Achilles was best known as the central
figure in The Trojan War. It is said that without the help of Achilles, the
Greeks would have never defeated the Trojans. Achilles was a great hero his
birth was magical and supernatural.
It was foretold that the son of
Thetis would be greater than his father. . Thetis was a sea-nymph she knew that
her son was destined to be a hero that would die in battle. In order to make
him invulnerable she bathed him in the river Styx. However, his ankle the place where she held the child was not bathed in the river.
He was a mighty
warrior at Troy, but was killed in battle when Paris learned of his vulnerable
spot and shot a poisoned arrow into his heel.
Atlanta was a renowned huntress her
skills were so great that she joined the group of hunters on the Calydonian
Boar hunt. She made the first strike and was awarded the prize.When Atlanta was born ner father
Iasus was disappointed that he had a daughter that he placed her on Mount
Parthenon and left her in the open to die. A she bear later found the baby and
reared as its own. Atlanta became a renowned huntress her skills were so great
that she joined the group of hunters on the Calydonian Boar hunt. King Iasus acknowledged her as his daughter,
and commanded that she marry. Atlanta agreed but with the condition that the
man have to be able to beat her in a foot race, if not, she could choose to
behead him.
Only Melanion with the help of Aphrodite,
the Goddess of Love was able to win her hand in marriage. Melanion was only
going to be able to be Atlanta in a foot race with the help of the mighty
Aphrodite. Aphrodite gave him with three golden apples and told him that he was
to run the race carrying them. During the race he fell behind and then threw a
golden apple in front of Atlanta. These apples were so appealing to her that she stopped three times
to pick them up. By doing this she fell far enough behind that she lost the
race.
Atlanta married Melanion and had
one son who became a hero when he came of age.
Hercules is considered one of the
greatest heroes in mythology. He was a demigod and possess\ed great strength
and courage. Hercules accomplished great tasks from birth when he strangled two snakes that Hera sent
to kill him. Hercules was known for his anger.
One of the most famous acts was to perform 12 labors for his cousin King
Eurystheus for offending the Gods. The Nemian Lion-Hercules trapped the lion in
its own cave and strangled it with his bare hands. The Hydra of Lernea the
hydra was able to generate a new head each time one was cut off. With the help
of Iolaus, Hercules defeated the hydra by burning the cut section off each time
they were cut off. .
The Wild Boar of Erymanthus was a beast that he had hunted and after defeating
him, Hercules returned the dead beast to the king. The Hind of Ceryneia was a
special deer that had feet of bronze and antlers of gold. It took Hercules 1 year
to accomplish this task. The Stymphalian Birds these birds had wings, beaks,
and claws of bronze. Hercules scattered them by shaking a bronze rattle that
Athena helped him to make. The Augean Stables The stables of King Elis of
Augeus were filthy and contaminated. Hercules managed toclean them by diverting
the two nearby rivers and flooding the stables. The Cretan Bull was a bull
Hercules captured that had been plaguing the island of Crete. The Horses of
Diomedes these were wild beasts that Hercules captured. They were known to eat human flesh and that
Hercules fed Diomedes to them. The Girdle of the Amazon The girdle of the famed Queen Hippoloyta of the
amazons. Hercules seduced her and took the girdle. The Cattle of Geryon a
three-headed monster who had great cattle Hercules managed to capture them. The
Stealing of Cerberus the three-headed dog of Hades. Help by the Gods Hermes and
Athena he was able to bring the dog to the land of the living. The Apples of
the Hesperides were golden apples that
belonged to Hera. He tricked the god Atlas, by taking the arth upon his own shoulders
while Atlas obtained the apples and then with deception managed to make Atlas take up the Earth again.
These heroes and heroines stories
have survived time and are considered some of the greatest heroes of all time.
Some of the content of these myths are moral in nature while some myths are
thought to be historically based.
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