Greek Mythology Archives - ToursMaps.com ®

Theseus & Peirithous

editor — Mon, 09 Apr 2018 14:44:00 +0000

Theseus’ closest friend, Peirithous, who fought with him against the Amazons, played a prominent role in another incident, which seared itself into Athens’ psyche and was depicted on the Parthenon: the battle between the Lapiths and Centaurs at Iolcus. As king of the Lapiths, whose territory bordered northern Attica, Peirithous had once been Theseus’ enemy – they first met when Peirithous raided Theseus’ cattle herds at Marathon. But each was so impressed with the other that they swore an oath of undying friendship. Thus Theseus attended Peirithous’ wedding, and when the drunken Centaurs tried to rape the Lapith women, they

The post Theseus & Peirithous appeared first on ToursMaps.com ®.

The Voyage of the Argo Begins

editor — Sat, 07 Apr 2018 14:52:00 +0000

To sail to Colchis, Jason commissioned a ship, the Argo, named after its builder, Argus, who constructed it from pine trees felled on Pelion, while Athene fitted to its prow a talking plank, cut from the sacred oak at Dodona. For his crew (the Argonauts, ‘Argo Sailors’) Jason assembled the bravest heroes of his age. Most sources agree that they included Castor and Polydeuces from Sparta, Meleager from Calydon, Zetes and Calais, sons of the North Wind, Iphitus, the brother of Tiryns’ King Eurystheus, Pelias’ son Acastus, Orpheus, and Heracles, who – although the bravest of them all conceded the

The post The Voyage of the Argo Begins appeared first on ToursMaps.com ®.

Minos, his Loves & his Family

editor — Thu, 05 Apr 2018 15:00:00 +0000

With his wife Pasiphae (the daughter of Helios) Minos had many children, including two daughters, Ariadne and Phaedra, and a son, Androgeus. But Minos was a tireless womanizer, and weary of his infidelities, Pasiphae (an accomplished sorceress) laid a spell on him Henceforth, Minos ejaculated millipedes and scorpions, whose sting caused his lovers unimaginable pain. Only the Athenian princess Procris knew how to circumvent the curse. A lusty huntress, abandoned by her husband Cephalus (himself once the lover of the goddess of the dawn), she was seduced by Minos’ charms and his gift of the magical hound Laelaps, which never

The post Minos, his Loves & his Family appeared first on ToursMaps.com ®.

The Centaurs

editor — Fri, 30 Mar 2018 15:24:00 +0000

The Centaurs of Mount Pelion were the hybrid children of Centaurus, the son of Ixion. Wishing to marry princess Dia, Ixion invited her father to bring her to his palace, and then tricked him into walking over a pitfall trap into which he fell to be roasted alive. Curiously, Zeus forgave Ixion and invited him to a feast on Mount Olympus. There Ixion plotted to seduce Hera. But Zeus found out and, to expose him, fashioned a false Hera from a cloud, with which willing substitute Ixion made love. Caught in flagrante, Ixion was arrested by Hermes, flogged and strapped

The post The Centaurs appeared first on ToursMaps.com ®.

Athens in History & Today

editor — Sat, 24 Mar 2018 15:48:00 +0000

Athens was inhabited from the fifth millennium bc onwards, with evidence of settlements around the Agora and Acropolis dating to the fourth millennium bc. It began to flower in the late Bronze Age. Around 1600 bc a palace was constructed on the Acropolis, whose steep sides were fortified with ‘Cyclopean’ walls. The building apparently remained intact until the tenth century, when it was destroyed by earthquake or fire. Its location became the focus for rituals honouring kings, including Erechtheus and Cecrops, who were believed to have lived there. By the seventh century bc the Acropolis was Athens’ religious heart: in

The post Athens in History & Today appeared first on ToursMaps.com ®.

Cecrops & Erichthonius

editor — Thu, 15 Mar 2018 16:24:00 +0000

Cecrops was the first king to rule from Athens (his father-in-law, Actaeus, had his capital elsewhere in Attica). His torso, arms and head were human, but being earth-born his lower body was a serpent’s. Wise and virtuous, Cecrops taught his people the art of literature as well as the rites of burial and marriage, and piously worshipped Zeus. But he refused to make blood offerings, preferring to burn cakes on the altar, a tradition which Athenians preserved in one of their rituals. Cecrops’ successor was Erichthonius. He, too, was a hybrid man and snake, and his conception was unusual. Seeing

The post Cecrops & Erichthonius appeared first on ToursMaps.com ®.

Daedalus, Icarus & the Death of Minos

editor — Tue, 13 Mar 2018 16:32:00 +0000

Minos’ craftsman Daedalus was also an Athenian, but he had fled to Knossos when he murdered one of his apprentices. Now that the labyrinth’s security was breached, he desperately needed to quit Crete. Minos’ warships were repaired, so escape by sea was impossible. Instead, Daedalus crafted two sets of wings from feathers held together with wax – one pair for himself, the other for his son Icarus. Wings spread wide, father and son launched themselves from a high cliff and were soon skimming northeastwards across the vastness of the sea. But Icarus was headstrong and eager to experiment and he

The post Daedalus, Icarus & the Death of Minos appeared first on ToursMaps.com ®.

The Myth of Sisyphus

editor — Mon, 12 Mar 2018 16:36:00 +0000

Originally from Thrace, Sisyphus travelled to the Peloponnese with his brother Salmoneus. Both were overbearing; each hated the other; and, when Sisyphus seduced his brother’s daughter Tyro, it was purely because he had learned from an oracle that a son born from the union would kill Salmoneus. Frustratingly for Sisyphus, Tyro discovered the prophecy and killed every child she bore him In the end he simply gave up. (In another myth, as we have seen, Tyro married Cretheus, ruler of Iolcus, by whom she bore Aeson, the father of Jason – whose consort Medea would play a vital part in

The post The Myth of Sisyphus appeared first on ToursMaps.com ®.

Argos: Land of Hera, Home of Heroes

editor — Wed, 07 Mar 2018 16:56:00 +0000

The people of Argos were celebrating the Festival of Hera and it was vital that the priestess be driven to the temple by a yoked team of oxen. However, the oxen had still not returned from the fields. Time was running out, so her sons, Cleobis and Biton, shouldered the yoke and pulled the wagon with their mother inside it for five miles until they reached the temple of Hera. Their mother was delighted with their efforts. She stood in front of the statue and prayed that, since Cleobis and Biton had shown her such honour, the goddess Hera should

The post Argos: Land of Hera, Home of Heroes appeared first on ToursMaps.com ®.

Eurystheus & the Children of Heracles

editor — Mon, 05 Mar 2018 17:04:00 +0000

With Heracles dead, Eurystheus seized his chance to wreak vengeance on his hated cousin’s children. For some time Heracles’ mother Alcmene had been living in Tiryns with many of the sons whom Heracles had fathered on his travels. Now Eurystheus vowed to expel them – along with all Heracles’ other children – from Greece. When Athens’ king Theseus heard of this injustice, he offered them asylum in Attica and soon the sons of Heracles had formed an army. Rousing himself to unaccustomed action, Eurystheus marched from Tiryns with his own troops, and on the coast just north of the Isthmus

The post Eurystheus & the Children of Heracles appeared first on ToursMaps.com ®.