I know the today's topic is not anything about writing or anything of that kind, but I find it both interesting and important some to know about it. I am referring to the mythology. Every countries mythology besides being a combination of truths and tale are also part of the countries culture and in most cases are used to explain natural phenomena regarding the beginning of human beings the civilization etc.
The word mythology is coming from the Greek words mythos (Μύθος) meaning the story of the people and the word logos (λόγος) which mean speech – so all together mean the spoken stories of people.
Mythologies are stories which are dealing with aspects of once life, thing such as the evil and the good, the gods, the human believes of that times, the origin of the humanity, about the feelings and emotions, culture and traditions, life and death as well as the origin a places name.
So without further ado let’s dive into three nice mythologies for this part.
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King Midas and the Golden Touch
Midas was a king of great fortune who ruled the country of Phrygia, in Asia Minor. He had everything a king could wish for. He lived in luxury in a great castle. He shared his life of abundance with his beautiful daughter. Even though he was very rich, Midas thought that his greatest happiness was provided by gold. His avarice was such that he used to spend his days counting his golden coins! Occasionally he used to cover his body with gold objects, as if he wanted to bath in them. Money was his obsession.
One day, Dionysus, the god of wine and revelry, passed through the kingdom of Midas. One of his companions, a satyr named Silenus, got delayed along the way. Silenus got tired and decided to take a nap in the famous rose gardens surrounding the palace of king Midas. There, he was found by the king, who recognized him instantly and invited him to spend a few days at his palace. After that, Midas took him to Dionysus. The god of celebration, very grateful to Midas for his kindness, promised Midas to satisfy any wish of him. Midas though for a while and then he said: I hope that everything I touch becomes gold. Dionysus warned the king to think well about his wish, but Midas was positive. Dionysus could do nothing else and promised the king that from that following day everything he touched would turn into gold.
The next day, Midas, woke up eager to see if his wish would become true. He extended his arm touching a small table that immediately turned into gold. Midas jumped with happiness! He then touched a chair, the carpet, the door, his bathtub, a table and so he kept on running in his madness all over his palace until he got exhausted and happy at the same time! He sat at the table to have breakfast and took a rose between his hands to smell its fragrance. When he touched it, the rose became gold. I will have to absorb the fragrance without touching the roses, I suppose, he thought in disappointment.
Without even thinking, he ate a grape but it also turned into gold! The same happened with a slice of bread and a glass of water. Suddenly, he started to sense fear. Tears filled his eyes and that moment, his beloved daughter entered the room. When Midas hugged her, she turned into a golden statue! Despaired and fearful, he raised his arms and prayed to Dionysus to take this curse from him.
The god heard Midas and felt sorry for him. He told Midas to go to river Pactolus and wash his hands. Midas did so: he ran to the river and was astonished to see gold flowing from his hands. When he turned home, everything Midas had touched had become normal again.
Midas hugged his daughter in full happiness and decided to share his great fortune with his people. From now on, Midas became a better person, generous and grateful for all goods of his life. His people led a prosperous life and when he died, they all mourned for their beloved king. The ancient Greeks said they had found gold on the banks of the river Pactolus.
Thiseas – Minotaurus – Aegeus
The Minotaur was the son of Pasiphae , wife of King Minos of Crete.
Queen Pasiphae slept with a bull sent by Zeus, and gave birth to Minotaur, a creature half man – half bull. King Minos was embarrassed, but did not want to kill the Minotaur, so he hid the monster in the Labyrinth constructed by Daedalus at the Minoan Palace of Knossos.
According to the myth, Minos was imprisoning his enemies in the Labyrinth so that the Minotaur could eat them. The labyrinth was such a complicated construction that no one could ever find the way out alive.
Son of Minos, Androgeus, went to Athens to participate to the Panathenaic Games, but he was killed during the Marathon by the bull that impregnated his mother Pasiphae. Minos was infuriated, and demanded Aegeus the king of Athens to send seven men and women every year to the Minotaur to advert the plague caused by the death of Androgeus.
The third year, Theseus , son of Aegeus decided to be one of the seven young men that would go to Crete, in order to kill the Minotaur and end the human sacrifices to the monster.King Aegeus tried to make him change his mind but Theseus was determined to slay the Minotaur.
Theseus promised his father that he would put up white sails coming back from Crete, allowing him to know in advance that he was coming back alive. The boat would return with the black sails if Theseus was killed.
Theseus and the Minotaur:
Theseus announced to King Minos that he was going to kill the Monster, but Minos knew that even if he did manage to kill the Minotaur, Theseus would never be able to exit the Labyrinth.
Theseus met Princess Ariadne , daughter of King Minos, who fell madly in love with him and decided to help Theseus. She gave him a thread and told him to unravel it as he would penetrate deeper and deeper into the Labyrinth, so that he knows the way out when he kills the monster.
Theseus followed her suggestion and entered the labyrinth with the thread. Theseus managed to kill the Minotaur and save the Athenians, and with Ariadne’s thread he managed to retrace his way out.
Theseus took Princess Ariadne with him and left Crete sailing happily back to Athens with the white sails
Aegeus and the Sails:
Theseus’ boat stopped at Naxos and the Athenians had a long celebration dedicated to Theseus and Ariadne. In their way back to Crete though, strong wind raise and God Dionysus, who had saw Ariadne and fall in love with her, appeared on his chariot and took Ariadne. The strong winds though made the white sails to get detached and token by the wind. So their only chance was to put on the black once.
King Aegeus was waiting at Cape Sounion to see the sails of the boat. He saw the black sails from afar and presumed his son was dead. He dropped himself to the waters, committing suicide and since then, this sea is called the Aegean Sea.
Note: A different version of the myth mentions that when Theseus’ boat stopped at Naxos and the Athenians had a long celebration dedicated to Theseus and Ariadne. After long hours of feasting and drinking, Ariadne fell asleep on the shore and didn’t enter the boat that sailed to Athens. Theseus figured out that Ariadne was not with them when it was too late and he was so upset that he forgot the promise made to his father and did not change the sails.
And one other version mentions that God Dionysus saw Ariadne in the island and took her with him and made her his wife.
Preseus and Medusa
Perseus was born to Zeus and Danae. Danae was the daughter of King Acrisius. When Perseus was born, King Acrisius feared that Perseus would grow up and kill him, so he cast Danae and Perseus into the sea in a wooden chest.
The chest came ashore on the island of Serifos, where a fisherman found them and took them in. The fisherman was the brother of King Polydectes, who was a malicious king. Perseus would grow into a strong young man with great power and intelligence.
King Polydectes Falls in Love:
King Polydectes had fallen in love with Danae and made her his slave. Perseus wanted to protect his mother, and Polydectes knew Perseus would protect her at all costs. Some versions of the myth describe Polydectes as requiring Perseus to bring him a gift, while other versions of the myth send Perseus on a dangerous quest to keep him from overpowering the king.
While the versions are different, they have the same outcome; Perseus is ordered by King Polydectes to bring back the head of Medusa.
The Gorgon Medusa:
Medusa was born a beautiful mortal woman with long flowing hair. Medusa was a temptress among the gods, and Poseidon had impregnated the mortal while in the temple of Athena. Athena cursed the mortal Medusa with a hideous face and snakes for hair. Medusa would be confined to a cave, and anyone who made eye contact with the Gorgon would be turned to stone.
Perseus Receives Gifts from the Gods:
Perseus, who was the son of Zeus, had help from the gods on his quest to find and behead Medusa. Hades, god of the underworld, gave Perseus the cap of invisibility. Hermes, god of travel, gave Perseus a pair of winged sandals. Athena, god of women, gave Perseus a reflective bronze shield, and Hephaestus, god of fire and the forge, gave Perseus a sword.
Perseus Finds and Beheads Medusa:
Using the gifts from the gods, Perseus locates and enters Medusa’s cave. Perseus finds Medusa asleep inside her cave and makes sure not to wake her. Perseus takes the reflective bronze shield from Athena and holds it up to use as a mirror to locate Medusa. Walking backward towards Medusa, Perseus continues to hold the shield in the air to keep a clear view of Medusa, making sure to only look at Medusa in the shield.
As Perseus crept closer to Medusa, he wielded the sword that Hephaestus had given him and beheaded the monster. Perseus threw Medusa’s head into his satchel and journeyed home.
Perseus Uses Medusa’s Head as a Weapon:
On his way home, Perseus came upon Andromeda, a beautiful woman embedded into a rock on the shore. The Cetus was a sea monster in the water below that was imminent to eat Andromeda. Perseus slew the monster and rescued Andromeda from the rock.
Perseus desired to marry Andromeda, who had been promised to marry Phineus. As Perseus and Andromeda were to be married, Phineus attempted to fight Perseus. Perseus used the head of Medusa to turn Phineus into stone. Perseus and Andromeda returned to see King Polydectes and set his mother free. Perseus used the head of Medusa to turn Polydectes into stone.
That's All She Wrote
Laura Melkonian
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