Mythology Stories
Source: Myths and Their Meaning
by Max J. Herzberg
Pandora
• After Prometheus gave fire to man,
Jupiter became more unhappy
• He and Vulcan devised Pandora (all
gifts)
• Sent to Prometheus with a sealed box
• Prometheus is suspicious and rejects
her
• Jupiter sends her to Epimetheus
• Together Epimetheus and Pandora
break the seal on the box and…
All of the evils of the world flew out of the box
to plague man
Only one spirit remained and that was: HOPE.
Jupiter, still angry with Prometheus send
giants to snatch him and chain him to a rock,
where a vulture ate his liver during the day,
only to have it grow back at night. (Ouch…)
Zeus and Io
•
•
•
•
Zeus was attracted to Io and visited her
Hera became suspicious
Zeus surrounds himself and Io with a cloud
Hera pushes away the cloud and sees Zeus
standing there with a heifer
• Hera admired the heifer and Zeus had no
choice but to give it to her as a gift
• Hera turned the heifer over to her watch-monster,
Argus
• Argus had 100 eyes which took turns sleeping
• Zeus sent Mercury to kill Argus
• Mercury shape-shifted into a shepherd and lulled
the monster with stories and songs until Argus
slept.
• Mercury killed him
• Hera took the eyes of Argus and put them on the
tail of the peacock
Zeus and Europa
• Zeus fell in love with Europa, a
princess
• He wooed her in the shape of a
bull, but cast a spell on her so
she wouldn’t be afraid
• She got on his back and he
jumped into the sea and headed
for Crete.
• On the way he revealed to her
that he was a god.
• Princess Europa bore Zeus three sons,
one of whom was Minos.
• The continent of Europe is named after
her.
Echo and Narcissus
• Most celebrated nymph – Echo
• One day, Echo purposely delayed Hera so
that Zeus could sneak off
• Hera punished Echo – took away ability to
speak freely
• Echo fell in love with gorgeous youth named
Narcissus
• When he spoke to her all she repeated what
he said
• Narcissus thought she was making fun of
him and ignored her
• In despair, she pined away for him until
all that was left was her voice
• The other nymphs didn’t like Narcissus
because he thought he was too good for
them
• One nymph prayed he would experience
unrequited love - her prayer was granted
•He saw himself in the
pool, tried to embrace
himself, fell in and
drowned
•A small narcissus flower
grew on the shore after
his death
Apollo and Hyacinthus
• Mortal son of king of
Sparta
• Apollo hunted, fished, and
played sports with him
• Zephyrus, the west wind,
was also fond of
Hyacinthus and jealous of
Apollo
• Playing quoits one day,
Apollo sailed one toward
Hyacinthus and Zephyrus
changed its course,
striking Hyacinthus
•He died and in
his honor a
flower, the
hyacinth,
bloomed.
•The hyacinth is
also called the iris
Venus and Adonis
• Adonis was an
extraordinarily handsome
mortal
• Venus scratched herself
with one of Cupid’s
arrows and immediately
fell in love with Adonis
• Adonis loved to hunt and
Venus went with him
every day.
• One day Venus went to
Mt. Olympus and warned
Adonis to be careful while
hunting
• Adonis wounds a wild boar while hunting
• The boar attacked Adonis, killing him
• Venus grieved and from his blood sprang the
anemone
• Zeus took pity on Venus allowed Adonis to
return from the underworld to live with her
for 6 months of the year (spring and
summer)
Pyramus and Thisbe
•
•
•
•
•
Pyramus was a mortal youth
Thisbe was a mortal maiden
Their parents forbade their marriage
They communicated through a crack in the wall
Finally, they arranged to meet by the white mulberry
tree outside of town
• Thisbe arrived to see a lion, which scared her
• She ran off leaving her veil
behind.
• The lion played with the veil and
left
• Pyramus arrives and finds
mangled veil
• Thinking Thisbe dead, he
plunges his sword into his side
• Thisbe finds him, and uses the
sword to kill herself
• Their commingled turned the
mulberry fruit deep purple
Orpheus and Eurydice
• Mortal son of Apollo and Calliope
(Muse)
• He was given a lyre by Apollo and
became to best mortal musician
• He fell in love with the mortal,
Eurydice
• They married and lived happily until
the day Eurydice was stung by a
serpent and died
• Orpheus was heartbroken and
decided to go to the underworld to
talk to Pluto
• He made it through Hades by charming
all of those he came across with his
music
• Orpheus played for Pluto, who cried
• Orpheus begged for his wife and Pluto
was moved to grant his wish with a
condition
• He was not to look back at her until
they reached the upper world of earth
• They promised and began their journey
up to earth
• He made it out, but before she
did, he turned around to check on
her and she faded back to Hades,
lost to him forever.
• Orpheus roamed the earth,
despondent.
• A group of maenads tore him
apart because he refused to play
for them.
• He joined his beloved in Hades
• Zeus put his lyre among the stars
Pygmalion and Galatea
• Pygmalion was the mortal king of Cyprus
• He was a sculptor who distrusted
women
• Intended never to marry
• Sculpted a statue of a beautiful woman
and he called it Galatea.
• He fell in love with the statue
• After praying to Venus, he went home to
find the statue alive.
• They married with Venus’ blessing
Baucis and Philemon
• Jupiter liked to wander the
earth in disguise to be sure
humans practiced hospitality
• He and Mercury dressed as
beggars and visited earth.
• Most people turned them away
• At the humble home of Baucis
(wife) and Philemon
(husband) they found welcome
• They built a nice fire and offered
them what food they had
• The food multiplied
• The gods led the couple to a hill
for safety
• The gods flooded the valley and
all of the un-hospitable people
• Zeus built a temple on the hill and
entrusted it to the couple
• At death, Zeus turned them into
an oak (Baucis) and a linden tree
(Philemon)
Callisto
• A mortal woman with whom
Zeus fell in love.
• She had his son, Arcas
• Hera, ever angry, changed her
into a bear
• She fled from hunters and
didn’t fit in with the bears –
her mind was human
• Arcas grew into a young man
who liked to hunt.
• One day he was hunting and Callisto, in bear form, saw
him.
• She stood on her hind legs to try to embrace him, but
he became scared
• He drew back an arrow and let it fly
• Before it could hit, Zeus took both of them and placed
them in the sky as the constellations Big Bear and Little
Bear
(Orsa Major and Orsa Minor)
• Hera asked Poseidon to see that they were not allowed
to set below the horizon like the other stars
Daedalus and Icarus
• Daedalus was an inventor and served King
Minos of Crete
• After Daedalus built the labyrinth to hold
the Minotaur, he and his son were
imprisoned.
• Daedalus fashioned wings for both out of
feathers and wax
• Icarus flew too close to the sun and the
wax melted and he fell into the sea –
thereafter called the Icarian Sea
• Daedalus escaped
Hero and Leander
• Leander – mortal youth
• Hero – mortal maiden
• Visiting a temple they saw each
other and fell in love – forbidden
to see each other
• Arranged to meet, but lived on
different sides of a strait
• She hung a lantern on shore and
he swam to the light
• One night there was a storm
and the light blew out as
Leander was swimming across
the strait.
• He drowned
• The next morning Hero went
to the shore and Leanders body
was floating there
• In grief, she threw herself into
the ocean and drowned
Phaethon
• Mortal son of Apollo and nymph Clymene
• Grew up as mortal and was teased by
playmates when he told them of his father.
• His mother recommended he visit Apollo
• He did and Apollo, in his joy, granted
Phaethon any wish
• Phaethon asked to drive Apollo’s sun chariot
across the sky.
• Apollo could not go back on his word and allowed him to do
so, regretting it
• Phaethon started across the sky, but lost control of the
chariot
• The horses took control and when they flew too close to the
earth they scorched it and when they were too far away, the
land froze
• Mankind prayed to Jupiter and he used his thunderbolt to
strike down Phaethon.
• Black clouds covered the earth for days as Apollo grieved.
Endymion
• Diana teased other gods about
falling for mortals
• Endymion was a mortal shepherd
• Diana saw him and fell in love
• While he was asleep, she came
down and sat by him and kissed
him night after night
• The other gods noticed Diana was
neglecting her duties and
wondered why
• They spied on her and discovered
what she was doing.
• Zeus had to make Diana resume
her duties
• Zeus gave Endymion a choice:
death in any manner he chose or
perpetual sleep
• Endymion chose perpetual sleep
• As Diana passes overhead, the
moon hangs in the sky for a
moment so that Diana can gaze at
her sleeping beloved.
Niobe
• The mortal daughter of king
Tantalus
• She had 7 sons and 7 daughters of
whom she was inordinately proud
• She bragged that she was a better
mother than Latona (or Leto),
mother of Apollo and Diana
• Apollo and Diana vowed to punish
her boastfulness
• They used their arrows to kill all
of Niobe’s sons
• Niobe was devastated, but not
humbled and continued to brag
that she still had 7 children to
Latona’s two.
• Apollo and Diana then slew the 7
daughters
• As Niobe watched, she was turned
into stone with grief, but her tears
continued
• The gods, in pity, changed her
into a fountain
Daphne and Apollo
• Daphne was the daughter of the
river god Peneus
• Apollo saw Cupid playing with his
bow and arrows and taunted him
• Cupid, angry, shot two arrows: a
lead-tipped arrow hit Daphne
causing dislike while a goldentipped arrow hit Apollo causing
him to fall in love
• He approached Daphne but she ran
from him
• He decided to abduct her and as he
chased her and came closer, she
cried out to her father to save her
• Peneus changed her into a laurel
tree before Apollo could touch her
• He still loved her and the laurel
became his favorite tree. The laurel
wreath is a symbol of special honor
Tantalus
• A mortal king
• Killed his own son
• Punished in Hades
• Could not eat the fruit near
him
• Could not drink the water
near him
Bellerophon
• The Chimera was a monster – part lion, part goat,
hind legs of a dragon, and breathed fire
• The King, Iobates searched Greece for a hero to
kill the Chimera
• Bellerophon, mortal son of the King of Corinth
volunteered
• An oracle advised him to use Pegasus to help him
defeat the Chimera
• Minerva gave Bellerophon a golden
bridle and instructions to wait at
Pegasus’ favorite watering hole and
use the bridle to subdue him
• Pegasus took him high and
Bellerophon’s arrows killed the
Chimera
• He became overly proud of his
mastery of Pegasus and tried to fly to
Mt. Olympus
• Zeus sent a gadfly to sting the horse,
causing him to throw off
Bellerophon, who died.
Atalanta and Hippomenes
• A prophecy predicted Atalanta’s
marriage would be fatal to her so
she decided never to marry
• She lived in the woods and
worshiped Diana and rebuffed all
men
• She was pursued so avidly that she
finally devised a plan to thwart her
suitors
• She would become the bride of
anyone who could beat her in a foot
race
• If the challenger failed, he was put to death
• Many tried and failed
• Hippomenes brought in as a judge, saw
Atalanta and fell in love
• He accepted the challenge and prayed to
Venus to help him
• Venus gave him three of the golden apples of
the Hesperides with instructions
• Atalanta was sad about the race because
she actually like Hippomenes
• As they raced Hippomenes threw one
golden apple after another in her path
• She would stop to pick it up and he
would catch up
• The last apple allowed him to win
• They were happy with the outcome but
failed to pay homage to Venus for her
help.
• In anger, she changed Hippomenes into
a lion and Atalanta into a lioness and
they pulled the chariot of Rhea
Cupid and Psyche
• Psyche, youngest mortal daughter of king who
was incomparably beautiful
• The alters of Venus began to be neglected
• Venus asked Cupid to help with revenge
• He was told to give her water that would make
her fall in love with a mean and ugly person
• He found her asleep, and as he bent over to put the
water on her, he wounded himself with one of his
own arrows, falling deeply in love
• After this, Psyche was no longer worshipped, and
her parents consulted an oracle
• They took her to the top of mountain and left her
for an immortal monster who would be her
husband
• Zephyrus lifted Psyche up and took her a great
valley with a golden palace
• She had a wonderful life there with invisible
servants and good food and music
• At night, she was visited by her husband
who told her she was never to attempt to
look at him
• She was happy for a long time, but missed
her parents and two sisters.
• She asked her unseen husband if she could
make a short visit.
• He agreed, but warned her not to listen to
anyone who advised her to take a peek at
his face
• Zephyrus took her back to the mountain
and she made her way home
• After many happy days, her sisters began
to advise her peek at her husband because
they were jealous of her
• Back at the golden palace, Psyche took a
lamp and knife with her to bed. When her
husband fell asleep she used the lamp to
see him.
• She saw his beauty and fell deeply in love
• Oil from the lamp fell on him and he woke
up, angered, and flew away
• She tried to kill herself, but the river gods
would let her because of her beauty
• She prayed for help at a temple of Venus,
not realizing it was her husband’s mother
• Venus, still angry, set her impossible tasks
• She separated piles of grain with the help of
ants (Cupid sent them)
• She obtained fleece from golden sheep by
waiting for them to graze and taking the
fleece from the bushes
• She went to Hades and obtained a
box of beauty ointment from
Persephone.
• On the way back she succumbed
to curiosity and opened the box
• She fell into a deadly sleep and
Cupid saved her and begged Zeus
to intercede with Venus
• Venus accepted her, Mercury flew
her to Mt. Olympus, and she ate
ambrosia and became the
immortal wife of Cupid
Midas
• Pan once challenged Apollo to a contest
of their musical talents
• Midas, a mortal king, was chosen judge
• Midas chose Pan and Apollo was angry
• Apollo gave him the ears of an ass
• He kept his deformity hidden under a
hat
• But his barber knew the secret and
unable to keep it, he dug a hole,
whispered the secret and covered it up
• Reeds grew on this spot and began
to whisper the secret with the
breezes
• Then he did a favor for Silenus, the
teacher of Bacchus
• Bacchus granted him a wish in
return
• He asked that all he touched be
turned to gold
• Food, water, and his daughter
turned to gold
• Midas asked Bacchus to reverse the
gift
• Bacchus told him to bathe in the
waters of the River Pactolus, which
Midas did
• The curse was removed
• Ever since, there is gold mixed into
the sands of the Pactolus