Marios Christou - Greek Mythology Explained: A Deeper Look at Classical Greek Lore and Myth

GREEK
MYTHOLOGY

Explained

Copyright 2018 Marios Christou & David Ramenah

Published by Mango Publishing Group, a division of Mango Media Inc.

Layout & Design: Morgane Leoni

Illustrations by: Front Cover & Odysseus Artwork by Robert Crescenzio Lamia & Artemis by Theo Shaw-Taylor Bellerophon by Joel Holtzman Medusa by Mattias Fahlberg Icarus by Markus Stadlobe

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Greek Mythology Explained: A Deeper Look at Classical Greek Lore and Myth

Library of Congress Cataloging
ISBN: (p) 978-1-63353-896-2, (e) 978-1-63353-897-9
Library of Congress Control Number: 2018956618
BISACFIC010000 FICTION / Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Legends & Mythology
HIS002010 HISTORY / Ancient / Greece

Printed in the United States of America.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, without written permission, except by a newspaper or magazine reviewer who wishes to quote brief passages in connection with a review.

GREEK
MYTHOLOGY

Explained

A Deeper Look at
Classical Greek Lore and Myth

Marios Christou & David Ramenah

Mango Publishing
Coral Gables , FL

Contents

Throughout history, storytelling has always played an important role in every culture. Once spread, a good story can capture countless imaginations and provide an endless amount of entertainment. But perhaps more importantly, it can also educate and instill moral values into an entire generation. Mythology is one of our oldest forms of storytelling and even to this day it influences individuals all around the world. One of the great things about mythology is that its ever changing because the primary way these tales were told was through word of mouth. As the stories travelled across cities, states, and countries, details were changed to alter their meanings. Acts of heroism may have been embellished to create excitement and over time they became stories within stories, each having numerous interpretations. Often these stories resemble a summary of disjointed events rather than an in depth structured retelling. Characters can sometimes lack a real distinct personality in the original accounts of these tales and we dont get a true sense of their motives and aspirations. In Greek Mythology Explained weve remained true to the source material whilst filling gaps and exploring what really drives these characters and stories, creating a truly engaging e xperience.

I. Together We Are Whole

Odysseus winced, one hand at the helm of the ship and the other clutched around his skull. He could still hear the song of the Sirens theyd encountered a few nights prior, and like the ringing of tinnitus, it was there whenever the waves quietened. He still wasnt sure what was real and what wasnt, for those seductive she-devils had done a number on him, hovering at the edge of the ship and singing their bittersweet songs. Hed made sure the rest of the crew had stuffed beeswax in their ears so they couldnt hear it, but hed willingly chosen to listen, because he was curious as to whether the tales were true.

Indeed, they were true and hed have gone falling for any one of them if he hadnt had the crew tie him to the ships mast, unable to move. Hed screamed for them to free him, but maybe it was just as well they hadnt heard him. Still, his head was on fire and it hurt to even think for more than a moment. He sure had no intention of hearing their songs ever again, that was certain. He shook his head free of the thoughts. After all, he needed his wits abou t him now.

Can I interest you in a drink, sir? Eurylochus stood beside him, calm as youd like, slowly filling up a glass with red wine.

If he had to tell his first mate no again, hed probably shove him overboard. He didnt like to drink when onboard. The last time hed done that hed nearly rammed the ship against the shore and marooned the whole crew. But that didnt stop Eurylochus fr om trying.

No, thank you, he gently pushed the glass away and Eurylochus looked at him with his flat, emotionless face and just shrugged, knocking it bac k himself.

Odysseus supposed he couldnt blame him given their situation now. This voyage was certainly shaping up to be an accursed on e at best.

The ship moved slowly, carefully inching forward as they let down the sail for a moments breather. A streak of white light was strewn across the rippling blue waters, courtesy of the raging sun above, bringing with it a heat that had most of his men pacing about the deck shirtless and sweating. But Odysseus couldnt enjoy any of the grand weather, nor did he suspect his crew was as they gathered before him in an orderly sort of clusterabout as orderly as they g ot anyway.

It seems like we have two choices, Eurylochus was saying as he slurped the wine and pointed over to the right where a sheer chalk-white cliff towered over the ship.

There was a scar-shaped crack in the cliff wall and out from that crack spilled what Eurylochus had called Scylla. And by the gods, was it a beast. It had to have been at least twice the size of the ship with six serpent-like heads that were moving as erratically as the waves, never still. From this distance, which wasnt necessarily far at all, it looked as if every head was hysterically laughing at them, bobbing left and right as its razor-sharp teeth snapped open and closed. In amongst those six heads, however, was the haggard, misshapen head of a giant woman who looked dazed for the most part, eyes rolling back, languidly moving left and right. But that wasnt even the worst of it. Its body was a misshapen thing, all a sickly green colour with the sagging, wrinkling skin of an old woman.

We either sail past dear Scylla over there, Eurylochus said. Or we sail past Charybdis over there on the left.

Charybdis wasnt much of a looker either, but at least it looked natural, conceived by nature herself. Odysseus hadnt considered it a monster at all, but Eurylochus had gone about naming it and since then it had stuck. To Odysseus, it was a gigantic whirlpool in the near distance sucking in the waves and anything else that was within its reach. Odysseus had to keep touching the helm, pulling the ship on course as it was gently tugged towards the wa ter beast.

Odysseus breathed in deep that salty fresh air and found himself coughing it all out. The crews combined stench met him instead, an invisible cloud of unwashed flesh, sweat, dirty rags and god knows what else. If they survived this, hed have them all thrown in the sea with soap and wouldnt let them back on until they were a sight more dignified. You wouldnt catch him sweating and prancing about the ship half-naked and stinking. Even now in the heat, he stood in his captains uniform with barely a drop of sweat on his brow.

But hed save the discipline of the men for the ones that survived. There was no use parting wisdom on dead men now, was there? He glanced at Scylla and the six heads were still glued to him, their green eyes burning with an impatient rage. The old womans head that sat atop the beast may as well have been asleep at this point; there was barely a twitch on her wrinkled, rotten face. Then he glanced over to Charybdis and saw the violent splashing of water as it whirled around and around, never stopping. It was like trying to choose a w ay to die.