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Hera

Hera played a prominent role in the myth about the Trojan War, captured in The Illiad. The story began with a beauty contest between Athena, Aphrodite and Hera.http://www.stanford.edu/~plomio/history.html Hera promised Paris power if he chose her, but Paris selected Aphrodite as the most beautiful, for she had promised him Helen as his wife for selecting her. His kidnapping of Helen caused the Trojan War, and Hera sided with the Greeks since Paris was a Trojan and had not chosen her in the contest.http://cerhas.uc.edu/troy/bios.html#

Hera is associated with the peacock. This is in part because, according to myth, she put the spots on the peacock's tail feathers. Hera had sent her guard Argus to watch over a cow that she knew was really Io, a woman Zeus was having an affair with. Zeus had changed Io into a cow so that he might conceal their affair when Hera caught them together. Hera took Io as a cow for a gift and Io would have remained that way with Argus with his hundred eyes watching over her, but Zeus sent Hermes to free Io. Hermes told stories and sang songs to Argus to make him fall asleep, then killed him. Hera was infuriated, and took Argus' eyes and placed them on the peacock in his memory.http://www.math.utk.edu/~vasili/va/GREECE/Greek_myth/zeusLover.html

updated 2010-11-24 22:44:32

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Demeter

The most common myth that Demeter plays a part in is the kidnapping of her daughter Persephone by Hades and the resulting creation of the seasons. Hades wanted to marry Persephone and so abducted her by springing forth from an opening in the ground on his chariot and carrying her into the underworld. She did not want to stay, but Hades tricked her into eating a seed from a pomegranate. Anyone who ate food in the underworld had to remain there, and so Persephone could not leave. Demeter was saddened by this, and in mourning refused to allow the crops to grow. The resulting famine threatened to starve all of humanity. In order to stop the famine, a compromise was negotiated that resulted in Persephone spending half of the year with Hades in the underworld, and half of the year above ground with her mother. The result was the seasonal cycle, with no crops growing during the winter when Demeter pines for her daughter.http://www.theoi.com/Khthonios/Haides.html

updated 2010-11-24 22:31:44

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Achilles' Heel

The injury, Achilles' Heel is soreness of the tendon just above the rear of the heel. The modern phrase, Achilles' Heel, refers to any secret weakness that, if discovered, could bring great harm.

Achilles was the mightiest of the Greek warriors who fought in the Trojan War. When Achilles was a baby, Thetis, Achilles' mom, was told she could make her son immortal by dipping him in the River Styx. She held the baby Achilles by his heel when she dipped him in The River Styx. Wherever the water touched him, it made him invulnerable to all weapons. Achilles was killed by an arrow that pierced his heel, where Thetis's fingers prevented the River Styx from touching him.

On November 23 2009 Blogger Michael Tunison demonstrated a modern use of the term Achilles' Heel meaninga secret weakness. He posted that the Pittsburgh Steelers' Achilles' Heel used to be their offensive line, until their loss the day before to the Kansas City Chiefs. Tunison says now the Steelers' Achilles' Heel is special teams. http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/the_sporting_blog/entry/view/44747/steelers_achilles_heel_shifts_from_offensive_line_to_special_teams

On December 14 2009, 80,000 customers of the New Zealand cellular provider Telecom XT found out that Telecom XT's Achilles Heel is its sole reliance on 3G spectrum.http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/massive-outage-reveals-xt-s-achilles-heel-116425

updated 2010-07-16 20:45:12

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Cupid

• 1897 - Cupid and Psyche
• 1897 - Cupid at the Washtub
• 1907 - Cupid
• 1908 - Cupid's Pranks
• 1909 - An Absent Minded Cupid
• 1910 - A Midnight Cupid
• 1911 - A Country Cupid
• 1911 - A Busy Cupid
• 1912 - Cupid vs. Cigarettes
• 1912 - Cupid Got Away
• 1912 - A Near-Sighted Cupid
• 1912 - A Stubborn Cupid
• 1913 - A Pill Box Cupid
• 1913 - A Shot Gun Cupid
• 1913 - A Vagabond Cupid
• 1913 - Binks Plays Cupid
• 1913 - A College Cupid
• 1913 - A Four-Footed Cupid
• 1914 - Andy Plays Cupid
• 1914 - Cupid Dances a Tango
• 1915 - A Cunning Canal Boat Cupid
• 1915 - Santa Claus vs. Cupid
• 1916 - Tweedledum Torpedoed by Cupid
• 1917 - Red Saunders Plays Cupid
• 1918 - Cupid Angling
• 1918 - Cupid Camouflaged
• 1920 - Torchy Turns Cupid
• 1922 - Cupid in Djekjakarta
• 1924 - K.O. for Cupid
• 1925 - A Friend of Cupid
• 1925 - Alice Plays Cupid
• 1925 - Felix Outwits Cupid
• 1926 - Cupid a la Carte
• 1927 - Cupid and the Clock
• 1929 - Cupid in Clover
• 1933 - Cupid in the Rough
• 1936 - Cupid Gets His Man
• 1936 - Thanks Mr Cupid
• 1938 - Cupid Takes a Holiday
• 1939 - Cupid Rides the Range
• 1940 - Blondie Plays Cupid
• 1941 - Two Gun Cupid
• 1944 - The Stupid Cupid
• 1944 - Henry Aldrich Plays Cupid
• 1947 - Cupid Goes Nuts
• 1949 - Bal Cupidon
• 1960 - Operation Cupid
• 1962 - The Story of Cupid
• 1964 - The Electric Cupid
• 1975 - The Taking of Cupid
• 1977 - Tora San Plays Cupid
• 1979 - Bugs Bunny's Cupid Capers
• 1985 - Cupid One
• 1987 - Sister Cupid
• 1988 - Stupid Cupid
• 1991 - Coping with Cupid
• 1994 - The Blob Cupid
• 1996 - Cupid and Psycho
• 1999 - Cupid Confidential ...

updated 2010-07-17 02:30:56

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Cronus

Cronus was a Titan and the first offspring of Uranus (Father Sky) and Gaea (Mother Earth).

How Cronus Became King

Uranus and Gaea bore many children. Some of their offspring were considered hideous by Uranus, such as the Cyclops and the three Hekatonkheires, who had 100 arms and 50 heads. Because of his disgust, Uranus forced these children into hiding, throwing them into Tartarus and never allowing them to be seen in daylight. This displeased Gaea, and she created a great sickle in a plan to punish Uranus for his actions.

Gaea pleaded to her children for help and received no response. In Hesiod's Theogeny, Gaea says, "My children, gotten of a sinful father, if you will obey me, we should punish the vile outrage of your father; for he first thought of doing shameful things".http://www.theoi.com/Titan/TitanKronos.html Gaea told Cronus to hide and wait for his fathers approach. Shortly after, Uranus approached Gaea, longing for love. He laid upon her and they began to procreate. From hiding, Cronus approached and grabbed Uranus' genitalia, severing it with the sickle and throwing it behind him. The drops of blood that gushed from Uranus entered Gaea and from them she bore The Erinyes and Gigantes. With his father dead, Cronus and his wife Rhea took the throne as king and queen of the Titans.http://www.theoi.com/Titan/TitanKronos.html

Cronus Devours His Children

Cronus was married to Rhea, goddess of female fertility, motherhood and ...

updated 2010-12-11 00:14:50

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Poseidon

Poseidon is a key character in two major Greek myths, the Trojan War and of the Odyssey. In the Trojan War, captured in the epic poem The Iliad, Poseidon fights against the Trojans. Poseidon and Apollo built the walls of Troy for King Laomedon, but the king refused to pay Poseidon and Apollo for the work. For this reason Poseidon held a grudge and fought with the Greeks in the conflict.http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0104:entry=poseidon-bio-1

In The Odyssey, Poseidon is angered by Odysseus when he blinds Poseidon's son, the cyclops Polyphemus.http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0104:entry=poseidon-bio-1 Poseidon hinders Odysseus' journey home by destroying his ship on two different occasions.http://loki.stockton.edu/~kinsellt/projects/ulysses/storyReader$11.html

updated 2010-11-19 03:14:32

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Medusa

Some believe that stories from Greek mythology are in fact accurate accounts of geographical and climatic occurrences. The descriptions given in Hesiod's Theogony speak of tropical islands on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean from Greece in what is now belied to be the Gulf of Mexico.http://www.stipsi.gr/hellas/pegasus.htm

The name Medusa (Μέδουσα) is translated as "land full of snakes, an uninhabited island." The names of Medusa's children (Pegasus and Chryaorus) also speak to this truth. In Greek Chrysaorus (Χρυσάορας) (Chrysos = Mountain, Oros = Gold) is roughly translated as "mountain with running lava" or "volcano." The book speaks of Pegasus as a cloud and how he flew over land to bring lightening to Zeus. Later it is detailed that Pegasus "the cloud" extinguishes the fire of the Chimera with rain.http://www.stipsi.gr/hellas/medusa.htm

updated 2010-12-05 17:35:35

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Cerberus

In the third-person fighting game Dante's Inferno, released by Electronic Arts (EA Games) in 2010, Dante faces the "great worm" Cerberus. Cerberus is depicted as a three headed worm with two arms, ferocious teeth and bulging eyes. This is the final battle at the end of the 2nd circle of Hell. Dante must defeat Cerberus by decapitating all three heads in order to enter the 3rd circle, Gluttony.http://www.bukisa.com/.../239738_dantes-inferno-boss-walkthrough-guide-05-cerberus-of-gluttony

updated 2010-11-30 18:02:52

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Athena

Athena is a pivotal character in a number of Greek myths. As a weaver, she takes offense when Arachne, a human, claims to be more skilled than Athena. Athena challenges her to a contest to see who is indeed the most talented of the two. When Athena wins the contest, she still finds Arachne unrepentant and arrogant, which Athena takes as an insult to the gods. She slaps Arachne in the face and Arachne begins to turn into a spider, hence the reason that spiders weave webs.http://www.hipark.austin.isd.tenet.edu/mythology/arachne.html

Athena was an active participant in the Trojan War, detailed in The Illiad and in Odysseus' attempts to return home described in The Odyssey. During the Trojan War, it was Athena who came up with the idea for the Greeks to sneak into Troy inside the wooden horse, planting the idea in Odysseus' mind.http://www.arthistory.sbc.edu/imageswomen/papers/ortengrenathena/athena.html It was also she who helped Odysseus on his journey home, in one instance forcing Zeus to release him from the spell of Calypso.http://www.arthistory.sbc.edu/imageswomen/papers/ortengrenathena/athena.html

updated 2010-11-19 03:27:10

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