Theme 2.

Myth and Mythology. Myths of heroes

Introductory Notes

Sall’ustius, ancient philosopher (4th cent.): "Myths are things that never
happened but always are."

Definition. A myth is a traditional story consisting of events that are

seemingly historical, though often supernatural, explaining the origins of a
cultural practice or natural phenomenon. Mythology can refer either to the
study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. A myth is a sacred
narrative because it holds religious or spiritual significance for those who tell
it.
Functions of myth and mythology
1. Explanation. The most obvious function of myths is the explanation of
facts, whether natural or cultural.
2. Justification or validation. Many myths explain ritual and cultic
customs.
3. Education and instruction. In traditional, preindustrial societies
myths form perhaps the most important available model of instruction.
4. Healing, renewal, and inspiration.
5. Aesthetic influence.

Major types of myth

1. Myths of origin. Cosmogony (refers to the origin of the world in a
neutral fashion) and creation myth (implies a creator and something
created). Cosmogony sets the pattern for everything else; other myths
are related to it or derived from it. E.g., Chaos was the great void of
emptiness within the universe from which Eros came and it was he who
gave divine order and also perfected all things. Then Gaia (Earth) being
born from Chaos without a mate, along with Tartarus. Then from Gaia
came Uranus (Heaven or Sky) which gave us Heaven and Earth.
2. Myths of eschatology and destruction. Myths of eschatology deal
with “the end.” The end is conceived of as the opposite of the
cosmogony; it means the end of the world.
3. Myths of origin of the gods – theogony: Uranus – Chronos – Zeus –
Olympic gods.
4. Myths of heroes and culture heroes. A culture hero is generally not
the person responsible for the creation but the one who completes the
world and makes it fit for human life. Culture hero brings new
techniques or technology to humankind:  Prometheus supplied fire to
humans: Daedalus  invented carpentry, he first conceived masts and
sails for ships; Orpheus; Hermes; Dionysus; Apollo; Athena, etc.
5. Myths of origin of humans (anthropogenesis): a) Prometheus as
the first creator; b) When Zeus punished humankind for their lack of
respect by sending the deluge, Deucalion and his wife Pyrrha were the
sole survivors. When they were finally able to get back on land (on
 Mount Parnassos), they gave thank offerings to Zeus and consulted the
oracle how they might replenish the earth with humans once again.
They were told to throw the bones of their mother behind their shoulder
and the human race would reappear. Since the mother of all is Earth,
they threw stones and reformed the human race. The stones thrown by
Pyrrha became women, those thrown by Deucalion became men.
6. Myths of time and eternity. Mythological accounts of repetitions of
worlds after their destruction. The cyclic concept of time. Hesiod in his
didactic poem “Works and Days” spoke on 5 successive ages of
humanity: 1) Golden Age – humans lived among the gods, and freely
mingled with them. Peace and harmony prevailed during this age. 2)
Silver Age – humans spent their time in conflict with one another,
refused to worship the gods, and Zeus destroyed them. 3) Bronze Age –
Zeus created these humans out of the ash tree. Their armor was forged
of bronze, as were their homes, and tools. The men of this Age were
undone by their own violence. 4) Heroic Age – the heroes of this Age
fought at Thebes and Troy. 5) Iron Age – Hesiod finds himself in the Iron
Age. During this age humans live an existence of toil and misery.
Children dishonor their parents, brother fights with brother, and bad
men use lies to be thought good. At the height of this age, humans no
longer feel shame or indignation at wrongdoing; babies will be born
with gray hair and the gods will have completely forsaken humanity:
"there will be no help against evil."
7. Myths of memory and forgetting. Mnemosyne (Memory), the
mother of the Muses, is said to know everything, past, present, and
future. She is the Memory that is the basis of all life and creativity.
Forgetting the true order and origin of things is often equal to death (as
in the case of Lethe, the River of Oblivion in the underworld (world of
Hades), which destroys memory). 
8. Myths of transformation. Countless stories exist concerning the
origin of peculiar rocks, properties of animals, plants, stars, or other
features in the world. They include etiological myths - these are stories
which provide a mythological explanation for peculiar things in nature
or certain events and customs of which the origin has long been
forgotten. E.g. the story of Daphne explains why the laurel was, and
still is, a symbol of the god Apollo. The story of Arachne and her agon
with Athena explains the origin of spiders. The story of Asteria explains
the emergence of the island of the same name.

Myth in modern society is usually seen as the product of a past era, it is

secularized, a certain mythical theme may become a mere literary theme or
it may serve political and social aims. E.g. the myth of Superman, the
superhuman hero who saves the world. Just like ancient Hercules.
The mythology of the Greeks

With the coming forward of Greece, mankind became the center of the
universe, the most important thing in it. This was a revolution in thought.
Human beings had counted for little heretofore. In Greece man first realized
what mankind was. 
The Greeks made their gods in their own image. That had not entered the
mind of man before. Until then, gods had no semblance of reality. They were
unlike all living things. In Egypt, a towering colossus, immobile, beyond the
power of the imagination to endow with movement, as fixed in the stone as
the tremendous temple columns, a representation of the human shape
deliberately made unhuman. Or a rigid figure, a woman with a cat’s head
suggesting inflexible, inhuman cruelty. Or a monstrous mysterious sphinx,
aloof from all that lives. In Mesopotamia, bas-reliefs of bestial shapes unlike
any beast ever known, men with birds’ heads and lions with bulls’ heads and
both with eagles’ wings, creations of artists who were intent upon producing
something never seen except in their own minds, the very consummation of
unreality.
Greek artists and poets realized how splendid a man could be, straight and
swift and strong. He was the fulfillment of their search for beauty.  In the
Odyssey when a priest and a poet fall on their knees before Odysseus,
praying him to spare their lives, the hero kills the priest without a thought,
but saves the poet. 
According to the most modern idea, a real myth has nothing to do with
religion. It is an explanation of something in nature; how, for instance,
any and everything in the universe came into existence: men, animals, this
or that tree or flower, the sun, the moon, the stars, storms, eruptions,
earthquakes, all that is and all that happens. Thunder and lightning are
caused when Zeus hurls his thunderbolt. A volcano erupts because a terrible
creature is imprisoned in the mountain and every now and then struggles to
get free. The Dipper, the constellation called also the Great Bear, does not
set below the horizon because a goddess once was angry at it and decreed
that it should never sink into the sea. Myths are early science; the result
of men’s first trying to explain what they saw around them. But there are
many so-called myths which explain nothing at all. These tales are pure
entertainment, the sort of thing people would tell each other on a long
winter’s evening. 
The stories are early literature as well as early science. Zeus the
Thunderer was, it seems certain, once a rain-god. He was supreme even over
the sun, because rocky Greece needed rain more than sunshine and the God
of Gods would be the one who could give the precious water of life to his
worshipers. 
The Greek and Roman writers of mythology

Most of the books about the stories of classical mythology depend chiefly
upon the Latin poet Ovid, who wrote during the reign of Augustus. Ovid is a
compendium of mythology. No ancient writer can compare with him in this
respect. He told almost all the stories and he told them at great length. 
The list of the chief writers through whom the myths have come down to us
is not long. Homer heads it, of course. The Iliad and the Odyssey are, or
rather contain, the oldest Greek writings we have. The second writer on the
list is Hesiod, his poem " The Theogony" is an account of the creation of the
universe and the generations of the gods, and it is very important for
mythology. Next in order come the Homeric Hymns, poems written to honor
various gods, Pindar, the greatest lyric poet of Greece, the three tragic
poets Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides, the great writer of comedy,
Aristophanes, Herodotus, the first historian of Europe and Plato, the
philosopher.
Two late writers, Apuleius, a Latin, and Lucian, a Greek make an important
contribution. Lucian writes like no one except himself, he satirized the gods.
Of the Roman writers, Virgil stands far ahead. He did not believe in the
myths any more than Ovid did, but he found human nature in them and he
brought mythological personages to life as no one had done since the Greek
tragedians.
Myth in modern society is usually seen as the product of a past era, it is
secularized, a certain mythical theme may become a mere literary theme or
it may serve political and social aims. E.g. the myth of Superman, the
superhuman hero who saves the world. Just like ancient Hercules.

Despite what some people like to think, myths do not float into our minds
from the ether, the collective unconscious, the oral tradition, or the misty
recesses of our dreams. Myths are passed on to us by storytellers. These
individuals, anonymous and otherwise, are our guides to those tales. Among
them is Hesiod, whose work describes the Greek creation and the birth of
the gods. One day in the eighth century BCE, a peasant named Hesiod was
tending a flock of lambs on Mount ‘Helicon when the Muses appeared before
him, handed him a sprig (гілочка) of flowering laurel, and "breathed a
sacred voice" into his mouth. He described that event along with stories
about the origin of the world and the gene’alogy [dgini’elodgi] of the gods, in
his first book, Theogony (from theo, the Greek word for god). Most of what
we know about the birth of the Greek gods is derived from this source. After
that visit, Hesiod continued to cultivate the rocky fields, but he also wrote. In
addition to Theogony, he wrote Works and Days, A Catalogue of Women and
Heroines. As a rhapsode or wandering minstrel, Hesiod recited these poems
at contests which then (as now) were an important element in the lives of
poets. Legend has it that at one such competition / agon, he triumphed over
Homer. Despite his status as a prize-winning poet, Hesiod's life was not easy.
His brother, Perses, after their father's death, obtained the greater part of
the paternal farm (possibly by bribing local officials) and nonetheless
managed to get into debt. Rather than farming, Perses preferred to hang out
in the market
place, where he liked to "gape at politicians and give ear to all the quarrels."
Hesiod could hardly stand it. So in an attempt to set his brother right, Hesiod
wrote Works and Days. In that poem, he recounted the stories of
Prometheus, Pandora, and the ages of man, vividly depicted the labor of the
agricultural year, recommended the best use to make of the days of the
month ("The first ninth is a wholly painless day,/Good to beget both sons and
daughters . . .") and handed out advice to Perses on such subjects as when
to travel, when to sharpen his sickles, when to cut timber, when to tell his
slaves to build barns and when to give them a rest, which deities to pray to
before ploughing (Zeus and Demeter), what to wear while sowing seed
(nothing), and when to pick grapes, a recommendation that relies on the
ability to recognize stars and constellations, knowledge even the unfortunate
and lazy Perses would have possessed.
Hesiod’s philosophy is clear. "If in your heart you pray for riches, do/ These
things: pile work on work, and still more work." To make sure the message
was clear, he reiterated: "You foolish Perses, go to work!"

Myths of heroes and culture heroes

Main heroes: Hercules (his name means “the glory of Hera”; milky
way; the 12 labors – seemingly impossible tasks he performed –
немейський лев, лернейська гідра, керинейська лань, ериманфський
вепр, стайні царя Авгія, стимфалійські птахи, критський бик, коні
Діомеда, пояс Іпполіти, корови Геріона, яблука Гесперід, пес Кербер);
Achilles; Theseus (killed monstrous Minotaur, Ariadne’s thread);
Odysseus (Ulysses); Perseus (he obtained the deadly head of snaky-
tressed Medusa); Jason (he was sent to capture the Golden Fleece,
the ‘Argonauts, Medea); ‘Orpheus (known for his music ability; went
to the underworld to retrieve his wife, Eurydice, who has just died
of snakebite).

There is a common scheme for a heroic myth structure:

1. Wonderful birth or prediction about it.
2. Elder relatives intend to kill the hero as a child.
3. His wondering and heroic labors. Initiation, maturing.
4. Marriage.
5. Death as the distant consequence of his labors.
A culture hero is generally not the person responsible for the creation but the
one who completes the world and makes it fit for human life. Culture hero
brings new techniques or technology to humankind:  Prometheus supplied
fire to humans: Daedalus invented carpentry, he first conceived masts and
sails for ships; Orpheus; Hermes; Dionysus; Apollo; Athena, etc.

The Pattern of Hero Myths

Most myths have a hero who is brave, clever or strong. Some examples
are Achilles, Perseus, Heracles, Theseus, Jason and others. The hero brings
important gifts to his people. He is a role model of right behavior and is
greatly admired. The life story of a mythical hero usually follows this pattern:

• He has a special birth.

• He has unusual skills as a child.
• He is tested as a young man.
• He goes on a journey or quest to find something.
• He has difficult tasks to do.
• He has one weakness.
• He is rewarded for his effort.
• He dies a special death.

Myths about Tricksters and Troublemakers

Trickster is a character in a story (god, goddess, spirit, human being) which
is very clever but uses it to play tricks and to disobey social rules. Tricksters
humanize creation (and mythology) by misbehaving, and making a mess of
things. Tricksters have unlimited energy, enormous appetites, and no
scruples whatsoever. Tricksters create disorder, follow their instincts, and
make us laugh. They often triumph, they never surrender, and they prove
that sometimes it pays to lie—even if sometimes it doesn't. Carl Jung
considered the trickster "a collective shadow figure, an embodiment of all
the inferior traits of character in individuals." Joseph Campbell saw the
tricksters as a positive character, "the archetype of the hero, the giver of all
great charities." There's something to be said for both views. On the one
hand, tricksters are selfish, and occasionally evil. They lie, cheat, do stupid
things, and cause trouble for one and all. On the other hand, they perform
the essential task of bringing culture to humanity. They show us how to hunt,
cook, and make musical instruments, they force us to work, and, like the
African-American trickster Brer Rabbit, they teach us to tell stories.
E.g., Prometheus, to help mankind survive, tried to steal and give to man
some of Athena’s skill or craft and fire from Hephaestus [i:].
Hermes is a youthful, trickster figure in the Olympian pantheon. Hermes is
both messenger and guide to Hades; in this role, he brings the dead to
Charon, to be transported across the river Styx. In general, Hermes is
associated with mediation and crossing of boundaries. As messenger of the
gods, Hermes is sometimes credited with having invented speech. Hermes is
said to have invented the lyre, which he later presented to Apollo, with
whom he shares interests in music and prophecy.
Odyssey invented the “Trojan Horse”. A computer program which tricks
users is called a “Trojan Horse”.

Myths of  memory and forgetting. Mnemosyne (Memory), the mother of

the Muses, is said to know everything, past, present, and future. She is the
Memory that is the basis of all life and creativity. Forgetting the true order
and origin of things is often equal to death (as in the case of Lethe, the River
of Oblivion in the underworld (world of Hades), which destroys memory). 
Myths of transformation. Countless stories exist concerning the origin of
peculiar rocks, properties of animals, plants, stars, or other features in the
world. They include etiological myths - these are stories which provide a
mythological explanation for peculiar things in nature or certain events and
customs of which the origin has long been forgotten. E.g. the story of
Daphne explains why the laurel was, and still is, a symbol of the god Apollo.
The story of Arachne and her agon with Athena explains the origin of spiders.
The story of Asteria explains the emergence of the island of the same name.
Milky way and Hera; red roses as the result of Venus’s blood.

Greek Myths and Stories: A Charming World

What is it that fascinates us through the ages in studying and relishing those
ancient stories? Surely, it's more than the raw fancy of a world full of
mythical creatures and superhuman deeds, as entertaining as these may be.
Greek myths speak of timeless elements inherent in human nature, as
various schools of psychology have demonstrated time and again.
Parents and educators have always discovered the value of these ancient
Greek stories in:
 Shaping ethics and character.
  Revealing the workings of the world in simple words and powerful
pictures.
The wonderful universe of Greek mythology will unfold its magic for you, just
keep reading. Here is a brief introduction to some of the most popular myths,
starting from primitive gods with their raw natural forces, scaling down to
their demi-god and human offspring, and walking us through beauty,
ugliness, and the million faces of the sacred in human life.
Prometheus

The Seer Who Brought Fire

Well far back in human history (let's say, the Paleolithic), Fire was a gift of
life. All over the globe, we can trace myths and legends about some god or
hero who offered Fire to humans - almost always connected to a perilous
adventure - and was honored as a supreme benefactor.
You see, paleolithic humans absolutely needed fire to:
 Keep warm during cold seasons and nights.
 Go to bed a little later than the sunset.
 Roast meat, make it tender and tasty (except for lovers of steak
tartare, perhaps).
 Scare and keep away wild beasts.
 Harden their wooden spears and other tools.
Prometheus is Punished for Bringing Fire to Mankind

Prometheus, Thieve of Fire

The "sin" of Prometheus consisted in the fact that he helped humans despite
the orders of mighty Zeus. For the Lord of Olympus had decreed that Fire
should remain with the gods, and not be given to men. Thing is, Prometheus
rooted for humans.
The Titan stole into Hephaistus' workshop, where the godly kilns burned and
exquisite artifacts were being created for the heavenly dwellers, in order to
take some charcoals with him. Some say he stole some sparks from the
chariot of Helios (the Sun). Either way, he carried Fire in the stalk of a fennel
plant, and made this life-saving gift to the human race.
In ancient Greek, the name Pro-Metheus means "He Who Has Foresight."
Prometheus knew he would be punished for his theft; nevertheless, he went
about his self-assigned task of protecting and helping mankind.
Prometheus is a Sufferer / Helper-of-mankind god.
Ages later, Herakles, son of Zeus, obtained permission from dad to finally
free the Titan from his chains.

Herakles frees Prometheus, by Christian Griepenkerl (1839-1912)

Prometheus, Helper of Mankind: Trickster and Craftsman

Greek mythology tells us that, besides stealing fire, Prometheus showed his
magnanimous mercy for humans on many occasions:
1. He was appointed by Zeus to shape humans out of clay. His brother
Epimetheus ("He Who Has Hindsight") shaped the animals.
2. He established animal sacrifice, as practiced henceforth in ancient
Greek religion. Zeus' left to Prometheus the decision about which
portions of animals would be offered to the gods after sacrifice: the
leftover would go to humans. Prometheus deviously covered bones and
other animal parts of lesser value with "shiny grease," while he disguised
all flesh and nutritious parts and wrapped them with the less appetizing
tripe of the animal. Then, he invited the Master of Heavens to choose the
portion owed to the gods, and Zeus fell for the trick. 

Prometheus is a thief and a trickster —with the ultimate purpose of

helping humans.
3. When Zeus was planning a deluge with the intention of eliminating
mankind, Prometheus warned his son Deucalion of the imminent
catastrophe, and he instructed him to build an ark in order to save
himself and his wife Pyrrha.
4. He warned his brother Epimetheus not to receive Pandora and her box
(which was actually a jar). Epimetheus thought he was cleverer and
received the girl.
The Odyssey

Odysseus and Polyphemus, by Arnold Böcklin (1827–1901)

A wanderer of the seas could not be absent from Greek mythology. Greece
has an extremely long shoreline, esp. when compared to its overall land
area, and hundreds of islands dispersed all over the seas encircling the
country.
Odysseus, mariner par excellence, holds a major role in ancient Greek
literature and has inspired many artists from Antiquity to our days. His tale
was told by a great ancient poet and singer: Homer.
Odysseus was credited with sacking, along with other "long-haired Acheans"
(an ancient name for who we call today "the Greeks"), the castle of Troy,
near the entrance of the Black Sea. After leaving Troy, Odysseus took ten
years to finally reach his home island, Ithaca. He faced many deadly
dangers; he fought with temptations, with gods, monsters, the waves,
powerful witches, and men, but he stood firm on his resolution:
To live long enough to see "smoke rising" from the hearths of his homeland.
The Odyssey in Simple Words
Plot of the Odyssey:

Odysseus, lord of the isle of Ithaca, has been missing from his kingdom for
twenty years. The first ten were spent fighting in the Trojan War, and the
next ten were spent in continual wanderings en route home from the war.
His wife Penelope, meanwhile, has been harassed by dozens of suitors who
have come to win her hand in marriage. Penelope, desperately clinging to
the hope that her husband is still alive, tries to stall the suitors by making
them an idle promise: she will choose a husband from among them when she
has finished weaving a burial shroud for her father-in-law, Laertes, who
presently lives on a farm removed from the main city. However, when alone
at night, Penelope secretly undoes the work of the shroud so that the
fabrication of the garment will go on indefinitely. Unfortunately, the ruse has
been discovered by the suitors, who now demand she choose one of them
immediately.
The suitors, who have been awaiting her decision for several years, have in
the meantime spent their days feasting in Odysseus’ hall. In so doing, they
are devouring his livestock and abusing his servants. The direct victim of
their voracious behavior is Telemachus, the son of Odysseus who is now
approaching manhood.

Athene, goddess of wisdom and daughter of Zeus, begs her father to allow
Odysseus to return home at last, for he has languished for seven years on
the isle of the nymph Calypso, who holds him captive.

The god Hermes has been sent to Calypso’s isle to demand Odysseus’
liberation in Zeus’s name. The nymph reluctantly agrees, and sends
Odysseus on his way in a raft of his own making. However, Poseidon sees
Odysseus’ escape, and sends a storm to destroy him. With the help of
Athene and the sea goddess, Leukothea, Odysseus is able to swim for
several days and land exhausted on the isle of the Phaeaceans: Scheria.

Odysseus, aided again by Athene, is welcomed warmly by Alcinoös and his

queen, Arete. There is great feasting accompanied by the singing of the blind
bard Demodocus, who recounts many of the Greek heroes’ exploits in the
Trojan War as well as narrating an amusing tale of the gods. Having heard of
Odysseus’ journey from Calypso’s isle, Alcinoös agrees to assist Odysseus
with the Phaeaceans’ magic ships, which can reach any destination in the
world and return in a single day. However, Odysseus’ hosts remain ignorant
of his identity. When they learn he is the famous adventurer, Odysseus, they
demand he tell them of his many adventures.

Odysseus begins his tale with the departure of his twelve ships from Troy
and his early encounters with the Ciconians and Lotus-Eaters. He then
recounts his adventure with Polyphemus the Cyclops. Having left most of his
fleet at a different part of the Cyclopes’ isle, Odysseus explored the strange
land in his own vessel. When Polyphemus returned to his home, he rolled a
great stone over the entrance to his cave and proceeded to eat Odysseus’
men two at a time, till only six remained with their leader. Odysseus tricked
Polyphemus into drinking a potent wine unmixed with water, and while the
giant Cyclops snored drunkenly, Odysseus and his men gouged out
Polyphemus’ eye with a wooden stake. Odysseus’ cunning allowed them to
escape the cave. After his ship set out to sea to rejoin his fleet, he called to
taunt Polyphemus, and the latter cursed him in his father Poseidon’s name.
This is how Odysseus incurred the enmity of this powerful deity.

Odysseus next borrowed from Aeolus the divine bag which sealed up the
world’s winds. However, Odysseus’ greedy companions meant to seize some
of their master’s treasure, and unintentionally released all the winds at once.
The fleet of ships was swept back to the island of Aeolus, who angrily
banished the miserable Odysseus from his island. Odysseus’ ships then met
disaster in the land of the enormous Laistrygones. Caught by surprise, all his
moored ships but his own personal vessel were speared by the giants and
carried off. Odysseus’ ship escaped alone. They arrived next on Circe’s
island, and half the party was sent ahead to explore a visible column of
smoke. Once inside, the men feasted with Circe, who transformed them into
swine. Eurylochus escaped to inform Odysseus, who returned alone to face
Circe. Aided by the herb moly bestowed on him by Hermes, Odysseus
overcame Circe’s sorceries and demanded his men’s return. Circe complied,
and was thereafter benevolent to Odysseus’ party.

Circe entertained Odysseus’ men for some time, then warned them that their
journey could only continue after they had consulted the land of the dead.
Once there, Odysseus encountered the soul of the prophet Teiresias, who
told him how to reach his home and informed him of the final journey he
would make in years to come.

The Phaeaceans are pleased with his tale. After they shower him with gifts
that exceed the value of his lost treasure, Odysseus sets out in the magical
ships of the Phaeaceans. While Odysseus himself sleeps peacefully on board,
the Phaeaceans reach Ithaca in a matter of hours. Without waking him, the
Phaeaceans disembark Odysseus and his goods. They return to Scheria, but
are turned to stone by Poseidon when they are within sight of their harbor.

Odysseus awakens on Ithaca at last, but is unsure of his locale until he meets
with Athene, who advises him concerning the situation in his kingdom and
transforms him into the shape of an old beggar.

Telemachus meets his disguised father at the swineherd’s shelter. Odysseus

reveals himself to his overjoyed son; the two then commence hatching out a
plan for the suitors’ death.

After the suitors return to their homes for the evening, Odysseus and
Telemachus hide the armor and weapons that are normally kept in the main
hall.

The suitors arrive the next day. Penelope arrives bearing Odysseus’ famous
bow, which he did not carry with him to Troy, and proposes that the one
suitor who can string it and shoot an arrow through twelve axe handles may
marry her. Telemachus sets up the axe handles, and attempts to string the
bow himself, but eventually fails. One by one the suitors attempt to string
the bow but with no success.

It is at this point Odysseus quickly strings the bow and shoots through the
axe handles. He next takes an arrow and shoots Antinoös through the throat.
He finally reveals himself to them fully, and begins picking them off one by
one with his bow and arrows.

Odysseus and his allies overcome and slay all the suitors. The palace is
cleaned of bloodshed, and Penelope is brought into Odysseus’ presence.
However, she refuses to believe that it is her husband until she craftily tricks
him into revealing himself. She then embraces and accepts him, and they
are reunited at last.
The Fine Texture of an Epic Poem
Seen more closely, The Odyssey is, of course, more intricate than just the
story of an earthly journey.
Homer knew better than to lay out a simple, one-dimensional little story, or
he wouldn't have had so many raving audiences to applaud and to glorify
him over the centuries.
Homer was a Master poet.
What's more, the composition as a whole, but also in its minutest parts is an
ingenious piece of literary craftsmanship. Everything is tightly interwoven:
characters, mini-stories within stories, themes, patterns, living images from
ancient life popping out at every turn of the way ...
Intricate Mythic Patterns Created by Gods, Heroes, and Poets

Penelope at her Loom, by Max Klinger (1857-1920)

The Trojan War. Or Is It History?

What were Agamemnon and Achilles Really Seeking on the Coast of

Troy?
Mythology carries seeds of truth, sometimes even more. Despite what
people of Medieval and later times believed, Troy (Ilion) did exist on the
shores of Asia Minor, and the Trojan War did indeed take place in the early
twelfth century, BC.
It is important to understand that all these ancient myths and stories were
processed over hundreds of years until people got them down on parchment
(paper was not yet invented) and that they contain information that is
sometimes obvious or sometimes coded, hidden, or half-forgotten; and that
they draw from various historical, genealogical, literary, and ethical sources.
Trying to make an outright distinction of those elements is not always easy
and may sometimes even prove misleading.
Archaeology suggests that peaceful commercial exchanges interspersed with
intervals of war were quite common in the North Aegean during the Bronze
Age. We must also bear in mind that the area had developed a thriving
civilization based on metallurgy (the island of Lemnos was home to god
Hephaistos) and that it was a route towards the Black Sea, rich in metals and
other goods. That was, of course, during the early Bronze Age (around 3,000
BC). Later on, the advent and growth of the Mycenean kingdoms on
mainland Greece gave rise to rivalries and attempts—as is always the case—
to gain dominion over the financial networks in the area.
Troy was built near the coast of Hellespont, the entrance to the Black Sea.
Newer evidence indicates that it was inhabited by a people of Hittite descent
at the time of the Trojan War. Homer's Troy was a thriving city that was
gaining power and wealth in the North Aegean area, thus being an enviable
prize for a strong army.
Many things have also been said about the abduction of Helen, queen of
Sparta, or Helen of Troy as she was later called. Besides giving a very good
pretext for declaring a war, the story may well contain an element of truth.
Commercial ethics of the time deemed piracy a quite legitimate means of
making oneself a fortune, and the stealing of women and treasures was very
common on the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea.
All the above leads us to view the Trojan War in the wider context of the
epoch's life and historical movements, rather than as an isolated episode in
time.
Pandora's Jar

No, It.Was.NOT.A.Box!
Pandora and Eve: a bias against women?
Woman, bestower of all evils, a deceitful vessel of clay, created to bring
plagues and misfortune to humanity.
Pandora was all-gifted by the gods in order to tempt poor Man and make him
receive her, thus sealing his own damnation.
The similarities with Eve's story are more than evident...
Pandora was not genuinely evil, no. But she was curious and defiant, or
that's how the official story told by Hesiod in his Theogony goes:
Pandora's Jar
Pandora, by Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1836-1912)

Pandora: The All-Gifted

Pandora was forged by the divine blacksmith Hephaestus. All the gods and
goddesses showered her with gifts. She was a most desirable female. Then
Zeus sent her as a wife to Epimitheus the Hind-Sighted (Prometheus' little
bro, remember?), giving her a sealed jar as dower for her marriage. Pandora
was instructed not to open the vessel under any circumstances.
Pandora could not refrain from lifting the lid, just a little bit - and then all
evils dashed out of the jar to torture man in eternity. Thus, Zeus took his
revenge on humans for the gift of fire that her brother-in-law, Prometheus
(Foresighted), brought to them despite the interdiction imposed by the king
of gods.
Various scholars claim that the story originated from an earlier mythological
substratum, in which Pandora was the Great Goddess, provider of the
gifts that made life and culture possible. According to them, the swarm
jetting out of her urn is not the evils she released upon humanity, but
instead the gifts pouring out of her sacred vessel.
The tale of Hesiod may have been a later invention, promoting patriarchal
ethics that pushed women to an inferior and dependent position. But his
words betrayed the poet. In Hesiod's story, Pandora brought with her a
"pithos," a big clay jar when god Hermes escorted her to Epimetheus.
In symbolic language, the earthen jar may often represent the female uterus.
This also points to an interpretation of Pandora as a symbol of fruitfulness,
prosperity, and life. According to this interpretation, we could consider that
her name, All-Gifted, actually refers to the gifts she brings men, and not to
the gifts that gods bestowed on her.
Heracles

Heracles is the (Greek) name. Hercules was the Roman name.

Heracles, The Demi-God who Ascended to Olympus

Heracles literally means "the glory of Hera." The myth goes that Hera, godly
wife of Zeus, was extremely jealous of her consort's affair with Queen
Alcmene of Thebes, mother of Herakles, and avenged herself by making life
miserable for the demi-god.
There are plenty of myths about Heracles. To begin with, he was conceived
by Alcmene, queen of Thebes, while her husband was away on an
expedition. That did not make her exactly an adulteress though, because
Zeus disguised himself as king Amphitryon and impregnated her. Amphitryon
arrived later that night and fecundated his wife with Heracles' twin brother,
Iphicles.
The two boys were as different as day is to night. Zeus' son was strong and
stout and fearless, while his all-human brother, seed of a cheated husband,
was small and whiny. One night, wanting to get rid of the boy, Hera sent two
large snakes to drown him. Iphikles woke up and started to cry, while
Heracles strangled the snakes with his bare hands. A parent can rest
reassured with a child like this.
Hercules was born a demi-god with incredible strength and energy. He
performed amazing feats, including wrestling death and traveling twice to
the underworld, and his stories were told throughout Greece and later
in Rome, yet his life was far from easy from the moment of his birth, and his
relationships with others were often disastrous. This was because Hera, the
wife of Zeus, knew that Hercules was her husband's illegitimate son and
sought to destroy him. In fact, he was born with the name Alcaeus and later
took the name Herakles, meaning "Glory of Hera", signifying that he would
become famous through his difficulties with the goddess. 

The demi-god, who suffered like mortals and who could make a mess of
things in life just as easily as any man or woman but perform deeds no
mortal could, had great appeal for the people of Greece and Rome. Hercules
was a kind of super-powered everyman who suffered disappointments, had
bad days - even bad years - and eventually died due to another's trickery.
These stories, besides simply being entertaining, would have served an
ancient audience by letting them know that, if bad things could happen to a
hero like Hercules, they had nothing to complain about regarding the
disappointments and tragedies in their own lives. Hercules served as a
symbol of the human condition where, to use Hemingway's phrase, "a man
may be destroyed, but not defeated." An interesting aspect of Hercules'
character is that, because of his divine strength and abilities, he did not have
to willingly submit to any of the labors or punishments imposed upon him.
He chose to suffer indignities such as his famous Twelve Labors or his
servitude to the queen Omphale and did so willingly. His inner strength and
ability to endure hardships made him an inspirational figure to the people
and a symbol of stability in the midst of chaos, even if it was a chaos he
himself had caused.  

EARLY LIFE

Although he was seen as the champion of the weak and a great protector,
Hercules' personal problems started literally at birth. Hera sent two witches
to prevent the birth, but they were tricked by one of Alcmene's servants and
sent to another room. Hera then sent serpents to kill him in his cradle, but
Hercules strangled them both. In one version of the myth, Alcmene
abandoned her baby in the woods in order to protect him from Hera's wrath,
but he was found by the goddess Athena who brought him to Hera, claiming
he was an orphan child left in the woods who needed nourishment. Hera
suckled Hercules at her own breast until the infant bit her nipple, at which
point she pushed him away, spilling her milk across the night sky and so
forming the Milky Way. She then gave the infant back to Athena and told
her to take care of the baby herself. In feeding the child from her own breast,
the goddess inadvertently imbued him with further strength and power.

He was brought up at the court of his supposed-father Amphitryon, where he

had the best tutors in the land who taught him wrestling, horseback riding,
fencing, archery, how to drive a chariot, play the lyre, and sing. Hercules did
not know his own strength, however, and killed his music teacher, Linus, by
hitting him with a lyre one day during an argument. He was then sent to tend
the flocks to keep him out of trouble. King Creon of Thebes gave Hercules his
daughter, Megara, in marriage as a sign of his gratitude.

THE MADNESS OF HERA & THE TWELVE LABORS

Hercules was a young, successful hero, married and, in time, with three
strong sons. Hera could not tolerate the situation and so sent upon him a
madness in which he killed his children (and, in some versions, Megara as
well). He continued in his rage until Athena knocked him out with a stone
and, when he came to, he was overwhelmed with grief at what he had done.
He would have killed himself but his cousin Theseus convinced him that
would be cowardly and that he must find a way to atone for his sins.
Hercules consulted the Oracle at Delphi who told him he must attach himself
to his cousin Eurystheus, King of Tiryns and Mycenae, who would devise
labors to expiate his sins. These labors originally numbered only ten but later
grew to twelve. After Delphi he was no longer known as Alcaeus and took the
name Herakles.

The Twelve Labors of Hercules were:

1. To kill the Nemean Lion who was impervious to all weapons. He

trapped the lion in a cave and strangled it with his bare hands. He then
skinned it and ever after wore the skin as his cloak.

2.  To kill the monster known as the Hydra who had nine venomous heads
and, when one was cut off, two more would grow in its place. With his
nephew Iolaus, Hercules cut off the heads and Iolaus then seared the necks
with a torch to prevent them growing back. Hercules then dipped his arrows
in the Hydra's blood for future use; since it was so venomous, it killed
quickly. Because he had help in this labor, Eurystheus would not count it as
one of the ten and assigned another.

3. To capture the Cerynitian Hind who was sacred to the

goddess Artemis. Hercules spent over a year trying to catch the deer with
the golden antlers alive and finally brought it down with an arrow to the hoof.
Even so, Artemis refused to allow him to take the deer - and would have
killed him for hunting it - until she heard the story of his labors and let him
go.
4.  To capture the Erymanthian Boar. This labor took Hercules to the land
of the Centaurs, and the wine he had been given to attract the boar drew the
centaurs to him. They attacked him and he had to kill many of them but
brought the boar back alive to Eurystheus. It was during this labor that he
took part in the adventure with the hero Jason and his Argonauts.
5.  Cleaning the Stables of Augeius in a day. Eurystheus felt this side-
adventure with the Argonauts was an unnecessary luxury on Hercules' part
and so devised an impossible task for his next labor. The stables of King
Augeius were immense and his herd vast, and there seemed to be no way
for anyone to clean them in a month, let alone a day. Hercules said he would
do it but made Augeius promise him a tenth of the herd if he succeeded.
Augeius agreed since he knew he could not lose, but Hercules diverted two
rivers to flow through the stables and clean them completely. Augeius then
refused to honor the deal he had made. Hercules felt cheated and swore he
would return and kill Augeius once he had completed his labors for
Eurystheus. Eurystheus, however, told him he could receive no payment for
his labors and that, by trying to profit, he had disqualified that labor and
would have to do another to make up for it.
6. To drive away the Stymphalian Birds who were ravaging the
countryside. He accomplished this with a rattle given to him by Athena. The
rattle startled the birds who flew away, and Hercules shot them down with
his arrows in flight.
7. To bring back the Cretan Bull. The bull belonged to King Minos
of Crete and was sacred to the god of the seas, Poseidon; accordingly, it
could walk on water. Minos no longer wanted the bull because his wife had
fallen in love with it and, in fact, had become pregnant by it (giving birth to
the Minotaur), and so Minos happily gave the bull to Hercules who rode it
across the sea from Crete to Athens and brought it to Eurystheus. The bull
was then released and would cause further trouble throughout Attica until it
was finally killed by Theseus.
8. To bring back the Mares of Diomedes. Diomedes was a king who fed
his horses on a steady diet of human flesh so that no one could come near
them. Hercules fed Diomedes to the horses and, when they were full,
brought them back to Eurystheus. It was during this labor that Hercules
stopped to visit his old friend Admetus whose wife Alcestis had recently died.
Hercules wrestled death for the soul of Alcestis and returned her to her
husband.
9. To bring back Hippolyte's Girdle. Hippolyte was the queen of the
Amazons, and her belt (girdle) was a symbol of her right to rule. The
Amazons originally welcomed Hercules but Hera, disguised as one of them,
spread a rumor that Hercules had come to kidnap the queen and enslave
them. The women attacked Hercules and Hippolyte was killed in the fight;
Hercules then took her belt and left.
10. To bring back the cattle of Geryon. Hercules had many side-adventures
on this labor, including inadvertently building the Pillars of Hercules at
Gibraltar and threatening to shoot the sun with his arrows for making him
too hot. When he finally reached Cadiz (Spain), he had many problems
rounding up the cattle, including having to chase down a bull (the herd had
to be complete in order to be accepted for the labor). Bringing the cattle
back to Greece, Hera sent gadflies to sting the beasts and scattered them,
so Hercules had to round them up again. Then the princess Celtine saw
Hercules and fell in love with him. She hid the cattle and would not divulge
their whereabouts unless he had sex with her. This he did and so became the
father of Celtus, progenitor of the Celts. He finally brought the cattle back to
Eurystheus who accepted the labor as legitimate.
11. To bring back the Golden Apples of Hesperides. En route to the sacred
grove where the apples grew, Hercules found Prometheus bound to his
rock and set him free. Prometheus was grateful and told him that the apples
were guarded by a dragon named Ladon who could not be conquered, and
so Hercules should try to get the titan Atlas, who held up the earth and
heavens on his shoulders, to get the apples for him. When Hercules reached
the grove, Atlas agreed to help, but Hercules would have to shoulder the
weight of the world while Atlas went to get the apples. Hercules accepted the
load and Atlas got the apples. When he returned, however, Atlas did not
 want to take the weight back and was going to leave Hercules in his place.
Hercules cheerfully agreed to stay and hold up the universe but asked Atlas
if he could take the weight again for just one moment so that he could adjust
his cloak to cushion his shoulders. Atlas took back the universe and Hercules
picked up the apples and left.
12. To bring back Cerberus, the guard dog of the underworld. For the last labor,
Eurystheus decided on something he knew would be impossible: to bring
back, alive, the three-headed dog who guarded the entrance to Hades. He
journeyed to Hades, where he had further adventures in the underworld
such as freeing his cousin Theseus from the Chair of Forgetfulness where he
had been bound. Hercules was allowed by Hades to take Cerberus provided
he did not hurt the dog. He wrestled Cerberus into submission and brought
him back to Eurystheus who was so terrified of the animal that he told
Hercules all the labors were done and to bring the dog back to where he'd
found it.

FURTHER ADVENTURES & SLAVERY

Hercules was now free to do as he pleased with his life and, after all he had
accomplished, it might be thought that he would now be able to enjoy his
days in peace; this would not be so. Whether through the trickeries of Hera
or his own temper and lack of restraint, Hercules would endure further
troubles. Struck again by Hera with madness, Hercules killed the prince
Iphitus of Oechalia and was told by the oracle that he must sell himself as a
slave to atone for his sin. He became the property of Queen Omphale who
made the hero dress in women's clothing and do needlework with the other
ladies of the court. Omphale eventually took him as her lover and then set
him free.
He then went on an expedition to Troy which, with the help of other heroes,
he conquered (long before the Trojan War) and then became involved in
a war with the Titans of Sicily. The Titans had been defeated centuries before
by Zeus but had risen again and, according to prophecy, the gods could only
win this time with the help of a mortal hero. Hercules helped to defeat the
Titans and rescued the world from chaos and the gods from imprisonment.
He then sailed back to Greece and, after further adventures, landed in
Calydon where he met and fell in love with the princess Deianira. He had to
wrestle the river-god Achelous for her hand and won, and so was married.

DEIANIRA & MARRIAGE

Deianira and Hercules lived happily for a time in Calydon until he
accidentally killed his father-in-law's cupbearer. Although it was an accident,
and he was forgiven by the king, Hercules could not forgive himself and so
decided to leave the city with Deianira. They reached the river Evenus, and
there met the centaur Nessus who offered to carry Deianira across on his
back. Upon reaching the other side, however, he tried to rape her and
Hercules shot him with one of his arrows. These were the same arrows
Hercules had dipped in the blood of the Hydra, and the centaur was dying
quickly when he told Deianira that his blood possessed a special quality as a
love potion and that she should take some of it in a vial. If ever she felt that
Hercules was losing interest in her, he said, she should sprinkle the blood on
his shirt and he would be in love with her forever. Nessus understood, of
course, that the blood would be deadly to any mortal and this was his
revenge for Hercules' arrow.
 Hercules and Deianira settled in the city of Trachis, started a family,
and, again, were happy for a time until Hercules went to war against Eurytus
who had insulted him earlier in life. He killed Eurytus and took his daughter
Iole (whom he had won before in an archery contest but been refused) as his
concubine. Hercules then prepared a victory feast and sent word to Deianira
to send him his best shirt to wear at the festival. Deianira, fearing that
Hercules was fonder of Iole now than of her, soaked the shirt in the blood of
Nessus and then washed away the stains, leaving only the poison. As soon as
Hercules put the shirt on, he was seized with agony and began to burn. He
tore the shirt from his body but the poison was already grafted to his skin.
Since he was a demi-god, he could not die quickly and so suffered as the
poison penetrated his body and he became weaker and weaker. Deianira,
realizing she had been tricked by Nessus and had killed her husband, hanged
herself.

THE DEATH OF HERCULES

Hercules climbed Mount Etna where he built his own funeral pyre in a
clearing, gave away his possessions, and then lay down with his head resting
on his club and the Nemean lion's skin covering him; then the torches were
lit and the pyre took flames. Zeus enveloped him in a cloud, and took him up
in a four-horse chariot to dwell among the stars.
LEGACY
And so Hercules left the earth to live eternally among the gods and, through
the stories of his adventures, to enjoy immortality down through the ages.
His life was not always a happy one, even though he had a god for a father,
and his daily struggles and relationships were not made any easier by his
strength. Even though he was able to accomplish great deeds, this did not
make him immune to those disappointments and dark times that are a part
of the human experience. The myths of Hercules show the world as it is:
everyone has monsters they need to conquer and seemingly impossible
tasks they are faced with and tragedies that seem too hard to bear. When
faced with some difficult situation in life, one can take comfort in the thought
that, if Hercules could endure his sufferings, one can survive one's own.

Jason & the Argonauts

A Prince Claiming His Throne, the Golden Fleece, and a Witch

"For well over three millennia, the story of Jason and his fellow Argonauts has
enthralled the world. Jason's quest to get the fabled Golden Fleece and bring
it back to his homeland is a fabulous story of grit, compassion and revenge.
Over the centuries many versions have been recorded, but the essence of
the story remains the same; an adventure of epic proportions..."
Theseus and the Minotaur

Theseus' Voyage To Crete, early 16th century

Slayer of Brigands & Monsters; Womanizer; Founding Hero

Theseus was a hero of the House of Athens, long before Pericles
immortalized the city's power by erecting classical Parthenon and the other
great monuments on Acropolis.
Theseus is said to have been fathered by both King Aegeus and Poseidon.
Now, this is not as strange as it seems, for the name of Aegeus, or "Aigeus"
as is its Greek spelling, is closely associated with Poseidon's territory.
Is this perhaps the rock from which King Aegeus, Theseus' human father,
flung himself to the waves? And, what's most important...
Why would Theseus' father kill himself?
While Theseus was at Crete slaying the Minotaur and bringing a Cretan
princess home (he finally lost Ariadne to god Dionysos, but this is another
story), his father used to go to Cape Sounion and stare at the sea, waiting for
his son to come home.
The deal was this: the ship sailed from Athens wearing black sails as a token
of mourning. If Theseus was on that ship, safe and sound, upon its return, he
would change them to white ones, a happy signal. Theseus forgot.
When Aegeus saw the black sails, he flung himself into the sea, which is still
called Aigaion, the Aegean Sea.
Back to Theseus' story:
Theseus is largely known today for slaying the Minotaur, the half-man half-
bull monster that dwelt inside the Labyrinth. Minos, king of Crete and ruler of
the Easten Mediterranean until the rise in power of Mycenean cities of
mainland Greece (one of which was Athens), had imposed to the defeated
king Aegeus a cruel homage. Every seven (or nine) years Athenians had to
send fourteen youths to be eaten by the Minotaur.
The third time this was about to happen, Theseus convinced his father to
send him along as one of them. As everybody knows, the Athenian prince
killed the Bull-Man (Bull being the symbol of Crete) and Athens set on her
way to gradually becoming the new thalassocrat Greek state.

Orpheus and Eurydice

The story of Orpheus and Eurydice is the ultimate tragic love story.
The story of Orpheus and Eurydice has been told in many versions with a few
differences between them.
Orpheus is known as the most talented music player of the ancient
times. It is said that god Apollo was his father, from whom he took his
extreme talent in music, and the Muse Calliope was his mother. Orpheus had
a divinely gifted voice that could charm everyone who heard it. When he was
presented first the lyre as a boy, he had it mastered in no time at all. The
myth says that no god or mortal could resist his music and even the rocks
and trees would move themselves to be near him. According to some ancient
texts, Orpheus is accredited to have taught agriculture, writing and medicine
to the mankind. He is also attributed with having been an astrologer, a seer
and founder of many mystic rites. The strange and ecstatic music of Orpheus
would intrigue the mind of people to things over natural and had the power
to broaden the mind to new unusual theories. However, apart from a musical
talent, Orpheus also had an adventurous character. He was believed to have
taken part in the Argonautic expedition, which is the voyage of Jason and his
fellow Argonauts to get to Colchis and steal the Golden Fleece. In fact,
Orpheus played a vital role during the expedition because, playing his music,
he put to sleep the "sleepless dragon" that was guarding the Golden Fleece
and thus Jason managed to get the Fleece. Moreover, the music of Orpheus
saved the Argonauts from the Sirens, the strange female-like creatures who
were seducing men with their nice voice and then they were killing them.
Love at first sight Orpheus used to spend much of his early years in the
idyllic pursuits of music and poetry. His skill had far surpassed the fame and
respect of his music.
Humans and beasts alike would be enchanted by it and often even the
most inanimate of objects would yearn to be near him. Well into his youth he
had mastered the lyre and his melodious voice garnered him audiences from
near and afar. It was at one such gathering of humans and beasts that his
eyes fell on a wood nymph. The girl was called Eurydice, she was beautiful
and shy. She had been drawn to Orpheus enamored by his voice and such
was the spell of beauty in music and appearance that neither could cast their
eyes off each other. Something inexplicable tugged the hearts of the two
young people and soon they felt dearly in love, unable to spend a single
moment apart. After a while, they decided to get married. Their wedding day
dawned bright and clear. Hymenaios, the god of marriage, blessed their
marriage and then a great feast followed. The surroundings were filled with
laughter and gaiety. Soon the shadows grew large, signaling an end to the
revelry that had lasted much of the day and the wedding guests all took
leave of the newly-weds, who were still sitting hand-in-hand and starry eyed.
They soon both realized that it was time they were on their way and
departed for home. The snake-bite. However, things would soon change
and grief would shadow happiness. There was one man who was despising
Orpheus and desired Eurydice for his own. Aristaeus, a shepherd, had plotted
a plan to conquer the beautiful nymph. And there he was, waiting in the
bushes for the young couple to pass by. Seeing that the lovers were
approaching, he intended to jump on them and kill Orpheus. As the shepherd
made his move, Orpheus grabbed Eurydice by the hand and started running
through the forest. The chase was long and Aristaeus showed no signs of
giving up or slowing down. On and on they ran and suddenly, Orpheus felt
Eurydice stumble and fall, her hand slipping from his grasp. Unable to
comprehend what had just happened, he rushed to her side but stopped
short in dismay, for his eyes perceived the deathly pallor that suffused her
cheeks. Looking around, he saw no trace of the shepherd for Aristaeus had
witnessed the event and had left. Few steps away, Eurydice had stepped on
a nest of snakes and had been bitten by a deadly viper. Knowing that there
was no chance of survival, Aristaeus had abandoned his try, cursing his luck
and Orpheus.
A supernatural plan. After the death of his beloved wife, Orpheus was no
more the same carefree person he used to be. His life without Eurydice
seemed endless and could do nothing more than grief for her. This is when
he had a great but yet crazy idea: he decided to go to Underworld and try to
get his wife back. Apollo, his father, would talk to Hades, the god of the
Underworld, to accept him and hear his plea. Armed with his weapons, the
lyre and voice, Orpheus approached Hades and demanded entry into the
underworld. None challenged him. Standing in front of the rulers of the dead,
Orpheus said why he was there, in a voice both mellifluous and disquieting.
He played his lyre and sang out to King Hades and Queen Persephone that
Eurydice was returned to him. Not even the most stone-hearted of people or
Gods could have neglected the hurt in his voice. Hades openly wept,
Persephone's heart melted and even Cerberus, the gigantic three-headed
hound guarding the entry to the underworld, covered his many ears with his
paws and howled in despair. The voice of Orpheus was so moving that Hades
promised to this desperate man that Eurydice would follow him to the Upper
World, the world of the living. However, he warned Orpheus that for no
reason must he look back while his wife was still in the dark, for that would
undo everything he hoped for. He should wait for Eurydice to get into the
light before he looked at her. With great faith in his heart and joy in his song,
Orpheus began his journey out of the underworld, joyful that he would once
again be reunited with his love. As Orpheus was reaching the exit of the
Underworld, he could hear the footfalls of his wife approaching him. He
wanted to turn around and hug her immediately but managed to control his
feelings. As his was approaching the exit, his heart was beating faster and
faster. The moment he stepped on the world of the living, he turned his head
to hug his wife. Unfortunately, he got only a glimpse of Eurydice before she
was once again drawn back into the underworld. When Orpheus turned his
head, Eurydice was still in the dark, she hadn't seen the sun and, as Hades
had warned Orpheus, his sweet wife was drowned back to the dark world of
the dead. Waves of anguish and despair swept over him and shuddering with
grief he approached the Underworld again but this time, he was denied
entry, the gates were standing shut and god Hermes, sent by Zeus, wouldn't
let him in.
The death of Orpheus. From then on, the heart-broken musician was
wandering disoriented, day after day, night after night, in total despair. He
could find no consolation in anything. His songs were no more joyful but
extremely sad. His only comfort was to lay on a huge rock and feel the
caress of the breeze, his only vision were the open skies. And so it was that a
group of irate women, furious for his scorn towards them, chanced upon him.
Orpheus was so desperate that he did not even try to repulse their advances.
The women killed him, cut his body into pieces and threw them and his lyre
into a river. It is said that his head and his lyre floated downriver to the
island of Lesbos. There the Muses found them and gave Orpheus a proper
burial ceremony. People believed that his grave emanated music, plaintive
yet beautiful. His soul descended down to Hades where he was finally
reunited with his beloved Eurydice.
The comparison to a Bible scene. If you observe the above myth closely,
you will find a comparison between this ancient Greek myth and a scene
from the Bible. The myth of Orpheus and Eurydice is similar to the story of
Lot. The analogy of "not looking back" is of great importance to both stories.
In the Book of Genesis, when God decided to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah,
two cities drowned in sins, he ordered a good man, Lot, to take his family
and leave the area. God told them to head for the mountains without looking
back the city being destroyed. While they were leaving the city, Lot's wife
couldn't resist and turned around to see the burning cities. She was
immediately transformed into a pillar of salt! This may be inferred as a direct
and terrifying consequence of disobedience towards God.

Oedipus the Theban

The King Who Thought He Could Befool Fate

The story of Oedipus is placed among a rich mythical tradition dated from
prehistoric times—the Theban Cycle, as this mythological corpus is called.
Thebes was founded by Cadmus, Phoenician prince brother of Europa (the
one kidnapped by Zeus) and great-grandson of Egyptian king Epaphus, in
around the fourteenth century, BC.
The tragedy of Oedipus is about hubris, and a multifold one too.
First king Laios, Oedipus' father and descendant of Cadmus, betrayed his
host's and protector's trust as follows: When an usurpation of power took
place in Thebes, Laios found refuge near Pelops, king of Pisa in
Peloponnesos. To pay him back, he though fit to kidnap and rape his son and
carry him off to Thebes.
Laios should get his rightful punishment, and he was even warned about it
when his wife Jocasta bore him a son. The Oracle of Delphi pronounced that
the child would kill his father and marry his mother. Laios then committed a
second hybris, by thinking he could outsmart the gods. Not even wanting to
stain his own hands with his son's blood, he gave the baby to a shepherd to
abandon on mount. The shepherd took pity of the little boy and the latter
ended up adopted by King Polybos of Corinth.
The string of hubris does not finish here. In his own turn, Oedipus, triggered
by some rumors, visits the Oracle only to be warned that he would kill his
father and marry his mother. Believing Polybos and his wife Merope to be his
blood parents, he decides not to return to Corinth. Once more in this family,
a mere human believes he can go against fate. On his way to the nearby city
of Thebes, he meets an elder contesting his right to passing first and, after a
short scuffle, he kills him. The elder was Laios, but this would be revealed
many years later. He then solves the riddle of the Sphinx, marries his
mother, and the rest is something between history and mythology.