by Amanda Brack
If it suited him, he would even dare to cheat the gods.
The river god Asopus, who was the son of Poseidon, sought help from Sisyphus. He had searched high and low, far and wide, and could not find his beloved daughter, Aegina.
Sisyphus, seeing the profit that could come from the man’s desperation, told Asopus that he would help him on one condition. If Asopus would build Sisyphus an eternal spring, Sisyphus would come to his aid.
The grieving father readily agreed and built Sisyphus a beautiful and unending spring.
Sisyphus made good on his promise and told Asopus that it was Zeus who had taken his daughter.
Overhearing this, Zeus became enraged at the betrayal. Sisyphus had told the truth, but Zeus would not allow his secrets to be spread.
So he sent Thanatos, the god of death, to punish and kill Sisyphus for revealing his deeds.
Thanatos found Sisyphus. And he had brought along handcuffs with which to ensnare Sisyphus and bring him to the Underworld.
Being the cunning man he was, Sisyphus had an idea. He asked Thanatos to demonstrate how the chains worked.
Thanatos snapped the handcuffs over his own wrists, showing Sisyphus how very well they worked.
Seizing his opportunity, Sisyphus captured the chained Thanatos and imprisoned him in a closet. The god of death, whose job it was to escort the dead to the Underworld, was now faced with a problem.
Those who died could no longer be transported to the afterlife, which meant that, no matter how gruesome the death, the dead were forced to linger in the living world.
Eventually, Ares, the god of War, discovered what was happening and freed Thanatos from Sisyphus’s capture.
Together, Thanatos and Ares brought Sisyphus to the Underworld.
But not before Sisyphus had the chance to try one last plan. He plotted with his wife, telling her to do him a favor.
The clever man told her not to give him a proper burial, nor to prepare a funeral feast, nor to put a coin under his tongue as payment to Charon, the ferryman who carries the dead across the river Styx.
When Sisyphus arrived in the Underworld, he pleaded to Persephone for her understanding. He feigned horror when he told her that his terrible wife had refused to give him proper funeral rites.
He begged her to give him permission to return to the mortal world for three days. This would give Sisyphus time to be buried properly and return to the Underworld justly.
Persephone, who was a compassionate queen of the Underworld, said yes, giving him permission for the three days—and the three days only.
Of course, the deceitful Sisyphus had cleverly fooled Persephone, with no plans to fulfill his promise of return. He rode back across the river Styx to the world of the living.
Sisyphus lived for many more years, until he was an old man.
Upon his death, he returned to the Underworld to meet the wrath of Hades, who condemned him to an eternity of hard labor.
He was damned to roll a heavy boulder to the top of a high and treacherous mountain.
Each time Sisyphus reached the summit of the mountain, tired, panting, and aching from his efforts . . .
. . . the boulder thundered right back down the base, where he was doomed to start over again.
Marathon
There was once a time in the history of Greece when the Persian Empire threatened to conquer all of the Greek city-states.
The Greeks vowed to resist their invasion, but the Persian army was strong, and the Greeks watched as the Persian force swept closer, burning and enslaving neighboring islands and city-states in its wake.
At last the Persian army arrived in Greece, landing on the shores of the city of Marathon, just North of Athens.
When the Greeks saw the Persians preparing for battle, they realized that they were greatly outnumbered.
The Athenian general in charge of the troops decided to send someone to the Spartans and ask for their help. He chose to send a man named Pheidippides, who was widely considered the most athletic soldier.
Pheidippides proudly accepted the task and set off for Sparta.
He ran all 140 miles through rocky and rugged terrain.
When he arrived in Sparta, they welcomed him, and they told him they would gladly send their soldiers to defend their neighbor, but it would have to wait until after they had finished their religious festival.
So Pheidippides returned to Marathon.
He found the Athenian general and told him the unfortunate news: the reinforcements were delayed.
The small Athenian army decided to attack quickly and take the Persians by surprise.
And so the Athenians marched on the much bigger Persian army and began to fight. Although they were greatly outnumbered, the Athenians used speed and clever tactics to gain an advantage.
When the battle was over, the Athenians were victorious! They had managed to beat the Persian army, sustaining only 200 casualties, while the Persians had lost 6,500 soldiers.
But the threat was not over. The surviving Persians regrouped and headed South by sea to strike the undefended city of Athens.
Swift Pheidippides was sent to Athens to share the news of the army’s victory and to warn them of the impending attack.
As he ran, he shouted “Nike! Nike!” which meant victory. He arrived in Athens and successfully delivered his message.
Then he fell down dead of exhaustion, with the word Victory still on his lips.
Meanwhile the Athenian army, still weary from their battle, marched swiftly from Marathon to reach Athens, outfitted in heavy armor and carrying their weighty swords. This feat is considered the first marathon race in history.
The Athenian army arrived in the city and beat back the invaders.
The Spartan army arrived as well, and together the Greeks routed the Persian army, pushing them back until they fled toward their own shores.
Narcissus
Narcissus was the son of a river god and a nymph.
Far and wide, he was renowned for his handsome looks.
Although Narcissus was attractive on the outside, he was not so beautiful on the inside. He was very arrogant and often rude to those who admired him.
One day when he was walking in the woods, Narcissus caught the attention of a lovely mountain nymph named Echo. Echo fell deeply in love with him.
Echo was a loquacious nymph, notorious for her constant banter and conversation.
She was a bit mischievous, as well. She once used her powers of chatter to help an unfaithful god escape his wife.
When the goddess discovered the betrayal and Echo’s part in it, she punished her to live forever without the gift of conversation. From then on, Echo could only repeat what was spoken to her.
Echo waited in the woods near Narcissus, desperately trying to figure out a way to express her love for him. She felt trapped, because she knew she could only repeat the words he spoke to her.
Not knowing what else to do, Echo approached Narcissus and tried to embrace him.
Narcissus pushed the nymph away from him. Grief-stricken, she retreated back into the woods.
Echo ran to the mountains, where she eventually died of heartbreak.
Upon her death, she became a part of the stone in the mountain. Her voice remained, only to be heard as an echo.
Narcissus did not notice the harm he had done to Echo. He continued to reject fair nymphs who crossed his path, indifferent to their feelings.
This angered the gods, who had been watching Narcissus.
They decided to punish him, cursing him to fall in love with someone or something that could not love him back.
Soon after, the vain Narcissus happened upon a pond. There he saw his own reflection and became enamored with it.
Narcissus fell so deeply in love with his own reflection that he tried to kiss it.
The closer he got to the surface of the water, the more the water receded so he could no longer see his own reflection.
Narcissus spent the rest o
f his life pining away at his likeness in the water, distraught over what he could not have.
Taking pity on him, the mountain nymphs turned Narcissus into a beautiful flower.
Heracles: The Birth of the Divine Hero
Heracles was the son of Zeus and the mortal woman Alcmene.
Zeus’s wife Hera was jealous and despised Alcmene.
When Heracles was very small, Alcmene feared that Hera would harm him if he stayed in the palace, so she left him in a field by himself.
Athena and Hera happened upon the suffering Heracles in the field and felt sorry for him.
Not knowing whom the baby was, Hera nursed him back to life. Because she was a great goddess, this action transferred supernatural powers to baby Heracles.
Athena then took him to a nearby city.
She asked the queen of the city to take care of the baby.
Alcmene looked on, and it dawned on her that the boy was her child. She was overjoyed that he had survived.
When she realized that the baby she had saved was Zeus’s illegitimate son, Hera was infuriated that she had let go of her chance to kill him.
She sent a venomous serpent to Heracles’s crib to kill him in his sleep.
But baby Heracles had acquired incredible strength and powers, and he played with the snake as if it were a rattle.
Heracles’s new guardian, King Amphitryon, knew that Heracles’s superhuman strength meant he was very special.
So he called upon Tiresias, a seer, to look into Heracles’ future.
Tiresias’s prophecy foresaw that Heracles would become a great champion and slayer of beasts, and that he would become immortal.
Knowing the incredible destiny that laid ahead of Heracles, King Amphitryon decided to give him the best education possible to prepare him.
Amphitryon showed Heracles how to drive a chariot.
He introduced him to archery.
He also had Harpalycus instruct him in the strength and strategies of wrestling.
He hired Linus, son of Apollo, to instruct Heracles in singing and playing the lyre.
Linus was a harsh and demanding instructor. Heracles became frustrated with him and threw his lyre.
The lyre collided with the ornery music teacher and killed him.
Heracles was put on trial for the death, but he was not punished.
Amphitryon became afraid that Heracles did not know his own strength, and that perhaps it would lead to more trouble down the road.
He sent him to the countryside to learn the ways of farming and to tend to livestock with other shepherds.
During this time, Heracles grew to be exceedingly handsome and strong.
When he came of age, Heracles left the shepherds to go off on his own.
He came upon two desirable nymphs who were Pleasure and Virtue.
The first nymph, Pleasure, told him that he could choose between the two of them, for they represented the path he would take in life.
She explained that if he chose her, Heracles would be free of hardship, war, and the burdens of unhappiness.
Heracles turned to the other woman, Virtue, to hear what she had to say.
She told him that with her, Heracles would become a great hero of Greece, and one who would win the favor and admiration of the gods. But this would only come with hard work, immense toil, and sometimes great suffering.
Heracles thought deeply about his choice and decided to take the path of Virtue.
To begin his noble trek, Heracles decided to rid the lands of Greece of all of the savage beasts, ne’er-do-wellers, and thieves that corrupted it.
First, he hunted down an enormous lion in his lair on Mount Cithaeron.
Heracles killed the lion with his mighty club.
And then made a protective cloak out of its hide.
Donning the pelt of the lion, Heracles ran into an unsavory messenger of Erginus, King of the Minyans.
The messenger was sent to capture Theban tributes for a deadly annual tournament.
Angered by the dark intentions, Heracles attacked the messenger, injuring him.
Outfitted with many wounds and bandages, he sent the injured man back to King Erginus. King Erginus flew into a rage and told Creon, the King of Thebes, that Heracles would pay.
Heracles gathered men of Thebes and convinced them to join him in a battle against the Minyans.
Athena provided the men with sturdy armor.
They fought the Minyans in a bloody battle.
Victoriously, Heracles killed the loathsome King Erignus. Sadly, the benevolent King Amphitryon was killed as well.
Devastated and vengeful, Heracles destroyed the Minyan’s capitol.
He was celebrated all through Greece for his heroic actions.
King Creon, pleased with Heracles’s defense of Thebes, allowed him to marry his beautiful daughter, Megara.
The gods also rewarded Heracles’s gallant actions. Hermes gave him a mighty sword.
Apollo gave him the finest arrows.
Athena presented him with armor fit for a hero.
Heracles and Eurystheus
For a long while after, Heracles and Megara were blissful and had many children.
But Hera’s hatred for Heracles continued to fester. She vowed to ruin his happiness and inflicted him with a burning and uncontrollable rage.
Maddened by the sorcery, Heracles terrorized his family and killed each of his children.
When the wave of anger subsided, Heracles fell into a great depression. Grief-stricken, he locked himself away so he could hurt no one.
After a time, Heracles sought the guidance of the Oracle of Delphi. He wished to atone for his horrific deeds.
The Oracle told Heracles that the only way he could repent would be to submit himself to King Eurystheus of Argos.
Little did Heracles know, at the time of his birth, Zeus had decreed that the first grandson of Perseus would rule over all of his descendants. Both Heracles and Eurystheus were in line for this title.
Not wanting the son of her rival to gain this power, Hera intervened during childbirth and Eurystheus arrived first.
Eurystheus became king but was always insecure about Heracles’s great power and fame.
At the instruction of the Oracle of Delphi, Heracles presented himself to Eurystheus. The King commanded him to do ten impossible tasks to gain absolution for the slaughter of his children.
Proud Heracles was angered by the commands, feeling as if performing labors for the king were beneath him. At first, the petulant hero refused the tasks.
Eventually, the guilt of slaying his innocent children ate away at Heracles.
He returned to King Eurystheus and agreed to perform the tasks.
The Twelve Labors of Heracles
First Labor
When Heracles finally accepted his ten labors, the first one was to slay the Nemean lion.
This giant beast was feared among all men. It could not be wounded by any man-made weapon, because it had impenetrable golden skin and its claws could tear through any armor.
Heracles began his search in a deep forest.
Late one night, when the moon was low and the forest was dark, Heracles discovered the Nemean lion sleeping near a cave. Heracles shot out an arrow to kill the lion, but the arrow bounced right off his impenetrable pelt.
Though the lion was not wounded, he was irritated with the attack. Spotting Heracles in the bushes, the lion pounced.
Heracles sprang into action and began attacking the lion with a heavy club.
Using his super strength, Heracles managed to strangle the lion to death.
He first tried to skin the lion using his sword, but it was to no avail. Heracles then tried using the lion’s own claws and was able to remove the hide.
Heracles returned to the palace having accomplished his first task, and he presented the skin of the lion to Eurystheus.
Eurystheus was so terrified by the feat that he hid in a cauldron.
