Hera & the Argive Heraion
The Argolid (the region of the northeast Peloponnese named from Argos) did not hold entirely happy associations for Hera. True, it was here that she was first wooed by her …
Category: Greek Mythology
Iolcus in History & Today
The Mycenaean site at Dimini near \blos was first excavated at the end of the twentieth century. As a town and palace – the only Mycenaean palace in Thessaly – …
Pandion, Procne, Philomela & Erechtheus
Athenian mythology abounds with stories of wise kings, whose daughters met ugly or violent ends. Another was the kindly Pandion, who ruled after Erichthonius. He had two daughters, the elder …
Athens: Prize of Athene, Kingdom of Theseus
Glistening and violet-crowned, the subject of so many songs, protectress of all Greece – famous Athens with your divine acropolis. Gods of Olympus, come here to dance! Grant us sublime …
Medea, Queen of Corinth
The story of Jason, sent from Iolcus to retrieve the Golden Fleece, and his wife Medea, also unfolds in Corinth. In the most well-known version, shortly afer their return to …
Theseus & the Minotaur
As for Poseidon’s white bull, which was now rampaging free, Heracles abducted it as one of his labours to mainland Greece, where it settled at Marathon, near Athens. When it …
Athene & Poseidon Contest for Attica
The natural beauty and resources of Athens and its territory, Attica, attracted the attentions of both Athene and Poseidon. Each claimed them as their own. So they raced in their …
The Adventures of Theseus
Aegeus, Father of Theseus The greatest Athenian hero was Theseus. For many years childless, his father, Aegeus, son of Pandion, had tried everything, even introducing into Athens the worship of …
The Birth & Early Life of Minos
Bulls were in Minos’ blood. As the Tyrian princess Europa walked wide-eyed by the shore, she saw among her father’s herds a handsome bull. The second-century bc poet Moschus describes …
Iolcus & Mount Pelion: Centaurs, Weddings & the Voyage for the Golden Fleece
You would never grow bored of Pelion or of its way of life. You would never weary of its ash trees, grown strong in the breeze, which make straight spear …
Knossos: King Minos & the Labyrinth
There is a land called Crete, midpoint in the wine-dark sea, a beautiful land and fertile, gushing with flowing water. Many people live there – too many men to count …
Aeson, Pelias & the One-Sandalled Man
As the son of its founder Cretheus, Aeson was Iolcus’ rightful king. However, Pelias, Aeson’s stepbrother by their mother, Tyro, enjoyed an even higher pedigree. As a young girl Tyro …
Bellerophon & Pegasus
Sisyphus left several sons, both legitimate and bastard. Among the latter, some said, was Odysseus; among the former, Glaucus, father of Bellerophon. The many contradictory versions of Bellerophon’s story are …
Knossos in History & Today
Archaeology confirms Knossos’ wealth – though interpretation of much of the accumulated evidence is problematic. By around 1400 bc the palace complex at Knossos was probably the largest and richest …
Phrixus & Helle (a Brief Digression)
Phrixus had close ties with Iolcus’ royal family. He and his sister Helle were the children of King Athamas of Boeotia (brother of Salmoneus) and the cloud-goddess Nephele. But, spurning …