Mythology
Make sure to study all the pages up to Latin II as well
Jason and Medea
Medea, an enchantress and witch, helped Jason to obtain the golden fleece so that he could claim his inheritance. She had fallen in love with him and so she made a deal with him that if he succeeded with her help, that he must marry her. In order to get the fleece he had to complete tasks. First Jason coaxed fire breathing bulls to a plow, then sowed a field with dragon’s teeth, and then fight the soldiers who grew from the field. Finally they reached the fleece which was guarded by a large serpent which Medea put to sleep with narcotic herbs so Jason could escape with the fleece. Medea then helped him escape.
Perseus is the son of Jupiter and Danae making him half human and half god. Perseus was locked in a chest then thrown into the sea by his grandfather Acrisius, who was told in a prophecy that his grandson would kill him. The chest landed on the island of Seriphus. The king of the island, Polydectus, wanted to marry Perseus' mother, Danaë, but Perseus was standing in his way. Polydectus tricked Perseus into going after Medusa, the only mortal one of the Gorgon sisters.
First Perseus went to visit the Graiae sisters and he forced them to give him winged sandals, Hades cape, a sickle to decapitate Medusa with, and a bag to put the head in. He did this by stealing the one eye and one tooth which the three sisters shared.
By using a shield to guide him using reflections, because Medusa’s gaze turned people to stone. Perseus proceed to decapitate Medusa in her sleep. He returned to Serphius and rescued his mother and turned Polydectus and his followers to stone.
Sometimes the myth states that on his way back with Medusa’s head he saved the princess Andromeda by turning a sea monster to stone. Marrying Andromeda afterwards.
Perseus
Theseus
Great ancestor was Pelops, Theseus’s father was Aegeus, Aegeus instructed Aethra to send their child, if it was a boy, to Athens when he reached a certain age. Aegeus left a sword and sandals under a very heavy rock. If their son was able to retrieve the sword and sandals, which were under a giant rock He would be recognized as Aegeus' heir upon arrival in Athens. Theseus encountering outlaws and monsters along the way. By defeating these obstacles, Theseus gained the reputation of a hero. Near Corinth, Theseus fought and killed traveled to Athens and first came across Periphetes. Pityocamptes whose name means pine bender. Pityocamptes tied his victims to two different pine trees bent to the ground and then released the trees, tearing the victims to pieces. Theseus also killed Sciron, an outlaw who pushed unsuspecting travelers off a cliff to be eaten by a giant turtle. He also came across Sciron who kicked his victims off the cliff. The father of Gercyon was Poseidon. Theseus killed Procrustes by tying him to the bed and tortured him to death. After arriving in Athens, Theseus sought out the king. He was recognized by the queen, Medea. Medea wanted her own son to be the heir to the kingdom and convinced the king to send Theseus on a heroic mission. Aegeus asked Theseus to capture the Marathon bull, a bull captured initially by Herakles and brought to Attica. Theseus succeeded in his mission, putting a stop to the bull's terrorizing of the countryside around Marathon. Medea manipulated Aegeus into thinking Theseus was a threat and they plotted to kill him by poison. Aegeus held a banquet in honor of Theseus' victory over the Marathon bull. During the banquet, Medea dropped the poison in Theseus' drink. Just as Theseus was about to drink the poison, Aegeus recognized the sword and sandals and realized that Theseus was his rightful heir. Aegeus knocked the poisoned cup out of Theseus' hands and proclaimed him the heir of Athens. Medea and her children were banished from Athens by King Aegeus. Athens was a tribute state to Crete under the leadership of King Minos. King Minos demanded a tribute of seven boys and seven girls each year to feed the Minotaur. The Minotaur was a monster with the body of a man and the head of a bull. Minos had Daedalus create a labyrinth to house the Minotaur. Theseus volunteered to be one of the tributes. King Aegeus reluctantly agreed but asked that on the return home, if Theseus was successful, that he fly white sails but if not to fly black sails.
Upon arriving in Crete, Ariadne, the daughter of King Minos, fell in love with Theseus and decided to help him kill the Minotaur if he agreed to take her with him when he left Crete. She gave him a length of string which he tied to the doors of the labyrinth and let out behind him as he traversed the labyrinth in search of the Minotaur, which he found in the center of the labyrinth. He fought and killed the beast. He traced his path back to the doors of the labyrinth using the string given by Ariadne. The Athenians set sail with Ariadne and all of the tributes. However, Theseus was not in love with Ariadne: on a stopover in Naxos, she fell asleep on the beach and Theseus left her there. Theseus’s father died by jumping over a cliff into the sea due to Theseus forgetting to change the ship sails, which caused his father’s death Theseus dies by being pushed over a cliff into the sea .
Minotaur
The minotaur named Asterion was half human half bull. Having the head of a man and the body of a bull. The minotaur was huge and powerful so King Minos ordered that it be kept in a labyrinth which Daedalus and his son created. Annually young boys and girls were offered for it to eat. He was later killed by Theseus.
Daedalus
Daedalus was a renowned architect and sculptor. He created and made things for King Minos. Daedalus was the one who told Adriadne the lover of Theseus to give Theseus the thread so he could find his way out. Minos was so mad at Daedalus for doing that that he imprisoned him and his son Icarus in the labyrinth, which Daedalus had created. To escape Daedalus created large wings out of branches connected with wax. Daedalus and his son escaped however his son flew too close to the sun so his wings melted and he fell to the Earth and died.
Chimera
The Chimera had the body and head of a lion with a goat head coming from its back and a tail that was a snake. Was the offspring of Typhon and Echidna. The creature was later killed by Bellerophon and Pedasus.
The Underworld
The Underwold was known as the kingdom of the dead, ruled by Pluto. The Underworld is said to be surrounded by 5 rivers; the Acheron, Cocytus, Phlegethon, Styx, and the Lethe. The Styx was named after the goddess Styx who was a daughter of the titans Oceanus and Tethys. There is a gate guarded by Cerberus a three headed dog who was the son of Typhon and Echidna. After dying your soul was lead by Hermes to the entrance where a ferry waited for you, which was run by Charon, a man who took souls across the Acheron. Only people who presented coins that were placed on their lips when they were buried were then let in. Those who didn’t were trapped between the two worlds. Once you reached the gates Cerberus let you enter, but let no one leave. Your soul then went before Rhadamanthus, Minos, and Aeacus to be judged on what they had done in their previous life. The souls that were very good went to the Elysian Fields, those who were terrible went to the Fields of Punishment. Those who were not especially good or bad went to the Fields of Asphodel. The Vale of Mourning was for the souls that were consumed by unhappy love.
Odysseus was the King of Ithaca. He was married to Penelope and has one son named Telemachus. Odysseus fought in the Trojan War and the story “The Odyssey” by Homer is about his journey home. This journey took over ten years because a nymph named, Calypso trapped him on her island. While he was gone many suitors tried to seduce his wife. So she and Telemachus devised a plan to get rid of them. They had them try to shoot Odysseus’ bow, which only he could shoot. Little did they know that Odysseus was disguised as a beggar in the crowd of men. He successfully shot his bow then revealed himself to be King Odysseus and killed all of the suitors with the help of Telemachus.
Odysseus
