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Theseus and the Minotaur
Once upon a time, a long time ago, there lived a king named Minos. King
Minos lived on a lovely island called Crete. King Minos had a powerful
navy, a beautiful daughter, and a really big palace. Still, now and then,
King Minos grew bored. Whenever King Minos was bored, he took his
navy and attacked Athens, a town on the other side of the sea.
In desperation, the king of Athens offered King Minos a deal. If Minos
would leave Athens alone, Athens would send seven Athenian boys and
seven Athenian girls to Crete every nine years to be eaten by the
Minotaur.
The Minotaur was a horrible monster that lived in the center of a huge
maze on the island of Crete. King Minos loved that old monster. He did
like to give his monster a treat now and then. He knew his people would
prefer he fed his monster Athenian children rather than ... well, after
thinking it over, King Minos took the deal.
Nine years passed swiftly. It was just about time for Athens to send seven
boys and seven girls to Crete to be eaten by the Minotaur. Everyone in
Athens was crying.
Prince Theseus of Athens was very young. He knew that a deal was a
deal. But he was sure it was wrong to send small children to be eaten by
a monster just to avoid a battle with King Minos. Prince Theseus told his
father (the king) that he was going to Crete as the seventh son of Athens.
He was going to kill the Minotaur and end the terror.
"The Minotaur is a terrible monster! What makes you think you can kill
it?" cried his father.
"I'll find a way," Theseus replied gently. "The gods will help me."
His father begged him not to go. But the prince took his place as the
seventh Athenian boy. Along with six other Athenian boys and seven
Athenian girls, Prince Theseus sailed towards Crete.
When the prince and the children arrived on the island of Crete, King
Minos and his daughter, the Princess Ariadne, came out to greet them.
The king told the children that they would not be eaten until the next
day and to enjoy themselves in the palace in the meantime. The Princess
Ariadne did not say anything. But her eyes narrowed thoughtfully. Late
that night, she wrote Prince Theseus a note and slipped it under his
bedroom door.
Dear Theseus (Ariadne wrote)
I am a beautiful princess as you probably noticed the minute you
saw me. I am also a very bored princess. Without my help, the
Minotaur will surely gobble you up. I know a trick or two that will
save your life. If I help you kill the monster, you must promise to
take me away from this tiny island so that others can admire my
beauty. If interested in this deal, meet me by the gate to the
Labyrinth in one hour.
Yours very truly,
Princess Ariadne
Prince Theseus slipped out of the palace and waited patiently by the gate.
Princess Ariadne finally showed up. In her hands, she carried a sword
and a ball of string.
Ariadne gave the sword and the ball of string to Prince Theseus. "Hide
these inside the entrance to the maze. Tomorrow, when you and the
other children from Athens enter the Labyrinth, wait until the gate is
closed, then tie the string to the door. Unroll it as you move through the
maze. That way, you can find your way back again. The sword, well, you
know what to do with the sword," she laughed.
Theseus thanked the princess for her kindness.
"Don't forget, now," she cautioned Theseus. "You must take me with you
so that all the people can marvel at my beauty. A deal is a deal."
The next morning, the Athenian children, including Prince Theseus, were
shoved into the maze. The door was locked firmly behind them. Following
Ariadne's directions, Theseus tied one end of the string to the door. He
told the children to stay by the door. Their job was to make sure the
string stayed tied so that Theseus could find his way back. Theseus
entered the maze alone.
He found his way to the center of the maze. Using the sword Ariadne had
given him, Theseus killed the monstrous beast. He followed the string
back and knocked on the door.
Princess Ariadne was waiting. She opened the door. Without anyone
noticing, Prince Theseus and the children of Athens ran to their ship and
sailed quietly away. Princess Ariadne sailed away with them.
On the way home, they stopped for supplies on the tiny island of Naxos.
Princess Ariadne insisted on coming ashore. There was nothing much to
do on the island. Soon, she fell asleep. All the people gathered to watch
the sleeping princess. She was a lovely sight indeed. Theseus sailed
quietly away with the children of Athens and left her there, sleeping.
After all, a deal is a deal.
APOLLO AND CASSANDRA
The Temple at Delphi was the most famous of all Apollo's Temples. But it
was not the only temple built for Apollo. There was a wonderful temple in
Troy, built by the people of Troy in his honor, back when Troy and
Greece were friends, before the Trojan War.
As the story goes ...
Apollo enjoyed showing up now and then at the various temples around
ancient Greece built in his honor. One day, Apollo swung by the temple
in Troy.
Cassandra, a young and beautiful priestess, worked at the temple. The
minute Apollo saw Cassandra, he fell in love. (Love at first sight ran in
the family. After all, Apollo was Zeus’ son.)
Apollo offered Cassandra a deal. He would give her a very special gift, the
gift of prophecy - the ability to see the future - if she would give him a
kiss.
Cassandra thought that was a great deal. With a laugh, Apollo gave her
his gift. Instantly, Cassandra could see the future. She saw Apollo, in the
future, helping the Greeks destroy Troy. When Apollo bent his head to
gently kiss her, she angrily spit in his face.
Apollo was furious. He could not take away his gift. That's not how it
worked. But he could add to it.
Although Cassandra could, forever after, see the future, no one would
believe her. That was his added gift. And no one did. When Cassandra
begged her people in Troy to watch out for the Trojan horse, not one
person believed her.
APOLLO AND THE ORACLE AT DELPHI
The ancient Greeks believed that it was not wise to anger the gods. They
built temples all over ancient Greece. Each temple, no matter how
elaborate, honored only one god. The major gods had more than one
temple built in their honor. Nearly everyone was fond of Apollo. He was
the god of music, reason, and light. Apollo's chariot brought up the sun
each day.
Apollo had other powers. One was a very special skill - Apollo could see
the future. He had the gift of prophecy. Many people in ancient Greece
brought gifts to Apollo, and asked for advice in exchange. Apollo liked the
attention. And the gifts. It was all very nice, but it was also exhausting.
One day, Apollo decided that what he needed was an oracle, a wise
woman to speak for him. In ancient Greece, an oracle was a person who
could predict and interpret the future.
Apollo used some magic and established his oracle in a temple at Delphi.
There were many oracles, or fortune tellers, in ancient Greece. Apollo's
oracle at Delphi was the most famous.
The predictions made by other oracles were rather vague. A normal
oracle might answer, "Yes, the frost will be gone, and spring will come, if
the gods decree it." Such an answer was not much help if your question
was, "Should I plant my garden tomorrow?"
People in ancient Greece had heard that Apollo had shared his special
power with the oracle at Delphi - the power of prophecy. He did give her
the power of prophecy. But Apollo had put a limit on her power. Apollo's
oracle had to tell people the truth, but she could not answer yes or no.
The oracle could only make a truthful statement. It was up to you, the
listener, to figure out what she meant by it. Sometimes people
misunderstood what she was telling them. That was the trouble with
oracles, even the best of them.
For example, legend says .. Once upon a time, a great king traveled to
Delphi to ask the oracle, "Who will win the battle tomorrow?" The oracle
smiled at him, and answered, "A great king." The king was very happy to
hear this. He left many gifts for the oracle, and went quickly away, quite
pleased that he had come. What he had overlooked in his haste is that
more than one king would lead his men to battle in the morning. An
oracle's smile meant nothing.
PANDORA’S BOX
Zeus ordered Hephaestus (Aphrodite's husband) to make him a
daughter. It was the first woman made out of clay. Hephaestus made a
beautiful woman and named her Pandora.
Zeus sent his new daughter, Pandora, down to earth so that she could
marry Epimetheus, who was a gentle but lonely man. Zeus was not being
kind. He was getting even. Epimetheus and Prometheus were brothers.
Zeus was mad at one of the brothers, Prometheus, for giving people fire
without asking Zeus first.
That was a very wrong thing to do. Fire was huge! Zeus had not planned
to reward people with fire for a very long time yet. Zeus did not even get
the credit for the invention of fire. That went to Prometheus. Zeus was
furious. If the brothers wanted credit for new inventions, Zeus would be
glad to help them get the credit they deserved.
Zeus gave Pandora a little box with a big heavy lock on it. He made her
promise never to open the box. He gave the key to Pandora’s husband
and told him to never open the box. Zeus was sure that Epimetheus'
curiosity would get the better of him, and that either Epimetheus or his
brother would open the box.
Pandora was very curious. She wanted to see what was inside the box,
but Epimetheus said no. Better not. "You know your father," Epimetheus
sighed, referring to Zeus. "He’s a tricky one."
One day, when Epimetheus lay sleeping, Pandora stole the key and
opened the box.
Out flew every kind of disease and sickness, hate and envy, and all the
bad things that people had never experienced before. Pandora slammed
the lid closed, but it was too late. All the bad things were already out of
the box. They flew away, out into the world.
Epimetheus woke up at the sound of her sobbing. “I opened the box and
all these ugly things flew out,” she cried. “I tried to catch them, but they
all got out.” Pandora opened the box to show him how empty it was. But
the box was not quite empty. One tiny bug flew quickly out before
Pandora could slam the lid shut again.
“Hello, Pandora,” said the bug, hovering just out of reach. “My name is
Hope.” With a nod of thanks for being set free, Hope flew out into the
world, a world that now held Envy, Crime, Hate, and Disease – and Hope.
ODYSSEUS
The ancient Greeks were great storytellers. They created many stories
about gods, goddesses, and other mythical creatures. Some of these
stories tell tales of what happened when magical beings meet mortal
man.
The Greeks loved heroes. One of their heroes was King Odysseus. The
stories of brave Odysseus and his loyal band of men were told over and
over by traveling storytellers during the dark ages of ancient Greece.
A man named Homer lived right at the end of dark ages, in the 8th
century BCE. (During 700 BCE.) Over 2700 years ago, the poet Homer
collected and wrote down many of the ancient legends told by the
traveling storytellers. Homer took all the stories about King Odysseus
and put this collection of stories together in one book, which he named
The Odyssey.
The stories told of Odysseus and his men who lived on the island of
Ithaca. Odysseus had been away from home, fighting a war. After the
battle of Troy, which the Greeks won, King Odysseus and his men finally
sailed for home. Ithaca is a little island as far away from Troy as you
could get and still be in ancient Greece.
It was a long trip. It could have taken Odysseus a good month to get
home. These were early times, and the ships were not as strongly built as
they are today. But because of the trouble Odysseus faced on the way, it
took Odysseus and his men ten long years to get home!
According to the ancient Greek storytellers, in ten long years, Odysseus
and his men had quite a few adventures, and all of them had to do with
mythical creatures!
Loosely based on stories from “The Odyssey”, two of the stories went
something like this …
The Cyclops Cave: After Odysseus and his men had been at sea for a
while, their supplies began to dwindle. Odysseus and some of his men
landed on shore to look for food. They found a cave, full of sheep! They
cooked some sheep and stuffed themselves full. Unfortunately, the sheep
belonged to a Cyclops. A Cyclops is a one-eyed giant!
When the Cyclops returned to his cave, he was furious. He locked
Odysseus and his men up so they could not get away.
Using trickery, Odysseus managed to get the Cyclops drunk. Odysseus
sharpened a stick and blinded the Cyclops. The Cyclops tried to find
Odysseus and his men, to eat them. But Odysseus and his men crawled
under the sheep. Making bah-bah sounds, they crawled safely out of the
cave and got away!
The Sirens: Not too long after that, Odysseus and his men ran into the
Sirens. The Sirens were magical sea creatures that looked rather like
mermaids. They were known for their beautiful singing voices. The music
they made was so hypnotic that sailors stopped sailing their ships, to
listen. With no one in charge, the ships crashed into land, killing
everyone on board.
When Odysseus heard the beautiful music, he was suspicious
immediately. He had had quite a few adventures already. He was
beginning to be a bit suspicious of everything!
To be extra safe, he stuffed his crewmen’s ears so they could not hear the
music. He tied himself to the ship’s mast. That way, in case the gods
decided to be helpful, he wanted to be able to hear them. But, since he
was tied tightly, he would not be able to jump off the ship or swim to
shore, or to do anything else that might endanger himself or his crew,
when he heard the magical music. It worked! Odysseus is still the only
man in the world who ever heard the Sirens sing and lived to tell about
it!
After many adventures, the goddess Athena took pity on Odysseus, and
helped him find his way home.
Today, we still enjoy these fantastic adventure tales, first told by ancient
Greek storytellers, and then written down by the famous Greek poet,
Homer, over 2700 years ago!
Pygmalion
Pygmalion was a gifted sculptor from Cyprus who had no interest in the
local women as he found them immoral and frivolous. Instead Pygmalion
concentrated on his art until one day he ran across a large, flawless
piece of ivory and decided to carve a beautiful woman from it. When he
had finished the statue, Pygmalion found it so lovely and the image of his
ideal woman that he clothed the figure and adorned her in jewels. He
gave the statue a name: Galatea, sleeping love. He found himself
obsessed with his ideal woman so he went to the temple of Aphrodite to
ask forgiveness for all the years he had shunned her and beg for a wife
who would be as perfect as his statue.
Aphrodite was curious so she visited the studio of the sculptor while he
was away and was charmed by his creation. Galatea was the image of
herself. Being flattered, Aphrodite brought the statue to life. When
returned Pygmalion to his home, he found Galatea alive, and humbled
himself at her feet. Pygmalion and Galatea were wed, and Pygmalion
never forgot to thank Aphrodite for the gift she had given him. He and
Galatea brought gifts to her temple throughout their life and Aphrodite
blessed them with happiness and love in return.
EROS AND PSYCHE
One day on Mount Olympus, Aphrodite decided she had become fed
up with the beauty of Psyche, the maiden. Psyche was very beautiful
and was often complimented for her beauty. Aphrodite wanted to set
her straight. So she called her son, Eros, to shoot one of his arrows,
which poisoned immortal and mortal alike with love, at Psyche, while she
was sleeping. "What is the point of shooting an arrow at her when she is
asleep?" asked Eros.
"When she wakes up," replied Aphrodite "I will be sure to supply her
with someone like the castle dwarf, or maybe a donkey. Yes, that's a
possibility."
"That is a cruel trick," said Eros.
"It is meant to be cruel. Now go and obey your mother," replied
Aphrodite.
When Eros was above the sleeping Psyche, he took out an arrow and
prepared to shoot it. But he accidentally poked himself with the arrow,
and all of a sudden Psyche was the most valuable and wonderful thing
the earth had ever created. He loved Psyche more than anyone or
anything in the world. He flew back to Mount Olympus, leaving Psyche
unaffected.
Aphrodite was furious at Eros for not complying with her orders. The
fight that followed was one of the worst Olympus, or for that matter, the
world, had ever seen. While Eros was sulking, no one fell in love and
Aphrodite began to wither. So eventually Aphrodite saw that Eros must
have his way. "What is it you wish?" she asked him.
"The girl," replied Eros.
"You shall have her," said Aphrodite.
So Aphrodite had Zephyr, the west wind, come and bring Psyche to
Eros. But Eros could not be seen by Psyche for a little while after their
marriage. When Psyche's sisters visited her, they convinced Psyche that
her invisible husband was a monster. Psyche, curious, brought a candle
into her husband's bedchamber and looked at him. It was Eros, the god
of love. In her shock, Psyche let a drop of candle wax drip from the
candle. Eros awoke with a start and became very angry with Psyche.
"Yes, I am love itself, and I cannot live where I am not believed." Then
Eros left.
But eventually Eros forgave Psyche and invited her back to live with
him, and Psyche was made immortal upon Eros' request. Psyche is now
the goddess of the soul, and that is where we get the prefix "pysch-", as
in psycho, psychology, and psychiatrist.