GREEK

MYTHOLOGY
Ancient Legends of
Gods and Heroes
?
Uranus Sagona
 Table of Contents
?
Introduction
The Significance of Greek Mythology
Chapter 1: The Beginning
Chapter 2: The Twelve Olympians
Chapter 3: Major Greek Heroes
Chapter 4: Greek Mortals
Conclusion
A FUN SURPRISE IN THE END
 Introduction
?

Greek mythology encompasses the bodies of

myths and teachings of ancient Greek civiliza-
tions. As a reader, you must be interested in learn-
ing more about these bodies. Greek gods, heroes
- stories of Titans and rise of the Twelve Olympi-
ans... I am here to educate and entertain you by
telling you stories on all of these subjects. Under-
standing Greek mythology is a fabulous way to as-
similate into the ancient Greek's religious practices
and culture.

From the origin of the world to the life stories of

famous Greek heroes. From the adventures in the
Iliad to the long journey home in the Odyssey.
This book will help you understand what the an-
cient Greeks believed and how their perspective
of the world differs from ours. Ancient Greeks
conceived that daily life revolves around the
activity of the gods. For instance, lightning is
caused by Zeus and tsunamis are caused by Pos-
eidon's anger.

So do you want to understand more about ancient

Greek culture? Do you want to learn the legends
of Greek gods and heroes or entertain yourself
with Greek stories? If so, then this book will
provide you what you're looking for.
Thank you for downloading this book and please
enjoy!
 Copyright 2015 by Uranus Sagona- All rights reserved.

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 The Significance of
Greek Mythology
?

Greek mythology has been a part and parcel of

peoples lives. From their childhood days, they
have learned the origin of the cosmos, the reason
why mountains are high, or why humans belong
to various races. These myths have been fashioned
by the elders and transmitted orally to impart les-
sons to the younger generation, or to instill values
to children. Myths likewise attempt to explain the
inexplicable, or anything unchartered by science.

Art and literature have both been influenced by

mythology. Greek mythology, in particular, is the
source of the mental, social, and philosophical
constructs of the Greeks. For example, the an-
cient Greeks envisioned their gods and goddesses
as perfectly beautiful and handsome deities. As
a person, they believed that their deities possess
all the best qualities that make up humans. This
mindset resulted to fashioning long curly tresses,
perfect curves and sculpted bodies indications
that the Greeks believed in the ideal, in being the
model for grace, beauty, intelligence, and eleg-
ance. This nation wanted to be the epitome of in-
tellectuality and skill in warfare.

True enough, their vast collection of myths tell

universal stories of happiness, woe, hope, des-
pair, unrequited love, and hubris (excessive
pride). Though the characters in these myths are
larger-than-life, they also represent ordinary
people with ordinary problems. Zeus, the chief
god of Olympus, for example, is the womanizer
god. He has fathered so many children with dif-
ferent women. Despite his trysts, he still chooses
to be with Hera, his jealous wife. Poseidon, in
contrast, is stubborn and hot-headed. Choosing
the sea as his dominion, he uses his trident to
cause earthquakes and tsunamis to punish sea-
farers who have wronged him. Greek mortals also
have insecurity and jealousy issues, as shown in
Paris choice of the most beautiful woman, which
is the root cause of the Trojan War. No matter
who or what, the characters in Greek mythology
symbolize the strengths and impurities of human-
kind.

The rich mythology of the Greeks has provided

the nation a trove of cultural wealth as well.
People all over the world have studied Greek
mythology, thanks to Edith Hamilton and her
classic bestseller Mythology. Educational institu-
tions have also included Greek myths as part of
canonical literature because of the aesthetic and
educational values that students would learn from
them. The timeless universal appeal of Greek
mythology cannot be denied, simply because
Greek mythology will always be learned, loved,
and appreciated by millions of readers around the
world.
 The Beginning
?

All myths have a starting point. The principal deit-

ies of Greek mythology likewise have their origin.
In the case of the Greeks, their principal deities
were Gaea and Uranus (the two primordial deit-
ies).
In the beginning, there was only chaos, a vast ex-
panse of darkness, nothing beheld nor touched.
Erebus appeared from the void. Erebus is a dark,
mysterious place where night and death dwell.
Everything was quiet and empty. To give order to
chaos, Love was born as well. Light and day came
from Love. When light and day touched chaos, the
earth appeared. This was Gaa.
Ether, the heavenly light, was born when Erebus
slept with Night. Night, on the other hand, gave
birth to Doom, Death, Fate, Dreams, Sleep,
Nemesis, and all the vile things associated with
darkness. Gaea, the earth, gave birth to the heav-
ens, Uranus. Eventually, Uranus became the hus-
band of Gaea and they had children: three
Hecatoncheires, three Cyclopes, and the twelve
mighty Titans.
Uranus, however, proved to be a bad father to
his children. The Hecatoncheires he imprisoned
in the belly of the earth, where they couldnt be
easily found. This cruel act angered Gaea and
made her plot against her husband. She vowed to
avenge her children by making a flint sickle and
encouraging her children to kill Uranus. The oth-
er Titans were afraid of their father, except for
Cronus, the youngest.
One night, Gaea and Cronus ambushed Uranus.
Cronus attacked his father and killed him with the
flint sickle. When the murder was done, Cronus
threw away his fathers dismembered body into
the ocean. But since Uranus was a god, he was
typically impossible to be killed. When he was
able to recuperate from the ambush, he vowed to
punish Cronus and the rest of the Titans.
Meanwhile, the following creatures emerged
from the blood of Uranus: Giants, the Erinnyes,
and the Ash Tree Nymphs. It was also believed
that the goddess of love and beauty, Aphrodite,
was born from the sea foam that formed when
Uranus genitals fell into the sea.
After the death of Uranus, Cronus ascended to
the throne and married his sister, Rhea. But the
apple does not fall from the tree. Hence, Cronus
imprisoned the Cyclopes and the Hecatoncheires
in Tartarus. Rhea was aghast at this barbaric be-
havior as well. However, the worse was not yet
over. Back in the old days, there was a prophecy
that Cronus would be overthrown by his own son.
This prophecy made Cronus paranoid and sus-
picious of Rhea and their children. To keep the
portent from happening, Cronus swallowed all
of their children, except for Zeus, the youngest,
whom Rhea hid in a cave immediately after he
was born. Afterwards, she asked nymphs to take
care of her son in the cave. Back in their abode,
Rhea presented her baby to Cronus. This child
was actually a stone wrapped in clothes. At first,
Cronus was happy to see his son. As instantly as
he had liked the sight of his son, so instantly was
he seized by the uncontrollable urge to swallow
the baby. He did, and was satisfied with the foul
deed.
In time, Zeus grew up to be a fine man. Even
so, he vowed to save his brothers and sisters who
were all swallowed by Cronus. He worked in the
household of Rhea and Cronus. One day, he pre-
pared a special drink for Cronus. This drink was
actually poisonous. When Cronus had already
drank from the cup, his stomach got upset until
he vomited. From Cronuss mouth came all of
Zeus siblings, all grown up: Hera, Poseidon, De-
meter and Hades. Cronus was at the losing end,
and Zeus was appointed as the chief of the gods.
However, Cronus and the rest of the Titans re-
mained undefeated. Except for Oceanus, Epi-
metheus, and Prometheus, all of the Titans helped
Cronus regain their power from the younger
gods. Despite being initially outnumbered by the
Titans, Zeus used his skill and cunning to defeat
Cronus. The younger god went down to Tartarus
and freed the Cyclopes and the Hecatoncheires.
Prometheus helped Zeus as well. The Cyclopes
for their part fashioned the battle gears for Zeus
and the rest of the gods. The Hecatoncheires, on
the other hand, threw boulders at the Titans, mak-
ing the latter retreat. All of the defeated Titans
were sent by Zeus to Tartarus, except for At-
las, who was punished to carry the weight of the
world on his shoulders.
Still, the battle between Zeus and the Titans raged
on. Gaea, the earth, became furious at what Zeus
had done to her children. Gaeas son Typhoeus,
a ferocious monster, attacked the Olympian gods.
Through his famous lightning bolt, Zeus was able
to kill Typhoeus and bury it under Mount Etna in
Sicily.
With Cronus gone, Zeus and his brothers Posei-
don and Hades divided their realms by casting
lots. Zeus, being the chief god, got Olympus. Po-
seidon, on the other hand, became the one in
charge of the sea, while Hades became the ruler
of the underworld.
 The Twelve
Olympians
?

Zeus and his siblings became the chief residents at

Olympus. Together with Zeus, these deities ruled
the mortals according to their ways. Most of the
times, these gods intervened and were motivated
by jealousy, anger, and desire. Though they are
called the younger generation of gods, they also
experienced problems and responded to them in an
old school kind of way.
Zeus
He is the lord of the sky and the rain. Likewise,
he is the overall ruler of Olympus (also known as
Mount Olympus the dwelling of the Olympian
gods). He is always depicted with his thunder-
bolt, which he uses to punish people who dis-
please him and those who break oaths. Although
his wife is Hera, he is still known to have fathered
several children with nymphs, lesser gods, and
mortals. His children are Apollo, Artemis,
Athena, and Hercules. Once, his wife Hera per-
suaded the other gods into a plot against him.
She drugged him and surrounded him with the
gods as he slept. They bound Zeus with rawhide
thongs. When Zeus woke up, he was so angry
that he roared and vowed to destroy them, but the
gods had already stolen his thunderbolt and Zeus
couldnt break the thongs.
His faithful cousin, Briareus, freed Zeus with his
hundred hands. The god of Olympus jumped
from the couch and seized his thunderbolt. The
plotters were terrified and sank to their knees.
Meanwhile, Zeus seized Hera and hung her in the
sky, binding her with chains of gold. The other
gods didnt dare rescue her, but they heard her
sobs in the wind. Her crying kept Zeus awake,
and he promised to free her if Hera swore never
to rebel again.
There are many stories about Zeus, but where did
it all begin? Surely the ruler of Mount Olympus
had some sort of background. Well, it turns out
that Zeus was the child of the two Titans, Cro-
nus and Rhea. Cronus was notorious for being a
greedy and jealous deity. Out of fear of his chil-
dren taking over his throne, Cronus swallowed up
every child Rhea gave birth to.
But when Rhea gave birth to her last child, Zeus,
she tricked Cronus with the help of Uranus and
Gaea. She gave her husband a rock disguised as
a baby to swallow up, as substitution for her own
child, and sent Zeus away to the Greek island of
Crete so that Cronus could not hear the cries of
the baby. At Crete, Zeus was being secretly raised
by the Nymphs and was fed with milk and honey
from the goat nurse Amaltheia with the help of
her broken horn.
As soon as Zeus was old enough to claim the Cro-
nus' Kingdom, he went and battled with his fath-
er. This battle became ingrained in Greek myth-
ology as the Titanomachy. Zeus first managed
to liberate his elder brothers and sisters from his
father's stomach by giving him a specific type
of herb and making him regurgitate them. Then,
with the help of his siblings, Zeus overthrew Cro-
nus and hurled him into the depths of the Under-
world.
Poseidon
He is the brother of Zeus and the lord of the
sea. In Roman mythology, he is more commonly
known as Neptune. His epithet is Earthshaker be-
cause a simple movement of his trident could
already result in earthquakes and tsunamis. He is
also known for his temper and his obstinacy in
the pursuit of women. A classic example is his re-
lentless pursuit of Amphitrite, Oceanuss grand-
daughter. Despite Poseidons mercurial temper,
he is worshipped by seamen and the patron of
horses and dolphins.
Poseidon had always wanted the sea because it is
a place full of adventures and secrets. Then mo-
ment he came to his kingdom, he instantly built
a huge underwater palace with a great pearl and
coral. He initially thought of Thetis as his queen,
but a prophecy prevented him from pursuing her.
According to the prophecy, Thetis son would
be greater than his father. Poseidon then thought
to seek other goddesses or nymphs. The proph-
ecy, meanwhile, became true, for Thetis son was
Achilles, who was greater than his father, Peleus.
Poseidon then chose Amphitrite, another Nereid.
But like his brother Zeus, he was a great traveler
and had so many illegitimate children. Poseidon
was a difficult god because he always quarreled
or changed his mind. Despite this cool exterior
he liked to crack jokes and pull pranks on some
nymphs by startling them with creatures of the
sea. Such creatures are the octopus, the squid, the
sea-polyp or jellyfish, the swordfish, blowfish,
sea cow, and many others. During Amphitrites
jealous episode, he presented a dolphin to her to
make her feel better.
Poseidon was also a greedy and aggressive god
because he wanted more regions and people in his
kingdom. He even wanted to conquer Attica as
his own, so he stabbed the hillside with his tri-
dent. Now the Athenians didnt want to become
Poseidons constituents so they prayed to anoth-
er god for protection: Athena. The goddess of
wisdom granted their prayers by giving them an
olive tree for protection. Meanwhile, the god of
the sea disliked her action and got so furious that
he raised a storm. Even a fishing fleet capsized in
the storm. Poseidon then challenged Athena to a
duel, to which the goddess accepted for fear that
Poseidon might take it out on her people if she re-
fused.
Zeus heard the squabble and decreed a truce.
After hearing both sides of the story, he awarded
the city to Athena because she gave a better gift.
After that the Athenians had to be extra careful
when they went to sea and were often unfortunate
in naval battles.
Demeter also became the subject of Poseidons
affection. He pursued her and demanded that she
love him. After much careful thought, the god-
dess asked to be given a land animal. To her sur-
prise, the sea god created a horse for her. In an-
other version of the story, Demeter turned herself
into a mare. Poseidon immediately changed him-
self into a stallion and caught Demeter. The res-
ults of this union were Arion and Despoena.
Hades
Because the underworld was given to Hades, he
became known as a brooding and moody god.
He is also famous for being greedy because he
wanted to increase his subjects. Most of the stor-
ies in the myths portray Hades as the god of
wealth, and an impatient god at that. He rarely
leaves his realm and possesses a helmet that
renders him invisible. Perhaps the most popular
story about Hades is his abduction of Persephone,
Demeters daughter. One day, when he saw
Persephone tending the garden, he grabbed her
and took her to the underworld. There he wooed
her until she gave in, eating half a pomegranate.
Her absence, on the other hand, gave Demeter so
much distress that she vowed that seasons will
change within a year. Every time Persephone
would spend six months in Olympus, flowers
would bloom and there would be summer and
spring. In contrast, the remaining six months that
she spends with Hades in the underworld would
mean seasons of autumn and winter.
Eventually, Persephone learned to love Hades
and she became the queen of the underworld.
Hadess soft spot is also shown especially when
it concerns Persephone.
The Greeks had a different custom concerning
their dead. They believed that you had to put
a coin under the deads tongue so that the soul
would use this coin as payment to Charon, the
boatman. Failure to hand in this coin would mean
that Charon wouldnt ferry the soul to the other
side of the river Acheron.
On the other side of the river was a great wall
guarded by the monster and three-headed dog
Cerberus. Beyond the gate, in Tartarus, was a
great wide field shaded by black poplars. This
is where the dead lived heroes and cowards,
soldiers, shepherds, minstrels, priests, and slaves.
Their paradise is called the Elysian Fields and
souls found contentment there. It is in Tartarus,
too, where the souls awaited the judgment of Mi-
nos, Rhadamanthys and Aecus.
Hestia
She is a virgin goddess and is not really that pop-
ular in Greek mythology because her presence in
the myths is limited. She is the goddess of the
home and the hearth and is the patron of families.
People who want to pray for the strength of fam-
ily ties could offer sacrifices to Hestia.
Hera
This deity is another interesting personality. She
is the protector of marriage and wives, and this
role also signifies the weak spot in her marriage
with Zeus. Hera is a jealous goddess and is con-
stantly eyeing Zeus activities of infidelity. When
Zeus was still courting her, Hera did not want to
be with him. The cunning chief god transformed
himself into a cuckoo, and when Hera got near
him, he raped her. To save her dignity, she mar-
ried Zeus. However, during their marriage they
would often fight, to the point of Hera drugging
Zeus and participating in a revolt. Whats good
about this wife and husband tandem is that the
dynamics of their relationship clearly mirror the
trials and roles undertaken by modern couples.
Hera is also the representation of the typical jeal-
ous yet crafty wife. She is known for her
strategies and for outwitting Zeus. She also
provides the perfect foil to Zeus character and
machismo.
Ares
The son of Zeus and Hera, he is the fierce god
of war. Despite this title, he can still be cowardly.
He figured in an affair with Aphrodite, the wife
of the blacksmith god Hephaestus. Like the rest
of the gods, Ares participated in the war between
the Trojans and the Greeks.
Athena
Otherwise known as Minerva in Roman mytho-
logy, Athena is the goddess of wisdom and is the
greatest tactician in battle. Armies who want to
win the battles offer sacrifices to her. Athena is
also the goddess of the arts, agriculture, and the
city. It is believed that she was born as an adult,
but not without giving Zeus immense headache.
Apparently, this headache came from the spear
that Athena brought with her all the time. Like
Hestia, Athena is a virgin goddess. Her favorite
bird is the owl (another symbol of wisdom) and
her favorite tree is the olive.
One interesting story about Athena involves a
lovely maiden named Arachne. A skilled and tal-
ented weaver, Arachne foolishly declared that she
could be better than the goddess of handicrafts
herself. Athena charged to the city and chal-
lenged the girl to the contest, the price which is
Arachnes life if the latter loses. The day of the
contest came and people marveled at the designs
in Arachnes tapestries. However, nothing could
compare to Athenas works, which depicted the
scenes of the battle between the Olympian gods
and the Titans. Even before Athena was declared
as a winner, Arachne went to a tree and hanged
herself. Athena saw the blue face of Arachne,
touched it until the face became smaller and dark-
er. This is the considered to be the origin of
spiders or the arachnids.
Demeter
Her name means barley-mother. Another name
for her is Ceres, which means cereal. She is the
goddess of the cornfield, the mistress of planting
and harvesting, and the lady of growing crops.
Zeus was very fond of her and he always obliged
her with rain when her fields were parched. He
also gave her two children, one of which is
Persephone.
When Persephone was abducted, Demeter was
frantic and rushed out to search for her. When
she found out where Persephone was, Demeter
climbed back into her chariot and sped to Olym-
pus and charged into the throne room where Zeus
sat.
Weeks passed before Zeus found his sleep being
disturbed by sounds of lamentations. He looked
down upon the earth, and saw a grievous sight.
Nothing grew. The fields were blasted and dry.
Trees were stripped of leaves, standing blighted,
with the blazing sun beating down. The soil was
hard and cracked, covered with the shriveled
brown husks of wheat and corn and barley killed
in the bud. There was literally no green place
everywhere.
When Hades had gone to Olympus, he presented
Persephones case to Zeus. The chief god had to
give his judgment: because Persephone had eaten
six seeds of the pomegranate in Hades realm, she
would have to spend six months with Hades each
year.
Demeters story shows how a mothers love
could be so powerful that it can even influence
the seasons.
Artemis
When Artemis was a young girl, Zeus asked her
for a birthday gift. Her response was unexpected:
She wanted to be her fathers maiden always,
never a woman. She also wanted a lot of names
in case she got bored with one. She requested a
silver bow and arrow, an embroidered deerskin
tunic, fifty ocean nymphs, and twenty wood
nymphs. She asked for a pack of fierce and swift
hounds. She wanted mountains and one city to be
her special places.
Her father delightedly gave everything she asked
for, and gladly added the gift of eternal chastity
and the gift of her changing her mind about it
anytime. He also rewarded her the gift of choos-
ing her own presents so that they will have spe-
cial value.
Artemis kissed him, and whispered her thanks in-
to his ear, and then went running off to choose her
gifts. She went to the woods and to the river and
to the ocean stream and selected the most beau-
tiful nymphs for her court. She visited Hephaes-
tus in his smoking smithy inside the mountain,
and said, Ive come for my bow. A silver one,
please.
However, the smith god said that silver is more
difficult to work than gold because it needs cool
light. Thus, the silver bow and arrow must be
made underwater. You must go deep beneath the
sea, off the island of Lipara, where my Cyclopes
are making a horse trough for Poseidon, he said.
Artemis and her nymphs swam underwater to
where the Cyclopes were hammering at a great
trough. When the Cyclopes had finished her bow,
she thanked them nicely. But when one of the
Cyclopes tried to take her on his knee, she tore a
handful of hair from his chest and got away. The
Cyclops became terrified of Artemis, and readers
see this as the first foray of Artemis into becom-
ing an independent and precocious child.
Afterwards, she and her nymphs ran to Arcadia,
where Pan was feeding his hounds. He gave her
his ten best dogs. Three of them were huge black
and white hounds able to catch a live lion and
drag it to the hunter. The others were lean white
deerhounds; any one of them could outrun a stag.
Artemis tried all of her gifts with excitement. She
sent her white hounds racing after two deer, bid-
ding them to bring back the animals unharmed.
She harnessed her deer back to her silver chariot
and drove away with her maidens. With her bow,
she split a pine tree and an olive tree. Next, she
shot a wild boar. And finally, she shot an arrow
into a city of unjust men, and the arrow pierced
all of them - never stopping until all men were
dead.
The people called her the Goddess of the Moon.
Sometimes they referred to her as the Maiden of
the Silver Bow or the Lady of the Wild Things.
She is the goddess to whom modern and inde-
pendent women should be associated with.
Though she does not like being tied down to a
man, she also violated her own rule. Like other
deities, Artemis can be fickle-minded if she
wanted to.
Artemis lets no man approach or touch her. A
young man named Actaeon saw her bathing in a
stream and he was so transfixed by her beauty
that he hid there, watching. When she saw him,
she changed him into a stag and ordered her
hounds to tear him to pieces.
Apollo
He was the most beautiful among the gods of
Olympus. He had dark gold hair and electric blue
eyes that seemed to swim when you looked into
them. He wore a golden tunic made from pan-
thers skin, and he always carried his golden bow
and his quiver of arrows. His chariot is also
golden, so he was named the god of the sun. Even
his horses had golden manes. Anyone who sees
Apollo became transfixed at his beauty. Aside
from being the sun god, he was also the patron of
poetry, music, medicine, and mathematics. When
he became a mature god, he preached modera-
tion. He wanted his worshippers to become wiser
in their dealings and to be prudent in all matters.
However, it was the opposite case in his youth.
Apollo was cruel and did wanton deeds. So many
times he was almost expelled from Olympus.
As soon as he was given his tools, he raced
down from the peaks of Olympus to hunt the
Python who had hunted his mother. When he saw
the great serpent, Apollo notched an arrow, drew
his bow, and shot his arrow. He followed the ser-
pent to a cave and shot more arrows until the ser-
pent had so many arrows sticking in its body that
it looked more like a porcupine. He skinned the
great snake and saved the hide for a gift. That was
his first kill.
Unfortunately, it was a sacred place where he
had done his killing, for here lived the oracles
of Mother Earth. They were priestesses whom
even the gods consulted. They looked and soun-
ded weird they chewed laurel and other herbs,
sat in the smoke and read the future. They spoke
in riddles as well. Apollo claimed the oracles as
his own and ordered the women to prophesy in
his name.
Soon Mother Earth complained to Zeus about the
murder of her Python, so Apollo smoothly prom-
ised to make amends. He instituted annual games
at Delphi in celebration of his victory, and these
he graciously named after the Python. Thus, the
Pythian games were born.
Hermes
Hermes was a precocious god as a child. Five
minutes after his birth, he sneaked out of his
crib and went searching for adventure. He went
quickly down the slopes of Mount Cyllene and
saw a meadow with a herd of cows. Because
there was no cowherd around, Hermes stole
them. Apollo, on the other hand, was furious to
see his cows gone and even more furious when he
searched for tracks but found nothing. The crows
told him that it was his baby brother who stole the
cows. Despite hearing the news, he chose not to
believe the crows.
One morning, he passed a cave he had passed
so many times in the past. This time, however,
he heard strange sounds coming from the inside.
Apollo looked inside and saw Maia, a lovely
Titaness, and a little baby boy on her lap, Hermes.
The latter was doing playing with a large tortoise
shell from which the strange yet beautiful sounds
were coming from.
Apollo questioned the strings Hermes used.
These strings were cowgut. Hermes, for his part,
admitted that he stole the cows. He also said the
cows were safe except for one, which he sacri-
ficed to the twelve gods, the twelfth being him-
self.
To appease Apollos anger, Hermes offered his
lyre to Apollo. The sun god accepted it and in
turn, he rewarded the younger god with anything
he wanted. Hence, Hermes asked for Apollos
staff. The sun god took his brother to Olympus
and was presented to Zeus, the chief god. Hermes
justified why he had to belong to the Pantheon.
The boy spoke: Father, I require no vast dignities.
Only a chance to be useful, to serve you, and to
dwell in your potent presence. Let me be your
herald because I am resourceful and quick. Let
me bring your news and your messages through
their dreams.
Zeus agreed, but not without giving the boy a
challenge.
Hermes was able to do his duties and he became
the official messenger god. He accomplished
with swiftness, ingenuity, and cheerfulness that
he became a favorite of Zeus. Hermes became a
patron of liars and thieves and gamblers, a god of
commerce, a framer of treaties, and a guardian of
travelers. Even Hades became his client too, as he
ushered souls to Tartarus.
Hermes also invented the alphabet, astronomy,
and the scales; also playing cards and cards
games. He carried Apollos golden staff decor-
ated with white ribbons, wore a pot-shaped hat,
and winged sandals which carried him through
the air more swiftly than any bird could fly. Even-
tually this became his trademark.
It was also Hermes who suggested that Zeus
could socialize with mortals by disguising him-
self. One story featured both father and son in
disguise while seeking shelter from an elderly
couple.
Hephaestus
When Hephaestus was born, his mother Hera was
appalled because the child was ugly. Hera
snatched the baby up and hurled him off Olym-
pus. For a night and a day he fell, and hit the
ground at the edge of the sea with such force that
both of his legs were crippled. He lay there on
the beach mewing piteously. A tide came up and
a huge wave curled him under its arm and carried
him off to sea. The baby was adopted by Thetis,
who thought he was a tadpole. Thetis took care
of him and saw that the child had a talent for cre-
ating a necklace. When Hera saw the handicraft,
she knew the child must be her son, so she de-
manded Hephaestus back.
Hephaestus returned to Olympus. Hera presented
him with a broken mountain nearby, where he
could set up forges and bellows. She gave him
the Cyclopes as helpers and promised him Aph-
rodite as his bride. Thus, Hephaestus became the
smith god, lord of the mechanics, the great arti-
ficer. As a result, the mountain always smoked
and rumbled with his work. Though he was ugly,
the gods decreed that he would be married to the
most beautiful woman on Olympus.
Aphrodite
Aphrodite was the goddess of love and beauty.
Being what she is, she enters other stories; and
such is the power of her magic girdle that he who
even speaks her name falls under her spell, and
seems to glimpse her white shoulders and catch
the perfume of her golden hair. And he loses his
wits and begins to babble, and tells the same story
in many ways. Aphrodite has the power to amaze
anyone who sees her, and to melt the hardest of
hearts. Even though she is associated with de-
sire and love, she is never distracted from her
responsibilities. She is also quick to respond to
people who needed her help. Case in point: Pyg-
malion.
Aphrodite was born out of the primal murder of
Uranus. When she was born, dripping wet and
naked from the sea, Poseidons white horses
brought her to the island of Cythera. Her beauty
was unimaginable, for flowers bloomed wherever
she went. Wherever she passed, the sand would
magically change into grass. Zeus brought her to
Olympus, and every god was excited to meet her.
Hera, suspicious, suggested that Aphrodite
should be married off. A lot of gods offered their
riches to her. Poseidon offered her grottos,
riddles, gems, dark surroundings, and fair sur-
faces. He also offered her typhoons, secrets, sun-
sets, and drowned sailors.
The sun god, on the other hand, offered her a
throne and a crown made of the hottest sun-gold,
a chariot so golden and is drawn by white swans,
and Muses for her handmaids. Hermes presented
her the crossways and a treasure trove of adven-
tures.
Still, Aphrodite smiled but said nothing.
But when she saw Hephaestus, who said I would
make a good husband for a girl like you. I work
late, Aphrodite smiled, put her finger under the
chin of Hephaestus, and kissed him on the lips.
Thus, the fairest of all the goddesses in Olympus,
was won over by the smith-god. Aphrodite also
had an affair with Ares and Anchises, with whom
she had a son the Trojan hero and survivor,
Aeneas.
 Major Greek Heroes
?

Heracles:

Once, Zeus disguised and impersonated the hus-

band of Alcmene. They made love and the result
was Heracles, whose name means Glory of
Hera. Zeus decreed that Heracles would rule the
noble House of Perseus. Hera thereupon made him
promise that any prince born before nightfall to
the House of Perseus should be High King. Upon
Zeus oath, Hera went at once to Mycenae where
she hastened the pangs of Nicippe, wife of King
Sthenelus. She also hurried to Thebes and squatted
cross-legged at Alcmenes door to delay the birth
of Heracles.

When Zeus found out about Heras schemes, he

was enraged and made her promise that since
Heracles couldnt be High Priest anymore, he
should be allowed to become a god once he has
performed his twelve labors. Alcmene, Heracles
mother, was the last mortal Zeus lay with. The
chief god of Olympus was so in love with her that
he took pains to disguise himself and woo her.
The woman, however, feared Heras jealousy and
wrath, so she exposed her newly-born child in a
field outside the walls of Thebes. At Zeus prod-
ding, Athena took Hera for a casual stroll. Hera
saw the infant Heracles and at Athenas prodding,
gave a breast from which to suck milk. Heracles
was so strong that Hera flung him down in pain,
and a spurt of milk flew across the sky which be-
came the Milky Way.

At last, Heracles became a full grown man. He

was so mighty that he was given twelve labors.
The first one was his encounter with the Nemean
lion. Next was his defeat of the Lernaean Hydra.
There were other tasks and these tasks proved
how powerful Heracles was.
Achilles:

However, Heracles wasn't the only who im-

pressed everyone with his strength. There was
one other who goes by the name of Achilles.
It was prophesied that Achilles would die early.
Hence, Thetis dipped the infant in the River Styx,
while holding the child upside down. Only the
boys heels were not dipped in the river, thus
making his heels vulnerable to attack. On the oth-
er hand, the rest of his body was invincible.

This boy eventually grew up to become a hero

for the Greek army. But then, the second Trojan
prince, Paris, ran off with Helen, the most beau-
tiful woman in all of Greece and also Menelaus'
wife. The incident infuriated Menelaus (king of
Sparta), who decided to ask King Agamemnon
(king of Greece) for aid in the upcoming war.
Due to Agamemnon's interest in conquering
Troy, he agreed to Menelaus' request since it will
give him control over the Aegean Sea.

However, both Hector (brother of Paris and first

prince of Troy) and King Priam of Troy were dis-
mayed at the situation. Their original intent was
to sign a pact with Greece that would prevent
war, but recent events have caused a huge rift
in disparity between the Greeks and Trojans.
However, both Hector and Priam decided against
taking Helen back to the Greeks since it may res-
ult in Paris getting killed.

The incident caused by Paris and Helen triggered

a war that sent 1000 ships to the shore of Troy.
During the war between Troy and the Greek em-
pire, Achilles was one of the 100,000 Greek men
who fought during the ten-year war as depicted
in the Iliad. He was considered so crucial to the
victory of the Greek army that Achilles was even
wooed by the men and officials when he walked
away, even to the point of hiding in his own
fleet. However, Achilles had no interest in the
battle. He was at odds with King Agamemnon,
whom he considered a coward hiding behind
his army. However, he had a friend amongst the
Greek kings Odysseus, king of Ithaca (Odys-
seus is the main character in the sequel to
Homer's epic called the Odyssey). Odysseus tried
persuading Achilles to join in the war, but
Achilles ultimately refused due to his extreme
dislike for King Agamemnon. He didn't decide to
join until his mother Thetis told him that his leg-
acy would be forgotten if he did not join the war,
but that he would be forever remembered as the
strongest/most powerful warrior in all of Greece
once he dies in battle.

The Greek's first attack was on the shore of Troy.

The battle was largely won due to Achilles and
his Myrmidons. They sacked the temple, but al-
lowed Hector and the surviving Trojans to return
to the city. Achilles claimed Briseis, a priestess
of the temple and cousin to Hector and Paris, as
his prize for taking hold of the location. However,
after a brief exchange of words with Agamem-
non, he noticed that Agamemnon spitefully took
away Briseis and is angered by that. As a result,
Achilles decided that he will not participate in the
siege on Troy.

However, after a brief siege attempt, Agamem-

non saw the importance of Achilles' presence on
the field. He tells Odysseus to try to convince
Achilles to join the battle. But in order to keep
the spirits of his troops up, he gives Briseis to the
Greek soldiers for their own amusement. In the
nick of time, Achilles comes in and saves Briseis
from being raped. The two spent the night togeth-
er and fell in love. Achilles decided that the war
was a lost cause, resolving to leave Troy tomor-
row morning.

After Achilles decided to take his men and leave,

Patroclus whom was Achilles' cousin and friend
decided to imitate Achilles himself and engage
the Trojan army in battle while Achilles was in
bed. Unfortunately, Patroclus' level of swords-
manship was not up to par as the savoring hero of
Greece, and he was killed by Hector in the pro-
cess.

This enraged Achilles, who vowed to kill the per-

son who murdered his friend. After a brief fit of
rage, Achilles equipped his weapon and armor in
order to call out and engage Hector in a duel.
Hector, the Trojan hero and prince, was attacked
by Achilles, and this scene became the crucial
and most dramatic point in the Iliad. Hectors
body was mutilated, and his father Priam went
to Achilles to beg out of supplication. According
to Greek customs, a supplicants plea must be re-
warded.

Achilles grants Priam permission to take back

his son's body and allows Briseis to go back to
Troy with him. In addition , he offered 12 days
of truce so that Hector's funeral can be held in
peace. But Agamemnon was enraged at Achilles'
actions. His crazed rant resulted in Odysseus de-
vising a master plan to end the war without too
much bloodshed on the Greek's side. The Trojan
horse whom many consider to be the iconic
symbol of the Iliad, was the result of Odysseus'
plan to get into Troy.
Without the advice of Hector, the Trojans were
short on experienced officials that can master-
fully overlook the intentions of the Greek army.
The advisers to the king suggested that the
Greeks offered the Trojan horse as a gift. The
king brings in the horse over Paris' objection.
That night, the Greeks hiding inside the horse
emerged, Achilles being among one of the war-
riors inside the horse. They opened the gates and
commenced the Sack of Troy, which ultimately
lead to the fall of Troy.

The war between the Trojans and the Greeks

ended when Achilles was shot by Paris on his
heel. Through divine intervention, Apollo guided
the arrow so that it pierced the tender skin and
spread the poison throughout Achilless body.
The Greeks ultimately won the war though.
There were other demigods and heroes in Greek
mythology. One of these is Odysseus, who was
the tactician of the Greeks. He also figured in the
defeat of the Trojans, thanks to his scheme, the
Wooden Horse, and his adventures with his men
as they journeyed back to Ithaca. His adventures
were also full of magic and mystery, as compared
to the Iliad, though both epics were written by the
same man Homer.

Orion:
I'm not sure if I would call Orion a hero of Greek
legend, but he was definitely a major player in
Greek mythology. Orion was known as the giant
huntsman with great fighting talent and the abil-
ity to walk on water. He is the son of the eldest of
gorgons called Euryale and Poseidon, who gave
him the gift to walk on water. Some people have
even claimed that he was the son of Gaea, when
Hermes, Zeus, and Poseidon urinated on a Bull's
hide and buried in deep into the Earth. That is
where his name originated from (Orion means ur-
ine).
Orion was thought to be a handsome individual
and a person with great personality. Thus, he was
very popular amongst the common people. He
was also the companion of the goddess Artemis
for some time.
In Orion's myth, he journeyed to the island
known as Chios, and that is where he fell in
love with Merope, who was the daughter of king
Oinopion. To hide his true feelings from the king,
he joined under the pretense of being the king's
hunter and serving the people. He was quite suc-
cessful at his job, as he managed to drive many
wild beasts off of the island. As a result, he be-
came very popular amongst the people and that
gave him the courage to propose to Merope.
But the king himself wasn't too fond of the idea.
He notified the giant, saying that he doesn't like
the idea of Orion marrying his daughter. Orion
drank in sorrow and had gotten extremely drunk
at this point. He barged right into the princess'
chamber, forcefully taking her away from her
home.
The king then asked Dionysus, the Olympian god
of wines, festivals, and pleasure, to bring an elixir
that would put Orion into a deep sleep. In an act
of vengeance, the king blinded Orion and casted
him off of the island once he was in deep sleep.
Orion wandered across the sea, until he met
Hephaestus, who had his servant Cedalion guide
him to the far east, where the sun rays of Helios
could restore his sight.
Once his sight was restored, Orion walked all
the way back to Chios, wanting to take revenge
against the one who wronged him. But king
Oinopion hid himself from the giant's wrath by
hiding himself in one of the deepest dungeons.
Orion eventually got bored and decided to leave.
His journey led him to Crete, where he became
the hunting companion of Artemis. They spent
the entire summer together hunting, telling stor-
ies to each other, and creating a competition
amongst themselves. When Artemis' brother
Apollo came back, he saw his sister Artemis
sleeping next to Orion. He grew extremely jeal-
ous, and planted a terrible nightmare that drove
Orion mad. When Orion woke from his dream, he
threatened to kill every living thing in existence.
But Gaea could not allow him to do that. She sent
out a giant scorpion to end Orion's life.
Orion couldn't manage to pierce the scorpions
tough shell, and he was consequently struck by
the tail of the scorpion, killing him.
 Greek Mortals
?

Agamemnon:
Agamemnon was the leader of all the Greeks dur-
ing the Trojan war. He was a casualty of unfortu-
nate events that happened in his family, based off
of treachery, murder, rape, and incest. He ran away
to Sparta with his brother, who then became king
of Sparta and helped him reclaim his throne in My-
cenae.
In the story of the Iliad, when Helen of Sparta ran
off with Paris second prince of Troy, Menelaus
called his brother, who became the leader of all
Greeks in the Trojan war that lasted a total of ten
years. Agamemnon himself managed to survive
the war, but was murdered when he returned back
by either his wife Clytemnestra, whom he mar-
ried while residing at Sparta, or her illicit lover,
who was Aegisthus, the son of his uncle Thyes-
tes.
According to the stories, Agamemnon was slain
in a bath by his wife alone, where she threw over
a net or a blanket/cloth over to him to prevent
any sort of resistance. She then killed him with
an axe. It was said that her motives for the crime
were because of her jealousy for his new lover
Cassandra and because of his departure to war
over Helen of Troy.

Cadmus:
Although Poseidon was his grandfather, Cadmus
was considered to be a Greek mortal. He was
also the only one amongst all almost all charac-
ters who accepted and worshipped greek heroes
who came from different origins. He was the first
ancestor of the Phoenician civilization and came
into Greece searching for his sister Europa, who
happened to be abducted by the king of the gods.
He was also known as the founder of Thebes,
after an oracle told him to follow his own path
rather than searching for his sister. Cadmus was
said to be the person who brought the first alpha-
betic writing to the Greeks, which consisted of
sixteen letters.
When he was about to create the city of Thebes,
Cadmus decided to sacrifice a cow for Athena.
He sent his companions to look for pure water to
perform the sacrificial ritual. However, his com-
panions failed to return so Cadmus went to look
for them. Unfortunately, he ran into an enraged
dragon the guardian of the spring, who
happened to be the son of Ares (the god of war).
However, Cadmus was able to slay the dragon.
He planted the teeth of the dragon in the ground,
resulting in a host of fierce warriors that emerged
from the ground. Cadmus fought against the
armed men, and at the end of the battle, there
were only five warriors who remained. Those
five warriors (called the Spartoi), were the ones
who helped Cadmus build the foundation of the
city known as Thebes.

Atalanta:
Atalanta was a great Greek huntress and a very
talented athlete. She was also a favorite of the
goddess Artemis due to her impressive survival
instincts, skillset, and courage. She was known to
be able to surpass men when it came to hunting
or athletics.
As a child, Atalanta was abandoned by her father
and raised by hunters who presented her with a
challenge. She successfully proved her self worth
in a boar hunt, and as a result, her father accepted
her back and offered her a place at his palace.
However, her father wanted her to get married.
Atalanta, reluctant to face marriage, decided to
complicate the situation. She presented a difficult
challenge for her suitors Anyone who wanted
to marry her had to beat her at her favorite foot
race. If they lost, they would be killed. Only one
person succeeded Hippomenes.
The two of them got married and adapted to their
way of life. They started enjoying each other's
presence, with the story progressing towards a
happy ending. However, Hippomenes was inflic-
ted with short term memory loss by fates; there-
fore, he forgot the honor sworn to Aphrodite, who
made this marriage possible. The vengeful god-
dess inflicted a spell of passion on the couple
when they were praying in the temple of Zeus.
They passionately made love inside the temple,
which was considered a dishonorable act in Zeus'
name. He turned them into lions so that they
could never mate again (ancient Greeks believed
that lions can only be mated with leopards).

Daedalus:
Daedalus was considered a tremendous Greek in-
ventor and craftsman. He was the one responsible
for building the labyrinth, a large maze created
to hold the minotaur. He also created the wings
made of feathers, which helped him and his son
Icarus escape from Crete. They fled to Sicily, but
his child Icarus didn't make the journey. Daedalus
spent the rest of his life in Cocalus' court, who
was the king of Sicily.
But Minos wasn't going to rest. He hunted
Daedalus and therefore sent a complex puzzle
to all of the known world in order to find him.
Whoever was able to solve the puzzle would be
awarded with an unfathomable amount of riches.
King Cocalus, who as aware of Daedalus' abilit-
ies, asked him to solve the puzzle since it would
gain his kingdom great prestige, and perhaps
even favor amongst the Cretes. Daedalus solved
the puzzle and gave it to Cocalus, who never sus-
pected that he was actually betraying Daedalus,
the most wanted fugitive in Crete.
Minos traveled to Sicily in person to get
Daedalus back (since he knew that the only per-
son capable of solving this puzzle was Daedalus),
but Cocalus was reluctant to lose his valuable
asset. He murdered Minos in a boiling bath, at-
tempting to make it look like an accident. Once
done, Daedalus was free to live in Sicily, where
he made many new inventions.
Not only was Daedalus an inventor and crafts-
man, but he was also an architect and sculptor
who created the first figurines with the ability to
move their limbs.

Pandora:
Pandora was the first woman ever created in hu-
man existence. Hephaestus carved her out of a
marble at the order of Zeus as a punishment for
all of mankind. Also, Zephyrus was the one who
gave her life. But before Hermes took Pandora
down to Earth, each god presented Pandora with
a gift. Aphrodite gave her beauty,Hestia gifted
her with housekeeping skills, Apollo gave her a
very beautiful voice, and Zeus gave her curiosity
a tremendous amount of curiosity.
As Hermes took Pandora down to planet Earth,
she married the Titan Ephimetheus, under the or-
der of Zeus. Zeus gave them a box that could
never be opened as a wedding gift. However,
Prometheus had previously warned Epimetheus
to never accept a gift from Zeus, but he forgot
his advice. They lived happily, but Pandora was
eager to know what was inside the box (due to her
curious nature). Epimetheus did attempt to keep
Pandora from opening the box, but after several
years he had to go on a trip and left Pandora all
by herself. She decided to take a peek inside the
box, but it unleashed all the evils of the world, in-
cluding but not limited to: jealousy, misery, rage,
sloth, lust, and vanity.
And therefore, mankind was given the ultimate
punishment. But they were also given a reward:
Hope. In the heart of mankind, there will always
be hope.

Psyche:
Psyche was a human princess who later turned in-
to a goddess of the soul. But as a human princess,
she possessed astounding beauty, earning her the
wrath of Aphrodite when men turned away from
their worship from her to this girl. Aphrodite
commanded Eros to make Psyche fall in love
with the most hideous man alive, but the god
himself fell in love with her and carried her off to
his secret lair.
However, Eros hid his true identity and comman-
ded her to avoid looking at his face. But Psyche
was tricked by her jealous sisters to gaze upon the
face of the god, and he abandoned her as a res-
ult. In her despair, she walked around throughout
the world, searching for her lost love and even-
tually ending p into the service of Aphrodite.
Aphrodite made her perform a series of difficult
tasks, which included a journey to the Under-
world. Eventually, the couple was reunited and
they had a wedding ceremony in the presence of
the gods.
 Conclusion
?

Greek mythologies and the legends of gods and

heroes are a reflection of the cultural differences in
ancient Greek life. They tell us about the perspect-
ive of planet Earth in the eyes of ancient Greek
people. They also reveal to us ritual practices and
religious beliefs. So in short, Greek mythology is
the centrifuge of ancient Greek civilization. We
need to understand it first to know how other cul-
tures think and feel.
The next book of this series will target stories
of lesser known gods and other heroes of ancient
Greek society. We will be primarily focusing on
life stories of how the other gods came to be and
another one of Homer's famous epics the Odys-
sey. So be sure to stay tuned for the second book.
I'm sure you'll enjoy learning more about Greek
mythology.
Once again, thank you for downloading this
book. I hope you enjoyed reading it.
 GREEK
MYTHOLOGY
Ancient Legends of
Gods and Heroes Part
II
?
Uranus Sagona
 Table Of Contents
?

Table of Contents 2

Introduction 3

The Significance of Greek Mythology 5

The Beginning 7

The Twelve Olympians 10

Major Greek Heroes 21

Greek Mortals 26

Conclusion 29

Table Of Contents 31

Introduction 32

The Primordial Gods 33

The Minor Gods 41

Heroes of Greek Mythology 47

Creatures of Greek Mythology 54

Conclusion 60

Greek Mythology Jokes 61

 Introduction
?
Thank you for downloading the book Greek
Mythology: Legends of Ancient Gods and Heroes
Part II. This is the second book in a series
provides insights into the mythological beings and
characters of ancient Greece.

Although modern man has departed from the

myths of the ancients, these medieval tales still
strike mans fancy to the heart. The people and
the immortals mentioned in these legends carries a
message to the very soul of man in his search for
meaning in this life.
Even though the tales sound fanciful, they also
reflect the way the ancient Greeks saw the world
in their very own cosmology. These myths try to
explain how the world was in the past and how it
currently is. They are also an effort to personify
certain concepts such as retribution, love, anger,
and passion.

The heroes and gods mentioned here may have

been brushed aside as nothing more than ficti-
tious; but the bravery, the principles, morals,
shortcomings, mistakes, sorrows, and the capa-
city to overcome such terrible odds are windows
into the workings of the human psyche.

May you obtain both delight and understanding

as you go through these pages. And perhaps you
may see yourself in the timeless and immortal
pantheon of Greek myth.
 The Primordial Gods
?
The most important of the immortal figures in
Greek mythology are the 12 Olympians. They
have already been covered in the previous book
so we wont discuss them here. We all know that
these beings described in myth are immortal
which means that they do not die. However, the
thing that makes them quite interesting is their ori-
gins.

These Greek gods have a beginning even the

Olympians. The very first beings or the grand an-
cestors of the Olympians are the primordial gods.
The curious thing about Greek literature is that
these pre-Olympian gods are described both as a
personage as well as a place; and sometimes as a
concept.

This means that these gods are immense and they

also represent certain precepts that help our pro-
genitors understand and make sense of the world
around them. These primordial gods appear in
myth as personified, objects, as well as abstract
concepts and ideas (as you will see later on).

Without further ado, the following is what the an-

cient Greeks call the first beings or the proto-
genoi. They are the first immortals and all other
immortals proceeded out from them.

Chaos
Also known as Khaos, is the primeval god of the
lower air. When you look at the sky at night you
sometimes notice that there is a gap or empty
space that is in between the earth, the stars, and
other heavenly bodies. You can even see the gap
in between the stars. This gap of nothingness that
fills this endless emptiness or void is known as
Chaos.
It is interesting that Chaos is feminine. She fills
that space in between the bottom of the earth all
the way to all things heavenly. The other airs or
intangibles are descendants of Chaos. She even-
tually gave birth to other immortals such as day
time (Hemera), light (Aether), night time (Nyx),
and darkness (Erebus). Later Greek classical
writers describe her as a mixture of all the ele-
ments that can be found in the universe.

Erebus
Most people would know Erebus as simply the
god of shadow and of darkness. That darkness
that emanates from him is known as the mists of
darkness which makes him a bit more ominous.
His was a dark element in contrast to light. Ac-
cording to Greek myth, underneath the surface of
this earth that we see are many hollow areas that
most likely resemble deep almost endless caves.
Erebus and his mists of darkness were sunk deep
into these hollows. And there he stays encircling
the abysmal realm that men call the underworld.
Thus this primeval god came to be known as the
darkness of the underworld.
He wasnt all that dark in the beginning. He is ac-
tually the twin brother of the night goddess, Nyx.
He was also known as the god of fire the type
of fire that was used for metal working. However,
Hephaestus took his place as the provider of us-
able fire for man.

Gaia
Her name is also spelled as Gaea. She is known
as Mother Earth. She was born in the beginning
of the creation and it was she who created the
foundation of the universe. She is one of the few
first born deities of Greek mythos to be described
with anthropomorphic features. She had human
form but she was also depicted as being always
attached to the earth, which is her natural form.
Poets, bards, and writers describe her as a woman
who has partially risen from the dust of the
ground. Some sources call her the titan of the
earth just remember that in Greek mythology,
the titans were also a type of elder gods to the
Olympians.
Gaia is the progenitor of many of the immortals
as related in the many different myths that have
been told about her. Her foremost children which
are Pontus, Ourea, and Uranus were born out of
parthenogenesis or virgin birth. She had other
children by the other gods but they are too many
to mention here by name. There are also other
children by her who have unclear origins (i.e. the
father of those immortals was never mentioned in
the myth).

Tartarus
Tartarus or Tartaros is the first born god of the un-
derworld. His domain is known to be a huge pit
that is full of storms. It is located deep inside the
earth at the very roots of the world. Just like all
the other primordial gods he represents a certain
element or place, and he was also that place. In
the case of Tartaros, he is the god of and is also
the underworld.
He is the anti-thesis of the heavens and the sky.
To the Greeks, heaven was like a dome or a huge
expanse in a dome like shape that hovered high
above the earth where no mortal man can reach
on his own. The same is true with the anti-heaven
the underworld, or Tartarus.
He is underneath the heaven, an eternal dome if
you will. He is as deep under the earth as the
heavens are as high above. All the titans that were
born after him were imprisoned in the eternal
depths of this underworld

Uranus
There are many different accounts of the god
Uranus. In some accounts he is a titan. However,
we also know that he is one of the primordial
ones since he is one of the oldest of the immortals
in Greek myth. One legend tells that he was born
out of Chaos. However, there are other tales of his
origin such as being the son of either Hemera the
protogenos of light or perhaps Nyx the goddess
of night.
Uranus and Gaia have several offspring, namely
the Hecatonchires, the Cyclopes, and of course
the titans. Legend also tells us that the youngest
titan in his day named Kronos castrated his father
Uranus and threw his genitals into the sea. These
genitals upon touching the waters formed sea
foam; and out of this eventually came Aphrodite
the goddess of both love and of beauty.

Nyx
Nyx is the primordial goddess of the night. Her
consort is none other than Erebus and she even
uses his mists of darkness to cover the earth when
night time comes. She thus represents the dark-
ness that covers the sky and pretty much
everything that we humans can see when the sun
sets. She is also one of the few of the primeval
gods who took on human form Nyx is often de-
picted as a woman that is clothed in a mantle that
has been star spangled.

Hesiod, one of the oldest writers in all of ancient

Greece as well as Aristophanes tells us that in the
beginning was only Chaos. Both of them also re-
port that both Nyx and Erebos came directly from
Chaos himself. These twin immortals brought
forth night and darkness, respectively. Nyx her-
self was born with wide wings that are as black as
night.
It is interesting that Nyx had a special part to play
in the creation account in Greek myth. Continu-
ing further into the tale as told by Aristophanes
(Aristophanes, Birds, 685), it was her who
planted what is known as a germless egg right in-
to the heart of Erebos. It was she who was able to
reach deep within his eternal depths.

It took many ages for that germ to finally grow.

From that germ which was planted underneath
the darkness came Eros, the deity who was the
personification of love itself. He too, like his
mother, had wings. Yet unlike any of the gods
that were at the time he was majestic and ever
graceful. With his wings he could move swiftly
like the howling winds of tempests and whirl-
winds.
Yet he lingered in Tartaros and there mated with
the darkness that surrounded him, which was
Chaos. An attraction between them was made
perhaps due to the fact that both of them were
winged creatures alike. And because of that
blessed union all that was necessary to create the
universe was made and gathered. Thus all cre-
ation could be completed from the sky, the ocean,
and to the earth even to the very birth of the
Olympian gods themselves.

Nyx also had other children who had significant

roles to play in the pre-Olympian mythos of the
Greeks. Her union with Erebus also gave birth
to Aether the god of the atmosphere or air. They
were also the parents of Hemera, the deity of day
time.
Nyx also had her very own parthenogenesis,
which gave life to several immortals. They too
were also minor gods and goddesses in the huge
pantheon of deities among the Greeks. Some of
the children that sprang only from black winged
Nyx herself include Eris (deity of strife), Geras
(deity of age), Philotes (deity of friendship),
Apate (deity of deception), Nemesis (deity of re-
tribution), Hypnos (deity of sleep), Thanatos
(deity of death), Moros (deity of fate), and
Momus (deity of blame).

Of course, there are other tales that may seem to

conflict with other mythological legends. For in-
stance, Hesiod reports to the contrary that Hem-
era is not Nyxs daughter; but she is in fact her
sister.
Chronos
Chronos is designated as the primordial god of
time. He is not to be confused with the titan that
goes by the name of Cronus, who is the father of
Zeus. According to different Greek myths, Chro-
nos was one of the first of the gods to emerge at
the dawn of creation. One of the unique things
about this primordial immortal is that fact that he
was self-formed.
He was not an anthropomorphic being, which
means he did not have a completely human form.
Legends say that he had three heads, which
makes him sort of quite ominous. He is also de-
scribed as being incorporeal which means his
body is immaterial. Yet myth also describes him
as having a serpents tail. That same long tail
entwined Ananke, his consort. This tail also en-
circled the entirety of creation.
Ananke
There is very little told about Ananke, the mate
of the elder god known as Chronos (god of time).
She is the goddess of necessity, compulsion, as
well as inevitability. Just like her mate, she is also
non-material and incorporeal yet she is also de-
scribed as being serpentine in form, which en-
ables her to encircle the entirety of all creation.

Aether
Aether is the primeval god of the light mists and
air. His light fills the upper portions of the air. His
basic element is the one that fills the arch that can
be found directly underneath the dome of heav-
en. Nonetheless, the airs that he reigns on remains
high above the air that covers the realm of mortal
men.
Eros
Eros is the god of love and generation. He is
also known as Phanes, which distinguishes him
from the other Eros who is the son of Aphrodite.
He is also one of the very first immortal ones to
come into being at the day of creation. As dis-
cussed earlier, it was he who caused all creation
to procreate. According to some legends Eros or
Phanes was swallowed by Zeus so that the latter
could become the supreme ruler of the entire uni-
verse.

Hemera
Hemera is the primeval goddess of daylight. She
is one of the children born of Nyx and Erebus.
Her siblings from the same parents include
Nemesis, Keres, Charon, and Moron. Different
Greek authors attribute different members of the
family in this particular primordial being. For in-
stance, Hesiod mentions only Thalassa as Hem-
eras only child whereas Hyginus adds both Gaia
and Uranus to her children. It appears that differ-
ent authors have different versions of the myth.
It is said that when Hemera was born she arose
from very ends of the earth and she scattered the
mists of darkness that was spread by abroad by
her mother Nyx. This also revealed to the earth
below the blue colored air of Aether who became
her consort.

Hydros
Hydros is the primeval god of water. It is said
that he was the one that formed the primeval
mud using the earth. Some mythological tales
also identify him with Oceanus of course a dis-
tinction should be made between the two.

Oceanus
Oceanus is the primeval deity of fresh water. His
non-human form is that of a river that encircles
the earth. It is said that all the clouds that bear
rain, every river, and every spring that you can
find upon the earth emanates from him. He is also
depicted as a male human with a pair of horns on
his head. The lower half of his body was some-
times depicted by artists as the tail of a serpent-
like fish.

Ourea
The Ourea is either a god of the mountain or a
set of gods of different mountains. This is anoth-
er part of the Greek myths that tell several differ-
ent tales about the same being or beings. Each of
the significant mountains of Europe were actually
assigned a different Ourea. The Greeks primarily
believed that they are rocky formations that are
Gaias offspring.

Pontus
Pontus is the primeval god of the sea. It is said
that at the point of creation he sprung from Gaia
herself. And at that point the elements of the uni-
verse were set each in its own domain. He is the
ancestor of three of the most ancient gods of the
sea namely Keto, Phorkys, and Nereus. Through
his union with Thalassa, Pontus became the fath-
er or creator of the fish of the sea and all other
underwater creatures.
Pontus is often depicted in art as nothing more
than a giant head that thrusts itself out of the
ocean. He has a pair of crab claws on his head
that serves as his horns. He is also depicted as
having a long beard that has been grayed by time,
which indicates his age well, he is indeed one
of the first born gods of the universe.

Phusis
Phusis is known as Mother Nature incarnate. She
is also one of the first gods to ever emerge at the
day of creation. The other elder gods that were
her contemporaries included Gaia and Tethys.
She is known as the order of nature. Since she is
also one of creations primal being, she is con-
sidered to be both female as well as male. She
is the subject of several hymns and poetry which
includes the Orphic Hymn 10, Imagines 3 by
Philostratus the Younger, Dionysiaca 2, 41, and
51 by Nonnus and several others.
Tethys
Tethys is the primordial god that is the source
of all freshwater that flows to nourish the earth.
She is the wife of Oceanus and it is said that she
often draws water from him to refresh and feed
her children; who are the springs, the clouds, and
rivers. Her name signifies as a nurse or a grand-
mother.
 The Minor Gods
?
As you have already known from the first book,
the primordial gods were later overthrown in their
reign of the universe by their children. Later on,
their childrens children overthrew these usurpers.
Each succeeding generation of immortals has
shown that they have the capacity to rule and reign
over their ancestors.

At the very core of Greek myth is the eventual

overthrow of the titans and the eventual reign of
the Olympian gods. However, it should not be con-
strued that the Olympians are the only gods within
the Greek pantheon. The matter of fact is that the
Greeks actually had multiple gods for pretty
much everything there is.

There may be an Olympian god that reigns su-

preme over all others for a particular part of
nature (like the sky, the sea, etc.), but there are
also minor gods who also take part in the grand
scheme of things in the universe. If there is one
major god of the moon among the Greeks, then
you can also be sure that there are other minor
gods of the moon who portrays a certain aspect of
the thing that is worshipped.

The Ourea
As stated in the previous chapter, the Ourea is
also understood to be minor gods that rule several
mountains that are known to the Greeks. Some
regard them as titans however, there are poets
and other writers who depict them as primeval
gods or minor gods as well. Among the ancient
Greeks, it is said that every mountain has a
bearded god that watches over it.

In their art, the Ourea are depicted as bearded

men to emerge from the peaks of the very moun-
tain they are a deity of. Here are the Ourea in
Greek mythos.

Olympos
There are two Olympos or Olympus in Greek
myth. The first one is located in northern Greece,
which is known as Thessalia. This mountain is
the one that is designated as the home of the
Olympian gods. The other Ourea of the same
name is in Phrygia.
Parnes
This mountain and mountain god is located in
central Greece. Its borders are shared both by At-
tika and Boiotia.

Tmolos
Tmolos is both the mountain itself and the
bearded mountain god that resides in it. The
mountain itself is found in Anatolia and it is
known today as the Mountain of Lydia. Legend
tells of a contest between Pan and Apollon it
was a music contest. Tmolos was then asked to
be the judge to keep things fair.

Nysos
Nysos or Nysa is a mountain located in central
Greece. It is also the name of the god who resides
in this mountain. Nysos served as the nurse of
Dionysus. Tradition states that the mountain
where Nysos lived in is Mount Kithairon located
in Boiotia. The vales to the south of this mountain
is where the story of abduction of Persephone
was said to have occurred.

Athos
Athos is the god who lived on a mountain north-
ern Greece in Thrake. Very little is known about
Athos. The small hints about him and his moun-
tain is sparse. For instance, his mountain is only
mentioned in part by Strabo, where it states that
the great city builder Kheirokrates intended to
build two cities one on each side of Athos.

Aitna
Aitna is the goddess of the fiery mountain of
Sicily (Mount Etna). She is the mother of the
thermal geysers known as the Palikoi. Legend
also says that underneath her was buried a giant
by the name of Typhoeus, who would usually
toss and turn which caused earthquakes and lava
flows.

The Sky Gods

We all know that Zeus is the supreme god of the
sky. However, the sky is immense and there are
other elements to it that seemed to emanate power
in the minds of the ancient Greeks. There are the
winds, the light and sun, the air, the stars, light,
and the rainbow among many others. Zeus does
reign supreme in the sky but it appears that he al-
lows these minor gods to do their part in keeping
things in order.
The Anemoi
The Anemoi are the gods of the winds. Each wind
has its corresponding god and brings forth its cor-
responding season. Boreas is the god of the north
wind, which is characteristically cold thus he is
also known as the one who brings winter to the
world.
His antithesis is known as Notus, who is the
bringer of the south wind. His winds are char-
acteristically warm. However, at times it is said
that he is also the bringer of the storms that occur
during late autumn. Many ancient Greeks fear
him and call him the destroyer of crops. Eurus is
the god of both the east wind and the southeast
wind which is considered by sailors as unlucky.
Zephyrus or Zephyr is the gentlest of these gods
and he brings with him the gentle west wind.
There are also other anemoi that also represent
the other directional winds. Apheliotes takes the
role of the east wind whenever Eurus acts as
the southeast wind. The wind of the northwest
is known as the god Argestes and Caicias is the
god of the northeast wind. Thraskias on the other
hand is the god of the north-northwest wind. Eur-
onotus is the god of the wind of the southeast.
Finally, Lips is the god of the southwest wind.

Aeolus
Since the anemoi have already been introduced
in this book, it would only be fair and proper to
introduce the king of the winds Aeolus. Like
many of the legends, his behavior varies from
one storyteller to the next. However, it cannot be
denied that he had control over all the winds.
He also played a special part the Odyssey. He was
the one who gave Odysseus the bag of winds,
which eventually helped the poor mortal to get
back home to his beloved Ithaca. The siblings of
this minor deity were Amphictyon, Xuthus, and
Dorus.

Iris
Iris is also another minor deity and serves as the
messenger to the gods. She is also the goddess
of the rainbow. She is often depicted as a fair
creature to look upon. She wears a tunic, carries
a staff, and wears sandals. She is also described
as a golden goddess. Since she also carries mes-
sages for other gods she is ascribed with wings so
that she may fly with speed.
Even though Iris is only a minor deity compared
to the Olympians, the Greeks often had a lot of
relics that are adorned by her image. There are
plenty of murals and artifacts such as vases that
have her on them. Indeed, she is one who was
definitely worshipped by the ancient peoples of
Greece perhaps because of her majesty but most
certainly because she is no less than pretty (which
may sometimes be thought of as an injustice for
people who try to describe her overwhelming
beauty).

The Pleiades
The Pleiades are goddesses of various stars that
have been named after them. They are also called
nymphs in some of the legends. They are the
following: Alcyone, Sterope, Celaeno, Electra,
Maia, Merope, and Taygete. Maia is the eldest of
these immortal sisters and is known as the god-
dess of the fields.

Although there are several characters in Greek

mythos who are called Electra, Electra of the
Pleiad should not be confused with the others
such as Electra of Mycenae. This Pleiad deity
is the mother of Dardanos, to whom the Trojan
kings trace their lineage. She also played the role
of guardian and foster caregiver of Harmonia, the
illegitimate daughter of Aphrodite.

Gods of the Underworld

Hades rules the underworld where the spirits of
men are transported to when they are dead. The
Underworld is also called Hades, after the god
who rules over it. The name of the places sounds
menacing and the creatures that guard the realm
dont make it sound even more pleasant.

Nevertheless, there are a few places in Hades or

the underworld that can be quite good. For in-
stance, if you lived a virtuous life then you get to
spend time in the Elysian Fields. It is the place
where heroes go. But if your life wasnt really
that heroic but you lived an upright and virtuous
life then you can make it there.

Those who make it to Elysium (i.e. the Elysian

Fields) will be given the option to live an earth
life once again. If you make it three times to the
Elysium then you have the rare opportunity of be-
ing transported to the Isle of the Blest, which is
the highest form of heaven in Greek mythology.
However, coming back to reality, the Elysium is
only one of a few places where a soul can end up
in. There are actually more places in the under-
world that are so frightening that you wouldnt
even dare try to get there. The following are some
of the immortal beings who thrive in such condi-
tions.

Angelos
Angelos is a daughter of Hera and of Zeus
however, she eventually was designated to be a
goddess of the underworld. She is only men-
tioned in some rare myths. The said myths were
related to the birth of Hecate. Some scholars be-
lieve that Angelos is actually an early version of
the goddess known as Hecate. The word angelos
in Greek actually means angel or messenger.
That is also why some people believe that she is
also a messenger god.

Hecate
Hecate is a goddess of the underworld. She is the
goddess of necromancy, ghosts, the moon, cross-
roads, and of magic. She is usually depicted in
art as either holding a key or bearing a pair of
crosses. She is mentioned both by Homer and He-
siod, although Hesiod pays higher homage to her
even mentioning that she is a great goddess in his
Theogony.
Hecate is the daughter of Perses and Asteria. In
Homers Hymn to Demeter, she is described as
a tender hearted goddess. She extensively helped
Demeter in her search for Persephone when the
latter was abducted by Hades. Because of their
close association, Hecate has been made as one
of the major deities of the Eleusinian Mysteries.

Another interesting fact is that Hecate remained

as a virgin. She never had an escort. However,
there are a few legends that tell that she is the
mother of Scylla. She also ruled over three dif-
ferent kingdoms namely the sky, the sea, and
the earth. She held back the storms in favor of
sailors and shepherds who patronized and wor-
shipped her.

The Erinyes
The Erinyes are better known as the Furies. They
are the goddesses of retribution and vengeance.
They include Megaera the jealous, Tisiphone the
avenger of murder, and Alecto the unceasing one.
Persephone
She is the goddess of spring. Other than that she
is also the wife of Hades, thus she is called the
queen of the underworld. She is the daughter of
Zeus and Demeter who was kidnapped by Hades.
She was forced by the god and ruler of the under-
world to eat a pomegranate, which kept her in the
underworld thus forcing her to marry Hades.

Part of the legend also says that Persephone

would only remain in the underworld for six
months each year because of eating the fruit from
Hades. During the months when she was forced
to stay away from her mother, Demeter would
cry; and her tears would cause all plant life on
earth to die (thus symbolizing autumn and
winter).
 Heroes of Greek
Mythology
?
In this chapter well look at the other heroes of
Greek mythology that werent mentioned in the
previous book. It doesnt mean that the heroes
mentioned here are of lesser note or worth. Of
course, some of the heroes youll find here include
some of the minor ones who are rarely mentioned
or were just mentioned by the lore masters of an-
cient Greece. Note that the heroes mentioned in the
previous book were mainly the ones who played
major roles in the Trojan War.

Odysseus
Odysseus took part in the Trojan War neverthe-
less, he has his own story to tell in Homers The
Odyssey and The Iliad.

Let me briefly explain the story of the Odyssey:

Ten years after helping his fellow Greeks win the
Trojan War (he invented the Trojan Horse), Odys-
seus decided that it was time to journey back to
Ithaca. However, his journey home was plagued
by a number of disasters.

Once he set sail from Troy with twelve ships,

his first encounters were with Ciconians and the
Lotus-eaters. Then came the famous story of his
confrontation with Polyphemus. Odysseus left
most of his men at different parts of the Cyclopes'
isle and took twelve men with him to explore the
inner parts. He entered in Polyphemus' lair, but
the cyclops rolled a large boulder to cover the en-
trance. He then proceeded to eat Odysseus' men
until only six remained. Odysseus introduced
himself as Nobody and was able to trick Poly-
phemus to drink potent wine, causing him to pass
out. Furthermore, Odysseus stabbed Polyphemus
in his eye so that when Polyphemus called out
for Nobody, the other Cyclops were confused
about the situation. This is also how he encoun-
ters Poseidon's wrath (Polyphemus was the son of
Poseidon).

Fast forward a few adventures later Odysseus

finds himself in horrifying incident. After being
stranded due to extreme weather conditions, the
men found themselves starving on an island.
They devoured Helius' sheep, which caused Heli-
us to ask Zeus for assistance in punishing the
men. Zeus complied and struck Odysseus' ship,
leaving only him as the sole survivor. He drafted
on a makeshift raft until he finally came to be on
Calypso island, where he was held captive.

Under the plea of Athena, Zeus allowed her to

take him home. Athena guided Odysseus back to
his house, where he faced off against the suitors
for control over his homeland.

His travel home took a total of 10 years. Odys-

seus is best known for his creativity, guile, as well
as versatility.

Jason and his Argonauts

Jason was a mythological hero and leader of the
Argonauts. They were best known for their quest
for the golden fleece the wool from the magical
winged ram that ultimately became the constella-
tion known as Aries. They searched for it under
the order of King Pelias (Jason's uncle), as he
promised that he would return the kingdom to
Jason if and only if he could bring back the
Golden Fleece. It was necessary in order to rein-
state Jason as the rightful king of Iolkos in Thes-
saly.
To capture the Golden Fleece, Jason assembled
a team of heroes known as the Argonauts for
his crew. They set sail aboard the Argo and first
stopped at the Greek Isle of Lemnos, an area pop-
ulated only by women. But little did Jason know
that the reason why Lemnos was only populated
by women was because they all murdered their
husbands. The Argonauts, however, fared much
better than their male counterparts as the women
viewed it as a chance to repopulate the island.
After more adventures, the Argo arrived at the
Straits of Bosphorus, also known as the edge of
the world. To the Greeks, the Straits was a dan-
gerous place due to the currents created by the
flow of water. Clashing rocks also guarded the
straits. It would open and then close together,
crushing any ship that dares sail by it. Using
guidelines provided by a blind prophet, Jason was
able to maneuver through the straits by sending a
bird to fool the rocks.
When Jason arrived at his destination, he asked
King Aietes to return the Golden Fleece to him
because it belonged to his ancestors. However,
Aietes issued a series of challenges to Jason that
he believed to be undo-able to prevent Jason from
claiming the Golden Fleece. But unbenowngst to
the king, his daughter Medea took a liking to
Jason. She agreed to assist Jason in obtaining the
Golden Fleece under the condition that he mar-
ried her in return.
Jason agreed to her request and they successfully
obtained the Golden Fleece due to Medea's status
as a strong sorceress. They returned back to the
kingdom of Iolkos, but their rule was very brief
due to the local's fear of Medea's status as a sor-
ceress. They were driven out of the kingdom into
Corinth, where the king offered Jason his daugh-
ter in marriage. Jason agreed, but that decision
proved to be the ultimate downfall to his life.
Outraged, Medea killed the king's daughter and
her and Jason's children. She eventually ascended
Mount Olympus, where she married Achilles.
Jason returned to Iolkos where his ship Argos
was on display. On one day, he sat next to his boat
weeping. The decaying beam of the ship fell off,
hitting him on the head. Jason died immediately
afterward.

Perseus
Perseus is another legendary hero in Greek myth
that is primarily known for the slaying of the gor-
gon Medusa. He is the son of Zeus and Danae,
known for his quick thinking and tremendous tal-
ents as a warrior. The myths also say that he foun-
ded Mycenae. There is also evidence that his ex-
ploits and adventures led to the advancing of the
legends of the 12 Olympian gods.
His fight with Medusa was the highlight of his
life. Because looking directly at Medusa would
cause all living beings to turn into stone, Perseus
killed her while looking at his own reflections
through a mirror. He beheaded Medusa with his
sword and placed it in his bag. To combat the
sea monster that was about to claim Andromeda's
life, Perseus pulled out Medusa's head and turned
the creature into stone. He later on married
Andromeda, princess of Ethiopia.
Other than Medusa, who turned men into stone
with her gaze, Perseus also defeated other archaic
monsters, which included a sea monster known as
Cetus.

Bellerophon
Bellerophon is one of a trio of great monster slay-
ers in Greek myth (Perseus and Cadmus being the
other two). They were the three best slayers of
hellish looking creatures that punished mankind.
Bellerophon was best known for his killing of the
Chimera, a creature with a head of a lion, a body
of a goat, and a tail of a serpent and it breathed
fire.
After slaying the Chimera, Bellerophon's fame
grew quickly, but so did his arrogance and pride.
On one day, he concluded that his victory over
Chimera was enough to ascend to Mount Olym-
pus to reside with the gods. He flew with Pegasus
towards the gates of heaven, but when they nearly
reached the gates, Zeus sent a gadfly to sting
Pegasus, which resulted in Pegasus unsaddling
Bellerophon. He fell down all the way back to
Earth, into a bush on the plains of Aleion. He was
crippled and blinded, left out to dry for the rest of
his life in misery.

Heracles
Just to briefly summarize since this was men-
tioned in Part I, but Heracles is a hero and a demi-
god. He was the son of Zeus and his mother was
Alcmene. He is also the half-brother of Perseus.
You can say that Heracles is the epitome of all the
Greek heroes. You may know him better by his
Roman name Hercules.

He is best known for his strength but the stories

and legends about him also depict his ingenuity
and his courage. Other than that, he is also known
for his sexual prowess, which is the reason why
he is so depicted in many paintings and sculp-
tures as a muscular and well-endowed man.

Theseus
Just like the prior three great heroes mentioned
here, Theseus is also a founder and a hero. He is
said to be the founding king of Athens and a great
hero of Attic legend. He too had Olympian her-
itage since he is the son of Poseidon. One of his
greatest exploits is the slaying of the Minotaur, a
creature that is half human and half bull.
Theseus was one of the seven men that would go
to Crete, with the intention to kill the Minotaur
but mainly thought of as a sacrifice by others.
King Aegeus (his father) attempted to change his
mind, but Theseus was determined to complete
this task. Theseus ended up promising his father
that he would put up white sails when he came
back from Crete, allowing him to determine
whether or not he came back alive. A black sail
would mean that Theseus died in battle with his
corpse being carried back by the ship.
Once Theseus arrived at Crete, he announced to
King Minos his intention to kill the Minotaur. Mi-
nos, however, blew off Theseus' statement as a
bluff, since he knew that even if Theseus some-
how managed to kill the Minotaur, he wouldn't be
able to find his way out of the labyrinth.
This was also where Theseus met Princess Ari-
adne, daughter of King Minos. Ariadne immedi-
ately fell in love with him, and decided to help
Theseus with his mission. She gave him a thread
and told him to unravel it when he would penet-
rate deeper into the Labyrinth, so that he would
know which direction he came from. Then he
could follow the same way back out of the maze
once he kills the monster.
Theseus took Ariadne's advice and entered the
Labyrinth with the thread. He slew the Minotaur,
thus saving the Athenians from their fate, and
with the help of Ariadne's thread, he managed to
find his way out. He took Ariadne with him as he
set sail from Crete and back to Athens.
The ship stopped at Naxos when the Athenians
decided that they wanted to celebrate Theseus'
and Ariadne's union. However, Ariadne didn't get
back on the ship after she fell asleep on the shore.
Theseus realized this horrible truth and was so
upset that he forgot to change the sails from black
to white.
Once his father saw the black sails, he imme-
diately concluded that Theseus had died in the
battle with the Minotaur. He committed suicide
by jumping into the water thus the name Ae-
gean Sea.

Hector
Hector is the first prince of Troy and can be
thought of as a nemesis to Achilles, the greatest
warrior in all of Greece. As the son of the king
of Troy, Hector led the defense of the city in the
Trojan War. Though the Trojans eventually lost
in the war, Hector's brave and courageous effort
made winning the war much more difficult for the
Greek army.
As the story is told in Homer's Iliad, Hector met
his death in a direct confrontation with Achilles.
He ran around the city three times before over-
coming his fear and turning to fight. As the battle
between him and Achilles progressed, Hector
realized that the Gods favored Achilles. Though
he knew that he was about to die, he fought vali-
antly until the very end.

Aeneas
Aeneas played in role not only in Greek mytho-
logy, but also in Roman mythology. He was the
founder of the city of Rome and also the hero of
Virgil's Aeneid. He fought in the Trojan war on
the side of the Trojans, but did not die due to his
favor amongst the gods and goddesses. Because
Aphrodite, Apollos, and Poseidon all favored
him, he was one of the few from the Trojans who
survived the war against the Greeks. When the
war came to an end, Aeneas fled and ended up in
Italy, where he built the city of Rome.

Orpheus
Orpheus is the son of Calliope and Apollo. He
was mostly known for being a brilliant musician.
For instance, when he played the lyre, he could
make the river current stand still and charm wild
animals.
When his wife died, he went down into the un-
derworld to find her. In the underworld, his music
was able to soften the heart of Hades, who al-
lowed Orpheus to take his wife Eurydice back
into the land of the living under one condition:
Orpheus had to walk in front of Eurydice and
could not look back at her until they left the un-
derworld. However, the temptation to look back
at his wife was too great. Orpheus gave in and
looked back at his wife, thus causing her to dis-
appear from him forever.

Peleus
Peleus was also considered a hero of Greek myth-
ology. He was the son of Aeacus, king of the is-
land of Aegina, and Endeis, who was a nymph.
He was also the husband of the nymph Thetis,
with whom he fathered the famous hero that we
all know Achilles.
While hunting, Peleus, along with his brother
Telamon, accidentally killed their half brother,
Phocus. They were forced to flee the island of
Aegina in order to avoid punishment.
Once they've reached Phthia, Peleus fell in love
with Antigone, who was the daughter of king
Eurytion. He had a daughter with her Polydora.
But Antigone later hanged herself since Asty-
dameia (the king's wife who fell in love with
him), sent her a message saying that Peleus
would marry her.
Later on in his life, Peleus met Thetis and hosted
a grand marriage that was attended by most
Olympian gods. Peleus and Thetis had seven
sons, but six of them died right after they were
born. The seventh son, Achilles, survived and
Thetis decided to make him invulnerable by dip-
ping him in the River Styx. However, the heel
was not touched by the river waters, thus leaving
it vulnerable.
 Creatures of Greek
Mythology
?
In this chapter well look at the creatures of Greek
Mythology. It's important to note that not only hu-
mans and gods/goddesses forged the legends of
today's Greek myths, but that the creatures also
played a large role in this. For example, ask your-
self this. How did most Greek heroes become a
hero?
The most famous of Greek heroes were employed
by gods and goddesses to face the terrifying
creatures of Greek legends. Let us take a look at
some of these creatures.
Cerberus
Cerberus is one of the most famous creatures
of Greek legends. Most people know Cerberus
as the three headed dog that guards the gate to
the entry of the underworld. His role is to keep
the dead from escaping and the living from in-
terfering with the dead. Cerberus was the off-
spring of Typhon and Echidna, both also terri-
fying creatures of Greek mythology. He has the
claws of a lion, the tail of a serpent, and a mane
made out of snakes. Even though a few people
have been able to sneak past Cerberus, the only
one who was able to defeat him was Heracles.

Gorgons
Gorgons are perhaps the most well known type of
creature in Greek mythology the most famous
one being Medusa from Perseus' story. However,
there were actually three Gorgon sisters Me-
dusa, Stheno, and Eurayle. They were the daugh-
ters of Typhon and Echidna, the father and moth-
er of all monsters. The three Gorgons all pos-
sessed hair that comprised of extremely venom-
ous snakes, and they all had the ability to petrify
anyone who dares to look upon their eyes. All
three also had hands made of brass, a sharp fang,
and what appears to be a beard. Two of the Gor-
gons were immortal, though Medusa seemed to
have been the odd one out. Oddly enough, Me-
dusa was not considered the daughter of Typhon
and Echidna, but of Phorkys and Keto.

Chimera
The Chimera is one of the most interesting mix-
match creatures of Greek mythology. It had three
heads, but only one of the heads was on its neck.
The torso and main head of the Chimera was that
of a lion's. It also had a goat head sticking out of
its back and a dragon's behind. As for its tail, it
was a snake (not a snake tail, but an actual snake).
The Chimera was the child of Typhon and
Echidna, and the sibling of Cerberus and the
Lernaean Hydra. It resided in Lycia, where it rav-
aged the lands with its deadly fire breath attacks.
However, with the help of Pegasus, Bellerophon
was able to kill the Chimera by attacking it from
above.

Pegasus
Most of us know the Pegasus as a beautiful
winged horse. In Greek Mythology, it's depicted
as a white horse with the ability to fly. His father
was Poseidon and his mother was the Gorgon
Medusa. He was born along with his sibling,
Chrysaor, when his mother Medusa was killed by
Perseus. Pegasus was later tamed by the Greek
hero Bellerophon, and helped him in his fight
against the Chimera and the Amazonians.
Later on, Bellerophon continued riding Pegasus
on his way up to Mount Olympus. However, he
was stopped and dismounted by Zeus. Pegasus
continued his journey alone up until he reached
Olympus.

Minotaur
The Minotaur was a creature with the body of a
man, but the head of a bull. He was born to Queen
Pasiphae of Crete after she slept with a bull. But
due to the creatures monstrous form, King Minos
ordered a craftsman by the name of Daedulus to
build a gargantuan maze known as the Labyrinth
to house the Minotaur. Every year, the Minotaur
would receive offerings of youth and maidens to
eat. But eventually, he was killed by the Athenian
hero, Theseus.

The Hydra
The Hydra (also known as the Lernaean Hydra)
is perhaps the most famous creature that Heracles
battled with. It had nine heads, and each time a
head was cut off, two would grow in its place.
Originally, it was said to have eight mortal heads,
but with one immortal head. The immortal head
could not be harmed by any weaponry. The Hy-
dra was also said to be extremely venomous, able
to kill a person with a single scent of its breath. It
also had the ability to spit acid.
The Hydra was defeated by Heracles in the
second of his impossible labors. To stop the heads
from growing back, he burnt the stumps of the
severed heads, thus stopping the blood flow.
When only one immortal head remained, Her-
acles buried it under a large boulder.

Sphinx
Like the Egyptian Sphinx, the Sphinx in Greek
mythology also had a knack for asking riddles.
The Sphinx was a female creature with the body
of a lion, and the breast and head of a woman. It
had an eagle's wing and a serpent-headed tail.
The Sphinx was sent by the gods to plague the
city of Thebes as a punishment for a crime. She
preyed on the youths, and devoured those who
failed to solve her riddles. But then, Kreon, who
was the regent of Thebes at that time, offered
kingship to any person who could defeat the Sph-
inx. One man by the name of Oidipous accepted
the challenge. He solved the Sphinx's riddle, and
she casted herself off a cliff in despair and in tune
with an oracle who declared the terms of her de-
mise.

Manticore
Manticores are a similar creature to the Sphinx
appearance-wise. It had a tremendous eyesight,
with the body of a lion and a mane to match that.
The Manticore had a human's head and a tail of a
scorpion. The Manticore also had great speed and
agility due to its lion body, enabling it to reach
speeds that mere mortals would not be able to
compete with in a chase. It possessed the power-
ful legs and claws of a lion, able to easily tear off
the flesh of humans.
In Greek myth, it's said that Manticores were so
strong that they could easily deal with multiple
men at once. They often waited for such oppor-
tunity to attack, since that would mean more
meat.

Typhon
Typhon (also known as Typhoeus) was con-
sidered the strongest and deadliest creature in
Greek mythology. He was the last son of Tartarus
and Gaea, created as an attempt to repel the
Olympian gods from defeating the Tians during
the Titanomachy.
Typhon is known as the father of all monsters.
He was a fire-breathing dragon-like creature who
had one hundred heads that never needed to
sleep. After the Titans were overthrown, Gaea
wanted to punish Zeus for imprisoning her Titan
children in Tartarus. As a result, Typhon was
born. He confronted Zeus in his first battle and
managed to repel nearly all of the Olympian
gods, as well as tear out Zeus' tendons. But Her-
mes was able to get the tendons back and gave
them to Zeus, who eventually threw his renown
lighning bolts against Typhon, overwhelming
him in the process. Zeus trapped him underneath
Mount Etna.

Echidna
Echidna was a hybrid woman-snake like creature
in Greek mythology. She was also known as the
mother of all monsters, as she gave birth to most
of the Greek mythological creatures. She was the
wife of Typhon and both she and her husband
were the children of Gaea and Tartarus. She,
along with Typhon, attacked the Olympians, but
Zeus managed to repel them by using his light-
ning bolts, burying Typhon under Mount Etna in
the process.
Echidna and her children were spared from the
fate, since there was a need to challenge future
heroes with monsters. She was killed by Argus
Panoptes while she was sleeping.

The Cyclops
Cyclops are most famously known in the story
of the Odyssey, when Odysseus gets trapped in
a cave with a man-eating Cyclop by the name of
Polyphemus before tricking him to escape.
But in Greek lore, Cyclops were primordial gi-
ants said to have been born from Gaea, the Earth.
They were said to possess a great amount of
strength and ferocity. Cyclops have one bulging
eye protruding from their forehead.
In fear of the amount of power they possess,
Uranus (their father) threw them into the pits of
Tartarus. They remained imprisoned when Cro-
nus overthrew Uranus and took over his place as
ruler of the universe. However, it was only until
the Olympians rose to power did the Cyclops find
the opportunity to be free. Zeus released the mon-
sters, who in turn would create thunderbolts for
the king of Olympus.

Scylla & Charybdis

You may be able to make an argument that the
Scylla and Charbydis are actually two distinct
creatures. However, the two creatures have be-
come so synonymous with each other that it gets
difficult to talk about one without mentioning
the other. The Charybdis was never explicitly de-
scribed in detail, other than stating that it was
a sea monster that lived under a rock on a side
of the narrow strait. The Charybdis swallows
massive amounts of water, which would create a
whirlpool capable of destroying entire ships.
The Scylla, on the other hand, lived on the op-
posite side of the narrow strait. It was believed
to have been a sea monster with multiple heads
that fed on the flesh of sailors who were foolish
enough to travel close to the monster's lair.
The Charybdis and Scylla is most famously
known in Homer's epic, the Odyssey. Odysseus
was forced to navigate through the narrow straits
during his travels and decided to travel closer
to the Scylla in an attempt to avoid the massive
whirlpool created by the Charybdis. But as the
ship sailed past it, six of Odysseus' men were de-
voured by the Scylla.
Later on in the story, Odysseus found himself
stranded on a raft. He must once again navigate
through the straits. But this time, he went to the
side of the Charybdis. Although his raft was
swallowed up by the whirlpool, Odysseus man-
aged to stay afloat by holding on to a tree whose
branches were dangling from the shore.

Empusa
Empusa isn't as well known as the other creatures
of Greek mythology. She was first introduced as
a demi goddesses born from the goddess Hecate
and the spirit Mormo. She had beautful flaming
hair and bronze feet.
Empusa preyed on men by disguising herself as
a beautiful women. She would seduce them into
their beds and feed on their flesh and blood.
In another version of the lore (where the Empusae
were conceived as multiple beings), The Empu-
sae were believed to have been sent by Hecate to
plague mankind. The creature would search the
roads at night, and shape-shift themselves into
various animals or beautiful women. They would
lure their human prey closer until they could
pounce on and devour them when the human was
caught off guard.
 Conclusion
?
Thank you so much for downloading the book!
I've hoped that you enjoy learning about gods and
heroes in ancient Greek mythology. Greek mytho-
logy is a very broad subject, with loads of inform-
ation reflecting the unexplainable aspects of an-
cient Greek life. People use myths to tell stories to
their children, teach lessons, and create a lifestyle
to abide by.
The next step is for you to expand your knowledge
is to read and learn more about Greek and other
mythologies. It is my hope that this book has
brought to you an appreciation of the classics in
ancient literature.
If you enjoyed this book, I would like to request
that you also rate it on Amazon.
Thank you!
 Greek Mythology
Jokes
?
I'm sure that you've gained a lot a knowledge
on Greek mythology, but let's end on a more
bright note! Didn't think that there would be a
jokes section? Well, here it is! In this section,
I'm going to share a few Greek mythology jokes
with you guys. I mean, who doesn't like jokes?
Note that some of these may jokes may be a bit
on the offensive side. READER BE WARNED.
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