Greek Mythology

by Neil Matt Hamilton

  Gods and Demigods

  Demigods were usually sired by a father who was a divinity and a mother who was a mortal, nymph, or another non-divine character. Demigods were given a special name because they often had divine attributes associated with them, such as a fair and pleasing appearance, long life, better than normal strength, or some other skill that set them apart from the other run of the mill human beings that were encountered in Greek myth and legend.

  Greek mythology is unique in setting these characters apart as special. In many other mythologies, the children of gods by mortals are usually just human beings, though in some cases they might be adopted among the gods. As the gods were practically a race apart from human beings it seems strange that they would take such a fancy to mortals as to reproduce with them. There were enough gods around that Zeus, Apollo, and others could have had their pick. Stranger still that the gods seemed not only inclined to procreate with mortals but that the offspring of these unions seemed to be special targets of their attention.

  Many important characters of Greek myth are demigods. Obvious examples include Heracles and Perseus. We have already seen that many of the participants in the journey of Jason to Colchis were also demigods. Why does any of this matter? Well, the demigod seems to concentrate on his person the goal of Greek myth, which was to use the gods to teach Man how to live. The Greek gods were supposed to set the example of how men should behave and “be,” although it was not always a good example. Indeed, the message from the gods seemed to be that man should try his best to be merry at all times, even if it meant inciting the rage of one’s wife (we’re looking at you, Zeus).

  The demigod can be thought as a way in which Greek mythology instructed mortals: “this is how you should be like the gods.” It is interesting that the demigods of Greek myth and legend were not unfortunate characters whose lived seemed to represent a lesson on how things can go poorly no matter what one does. There were no tragic mulattos in the Greek mythos. The demigods were larger than life heroes who overcame the odds to be more like gods than men. Indeed, the gods held all the good cards. They had super-strength, great wisdom, immortal life, beauty, and a great number of other advantages. The demigods, on the other hand, were relegated to living on the earth as bastards whose fathers might have been gods or just deadbeats who disappeared. The stories of Perseus, Theseus, Bellerophon, and even heroes like Achilles seemed to be about overcoming the gods, a challenge which the best demigods accomplished adeptly.

  Let us take a moment to examine perhaps the most famous demigod of them all: Heracles. Heracles was certainly blessed with strength, but he was also beset with labors that required him to incessantly prove himself. As if being a bastard was not hard enough. He had to beat lions, save himself from lecherous queens, all the while maintaining that sunny Greek demigod demeanor. He could not allow others to see him sweat. One wonders what the point of it all was, and it really was the same point that came from all the demigod’s stories. It was the demigod’s role to show how Man could be like a god. Man might even be better than god. Gods were seldom punished for their acts of lecherousness or cruelty, but Man usually was. It was this punishment that gave them their humanity, a thing the Greeks understood well. The Greeks were conscious that the lot of Man was hard, but they must have also understood that Man had the blessing of a reward at the end of his labors, a lesson that the twelve labors of Heracles seemed to embody.

  The Birth of Heracles

  Heracles was the demigod and hero par excellence. He was worshipped as a god in many places, and, indeed, he had been deified by Zeus who is said to have whisked his son away from his funeral pyre. Heracles’s mother was a mortal woman called Alcmene. She was the wife of a certain Amphitryon who lived in Thebes. Both Alcmene and Amphitryon were descendants of the famous hero Perseus. Zeus seduced Alcmene by disguising himself as her husband. At the time, Amphitryon was away at war. Zeus’s desire was to father a son who would be a great hero. Amphitryon also wanted to father such a son, and he did when he returned. This son was the half-brother of Heracles and was known as Iphicles.

  When he was only an infant, jealous Hera sent two serpents two murder him in his sleep. The jealousy and hatred of the queen of Olympus for the offspring of her husband’s infidelity knew no bounds. But the baby already showed signs of his godly origin. The infant Heracles strangled the snakes sent by Hera with his bare hands. Some said that it was Amphitryon who sent the serpents, as he was angered that his queen had fathered a child by another, even if that other was the king of the gods.

  The Amazons

  All right, so the Amazons were not children of the gods, nor where they demigods (or demi goddesses), but they have to be discussed somewhere. The Amazons were female warriors who were said to live at the “edge of the world.” To some, this meant Asia Minor, while others placed their locale in Africa. The Amazons were under the special protection of Artemis, a goddess who regarded the hunt and all wild things as sacred. As the Amazons were somewhat wild, at least in the uncivilized fashion in which they lived, it seems sensible that they would be under her protection. The Amazons were said to kidnap men and use them as studs to sire strong children. They only selected the best men for this task. Naturally, patriarchal Greek society viewed this practice (and the women who engaged in it) with horror. It has been argued by some that the Amazon myth may have originated with warlike Scythian warriors who lived on the Russian steppes. They may have had warrior women in their ranks, providing ample imaginative fodder to Ancient Greek audiences who seemed inclined to believe everything.

  The Amazons were not peripheral in Greek myth, appearing in a number of legends. In particular, they are associated with one of the labors of Heracles. The Amazons were ruled by a queen, of which the most famous was Hippolyta. This race of warrior women was said to live on a mountain called Themiscyra. The Amazons ran into Heracles when this hero stole the girdle of Queen Hippolyta. Hippolyta was subsequently bested by Theseus and ended up bearing him a son. This son was known as Hippolytus. Another Amazon queen was Penthesilea who fought on the Trojan side in the Trojan War. She would be slain in battle by Achilles.

  There were many legends about the Amazons. Some writers asserted that the warrior women cut off one of their breasts to allow better use of their bow arm. Though this tale is commonly told, it has been portrayed in ancient art.

  Chapter 5: Theseus and Other Heroes

  The Ancient Greek world was rife with the tales of heroes and their adventures. Just as the gods had their regional affiliations and cities of devotion, so too were the heroes revered in the lands where they hailed from. Theseus was revered in Athens, where he ruled as king. Perseus was revered throughout the Greek world, but especially in Argos. Heracles was also widely worshipped, but Thebes in Boetia was his native land. Jason and the Argonauts were revered in Thessaly and other regions related to the tale.

  Learning the tales of the Greek heroes allows the reader to understand those qualities the Greeks respected and sought to encourage among the populace. Today, we might take note the heroes of legend are exclusively male, and this, of course, is because the Greek idea of the perfect human being was generally a handsome and strong male figure. One can appreciate this in the devotion that Apollo received throughout the Greek world. He was not only the god of the sun, but he also embodied the ideal male characteristics, including the internal ones.

  This fixation on an idealized male image is also seen in the artistic interpretation of the heroes and their lives. Even in ancient times, the image of a muscle-bound Heracles was popular in art, including the sort of ceramic ware that would have been common in the houses of the people. But even highly-specialized images like that of Perseus holding the head of Medusa was common in ancient times and received an artistic revival in the 18th and 19th centuries. What this does is tell us how the heroes were perceived: as larger than life characters not unlike the gods.

  This fixation on heroes was important in Greek society. This hero worsh
ip can be said to be part of the basis of Greek civilization. Male-centered culture started out in the aristocratic prep school of the ephorate, where young men wrestled in the gymnasium and received lessons in philosophy, and it continued as those young men eventually served the time in the war and finally became members of the democracies or oligarchies that existed in their state. This hero worship was always male because power in these societies was exclusively male. So what sort of characteristics were important in the future leaders of Greek cities like Athens, Thebes, Corinth, and Sparta? An examination of the tales of Theseus, Perseus, and Jason will help to answer that question.

  The Adventures of Theseus

  Theseus was the main hero of Athens, and he had many adventures. Theseus was the son of King Aegeus of Athens by Aethra, who was the princess of a city called Troezen. Troezen was located on the Pelopenessus, and Pittheus ruled as king. Aegeus had come to Troezen as a young man. He fathered a son with Aethra and hid his sandals and sword beneath a rock. He told Aethra to instruct her son to come to him in Athens when he was strong enough to lift the rock and claim the items beneath it. Theseus did this when he was 16, then venturing to Athens to lay claim to his birthright as the king’s son, partaking in many adventures along the way. Some of these stories are dramatized in the book The King Must Die by Edith Hamilton. Theseus was most famous for his dealings with the Minotaur, which rank among the most well-known and significant of Greek myths.

  Before his encounter with the Minotaur, Theseus had to deal with Medea, his father’s wife. She was a sorceress who instantly recognized who Theseus was before he revealed himself. Medea attempted to serve Theseus poisoned wine, but before he drank it the boy revealed the gifts that his father had hid under the rock in Troezen. Aegeus dashed the cup of poisoned wine away just in time and embraced his heir. Medea fled from Athens with her own son in tow.

  The story of Theseus and the Minotaur begins with the yearly tribute that Athens had to pay to Crete. This tribute was in the form of young boys and girls that Athens had to send to Crete to serve King Minos. Although much of myth was certainly invented by the storytellers, this part of the story at least may have the ring of truth. The Cretans would have been a regional superpower long before their cousins in mainland Greece were. Demanding tribute in the form of slave women and children was not uncommon; it was even practiced by the Turks as late as the 19th century.

  Indeed, even Theseus himself has been proposed as a man who lived rather than a mere figure of legend. Theseus was likely a king in very distant times whose life became encapsulated in the legends of cities like Athens and other places. The same is believed to be true of Heracles, who was also likely a king or great man who lived and only later became a demigod.

  But back to the story of Theseus and the Minotaur. Theseus was determined to end the practice of Athenian children being sent to Crete so he went with the yearly donation to Crete. When the ship reached Crete, Theseus and the others were eventually taken to see King Minos and his daughter, Ariadne. This story has been highly fictionalized in Hamilton’s work, although it makes for a good read. In the book, much discussion is had about the Minotaur, who in the myths is really just a man with the head of a bull. His name in Greek meant “bull of Minos” (that is, the king of Crete in the myths).

  It was time for the seven boys and seven girls of Athens to be sacrificed to the Minotaur. The Minotaur lived in a labyrinth that it was impossible to escape from. Any victim who entered the labyrinth would be unable to escape alive. But Theseus was fortunate as Princess Ariadne had fallen in love with him, Ariadne gave Theseus a ball of string that he could use to find his way out of the labyrinth. Theseus entered the maze to find the creature, and he unwound the string in order to have a pathway back out. After a fierce battle, Theseus slew the bull and used the string to make his way out. Theseus took Ariadne back with him to Athens, but he later abandoned her on the island of Naxos. This last is part of a myth that is nearly as famous as the story of the Minotaur.

  The Adventures of Perseus

  Perseus ranks with Theseus as among the most important of Greek heroes. He was the son of Danae by Zeus. Danae was the princess of Argos, daughter of King Acrisius. It had been prophesied by an oracle that Acrisius would die by Danae’s son so Acrisius locked her in a room in a high tower to prevent her from being impregnated. But Zeus visited her in a shower of golden rain, and after nine months she bore Perseus. But Acrisius was not done. He locked both mother and child in a wooden box and sent them afloat on the sea. A fisherman called Dictys spotted the chest and rescued the twain. They were taken to the court of King Polydectes who lived on Seriphos, an island in the Aegean. When Perseus was older, Polydectes fell in love with the beautiful Danae and desired to marry her. To get Perseus out of the way, he sent him on a quest to bring back the head of the gorgon, Medusa. Meanwhile, Danae took refuge at a temple on the island.

  Medusa was a monster who had the power to turn her victims to stone. Her tale was told in the film The Clash of the Titans, which has been remade. Although Perseus stood little chance against the gorgon Medusa the gods were on his side. Athena, who had been the one to turn Medusa from a beautiful maiden into a monster, was on the side of Perseus. She told Perseus he must never look directly at Medusa’s face. She gave him a highly-polished shield, which he could use as a mirror. From Hermes, Perseus received a sickle and a bag in which to carry the gorgon’s head. He also received a pair of winged sandals. Finally, Hermes told Perseus where he could find the Graea, the Gray Women, who knew how to find Medusa.

  The Graea were old women who had only one eye in which to see and one tooth. They must share these things, constantly passing them around among the three of them. Perseus took the eye and promised only to give it back if they told him where Medusa was. Perseus went to the designated place and used the shield as a mirror to see where Medusa was. He used the weapons he had been given to cut off her head, and then he placed it in the bag he had been given by Hermes. From Medusa’s blood, Pegasus, the winged horse, was born.

  Perseus used Pegasus to get back to Seriphos. On the way, he saw a princess chained to a rock. She was Andromeda, princess of Ethiopia. She was the daughter of King Cepheus of Ethiopia and Queen Cassiopeia. Andromeda was tied to the rock because she was to be sacrificed to a sea monster. This monster was known as The Kracken in film. Perseus rescued her and slew the monster, using Medusa’s head to turn the monster into stone. Perseus went on to marry Andromeda. Later, the hero returned to Seriphos where he turned King Polydected to stone. Perseus went to attend games at Larissa. He threw a discus which went awry, killing a man in the audience. That man was Acrisius, his grandfather, thus fulfilling the prophecy that the oracle had told so many years before.

  Jason and the Argonauts

  Jason was the last of the three great heroes of Greek myth, excluding Heracles. He was the son of Aeson, who was a king in Thessaly, in Northern Greece. Jason’s father was overthrown by his brother, Pelias, who threatened to kill anyone who challenged his claim to the throne. Jason was smuggled away to safety and placed in the care of a friendly centaur called Chiron. Jason as a man returned to lay claim to his kingdom. On the way, he helped an old woman cross a river. This woman was Hera in disguise and in gratitude, this goddess would always be the supporter of Jason in his exploits.

  In helping the woman, Jason lost one of his sandals. Pelias had been warned to be wary of a stranger coming to town wearing one sandal. When he saw Jason, he knew that this was the prophecy fulfilled. To protect his throne, Pelias sent him on a quest to gain the Golden Fleece. he knew that it would be impossible for Jason to accomplish this. But Jason had the aid of the goddesses Hera and Athena. They helped him arrange for the ship Argo to be built. He recruited fifty warriors to go with him. These warriors included Heracles, Castor and Pollux, Orpheus, and Atalanta. They sailed to the land of Colchis on the Black Sea, and after many adventures, they reached this land of the Golden Fleece.

  When they reached Col
chis, the king forced them to accomplish tasks before he would help them. But Medea, the king’s daughter, and a sorceress fell in love with him and offered to help. She gave him the power to defeat fire-breathing bulls, and she gave him advice on how to defeat the warriors that had sprung from dragons’ teeth. Medea took Jason to where the Golden Fleece was. It was guarded by a dragon, but they used a potion to place the dragon into slumber. With the dragon asleep, Jason was able to gain the fleece.

  After they left Colchis, the Argonauts were pursued by Medea’s brother as well as warriors. Medea killed her brother and cut his body into pieces. This would give them time as her father would have to stop to gather up the pieces and bury his son. They returned to Thessaly where Medea convinced the daughters of Pelias to cut him into pieces, too. She told them that if they put him into a stew he would come back to life. Of course, he did not, and Jason and Medea had to flee Thessaly for Corinth. There, Jason abandoned Medea for Glauca, the daughter of the king of Corinth. Medea dispatched Glauca by giving her a dress that was laced with poison, which killed her. Medea, too, killed Jason’s sons. Then she had to flee to Athens to the court of King Aegeus, the father of Theseus.

  Historian Robert Graves has provided a well-researched, exhaustive list of the men and women who served with Jason aboard the Argo. This list, of course, included Heracles, the most famous hero in Greek myth, as well as Argus, who designed and built the Argo. The names of the men and women who traveled with Jason aboard the Argo to Colchis to recover the golden fleece are: