Greek Creation Myth Nearly every society and culture that has ever existed has a creation story- an account of how things came to be the way they are. They often seek not merely to explain the state of things in a factual manner, but to express deeper truths about the human condition. A society’s creation myth often tells us a great deal about that society- what they value, what they fear, what they aspire to, etc. The following is the ancient Greek account of creation. As you read, try to pick out themes that might be important to the Greeks. In the beginning was chaos, the primordial void. Out of this deep and empty nothingness arose Gaia, the earth. Gaia mated with Uranus, the sky and bore him twelve children, known as Titans. These were giant gods, strong and beautiful to look upon and Uranus was pleased with these children. Next, Gaia bore Uranus three more children. These were also giants, but, unlike the Titans, they were quite ugly. They were called “Cyclopes” and named Brontes (“thunderer”), Steropes (“lightning”), and Arges (“Bright”). Instead of two eyes, they had only one giant round eye in the center of their forehead. Uranus was not pleased with these offspring. Finally, Gaia bore Uranus three more children. They were called “Hecatoncheires,” meaning “hundred hands ones” and were named Briareos (“Strong”), Kottos (“Punch”), and Gyges (“Limb”). These offspring were immensely strong- stronger even than their brothers, the Titans and Cyclopes. But they were the ugliest children yet, each having fifty heads and a hundred arms. Uranus was absolutely disgusted with these children, and locked them and the Cyclopes in the deepest pit of the earth, Tartarus- a terrible place of darkness and suffering, analogous to the idea of hell. Gaia was furious with Uranus for what he had done, and began plotting to overthrow him. She made a sickle, a curved blade, out of the hardest flint on earth, and went to her children, the Titans, to see which would be brave enough to overthrow their father. All were too afraid, except for the youngest, Cronus. He alone was willing to challenge his father. He took the sickle and hid to ambush his father. When Uranus came down to visit Gaia, Cronus fell upon him, overthrew him, and became king of the cosmos. He took his sister, Rhea, to be his queen, and together they ruled the heavens. Cronus, however, did not keep his promise to free the Cyclopes and Hecatoncheires, from Tatarus. This frustrated Gaia greatly, and she began to plot his downfall. Cronus was too powerful for Gaia to do anything immediately, however, so she bided her time until she could overthrow him. Until then, Gaia picked a new consort- Pontus, the sea. Cronus was pleased with his new position as king of heaven, but his wife, Rhea, was very unhappy. While her Titan sisters were surrounded by their children, Rhea had none. Cronus, after hearing a prophecy that his son would overthrow him just as he had overthrown his father, decided to avoid this fate by swallowing each of his children as soon as they were born. Five times Cronus had done this terrible deed. Rhea was so distraught that she went to her mother and asked what to do. This was the chance Gaia had been waiting for. Gaia told Rhea that the next time she was pregnant, she should fool Cronus by giving him a stone to swallow, instead of the baby. Rhea did as she was told and thereby saved her son Zeus, who was taken to the island of Crete to be raised. When Zeus reached maturity, he decided the time had come to end his father’s reign. Zeus knew, however, that he could not face Cronus, as well as all the other Titans, by himself and win. He needed help. To gain allies, he first tricked Cronus into drinking a potion that caused him to vomit up his previous five children- Hades, Poseidon, Hera, Demeter and Hestia. Next, Zeus freed the Cyclopes and the Hecatoncheires from Tartarus. Out of gratitude, they agreed to fight for Zeus. The Cyclopes, master craftsmen, forged three mighty weapons for the young gods: a helmet of invisibility for Hades, a Trident for Poseidon (which he could use to cause earthquakes and tidal waves) and lightning bolts for Zeus. The Hecatoncheires, known for their immense strength, were able to pick up mountains and throw them at their enemies. Along with two Titans, Themis and her son Prometheus (who decided to fight for the gods because they could see the future and knew the gods were fated to win), the gods and their allies made war against the titans. The war, called the Titanomachy, lasted ten years, and was the most destructive fight the world had ever known. In the end, the Gods were able to overcome the Titans, who were thrown into Tartarus by Zeus and guarded by the Hecatoncheires. The Gods then began their rule over the universe. Unlike Cronus, Zeus did not plan to govern everything alone, so he and his brothers cast lots to determine what realm each would get. Hades received the underworld, Poseidon the sea, and Zeus the sky. The earth would be shared by all three, and the Cyclopes would build them a huge palace atop Mount Olympus in Greece (though Hades preferred his palace in the Underworld.) That was not the last time, however, the Gods had to fight for their right to rule. Shortly after the Titanomachy, Gaia gave birth to Typhon, the father of all monsters, who challenged Zeus and the gods for control of creation. Some sources say Typhon was so hideous that the Gods ran in terror the first time they saw him! Soon, however, the Gods gathered their courage and fought the grotesque creature. A long battle ensued, it ended when Typhon picked up Mount Etna to hurl at Zeus. As Typhon lifted the mountain, Zeus threw a thunderbolt at him, and he fell, pinned under the mountain he was holding. To this day, Typhon’s fire breath can occasionally be seen billowing out from Etna. Typhon’s mate, Echidna, a terrible monster in her own right, went into hiding. The gods allowed her and her ghastly offspring to live, as a challenge to future heroes. Some of her and Typhon’s offspring included the following (according to differing sources): The Lernaean Hydra, the Chimera, the Calcydonian Boar, Ladon, the Sphinx, Scylla, the Crommyonian Sow (female pig), the Caucasian Eagle (from the Caucasus Mountains), Cerberus, Orthus, the Colchian Dragon, and the Nemean Lion.

The Trojan War The Trojan War, one of the most important wars in Greek Mythology, has its roots in a semi-mythical city named Troy, or Illium, in Asia Minor (modern day Turkey). The city was thought to be completely mythical, until a 19th century German archaeologist named Heinrich Schliemann found the long buried ruins of an ancient city that many have identified as the mythical Troy. In the Greek Mythology, the Trojan War is said to have started at a wedding- the wedding of the sea nymph Thetis and Peleus, King of the Myrmidons. Although she was only a minor goddess, all the gods and goddesses of Greece were invited to the celebration. Only one was left off the list- Eris the Goddess of chaos, strife and discord. Angry at having been left out, Eris devised a scheme for revenge. She took a golden apple, inscribed “For the fairest” on it, and then threw the apple in the middle of three goddesses: Hera, Athena and Aphrodite. All three reached for the apple, and then began arguing over which goddess it was meant for. After the wedding, which ended on a sour note thanks to the squabbling goddesses, all three deities went to Zeus and demanded that he judge which of them was the prettiest. Zeus, being wise enough to know that nothing good would come from telling two goddesses they weren’t as pretty as a third, declined to be their judge, forcing the goddesses find someone else. They settled on a young Trojan shepherd named Paris. Paris was actually a Prince of Troy, born to its rulers, King Priam and Queen Hecuba. On the night of his birth, a prophecy foretold that he was fated to cause the destruction of Troy, the wealthiest and most powerful city of the ancient world. Fearful of this prophecy, Priam and Hecuba ordered their chief shepherd to leave the child on a mountain to die. The shepherd, unable abandon the child to such a cruel fate, decided to raise Paris as his own. Paris had developed a reputation as a very fair judge, after he judged on of Ares’s prize bulls better than his own, but the goddesses weren’t taking any chances. Each attempted to bribe him. Hera, Queen of the Gods, offered to make Paris ruler of all Asia. Athena, Goddess of wisdom, offered to make him the wisest man in the world. Aphrodite, the Goddess of love, offered to let him marry the most beautiful woman in the world. Paris, who cared nothing for power or wisdom, awarded Aphrodite the winner. Aphrodite, happy that she had won the apple, gave no thought to the fact that the most beautiful woman in the world, Helen, was already married to Menelaus, the King of Sparta- a powerful city-state in Greece. When Paris and his entourage arrived in Sparta Menelaus invited them to stay, as hospitality and honor was very important to the Greeks. Aphrodite, however, sent her son Eros to shoot an arrow through Helen’s heart, making her fall instantly in love with Paris. The pair snuck out in the middle of the night and sailed back to Troy, where Paris’s parents, Priam and Hecuba, were honor bound to protect and shelter the lovers. Menelaus, furious at Paris’s treachery, called upon the kings of Greece to avenge him. Kings from all over Greece heeded his call. The Greek forces, led by Menelaus’s brother Agamemnon, King of Mycenae, sailed a great armada of 1,000 ships across the Aegean Sea to make war on Troy. To this day, it is said that Helen was “the face that launched a thousand ships.” Troy, however, would not be an easy city to defeat. It was protected by enormous walls which were built by Apollo and Poseidon. Thus, rather than mount a direct attack on the city, the Greeks set out to destroy the surrounding towns and cities that supplied the Troy with both provisions and aid. The Greeks used their victories over these outlying regions not merely to cut off supplies to Troy, but to plunder food and provisions for their own armies. After nine long years, the Greeks had seized, ransacked, and looted innumerable towns, but had come no closer to penetrating the impregnable walls of Troy. For a time, it even looked as if Troy had gained the upper hand. Just when they needed it the most, the Trojans received reinforcements from foreign lands. Penthesileia, queen of the Amazons, was the first to arrive. Years earlier, King Priam had purified her after she had accidentally killed another Amazon queen, Antiope. To repay this favor, she fought alongside the Trojans, inflicting great damage on the Greek troops, until Achilles killed her. The Trojans greatest warrior was its prince, Hector, renowned for training horses. He knew he was fated to die in the war and leave his wife and young son alone to die after the fall of Troy, but he fought anyway for the honor of his royal family and city. After Hector killed Achilles’s friend Patroclus, Achilles became enraged and fought Hector in single combat, killing the Trojan champion. Paris, who had instigated the war, had never demonstrated a great deal of skill in combat. Though his arrows occasionally hit their targets, the wounds he caused were never fatal. But in the tenth year of the war, his luck changed. With Apollo guiding his bow, Paris shot an arrow that soared over the walls of Troy, pierced Achilles in the heel—the only vulnerable part of his body— and killed the great warrior. Despite losing virtually all of its greatest champions, Troy still would not fall. The city remained impenetrable. But in the tenth year of the war, Odysseus, the most clever of the Greek leaders, came up with an ingenious plan to get inside the city. With Athena’s help, Epeius, an artisan, constructed an enormous wooden horse. Led by Odysseus, a small force of the boldest Greek warriors hid themselves inside. The Greek fleet then sailed away—but only as far as the far side of the offshore island Tenedos. The Trojans awoke to find an empty beach where there was once camped an enormous army, as well as a giant wooden horse, which had an inscription dedicating it to Athena. Some wanted to burn the horse or push it off a cliff, but others argued that if they brought it inside the city walls, it would bring them luck. The prophets Cassandra and Laocoön explicitly warned the Trojans that Greek troops were hidden inside the horse—but no one believed them. Laocoön highlighted his warning by hurling his spear at the wooden horse. At that moment, a pair of giant serpents rose out of the sea and attacked two of Laocoön’s sons. The serpents killed the boys as well as Laocoön, who had rushed to his children’s defense. Though Athena had sent these serpents to shut him up for good and thereby bring about the destruction of Troy, the Trojans who witnessed this horrifying tragedy assumed that the priest was being punished for desecrating the wooden horse. Thus, the Trojans brought the horse, and thus their doom, into the city. After the Trojans had fallen into bed following a drunken celebration of their impending victory, a Greek spy freed the Greek warriors hidden within the horse. The soldiers then sent a beacon to the Greek fleet, which quickly returned from its hiding place. The Greeks inside the city then opened the gates and the Greek armies destroyed mighty Troy in a single bloody night.