Download Achilles was the son of King Peleus of Thessaly and Thetis, a sea

Achilles was the son of King Peleus of
Thessaly and Thetis, a sea Goddess.
Zeus, the King of the Gods, was his
grandfather. When Achilles was a baby
Thetis heard a prophet predict that
Achilles would die in battle when he
grew up. Thetis was afraid and wanted
to prevent this. So, she took Achilles to
the River Styx, which had magical
powers that could protect people from
pain and death. Holding Achilles by the
foot, Thetis dipped him into the river.
His body was almost entirely covered by
the magical water—except for his heel,
which did not get wet. Many years later,
Achilles became a soldier and went to
fight in the Trojan War. He survived
many battles—until the day he was shot
in the heel with an arrow, and died from
the wound.
Helen was the wife of King Menelaus of
Sparta in Greece, and was considered the
most beautiful woman in the world. One
evening, Helen and Menelaus hosted a
dinner party in honor of Paris, the visiting
prince of Troy. Troy was a powerful city in
Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey). Paris
was so awestruck by Helen’s beauty that he
kidnapped her and took her to Tory, hoping
they would be married there. When
Menelaus discovered that Helen was
missing, he was furious. He quickly
organized the entire Greek army to sail to
Troy to get Helen back. But when the
Greek army arrived, the Trojan soldiers
banded together and refused to let Helen
return to Sparta. The conflict erupted into
the Trojan War, which lasted 10 years.
During the war, the entire city of Troy was
destroyed and many soldiers on both sides
died, including the Greek hero Achilles. At
last, the Greeks defeated the Trojans and
the war ended. Helen returned safely to
Menelaus in Sparta.
The Trojan War began
when Helen, the queen of
Sparta, was kidnapped by
Paris, the prince of Troy.
The entire Greek army
sailed to Troy to get
Helen back, but the
Trojans blocked the gates
to their city and refused
to let her go. Even after
a long and bloody battle
lasting 10 years, the
Greeks were still unable
to get through the gates
of Troy. Then, the Greek
hero Odysseus came up
with a plan to trick the
Trojans. He had the Greek army build a hollow wooden horse, with room inside for dozens of Greek
soldiers. They left the horse—and the Greek soldiers within it—outside the gates of Troy. The rest of the
Greek army pretended to sail away. All of the Trojan soldiers thought that the Greek army had given up,
and that they had left the large wooden horse as a gift to honor the power of Troy. The Trojan soldiers
opened the gates of their city and took the horse inside. That night, while the Trojan army slept, the Greek
soldiers charged out of a trapdoor in the horse’s side, ready for battle. The Greeks destroyed Troy,
defeated the Trojan soldiers, and won the war.
Odysseus was the brave king of the
Greek island Ithaca who fought in the
Trojan War. On his way home from
battle, his ship sailed through a narrow
sea channel, or strait, near Italy.
Odysseus had to steer carefully between
the shores of the strait to avoid getting
stranded on the rocks. On one side of
the strait lived the monster Scylla. She
had 6 snarling dogs’ heads and 12
human legs, and she devoured any
sailors who passed by. On the other
side of the strait lived Charybdis, a
monster shaped like a rock, who created
a dangerous whirlpool by constantly
swallowing and spitting out the sea.
Odysseus decided to steer closer to
Scylla, to avoid smashing his ship to
pieces in the churning currents of
Charybdis’s whirlpool. Unfortunately,
Scylla captured and ate six of
Odysseus’s shipmates, but Odysseus
managed to escape with the rest of his
crew and his ship intact.
Hercules was the son of the God Zeus and
Alcmena, a woman from Thebes. When
Hercules was a baby, two poisonous snakes
found their way into his crib, and he strangled
them with his bare hands. As he grew up,
Hercules’ extraordinary strength increased.
When he reached adulthood, the Gods decided to
test Hercules. They challenged him to complete
a dozen dangerous tasks known as the Twelve
Labors. In each of these tasks, Hercules had to
risk his own life to save the lives of others. One
labor involved capturing an enormous snowwhite bull with the strength of a dozen bulls.
This bull had run wild over the Greek island of
Crete, crushing the homes of villagers and
trampling their crops. It also struck fruit trees
with its sharp horns and knocked them to the
ground. The people of Crete despaired over the
damage to their island, and prayed that someone
would be able to help them. Hercules arrived on
Crete and spotted the bull thundering across a
meadow. He ran after it, captured the powerful
bull with his bare hands, and wrestled it to the
ground. The people of Crete cheered. Hercules
then hoisted the bull over his shoulders and
carried it to the Gods, who praised him for his
great strength.
Narcissus was a beautiful young man who
refused to love anyone. Despite this, he was
deeply loved by the woodland fairy, or nymph,
named Echo. Echo followed Narcissus
through the forest, watching over him tenderly.
One day, Narcissus sent her away, angrily
telling her that he would never love her. Echo
was so hurt by his rejection that she shut
herself up in a cave to cry. She never came
out again and wasted away there, leaving only
her echo of her voice. Artemis, the Goddess of
the forest, was furious with Narcissus for
mistreating her favorite nymph. Artemis
placed a curse on Narcissus: since he refused
to love others, he would be overwhelmed with
love for himself. The next day, Narcissus saw
his reflection in a forest pond and fell in love
with himself. He sat on the banks of the pond
for many years, gazing at his reflection in the
water with hopeless desire as he slowly wasted
away. Finally, Artemis took pity on him and
changed him into a beautiful flower that still
bares his name today.
Perseus was the son of the God Zeus and Danae, a
woman from the Greek island of Seriphos. Perseus
was a very brave young man, and the jealous king of
Seriphos wanted to get rid of him. So the king sent
Perseus to find the monster Medusa and cut off her
head. Medusa had sharp fangs and claws and her
hair was made of poisonous snakes. Anyone who
would look into her frightening face would be turned
to stone and instantly killed. The Goddess Athena
gave Perseus a shield made from a mirror and a
sword to help him fight Medusa. After several
months of traveling, Perseus found the monster’s
dwelling place in the mountainside. He lit a torch
and entered Medusa’s cave. Medusa charged into
view, screaming that she would kill all intruders.
Perseus used the mirrored shield to see her
reflection—since he could not look directly at her
face—and cut off her head with his sword. Then, he
placed Medusa’s head in a sack, because her face
could turn people to stone even after she had died.
Before returning home, Perseus brought Medusa’s
head to the king of Atheiopia, to prove his bravery
and ask for Princess Andromeda's hand in marriage.
He held Medusa’s head above a fountain outside the
palace, so the king and princess could see its
reflection in the water safely and not be turned to
stone.
Pandora was a lovely young woman who was
blessed by the Gods with intelligence,
curiosity, and beauty. She was married to
Epimetheus, whose name means
“afterthought.” At their wedding, the God
Zeus gave them a beautifully carved box
filled with all of the ingredients of the world.
Zeus told them to keep the box in a safe
place, and never open it. Many months later,
Pandora asked Epimetheus if she should open
the box just to see what was inside, then
quickly close it again. Epimetheus—who
never thought about something until after it
was accomplished—said that this was a good
idea. So Pandora lifted the lid, and suddenly
all of the world’s troubles, vices, evils, and
diseases flew out, and spread themselves
among humans. Alarmed, Pandora quickly
closed the lid, preventing the one last thing in
the box from escaping. This last ingredient
was hope, the cure for all of the other things
that had been in the box. From that day
forward, Pandora and Epimetheus
safeguarded hope for the world.