Showcase Portfolio

In

Mythology and Folklore

Submitted to: Professor Ruby V. Gonzales

DNSC Institute of Education Instructor

Submitted by: Danibelle E. Macapili

BSE-English1

April 25, 2011

 Table of Contents

I. Introduction

II. Summary Report of The Films

1. Jason and the Argonauts (The Quest of the Golden Fleece)

2. Troy (The Iliad)

3. The Odyssey

4. Clash of the Titans

5. Dark Kingdom: The Dragon King (Nibelungenlied)

6. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

III. Brief Synopsis of Mythological Stories by Edith Hamilton

IV. Synopsis of The Creation Myths

V. Different Constellations and Their Myths

VI. Psychological Terms and Idiomatic Expressions

VII. Conclusion

VIII. References
I. Introduction

The study of mythology deals about how the people of long ago

explain our existence in this world. It can be imaginative or real. It

embodies myths or sacred stories of a particular culture or of

humankind as a whole. Folklore is the traditional beliefs, practices,

customs, stories, or even songs of a people, handed orally or

behaviorally from an individual to another.

Every culture’s pantheon of mythic characters was the super-family

that every man and woman of that culture was born into; these

creatures were as familiar as their parents and grandparents, their

siblings, and their aunts and uncles and cousins. Myths sprung up

before religion. Every religion's stories are retelling of universal mythic

themes. The Creation of the World, the first Man and Woman, Heaven

and Earth, a great flood, stories of heroes and heroines and dragons

and serpents. A culture's myth is the stored foundation of the culture.

Myth is before philosophy and science. The same questions that our

religions used to ask, now our philosophies and our sciences try to

answer. We may be an enlightened, technological society but we have

the same needs as ever: protection, warmth, food, sex and love and

children, happiness, doing well. Aren't we still fascinated by the truths

of these mythic stories and by ancient peoples' need for magic in their

untamed world?. And don't we still cry out for magic in our rational
 world? Don't we seem to crave mystery more and more to counter our

apparent understanding and mastery of the world? Are we meant to be

totally rational, are we meant to be machines?

Mythology makes other peoples interesting, the bearers of more

fascinating stories to listen to around the campfire of dazzlingly bright

colors, languages and customs. Lovers of myth have many books to

read, and all of them are entertaining, if not wondrously enlightening.

Edith Hamilton once said, “My hope is that those who do not know the

classics will gain in this way not only a knowledge of the myths, but

some little idea of what the writers were like who told them-who have

been proved, by two thousand years and more, to be immortal.”

II. Summary Report of The Films

Title: Jason and the Argonauts (The Quest of the Golden Fleece)

Author: Appolonius/ Pindar/ Euripides

Setting: Mythical time in Iolcus and Colchis

Characters:

King Aeson: The King of Iolcus, slain by his brother Pelias.

Queen Polemele: The wife of King Aeson who was taken as a wife by

Pelias.
 King Pelias: The ill-mannered brother of King Aeson who killed and stole

the kingdom from him.

Jason: The son of Aeson and Polemele who led the voyage of the

Argonauts.

Medea: The daughter of King Aetes who fell in love with Jason.

King Aetes: King of Colchis who was given the Golden Fleece by King

Phrixus.

Acastus: The son of King Pelias who joined the Argonauts in their quest.

Queen Hypsipyle: The Queen of the Amazons in the island of Lemnos.

Phineus: An old man with the gift of prophecy from Apollo, the truth-teller.

Argos: The creator of the ship Argo.

The Argonauts:

Atalanta: The only woman in the crew, an excellent archer.

Hercules: Greatest of all heroes, a man with incredible strength.

Orpheus: The master musician.

Peleus: The father of Achilles.

Zetes: A young man with a brilliant vision

Castor, Pollux, Theseus, Meleager, Nestor

Gods and Goddesses: Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, and Eros

The Amazons, The Harpies, and the Minoan bull

Plot:
 The Kingdom Of Iolcus was ruled by King Aeson with his wife Queen

Polemele, and they have a son named Jason. They were living happily in their

kingdom until the arrival of King Aeson's brother, Pelias. He led an army of

men against his brother, and he succeeded in overthrowing his reign as the

King. He intended to take Polemele as his wife and kill their son Jason. But

before he can do so, a loyal guard of King Aeson snatched Jason and took

him out of the palace through a secret passage. He was then raised by that

loyal servant, and he grew up as an ordinary boy in that town.

After how many years, he was informed of his past and he decided to

fulfill his destiny and reclaim the kingdom from his uncle Pelias. In order to

restore his right to succession, King Pelias ordered him to an expedition, and

bring him the Golden Fleece from Colchis. He recruited men to accompany

him on his voyage, including ordinary and simple folks from Iolcus. These

includes Orpheus, Castor and Pollux, Hercules, Theseus, Peleus, and

Atalanta, the only woman in the group. Together, they boarded the greatest

ship ever designed named Argo. The expedition propelled them into a realm

of mythical adventures and different kinds of monstrous creatures.

The first creature they have encountered was the God of The Sea,

Poseidon, whom they have mistaken to be a strange island because he was

lying in the middle of the ocean. But they were able to surpass him and

made their way to the island of Lemnos. It is an island of warrior women or

The Amazons. While their ship was being repaired from the wreckage they

had with Poseidon, the women entertained them except for Orpheus and
Atalanta. But upon their discovery that the women has a plan of killing and

sacrificing the Argonauts, they immediately informed Jason and find a way to

escape that island. In their hurry, they lost the map they have been using as

a guide on their voyage. But with the help of Zetes, an Argonaut given a gift

of brilliant vision to see the stars, they were able to reach the Tabletop

Island. There they found Phineus, the blind old prophet who could tell them

the exact location of the Golden Fleece. But he would not give them any

information, unless they defeated the Harpies. These are frightful flying

creatures with hooked beak and claws. With the incredible strength of

Hercules, they killed the monster and headed their way to Colchis where the

Golden Fleece could be found. Having faith in each of their strength, they

were able to reach Colchis by successfully passing through the clashing

rocks.

Their ship landed ashore in Colchis and they were welcomed by King

Aetes, with his son Asphyrtus, and daughter Medea who instantly fell in love

with Jason the moment she laid her eyes on him. These was merely because

of Eros' doing, ordered by the Goddess Hera. The Argonauts told them of

their desire to have the Gloden Fleece. So King Aetes thought of ways that

would hinder their aim. He ordered Jason to face the Minoan bull, a bull

whose feet were of bronze and whose breath was flaming with fire. Then he

should plow the field using the dragon's teeth. Jason found the tasks difficult,

but with the help of Medea who gave him a magic ointment that would

protect him against the bull, he succeeded in those tasks. With these, King
Aetes let him proceed to his mission, and even gave his daughter Medea to

be his wife, saying, “ You have done what no one before you could, courage

beyond imagination, you shall have what you most desire.” Together, they

headed for the Golden Fleece and found it hanging on a tree guarded by a

terrible serpent. Meanwhile, Medea's brother, Asphyrtus planned of sending

soldiers after them. During the attack, Medea killed her own brother. Some of

the Argonauts were killed because of those instances, but Jason prospered in

killing the serpent and took the fleece away from Colchis.

On their way home, Atalanta confessed her real feelings of love for Jason.

But he rejected her, saying that he loves Medea and that he is going to

marry her. Even the God Zeus attempted to seduce Medea, pulling out the

arrow that Eros have struck. But Medea also loved Jason, and she ought to be

loyal to the man she loves. When they returned to Iolcus, Jason learned

about his mother's death because of so much grief with the thought of losing

him. Eager to be praised by his father, Acastus stole the Golden Fleece and

went to the palace. But his father was full of greed, and he killed his own

son, taking the Fleece from him. Later, Jason came together with the

Argonauts and went into the palace through the secret passage. Argos was

killed and Pelias was stabbed by his own dagger when he tried to kill Jason.

The story ended with Jason as the King of Iolcus, says “ It's power is mine. I

am now King!”.

Reaction:
 The story of Jason's quest to find the Golden Fleece tells us about having

the courage to achieve what we really want. It is not just about a matter of

following your destiny, but seeking for it and doing everything to attain it.

Jason was lucky because he has the protection of Gods. But for us, even

though our Almighty God does not literally intervene with each of our

decisions, we should always bear in mind that making Him as our priority is

the most important above all. It also shows the manner of believing in

yourself and having faith in your strength. We should trust our own

capabilities as unique individuals because we will never know when the time

would come that we will achieve what we most desire.

Title: Troy (The Iliad)

Author: Homer

Setting: Mythical time in Troy and Sparta, Greece

Characters:

Greeks:

Achilles: Son of Peleus and the Goddess Thetis, leader of the Myrmidons

Helen: The wife of Menelaus who became the lover of Paris

Odysseus: The King of Ithaca, considered to be the wisest king

Menelaus: King of Sparta, the husband of Helen, brother of Agamemnon

 Agamemnon: King of Mycenae, brother of Menelaus

Patroclus: The cousin and student of Achilles

Ajax: The King of Salamis, skilled in fighting

Nestor: Adviser of Agamemnon

Eudoros: Captain of the Myrmidons

Thetis: Mother of Achilles

Trojans:

Hector: Prince of Troy, eldest son of Priam and the brother of Paris,

considered to be the best warrior of the Trojans

Paris: Prince of Troy, youngest son of Priam. Brother of Hector and lover of

Helen

Priam: King of Troy, Father of Hector and Paris

Briseis: Priestess of Apollo and a cousin of Hector and Paris. Lover of

Achilles.

Andromache: Princess of Troy and the wife of Hector

Glaucus: Commanding General of the Trojan army

Aeneas: A Trojan youth who was handed the sword of Troy by Paris

Plot:

From their kingdom in Troy, Prince Hector and his younger brother Paris

went to Sparta with the aim of negotiating peace between Troy and Sparta.

But the moment Paris laid eyes on Helen, Menelaus’ wife; he was
immediately drawn to her beauty and fell in love with her. And later on, he

decided to take her back to Troy with him, without telling Menelaus. Enraged

with his anger and love for Helen, Menelaus seeks for revenge. Meanwhile,

his brother Agamemnon, the king of Mycenae who had for years kept for

himself the plans of conquering Troy and overthrowing King Priam, uses this

situation of his brother as a way to invade Troy with his hostile intentions.

This would also give him the chance to take control of the Aegean Sea, and

Troy’s trade which came from the north and south of Aegean. Together, the

two brothers ask for the aid of the five chieftains of different kingdoms.

Recalling the oath they made to Mount Olympus that they would never

hesitate and fail to give their assistance to defend each other’s kingdom

against their enemies. King Odysseus of Ithaca asked Achilles, the prince of

the Myrmidons to bring along with him his troop who were known to be men

with great strength in fighting. And so Achilles brought along with him his

cousin Patroclus.

The Greeks came ashore at the kingdom of Troy, taking control of the

beach with thousands of theirv ships. Achilles led the Myrmidons in killing the

Trojans and desecrates the sacred temple of Apollo. Briseis, the beautiful

cousin of Hector and Paris, also a member of the Trojan royal family, was

captured by the Greeks. She was given as a prize to Agamemnon, despite

Achilles’ claim to her. With the Greeks surrounding Troy, Paris challenges

Menelaus to a duel that would settle things and Menelaus agrees. But Paris,

being untrained for battles, was easily wounded but not killed. With Hector’s
intervention, Menelaus was killed. And so the Greeks were forced to fall

aback.

The next day, Achilles rescued Briseis from Agamemnon’s men. He

carried her back to her tent and tends her wounds. Briseis then tried to kill

Achilles, but realized that she loves him and they made love. The following

day, the Trojans launched a surprise attack. And when the Greeks seemed to

be on the edge of defeat, Achilles appears with the Myrmidons and joined the

battle, eventually fighting against Hector. Everyone was shocked when

Hector had overthrown and killed Achilles. Hector kneeled to pull Achiles’

helmet off, but he was saddened with the revelation that it was really

Patroclus whom he has killed. Even the Greeks were also shocked because

they had also mistaken Patroclus for Achilles, since he had put on Achilles’

armor and moved exactly the same way as his cousin. And so, Eudorus told

Achilles of his cousin’s death. And he furiously vows for revenge, just as soon

as Patroclus’ funeral pyre was done.

On the morning, Achilles approached the gates of Troy all by himself and

demands Hector to come out on a fight. The two fought a fair duel at the

start, but Achilles soon takes the advantage. In the end, Achilles kills Prince

Hector of Troy. He was not contented of his death and decided to tie Hector’s

body to the back of his chariot, dragging it back to the Greek’s camp.

Leaving all the Trojans in grief, especially Hector’s father King Priam. So later

that night, he visits the Greek army’s camp to beg for a proper funeral rite to

his son Hector. Achilles, who was touched by such emotions and love from a
father, let him take Hector’s body back with a promise that the Greeks will

not attack Troy within twelve days. He even let Priam take Briseis as well, he

then talked to Eudorus and gave him one last order: to take the Myrmidons

home. Meanwhile, the Greeks planned the other way around led by

Agamemnon. Odysseus devised a way of entering Troy using a huge wooden

horse as an offering to the Trojans and as a sign of their acceptance of

defeat. They hid their ships in a nearby cove, pretending of a depart. But

they were actually hidden inside the huge wooden horse. The Trojans

hesitated to accept the gift from the Greeks, Prince Paris even warned King

Priam and told him to destroy the horse. However, one of the king’s priests

claimed that it is an offering from Poseidon. And so they neglected the

warning of Paris. They assumed victory, took the horse into the city and that

night they celebrated. Later that night, when the Trojans were soundly

asleep, a band of Greeks came from the huge horse. They attacked the

sleeping Trojan guards, opening the gates to the city which allowed the main

army of the Greeks to enter. The unprepared Trojans were killed and the city

was burned. Agamemnon killed Glaucus and King Priam.

While their kingdom was being attacked, plundered and burned by the

Greeks, Paris led Helen with Andromeda and many other Trojans to a secret

passage which served as their escape from death. He saw Aeneas and he

handed him the sword of Troy, telling him to take care of it and the people by

helping them find a new home. On the other hand, Achilles was desperate in

searching for Briseis. Who by that time was captured by Agamemnon’s

guards because she killed their king. Achilles was able to save Briseis, but

unfortunately he was shot by Paris in his legendary vulnerable heel. The only

part of his body which is penetrable to any weapon. He watched as Paris took

Briseis to the secret passage and later on died of his wound. On the next

day, a funeral ritual was performed for him by the Greeks. And the story

ended with the remarkable speech of Odysseus, saying, “If they ever tell my

story, let them say I lived in the time of Hector, tamer of horses. Let them

say I lived in the time of Achilles.”

Reaction:

“Honor the Gods, love your woman, and defend your country!”. I

considered this to be the best line in the story as for my own opinion is

concerned. It talks about how an ideal man should live his life. For me, the

story of The Iliad tells us that it is not always right to follow our heart's

desire. It could sometimes lead to burden of pain and regret. The outrageous

strength and courage shown by Achilles and Hector in order to defend each

of their kingdom was highlighted in the story. The love Achilles felt for Briseis

which made him aware of the mistakes they have done towards the Trojans is

a way of showing that when a person fell in love, he or she has the tendency

to change his life. The movie also shows us that looks can be deceiving. It

showed how a beautiful woman who seemed to be a very dutiful wife turned

her back on her heritage and fled with another man to seek happiness. The
story reminded me of how seemingly good intentions are actually deceiving

in reality.

Title: The Odyssey

Author: Homer

Setting: Mythical time in Ithaca

Characters:

Odysseus: The King of Ithaca, husband of Penelope, and the father of

Telemachus.

Penelope: The wife of Odysseus, the mother of Telemachus.

Telemachus: The son of Odysseus and Penelope.

Anticlea: The mother of Odysseus who died of grief during his long

absence.

Circe: The Witch-Goddess.

Tiresias: The old prophet Odysseus summoned in the Underworld.

Calypso: The nymph who fell in love with Odysseus.

Menelaus: The King of Sparta who came to ask for the help of Odysseus.

Agamemnon: The King of Mycenae, brother of Menelaus.

Melantho: The household maid who betrayed Queen Penelope.

Eurybates: The loyal servant of Odysseus.

Polites: The crew of Odysseus that was turned into a pig by Circe.

Eurycleia: The loyal housekeeper of Odysseus and Penelope.

 Aeolus: The Master of The Winds who gave Odysseus the bag of winds.

Polyphemus: The Cyclops who captured Odysseus and was blinded by

him.

Hermes: The Messenger God.

Poseidon: The God of The Sea who cursed the voyage of Odysseus.

Athena: The Goddess most worshiped by Odysseus.

Plot:

Odysseus was known as the great hero who built the Trojan horse. He was

happily married to Queen Penelope and they had a son named Telemachus.

The story began when Agamemnon and Menelaus came to Ithaca, asking for

Odysseus’ help in their quest against Troy. Recalling the oath they made to

Mount Olympus, he prayed to his Goddess Athena before going to Troy.

After their victory in the Trojan war, Odysseus planned about their return

to Ithaca. But before leaving, he boasted his success to the God of the Sea,

Poseidon who in return, cursed him and his voyage, saying, “You will suffer

for this offense, for your arrogance, you will never return to Ithaca!.”

He encountered various adventures on his voyage together with his men,

due to the anger of Poseidon. On their sail, they landed and was captured by

the Cyclops Polyphemus. They were able to escape from his cave by blinding

him using a wooden stake. However, while they were escaping, Odysseus

foolishly told him his name. Polyphemus told his father Poseidon who was

responsible for blinding him. They then came across with Aeolus, the master
of the winds. Who was also a cousin of Poseidon. But he helped Odysseus by

giving him a leather bag which contains all the winds, except the west wind.

These should have ensured their safe return home. But foolishly, the sailors

opened the bag while he slept, thinking that it contained a large amount of

gold in it. Then all the winds flew out and the storm drove their ship back the

way they came from. This incident happened when Ithaca nearly came into

their sight. They landed into the island of the Witch-Goddess Circe, who

turned his men to different animals. Polites was turned into a pig and

Anticlus into a monkey. Odysseus follo9wed his men and was warned by

Hermes about Circe and gave him a potion called molly, a resistance to

Circe's magic. Due to his resistance, Circe got attracted and fell in love with

him. She agreed to release his men if he would agree to make love with her.

Then they feasted and drank. Unknowingly, her potions were weakening their

bodies. They remained there for five years, but finally, they decided that it

was time to leave for Ithaca. And guided by Circe's instructions, they crossed

the ocean and reached the harbor at the western edge of the world, the

kingdom of Hades. There they sacrificed to the dead and summoned the

spirit of the old prophet Tiresias to advise him. Then Odysseus met the spirit

of his own mother Anticlea, who had died because of so much grief during

his long absence. From her, he also learned about the news of his household,

threatened by the greed of the suitors of Queen Penelope. That made him

more and more eager to return home to Ithaca.

 From the Land of the Dead, they pass along the land of the Sirens,passed

between the six-headed monster Scylla, and the whirlpool of Charybdis, that

caused the shipwreck that killed his men. He then came ashore on the island

of Calypso, who compelled him to remain as his lover. He was held as a

captive and he spent seven years there, but was release because of Athena's

help. She sent Hermes, the messenger-God and persuaded Calypso for

Odysseus' freedom. She then let Odysseus build a raft made of wood, gave

him clothing, food, and drink. The raft was wrecked by Poseidon, but he was

determined to come home to his family and so he swam across the island of

Scherie. The Phaeacians welcomed him with hospitality, they dressed him,

and attended his needs. As he took part in a pentathlon, where a blind singer

named Demodocus performed two narrative poems about the Trojan War, he

was unable to hide his emotions as the scenario of the war came into his

thoughts. He then reveals his real identity to them and begun to tell the

story of his return. Upon learning his story, the Phaecians agreed to help

Odysseus get home. They found a way to deliver him to a hidden harbor in

Ithaca. Athena disguised him as a wandering old beggar, so that he would

not be recognized by his people and he could learn how things stood in his

own household.

Meanwhile, his son Telemachus who was already grown-up and was also

desperate to search news of his father, has just sailed home from Sparta. He

launched on the coast of Ithaca, and headed for Eumaeus' hut, the same hut

where the disguised Odysseus was staying. The father and the son met, and
Odysseus decided to reveal himself to his son. They talked and planned of a

way to kill the suitors of Penelope, a crowd of 108 boisterous men whose aim

is to persuade her to marry one of them, all the while enjoying the hospitality

of Odysseus' household and his wealth. Together, Odysseus and Telemachus

returned home. Still pretending to be an old beggar, he experienced the

rough behavior of the suitors. He also met his wife Penelope, who have not

recognized him. Later that night, while the housekeeper Eurycleia is washing

his feet, she discovered an old scar and recognized that it was Odysseus'

feet he was washing. He asked her for a vow of secrecy, and she swore not

to tell anyone of what she has discovered.

The very next day, Penelope, tired of waiting for her long-lost husband,

declared a competition for his suitors. It was an archery competition using

Odysseus' bow. And whoever could string the bow and shoot it through a

dozen axes head would win her hand. However, no one was able to do so,

and this was the time when Odysseus himself took the bow, and shot it

through the dozen axes head. While the crowd was awed and shocked, he

then turned his arrows on the suitors and killed them. Now at last, Odysseus

identified himself to his wife Penelope, reminding her of their bed that was

made from an olive tree that was still rooted to the ground.

Reaction:

The Odyssey talks about the adventures faced by Odysseus because of

the arrogance he has shown to the Sea-God Poseidon. Relating this to our
lives, it shows that it is not right to boast any achievement that we have.

Being proud is good, but not to the extent of shouting to everybody about

the success you achieved. Especially to those who have greater power

compared to ourselves. It also tells about the love Odysseus felt towards his

wife Penelope. That whenever he was sent by any disaster, it served as his

motivation to come home to Ithaca, and be with the family that he value

most. As with Penelope, she has also shown how faithful she is to her

husband. She did not entertain the numerous suitors she has, because she

continues to hope that Odysseus, her beloved husband will come home to

her and their son.

Title: Clash of the Titans

Author: Euripides

Setting: Mythical time in Argos and Joppa

Characters:

Perseus: Son of Zeus to Danae who fell in love with Andromeda.

Andromeda: The daughter of Cassiopeia, heir to the rich city of Joppa.

Calibos: The son of Thetis destined to marry Andromeda but punished by

Zeus.

Cassiopeia: Queen of Joppa, the mother of Andromeda.

Zeus: The greatest among Gods, father of Perseus.

Thetis: The Sea-Goddess, mother of Calibos.

Aphrodite: The Goddess who transformed Medusa into a horrible monster.

 Hephaestus: The god of fire and metalworking who made Bubo.

Poseidon: The God of The Sea who sent the Kraken.

Athena: The Goddess of Wisdom.

Danae: The daughter of Acrisius who bore Zeus' son Perseus.

Acrisius: The King of Argos, The father of Danae.

Medusa: The Gorgon whose gaze killed the Kraken.

Ammon: Perseus' friend he met in Joppa.

Bubbo: The mechanical replica who helped Perseus in his quest.

Dioskilos: The two-headed dog that guards Medusa.

Pegasus: The winged horse given to Perseus by Zeus.

Plot:

When King Acrisius of Argos that he would die if his daughter had a son,

he decided to avoid such prophecy by locking his daughter Danae in a room

at the kingdom. While she was imprisoned, the God Zeus visited her and

made love with her which later on led to her pregnancy. Upon knowing this,

Acrisius immediately decided to throw her and her newborn son Perseus out

of the sea. He put them both inside a wooden coffin, thinking that they will

be killed by any sea-monster, and get rid of his bad fate. And so, as a

punishment for such cruelty, Zeus ordered the God of the Sea Poseidon, to

release one of his sea serpent known as the Kraken to bring the destruction

of Argos, and killing Acrisius as well. Meanwhile, Danae and Perseus were

safely floated to the island of Seriphos. Later, Perseus was transferred to

Joppa by Thetis, who was angered by Zeus' enthusiasm for his own son.
 The Sea-Goddess Thetis has a son named Calibos who was destined to

marry Princess Andromeda, the daughter of Queen Cassiopeia and the only

heir to the city of Joppa. One day, Calibos destroyed everything that

surrounds the Wells of the Moon, including the herd of the sacred flying

horses of Zeus. Calibos was known for his cruelty and brutality towards

people and things. And so Zeus, greatly angered by such offense, punished

him by transforming him into a satyr-like creature who has a very unpleasant

appearance and was forced to live and stay in the swamps and marshes.

Thetis was very angry with her son's fate, and vowed that if Calibos cannot

be able to marry Andromeda, no other man will. On the other hand, Perseus

was taken care by Ammon, and from him, he learned about the story of

Andromeda and her curse. That she could not marry unless a suitor could

answer a riddle which was given by Calibos. Perseus, on his first day at J

oppa, found various gifts from his father Zeus, such as a sword, a shield, and

a magical helmet which makes the wearer invinsible upon wearing. With

Zeus' help, Perseus captured Pegasus (the only horse who was not harmed

when Calibos destroyed their herd). He rode Pegasus and followed the spirit

of Andromeda on her nightly journey to get a new riddle from Calibos. But

Calibos noticed his footsteps, followed him and nearly killed him, but he was

able to escape from him losing his helmet on the swamps.

During the next ceremony for Andromeda's suitors, Perseus came and

answered the riddle correctly, and winning Andromeda's hand in marriage. At

the wedding, Queen Cassiopeia compared her daughter's beauty to that of

Thetis herself. Causing the anger of the Goddess and gave her enough

reason to take vengeance to Joppa and an effective excuse to the fulfillment

of her son's wish. That moment, the statue of Thetis collapsed, with its head

saying, “Andromeda should be sacrificed to the Kraken in thirty days. Or else

Joppa will be destroyed!”.

Afraid of losing Andromeda, Perseus planned of a way to defeat the

Kraken. Unfortunately, Pegasus was captured by Calibos and his men. But

Zeus ordered the Goddess Athena to give Perseus her owl Bubbo, that would

help him find a way to conquer the Kraken. Atheha then commanded

Hephaestus to make a mechanical replica of Bubbo and gave it to Perseus.

Bubbo led Perseus and his company to the three stygian witches. They are

the three blind women who told him about the only way to defeat the

Kraken. And it is through the use of Medusa's gaze,that would turn every

living creature into stone. They could find her at the Isle of The Dead, found

across the River Styx, at the edge of the Underworld, guarded by a two-

headed dag named Dioskilos. Using the sword given by Zeus, and with the

aid of three of his men, Perseus was able to kill the monster. One of his men

died, but they pursued their way to the ruins where Medusa resides. The

older soldier died when shot by Medusa's arrows, while the last man was

caught and stoned by the gaze of Medusa's eyes. However, Perseus

successfully misled Medusa with the help of his shield, killed her with his

sword and beheaded her. With this triumph, Perseus decided to spend the

night at rest before they return to Joppa. While they were soundly asleep,
Calibos attacked their camp, drove off their horses, and carried the cloak

that contained the head of Medusa.,using a sharp-pointed piece of metal

which he used as a replacement for his hands. This made her blood to spill

and spawn giant scorpions. Perseus' men were all killed, but he was swift and

strong enough to slay the scorpions and defeat Calibos.

After the fight, Perseus was very tired and weary, he was so weak to run

for Andromeda. So he asked Bubbo to find Pegasus, and luckily found the

winged stallion in the swamp. The three of them, Perseus, Bubbo, and

Pegasus came just as Andromeda was about to be sacrificed to the Kraken.

He immediately approached the Kraken, but he was knocked off and was

fallen into the ocean. With the help of Bubbo, they retrieved Medusa's head

and turned the Kraken into a huge stone. Perseus then throws the head into

the ocean and freed Andromeda,then Pegasus came out from the sea.

Reaction:

The story of The Clash of The Titans tells about Perseus’ dedication to

protect the woman he love most. He was willing to surpass any challenge

given to him just to ensure the safety of Andromeda. As well as to stop the

curse that she was suffering because of the envy that Calibos felt towards

Perseus. It also talks about being boastful of Cassiopeia, to the extent of

comparing her own daughter to the Goddess Thetis which angered her and

made her seek vengeance against the whole city of Joppa. Here, we have

witnessed the protection given by each parent to prevent his/her son from

getting hurt. Zeus used his mightiness among all the Gods and Goddesses to
protect Perseus on his quest. As well as what Thetis have done for the

benefits of her son Calibos.

Title: Dark Kingdom;The Dragon King (Nibelungenlied)

Author: Walther von der Vogelweide

Setting: Mythical time in Xanten, Burgund, and Iceland

Characters:

Erik/Siegfred: The son of King Sigmund of Xanten,raised by Eyvind who

fell in love with Brunhild but married Kriemhild because of a magic potion.

Brunhild: The Queen of Iceland, lover of Siegfred who married Gunther.

Kriemhild: Princess of Burgund, sister of Gunther who became the wife of

Siegfred.

Hagen: The army chief of Burgund.

King Gunther: King of Burgund who married Brunhild.

Eyvind: A blacksmith who found and raised Siegfred.

Giselher: The brother of King Gunther.

Hallbera: The woman with the gift of prophecy, uses rune stones.

Alberich: The Magician, father of Hagen.

Thorkwin: King of Saxons who killed Siegfred’s father.

Thorkilt: King of Saxons, brother of Thorkwin.

Fafnir: The dragon slain by Siegfred.

 The Nibelung: Ghosts of immortal twilight beings who guards the treasure

hoard.

Plot:

Xanten was attacked and overrun by the Saxons. They invaded the palace

and slain the people, including King Sigmund. Luckily, the young Siegfred

was saved by his mother before she was killed. He was safely sent down the

river, and was found by Eyvind, a blacksmith. Later after twelve years, he

accidentally met Brunhild in a crater where a Ragnarok has fallen. It was a

meteor of two rocks which was fallen from the sky. Despite Eyvind’s warning,

saying, “You should never mingle with the Gods!” Erik still went for that star.

And there he fought Brunhild, the Queen of Iceland, and the Queen who was

never defeated in a fight because of her pagan belt. Fulfilling the prophecy of

her adviser’s runes, Erik defeated her. She instantly fell in love with him, they

made love, and Erik promised to follow her in Iceland. The next morning, he

woke up alone, without Brunhild in his arms. She also took one of the rocks

and left the other one for him. It was a rock with a very stransge kind of

metal. He then went home to Eyvind, and convinced him to let him

accompany him on his trip to Burgund to trade the swords he made.

On their way to Burgund, they saw a town burning and immediately

thought that it was done by the Saxons. Upon their arrival, they were

informed that the dragon Fafnir has already awakened. And it is the one

responsible for the burnt of the village they saw. King Gunther was presented

with the swords that Eyvind made. He brought with him his best army, led by
Chief Hagen to start their journey to slay the dragon. That very moment of

their departure, Erik laid eyes to Kriemhild, the sister of King Gunther.

Afterwards, Hagen returned at the kingdom bringing along with him the

injured King and the dead bodies of the knights. Seeing Kriemhild cry, Erik

presented to fight the dragon for revenge. Then he finished making the

sword from the rock he found, and named it Balmung. The same name was

given to the King of Xanten’s sword. With his strength and his extraordinary

weapon, he succeeded in killing the dragon Fafnir and he has discovered that

the dragon’s blood healed his wounds. So he bathed in the pool of the blood,

and it made his skin tough and cannot be injured by any weapon.

Afterwards, Erik searched for the treasure that were said to be hidden in

that cave. And he was awed with the vast of gold he found. These treasures

were guarded by its keepers, the Nibelung, they are people of mist and

twilight. They warned him that taking any of the treasure will bring him

curse, saying, “It will find your weakness, and through it destroy you!” But

Erik did not listen and he wore the ring of the Nibelung before heading back

to Burgund. Once outside the cave, he had encountered Alberich the

Magician, he was the father of Hagen. And from him he got the Tarnhelm, an

item that can imitate whoever the owner desires. He then headed his way

towards Burgund and was declared a hero by King Gunther. They had a

celebration that night,Erik was asked by a masked woman about his lovelife

and without any hesitation, he said that his heart was already pledged to

someone else. After the entire hoard of the treasure was transferred to
Burgund, the Saxons suddenly appeared, with the desire of invading their

kingdom. During their confrontation, Erik finally remembered everything

about his real identity. That he is the son of King Sigmund of Xanten. He then

slew the murderers of his father and returned, only to be in grief because of

Eyvind’s death. Meanwhile, Hagen asked his father Alberich to make a potion

that would be used by Kriemhild to make Siegfred fall in love with her and

forget his love for Brunhild. And the raven that was sent by Brunhild to

deliver a message to Siegfred was killed by Hagen.

Siegfred forgot his love for Brunhild and asked Princess Kriemhild’s hands

for marriage. But he was reminded that the older brother must marry first

before any of his brothers and sisters. So King Gunther pleaded for Siegfred’s

help to win the heart of the woman he really loves. Unknowingly, he fought

with Brunhild in Gunther’s face using the magic Tarnhelm. During that fight,

Brunhild was full of anger because she thought that Siegfred came for her.

But she faced him and challenged the King to a fight that will cost him his

life. And after a very fierce duel of strength, King Gunther won the hands of

the Queen of Iceland. Brunhild was married to King Gunther, alongside with

Siegfred’s marriage to Kriemhild. On the night of their wedding, Brunhild tied

her husband Gunther because he was not able to defeat her and remove her

belt from her waist. The next day, Gunther again asked for the help of

Siegfred. And he used the tarnhelm again to defeat Brunhild and successfully

took the belt from her. But when he goes back to his room, he found his wife

Kriemhild waiting for him impatiently and doubtful. Having left with no
choice, he discussed every detail to Kriemhild, pleading her not to tell

anyone about that matter. But the very next morning, Kriemhild had a

confrontation with Brunhild because she was not allowed to enter in the

church before Brunhild. Deeply embarrassed, she revealed that it was her

husband who defeated her in Iceland as well as in her bedroom. And as a

proof, she was wearing the pagan belt of Brunhild that was taken by Siegfred

on that night. That incident deeply angered Brunhild, which made her

demand for justice to Gunther. She ordered for Siegfred’s death or else she

will kill herself. Afraid of losing his beloved wife, Gunther and Hagen planned

of killing Siegfred during their hunt the next day. Before leaving, Siegfred

promised Kriemhild that everything will be alright and that he will take her to

Xanten as soon as they finished the hunt. When all the men have left,

Kriemhild decided to return the belt she took from Brunhild. They talked and

shared the pains that they felt in their hearts. There, Kriemhild found out that

Brunhild was the woman that Siegfred referred as his love. She was guilty of

the mistake that she has done, and so she decided to confess the truth about

the potion she used that made Siegfred forgot about their love.

It was too late for Brunhild to realize that everything was not because of

Siegfred’s fault. She has just sentenced to death the only man she loves.

Meanwhile, Hagen was able to kill Siegfred by throwing a javelin to his

shoulder blade, the only part of his body which was not bathed by the

dragon’s blood, which made it penetrable to any weapon. Brunhild’s name

was in his lips before he was seized by death. They brought his body back to
Burgund, claiming that he was killed of a Saxon ambush. But Kriemhild

accused them of murdering Siegfred because of envy, guilt, and greed. When

she threw the Nibelung ring on the ground, Gunther and Hagen fought over it

that led to Gunther’s death. All the men then allied themselves to Hagen, but

Brunhild succeeded in killing them including Hagen whom she beheaded.

During the pagan funeral, Siegfred was placed in the boat with the treasure

hoard. And when the boat burst into flames, Brunhild suddenly appeared

from behind and killed herself.

Reaction:

The story of the Dark Kingdom that was taken from the German epic

poem Nibelungenlied tells about the mythological story of Siegferd and

Brunhild. It relates the love story of two peope who used to be strangers

from each other. But due to some circumstances, and even though they

already pledged their heart to each other, they were separated and even

forgot the love they shared. The story also talks about how the people of

long ago valued heroism. Siegfred was willing to risk his own life to slay the

dragon Fafnir. But it results to the curse he gained because of taking away

the treasure that does not belong to him. It even found his weakness and

killed him through it. For me, this is a story full of lessons to learn because it

teaches us not to deceive anybody. It would take us to our doom by making

us feel guilty of what we have done.

Title: Lord of the Rings; the Return of the King

Author: John Ronald Reuel Tolkien

Setting: Minas Tirith, Middle Earth

Characters:

Frodo Baggins: The Hobbit who continues his quest to destroy the Ring,

which continues to torture him.

Gandalf: The Wizard who acted as a general at the Siege of Gondor.

Samwise Gamgee: Better known as Sam, he is Frodo's loyal Hobbit

companion.

Aragorn: King of Gondor.

Meriadoc Brandybuck: Better known as Merry, the Hobbit who becomes

an esquire of Rohan.

Peregrin Took: Better known as Pippin, a Hobbit who looks into the palantír

and later becomes an esquire of Gondor.

Legolas: An Elven prince and skilled archer; one of Aragorn's best friends.

Gimli: The warrior Dwarf who continues his friendly rivalry over Orc.

Sméagol/Gollum: The treacherous creature, once one of the River-folk (a

race akin to Hobbits), who guides Frodo and Sam into Mordor.

Sauron: Evil lord of Mordor.

Déagol, Sméagol's cousin.

Théoden: King of Rohan. He is the uncle of Éomer and Éowyn.

Éowyn: Théoden's niece, who wishes to prove herself in battle. She also

starts to fall in love with Aragorn, who does not return her love.

Éomer: Éowyn's brother, and Chief Marshal of the Riders of Rohan.

Elrond: The Elven lord of Rivendell who must convince Aragorn to take up

the throne.

Arwen: The daughter of Elrond, Aragorn's lover.

Faramir: The head of the Gondorian Rangers defending Osgiliath. Second-

born son to Denethor, he seeks his father's love in vain.

Denethor: Steward of Gondor and father to Faramir, as well as the slain

Boromir. Due to grief over Boromir's death, and despair over Mordor's

superior numbers, he falls into madness during the Siege of Gondor.

Gamling: Right-hand man of Théoden and a skilled member of the Royal

Guard of Rohan.

The King of the Dead: The cursed leader of the Dead Men at Dunharrow,

from whom Aragorn must seek help.

Bilbo Baggins: Frodo's elderly uncle, who has rapidly aged after giving

away the Ring.

Lord Celeborn: Elven lord of Lórien.

Galadriel: Elven lady of Lórien. She is aware the time of the Elves is at an

end.

Rosie Cotton: The girl of Sam's dreams. When Sam returns to The Shire,

she marries him and has a family.

Boromir: Faramir's brother.

 Plot:

Gollum was once a hobbit named Smeagol, living peacefully with his

family. When one day, he went fishing with his cousin Deagol and

accidentally found the One Ring. They fought over the ownership of the ring,

and it drove him to murder his cousin Deagol. When he possessed and wore

the ring, he was transformed into a small, frightful creature that follows the

slavery of an evil called “The Precious”. He then took Frodo and Sam to

Minas Morgul. While Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Gandalf, Theoden, and Eomer

went to Isengard to meet Merry, Pippin, and Treebeard, which happened to

be under the control of the Ents, but Gandalf thought that Saruman will no

longer bother them. And so they decided to return to Edoras wherein a

celebration wqas being held by Theoden with the victory at the Helm’s deep.

Despite the prohibition, Pippin was overcome by his curiosity and he tried to

look into the palantir they found. And there he have seen an image of dead

white tree he had also encountered Sauron, although he never mentioned

about Frodo. With this, Gandalf immediately decided to proceed to Minas

Tirith, bringing along Pippin with him. Concluding that the Sauron has a plan

of attacking Minas Tirith. Meanwhile, Arwen was on her way to the Undying

Lands when she saw a vision of having a son to Aragorn. So she convinced

Elrond to furnace the Narsil, it is the sword that was used to cut the ring from

Sauron’s finger at the Last Alliance. On the other hand, Sam heard Gollum

talking about his evil plans against them and taking the ring for himself.
Gollum then tried to make Frodo and Sam fight against each other by making

up stories about Sam’s treacherous plans.

Gandalf and Pippin reach Minas Tirith in Gondor in time to learn that the city

is in the final preparations for the coming war. They met with Denethor,

father of Boromir and Faramir. Returning to the Hornburg with the remaining

company, Aragorn was troubled by what he has learned, so he left the

Rohirrim and led his companions to the Paths of the Dead. Aragorn and his

companions entered the Paths of the Dead. Sauron's army, led by the

Nazgul, closes on Minas Tirith and Faramir's army is driven back to the city.

Orcs, Trolls, Men, and other creatures close around Minas Tirith and lay siege

to it. Faramir is wounded and Denethor falls into despair. Merry is travelling

with the Rohirrim, and they have come to Minas Tirith. They found the city is

besieged and about to fall, but they are secretly led around the enemy's

flanks by the Wild Men of the Wood, the Woses of Druadan Forest. Merry and

Eowyn reach the middle of the battlefield just as Gandalf is confronting the

Lord of the Nazgul at the gate to the city. The Lord of the Nazgul retreats

from Minas Tirith and attacks the leaders of the Rohirrim. Confident he

cannot be defeated by any man, he confronts Eowyn only to learn that she is

in truth a woman. Merry strikes him a blow from behind and Eowyn seizes

the opportunity to deliver a mortal blow to the Lord of the Nazgul.

In Mordor, Sam rescued Frodo and returned the Ring to him. They escape

and marched on toward Orodruin. The battle rages around Minas Tirith and

the tide begun to turn against the Rohirrim even though the soldiers of Minas
Tirith come out to their aid. But as the armies of Gondor and Rohan fall back

a new force arrives from ships on the Anduin. Aragorn comes ashore at the

head of a great army he has recruited in the southern lands. There with the

aid of the Dead he had turned the tide against Sauron's fleets, and Gondor

was now free to concentrate all its strength on the eastern war. The fighting

is long and hard but the day is won. Yet as the battle rages Denethor falls

into madness. Only through Pippin's intervention is Gandalf able to arrive in

time to rescue the wounded Faramir, but Denethor goes to his death in a

pyre he lights himself. When the battle is finished the captains meet on the

field and went up to the city. There Aragorn heals Faramir and many other

sick people, and he is recognized as the rightful king of Gondor. But though

the people are weary, Aragorn and Gandalf urge Gondor and Rohan to press

on and attack Mordor. Only by distracting Sauron and giving him reason to

believe that a new Ringlord has arisen can they hope to win time for Frodo

and Sam to work their way to Orodruin and destroy the One Ring.

Hence, an army of Gondorians and Rohirrim soon departs from Minas

Tirith under Aragorn's leadership. They arrive at the gates of Mordor and

prepare for battle with Sauron's massed forces. And yet, as the enemy

launches his final assault, Frodo and Sam approach the Sammath Naur. There

they engage in one last confrontation with Gollum, and thinking he has

driven off the miserable creature for good, Frodo leaves Sam to deal with

Gollum while he goes to the Crack of Doom. But there Frodo hesitates, and

he is overwhelmed by the demonic pressure of the Ring. He claims it for his

own. Sauron, intently watching the battle unfold outside Mordor, is suddenly

aware of Frodo, and he realizes what his enemies really have in store for him.

Too late he summons the remaining Nazgul to recover the Ring. And yet

Gollum wins past Sam and finds the invisible Frodo. They struggle and

Gollum bites off Frodo's finger, recovering the Ring for himself. But as he

dances with glee Gollum falls over the edge of the Crack of Doom and takes

the Ring into the fire, destroying it once and for all. Sauron and the Nazgul

are consumed by the destruction of Barad-dur and Orodruin as the volcano

explodes and wreaks havoc on Mordor.

Frodo and Sam barely escape the destruction and are rescued by Gandalf.

When they woke up, they are honored by the victors, and Aragorn's army

finally returns to the city. There they are welcomed by Faramir, and many

Elves and Men have come to rejoice in the victory over Sauron. Elrond is

there, and Celeborn and Galadriel, and they celebrate the wedding of

Aragorn and Arwen, who are crowned king and queen of Gondor. Soon, when

the Elves are departing from Middle-earth forever, he goes to join them and

take ship over Sea, and he bids farewell to Sam, Merry, and Pippin.

Reaction:

Friendship was the value I have learned in the story of The Lord of The

Rings; the Return of the King. When it comes to our friends, there are

instances wherein we start to doubt their intentions towards us. But in this
story, it shows that Sam felt an immeasurable love for a friend to Frodo. Even

though Gollum tried to trick them and eventually made their friendship tore

apart, he was still thoughtful to Frodo. He was even willing to sacrifice his

own life to ensure his friend’s safety and the success of his mission.

III. Brief Synopsis of Mythological Stories by Edith Hamilton

The Gods, the Titans:

ZEUS was the greatest among all the gods. He is the god of sky and

weather, law, order and fate. He was depicted as a regal man, mature with

sturdy figure and dark beard. His usual attributes were a lightning bolt, royal

scepter and eagle. Some of his stories includes his conflict with Prometheus,

his extramarital affairs with women such as Leda, seduced in the form of a

swan; Europa, as a bull; Danae, as a golden shower; Callisto, as Artemis; and

Antiope as a satyr.

HERA was the Olympian queen of the gods and the goddess of women

and marriage. She was also a goddess of the sky and starry heavens. She

was famous in the stories such as her marriage to Zeus, her persecution of

the women involved to Zeus, especially Leto, Semele and Alcmene. She was

also present in the judgment of Paris, in which she competed against

Aphrodite and Athene for the prize of the golden apple. As well as in The

Trojan War, in which she assisted the Greeks.

 Poseidon,the god who split the world with his brothers Hades and Zeus,

received as his share the sea where he wielded his trident. He took part in

the seduction of women such as Tyro, Amymone, Aithra and the Gorgon

Medusa; He also had a contest with Athena for the dominion of Athens, and

the persecution of Odysseus for the blinding of his son the Cyclops

Polyphemus.

Hades was known to be the King of the Underworld, the god of death

and the dead. He presided over funeral rites and defended the right of the

dead to due burial. Haides was also the god of the hidden wealth of the

earth, from the fertile soil. He once kidnapped Persephone, the daughter of

Demeter and brought her down to be his wife in the Underworld.

Athena was the great Olympian goddess of wise counsel, war, and the

defense of towns, heroic endeavor, weaving, pottery and other crafts. She

won over a contest with Poseidon for the dominion of Athens in which she

produced the first olive tree that was considered to be a sacred tree in

Athens. She also had a weaving contest with Arachne who was transformed

by the goddess into a spider; she also blinded the prophet Tiresias for

viewing her naked in the bath; and she was also present in The Judgment of

Paris in which she competed with Hera and Aphrodite for the prize of the

golden apple.

Apollo was associated with law, philosophy, and the arts. He sometimes

gave the gift of prophecy to mortals whom he loved, such as the Trojan
princess Cassandra. He is considered to be one of the most important

Olympian gods, a son of Zeus and Leto, and the twin brother of Artemis. He

is also the god of poetry and music, wherein he had a music contest with the

satyr Marsyas who lost and was flayed alive; he also took part in the story of

Hyacinthus, whom he accidentally killed in a discus throw and transformed

into a flower. He once loved a nymph named Daphne who fled from him and

was transformed into a laurel tree. And his love for Coronis who was slain by

Artemis for her infidelity.

Artemis is known as the goddess of the night, the great huntress, the

goddess of fruitfulness, the goddess of childbirth, Lady of the Beasts, the

woodland goddess, the bull goddess, the personification of the moon, and

the eternal virgin. She brought about Orion's death, the unfortunate hunter,

who either defied the goddess.

Aphrodite is known as the Greek Goddess of love, desire, beauty,

fertility, the sea, and vegetation. She was known for her adulterous affair

with the god Ares; Her love for Adonis, a handsome Cypriot youth who was

tragically killed by a boar; The judgment of Paris in which the goddess was

awarded the prize of the golden apple in return for promising Paris Helene in

marriage; The Trojan War in which she supported her favorites Paris and

Aeneas. The race of Hippomenes for Atalanta, which was won with the help

of the goddess and her golden apples; The death of Hippolytos, who was

destroyed by the goddess for scorning her worship; The statue of Pygmalion
which was brought to life by Aphrodite in answer to his prayers; and the

persecution of Psyche, the maiden loved by her son Eros.

Hermes is the great messenger of the gods. He was depicted as either a

handsome and athletic, beardless youth, or as an older bearded man. He was

responsible for the slaying of Argos Panoptes, the hundred-eyed guardian of

the nymph Io; assisting Perseus in the hero's quest to slay Medusa; and

assisting Odysseus in his encounter with the witch Circe.

Ares is a war god and god of violence. He was not well-liked or trusted by

the Gods and there are few tales in which he played a major role. One of the

most famous stories involving Ares is his being caught with Aphrodite. He

was also put in chains by Ephialtes and Otos, and into a cauldron where he

was stuck until Hermes rescued him.

Hephaestus was the god of technology, blacksmiths, craftsmen,

artisans, sculptors, metals, metallurgy, fire and volcanoes. He was

responsible for the crafting of Pandora, the first woman, at the command of

Zeus; The crafting of the cursed necklace of Harmonia which doomed her

descendants to a cycle of tragedy; and the crafting of the armour of Achilles

at the request of the hero's mother Thetis.

HESTIA is the fire-goddess, the goddess of hearth and home. She is

considered as the founder of the family and the state and the one who

maintains public reverence for the gods. Hestia is invoked at the beginning

and end of all solemn public oaths and sacrifices.

The Two Gods of the Earth:

DEMETER was the great Olympian goddess of agriculture, grain, and

bread, the prime sustenance of mankind. She was known for the abduction

of her daughter Persephone by Hades, and the great dearth she brought

down upon the earth; The nursing of Demophoon, and the punishment of

Erysichthon who was cursed with an unquenchable hunger by the goddess

for cutting down her holy grove.

Dionysus was the son of Semele to Zeus who became the god of wine.

He was known as the great Olympian god of wine, vegetation, pleasure and

festivity. He once loved Ariadne whom he found abandoned by Theseus on

the island of Naxos and wed her. He also journeyed to the underworld to

recover his mother.

How the World and Men were created:

The name Prometheus means “forethought,” and his twin brother's

name Epimethius means “afterthought.” Prometheus wanted Man to have

all the benefits and progress that fire would bring, so he decided to steal the

fire from Olympus. Zeus was extremely angered by Prometheus' actions

since he had not wanted fire to be given to man. At Zeus order, Prometheus
was chained to a rock in the Caucasus Mountains where his torture was to be

carried out. Despite the warnings of his brother, Epimethius happily received

Zeus’ gift Pandora as his bride, releasing a plague of harmful spirits to

trouble mankind.

Pandora was the first woman. Each god helped create her by giving her

unique gifts. Zeus ordered Hephaestus to mold her out of earth as part of the

punishment of mankind for Prometheus' theft of the secret of fire, and all the

gods joined in offering her "seductive gifts" which led agony to humans. In all

literary versions, however, the myth is a kind of theodicy, addressing the

question of why there is evil in the world.

The story of Deucalion and Pyrrha is said to be the Greek version of the

story of Noah's ark. Deucalion and his cousin-wife, Pyrrha survived for 9 days

of flooding before landing at Mount Parnassus. It is because Deucalion was

warned by his father, the immortal titan Prometheus. They were said to have

started the raise of mankind by throwing stones over their shoulders onto

Mother Earth, and they did so. The stones Deucalion threw became men and

those Pyrrha threw became women.

The Earliest Heroes:

Prometheus saw a strange cow that speaks like a girl. That was Io, and

she told Prometheus her story. She used to be a beautiful young woman, and
Zeus fell in love with her. When Zeus's jealous wife Hera suspected their

relationship, Zeus turned Io into a heifer. The shrewd Hera asked for the

heifer as a present, and Zeus reluctantly gave Io away. Hera put Io in the

care of Argus, a monster with one thousand eyes. Zeus pleaded with his son

Hermes, the messenger god, to find a way of killing Argus. Hermes, known as

the smartest god, disguised himself as a country fellow and approached and

killed Argus. But Hera put the thousand eyes in the feathers of a peacock. It

seemed that Io would be free, but Hera sent a fly to follow her and drive her

insane. Prometheus then reveals a prophecy that Io will wander for a long

time in the beastly body, tormented by the fly. But finally she will reach the

river Nile, where Zeus will restore her to her human form and give her a son.

Zeus once fell in love with a pretty mortal maiden named Europa. That

morning, Europa woke up from a strange dream in which two different

continents were fighting over her. She goes down to the ocean with her

friends to bathe and pick flowers, and Zeus arrives disguised as a

magnificent bull. Europa climbs on top of his back, and as soon as she does,

Zeus gallops away. Europa clings tightly to his horn as they gallop over the

ocean. Terrified, she understands that this must be a god, and she begs Zeus

to let her go. But Zeus comforts Europa, explaining that he loves her and will

bring her to his home island, Crete. When they arrive, Zeus transforms

himself into a human and makes love to her. The people of Crete greet
Europa with a bridal ceremony. She settles on the island and eventually

bears Zeus two sons.

Cyclops were known for crafting Zeus's thunderbolts and for their

strength and hostility to strangers. Thus, when Odysseus sails for Ithaca from

Troy and beaches his boat on their shore, great dangers wait. Odysseus and

his crew see a cave on the beach and walk inside to explore. The enormous

Polyphemus pushes a huge rock over the cave's opening, effectively

trapping the men inside. He eats a few men and falls asleep. The situation

seems hopeless, but Odysseus comes up with a plan. He finds an enormous

timber and sharpens the end of it. Odysseus then offers Polyphemus his

wine, which the beast drinks. The Cyclops promptly falls asleep. As the

Cyclops sleeps, Odysseus and his men heat the tip of the sharpened log in a

fire and then ram it into Polyphemus's eye, blinding him. Polyphemus is still

determined to kill all the men, but they escape from the cave under the

bellies of Polyphemus's rams, which are out at pasture.

The Flower-Myths:

The story of Narcissus includes the story of Echo, a nymph who falls in

love with him. Echo falls under an unfortunate spell cast by Hera, who has

suspected that Zeus is interested in her or, at least, in one of her nymph

friends. Hera determines that Echo will always have the last word but never

have the power to speak first. That is, she only can repeat other people's

utterances. When the dying Narcissus calls "farewell" to his own image, Echo
can only repeat the words as her final good-bye. In the place where Narcissus

dies, a beautiful flower grows, and the nymphs call it Narcissus.

Apollo and Hyacinthus are best friends. They compete to see who can

throw a discus the farthest. In the competition, Apollo accidentally throws his

discus into Hyacinthus, killing him. As Apollo holds the body of his best

friend, he wishes that he himself would stop living so that the beautiful,

young Hyacinthus could live on. As he speaks those words, the blood spilling

from the dying youth turns the grass green, and a beautiful flower grows—

the hyacinth.

Adonis is an extremely handsome young man, and Aphrodite fell in love

with him. She puts him in Persephone's care, but she also fell in love with

him. Finally, Zeus intervened and decided that Adonis shall spend half the

year with Persephone and half the year with Aphrodite. One day, Adonis

hunted a wild boar and thought he killed it. But the boar was only wounded,

and it fiercely lunged at Adonis as he approach. Aphrodite flew to him and

holds him, dying, in her arms. Flowers grow where the blood wets the

ground.

Stories of Love: Cupid and Psyche

A young woman named Psyche was so lovely that the goddess Aphrodite

grows jealous of the attention the young woman receives. She

commends her son to kill the girl, but Cupid accidently touches one of

his arrows at the same time he looks at her, and so falls in love. He has
 her carried away to his home, and visits her every night, commanding

her never to look at him. One night, because of her own sister’s

wickedness, her curiosity grows too strong, so she sneaks a lamp into

their bed. When she sees the sleeping god, she is startled, and a drop

of oil splashes on his shoulder. He awakes and abandons her out of

anger. She goes to his mother, begging to be reunited with her

husband. Aphrodite sets her about a number of tasks, the last of which

is to fetch a box from the underworld. On returning from her journey,

Pysche opens the box to look inside, and is overcome by a powerful

sleep. Cupid finds her there, and asks the other gods to restore her and

make her a Goddess. This wish is fulfilled, and the two are united

again.

Eight Brief Tales of Lovers:

Pyramus and Thisbe are two people madly in love with each other and

live in houses next to each other. Their parents, however, forbid their

romance and build a wall between the houses. The lovers find a chink in the

wall through which they speak and kiss one another. One night they decide

to run away together, meeting at the Tomb of Ninus. Pyramus arrived first,

and she saw a terrifying tiger with blood on its mouth. She ran away in fear

and she dropped her cloak. When Thisbe arrived, he saw the cloak, assumed

his lover has died, and killed himself in sorrow. Pyramus returned, sees

Thisbe's body, and killed herself with the same knife. From then on,
mulberries take on the dark red color of their blood, making the lovers' bond

eternal.

Orpheus is the most talented musician alive, rivaling only the gods. He

fell in love with Eurydice and married her. But a viper stung her and she

died. Devastated, Orpheus travelled down into the underworld to beg her

return. He successfully charmed the creatures of death with his sweet music,

and finally Hades agreed to give Eurydice back to Orpheus on one condition.

Orpheus must not look back at his wife as she followed him back above

ground. Just before the two lovers return to the light, Orpheus cannot wait

any longer and looked back. He saw his wife disappearing, while saying

"farewell."

Ceyx and Alcyone are married happily until the day when Ceyx decided

to have a voyage across the ocean. Knowing the dangers of the sea, Alcyone

begs him not to go, or at least to take her with him. But Ceyx declined her

offer and sets out without her. On the first night of the journey, a storm

ravaged his ship, and Ceyx died with Alcyone's name on his lips. Alcyone

continued to wait for her husband, making him cloaks and praying to Juno for

his safe return. Juno pitied the woman and asked Somnus, god of Sleep, to

tell her the truth about her husband's death. Somnus sends his son

Morpheus to break the news in a dream, so Morpheus took the form of the

drowned Ceyx. Alcyone woke up from the terrible dream and knows her

husband has died. She goes into the ocean to drown herself and be with him,

but she sees his body floating towards her. She dives in but, miraculously,
flies over the waves instead of sinking into them. The gods have turned her

into a bird and Ceyx turned into a bird as well.

Pygmalion is a tremendously talented artist who has never fallen in love

with a woman. Instead, he has fallen in love with his art, a beautiful sculpture

of a woman. He gave her presents, tucked her into bed, and dresseed her.

Finally, Pygmalion realized the futility of his efforts and gave up. Venus

noticed the situation and pitied him, turning the statue into a living woman

named Galatea.

Zeus and Hermes decided to test the hospitality of the people in the town

of Phrygia. They disguised themselves as poor travelers and knocked on the

doors of many houses, but no one will take them in. Finally they approached

a small hut owned by Baucis and Philemon. The couple warmly invites the

travelers inside and offer all their food and wine. Though it is not much,

Baucis and Philemon explain that they are content with what they have

because they love each other. Eventually, the gods revealed themselves.

They destroy the rest of the town in a flood but spare Baucis and Philemon.

They also replaced the hut with a large marble house. Baucis and Philemon

asked the gods that when they die, they would like to die together. Many

years later, in their old age, they noticed leaves springing forth from their

bodies. They were turned into a linden and an oak tree both growing from

one trunk.

A beautiful young man named Endymion, catched the attention of

Selene, the Moon. Selene puts him in a magical slumber: he lied as if dead,
but in fact he is alive and forever asleep. Every night, Selene covered him

with kisses, but it is said that she still suffers from loneliness.

Daphne is a stunning wood nymph whom Apollo desires. He came down

and chased her through the woods, hoping to make her his own. Daphne,

terrified, tried her best to outrun him. Just when he catched up to her, she

screamed for help from her father, and he turned her into a laurel tree.

Though disappointed that he did not catch Daphne, Apollo decided that the

laurel should be the victor's crown.

Arethusa, a mortal huntress, worships the speed and agility of Artemis.

One day she bathed in a river when she feels a rumbling beneath her. A

voice says it is Alpheus, the river god, and the voice said that Alpheus loves

her. But Arethusa wants nothing to do with him and runs away in fear. Just

before Alpheus catches up to her, the huntress prayed to Artemis. The

goddess heard the prayer and turned Arethusa into a spring of water.

Four Great Adventures:

Phaethon travelled to the Palace of the Sun to meet Helios and find out

if the sun god is really his father. Helios said he is, and to prove it, he will

give Phaethon anything he wanted, swearing by the River Styx that he will

grant Phaethon whatever he desired. The boy's dream is to ride Helios’

chariot. Although his father warned him that no god can control the horses

and safely ride the chariot across the sky, Phaethon will not listen. Helios

seemed to have no choice but to let his son drive the chariot and watch as
the horses run recklessly through the sky, crashing into stars and even

setting the earth on fire. To prevent the entire planet from burning, Zeus

sends a thunderbolt which killed Phaethon and drove the horses into the sea.

Bellerophon is the son of Glaucus, King of Corinth that the gods dislike

because he feeds his horses with human flesh. He wants to ride Pegasus, a

winged horse, so he goes to Athena's temple to pray. Athena comes to him in

a dream and gives him a golden bridle which, she says, will tame the horse.

It does, and Pegasus becomes Bellerophon's loyal beast. The Lycian king

does not want to offend Zeus by acting violently towards a guest, so he

sends Bellerophon on an impossible journey to kill a monster called the

Chimaera. With the help of Pegasus, however, Bellerophon killed the beast.

He returned to Proteus and Proteus send him on many more challenging

adventures. Bellerophon loses favor with the gods when he attempts to

become more than human and take a place on Mount Olympus. When he

tries to take the journey up to the gods’ kingdom, Pegasus throws

Bellerophon off his back.

Otus and Ephialtes are enormous twins, sons of Poseidon. They think

they are better than the gods and aggressively challenge them on several

occasions. First, they kidnap Ares until the stealthy Hermes sets him free.

Next they try to put one mountain on top of another. Just as Zeus is going to

strike them down with a thunderbolt, Poseidon begs to save them and Zeus

agrees. Finally, they try to capture Artemis, but the clever goddess runs

away when she sees the twins. The twins chase her, even as she runs over
water, until she disappears. In her place, Otus and Ephialtes see a beautiful

white animal. They both throw spears at it, but it disappear as well, and the

two spears hit the two giants instead. Artemis thus enacts revenge.

Daedalus is the brilliant architect who constructed the Labyrinth for the

Minotaur in Crete. When King Minos learns that Theseus has escaped from it,

he knows that Daedalus must have helped him out. As punishment, Minos

puts Daedalus and his son Icarus in the Labyrinth. Even they cannot find a

way out along the paths. Daedalus builds himself and his son wings out of

wax and feathers. He warns Icarus not to fly too high because the sun will

melt the wings. As they are flying in their escape, excitement and power

overtake Icarus, and he flies too high. The sun melts his wings, the boy falls

to the ocean, and the waters swallow him up.

Heroes before the Trojan War:

Theseus is the great Athenian hero. His father Aegeus is king of Athens,

but Theseus grows up in southern Greece with his mother. When he is old

enough, Theseus travels to the city to meet his father and overcomes many

obstacles along the way. Aegeus declares Theseus heir to the throne, Minos's

daughter Ariadne sees and instantly falls in love with Theseus. Theseus is

also known for killing the Minotaur. Theseus ruled Athens making it as the

happiest city in the world. In later years, however, sadness ensues after he

marries Ariadne's sister Phaedra. Theseus already had a child, Hippolytus.

When Theseus and Phaedra visit him, Phaedra falls madly in love with

Hippolytus, her stepson. He refuses her advances, but she writes a letter

falsely alleging that he violated her, and then she kills herself. Theseus finds

the letter and banishes his innocent son. Artemis appears to Theseus and

reveals the truth, but it is too late because the boy has already been killed at

sea.

Hercules is considered the greatest Greek hero of all; he is a son of

Zeus. The saddest incident of his life occured after he has married Princess

Megara and had three children with her. Hera send Hercules into insanity,

one night Hercules goes mad and unwittingly killed his three sons. When he

realizes what he has done, he almost killed himself, but Theseus persuaded

him to go on living. The Oracle tells him to go to Eurystheus, who sends him

on his twelve labors: killing the lion of Nemea, killing a creature with nine

heads called the Hydra, capturing a stag with horns of gold, killing a boar,

cleaning the thousands of Aegean stables in one day, exiling the

Stymphalian birds, going to Crete and retrieving the beautiful savage bull

that Poseidon gave Minos, retrieving the man-eating mares, bringing back

the girdle of Hippolyta, returning the back of the cattle of Geryon (a monster

with three bodies), bringing back the Golden Apples of Hesperides—and,

finally, bringing Cerberus, the three-headed dog, up from Hades.

 Atalanta was left by her father when she was still a poor infant on a

mountaintop to die, when he has learned that the baby was not a boy.

Luckily for her, a bear discovered her and raised her to become a fast, daring

young woman. She was known for being the best huntress in their land and

became famous for killing a ruthless boar. Of all her adventures, the story of

the golden apple is most famous. Atalanta challenged her suitors to outrun

her in a race.And whoever won over her, will be her husband. Knowing that

she is faster than everyone, Atalanta smugly beats them all to the finish line.

But one man, named Hippomenes, gets three exquisite golden apples from

the Goddess Aahrodite. Along the race, the suitor drops one apple at a time.

Atalanta cannot resist stopping to pick them up, and to her surprise, the

suitor won the race. She made good on the vow she made and became his

wife.

The Adventures of Aeneas:

Aeneas was the son of Anchises and Venus. After the fall of Troy, he led a

band of Trojan refugees to Italy and became the founder of Roman culture. In

the Trojan War, Aeneas was one of the most respected of the Trojan heroes,

perhaps second only to Hector. He engaged in abortive single combat with

the Greek heroes Diomedes, Idomeneus, and Achilles; In one of the most

famous episodes of the Aeneid, they were cast ashore near the north African

city of Carthage, where they were hospitably received by Dido, the city's

founder and queen. There ensued a love affair between Dido and Aeneas
which threatened to distract Aeneas from his destiny in Italy. Mercury was

sent to order Aeneas to depart and Aeneas, forced to choose between love

and duty, reluctantly sailed away. Dido, mad with grief, committed suicide. In

Italy, Aeneas allied himself with King Latinus, and was betrothed to Latinus'

daughter, Lavinia. Lavinia's former suitor, Turnus, goaded by jealousy and

the machinations of Juno, declared war against the intruder, and a period of

bloody fight followed. Aeneas was victorious, eventually killing Turnus in

single combat, and went on to found the city of Lavinium. At the end of his

life, Aeneas was deified at the request of his mother, Venus, and became the

god Indiges.

Great Families: The House of Atreus

Tantalus is a son of Zeus who is extremely well-liked by the gods until he

plays a malicious trick. He murders his son Pelops and tries to feed Pelops to

the gods without their knowledge. Of course, they all see through the trick.

As punishment, they put Tantalus in Hades in a pool full of water. But the

water always recedes as he tries to drink from it. Similarly, trees above him

bear beautiful fruit, but the instant he reaches for them, they recede. Thus

"tantalized," Tantalus will neither drink nor eat for eternity. The gods also

bring Pelops back to life. He has a daughter, Niobe. Like Tantalus, Niobe

believes herself to be better than the gods. As a queen with seven strong

sons and seven beautiful daughters, Niobe feels superior to the goddess

Leto, and she tells her subjects to worship her instead of Leto. But Artemis
and Apollo shoot deadly arrows into Niobe's fourteen children. Niobe cries

until she turns into a stone that is always covered with tears, night and day.

Greek hunters kill one of Artemis's favorite wild animals. To win back her

affection, they must sacrifice a young girl, Iphigenia. Just as the knife falls

on her neck, however, she disappears. In this version of the tale, Athena has

relocated the girl to the land of the Taurians. Iphigenia is made queen and

forced to arrange the death of any Greek person who happens upon the

island. She is very depressed and misses home for a long time.

One day, Iphigenia's younger brother Orestes and his friend Pylades

arrive. Orestes accidentally killed his mother, and in order to cleanse himself,

the gods told him, he must go to the land of the Taurians. Wracked with guilt,

Oretes assumed he would meet his death on the island. Indeed, Iphigenia

almost kills him, but just in time they realize their kinship, and they escape

the island together. Unfortunately, wind blows their ship back to land. The

king almost kills his treacherous wife and her brother, but Athena steps in

and, with the help of Poseidon, arranges for their safe travel.

The Royal House of Thebes:

Cadmus was the brother of Europa, who was taken by Zeus in his form of

a bull. He was told by his father to find her and not return if he didn’t.
Cadmus, not being able to find his sister,consulted the oracle at Delphi,who

said he must abandon the search and that he must follow a cow and found a

city where the animal would lie down to rest. Thus, he became the founder of

Thebes. He killed a dragon near Thebes and planted its teeth in the ground.

Out of the teeth, warriors grew, and they fought each other until only five

remained. Cadmus made these five warriors head of Thebes noble families.

Cadmus ended his days in Illyria after a series of misfortunes. And he with

his wife Harmonia was transfofmed into snakes.

King Laius of Thebes hears from the Oracle at Delphi that he will die at

the hands of his own son. To prevent this from happening, he leaves his baby

boy on a mountain for dead, but another man saves the baby. Years later,

Laius is murdered by robbers on the road. At the same time, a huge Sphinx

has been terrorizing the land. One man, Oedipus, comes upon it on the

road. Oedipus has been running away from home because an oracle has

predicted he will kill his father. The Sphinx gives him an unsolved riddle:

what creature walks on four legs, then two, then three? Oedipus answers:

mankind, who crawls, then walks, then uses a cane. This answer is correct,

and the Sphinx kills itself. Oedipus becomes a famous liberator and marries

the late king's wife, Jocasta.After years of happy rule, a terrible plague hits

the land. An oracle decrees that the only way for the plague to end would be

to punish King Laius's killer. Oedipus seeks the truth, but a prophet tells

Oedipus that he himself is the killer. A man from the robbery of Laius says
the same thing. Upon realizing this truth, it becomes clear to Oedipus that he

has killed his father and then married his own mother. Jocasta kills herself,

and Oedipus pokes out his eyes, both people feeling immense shame and

guilt.

Oedipus and his wife/mother Jocasta have several daughters and sons.

After the horrific truth came out that Oedipus killed his father and married

his mother, Oedipus exiled himself to an island where his daughter

Antigone takes care of him until he dies.Back in Thebes, Jocasta's brother,

Creon, becomes king, but Oedipus's son Polyneices wages war against him.

Oedipus’s other son Eteocles defends Thebes, and in the fighting, the two

brothers kill each other. With his power unchallenged, Creon declares that no

one should bury Polyneices, but in Greek culture, the process of burying the

dead is very sacred in order to give the soul happiness in the afterlife. In

secret, Antigone buries her brother, so Creon kills her for her noble crime.

Seven Against Thebes, are the seven champions who were killed

fighting against Thebes after the fall of Oedipus, the king of that city. The

twins Eteocles and Polyneices, who had been cursed by their father, Oedipus,

failed to agree on which of them was to succeed to the Theban throne and

decided to rule in alternate years. As Eteocles’ turn came first, Polyneices

withdrew to Argos, where he married Argeia, daughter of King Adrastus.

Another daughter, Deipyle, married Tydeus, son of the exiled king Oeneus of
Calydon. At the end of the year, Polyneices’ turn came to rule Thebes. When

Eteocles refused to give up the throne, Adrastus mobilized an army, whose

chieftains, in Aeschylus’s tragedy about the Seven, were Tydeus, Capaneus,

Eteoclus, Hippomedon, Parthenopaeus, Amphiaraus, and Polyneices. Other

authors count Adrastus as one of the Seven and omit Hippomedon or

Polyneices. During their assault on the city’s seven gates, Capaneus was

struck by Zeus’s lightning bolt; Amphiaraus was swallowed up by the earth;

Polyneices and Eteocles killed each other, fulfilling Oedipus’s curse; and the

others were killed by the guards at Thebes. When the sons of the dead

Seven, the Epigoni, or second generation, had grown to manhood, Adrastus

again attacked the city and occupied it after the Thebans had evacuated it

by night. He died at Megara on the homeward journey.

The Royal House of Athens:

Cecrops is a half-man and half-serpent.He founded the city of Athens

and married Aglaurus, who bore him a daughter of the same name, plus two

more girls, Herse and Pandrosos, and a son, Erysichthon. He also attempted

to adopt the snake-baby Erichthonius as a favor toGaia, but this turned out to

be something of a mistake.

During his reign there was a dispute between Athena and Poseidon over the

patronage of Attica. Cecrops was asked to mediate. Poseidon had caused the

sea to form a harbour, but Athena had planted the first olive tree.

Wise old Cecrops ruled really well. He established writing, marriage laws and
all sorts of civilising influences and did away with human sacrifices. He built

the city of Cecrops which later became Athens.

Philomela and Procne are the daughters of King Pandion of Attica.

Procne married Tereus, king of Thrace, and bore him a son, Itys. Tereus later

seduced Philomela and cut out her tongue to silence her. Philomela

embroidered the story into some cloth, which she sent to her sister. In

revenge, Procne murdered Itys and served up his flesh to her husband.

Tereus pursued and tried to kill the sisters, but the gods changed them all

into birds. Philomela became a swallow, Procne a nightingale, and Tereus a

hoopoe. Itys was revived and became a goldfinch.

Cephalus is the husband of Procris. The two swore eternal fidelity, but

Eos, who had fallen in love with Cephalus, persuaded him to test his wife.

Cephalus disguised himself and offered to pay Procris to commit adultery.

When she yielded, he angrily deserted her. Later they were reconciled; but

eventually Procris became suspicious and followed Cephalus one night while

he was hunting. Mistaking his wife for an animal, Cephalus killed her. He then

wandered for many years but was unable to escape his grief and finally

leaped to his death from a precipice.

Ion was the son of Apollo and the Arthenian princess Creusa, whom

Apollo raped on the Acropolis. Creusa abandoned Ion at birth, and Apollo
took the child to Delphi, where he was brought up in ignorance of his true

parentage. In the meantime, Creusa married King Xuthus. After several

childless years, they went to Delphi to ask advice. Apollo told Xuthus that the

first person he met on leaving the shrine would be his son - and that person

was Ion. Furious that Xuthus was adopting someone she took to be a

stranger, Creusa tried to kill Ion, but Apollo appeared and explained the

situation.

Less Important Myths:

Midas is the king of Phrygia. Because he befriended Silenus, the oldest of

the satyrs, Dionysus granted him the power to turn everything into gold by

touch. But when even the food that he touched turned to gold, Midas begged

to be relieved of his gift. Dionysus allowed him to wash away his power in the

Pactolus River, which afterward had gold-bearing sands. In another legend

Midas was given ass's ears by Apollo for preferring, in a contest, the music of

Pan to that of Apollo. Midas preserved his shame from all but his barber, who,

wishing to tell it, whispered it into a hole in the ground. The reeds that grew

out of that hole, however, murmured the secret whenever the wind blew

through them.

Aesculapius is a legendary Greek physician; son of Apollo and Coronis.

His first teacher was the wise centaur Chiron. When he became so skillful in

healing that he could revive the dead, Zeus killed him. Apollo persuaded
Zeus to make Asclepius the god of medicine. The serpent and the cock were

sacred to Asclepius.

The Danaids are the daughters of Danaos (King of Argos). They were

fifty in number, and married the fifty sons of Ægyptos. All but one named

Hypermnestra murdered their husbands on their wedding-night, and were

punished in the infernal regions by having to draw water everlastingly in

sieves from a deep well.

Scylla is a sea monster. According to one legend Circe, jealous of the sea

god Glaucus' love for Scylla, changed her from a beautiful nymph into a

horrible doglike creature with six heads and twelve feet; according to

another, Amphitrite, jealous of Poseidon's love for her, transformed her into

the ugly monster. Scylla lived on the rocks on the Italian side of the Strait of

Messina, where she seized sailors from passing ships and devoured them. On

the other side of the strait was the whirlpool Charybdis. Odysseus in his

wanderings passed between them, as did Jason and the Argonauts. 2.

Daughter of Nisus, king of Megara. She betrayed her father to his enemy

Minos, but when she sought Minos' love, he scorned her.

Erysichthon was the son of Triopas. He was an arrogant and impious

man who dared to fell timber in the sacred grove of Demeter. As

punishment, Ceres sent Famine to dwell in Erysichthon's entrails, so that he

was continuously tormented by an insatiable hunger. He ate up all the food

in sight, and sold all his possessions to buy more; still he was not satisfied.

Finally he sold his own daughter. She appealed to Poseidon, who had taken

her virginity, for assistance, and Poseidon granted her the power to change

into any shape she wished, thus enabling her to escape her new master. Her

father discovered her ability and sold her many times thereafter. Even this

was not enough to assuage his raging hunger, however, and he eventually

began to gnaw upon his own limbs, continuing his desperate quest for food

until he had consumed himself entirely.

Pomona is a nymph who loved to tend her fruit trees and flowers shut

herself up in a garden away from all human and divine lovers. Vertumnus,

the god of orchards, desired her passionately and tried various ruses to enter

her garden. At last, disguised as a very old woman, he is granted admission,

where he begins to woo the nymph by praising her beauty and her fruit. So

he the god of the orchards cannot bear fruit without her help. His words melt

the nymph's heart and they are united.

Brief Myths:
 Amalthea's Horn.The cornucopia or horn of plenty. The infant Zeus was

fed with goats' milk by Amalthea, one of the daughters of Melisseus, King of

Crete. Zeus, in gratitude, broke off one of the goat's horns, and gave it to

Amalthea, promising that the possessor should always have in abundance

everything desired.

Amazon, one of a tribe of warlike women who lived in Asia Minor. The

Amazons had a matriarchal society, in which women fought and governed

while men performed the household tasks. Each Amazon had to kill a man

before she could marry, and all male children were either killed or maimed at

birth. It was believed that the Amazons cut off one breast in order to shoot

and throw spears more effectively. They were celebrated warriors, believed

to have been the first to use cavalry, and their conquests were said to have

included many parts of Asia Minor, Phrygia, Thrace, and Syria. Several of the

finest Greek heroes proved their mettle against the Amazons: Hercules took

the golden girdle of Ares from their queen Hippolyte; Theseus abducted

Hippolyte's sister Antiope and then defeated a vengeful army of Amazons at

Athens. A contingent of Amazons fought with the Trojans under Penthesilea.

Amymone is a daughter of Danaus. She was once assaulted by a satyr

near a spring, but was saved by Poseidon. She fell in love with him and

became by him the mother of Nauplius. Her attribute is a water pitcher.

 Antiope is a Theban princess, daughter of Nycteus. She was seduced by

Zeus and bore him twin sons, Zethus and Amphion. Fleeing to Sicyon to

escape the wrath of her father, she was forced to abandon her infants on Mt.

Cithaeron, where they were raised by shepherds. Antiope was pursued and

captured by her uncle Lycus, then king of Thebes, and his wife Dirce, who

treated her with great cruelty. Later the sons of Antiope revenged their

mother; they dethroned Lycus and punished Dirce by tying her to the horns

of a bull. They then erected a wall around Thebes with stones which moved

of their own will to the music of Amphion's lyre. Zethus married the nymph

Thebe, who gave her name to Thebes. Amphion married Niobe. A queen of

the Amazons, sister of Hippolyte. According to one legend she was abducted

by Theseus and became the mother of Hippolytus.

Arachne, in Greek mythology, a Lydian woman who challenged Athena to

a trial of skill in weaving. When Arachne won, the goddess forced Arachne to

hang herself. Athena then turned Arachne into a spider and her weaving into

a cobweb.

Arion was a Dionysiac poet credited with inventing the dithyramb: "As a

literary composition for chorus dithyramb was the creation of Arion of

Corinth," The islanders of Lesbos claimed him as their native son, but Arion

found a patron in Periander, tyrant of Corinth. Although notable for his

musical inventions, Arion is chiefly remembered for the fantastic myth of his

kidnapping by pirates and miraculous rescue by dolphins, a folktale motif.

Aristaeus is a son of Apollo and Cyrene, especially honored as the

inventor of beekeeping. Aristaeus tried to violate Eurydice, wife of Orpheus.

Eurydice was fatally bitten by a snake while fleeing him. As punishment, the

nymphs, who had previously been his mentors, caused all his bees to die.

However, he sacrificed several cattle in atonement, and from their carcasses

new swarms of bees were generated. Learned in the arts of medicine and

soothsaying, Aristaeus wandered through many lands teaching his skills and

curing the sick. He came to be widely worshiped as a beneficent deity.

Tithonus was loved by the dawn goddess, Eos, who bore him Memnon.

When Eos begged Zeus to bestow immortality upon Tithonus, she forgot to

ask the god to grant her lover eternal youth; so Tithonus grew older and

older until Eos, out of pity, changed him into a grasshopper.

Biton and Cleobis were the sons of the priestess Cydippe. When their

mother wanted to see a famous temple of Hera, which was many miles

away, the brothers dragged her chariot there. At the end of the long journey

Cydippe prayed to Hera that her sons might receive the greatest of

blessings. Their reward was instant and painless death without the bitterness

and decrepitude of old age.

 Callisto is an attendant of Artemis. Because she forsook her chastity and

bore a son, Arcas, to Zeus, she was transformed into a bear by Artemis.

According to another legend she was changed into a bear by the jealous

Hera. Arcas, while out hunting, was about to kill her when Zeus intervened

and transferred them both to the heavens, Callisto becoming the

constellation Ursa Major and Arcas becoming Arcturus.

Chiron, centaur, son of Kronos. He was a renowned sage, physician, and

prophet. Among his pupils were Hercules, Achilles, Jason, and Asclepius.

When Hercules accidentally wounded Chiron, the pain was so great that

Chiron surrendered his immortality to Prometheus and died. Zeus then set

him among the stars as the constellation Sagittarius.

Apollo, whom Clytie always loved, did not love her in return, for he loved

Daphne, the daughter of a water god. Sadly, Daphne had no feelings toward

the beautiful Apollo, and when Apollo tried to convince Daphne to love him in

return, she ran from him, and began to beg for her father's help. Her father

helped her by turning her into a plant. To Clytie, this was great, but to Apollo,

the love of his life had just died. Clytie soon began to realized that Apollo still

didn't love her, and went into deep sorrow. She stripped herself and sat

naked, with neither food nor drink, for nine days on the rocks, staring at the

sun, Apollo, and mourning his departure. After nine days she was
transformed by the Gods into a beautiful turnsole (which is known for

growing on sunny, rocky hillsides), which turns its head always to look

longingly at Apollo's chariot of the sun.

Dryope was wandering by a lake, suckling her baby Amphissus, when

she saw the bright red flowers of the lotus tree, formerly the nymph Lotis

who, when fleeing from Priapus, had been changed into a tree. Dryope

wanted to give the blossoms to her baby to play with, but when she picked

one the tree started to tremble and bleed. She tried to run away, but the

blood of the tree had touched her skin and she found her feet rooted to the

spot. She slowly began to turn into a black poplar, the bark spreading up her

legs from the earth, but just before the woody stiffness finally reached her

throat and as her arms began sprouting twigs her husband Andraemon heard

her cries and came to her. She had just enough time to warn her husband to

take care of their child and make sure that he did not pick flowers.

Epimenides of Knossos was a semi-mythical 6th century BC Greek seer

and philosopher-poet. While tending his father's sheep, he is said to have

fallen asleep for fifty-seven years in a Cretan cave sacred to Zeus, after

which he reportedly awoke with the gift of prophecy.

Erichthonius is said to be born of the soil, or Earth and raised by the

goddess Athena.An alternative version of the story is that Athena left the box

with the daughters of Cecrops while she went to fetch a mountain from

Pallene to use in the Acropolis. While she was away, Aglaurus and Herse
opened the box. A crow saw them open the box, and flew away to tell

Athena, who fell into a rage and dropped the mountain she was carrying

(now Mt. Lykabettos). As in the first version, Herse and Aglaurus went insane

and threw themselves to their deaths off a cliff.

Hero, in Greek mythology, priestess of Aphrodite in Sestos. Her lover,

Leander, swam the Hellespont nightly from Abydos to see her. During a

storm the light by which she guided him blew out, and he drowned. Hero, in

despair, then threw herself into the sea.

The Hyades, in Greek mythology, nymphs; daughters of Atlas and

Aethra. They cared for both Zeus and Dionysus as infants. In recognition of

these services, they were placed among the stars of the constellation Taurus,

where their rising and setting corresponded to the rainy seasons.

Ibycus a Greek lyric poet. The extant fragments of his work contain the

earliest-known example of the triadic choral lyric. He spent some time at the

court of Polycrates of Samos. The “cranes of Ibycus” as an expression of

triumphant justice refers to the tale that Ibycus, murdered at sea, was

revenged by cranes who saw the crime and eventually revealed the

murderers.

Leto, daughter of the Titans Coeus and Phoebe and mother of Artemis

and Apollo. When she conceived twins by Zeus, Hera sent the serpent Python
after her and forbade all to give her rest or help. Finally Leto stopped on the

island Delos and gave birth to Artemis and Apollo. The twins were devoted to

their mother and assiduously protected her, as in the stories of Niobe and

Python. In Rome, Leto was called Latona.

Linus, a son of Apollo and Psamathe of Argos. He was deserted by his

mother on a hillside and devoured by dogs. When Psamathe's father learned

what his daughter had done, he had her killed. For this double outrage,

Apollo cursed Argos with a plague for which there could be no release until

Psamathe and Linus were propitiated with prayers and songs of lamentation.

The “Linus song,” a lament derived from this legend, was sung at harvest

time as a dirge for the dying vegetation. Oters recognized him as a famous

musician who taught Hercules. When Linus tried to punish Hercules, the

latter killed him. Another legend says that Linus was killed by Apollo, who

tolerated no rivals in music.

Marsyas is a Phrygian satyr. He found the flute that Athena had invented

but had thrown away. He became so skillful with the instrument that he

challenged the lyre-playing Apollo to a contest. Apollo accepted on the

condition that the victor might do as he would with the vanquished. The

Muses, acting as judges, awarded the contest to Apollo. Apollo promptly

flayed Marsyas for his presumption. The river Marsyas sprang from his blood

or from the tears of his mourners.

 Melampus was the cousin of Bellerophon. He loved the animals, and he

once saved two baby snakes his servants were about to kill. In return, the

snakes gave Melampus the ability to understand what all animals said.He

was kidnapped and put in a tiny, wooden cell. He heard some termites on the

roof. Melampus shrieked and begged his captors to put him in another cell.

He made such a fuss that they granted his wish. When the roof fell down the

next morning, they thought he might be a prophet and the gods would be

angered if they continued to imprison him. So they let him go, and he lived

the rest of his life in peace.

Merope is one of the Pleiades. She was the wife of Sisyphus, king of

Corinth, and the mother of Glaucus. According to one legend she became the

lost Pleiad because of the shame she felt for having married a mortal. some

say that she is a daughter of Oenopion. Orion loved her, but when he failed

to gain her father's approval, he raped her. In revenge, Oenopion blinded

him.

The Myrmidons. Aeacus, a son of Zeus and the nymph Aegina. He was

the father of Peleus and Telamon. After a plague had nearly wiped out the

inhabitants of his land, Zeus rewarded the pious Aeacus by changing a

swarm of ants to men (known as Myrmidons). According to one legend,

Aeacus and his people assisted Apollo and Poseidon in building the walls of

Troy. After Aeacus' death, Zeus made him one of the three judges of Hades.
 Scylla is the daughter of Nisus, promised to deliver Megara into the

hands of Minos. To redeem this promise she had to cut off a golden hair on

her father's head, which she effected while he was asleep. Minos, her lover,

despised her for this treachery, and Scylla threw herself from a rock into the

sea. At death she was changed into a lark, and Nisus into a hawk.

Orion is a Boeotian hunter. When Oenopion delayed giving his daughter

Merope to him, Orion, when drunk, violated her. Oenopion then blinded him,

but his vision was restored by the rays of the sun. The story of Orion's death

has many versions. Some state he offended Artemis, who killed him. Others

say that he became her favorite hunting companion, but offended Apollo,

who loosed a giant scorpion to chase Orion into the sea. Apollo then tricked

Artemis into shooting Orion. When she discovered what she had done, she

gave way to her grief and immortalized her companion and the scorpion by

placing them in the heavens as constellations.

The Pleiades were known as the Seven Sisters, this group was named

by the Greeks for the seven daughters of Atlas and Pleione; the seventh

Pleiad was, according to legend, lost or in hiding. Many faint stars associated

with the other six are visible with the telescope; one of these stars may have

been much brighter and visible to the naked eye in ancient times, thus
accounting for the many early references to seven stars.

Rhoecus, happening to see an oak just ready to fall, ordered his servants

to prop it up. The nymph, who had been on the point of perishing with the

tree, came and expressed her gratitude to him for having saved her life and

bade him ask what reward he would. Rhoecus boldly asked her love and the

nymph yielded to his desire. She at the same time charged him to be

constant and told him that a bee should be her messenger and let him know

when she would admit his society. One time the bee came to Rhoecus when

he was playing at draughts and he carelessly brushed it away. This so

incensed the nymph that she deprived him of sight.

Salmoneus is a king of Elis; son of Aeolus. Pretending to be Zeus, he

demanded sacrifices, threw torches to imitate lightning, and made noises like

thunder with his chariot. For this impiety Zeus destroyed him and his

kingdom with a thunderbolt.

Sisyphus is a son of Aeolus and founder and king of Corinth. Renowned

for his cunning, he was said to have outwitted even Death. For his disrespect

to Zeus, he was condemned to eternal punishment in Tartarus. There he

eternally pushed a heavy rock to the top of a steep hill, where it would

always roll down again.

 Tyro was the daughter of Salmoneus and married Cretheus, but loved

Enipeus. who refused her advances. One day, Poseidon, filled with lust for

Tyro, disguised himself as Enipeus and from their union was born Pelias and

Neleus, twin boys. Tyro exposed her sons on a mountain to die, but they were

found by a herdsman who raised them as his own. When they reached

adulthood, Pelias and Neleus found Tyro and killed her stepmother, Sidero,

for having mistreated their mother. (Salmoneus married Sidero when

Alkidike, his wife and the mother of Tyro, died.) Sidero hid in a temple to Hera

but Pelias killed her anyway, causing Hera's undying hatred of Pelias - and

her glorious patronage of Jason and the Argonauts in their long quest for the

Golden Fleece.

Marpessa was an Aetolian princess, and a granddaughter of Ares. She

was kidnapped by Idas but loved by Apollo as well. Zeus made her choose

between them. According to another myth, she was the daughter of Evenus

and Alcippe. She married Idas after he kidnapped her with a winged chariot.

Idas did this as a challenge to her father, who after chasing the couple for a

long time, killed his horses and then drowned himself in a nearby river, which

took his name. Marpessa then, to make Idas happy, rejected Apollo’s love.

Norse Mythology:

Signy, a daughter of Volsung, marries an evil man who kills her father,

then imprisons and kills all her brothers except Sigmund, whom she is able to

rescue. To procure Sigmund a comrade for the vengeance they are planning,
Signy disguises herself and spends three nights with her brother and

conceives a child. While the boy, Sinfiotli, grows up, Signy keeps quiet and

pretends to love her husband. When Sinfiotli comes of age, he and Sigmund

kill Signy’s husband and all his children by burning them in a locked house.

Seeing her wish done, Signy herself walks into the burning building to die

with the family she has killed.

Sigmund later has a son named Sigurd, who braves a ring of fire to free

the imprisoned maiden Brynhild, a Valkyrie who has disobeyed Odin, the lord

of the gods. Sigurd and Brynhild pledge their love for each other. He leaves

her in the same ring of fire, intending to return, and visits his best friend, the

king Gunnar. Gunnar’s mother, who wants Sigurd to marry her own daughter,

Gudrun, gives Sigurd a potion that makes him forget Brynhild.Gunnar

decides he wants Brynhild for a wife, but he is unable to pass the marriage-

test of the ring of fire. Sigurd rides through the flames again disguised as

Gunnar and wins Brynhild for his friend. Brynhild marries Gunnar, thinking he

legitimately passed the test and assuming Sigurd abandoned her. When she

learns the truth, she falls into a rage of vengeance and falsely convinces

Gunnar that Sigurd slept with her when he rescued her from the ring of fire.

Gunnar persuades his younger brother to kill Sigurd. After Sigurd’s death,

Brynhild kills herself, asking to be placed on the funeral pyre next to him.

The Norse Gods:

 Odin is a god of war and death, but also the god of poetry and wisdom.

He hung for nine days, pierced by his own spear, on the world tree. Here he

learned nine powerful songs, and eighteen runes. Odin can make the dead

speak to question the wisest amongst them. His hall in Asgard is Valaskjalf

("shelf of the slain") where his throne Hlidskjalf is located. From this throne

he observes all that happens in the nine worlds. The tidings are brought to

him by his two raven Huginn and Muninn. He also resides in Valhalla, where

the slain warriors are taken.

Balder is the Norse god of light; son of Odin and Frigg. He was the most

beautiful and gracious of the gods of Asgard. His mother extracted oaths

from all things in nature not to harm her son, but neglected the mistletoe.

According to one legend Loki gave a dart of mistletoe to the blind god Hoder

and aimed it for him at Balder, who was killed by it. The gods grieved

inconsolably over his death. It was prophesied, however, that after Ragnarok

(the doom of the gods) Balder would return to heaven.

Thor, the Norse god of thunder. An ancient and highly revered divinity,

Thor was the patron and protector of peasants and warriors. As a god of

might and war he was represented as extremely powerful and fearless,

occasionally slow-witted, armed with a magical hammer (which returned to

him when he threw it), iron gloves, and a belt of strength. Being a god of the

people he was also associated with marriage, with the hearth, and with
agriculture. According to one legend he was the son of Woden. Thor was

identified with the Roman god Jupiter, and among Germanic peoples Jove's

day became Thor's day (Thursday).

Freyr is the god of sun and rain, and the patron of bountiful harvests. He

is both a god of peace and a brave warrior. He is also the ruler of the elves.

He is married to the beautiful giantess Gerd, and is the son of Njord. His

sister is Freya. He rides a chariot pulled by the golden boar Gullinbursti which

was made for him by the dwarves Brokk and Eitri. He owns the ship

Skidbladnir ("wooden-bladed"), which always sails directly towards its target,

and which can become so small that it can fit in Freyr's pocket. He also

possesses a sword that would by itself emerge from its sheath and spread a

field with carnage whenever the owner desired it.

Heimdall is the god of light, the son of nine mothers. He was born at the

end of the world and raised by the force of the earth, seawater and the blood

of a boar. He is the watchman of the gods and guards Bifrost, the only

entrance to Asgard, the realm of the gods. It is Heimdall's duty to prevent

the giants from forcing their way into Asgard. He requires less sleep than a

bird and can see a hundred miles around him, by night as well as by day. His

hearing is so accurate that no sound escapes him: he can even hear the

grass grow or the wool on a sheep's back. At the final conflict of Ragnarok he
will kill his age-old enemy, the evil god Loki, but will die himself from his

wounds.

Tyr is the original Germanic god of war and the patron god of justice, the

precursor of Odin. At the time of the Vikings, Tyr had to make way for Odin,

who became the god of war himself. Tyr was by then regarded as Odin's son

(or possibly of the giant Hymir). He is the boldest of the gods, who inspires

courage and heroism in battle. Tyr is represented as a man with one hand,

because his right hand was bitten off by the gigantic wolf Fenrir. At the day

of Ragnarok, Tyr will kill the hound Garm, the guardian of the hell, but will die

from the wounds inflicted by the animal.

V. Different Constellations and Their Myths

Cassiopeia

Cassiopeia was the wife of King Cepheus. She brag that her daughter

Andromeda was more beautiful than the Goddess Thetis. These angered the

Goddess, and she ordered Poseidon to send a monster to Joppa. In order to

save their country, the king and queen sacrificed their daughter, Andromeda.

Just before the Kraken ate the princess, Perseus saved her. All five figures are

represented in the sky as constellations. Cassiopeia has a very distinct

shape. She looks like a "W" or "M" in the sky, depending on where she is.

Some legends say that Cassiopeia was chained into the sky and sometimes

hangs upside-down to remind others not to be so boastful.

Cepheus

Cepheus was king of a land called Ethiopia in Greek myth. He had a wife

named Cassiopeia and a daughter, Andromeda. When Andromeda was

offered as a sacrifice to the Kraken, and just when the sea monster was

going to eat her, Perseus saved her. All four people, along with the monster,

are in the sky as constellations. Cepheus looks like a house. The point on top

is a special star called a cepheid. These stars are used to measure long

distances.

Ursa Major (The Great Bear)

Ursa Major is probably the most famous constellation, with the exception

of Orion. Also known as the Great Bear, it has a companion called Ursa Minor,

or Little Bear. The body and tail of the bear make up what is known as the

Big Dipper. The ancient Greeks had a few different stories to explain how the

animal ended up there. In one story, Hera discovered Zeus was having an

affair with Callisto and turned her into a bear. Zeus put her in the sky along

with her son, Arcas, who became the Little Bear.

Ursa Minor (Little Bear)

Ursa Minor, also called the Little Dipper, is a circumpolar constellation.

This means it never sets in the northern sky. The true figure represented by

the stars is the Little Bear. Its counterpart is Ursa Major, or the Great Bear.

There are several mythological stories behind these famous constellations. In

Greek myth, Zeus put the bear in the sky along with the Little Bear, which is

Callisto's son, Arcas. In other myths, the constellation is not a bear at all, but

is in fact a dog.

Cancer, the Crab

Cancer, the Crab, is a member of the Zodiac, a group of constellations

that the Sun travels through each year. The constellation itself came from

Greek myth. In the story of Hercules and the Twelve Labors, the warrior had a

great battle with the monster Hydra. The giant crab tried to help Hydra, but

Hercules smashed it with his foot. Hera put the crab in the sky because it

was so brave. Right next to the head is a star cluster known as Praesepe, or

the Beehive. To the naked eye, it looks like a fuzzy cloud. Galileo later

discovered that it was really a cluster of stars. It was named the Beehive

because astronomers think the cluster looks like a swarm of bees.

Hydra - The Sea Serpent

Hydra is the longest constellation in the sky and is also the largest in

terms of area. It is so long that it takes more than six hours to rise

completely. Hydra is one of the most ancient constellations. In Greek

mythology, Hercules slew Hydra, a horrible serpent with many heads that

grew back as soon as they were cut off. Killing the Hydra was one of

Hercules' twelve labors, during which he also defeated Leo, the lion, and

Draco, the dragon.

Leo - The Lion

Leo, the Lion, is a very majestic feline. Leo's head and mane are formed

by an asterism known as the Sickle which looks like a backward question

mark. Some have interpreted this as the origin of the name of the

constellation. The ancient Sumerians, Babylonians, Persians, Syrians, Greeks,

and Romans, all recognized this constellation as a lion. It was seen as a horse

in the ancient Chinese zodiac, and possibly as a puma in Incan lore. In Greek

mythology, it was identified as the Nemean Lion which was killed by Hercules

during one of his twelve labours, and subsequently put into the sky.

Hercules

Hercules, the great Greek warrior, can be seen kneeling in the sky for

northern latitudes throughout the Spring months. On his way back to

Mycenae from Iberia having obtained the Cattle of Geryon as his tenth labour

Heracles came to Liguria in North-Western Italy where he engaged in battle

with two giants, Albion and Bergion or Dercynus. The opponents were strong;

Hercules was in a difficult position so he prayed to his father Zeus for help.

With the aegis of Zeus, Heracles won the battle. It was this kneeling position

of Heracles when prayed to his father Zeus that gave the name "the

Kneeler".

Lyra - Orpheus' Harp

Lyra, the Lyre, is a type of small harp held in the player's lap. According to

Greek mythology, the lyre was invented by Hermes as a child when he

strung a tortoise shell. He traded the lyre to Apollo, who then gave it to his

son, Orpheus, a great poet and musician. Some Asian traditions see the

bright star Vega as the Weaving-Princess star who marries a shepherd, the

star Altair.

Ophiuchus (The Serpent Bearer)

The constellation Ophiuchus is the Serpent Bearer. In Greek myth,

Ophiuchus represents the god of medicine, Asclepius. Asclepius was the son

of Apollo and was taught by Chiron, the Centaur. He learned how to bring

people back from the dead, which worried Hades. The god of the underworld

asked his brother Zeus to kill the medicine god. Zeus did strike him dead, but

then put the figure of Asclepius in the sky to honor him.

Sagittarius, the Archer

Sagittarius is a centaur, with the torso of a man atop the body of a horse.

Unlike the wise and peaceful centaur Chiron (Centaurus), Sagittarius is

aiming his giant bow at his neighbor, Scorpius. Greek mythology associates

Sagittarius with Crotus, the son of the goat-god Pan and Eupheme, the nurse

of the Muses. He grew to be a skilled hunter, as well as a man with an artistic

soul. The Muses, with whom he was raised, begged Zeus to honor him with a

constellation equal to his great talents.

Scorpius - Slayer of Orion

More than any other constellation, Scorpius resembles it's given name.

The scorpion holds an infamous place in Greek mythology as the slayer of

Orion. One story tells that Orion fled the scorpion by swimming the sea to

the island of Delos to see his lover, Athena. Apollo, seeking to punish Athena,

joined her and challenged her hunting skills, daring her to shoot the black

dot that approached in the water. Athena won the challenge, unknowingly

killing her lover by doing so.

Aquila - Servant of Zeus

Aquila, the celestial eagle, is one of the three constellations which have

bright stars forming the Summer Triangle.To the ancient Greeks, Aquila was

the servant of Zeus who held the god's thunderbolts and performed errands

for him. He may also be the great eagle who devours Prometheus' liver as

punishment for giving fire to humans.

Cygnus - the Swan

Cygnus, the Swan, is also known as the Northern Cross because of it's

distinctive shape. The identity of Cygnus is uncertain. He could be Zeus in

the guise in which he seduced Leda, the mother of Helen of Troy. Possibly the

swan is Orpheus, transformed and set in the sky to be near his harp. In one

myth, Cygnus is a friend of Phaethon, the son of Apollo, the sun god.

Phaethon fell into the river Eridanus, trying to drive the sun-gods chariot.

Cygnus dove repeatedly into the water to search for Phaethon. Out of pity,

Zeus turned the boy into a swan.

Andromeda, the Princess

Andromeda is a "V" shaped constellation best viewed in the fall if you live

in the Northern Hemisphere. Andromeda's mother, Queen Cassiopeia,

bragged that she was prettier than the Goddess Thetis. The Goddess ordered

Poseidon to send a monster to destroy their land. The queen and her

husband, King Cepheus, were told to sacrifice their daughter to save the

country. Andromeda was chained to a cliff for the monster, called the Kraken.

Just as the monster was ready to bite down on the maiden, Perseus rescued

her. Perseus and Andromeda were put in the sky along with Cepheus,

Cassiopeia and Cetus. Andromeda is right next to Pegasus, which leads some

to believe that at one time, some of these stars used to be part of the

winged horse.

Aquarius, the Waterbearer

Aquarius is a member of the Zodiac, a group of constellations that the

Sun travels through each year. Aquarius is one of the oldest constellations in

the sky. In Greek myth, Aquarius was Ganymede, the young boy kidnapped

by Zeus. Zeus sent his eagle, Aquila, to snatch Ganymede out of the fields

where the boy was watching over his sheep. Ganymede would become the

cupbearer for the Olympian gods. The constellation, Crater, is often thought

to be Ganymede's cup.

Capricornus, the Goat

The constellation Capricornus represents the figure of either a goat or a

sea-goat in the sky. Capricornus is also a member of the Zodiac, a special

group of constellations that the Sun travels through every year. In Greek

myth, Capricornus was associated with Pan. During a picnic, a monster

attacked the gods. The gods turned themselves into animals and fled, but

Pan couldn't decide what to be. Finally, he jumped into the Nile River, at

which point he transformed. His lower half was in water, so it became a fish.

However, his upper-half was still dry, so it stayed a goat.

Pegasus, the Winged Horse

The constellation Pegasus represents the white, winged horse of Greek

mythology.The story behind Pegasus begins with the battle between Perseus

and Medusa. When Perseus severed Medusa's head, drops of blood fell into

the sea. They mixed with sea foam, and Pegasus was born. The White Sea

foam gave the horse his brilliant color. Pegasus became friends with the

warrior, Bellerophon. One day, Bellerophon tried to ride Pegasus to Mount

Olympus. This angered Zeus so much that he sent a gadfly to bite Pegasus.

When the horse was stung, Bellerophon fell to the Earth. Pegasus made it to

the home of the gods, where he still remains. Pegasus is home to several

galaxies and even a bright globular cluster.

Gemini, the Twins

Gemini is one of the more famous constellations. Ancient Greeks saw the

twins Castor and Pollux, sons of Leda and Zeus. The Romans saw the

brothers Romulus and Remus, two heroes that founded Rome. Both the

Greeks and the Romans believed the twins were raised by the centaur,

Chiron.
Orion, the Hunter

Orion, the Hunter, is by far the most famous seasonal constellation. The

famous Orion's Belt makes the hunter easy to find in the night sky.Orion was

a famed hunter, and in one story boasted that no creature could kill him.

Hera then sent a scorpion to sting the hunter. Orion smashed the animal with

his club, but not before he was poisoned. Both are now on opposite sides of

the sky. They cannot be seen at the same time. A different story tells of the

love between Orion and the goddess, Artemis. One day, Orion was swimming

out in the sea. Apollo, who very much disliked the man, bet his sister that

she couldn't hit the object in the sea with her bow. Artemis didn't realize it

was her lover, and shot Orion with an arrow. When she later found out what

she had done, she honored the hunter by putting him in the sky.

Perseus, the Hero

Perseus, the Hero, can be found in the sky during the winter in the

Northern Hemisphere. Perseus was a Greek hero most famous for his slaying

of Medusa. If anyone looked at Medusa's face they would turn to stone. With

the help of Hermes' wings and Athena's shield, Perseus killed Medusa without

looking at her. On his way home, Perseus came across the monster, Cetus,

getting ready to eat Andromeda. Perseus used Medusa's head to turn Cetus

into stone and saved the princess.

VII. Conclusion

Mythology is used to represent occurrences and forces in our lives. It is

poetic, it is philosophical, it is psychological. It gives us different ways of

looking at the world around us and the things that happen to us. Not only is

it valuable in giving us a good idea of the history of our development as a

species, it is also valuable in that it gives us cultural comparisons of key

shared experiences and feelings around the world. It addresses philosophical

questions that people nowadays ponder over. It is fundamental to our

understanding of many concepts in psychology, as well as mythological

stories are frequently related to more modern psychological ideas.

 One of the foremost functions of myth is to establish models for behavior

and that myths may also provide a religious experience. By telling or

reenacting myths, members of traditional societies detach themselves from

the present and return to the mythical age, thereby bringing themselves

closer to the divine. Mythology can indeed give us a huge insight into people,

who existed a long time ago, and how they thought. To this day we still

believe in Christianity and whilst many people would not be offended if we

were to refer to the ancient Greeks religion of many gods as mythology. So it

is slightly prejudice to denounce mythology and the study of it because we

must respect peoples views; especially those who are no longer around to

defend these views such as the ancient Greeks.

By studying the religious and cultural beliefs of other cultures, we can

understand the people and the motivations for their behaviors. We can also

understand how our own cultural customs developed over time. Lots of

myths exists to explain the world we live in or to warn against certain

undesirable behaviors. Greek mythology tends to depict Gods and heroes

that are over-exaggerated representations of one or more key

characteristics. It helps us to understand more about where we came from.

Also the stories are beautiful, they are all about love, and anger, passion,

betrayal, gods that are inhuman in that they are more human than us. They

do what we think about. And besides, these stories remain relevant because

humans still deal with the same emotions and personal triumphs and

defeats.
VIII. References

Edith Hamilton's Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes

http://www.google.com.ph/#q=mythology+book+of+edith+hamilton

&bih=612&biw=1024&fp

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mythology_(book)

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/mythology

http://members.aol.com/HoffmanMrs/edithmenu.html