Greek mythology

Greek mythology

Pandora’s box

Hephaestus revenge

Orpheus and Eurydice

Hades and Persephone

After Prometheus' theft of the secret of fire, Zeus ordered Hephaestus to create the woman Pandora as part of the punishment for mankind. Pandora was given many seductive gifts from Aphrodite, Hermes, Hera, Charites, and Horae. For fear of additional reprisals, Prometheus warned his brother Epimetheus not to accept any gifts from Zeus, but Epimetheus did not listen, and married Pandora. Pandora had been given a large jar and instruction by Zeus to keep it closed, but she had also been given the gift of curiosity, and ultimately opened it. When she

Pandora’s box

opened it, all of the evils, ills, diseases, and burdensome labor that mankind had not known previously, escaped from the jar, but it is said, that at the very bottom of her box, there lay hope.

In an archaic story, Hephaestus gained revenge against Hera for rejecting him by

making her a magical golden throne, which, when she sat on it, did not allow her to leave

it. The other gods begged Hephaestus to return to Olympus to let her go, but he

refused, saying "I have no mother".At last Dionysus, sent to fetch him, shared

his wine, intoxicating the smith, and took him back to Olympus on the back of a mule

accompanied by revelers

Hephaestus revenge

While fleeing from Aristaeus (son of Apollo), Eurydice ran into a nest of snakes which bit her fatally on her heel. Distraught, Orpheus played such sad songs and sang so mournfully that all the nymphs and gods wept. On their advice, Orpheus traveled to the underworld and by his music softened the hearts of Hades and Persephone (he was the only person ever to do so), who agreed to allow Eurydice to return with him to earth on one condition: he should walk in front of her and not look back until they both had reached the upper world. He set off with Eurydice following and in his anxiety as soon as he reached the upper world he turned to look at her, forgetting that both needed to be in the upper world and she vanished for the second time, but now forever.

Death of Eurydice

The consort of Hades was Persephone, represented by the Greeks as daughter of Zeus and Demeter. Persephone did not submit to Hades willingly, but was abducted by him while picking flowers with her mother, Demeter. Persephone's mother missed her and without her daughter by her side she cast a curse on the land and there was a great famine. Afterward, Demeter was desperate so she pleaded with Zeus to bring Persephone back from Hades' abode. Zeus sent Hermes to do so. However, Hades tricked Persephone into eating pomegranate seeds .Because she ate six pomegranate seeds she must stay in the land of the dead for six months and for the remaining months she may live on Mt. Olympus with her family. While she is in the land of the dead she may not eat anything or she will have to stay there forever. Thus every year Hades fights his way back to the land of the living with Persephone in his chariot. Famine (autumn and winter) occurs during the months that Persephone is gone and Demeter grieves in her absence

Hades and Persephone

The Eros’s and Psyche’s wedding

Arahna turning into the spider