Stories

The myths themselves. Each account names the figures involved, the sources it comes from, and the places where the ancient traditions disagree with each other.

10 stories published

Jason and the Golden Fleece
quest
To reclaim the throne his uncle Pelias had stolen, Jason assembled the greatest heroes of Greece into a crew called the Argonauts and sailed the ship Argo to the distant land of Colchis to retrieve the Golden Fleece, succeeding only with the help of the Colchian sorceress Medea.
Odysseus and the Cyclops
cunning
On his long voyage home from Troy, Odysseus and his men were trapped in the cave of Polyphemus, a man-eating Cyclops and son of Poseidon. Through cunning and deception Odysseus blinded the giant and escaped, but a reckless boast of his own name earned him the lasting wrath of Poseidon.
Orpheus in the Underworld
love
The legendary musician Orpheus descended to the underworld to retrieve his dead wife Eurydice. His music moved even the gods of death, but he lost her forever when he broke the one condition of her release - by looking back.
Perseus and Medusa
heroism
King Polydectes sent Perseus after Medusa's head expecting him to die in the attempt. Armed with gifts from three different gods, Perseus beheaded the sleeping Gorgon by her mirrored reflection, then used the head itself as a weapon on his way home.
Prometheus and the Gift of Fire
defiance
The Titan Prometheus defied Zeus by stealing fire from the gods and giving it to humanity, granting them the means to build civilization. Zeus punished him with eternal torment, chaining him to a rock where an eagle devoured his liver each day.
The Abduction of Persephone
seasons
Hades carried Persephone into the underworld with the prior consent of Zeus, her father. Her mother Demeter withheld all growth from the earth until the girl was returned, but Persephone had eaten a pomegranate seed below and so was bound to spend part of every year there, which the Homeric Hymn to Demeter gives as the origin of the seasons.
The Birth of Athena
origin myths
Warned by Gaia and Ouranos that a son of Metis would overthrow him, Zeus swallowed his pregnant first wife whole. When the child was due, his skull was split open with an axe, and Athena sprang out fully grown, already armed, and shouting a war cry.
The Fall of Icarus
hubris
To escape imprisonment on Crete, the craftsman Daedalus built wings of feathers and wax for himself and his son Icarus. Ignoring his father's warning, Icarus flew too close to the sun, the wax melted, and he fell to his death in the sea.
The Twelve Labors of Heracles
heroism
Driven mad by Hera and having killed his own wife and children, Heracles consulted the Oracle at Delphi and was commanded to serve King Eurystheus and complete twelve seemingly impossible labors as penance, feats that took him across the known world and down into the underworld itself.
Theseus and the Minotaur
heroism
The Athenian hero Theseus volunteered as tribute to Crete, entered the inescapable Labyrinth, slew the Minotaur, and found his way out using a thread given to him by the Cretan princess Ariadne - a rescue that ended in her abandonment and his father's death.