Medusa
Medusa began life as a girl so lovely that she made Athena jealous.
Her beauty naturally attracted Poseidon, who seduced the girl at one of
Athena’s temples.
This outrageous act angered Athena, who therefore turned Medusa into
a Gorgon. Since she started as human she remained mortal. As if this were not
punishment enough, Athena later helped Perseus hunt her down and kill her.
When Perseus cut her head off, Pegasus and Chrysaor, her children by Poseidon,
sprang forth. Drops of her blood fell into the Libyan desert and turned into
snakes. Later, one of these snakes killed Mopsus.
After Perseus left with her
head, Athena took charge of Medusa’s remains and flayed off Medusa’s
skin and then made it into her trademark Aegis. She took two drops of the blood to
King Erichthonius, and said, “This one will cure disease and the other is
a deadly poison.”
Athena (Minerva)
Athena was the daughter of Zeus. She sprang full grown in armor from his
forehead, thus had no mother. Fierce and Brave, she fought to protect the
state and home from outside enemies. She became the goddess of Athens.
Athena invented the bridle, which
allowed man to tame horses, as well as the trumpet, the flute, the pot,
the rake, the plow, the yoke, the ship, and the chariot. She became the
embodiment of
wisdom, reason, and purity.
Athena remained Zeus’ favorite child and he let her use his weapons
including his thunderbolt. The olive became her tree; the owl, her bird.
She was a virgin goddess.
Chrysaor
Chrysaor was born as a result of the ill fated mating of Medusa and Poseidon.
He was born from Medusa when her head was cut off by Perseus. Little is known of
Chrysaor, who was considered a stout hearted warrior.
His name meant
Golden Sword. He fathered Geryon. His appearance was unknown but, given his
family, he might have looked fierce.
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Erichthonius
King Erichthonius (meaning “troubles born from the earth”) was a mythical
king of Athens and father of Procris, Creusa and Pandorus.
He was the son of Hephaestus and Gaia or Athena. According to Apollodorus,
Hephaestus attempted to rape Athena but was unsuccessful. His semen fell on
the ground, impregnating Gaia. Gaia didn’t want the infant Erichthonius,
so she gave the baby to Athena.
Apollodorus (scholar) c. 150BC
Athenian scholar. He was the author of a work on mythology and
one on etymology, and is best known for his verse Chronicle of Greek history
from the fall of Troy.
At present, however, most scholars agree that his chronicle was
edited during the
1st century AD and that, therefore, it was not written by Apollodorus.
Athena gave three sisters (Herse, Pandrosus and
Aglaulus) a small box and warned them to never open it. Aglaulus and Herse
opened the box that contained the infant and future-king, Erichthonius.
The sight caused Herse and Aglaulus to go insane and they threw themselves
off the Acropolis. Alternatively, Athena raised Erichthonius herself.
An alternative version of the same story goes like this:
While Athena was gone to bring a mountain from Pallena to use
in the Acropolis, the sisters (except for
Pandrosus) opened the box. A crow witnessed the opening and flew away
to tell Athena, who fell into a rage and dropped the mountain
(now Mt. Lykabettos). Herse and Aglaulus went insane and threw
themselves to their deaths off a cliff.
Erichthonius later became King of Athens and implemented many beneficial
changes to Athenian culture. During this time, Athena frequently protected him.
He founded the Panathenaic Festival in the honor of Athena. He taught his people
to yoke horses and use them to pull chariots, smelt silver and till the earth
with a plough.
Erichthonius was killed by either Poseidon or Zeus as revenge for killing
Himmarados of Thrace during a war between Eleusis and Athens.
He was sometimes said to be a snake with a human head. The snake was his
symbol.
Erichthonius may have been the same person as Cecrops.
Some believe Cecrops was his son.
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Gorgons
These three female monsters had snakes for hair. Their faces looked so
ugly that any man who saw their faces would turn to stone. Oddly, the
three Gorgons have different origins. Stheno and Euryale were born
immortal from Phorcys and Ceto. Medusa was not.
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Mopsus
Mopsus (meaning “calf”) was one of two seers who became part of the 49-man-and-one-woman
(Atalanta) Argonauts.
They sailed the Argo in the pre Troy epic to retrieve the Golden Fleece.
Some say that, from this journey, the Jews got their story of Abraham’s
sacrifice of Isaac. The other Argonaut soothsayer was Idmon
(meaning “knowing”), the son of Apollo and Asteria (some say Cyrene).
Mopsus could understood the speech of birds. When the Argonauts were
weather-bound at Arcton, a halcyon hovered over Jason’s head, then perched
on the prow of the Argo where it chirped a message that Mopsus understood.
Mopsus is said to have been a Lapithe,
(Lapithae) from Thessalia (Thessaly) in northern Greece and king of Thrace at
the time the Amazons crossed over to Europe from Asia Minor. His father was
Ampycus but his mother was an unnamed Nymph.
Mopsus with the help of Sipylus
[the Scythian] defeated the Amazon invaders and killed Queen Myrine in a single
combat. However, this may have been a later invention by Apollonians who
wanted to take authority away from the Thessalian priestesses and their male
devotees, the Centaurs. So powerful were the priestesses of Thessalia that it
is said that Orpheus was killed by the magic of Aglaonice, who became famous
for drawing down the moon.
Whatever his actual origin and kingship, Mopsus was considered great enough
to have participated in the Calydonian boar hunt and was prominent in the battle
between the Lapithae and the Centaurs. He was with the Argonauts on their
return from Colchis when they were driven into the shoal waters of Syrtis in
Libya. He died there after being bitten on the heel by one of the vipers that
had grown out of the blood that had dropped from the head of Medusa when
Perseus flew over the Libyan desert.
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Pegasus
Pegasus, a winged horse, was born as a result of
the ill fated mating of Medusa and Poseidon. It was born from Medusa when
Perseus cut off Medusa’s head. Tamed by Bellerophon, it served as his
mount during
his adventures including his slaying of the Chimaera.
When Bellerophon
attempted to fly Pegasus to Mount Olympus, he was dismounted by Zeus. Pegasus
continued on and made it to Mount Olympus. Here, Pegasus spent his days carrying
lighting bolts for Zeus.
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Perseus
Perseus was the son of Zeus and Danae. With the help of Athena, he beheaded
Medusa and brought the head to Polydectes. On his journey he had adventures with
the Stygian nymphs, the Graeae, and Atlas. He also rescued Andromeda and became
father of Perses.
He returned to his homeland of Argos and accidentally killed his
grandfather, Acrisius, with a discus. He then went to Tiryns, where he exchanged
kingdoms with Megapenthes, the king of Tiryns. The city of Mycenae, which Perseus
founded near Tiryns, was ruled by his descendants. Perseus and Andromeda were
turned into constellations at the end of their lives.
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Poseidon (Neptune)
Poseidon was the brother of Zeus, and became the lord of the sea, widely
worshiped by seamen. He married Amphitrite, a granddaughter of the Titan Oceanus.
His weapon was a trident, which could shake the earth and shatter any object.
He was second only to Zeus in power amongst the gods. Under the ocean, he had
a marvelous golden palace, whose grottos were adorned with corals and
the sea-flowers, and lit with a phosphorescent glow. He rose forth in
a chariot drawn by dolphins and sea-horses.
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Beaverland Music
