Greek Myths and Legends

When these stories were first told, three thousand years ago, they were much, much more than stories. They were, for the Ancient Greeks, a way of making sense of the world how it began, why summer gave way to autumn and the leaves fall, why some people are lucky and some are not, what becomes of a man after he dies...

The Ancient Greeks believed that high up, on the top of the highest mountain in the country (Mount Olympus), sat a family of gods. One was in charge of the sea, whipping up storms and frightening sailors. Another ripened the harvest in the fields. One could shoot arrows of love into the hardest heart. Another decided the winning side in a war. In fact, every part of life was looked after by one of those immortal gods living on Mount Olympus.

Mixed in with these stories of the gods were others half-remembered adventures of legendary Greeks whose deeds grew in the telling into adventures worthy of any immortal god.

Theseus and the Minotaur

On the island of Crete, maybe about 1325 BC, Minos became the king of Crete, and his wife was Queen Pasiphae. The gods were angry at Minos and Pasiphae (PAH-si-fay), and they made them have a monster for a baby, that was half man and half bull, and so it was Knossos, built about 1700 BC (partly reconstructed) called the Minotaur (tauros means bull in Greek). The Minotaur, when it grew up, was wild and dangerous. It ate people, so Minos and Pasiphae kept it in a special part of their palace at Knossos, which was called the Labyrinth. The story says that the Labyrinth was designed by a very clever architect and inventor named It is a very old legend. This and other stories about Theseus were written down by such people as: Plutarch (46 120 AD), a Greek historian and biographer, Ovid (43BC 17 AD), a Roman poet and Horace (65BC 8BC), another Roman poet along with many others! The story, however, is likely to be much older, having been passed down the generations by word of mouth.
Characters Aegeus (Ee-jee-us) The King of Athens. Theseus (Thee-see-us) The son of Aegeus. Minos (My-noss) The King of Crete. Pasiphae (Pah-si-fay) Wife to Minos. Ariadne (Ari ad-nee) The daughter of Minos. Minotaur (My-no-taw) A monster with the head of a bull and the body of a man.

The Labyrinth

The Gods of Ancient Greece

Mount Olympus Mount Olympus was known as the home of the gods. It is the highest mountain in Greece and is nearly 10,000 feet (3,048 metres). It is snow-capped most of the year and is often hidden in clouds. Zeus Zeus was the king of all the gods. He was thought to be the father of the human race. He kept law and order. He was the god of the sky and the weather. His weapon was a thunderbolt or a flash of lightning. Hera Hera was the wife of Zeus and the most powerful goddess on Olympus. She was the goddess of marriage and women. Hades Hades was the brother of Zeus. His kingdom was the Underworld, the world of the dead under the earth. His manyheaded dog, Cerberus, guarded the entrance to the Underworld. Poseidon Poseidon was another brother of Zeus. He was a god of the sea. The bull was Poseidons holy animal. Apollo and Artemis

Apollo was the son of Zeus. He was the god of light and music, of youth and beauty. He was also the god of prophecy and gave some people the power to see into the future. These people were called prophets or seers. Artemis was Apollos sister. She was the goddess of hunting and wild animals.