One of the most important parts of Greek culture and mythology was the elaborate myths and stories passed down orally from generation to generation. Below you can learn about a few of the most well-known Greek myths, and not only is it interesting, but it also gives you a better understanding of Greek mythology and the deities in it.
The Weaving Contest
In ancient Greece, there was a small town called Ledia. In this town, there lived a very beautiful young woman named Arachne, who was very skilled in weaving. The other young women of her town would stop by every day just to watch Arachne weave because she was so wonderful at it! All of the attention she was getting and her natural talent for weaving eventually got to Arachne's head, and she began to boast constantly. Arachne claimed that she was the best weaver of all time and that no one, not even Athena, the goddess of skills and wisdom, could weave better than her.
When Athena heard this, she became annoyed and came down to earth, disguised as an old woman. While pretending to be an old beggar, Athena came to Arachne and warned her to take back what she has said and apologize to Athena. Arachne laughed and quickly refused, saying that Athena should come and compete against her in a weaving contest. Fuming, Athena transformed into her true, beautiful form as a goddess and took Arachne up on her challenge.
Soon, both Athena and Arachne were hard at work, weaving beautiful tapestries. Neither one was beating the other, and both their works were equally splendid. Athena was weaving a tapestry that depicted the Parthenon and her competition with Posiden for becoming the patron goddess of Athens, and she had an amazing tapestry. Then, Athena looked over to see what Arachne was weaving, and to her shock and horror found that Arachne was weaving the gods and goddesses, but showing them with imperfections and weaknesses.
Because Arachne was making a mockery of the gods, Athena became enraged. Athena turned to Arachne and complimented her on her work, saying she must love her work. When Arachne thanked her, Athena then said that she would allow Arachne to weave forever...and then Athena cast a spell onto Arachne, turning her into a disgusting creature, what we now know as a spider! Thus, Arachne was doomed to be stuck spinning her own "tapestry" (web) for all of eternity.
When Athena heard this, she became annoyed and came down to earth, disguised as an old woman. While pretending to be an old beggar, Athena came to Arachne and warned her to take back what she has said and apologize to Athena. Arachne laughed and quickly refused, saying that Athena should come and compete against her in a weaving contest. Fuming, Athena transformed into her true, beautiful form as a goddess and took Arachne up on her challenge.
Soon, both Athena and Arachne were hard at work, weaving beautiful tapestries. Neither one was beating the other, and both their works were equally splendid. Athena was weaving a tapestry that depicted the Parthenon and her competition with Posiden for becoming the patron goddess of Athens, and she had an amazing tapestry. Then, Athena looked over to see what Arachne was weaving, and to her shock and horror found that Arachne was weaving the gods and goddesses, but showing them with imperfections and weaknesses.
Because Arachne was making a mockery of the gods, Athena became enraged. Athena turned to Arachne and complimented her on her work, saying she must love her work. When Arachne thanked her, Athena then said that she would allow Arachne to weave forever...and then Athena cast a spell onto Arachne, turning her into a disgusting creature, what we now know as a spider! Thus, Arachne was doomed to be stuck spinning her own "tapestry" (web) for all of eternity.
Hades Kidnaps Persephone
A long time ago, there was a beautiful goddess named Demeter. She was in charge of growing the crops all year round. Demeter also had a beautiful daughter, named Persephone. Demeter and Persephone were very close, and would walk around in the fields every day together, making flowers and crops grow. Demeter loved Persephone so much!
One day, Demeter's brother Hades decided to come to the earth and explore. Hades was exploring with his three-headed dog Cerberus when the dog bounded up to someone. It was Persephone, who was out walking and making the the plants grow. When Cerberus came to Persephone, she smiled and petted him. She laughed and played with the dog. When Hades heard Persephone's laugh, saw her smile, and thought about her happiness, he decided he needed to have her for himself. So, before Demeter could do anything, Hades snatched up Persephone and brought her back with him to the Underworld so he could marry her.
Terrified and angry at her uncle for what he had done, Persephone cried and cried for almost a week. She refused to eat or drink anything until she couldn't take it any longer. She ate some pomegranate seeds, and then went back to sobbing. Meanwhile, Persephone's mother Demeter was even more distraught at the situation than Persephone herself was. She deeply missed her daughter, and because of this the weather became harsh and no crops grew. After days of crying, Demeter asked Zeus for help. Zeus promptly sent his son Hermes to see Hades and make a deal with him for Persephone's freedom. Hades eventually did return with Persephone, and with a deal.
The final agreement was that if Persephone would marry Hades, she would live in the Underworld as its' queen for six months of the year. The other six months, Persephone would be allowed to return to earth and be with her mother. Although nobody really liked this arrangement, it was finally agreed upon and the matter was settled. This is the reason why we have the seasons today: because when Persephone is with Demeter for half of the year, the weather is fair and the crops are able to grow. However, when Persephone has to go back to the Underworld with Hades for the other half of the year, Demeter becomes sad once again, the weather is harsh, and crops cannot grow.
One day, Demeter's brother Hades decided to come to the earth and explore. Hades was exploring with his three-headed dog Cerberus when the dog bounded up to someone. It was Persephone, who was out walking and making the the plants grow. When Cerberus came to Persephone, she smiled and petted him. She laughed and played with the dog. When Hades heard Persephone's laugh, saw her smile, and thought about her happiness, he decided he needed to have her for himself. So, before Demeter could do anything, Hades snatched up Persephone and brought her back with him to the Underworld so he could marry her.
Terrified and angry at her uncle for what he had done, Persephone cried and cried for almost a week. She refused to eat or drink anything until she couldn't take it any longer. She ate some pomegranate seeds, and then went back to sobbing. Meanwhile, Persephone's mother Demeter was even more distraught at the situation than Persephone herself was. She deeply missed her daughter, and because of this the weather became harsh and no crops grew. After days of crying, Demeter asked Zeus for help. Zeus promptly sent his son Hermes to see Hades and make a deal with him for Persephone's freedom. Hades eventually did return with Persephone, and with a deal.
The final agreement was that if Persephone would marry Hades, she would live in the Underworld as its' queen for six months of the year. The other six months, Persephone would be allowed to return to earth and be with her mother. Although nobody really liked this arrangement, it was finally agreed upon and the matter was settled. This is the reason why we have the seasons today: because when Persephone is with Demeter for half of the year, the weather is fair and the crops are able to grow. However, when Persephone has to go back to the Underworld with Hades for the other half of the year, Demeter becomes sad once again, the weather is harsh, and crops cannot grow.
Theseus and The Minotaur
Long, long ago in ancient Greece there lived a king, named King Minos. He ruled over the island of Crete, and all was well...except for one thing. King Minos had a terrible monster that used to terrorize his people, called the Minotaur. It was a half man, half bull beast that would come and eat King Minos' people. In an effort to stop this monster from eating all his people, King Minos created an elaborate maze called the Labyrinth, and then he trapped the beast in the maze for years. In order to keep the Minotaur from breaking out, King Minos had to send seven little boys and seven little girls into the Labyrinth each year. Because of a previous victory against the city of Athens, King Minos required that the fourteen children fed to the Minotaur be sent from Athens each year.
This made the people of Athens very sad and angry that they were forced to give up fourteen of their children each year to this horrible beast. Prince Theseus of Athens saw how upset his people were and decided he wanted to do something about it. He didn't think it was fair to send all of those innocent children into an unsolvable maze where they would eventually be devoured by a despicable beast. So, one year, Theseus decided he was going to go over to the Labyrinth and kill the Minotaur himself. He replaced the seventh Athenian boy that was to be sent to be eaten with himself and eventually was sent into the maze. Before he went into the Labyrinth though, the beautiful Princess Ariadne, who was King Minos' daughter, saw him and decided to help him defeat the Minotaur. She gave him a sword and a ball of string, so that he would be able to find his was back out of the Labyrinth after he had killed the Minotaur.
The next day, Theseus and the other Athenian children were sent into the maze. Theseus attached the string to the door of the Labyrinth and told the other children to stay at the entrance while he continued on through the maze. Later on, Theseus found the Minotaur, miraculously dodged the beast's fatal horns, and killed him with the sword. He then walked back to the entrance where Princess Ariadne let him and all the children out of the maze, and they all sailed back to Athens where they lived in peace until the end of their days.
This made the people of Athens very sad and angry that they were forced to give up fourteen of their children each year to this horrible beast. Prince Theseus of Athens saw how upset his people were and decided he wanted to do something about it. He didn't think it was fair to send all of those innocent children into an unsolvable maze where they would eventually be devoured by a despicable beast. So, one year, Theseus decided he was going to go over to the Labyrinth and kill the Minotaur himself. He replaced the seventh Athenian boy that was to be sent to be eaten with himself and eventually was sent into the maze. Before he went into the Labyrinth though, the beautiful Princess Ariadne, who was King Minos' daughter, saw him and decided to help him defeat the Minotaur. She gave him a sword and a ball of string, so that he would be able to find his was back out of the Labyrinth after he had killed the Minotaur.
The next day, Theseus and the other Athenian children were sent into the maze. Theseus attached the string to the door of the Labyrinth and told the other children to stay at the entrance while he continued on through the maze. Later on, Theseus found the Minotaur, miraculously dodged the beast's fatal horns, and killed him with the sword. He then walked back to the entrance where Princess Ariadne let him and all the children out of the maze, and they all sailed back to Athens where they lived in peace until the end of their days.