1. Perseus and the Gorgon,Hercules, Jason and the Argonauts, and Atlanta

2. Muses- nine Greek goddesses who ruled over the arts and sciences and offered inspiration in those subjects. They were daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne, who represented memory. Memories were important because at that time they had no books. They would sing about brave men for the gods, kings, and heroes

3. The Muses sang loud for King Danaus. The king had fifty daughters and his brother King Aegyptus had fifty sons but they were rough and so he did not want them as son-in-laws. He was afraid that the boys would take his daughters away. The king secretly built a ship and fled with his daughters. They reached Argos in Greece.

4. When the people saw a ship pull up with 50 princesses rowing, they felt that Danaus was sent by the gods so they made him their king. He was a good king and ruler. There was peace. Until one day, a ship arrived with 50 men who came to claim their brides. Danaus planned a big celebration but pulled each of his daughters aside, gave them each a dagger, and told them all to kill their husband.

5. 49 of the brides obeyed him, but one fell in love with her prince and she left with him. Nobody dared to wed the other 49 so they lived very sad, lonely lives. When they died they went to the underworld and had to carry sieves of water forever to try and wash their sins away.

6. When King Danaus grew old, there wasn’t anyone to take over the throne. So he sent for his one living daughter and her prince. They became the king and queen of Argos and their son became king after them. After he died his son Acrisius inherited the throne. He had no son only a daughter named Danae. Danae did not make her father happy; he wanted a son.

7. oracle -(a greek priest or priestess who would give the answer from a god to the question asked of a human, a go between)Prophecy An oracle told Acrisius that he would be killed by his grandson. He put Danae in a sealed chamber that only had an opening in the roof. There, no one would see her and she couldn’t get married. Acrisius forgot to thank Zeus for the information.

8. Zeus came to Danae and made her his bride. Soon after she had a son. Acrisius heard the cries of an infant. He wanted to kill the baby but when he found out it was Zeus’, he couldn’t do it for fear of the punishment. Instead, he threw Danae and her son Perseus into a chest and sent it out to sea. Zeus steered the chest to the Island of Seriphos.

9. A fisherman (Dicty) claimed the chest. Danae told them the story. He raised Danae and Perseus as if they were his children. Perseus grew up to be a very strong and noble man. On the island, an evil king (Polydectes-Dicty’s brother) wanted Danae for himself. He had to get rid of Perseus because he protected her.

10. The king schemed and told Perseus that he was going to marry a princess from another island. It was tradition that all men in the kingdom bring him gifts. Perseus was so poor that he had nothing to offer. So the king told Perseus to slay the monster Medusa and bring him her head. The king was sure that Perseus would never return.

11. Medusa was one of the three Gorgon sisters These sisters were so gruesome that anything living would turn to stone if they looked at them. Medusa was turned into a Gorgon by Athena (Goddess of Wisdom) because she had an affair in the temple. She disliked Medusa) They lived far out at sea on an island but no one knew where to find them. Perseus went on his journey to find Medusa. Zeus sent Athena and Hermes to him. They told him where the Gorgons lived. Athena lent him her shield and Hermes lent him his sword. They told him that he needed three magical things from the nymphs in order to get the head of Medusa. The problem was that no one knew where the nymphs lived except the Gray Sisters (Stygian Witches).

12. The Gray sisters- their hair was gray, their faces were gray, and they had one gray eye between them. They would all take turns looking through it. Hermes flew Perseus to where the Gray Sisters were. When one sister was handing the eye to the other sister, Perseus grabbed it. In order for the Gray Sisters(Stygian Witches) to get their eye back, they had to tell Perseus the location of the nymphs of the north.

13. Hermes flew Perseus to where the nymphs were. When they heard why he needed the three items, they obliged him. The three items were a pair of winged sandals, a cap of invisibility, and a magic bag to hold whatever he put into it. Perseus flew to the island. Instead of looking at the Gorgon Sisters, he looked into Athena’s shield. Gorgon Sisters- had snakes for hair, long yellow fangs, and scales

14. Looking into the shield, he cut off Medusa’s head and put it into his bag. He put on his cap of invisibility and flew away. From the blood of Medusa’s neck came Pegasus- the mythical winged horse. On his way home, he spotted a girl chained to a rock by the sea. He swooped down and set her free. Her name was Andromeda. Andromeda told her story. She said her mother compared herself to be lovelier than the nymphs of the sea). Poseidon got very angry over this comment and sent a monster to ravage their kingdom.

15. In order to make the monster happy he had to sacrifice his daughter, Andromeda. She was chained to the rock waiting for the monster (Kraken)to come and eat her. Perseus told her that he would save her. Just then, the monster came out of the water, Perseus hit him with the sword, and the monster died. Perseus returned home and gave the head to the king.

16. He pulled the head out of the bag. The king and his men looked at the head in amazement and turned to stone immediately. The fisherman (Dicty’s) became the new king. Perseus and Andromeda were married. Perseus gave Medusa’s head to Athena when he returned the borrowed items.

17. Perseus thought that his grandfather Acrisius would be happy to see him now that he was a hero. So Danae, Perseus,and Andromeda set sail for Argos. Acrisius heard of Perseus’ return and fled the island. Perseus was a very good athlete and he attended the olympic games in Greece. He was throwing discus, the wind changed course, and it hit an old man in the stands. The old man was none other that Acrisius. The words of the oracle came true.

18. Hercules Facts about Hercules  Not very bright but very strong, was a demi-god  Was always defeating monsters  He was so strong he sometimes killed people unintentionally and then felt very bad for it later  In the end, after a life of much suffering, he was taken up to mount Olympus where he became a god  He was the son of Zeus and the mortal Alcmena (granddaughter of Perseus)

19. Twins of Alcmene Perseus’ Grandchild HeraZeus Alcmene Amphitryon Zeus was married to Hera but fell in love with Alcmene. Alcmene was very loyal to her husband and did not want anything to do with Zeus. Zeus transformed himself (anthropomorphic) into the form of her husband. He spent time with her.Before long she realized that she was expecting twins. The twins she was carrying were from different fathers. One father was Zeus and the other her real husband Amphitryon.

20. When Hera found out that Zeus had a baby on the way to Alcmene, she was furious. She was going to prevent the baby from ever being born. When the time came Zeus announced that a child related to him, would be born that day and that the child was a descendent of Perseus,so he would become a king.

21. Zeus meant for the prophecy to apply to Hercules (Heracle). However, Hera delayed the birth by making the delivery long, painful, and extended.

22. In the meantime, Menippe, who was married to Perseus’ son Stheneleus gave birth to Eurystheseus (Zeus’ nephew). Zeus’ phrophecy for king came true, but it came true for the wrong child. He will play an important part in the life of Hercules as we will see later. Hera became his patron goddess who watched out for him.

23. Strong Hercules Alcheme, after a week in labor, gave birth to her twins, Heracles(Hercules) and Iphicles. Hera sent a pair of snakes to kill the infant Heracles because he was Zeus’ son. But Heracles was so strong that he strangled both with his bare hands.

24. His emotions overwhelmed and at times he would inflict death upon innocent people causing much remorse. He had a willingness to do penance for his mistakes.

25. Heracle had married Megara, daughter of Creon, King of Thebes. They had three children and were very happy together. Hera got very angry because he was so happy. She was so jealous that she caused him to go mad and temporarily caused him to go insane. While in this fit of madness he killed his wife and children.

26. After the murders, he woke up and his hands were all bloodied. He asked his stepfather Amphityron what had happened. Amphityron told him exactly what he had done. He also told him that he couldn’t be held responsible because Hera sent a veil of madness over him. He felt terribly guilty. Even though this was the work of Hera. He felt that he should pay for what happened.

27. He spoke to the oracle Delphi (a priestess who spoke on behalf of Apollo) to see how he could make up for the crimes that he had committed. The oracle told him to serve his cousin, Eurystheus, King of Tiryns for twelve years. Eurystheus was jealous of Heracle’s strength and his growing fame so he assigned him twelve impossible tasks known as the Twelve Labors of Heracles.

28. 1 st Labor- The Nemean Lion Hercules had to kill the ferocious lion who was terrorizing the countryside around Nemea, a village west of Mycenae and make a cloak of its skin. There was one condition, arrows or weapons were not allowed to penetrate the hide of the lion. He made a wooden club, chased the lion into its lair, the lion charged at him, and he clubbed it over the head putting the animal into a daze. He then choked it with his bare hands.

29. Hercules went to present the cloak to the king but he was so afraid of it that he didn’t want anything to do with it. So, he kept it himself along with the club that he used.

30. 2 nd labor- Kill the Lernaean Hydra The king sent a messenger with the next task. Hercules had to kill the Hydra monster of the Lernaean swamps. This monster was enormous and had multiple heads. When one would get cut off; it would grow back immediately. The task seemed impossible until he had the bright idea to have his cousin Lolaus burn each stump after he cut off each head.

31. 3 rd Labor- Capture the Golden –Horned Cernyean Hind Heracles had to capture alive the Cernyean Hind (Stag). It resembled a doe with golden antlers. It was sacred to Artemis (goddess of the hunt, moon, and childbirth) He could not harm the stag in any way or he would anger the goddess. It took him one full year but he finally wore the stag out. Once the king knew of the capture, he set the deer free.

32. 4 th labor-Capture the Erymanthian Bore The next task was to capture a bore that ran wild on the slopes of Erymanthia. His tusks were as sharp as swords. His job was to bring the animal back alive. He chased the bore out of its lair and drove it to the top of a snowy mountain. The heavy beast sank into the snow. Heracles then caught it, pushed, dragged, and rolled it to the gates of Mycenae. Eurystheus was so afraid of the animal that he couldn’t even look at it.

33. 5 th Labor- Clean the Augean Stables King Augean’s stables held more cattle than any other in Greece and had never been cleaned. Augeas told Heracles that if he cleaned the stables in one day he could have a tenth of the cattle. He diverted the two rivers through the stables and the rushing waters washed out all the filth.

34. 6 th Labor-Stymphalion Birds Heracles had to rid Lake Stymphalus in Arcadia of savage birds that had feathers that shot like arrows and beaks that could pierce armor. Hephaestus, the blacksmith of the gods, crafted a bronze pair of castanets or rattles that made a clanging noise. By shaking the castanets, he lured the birds from the forest into an open area. As they flew he shot them down.

35. 7 th Labor-Catching alive the Cretan Bull Hercules had to catch the Cretan Bull, the Father of the Minotaur. The Cretan Bull was given as a gift to King Minos of Crete from Poseidon. Hercules cornered the bull, grabbed it by the horns, carried it to sea, and tossed it into the water. He rode the bull across the sea and land to the palace of Eurystheus. After showing the king, he set the animal free. It traveled through the countryside until it ended up on the plain of Marathon, near Athens, where Theseus later caught it.

36. 8 th labor-Mare of Diomedes The next labor was to capture the Mares of Diomedes. Diomedes was the king of a fierce tribe in Thrace, Greece. His mares ate human flesh and they had to be held in their stalls by iron chains to keep them from escaping. Heracles was not afraid of these animals. He tamed the beasts by feeding pieces of Diomedes to them, a fitting punishment since the he was the one who taught them to eat human flesh in the first place. He herded the horses and set them free and dedicates them to Hera.

37. Labor 9- The Girdle of Hippolyta Hippolyta was Queen of the Amazon. Her tribe consisted of a group of wild and crazy women that loved to fight. They could take on any men of war of win and win. Eurystheus sent Heracles to get Hippolyta’s belt. He thought for sure that he would be overtaken by these women. Instead, the women were so taken with his muscles that Hippoylta handed over the belt.

38. Labor 10- Round up the Cattle of Geryon, a three bodied giant Heracles was out at sea and the waves rose all around them. He pulled out an arrow and threatened to shoot them if they didn’t stay still. They quieted at once. He began to load the herd of red cows on his boat and Geryon’s watchman and his two-headed dog rushed him. Next, Gerton himself came after Hercules Hercules picked up his bow, loaded a poisonous arrow and struck all three bodies. He tok the cows to the king. The king then sacrificed the cows to Hera.

39. Hera then whispered in the ear of Eurystheus that he must demand two more labors from Hercules. He told him that killing the hydra didn’t count because Lolaus had helped him. Eurystheus also said that cleaning out the stables didn’t count because he cheated by using the rivers to wash away the dirt. So Hercules was assigned two more tasks.

40. Labor #11-Collect the Golden Apples from the Garden of Hesperides Heracles was sent to find Hera’s secret garden of the Hesperides and pick 3 golden apples from the tree that had been given to her as a wedding gift from Mother Earth. On his way to the garden, Heracles passed Atlas holding up the sky. He also heard the moans of Prometheus chained to the rock on Mount Caucasus. He took pity on him and set him free. Prometheus warned Hercules not to pick the apples himself or he would die. They were apples of immortality andcould only be picked by a god.

41. He went back to the Titan Atlas and told him that he would hold up the sky for him if he would pick the three golden apples. He was afraid of Ladon, the 100 headed dragon that guarded the trees, so Hercules shot them with his poisonous bow. Once Atlas was free from holding the sky, he didn’t want to go back. He said he would deliver the apples to the king. Hercules had to out smart him so he told Atlas that that would be really good. But he asked him to hold the sky until he made a shoulder pad out of lion skin since the sky was so heavy. Atlas agreed and when he was holding the sky, Heracles left with the golden apples.

42. Heracles took the apples back to the king who gave them to Athena who gave them back to Hera.

43. 12 th Labor-Capturing Cereberus Heracles last labor was to go to the underworld and capture Cerberus and bring him to Mycenae. He went to Hades. Hades was so frightened of his nephew Hercules that he told him to take the dog but to be very gentle with him. Cerberus was snapping and swinging his spiked tail so Hercules grabbed him and dragged him into the upper world straight to King Eurystheus. The king was so afraid he cowered down and ran to hide. Heracles returned the dog to Hades.

44. Hercules is Free! Hercules was now famous for his strength. Eurytheseuas rewarded Hercules by giving him his daughter’s hand in marriage. Wife #2- Deineira One day they came to a river, Heracles swam across but his wife but Deianeira stopped. Nessus, a wicked Centaur offered to carry her across to the other side. She agreed but the Centaur attempted to kidnap her while Heracles was busy swimming.

45. Heracle saw the centaur’s trick and shot him with an arrow that had been dipped in the Hydra’s poisonous blood. As Nessus lay dying, he plotted his vengeance. He gave Deianeira his shirt, stained with the Hydra’s blood telling her that it had magical properties. He told her that if she ever felt in danger of losing Heracle’s love, she should ask him to put on the shirt and he would never leave her.

46. Years later, Hercules fell in love with the princess Iole. Deianeira was afraid that she was going to lose him so she gave the shirt to Heracles as a gift When Hercules put on the shirt, his skin burned. He couldn’t take off the shirt. He pulled several trees from the earth, and made himself his own funeral pyre, and then set it on fire. His immortal part returned to Mount Olympus where he and Hera finally made peace. He married Thebe as his3rd wife(daughter of Zeus and Hera). Then he rose to he the heavens as a constellation.

47. Jason and the Argonauts Facts- Jason’s parents were Aeson and Alcimede. He was once married to Medea. His children were Thessalus and Alcimenes He was friends with Hercules He had followers that were called the Argonauts that were on a mission to get the golden fleece Pelias, the evil king in the story, did not give Hera the honor she deserved, so throughout the myth, she attempts to destroy him. An oracle told King Pelius that would be killed by a man wearing one sandal. In one story it says that Hera disguised as an old woman, was crossing the river when she cried out for help. Jason rescued her and in the process lost one of his sandals. The other story says that he recued King Pelius and in the process lost one sandal.

48. Characters along the way Symplegades- entrance to the black sea, jagged rocks and clashing islands Harpies- ½ bird, ½ woman – they snatched food with their sharp talons and crooked beaks and left behind a disgusting stench on whatever crumbs were left. Sirens-winged women that sang so sweetly. They lured many sailors to their death by putting them in a trance. Scylla- a six headed monster who lived ina cave in a cliff Charybdis- a deadly whirlpool

49. On the Mission- There were 49 men and 1 woman named Atlanta that made up the crew. They were called the Argonauts. Included in the 50 was a map maker named Zetes who helped find Table Top Island which wasn’t on a map Hylas- Hercule’s servant is taken by the water nymphs Heracles- the strongest man was left behind because he was searching for Hylas They had to travel to the other end of the world. To complete their mission.

50. The Golden Fleece The Golden Ram’s name was chrysomolis. The hide of a ram that had been sacrificed to Zeus. It glowed with an unearthly red sheen and represented super natural powers and kingship. The fur is golden and very rare, only one of its kind, it was very guarded and hidden away The task was thought to be impossible The ram is said to have been the offspring of the sea god Poseidon and Themisto. Two magical powers that the golden fleece was said to have was immortality, healing powers, and peace.

51. The story Jason was the son of King Aeson and Queen Alchimede of Iolcus. In a struggle for power, Jason’s uncle Pelias seized the throne of King Aeson. Pelias killed most of Aeson’s heirs. Alchimede escaped with Jason and left him in the care of a wise centaur named Chiron. When Jason was 20, he went back to Iolcus to take back the kingdom.

52. Pelias promised to give Jason back the kingdom but first he had to complete an impossible task. He had to bring the Golden Fleece from Colchis back to him. Jason agreed not realizing that his uncle was counting on him never returning from the dangerous quest. He got some help from Athena and Epius (who was a master builder of ships). Epius built a magical ship “The Argos” for the voyage.

53. The soldiers who joined Jason on the quest were the Argonauts. On their mission they overcame stormy seas, scary monsters, the seductive song of the sirens, and island dwelling woman who lured many sailors to shipwreck. When Jason and the crew finally arrived in Cholchis King Aietes finally agreed to give them the Golden Fleece if he completed three tasks. The King’s daughter Medea immediately fell in love with Jason and promised to help him with the tasks.

54. First he had to yoke together two fire breathing oxen and plow a field. Medea gave Jason a special ointment to put on that prevented him from being burned by the oxen’s fiery breath while he plowed. With that, he successfully completed the task. Next, Jason had to plant dragon’s teeth in the soil he had plowed. When the teeth were planted an army of soldiers sprang up and attacked Jason and his crew. Jason grabbed a boulder and tossed it at the soldiers. Confused, the soldiers started fighting with each other until they were all dead.

55. Finally, Jason had to get past the sleepless dragon that guarded the Golden Fleece. Medea gave Jason a magic potion that put the dragon to sleep. Jason took the fleece and he, Medea, and the argonauts returned to Iolcus. Jason presented the Golden Fleece to Pelius. Medea who was now married to Jason knew that Pelius would not ever give up the throne to his nephew. She convinced Pelius’ other daughters that they could restore their father’s youth by cutting him up and cooking the pieces.

56. With Pelius out of the way, Jason became king for a very short time where he was overthrown by Pelius’ son Acastus. Jason and Medea were exiled to Corinth. There Jason fell in love with Creusa, believing that one day he could take over Creon’s kingdom. Medea was betrayed and she vowed vengeance. She sent Creusa a wedding dress anonymously. When the bride put the dress on, it stuck to her skin and burned her and her father to death..

57. To further punish Jason, Medea killed their two sons. Then she escaped by a chariot provided by her grandfather Helios the sun god. Jason returned to Iolcus.

58. Atlanta Atlanta was known as a skilled archer and a very fast runner. Cast out of her home at birth by her father, who wanted a son, she was nursed by a bear and raised by hunters. When Atlanta heard that King Oeneous of Calydon was organizing a hunt to catch an enormous wild boar that was terrorizing his kingdom, she decided to join the hunt.

59. Among the hunters were some of Greece’s finest heroes, including Jason, Heracles, and Theseus. But it was Atalanta who first wounded the boar. The Meleager killed the beast. He was in love with Atalanta so he gave her the fur. This made Atalanta very happy but angered Meleager’s uncles who thought they should have it.

60. On her return trip she was met by the Oracle of Delphi who told her that she should never marry. But Atalanta’s father, who had made amends with her,wanted her to get married. So she agreed on one condition. She would challenge each man that wanted to marry her in a foot race. If the man won, Atalanta would marry him. But, if she won, Atalanta would kill the challenger with a dart.

61. After Atalanta had raced(and killed) several men, Melanion made his move. Although he loved Atalanta with all his heart, he knew he couldn’t out run her. So he asked the Goddess of Love, Aphrodite, for help. She gave Melanion three golden apples and told him to drop them during the race. He did as he was told, and each time Atalanta paused to pick up an apple, Melanion surged ahead. He won the contest and Atalanta married him.

62. They almost lived happily ever after until Goddess Cybele(goddess of nature and earth) caught the two of them cuddling in her temple. She was so angry that she turned the both of them into lions. Then she yoked the pair of lions to her chariot. The oracle is always right!

63. Works Cited Scholastic Books Inc..Mythlopedia. New York, New York., 2010 D’Aulaire’s, E.,D’Aulaire’s, I. Book of Greek Myths. Dell Publishing, Mar. 1992, New York, New York.