Zeus had many, many wives. But for his Queen of gods he chose
his sister, Hera. Hera, the youngest daughter of Cronus and Rhea, did
not want anything to do with the cunning and womanizing Zeus. Zeus
had a plan though. One stormy and rainy day Zeus saw Hera, he decided to take his chances. He turned himself into a little cuckoo bird and flew around in the storm to appear wet and helpless. Hera, seeing this poor little bird took him into her arms and hugged him. To Hera's great surprise the little bird changed shape into the King of gods, Zeus. Hera was so surprised she let down her gaurd and Zeus raped her. Hera couldn't let any else know about Zeus and her, but when a baby came how could she explain it? She married Zeus soon after their affair and all of nature burst out in bloom for their wedding. Mother Earth gave Hera a little apple tree that bore golden apples of immortality. She treasured this tree and planted it in Hesperides, her secret garden in the west. She put a hundred headed dragon under the tree to gaurd the apples and ordered three nymphs to water and care for it. The marriage wasn't happy or honest, maybe because it didn't start out that way. Hera was a jealous wife and tormented her husband's other wives. One time Hera was mad at Zeus and discussed with the other Olympians that they should throw their King into Tartarus. The plan was under way and they tied Zeus up with unbreakable chains. Zeus picked up a lightning bolt and the Olympians nor anyone else ever tried that again. For Hera's punishment for leading the plan he hung her from the stars. All night Hera sobbed and wailed, Zeus couldn't get any sleep so he let her down on the condition that she never think about killing him again,and she agreed.
Hera and Zeus.
Orpheus was the mortal son of the Muse, Calliope. He was a cheery boy and always had a song to sing. He was in love with a sweet young girl named Eurydice, who was mutual about the feeling. They planned to be married, so of course in the land of the gods, they had the best wedding ever. Someone must of been pissed at her because just after the wedding she was bitten by a poisonous snake. Immediately Hermes came for her and brought her down to Hades. Orpheus was desperate so, moved by hope of getting his beloved back he went down to the realm of Hades. How was he to get in? He played like a summer breeze on his lyre and sang as best he could. His song burst open the gates of Hades and Cerebrus too was moved by this song, so he lay down and rest. He reached the cold King and Queen of the Underworld, Hades and Persephone, and this was his challenge. He played a million times better than ever before, tears rolled down Hades' frozen cheeks and Persephone begged her husband to let Eurydice go back to the world of the living. Hades consented on one condition; Eurydice was to follow Orpheus. If Orpheus looked back at her she would have to return to the cold unloving world below. On their way up to Earth he saw the horrid Furies weeping blood, still from the effect of his song. Orpheus was almost to the sunny world above when doubt crept into his mind; had Hades decieved him? Had he been tricked, by stingy Hades trying to keep more souls? He pushed those thoughts away. They pushed their way back into his head and he couldn't bare his mind any longer, he turned and saw Eurydice. The minute he looked at her sweet face, Hermes appeared next to her and led her back down the path to Hades. Orpheus had lost the love of his life on a lack of trust. Orpheus had lost all faith and love in the world, he never found joy ever again. He continued to sing, but this time he sang mournful songs, so sad that wild beasts and rocks wept. To add salt to his wound, a band of wild nymphs, the Maenads, who were talking so loudly and weren't touched by his music, demanded he dance with them. Orpheus refused and the drunken Maenads tore him to pieces and tossed his body into a river. The Muses grieved so much they searched the world for his body when one day he washed up on the shores of Lesbos. His mother and aunts gave him a proper funeral, and finally he joined Eurydice as a flittering soul in Hades.
Echo was a nymph, and of course cheery as all nymphs were. Anyway she had a habit of talking, way too much. One day Hera came down to Earth to check up on her unfaithful husband, when she ran into Echo. Echo idley chattered so long that Zeus, who was there snuck away before Hera could catch him. Hera was pretty cheesed and had a fit. She stole Echo's ability to make her own words, she could only repeat what other's said. A little while later Echo's eyes fell upon Narcissus, who, Echo thought, was the most handsome man in the world. But, you see, Narcissus only loved himself, a very egotistical guy. She wanted to talk to him, but couldn't. So she hung around him day and night waiting for him to say somethin worthwhile to repeat to him. Narcissus was thirsty and went to the lake for a drink when he saw his reflection, he sat awestruck at the beauty in the reflection and said "I love you" which Echo instantly repeated, but he didn't hear her because he was too busy looking in the lake. There Narcissus sat, staring at himself until he withered away and died, where he died the beautiful Narcissus flower grew. Echo was very upset and killed herself in despair. Her voice still remains to this day, mindlessly repeating our words.
Zeus had married the goddess Leto, daughter of the Titan Coeus. When Hera had found out that Leto was to be giving birth to twins, she went into a jealous rage and ordered all the lands to refuse the pregnant goddess. Leto continued to search for a place to give birth, she looked high and low but was chased from every place she went. Poor tired Leto could not find a place to give birth to the tiny little gods until she came to the newly formed island of Delos. Since Poseidon had just raised Delos, it was still floating in the Ocean so not quite land. And since it wasn’t land it was free from Hera’s bidding. Finally Leto sank down underneath the only tree on the island, a palm and rested. Still she couldn’t give birth to her two children because Hera, wouldn’t let her daughter Ilithyia, goddess of childbirth go to Leto. Without Ilithyia’s help, no child could be born. All the goddesses on Olympus felt sorry for the distressed goddess and tried to persuade Hera to let her daughter go and help with the birth. They offered her a beautiful necklace, nine metres long, made of gold and amber; Hera could not resist it. Quickly Iris whisked Ilithyia down the rainbow to Leto. Leto’s first child was the sacred huntress Artemis, a girl as beautiful as the moon, with hair as dark as night. Her second child, Apollo was fair as the sun and he was to be the god of music, light and reason. Zeus loved his new children dearly and gave each of them a silver bow and a quiver full of arrows. Apollo’s arrows harsh and piercing as the rays of the sun, while Artemis’ were as soft as moon beams and brought a painless death to those who she shot with them. Zeus blessed the sacred birthplace and Poseidon fastened it to the bottom of the ocean. Soon people flocked to the tiny island and packed it full of temples and treasures to honour the immortal twins and their mother. Delos was and still is one of the most sacred islands in the Greece.
Persephone was a cherry and joyful goddess. Persephone loved to gather flowers while her mother checked on the crops. Her father, Zeus, had secretly promised her to Hades, but Hades knew that Demeter would never let Persephone go. One day Demeter and Persephone were down on earth when Demeter left her daughter with the nereids. Persephone had lots of fun but she wanted to show her friends the beautiful flowers she picked. The nereids couldn’t go with her or they would dry out and die. Persephone went by herself and saw a new flower that she had never seen before. She wanted to pick it, and she did with much difficulty. She stood back to catch her breath, but the hole where the flower was kept growing and getting bigger. Soon Persephone heard horses but was too terrified to run. The ground split open and a black cart drawn by black horses burst up from the Underworld. The goth looking charioteer grabbed the now petrified girl and pulled her into the cart, he disappeared down into the ground as fast as he came. Demeter returned to the Nysa valley from her work to find her daughter missing. She panicked and asked everyone she could find. She eventually asked Hecate who took her to Helios. Helios, the all seeing, told Demeter that her brother, Hades taken her daughter. Demeter caused such a famine that Zeus sent Hermes to bring Persephone back. Hades let her go, but made her eat 4-6 pomegranate seeds. She returned to earth, but for eating the seeds she was eternally damned to return to the Underworld for 4-6 months every year, this time became winter.
More coming soon.
It so happened that a city had caught the eye of two of the most powerful gods, Athena and Poseidon. The two were very fond of this city and each wanted to claim it as their own, of course only one god can own a city. They were very mad and wouldn't talk or look at each other, until Zeus decided that they should have a competition; each one was to give the best present they could to the city. Mighty Poseidon rose out of the water with his powerful trident and struck a nearby cliff, a water fall flowed down the hill and created a river. Of course like Poseidon's sea this water was salty and therefore useless to the people. Wise Athena gave the city an olive tree which she planted in the ground. At first the people thought it was just another tree. She told them that it could be used for food, shelter, firewood, and decoration. The people loved this present much better than their salty water, so they chose Athena for the protectress of their city. From then on Athena would love to sit in her temple on the plateau above her city, Athens.