Cadmus

The beginning of things is always a moment enshrined in history. The greater the thing, the greater the myth, especially for those few who founded entire civilisations, for whom myth and history can be so closely intertwined as to be nigh on indistinguishable. One such hero was Cadmus.

The Rape of Europa
Painting by Titian

Far past, in the distant mists of time, there ruled over the great city of Tyre the King Agenor and his Queen Telephassa. Under their happy and benevolent rule Tyre rose to great heights, and the the Tyrians were blessed with a formidable progeny. To the royal family were born three sons; Phoenix, Cilix and Cadmus, and a daughter, Europa. Tyre rejoiced in the splendour of each of her heirs, each magnificent to behold and strong of heart. As the four grew up, the future seemed radiant for the great city. But it was not only man and woman who admired the majesty of these four, for they, as all things, could not escape the gaze of the Olympians on high. No mere nymph, dryad or spirit, but Zeus himself, King of the all gods, became enamoured of the young princess Europa. One sun drenched day, Europa danced merrily by the ocean's edge, under the Thunderer's watchful gaze. Transfixed by her beauty, Zeus came down to the Earth as a mighty white bull, of gleaming horns and glistening coat. Europa looked up, entranced at the majestic sight before her. Laying a fair hand upon the Bull's shining mane, in a bewitching trance she dared to mount its back. Gently, the Bull turned toward the surf, and sauntered into the waves. Triumphant, Zeus spirited her beyond the horizon, glorying in his prize, as the maiden held on, taken up in the thrill of adventure, as the land fell away behind her. Never again was she to be seen again on Tyrian shores.


When word reached King Agenor's ears of his daughter's flight, he was stricken with anguish. Summoning his three sons before him, he bade each search every coast far and wide, across the world, in search of Europa, unbeknownst to him that a god's hand was at work. With ready abandon did each brother set forth in search of his sister, three directions did they depart, and in three ways did they journey, and for an endless age did they go. To the South and West did Phoenix go, after time giving his name to the land of Phoenicia. To the North did Cilix go, after time giving his name to the land of Cilicia. To the West did young Cadmus go, landing soon upon Grecian shores. Time passed and the maiden could not be found, for what mortal can pursue the Thunder god himself? Weary from ageless toil, Cadmus decided to seek out the Oracle, and know her counsel. High upon the Delphic road he thus trod, with kindred Tyrians in tow, coming to the Pythian Halls. Intoxicated by the mists of prophecy, the Oracle thus did cry:


                      " Behold among the fields a lonely cow,
                        Unworn with yokes, unbroken to the plow;
                        Mark well the place where first she lays her down,
                        There measure out thy walls, and build thy town,
                        And from thy guide Boeotia call the land,
                        In which the destin'd walls and town shall stand... "      
                             - THE ORACLE SPEAKS TO CADMUS


The Prince of Tyre was taken aback by the command of Heaven. To find his sister was to be a destiny not his, it seemed, but as the founder of a nation. No sooner had he departed the towering sanctum, pondering deep his divine mission, than he spied in the fields that sacred cow, unshackled by rope or chain, unfitted with plow. The cow raised her head and saw the Prince of Tyre. Both looked into the eyes of the other for a brief moment, before the beast turned and trod. At a distance Cadmus stalked, in silence, praying to the god whose path he followed now. Through mountain high and plain wide Prince and beast continued their strange dance, crossing the silvery rapids of the river Cephisus, when all of a sudden, the cow raised her head to on high, bellowing thrice, before turning back to gaze at he, and laying in the grass. Cadmus saw the sign, and gave thanks to on high, thanks for his destiny, thanks for the nameless place, pastures and mountains which would be the land of his progeny. Turning to his kin, he bade them seek water with all haste from living streams, so as to prepare a sacrifice to Zeus the father of men and gods. So, over the wide plain his comrades trod, for their lay in a dark vale beyond a shady wood, its boughs hanging heavy over unlit grass, pathless and thick with brambles in the scrub.

Cadmus and the Dragon
Painting by Hendrick Goltzius

Yet Death incarnate lay in the darkness of the trees. For deep in the dank forest, sacred to Ares, lord of War, a powerful dragon lay, "bloated with poison to a monstrous size; fire broke in flashes when he glanc'd his eyes: his tow'ring crest was glorious to behold, his shoulders and his sides were scal'd with gold...". The Tyrians searched wide for water in the eerie glade, and with their vessels upturned, they gathered from the stream. From side to side their urns bounded, the ripples echoing deep into the infernal pond. Upon the the wyrms's crest they crashed, rousing the beast from evil slumber. Evil stirs, and with a hiss that shrivels the skin of the very sky, the dragon rose from the stagnant pool, his many tongues flickering, his many eyes darting to and fro. The Tyrians gave a shout of fear, their urns lying, shattered, discarded, upon the soil, now their grave. The dragon, towering high into the sky, then saw trembling men in his glade, and fell upon them in a rage. To their arms some Tyrians look, but in vain, to flight from the evil glade others. But no man there would breath the fresh air again, no man live to see the destiny of their prince. Some lie broken underfoot, others devoured by the monstrous creature, their final screams masked by the roar of the wyrm's ghastly breath.


The Sun began to rise into the warm, midday sky, and Cadmus began to wonder where his comrades had got to. Impatient to commence the rites the Olympians themselves had ordained him to do, the Prince of Tyre at once set forth to search for them, casting his eyes upon the fell glade in the distance, a place where the rays of the Sun never shone. The hide of a lion he wore around his muscled form, a raised spear in his hand, but a heart of valour was his greatest arm by far. Not long did he tread in the forest's eaves before the  broken bodies of his kin his eyes did spy, the monstrous beast in their midst, feasting upon his friends, gore spattering his jaw. In a shout of rage and grief, Cadmus heaved a mighty boulder, no ten men today could lift it, weak as men are now, and hurled it at the creature. The mightiest rock flung by the mightiest engine of war never had cast so mighty a payload at a towering wall, yet harmlessly did the stone deflect from the iron scales. His slumber disturbed a second time, the dragon seared with fury, and bore down upon the Prince of Tyre with thundering haste. Undaunted, the young Prince took up his spear, taking careful aim. The strength of the greatest of men, and beyond, he put into the throw, casting the dart into creature's spine. More success this time, as the iron tip burrowed between the scales, punching into the vile flesh. A screeching hiss the serpent wailed, sending eerie chill down Cadmus' spine. The powerful body writhed and turned, and monstrous teeth closed around the shaft of wood, splintering Tyrian spear. Pain feeding his building rage, the wyrm's eyes clouded a hideous red, hate pounding in every vein, as from his mouth a putrid gale blew, spraying a lethal foam about the clearing. Plant, flower and tree all wither under its hail, but not the Prince of Tyre. Uncoiling now, the monster lunges, a torrent of power. Desperate now, Cadmus seized the ruined spear, as the serpent's jaws clamped upon the point, mixing blood and venom raw. Not a moment to spare, the Prince dived behind a tree, as the mighty trunk deflects his foe's strike. Seizing his chance, Cadmus took the shattered point and thrust it will all his might and will to live, deep into the creature's throat. Labouring hard for breath, the accursed wyrm writhed in a final agony, crashing to the dust, lifeless as stone.

Cadmus sows the Dragon's Teeth
Painting by Maxfield Parrish

Not a moment did young Cadmus have to relish his triumph before a terrible voice roared throughout the dale, the voice of a god. "Why dost thou thus with secret pleasure see, insulting man! What thou thy self shalt be?" With horror chill did the Prince of Tyre realise, the voice of Ares, god of war himself, thundered all around, in anger at the slaying of his sacred beast. It was then that Athena, lady of wisdom, soared down from the Olympian heights, favouring the innocent Prince. Quickly, she bade him act, plow the field and scatter the teeth of the dragon as though the seed of a crop, for from them shall arise the people of his new city. Confused, but piously obedient, Cadmus obeyed. Plowing the field, and readying the seed, the Prince bent low over the wyrm's lethal teeth, wrenching them from the scaly cadaver:


       " He sows the teeth at Pallas' command,
         And flings the future people from his hand.
         The clods grow warm, and crumble where he sows;
         And now the pointed spears advance in rows;
         Now nodding plumes appear, and shining crests,
         Now the broad shoulders and the rising breasts;
         O'er all the field the breathing harvest swarms,
         A growing host, a crop of men and arms "
               - CADMUS SOWS THE DRAGON'S TEETH

To his utter amazement, the furrowed ground churned, and from the teeth of the dragon, fully armed and fierce men sprang. As the warlike men began to seek out their creator, Cadmus, wary of their bloodlust, cast a stone in their midst. It struck one of the men, who immediately rounded on his comrade to his rear, believing him to be the culprit, and struck him cold dead to the floor. Consternation broke out in the battalion of the Teeth, as brother turned against brother, and blood ran in torrents, the evil glad awash with gore anew.  Soon, all but five had been slain, and in that moment, Pallas Athena stayed their hands, and at her command, their arms to the ground did fall, as they embraced the way of peace. Before them now did the Prince of Tyre appear, and call each man his brother, and at last he set about the business of raising his great city. Thebes, the city would be called, and Cadmus her King, and the five men the fathers of the great noble families. Raising a high cliff in the city's heart, they named it for their founder, the Cadmeia (which you can visit today if you go to ancient Thebes), and thus began the days of Thebes, and the Royal House of Cadmus.

Long did Cadmus reign in peace, and to him the gods gave a wife, Harmonia, a symbol of new concordance between men and gods. Yet there was one in their midst who reeled with spite, proud Ares, his anger great still at the desecration of his sacred beast. Upon Cadmus and his progeny he placed a terrible curse. Ever after the Royal House of Thebes was plagued by misfortune. The grandson of Cadmus, Actaeon (whose own downfall you can read about here), and many generations later, his descendant Laius (whose fate you can read of here), father of Oedipus, would feel the curse's wrath. Many long years later, Cadmus ripe with age lamented the ill omens that plagued his family, raising his head to the Heavens. If the gods troubled so over the life of a serpent, he would rather be one himself than a mortal man. Upon him pity fell, and granted was his wish. Before his very eyes his skin was as scales, his teeth as fangs, his legs a whipping tail. His beloved Harmonia upon him gazed, imploring the gods to spare her pain of separation from him. To her too the gods gave their gift, and in a flash she too slithered upon the ground, freed from the evils of man and their ways forever...

What happened to Europa, you might ask? Zeus the Thunderer spirited her away to the island of Crete, and upon those radiant shores he revealed his true form. To the stars he flung his Bull like form, and the constellation Taurus was thus born. Upon Europa's head the crown of Crete the god did place, but greater still was to be her legacy. For even today the Continent of Europe bears her name...


United Kingdom

Metamorphoses:
Metamorphoses: A New Verse Translation (Penguin Classics)
(The Source for many of the myths of ancient lore, written by a Roman poet)

United States

Metamorphoses:

Metamorphoses (Penguin Classics)
(The Source for many of the myths of ancient lore, written by a Roman poet)

Isis and Osiris

After the brutal slaughter following the Creation at the hands of the goddess Sekhmet, the Egyptian cosmos was afforded some small respite and peace. Mankind had paid a heavy price in blood, which even now stained the land of Egypt, for the mercy of the gods (for the story of the Egyptian Creation myth, please click here). Feeling remorse for the carnage he had unleashed by the creation of Sekhmet, Ra, the Sun god, stayed her hand. Meanwhile, new deities were being born...

Thoth - the god of wisdom
Wall relief from the Temple of Ramesses II

During the old times, when Ra had ruled mankind as an avatar on Earth, a prophecy reached his ear that should the sky goddess Nut ever bear children, his rule would fall before one of them. So the Sun god laid a curse upon Nut, so that she could not give birth on any day of the year. Desperate with grief, Nut came before learned Thoth, the ibis headed god of wisdom whose intellect rivalled any deity to be born in Heaven. Wise Thoth knew that Ra's curse could not be lifted, but conceived a plan. He approached the moon god, Khonsu, and challenged him to a game of draughts. The lunar spirit accepted, and the games began. Thoth wagered his skill against the precious light that the moon god guarded, and through his arcane foresight, won game after game until Khonsu refused to play any more. Triumphant Thoth gathered the light he had won and with it he wove five extra days. Before Thoth's game the year had but three hundred and sixty days, now three hundred and sixty five. Nut was joyous at the news, for Ra's curse had been laid upon offspring born in the year, and now she had five days in addition to the ritual year.

Osiris - Lord of the Underworld
Papyrus in the British Museum

The goddess soon gave birth. Over five days she bore five deities. On the first, a son she called Osiris. On the second, another son. On the third, another son she called Set. On the fourth, a daughter she called Isis. On the fifth and final day, another daughter she called Nephthys. The curse of Ra had at once been fulfilled and conquered. Of all Nut's children it seemed that Osiris, her eldest son, was the most favoured. Popular, and shrewd, he ruled over the land of Egypt as Pharaoh and as god. Enamoured with Isis, Osiris wed his own sister, for a god could not marry a mortal, beginning a long tradition perpetuated through the Egyptian royal line in historical times. Osiris and Isis, as King and Queen, ruled well, and soon had a son, Horus. Osiris taught man the arts of civilisation, from the building of cities and the writing of laws to agriculture. Wars ceased, for man had no need of violence under Osiris' sound judgement and prudence. The shout of battle was replaced with song and dance, poverty with prosperity, death with life. The other gods bowed to Osiris and obeyed his will. Mankind turned from their heathen, cannibalistic ways when Isis uncovered the secrets of the fertile banks of the Nile. The secrets of writing, the invention of wise Thoth, were shared with the priests of Egypt. Jubilant at his noble rule, the people and gods of Egypt grew to adore their Pharaoh.

Set - the god of chaos
Stela in the British Museum

All except one. For Set, the god of chaos, storms and the desert, secretly harboured a strong hatred of his brother. Set reviled his popularity, when he himself had been shunned at court. The more the people praised Osiris, the greater his rage grew. But Set dared not strike Osiris down openly, for Isis was ever vigilant of Set's dark envy, as Osiris would not believe ill of his brother. Set therefore conceived a plan. One day, Osiris returned to Egypt from travels in distant lands. Set waited for his brother, and greeted him on bended knee, praising him for his virtuous rule, and declaring a magnificent banquet to be held in his honour. Attending would be men and gods from far and wide, but little did oblivious Osiris know that among those present, seventy two of the guests were fellow conspirators of Set. The feast eclipsed any which had been seen before in the Royal Palace of Egypt, as the laughter rang and the wine flowed. All gathered grew merry through revelry, and after the tables had been drawn aside, Set summoned into the hall a gift. Through the doors the servants came, bearing a most splendid casket, fashioned from the most precious metals and richest woods. All present marvelled at the craftsmanship of the Casket, but none were prepared for what came next. Set decreed that he would grant the casket to he who fits most exactly within it. One by one the seventy two conspirators moved to lie within it, though each was too slender or too broad. At last Osiris himself agreed to try the Casket. Set smiled with malice. For the calculating god had designed the Casket to fit the dimensions of Osiris perfectly. Osiris lay within it, finding to his surprise that it was most comfortable to his frame. At once Set gave the command, and the seventy two conspirators pounced. They immediately sealed the Casket with the god-king inside, driving the nails into the wood, binding them with molten lead. The conspirators took the casket onto their shoulders and hurled it into the mighty River Nile, which swept it through the Tanitic Mouth to the Delta. Further and further the Casket of Set was borne, until it at last found peace in the branches of a great tamarisk tree in the land of Phoenicia.

Isis - Queen of the gods
Painting in the Tomb of Seti I, Valley of the Kings

Isis, wracked with grief, set about searching far and wide for the Casket, carrying the infant Horus in her arms. Far and wide across the land of Egypt she sought her brother and husband in vain, and wept bitterly, for until given the proper funeral rites, the soul of Osiris would never be able to truly move on. Loyal Isis asked every man, woman and child she came across, but none had seen the Casket. Then, just as all hope seemed to have faded, she chanced across some children playing by the banks of the Nile. To her elation, it so happened that they had indeed seen a chest such as she described, and pointed her in the direction of the Ocean. Grateful Isis blessed the children, and all children hence with the gift of innocence and wisdom. Leaving Horus in the safe care of the goddess Buto, Isis made for Phoenicia with all haste. Over time, the tamarisk tree had been felled and now stood as a pillar in the House of King Malcander and Queen Astarte of Phoenicia. Through her humility and peculiar aura, Isis soon won the respect and admiration of the Phoenician people. Coming to the Royal Court at Byblos, Isis chanced upon the baby Dictys, who she found to be in terrible ailment. Through her empathy, Isis felt the child's pain, and took pity upon him, making him an immortal. With a shock, Queen Astarte revealed the baby to be her own son, and the King and Queen were immeasurably grateful, offering anything and all they had in praise of Isis. Humble Isis, however, begged just one thing, the pillar of the palace. Unaware of the truth of the pillar's core, King Malcander granted her this gift most willingly. Isis broke apart the mighty trunk to reveal, to her ecstasy, the Casket of Set. Taking the Casket she at once made her return to Egypt, and ever after the tamarisk pillar was revered as the most sacred relic in Byblos.

Set
Wall relief from the Temple of Edfu

Her quest at last complete, Isis set the Casket down in the marshes of the Delta, and collapsed in fatigue and grief. For in her absence, Set had seized power in Egypt for himself, and now ruled the land as Pharoah and god. Though Egypt was strong, the people lived in fear of their new King, who though an authoritative leader, ruled with the unrelenting grip of a tyrant. For an age Isis wept over her beloved Osiris, so missed by his people and his sister, such that the Nile itself began to flood. Every year since, the Nile has burst its banks, both a blessing and a curse. After a time, her eyes grew dry from giving up so many tears, and her thoughts turned to her son Horus, who she had not seen for so long, and she made haste to visit Buto to reclaim him from her care. But ill fortune was still to come. That night, Set rode forth from the Palace astride his chariot, hunting boars in the Delta as was his pleasure, for Set adored the darkness of the night and the wicked things which dwell within it. The light of the moon shone brightly that night. A glint in the bushes caught the dark god's eye. Curious, Set leaped to the ground. Recognising the lavish designs on the Casket at once, his fury was terrible to behold. Drawing upon his immense strength, powered by the sinews of a god, Set rent the Casket asunder and gazed upon the body of his brother. His rage building, Set lifted the body high into the air and tore the corpse into fourteen pieces, hurling each bloodied part to the fourteen corners of Egypt, before storming back to the Palace.


When Isis returned with Horus, and learned what Set had done, she was as relentless as she was sorrowful. Dutifully, she set about searching once again, in a boat woven of papyrus. The creatures of the Nile, through fear or reverence, bowed before her and aided her passage. Out of respect, the crocodiles had not devoured the dismembered parts of Osiris, and retreated before her. Guided by the creatures, Isis soon discovered thirteen of the parts, stopping to hold a funeral for each as she found it. Where each piece was found, a shrine to Osiris was raised in defiance of Set. But an impious pike had fed upon the final part of the fourteen, and Isis was forced to fashion the remainder out of wood from a nearby tree. The body of Osiris at last united, Isis wove her arcane magic, uttering the divine secrets she had learned from Ra, as she embalmed the body. Osiris could at last move on to the Underworld, and Isis hid the body on the island of Elephantine, hoping that Set would never discover it.

Horus - the god of the Sky
Photograph taken by Karen Green

As the young Horus grew, he heard the voice of his father in his ears, a voice which taught him all the arts a warrior must know who must face Set. Over the years, Horus grew into a strong being, mighty in will and in stature. One day Osiris asked his son "What is the noblest thing that a man can do?". "Avenge his father and mother for the evil done to them", Horus eagerly replied. Osiris smiled, seeing that his son was ready to face Set. Word soon reached Set in the Royal Court of a rebellion in the South, who set about raising an army to confront the apparent usurper. The two forces met near the Delta, and the fighting was bitter. When Set saw that the rebellion was lead by the Son of Osiris, he was angered further still. Both armies clashed, but neither side could lay low the other. For many days the war went on, all over Egypt, until the time came for one final battle. Drawn by the rapids to the First Cataract of the Nile, Horus came to the island of Elephantine. In close pursuit, with a deafening roar, the Nile seemed to tear asunder as the dark god burst forth from its depths, in the form of a titanic hippopotamus coloured as though drenched in blood. Coming to rest upon Elephantine, Set sensed the presence of Osiris's corpse, and was incensed greatly. Suddenly spying Horus on the prow of the lead ship, Set turned to crush the Son of Osiris once and for all. Wielding power over the storms, Set commanded a blasting gale bear down upon Horus and his fleet. The howling winds sent forth the Nile in raging torrents and towering waves, and Horus clung on, just. The sky darkened with the violence of the storm, and a ripple of fear passed through Horus's troops. Sensing their fear, Set rose high into the air and lunged at Horus, his tusk ridden jaws stretched wide, eager to engulf the young god in his maw. Desperate, Horus seized a harpoon from the deck and dived forward. Carried onward by his own immense mass, Set was impaled upon the blade, and the point bored through his powerful skull, transfixing his brain. Set, the enemy of Osiris, fell broken to the Nile depths. The storm subsided, the blackness replaced by a deep blue, and the Sun glowed brightly. Osiris, once the great King and now the judge of the dead, was truly at peace. The people of Egypt shouted in triumph, and greeted Horus the Avenger with glorious exultation. Egypt was, at last, at peace.

The story of Isis and Osiris is a vast myth, and the cornerstone of Egyptian Mythology. Preserved in images all over Egypt, and in the writings of later civilisations, it is a tale which has endured the withering passage of time with potency. The story in its completeness can be found in its entirety in the following books, available at a good price from Amazon:

United Kingdom

Plutarch's Moralia:
Moralia: v.5: Vol 5 (Loeb Classical Library)
(Includes an account of the story of Osiris, through the eyes of a Romanised author)

Diodorus Siculus' Library of History:
Library of History: v. 1 (Loeb Classical Library)
(A more light hearted and easy to read account of the tale, told by a Sicilian!)

United States

Plutarch's Moralia:
Plutarch: Moralia, Volume V, Isis and Osiris. The E at Delphi. The Oracles at Delphi No Longer Given in Verse. The Obsolescence of Oracles. (Loeb Classical Library No. 306)
(Includes and account of the story of Osiris, through the eyes of a Romanised author)

Diodorus Siculus' Library of History:
Diodorus Siculus: Library of History, Volume I, Books 1-2.34 (Loeb Classical Library No. 279)
(A more light hearted and easy to read account of the tale, told by a Sicilian!)