He journeyed down to the underworld, first charming Charon, ferryman of the dead, and lulling to sleep Cerberus, the three-headed watchdog.
Orpheus was determined to retrieve his beloved. Aristaeus pursued her until she stepped on a poisonous snake and was forced into the Underworld. His wife was a dryad, Eurydice, who also attracted the attentions of Aristaeus. Orpheus was the son of the Muse Calliope and therefore a grand musician. One of the most tragic love stories of Greek mythology. He placed her wedding crown, the Corona Borealis, into the heavens as a symbol of their love. The god Dionysus found the wounded girl and made her his wife. She accompanied him back on the voyage to Athens but he soon dumped her on the island of Dia, or Naxos. However, Ariadne fell in love with him, and she assisted him by giving him a ball of gold thread to help him in the labyrinth where the creature dwelt.
Minos had instigated from Athens a sacrifice of seven youths and seven maidens to feed the Minotaur, and the hero Theseus was to be one of the victims. Ariadne was the daughter of the the king of Crete, Minos. Yet another instance of a male pig abadoning his faithful companion after she becomes of no use to him. This may be the origins of "halcyon days", seven days before and after the winter solstice when Aeolus demanded the calm of the seas in honor of the couple. The gods pitied the woeful couple and transformed them into kingfishers. Distraught, Alcyone threw herself into the sea in order to join him. He appeared before his wife as an apparition, telling her of his fate. Whilst at sea, Zeus hurled a thunderbolt at Ceyx's ship, drowning the man. The couple often referred to each other as "Zeus" and "Hera", which naturally infuriated the king and queen of the gods. Her marriage to Ceyx was bliss-too happy, in fact. This myth reiterates how tradition-and male aspirations-took precedence over female wishes, whatever they may or may not be.Īlcyone was the daughter of Aeolus, king of the winds. He threw a coin at her, and she picked it up and read, "I swear by the temple of Artemis that I shall marry Acontius." By saying it aloud, she was obligated to marry him. Heck, the myths involving Zeus alone would make War and Peace look like a friggin' abstract! Acontius and CydippeĪcontius was a young man from Chios who, at a festival at Delos, fell in love with the Athenian Cydippe. Again, not all of the stories of amour were included, but rather a selected group that I feel are representative of Greek mythology. However, requests for tales of love are among my most numerous, so I have decided to share a few of my favorites. I consider myself one of the most stoic, antagonistic, anti-"love" wenches on the face of this planet. However, love was vital to the scheme of existence, and the Greeks felt they had to pay homage to it.but not necessarily revere it.
Love was extremely important-and hurtful, deadly, and destructive. Aphrodite really had no important festivals, and her favorite consort was Ares, god of war.