Girdle, Giant and Garden

Having conquered some of the mightiest beasts to walk the earth, and weary from years of toil, it was with bewilderment that Heracles pondered what could possibly come next, on his long journey to immortality. Slaying the Lion of Nemea, the Hydra of Lernaea, the Birds of Stymphalos, capturing the Hind of Cerynaia, the Boar of Erymanthos, the Bull of Crete and the carnivorous Mares of Diomedes, and cleaning the vile stables of King Augeias, the list of Heracles' achievements was already impressive (for the previous episode in this sage, please click here). Eight down, just four more tasks stood between the son of Zeus and his place on Mount Olympus itself.

The Amazons

Painting by Theodor Baierl.

Free of the diabolical horses that had slain his friend, Heracles came before King Eurystheus once again in his strong walled citadel of Tiryns. Growing desperate, Eurystheus agonised to discover some feat that would beyond even the son of Zeus. Deciding to begin sending the hero far beyond the borderlands of Greece, the King began to grow ever more ambitious in his schemes. For his next Labour, Eurystheus charged Heracles to seek out the Girdle of Hippolyta, and bring it to him. But neither Girdle nor lady was ordinary. For Hippolyta was the Queen of the Amazons, a feared race from the distant steppes of Sarmatia. The Amazons, a tribe of entirely women, could not have been more different from the women of Greece. Largely hidden from public view, and guardians of the household, the women of Greece contrasted violently with the fierce warrior women that were the Amazons. Training constantly in the arts of war, women of the Amazon tribe were forbidden to marry until they had slain a man in war. It was even rumoured that Amazon women ritually severed their right breast so as not to hinder their use of the javelin and the bow. Hippolyta had been presented with her magic Girdle by Ares, the war god himself. It was with a large company of armed men that Heracles set forth from mighty Tiryns this time. After a long voyage across the Oceans, sailing beyond the Aegean to the farthest reaches of the Black Sea, the son of Zeus made landfall upon the beaches of Themiscyra. The Amazons were already there, along with their Queen. The legend of Heracles defeat of so many beasts however, appeared to have spread. Respectful of the hero's prowess, Hippolyta received Heracles kindly, approaching him directly on the beach. Charmed by his might, Hippolyta even agreed to hand over her Girdle, much to Heracles delight. The rest of the Amazons, however, further up the beach, watched intently, unsure of what was transpiring. Far away, on the heights of Mount Olympus, Hera, Queen of the Gods, looked on in fury that Heracles had succeeded so easily. Soaring down to the Earth, the goddess took the form of an Amazon maiden. Walking amongst the fierce women, she suddenly cried out that Heracles had come to abduct their Queen, and brought only death. Confusion rippled through both sides. The Amazons remembered all too well how another Greek hero had once abducted their Queen, and seized their arms and hurled themselves upon Heracles and his kin. Heracles, utterly confused, believed Hippolyta's approach to have been a ruse all along, violently turned upon the Queen. Delighted at the chaos she had caused, Hera returned to the Heavens to watch events unfold. Taken aback by the ferocity of the Amazons, Greeks began to fall one by one. In his rage, Heracles turned his arms upon the Amazon Queen, brutally slaying her, and tearing the Girdle from her lifeless form. Raising his war cry, the son of Zeus slammed into the Amazon ranks. Cowed by such a formidable opponent, the Amazons fled before his rampage. Seizing their chance, the battered and bloodied surviving Greeks desperately pushed away from the shore.

Heracles and Geryon
Image from a 6th century BC Etruscan vase.

Limping back to Tiryns, the Greek party returned to Eurystheus, and Heracles handed over the Girdle. Relieved to see that the hero was not completely invincible yet, the King at once issued forth a new challenge. Eurystheus commanded Heracles to bring to him the cattle of Geryon from the island of Erytheia. Far away at the mouth of edges of the Ocean, Erytheia lay off the coast of the Southern tip of Iberia. Travelling across Europe, and crossing to Africa, Heracles began the long journey through the deserts of Libya. Beaten down by the burning heat of the Sun, in frustration, the son of Zeus fired an arrow at the Sun itself. So impressed at his audacity, the Sun god himself came before Heracles and offered to speed him on his way, granting him a special vessel. Eventually reaching the boundaries of the known world, Heracles marked this achievement by raising two monumental pillars, one on the most southerly plateau in Iberia, and the other on the most northerly plateau in Africa. The 'Pillars of Hercules' still stand today, guarding the pass from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic. Coming to Geryon's domain, the hero's presence was at once detected by Orthus, the guardian of Geryon's cattle. Being a monstrous, two headed dog, and one of the dread offspring of Typhon and Echidna (for more on these, the most fearsome monsters on Greek Mythology, please click here), Orthus was no ordinary shepherding dog. A demonic hound, Orthus charged Heracles down on sight. Drawing his mighty club, Heracles managed to bring Orthus down with a mighty strike to the beast's two skulls. More herdsmen came, attracted by the din of fighting. Slaying them all, Heracles found the cattle and seized them, herding them towards his ship. Distracted by the cattle, Heracles was unaware that he had been spotted by Geryon himself. Hearing a shout of rage from behind him that would break the spirit of lesser men, the hero turned at the last moment to a terrifying sight. Geryon was no normal, mortal man. A monster, triple bodied and triple headed, and fully armed and armoured, Geryon was a formidable opponent. With three spears and three shields flurrying, Geryon engaged Heracles in a fierce struggle. Unable to land a blow upon the monster, Heracles struggled to defend himself. Casting aside his club in desperation, Heracles took out his bow. As Geryon charged forward, Heracles ripped back his bowstring with all the strength his divine sinews could muster, and loosed an arrow. Flying with overpowering momentum, Heracles fired the arrow with such force that the tip bore straight through the metal, skin, bone and brain of one of Geryon's three heads. Even this alone would not have brought mighty Geryon down, but the lethal venom of the Hydra which impregnated the iron tip of Heracles' arrow coursed through Geryon's body, strangling the life out of him. Shaken by his ever closer brush with death, Heracles embarked upon the long voyage back to Tiryns.

The Garden of the Hesperides

Painting by Frederic Leighton.

Handing the cattle over to Eurystheus, the son of Zeus stood eagerly to hear his penultimate task. Having served Eurystheus for eight long years now, the end was in sight. Ten incredible tasks had been completed, but Eurystheus had rendered the slaying of the Hydra and the cleaning of the Augeian stables void, and as punishment, had conceived two special tasks as the final tests of the hero. It was time for the son of Zeus to rise above the tasks of mortals now, and prove himself in the immortal plain. For the first of these two Labours, King Eurystheus ordered Heracles to bring him the Golden Apples of the Hesperides. The tree on which the Apples grew lay far away in the Garden of the Hesperides, a tranquil land ruled over by the Hesperides, nymphs who were the daughters of the Atlas, one of the Titans who had fought against Zeus in the War of the Titans (for this climactic struggle, please click here).The Golden Apples had been presented by Gaia, Mother Earth herself, at the marriage of Zeus and Hera untold milennia ago. To pick the Apples would truly demonstrate immortal favour. Venturing forth from Tiryns, Heracles travelled far and wide, yearning for the knowledge of the Garden's whereabouts. Guided by the nymphs, Heracles came across Nereus, the Old Man of the Sea, a shapeshifting Titan, and a son of Gaia. Seizing Nereus, Heracles held on tight whilst the Titan changed forms repeatedly, becoming all manner of nightmarish creatures. Binding him tightly, Heracles refused to release him until he revealed the Garden's location. Impressed at Heracles endurance, Nereus revealed that the daughters of Atlas tended the Garden of the Hesperides in the far West (Hence the name of the mountain range in North West Africa). Eventually coming to the garden, Heracles saw the magnificent tree in the distance of the serene paradise. However, tightly coiled around the trunk was a large and monstrous dragon, Ladon, immortal, invulnerable, never sleeping and always watchful from each of its one hundred heads. Ladon, another of the vile brood of Typhon and Echidna, had been placed in the Garden by Hera to ensure that none could ever steal the Apples. Realising for the first time that he had encountered a creature he could not stand against, Heracles began a long search for some other way.

In his frustrated wanderings, Heracles came to a great mountain, upon which was bound one of the Titans, one tortured by an eagle which gnawed at his liver - Prometheus (for his story, please click here). Pitying towering Prometheus, Heracles slew the eagle with one of his poisoned arrows, and released the Titan from his shackles. The greatful Titan, ever striving to assist mankind, advised Heracles to seek out his brother Atlas to obtain the Apples for him. Journeying into the very boundaries of existence, Heracles came before Atlas. The Titan, who had sided against Zeus in the war for the mastery of the Heavens, was punished to bear the weight of Heaven upon his shoulders for all eternity. Heracles asked Atlas permission to take the Apples from his daughters' Garden. The Titan agreed, and offered to pick them himself, in return for Heracles taking the weight of the Heavens for a short time. This he did, and towering Atlas set forth, whilst Heracles struggled under the mighty weight of Heaven upon his shoulders. Atlas soon returned with the Apples. Having no intention of enduring his punishment any longer, Atlas declared he would take the Apples to Eurystheus himself. Panicking, Heracles quickly conceived a desperate plan. Pretending to agree, Heracles asked if Atlas would take the weight briefly so as to allow him to prepare a pad to ease his shoulder when he took it back again. This seemed reasonable to the Titan, and he agreed. As the mighty Titan took up his colossal burden once more, Heracles quickly seized the Apples and made his escape, to the fury of Atlas.

Returning all the way to the powerful citadel of Tiryns, Heracles presented the shining Apples to Eurystheus. The King was overwhelmed by the sight of the gift, returning them to Heracles, worthy of the prize was he. No sooner had he done so, however, than Athena came down from Olympus, and retrieved the Apples, for they were too pure to reside anywhere than in the tranquil Garden. His resentment turning to reverence, Eurystheus turned to his final request, the last and most dangerous Labour of Hercules. If the hero completed this, then he would fulfil his ultimate desire, and earn his place among the gods...

United Kingdom

The Library of Greek Mythology:

The Library of Greek Mythology (Oxford World's Classics)

(A vast collection of stories from old Greece, written and compiled in ancient times)

United States

The Library of Greek Mythology:

The Library of Greek Mythology (Oxford World's Classics)

(A vast collection of stories from old Greece, written and compiled in ancient times)

The First Labours of Heracles

Standing high amongst all the heroes of Classical lore, and possessed of one of the most famous names in civilisation, is Heracles. Son of Zeus, slayer of countless fierce monsters, towering of stature, founder of cities and raised to godhood, the answer to why his name has emerged from the ravages of time unscathed is not easily forgotten. The name of Heracles will always be associated with the famous Twelve Labours, daunting and formidable tasks worthy of testing the potential of a man to become a god. Let us then look to the beginnings of the adventures, and the first labours of Heracles.

Heracles strangles the Serpents
Sculpture in the Capitoline Museums, Rome.

There was once a mortal man named Amphitryon, who lived with his wife Alcmene in the grand city of Thebes (the kingdom of Oedipus, for more please click here). But the King of gods and men, Zeus the Thunderer, was ever the ceaseless philanderer, and his eyes had found Alcmene. One time, when Amphitryon went away to war, the god came down to Earth, slowing the passage of time, so that the night grew long and the slumber of mortals endured. Assuming the shape of Amphitryon, Zeus entered the house and deceived Alcmene into believing her husband had returned from the war at last, as the two embraced. The following day, Amphitryon himself returned to Thebes. Yet his wife did not greet him with the enthusiasm he expected. Upon questioning her, she revealed in utter confusion that he had of course returned last night and that she had conceived by him. Suspecting divine play at hand, Amphitryon consulted the blind seer Tiresias, who revealed that Alcmene bore twins, one the son of Amphitryon, the other the seed of Zeus. Furious at her husband's repeated affairs, Hera, Queen of the gods, planned a torturous future for his extramarital offspring. When the boys were born, the son of Amphitryon was named Iphicles, and the son of Zeus, so that Hera might be appeased, was named Heracles, a name which means 'The Glory of Hera'. Far from being sated, the goddess raged at the insult. Hera sent forth from Olympus two serpents to the cot of Heracles, commanding them to strangle the infant. Shrieking at the sight, Alcmene cried out for Amphitryon to help, but upon looking back at the infant's cot, saw Heracles playing with the lifeless bodies of the snakes, whose lifeforce he had crushed with his bare hands.

Raised as one of their own by Amphitryon and Alcmene, Heracles learned the ways of the bow, the sword and the lyre, and soon surpassed all peers in his size and near boundless strength:


                 " The mere sight of him was enough to show that he was a son of Zeus:
                    for his body measured four cubits, a fiery gleam shone in his eyes,
                    and he never missed his mark with his arrows or javelins... "
                                                                      - THE STATURE OF HERACLES


Serving his adoptive father loyally in the fields, tending to the cattle in the mountain pastures, one day two nymphs came to the son of Zeus. They were Pleasure and Virtue, and they prophysied a momentous choice that lay before Heracles. Either he could lead a simple and easy life, or one of toil but boundless glory. A proud son of the greatest of gods, the hero chose the latter. Not long after, the Minyans, another Greek people, marched upon Thebes in arms, resolved to destroy the great city in war. Amphitryon fell in the battle, and in a rage, Heracles lead the Thebans to a fresh assault, unleashing his fury upon the Minyans, slaying many and putting them to flight. Men looked on in awe at the feats of Heracles.

As a prize for his valour, King Creon of Thebes presented to Heracles his own eldest daughter, Megara, and his younger to Iphicles. Megara gave to Heracles three sons; Therimachos, Creontides and Deicoon. The gods, too, gave gifts to the hero. The sun god Apollo gave to him a bow and quiver, such that he would never miss a target.  Hermes gave a sword, Athena a robe and Hephaestus forged a breastplate of gold for the glory of Hera. But the wrath of Hera would not be so easily abated. The vengeful goddess sent a madness to descend over Heracles' eyes. The hero writhed in the agony of his mind, blind to those all around. In his writhings, Heracles murdered his own children and two of Iphicles' too. Coming to his senses, deepest shame welled up inside Heracles at what he had done. Tormented by his unholy crime, Heracles went into exile from Thebes, coming to the Oracle of Delphi for purification. Little did he know that the words of the Oracle could be influenced by Hera. The Oracle spoke, and pious Heracles listened. She commanded the hero to journey to the court of King Eurystheus (who was the grandson of Perseus, for more about him please click here) in the mighty walled city of Tiryns, and serve the King for ten years, and complete any task that may be assigned to him, and upon completion of his service, he would be granted immortality.

Heracles slays the Lion of Nemea
Painting by Rubens.

Journeying to the city of Tiryns, Heracles came before Eurystheus. Under the sway of Hera, the King crafted a series of impossible tasks, such that no ordinary man could ever accomplish. For his first task, Eurystheus ordered, Heracles was to bring to him the skin of the Lion of Nemea. This monster was no ordinary lion. One of the dread offspring of Typhon and Echidna (for more about them, please click here), the Nemean Lion was invulnerable to the weapons of man. Its hide was impervious to spear, sword and arrow. Heracles arrived in Nemea, and soon found the creature, which terrorised the local people. Taking up Apollo's bow, Heracles loosed an arrow at the Lion, hoping for an easy victory. The arrow however, simply bounced off the monster's hide. Fashioning a club from a nearby tree, the hero tried to strike the monster, but it too was in vain. The Lion retreated to a cave in the mountains, so Heracles walled up one exit, leaving one cave mouth open. Venturing inside, the two powerful beings launched themselves at each other, the Lion's roar shaking the plains as Heracles grappled with the beast. Heracles throttled the Nemean Lion, using his own Titan strength to crush the beast's neck. Finding his knife unable to flay the body of it even in death, Heracles could only cut the monster's hide with its own claws. Wearing the hide around him as a cloak, Heracles journeyed back to Tiryns.

Heracles slays the Lernaean Hydra
Painting by Antonio del Pollaiolo.

Shocked by Heracles' prowess, Eurystheus hid inside the walls, forbidding Heracles entry to the city, fearing his might. Angered by the hero's success, Eurystheus decreed a second task, sure to prove too great this time. The King ordered Heracles to slay the infamous Hydra of Lernaea, a hideous monster which emerged from the swamps of Lerna to devastate the plains, slaughtering cattle and humans alike. Another of the fearsome brood of Typhon and Echidna, the Hydra was a vast creature, crowned with nine heads, each dribbling toxic poison. Eight of the beast's heads were mortal, but the ninth was invulnerable. Treading cautiously, Heracles, along with his nephew Iolaos, discovered the monster's lair near the springs of Amymone, hurling flaming brands to make the creature emerge. Emerge it did, and the hero hurled himself at it, grasping hold of the monster's trunk. The Hydra slithered its tails around his leg and began to squeeze, as Heracles drew forth his mighty club and swung down with all his might, striking with such force that one of the beast's many heads flew through the air, severed from its giant body. To the hero's despair, however, two new heads sprouted forth from the scaly stump. Retreating to rethink, Heracles called upon Iolaos to help. Attacking once more, as Heracles struck off the monster's heads, he ordered Iolaos to burn the stumps with a torch to prevent the creature regenerating. With one last almighty strike, Heracles severed the final head. But the head could not die, for it was blessed with immortality. So Heracles used his mighty strength to lift a huge boulder high, burying the monstrous head beneath it, so that it might never strike out again. Moving over the huge body, Heracles dipped his arrows in the creature's blood, which ran with lethal venom, sure that more fierce beings were yet to come on his adventures. Taking himself back to Eurystheus, Heracles was enraged to hear the King refuse to accept the validity of his task. Secretly furious that Heracles still lived, the King decreed that the slaying of the Hydra did not count, since the Hero had required the help of Iolaos to slay the beast. More labours were yet to come, but now Heracles was truly alone...

Revered by the Greeks, worshipped in the West and imitated by more than one Roman Emperor, the stories of the toils and hardships endured by Heracles have been told for not just centuries, but millennia. In coming posts we shall return to the adventures of Heracles, ever relentless in his quest for immortality and redemption. The stories of this great hero are scattered wide through the literature of Greece and Rome, but a good narrative may be found in the work of Apollodorus, a tome easily available from Amazon:

United Kingdom

The Library of Mythology:
The Library of Greek Mythology (Oxford World's Classics)
(A vast collection of stories of old Greece, written and compiled in ancient times)

United States

The Library of Mythology:
The Library of Greek Mythology (Oxford World's Classics)
(A vast collection of stories of old Greece, written and compiled in ancient times)

Bellerophon and the Chimaera

It is a simple truth among the stories told by human beings that the most remembered are those which tell of the triumph of man over nature, good over evil and the seemingly ordinary man over a seemingly invulnerable foe. Yet the greatest stories always hold a great moral truth within their words, and hold a dire warning against the transgression of the natural order of things. No man or woman could become too powerful or too beautiful without disaster befalling them. The gods had a way of punishing such pride. One of the earliest myths of Greece evokes all of these things – the story of Bellerophon and the Chimaera.

Bellerophon and Pegasus
Painting by Alexander Andreyevich Ivanov.

Born the son of Glaucus, King of Corinth, Bellerophon was blessed with near physical perfection and the “fine gallant traits that go with men”. Yet he was of a cursed line. For his grandfather was Sisyphus, a proud man whose everlasting punishment in Tartarus is legendary (see the full story in a later post, here). One tragic day, Bellerophon ‘s actions resulted in the accidental death of his own brother Deliades, and he was forced into exile. A broken man, Bellerophon arrived in the court of King Proetus of Argos (who incidentally was the brother of Acrisius, the man who would shape the destiny of Perseus – for his story, click here). Taking pity on the fair youth before him, Proetus used his virtue of kingship to expiate Bellerophon of his crime. Unfortunately for the hero, Proetus’ wife Queen Antea soon took more than an honourable liking to Bellerophon. She tried many a trick to seduce him, yet the hero’s will stood firm. Angered, Antea plotted against him. With malice in her eye, she came before Proetus and deceived him thus, “I wish you’d die, Proetus, if you don’t kill Bellerophon! He’s bent on dragging me down with him in lust though I fight him all the way”.

Tricked by Antea’s falsehoods, Proetus seethed with rage. He stopped short of striking Bellerophon down there and then, but conceived a stratagem to see to his end. He sent Bellerophon to deliver a sealed letter to King Iobates of Lycia (the area of southern Asia Minor). Little did the hero know that Iobates was in fact Antea’s father, and that the letter contained word that Bellerophon had attempted to ravish his daughter. So off he went to Lycia, where he was entertained by Iobates in his court for nine days and nights. The King was impressed with the man’s bearing and showered many gifts upon him. On the tenth day, Iobates inquired into the reason for Bellerophon’s coming, and the hero handed the King the letter. Iobates was stunned, and could not believe what he was reading. Torn between his duty to his guest and his daughter, he resolved to set Bellerophon a task which he would almost certainly not survive. He therefore ordered him to slay the Chimaera.

The Chimaera
Etruscan bronze dated to the 5th century BC, found in Arezzo.

“ Grim monster sprung of the gods, nothing human,

All lion in front, all snake behind, all goat between,

Terrible, blasting lethal fire at every breath! ”

                   - THE CHIMAERA

One of the most terrible of all the offspring of the fearsome Typhon and Echidna (For more about Typhon, see the very first post on this site here), the Chimaera was a formidable monster. It had inherited its father’s volcanic flames, and breathed fire hot enough to undo metal, earth and rock. To see the Chimaera was an omen of impending doom and natural disaster, and the monster was a plague upon the earth, devastating the land of Lycia and preying upon its people and cattle. Seeing that he would almost certainly be killed if he faced the creature alone, the goddess Athena resolved to come to Bellerophon’s aid. Athena put strength in his heart, and offered to him the bridle to tame the winged horse Pegasus (which had sprung from the blood of Medusa, whose story is here). Mounting his admirable steed, Bellerophon flew to meet his foe. Even upon noble Pegasus, brave Bellerophon struggled to get anywhere near the Chimaera. For whenever he sought to lunge upon the beast and run it through with his lance, the monster would spit forth an inferno. But suddenly, Bellerophon was possessed of an idea. He mounted upon his lance a block of lead and flew as hard and as far as he could at the Chimaera. Just before he would be immolated, he managed to drive the block of lead in the creature’s gullet. The Chimaera snarled and belched forth its fiery breath. But the intense heat was turned upon its creator, melting the block and choking the monster.

Bellerophon slays the Chimaera
Painting by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo.

When Bellerophon returned to the court of Iobates, the King could scarcely believe his eyes as he welcomed the hero back. Many times would Bellerophon ride against the enemies of Lycia, winning countless victories off the back of his airborne mount, his fame spreading with his triumphs. In one last effort to honour the letter which brought Bellerophon to his shores, Iobates handpicked the finest men in Lycia and ordered them to ambush the young hero as he returned one day. Fearless Bellerophon, however, killed them all.  A god’s hand was at work, the King thought to himself, and at last he embraced the man as an honoured friend. The Lycians gave to him a grand estate, and the King his daughter’s hand.

Soon, the darker side of the successful human psyche reared its head. As his name grew legendary, his grandfather’s traits began to show in young Bellerophon. His pride grew and arrogance in its wake. Soon, he believed himself worthy to set foot upon Olympus itself, and he goaded Pegasus to bear him to the immortal peak. Enraged, Zeus sent a gadfly to sting Bellerophon’s mount. Pegasus writhed in agony, and hurled the hero from its back. Landing in a thorn bush, blinded and made lame, Bellerophon lived out the rest of his days homeless and shunned by man, a living warning of what befell those who abused the gifts of the gods.

A classic tale of heroes, gods and monsters, the story of Bellerophon and the Chimaera is a potent tale even thousands of years after its time, the subject of many Renaissance paintings and childhood stories. The word 'Chimaera' itself has entered the English language, meaning 'hybrid' or 'fantasy', and it has even entered the language of science, being the technical term for an organism which contains the genetic material from more than one source. The story exists in many places in ancient lore, the two most substantial places being lsited below, easily available to any reader from Amazon:

United Kingdom

The Iliad:
The Iliad (Penguin Classics)
(A masterpiece of literature, and the cornerstone of all Western storytelling)

The Library of Greek Mythology:
The Library of Greek Mythology (Oxford World's Classics)
(Less poetic, but contains a collection of many of the myths of Greece)

United States

The Iliad:
The Iliad (Penguin Classics)
(A masterpiece of literature, and the cornerstone of all Western storytelling)

The Library of Greek Mythology:
The Library of Greek Mythology (Oxford World's Classics)
(Less poetic, but contains a collection of many of the myths of Greece)

The War of the Titans

We start with a story which probably captured your imagination as a small child, it certainly did mine. We go to the earliest myths of Greece, those of the birth of the gods of Olympus and their defeat of the Titans and ascension to mastery of the Heavens. ‘Where is this stuff written?’ is a question I am often asked. It is all in a short poem called the Theogony (The birth of the gods). As far as Creation myths are concerned, this one is truly awe inspiring. Its words tell of the birth of the original creation of the Earth and Sky from Chaos (a Greek word meaning ‘The Chasm’, which did not acquire the meaning of confusion and disorder until more recent ages).

The War of the Titans
Painting by Rubens

The union of Earth and Sky gave birth to Night and Day, Air and Ocean, Nymph and Titan. The youngest of the Titans, Kronos, was then born. A ‘crooked schemer and the most fearsome of children’, Kronos hated his father for his immoral passions and lay ever in wait to take his place as Master of the Cosmos. His chance soon came, when Earth gave birth to the Cyclopes and three monstrous sons. They were known as the Hecatonchires, fearsome Giants who had a hundred arms and fifty heads, and ‘Strength boundless and powerful was on their mighty form’. Sky despised them and hurled them into the Underworld, devoid of light. Earth was displeased with the treatment of her offspring, and appealed to her others to help her. Kronos alone rose and swore to punish Sky. He did just that. One day he ambushed Sky and severed his manhood, which fell to the Ocean and gave birth to Aphrodite, the goddess of lust. Kronos now stood triumphant, and the Titans were now supreme. Night then gave birth to Doom, Fate, Sleep, Death, Jeer, Misery, Resentment, Deceit, Old Age, Intimacy, Strife, Toil, Neglect, Starvation, Pain, Battle, Combat, Bloodshed, Slaughter, Quarrels, Lies, Pretence, Argument, Disorder, Disaster, Oath and accursed Old Age. In short, the Cosmos became polluted with the things which destroy goodness.

Then came the gods and goddesses that we know. Kronos had by his sister Rhea five offspring:

                  " Hestia, Demeter, and gold sandalled Hera,

Mighty Hades who lives under the Earth,

Merciless of heart, and Poseidon the booming Shaker of Earth,

And Zeus the resourceful, father of gods and men,

Under whose Thunder the broad Earth is shaken. "
 
                                        - THE CHILDREN OF KRONOS

But Kronos heard a prophecy that he would be overcome by his own child, so he proceeded to swallow his children to make sure his rule would never end. Rhea, like Earth before her was displeased. When Kronos was about to swallow Zeus, she substituted a great stone in his place, while Zeus was raised in secret on Crete. When Zeus grew up, the War of the Titans (the Titanomachy) began. Zeus made Kronos throw up his siblings, and the stone. The stone was later placed on the Earth at Delphi, to mark the very centre of the cosmos (which is still represented at Delphi today).

The War reached its tenth year and was brutally destructive, yet no side had the advantage. Zeus went to the Underworld and offered the Giants freedom from their chains if they would side with him. They agreed, and the Cyclopes forged thunderbolts for Zeus, and the Hecatonchires were unleashed upon the Titans:

" Both sides displayed a feat of main force; and the boundless sea roared terribly round about, the Earth crashed loudly, and the broad sky quaked and groaned. Long Olympus was shaken to its foundations by the onrush of the immortals..."

                                                             - THE WAR OF THE TITANS IS BEGUN

The Titans were overpowered by the Giants and the lightning from Zeus. The younger gods hurled the Titans down to Tartarus, the deepest and darkest part of the Underworld, and sealed them behind gates of Adamantine. So deep below the Earth was Tartarus, one could drop a bronze anvil from the Earth’s surface, and it would fall for nine days and reach Tartarus on the tenth. But Earth was displeased that Zeus had imprisoned her brood. Two terrible monster gods were born to her – Echidna and Typhon. From their union, all the famous beasts of Greek myth were created – the fifty (Not three) headed canine guardian of the Underworld Cerberus, the baleful Hydra, the monstrous hybrid that was the Chimaera, the savage Lion of Nemea, the deceitful Sphinx and the demonic hound Orthus. These creatures would roam the Earth terrorising man, until great heroes would conquer them.

Mount Etna, under which Typhon was imprisoned by Zeus.
Photograph by Josep Renalias

Typhon himself was a fearsome beast, the greatest and most lethal monster in Greek mythology, with a hundred snake heads which spat fire so hot that the very Earth itself began to melt. So tall was he that his shoulders reached the stars, and his roar was so intense that all the gods but Zeus fled in panic. Zeus began a titanic battle with Typhon, which shook the Cosmos so severely that even the Titans down in Tartarus quaked in fear. Zeus launched a thunderbolt at each of Typhon's heads and hurled Mount Etna at the monster, pinning him under the Earth (The Greeks believed the eruptions of Etna to be fits of Typhon's rage, when he tries to break free, covering the land in fiery lava).

The victorious gods divided the Cosmos between them, Zeus became the King of the Gods and lord of thunder, Poseidon was given the Seas and Hades was given the Underworld to rule. So the current order was established, and the Olympians became the Masters of Heaven. A fascinating story is it not? This is the very foundation of Classical Greek mythology and identity, apart from a great story. Inspiring stuff, which forged the common links between all Greeks in a time where there was no Greece, only warring city states.

The Theogony is a short, quite readable poem and available extremely cheaply at Amazon:

United Kingdom

Penguin Classics:
Hesiod and Theognis (Classics)
(Slightly academic, but not dull)

Oxford World's Classics:
Theogony and Works and Days (Oxford World's Classics)
(Nice and readable)

Loeb Classical Library:
Hesiod: Theogony, Works and Days, Testimonia: v. 1 (Loeb Classical Library)
(For something a bit special, including the original Greek text alongside)

United States

Penguin Classics:
Hesiod and Theognis (Penguin Classics): Theogony, Works and Days, and Elegies
(Slightly academic, but not dull)

Oxford World's Classics:
Theogony and Works and Days (Oxford World's Classics)
(Nice and readable)

Loeb Classical Library:
Hesiod: Volume I, Theogony. Works and Days. Testimonia (Loeb Classical Library No. 57N) (v. 1)
(for something a bit special, including the original Greek text alongside)