaten by a monster. Prince Theseus told his father (the king) that he was going to Crete as the seventh son of Athens. He was going to kill the Minotaur and end the terror.
“The Minotaur is a terrible monster! What makes you think you can kill it?” cried his father.
“I’ll find a way,” Theseus replied gently. “The gods will help me.”
His father begged him not to go. But the prince took his place as the seventh Athenian boy. Along with six other Athenian boys and seven Athenian girls, Prince Theseus sailed towards Crete.
When the prince and the children arrived on the island of Crete, King Minos and his daughter, the Princess Ariadne, came out to greet them. The Princess Ariadne did not say anything. But her eyes narrowed thoughtfully. Late that night, she wrote Prince Theseus a note and slipped it under his bedroom door.
Dear Theseus (Ariadne wrote)
I am a beautiful princess as you probably noticed the minute you saw me. I am also a very bored princess. Without my help, the Minotaur will surely gobble you up. I know a trick or two that will save your life. If I help you kill the monster, you must promise to take me away from this tiny island so that others can admire my beauty. If interested in this deal, meet me by the gate to the Labyrinth in one hour.
Yours very truly,
Princess Ariadne
Prince Theseus slipped out of the palace and waited patiently by the gate. Princess Ariadne finally showed up. In her hands, she carried a sword and a ball of string.
Ariadne gave the sword and the ball of string to Prince Theseus. “Hide these inside the entrance to the maze. Tomorrow, when you and the other children from Athens enter the Labyrinth, wait until the gate is closed, then tie the string to the door. Unroll it as you move through the maze. That way, you can find your way back again. The sword, well, you know what to do with the sword,” she laughed.
Theseus thanked the princess for her kindness.
“Don’t forget, now,” she cautioned Theseus. “You must take me with you so that all the people can marvel at my beauty.”
The next morning, the Athenian children, including Prince Theseus, were shoved into the maze. The door was locked firmly behind them. Following Ariadne’s directions, Theseus tied one end of the string to the door. He told the children to stay by the door and to make sure the string stayed tied so the prince could find his way back again. The children hung on to the string tightly, as Theseus entered the maze alone.
Using the sword Ariadne had given him, Theseus killed the monstrous beast. He followed the string back and knocked on the door.
Princess Ariadne was waiting. She opened the door. Without anyone noticing, Prince Theseus and the children of Athens ran to their ship and sailed quietly away. Princess Ariadne sailed away with them.
On the way home, they stopped for supplies on the tiny island of Naxos. Princess Ariadne insisted on coming ashore. There was nothing much to do on the island. Soon, she fell asleep. All the people gathered to admire the sleeping princess. Theseus sailed quietly away with the children of Athens and left her there, sleeping.
After all, a deal is a deal.
The river styx
No one knows much about the River Styx, no one alive that is. The Styx was a special river. To the ancient Greeks, the River Styx separated the world of the living from the world of the dead.
When your soul got to the river, a boatman named Charon would give you a ride. But the ride was not free. If your family had not buried you with a coin to use as payment, you were stuck. Some souls, who did not have a coin, tried to swim across the River Styx. Some made it. Most didn’t.
For those souls who received a ride in Charon’s boat, or managed to swim across the river, there was little to do on the other side except wait to be reborn into a new body. These souls would not remember their prior life. They would start over as an infant. So, unlike the ancient Egyptians, the ancient Greeks didn’t spend a lot of time planning for their afterlife because they did not expect to be there very long.
According to Greek mythology, some people were shocked to discover that they would be stuck there for some time, in some cases, forever. Some souls were sent to the Underworld as punishment. For others, it seemed to take quite a while to find just the right body. The Underworld was not packed, but it was populated.
King Sisyphus, Zeus, hades - river Styx
The people of ancient Corinth believed their king, King Sisyphus of Corinth, was the cleverest king who ever lived! They were always bragging about him.
But no one bragged about the most clever thing their king did. That is because most people knew nothing about it, for a very good reason!
As the story goes ….
One day, the king of Corinth was busy trying to come up with an idea to solve Corinth’s fresh water problem. He saw Zeus fly by, carrying a lovely river spirit in his arms.
“That Zeus,” sighed the king. “What a trouble maker!”
Soon after, the river-god Asopus flew by. “Have you seen my daughter?” he bellowed at the king.
“If you will give my city a source of fresh water, I will tell you what I saw,” King Sisyphus shouted back. Immediately, a crystal clear stream of fresh water bubbled up.
“Zeus took her that way,” the king pointed.
The king knew Zeus would be angry when he heard what the king had done. But Corinth desperately needed a source of fresh water. And now they had one.
Sure enough, Zeus was furious. He told his brother Hades to take King Sisyphus down to the underworld immediately!
“When they tell you I am dead, do not put a gold coin under my tongue,” King Sisyphus whispered urgently to his wife. Being a good wife, she did exactly as the king had asked her.
Because the king was a very important person, Hades himself met the king at the River Styx, the entrance to the underworld. Because no gold coin was placed under his tongue, the king arrived at the entrance to the underworld as a poor beggar.
“Where is your gold coin?” Hades demanded to know. “How can you pay for a trip across the River Styx and arrive in the underworld?”
The king hung his head in shame. “My wife was too cheap to pay for the passage.”
Hades mouth fell open. “You go right back there and teach that women some manners.” Hades sent the king back to earth immediately, where he was magically alive and well again.
The king and his beloved wife laughed when he told her about it. But he never told anyone else. You never knew when the gods might be listening.
Hades ( roman name: Pluto)
Hades, Poseidon, and Zeus were brothers. Each ruled over some part of the universe. Poseidon ruled the seas. Hades ruled the Underworld. Zeus accepted the most demanding job of all - Zeus was chosen to rule over all of the gods and all of the earth and all of the heavens.
Unlike his two brothers, Zeus and Poseidon, both of whom were full of life, Hades was a gloomy fellow. He had a home high on Mount Olympus, but he was rarely there. He was much happier, well, more content anyway, to live in the Underworld.
Hades was not the lord of death. He did not decide who lived and who died up on earth. His job was to run things down in the Underworld, the place where you went after you died.
The Underworld was a big place. Some areas were really nice, and some were not nice at all. The Elysian Fields, for example, was the place heroes were sent after they died. It was a great neighborhood. But parts of the Underworld were scary! People who behaved badly on earth might end up in one of those sections. Hades decided where you were sent. It was not wise to anger Hades, whether you were alive or dead, or you might end up someplace you really did not want to be.
His brothers thought Hades rarely took time to play, but they were mistaken. Hades loved to play. One of his favorite belongings was his invisible helmet. He had a lot of fun with that. More than anything, except for his beloved dog, Cerberus, Hades loved his golden chariot. It was his pride and joy. His chariot used to belong to a god named Helios. But Helios had retired and no longer pulled out the sun each day. (That was one of Apollo’s jobs now.) Helios was delighted to give his old chariot to Hades. In exchange, Hades promised Helios a favor, which was all the payment Helios required. Hades and his beloved dog Cerberus would climb aboard his golden chariot and tear across the Underworld. The souls of the dead scattered left and right to get out of their way.
Hades was never lonely. For a long time, he did not have a wife, but he did have a faithful and deeply loved companion, his three-headed dog, Cerberus. His family visited now and then. Zeus popped in whenever he felt like it. His nephew, Hermes, the deal maker for the gods, stopped by, whenever things had to be smoothed over and fixed.
To give his dog a sniff at a new place, Hades even came up to the surface now and then. If it was important enough, Hades would even attend meetings of the gods on Mount Olympus. But he never thought of himself as one of the Olympians. To Hades, home was the Underworld.
Persephone, Demeter, Hades- seasons
Zeus, the king of all the gods, had two brothers and three sisters. Each had an important job. His sister, Demeter, was in charge of the harvest. If Demeter did not do her job, the crops could die, and everyone would starve. It was important to keep Demeter happy. Everyone helped out with that - both gods and mortals. It was that important.
As the story goes ….
Demeter loved her little daughter, Persephone. They played together in the fields almost every day. As Persephone smiled up at her mother, Demeter’s heart swelled with happiness, and the crops grew high and healthy. Flowers tumbled everywhere. As time passed, Persephone grew into a lovely goddess. That’s when the trouble started.
Hades, the king of the underworld, was a gloomy fellow. He normally hung out in the Underworld.
One day, Hades felt restless. He decided to take his three-headed dog out for a chariot ride. Cerberus, his dog, usually stood guard at the gate to Underworld. But Hades gave his pup a break now and then. He scooped up Cerberus, and left a couple of spirits in charge instead.
Hades flew his chariot up to earth. Cerberus leaped out of the chariot and ran around, sniffing flowers with all three of his heads. The dog ran up to a lovely young woman, the goddess Persephone. Some people might have been startled if a three-headed dog came tearing up. But Persephone only laughed and scratched his heads.
Hades loved that old dog. He watched his dog playing happily with Persephone. He heard Persephone’s delighted laugh. Hades fell deeply in love. Before anyone could stop him, he grabbed his niece, his dog, and his chariot and dove deep into the darkest depths of the Underworld.
Hades locked Persephone in a beautifully decorated room in the Hall of Hades. He brought her all kinds of delicious food. Persephone refused to eat. She had heard if you ate anything in Hades, you could never leave. She had every intention of leaving as soon as she could figure out how to do so.
Over a week went by. Finally, in desperate hunger, Persephone ate six pomegranate seeds. She promptly burst into tears.
She was not the only one crying. Demeter, her mother, missed her daughter terribly. She did not care if the crops died. She did not care about anything except finding her daughter. No one knows who told Zeus about it, but it was clear this could not go on. Zeus sent his son Hermes to work a deal with Hades.
This was the deal Hermes worked out: If Persephone would marry Hades, she would live as queen of the Underworld for six months each winter. In the spring, Persephone would return to earth and live there for six months. No one especially liked the deal, but everyone finally agreed.
Every spring, Demeter makes sure flowers are blooming and crops are growing and the fields are green with welcome. Every fall, when Persephone returns to the underworld, Demeter ignores the crops and flowers and lets them die. Each spring, Demeter brings everything to life again, ready to welcome her daughter’s return.
To the ancient Greeks, that was the reason for the seasons.
Hercules- 12th labour the capture of Cerberus
His 12th and final labor was to descend into the underworld, and bring back Cerberus, the three-headed dog who guarded the gate to underworld, home of the powerful god, Hades.
Hercules knew how much Hades loved that fierce, bad tempered dog. Hercules asked Hades’ permission to briefly capture Cerberus, and told him why. Hades agreed that Hercules could try, as long as he used no weapons and did not hurt poor Cerberus.
Hercules used his bare hands. He scooped all three heads up at once, and strangled Cerberus until he was unconscious. He gently carried the dog off to King Eury’s. Cerberus began to regain consciousness as Hercules approached the king. The king scurried behind his royal throne.
Hercules explained he had to get the dog home right away. King Eury stuck his head out from behind his throne and quickly agreed that Hercules should leave immediately. Hercules promised to be right back.
After Hercules delivered Cerberus safely home, Hercules quickly returned to the palace, eager to be granted immortality. But Hera was nowhere to be found. Neither was King Eury.
It was Zeus who granted Hercules immortality. Zeus proudly brought his son Hercules up to the heavens.
Hercules (brief)
Hercules was half man and half god. His mother was a mortal. But his father was a king - a very special king, the king of all the gods, the mighty Zeus. But Hercules did not know he was part god until he had grown into a man.
Right from the beginning, Hera, Zeus’ wife, was very jealous of Hercules. She tried all kinds of ways to kill him, including sending a couple of big snakes into his crib. Hercules crushed those snakes in a flash! Hercules was incredibly strong, even as a baby!
Zeus loved his little son. He figured that sooner or later Hera might actually find a way to kill little Hercules. To keep his small son safe from attack, Zeus sent him to live with a mortal family on earth. Hercules grew up loved and noble. But he didn’t fit in on earth. He was too big and too strong. One day, his earth father told him he was a god, well, part god anyway.
The rest of the story of Hercules is a bunch of little stories that together tell the tale of how Hercules earned his way into the heavens, to take his place with the gods.
