Tale and Mythology

Thebes is a city in the region of Boeotia in Greece, which provided the setting for various myths and stories. Cadmus , a Phoenician king, was the mythical founder of the city; the myth has it that after getting advice from the Oracle of Delphi, he had to follow a cow and build a city wherever the animal would stop. After it stopped, Cadmus decided to sacrifice it to the gods and asked his men to get some water from a nearby spring, which was guarded by a dragon. The dragon killed most of his men, before it was slain by Cadmus . Advised by Athena , Cadmus sew half of the dragon's teeth, and armed soldiers sprang out of the ground, the Spartoi. Cadmus threw a stone among them, who confused about who had done it, started fighting each other. Only five survived, who helped Cadmus build Thebes. However, one of the most prominent sagas of Greek mythology that took place in Thebes was the story of Laius, and everything that resulted from his deeds. Although he was the rightful heir ...

A somewhat unconventional hero, Jason was the leader of the Argonautic Expedition in the quest of retrieving the Golden Fleece . The son of Aeson and Alcimede, he was supposed to succeed his father on the throne of Iolcus, but the position was usurped by his half-uncle Pelias. Fearing for his life on account of an ancient prophecy, Pelias wanted Jason as far as possible from Iolcus, so he ordered him to do the seemingly impossible and fetch the Golden Fleece from the King Aeetes of Colchis. Jason had a ship built and assembled a fleet made up of the greatest heroes of his time; after an exhausting expedition beset by giants and monsters, the Argonauts managed to successfully retrieve the Golden Fleece and bring it back to Iolcus. However, unusually for a hero of his stature, Jason received a lot of help along the way, not just from a goddess (Hera, who wanted to punish Pelias for neglecting to honor her), but also from the members of his crew, and, especially, from King Aeetes’ d...

Pelias was the king of Iolcus in Greek mythology, son of the god Poseidon and Tyro. He was married either to Anaxibia or Phylomache; with his wife, they had a number of children, including Acastus, Pisidice, Alcestis, Pelopia , Hippothoe and Antinoe. Poseidon fell in love with Tyro , who was interested in the river god Enipeus. So, Poseidon disguised himself as Enipeus and slept with Tyro; she was impregnated and gave birth to Pelias and Neleus, who were left by Tyro to die on a mountain. However, a herdsman found the infants and raised them. When Pelias and Neleus reached adulthood, they searched for their mother, and then killed her stepmother who had been mistreating her for years. Pelias wanted to rule over Thessaly; so he banished his brother Neleus and his half-brother Pheres, while he imprisoned his other half-brother Aeson. While imprisoned, Aeson got married and had a number of children, including the famous Jason, whom he managed to disguise and send away, in fea...

Ino was a queen of Thebes in Greek mythology, the daughter of Cadmus  and Harmonia . She was the second wife of King Athamas , with whom she had two children, Learches and Melicertes. Her sisters were Agave, Autonoe, and Semele , who was the mother of the god Dionysus . Ino hated Athamas' children from his first marriage with the goddess Nephele , especially the twins Phrixus and Helle . So, she devised a plot to kill them. She collected all crop seeds from the region and roasted them. The farmers, seeing that their crops wouldn't grow and afraid of famine, sent messengers to a nearby oracle for advice. Ino bribed the messengers to say that the oracle demanded the sacrifice of the twins. Athamas reluctantly agreed, and everything was prepared for the sacrifice. However, just before the children were killed, their natural mother Nephele sent a flying golden ram to save them. Phrixus Helle were told never to look down while flying on the ram, but at some point, Helle ignor...

Chione was the daughter of Daedalion , a courageous, yet merciless, warrior. She was a beautiful lady desired by mortals and immortals, including the gods Apollo and Hermes . Hermes used magic to make Chione fall to sleep and then raped her. Later that night, Apollo visited her as well, transformed into an old woman and also slept with her. As a result of that night, Chione gave birth to the notorious thief Autolycus , whose father was Hermes , and Philammon, by Apollo . Having charmed two gods, Chione boasted that she was more beautiful than goddesses like Artemis. The latter decided to punish her and shot Chione with an arrow, killing her. Daedalion, overcome with grief, tried to kill himself by jumping into the funeral pyre of his daughter, but he was stopped in time. He eventually went to the top of the Mount Parnassus and jumped off, but before he reached the ground, Apollo transformed him into a majestic hawk, feeling sorry for the man's grief.

Nephele was a cloud nymph in Greek mythology, who played an important role in the story of Phrixus and Helle. It was also the name of the cloud that Zeus made in the image of Hera , in order to see if Ixion , who was secretly in love with the goddess, would succumb to temptation; Ixion failed to restrain himself and after his union with Nephele, the Centaurs were born. Nephele became the wife of Athamas , and had two children, Phrixus and Helle . However, Athamas abandoned Nephele and married Ino , who had little love for her stepchildren. To get rid of them, Ino roasted all of the seeds in the town, so they wouldn't grow; the desperate farmers sent men to an oracle to find out what was happening, but Ino bribed the men, who said that the oracle demanded that Phrixus be sacrificed. Just before the sacrifice, however, Nephele sent a flying golden ram that saved Phrixus and Helle. Nephele asked her children not to look down while on the ram; Helle foolishly disregarded the a...

Medea was the daughter of King Aeetes of Colchis in Greek mythology, and wife of the mythical hero Jason. Medea met her husband when Jason and the Argonauts arrived in Colchis to claim the famous Golden Fleece from the king. She fell in love with him and told him she would help him in his quest, under the condition that he would take her with him. Jason accepted and when he presented himself in front of the king, Aeetes agreed to give him the fleece if he passed a number of tasks. The first task Jason had to complete was to yoke fire-breathing oxen and plough a field with them. To help him, Medea gave him an ointment to apply on himself and his weapons, in order to protect them from the flames. Secondly, he had to take dragon teeth and sow them in the field he had ploughed. No sooner had he sowed them than an army of warriors sprang up. Having been told by Medea, though, Jason was not surprised; he threw a rock amidst the army, and the warriors, not knowing who had thrown t...

Athens is the capital city of Greece and has been continuously inhabited for over 7000 years. In ancient times, it was one of the main city-states that competed for power against Sparta, Corinth and Thebes. It also provided the backdrop for various myths and legends for ancient Greeks. Its name derives from the goddess of wisdom, Athena, who became the city's patron goddess after a contest with Poseidon. The two gods competed for who would get the honour of becoming the patron god of the city, and offered gifts to the Athenians. Poseidon hit the ground with his trident and created a spring, showing that he would offer significant naval power. Athena, on the other hand, offered the olive tree, a symbol of prosperity and peace. The Athenians, led by King Cecrops I, decided to take Athena's gift, thus making her the patron goddess. The city was also the starting point for the story of Aegeus and Theseus. Aegeus was the king of Athens; during some games that were organised ...

Erechtheus was a king of Athens in Greek mythology. He was one of the first kings of the city, and from his name derived the word Erechtheidae, meaning the sons of Erechtheus, which was used to denote an Athenian. His name was also used as an epithet for the god Poseidon , as "Poseidon Erechtheus". "Poseidon Erechtheus" and " Athena Polias" were the two patron saints of Athens, who entered a contest to determine who would be the sole patron saint of the city. As a gift to the citizens of Athens, Poseidon struck a rock on the Acropolis with his trident, creating a salt spring, which was known as the sea of Erechtheus; Athena , instead, gifted them an olive tree and the secret of growing it, and was eventually chosen as the patron saint. Another Erechtheus, a historical figure who is sometimes conflated with a mythical one, was also a king of Athens, and is distinguished by naming him Erechtheus II. He was the son of King Pandion I of Athens and Z...

Catreus was the son of King Minos of Crete and Pasiphae in Greek mythology, who succeeded his father on the throne. He fathered four children, Althaemenes, Apemosyne, Aerope and Clymene. According to a source, Catreus received a prophecy from an oracle saying that he would be killed by one of his children. He kept it secret from everyone, but Althaemenes found out. Fearing for his father's life, Althaemenes took Apemosyne and together, they went to Rhodes, while Aerope and Clymene were given by their father to Nauplius, who would later sell them off abroad. Nauplius ended up marrying Clymene, while Aerope was given to Pleisthenes. A long time later, Catreus started searching for his son, in order to succeed him in the throne. On his search, he sailed to Rhodes, but his ship was mistaken for a pirate ship. Althaemenes attacked with his army, killing his father in the process, and thus fulfilling the prophecy. In Catreus' funeral, Menelaus, king of Sparta and grandson of Cat...

Eris was the Greek goddess of chaos, strife and discord. She was the daughter of Zeus and Hera; according to other myths, she was the daughter of Nyx (dark night) alone. Her opposite was Harmonia. The equivalent Roman goddesses of Eris and Harmonia were Discordia and Concordia. She had a son, Strife, whom she brought along with her when she rode her chariot to war alongside Aris. Eris played an important role in the events that eventually led to the Trojan War. All of the Olympians had been invited to the wedding of Peleus and Thetis , who would become the parents of Achilles; however, Eris was not invited, due to her inclination to cause discord. As a means of revenge, Eris dropped the golden Apple of Discord into the party, which had the words To The Fairest One inscribed on it. Hera , Athena and Aphrodite started quarreling over who the apple should be given to, so Zeus appointed Paris , Prince of Troy, as the person to solve the dispute. The goddesses offered Paris var...

Daedalus was a craftsman and artist in Greek mythology, who had two sons, Icarus and Iapyx. He is best known as the creator of the Labyrinth, a huge maze located under the court of King Minos of Crete, where the Minotaur, a half-man half-bull creature dwelt. According to the myth, the king of Athens was forced to pay tribute to King Minos by sending seven young men and seven young women each year to Crete, in order to be sacrificed to the Minotaur. One year, however, the legendary hero Theseus was sent into the labyrinth and managed to kill the Minotaur, assisted by Minos' daughter, Ariadne. Later, Daedalus was kept imprisoned in a tower in Crete, so that the secret of the Labyrinth would not be spread to the public. In order to escape, Daedalus created two sets of wings for himself and his young son Icarus, by using feathers and glueing them together with wax. He gave one of the sets to Icarus and taught him how to fly. However, he warned him not to fly too high as the sun wo...

Leto is a daughter of the Titans Coeus and Phoebe, the sister of Asteria. Zeus is the father of her twins, Apollo and Artemis, the Letoides, which Leto conceived after her hidden beauty accidentally caught the eyes of Zeus . When Hera , the most conservative of goddesses for she had the most to lose in changes to the order of nature - discovered that Leto was pregnant and that Zeus was the father, she realized that the offspring would cement the new order. She was powerless to stop the flow of events. Hera banned Leto from giving birth on "terra firma", the mainland, any island at sea, or any place under the sun. Finally, she found an island that was not attached to the ocean floor so it was not considered land and she could give birth.

Atlas was one of the most famous Titans , the son of Iapetus and the Oceanid Asia (or, possibly, Clymene). He was the leader of the Titan rebellion against Zeus . When the Titans were defeated, many of them (including Menoetius) were confined to Tartarus , but Zeus condemned Atlas to stand at the western edge of Gaia (the Earth) and hold up the sky on his shoulders. Thus, he was Atlas Telamon, "enduring Atlas," and became a doublet of Coeus, the embodiment of the celestial axis around which the heavens revolve. Encounter with Heracles One of the Twelve Labors of the hero Heracles was to fetch some of the golden apples which grow in Hera's garden, tended by Atlas' daughters, the Hesperides , and guarded by the dragon Ladon. Heracles went to Atlas and offered to hold up the heavens while Atlas got the apples from his daughters. Upon his return with the apples, however, Atlas attempted to trick Heracles into carrying the sky permanently by offering to deliver...

Mount Olympus is the mythical home of the gods in Greek mythology. According to authors, the mountain was created after the Titanomachy, the epic battle between the young gods, the Olympians and the older gods, the Titans. As a result of this battle, the Olympian victors created their new majestic home – Mount Olympus. It was shrouded from human eyes by clouds which constantly obscured its peaks. In Greece, you will also find a Mount Olympus, the tallest mountain in the country. The sacred mount was believed to have a temperate climate all year round, and mountain gorges lush with forests. The gods did not always reside in their paradise, however, and would depart or return from there via a gate of clouds guarded by the Horae , the goddesses of the seasons. Authors claim the tables in Zeus’ palace on Olympus were made of gold and were actually automatons, created by Hephaestus ! They moved in and out of the rooms as required by the gods. Zeus’ throne was situated in the Pantheon, ...

Maia is the daughter of Atlas and Pleione the Oceanid, and is the oldest of the seven Pleiades. They were born on Mount Cyllene in Arcadia, and are sometimes called mountain nymphs. Because they were daughters of Atlas , they were also called the Atlantides. According to the Homeric Hymn to Hermes , Zeus in the dead of night secretly begot Hermes upon Maia, who avoided the company of the gods, in a cave of Cyllene. After giving birth to the baby, Maia wrapped him in blankets and went to sleep. The rapidly maturing infant Hermes crawled away to Thessaly, where by nightfall of his first day he stole some of his half-brother Apollo 's cattle and invented the lyre from a tortoise shell. Maia refused to believe Apollo when he claimed that Hermes was the thief, and Zeus then sided with Apollo . Finally, Apollo exchanged the cattle for the lyre, which became one of his identifying attributes. Maia also raised the infant Arcas, the child of Callisto with Zeus . Wronged by t...

Notus was the Greek god of the south wind. He was associated with the desiccating hot wind of the rise of Sirius after midsummer, was thought to bring the storms of late summer and autumn, and was feared as a destroyer of crops. Notus' equivalent in Roman mythology was Auster, the embodiment of the sirocco wind, a southerly wind which brings cloudy weather, strong winds and rain to southern Europe