Greek Myths
The Olympians and The Titans
In the start of everything, there was Chaos. Chaos made the Universe. He wasn’t so powerful, but he was the Universe. He also had many children. One of them was Gaea, the Mother Earth. Gaea wanted a queen, because there was only Chaos and there was no king. So she grabbed some clouds from the heavens and made Ouranos, the god of the skies and heavens, and Ouranos became the king of cosmos. Gaea and Ouranos got married and had fifteen children, the Titans, the Cyclopes, and the Hecatonchieres. The Titans were gigantic giants, the Cyclopes meant “circular eye”. In fact, they only had one eye. And the Hecatonchieres were massive giants with one hundred heads and fifty arms. Gaea loved them all, while Ouranos was terrified. He locked the Hecatonchieres and Cyclopes into Tartarus, the largest pit in the Underworld with Kanpě, a monster with a head like a woman and hair filled with snakes. Gaea was angry. She had a plan. She asked her Titans who will kill Ouranos. Only one said yes: Kronos. Even though he was the youngest Titan, he had enthusiasm to kill his father. So Gaea gave Kronos a scythe, a farming tool. But she said that it was magical. So one night, Kronos got his scythe and tiptoed into Ouranos’ room. When Kronos saw Ouranos, he swung the scythe, and the god opened his eyes. “Kronos! I’ll send a curse on you!” Last, Ouranos collapsed, making the Earth and sky separate forever. Some of his blood dripped to the soil, and grew new sets of children, like the Furies, the Gigantes, and even the goddess Aphrodite. (Some say Aphrodite was the daughter of Zeus.) Kronos immediately became king of the Titans, but couldn’t forget the curse spell of his dying father. Kronos married the Titan Rhea, and they got Poseidon, Hades, Demeter, Hera, and Hestia. Every time a new baby came out, Kronos would swallow the child. Rhea was upset seeing her babies devoured by her husband, so when the last baby came out, Rhea gave Kronos a rock instead of a new bouncing baby. She brought him to the island of Crete. There, Rhea named the baby Zeus. Zeus was raised by a goat named Amaltheia. When Zeus was old enough, he traveled back to Kronos’s palace and served wine for him. He has been working with Metis, the titaness of wisdom. She and Zeus mixed mustard and wine together, and Zeus served it to Kronos. When Kronos drank the wine he barfed all of Zeus’s siblings out. Zeus grabbed his siblings and that night, for the first time, they climbed mount Olympus. They were planning to kill Kronos for revenge. Gaea wanted to help Zeus (like why?). So she told him how to get to Tartarus, and free the Cyclopes and the Hecatonchieres. Zeus did what Gaea said and freed the prisoners from Tartarus. He asked the Cyclopes to make weapons. When they were finished, an amazing team formed. Zeus had thunderbolts, for Poseidon, a trident, and for Hades, a helmet of invisibility. Then, Zeus asked if any Titans wanted to join team Olympians. The brothers Prometheus, and Epimetheus. Some Titans didn’t join the battle, like Oceanus, Helios, and Selene. The war of the Titans lasted ten years! Hera was a fierce warrior, but she sent whispers into their enemie’s minds making them unsure of what to do next. Demeter sent vines and winds to keep the Titans from closing in. Hades would put on his helmet and become invisible and sneak behind enemies and strike them down. Poseidon would make Tsunamis and Earthquakes with his mighty trident, and Zeus would throw thunderbolts at the Titans. The Hecatonchieres threw rocks with their many hands and the Cyclopes threw axes and hammers at the enemies. Only Hestia stayed out of the fray. She knew war and battle wasn’t for her. But she used her powers to heal the gods. At last, Hera had an idea, she told Hades to steal Kronos’s scythe. So Hades did it. Then the Titan brothers held the Titan Atlas so he couldn’t attack. Zeus threw his last thunderbolt, and with that, the war ended. The Olympians were victorious. They sent Kronos and the Titans to Tartarus, and let the Hecatonchieres guard them. Then, they decided who will rule what. In a few days, there was nothing but arguing. Last, the sisters became involved. Demeter made three stripes of straw. Hestia held them in her fist, and Hera explained that whoever picked the smallest straw would rule the Underworld, whoever chose the middle one would be god of the seas, and whoever got the longest straw, would become king of the gods, and god of the skies and heavens. It worked something like this: Zeus, king of the gods, Poseidon, god of the seas, and Hades, ruler of the dead and king of the Underworld.
The Oracle At Delphi
After the battle of the gods and Titans, Gaea wanted to make Earth a very special place, so she brought a wood nymph named Daphnis with her to Delphi, a magical place that was located in central Greece. Then, Gaea told Daphnis that she was going to become the legendary Oracle at Delphi. “What will I do?” Daphnis asked. “I will read some predictions to you, and you will read them to people.” Ordered Gaea. Then, Gaea sent her son, a python named Pytho to guard the Oracle at Delphi, and Daphnis did what Gaea told her to do. End of story. But that was just the beginning! It wasn’t long before other gods arrived. Our real story starts here. Zeus had a wife named Leto. Hera was jealous that Zeus had another wife. So she decided to pay revenge on Leto, not Zeus. He was the king of cosmos, after all. Hera told the python Pytho to squeeze Leto to death. By now, Leto had heard of Hera’s plans, so she went onto a faraway island. Then, Leto gave birth to the twins Apollo and Artemis. We’ll focus on Apollo. Apollo wanted revenge. He traveled to Delphi with his bow and arrows in his quiver. “Pytho! Come out to fight!” When the python came out, Apollo had to admit that the snake was huge. Apollo also got something else with him, his sword. He slashed the sword wildly, but it was too late, Pytho squeezed around Apollo. Then, Apollo’s sword flew out of his hands. Pytho got distracted. Apollo saw his chance, he took an arrow out and shot it right in the middle of the Python. Pytho was dead. Gaea was so angry that she left Delphi and never went back. And since Apollo was also the god of prophecy, he took Daphnis to his temple and let her sit on a tripod. He even held the Pythian games in his honor. And that is the complete story of the Oracle of Delphi. Prometheus, Epimetheus, and Pandora Remember Epimetheus and Prometheus? They were Titan brothers who joined “team Olympians” during the war of the Titans. Then, Zeus decided to let them work on creation. Epimetheus was the younger brother and wasn’t as smart as Prometheus, but he had his brother to guide him. Epimetheus wanted to do a very good job impressing Zeus, he made all the animals. But he was forgetting about humans. He cheered, “my job is done!” To Prometheus. Prometheus wasn’t going to be forgotten by his little forgetful brother, so he put his hands together to make the first human, which was a man. Then, Prometheus wanted to give the humans something incredibly unique; fire. Well, when Prometheus got to mount Olympus, Zeus said, “no. Fire is for the gods themselves, mortals cannot handle such a thing as fire.” But Prometheus wasn’t done. He knew that he couldn't disobey the gods, especially Zeus, the king of the gods, so he did it sneakily. First, he went to the fire god, Hephaestus’s workshop in the dead of night. Then, he stole fire. That night, he told the men how to use fire. The next day, Zeus was having lunch when all of a sudden, Zeus saw Prometheus running around with torches in his hands. He said, “how dare you disobey the gods.” Zeus chained Prometheus on Mount Caucasus for the rest of eternity. Until the hero Heracles shot the eagle that Zeus sent to eat his liver every day with an arrow. One thing less to worry about. What about Pandora? Yeah, we’re getting to her. Zeus also wanted Epimetheus to deserve punishment because he didn’t tell Prometheus not to steal fire in the first place. So he decided to introduce men to suffering and make the first woman; Pandora. Athena, the goddess of creativity, activity, needlework, weaving, creative art, art, creative activity, and crafts gave Pandora the power of needlework. Aphrodite blessed her with beauty and Hermes, the god of justice, money, gold, law, and wealth gave her the power of speech. But, Zeus gave her something incredibly unique: curiosity. Zeus gave her curiosity. Then, Zeus asked Hermes to deliver Pandora to Epimetheus. Epimetheus quickly accepted the gift even though his brother, Prometheus had told him never to accept gifts from the gods. Then, Zeus placed a jar in Pandora’s hands and told her never to open it. But Pandora’s curiosity grew. Pandora asked Epimetheus everyday but everyday he refused. Until, one night, Pandora got a knife and the jar outside and Pandora slowly, very slowly opened the jar. Then, all kinds of bad things came out of it. Poverty, pain, old age, death, and so much more. Before Pandora could close the jar, all of the bad stuff had already escaped from the jar. Everything. Except hope. At that moment, Epimetheus woke up. He dashed outside to find Pandora lying on the floor crying. He immediately knew who it was; Pandora. “I should have listened to you! I was just too curious. Epimetheus realized what Zeus had given him. “Look at your hands, you are still holding hope. Hope will lead to pure happiness.” Epimetheus was right. Man was forced to suffer but they still, and always still had hope.
Demeter, Persephone, and Hades
Demeter was the goddess of grain and harvest. She loved almost everything; the bright sun, the shining stars, the shaking reeds, but what she liked most was her daughter Persephone. First, we need to tell you the backstory of this tale. Once, Demeter was just walking on Olympus and then Zeus popped out saying “could you marry me?” Of course, Demeter wasn’t a fan of marrying Zeus so she turned into a serpent, which was a pretty bad idea. Zeus turned into a giant snake and hurried after Demeter. Demeter the serpent dug a tunnel in the ground, and Zeus followed, blocking Demeter’s path. Years later, Demeter actually forgave Zeus. She got married to Zeus. And as you guessed, they got Persephone. Our story starts here. Persephone was just walking around in the meadows and then, suddenly, out of nowhere, there was a chariot with a tall man standing on it. It was Hades. Demeter had spoken to Hades about the marriage with Persephone. And Demeter didn’t like the idea. So Hades went to Zeus, Persephone’s father. Zeus first wasn’t so sure about the situation with Hades, but agreed to let Hades marry Persephone. Back to the story. Persephone tried to run back to a frantic Demeter, but Hades grabbed Persephone onto his chariot and then pulled the chariot back into the ground into the Underworld. Persephone’s screams echoed as she entered the land of the dead. Persephone yelled at Hades at first, but after about a half year, she became the queen of the Underworld. Demeter began scavenging for Persephone and she was so angry that she refused to do any of her duties as goddess of grain and harvest. Zeus realized that this was going too far. So he had no choice but to intervene. “Demeter! He yelled. “Bring the harvest back! Humans are suffering for food!” “Then what about Persephone? You let that creepy Hades marry her, what can I do?” Zeus didn’t want to admit it, but Demeter was right. “Hermes!” Zeus called. “Bring Persephone back here.” Hermes zoomed into the Underworld and came back to mount Olympus with nothing. “Where’s Persephone?” Zeus asked. “Um… she doesn’t want to leave the Underworld.” Answered Hermes. “Whatever you do, don’t tell Demeter.” The next week, Hermes went to the Underworld and convinced Persephone to come back. Persephone finally said yes, but Hades said, “before you leave, eat this.” Hades handed Persephone a pomegranate. Persephone swallowed some of its seeds. Hermes took Persephone to Zeus. Zeus said. “Have you eaten anything in the Underworld?” “Yes.” Said Persephone. “Oops!” Said Zeus. “But since you only ate some seeds, you could stay on land for half of a year, and the other half with Hades. “Whatever you think.” Said Persephone as she slipped away. This is also why we have seasons! When Persephone was with Demeter, it was spring and summer. When Persephone was with Hades, it was autumn and winter.
Zeus and Hera
This story literally explains what a tortoise is in Greek: chelone. This is the story behind that. Zeus was wanting to marry Hera. Hera refused. (Hera lived in the garden of Hesperides before she got pregnant with Zeus.) Zeus sent a shower of water and turned himself into a cuckoo. He went to the garden of hesperides and flapped his wings hard. Hera was an animal lover, so she let the cuckoo eat and drink, not knowing that she was giving Zeus food and drink. Then, Hera let the cuckoo out. But Zeus revealed his godly form. “Can I marry you?” He asked politely. Hera was so discussed that she threw Zeus out of the garden. “No, babe, no, marry me, become my queen!” “Ahhhhhh!” Hera cried. “Okay, then.” Zeus vanished back to Olympus with a flash! Weeks later, Hera realized that she might have done something wrong. She finally decided to take responsibility as queen of the universe. At the marriage party, everyone went. Zeus was the king of the gods! Everyone should go. But only one person didn’t go: a wood nymph named Chelone. Zeus told Hermes, his messenger, to bring Chelone to the party. But Chelone refused. “I’ll go to the party after I have my daily…Zzzzzzzz.” Hermes went to Zeus. Zeus told him to go later. A long time later, Hermes went back to Chelone, shocked to find her sleeping in the swimming pool beside her house. Hermes was furious. So he turned Chelone into a tortoise body and flipped her entire house onto her back, which became a tortoise’s shell. Hermes went back to the party and told Zeus about his punishment. Zeus was satisfied. “Good.” He murmured. That’s why chelone is tortoise in Greek. Hera’s first baby was Hephaestus. We’ll get to him later. Then, Hera and Zeus’s second baby was a little ferocious. He was the god of war and ferociousness; Ares.
Poseidon and Amphitrite
Poseidon was the god of the seas. Before he had a wife, the seas were a very daring place to live. There were storms, and hurricanes. Zeus had to put a stop to this situation. So he sent four sea nymphs, or called Oceanids or Neriads to Poseidon’s underwater base in the Aegean sea. They all looked very, very beautiful, but the first one that catched Poseidon’s eye was Amphitrite, and annoyally, she was the one who most didn’t want to marry Poseidon.
“My wife is going to be Amphitrite!” He announced. Amphitrite was terrified. “What?” Amphitrite zoomed out of the water as fast as she could. Poseidon was outraged. He let Delphin, his messenger dolphin to fetch Amphitrite for him. Delphin took Amphitrite back. “Do you want to marry me?” Asked Poseidon. “Fine!” Said Amphitrite. Poseidon and Amphitrite had a half fish half human child, named Triton, and Amphitrite became queen of the seas.
Jason and The Quest For The Golden Fleece
There are a lot of Greek heroes: Heracles, Atalanta, Perseus, Bellerophon. But the most famous one is probably Jason. Jason was born as a normal baby. But his uncle, Pelias was worried about himself if Jason would take the throne. (Pelias was the king of a city named Iolcus, by the way.) So he got advice from the Oracle of Delphi. The Oracle predicted that Pelias would be king, but he had to “beware the young man with one sandal” that someday Jason would be king. On the other hand, Jason’s mother was so scared that she gave birth in secret and then sent him to live with a centaur, a half horse half human creature named Chiron. Chiron teached Jason archery, sword fighting, spear throwing, and using a shield (and actually) Chiron was a pretty good dad. When Jason was old enough, he traveled to Iolcus to challenge his uncle Pelias for the throne. At some point he lost a sandal. When Jason told Pelias about the throne, Pelias remembered the Oracle’s warning, so he told Jason, “I will give up the throne if you could bring me the Golden Fleece.” The crowd behind them gasped. Pelias thought that the quest was so hard that Jason would rather give up, or die trying, but being a hero, Jason thought differently. He wanted to embark upon one of the most difficult quest ever. The Golden Fleece was hanging on an ancient oak tree in Colchis. First, Jason prayed to the goddess Athena, who inspired a ship builder named Argus to build a ship for Jason. Then, Jason got a call for a crew, and the crew was amazing! There were Orpheus, Heracles, Peleus, Asclepius, Atalanta, Theseus, Calais, Zetes, and more. The mission started very rough. First, they got tricked by wood nymphs. Then, they got mistaken for pirates. Last, they got into a boxing match with a king! At last, they had a break in the country of Thrace. Thrace was ruled by king Phineus. Phineus got punished by the gods just because he was very good at telling fortunes. First, the gods blinded him, then, they sent these half bird half woman creatures named Harpies to torment him. So every time a feast was laid out for Phineus, the Harpies would snatch up the feast and fly away. Jason wanted to help. So the next feast, when the Harpies arrived, two of Jason’s strongest warriors jumped and attacked. The Harpies were so scared that they flew away and never came back. Phineusimmediately held a feast at his palace. At the feast, Phineus told Jason two very important pieces of information: how to get to Colchis where the Golden Fleece was hanging, and how to get through the clashing rocks that crashed every ship that sails through. When Jason left, he followed Phineus’s instructions and made it through the clashing rocks. Finally, Jason and the argonauts got to Colchis, home of the Golden Fleece. Jason was pretty sure that he was at the end of his quest. He just needed to confirm the situation with the king of Colchis, king Aeëtes. King Aeëtes also had a daughter named Medea. Medea seemed to hit it off with Jason. Aeëtes had absolutely no intention of giving out the Golden Fleece, so he made a deal instead. He told Jason that he would give him the Golden Fleece, but in order to get it, Jason must plant a whole field with vegetables with two bulls called the Colchis bulls. Oh, and they breathed fire. Aeëtes gave Jason seeds, but it wasn’t really “seeds”. It was dragon teeth, and dragon teeth grow human soldiers! Jason had no clue where to begin. But Medea did. Medea made a potion that would make Jason fireproof. So he could plant the correct seeds. But there weren’t any seeds! Medea didn’t worry. She drew another potion that could make anything fall asleep. A few minutes later, the dragon was away snoring. “Come on!” Whispered Medea. She and Jason grabbed the fleece and hurried back to the Argo. And then, they got into very big trouble. You see, there was still a long journey ahead. Jason and his argonauts were now in the island of the Sirens. The Sirens were beautiful sounded mermaids that could sing and lure ships towards the islands and crash their ships on the rocks of the island. But Jason did have a weapon on board the Argo: Orpheus, son of Apollo. Fortunately, the argonauts sailed past the island of the Sirens. Jason and his argonauts then needed to sail past Scylla and Charybdis. Scylla was a sea monster with six heads and a body that looked like a dog. Charybdis was the whirlpool monster. It was slow-going, but eventually, Jason and the argonauts got to Iolcus and gave the Golden Fleece to Pelias. When Pelias died, Jason became king, and Medea became his queen.
The Magic of Circe
Circe was a witch. It really was a ridiculous fashion for a daughter of a god. Circe was the daughter of Helios, the god who drives the sun chariot everyday. When she was young, but she was always being laughed at. Even her parents didn't like her so much. She didn’t know what was wrong with her. And when she met a mortal named Glaucus, things got from bad to worse. The first time she met him, Glaucus was looking at the sea, admiring its beauty. When Circe met him, she shouted a greeting. “Hi! My name is Circe! What are you doing here?” Glaucus’s response? “My name is Glaucus. I’m sorry for being here, goddess!” As Glaucus turned to leave, Circe said, “stay, we can talk.” And everyday, Circe and Glaucus always had a moment, until, one day, Glaucus told Circe something: “ I am leaving this part of the ocean’s coast, can you please make me immortal, so I can spend time with you when I’m away too?” Because Circe loved him, she found an erb that could turn anyone immortal. She gave it to Glaucus. Then, Glaucus traveled to the other side of the coast and then met another woman: Scylla. Scylla was kind, beautiful, and gentle…everything Circe was not. And when Glaucus told Circe his love with Scylla, Circe was outraged. Glaucus even went so far as to ask Circe to make a blessing to let him and Scylla fall in love with each other completely. This was enough for Circe. That night, Circe brewed the potion Glaucus had asked for, but it wasn’t really “thepotion he had asked for”. In fact, it was the exact opposite; Hatred. This potion could turn Scylla into a terrible monster. When she gave the potion to Glaucus, he poured the potion into the sea where Scylla bathed, and when she got into the water, she turned into a horrifying beast with six long necks. The gods even descended from Olympus to fight Scylla. Scylla swam away fast: she got to the other side of Charybdis, the whirlpool monster to take her revenge on sailors. Whoever’s ship gets caught would lose six of their precious ship members. The gods punished Circe and let her live on the deserted island of Aeaea. And now, let’s introduce the hero of this story: Odysseus. Odysseus was tired; very, very, tired. He had gone almost halfway to Ithaca, his homeland. He saw an island in the distance: Aeaea. Circe greeted Odysseus kindly. Odysseus’s men didn’t show much respect, so Circe turned them into pigs! When Odysseus was back with Circe, he saw a whole room with pigs running around. “Circe! Turn them back! I know they didn’t show respect, but I hardly think turning them into pigs was the best idea.” “Sorry. I’ll turn them back.” Said Circe. “Thank you.” A year later, Circe and Odysseus fell in love. But Odysseus still had a mission and Circe knew that Odysseus had a whole family back in Ithaca. So the morning Odysseus left, Circe gave him food and supplies and told them where to go next. But what Circe didn’t know was that she was actually pregnant with Odysseus. They got a baby named Telegonus. Telegonus really wanted to go to Ithaca and get some answers. Circe didn’t want Telegonus to die on the journey to Ithaca so she gave her son a spear with the end of a stingray. Telegonus eventually made it to Ithaca and that night, he was sitting by the campfire next to the ocean. Then, he saw a man. A handsome man was running at him! He even had a sword in his hand! Telegonus grabbed the only weapon he had: the stingray spear. He thrust it into the man’s chest, and the man was dead. Looking up, Telegonus saw a woman and her son crying. “Who are you, and why are you crying?” “I am Penelope, and this is my son, Telemachus, and you killed my husband! His name is Odysseus. And-” “What, wait, so I killed my father.” Cried Telegonus. “What do you mean?” Asked Penelope. “Odysseus fell in love with Circe, my mother. And she gave birth to me.” Explained Telegonus. “I came here to get some answers.” “I guess we have a lot in common.” Said Penelope. “I can take you to Aeaea, where my mother lives.” So Penelope, Telemachus, and Telegonus sailed to Aeaea and met Circe. When the three friends got old, Circe asked, “would you like it if I turn you immortal?” Of course they didn’t want to die, so they accepted. And the four, Circe, Penelope, Telemachus, and Telegonus became kind of a family, and they lived happily ever after.
Nobody Defeats a Cyclops
This tale is also about Odysseus. Now Odysseus had reached the island of the Cyclopes. Well, in the other myths, the Cyclopes were the children of Ouranos and Gaea, but in Homer’s the Odyssey, they were the sons of Poseidon and a nymph named Thoosa. There were seven man-eating Cyclopes on this island. Odysseus and his men were running low in food. When they saw an island in the distance, they sailed right onto the island, not knowing that this was a Cyclops island. When they got onto the island, they saw a cave, and there was a bunch of food around the cave. When they were full, they saw a fat and big Cyclops walking around the cave. The Cyclops’s name was Polyphemus. When Polyphemus saw the sailors, he was pretty pleased. There's nothing a Cyclops likes except a good sailor snack! Polyphemus snatched up two of the nearest men and ate them whole! Then, Polyphemus dozed off. When Polyphemus awoke, Odysseus entertained Polyphemus with stories and tales. Then, he asked Odysseus his name, in which Odysseus replied, “uhhh…Nobody?” “Well, Nobody, I like you, I will eat you last.” Said Polyphemus. Odysseus lastly gave Polyphemus some wine, and soon, he was snoring away. Odysseus knew he had to do something, or else his whole crew would be eaten by the Cyclops. So he and his crew got to work. They carved a wooden pole and burned it in the fire. Then, He stuck it into Polyphemus’s eye, obviously, the Cyclops awoke and cried, “help! He blinded me!” The other Cyclopes asked, “what, who did this to you?” “Nobody!” Yelled Polyphemus. “Nobody?! Then leave us alone!” They Said as they stomped away. The next morning, Polyphemus had to let out the sheep, but he had to make sure the sailors didn’t get out, so he blocked the entrance of the cave. But Odysseus had another plan. He and his crew crawled underneath the sheep and escaped. Almost. Polyphemus touched a boot under the last sheep. Then, he understood. He roared with anger. He ran down the beach and threw boulders and rocks at Odysseus and his men, who were rowing hard for their ship. Odysseus knew he had to say something. “And, by the way, my name is really Odysseus, but you have nobody to thank for your problems!” Cried Odysseus. He didn’t realize that he had made a big mistake, but that is another story.
Chapter Ten Ares and Aphrodite
Ares was the god of war and ferociousness. He appeared in many Greek myths, but even if he was ferocious, he did eventually find a person worthy of him: Aphrodite, goddess of love, romance, and beauty. As you probably already know, Aphrodite was married to Hephaestus, the blacksmith to the gods. Hephaestus wanted to have a good marriage with Aphrodite, but she wasn’t a fan of Hephaestus. So she began dating Ares. They were still flirting for months before getting spotted by Helios, the sun god. When Helios told Hephaestus what he had seen, Hephaestus was furious. So he decided to take matters into his own hands. He made a blanket that would wrap around any object. Then, he went into Aphrodite’s bedroom and put it on the bed. That night (you probably guessed what happened). Ares and Aphrodite went on to the bed, and then the blanket trapped them. Ares screamed. Aphrodite tried to get out. Then, out of nowhere, burst four gods all laughing at the pair. “Hahaha!” Yelled Poseidon. “Some god of war you are!” Laughed Apollo. “LOL!” Said Zeus. At last, Zeus told Hephaestus to free the pair. “You two.” Zeus declared. “We will never see each other ever again.” “But what do we do?” Snarled Ares. “Then I’ll let Hephaestus handle it.” Replied the king of the gods.
Chapter Eleven The Aloadae
The Aloedae were the twin sons of Poseidon, the god of the seas. He didn’t really like his own sons, because… the Aloedae were gigantic! The Aloadae were two massive giants named Otus and Ephialtes. If you’re Greek, you will know why they were literally crazy. Otus originally translates to doom. And Ephialtes meant nightmare, so yeah, you don’t want to have them eating breakfast in your kitchen! When the Aloadae were 30 feet tall, they started to understand their power. They soon decided to climb mount Olympus and take over the entire kingdom. They were also crushing on a few goddesses. Otus had a great crush on Artemis, and Ephialtes had a longtime crush on Hera, the queen of the gods. Now, this is a big no-no. You don’t get to climb Olympus without eternal punishment, and you definitely don’t get a crush on Zeus’ wife, Hera. But because the Aloadae were practically invincible, they agreed to fight for the throne. They began stacking boulders and mountains to make it onto Olympus. Zeus started hurling thunderbolts all day with no effect; and Apollo’s arrows couldn’t penetrate the twin’s skin. Even the spear of the mighty Heracles did no damage. And this is when Ares went into the picture, he launched himself off of Olympus and started swinging his battle axe. The other Olympians knew that Ares’ “plan” was not going to work. And they were right. The Aloadae took out a jar and stuffed Ares’ body inside. The Olympians knew that they should have a plan. But Apollo and Artemis, his twin sister, were developing a plan of their own. “Father, trust us, our plan will work!” Said Artemis. Zeus agreed to Apollo and Artemis' plan and Artemis strolled right out of the gates of Olympus. When he met Otus, she said, “oh! Otus, you are so tall and handsome!” Otus blushed and looked at the sky. Artemis then turned to Ephialtes and said, “you are way smarter than Otus!” Ephialtes swiped at Artemis, but Artemis dodged. Then the Aloadae began punching each other, which was exactly what Artemis and Apollo were planning to do. And it worked for a very long while. At last, the Aloadae scooped Artemis up like they did with Ares. Apollo, watching from the shadows, did not like how this was going, so he turned Artemis into a magnificent white deer. The Aloadae yelped in surprise as Artemis the deer twisted in the air. The Aloadae became more angry and fought each other even harder. Lastly, the twins destroyed each other and Artemis and Apollo became heroes of Olympus (not the book) and were known as the slayers of Otus and Ephialtes. Some legends say that Dionysus was the slayer of the Aloadae, but both stories were epic and entertaining.
TO BE CONTINUED... COME BACK FOR MORE IN AUGUST 2026!