Cephalus went to his palace and charmed Procris with words of love and wonderful presents. At last, to his surprise, his wife was won over.
The next morning Eos returned Cephalus to his own form. Procris was deeply ashamed. She fled to Crete where either Artemis or King Minos gave her a magnificent spear and hunting dog and sent her back to her husband dressed in the clothes of a man. There, she challenged Cephalus to a hunting contest and defeated him. The prince offered to buy the spear and the dog from the stranger, but Procris refused. Cephalus agreed to do anything to obtain the prizes. Then Procris revealed herself to be a woman and his wife. Cephalus realized he was no better than his wayward bride. They forgave each other and found love again.
Eos’s most famous lover was Tithonus, a young prince of Troy. Eos so loved Tithonus that she asked Zeus to give him eternal life, which the god granted. But like Sibyl, she forgot to request eternal youth for her love. When Tithonus’s hair began to turn gray, Eos grew tired of him. As the years passed, the man became crippled and senile. All he could do was babble endlessly. The goddess wearied of his chattering and turned him into a cicada, an insect that never stops making noise.
THE MUSES
The nine sisters who inspired poets, artists, musicians, scientists, and writers were the Muses. They were Calliope (epic poetry), Erato (lyric poetry), Polyhymnia (hymns), Clio (history), Euterpe (flute playing), Terpsichore (dancing), Melpomene (tragedy), Thalia (comedy), and Urania (astronomy). They were the daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne, the goddess of memory. They appear in just a handful of myths and had few places of worship. One temple below their home on Mount Helicon housed historical objects and records, and came to be known as the first museum.
Like all gods, the Muses were jealous of their reputations. When the celebrated bard Thamyris challenged them to a singing contest, they easily won and took away both his poetic gift and—more devastating for a bard—his memory. The nine foolish daughters of Pierus thought themselves equal to the Muses and also challenged them to a contest of song. They were beaten and turned into magpies for their lack of respect.
The nine sisters had several famous sons. Clio bore Hyacinth, and Calliope was the mother of the famous singer Orpheus. Melpomene gave birth to the dreaded Sirens who would one day sing so sweetly to Odysseus.
THE FATES
The three daughters of Night who spun, wove, and cut the thread of life for each person on earth were known as the Fates. Their names were Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos, and even the gods feared them. No one could outwit them, not even Zeus. When every child was born, the sisters determined how long it would live and when it would die.
The Fates were not cruel, but did their job to keep order in the cosmos. At times they left their dark lair to come to the aid of the gods as they did when the monster Typhon threatened to overthrow Zeus. The sisters pretended to be on Typhon’s side and offered him human food to eat, claiming it would make him stronger. It really made him easier to defeat.
The Fates did not usually reveal a person’s destiny. But when the prince Meleager was born, they told his mother Althaea that he would die when the log burning in her hearth was consumed. The mother grabbed the wood from the fire and put it away in a chest. There it remained for many years, but the Fates made sure Meleager’s destiny would be fulfilled. Meleager went on a hunt for the Calydonian boar. He killed the beast and gave its hide to his female companion Atalanta, but one of Althaea’s brothers tried to steal the skin. Meleager killed him in anger. When Althaea found out that her son had killed her brother, she threw the log into the fire. Meleager died in agony, proving that no one could cheat the Fates.
CYBELE
One day when Zeus was visiting the land of Phrygia, he fell asleep in a grassy field. Later, a creature named Agdistis who was both male and female arose from that spot. The gods were fearful of what might happen if such a child grew up, so they cut off the male parts of Agdistis and turned the being into a woman. As a female, she became the goddess Cybele.
An almond tree grew from the male parts of Agdistis. The daughter of a local river god was walking past the tree one afternoon when she stopped to rest. This young woman, named Nana, took a nut from the tree and put it in her lap, but it disappeared. Soon afterward, she became pregnant and gave birth to a boy named Attis. Attis grew up to be a handsome young man.
Cybele saw Attis one day and fell in love, but he was already promised in marriage to a princess. Just as the wedding was about to begin, Cybele drove Attis mad. He cut himself and bled so much that he died.
Cybele was never a member of the family of gods on Olympus, but was an outsider from the lands of the east. Still, she was worshipped throughout the ancient world:
Mother of the gods and all humanity, who delights in
the sound of drums and tambourines, the playing of
flutes and the howling of wolves, and in the roar of
the mighty lion.
Young men danced in her honor, dressed in full armor, clashing their spears. The most loyal of her followers were priests called the Galli. On warm spring days, these men would cut themselves, just as Attis had done. Such was the price of devotion to the great goddess.
Heroes
PERSEUS
The plains of Argos were once the home of Io, who was forced to flee as a cow from Hera’s wrath. Io had many heirs. The most famous of these heirs was Perseus, grandson of King Acrisius.
Acrisius asked an oracle if he would ever have a son. “Not only will you not have a son,” the oracle said, “but if your daughter Danae does, he will kill you.”
Not wishing to be cursed for killing his own daughter, Acrisius locked Danae in an underground room with only a small window used to bring her food and drink. There Danae passed her days. One night a shower of golden coins fell gently into her lap through the window. Not long afterward she was pregnant. The shower of gold was in fact Zeus.
Danae was terrified, and with good cause. Her father was furious. As soon as Danae gave birth, he placed both mother and child in a chest and cast it into the sea.
The pair were tossed about by storms while Danae held little Perseus in her arms. She prayed for help: “Dear gods, save us from our great peril. Father Zeus, with a humble heart I implore you! But you, little one, warm and well fed, sleep on as we sail through the night in our prison.”
Zeus must have heard her, for Danae and Perseus washed up safely on the island of Seriphus. A kindly fisherman named Dictys found them and took them in. He treated Danae as a father would, and he proudly watched Perseus grow into a strong young man.
Danae caught the eye of Polydectes, ruler of Seriphus. He tried to win her as his bride, but she had no interest in him. Polydectes was too afraid of Perseus to seize Danae by force. Instead, he announced that he was planning to court a princess named Hippodamia and required all his subjects to give wedding gifts. Polydectes had no chance of winning the princess’s hand, but he wanted to get Perseus out of the way. Perseus was poor and had nothing to give. But he was also brave and had once bragged that he could fetch the head of the dreaded Gorgon Medusa. Polydectes told him to do so, if he dared.
Perseus set off on a quest to kill the most dangerous monster in all the world. Not only were Medusa and her two sisters vicious creatures with hair made of snakes, but one glance at their faces would turn anyone to stone. They could fly, so even if Perseus killed Medusa, the other two would catch and kill him. Fortunately, Athena hated Medusa. She told Perseus how he might slay the Gorgon.
Perseus first went to Africa to find the cave of the Graeae, old sisters of the Gorgons who shared a single eye between them. As one sister passed the eye to another, Perseus grabbed it and made them blind. The sisters cursed the young thief, but asked what he wanted in return for their eye. Perseus needed directions to the home of nymphs Athena had told him about. These nymphs had three magical objects he would need to slay Medusa. The Graeae revealed the secret, and Perseus returned their eye.
The nym
phs gave Perseus the objects he needed—a pouch in which to carry Medusa’s head, a pair of sandals with wings, and a cap that made the wearer invisible. Then the god Hermes gave Perseus a powerful sword to cut off Medusa’s head.
Even with magical tools to help him, it would be hard for Perseus to defeat Medusa and her sisters. They had scales like dragons and tusks like wild boars. No sword or shoes could protect Perseus from their power to turn men into stone. But Athena had more advice: “Go at night while they are sleeping, and take with you a polished bronze shield.”
Wearing his invisibility cap, Perseus crept up on the sleeping Gorgons. He walked backward, looking at Medusa’s reflection in his shield so that he wouldn’t be turned to stone. With one slash of the sword, he sliced off her head and threw it into his pouch. The two Gorgon sisters were awake in an instant. There was no trace of Medusa’s murderer. The invisible Perseus flew away on his magical sandals.
Some say the young hero stopped at the house of Atlas who carried the heavens on his shoulders. The Titan had been warned that a son of Zeus would one day steal the tree that bore golden apples. He threw Perseus against a wall.
Perseus said: “Even though you are rude to me, great Atlas, I have a gift for you.” He closed his eyes and pulled the head of Medusa from his pouch. The Titan slowly turned to stone. At last he was nothing but rock, the African peak we know today as Mount Atlas.
As Perseus flew over Ethiopia, he saw a beautiful girl tied to a rock. This was Andromeda. Her mother, Queen Cassiopeia, had boasted to the sea nymph daughters of Poseidon that she was more beautiful than them. Poseidon sent a flood and a monster to destroy the coast. An oracle told King Cepheus that Poseidon would stop only if the king gave his own daughter to the monster. The grieving father ordered Andromeda tied to the rock. He and Cassiopeia then stood by weeping and waiting for their daughter to die.
Perseus offered to kill the sea monster if Cepheus would promise him Andromeda’s hand in marriage. The king agreed. When the monster burst through the waves, Perseus saw that it was huge and fast with fangs like a snake. Invisible under his magic cap and flying with his winged sandals, Perseus plunged his sword deep into the monster’s neck until it died.
Andromeda’s mother and father were overjoyed. They held a feast for the hero, but the king had forgotten to mention that his daughter was already engaged to her uncle, Phineus. Phineus burst into the dinner and Perseus was surrounded by an angry mob. Perseus battled Phineus and his men, but he was outnumbered. He shouted that any friends of his in the hall should close their eyes. He then pulled out Medusa’s head and turned Phineus and two hundred men into stone.
Perseus stayed in Ethiopia only long enough to father a child with Andromeda. The boy, Perses, was left to inherit the throne from Cepheus, but Perseus wanted to return to his mother. He and Andromeda sailed to Seriphus. Some stories say that
Polydectes had forced Danae to marry him while Perseus was away. Others say she and Dictys had hidden from him. In any case, Perseus turned Polydectes to stone and made Dictys ruler of Seriphus.
Now that his tasks were done, Perseus gave his magical tools to Hermes and the head of Medusa to Athena. Then he sailed back to Argos with his mother and his wife. Acrisius, who had thrown Danae and Perseus into the sea so many years before, feared for his life. He fled to the town of Larissa, and Perseus followed. He arrived just as the local king was holding games. The young hero competed in throwing the discus. Perseus launched his discus farther than anyone, but the wind caught it and turned it back toward the crowd. It flew at terrific speed and struck an old man who had been secretly watching—none other than Acrisius himself.
With his grandfather dead, Perseus was free to return to Argos and claim the throne. He felt guilty because he had accidentally killed his grandfather. So, he asked his cousin, Megapenthes, who ruled in the nearby town of Tiryns, to trade kingdoms. Perseus became king of Tiryns while Megapenthes ruled over Argos. In the years to come, Perseus built the great palace of Mycenae on the hills overlooking the Argive plain. He and Andromeda lived a long and happy life with many children, and then Athena placed them among the stars along with Cepheus and Cassiopeia.
THESEUS
Perseus was known and loved by the people of Argos, but Athens had its own brave hero, Theseus. Unlike Perseus, he did his deeds with only a little magical help.
The story begins when Aegeus, king of Athens, went to the oracle at Delphi to ask if he would have a child. The priestess of Apollo went into a trance and said: “Open not the swollen mouth of the wineskin, O king of the people, until you come once more to the city of Athens.”
Aegeus left the temple scratching his head. He journeyed home by way of the city of Troezen to ask its wise king Pittheus if he understood the riddle. Pittheus realized that Apollo was telling Aegeus that his next child would be a mighty hero, and he should wait until he returned to Athens to be with a woman. Pittheus lied and said he didn’t understand the oracle. He got Aegeus drunk and led him to the room of his own daughter, Aethra.
When Aegeus woke the next morning, he had a terrible headache. He had a hunch that Aethra might be pregnant and gave her secret instructions before leaving. “If you have a son,” he whispered, “send him to me in Athens when he grows up—if he can retrieve these.” Aegeus then took a sword and a pair of sandals and placed them underneath an enormous boulder. If the boy was able to lift the stone, he was to bring the sword and the sandals to Athens and claim his throne.
Aethra gave birth to a baby boy and named him Theseus. Some stories say that the princess was never sure if her baby’s father was Aegeus or the sea god Poseidon. She raised Theseus to believe he was Poseidon’s son.
Theseus was strong and clever. When he reached manhood, his mother led him to the rock. She confessed that she didn’t know for certain who Theseus’s real father was, but she told him to try to claim his place in Athens. Theseus put his shoulder to the giant rock and rolled it over, revealing the sword and sandals.
Theseus wanted to build his reputation as a hero, so he decided to make the trip to Athens by land, even though the sea route was safer. A series of outlaws kept watch on the road that led from Troezen to Athens. Travelers who took that route seldom lived to tell the tale. But Theseus wanted to prove himself a true hero. So the boy took the sword and sandals, and set off down the dangerous road.
It wasn’t long until Theseus came to Epidaurus, where he met a crippled man named Periphetes. This outlaw was nicknamed Clubman because of the giant iron club he used as a cane. When anyone passed by, Periphetes beat him or her to death. This villain was strong but slow. Theseus was smart and fast. He dodged the first blow, came up behind Periphetes, and grabbed the club. He then pounded Periphetes with his own club.
Not far down the road was another outlaw named Sinis, the Pine Bender. He grabbed careless travelers and tied their legs to a pine tree bent to the ground. Then he tied their arms to another tree bent from the opposite direction. He cut the cord holding the trees together and tore his victims apart. Theseus took hold of the outlaw before he could be captured himself. He tied Sinis between two pine trees and cut the cord.
Theseus then detoured along the coast to seek out the Crommyonian sow. Some say she was a wicked woman, but most agree that she was a fierce pig. This beast was a deadly threat to anyone who crossed her path. After a brief struggle, the young hero killed the sow and continued on his way.
Next Theseus came across the outlaw Sciron who lived on a cliff above the sea. Sciron captured travelers and forced them to wash his feet. In the middle of this task, he kicked them over the edge of the cliff into the sea where a giant turtle waited to eat them. Theseus pretended to begin to wash Sciron’s feet, but instead he grabbed the outlaw and threw him over the cliff to be eaten.
Theseus had almost reached Athens when darkness fell. He was at the village of Erineus and met a kindly man named Procrustes who offered him a room for the night. This villager frequently took visitors into his home. After
feeding his guests a meal, he would lead them to a comfortable bed. Before they knew it, they were tied up while their host pulled out a saw and ropes. He said that his guests must fit the bed exactly. Those who were too tall were cut to size. Those who were too short were stretched with ropes. Theseus turned the tables on Procrustes, and fatally made him fit into his own bed.
When Theseus walked through the gates of Athens, everyone knew that the young hero had cleared the road of outlaws. But they did not know who he was. His appearance was strange to the Athenians. He wore a long, loose garment and had his hair neatly braided. Workmen finishing the roof of Apollo’s temple mocked him. They asked why such a beautiful maiden was walking around by herself. Theseus unyoked a pair of oxen from a nearby cart and threw both of them onto the roof with his bare hands. No one in Athens ever teased him again.
Medea, a sorceress who had gone to Athens for protection, was suspicious of Theseus. She was King Aegeus’s advisor, and they had a son together named Medus. Medus would inherit his father’s throne if there were no other son. Medea realized who Theseus was. She whispered to Aegeus that this celebrated hero was a danger to the city. Aegeus was already on his guard against anyone who might try to steal his throne because he had a brother, Pallas, the father of fifty grown sons, who was eager do just that. It was easy for Medea to talk the distrustful Aegeus into getting rid of Theseus.
Aegeus sent Theseus to slay a dangerous bull. The king expected the young man to be killed, but it was the bull that died. Surprised, the king invited Theseus to a feast and placed him on the seat of honor. Medea mixed deadly poison in a goblet of wine and offered it to Theseus. The young hero was just about to drink when Aegeus saw the sword hanging from his belt. He recognized it as his own and knocked the cup from Theseus’s hands. Aegeus proclaimed that the visitor was his own son, the heir to the throne of Athens.
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