December 11, 2017

In Greek mythology, Theseus was a young adventurer who became king of Athens. In the most well-known story about Theseus, he slew the fearful Minotaur—a beast with the body of a man and the head of a bull.

Theseus. Credit: © Shutterstock

Theseus was the son of Aegus, the king of Athens. According to legend, Athens had to send seven young men and seven young women to Crete each year in tribute to that island’s King Minos. Minos sent the Athenian youths to their deaths in the Labyrinth, a confusing maze that housed the Minotaur. One year, Theseus was among the young Athenians forced to go to Crete. As Theseus left home, Aegus told him to change the sails of his ship from black to white on his return voyage to indicate that he had survived.

In Crete, King Minos’s daughter Ariadne fell in love with Theseus. She gave him a ball of thread to unwind as he traveled through the Labyrinth so that he could follow it back out again. Theseus explored the Labyrinth and soon located the Minotaur, which he killed. He then led the other Athenians out of the maze, following the thread to freedom.

In his haste to return to Athens, Theseus forgot to change the sails of his ship from black to white. When Aegus saw black sails on Theseus’s ship, the king thought Thesius had died. In sorrow, Aegus killed himself in sorrow. Some accounts say he threw himself from a cliff into the sea, a body of water—the Aegean Sea—named for the unfortunate king. Theseus then became king of Athens.

December 4, 2017

The Sphinx «sfihngks» was a mythical creature with the body of a lion and the head of a human, falcon, or ram. The Sphinx is found in both ancient Egyptian and Greek mythology. In Egyptian myth, the Sphinx was more of a symbol than an individual entity. It was a guardian figure, the protector of the pyramids, and the scourge of the enemies of Re, the sun god. It also represented the pharaoh and the pharaoh’s divine power. Sometimes the face of a carved or painted sphinx was meant to resemble a particular pharaoh.

Sphinxes figure in stories of ancient people from Egypt, Greece, and the Middle East. The Great Sphinx, shown here, is a huge limestone statue created near Giza, Egypt, about 4,500 years ago. Credit: © Dreamstime

In Greek mythology, the Sphinx was a monster. Some accounts note that it had the body and tail of a lion, the face of a woman, and the wings of a bird. It was an offspring of Echidna and Typhon, who also bore such other monsters as the Hydra, the Chimera, the many-headed dog Orthus, and the nasty Gorgons.

In the story of Oedipus, the goddess Hera sent the Sphinx to plague the people of the ancient city of Thebes. This was punishment for an ancient crime, possibly the failure to atone for the crimes of a former king of Thebes. The Sphinx sat perched on a mountain cliff near the ancient city. The creature guarded Thebes with a riddle that she had learned from the Muses. Each time a traveler failed to solve her riddle, she devoured them, effectively preventing anyone from leaving or entering the city.

The riddle? “What being has four legs, then two, and then three?” Some accounts write it, “What has four legs in the morning, two at noon, and three in the evening?” After many people guessed incorrectly and were killed, the king of Thebes announced that he would give the kingdom to anyone who could solve the riddle. The road past Mount Phicion, where the Sphinx awaited her victims, was strewn with the bones of people who had failed to find the right answer. Eventually, Oedipus, fleeing Corinth, solved the riddle. He answered, “Man, who crawls on all fours as a baby, then walks on two legs, and finally needs a cane in old age.” Upon hearing the correct answer, the Sphinx jumped from the cliff to her death. The plague of Thebes was lifted.

October 23, 2017

Poseidon was the powerful god of the sea, earthquakes, and horses in ancient Greek mythology. The Romans identified him with their god Neptune. Poseidon was the son of Rhea and Cronus, members of an old race of gods called the Titans. The gods Zeus and Hades were his brothers. When the three brothers divided up the universe, Poseidon received the sea as his domain, Zeus the heavens, and Hades the underworld. All three brothers ruled Earth, but Zeus was in charge.

Statues of Poseidon usually include his trademark trident. Credit: © Shutterstock

In art, ancient Greeks depicted Poseidon as a large, strong man with wild hair. He drove a chariot drawn by two golden-maned horses, and his palace beneath the sea was made of gold. Poseidon himself wore golden clothing. He carried a three-pronged spear called a trident, with which he struck the ground to create earthquakes. He was a mighty god with a violent temper.

In one legend, Poseidon and Athena, the goddess of wisdom and warfare, competed with each other for control over a city in the Greek peninsula of Attica. They stood upon a rocky hill called the Acropolis, ready to woo the Atticans and the judging gods with their powers. Poseidon struck the rocky floor of the Acropolis with his trident, and produced a salt spring there. Athena magically produced the first olive tree. The crowds and judges were impressed by Poseidon’s display, but it was Athena’s lovely and useful tree that won them over. The people named their city Athens in honor of their new patron goddess. At first, Poseidon was enraged and flooded Athens. However, the Athenians appeased the angry sea god by worshiping him and honoring the spring at the Acropolis as sacred.

Poseidon chose Amphitrite, a Nereid, as his wife. The Nereids were a race of immortal nymphs who kept watch over the sea. At first, Amphitrite rejected the sea god’s romantic advances. She fled to Atlas, the titan who bore the weight of the sky on his shoulders, asking him to protect her from the powerful god. However, Poseidon sent a dolphin to find her and retrieve her. She returned and the two were married. Poseidon turned the dolphin into the constellation Delphinus as thanks.

Poseidon and Amphitrite had two daughters, Rhode and Benthesicyme, and a son, the sea god Triton. Poseidon also had children from many love affairs. These offspring included the magical horses Pegasus and Arion, the giant Antaeus, and the cyclops (one-eyed giant) Polyphemus. In the epic poem the Odyssey, Poseidon hated the Greek hero Odysseus for blinding Polyphemus. In some myths, Poseidon was also the father of Theseus, a mortal hero and great king of Athens.

October 16, 2017

The Pied Piper of Hamelin is a legendary character in German folklore. According to a folk story, in 1284 the German town of Hamelin (Hameln in German) was suffering from a plague of rats. One day, a mysterious stranger dressed in a pied (many-colored) suit walked into Hamelin and offered to rid the town of the pests for a sum of money. After the mayor agreed, the man drew out a pipe and walked along the streets playing a haunting tune. All the rats came tumbling out of the houses and followed the Piper to the Weser River, where they drowned. When the Piper—known in German as der Rattenfänger (the rat catcher)—came to collect his fee, the mayor refused to pay him. The Piper swore vengeance. Once more he walked along the streets playing his strange melody. This time, the town’s children ran from their homes and followed him to a cave in nearby Koppen Hill. The cave closed upon them, and the children were never seen again.

A bronze statue of the Pied Piper stands in Hameln, Germany. Credit: © Axel Bueckert, Shutterstock

The legend seems to be based at least in part on fact. Old writings on the walls of several houses in Hamelin say that on July 26, 1284, a Piper led 130 children out of town and that they were lost in Koppen Hill. Some believe that the Piper was an agent of the Bishop of Olmutz, who in the late 1200′s took many Hamelin children to Moravia, where they were resettled. Others claim robbers kidnapped the children. It is also possible that the legend came from the disastrous Children’s Crusade of 1212. The story of the Piper was popularized in modern times by a famous poem by the English poet Robert Browning.

The story of the Pied Piper has made the picturesque Hameln a major tourist attraction. Along the cobblestone streets of the Pied Piper Trail, every few feet there is an imprinted white rat in a bronze plate pointing the way to the main attractions of the town. The Pied Piper House (1602) is one of the town’s largest and prettiest buildings. Several times a day, a clockwork display of figures in the Wedding House (1610-1617) appears in a window and acts out the Pied Piper story. Chimes in the building play what is said to be the Piper’s haunting melody. Every Sunday from mid-May to mid-September about 80 actors in historical costumes recreate the story of how the children of the town went missing.

September 11, 2017

The ancient Egyptians told countless stories about their gods and goddesses, but one, called the Osiris myth, was the most popular of them all. In this story, the Earth god Geb retired to heaven and appointed his son Osiris, god of agriculture and fertility, as the new king of Egypt. Osiris took the fertility goddess Isis as his queen. Seth, god of chaos and the desert, grew jealous of Osiris’ new position of power and killed him. Seth chopped up Osiris’ body and stuffed the pieces into a box, which he sent floating down the Nile River. Isis was horrified and could not accept her husband’s death. With the help of other gods and goddesses, she found the box containing Osiris’ body and put the pieces back together, restoring him to life. Osiris then became god of the afterlife, ruling over the underworld.

A statue depicting Osiris stands at Hatshepsut Temple in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings. Credit: © Christophe Cappelli, Shutterstock

Ancient Egyptians believed that if Osiris could triumph over death, so could human beings. Early rulers were referred to as “Osiris” after they died and were considered to be immortal, carrying on their lives in the underworld. By around 2000 B.C., common people believed that they too could continue living in the afterlife. In order to achieve this, they had to perform mortuary rituals in preparation for a trial after death. Osiris oversaw this trial, in which the heart of the deceased was weighed against an ostrich feather, a symbol of truth and justice. The bearer of a light heart was allowed to become immortal. Mortuary rituals are described in a collection of ancient texts known as The Book of the Dead.

In art, Osiris is generally shown as a bearded human mummy with green or black flesh. In his hands he holds a shepherd’s crook and a whip, symbols that were often associated with pharaohs and other Egyptian state leaders. On his head, Osiris wears a conical white crown with ostrich feathers.

In addition to being ruler of the underworld, Osiris continued his role as the god of agriculture and fertility. Ancient Egyptians believed that the powerful Osiris had a cosmic influence over the cycles of the moon, allowing him to control the tides. Seasonal flooding of the Nile, which played a crucial role in Egypt’s yearly harvests, was thus attributed to Osiris. Farmers, common folk, and royalty all recognized the god’s importance, and the cult of Osiris became widespread, lasting many centuries.

August 28, 2017

Odysseus was a famous king of Ithaca and a brave and cunning hero in Greek mythology. His name is Odysseus in Greek and Ulysses in Latin. Odysseus was especially noted for his cleverness. In early Greek writings, he also was generous and noble. Odysseus lived through some hard times, however, and his travails liven the pages of two of the greatest works of ancient literature, the Iliad and the Odyssey.

This ancient Greek painting shows the bearded Odysseus giving the armor of Achilles to Achilles’s warrior son Neoptolemus. Credit: Red-figure painting on a cup (about 490 B.C.) by Douris; Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna (Interfoto Pressebildagentur/Alamy Images)

The Iliad and the Odyssey, both by the Greek poet Homer, describe events during and after the Trojan War, a conflict between Greece and the city of Troy. The Iliad tells of the last year of the Trojan War. The Odyssey recounts Odysseus’s adventures as he returns home after the war.

During his trip home to Ithaca—the ten-year journey described in the Odyssey—Odysseus and his shipmates endured many trials and tribulations as they sailed from island to island. Relying on the resourcefulness and cunning of Odysseus, they navigated troubles with such legendary mythological figures as the daydreaming lotus-eaters, the one-eyed Cyclopes, the cannibalistic Laestrygones, beguiling Circe, the enchanting Sirens, the sea monsters Scylla and Charybdis, and the sea nymph Calypso—all while dealing with the wrath of angry gods and stormy seas. There are many reasons why the Odyssey is such good reading!

Odysseus finally made it back to Ithaca, but he had been gone so long he was given up for dead. He found his long-suffering wife, Penelope, at the center of a competition for her hand in marriage. Furious, Odysseus entered the contest—a feat of strength and archery prowess—in disguise. Odysseus won the competition, revealed his identity, and slaughtered the other contestants. At long last reunited with his wife, an exhausted Odysseus resumed his rightful place on the throne of Ithaca.

August 21, 2017

Odin, the one-eyed Norse god of war and the battlefield was revered by Berserkers, frenzied Viking warriors who fought ferociously without armor and felt no wounds. But Odin was a complex character who also had domain over wisdom and poetry. Norse mythology, also called Teutonic mythology, consists of the myths and legends of Scandinavia and Germany. The foremost god in the Norse pantheon, Odin was father to many of the Aesir (Norse race of gods), including Thor and Balder, and a father-figure to others such as Loki. For this reason, Odin was often known as “Allfather.”

Odin the Allfather of Norse mythology. Credit: Victor Villalobos (licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0)

The magnificent hall Valhalla was Odin’s home in Asgard, the domain of the Norse gods. There he feasted with the souls of heroes who had died in battle. A fearless fighter himself, Odin carried a spear as his weapon, and he rode an eight-legged horse called Sleipnir. Before battle, Odin would cast his spear over the forces of one side, choosing them as the victors. He then sent in the Valkyries, a group of warlike goddess-maidens, to choose which warriors lived and died and then to carry fallen heroes to Valhalla.

Odin was the wisest god; he had an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. Two ravens, Huginn and Muminn, sat by his side and told him all they saw throughout the world each day. Odin gained his greatest wisdom from Mimir, a mysterious and ancient being who guarded a well whose waters were the source of all knowledge in the universe. Visiting one day, Odin asked for a drink from this well of knowledge. Mimir refused unless the god offered something of value in return. Without hesitation, Odin plucked out one of his eyes and dropped it into the water. Seeing that Odin made the necessary sacrifice, Mimir reluctantly dipped his cup into the well and gave the one-eyed god a hearty drink.

Odin himself spoke only in verse, and poetry was a gift he granted only to select people to whom he offered a sip of his magical mead (honey wine). Odin stole this mead of poetry from the greedy giant Suttung, who hoarded the precious liquid in a huge vat. The mead gave anyone who drank it the ability to speak in beautiful prose. To steal the drink, Odin swallowed the entire vat and took the form of an eagle to escape the enraged giant. Weighed down by the mead held in his throat, and with Suttung in hot pursuit, Odin barely reached the safety of Asgard’s walls. He spat the mead into a huge container and has guarded it ever since. However, a few drops spilled and fell to Earth, where the precious liquid is the source of all bad poetry among humans today.

Wednesday, from the Anglo-Saxon word Wodensday (Odin’s day) is so-named to remind people of Odin’s all-seeing presence and to always be hospitable. Hospitality was an essential virtue for the people of northern Europe. Odin often wandered across the land wearing a wide-brimmed hat to shade his face, calling unannounced on homes and farms. The people of northern Europe knew never to turn away a weary traveler—it just might be the mighty Allfather in disguise.

August 14, 2017

Nymphs, in ancient Greek and Roman mythology, were minor goddesses or semidivine beings represented as lovely maidens. The word nymph comes from Greek and Latin words describing a young girl of marriageable age, or a young bride. In ancient stories, the nymphs inhabited and guarded the different realms of nature. For example, oreads watched over hills and mountains. Dryads and hamadryads took care of trees and forests. Nereids (daughters of the sea god Nereus) kept watch over the Mediterranean Sea, and the Oceanids (daughters of the Titan Oceanus) protected the oceans. Naiads were nymphs of brooks, rivers, and streams. Some nymphs were associated with a particular hill, tree, or other natural feature, to which their lives were linked. Nymphs lived for a long time but usually were not considered immortal.

Statues of dancing nymphs grace a fountain in the gardens of the Royal Palace of Caserta in southern Italy. Credit: © Antonio Gravante, Shutterstock

Nymphs often figured in stories about love, as the pursuer or the pursued. Some nymphs or groups of nymphs shied away from amorous affairs, but others were passionate—and sometimes vengeful—lovers. They became involved with both gods and humans. Nymphs often were represented as associating with satyrs and fauns, mischievous, playful, goatlike gods of the countryside and forest.

Metamorphoses, a collection of stories in verse by the ancient Roman poet Ovid, includes multiple tales of relentless lovers pursuing nymphs who transform to escape. The work’s title—Metapmorphoses—means transformations. In one story, the god Eros shot the god Apollo with an arrow that made him fall in love with the nymph Daphne. Eros shot Apollo in revenge for insulting his skill as an archer. He also shot Daphne with an arrow that made her flee Apollo. Daphne, pursued by Apollo, prayed for escape and was transformed into a laurel tree. Apollo made the laurel his sacred tree and wore a crown of laurel leaves on his head in her honor. In another tale, the god Pan tried to start an affair with the nymph Syrinx, but she ran away from him in terror and begged the gods to help her. The gods changed Syrinx into a bed of reeds, from which Pan made a musical instrument called a panpipe. He became famous for the beautiful music he played on the panpipe.

In some ancient tales, nymphs pursued young men and would not take “no” for an answer. Some nymphs were downright dangerous. In the story of the Argonauts, a group of heroes on a quest for the golden wool of a flying ram, the ship Argo stopped at a place called Mysia. There, the handsome young hero Hylas left the ship to find fresh water. Nymphs attracted by his beauty lured Hylas away and abducted him. In another story, a young Sicilian herdsman named Daphnis pledged his loyalty to a nymph. But a princess tricked Daphnis into becoming her own lover instead. The betrayed nymph then blinded or killed Daphnis in revenge. The Odyssey, a work by the Greek poet Homer, tells of the Sirens, sea nymphs whose sweet singing lured sailors to destruction on rocky shores. The hero Odysseus (Ulysses in Latin) put wax in his sailors’ ears so they could not hear the Sirens. Then Odysseus was tied to the mast so he could listen to the Sirens safely. The Argonauts also encountered the Sirens. They escaped because the hero Orpheus’s beautiful singing countered the Sirens’ song and saved his comrades. These and many other ancient stories describe the often perilous attraction of the nymphs.

August 7, 2017

The Muses were nine graceful goddesses of art and inspiration in the mythology of the ancient Greeks and Romans. Each goddess ruled over a different art or science. The people they inspired included artists, poets, and musicians—even politicians.

The ancient Roman marble sculpture Sarcophagus of the Muses (at the Louvre Museum in Paris, France) depicts the nine Muses. This photo shows Erato, left, the Muse of love poetry; Urania, center, the Muse of astronomy; and Melpomene, right, the Muse of tragedy. Credit: © G. Dagli Orti, De Agostini Picture Library/Bridgeman Images

In Greek mythology, the Muses were nine beautiful sisters. Their father was Zeus, the king of the gods, and their mother was Mnemosyne, the goddess of memory. The Muses had melodic voices that made people forget their sorrows. The modern word music comes from their name. The sisters often sang as a chorus at Zeus’s royal court. They could see the past, the present, and the future. They could recall the truths of all events throughout all time, and their songs expressed those truths.

Each Muse governed and inspired a particular art or science. Greek and Roman artists often depicted them with symbols reflecting their specialties. They showed Calliope, the Muse of heroic poetry, with a writing tablet. Calliope was also the chief Muse. Clio, the Muse of history, often held a scroll. The Muse of astronomy, Urania, sometimes had a globe. Thalia, who inspired dramatic comedy, held a smiling mask, while Melpomene, who inspired tragedy, held a sad mask. The masks of comedy and tragedy remain symbols of the theater today. Artists often pictured Polyhymnia, the Muse of sacred song, looking thoughtful and meditative. They showed Euterpe (lyric poetry) with a flute, while Terpsichore (dance) and Erato (love poetry) each played a stringed instrument called a lyre. Ancient music and literature were closely interconnected. The Greek and Roman poets usually sang their poetry, and performers also danced and sang poetic verses in plays.

The ancient poets often began a poem or play with an appeal to the Muses for inspiration, hoping for divine help in composing works of timeless truth and beauty. It was said that the Muses, especially Clio, could help kings make eloquent speeches to settle conflicts and persuade people to live in peace. The Muses also helped scientists discover true knowledge. However, prideful people who thought they needed no help risked angering the Muses. Those people might wind up devoid of inspiration, singing untruths, or even mute—unable to speak or sing their songs at all.

Today, artists sometimes call a person who inspires them their “muse.” For a lack of good ideas, one might cry, ”I’ve lost my muse.” Sometimes, people call a new art form or type of writing the “Tenth Muse.”

July 31, 2017

The star of this week’s Mythic Monday is the Minotaur, a fearsome monster from Greek mythology that was half man and half bull. The Minotaur was the oversized offspring of a bull and a woman named Pasiphae. Pasiphae was the wife of King Minos of Crete, who ruled the Aegean Sea and conquered much of Greece, including Athens. Daedalus, a skilled Athenian craftsman and inventor, created the Labyrinth–a place with many confusing paths and passageways–for King Minos, and it was used to imprison the Minotaur.

The Minotaur stands tall against Theseus in the monster’s final battle. Credit: © Vuk Kostic, Shutterstock

According to legend, Athens was forced to send seven youths and seven maidens to Crete every year as a sacrifice to the Minotaur (the monster would eat them). One year, Theseus, a mighty warrior and the son of an Athenian king, decided to go as one of the youths and try to kill the Minotaur. In a quick but brutal fight, Theseus managed to kill the monster and save the other Athenians from slaughter. With the help of Ariadne, he also found his way out of the twisting passages of the Labyrinth. Ariadne, Minos’ daughter, had given Theseus a ball of thread to unwind as he entered the maze. He followed the thread and escaped and saved his companions. Ariadne left Crete with Theseus, but he deserted her on the way back to Athens.

In modern times, archaeologists have discovered the remains of a palace that may have been the site of the Cretan Labyrinth. The palace is located in the city of Knossos, the ancient center of the Minoan civilization, which flourished on Crete and some Aegean Sea islands from about 3000 to 1100 B.C. The palace has many passageways and resembles the mythical Labyrinth. Many double axes were found at the palace. Most scholars believe that the word labyrinth came from labrys, which means double axe. Of course, no ancient remains of the mythical Minotaur have ever been found.

Knossos was first settled about 7000 B.C. The city’s first great palace was built around 2000 B.C., but an earthquake destroyed it 300 years later. A fire damaged a second palace around 1450 B.C. Knossos was the leading Greek city-state on Crete until the Romans conquered the island in 67 B.C.