This week we were introduced to some of my personal favourite lineages and myths, like the Minotaur, the Pleiades, the births of Hermes and Dionysos, Oedipus, the Theban Wars, and Achilles.

In case you haven't seen the posting yet, we are postponing the discussion of the Epitome until after we finish the Illiad.

Summary

Book 3

Part 6 - Cretan and Theban mythology

In part six we're introduced to the lineage of Agenor, his three sones - Cadmos, Phoenix, and Cilix - and his most famous progeny, Europa. Zeus falls in love with Europa, and taking the form of a docile bull, carries her across the sea to Crete. To Europa and Zeus, three sons are born - Minos, Sarpedon, and Rhadamnthys. Agenor orders his sons to go find their sister and not return until she's been found. Telephassa, Agenor's wife leaves with them. Unable to find Europa, they abandon thoughts of returning home. Phoenix settles in Phoenicia, Cilix nearby in Cilicia, and Cadmos and Telephassa settle in thrace. None of them ever return home.

Europa becomes the wife of Asterios, ruler of the Cretans, who adopts her children. When Asterios dies, Minos wants to become king of Crete but encounters opposition. He proclaimed that the kingdom had been granted to him by the gods and to said that whatever he prayed would come to pass. So, Minos sacrifices to Poseidon and asks for a bull to appear from the depths, which Minos will then sacrifice in his name. The bull is magnificent and Minos exchanges it with a bull from his herds, thinking he can trick Poseidon. Angered, Poseidon causes Minos's wife Pasiphae to lust for the magnificent bull. With the help of Daidalos, she enters a wooden cow and mates with the bull. From their union, Pasiphae gives birth to Asterios, who, with the face of a bull and body of a man is the Minotaur.

Catreus, one of Minos's sons, consults an oracle and is told that he will die at the hand of one of his children. As a result, his children flee or are sold into foreign lands. One of these children, Aerope, becomes the mother of Agamemnon and Menelaos. As an old man, Catreus is killed accidentally by his son, who in his grief, is swallowed by a chasm.

Eventually, Telephassa dies and Cadmos seeks the Oracle of Delphi. The oracle instructs Cadmos to found a city, which becomes Thebes. Cadmos kills a dragon and sows its teeth, which become the Spartoi. After a confusing start, the Spartoi go to war with each other and only five survive.

Zeus falls in love with Semele, a daughter of Cadmos, and though Semele is frightened to death, their union results in the birth of Dionysos. Dionysos discovers the vine (wine) and is driven mad by Hera. Dionysos goes on a spree of working women into frenzies, and as a result they murder their spouses and children. Eventually, Dionysos is recognized as a god, paid honor, and brings his mother up from Hades to ascend to heaven in his company.

Thebes goes through a period of instability, with several rulers dying or being murdered, eventually ending when Laios is expelled and Amphion and Zethos build a wall around the city of Thebes. Zethos marries Niobe and they have seven sons and seven daughters, but when she gloats to say she is more blessed with children than Leto, her family is slaughtered by Artemis and Apollo. After the death of Amphion, Laios takes over Thebes.

Laios marries Iocaste, and is warned by an oracle not to have children, or he will die at the hands of his son. Laios gets drunk, and they conceive Oedipus. As a baby, Oedipus is left for dead by Laios but is rescued by a shepherd and raised by the King and Queen of Corinth. Eventually, Oedipus makes his way to Thebes where he kills Laios and his herald, after Polyphontes kills one of his horses. Hera sends the Sphynx to Thebes, who poses a riddle to the Thebans, who cannot solve it. Eventually, Oedipus does and he is given the throne of Thebes and marries his mother. They have four children before they find out that they're mother and son. Iocaste hangs herself and Oedipus gouges out his eyes and is exiled from Thebes. His daughter Antigone goes with him, and Oedipus dies as a suppliant in Attica.

Part 7 - The Theban Wars

Oedipus's son Eteocles tricks Polyneices out of the throne and exiles him. Polynieces ends up in Aros, and eventually becomes part of the seven kingdoms who gather to conquer Thebes. Because so many died during the siege of Thebes, it is decided that Eteocles and Polyneices should engage in hand to hand combat, where they kill each other. Creon succeeds to the Theban throne. As he refuses to let the bodies of the dead be buried, Adrastos enlists the help of the Athenians, who, along with Theseus, capture Thebes, and bury the dead.

Ten years after the war, the Epigoni (sons of the fallen), mount an expedition against Thebes, and successfully take the city. They tear down the walls of Thebes and send the best of the plunder to Delphi as an offering to Apollo.

Part 8 - Arcadian mythology (the Pelasgids)

Pelasgos, sone of Zeus and Niobe, has a son called Lycaon who became king of the Arcadians, as well as fifty other sons by different women. His sons were arrogant and impious, and when tested by Zeus, included the entrails of a slaughtered child in their sacrifices, which sent Zeus into a rage that killed all of Pelasgos's sons, except for Lycaon.

Lycaon is the father of Callisto, who becomes a companion of Artemis. Zeus lusts for Callisto, rapes her and turns her into a bear. Artemis kills Callisto bear. Zeus gives Callisto's son, Arcas, to Maia to raise and turns Callisto into the constellation called the Bear.

Arcas has two sons, Elatos and Apheidas. Apheidas has a daughter called Auge, who is raped by Heracles. The resulting son is left for dead on a mountain side, but ends up being nursed by a deer and given the name Telephos. Telephos becomes the adopted son to the King of Mysia, and on his death, Telephos becomes the King of Mysia.

Part 9 - Laconian and Trojan mythology (the Atlantids)

Atlas and Pleione have seven daughters, who collectively are called the Pleiades. Their daughter Maia sleeps with Zeus and gives birth to Hermes.

Hermes, even as a baby is mischievous. He steals a herd of Apollo's cattle, disguises their hooves with shoes and hides them in a cave. In front of this very same cave, he creates the first lyre from the shell of a tortoise, and invented the plectrum. Apollo accuses Hermes, who is still a baby, and takes him to Zeus to demand the return of his cattle. Hermes denies he took them, but isn't believed and agrees to give the cattle back. Upon seeing the lyre, Apollo asks for it instead of the cattle. While in the field, Hermes made a shepherds pipe, and Apollo offered him his golden staff in exchange for it. Hermes also acquired the art of divination by the use of pebbles from Apollo. Zeus then made Hermes his herald as well as the herald of the gods of the Underworld.

Another of the Pleiades, Taygete, bore a son to Zeus, Lacedaimon. Lacedaimon's grandson, Cynortas married Gorgophone, daughter of Perseus. Their child, Tyndareus, marries Leda. Leda is raped by Zeus in the form of a swan and the same night had intercourse with Tyndareus, resulting in the birth of Polydeuces and Helen to Zeus, and Castor and Clytemnestra to Tyndareus. Clytemnestra becomes the wife of Agamemnon.

Helen is a woman of incredible beauty, and is carried off first by Theseus. Her brothers march on Aphidnai and take her back, along with taking Aithra, Theseus's mother as prisoner. The kings of Greece came to Sparta, including Odysseus, Diomedes, and Menelaos. Tyndareus was afraid to choose a suitor for Helen as he feared it would result in a bloodbath, and so, in exchange for Penelope's hand, Odysseus told Tyndareus to obtain an oath from the suitors that they would come to the aid of the chosen bridegroom if ever he were injured by another with regard to his marriage. Tyndareus choses Menelaos as Helen's bridegroom. Eventually, Tyndareus transfers the kingdom of Sparta to Menalaos.

Electra's son Dardanos married the daughter of the king of Teucros. He renamed the city Dardania, and had two sons. Erichthonios fathers Tros, who changes the name of the city to Troy when he succeeds to the throne.

In Illion, Priam and Hecuba have a son, Hector and Paris, who is left for dead but suckled by a bear and taken in by Agelaos. Paris also obtains the name Alexander. Alexander is warned not to sail for Helen, but he abducts Helen from Sparta, and begins the Trojan war.

Part 10 - The Asopids

Zeus took Aegina, the daughter of Ismenos and Pelagon, and they had a son, Aiacos. Aiacos married Endeis, who bore him two sons, Peleus and Telamon. Aiacos was so pious that his prayers cured the barrenness that plauged Greece.

Peleus and Telamon are exiled. Telamon marries Periboia, who bares a son, Aias. Telemon accompanies Heracles on the expedition against Troy.

Peleus eventually marries Themis, who is prophesied to have a son who will be born to be more powerful than his father. Thetis gives birth to Achilles.

Part 11 - The kinds of Athens

Cecrops, the first king of Athens, had the body of a serpent and a man joined into one. He settled the debate between Athene and Poseidon by testifying that Athene planted her olive tree first. Cecrops lineage eventually produces Adonis.

Adonis, one of the most beautiful men to have lived, captures the hearts of Aphrodite and Persephone. Their feud over his time is settled by Zeus, who splits the year into thirds, granting each of them a third of the year with Adonis. Adonis choses to spend his third with Aphrodite. Adonis is killed by a boar while hunting.

When Cecrops died, Cranaos became king. He was driven out of the city by Amphictyon who took over the throne. Amphictyon was driven out of the city by Erichthonios, son of Athene and Hephaistos. Erichthonios erected the statue of Athene on the Acropolis.

Pandion, son of Erichthonis and Praxithea, became king of Athens. When Pandion died, his sons divided the paternal inheritaance, with Erechtheus becoming king of Athens.

Pandion had four other sons during his time in Megara. Those sons, including Aigeus, marched on Athens, and took the city. Aideus had trouble conceiving children, consulted an oracle, and drunkenly slept with Pittheus's daughter Aithra, who slept with Poseidon on the same night. Aigeus left a sword and a pair of sandals under a boulder, and instructed Aithra that, when her son could move the bolder to obtain the tokens, she should send her son to him. Aithra's son was Theseus.

When Aigeus returned to Athens, he found that Androgeos, son of Minos had defeated all others. Aigeus sent him in front of the bull of Marathon, and Androgeos was killed. When Minos received news of his son's death, he attacked Athens. The war dragged on until Minos was given a seven girls and seven boys to sacrifice to the Minotaur.

On his way to Athens, Theseus cleared the road of its two menaces - Periphetes and Sinos, by defeating them in the same manner they had been killing travellers.

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