63

Greek Myth
Hansen, William,
Introduction, pp. 6-51
Chapter 2. Optional- this is an overview
Other readings by diety or topic
Identity
Non-slavic Balkan peoples (would characterize the Albanians also)
Pre-IE Greece: many odd words, place names
1st wave IE (c.2500 BCE):
Pelasgians, Pelastoi (Baltic-like), Cen(t)taurs, Tyrsenians (Lemnians) (Hittite-like)
2nd wave IE:
2a-Mycenaean Greeks (c.1800 BCE), Bronxe Age, wrote in Linear-B, destroyed Minoan
civilization (2500-1200 BCE) of Crete
Fought Trojan War (1250 BCE),
Continued by the Ionian Greeks( eastern Mediterranean and west coast of Anatolia)
2b-Dorian Greeks from north (1200-1100 BCE)
Mycenaean and Dorian together are now called Hellenic
Shared Balkans with Illyrians (Albanians?), Epirotes, thracians, Mysians, Brygi, Maecdonians,
Dacians, and Gatae.
Distinctive linguistic patterns:
*s-Hv-,- VoV-,
*whu-,-VoV-,-VuC*ydz-,h-,-o,ViC,(*-CyV- -CCV-)
*CHChCCh( Grassmans Law)
These place Greek Close to Armenian, Phrygian (Both of Anatolia_, Iranian (Central Asia), and
perhaps Macedonian.
Had many cultural influences from Anatolians (1st wave IE) (Hittites, Luwians, later Lycians,
Lydians Carians)

64
Also from Middle East: Phoenicians (writing 1500 BCE), and Egyptians (both non-IE)
Syncretistic tradtion incorporating many cults, beliefs, and tales.
Adopted Phoenician characters around 800 BCE.
Traveled widely and colonized: Aegean Sea ( E Mediterranean), Black Sea, west coast of
Anatolia, southern Italy, Sicily, Riviera, Caucasus, Taurus (Crimea)
Originally north of present day Greece.
In Classical times confined to southern portion of Greece.
Greek politics ran from democracies to tyrannies.
Greece yielded a distinctly Hellenic corpus.
This was preserved by Muslim Civilization after the fall of Rome.
It was revived during the Renaissance and Enlightenment.
It is a yardstick for all myth.
It played a huge role in the romantic movement, with the Greek revolt against the ottomans
(Poets Shelley and Byron)
Its composite character was only recently (1970s) recognized.
Greek myths have a mundane, almost static quality at times.
BUT many have startling, almost bizarre psychological quality.
There is no one canon for this corpus.
Homer and Hesoid (800 BCE)
Through Tzetzes (1000 CE) (Byzantine folklorist)
To modern compilers: Bullfinch, Robert Graves Edith Hamilton,
Graves is meticulous, produces variants, preserves tone,
BUT he is trying to recover pre-IE Great Goddess and fertility cults, Minoan religion
His views are idiosyncratic.
Hamilton is elegant, insightful, and accurate
BUT she leaves out numerous important details and minimizes many important myths.
She often preferred Latin variants of names over Greek ones.
Characteristic features:
Goods, both Olympains and non-Olympians
Titans

65
Nympths- Female godlets
Demi-god (half-god) heroes
Fertility and eroticism
Divine meddling in human affairs
Natural order and fate (Prophecy), and violations thereof
Rapes, violations, punishments
Trickery and wit
War, dynastic strike
Place names, names of nations
Travelogues
Genealogies and dynasties
Cultic centers
Recycling of peoples and nymphs into plants or stars, ect.
Tragedy and irony as forms of fate working in the lives of mortals
Psychological profiles
Deviant acts: incest, cannibalism
Extreme pride, hubris, and its disastrous effects
Nightmarish scenes and episodes.
Greek myths explore the darker aspects of the human spirit as few other traditions do ,
MYTHS
H:15-26, 139-141, 164-165)
Creation:
First formless Chaos ( IE*ghn-w-os, Norse Ginnunga (gap)IE*Ghen-w-)
Night and Erebus (depths of death) formed
Night laid a wind-born egg in the bosom of Erebus.
Love (Eros) hatched out.
Love gave birth to Light and Day.
Earth rose up.
Earth first bore the starry heavens.
Layout of the Universe
The world was empty after the struggle of the Titans and the Gods.
Earth was divided equally by the Mediterranean and Black Sea (Axine Iranian Akhshayna
ashen, later Euxine Sea).

66
Ocean ringed the earth.
The far shore of Ocean was home to mysterious peoples.
The Cimmerians dwelt in eternal night and mist.
At the back of the North Wind (Boreas) blissfully lived the Hyperboreans (Beyond-Boreas).
The Muses lived near to them.
In the south lived the Ethiopians whom the gods joined at banquets.
The Blessed Dead lived on Oceans banks as well in tranquil and beautiful land.
(H:143-144,159,302):
Early Generations
Gaea (Mother Earth) and Ouranos/Uranus (Father Heaven) begot
3 Hundred Handed Fifty Headed Ones
3 Cyclopes (singular Cyclops)
Titans [some say these are from Boreas, the North Wind, who mated with Eurynome, the
daughter of Chaos; Eurynome laid a universal egg; the Titans hatched out]
[Titans paired off, one pair for each planet:
Theia- hyperion
Sun [Godly-High One]
Phoebe-Atlas
Moon
Dione Crius
Mars
Metis-Coeus
Mercury
Themis-Eurymedon
Jupiter [Passionate-Wide Counsel]
Tethys-Oceanus Venus [.-Ocean]
Rhea-Cronus
Saturn [Flow-Time (?), cf., Greek Chronus]]
(H293-294,216-217,250,251)
Theogony, Succession
Ouranos imprisoned the 100 hands- 50 heads in the earth.
Gaea sought the help of the Titans to free her first children.

67
Cronus led the revolt.
He castrated Ouranos with a sickle and threw his fathers genitals over his left shoulder.
[straight out of the Ancient Middle Eastern theogony]
Cronus reigned with his sister queen Rhea (flow, river)
Cronus (had a prophecy that one of his children would dethrone him.
Therefore, Cronus ate his children: Hestia (Hearth), Demeter (gods mother), Hera (Year) Hades
(self knowing, reuinionIE*sm-wid-), Poseidon (lord of rivers)
Rhea hid Zeus in Crete.
She gave cronus a stone to swallow.
She bathed him in the river Neda.
She hung his golden cradle from an ash, Adrasteia, neither in heaven nor earth.
Guarded by her sons, the Curetes, whoclashed their weapons together to hide his crying.]
Rhea gave cronus an emetic
He vomited his children up
Zeus freed the 100 hands-50 heads
Together with the Cyclopes they fought Cronus and the Titans
[Cyclopes gave thunderbolt to Zeus,
Helmet of darkness to Hades, and trident to Poseidon
Hades Stole Cronus weapons,
Poseidon diverted him with trident.
Zeus slew him with thunderbolt.
100 hands-50 heads pelted Titans.
Goat Pan chased them away with a shout.]
Titans thrown down into Tartarus, the brazen (bronze_ walled.
Their leader Atkas was made to crry the sky.
Prometheus was spared, but punished Later.
(H:236-238)
Myth of Ages

68
The Gods made humans =, men first as:
Golden age-God-like men living in abundance; died and became guardians of humankind
Then:
Silver age- stupid and hurt themselves, and so passed away
Then:
bRONZE AGE- TERRIBLE WAR-LIKE MEN WHO EVENTUALLY KILLED ONE
ANOTHER. Then:
Heroic noble- noble god-like heroes who passed on to the land of the blessed dead. Then:
Iron age- present humans, evil, locked in toil and strife abused by their leaders, growing ever
worse, to be destroyed by Zeus when they reach ultimate baseness
The twelve Olympians
Named after Mt. Olympus, the highest peak in Greece.
Often associated with types of trees and certain mammals or birds
H:330-335
Zeus- Dyews shining) supreme leader, law-giver, shining, shape-changer, husband of Hera,
philanderer, god of the storm-cloud, wields lightning, carries the aegis, demands right action
and truth, associated with eagles nd with oaks. His grove of oaks at Dodona was sacred.
Companions of Zeus: Themis-divine justice, right, Dike- Human justice, Nemesis- righteous
anger, Aidos- humility, empathy
H.186-189
Hera- cow-faced, resentful and spacious wife of Zeus, (sister to Zeus), seeks vengeance upon the
women whom Zeus loves (nursed by the four seasons; received wedding gifts of golden apples
from her mother Gaea). Supports heroes only in the Golden Fleece adventure. Ilithyia
(Eileithyia) was her daughter and helped in childbirth
H.144-147, 259-261)
Demeter (gods-mother)- Goddess of corn, daughter of Cronus and Rhea (Latin Ceres)
Her daughter Persephone was abducted by Hades

69
Demeter searched in sorrow for her daughter while the world entered a blight.
In Eleusis she found refuge with a peasant family, 4 girls, a young boy, their mother Metaneira,
and father Celeus.
Metaneira extended hospitality to Demeter, not knowing who she was.
Demeter nursed the young Demophoon, anointed him with ambrosia, and roasted him each night
in fire to burn the mortality out of him
Metaneira caught Demeter roasting him, and screamed.
(Just as Achilles father caught Thetis doing the same)
Demeter grew angry,dropped the boy, revealed herself and demanded they build a temple to her
There she sat and mourned while the world wasted away.
The Gods papered to her, but to no avail.
Finally Zeus sent Hermes to Hades
Persephone ate a pomegranite seed (aril) so that she would have to stay.
Zeus forced a compromise :
Persephone would spend 2/3 of the year with Demeter
1/3 with Hades
Persephone and Demeter were reunited
Demeter sent one of the princesses of Eleusis, Tri-Ptolemus (Three battles) to show people how
to sow corn
She was a seasonal Goddess
She initiated the Eleusinian mysteries, which seem to have promised life after death.
H.266-269
Poseidon- brother of Zeus, lord of the sea, married to Amphitrite, a granddaughter of Oceanus,
gave the first horses, caused storms at sea as well as tranquility, caused earthquakes too, carried a
trident
(H.179-183)
Often considered to be a non-Olympian, because he lives in the world of death.
Hades- brother of Zeus, ruled Hades, Unpitying, inexorable, but just, had a helmet of invisibility,
governed the wealth of the earth (Pluto), married to Persephone, ruler of the dead (but not death
itself, which was Thanates)
(H.100-101)
Aloads, twin son of Poseidon, attack the gods to obtain Hera and Artemis

70
Otus and Ephialtes (similar to norse Jotuns/ Giants)
The biggest and most handsome brothers to ever walk the earth
Twin sons of Poseidon and Iphi-media (Snake-councilor)/Canace
Called Aloade after their mothers husband, Aloeus
They could only be killed by one another
When still young they imprisoned Ares, and bound him in brass chains.
Olympians sent Hermes, who freed him by stealth at night.
Thn o & e piled Mt.Pelion on top of Mt.Ossa and began to scale the heavens
Zeus was about to strike them with his lightning bolt, when Poseidon begged him not to
Otus lusted after Hera, and Ephialtes after Artemis
They drew lots and Ephialtes won.
They pursued Artemis, WHO lead them over the water to Naxos.
They wearable to run on water, because they were sons of Poseidon
She turned into a milk-white hind and ran off into the forest.
They split up to find her
From opppoiste side of a clearing booth saw her
They threw their Javelins at the same time and killed one another
(Local diine twins, perhaps, Naxos, who refused assimilation to the dominant pantheon)
(H.113-115)
Ares- (Thracian God) son of Zeus and Hera, god of war, ruthless and murderous, but also a
coward; with an entourage of his sister Eris (discord), her son Strife, and terror, Trembling, and
Panic, was caught in bed with Aphrodite by Hephaestos, who rigged a net for this purpose.
(H.105-109)
Aphrodite- goddess of love and fertility, wife of Hephaestus, consort of Ares, beautiful and
peaceful, moves in radiant light; the myrtle, dove, sparrow and swan are hers. Her name may be
new Mycenean Greek for lady, mistress, that seems to refer to the goddess of love
(H. 183-186)
Hephaetos- God of the forge, son of Zeus and Hera, lame and ugly, cast out of heaven by Hera;
had golden handmaiden helpers that he had made himself.; linked to Athena and the patronage of
crafts
(H.109-113)
Phoebus Apollon- son of Zeus and Leto (Latona); depicted as a beautiful youth, archer god who
shot plague arrows, a healer; master musician of the Lyre (harp); God of light, God of Truth;
oracle was at Delphi; epithets were Delian (born on floating Delos), Pythian (killed a python),
Lycian (wolfish), Phoebus (shining), laurel tree was sacred to him.

71
(H.120-121)
Aesculapius/ Asklepios
Son of Apollo and faithless Coronis
(his name means blind mole or blind rat)
was a great healer
became so good that he raised a dead man
The gods saw this as an infringement upon their powers
So Zeus killed him
(He is associated with caduceus. the winged staff with with entwined snakes used by doctors as
their symbol)
Apollo was furious at Zeus and went to Etna, and killed the Cyclopses with his arrows.
(A tale of overstepping the limits laid down for mortals)
H.117-120)
Artemis- (based upon proto-greek) Sister of Appllo, a virgin huntress, lady of wild things, later
hectare of the underword and moonless night, Selene the moon, and Artemis, the earth, forest;
deer and cypress were sacred for her.
(H.123-126)
Pallas Athena- sprang fully armed from Zeus brow; gray-eyed; protector of civilized life,
handicrafts, and agriculture (that is, of city life), Goddess of Athens embodiment of wisdom,
reason, and purity. Maiden, Parthenos. Parthenon was her temple; carried Zeus aegis and
thunderbolt; owl was her symbol
Hermes- A recent God, A trickster, son of Zeus and Maia (daughter of Atlas; a messenger with
winged hat and shoes; a guide and guardian of travellers and trails, patron of traders and
merchants; guided dead souls to Hades; stole Apollos cattle; invented the lyre and gave it to
apollo.
H:202)
Hestia- Zeuss virgin sister; goddess of the home; cities and public hearths with eternal flames
Other, Lesser Olympians

72
Eros-love fertillity, a male, blindfolded, mischievous, companion later son of Aphrodite, attended by
anetors (avenger of slighted love), Himeros (longing), hymen ( god of the wedding feast)
Iris-rainbow, messenger of the gods
Ker is the goddess of battle. Inescapable, blood stained and black, she or them (keres) drags dead souls
off the battlefield down to Hades. She or they are ancient and obscure
DionysusBacchus
God of the vine and wine
Born of zeus Semele
Semele died getting her wish to gaze upon zeus
Zeus took her unborn child and hid him in his own side
Hen Dionysus (grand) son of god) was born Zeus fostered him to se nymphs
Dionysus traveled wide spreading the cult of the vine
When he met resistance from a king he punished him
He brought his other back from the dead and placed her among the Olympians
He saved Ariadne, abandoned on naxos by thesus, the Athenians hero; placed her crown among the stars
when she died
Maenads bacchantes were women followers frenzied; ran about in the woodlands. They wore a fawn
skin, had an ivy wreath in their hair and carried a stick with a pinecone on te end
Pentheus cousin to Dionysus resisted his cult, refused to recognize him.
Dionysus made his mother and sister insane so that they tore Pentheus apart
Dionysus himself was torn apart by titans titans or a Hera orders
But then was resurrected
He was seasonal god
He promised life after death (He exhibits the contrast to ecstasy with vicious freezy)
Pan- Hermes son, noisy and merry, part goat herders, god companions of the nymphs , god of
woodlands, played the pipes made scary woodland noises

73
Great pan dead- the only god to have died
Igave great shout the scared the titans away
Ambrosia drink of the gods, providing vior and immortality
Luminaries
Childer of titans hyperion and euryphassa theia
Helios the sun dwelt in the shinning castle, drove chariot pulled by 4 flaming horses from E to W,
returned on Hephaestos ferry across oceanus, had herds of sacred cattle scattered about to the
Mediterranean
Eros dawn slept w Ares suffered Aphrodite curse to lust after young mortals
Selene moon demoted sun maiden
Hellenos male, founder of the hellenes, the greeks
Helen female, sun ,maiden, wife of Menelaus, abducted by paris cause of Trojan war
Divine Guilds
Graces- 3 sisters, Aglaia Euphrosyne (mirth), Thalia (good cheer): daughter of Zeus and eurynome child
of oceanus; sing and bring pleasure to mortals and gods
Hours- seasons guardians of the cloud gates to Olympus
Fates /Moirae- clotho the spinner Lachesis-disposer lots , Atropos- unturnable, cut the thread of life at
death all powerful even for the gods
Muses- 9 sister daughter of zeus and Mnemosyne (memory) clio- history, Urania- astronomy, melpoenetragedy, thalia-coedy, terpscichore- dance, calliope-epic poetry, Erato-love poetry, Polyhymnia- hymns,
Euterpe-lyric poetry
Erinyes (furies) dwelt in the underworld (virgil a roman) they pursued sinners

74
Harpies- half woman, half bird, they snatch people away. They may be the winds.
Sirens-dwelt on an islands in the sea, of uknown appearance; they lured sailors to their death with their
enchanting songs
Gorgons Phorcys (son of Sea and Earth) was their father, 3 dragon-like monsters; to look upon them
was to turn to stone; only 2 were immortal, the mortal one was Medusa
Graiae- 3 sisters of the gorgons, shaped like swans with human heads and arms, shared a single eye,
lived on the father bank of oceanus
The divine twins
Castor and pollux (Kastor and Polydeukes) Sons of leda, divine twins, grandsons of zeus protector of
sailors and cattle; p, was divine, C partially divine killed and spend half their time in hardes, half in
Olympus , hormer castor tamd horses, polydeukes good as a boxer ( put up your deuks)
Leda was daughter of tyndareus, king of sparta; she was visited by zeus in the form of a swan; bore
castor and Clytemnestra, agamenns wife
Comat myth and legend
Gaea gave birth to typhon a huge 100 headed monster, with death in his breath and flaming eyes
It also had snake for limbs
A middle easter monster pattern
Zeus and typhon battled in various locales until they cae t sicily
With thunderbolts zeus drove typhone down under the volcan, Mt Athena
The cyclops Polyphemus
One eyed giant
Kept sheep in a cave
Odysseys and soe of his en wandered into the vave and were caught there when Polyphemus returned
Polyphemus asked odysseus his name;
Odysseus replied No man
Polyphemus ate two of the men

75
This were on until odysseus gqve Polyphemus wine;
Polyphemus fell asleep
Odysseus hardened a spit in the fire and then drove it into P eye.
When polypheus screamed in agony the other cyclopes asked him who was hurting him
No man was Ps reply; so the other said they could do nothing
O and his surviving men escaped by clinging t the underbellies of Ps sheep, they taunted Polyphemus s
that Polyphemus threw stones at the ship and almost brought it within his reach by the backwash
But they escaped and odysseus finally reveald his true identity
After many centuris P fell in love with a sea nympy, Glatea
His father Poseidon had restored his eye
Galatea and doris banter about P
Galatae loves a prince name Acis who P kills
Acis is turned into a river god, suited for Galatea
An old pre- IE pre greek Mediterranean Sea tale, a beauty and Beast tale
Giants, giants and the Erinyes came from the blood of uurans
The giant revolted, but were hurled down to tatarus by the gods, with the help of Hercules
Nymphs
Oreads nymphs of the mountains
(Hama)dyrads- (grek drus (oak tree) nymph of trees
Naiads-nymphs, dwelt in brooks, springs and fountains
Hesperides- 3 sisters, Hespere- Aegle, Erythesis, sing sweetly, live in western most orchard. Tend Heras
golden apples a wedding gift from Gaea guarded by the serpernt ladon
(Phoenician)
Satyrs- (like Pan) goat men of the woods
Sileni- part man, part horse but walked on 2 legs had horse tails sometime hooves and ears

76
Silenus-drunken old man, son or brother to Pan, road an ass
The underworld
Tartarus the deepest
Erebus is where the dead pass upon death
Where Acheron (woe) flows into Cocytus (lamentation) is the path downward to Hades
Charon, an aged ferryman ferries the dead across the styx to the gates hades tartarus, her reqirement
payment in coins
Cerberus (3 headed dragon tailed dog) guards the gates
3 judges- Rhadamanthus, Minis, Aeacus
Wicked go to torent
Blessed go t elysian fields
3 rivers fiery phlegethon, oath bearing styx, forgetfulness lethe
Plutos hades palace has many gates and is filled with guest (Valhalla)
Sleep and his brother death dwell in underworld
Anrhopogony, the orgigin of humans
Promethus fashioned humans from clay in the image of the gods
(zeus delegated the making of humans to the two titan brothers , Prometheus and epimetheus,
Epimetheus gave away all strengths to the beasts,
So promethus gave humankind intellect
Then he gave human kind intellect
Then he gave them an upright from like that of the gods and brought fire from the gods
Humans sprang from the earth like plants autochtonous
The atehnians wre autochtonous. Oreginally they were pelasgians.

77
After the Flood Deukalion and Pyrrha cast stones, which grew into people.
Zeus made them from ants(Aikos, Aigina island, Aegean Sea)
(H: 257-258)
Pandora was fashioned by the gods to punish men.
She opened a jar filled with miseries, toil, and disease., all of which escaped.
She is an example of Greek misogyny.
(H:132-136)
Centaurs(*kent-tauroi hundred-bulls) half man, half horse, savage
Few or no female Kentauroi.
Cheiron was cultivated and wise; he was a teacher to heroes.
(H:309-314)
Tricksters:
Prometheus, a Titan tricked the gods into taking the fat and bones at sacrifices.
He stole fire to back to humans.
Hermes stole the cattle of Apollon.
Autolykos was a great thief, the demi-god son of Hermes.
He tried to steal Sisyphos cattle.
Sosyphos tricked Autolykos. Ss cattles hooves were carved Autolykos stole me
Sisyphos first bound Thanatos (Death) and then tricked Hades into letting him return.
Odyssues was a son of Sisyphos.
(H:189-196)
Hercules
In Greek his name was Herakles, * hera-klewes year-glory), cf. Russian Jro-slava.
Born in Thebes to Amphitryon and Alcmena.
Grandfather was Alcaeus.
He and his twin, Iphikles (snake-glory) were called the Alcides.
[His original name was Palaemon]

78
He was the son of Zeus.
Hera sent two serpents to kill Iphi-kles (Snake Glory) and him.
Hercules strangled them.
As a boy he killed his music teacher, Linus.
[Otherwise he was learned in all thing.
He never picked a quarrel.
He was the first to return the dead.]
At 18 he killed the Thespian lion in Cithaeron and wore its pelt ever after.
[He carried a club,
was the greatest archer.
He was married to Hebe, the goddess of youth, daughter of Zeus and Hera; cupbearer to the
gods. Compare Diarmid and Youth]
He killed the Minyan [pre-Greek, /minwan-/, Minoans?] heralds,
And defeated the Minyans [killed them in their sleep],
Lifting their tax from Thebes.
The Thebans gave him Princess Megara.
They had 3 sons.
He went berserk and killed her and his own sons.
[He killed his 8 sons, the Alcaeids (Hs first name was Alcaeus) and two of Iphikles.]
He wished to die, but Theseus persuaded him to come to Athens.
He soon left Athens and went to Delphi.
The Oracle called him Heakles, which was his name ever after.
She sent him to his cousin Eurystheus to be purged of guilt.
Eurystheus assigned him a penance of 12 labours.
[Phyleus did similar feats at the behest of Cycnus.
Echoes of another hero from which some of these feats were taken.]
L. 1: kill the lion of Nemea, impervious to weapons.
H. strangled it.
L. 2: kill the 9-headed Hydra of Lerna.
When he cut off a head, another two grew back.
His nephew Io-laus [Io-person] helped him with a burning brand.
He cauterized the neck stumps and
buried its one immortal head under a rock
L. 3: bring back the golden horned hind (female deer) of Artemis in Cerynitia
He stalked it for a whole year and brought it back
[The other four drew Artemis chariot.]

79
L. 4: capture the Erymanthean boar
He exhausted it and drove in into deep snow.
L. 5: clean the Augean stables
He diverted two rivers and washed them out.
L. 6: kill the brazen, man-eating Stymphalian birds of Ares
He could not reach them in their marsh.
So, he frightened them with a noise
And shot them as they tried to fly away.
L. 7: captured the berserk Cretan bull
L. 8: slay the man-eating mares of Dio-medes [God-Counsellor], king of the Thracian Bistones.
He took the mares to the sea,
Where he drowned the pursuing Bistones.
Then he fed Diomedes to his own mares.
L. 9: to steal Ares golden belt from the Amazon queen, Hippolyte (horse-free)
Hippolyte fell in love with Hercules.
When she boarded his ship to sail with him
He killed her and took the belt.
Her tribeswomen could do nothing from the shore.
L. 10: bring back the oxen of Geryon
Geryon was a man with 3 bodies[joined at the waist
[G. was the strongest man.
G. was king of Tartessus, in Spain.
There were red oxen on island of Erytheia
Guarded by Ares son, Eurytion,
And by 2-headed dog, Orthrus.
Hercules threatened Helios, Oceanus, wounded Hera, and killed Orthrus, Erytion, and
Geryon.]
He set up the Pillars of Hercules as a memorial[ Europes os Calpe, Africas Abyle, or
Abilyx
Here he has a travelogue:
He traveled to Spain, Gaul, Italy, Sicily, Istria, Epirus, and Pelopnnesus
And killed villians, fought wars(with the Ligurians), and begot heroes and races.
He crushed the giant Alycineus with his own rock.]
L.11: bring back the Apples of the Hesperides (Children of the West)
Gaia gave them to Hera as a wedding gift
Gera entrusted them to Hesperides,
Guarded by the serpent Ladon in the westernmost land.

80
He shot the serpent.
He persuaded Atlas to get the apples for him while he held up the world and heavens.
Then he tricked Atlas into taking back the burden.
[Hercules gave the apples to Eurystheus;
Eurystheus gave them back.
Then Hercules gave them to Athena.
Athena gave them back to the nymphs (Hesperides).
He wrestled the giant Antaeus, son of Gaia and Poseidon [cf., Arab Antar].
Then Hercules crushed him.
Travelogue:
He went to Egypt, to Zeus Ammon with a rams head.
To Thebes(Osiris),
He killed King Busiris, who was about to sacrifice him.
He went to Rhodes where he ate a bullock.
And to the Caucasus, where he freed Prometheus.
Prometheus wore a willow wreath.
Hercules wore a wild olive wreath.]
L. 12: capture Cerberus
He went to Tartarus.
He releases Theseus from the Chair of Forgetfulness, but not Perithous.
Hades said he could have Cerberus if he would subdue him without weapons.
Hercules choked the monster dog into submission.
He brought Cerberus to Eurystheus [who had slighted him at a banquet;
Cf., Prince Vladimir and Ilja Muromets.]
He returned Cerberus to Tartarus.
Hercules fought the river god, Achelous in the form of a bull,
And broke off one of his horns.
Hercules won Deianira for his new wife.
[Deianeira was a warrior woman.]
At Troy he saved the maiden, [Hesione], daughter of Laomedon for 2 immortal horses.
She was chained to a stone as an offering to sea monster.
[the monster came up to the walls of troy.
Hercules dove fully armed down its gullet.
Three days later he had killed it, but he lost all his hair,
Cf., Cu Chulainns reaching down the lake monsters throat.]
Laomedon reneged and so Hercules destroyed Troy.
With Telamons help he killed Lao-medon [People counsel][ and installed Priam(first) on the
throne].

81
He gave Hesione to Telamon.
[Hera, angry at the destruction of Troy, drove him onto the island of Cos.
Zeus awoke and grew furious with her.
He tossed her and the other gods all about.
[ Like a hyperhero, such as Nart She Batinuquo of the Caucasus, he is much bigger than the
others.]
Hercules fought the Coons(Cos) and wrestled Ant-agoras [Opposite-Plaza] and his Meropians
[Sea-Faces]].
He fled Antagoras and hid, dressed as a woman.
Then he laid waste to Cos and annihilated the Meropians.
Athena then took H to Phlegra to help the Olympians quell the revolt of the giants.]
He accidentally killed a young man, [ Chaerias/Cyathus], who was helping him wash his hands
with a thrust of his arm.
The father, Archi-teles [Ruking-Goal], forgave him, but Hercules did not forgive himself.
He and Deianira went into exile for a time.
[A Centaur, Nessus, offered to ferry them across the river Evenus.
Nessus carried off Deianira.
Hercules shot him.
Nessus told Deanira to mix his blood with olive oil for a love potion.]
[He had an archery contest with Eurytus and his 3 sons for Iole.
Eurytus reneged after Hercules won.
E. drove H. out.
Only Iphitus [Snakey] said that H. deserved his sister Iole.
Iphitus went to Hercules.
But Hercules hurled him off a parapet.
Hercules then went to Delphi to be purified.
The Pythoness refused.
Hercules desecrated the shrine with the intent of setting up one of his own.
He fought with Apollo (who was the god of Delphi)
Zeus had to intervene to halt the combat.
Zeus made Hercules go to Queen Omphale in Lydia.
Hermes sold Hercules to Omphale as a slave.
He did great deeds for her.
He killed the cruel farmer Lityarses and rescued the shepherd Daphnis.
He had 3 sons by Omphale.
He dressed in her clothes and she in his.
[cf., Thetis hid young Achilles among the princesses of Scyros, daughters of king Lyco-medes
[Wolfish-Counselor].
He wore womens clothes.
BUT he married Deidamia, and begot Neo-ptolemus[New-Battle].
Like Hercules, he began with a different name, Ligyron

82
Chiron the Centaur named him Achilles, Unsuckled.
He conquered Elis;
Founded Olympic games to Zeus.
But so did H. Dactyl and H. Alcmenes son.
An example of syncretism.
Linguistics note:
We are told that in Elian/ badu-/ meant sweet.
This is cognate with Greek /he:dus/ sweet
The IE is */swe:du-/.
So, Elian is not Greek, though close.
We have here an account for Greek conflict with the pre-Greek peoples,
Some non-IE, but others, such as Elain, IE,
He sacked Pylus, an ally of Elis.
He fought Hera, Poseidon, Hades and Ares, all backers of Pylus, with only Athena on his side.
He drove off Poseidon,
Wounded Ares,
Saved Athena,
And wounded Hera in the right breast.
He helped the Spartans wage a war against the Lapiths.
The Lapiths relocated from Mt. Olympus to Corinth.
[This would be an account for 2nd wave Greeks at war with an old pre-IE people.]
Hercules visited king Admetus.
Admetus wife, Alcestis, had just died.
Admetus nonetheless offered hospitality to H.
H grew drunk while eating alone and wondered why the servants were so glum.
They told him of the queens death.
Hercules wrestled Death and brought her back.
He surprised Admetus with her.
He went and sought vengeance against Eurytus.
He took Iole back with him.
When Deianira heard that he was returning with a new wife
She anointed a robe with the love potion
When Hercules put it on he burst into flame.
He could not die, however,
Deianira killed herself when she realized what she had done.
He was placed upon a great pyre.
The flames carried him up to the Olympians.
[he underwent an apotheosis, he became god.]
[a lengthy account of the great man, thought to be of ancient middle eastern origin, going back to
the Epic of Gilgamesh(Akkadian), or Bilgames(Sumerian).
It has suggestions of theological upheavel against the Olympian religion.

83
H:126-128Atlas, a Titan. brother to Prometheus and Epimetheus. holds up the sky. 3He was
tricked by Hernkless into fetching the apples of the Hesperides. and then into resuminghis
burden of the sky.H:(214-215)
Europa attracted Zeus attention.He came to her as a playful bull while she was near the seaside.
When she climbed onto his back. he swam off with her to Crete.[When they reached Crete he
turned into an eagle and made love to her, Eagles. like most birds. lack penises.Therefore. hers
was a virgin conception]Kadmos and her brothers went looking for her.She gave birth to Minos
and Rhadamanthis (Cretan kings).
(Son of Agenor and felephassa iArgi-ope [Silver-Face. re. the Moon\ Kadmos was a brother of
Europa [along with Cilix and Phoenix].When Zeus abducted Europa he and his brothers went in
search of her.He went to Delphi.
The Oracle told him to forget about his sister.Instead he was to follow a cow.and where it lay
down to rest he was to found a city.He found a cow. followed it. and established Thebes where it
lay down to rest. BUT first he had to sacrifice the cow.He sent his men to fetch water from a
spring Ares [to wash the cow)Ares' dragon attacked them and killed most of them.Kadmos came
to the rescue and killed the dragon.Athena appeared and told him to take its teeth.Half he would
give to AEetes of Colchis when he went with Jason.Half he would sow now.When he sowed
them savage armed men sprang up,They advanced on Kadmos, but he tossed rocks into their
midst.They turned on one another and in the end only five were left alive.These became the
Spartoi, the Sproutegl Men[The Spartans were called such by the other Greeks.They called
themselves Lakedaimonioi,Shrieking Demons.)Later after serving as Ares skave, Zeus gave
Kadmos Harmonia.(A geography and civic history, pre-Greek)
(H:253-254)

84
Orpheus and EurydiceTale of the greatest mortal musician(For the Greeks the harmonies of

music were manifestations of the patterns of nature; cf., the use of music to communicate with
aliens in Close encounters) Orpheus could charm anyone or anything with his song and lyreHe
sailed with the Argonauts for the Golden FleeceHe inspired them with his songHe Saved them
from the sirens by drowning out their song with his.
He married Eurydice (wide-justice).she was killed by a viper right after her wedding.
Orpheus descended to Hades to retrieve her.Her Charmed Cerberus and Hades himself with his
music.Hades agreed to Eurydice follow Orpheus back up to the Surface as long as he didnt look
back at her.At the last moment he turned about to catch a glimpse of her.He saw a fleeting
shadow and a whispered farewell.
He withdrew to the forests and sang.Some Maenads came upon him and tore him apart. [They
were unnatural.Only they were immune to his music.lThey threw his head into a river.Eventually
it washed up on the island of Lesbos. The Muses buried it there.His body was buried at the foot
of Olympus.(a tale of the power of music,the failure of trust.)
(H: 299-301,218) Theseus
Combined brains and brawnSlew procrustes while on his way to AthensProcrustes would tie his
guests to a bed, and either stretch them or lop off enough of theirLegs to make them fit it.
Theseus slew the Minotaur inside the Labyrinth and found his way out .He was helped by Minos
daughter , Ariadne but abandoned her(crossed love)(The clever hero, abandonment of the woman
who has kin-destroying love.He went to Hades with Perithous, because Perithous wanted
Persephone =.Hades stranged them both on the bench of forgetfulness

85
Hercules freed Theseus, but left Perithous because he was wicked. (H:314-315)Trojan War
Helen abandoned her husband Menelaos, and ran off to Troy (Ilion) with Paris. Agamemnon.

brother to Menelaos. led all the Greeks against Troy.Akhilleus was the mightiest warrior of the
Greeks.Hecter, Paris brother, was the mightiest warrior of the Trojans.
Akhllleus spent most of the war sulking in his tent because of an insult delivered to him by
Agamemnon.Akhilleus emerged to avenge the death of his cousin, Patroklos at the hands of
Hector.
Akhilleus killed Hector and dragged his body around Troy. Akhilleus was killed by an arrow to
his heel. shot by Paris.The Greeks built a wooden horse and left their best warriors inside. They
then pretended to withdraw.The Trojans dragged the horse inside their gates and celebrated. The
Greeks then emerged and slaughtered almost all of the Trojans.
Gods and goddess routinely intervene in the course of duels and battles.
This was the last great battle of the Mycenaean age. (H: 247 - 249)
OedipusI Kadmos - Polydorus -' Labdacus - Laios]Laios was king of ThebesLaios had a
prophecy that his son would kill himand sleep with his motherWhen his wife gave birth to a baby
boyLaios pierced the infants ankles with a nail, and then tied it with a thong.Then he gave him to
a shepherd to be abandoned on a mountainside.He was given instead to a man from Corinth.King
Polybus (and Queen Periboea) raised him as their own son, since they were Childless.He was
called Oedipus , /oido-pos/swollen foot.As a youth he was teased but the other boys for not
looking like the king, his supposed father.He went to Delphi to seek counsel.The pythoness
expelled him with the wordsout wretch! You are fated to kill your father and sleep with your
mother(Sophocles wrote of Oedipus, he was fated to reach a green old age.)He thought that he
was to kill polybus and sleep with periboea.

86
Since he loved his "parents" he resolved to leave his home and go wanderingOn his journey his
way was blocked by arrogant Laios. who was traveling in his chariots Words were exchanged
and Oedipus killed Laius and his charioteer.
He proceeded on until confronted by the Sphinx perched atop a bluff.This was a monster

harassing Thebes.(She had flown up from remotest Ethiopia.lShe had the head of a woman. the
body of a lion. eagles wings. and snake tail. (Her name means strangler. however.)
She put a riddle to each traveler that she encountered.When they failed to guess the answer. the
devoured them. .What goes on four legs in the morning. two at noon. and three in the evening? .
Man" answered Oedipus. because he crawls in infancy. walks upright m his prime, and uses a
cane in old age."The Sphinx. shocked at his having given the right answer. threw herself to her
death from the bluff.This lifted a plague from Thebes.The joyful people made him their king and
gave to him Jocaste, the widowed queen.
Soon another plague descended upon Thebes.Jocaste's brother Creon went to DelphiThe Oracle
told him that Laius murdered must be punishedWhen Oedipus heard this he condemned
whomever committed the deed.He asked the blind seer Teiresias [who once had been punished
by changing genderl if he knew.Teiresias at first refused to answer.When Oedipus accused him
he replied, You yourself are the one you seek.Neither Oedipus nor Jocaste believed him.Then a
messenger arrived from Corinth to announce the death of Polybus.He recognized Oedipus and
told him that he had been adopted.Then the story gradually came out.Jocaste ran off in horror
and hanged herself.Oedipus went looking for her and found her body.He took the ins from her
robe and blinded himself.[A complex gale of good intentions gone bad of incest, and of the
inevitability of fate.)
(H: 297-299) First Theban War
Creon became regent.Oedipus two small sons, Polyneices and Eteocles were left in Thebes.
Oedipus went wandering with his daughter, Antigone.His other daughter, lsmene, stayed in
Thebes to watch over his interests. The two brothers had a falling out over which 0138 would
rule.Polyneices fled to Argos and raised an army against Thebes and he brother.

87
He was joined by six other Chieftains. becoming the Seven against Thebes.The wife of
Amphiaraus. one Eriphyle. was entitled to decide for her husband, (cf.. Norse Freya and the
necklace of the Brisings)Polyneices won her over to his cause by bribing her with Harmonias
wedding necklace. They fought with seven champions from Thebes at its seven gates.Teiresias
said that Creons son Menoeceus had to be sacrificed.Creon refused,but Menoeceus went out to
fight without his knowledge.He was immediately killed.The two brothers squared off and killed
one another.Finally the invaders were all killed except one, Adrastus.Grieving for his son. Creon

refused to allow the dead to be buried.This was a gross violation of natural law.Antigone buried
Polyneices.She was executed for this. but died having done the right thing.( A tale of suffering
for righteousness]
Second Theban War or The Seven against Thebes
Adrastus went to Theseus of Athens to seek justice against Thebes. The six widows did also.
Theseus did not want to go to war.Theseus mother, Aethra, urged him to uphold justice.
Theseus said that Athens was a democracy and that the people must decide The people chose
war.Athens conquered Thebes,but did not sack it.The dead were given proper funerals(pyres).
Evadne , widow of Capaneus , threw herself on his pyre(sutee in India). The army was led by the
nameless sons of the dead heroes.(An "epigonic " (coming after) tale of vengeance,Also, of
doing the righteous deed.
cf., The Seven Samurai and The magnificent seven. (H: 207-210)Hunters
Apollon and Artemis invented it and passed the skill on to the Kentaur. Cherion, who in turn
taught it to many heroes.Orion:A mighty hunter 7=
The most handsome man ever to live .Eos/Dawn loved himKing Oen-opion (wine-faced) asked
him to clear his island Chios of wild animals. Orion did this.He fell in love with King
Oenopioas daughter Mer-ope(sea-face)

88
Orion became drunk and raped merope
King oenopion blinded him as he slept in a drunken stupor
When he awoke orion was told to follow the hammer blows of a cyclops and seek helios first
rays
He did and found a young boy who would ride on his shoulders
The boy led him towards Eos
Soon helios first rays fell upon him and he could see again
He sought out king oenopion for vengeance
BUT King oenopion had been hidden in an underground urn [ urn burial ]

Even virgin artemis wanted orion

Eos also longed for him
Apollo sent a giant scorpion to chase him [to save his sister from her foolishness]
He told his sister artemis to shoot it when dawn was looking
BUT she shot Orion instead because there was not enough light to see clearly
[Eos had tarried too long, cf. Ushas in Rig Veda ]
Eos placed him in the sky
[where Scorpio still follows behind him]
This is an old pre-Greek tale of a crude hunter
It appears to depict island culture, with urn burials, wine growing, smiths
It is an old celestial myth
Orion bears a club, a sword hanging from the pelt, wears a lion skin
The Pleiades
Seven daughters of Atlas:
Electra, Maia, Taygete, Alcyone, Merope, Celaeno, Sterope
Orion pursued them and they feld ever onward
Zeus took pity on them and pplaced them in the sky
There are only six visible stars
Old celestial myths: Pleiades followed by Orion followed by Scorpio, from NW to the zenist to
the SE at midnight in January
Atalanta/Atalante
She was a huntress and an athlete
She joined some men in the Calydonian boar hunt
Meleager was one of the men
[as an infant his mother, sitting by the fire, had been told that he would die when a certain log
burned to ashes]
She had yanked this log off the fire and place it in a chest
The boar attacked and killed several men
Atalanta was the first to wound it with an arrow
Meleager then finished it off with his spear
Meleager gave the pelt to atalanta

89
The other men protested including two of his uncles
In fury meleager slew his uncles
When his mother received word of this she threw his log on the fire
When it burned down meleager dropped dead in front of atalanta
A huntress tale, with an embedded tale of the youth with kin destroying love
Later, at the funeral games for pentheus, atalanta said she would only marry the man who could
outrun her
Many tried and failed

A clever one, Melanion, obtained some golden apples

He was swift but she began to outrun him
When he realized this, he tossed one of the apples by her, doing this three times
She was distracted and picked each one of them up
The last apple sufficed to enable this suitor to win
One of the odd apple tales
Perseus
In argos, king acrisius had one beautiful child, a daughter, Danae
He longed for a son, but was told by Apollos oracle that his daughters son would kill him
He imprisoned danae in a bronze underground house with only a skylight
Zeus came to her as a golden rain
[another virgin conception
She bore Perseus
Acrisius found out and put mother and son to sea in a crest
They eventually washed ashore and dictys, the good fisherman, found them
He and his wife raised them
His brother King Polydectes wanted Danae
He announced that he was to be married and that all should bring gifts
Perseus not knowing the bride was to be his mother had nothing to give
So he said that he would bring the head of one of the Gorgons
He went to Delphi to learn of the haunts of the Gorgons
The oracle told him to go to the land where people ate acorns
He went to dodona to the sacred oak grove to the Selli [ non greeks]
The selli ate acorns, but did not know where the Gorgons were
Here apollos oracle is proven to be wrong
Hermes and athena came to him
Hermes gave him an unbreakable sword
Athena gave him her mirror clear breast plate in which to view the Medusa
Hermes guided him to the Graeae, the Gray Women
Like swans with human heads and arms under their wings, they shared one eye among them
Perseus seized it from them and they had to tell him where the nymphs of the north lived

90
He went to the nymphs of the north in Hyperboria
They gave him winged sandals, a cloak of invisibility, and expanding sack
With these perseus slew the medusa as she slept
She was the only one of the three gorgons who was mortal
Winged pegasus leaped from her severed neck
Then perseus went to ethiopia and rescued a maiden, Andromeda, from a sea serpent. He used
medusas head to turn it into stone

Then he returned to the island,

But Dictys and Danae were in hiding from Polydectes
Perseus went to a banquet that polydectes was holding for his cronies
When he entered all turned to look at him
He pulled out the head of medusa and turned all the villians to stone
Dictys became king
Perseus and danae returned to argos to find that Acrisius had been driven from the throne
Then danae and perseus went to the athletic contest of the king of Larissa
Perseus entered and threw the discus
Acrisius was a spectator in the front row
It hit him and killed him
Apollos oracle was proven right
[ a tale of piety, vengeance, and fate]
Bellerophan
City of Ephyre, later Corinth
Ie -gor- enclosure, cf. Phyrgian Gordium, Russ. gorod, English yard, old pre-greek name, with
Ephyre its non IE predecessor
Sisyphus - Glaucus(white) fed his horses human flesh - Bellerophon( bellow sound)
Poseidon was his spirit father, to speak in Irish terms
Bellerophan wanted the winged steed pegasus for his own
The seer polyidus told him to sleep in athenas temple
The goddess spoke to him and when he awoke he found a golden bridle at his feet
He found pegasus drinking at pirene in a field of corinth
Pegasus accepted him
Bellerophan accidently killed his brother
He went to king proetus to purify him
Proetus wife, anteia, lusted after bellerophan
When bellerophan rejected her advances she went and told her husband that bellerophan had
dishonoured her
Proetus would not kill bellerophan because of the laws of hospitality

91
Instead he sent him to the King of Lycia, with a note Kill this Man!
After 9 days of hospitality, the king asked to see the note, but would not kill him
He sent B to kill the Chimaera lion in front snake in back with goats body
He flew above it and killed it
He returned to proetus
Proetus asked him to conquer the Solymi, which B did, and to conquer the Amazons, which B
did, Proetus gave B his daughter in marriage

Then B thought thoughts too great for a man

He tried to ride pegasus up to olympus
Pegasus threw him off and flew on to join the gods
Bellerophon fell to earth
There he wandered hating the gods and devouring his own soul
A heroic tale, with the collage monster characteristic of Greece, also a hubristic end with the
hero over reaching human limits and falling
The Amazons
Warrior women [from the caucasus]
Their chief city was Themiscyra
Invaded Lycia, but bellerophan drove them out
Invaded phyrgia when Priam [later king of Troy] was young
Invaded attica when theseus abducted their queen
Theseus drove them out
Fought in the trojan war under their queen, Penthesilea.
Achilles mourned her when she was killed
[ a record of a real and enigmatic tribe or band from the Caucasus ]
Midas -1
King of Phrygia
He was greedy and stupid
He returned lost Silenus to Bacchus (Dionysus)
Dionysus gave a boon to him
Midas wished that all he touched turned to gold
Everything he touched turned to gold
Then he found he couldnt eat, he turned his beloved daughter into gold in some variants

92
So he asked dionysus to withdraw his gift, which he did
[ a cautionary tale about greed ]
Midas - 2
Later he chose Pan over Apollo in a music contest
Apollo turned his ears into those of an ass
His servant could keep his secret no longer
He went to a secluded spot and dug a hole
Then he whispered into it King Midas has asses ears and felt much relieved

But reeds grew up there and repeat his words when the wind rustles them [A comic tale]
Themes:
Cosmogony - weak, but there
Theogony - origin and generation of gods
Marginal deities - an array of god(let)s from earlier or neighbouring peoples
Syncretism - incorporation of other myths ( Egyptian, Aegean, Anatolian, Thracian)
Divine intervention - every outcome is due to the will of some god
Divine lust - how Zeus seduces maidens, how Eos wants youths
Demi-god heroes - virgin conceptions
Female jealousy - how Hera and others punish their rivals
Heroes - valiant, and sometimes clever or tricky; kill villains and monsters
Resurrection - cyclic rebirth of Demeter, Persephone, and Dionysus
Apotheosis - non-death, transformation to the status of a god at the end of worldly life
Shifted paternity - how a hero will have a special father, usually a god
Natural order - the world and its beings have proper places and roles
Monsters - beings with a mix, an unnatural array of features, Chimaera, Scylla

93
Hubris - overweening pride
Piety vs impiety - the latter is a trigger for disaster
Righteousness - divine justice and worldly justice
Ecstasy - wine, divine frenzy, savage cannibalistic frenzy

Golden mean - overweening pride vs aidos (humility), reason vs frenzy

Fate - ineluctable (not to be avoided)
Irony - tricker of the gods or of fate, things are not as they seem
Psychological vividness - odd, strange actions, situations, such as incest, perversions, bizarre
cruelties (Odysseus blinding of the cyclops, procrustes and his bed), or nightmarish scenes
(sowing dragons teeth)
Love - eternal, unrequited, kin-killing (with punishment) appropriate vs bad
Transformations - theriomorphism, gods or humans in animal forms
Phytomorphism - gods or humans in plant forms (dendromorphism - tree form)
Landscape animism - streams, glades, rivers, islands all have divine occupants
Travelogues - heroes go on journeys
Politics - dynastic strife, genealogies