The great Heroes before the Trojan War

The Trojan War produced the many of the greatest heroes that classical mythology boasts of. The lives and exploits of these heroes have been well documented and romanticized by many a poet and bard over the years and now with the release of movies such as Troy^TM and the like there are few people across the globe who do not know the names of Achilles, Hector, Odysseus, Paris, Ajax, Agamemnon and so on and so forth. However there was another crop of heroes, just as famous, of an ilk arguably far superior to that of the illustrious heroes mentioned above. These heroes existed before the Trojan War had ever begun. There are several great heroes before the Trojan War but undoubtedly the four greatest are, in chronological order, Perseus, Heracles, Atlanta and Theseus. The latter three were of the same generation: the one immediately preceding the Trojan War. Atlanta and Heracles partook in the Quest for the Golden Fleece together and Heracles and Theseus were compatriots in several adventures and shared the bond of blood…but more on this later.

Perseus was several generations before the other three. In fact, he was the grandfather to Heracles. The adventures of Perseus are the subject of numerous books and discussions but I can give a condensed form here…

The two great Gods of the Earth...Part 2

Demeter, to recapitulate, was the Goddess of the corn. She was a daughter of Cronus and Rhea and sister to Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Hera and Hestia. This made her an Olympian by birth but she was not held to be an Olympian by the Ancient Greeks. She was a Goddess much more often found on earth than in Olympus. Demeter was a peoples’ deity. She helped the women as they sowed the seeds. She held the hands of the farmers as they harvested the corn. She was the Goddess who allowed the Greeks to live, to sustain. She did not make any extravagant demands. She asked for no great sacrifice. The simple thrashing floor was held to be her temple, the mere act of breaking corn-bread an offering to her. She was thus a more personable and real Goddess than the Olympians. The Greeks felt her presence in everyday life; they were directly affected by her power.

Another fact about Demeter that drew the Greeks closer to her was that she was a Goddess who knew real suffering. She had experienced doom and despair and fear and other human emotions that Gods and Goddesses were usually immune to. Demeter and Dionysus, the two Gods of the Earth, were held to be suffering Gods and thus in a class by themselves among the divinities.

The source of Demeter’s great suffering was her daughter, Persephone (Proserpine in Latin).   Persephone, being the daughter of the Goddess of corn and agriculture, was the Goddess of flowers. She and her handmaidens often went out in search of new and lovely flowers, roaming the Greek countryside in search of the wonderful blooms. When she was on one of these outings, she was sighted by Hades, the Lord of the underworld. Hades fell in love with her and sought to have her as his own. To this end he went to his brother, Zeus, and asked him for help in making Persephone his bride. Zeus created a beautiful flower, far beautiful than any other flower in existence, and made it bloom some distance away from Persephone and her handmaidens. The Goddess noticed it and was entranced by the lovely flower. She could not help but approach it and as soon as she was separated from her handmaidens Hades caused a chasm in the earth and flew up in his chariot. He grabbed Persephone and before her handmaidens could do anything but scream in horror he had descended below ground leaving no trace of his presence at the site.

Upon hearing of her daughters disappearance Demeter was devastated. She searched the earth and heavens for Persephone but could not find her anywhere. She sunk into a deep depression and wandered from place to place, not eating or drinking, just looking desperately for her daughter. The effect of her gloom was devastating upon the earth. The ground bore no fruits or flowers and became hard and parched and lifeless. Crops died and all humanity suffered terribly from starvation and thirst. Zeus sent emissary after emissary to talk to Demeter but she could not be appeased. She pined for her daughter and all creation suffered along with her. As her state worsened so did the condition of the earth and men and Gods alike. The warm and moist fields were replaced with dry, unyielding deserts. Trees began dying, ponds and lakes evaporated and breezes stopped blowing. All this time Demeter sat and brooded over Persephone’s disappearance.

Finally Zeus realized that there was only one solution to this terrible problem and he commanded Hades to release Persephone. Hades had no choice. He had to follow his brother’s order but he did so with an ill will and concocted a plan which would mean that he did not permanently lose his bride. He convinced Persephone, who longed for her mother as her mother longed for her, to consume a pomegranate seed before she ascended to Earth. He knew that this would ensure that Persephone would have to return to him for a large amount of time every year. So Persephone returned to Earth and was reunited with her mother and Demeter rejoiced at getting her daughter back though she despaired when she heard of the pomegranate seed. Still, Demeter got her daughter back and the earth became fertile again and the ground yielded bumper crops for several seasons to come.

However Demeter’s joy was not complete. Persephone was compelled to return to the underworld as Queen for four months every year. So Demeter suffered every year as she saw her daughter basically die every year. The fun-loving Goddess of flowers too was never the same again. She was the flower Goddess but she was also the Queen of the underworld for a third of the year every year. She was now a terrible Goddess; a Goddess of life among the dead; the Goddess who died every year. And every year when she died Demeter pined for her and the earth grew cold and unyielding until she came back four months later and brought spring and joy and happiness with her. That is how the Greeks explained the phenomenon of winter!

The Olympians...Part 5

Zeus had a single child with Maia. This child was Hermes, God of thieves, tricksters and travelers. He is a wily Goddess, always up to some trick or the other. He was the messenger of Zeus along with Iris, Goddess of the Rainbow. His duties also included leading the souls of the dead to the underworld where they were to remain for all eternity. Hermes is the God most familiar to us. He appears oftener than any other divinity in Mythology. He is described and a "lovely youth at that time in his life when youth is at its loveliest." Various statues and sculptures throughout history have ensured that we all know what Hermes looks like. He is always pictured with a winged hat, winged sandals and his staff called the Caduceus.

Last but not least is Aphrodite, the laughter loving Goddess of beauty and physical love. She is sometimes said to be a child of Zeus but she is more commonly said to have risen out the foam created when the bits and pieces of Ouranos' body fell into the sea. Certainly her name seems to concur with this version: Aphros means foam in ancient Greek. From the spot where she was formed Aphrodite was said to have floated to the island of Cyprus where the seasons nursed her and took care of her. She is often portrayed with Eros (Latin Cupid), God of love, who is sometimes her son and sometimes her companion.

So these are the Twelve Great Olympians: Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Hades, Hestia, Apollo, Artemis, Ares, Athena, Hephaestus, Aphrodite and Hermes.

The Olympians...Part 4

Zeus had two children with a Goddess called Leto. They were twins: Apollo and Artemis. Apollo was the God of many things. He was the God of music, who entertained all of Olympus with his Lyre. He was the God of medicine and the patron of all healers. He was the God of Archery who never missed his target. He was the God of truth and a lie never crossed his lips. He was the God of poetry and would spout the most beautiful verses at random times. He was the God of oracles and his priestess at the temple at Delphi would answer honestly every question put forth to her. In later hymns he is confused with Helios, the God of the Sun though the two should never be held to be the same. His sister Artemis was another complex being. She was the Goddess of the hunt, a strange office for a woman. Like all great huntsmen she protected the young and was thus held to be the Goddess of youth and innocence. She was the Goddess of the wild and nature and animals were under her special care. She, along with Hestia and Athena, was a virgin Goddess and her priestesses were all maidens, protected from the corrupting nature of the free world. If her brother was confused with the sun God, she was mistaken for Selene, the Goddess of the moon. Tales of the underworld show her in a very different light. In the darkness she was Hecate, Goddess of witchcraft and magic and the evil crossroads. So we see Artemis as a three faced Goddess: innocent Goddess of the wild and the young on earth; delicate Goddess of the dark side of the moon in the sky and dark Goddess of magic and evil trickery in the Underworld. Artemis, more than any other Olympian, shows us the danger of mixing and matching myths and divinities in Mythology.

The Olympians...Part 3

Zeus and Hera had two children: Ares and Hephaestus. Ares was the God of War: an inexorable and terrible God who slept on the skins of the men he killed and spread discord and pain wherever he went. On the flip side of the coin he is also sometimes held to be the patron of heroic deeds and valiant acts of war. Hephaestus' story is an interesting one. He alone of the Gods is not perfectly formed. He is a deformed and cripple God and Hera, the Goddess of family herself was repulsed to see him when he was born. He was thrown from Olympus from whence he fell nine days and nights till he reached the earth. By the time the Iliad is written, however, Hephaestus is back on Olympus and is indeed a very important divinity: the god of fire and mechanical creation and invention. He is the blacksmith of the Gods and keeps their armour as well as their domestic metalwork in shape.

Zeus alone gave rise to Athena. She is said to have "sprung from his head in full armour." She is Zeus' favourite child and the most trusted Olympian, by men and Gods alike. She is the only one who is allowed to carry Zeus' master bolt and his shield: the terrible Aegis. She is most often referred to as the gray eyed or stormy eyed goddess. Athena is a complex concept to swallow. She was a warlike Goddess yet not the Goddess of war: that was Bellonna. She was the Goddess of arts and crafts and a patron of tradesmen. She was the protector of cities and the urban way of life. Most importantly she was the Goddess of wisdom: the all knowing Goddess and the strategist of the Gods.

The Olympians...Part 2

The Twelve Great Olympians were Zeus, his brothers and sisters and his children. Cronus and Rhea (Zeus' parents) had six children: Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Hera, Hestia and Demeter. The three brothers i.e. Zeus, Poseidon and Hades, drew lots for the control of the separate parts of creation. Hades became the Lord of the Underworld, Poseidon gained power over the Oceans and Zeus got overall control and became Lord of the Heavens. Zeus and his sister-bride Hera were named King and Queen of Olympus and all creation. Hera was the Goddess of family and married women. Hestia was the Goddess of the hearth who protected both the home and the city. Her name was taken at the beginning and end of each meal and every city had a central fire which was tended by maidens dedicated to Hestia. Care was taken that the fire never went out because such an occurrence spelled doom for the city and its inhabitants. Whenever a new city was to be founded, smouldering embers from the hearth of the mother-city were used to start the fire in the new city. Demeter was the Goddess of Corn and a central figure in day to day activities. Though an Olympian by birth, she was oftener to be found on earth and is thus not regarded as an Olympian but as a Great Goddess of the Earth.

The Olympians...Part 1

The Greek divinities were complex and intricate beings. Before the Greeks came around, the powers which controlled the universe were shadowy, mysterious beings; never defined, never described and never seen or heard though their effects were felt. Yes there was a someone who caused it to rain and yes there was a certain entity who pulled the vast ball of fire across the firmament but they were shapeless, formless creatures about whom the people had no idea. When the Greeks came along they decided to personalize the powers that controlled their lives: to give each a shape, a form and a distinct personality. They decided that the powerful ones were human in form: perfect examples of humanity. They imagined such a being in everything they saw: the earth was no longer the ground upon they stood but was instead Gaea, the mother of all creatures and all things. The sky was no longer a vast emptiness but Ouranos: the one who enveloped Gaea and all creation. Trees became Dryads and Hamadryads; lakes and streams contained beautiful Nymphs and water-deities; thunder and lightning were caused by Zeus' master bolt; earthquakes and storms by Poseidon's Trident; volcanoes were Hephaestus' workshops, winds blew when commanded by Aeolus and so on and so forth.

The Gods and Goddesses, as mentioned above, were given distinct personalities. At first they were shown to be perfect: the epitome of humanity. By the time the Homeric Hymns were penned, they had developed unique weaknesses, just like people. The ancient Greeks were gradually fabricating divinities in their own image.

The major divinities were called the Twelve Great Olympians. They resided on Mount Olympus, sometimes held to be an earthly mountain but usually regarded as a mystical land high in the heavens, separated from the earth by vast stretches of emptiness. The gates of Olympus were guarded by the seasons who were under the overall command of Zeus.

Real cause of the Trojan War...

I had always thought that the blame for the Trojan War could be put squarely on the shoulders of Eris, the Goddess of Discord. At the marriage of the Nymph Thetis to the Peleus, King of Aegina, (the parents to Achilles) all the Gods and Goddesses were invited except for one: Eris. In her anger at this insult, Eris appeared at the wedding feast and threw an apple into the room before vanishing in a cloud of smoke. On the apple was inscribed: 'For the Fairest'. Of course all the Goddesses wanted to be crowned the Fairest but in the end the competition was narrowed down to three: Hera, Queen of Olympus; Athena, Goddess of Wisdom, Trade and the City; and Aphrodite, Goddess of Love and Laughter. The trio stood before Zeus, King of the Olympians, and asked him to adjudge who the most beautiful Goddess was. Zeus was now stuck between two rocks and a very hard place...any decision he made would be sure to cause bitterness and rivalry in his family. So, wisely, he refused to be the judge answering instead that there was one man, a mortal, who would be able to correctly choose the Fairest. This man, he said was Paris (or Alexandrius), son of Priam who was the King of Troy. The night Paris was born a soothsayer told the king that the boy would one day cause the destruction of Troy so the king told one of his attendants to make sure the boy never saw the light of day.The attendant, being a kindhearted man, could not bear to kill the child so instead he left the boy on the summit of Mount Ida where he would, no doubt, freeze to death. However that very night a kindly goatherd found Paris and brought him up as his own son. So at the time of the wedding of Thetis to Peleus, Paris was a grown man, a goatherd on Mount Ida. The three vying divinities went to him and asked him to cull out the fairest among them. Each promised a wondrous gift if she was selected: Hera promised that he would be a king of an empire and would have enormous wealth; Athena promised him great prowess in battle; and Aphrodite promised him the most beautiful woman in the world as his bride. Paris chose Aphrodite, thus incurring the undying wrath of Hera and Athena and the faithful affection of Aphrodite. The most beautiful woman in the world was Helen, daughter of Zeus, and years later Helen eloping with Paris would cause the Trojan War.

However recently I read a book which stated that the blame for the Trojan war should go to Prometheus, not Eris. Thetis and Zeus were at one point lovers. Prometheus foresaw that the son of Thetis would be far greater than his Father. Zeus immediately abandoned Thetis and arranges her marriage with Peleus. If the marriage had not occurred, the book argues, then Eris would not have been angered and the long train of events that caused the Trojan War would not have been triggered!

What do you think?