The Labors of Hercules

The goddess Hera, determined to make trouble for Hercules,

made him lose his mind. In a confused and angry state, he killed
his own wife and children.

When he awakened from his "temporary insanity," Hercules was

shocked and upset by what he'd done. He prayed to the god
Apollo for guidance, and the god's oracle told him he would have
to serve Eurystheus, the king of Tiryns and Mycenae, for twelve
years, in punishment for the murders.
As part of his sentence, Hercules had to perform twelve Labors,
feats so difficult that they seemed impossible. Fortunately,
Hercules had the help of Hermes and Athena, sympathetic
deities who showed up when he really needed help. By the end
of these Labors, Hercules was, without a doubt, Greece's
greatest hero.
His struggles made Hercules the perfect embodiment of an idea
the Greeks called pathos, the experience of virtuous struggle
and suffering which would lead to fame and, in Hercules' case,
immortality.
The Nemean Lion
Initially, Hercules was required to complete ten labors, not
twelve. King Eurystheus decided Hercules' first task would be to
bring him the skin of an invulnerable lion which terrorized the
hills around Nemea.
Setting out on such a seemingly impossible labor, Hercules
came to a town called Cleonae, where he stayed at the house of
a poor workman-for-hire, Molorchus. When his host offered to
sacrifice an animal to pray for a safe lion hunt, Hercules asked
him to wait 30 days. If the hero returned with the lion's skin, they
would sacrifice to Zeus, king of the gods. If Hercules died trying
to kill the lion, Molorchus agreed to sacrifice instead to Hercules,
as a hero.
When Hercules got to Nemea and began tracking the terrible
lion, he soon discovered his arrows were useless against the
beast. Hercules picked up his club and went after the lion.
Following it to a cave which had two entrances, Hercules
blocked one of the doorways, then approached the fierce lion
through the other. Grasping the lion in his mighty arms, and
ignoring its powerful claws, he held it tightly until he'd choked it
to death.
Hercules returned to Cleonae, carrying the dead lion, and found
Molorchus on the 30th day after he'd left for the hunt. Instead of
sacrificing to Hercules as a dead man, Molorchus and Hercules
were able to sacrifice together, to Zeus.
When Hercules made it back to Mycenae, Eurystheus was
amazed that the hero had managed such an impossible task.
The king became afraid of Hercules, and forbade him from
entering through the gates of the city. Furthermore, Eurystheus
had a large bronze jar made and buried partway in the earth,
where he could hide from Hercules if need be. After that,
Eurystheus sent his commands to Hercules through a herald,
refusing to see the powerful hero face to face.
Many times we can identify Hercules in ancient Greek vase
paintings or sculptures simply because he is depicted wearing a
lion skin. Ancient writers disagreed as to whether the skin
Hercules wore was that of the Nemean lion, or one from a
different lion, which Hercules was said to have killed when he
was 18 years old. The playwright Euripides wrote that Hercules'
lion skin came from the grove of Zeus, the sanctuary at Nemea:
The Lernean Hydra
The second labor of Hercules was to kill the Lernean Hydra.
From the murky waters of the swamps near a place called
Lerna, the hydra would rise up and terrorize the countryside. A
monstrous serpent with nine heads, the hydra attacked with
poisonous venom. Nor was this beast easy prey, for one of the
nine heads was immortal and therefore indestructible.
Lerna
Hercules set off to hunt the nine-headed menace, but he did not
go alone. His trusty nephew, Iolaus, was by his side. Iolaus, who
shared many adventures with Hercules, accompanied him on
many of the twelve labors. Legend has it that Iolaus won a
victory in chariot racing at the Olympics and he is often depicted
as Hercules' charioteer. So, the pair drove to Lerna and by the
springs of Amymone, they discovered the lair of the loathsome
hydra.

First, Hercules lured the coily creature from the safety of its den
by shooting flaming arrows at it. Once the hydra emerged,
Hercules seized it. The monster was not so easily overcome,
though, for it wound one of its coils around Hercules' foot and
made it impossible for the hero to escape. With his club,
Hercules attacked the many heads of the hydra, but as soon as
he smashed one head, two more would burst forth in its place!
To make matters worse, the hydra had a friend of its own: a
huge crab began biting the trapped foot of Hercules. Quickly
disposing of this nuisance, most likely with a swift bash of his
club, Hercules called on Iolaus to help him out of this tricky
situation.

Each time Hercules bashed one of the hydra's heads, Iolaus

held a torch to the headless tendons of the neck. The flames
prevented the growth of replacement heads, and finally,
Hercules had the better of the beast. Once he had removed and
destroyed the eight mortal heads, Hercules chopped off the
ninth, immortal head. This he buried at the side of the road
leading from Lerna to Elaeus, and for good measure, he
covered it with a heavy rock. As for the rest of the hapless
hydra, Hercules slit open the corpse and dipped his arrows in
the venomous blood.
Eurystheus was not impressed with Hercules' feat, however. He
said that since Iolaus had helped his uncle, this labor should not
count as one of the ten. This technicality didn't seem to matter
much to anyone else: the ancient authors still give Hercules all
of the credit. Even so, Pausanias did not think that this labor
was as fantastic as the myths made it out to be: to him, the
fearsome hydra was just, well, a big water snake.

The Hind of Ceryneia

For the third labor, Eurystheus ordered Hercules to bring him the
Hind of Ceryneia. Now, before we go any further, we'll have to
answer two questions: What is a hind? and, Where is Ceryneia?
Ceryneia is a town in Greece, about fifty miles from Eurystheus'
palace in Mycenae.
Map of Southern Greece showing Ceryneia and Mycenae
A hind is simply a female red deer.
You'd think it would have been easy for a hero like Hercules to
go shoot a deer and bring it back to Eurystheus, but a few
problems made things complicated. This was a special deer,
because it had golden horns and hoofs of bronze. Not only that,
the deer was sacred to the goddess of hunting and the moon,
Diana; she was Diana's special pet. That meant that Hercules
could neither kill the deer nor hurt her. He couldn't risk getting
Diana angry at him; he was already in enough trouble with Hera.
Hercules set out on this adventure, and he hunted the deer for a
whole year. At last, when the deer had become weary with the
chase, she looked for a place to rest on a mountain called
Artemisius, and then made her way to the river Ladon. Realizing
that the deer was about to get away, Hercules shot her just as
she was about to cross the stream. He caught the deer, put her
on his shoulders and turned back to Mycenae. As Hercules
hurried on his way, he was met by Diana and Apollo.
Diana was very angry because Hercules tried to kill her sacred
animal. She was about to take the deer away from Hercules,
and surely she would have punished him, but Hercules told her
the truth. He said that he had to obey the oracle and do the
labors Eurystheus had given him. Diana let go of her anger and
healed the deer's wound. Hercules carried it alive to Mycenae.
The Erymanthian Boar
For the fourth labor, Eurystheus ordered Hercules to bring him
the Erymanthian boar alive. Now, a boar is a huge, wild pig with
a bad temper, and tusks growing out of its mouth.
This one was called the Erymanthian boar, because it lived on a
mountain called Erymanthus. Every day the boar would come
crashing down from his lair on the mountain, attacking men and
animals all over the countryside, gouging them with its tusks,
and destroying everything in its path.
On his way to hunt the boar, Hercules stopped to visit his friend
Pholus, who was a centaur and lived in a cave near Mount
Erymanthus. Everyone knows that centaur is a human from his
head to his waist, and a horse for the rest of his body and his
legs. Hercules was hungry and thirsty, so the kindly centaur
cooked Hercules some meat in the fireplace, while he himself
ate his meat raw.
When Hercules asked for wine, Pholus said that he was afraid to
open the wine jar, because it belonged to all the centaurs in
common. But Hercules said not to worry, and opened it himself.
Soon afterwards, the rest of the centaurs smelled the wine and
came to Pholus's cave. They were angry that someone was
drinking all of their wine. The first two who dared to enter were
armed with rocks and fir trees.

Hercules grabbed burning sticks from the fireplace and threw

them at the centaurs, then went after them with his club.
He shot arrows at the rest of them and chased after them for
about twenty miles. The rest of the centaurs fled in different
directions. One of the centaurs, Chiron, received a wound that
no amount of medicine would heal...but what happened to
Chiron is another story.
While Hercules was gone, Pholus pulled an arrow from the body
of one of the dead centaurs. He wondered that so little a thing
could kill such a big creature. Suddenly, the arrow slipped from
his hand. It fell onto his foot and killed him on the spot. So when
Hercules returned, he found Pholus dead. He buried his centaur
friend, and proceeded to hunt the boar.
It wasn't too hard for Hercules to find the boar. He could hear
the beast snorting and stomping as it rooted around for
something to eat. Hercules chased the boar round and round
the mountain, shouting as loud as he could. The boar, frightened
and out of breath, hid in a thicket. Hercules poked his spear into
the thicket and drove the exhausted animal into a deep patch of
snow.
Then he trapped the boar in a net, and carried it all the way to
Mycenae. Eurystheus, again amazed and frightened by the
hero's powers, hid in his partly buried bronze jar.
The Augean Stables
Hercules Cleans Up
For the fifth labor, Eurystheus ordered Hercules to clean up King
Augeas' stables. Hercules knew this job would mean getting
dirty and smelly, but sometimes even a hero has to do these
things. Then Eurystheus made Hercules' task even harder: he
had to clean up after the cattle of Augeas in a single day.
Now King Augeas owned more cattle than anyone in Greece.
Some say that he was a son of one of the great gods, and
others that he was a son of a mortal; whosever son he was,
Augeas was very rich, and he had many herds of cows, bulls,
goats, sheep and horses.
Every night the cowherds, goatherds and shepherds drove the
thousands of animals to the stables.
Hercules went to King Augeas, and without telling anything
about Eurystheus, said that he would clean out the stables in
one day, if Augeas would give him a tenth of his fine cattle.
Augeas couldn't believe his ears, but promised. Hercules
brought Augeas's son along to watch. First the hero tore a big
opening in the wall of the cattle-yard where the stables were.
Then he made another opening in the wall on the opposite side
of the yard.
Next, he dug wide trenches to two rivers which flowed nearby.
He turned the course of the rivers into the yard. The rivers
rushed through the stables, flushing them out, and all the mess
flowed out the hole in the wall on other side of the yard.

When Augeas learned that Eurystheus was behind all this, he

would not pay Hercules his reward. Not only that, he denied that
he had even promised to pay a reward. Augeas said that if
Hercules didn't like it, he could take the matter to a judge to
decide.
The judge took his seat. Hercules called the son of Augeas to
testify. The boy swore that his father had agreed to give
Hercules a reward. The judge ruled that Hercules would have to
be paid. In a rage, Augeas ordered both his own son and
Hercules to leave his kingdom at once. So the boy went to the
north country to live with his aunts, and Hercules headed back
to Mycenae. But Eurystheus said that this labour didn't count,
because Hercules was paid for having done the work.

The Stymphalian Birds

After Hercules returned from his success in the Augean stables,
Eurystheus came up with an even more difficult task. For the
sixth Labor, Hercules was to drive away an enormous flock of
birds which gathered at a lake near the town of Stymphalos.
Arriving at the lake, which was deep in the woods, Hercules had
no idea how to drive the huge gathering of birds away. The
goddess Athena came to his aid, providing a pair of bronze
krotala, noisemaking clappers similar to castanets. These were
no ordinary noisemakers. They had been made by an immortal
craftsman, Hephaistos, the god of the forge.
Climbing a nearby mountain, Hercules clashed the krotala
loudly, scaring the birds out of the trees, then shot them with
bow and arrow, or possibly with a slingshot, as they took flight
Some versions of the legend say that these Stymphalian birds
were vicious man-eaters. The 2nd century A.D. travel writer,
Pausanias, trying to discover what kind of birds they might have
been, wrote that during his time a type of bird from the Arabian
desert was called "Stymphalian," describing them as equal to
lions or leopards in their fierceness. He speculated that the birds
Hercules encountered in the legend were similar to these
Arabian birds.
These fly against those who come to hunt them, wounding and
killing them with their beaks. All armor of bronze or iron that men
wear is pierced by the birds; but if they weave a garment of thick
cork, the beaks of the Stymphalian birds are caught in the cork
garment... These birds are of the size of a crane, and are like
the ibis, but their beaks are more powerful, and not crooked like
that of the ibis.
Pausanias also saw and described the religious sanctuary built
by the Greeks of Stymphalos and dedicated to the goddess
Artemis. He reported that the temple had carvings of the
Stymphalian birds up near its roof. Standing behind the temple,
he saw marble statues of maidens with the legs of birds.
The Cretan Bull
After the complicated business with the Stymphalian Birds,
Hercules easily disposed of the Cretan Bull.
At that time, Minos, King of Crete, controlled many of the islands
in the seas around Greece, and was such a powerful ruler that
the Athenians sent him tribute every year. There are many bull
stories about Crete. Zeus, in the shape of a bull, had carried
Minos' mother Europa to Crete, and the Cretans were fond of
the sport of bull-leaping, in which contestants grabbed the horns
of a bull and were thrown over its back.

Minos himself, in order to prove his claim to the throne, had

promised the sea-god Poseidon that he would sacrifice
whatever the god sent him from the sea. Poseidon sent a bull,
but Minos thought it was too beautiful to kill, and so he sacrificed
another bull. Poseidon was furious with Minos for breaking his
promise. In his anger, he made the bull rampage all over Crete,
and caused Minos' wife Pasiphae to fall in love with the animal.
As a result, Pasiphae gave birth to the Minotaur, a monster with
the head of a bull and the body of a man. Minos had to shut up
this beast in the Labyrinth, a huge maze underneath the palace,
and every year he fed it prisoners from Athens.
When Hercules got to Crete, he easily wrestled the bull to the
ground and drove it back to King Eurystheus. Eurystheus let the
bull go free. It wandered around Greece, terrorizing the people,
and ended up in Marathon, a city near Athens.
The Athenian hero Theseus tied up some loose ends of this
story. He killed the Cretan Bull at Marathon. Later, he sailed to
Crete, found his way to the center of the Labyrinth, and killed the
Minotaur.

The Man-Eating Horses of Diomedes

After Hercules had captured the Cretan Bull, Eurystheus sent
him to get the man-eating mares of Diomedes, the king of a
Thracian tribe called the Bistones, and bring them back to him in
Mycenae.
According to Apollodorus, Hercules sailed with a band of
volunteers across the Aegean to Bistonia. There he and his
companions overpowered the grooms who were tending the
horses, and drove them to the sea. But by the time he got there,
the Bistones had realized what had happened, and they sent a
band of soldiers to recapture the animals. To free himself to
fight, Hercules entrusted the mares to a youth named Abderos.
Hippolyte's Belt
Hercules Fights the Amazons
For the ninth labor, Eurystheus ordered Hercules to bring him
the belt of Hippolyte [Hip-POLLY-tee]. This was no ordinary belt
and no ordinary warrior. Hippolyte was queen of the Amazons, a
tribe of women warriors.
These Amazons had nothing to do with the Amazon river in
South America. Their name comes from a Greek word meaning
"missing one breast." This is because an Amazon's right breast
got in the way when she threw a spear.
The Amazons lived apart from men, and if they ever gave birth
to children, they kept only the females and reared them to be
warriors like themselves.
Queen Hippolyte had a special piece of armor. It was a leather
belt that had been given to her by Ares, the war god, because
she was the best warrior of all the Amazons. She wore this belt
across her chest and used it to carry her sword and spear.
Eurystheus wanted Hippolyte's belt as a present to give to his
daughter, and he sent Hercules to bring it back.

Hercules' friends realized that the hero could not fight against
the whole Amazon army by himself, so they joined with him and
set sail in a single ship.
A warship with mast and sail. Its prow is in the form of a boar's
head, and it has a high fore-deck, steering oars and a landing
ladder at the stern. Eight figures can be seen rowing the upper
set of oars (there are at least as many people on the lower deck)
and the sail is fully extended, giving the impression that the boat
is moving "full speed ahead."
After a long journey, they reached the land of the Amazons and
put in at the harbor. When Hercules and the Greeks got off the
boat, Hippolyte came down to visit them.
She asked Hercules why he had come, and when he told her,
she promised to give him the belt. But the goddess Hera knew
that the arrival of Hercules meant nothing but trouble for the
Amazons. Disguised as an Amazon warrior, Hera went up and
down the army saying to each woman that the strangers who
had arrived were going to carry off the queen. So the Amazons
put on their armor
But when Hercules saw that they were wearing their armor and
were carrying their weapons, he knew that he was under attack.
Thinking fast, he drew his sword and killed Hippolyte.
Hercules battles the Amazons. The Amazon has fallen to one
knee, supported by the shield on her left arm. A wrapped object
at her waist may represent the prized belt.
Then he undid her belt and took it away from her.
Hercules and the Greeks fought the rest of the Amazons in a
great battle.
When the enemy had been driven off, Hercules sailed away.
After a stopover at the city of Troy, Hercules returned to
Mycenae, and he gave the belt to Eurystheus.

The Cattle of Geryon

To accomplish his tenth labor, Hercules had to journey to the
end of the world. Eurystheus ordered the hero to bring him the
cattle of the monster Geryon. Geryon was the son of Chrysaor
and Callirrhoe. Chrysaor had sprung from the body of the
Gorgon Medusa after Perseus beheaded her, and Callirrhoe
was the daughter of two Titans, Oceanus and Tethys. With such
distinguished lineage, it is no surprise that Geryon himself was
quite unique. It seems that Geryon had three heads and three
sets of legs all joined at the waist.

And the daughter of Ocean, Callirrhoe... bore a son who was the
strongest of all men, Geryones, whom mighty Heracles killed in
sea-girt Erythea for the sake of his shambling oxen.
Geryon lived on an island called Erythia, which was near the
boundary of Europe and Libya. On this island, Geryon kept a
herd of red cattle guarded by Cerberus's brother, Orthus, a two-
headed hound, and the herdsman Eurytion. Hercules set off on
for Erythia, encountering and promptly killing many wild beasts
along the way, and he came to the place where Libya met
Europe. Here, Apollodorus tells us, Hercules built two massive
mountains, one in Europe and one in Libya, to commemorate
his extensive journey. Other accounts say that Hercules split
one mountain into two. Either way, these mountains became
known as the Gates or Pillars of Hercules. The strait Hercules
made when he broke the mountain apart is now called the Strait
of Gibraltar, between Spain and Morocco, the gateway from the
Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean.
Sailing in a goblet which the Sun gave him in admiration,
Hercules reached the island of Erythia. Not long after he arrived,
Orthus, the two-headed dog, attacked Hercules, so Hercules
bashed him with his club. Eurytion followed, with the same
result. Another herdsman in the area reported these events to
Geryon. Just as Hercules was escaping with the cattle, Geryon
attacked him. Hercules fought with him and shot him dead with
his arrows.
The stealing of the cattle was not such a difficult task, compared
to the trouble Hercules had bringing the herd back to Greece. In
Liguria, two sons of Poseidon, the god of the sea, tried to steal
the cattle, so he killed them. At Rhegium, a bull got loose and
jumped into the sea. The bull swam to Sicily and then made its
way to the neighboring country. The native word for bull was
"italus," and so the country came to be named after the bull, and
was called Italy.

The escaped bull was found by a ruler named Eryx, another of

Poseidon's sons, and Eryx put this bull into his own herd.
Meanwhile, Hercules was searching for the runaway animal. He
temporarily entrusted the rest of the herd to the god
Hephaestus, and went after the bull. He found it in Eryx's herd,
but the king would return it only if the hero could beat him in a
wrestling contest. Never one to shy away from competition,
Hercules beat Eryx three times in wrestling, killed the king, took
back the bull, and returned it to the herd.
Hercules made it to the edge of the Ionian Sea, with the end of
his journey finally in sight. Hera, however, was not about to let
the hero accomplish this labor. She sent a gadfly to attack the
cattle, and the herd scattered far and wide. Now, Hercules had
to run around Thrace gathering the escaped cows. Finally, he
regrouped the herd and, blaming his troubles on the river
Strymon in Thrace, he filled the river with rocks, making it
unnavigable. Then, he brought the cattle of Geryon to
Eurystheus, who sacrificed the herd to Hera. The ancients don't
tell us how long either Hercules or Europe took to recover from
this eventful jaunt.
The Apples of the Hesperides
Poor Hercules! After eight years and one month, after
performing ten superhuman labors, he was still not off the hook.
Eurystheus demanded two more labors from the hero, since he
did not count the hydra or the Augean stables as properly done.
Eurystheus commanded Hercules to bring him golden apples
which belonged to Zeus, king of the gods. Hera had given these
apples to Zeus as a wedding gift, so surely this task was
impossible. Hera, who didn't want to see Hercules succeed,
would never permit him to steal one of her prize possessions,
would she?
These apples were kept in a garden at the northern edge of the
world, and they were guarded not only by a hundred-headed
dragon, named Ladon, but also by the Hesperides, nymphs who
were daughters of Atlas, the titan who held the sky and the earth
upon his shoulders.
The Hesperides in the garden. Here the apples are on a tree,
and the dragon Ladon looks more like a single-headed serpent.
Hercules' first problem was that he didn't know where the
garden was. He journeyed through Libya, Egypt, Arabia, and
Asia, having adventures along the way. He was stopped by
Kyknos, the son of the war god, Ares, who demanded that
Hercules fight him. After the fight was broken up by a
thunderbolt, Hercules continued on to Illyria, where he seized
the sea-god Nereus, who knew the garden's secret location.
Nereus transformed himself into all kinds of shapes,trying to
escape, but Hercules held tight and didn't release Nereus until
he got the information he needed.

Continuing on his quest, Hercules was stopped by Antaeus, the

son of the sea god, Poseidon, who also challenged Hercules to
fight. Hercules defeated him in a wrestling match, lifting him off
the ground and crushing him, because when Antaeus touched
the earth he became stronger. After that, Hercules met up with
Busiris, another of Poseidon's sons, was captured, and was led
to an altar to be a human sacrifice. But Hercules escaped, killing
Busiris, and journeyed on.
Hercules came to the rock on Mount Caucasus where
Prometheus was chained. Prometheus, a trickster who made
fun of the gods and stole the secret of fire from them, was
sentenced by Zeus to a horrible fate. He was bound to the
mountain, and every day a monstrous eagle came and ate his
liver, pecking away at Prometheus' tortured body. After the
eagle flew off, Prometheus' liver grew back, and the next day he
had to endure the eagle's painful visit all over again. This went
on for 30 years, until Hercules showed up and killed the eagle.
Eagle with wings outstretched.
In gratitude, Prometheus told Hercules the secret to getting the
apples. He would have to send Atlas after them, instead of going
himself. Atlas hated holding up the sky and the earth so much
that he would agree to the task of fetching the apples, in order to
pass his burden over to Hercules. Everything happened as
Prometheus had predicted, and Atlas went to get the apples
while Hercules was stuck in Atlas's place, with the weight of the
world literally on his shoulders.
When Atlas returned with the golden apples, he told Hercules he
would take them to Eurystheus himself, and asked Hercules to
stay there and hold the heavy load for the rest of time. Hercules
slyly agreed, but asked Atlas whether he could take it back
again, just for a moment, while the hero put some soft padding
on his shoulders to help him bear the weight of the sky and the
earth. Atlas put the apples on the ground, and lifted the burden
onto his own shoulders. And so Hercules picked up the apples
and quickly ran off, carrying them back, uneventfully, to
Eurystheus.

There was one final problem: because they belonged to the

gods, the apples could not remain with Eurystheus. After all the
trouble Hercules went through to get them, he had to return
them to Athena, who took them back to the garden at the
northern edge of the world.
Hercules in the garden of the Hesperides.
Sometimes the hero is portrayed in the garden, even though the
story we have from Apollodorus is that he sent Atlas there
instead of going himself.
Cerberus
The most dangerous labor of all was the twelfth and final one.
Eurystheus ordered Hercules to go to the Underworld and
kidnap the beast called Cerberus (or Kerberos). Eurystheus
must have been sure Hercules would never succeed at this
impossible task!

The ancient Greeks believed that after a person died, his or her
spirit went to the world below and dwelled for eternity in the
depths of the earth. The Underworld was the kingdom of Hades,
also called Pluto, and his wife, Persephone. Depending on how
a person lived his or her life, they might or might not experience
never-ending punishment in Hades. All souls, whether good or
bad, were destined for the kingdom of Hades.
Cerberus was a vicious beast that guarded the entrance to
Hades and kept the living from entering the world of the dead.
According to Apollodorus, Cerberus was a strange mixture of
creatures: he had three heads of wild dogs, a dragon or serpent
for a tail, and heads of snakes all over his back. Hesiod, though,
says that Cerberus had fifty heads and devoured raw flesh.
. . . A monster not to be overcome and that may not be
described, Cerberus who eats raw flesh, the brazen-voiced
hound of Hades, fifty-headed, relentless and strong.
Cerberus' parents were the monster Echinda (half-woman, half-
serpent) and Typhon (a fire-breathing giant covered with
dragons and serpents). Even the gods of Olympus were afraid
of Typhon.
Among the children attributed to this awful couple were Orthus
(or Othros), the Hydra of Lerna, and the Chimaera. Orthus was
a two-headed hound which guarded the cattle of Geryon. With
the Chimaera, Orthus fathered the Nemean Lion and the
Sphinx. The Chimaera was a three-headed fire-breathing
monster, part lion, part snake, and part goat. Hercules seemed
to have a lot of experience dealing with this family: he killed
Orthus, when he stole the cattle of Geryon, and strangled the
Nemean Lion. Compared to these unfortunate family members,
Cerberus was actually rather lucky
Before making the trip to the Underworld, Hercules decided that
he should take some extra precautions. This was, after all, a
journey from which no mortal had ever returned. Hercules knew
that once in the kingdom of Hades, he might not be allowed to
leave and rejoin the living. The hero went to Eleusis and saw
Eumolpus, a priest who began what were known as the
Eleusinian Mysteries. The mysteries were sacred religious rites
which celebrated the myth of Demeter and her daughter
Persephone. The ancients believed that those who learned the
secrets of the mysteries would have happiness in the
Underworld. After the hero met a few conditions of membership,
Eumolpus initiated Hercules into the mysteries.

Hercules went to a place called Taenarum in Laconia. Through

a deep, rocky cave, Hercules made his way down to the
Underworld. He encountered monsters, heroes, and ghosts as
he made his way through Hades. He even engaged in a
wrestling contest! Then, finally, he found Pluto and asked the
god for Cerberus. The lord of the Underworld replied that
Hercules could indeed take Cerberus with him, but only if he
overpowered the beast with nothing more than his own brute
strength.

A weaponless Hercules set off to find Cerberus. Near the gates

of Acheron, one of the five rivers of the Underworld, Hercules
encountered Cerberus. Undaunted, the hero threw his strong
arms around the beast, perhaps grasping all three heads at
once, and wrestled Cerberus into submission. The dragon in the
tail of the fierce flesh-eating guard dog bit Hercules, but that did
not stop him. Cerberus had to submit to the force of the hero,
and Hercules brought Cerberus to Eurystheus. Unlike other
monsters that crossed the path of the legendary hero, Cerberus
was returned safely to Hades, where he resumed guarding the
gateway to the Underworld. Presumably, Hercules inflicted no
lasting damage on Cerberus, except, of course, the wound to his
pride!
jASON AND THE GOLDEN FLEECE SUMMARY
How It (Supposedly) Went Down
A Brief Summary:
Jason shows up in his hometown of Iolcus with a game-plan:
regain the throne stolen from his father by his uncle Pelias. King
Pelias says he's down to give up the throne... so long as Jason
brings him the Golden Fleece. Which is held in the far away land
of Colchis, a.k.a not something you can just pick up at the local
Walmart. Jason accepts the quest anyway and assembles the
most star-studded team of heroes Greece has ever seen to go
on the quest with him aboard the magical ship, the Argo.

Jason and the Argonauts have tons of adventures on the way

Colchis, like battling Harpies and giants and stuff like that. When
they finally arrive in Colchis, King Aeëtes says that Jason can
have the Fleece just as long he completes three nearly
impossible tasks. With the help of Medea, the daughter of
Aeëtes, Jason completes the tasks, grabs the Fleece and
Medea, and sails back to Greece. A few adventures later, Jason
and pals are marching into Iolcus with the Golden Fleece.

A Detailed Summary:
Jason shows up in his hometown of Iolcus to demand that his
wicked uncle Pelias return the throne to him, the rightful heir.
Pelias stole the throne from Jason's father, Aeson.
King Pelias says, “Sure, no problemo. But first you have to sail
to the distant land of Colchis and fetch the Golden Fleece.
Which no one's ever done before.”
“Hey now, won't it be an insanely dangerous voyage?” the
young hero asks.
“Probably so,” says his uncle.
“Awesome. I'm in!” declares Jason, gunning for adventure.
So, Jason gets to work preparing for the journey.
If he's gonna travel across the Black Sea, he figures the first
thing he needs to do is get himself a ship. (You can see his
sterling genius at work already.)
Jason recruits a shipwright named Argus, who builds Jason a
fantastic boat that has the ability to speak and give prophecies;
basically a Yacht with Siri built in.
Argus wasn't particularly modest, and so he named the ship the
Argo after himself.
The next thing for Jason to do is put together a crew for the
Argo.
Along with Argus, he assembles a massive group of all the
heroes and demigods of ancient Greece, the greatest gang of
big names until the Trojan war (which you can read about in
Homer's Iliad!)
The list of Argonauts is pretty much a “who's who?” list of
Greeky awesomeness.
Different people will give you some drastically different guest-
lists of heroes invited on the quest for the golden fleece, but they
typically agree on these guys:
Heracles, the biggest strongest hero of them all
Hylas, Heracles's squire and/or boy lover (you decide)
Zetes and Calais, the sons of Boreas, the North Wind
Orpheus, the famous musician who went to the underworld and
could make stones fly.
Castor and Polydeuces (aka Pollux), tough-as-nails Spartan twin
brothers.
Peleus, father of Achilles of ankle fame.
Telamon, father of Ajax, an intimidating lunk who fought at Troy
Atalanta, the female huntress (watch out: she killed the
Calydonian boar)
Theseus, King of Athens (sometimes) and slayer of the Minotaur
This list goes on for days and can include like fifty to eighty
dudes all with competitively funny names. Check out the original
poems for all the deets.
Once Jason is done rounding up his squad of superheroes, he's
ready to set sail.
Island One: Lemnos
The first island that Jason and the Argonauts come to is
Lemnos, an island full of nothing but women. This is gonna be
good.
Apparently, under the leadership of their queen, Hypsipyle, the
women rebelled and murdered all the men.
The ladies of Lemnos omit this bloody detail when they meet the
Argonauts.
Struck by the boatful of sexiness that has just hit their shore, the
women propose that the crew of heroes mate with them in order
to repopulate the island.
Jason and his crew are more than happy to fulfill this request (to
say the least).
By the time they leave, a whole bunch of little Argonauts are on
the way.
The only Argonaut who doesn't take part in
the...um...repopulation of Lemnos is Heracles, which is kind of
bonkers because he was famous for his lusty exploits.
(Some say that Heracles doesn't go spend time with the ladies,
because he's more than occupied with Hylas, who was his
lover.)
Next Up: The Doilones
The Argonauts sail through the Hellespont, a narrow strait that
separates the Aegean Sea from the Marmara Sea. Today, this
strait is called Dardanelles. (More here.)
After squeezing through this rather skinny body of water they
come to the Island of the Doilones.
King Cyzicus of the Doilones gets chummy with the Argonauts.
They have a nice meal together and swap stories.
The Argonauts sail off, thinking what a lovely time they had with
the Doilones.
Jason and his crew see a mountain on a spit of land.
They decide to climb it to check out what lies ahead of them.
Heracles and a couple others stay with the Argo, while Jason
and most of the Argonauts climb the mountain.
Suddenly, this gaggle of giants called the Earthbound Men come
streaming toward the Argo, determined to destroy it. Uh oh
Spaghetti-O.
Heracles whips out his bow and kills a ton of them.
Jason and the other Argonauts get back just in time to finish off
the rest.
They set sail again that night, but a blustery storm blows them
off course.
Unbeknownst to the Argonauts, their ship actually ends up
landing back on the island of the Doilones.
King Cyzicus and his people tragically mistake the Argonauts for
invaders and a battle ensues.
Before anybody figures out the mistake, King Cyzicus is dead.
His wife is horrified and kills herself.
Jason and the rest of the Argonauts feel simply terrible about
this, so they hold funeral games in honor of the dead and make
sacrifices to appease the gods.
Welcome to Cius
Next, the Argonauts land on the island of Cius.
Here, Hylas is seduced by some water nymphs.
The beautiful creatures drag the boy into their pond (or stream)
and he's never seen again.
Some say that he drowns, while others say that he lives happily
ever after under the water with a lovely young nymph.
Either way, Heracles goes totally nuts when his beloved Hylas
can't be found.
The big burly hero runs around, cries like a baby, and refuses to
leave the island.
Eventually, the Argonauts are forced to treat Heracles to the old
Pirate Code, leaving him behind.
Arriving At: Bebryces
Now Jason and his buddies come to the land of Bebryces, which
is ruled by a king named Amycus.
The king, an arrogant pugilist, is really full of himself and boasts
that he can beat any of the Argonauts in a boxing match.
Polydeuces takes up the challenge, and after a gnarly fight,
Polydeuces punks down the arrogant king. Teaches you to pick
a fight with a son of Zeus.
Here We Are: Bosporus
Next, the Argonauts come to Bosporus, which is ruled by King
Phineus.
Phineus is a prophet with mad skills.
He was given the power to see into the future by Apollo, but he
revealed too much to other humans and is now being punished.
Phineus's punishment is pretty awful.
Every time he tries to eat, his food is snatched away by Harpies,
half bird/half women, who have a particularly nasty reputation.
As if stealing Phineus's food wasn't bad enough, the Harpies
also poop on whatever crumbs they leave behind. (Seriously,
that's for real in the story.)
So, as you might imagine, Phineus is a skinny and downright
miserable dude at this point.
Thus, when the Argonauts show up to the party, he's overjoyed.
Since he can see the future, he knows that Zetes and Calais will
drive the Harpies away for good.
Zetes and Calais are the sons of Boreas, the North Wind. This
gives them the ability to fly up into the air and duke it out with
the Harpies on their own turf.
After the flying brothers kick some tail feathers, Phineus rewards
the Argonauts by telling them how to get through the deadly
Sympleglades (aka the Clashing Rocks).
A Tight Squeeze: The Sympleglades
The Sympleglades are a pair of giant rocks that clash together
anytime a ship sails through them, smushing the vessel and its
unlucky contents to splinters.
Phineus reveals to Jason that the secret to getting pass the
stones is to release a bird to fly through them first.
As soon as the bird flies through and the rocks slam together,
the ship should quickly dart in after while the Sympleglades are
rebooting.
Jason and Argonauts take Phineus's advice and release a dove.
The little bird wings its way through the big nasty rocks just in
time, only losing a few tail feathers in the process.
The Argo follows swiftly after, and, like the dove, the ship only
gets a little damage to its hind end.
Coupla Other Places
After the Argonauts scoot through the Sympleglades, they do a
quick tour of a few other bizzare lands. Some pleasure-cruise
this has turned out to be, huh?
They pass by the land of the Amazons, warrior women who
have no love for men. (With good reason, considering the sorts
of things Greek heroes usually do to the Amazons.)
The Argonauts decide it's best not to mess with these tough
ladies and sail right by. Good thinking, Argonauts.
Jason and his merry men also sail by the land of the
Mossynoikoi, where people like to make love in public, right in
the dirt for all to see. Ew. Just ew.
The Argonauts also pass by an island full of the Birds of Ares.
These feathered friends of the god of war attack the Argonauts,
but the heroes manage to beat them off and sail on.
Meet The Sons of Phrixus
Now, Jason and his crew see a damaged ship sailing towards
them.
Like the good heroes they are, they save the folks on the boat
before it sinks.
It turns out that the dudes on the boat are the sons of Phrixus,
the guy who brought the Golden Fleece to Colchis to begin with.
Oops, looks like its time for some back-story...
Several years ago, Phrixus came swooping into Colchis on the
back of a winged golden ram. (Too bad you can't rent one of
those for the Prom.)
It turns out that Phrixus had been about to be sacrificed when
the ram flew out of the sky and saved him.
When Phrixus arrived in Colchis, he sacrificed the ram to the
gods and hung its Golden Fleece in a grove of trees. (Wait, so
the ram saved Phrixus from being sacrificed, so he then
sacrificed the ram? Is it just us, or did the ram get the bum end
of this deal?)
King Aeëtes thought Phrixus seemed like a mighty cool dude, so
the King let the stranger marry one of his daughters.
The King also decides to put a big nasty dragon in the grove to
guard the Golden Fleece.
“Wait, wait, wait...” says Jason, interrupting Phrixus's sons' blast
to the past. “You're saying there's a dragon guarding the Golden
Fleece? Aw man!”
“Well, it is a fleece made of gold, you can't just leave that kind of
thing lying around,” the Phrixus brothers tell him. “That kinda
junk could get you like, three hundred drachmae on Ebay.”
“Shucks, this is going to be harder than I thought,” thinks Jason
aloud.
Here At Last: Arrival in Colchis
Not long after, Jason and the Argonauts finally land on the shore
of Colchis, the land of the legendary Golden Fleece.
King Aeëtes is immediately Not A Fan of Jason, suspecting that
the young hero is here to steal his throne.
Jason assures the King that he's just come to fetch the Golden
Fleece.
“Okey-lee-dokey-lee,” says King Aeëtes. “You can have the
Fleece.”
“Huh? Wha-? Awesome!” says Jason, shooting high-five to the
nearest Argonaut.
“But first, you have three little tasks to perform,” the King says
with a smirk.
Jason retracts the high-five.
The Tasks
Numero Uno: Till a field using a team of fire breathing oxen.
Numero Dos: Sow dragon teeth into the soil and defeat the
magical warriors that sprout from the earth.
Numero Tres: Defeat the dragon that guards the Fleece.
Jason tells the King he'll have all the tasks done in a jiff, but
secretly the hero has no idea how he'll get the jobs done. Dude
could really use a fairy godmother right about now.
Meanwhile on Olympus...
Hera, queen of the gods, looks down and sees what a pickle
Jason is in.
She's got kind of a Thing for the young hero, and she absolutely
hates his uncle Pelias, who stole his throne, so she decides it's
just about time to step in and help Jason out.
Hera convinces Aphrodite, goddess of love, to send her son
Eros (a.k.a. Cupid) to the rescue.
The queen of the gods wants Eros to make Medea, King
Aeëtes's daughter, fall in love with Jason.
Hera knows that Medea is just the person to help Jason, since
she just happens to be a skilled sorceress, straight out of
Ravenclaw.
So, little winged Eros zooms down to Colchis and fires one of
his golden arrows straight into Medea's heart.
The sorceress sees Jason and falls so in love that she's willing
to do anything for him—even betray her own family.
So, when it comes time for Jason to do the first task of tilling
with the fire-breathing oxen, Medea gives the hero a special
ointment to rub on his skin that protects him from the flames.
Jason tills away without getting singed a bit from the fiery
bovines.
The hero then sows the dragon teeth into the soil.
Instantly, an army of powerful warriors erupts from the dirt. Aw
bugger.
These guys would probably be a big problem for Jason, except
that Medea already told her new boyfriend how to deal with
them. Thanks girl!
Apparently, dragon teeth warriors are fearsome fighters, but
they aren't so bright.
Jason throws a rock into the middle of them, and the brutes start
accusing each other of throwing it.
Eventually, their argument turns into an all out brawl, and they
end up slaughtering each other.
Last of all, Jason has to face the dragon that guards the Golden
Fleece.
Once again he wouldn't be able to get the job done without
Medea's help.
As Jason enters the grove of the Golden Fleece, the dragon
roars and almost swallows Jason whole. Yikes!
Right at the last moment, Jason sprays the serpent in the face
with a sleeping potion, courtesy of Medea.
As the monster starts to snooze, Jason grabs the Golden
Fleece, and with Medea and the Argonauts in tow, he makes a
break for the Argo.
The Voyage Home
King Aeëtes is pretty ticked off that Jason took off with Medea,
and that the hero actually managed to get the Golden Fleece.
So, Jason and friends aren't out to sea very long before they see
the King's ship in hot pursuit.
Once again, however, Medea is prepared.
It seems that the sorceress lured her brother Apsyrtus on board
for just this occasion.
To stop her father from catching up to them, Medea kills her
brother, slices him into little pieces, and dumps his remains
overboard. (Dude.)
(Note: in some versions Medea lures her brother, and Jason
does the slaying.)
Back in the day, people were mad serious about giving bodies
the proper burial, so King Aeëtes is forced to stop and gather
the remains so that he can give his son the proper send off to
the otherworld.
We're guessing that the other Argonauts are now looking
sideways at Medea, and whispering, “Um, Jason, who is this
chick again?” But the diversion ensures a safe getaway for the
crew.
Up on Mount Olympus, however, Zeus is not impressed with
Medea's methods.
The king of the gods causes a massive storm to blow the Argo
off course.
So, Jason and Medea are forced to make a pit-stop on the
island of Circe, a sorceress with the power to cleanse them of
the murder Medea's brother.
Circe is willing to do the deed and washes their sins away with
water from the sea.
Not long after this, the newly sanctified couple is officially
married.
As the Argo continues to sail, they come across the Sirens,
gorgeous creatures who, like the Harpies, are part-bird.
The Sirens' favorite pastime is to perch on jagged rocks and
sing beautifully, luring passing sailors to their death.
Luckily, musician extraordinaire Orpheus is aboard the Argo.
The master minstrel plays a song so beautiful that it drowns out
the Sirens' singing.
The last big adventure happens near the island of Crete, where
the Argonauts run into Talos, a giant man made totally of
bronze.
When the Argo passes by Crete, Talos hurls boulders at the
ship.
There are a lot of different versions about what exactly happens
next.
Most say that Medea either hypnotizes him or drugs him.
Then she sneaks onto the island and pulls a nail from his ankle.
It turns out that this nail is bronze man's weak spot.
It's connected to Talos's one vein, so when Medea pulls it from
his body, he bleeds to death.
Instead of human blood, Talos bleeds ichor, which is the
immortal blood of the gods.
With the last hurdle crossed, Jason, Medea, and the Argonauts
make a beeline for Greece.
Before you know it, the crew is standing, weary but victorious,
before the gates of Iolcus.
Jason carries the Golden Fleece into the city, ready to finally
take his throne from Pelias.

Myth of Perseus and the Medusa

There was once a king in Greece who did a very cruel thing. An
oracle had foretold to him that he would be killed by his own
grandson. He was determined that this should not come to pass,
so he tried to cheat the gods. He placed his beautiful daughter
and her baby son in a chest, and threw them into the sea,
thinking that by doing this he would never see them again, and
need never fear his little grandson.

But the waves were kind to the princess and her child. The chest
floated lightly upon the water, and at last came to rest upon the
sandy beach of an island. Here it was found by a fisherman, and
the princess and her child were received and cared for by the
ruler of the island. They lived there for many years, while the
boy, who was called Perseus, grew to be a strong and active
youth. For some time the people were very kind to them; but at
last the ruler of the island became vexed at the mother of
Perseus, and made her his slave. Then, because Perseus had
become such a strong young man, the king began to be afraid
that he would try to avenge the injury which had been done to
his other. So he sent him far away on a dangerous journey, to
the very ends of the earth.

There dwelt a terrible woman called Medusa, the Gorgon. The

hair of the Gorgon was a mass of living snakes; and she was so
hideous to behold, that just to look upon her turned one to stone.
Perseus was commanded to bring home the head of this
woman; and although he set out obediently, he did not know at
all where to find her. But while he was wandering helplessly
about, the god Hermes and the goddess Athena came to his aid,
and gave him courage for his dreadful task. They told him that
he must have a pair of winged sandals to help him on his way,
and also a helmet which would make him invisible.

These wonderful things were in the cave of some water-nymphs,

and he could find out where these nymphs were only by going to
some dreadful old woman who had but one eye and one tooth
among them. These they were obliged to pass around from one
to the other as they needed them. Hermes led Perseus to these
old women, and then left him. At first Perseus could not get
them to tell him what he wished to learn. But when he stole their
one eye as they passed it from one to another to look at him,
they were glad enough to tell him what he wanted, in order to
get back their eye again.

When at last Perseus reached the cave of the nymphs, he easily

obtained the sandals and the helmet. Putting these on, he soon
reached the cave of Medusa, and found her lying asleep on the
ground. But he did not dare to approach her face to face, for fear
lest he should be turned to stone. Then it was that the goddess
Athena came to his aid, and gave him her bright shield to use as
a mirror. Holding this before him, Perseus walked backward,
looking not upon Medusa, but only upon her reflection in the
shield. When he was near enough, he struck off her head with a
curved sickle which Hermes had given him, and, still without
looking at it he thrust the head into a bag, and hurried away.
As he journeyed back from the ends of the earth toward his
home, many adventures befell him, and he found that the
Gorgon's head was a wonderful weapon. It was better than a
sword or a spear; for, if he wished to harm his enemies, he had
only to take Medusa's head from its bag, and hold it before their
eyes; then at once they were turned to stone.

One of his adventures ended in his gaining a beautiful princess

as his wife. As he passed through the country of the Ethiopians,
he found every one in great distress. The queen of the country
was a very vain woman, who had boasted that she was more
beautiful than the nymphs who lived in the sea near by. This had
made the nymphs so angry that they had begged the great god
Poseidon to punish the queen. He did this by rolling a great
flood of his salty water upon the land, and sending with it a sea
monster, that devoured both beasts and men. The country
suffered so much from these misfortunes that the king sent to an
oracle, to discover how they might escape from t hem. The
oracle replied that the only help was to sacrifice the king's
daughter Andromeda to the sea monster.

For a long time the king refused to do this; for Andromeda was a
beautiful girl, and he loved her dearly. But at last he could resist
the wishes of his suffering people no longer. Andromeda was
led from her father's house to a rock upon the seashore, and
chained there alone, to await the coming of the monster. But,
before she had been harmed, Perseus passed that way. He
wondered at finding a beautiful maiden weeping in chains, and
went to her aid. He killed the monster as it came out of the deep,
and broke the chains that found Andromeda. Then they went
together to her father's city; and Perseus claimed Andromeda as
his bride, because he had saved her from a dreadful death.
The people were glad enough to be rid of the monster, and to
have their beautiful princess back alive one more; but they did
not wish to give her away again to this strange young man. So
Perseus took her without their consent; and when some of them
tried to prevent it he turned the men to stone with his Gorgon
head, and went on his way homeward with Andromeda at his
side. When he came to his old home, he used Medusa's head
again. This time it was the man who had mistreated his mother
whom he turned to stone. In his place as king he put the good
fisherman who had found him and his mother in the chest on the
shore of the sea.

Then Perseus went across the sea to find the grandfather who
had been so afraid of him when he was a little child. When the
old king learned that his grandson had not been drowned after
all, and that he was alive and coming to see him, he was more
afraid than ever. Now he was sure that the oracle would come
true, and that this young man would kill him for what he had
done so long ago to him and his mother So he fled from his city,
and hid himself. But Perseus followed him and found him, and
showed him that he came only to do honor to him. Then his
grandfather welcomed him, and ceased to fear him, and caused
games to be held to celebrate the coming of this strong and
noble grandson who had come to him in his old age. But, alas!
In the midst of the games a dreadful accident happened. One of
the games was hurling the quoits; and as Perseus was throwing
the round, flat piece of iron, it slipped from his grasp, and struck
his grandfather so that he fell dead. So the oracle was fulfilled at
last.

Perseus was so sorry for what he had done, that he would not
accept the throne of his grandfather, though the people wished
him to do so. He exchanged this kingdom for another one,
where he would not always be reminded of what he had
accidentally done; and there he lived happily with Andromeda
for many years.
The myth of Theseus and the Minotaur
The myth of Theseus and the Minotaur is one of the most tragic
and fascinating myths of the Greek Mythology.

Theseus, a genuine Greek hero of the Mythology and Minotaur,

one of the most devastating and terrifying monsters are the main
protagonists of a myth that involves gods and monsters, heroes
and kings and two of the main city–states in the Hellenic world:
Athens and Crete.

The Minotaur and the Labyrinth of Crete

The Minotaur was the son of Pasiphae, wife of King Minos of
Crete.
Queen Pasiphae slept with a bull sent by Zeus, and gave birth to
Minotaur, a creature half man – half bull. King Minos was
embarrassed, but did not want to kill the Minotaur, so he hid the
monster in the Labyrinth constructed by Daedalus at the Minoan
Palace of Knossos.
According to the myth, Minos was imprisoning his enemies in
the Labyrinth so that the Minotaur could eat them. The labyrinth
was such a complicated construction that no one could ever find
the way out alive.
Son of Minos, Androgeus, went to Athens to participate to the
Panathenaic Games, but he was killed during the Marathon by
the bull that impregnated his mother Pasiphae. Minos was
infuriated, and demanded Aegeus the king of Athens to send
seven men and women every year to the Minotaur to advert the
plague caused by the death of Androgeus.

The third year, Theseus, son of Aegeus decided to be one of the

seven young men that would go to Crete, in order to kill the
Minotaur and end the human sacrifices to the monster. King
Aegeus tried to make him change his mind but Theseus was
determined to slay the Minotaur.

Theseus promised his father that he would put up white sails

coming back from Crete, allowing him to know in advance that
he was coming back alive. The boat would return with the black
sails if Theseus was killed.
Theseus and the Minotaur
Theseus kills the Minotaur
Theseus kills the Minotaur
Theseus announced to King Minos that he was going to kill the
Monster, but Minos knew that even if he did manage to kill the
Minotaur, Theseus would never be able to exit the Labyrinth.

Theseus met Princess Ariadne, daughter of King Minos, who fell

madly in love with him and decided to help Theseus. She gave
him a thread and told him to unravel it as he would penetrate
deeper and deeper into the Labyrinth, so that he knows the way
out when he kills the monster.
Theseus followed her suggestion and entered the labyrinth with
the thread. Theseus managed to kill the Minotaur and save the
Athenians, and with Ariadne’s thread he managed to retrace his
way out.
Theseus took Princess Ariadne with him and left Crete sailing
happily back to Athens.
Aegeus and the Sails
Theseus’ boat stopped at Naxos and the Athenians had a long
celebration dedicated to Theseus and Ariadne. After long hours
of feasting and drinking, Ariadne fell asleep on the shore and
didn’t enter the boat that sailed to Athens. Theseus figured out
that Ariadne was not with them when it was too late and he was
so upset that he forgot the promise made to his father and did
not change the sails.
NOTE. A different version of the myth mentions that Theseus
deliberately left Ariadne on Naxos.
King Aegeus was waiting at Cape Sounion to see the sails of the
boat. He saw the black sails from afar and presumed his son
was dead. He dropped himself to the waters, committing suicide
and since then, this sea is called the Aegean Sea.
The myth of Theseus and the Minotaur has inspired numerous
artists throughout the centuries, who have created paintings and
sculptures dedicated to the myth and the hero of Athens.

The Story of Achilles

Achilles was a hero in Greek mythology and one of the main
characters that participated in the Trojan War. He was also the
protagonist of Homer’s epic, the Iliad. He was the son of Peleus,
king of the Myrmidons, and Thetis, a nymph. Both Zeus and
Poseidon were in love with Thetis, however Prometheus warned
them of a prophecy that said the son of Thetis would be greater
than his father; so, the two gods decided to withdraw, and
Peleus ended up marrying her. When Achilles was born, his
mother wanted to make him immortal and thus, dipped him in
the river Styx. However, she did not realise that his heel, by
which she held him, was not touched by the waters, and so that
was the only part of his body that remained mortal. According to
another version, Thetis covered Achilles’ body in ambrosia and
put him on top of a fire to burn away his mortality; however, she
was enraged because she was interrupted by Peleus and
abandoned them.
When the Trojan War started, Achilles commanded 50 ships,
each having 50 Myrmidons. He also appointed five
commanders; Menesthius, Eudorus, Peisander, Phoenix and
Alcimedon. After departing, they landed in Mysia by mistake,
which was then ruled by Telephus. Telephus was wounded in
the battle by Achilles, and could not be healed. After consulting
an oracle, he was told that he who inflicted the wound would be
able to heal it; so, Telephus asked Achilles to heal him, and in
return he guided them to Troy.

The Iliad starts the narrative of the Trojan War with

Agamemnon, leader of the Achaeans, having acquired a woman
called Chryseis as his slave. Her father, being a priest of Apollo,
begs the god to help him, and Apollo sends a plague among the
Greeks. Calchas identifies the source of the problem and
Agamemnon reluctantly consents; however, he demands that
Achilles hand over his own prize, another woman called Briseis.
Achilles, furious that he was dishonoured in such a way,
withdraws from battle and asks his mother to convince Zeus to
help the Trojans, so that he may prove himself again in the
battlefield. The Trojans manage to repel the Greeks back to the
shore; Patroclus, Achilles’ friend, wearing Achilles’ armor,
successfully leads the Myrmidons against the enemy, but is
subsequently killed by Hector, the Trojan prince. Enraged by his
friend’s death, Achilles joins the battle and tracks down Hector,
whom he kills in a face to face duel. He then drags Hector’s
lifeless body with his chariot during the funeral games he held
for Patroclus.

The death of Achilles is not narrated in the Iliad, although it was

predicted by Hector with his dying breath. Paris, the brother of
Hector, managed to kill the hero with an arrow that landed on
Achilles’ heel, the only vulnerable part of his body. The arrow
was poisoned and some sources say that it was guided by the
god Apollo. Achilles was cremated and his ashes were mingled
with those of Patroclus
The Story of Helen of Troy
In Greek mythology, Helen was the most beautiful woman from
the age of the heroes. She was the wife of Menelaus, king of
Sparta (one of several Greek kingdoms). After Helen ran away
with Paris, prince of Troy, the Greek armies fought a ten year
long war against Troy to win her back. The English playwright,
Christopher Marlowe, called Helen, "the face that launched a
thousand ships."
The Judgement of Paris
The Judgement of Paris is the backstory to the Trojan War.
When Paris, prince of Troy, is out hunting on the island of Crete,
he comes across three goddesses: Aphrodite, goddess of love;
Athena, goddess of wisdom; and Hera, the queen of the gods.
The goddesses demand that he judges which of them is the
most beautiful. When he selects Aphrodite, she promises him
the hand of Helen as a reward. Unfortunately Helen is already
married to Menelaus, king of Sparta. Later on in the Trojan War,
Aphrodite takes the side of the Trojans, while Athena and Hera
help the Greeks.
Eris
Eris is a minor goddess of Greek mythology. She is the goddess
of strife or quarrels. It is Eris who sparks the dispute between
the three more important goddesses, Aphrodite, Athena and
Hera.
Sources
Homer has surprisingly little to say about the Judgment of Paris
or the kidnapping of Helen, but he does describe Helen and
King Menelaus at home in the Odyssey Book IV.
The story of Eris, the Goddess of Strife, is known from the
remaining 50 lines of the Kypria, a lost epic of Greek Literature.

The Judgement of Paris was told by the Latin Poet Ovid in his
Heroides XVI.
A long time ago, in the age of heroes, when gods and
goddesses still took a close interest in human affairs, a great
wedding was planned between a famous warrior called Peleus
and a lovely sea nymph whose name was Thetis. All the kings
and queens of the day were invited to the wedding feast, as well
as all the immortal ones who lived on Mount Olympus – all that
is, except for one, for no invitation was sent to Eris, the goddess
of strife. Now strife is when people argue, and it was generally
thought a bad idea to invite strife to a wedding party, in case she
caused the happy couple to quarrel. Eris was extremely
annoyed about being overlooked, and as revenge she decided
to play a spiteful trick on the wedding guests. Just as the
celebrations were at their height, she appeared in the
banqueting hall dressed as a serving girl. A silver plate was in
her hands, and on it was an apple on which she had written the
words, “For the fairest of them all.” This she placed on the table
where the three loveliest goddesses were sitting; their names
were Hera, Athene and Aphrodite. Immediately as they saw the
words on the apple, a quarrel broke out between the three
goddesses.
Hera said to the others, “I am the queen of all the immortal gods,
and it follows that I must be far fairer than either of you two,
therefore the apple belongs to me.”

“My dear Hera,” said Athene, “You might be queen, but I am the
goddess of wisdom, therefore I know absolutely everything that
is worth knowing. You must believe me when I say that you are
quite mistaken. Wisdom is beauty, and beauty is wisdom. They
are one and the same thing, therefore the apple belongs to me.”
“Darlings,” purred Aphrodite, “It’s quite obvious that the apple
belongs to me. I possess the power of love because, to put it
quite simply, I am so much more beautiful than anybody else.”
The goddesses carried on arguing continuously for years after
the wedding was over – for time means nothing to the immortal
ones. The king of all the gods, mighty and thundering Zeus,
became quite fed up with listening to their bickering. When, at
length, he was at his wits’ end, he suggested to the three lovely
goddesses that they resolve the question once and for all with a
beauty contest. And that is exactly what they did.
The three goddesses agreed on one thing: that the most
handsome and fashionably dressed mortal who walked on the
face of the earth was Paris, Prince of Troy. They decided to
surprise him. One day when Paris was out hunting on the
foothills of Mount Ida, he discovered three lovely goddesses
standing beneath a tree. In all his life he had never seen such
dazzling beauty. For a moment he stood amazed, then Hermes,
the winged messenger of the gods, flew up to Paris and spoke
to him as follows, “Hail Paris, prince of magnificent Troy. Lord
Zeus, the king of all the gods, sends you his greetings. He
wishes to bestow upon you a great honour. He asks that you
give this apple to the fairest goddess of them all.”
Paris, who normally had a keen eye for beauty, found it hard to
choose. Each goddess was so beautiful. Hera had the most
lovely milky white skin ever seen. Athene had the most dazzling,
dancing eyes. And Aphrodite had the most charming smile.
Which should he pick?
At length, seeing that he was at a loss, Hera said to him, “Prince
Paris, give the apple to me and I will give you the gift of great
power.”
Athene, not to be outdone by this offer, said, “Prince Paris, give
the apple to me and I will give you the gift of great wisdom.”
But Aphrodite laughed and said, "Paris my dear, don’t you listen
to those two silly goddesses. What fun would you have with
power or wisdom? Give the apple to me and I will give you a gift
that is much more to your liking. I shall give you the love of the
most beautiful woman on earth.”
Now Paris no longer found the choice so hard to make. He had
long been in love with the most beautiful woman on earth,
whose name was Helen. It so happened that Helen was married
to King Menelaus, and Paris had thought up until that moment
that the possibility of his winning her love was beyond all hope,
but now he understood that his chances could be greatly
improved - and so Paris gave the apple to Aphrodite. She
giggled with delight, but the other two goddesses were furious
and flew directly back to Mount Olympus in a great huff, where
they complained long and bitterly to Zeus about the unfairness
of the competition. Zeus had a dark feeling that there was
trouble in store for humankind.

Paris set sail for the land of Sparta, where Menelaus was king
and lived with his beautiful Queen Helen. Menelaus welcomed
the famous prince into his palace, and while the two sat talking
about the affairs of the world, Queen Helen came down from her
perfumed room, looking as lovely as a goddess. The maid-
servants brought her a seat and covered it with a soft lambswool
rug, and she sat before her silver work box, but before she
began to embroider, she glanced over at the visiting prince and
questioned her husband, “Shall I guess the name of this prince
who has come to visit us? Let us see if I am right or wrong? I
have heard tell of a prince from far off Troy who is famous the
world over for his looks and fashionable style. Is it he, Paris,
prince of Troy who has come to stay with us?”
“My dear wife,” said Menelaus, “As always, you are quite right. It
is indeed, Paris, prince of Troy who is paying us the honour of
his visit.” Paris acknowledged Queen Helen with a nod of his
head.
At dinner that night, Helen added a special potion into the wine,
so that anyone who drank it would forget all his cares, and be
happy for the rest of the evening. They feasted and made merry
and while Menelaus was busy laughing and joking with one of
his generals, Paris spoke softly to Helen.
“Most beautiful queen,” he said, “I beg you, meet me tonight in
the orchard beneath the palace walls and we shall sail away
together in my ship, and head directly for Troy, the most
magnificent city in all the world.”
And because the goddess of love, Aphrodite, had wished it so,
Helen could not help herself, and agreed to his suggestion.
When King Menelaus awoke in the morning, and he discovered
that his guest and his wife had run away together, he flew into a
rage, kicking the furniture and punching the walls of his
chamber. He swore before all the gods that his revenge would
be truly terrible - so he went to see his elder brother, King
Agamemnon of Argos, and said to him, “My dear brother, the
honour of our family has been besmirched by this foreign
peacock, this perfumed playboy, this prancing Prince of Troy.
Let us gather together all the kings of Greece and combine our
armies into the greatest force that has ever been seen since the
dawn of history, and let us sail to the far off city of Troy, and
teach Prince Paris some manners.”
Although Agamemnon was wise and he knew that it is always a
terrible mistake to rush headlong into conflict. He suggested
first, that they send an ambassador to Troy to request the return
of Queen Helen, whom he was sure had been abducted against
her will. He knew that Paris’ father, King Priam of Troy was a
good man, and he was sure that he would order his son to
release her, and so they sent a message to Troy in the name of
peace and reconciliation, but Helen did not wish to go home,
and Prince Paris refused to return the lovely queen to her
husband, saying that they had been brought together by the
Goddess of Love, Aphrodite herself; and so that meant war.
King Agamemnon, the brother of the wronged Menelaus,
summoned all the kings of Greece and prepared a navy of a
thousand ships, the greatest military force to ever set sail.
And that is the story of how the great war between the Greeks
and the Trojans was started by Prince Paris and Queen Helen.

Trojan War
In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city
of Troy by the Achaeans (Greeks) after Paris of Troy took Helen
from her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta. The war is one of
the most important events in Greek mythology and has been
narrated through many works of Greek literature, most notably
Homer's Iliad. The core of the Iliad (Books II – XXIII) describes a
period of four days and two nights in the tenth year of the
decade-long siege of Troy; the Odyssey describes the journey
home of Odysseus, one of the war's heroes. Other parts of the
war are described in a cycle of epic poems, which have survived
through fragments. Episodes from the war provided material for
Greek tragedy and other works of Greek literature, and for
Roman poets including Virgil and Ovid.

The war originated from a quarrel between the goddesses Hera,

Athena, and Aphrodite, after Eris, the goddess of strife and
discord, gave them a golden apple, sometimes known as the
Apple of Discord, marked "for the fairest". Zeus sent the
goddesses to Paris, who judged that Aphrodite, as the "fairest",
should receive the apple. In exchange, Aphrodite made Helen,
the most beautiful of all women and wife of Menelaus, fall in love
with Paris, who took her to Troy. Agamemnon, king of Mycenae
and the brother of Helen's husband Menelaus, led an expedition
of Achaean troops to Troy and besieged the city for ten years
because of Paris' insult. After the deaths of many heroes,
including the Achaeans Achilles and Ajax, and the Trojans
Hector and Paris, the city fell to the ruse of the Trojan Horse.
The Achaeans slaughtered the Trojans (except for some of the
women and children whom they kept or sold as slaves) and
desecrated the temples, thus earning the gods' wrath. Few of
the Achaeans returned safely to their homes and many founded
colonies in distant shores. The Romans later traced their origin
to Aeneas, Aphrodite's son and one of the Trojans, who was
said to have led the surviving Trojans to modern-day Italy.

The ancient Greeks believed that Troy was located near the
Dardanelles and that the Trojan War was a historical event of
the 13th or 12th century BC, but by the mid-19th century, both
the war and the city were widely seen as non-historical. In 1868,
however, the German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann met
Frank Calvert, who convinced Schliemann that Troy was a real
city at what is now Hissarlik in Turkey.[1] On the basis of
excavations conducted by Schliemann and others, this claim is
now accepted by most scholars.[2][3]
Whether there is any historical reality behind the Trojan War
remains an open question. Many scholars believe that there is a
historical core to the tale, though this may simply mean that the
Homeric stories are a fusion of various tales of sieges and
expeditions by Mycenaean Greeks during the Bronze Age.
Those who believe that the stories of the Trojan War are derived
from a specific historical conflict usually date it to the 12th or
11th centuries BC, often preferring the dates given by
Eratosthenes, 1194–1184 BC, which roughly corresponds with
archaeological evidence of a catastrophic burning of Troy VIIa.
[4]
Sources
The Burning of Troy (1759/62), oil painting by Johann Georg
Trautmann
The events of the Trojan War are found in many works of Greek
literature and depicted in numerous works of Greek art. There is
no single, authoritative text which tells the entire events of the
war. Instead, the story is assembled from a variety of sources,
some of which report contradictory versions of the events. The
most important literary sources are the two epic poems
traditionally credited to Homer, the Iliad and the Odyssey,
composed sometime between the 9th and 6th centuries BC.[5]
Each poem narrates only a part of the war. The Iliad covers a
short period in the last year of the siege of Troy, while the
Odyssey concerns Odysseus's return to his home island of
Ithaca following the sack of Troy and contains several
flashbacks to particular episodes in the war.

Other parts of the Trojan War were told in the poems of the Epic
Cycle, also known as the Cyclic Epics: the Cypria, Aethiopis,
Little Iliad, Iliou Persis, Nostoi, and Telegony. Though these
poems survive only in fragments, their content is known from a
summary included in Proclus' Chrestomathy.[6] The authorship
of the Cyclic Epics is uncertain. It is generally thought that the
poems were written down in the 7th and 6th century BC, after
the composition of the Homeric poems, though it is widely
believed that they were based on earlier traditions.[7] Both the
Homeric epics and the Epic Cycle take origin from oral tradition.
Even after the composition of the Iliad, Odyssey, and the Cyclic
Epics, the myths of the Trojan War were passed on orally in
many genres of poetry and through non-poetic storytelling.
Events and details of the story that are only found in later
authors may have been passed on through oral tradition and
could be as old as the Homeric poems. Visual art, such as vase
painting, was another medium in which myths of the Trojan War
circulated.[8]

In later ages playwrights, historians, and other intellectuals

would create works inspired by the Trojan War. The three great
tragedians of Athens- Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides—
wrote a number of dramas that portray episodes from the Trojan
War. Among Roman writers the most important is the 1st
century BC poet Virgil. In Book 2 of the Aeneid, Aeneas narrates
the sack of Troy; this section of the poem is thought to rely on
material from the Cyclic Epic Iliou Persis.[citation needed]
Legend
The following summary of the Trojan War follows the order of
events as given in Proclus' summary, along with the Iliad,
Odyssey, and Aeneid, supplemented with details drawn from
other authors.

Origins of the war

Plan of Zeus
According to Greek mythology, Zeus had become king of the
gods by overthrowing his father Cronus; Cronus in turn had
overthrown his father Uranus. Zeus was not faithful to his wife
and sister Hera, and had many relationships from which many
children were born. Since Zeus believed that there were too
many people populating the earth, he envisioned Momus[9] or
Themis,[10] who was to use the Trojan War as a means to
depopulate the Earth, especially of his demigod descendants.
[11]

These can be supported by Hesiod's account:

Now all the gods were divided through strife; for at that very time
Zeus who thunders on high was meditating marvelous deeds,
even to mingle storm and tempest over the boundless earth, and
already he was hastening to make an utter end of the race of
mortal men, declaring that he would destroy the lives of the
demi-gods, that the children of the gods should not mate with
wretched mortals, seeing their fate with their own eyes; but that
the blessed gods henceforth even as aforetime should have
their living and their habitations apart from men. But on those
who were born of immortals and of mankind verily Zeus laid toil
and sorrow upon sorrow.[12]
Judgement of Paris
The Judgment of Paris (1904) by Enrique Simonet
Main article: Judgement of Paris
Zeus came to learn from either Themis[13] or Prometheus, after
Heracles had released him from Caucasus,[14] that, like his
father Cronus, he would be overthrown by one of his sons.
Another prophecy stated that a son of the sea-nymph Thetis,
with whom Zeus fell in love after gazing upon her in the oceans
off the Greek coast, would become greater than his father.[15]
Possibly for one or both of these reasons,[16] Thetis was
betrothed to an elderly human king, Peleus son of Aeacus,
either upon Zeus' orders,[17] or because she wished to please
Hera, who had raised her.[18]
All of the gods were invited to Peleus and Thetis' wedding and
brought many gifts,[19] except Eris (the goddess of discord),
who was stopped at the door by Hermes, on Zeus' order.[20]
Insulted, she threw from the door a gift of her own:[21] a golden
apple (το μήλον της έριδος) on which was inscribed the word
καλλίστῃ Kallistēi ("To the fairest").[22] The apple was claimed
by Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite. They quarreled bitterly over it,
and none of the other gods would venture an opinion favoring
one, for fear of earning the enmity of the other two. Eventually,
Zeus ordered Hermes to lead the three goddesses to Paris, a
prince of Troy, who, unaware of his ancestry, was being raised
as a shepherd in Mount Ida,[23] because of a prophecy that he
would be the downfall of Troy.[24] After bathing in the spring of
Ida, the goddesses appeared to him naked, either for the sake
of winning or at Paris' request. Paris was unable to decide
between them, so the goddesses resorted to bribes. Athena
offered Paris wisdom, skill in battle, and the abilities of the
greatest warriors; Hera offered him political power and control of
all of Asia; and Aphrodite offered him the love of the most
beautiful woman in the world, Helen of Sparta. Paris awarded
the apple to Aphrodite, and, after several adventures, returned
to Troy, where he was recognized by his royal family.

Thetis gives her son Achilles weapons forged by Hephaestus

(detail of Attic black-figure hydria, 575–550 BC)
Peleus and Thetis bore a son, whom they named Achilles. It
was foretold that he would either die of old age after an
uneventful life, or die young in a battlefield and gain immortality
through poetry.[25] Furthermore, when Achilles was nine years
old, Calchas had prophesied that Troy could not again fall
without his help.[26] A number of sources credit Thetis with
attempting to make Achilles immortal when he was an infant.
Some of these state that she held him over fire every night to
burn away his mortal parts and rubbed him with ambrosia during
the day, but Peleus discovered her actions and stopped her.[27]
According to some versions of this story, Thetis had already
killed several sons in this manner, and Peleus' action therefore
saved his son's life.[28] Other sources state that Thetis bathed
Achilles in the Styx, the river that runs to the underworld, making
him invulnerable wherever he was touched by the water.[29]
Because she had held him by the heel, it was not immersed
during the bathing and thus the heel remained mortal and
vulnerable to injury (hence the expression "Achilles heel" for an
isolated weakness). He grew up to be the greatest of all mortal
warriors. After Calchas' prophesy, Thetis hid Achilles in Skyros
at the court of King Lycomedes, where he was disguised as a
girl.[30] At a crucial point in the war, she assists her son by
providing weapons divinely forged by Hephaestus (see below).
Elopement of Paris and Helen
The Abduction of Helen (1530–39) by Francesco Primaticcio,
with Aphrodite directing
The most beautiful woman in the world was Helen, one of the
daughters of Tyndareus, King of Sparta. Her mother was Leda,
who had been either raped or seduced by Zeus in the form of a
swan.[31] Accounts differ over which of Leda's four children, two
pairs of twins, were fathered by Zeus and which by Tyndareus.
However, Helen is usually credited as Zeus' daughter,[32] and
sometimes Nemesis is credited as her mother.[33] Helen had
scores of suitors, and her father was unwilling to choose one for
fear the others would retaliate violently.
Finally, one of the suitors, Odysseus of Ithaca, proposed a plan
to solve the dilemma. In exchange for Tyndareus' support of his
own suit towards Penelope,[34] he suggested that Tyndareus
require all of Helen's suitors to promise that they would defend
the marriage of Helen, regardless of whom he chose. The
suitors duly swore the required oath on the severed pieces of a
horse, although not without a certain amount of grumbling.[35]
Tyndareus chose Menelaus. Menelaus was a political choice on
her father's part. He had wealth and power. He had humbly not
petitioned for her himself, but instead sent his brother
Agamemnon on his behalf. He had promised Aphrodite a
hecatomb, a sacrifice of 100 oxen, if he won Helen, but forgot
about it and earned her wrath.[36] Menelaus inherited
Tyndareus' throne of Sparta with Helen as his queen when her
brothers, Castor and Pollux, became gods,[37] and when
Agamemnon married Helen's sister Clytemnestra and took back
the throne of Mycenae.[38]

Paris, under the guise of a supposed diplomatic mission, went to

Sparta to get Helen and bring her back to Troy. Before Helen
could look up to see him enter the palace, she was shot with an
arrow from Eros, otherwise known as Cupid, and fell in love with
Paris when she saw him, as promised by Aphrodite. Menelaus
had left for Crete[39] to bury his uncle, Crateus.[40]
According to one account, Hera, still jealous over the judgement
of Paris, sent a storm.[39] The storm caused the lovers to land
in Egypt, where the gods replaced Helen with a likeness of her
made of clouds, Nephele.[41] The myth of Helen being switched
is attributed to the 6th century BC Sicilian poet Stesichorus. For
Homer the true Helen was in Troy. The ship then landed in
Sidon before reaching Troy. Paris, fearful of getting caught,
spent some time there and then sailed to Troy.[42]
Map of Homeric Greece
Paris' abduction of Helen had several precedents. Io was taken
from Mycenae, Europa was taken from Phoenicia, Jason took
Medea from Colchis,[43] and the Trojan princess Hesione had
been taken by Heracles, who gave her to Telamon of Salamis.
[44] According to Herodotus, Paris was emboldened by these
examples to steal himself a wife from Greece, and expected no
retribution, since there had been none in the other cases.[45]
Gathering of Achaean forces and the first expedition
According to Homer, Menelaus and his ally, Odysseus, traveled
to Troy, where they unsuccessfully sought to recover Helen by
diplomatic means.[46]
Menelaus then asked Agamemnon to uphold his oath, which, as
one of Helen's suitors, was to defend her marriage regardless of
which suitor had been chosen. Agamemnon agreed and sent
emissaries to all the Achaean kings and princes to call them to
observe their oaths and retrieve Helen.[47]
Odysseus and Achilles
A scene from the Iliad where Odysseus (Ulysses) discovers
Achilles dressed as a woman and hiding among the princesses
at the royal court of Skyros. A late Roman mosaic from La
Olmeda, Spain, 4th–5th centuries AD
Since Menelaus's wedding, Odysseus had married Penelope
and fathered a son, Telemachus. In order to avoid the war, he
feigned madness and sowed his fields with salt. Palamedes
outwitted him by placing his infant son in front of the plough's
path, and Odysseus turned aside, unwilling to kill his son, so
revealing his sanity and forcing him to join the war.[39][48]

According to Homer, however, Odysseus supported the military

adventure from the beginning, and traveled the region with
Pylos' king, Nestor, to recruit forces.[49]
At Skyros, Achilles had an affair with the king's daughter
Deidamia, resulting in a child, Neoptolemus.[50] Odysseus,
Telamonian Ajax, and Achilles' tutor Phoenix went to retrieve
Achilles. Achilles' mother disguised him as a woman so that he
would not have to go to war, but, according to one story, they
blew a horn, and Achilles revealed himself by seizing a spear to
fight intruders, rather than fleeing.[26] According to another
story, they disguised themselves as merchants bearing trinkets
and weaponry, and Achilles was marked out from the other
women for admiring weaponry instead of clothes and jewelry.
[51]

Pausanias said that, according to Homer, Achilles did not hide in

Skyros, but rather conquered the island, as part of the Trojan
War.[52]
The Discovery of Achilles among the Daughters of Lycomedes
(1664) by Jan de Bray
First gathering at Aulis
The Achaean forces first gathered at Aulis. All the suitors sent
their forces except King Cinyras of Cyprus. Though he sent
breastplates to Agamemnon and promised to send 50 ships, he
sent only one real ship, led by the son of Mygdalion, and 49
ships made of clay.[53] Idomeneus was willing to lead the
Cretan contingent in Mycenae's war against Troy, but only as a
co-commander, which he was granted.[54] The last commander
to arrive was Achilles, who was then 15 years old.
Following a sacrifice to Apollo, a snake slithered from the altar to
a sparrow's nest in a plane tree nearby. It ate the mother and
her nine babies, then was turned to stone. Calchas interpreted
this as a sign that Troy would fall in the tenth year of the war.[55]

Telephus
When the Achaeans left for the war, they did not know the way,
and accidentally landed in Mysia, ruled by King Telephus, son of
Heracles, who had led a contingent of Arcadians to settle there.
[56] In the battle, Achilles wounded Telephus,[57] who had killed
Thersander.[58] Because the wound would not heal, Telephus
asked an oracle, "What will happen to the wound?". The oracle
responded, "he that wounded shall heal". The Achaean fleet
then set sail and was scattered by a storm. Achilles landed in
Scyros and married Deidamia. A new gathering was set again in
Aulis.[39]

Telephus went to Aulis, and either pretended to be a beggar,

asking Agamemnon to help heal his wound,[59] or kidnapped
Orestes and held him for ransom, demanding the wound be
healed.[60] Achilles refused, claiming to have no medical
knowledge. Odysseus reasoned that the spear that had inflicted
the wound must be able to heal it. Pieces of the spear were
scraped off onto the wound, and Telephus was healed.[61]
Telephus then showed the Achaeans the route to Troy.[59]
Some scholars have regarded the expedition against Telephus
and its resolution as a derivative reworking of elements from the
main story of the Trojan War, but it has also been seen as fitting
the story-pattern of the "preliminary adventure" that anticipates
events and themes from the main narrative, and therefore as
likely to be "early and integral".[62]
Second gathering
Map of the Troad (Troas)
Eight years after the storm had scattered them,[63] the fleet of
more than a thousand ships was gathered again. But when they
had all reached Aulis, the winds ceased. The prophet Calchas
stated that the goddess Artemis was punishing Agamemnon for
killing either a sacred deer or a deer in a sacred grove, and
boasting that he was a better hunter than she.[39] The only way
to appease Artemis, he said, was to sacrifice Iphigenia, who was
either the daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra,[64] or of
Helen and Theseus entrusted to Clytemnestra when Helen
married Menelaus.[65] Agamemnon refused, and the other
commanders threatened to make Palamedes commander of the
expedition.[66] According to some versions, Agamemnon
relented and performed the sacrifice, but others claim that he
sacrificed a deer in her place, or that at the last moment,
Artemis took pity on the girl, and took her to be a maiden in one
of her temples, substituting a lamb.[39] Hesiod says that
Iphigenia became the goddess Hecate.[67]

The Achaean forces are described in detail in the Catalogue of

Ships, in the second book of the Iliad. They consisted of 28
contingents from mainland Greece, the Peloponnese, the
Dodecanese islands, Crete, and Ithaca, comprising 1186
pentekonters, ships with 50 rowers. Thucydides says[68] that
according to tradition there were about 1200 ships, and that the
Boeotian ships had 120 men, while Philoctetes' ships only had
the fifty rowers, these probably being maximum and minimum.
These numbers would mean a total force of 70,000 to 130,000
men. Another catalogue of ships is given by the Bibliotheca that
differs somewhat but agrees in numbers. Some scholars have
claimed that Homer's catalogue is an original Bronze Age
document, possibly the Achaean commander's order of
operations.[69][70][71] Others believe it was a fabrication of
Homer.

The second book of the Iliad also lists the Trojan allies,
consisting of the Trojans themselves, led by Hector, and various
allies listed as Dardanians led by Aeneas, Zeleians,
Adrasteians, Percotians, Pelasgians, Thracians, Ciconian
spearmen, Paionian archers, Halizones, Mysians, Phrygians,
Maeonians, Miletians, Lycians led by Sarpedon and Carians.
Nothing is said of the Trojan language; the Carians are
specifically said to be barbarian-speaking, and the allied
contingents are said to have spoken multiple languages,
requiring orders to be translated by their individual commanders.
[72] The Trojans and Achaeans in the Iliad share the same
religion, same culture and the enemy heroes speak to each
other in the same language, though this could be dramatic
effect.

Philoctetes was Heracles' friend, and because he lit Heracles's

funeral pyre when no one else would, he received Heracles' bow
and arrows.[73] He sailed with seven ships full of men to the
Trojan War, where he was planning on fighting for the
Achaeans. They stopped either at Chryse Island for supplies,
[74] or in Tenedos, along with the rest of the fleet.[75]
Philoctetes was then bitten by a snake. The wound festered and
had a foul smell; on Odysseus's advice, the Atreidae ordered
Philoctetes to stay on Lemnos.[39] Medon took control of
Philoctetes's men. While landing on Tenedos, Achilles killed king
Tenes, son of Apollo, despite a warning by his mother that if he
did so he would be killed himself by Apollo.[76] From Tenedos,
Agamemnon sent an embassy to Priam, composed of
Menelaus, Odysseus, and Palamedes, asking for Helen's return.
The embassy was refused.[77]

Philoctetes stayed on Lemnos for ten years, which was a

deserted island according to Sophocles' tragedy Philoctetes, but
according to earlier tradition was populated by Minyans.[78]
Arrival
Calchas had prophesied that the first Achaean to walk on land
after stepping off a ship would be the first to die.[79] Thus even
the leading Greeks hesitated to land. Finally, Protesilaus, leader
of the Phylaceans, landed first.[80] Odysseus had tricked him, in
throwing his own shield down to land on, so that while he was
first to leap off his ship, he was not the first to land on Trojan
soil. Hector killed Protesilaus in single combat, though the
Trojans conceded the beach. In the second wave of attacks,
Achilles killed Cycnus, son of Poseidon. The Trojans then fled to
the safety of the walls of their city.[81] The walls served as
sturdy fortifications for defense against the Greeks; the build of
the walls was so impressive that legend held that they had been
built by Poseidon and Apollo during a year of forced service to
Trojan King Laomedon.[82] Protesilaus had killed many Trojans
but was killed by Hector in most versions of the story,[83] though
others list Aeneas, Achates, or Ephorbus as his slayer.[84] The
Achaeans buried him as a god on the Thracian peninsula,
across the Troad.[85] After Protesilaus' death, his brother,
Podarces, took command of his troops.
Briseis and Achilles in a 17th-century book illustration by Wenzel
Hollar
Achilles' campaigns
Achilles' surrender of Briseis to Agamemnon, from the House of
the Tragic Poet in Pompeii, fresco, 1st century AD, now in the
Naples National Archaeological Museum
The Achaeans besieged Troy for nine years. This part of the war
is the least developed among surviving sources, which prefer to
talk about events in the last year of the war. After the initial
landing the army was gathered in its entirety again only in the
tenth year. Thucydides deduces that this was due to lack of
money. They raided the Trojan allies and spent time farming the
Thracian peninsula.[86] Troy was never completely besieged,
thus it maintained communications with the interior of Asia
Minor. Reinforcements continued to come until the very end.
The Achaeans controlled only the entrance to the Dardanelles,
and Troy and her allies controlled the shortest point at Abydos
and Sestus and communicated with allies in Europe.[87]

Achilles and Ajax were the most active of the Achaeans, leading
separate armies to raid lands of Trojan allies. According to
Homer, Achilles conquered 11 cities and 12 islands.[88]
According to Apollodorus, he raided the land of Aeneas in the
Troad region and stole his cattle.[89] He also captured
Lyrnassus, Pedasus, and many of the neighbouring cities, and
killed Troilus, son of Priam, who was still a youth; it was said
that if he reached 20 years of age, Troy would not fall. According
to Apollodorus,

He also took Lesbos and Phocaea, then Colophon, and Smyrna,

and Clazomenae, and Cyme; and afterwards Aegialus and
Tenos, the so-called Hundred Cities; then, in order, Adramytium
and Side; then Endium, and Linaeum, and Colone. He took also
Hypoplacian Thebes and Lyrnessus, and further Antandrus, and
many other cities.[90]

Kakrides comments that the list is wrong in that it extends too far
into the south.[91] Other sources talk of Achilles taking Pedasus,
Monenia,[92] Mythemna (in Lesbos), and Peisidice.[93]
Among the loot from these cities was Briseis, from Lyrnessus,
who was awarded to him, and Chryseis, from Hypoplacian
Thebes, who was awarded to Agamemnon.[39] Achilles
captured Lycaon, son of Priam,[94] while he was cutting
branches in his father's orchards. Patroclus sold him as a slave
in Lemnos,[39] where he was bought by Eetion of Imbros and
brought back to Troy. Only 12 days later Achilles slew him, after
the death of Patroclus.[95]
Ajax and Achilles playing a board game (Black-figure Attic
lekythos, c. 500 BC)
Ajax and a game of petteia
Ajax son of Telamon laid waste the Thracian peninsula of which
Polymestor, a son-in-law of Priam, was king. Polymestor
surrendered Polydorus, one of Priam's children, of whom he had
custody. He then attacked the town of the Phrygian king
Teleutas, killed him in single combat and carried off his daughter
Tecmessa.[96] Ajax also hunted the Trojan flocks, both on
Mount Ida and in the countryside.

Numerous paintings on pottery have suggested a tale not

mentioned in the literary traditions. At some point in the war
Achilles and Ajax were playing a board game (petteia).[97][98]
They were absorbed in the game and oblivious to the
surrounding battle.[99] The Trojans attacked and reached the
heroes, who were only saved by an intervention of Athena.[100]
Death of Palamedes
Odysseus was sent to Thrace to return with grain, but came
back empty-handed. When scorned by Palamedes, Odysseus
challenged him to do better. Palamedes set out and returned
with a shipload of grain.[101]

Odysseus had never forgiven Palamedes for threatening the life

of his son. In revenge, Odysseus conceived a plot[102] where
an incriminating letter was forged, from Priam to Palamedes,
[103] and gold was planted in Palamedes' quarters. The letter
and gold were "discovered", and Agamemnon had Palamedes
stoned to death for treason.

However, Pausanias, quoting the Cypria, says that Odysseus

and Diomedes drowned Palamedes, while he was fishing, and
Dictys says that Odysseus and Diomedes lured Palamedes into
a well, which they said contained gold, then stoned him to death.
[104]
Palamedes' father Nauplius sailed to the Troad and asked for
justice, but was refused. In revenge, Nauplius traveled among
the Achaean kingdoms and told the wives of the kings that they
were bringing Trojan concubines to dethrone them. Many of the
Greek wives were persuaded to betray their husbands, most
significantly Agamemnon's wife, Clytemnestra, who was
seduced by Aegisthus, son of Thyestes.[105]
Mutiny
Near the end of the ninth year since the landing, the Achaean
army, tired from the fighting and from the lack of supplies,
mutinied against their leaders and demanded to return to their
homes. According to the Cypria, Achilles forced the army to
stay.[39] According to Apollodorus, Agamemnon brought the
Wine Growers, daughters of Anius, son of Apollo, who had the
gift of producing by touch wine, wheat, and oil from the earth, in
order to relieve the supply problem of the army.[106]
Iliad
Chryses pleading with Agamemnon for his daughter (360–350
BC)
Main article: Iliad
Chryses, a priest of Apollo and father of Chryseis, came to
Agamemnon to ask for the return of his daughter. Agamemnon
refused, and insulted Chryses, who prayed to Apollo to avenge
his ill-treatment. Enraged, Apollo afflicted the Achaean army
with plague. Agamemnon was forced to return Chryseis to end
the plague, and took Achilles' concubine Briseis as his own.
Enraged at the dishonour Agamemnon had inflicted upon him,
Achilles decided he would no longer fight. He asked his mother,
Thetis, to intercede with Zeus, who agreed to give the Trojans
success in the absence of Achilles, the best warrior of the
Achaeans.
After the withdrawal of Achilles, the Achaeans were initially
successful. Both armies gathered in full for the first time since
the landing. Menelaus and Paris fought a duel, which ended
when Aphrodite snatched the beaten Paris from the field. With
the truce broken, the armies began fighting again. Diomedes
won great renown amongst the Achaeans, killing the Trojan hero
Pandaros and nearly killing Aeneas, who was only saved by his
mother, Aphrodite. With the assistance of Athena, Diomedes
then wounded the gods Aphrodite and Ares. During the next
days, however, the Trojans drove the Achaeans back to their
camp and were stopped at the Achaean wall by Poseidon. The
next day, though, with Zeus' help, the Trojans broke into the
Achaean camp and were on the verge of setting fire to the
Achaean ships. An earlier appeal to Achilles to return was
rejected, but after Hector burned Protesilaus' ship, he allowed
his close friend[107] and relative Patroclus to go into battle
wearing Achilles' armour and lead his army. Patroclus drove the
Trojans all the way back to the walls of Troy, and was only
prevented from storming the city by the intervention of Apollo.
Patroclus was then killed by Hector, who took Achilles' armour
from the body of Patroclus.
Triumphant Achilles dragging Hector's body around Troy, from a
panoramic fresco of the Achilleion
Achilles, maddened with grief, swore to kill Hector in revenge.
He was reconciled with Agamemnon and received Briseis back,
untouched by Agamemnon. He received a new set of arms,
forged by the god Hephaestus, and returned to the battlefield.
He slaughtered many Trojans, and nearly killed Aeneas, who
was saved by Poseidon. Achilles fought with the river god
Scamander, and a battle of the gods followed. The Trojan army
returned to the city, except for Hector, who remained outside the
walls because he was tricked by Athena. Achilles killed Hector,
and afterwards he dragged Hector's body from his chariot and
refused to return the body to the Trojans for burial. The
Achaeans then conducted funeral games for Patroclus.
Afterwards, Priam came to Achilles' tent, guided by Hermes, and
asked Achilles to return Hector's body. The armies made a
temporary truce to allow the burial of the dead. The Iliad ends
with the funeral of Hector.
After the Iliad
Penthesilea and the death of Achilles
Achilles killing the Amazon Penthesilea
Shortly after the burial of Hector, Penthesilea, queen of the
Amazons, arrived with her warriors.[108] Penthesilea, daughter
of Otrere and Ares, had accidentally killed her sister Hippolyte.
She was purified from this action by Priam,[109] and in
exchange she fought for him and killed many, including
Machaon[110] (according to Pausanias, Machaon was killed by
Eurypylus),[111] and according to one version, Achilles himself,
who was resurrected at the request of Thetis.[112] In another
version, Penthesilia was killed by Achilles[113] who fell in love
with her beauty after her death. Thersites, a simple soldier and
the ugliest Achaean, taunted Achilles over his love[110] and
gouged out Penthesilea's eyes.[114] Achilles slew Thersites,
and after a dispute sailed to Lesbos, where he was purified for
his murder by Odysseus after sacrificing to Apollo, Artemis, and
Leto.[113]

While they were away, Memnon of Ethiopia, son of Tithonus and

Eos,[115] came with his host to help his stepbrother Priam.[116]
He did not come directly from Ethiopia, but either from Susa in
Persia, conquering all the peoples in between,[117] or from the
Caucasus, leading an army of Ethiopians and Indians.[118] Like
Achilles, he wore armour made by Hephaestus.[119] In the
ensuing battle, Memnon killed Antilochus, who took one of
Memnon's blows to save his father Nestor.[120] Achilles and
Memnon then fought. Zeus weighed the fate of the two heroes;
the weight containing that of Memnon sank,[121] and he was
slain by Achilles.[113][122] Achilles chased the Trojans to their
city, which he entered. The gods, seeing that he had killed too
many of their children, decided that it was his time to die. He
was killed after Paris shot a poisoned arrow that was guided by
Apollo.[113][115][123] In another version he was killed by a knife
to the back (or heel) by Paris, while marrying Polyxena,
daughter of Priam, in the temple of Thymbraean Apollo,[124] the
site where he had earlier killed Troilus. Both versions
conspicuously deny the killer any sort of valour, saying Achilles
remained undefeated on the battlefield. His bones were mingled
with those of Patroclus, and funeral games were held.[125] Like
Ajax, he is represented as living after his death in the island of
Leuke, at the mouth of the Danube River,[126] where he is
married to Helen.[127]
Judgment of Arms
The suicide of Ajax (from a calyx-krater, 400–350 BC, Vulci)
A great battle raged around the dead Achilles. Ajax held back
the Trojans, while Odysseus carried the body away.[128] When
Achilles' armour was offered to the smartest warrior, the two that
had saved his body came forward as competitors. Agamemnon,
unwilling to undertake the invidious duty of deciding between the
two competitors, referred the dispute to the decision of the
Trojan prisoners, inquiring of them which of the two heroes had
done most harm to the Trojans.[129] Alternatively, the Trojans
and Pallas Athena were the judges[130][131] in that, following
Nestor's advice, spies were sent to the walls to overhear what
was said. A girl said that Ajax was braver:

For Aias took up and carried out of the strife the hero, Peleus'
son: this great Odysseus cared not to do.
To this another replied by Athena's contrivance:
Why, what is this you say? A thing against reason and untrue!
Even a woman could carry a load once a man had put it on her
shoulder; but she could not fight. For she would fail with fear
if she should fight. (Scholiast on Aristophanes, Knights 1056 and
Aristophanes ib)
According to Pindar, the decision was made by secret ballot
among the Achaeans.[132] In all story versions, the arms were
awarded to Odysseus. Driven mad with grief, Ajax desired to kill
his comrades, but Athena caused him to mistake the cattle and
their herdsmen for the Achaean warriors.[133] In his frenzy he
scourged two rams, believing them to be Agamemnon and
Menelaus.[134] In the morning, he came to his senses and killed
himself by jumping on the sword that had been given to him by
Hector, so that it pierced his armpit, his only vulnerable part.
[135] According to an older tradition, he was killed by the
Trojans who, seeing he was invulnerable, attacked him with clay
until he was covered by it and could no longer move, thus dying
of starvation.

Prophecies
A mosaic depicting Odysseus, from the villa of La Olmeda,
Pedrosa de la Vega, Spain, late 4th–5th centuries AD
After the tenth year, it was prophesied[136] that Troy could not
fall without Heracles' bow, which was with Philoctetes in
Lemnos. Odysseus and Diomedes[137] retrieved Philoctetes,
whose wound had healed.[138] Philoctetes then shot and killed
Paris.
According to Apollodorus, Paris' brothers Helenus and
Deiphobus vied over the hand of Helen. Deiphobus prevailed,
and Helenus abandoned Troy for Mt. Ida. Calchas said that
Helenus knew the prophecies concerning the fall of Troy, so
Odysseus waylaid Helenus.[131][139] Under coercion, Helenus
told the Achaeans that they would win if they retrieved Pelops'
bones, persuaded Achilles' son Neoptolemus to fight for them,
and stole the Trojan Palladium.[140]

The Greeks retrieved Pelop's bones,[141] and sent Odysseus to

retrieve Neoptolemus, who was hiding from the war in King
Lycomedes's court in Scyros. Odysseus gave him his father's
arms.[131][142] Eurypylus, son of Telephus, leading, according
to Homer, a large force of Kêteioi,[143] or Hittites or Mysians
according to Apollodorus,[144] arrived to aid the Trojans. He
killed Machaon[111] and Peneleos,[145] but was slain by
Neoptolemus.

Disguised as a beggar, Odysseus went to spy inside Troy, but

was recognized by Helen. Homesick,[146] Helen plotted with
Odysseus. Later, with Helen's help, Odysseus and Diomedes
stole the Palladium.[131][147]
The earliest known depiction of the Trojan Horse, from the
Mykonos vase c. 670 BC
Trojan Horse
Main article: Trojan Horse
The end of the war came with one final plan. Odysseus devised
a new ruse—a giant hollow wooden horse, an animal that was
sacred to the Trojans. It was built by Epeius and guided by
Athena,[148] from the wood of a cornel tree grove sacred to
Apollo,[149] with the inscription:

The Greeks dedicate this thank-offering to Athena for their

return home.[150]
The hollow horse was filled with soldiers[151] led by Odysseus.
The rest of the army burned the camp and sailed for Tenedos.
[152]

When the Trojans discovered that the Greeks were gone,

believing the war was over, they "joyfully dragged the horse
inside the city",[153] while they debated what to do with it. Some
thought they ought to hurl it down from the rocks, others thought
they should burn it, while others said they ought to dedicate it to
Athena.[154][155]

Both Cassandra and Laocoön warned against keeping the

horse.[156] While Cassandra had been given the gift of
prophecy by Apollo, she was also cursed by Apollo never to be
believed. Serpents then came out of the sea and devoured
either Laocoön and one of his two sons,[154] Laocoön and both
his sons,[157] or only his sons,[158] a portent which so alarmed
the followers of Aeneas that they withdrew to Ida.[154] The
Trojans decided to keep the horse and turned to a night of mad
revelry and celebration.[131] Sinon, an Achaean spy, signaled
the fleet stationed at Tenedos when "it was midnight and the
clear moon was rising"[159] and the soldiers from inside the
horse emerged and killed the guards.[160]
Sack of Troy

Neoptolemus, son of Achilles, kills King Priam (detail of Attic

black-figure amphora, 520–510 BC)
The Achaeans entered the city and killed the sleeping
population. A great massacre followed which continued into the
day.

Blood ran in torrents, drenched was all the earth,

As Trojans and their alien helpers died.
Here were men lying quelled by bitter death
All up and down the city in their blood.[161]

The Trojans, fuelled with desperation, fought back fiercely,

despite being disorganized and leaderless. With the fighting at
its height, some donned fallen enemies' attire and launched
surprise counterattacks in the chaotic street fighting. Other
defenders hurled down roof tiles and anything else heavy down
on the rampaging attackers. The outlook was grim though, and
eventually the remaining defenders were destroyed along with
the whole city.

Neoptolemus killed Priam, who had taken refuge at the altar of

Zeus of the Courtyard.[154][162] Menelaus killed Deiphobus,
Helen's husband after Paris' death, and also intended to kill
Helen, but, overcome by her beauty, threw down his sword[163]
and took her to the ships.[154][164]
Ajax the Lesser raped Cassandra on Athena's altar while she
was clinging to her statue. Because of Ajax's impiety, the
Acheaens, urged by Odysseus, wanted to stone him to death,
but he fled to Athena's altar, and was spared.[154][165]
Antenor, who had given hospitality to Menelaus and Odysseus
when they asked for the return of Helen, and who had
advocated so, was spared, along with his family.[166] Aeneas
took his father on his back and fled, and, according to
Apollodorus, was allowed to go because of his piety.[162]

The Greeks then burned the city and divided the spoils.
Cassandra was awarded to Agamemnon. Neoptolemus got
Andromache, wife of Hector, and Odysseus was given Hecuba,
Priam's wife.[167]

The Achaeans[168] threw Hector's infant son Astyanax down

from the walls of Troy,[169] either out of cruelty and hate[170] or
to end the royal line, and the possibility of a son's revenge.[171]
They (by usual tradition Neoptolemus) also sacrificed the Trojan
princess Polyxena on the grave of Achilles as demanded by his
ghost, either as part of his spoil or because she had betrayed
him.[172]

The gods were very angry over the destruction of their temples
and other sacrilegious acts by the Achaeans, and decided that
most would not return home. A storm fell on the returning fleet
off Tenos island. Additionally, Nauplius, in revenge for the
murder of his son Palamedes, set up false lights in Cape
Caphereus (also known today as Cavo D'Oro, in Euboea) and
many were shipwrecked.[175]

Agamemnon had made it back to Argos safely with Cassandra

in his possession after some stormy weather. He and
Cassandra were slain by Aegisthus (in the oldest versions of the
story) or by Clytemnestra or by both of them. Electra and
Orestes later avenged their father, but Orestes was the one who
was chased by the Furies.
Nestor, who had the best conduct in Troy and did not take part
in the looting, was the only hero who had a fast and safe return.
[176] Those of his army that survived the war also reached
home with him safely, but later left and colonised Metapontium
in Southern Italy.[177]

Poseidon smites Ajax the Lesser, by Bonaventura Genelli

(1798–1868)
Ajax the Lesser, who had endured more than the others the
wrath of the Gods, never returned. His ship was wrecked by a
storm sent by Athena, who borrowed one of Zeus' thunderbolts
and tore it to pieces. The crew managed to land in a rock, but
Poseidon struck it, and Ajax fell in the sea and drowned. He was
buried by Thetis in Myconos[178] or Delos.[179]
Teucer, son of Telamon and half-brother of Ajax, stood trial by
his father for his half-brother's death. He was disowned by his
father and wasn't allowed back on Salamis Island. He was at
sea near Phreattys in Peiraeus.[180] He was acquitted of
responsibility but found guilty of negligence because he did not
return his dead body or his arms. He left with his army (who took
their wives) and founded Salamis in Cyprus.[181] The Athenians
later created a political myth that his son left his kingdom to
Theseus' sons (and not to Megara).
Neoptolemus, following the advice of Helenus, who
accompanied him when he traveled over land, was always
accompanied by Andromache. He met Odysseus and they
buried Achilles' teacher Phoenix on the land of the Ciconians.
They then conquered the land of the Molossians (Epirus) and
Neoptolemus had a child by Andromache, Molossus, to whom
he later gave the throne.[182] Thus the kings of Epirus claimed
their lineage from Achilles, and so did Alexander the Great,
whose mother was of that royal house. Alexander the Great and
the kings of Macedon also claimed to be descended from
Heracles. Helenus founded a city in Molossia and inhabited it,
and Neoptolemus gave him his mother Deidamia as wife. After
Peleus died he succeeded Phtia's throne.[183] He had a feud
with Orestes (son of Agamemnon) over Menelaus' daughter
Hermione, and was killed in Delphi, where he was buried.[184]
In Roman myths, the kingdom of Phtia was taken over by
Helenus, who married Andromache. They offered hospitality to
other Trojan refugees, including Aeneas, who paid a visit there
during his wanderings.
Diomedes was first thrown by a storm on the coast of Lycia,
where he was to be sacrificed to Ares by king Lycus, but
Callirrhoe, the king's daughter, took pity upon him, and assisted
him in escaping.[185] He then accidentally landed in Attica, in
Phaleron. The Athenians, unaware that they were allies,
attacked them. Many were killed, and Demophon took the
Palladium.[186] He finally landed in Argos, where he found his
wife Aegialeia committing adultery. In disgust, he left for Aetolia.
[187] According to later traditions, he had some adventures and
founded Canusium and Argyrippa in Southern Italy.[188]
Philoctetes, due to a sedition, was driven from his city and
emigrated to Italy, where he founded the cities of Petilia, Old
Crimissa, and Chone, between Croton and Thurii.[189] After
making war on the Leucanians he founded there a sanctuary of
Apollo the Wanderer, to whom also he dedicated his bow.[190]
According to Homer, Idomeneus reached his house safe and
sound.[191] Another tradition later formed. After the war,
Idomeneus's ship hit a horrible storm. Idomeneus promised
Poseidon that he would sacrifice the first living thing he saw
when he returned home if Poseidon would save his ship and
crew. The first living thing he saw was his son, whom
Idomeneus duly sacrificed. The gods were angry at his murder
of his own son and they sent a plague to Crete. His people sent
him into exile to Calabria in Italy,[192] and then to Colophon, in
Asia Minor, where he died.[193] Among the lesser Achaeans
very few reached their homes.
House of Atreus
The murder of Agamemnon (1879 illustration from Alfred
Church's Stories from the Greek Tragedians)
According to the Odyssey, Menelaus's fleet was blown by
storms to Crete and Egypt, where they were unable to sail away
due to calm winds.[194] Only five of his ships survived.[176]
Menelaus had to catch Proteus, a shape-shifting sea god, to find
out what sacrifices to which gods he would have to make to
guarantee safe passage.[195] According to some stories the
Helen who was taken by Paris was a fake, and the real Helen
was in Egypt, where she was reunited with Menelaus. Proteus
also told Menelaus that he was destined for Elysium (Heaven)
after his death. Menelaus returned to Sparta with Helen eight
years after he had left Troy.[196]

Agamemnon returned home with Cassandra to Argos. His wife

Clytemnestra (Helen's sister) was having an affair with
Aegisthus, son of Thyestes, Agamemnon's cousin who had
conquered Argos before Agamemnon himself retook it. Possibly
out of vengeance for the death of Iphigenia, Clytemnestra
plotted with her lover to kill Agamemnon. Cassandra foresaw
this murder, and warned Agamemnon, but he disregarded her.
He was killed, either at a feast or in his bath,[197] according to
different versions. Cassandra was also killed.[198]
Agamemnon's son Orestes, who had been away, returned and
conspired with his sister Electra to avenge their father.[199] He
killed Clytemnestra and Aegisthus and succeeded to his father's
throne.[200][201]

Odyssey
Main article: Odyssey
Odysseus' ten-year journey home to Ithaca was told in Homer's
Odyssey. Odysseus and his men were blown far off course to
lands unknown to the Achaeans; there Odysseus had many
adventures, including the famous encounter with the Cyclops
Polyphemus, and an audience with the seer Teiresias in Hades.
On the island of Thrinacia, Odysseus' men ate the cattle sacred
to the sun-god Helios. For this sacrilege Odysseus' ships were
destroyed, and all his men perished. Odysseus had not eaten
the cattle, and was allowed to live; he washed ashore on the
island of Ogygia, and lived there with the nymph Calypso. After
seven years, the gods decided to send Odysseus home; on a
small raft, he sailed to Scheria, the home of the Phaeacians,
who gave him passage to Ithaca.
Odysseus and Polyphemus by Arnold Böcklin: the Cyclops'
curse delays the homecoming of Odysseus for another ten
years
Once in his home land, Odysseus traveled disguised as an old
beggar. He was recognised by his dog, Argos, who died in his
lap. He then discovered that his wife, Penelope, had been
faithful to him during the 20 years he was absent, despite the
countless suitors that were eating his food and spending his
property. With the help of his son Telemachus, Athena, and
Eumaeus, the swineherd, he killed all of them except Medon,
who had been polite to Penelope, and Phemius, a local singer
who had only been forced to help the suitors against Penelope.
Penelope tested Odysseus and made sure it was him, and he
forgave her. The next day the suitors' relatives tried to take
revenge on him but they were stopped by Athena.

Telegony
Main article: Telegony
The Telegony picks up where the Odyssey leaves off, beginning
with the burial of the dead suitors, and continues until the death
of Odysseus.[202] Some years after Odysseus' return,
Telegonus, the son of Odysseus and Circe, came to Ithaca and
plundered the island. Odysseus, attempting to fight off the
attack, was killed by his unrecognized son. After Telegonus
realized he had killed his father, he brought the body to his
mother Circe, along with Telemachus and Penelope. Circe
made them immortal; then Telegonus married Penelope and
Telemachus married Circe.

Aeneid

Aeneas Flees Burning Troy (1598) by Federico Barocci

Main article: Aeneid
The journey of the Trojan survivor Aeneas and his resettling of
Trojan refugees in Italy are the subject of the Latin epic poem
The Aeneid by Virgil. Writing during the time of Augustus, Virgil
has his hero give a first-person account of the fall of Troy in the
second of the Aeneid 's twelve books; the Trojan Horse, which
does not appear in "The Iliad", became legendary from Virgil's
account.
Aeneas leads a group of survivors away from the city, among
them his son Ascanius (also known as Iulus), his trumpeter
Misenus, father Anchises, the healer Iapyx, his faithful sidekick
Achates, and Mimas as a guide. His wife Creusa is killed during
the sack of the city. Aeneas also carries the Lares and Penates
of Troy, which the historical Romans claimed to preserve as
guarantees of Rome's own security.

The Trojan survivors escape with a number of ships, seeking to

establish a new homeland elsewhere. They land in several
nearby countries that prove inhospitable, and are finally told by
an oracle that they must return to the land of their forebears.
They first try to establish themselves in Crete, where Dardanus
had once settled, but find it ravaged by the same plague that
had driven Idomeneus away. They find the colony led by
Helenus and Andromache, but decline to remain. After seven
years they arrive in Carthage, where Aeneas has an affair with
Queen Dido. (Since according to tradition Carthage was
founded in 814 BC, the arrival of Trojan refugees a few hundred
years earlier exposes chronological difficulties within the mythic
tradition.) Eventually the gods order Aeneas to continue onward,
and he and his people arrive at the mouth of the Tiber River in
Italy. Dido commits suicide, and Aeneas's betrayal of her was
regarded as an element in the long enmity between Rome and
Carthage that expressed itself in the Punic Wars and led to
Roman hegemony.

At Cumae, the Sibyl leads Aeneas on an archetypal descent to

the underworld, where the shade of his dead father serves as a
guide; this book of the Aeneid directly influenced Dante, who
has Virgil act as his narrator's guide. Aeneas is given a vision of
the future majesty of Rome, which it was his duty to found, and
returns to the world of the living. He negotiates a settlement with
the local king, Latinus, and was wed to his daughter, Lavinia.
This triggered a war with other local tribes, which culminated in
the founding of the settlement of Alba Longa, ruled by Aeneas
and Lavinia's son Silvius. Roman myth attempted to reconcile
two different founding myths: three hundred years later, in the
more famous tradition, Romulus founded Rome after murdering
his brother Remus. The Trojan origins of Rome became
particularly important in the propaganda of Julius Caesar, whose
family claimed descent from Venus through Aeneas's son Iulus
(hence the Latin gens name Iulius), and during the reign of
Augustus; see for instance the Tabulae Iliacae and the "Troy
Game" presented frequently by the Julio-Claudian dynasty.
Dates of the Trojan War
Hypnos and Thanatos carrying the body of Sarpedon from the
battlefield of Troy; detail from an Attic white-ground lekythos, c.
440 BC.
Since this war was considered among the ancient Greeks as
either the last event of the mythical age or the first event of the
historical age, several dates are given for the fall of Troy. They
usually derive from genealogies of kings. Ephorus gives 1135
BC,[203] Sosibius 1172 BC,[204] Eratosthenes 1184 BC/1183
BC,[205] Timaeus 1193 BC,[206] the Parian marble 1209
BC/1208 BC,[207] Dicaearchus 1212 BC,[208] Herodotus
around 1250 BC,[209] Eretes 1291 BC,[210] while Douris 1334
BC.[211] As for the exact day Ephorus gives 23/24 Thargelion
(May 6 or 7), Hellanicus 12 Thargelion (May 26)[212] while
others give the 23rd of Sciroforion (July 7) or the 23rd of
Ponamos (October 7).

The glorious and rich city Homer describes was believed to be

Troy VI by many twentieth century authors, destroyed in 1275
BC, probably by an earthquake. Its follower Troy VIIa, destroyed
by fire at some point during the 1180s BC, was long considered
a poorer city, but since the excavation campaign of 1988 it has
risen to the most likely candidate.
Map showing the Hittite Empire, Ahhiyawa (possibly the
Achaeans) and Wilusa (Troy)
Historical basis
See also: Historicity of the Iliad
The historicity of the Trojan War is still subject to debate. Most
classical Greeks thought that the war was a historical event, but
many believed that the Homeric poems had exaggerated the
events to suit the demands of poetry. For instance, the historian
Thucydides, who is known for being critical, considers it a true
event but doubts that 1,186 ships were sent to Troy. Euripides
started changing Greek myths at will, including those of the
Trojan War. Near year 100, Dio Chrysostom argued that while
the war was historical, it ended with the Trojans winning, and the
Greeks attempted to hide that fact.[213] Around 1870 it was
generally agreed in Western Europe that the Trojan War had
never happened and Troy never existed.[214] Then Heinrich
Schliemann popularized his excavations at Hisarlik, which he
and others believed to be Troy, and of the Mycenaean cities of
Greece. Today many scholars agree that the Trojan War is
based on a historical core of a Greek expedition against the city
of Troy, but few would argue that the Homeric poems faithfully
represent the actual events of the war.

In November 2001, geologist John C. Kraft and classicist John

V. Luce presented the results of investigations into the geology
of the region that had started in 1977.[215][216][217] The
geologists compared the present geology with the landscapes
and coastal features described in the Iliad and other classical
sources, notably Strabo's Geographia. Their conclusion was that
there is regularly a consistency between the location of Troy as
identified by Schliemann (and other locations such as the Greek
camp), the geological evidence, and descriptions of the
topography and accounts of the battle in the Iliad.

In the twentieth century scholars have attempted to draw

conclusions based on Hittite and Egyptian texts that date to the
time of the Trojan War. While they give a general description of
the political situation in the region at the time, their information
on whether this particular conflict took place is limited. Andrew
Dalby notes that while the Trojan War most likely did take place
in some form and is therefore grounded in history, its true nature
is and will be unknown.[218] The Tawagalawa letter mentions a
kingdom of Ahhiyawa (Achaea, or Greece) that lies beyond the
sea (that would be the Aegean) and controls Milliwanda, which
is identified with Miletus. Also mentioned in this and other letters
is the Assuwa confederation made of 22 cities and countries
which included the city of Wilusa (Ilios or Ilium). The Milawata
letter implies this city lies on the north of the Assuwa
confederation, beyond the Seha river. While the identification of
Wilusa with Ilium (that is, Troy) is always controversial, in the
1990s it gained majority acceptance. In the Alaksandu treaty (c.
1280 BC) the king of the city is named Alaksandu, and Paris's
name in the Iliad (among other works) is Alexander. The
Tawagalawa letter (dated c. 1250 BC) which is addressed to the
king of Ahhiyawa actually says: "Now as we have come to an
agreement on Wilusa over which we went to war ..."[full citation
needed]

Formerly under the Hittites, the Assuwa confederation defected

after the battle of Kadesh between Egypt and the Hittites (c.
1274 BC). In 1230 BC Hittite king Tudhaliya IV (c. 1240–1210
BC) campaigned against this federation. Under Arnuwanda III
(c. 1210–1205 BC) the Hittites were forced to abandon the lands
they controlled in the coast of the Aegean. It is possible that the
Trojan War was a conflict between the king of Ahhiyawa and the
Assuwa confederation. This view has been supported in that the
entire war includes the landing in Mysia (and Telephus'
wounding), Achilles's campaigns in the North Aegean and
Telamonian Ajax's campaigns in Thrace and Phrygia. Most of
these regions were part of Assuwa.[70][219] That most Achaean
heroes did not return to their homes and founded colonies
elsewhere was interpreted by Thucydides as being due to their
long absence.[220] Nowadays the interpretation followed by
most scholars is that the Achaean leaders driven out of their
lands by the turmoil at the end of the Mycenaean era preferred
to claim descent from exiles of the Trojan War.[221]

The Story of Pandora's Box

As the story goes ...
Once up a time, a long time ago, there were two brothers named
Epimetheus and Prometheus. They were good gods. They had
good hearts. They were good friends.
One day, Prometheus got in trouble with Zeus. Angry over
something or other, Zeus had declared that man did not deserve
fire. Because he had a kind heart, and he knew how much man
needed fire for food and warmth, Prometheus gave man the
secret of fire even though Zeus had told all the gods not to do
that. Zeus was furious that his order had been ignored. As
punishment, Zeus chained Prometheus to a rock for many
years.
But that was not enough punishment, not for Zeus. Once
Prometheus was chained to a rock, Zeus went after
Prometheus' brother, the gentle, kind-hearted Epimetheus. Zeus
did not chain Epimetheus to a rock. Zeus had a more sneaky
punishment in mind.
First, Zeus ordered the gods' handyman, the maker of things -
Hephaestus - to make Zeus a daughter. Hephaestus made a
woman out of clay, a beautiful woman. He brought her to life,
and then brought her to Zeus. Zeus named his lovely new
daughter Pandora.
Zeus knew that Epimetheus was lonely. Zeus told Epimetheus
that his brother, Hephaestus, had to be punished and that's why
he was chained to a rock, but he felt sorry that this punishment
left Epimetheus without the company of his brother. That's why
Zeus had decided to give Pandora in marriage to Epimetheus. It
was not the truth of course, but then nearly everyone in the
ancient Greek world knew better than to believe the mighty
Zeus.
Epimetheus was kind-hearted and gentle and thoughtful, but he
was no fool. He knew Zeus was up to something. But he loved
Pandora at first sight.
Zeus gave the newlyweds a gift. Some say it was a jar. Some
say it was a box. Whatever it was, it was locked. It came with a
note. The note said: "DO NOT OPEN." Attached to the note was
a key. It was all very curious.
You can guess what happened next. It was Pandora whose
curiosity got the better of her. One day, she used the key to
open the box. As she raised the lid, out flew all the bad things in
the world today - envy, sickness, hate, disease. Pandora
slammed the lid closed, but it was too late.
Epimetheus heard her weeping. He came running. Pandora
opened the lid to show him it was empty. Quickly, before she
could slam the lid shut, one tiny bug flew out. He gave Pandora
a big buggy smile in thanks for his freedom and flew away. That
tiny bug was named Hope. And Hope made all the difference in
the world.
ORPHEUS AND EURYDICE SUMMARY
How It (Supposedly) Went Down
The Short Story
Ready? Go. Orpheus and Eurydice get married, but later that
night, Eurydice is bit by a snake and dies. So far, so terrible.
Overcome with grief, Orpheus travels to the Underworld to bring
her back to life. He convinces Hades and Persephone to let
Eurydice go, but her release comes with a catch: Eurydice must
walk behind him as they ascend to the upper world, and
Orpheus is forbidden from looking at her. Seems easy enough,
right?

Unfortunately, Orpheus is overcome with passion just as they

reach the exit. He turns to look at Eurydice and she is
immediately sent back to the Underworld – forever. Orpheus is
devastated (again) and roams around Greece playing sad
songs. Eventually, he is ripped to shreds by a group of drunken
mad women.

The Less Short Story

We start off with a pretty typical boy-meets-girl story. And after
they meet, Orpheus (who's a famous musician) and Eurydice fall
in love and get married. The end.
Oh wait.
Hymen, the god of marriage, is present at the wedding
ceremony. He refuses to offer any words of encouragement or
even crack a smile. We'd say this is a pretty bad sign for the
future of the marriage.
After the wedding, Eurydice decides to get some fresh air. She
takes a walk through a nearby meadow, dancing and laughing
with her bridesmaids (the Naiads). Natch.
In some versions of the myth, the lustful shepherd Aristaeus
(son of Apollo and Cyrene) surprises Eurydice. He's pretty hot
for her, and he chases her along a nearby riverbank.
Desperate to avoid his sexual advances, Eurydice stops looking
where she's going and stumbles across a poisonous viper. Uh
oh.
Sure enough, the snake bites Eurydice's ankle and she dies.
The end.
Nope, still not.
Orpheus is (obviously) overcome with grief at his wife's death.
And just like any good musician, he expressed himself by
singing the blues. Literally.
Fed up with his depression, Orpheus decides to take action. His
plan? Travel to the Underworld and ask Hades to let Eurydice
go. Seems straightforward enough.
As he enters the Underworld, Orpheus uses his music to charm
the spirits and monsters who live there. Ever get serenaded by a
cute guy with a stringed instrument? Hard to resist, right?
Even animals love him. Cerberus, the three-headed dog who
guards the entrance, stands motionless and lets Orpheus pass.
Everyone else is moved, too: the grotesque Furies weep,
Sisyphus stops moving his rock, the vulture stops pecking at
Tityus' liver, and the souls of the dead gather to hear him play.
So yeah, guess he chose the right song.
In any case, Orpheus finds Hades and Persephone, the King
and Queen of the Underworld. Now the convincing begins.
He makes a grand speech and plays his lyre to try to persuade
these two to let Eurydice go. His strategy? He reminds Hades
that he fell in love once, too (with Persephone). Also, since
everyone dies eventually, they'll eventually get her (and his!)
soul back anyway. So why not let Eurydice live for a few more
years?
Orpheus' eloquent speech melts the hearts of Hades and
Persephone. Surprise, surprise. And – success! – they agree to
free Eurydice.
But there is a small catch. Hades says Eurydice must walk
behind Orpheus as they travel back to the upper world –
Orpheus is forbidden from looking back at Eurydice until they
have exited the Underworld.
Doesn't seem too tough, right? Who doesn't love a little delayed
gratification anyway?
So Orpheus agrees, and the couple begins their ascent.
Orpheus can hear Eurydice's footsteps behind him and before
long, he can see the exit. He steps out of the cave and into the
light. He made it!
But (yes, there's a but – we know you saw it coming) due either
to excitement for having escaped or concern for his wife,
Orpheus totally forgets about Hades' warning and turns to look
at Eurydice.
NO!
Eurydice is just on the verge of exiting the cave, but she hasn't
quite made it out.
We repeat: NO!
At that moment, three loud noises echo throughout the
Underworld, signaling that something is very, very wrong.
Orpheus and Eurydice lock eyes for a split second. Eurydice just
barely manages to say "Farewell!" before she is sucked back
down to the Underworld.
Orpheus reaches for her – but he's grabbing at air. (How sad is
this?)
Our guy is stunned. What should he do? He tries to enter the
Underworld a second time, but this time the Ferryman on the
River Styx won't let him pass.
Now it's time for more wallowing. For somewhere between
seven days and seven months (depending on what version you
read), Orpheus sits weeping on the banks of the River Styx.
Ugh.
Eventually, he wanders back to Thrace, still bemoaning the loss
of Eurydice and singing the blues (literally).
Things aren't going well for this guy, and sure enough, for the
rest of this life, Orpheus spurns the romantic advances of all
other women. Now that's loyalty.
Among Orpheus' rejected lovers are the Maenads, a group of
women who worship the drunken god Bacchus. They're a pretty
unruly bunch, and when Orpheus turns them down, they are not
happy campers.
The Maenads try to throw sticks and stones at him, but the
objects refuse to hit Orpheus because they're enchanted by his
music. This guy is even moving sticks and stones not to break
his bones – impressive.
On to plan B: the Maenads rip Orpheus limb from limb, and
scatter his body parts across the land. They also tear off his
head and throw it in a river.
Well, then.
Even as Orpheus' head floats down the river, he calls out for
Eurydice. How's that for romantic/creepy?
Orpheus' head eventually washes up on the island of Lesbos,
where it's discovered by the Muses. They also find his limbs and
give them a proper burial.
According to some accounts of the myth, the spirits of Orpheus
and Eurydice end up finding each other in the Elysian Fields,
which is the nicest part of the Underworld. Aw.
But some party pooper accounts don't agree that they are ever
reunited. We like to think the first way is what really happened.