Athena and Poseidon

 Poseidon is one of the Greek Gods. He is the God of Sea, Storms, Earthquakes and horses.

Poseidon was the son of Cronos and Rhea.

Cronos is the youngest and the leader of the Titans, the ancient Gods of the Greeks. The Titans are the first generation of offspring of Gaia who is Mother Earth and Uranus who is Father Sky.

In certain Greek myths, it is believed that Rhea is the daughter of Oceanus and Tethys. Oceanus is the God of River Gods and he is believed to be the river surrounding the earth.

Zeus is sometimes considered as the youngest of the Greek Gods, but it is believed that he was the one who overthrew Cronos and the other Titans in a huge war.

After the war with the Titans, Zeus shared the world with his brothers. Zeus got the sky, Poseidon got the sea and Hades got the underworld.

Athena is a powerful Greek Goddess. She is the daughter of Zeus, the chief of all the Greek Gods. She is the Goddess of wisdom, strategic warfare, justice and law. She is also the protector of the city of Athens.

Athena is believed to have been born directly from Zeus’s forehead. She was born without a mother in some myths. She was born fully grown and with a powerful armour. Though there were some beliefs that Zeus did not like Athena because it was believed that she would overthrow him, eventually Athena became Zeus’s favourite daughter.

It was at that time that there lived a king called Cecrops.

Cecrops was born directly from the earth and he was a great ruler for his people. He was so good that the place that he ruled flourished and prospered at a tremendous rate. Even the Greek Gods noticed the city which was ruled by Cecrops.

Therefore at this time, Athena and Poseidon both wanted to bring the city ruled by Cecrops under their control.

Zeus looked at the two Gods and realized that a war between the two Gods could spell destruction and wanted to solve the issue amicably. He wanted the two Gods to create something for the people in the kingdom ruled by Cecrops. Looking at the two creations, the people of the kingdom could themselves decide about who could be their patron God.

So a competition between the two Gods was organized at the Acropolis.

Poseidon struck his trident on the Acropolis and supposedly created an underground sea and from there seawater sprang out in the city.

This was the gift of Poseidon to the people. (It is sometimes believed that Poseidon gifted a horse to the people in the city.)

Using her spear, Athena on the other hand, created a fully grown olive tree to the city. The fruits of the tree were nutritious to the people and the wood of the tree was very strong.

The people of the city were very impressed with Athena’s gift and they named her as the victor of the competition.

That was how Athena became the patron Goddess of the city.

That was also when the kingdom ruled by Cecrops was renamed after its patron Goddess and the city was called Athens.

Following this, Poseidon was furious with the people of Athens and he flooded Thriasia with water and put the city of Attika under the sea.

Subsequently, in the Acropolis there was a beautiful building called Erectheum.

This building is unique because though the Acropolis and the entire city was under the patronage of Athena, the place at Erectheum was half in the honour of Poseidon and half in the honour of Athena.

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The Seven-Headed Serpent - Part Three

After some time the queen had a little boy and the mad also had a male foal. The boy and the foal grew up together and loved each other like brothers. 

The horse could talk so that the human could understand him.

In course of time the king died and so did the queen. 

The son who was nineteen years old was all alone.

At that time, the horse talked to the prince. “If we keep sending these twelve young men and twelve maidens to the seven-headed serpent, our Kingdom will be ruined. So we will have to find the woman who will tell us how to kill the monster.” 

The Prince mounted his horse and they went to a far away mountain.  At its side was a great underground cave. 

There was an old woman who was spinning there all around the walls of the cave, there were beds cut out of the solid rock, upon which the nuns slept. 

In the middle, there was a light which was burning. It was the duty of the nuns to watch the lights and make sure that it never went out.  

As soon as the Prince saw the old woman he threw himself at her feet. “How can I kill the seven headed serpent?” He asked her immediately.

The nun embraced the young man. “It was I who sent the nun to your mother. And I was the reason for your birth and the birth of your horse. Take your horse and load it with cotton and go through the secret passage which I will show you. This passage is hidden from the wild beasts and leads directly inside the serpent’s palace. There you will find the king asleep in his bed. The king's bed is surrounded by bells. There is a sword hanging over the bed. You can kill the serpent only with the sword.  Even if the blade breaks a new one will grow again for every head that the seven-headed serpent has remaining. Thus you will be able to cut off all his seven heads. You must slip into the bed chamber of the monster and stop all the bells which are around the bed with cotton. Then take down the sword gently and quickly give the monster a blow on its tail.  This will wake him up. However, be careful because if he sees you he will catch you. You must quickly cut off his first head and then wait till the next one comes off. Strike off all the heads and go on till you have cut off all the seven heads.” 

The woman gave the Prince her blessing and he set out on what he had been told. 

The prince was able to follow the instructions and soon he beheaded the serpent. 

As soon as the wild beasts heard of the death of the seven-headed serpent, they came to the castle. 

However, the Prince had long since mounted his horse and was already out of their reach. 

Though the beasts pursued the prince, they found it impossible to overtake him and the prince reached his home safely. 

Thus the prince freed his country from the seven-headed serpent.

Adapted from Greek Folk Tales

The Seven-Headed Serpent - Part Two

 

After the seven-headed serpent had given the punishment he asked one of his beasts to show the king and his men back to their ship. 

The Beast guided the men out of the garden and left them at their ship.

The men left their island and went back to their own country. 

There they told the people what had happened to them. 

Soon the time came for the king to keep his promise to the seven headed serpent. 

The king issued a proclamation calling twelve young men and twelve maidens to offer themselves to save the Kingdom. 

Many young people came forward for this. 

A ship was built and set with black sails, and all the people were then set to sail to the island. 

This time when the young people came to the island, the lions under the trees did not stir, nor did the springs flow with the silver gold and pearls. This time the Lake also did not speak. 

The young people waited there near the Lake. 

The earth quaked even more terribly than it did the first time. 

The seven headed serpent came without the other beats, and it saw the prey who were waiting for him and it ate all of them. 

The ship's crew returned home, telling the king and the others what had happened at the island.

This went on for many years. 

The king of this unhappy country was getting old and he was even more sad because he and his Queen did not have any children. 

The Queen was sitting at the window and weeping sadly and she was certain that the crown would pass on to strangers after the death of her husband. 

At that time an old woman appeared before the queen and she changed the fate of the kingdom.

Seeing the crying Queen, the old woman came to the queen. “Why are you so unhappy?” 

The Queen told the old woman the real reason. “I have no children of my own.” 

The old woman shrugged and brought out an apple from her cloak. “Is that all?  I come from the Spinning Convent and I am a nun there. My mother left me this apple. Whoever eats this apple shall have a child.”

The Queen paid the old woman and bought the apple from her. She peeled the apple ate the apple and threw the skin out of the window.

As the Queen ate the apple a mare which was below the window of the queen ate the skin of the apple.

Adapted from Greek Folk Tales

The Seven-Headed Serpent - Part One

Once a king set out on a long voyage, with a fleet of his seamen. 

They went straight on night and day and arrived at an island which was covered by large trees. 

The king and his men were shocked to find a lion under every tree. 

As soon as the king and his people landed on the island the lions all rose up together and tried to attack the men. 

After a long battle the king and his men managed to overcome the wild animals. 

But the king had lost far too many of his men in this battle. 

Those who remained alive now went through the forest on the other side of the forest. There was a beautiful garden on the other side, in which all the plants of the world grew at the same time. 

In this garden there were three springs. The first spring flowed with silver, the second with gold and the third with pearls. 

The men took out their knapsacks and filled them with these precious items. 

In the middle of the garden there was a large lake. 

When the men reached the edge of the Lake a voice was heard by all of them. “Who are you and what brings you here? Are you here to visit our king? “ 

However, the king and his men were too terrified to answer. 

Then the voice came again. “I am the lake of this island and you do well to be afraid, for you have a lot to fear. Our king has seven heads and is now asleep. But he will wake up in a few minutes and he will come here to take his bath. Once he sees any of you it is impossible to escape him.” The king and his men looked at each other wondering how they could escape this predicament when the Lake continued, “take off your clothes and spread them on the path which leads from here to the castle. The king will then glide over the soft clothes. The king likes this and he will be so pleased that he will not eat you but instead he will give you some punishment.”

The men did exactly as they were told and they waited for some time. 

At noon they heard the very Earth shake and tremble and open at many places. Out of the openings appeared lions, tigers and many beasts, which surrounded the castle and many beasts followed the king. 

The king was a seven headed serpent. The serpent glided over the clothes that was laid out for him and wondered who had put such soft things on his path. 

The serpent asked the Lake the same question the lake answered that this was done by people who wanted to honor him. 

The king and the men were brought before the seven headed serpent. 

On hearing how they came to the island the serpent was angry. “You have dared come here so I will punish you. I will not eat you but in return every year you must bring me among your people, twelve men and twelve maidens so that I can eat them. If you do not do this I will destroy your entire kingdom.”

Adapted from Greek Folk Tales

The Prince and the Horse- Part Four

Soon after this the neighbouring country attacked the kingdom. 

The king had to go out on a battle and he was accompanied by the husbands of the two eldest daughters. 

The Prince also wanted to go to the war but he had nothing which could help him work for the king. 

Besides, the king, who was ashamed of his third son-in-law, did not give him any good horse or weapons to help him fight the war. 

The Prince was determined not to be left behind and he got on the sad horse that he had been given for carting the leaves away from the garden. 

No sooner had the Prince left the garden the horse stumbled and fell. 

The Prince then went down the brook and went to where the black horse lived in the hall. 

The horse nodded at the Prince after hearing what he had to say. “Bring my saddle and bridle. You will find a suit of armour in the next room. Put them on and we will write together in battle.”

The Prince did as he was told and he and his horse sped away to the battlefield. 

By the time the two of them had reached the battlefield the king had been losing the battle. 

However the Warrior who had been covered in his armour came with his black horse and soon the tide of the battle changed. 

The man in the armour with his black horse fought so ferociously that the enemy fled in all directions. 

The king and his two sons-in-law saw the man but did not know who he was. 

Before they could come any closer the black horse rose in the air and took its master away from there. 

The king and everybody else in his army believed that a god had come to their rescue. 

Some time later a part of the country rose in rebellion against the king. 

Exactly like the previous time the king did not want his third son-in-law to help him and did not give him any weapons or horses. 

This time too the Prince and the black horse went to the rebellion when the king was almost losing and turned tired of the battle. 

This time too the king and his two sons- in-law could not know who had come and saved them. 

The third time there was another attack by another neighbouring country. 

This time too the king did not take the third Prince with him. 

While fighting the third battle the Prince was stuck in the leg with a sword. 

The king then pulled out his own pocket handkerchief and bound it around the man's leg. 

After this the Prince and his horse disappeared from there after winning the battle for the king. 

Still no one knew who had come and saved them. 

The prince reached his home and he and his wife where he and his wife were living. He lay down on his bed and slept. 

That was when his wife noticed the handkerchief around her husband’s leg and realized that it belonged to her father.

The princess immediately took the kerchief to the king. 

Then the king and the two elder sons-in-law realized that this had been the man who had come and saved them in all the three battles. 

They all recognised him as the hero who had saved their life.

There was great rejoicing throughout the land and the king rewarded his third son-in-law with half of the kingdom. 

The Prince and his wife ruled over the kingdom happily ever after.

Adapted from Greek folk tales

The Prince and the Horse - Part Three

The horse now turned to the Prince. “You may get down there is nothing more to fear because the magician is dead.” The horse nodded at a brook nearby. “You will find a willow wand there. Strike it on the earth and you will see a door at your feet.” 

The Prince did as he was told and he saw a large door leading to a vaulted stone hall.

“Lead me into the hall,” the horse told the Prince. “I will stay there. You must go through the fields and you will reach a garden. There you will find a king's palace. If you go into the king's service you will be able to help me. But please do not forget me.” 

The Prince also promised the horse that he would not let anyone see his golden hair. The prince bound a cloth around his hair like a turban so that no one could see it. 

He walked ahead and saw the gardener of the palace and wanted to enter into service with the gardener. 

The Prince was naturally dressed like a poor man and the gardener did not think that he was a king's son. So the gardener accepted the king's son as his apprentice.

The Prince was given the job to weed the ground, sweep the dead leaves and for that the king’s son was paid a florin a day and a horse was given to him to take the leaves away. The Prince was also given food and drinks. 

The Prince agreed to the conditions and he set about to work. 

Every day half of the food that he got was all he ate. He took the remaining to the horse. The horse was very happy and thanked the Prince for his friendship.

The horse then one day told the Prince something very important. “Tomorrow a lot of princes and kings will come to this king's palace. The king has three princesses. Each of the three princesses will throw a diamond apple in her hand into the air. Any person at whose feet the apple falls will be the bridegroom of that princess. You must be close by in the garden at your work. If you do that the apple of the youngest princess would fall near your feet. Pick it up and put it in your pocket.” 

The next day exactly as the horse had said many wooers of the three princesses came from across many kingdoms to the castle. 

The princesses threw the apple in the air and the diamond apple of the youngest princess fell near the garden where the Prince was working. 

He immediately picked up the apple and put it in his pocket. 

However as the prince stooped to pick up the apple the scarf around his head slipped a little and the third princess saw some of his golden hair. 

From that moment the princess fell in love with the man in the turban.

The king however was very sad that his youngest daughter had to be married to a commoner. However the king had no choice and he celebrated the three marriages with great pomp and show. 

The youngest princess and the Prince returned to their broken down hut near the gardener's house. 

However the king was very ashamed of his third son-in-law and did not want him to meet the others.

Adapted from Greek fairy tales

The Prince and the Horse - Part Two

One day the Prince forgot to keep the stove burning and let the fire burn low. 

Just as the flame was flickering the old man stormed into the castle. “What do you mean by letting the fire burn so low? I just arrived at the nick of time to stop you from committing this foolishness.” 

After that the Prince hastily threw a log on the stove and he blew on the ashes to kindle the glow. 

His master hit him on the ear and warned him that if he ever did this again it would be worse. 

The Prince was sitting at the stable when he was surprised. 

The black horse could speak. “Come to my stall,” the black horse told the prince. “Bring my bridle and saddle from the cupboard and put them on me. Take the bottle that is beside the bridle and the saddle. The bottle contains an ointment which would make your hair shine like gold. Then put all the wood that you can gather together on the stove. Pile the wood very high up.” 

Though the Prince did not understand the reason for the horse’s instructions he trusted the horse and did what he was told. 

He saddled and bridled the horse. He put the ointment on his hair and was stunned to see that his hair was now shining like pure gold. He built a big fire in the stove and the flames sprang forth and it started burning through the roof of the castle.

A few minutes later the entire palace was beginning to burn up like a bonfire. 

The Prince ran to the stables and the horse nodded. “There is one more thing that you must do. In the cupboard you will find a looking glass, a brush and a riding whip. Bring all these three items and then mount on my back and we will ride away from this place.”

No sooner had the Prince got on the saddle then the horse was off and the horse kept at a furious pace. 

In a short time the black horse and the prince were far away from the forest and the country belonging to the magician. 

Meanwhile the magician returned to his palace and found it in smoldering ruins. 

He looked around the castle and found that his servant and his black horse were both missing. 

He mounted another horse and set off to find the black horse and his servant.

As the Prince rode on, he heard a horse follow him. 

The horse nodded with the Prince. “Look behind you and see if the old man is following you.” 

The Prince nodded back. “But the magician is at a distance.”

They gathered some more speed and found that now the magician had reached very close.

“Throw the looking glass on the ground,” the horse instructed the Prince. 

When the Prince threw the looking glass on the ground, the magician and his horse came up and his horse stepped on the mirror and crashed. The foot of the horse went through the glass and the horse stumbled and fell. 

So there was nothing that the old man could do but go back slowly to the stables and put new shoes on for the horse.

However the magician then again set out in pursuit of the Prince and the black horse. This time when the magician came very close the Prince was able to see the flames of the magician.

The horse advised the Prince to throw the brush on the ground. 

When the prince threw the brush, the brush changed into a thick forest which even a bird could not get through. 

The magician and his horse went back to the castle to bring an axe. 

The magician came back to the thick forest and cut his way through the forest with the axe. 

By the time the musician was finished the Prince and the black horse were much further away. 

But the magician with his power was still able to catch up with the two of them. 

“Throw your whip down.” The horse urgently told the Prince. 

The Prince did as he was asked and he was shocked to see that the whip changed into a broad river. 

This time when the magician urged his own horse into the water the water mounted higher and higher and finally the magic flame which surrounded the magician and all his power was fizzled out in the fire. 

Soon the magician and his horse disappeared in the river.

Adapted from Greek fairy tales