&&000 D'aulaire's Book of Greek Myths &&111 &&000 p9 &&111 In olden times when men still worshiped ugly idols, there lived in the land of =Greece a folk of shepherds and herdsmen who cherished light and beauty. They did not worship dark idols like their neighbors, but created instead their own beautiful, radiant gods. The =Greek gods looked much like people and acted like them, too, only they were taller, handsomer and could do no wrong. Fire-breathing monsters and beasts with many heads stood for all that was dark and wicked. They were for gods and great heroes to conquer. The gods live on top of =Olympus, a mountain so high and steep that no man could climb it and see them in their shining palace. But they often descended to earth, sometimes in their own shapes, sometimes disguised as humans or animals. Mortals worshiped the gods and the gods honored =MotherEarth. They had all sprung from her, for she was the beginning of all life. &&000 p30 &&111 =Aphrodite, the beautiful goddess of love, was the only Olympian who had neither mother nor father. Nobody knew from where she had come. The West Wind had first seen her in the pearly light of dawn as she rose out of the sea on a cushion of foam. She floated lightly over the gentle waves and was so lovely to behold that the wind almost lost his breath. With soft puffs, he blew her to the flowered island of =Cythera, where the three Graces welcomed her ashore. The three Graces, goddesses of beauty, became her attendants. They dressed her in shimmering garments, bedecked her with sparkling jewels, and placed her in a golden chariot drawn by white doves. They they led her to =Olympus, where all the gods rejoiced in her beauty, seated her on a golden throne, and made her one of them. &&000 p60 &&111 Dead souls crowded out from crack and crevices to look at their new queen, while ever more souls came from across the =Styx and =Persephone watched them drink from a spring under dark poplars. It was the spring of =Lethe, and those who drank from its waters forgot who they were and what they had done on earth. =Rhadamanthus, a judge of the dead, dealt out punishment to the souls of great sinners. They were sentenced to suffer forever under the whips of the avenging Erinyes. Heroes were led to the Elysian fields, where they lived happily forever in never-failing light. &&000 p78 &&111 The winds had carried on as they wished when =Zeus flooded the earth. They were powerful fellows, and when they stormed together, they brought confusion and destruction, whirling dust and water all the way up to =Olympus. =Zeus decided that they needed a dependable guardian who would keep them locked up and let them out only one at a time. He chose =Aeolus, a grandson of =Deucalion and =Pyrrha, to be the keeper of the winds and sent him to live with them and guard them in a hollow cliff, far out at sea. The winds hated to be confined. They stored and howled around =Aeolus, trying to force their way out of the cavern, but =Aeolus was steady and strong and kept them in hand. When =Poseidon or one of the other gods called for a wind, =Aeolus pierced the wall of the cliff with his spear and let the wind out. Then he plugged up the hole and kept it closed until it was time for the wind to return. &&000 p99 &&111 When he was grown, he left =Chiron's cave and went down from the mountain to help the people of =Greece. He became the first great physician. People flocked to him from far and near, and many who came on crutches went away skipping and dancing. His patients adored him and showered treasures upon him, and it wasn't long before they worshiped him as a god and built temples in his honor. =Asclepius put beds in his temples and they became the first hospitals. There he went about from bed to bed, pleased to be looked upon as a god, leaning on a staff entwined with sacred serpents. Serpents knew all the secrets of the earth and often told him the causes and cures for diseases. Sometimes he put his patients to sleep with a magic draught and listened to what they muttered in their dreams. There words often revealed to him what caused their ailments, and he could then find a cure for them. &&000 p120 &&111 "I shall save you and you shall be mine," said =Perseus. As he spoke, a horrible sea monster came from the sea, its huge mouth opened wide to swallow =Andromeda. But =Perseus sprang into the air, dived at the monster and drove his sword deep into its throat. The monster bellowed, lashed it tail wildly, and rolled over on its back. It sank and the sea was tinted red by its blood. Ever since, that stretch of water has been called the =RedSea. No sooner was the monster dead than =Andromeda's cowardly suitor returned with many warriors to claim her for his bride. Now he was bold and menacing and King =Cepheus did not dare oppose him. &&000 p140 &&111 =Heracles traveled over land and over sea, and at last he came to the gardens of the Hesperides. Nearby stood the Titan =Atlas, and =Heracles offered to hold up the sky for him if he would pick three golden apples from =Hera's tree. =Atlas said he would be glad to be rid of his heavy burden for a while, but he feared the dragon =Ladon, which lay under the tree watching it with all the eyes of his hundred heads. A hundred-headed dragon could not frighten =Heracles. He drew his bow and shot it. Then he took the sky on his shoulders and =Atlas reached out and picked the apples. The three little nymphs who tended the tree wept bitter tears, but they could not stop =Atlas, now that the watchful dragon was dead. =Heracles' knees started to buckle, so heavy was the weight of the sky, but =Atlas stretched himself, enjoying his freedom. &&000 p161 &&111 In despair Queen =Jocasta went to her room and took her own life and =Oedipus in horror put out his own eyes and left =Thebes, a broken old man. His daughter =Antigone went with him, and they wandered from place to place, turned away from every city, till, at last, they came to =Athens. "Not cursed but blessed will be the place where you lie down and close your eyes," said =Theseus when he had heard the story. "No man could have tried harder than you to escape his destiny." The avenging Erinyes, who had been chasing him, no dropped their whips, and =Oedipus could die in peace. His two sone, =Eteocles and =Polynices, had no regard for the sufferings of their father. They stayed in =Thebes and fought over the throne. At last they agreed to take turns being king, one year at a time. =Eteocles ruled =Thebes first, and when his year was up he refused to give up the throne. &&000 p170 &&111 At daybreak, when the king's men were to attack the ship, they found it was gone. So were the Golden Fleece and the king's daughter, =Medea. Red-faced with fury, =Aeetes set off in pursuit with his great fleet of =Colchian warships. He wanted the Golden Fleece back and he wanted to punish his daughter. The fastest of his ships, steered by one of his sons, soon overtook the =Argo. The Argonauts though themselves lost, but again =Medea saved them. She called to her brother, who stood at the helm of his ship, and pretended to be sorry for what she had done. She said she would go home with him if he would meet her alone on a nearby island. At the same time, she whispered to =Jason to lie in wait and kill her brother when he came. She knew that her father would have to stop the pursuit to give his son a funeral. &&000 p180 &&111 One day as =Zeus looked down on earth, his eyes fell on =Paris, a prince of =Troy. He was overwhelmingly handsome, as were most men in the royal house of =Troy. His grand-uncle =Ganymede was such a goodlooking boy that =Zeus, in the shape of an eagle, had stolen him from his father and carried him to =Olympus to be his cupbearer. =Anchises, another relative of =Paris, was so exceedingly handsome that =Aphrodite herself fell in love with him. She took on the shape of a princess so she could marry him and bore him a son whose name was =Aeneas.