Greek Mythology
Follow the myths from the creation of the cosmos, through the Titans and Olympians, into the Heroic Age, the Trojan War and its aftermath.
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Creation & Primordial Age
Creation from Chaos
Greek cosmogony begins not with a creator god, but with Chaos. From this first state emerge the primordial powers that form the foundations of the cosmos.
Gaia and Uranus
Gaia brings forth Uranus, the starry Sky, who becomes her consort. Their descendants include the Titans and other powerful primordial beings.
The Overthrow of Uranus
Gaia turns against Uranus and persuades Cronus to strike his father, ending the first divine kingship and beginning the age of the Titans.
Age of the Titans
Cronus and Rhea
Cronus becomes ruler after overthrowing Uranus, but a prophecy that one of his own children will overthrow him drives him to swallow each child born to Rhea.
The Birth and Concealment of Zeus
Rhea hides her youngest child Zeus from Cronus and tricks the Titan ruler into swallowing a stone instead of the newborn god.
Zeus Overthrows Cronus
The grown Zeus confronts Cronus and frees his swallowed brothers and sisters, creating the generation that will become the Olympian gods.
The Titanomachy
Zeus and the younger gods wage a vast war against Cronus and the Titans. Their victory ends Titan rule and establishes the Olympian generation.
Olympian Order
The Division of the Cosmos
After the defeat of the Titans, Zeus, Poseidon and Hades divide the great realms of the cosmos by lot: Zeus receives the sky, Poseidon the sea and Hades the Underworld.
Typhon's Challenge to Zeus
The monstrous Typhon challenges Zeus for mastery of the cosmos in one of the greatest threats to the newly established Olympian order.
Prometheus and the Theft of Fire
Prometheus defies Zeus on behalf of humanity and steals divine fire, bringing a fundamental technology to mortals at terrible personal cost.
Pandora
Zeus responds to Prometheus' theft of fire by sending Pandora among humanity, linking her famous jar with the hardships of mortal life.
The Birth of Athena
Athena is born from Zeus after he swallows Metis, emerging fully armed from his head.
The Birth of Apollo and Artemis
Leto gives birth to the divine twins Artemis and Apollo after wandering in search of a place where Hera's anger cannot reach her.
The Abduction of Persephone
Hades takes Persephone into the Underworld, and Demeter's grief threatens the survival of humanity until a compromise restores part of the year.
Dionysus and Semele
Semele dies after seeing Zeus in his full divine form, but the unborn Dionysus is saved and later born from Zeus himself.
Apollo and Daphne
Apollo pursues the nymph Daphne, who escapes him through transformation into the laurel tree.
The Birth and Death of Asclepius
Apollo rescues the unborn Asclepius after the death of Coronis, and the child grows into a healer whose power eventually challenges death itself.
Poseidon and Amphitrite
Poseidon takes Amphitrite as his divine consort, establishing the royal household of the sea and the lineage of Triton.
The Gigantomachy
The Olympian gods fight the earth-born Giants in the Gigantomachy. A prophecy declares that the gods cannot win without the help of a mortal, making Heracles essential to the Olympian victory.
Other Traditions
Ananke and the Primordial Order
Ananke is a primordial force of necessity and inevitability, representing the ordering power that even the gods cannot easily escape.
Pontus and the First Sea Gods
From Gaia and the primordial sea Pontus came an ancient generation of sea gods whose descendants would shape many later Greek myths.
Crius and the Celestial Line
The Titan Crius and the sea goddess Eurybia become ancestors of a divine line connecting the Titans with the stars, winds, victory, power and Hecate.
Ourea and the Primordial Mountains
The Ourea are the primordial mountain gods, born from Gaia and representing the great mountains and elevated places of the natural world.
Zeus, Mnemosyne and the Birth of the Muses
Zeus and Mnemosyne become the parents of the nine Muses, divine figures associated with poetry, music, history and the arts.
Zeus and Themis: The Horae and the Fates
Zeus and Themis become parents of the Horae, goddesses of order, justice and peace, and in one Hesiodic genealogy also of the three Moirai, the Fates.
Leucothea Saves Odysseus
When Poseidon wrecks Odysseus' raft, the sea goddess Leucothea — formerly the mortal Ino — gives him a protective veil and advice that help him survive the storm.
Typhon and Echidna
Typhon and Echidna stand at the centre of one of Greek mythology's most important monstrous genealogies, becoming parents of creatures confronted by later generations of heroes.
Glaucus and the Sea
Glaucus was a mortal fisherman who became a prophetic sea deity after eating a magical herb that revealed its divine properties.
Heracles and the Nemean Lion
Heracles begins his Labours by confronting the Nemean Lion, a monstrous beast whose hide cannot be pierced by ordinary weapons.
Heracles and the Lernaean Hydra
Heracles battles the many-headed Hydra of Lerna, whose severed heads grow back until the hero finds a way to prevent their regeneration.
Heracles and the Cretan Bull
Heracles travels to Crete to capture the extraordinary bull associated with King Minos and brings the animal back alive.
Heracles and Cerberus
For his final Labour, Heracles descends alive into the Underworld and brings Cerberus, the guardian hound of Hades, into the world above.
Erysichthon and the Sacred Tree
Erysichthon violates a grove sacred to Demeter and is punished with an insatiable hunger that destroys his wealth and ultimately himself.
The Death of Achilles
After becoming the greatest Greek warrior at Troy, Achilles finally meets the death long associated with his heroic fate.
The Trojan Horse
Unable to take Troy by direct assault, the Greeks use the wooden horse to enter the city and bring the long war toward its end.
Telemachus and the Suitors
Telemachus comes of age while the suitors consume his father's household and court Penelope, forcing him to confront the crisis in Ithaca.
The Lotus-Eaters
Odysseus and his companions encounter the Lotus-Eaters, whose food causes those who eat it to forget their desire to return home.
The Laestrygonians
Odysseus reaches the land of the Laestrygonians, where a hostile race of giants destroys almost his entire fleet.
Odysseus and the Sirens
Odysseus hears the irresistible song of the Sirens but survives by having his crew bind him to the mast while they block their ears.
Odysseus in the Underworld
Odysseus travels to the realm of the dead to consult the prophet Tiresias about the journey home.
Nausicaa and Odysseus
Shipwrecked on the land of the Phaeacians, Odysseus meets Princess Nausicaa, who helps him reach her father's court.
The Contest of the Bow
Penelope announces a contest in which the suitors must string Odysseus' great bow and shoot through a series of axe heads.
Early Humanity
Early Heroic Age
Io and Hera
Io becomes caught in the conflict between Zeus and Hera, and her long wanderings become part of the ancestry of several later Greek heroic families.
Demeter and Iasion
Demeter unites with the mortal Iasion in a ploughed field, and their son Plutus becomes the divine personification of wealth.
Europa and Zeus
Zeus takes the form of a bull and carries Europa across the sea to Crete, where she becomes the mother of a major Cretan dynasty.
The Search for Europa
After Europa is carried away by Zeus, Agenor sends her brothers Cadmus, Phoenix and Cilix to find her, but their unsuccessful search leads them toward new lands and new dynasties.
Cadmus Founds Thebes
Searching for Europa, Cadmus follows an oracle into Greece, kills a dragon and becomes the legendary founder of Thebes.
Boreas and Oreithyia
Boreas, god of the north wind, carries away the Athenian princess Oreithyia, and their descendants include the winged Argonauts Zetes and Calais.
Minos and Sarpedon
Minos and his brother Sarpedon quarrel in Crete, and Sarpedon's exile becomes part of the mythological connection between Crete and Lycia.
Danaë and the Birth of Perseus
King Acrisius tries to prevent a prophecy that his grandson will kill him, but Zeus reaches Danaë and Perseus is born.
Perseus and Medusa
Perseus is sent to obtain the head of Medusa and succeeds with divine assistance.
Perseus and Andromeda
Returning from the quest for Medusa, Perseus finds Andromeda exposed to a sea monster and rescues her.
Bellerophon and the Chimera
Bellerophon, riding Pegasus, defeats the fire-breathing Chimera after being sent against it by the Lycian king Iobates.
The Death of Acrisius
Despite Acrisius' efforts to escape prophecy, Perseus eventually causes his grandfather's death accidentally.
Pasiphaë and the Cretan Bull
When Minos fails to sacrifice a magnificent bull sent by Poseidon, Pasiphaë becomes entangled in the divine punishment and gives birth to the Minotaur.
The Fall of Bellerophon
After defeating the Chimera and surviving impossible trials, Bellerophon's success gives way to isolation and downfall.
The Death of Androgeus
The death of Minos' son Androgeus in Attica brings Crete into conflict with Athens and leads to the tribute later challenged by Theseus.
Cadmus and Harmonia
The founder of Thebes marries Harmonia in a celebrated divine wedding, but suffering follows their family and eventually transforms them both.
Theseus and the Minotaur
Theseus travels to Crete, enters the Labyrinth and kills the Minotaur with the help of Ariadne.
Ariadne and Dionysus
After helping Theseus escape the Labyrinth, Ariadne is left on Naxos and becomes associated with the god Dionysus.
The Death of Aegeus
Theseus returns from Crete but forgets the signal promised to his father, with fatal consequences for King Aegeus.
Daedalus and Icarus
Daedalus and Icarus escape Crete using artificial wings, but Icarus flies too high and falls into the sea.
Phaedra and Hippolytus
Phaedra's destructive love for Hippolytus leads Theseus to curse his own son and brings tragedy to the Athenian royal house.
The Birth of Heracles
Zeus fathers Heracles with Alcmene, while Hera's hostility begins before the future hero has even been born.
Zeus and Ganymede
Zeus carries the Trojan prince Ganymede to Olympus, where he becomes cupbearer of the gods.
Olympian Gods
Great Heroic Age
The Death of Minos
Minos pursues the escaped Daedalus to Sicily, but his attempt to recover the inventor ends with the Cretan king's own death.
The Prophecy of Catreus
King Catreus learns that one of his children will cause his death, but attempts to escape the prophecy ultimately bring it to fulfilment.
Leda and the Swan
Zeus approaches the Spartan queen Leda in the form of a swan, beginning a complex set of traditions concerning Helen and the Dioscuri.
Perseus and the Graeae
Perseus intercepts the shared eye of the Graeae and forces the ancient sisters to reveal how he can continue his quest for Medusa.
Castor and Polydeuces
Castor and Polydeuces become the famous Dioscuri, twin heroes associated with horsemanship, combat and protection of sailors.
Hypermnestra and Lynceus
When Danaus orders his fifty daughters to kill their husbands, Hypermnestra alone refuses and spares Lynceus.
Phrixus and the Golden Ram
Phrixus and Helle escape on a miraculous golden ram, creating the Golden Fleece that will later become the object of Jason's quest.
The Quest for the Golden Fleece
Jason gathers the Argonauts and sails aboard the Argo to Colchis in search of the Golden Fleece.
The Argonauts on Lemnos
Jason and the Argonauts arrive on Lemnos, an island whose women have killed their husbands, and are received by Queen Hypsipyle.
Phineus and the Harpies
The Argonauts rescue the blind prophet Phineus from the Harpies, and he gives them guidance for the dangerous journey ahead.
The Argonauts and the Symplegades
Following Phineus' advice, the Argonauts attempt to pass through the deadly Clashing Rocks known as the Symplegades.
Jason's Tasks in Colchis
King Aeetes demands that Jason yoke fire-breathing bulls and defeat warriors grown from dragon's teeth before surrendering the Golden Fleece.
Jason and Medea
Medea uses her knowledge of magic to help Jason survive Aeetes' trials and obtain the Golden Fleece.
The Death of Apsyrtus
As the Argonauts flee Colchis, Medea and Jason arrange the death of her brother Apsyrtus, bringing divine pollution upon their escape.
Circe Purifies Jason and Medea
After the killing of Apsyrtus, Jason and Medea seek out Circe to be purified from the blood guilt of the murder.
Orpheus and the Sirens
When the Sirens try to lure the Argonauts to destruction, Orpheus answers their supernatural song with music of his own.
Medea and Talos
The bronze guardian Talos blocks the Argonauts from landing on Crete, until Medea turns her magic against the seemingly invulnerable giant.
The Death of Pelias
Medea turns her knowledge of magic against Pelias and persuades his daughters to take part in their own father's destruction.
Medea's Revenge at Corinth
Jason abandons Medea for the daughter of King Creon of Corinth, and Medea answers the betrayal with a devastating revenge.
Orpheus and Eurydice
Orpheus descends alive into the Underworld in an attempt to recover his dead wife Eurydice.
Ino and Melicertes
The tragedy of Ino and her son Melicertes ends with their transformation into the sea divinities Leucothea and Palaemon.
The Calydonian Boar Hunt
Artemis sends a monstrous boar against Calydon, drawing heroes from across Greece into one of mythology's great hunts.
The Death of Meleager
Victory in the Calydonian Boar Hunt leads to a deadly quarrel, and Meleager's fate becomes bound to the anger of his own mother.
Atalanta and the Golden Apples
Atalanta challenges her suitors to a footrace until Hippomenes defeats her with the help of Aphrodite and three golden apples.
The Centauromachy
The Centauromachy is the violent battle between the Lapiths and the Centaurs that erupts during the wedding of Pirithous. Theseus joins the Lapiths as the celebration turns into one of Greek mythology's most famous close-combat conflicts.
The Amazonomachy
The Amazons invade Attica and fight the Athenians under Theseus in the Amazonomachy. The conflict is connected with Theseus' relationship with Antiope or Hippolyta and with earlier Greek expeditions against the Amazons.
Pan and Syrinx
The god Pan pursues the nymph Syrinx, who escapes by being transformed into reeds from which Pan fashions his famous pipes.
Selene and Endymion
The Moon goddess Selene falls in love with the beautiful Endymion, who becomes associated with an eternal or deathless sleep.
Alpheus and Arethusa
The river god Alpheus pursues the nymph Arethusa, who escapes through transformation into the famous spring at Ortygia.
Heracles and Achelous
Heracles wrestles the shape-changing river god Achelous for the right to marry Deianira.
Apollo and Cyrene
Apollo sees the huntress Cyrene fighting a lion and carries her to Libya, where she becomes associated with the city of Cyrene and bears Aristaeus.
Hermaphroditus and Salmacis
The nymph Salmacis embraces Hermaphroditus and prays that they never be separated, leading to their bodies becoming permanently joined.
Eos and Tithonus
Eos asks that her mortal lover Tithonus be made immortal, but immortality without eternal youth condemns him to endless ageing.
Heracles Cycle
The Madness of Heracles
Hera sends madness upon Heracles, leading to the destruction of his own household and setting the stage for his famous Labours.
The Twelve Labours of Heracles
Heracles is driven into the service of King Eurystheus and performs a series of extraordinary labours against monsters, rulers and impossible tasks.
The Erymanthian Boar
Heracles is ordered to capture the enormous Erymanthian Boar alive and bring it back to Eurystheus.
The Ceryneian Hind
Heracles must capture the sacred Ceryneian Hind of Artemis without killing or seriously harming it.
The Stymphalian Birds
Heracles drives away the dangerous birds haunting Lake Stymphalus, using divine assistance to force them into the air.
The Augean Stables
Heracles cleans the enormous stables of King Augeas in a single day by redirecting rivers through them.
The Mares of Diomedes
Heracles travels to Thrace to capture the violent man-eating mares of King Diomedes.
The Belt of Hippolyta
Heracles travels to the land of the Amazons to obtain the war belt of Queen Hippolyta.
The Cattle of Geryon
Heracles travels to the far west and defeats the three-bodied Geryon in order to seize his famous cattle.
Heracles and the Apples of the Hesperides
Heracles seeks the golden apples of the Hesperides and becomes entangled with Atlas in one of the most famous of his later Labours.
Heracles and Deianira
Heracles marries Deianira, but their story becomes entangled with the dying centaur Nessus and a fatal deception.
The Death and Apotheosis of Heracles
The poisoned garment of Nessus brings unbearable suffering to Heracles, whose mortal life ends before he is received among the gods.
Early Athens
Theban Cycle
Pentheus and Dionysus
King Pentheus refuses to recognise Dionysus and attempts to suppress his worship, leading to one of the darkest tragedies of the House of Cadmus.
The Prophecy of Laius
Laius learns that a son born to him will kill his father, setting in motion the attempt to destroy the infant Oedipus.
Oedipus at the Crossroads
Oedipus meets an unknown older traveller at a crossroads and kills him, without realising that the man is his father Laius.
Oedipus and the Sphinx
Oedipus reaches Thebes, solves the riddle of the Sphinx and frees the city from the monster's terror.
The Tragedy of Oedipus
Oedipus investigates the cause of a plague at Thebes and discovers that he himself has fulfilled the prophecy he spent his life trying to escape.
Amphiaraus and Eriphyle
The seer Amphiaraus knows the war against Thebes will end in disaster, but Eriphyle's decision forces him to join the expedition.
The Death of Capaneus
Capaneus boasts that even Zeus cannot prevent him from taking Thebes, and is struck down by a divine thunderbolt.
Seven Against Thebes
The sons of Oedipus, Eteocles and Polynices, fight for control of Thebes, bringing an army of seven champions against the city's gates.
The Epigoni
A generation after the Seven Against Thebes fail, their sons return to attack the city and succeed where their fathers were defeated.
Alcmaeon and Eriphyle
After the Epigoni campaign, Alcmaeon carries out the command to avenge Amphiaraus by killing his own mother Eriphyle.
Antigone
Antigone defies King Creon's command and buries her brother Polynices, placing family duty and divine custom above royal law.
Famous Myths
The Golden Touch of Midas
King Midas asks Dionysus for the power to turn everything he touches into gold. The gift quickly becomes a curse when food and drink also turn to gold, forcing Midas to beg the god to remove the Golden Touch.
Pygmalion and the Living Statue
The sculptor Pygmalion falls in love with an image he has created, and Aphrodite brings the statue to life.
Aphrodite and Adonis
Aphrodite loves the beautiful mortal Adonis, whose death while hunting becomes associated with grief, beauty and seasonal renewal.
Narcissus and Echo
Narcissus rejects the nymph Echo and eventually becomes trapped by love for his own reflection.
Phaethon and the Sun Chariot
Phaethon attempts to drive the chariot of the Sun to prove his divine parentage but loses control and threatens the earth with destruction.
The Punishment of Niobe
Niobe boasts that her many children make her superior to Leto, provoking Apollo and Artemis to destroy her family.
Actaeon and Artemis
The hunter Actaeon sees Artemis in circumstances forbidden to mortals and is transformed into a stag before being killed by his own hounds.
Apollo and Hyacinthus
Hyacinthus is a beautiful youth loved by Apollo who dies after being struck by a discus. Apollo mourns him and the story becomes associated with the hyacinth flower, while later traditions sometimes involve the jealous wind god Zephyrus.
Cyparissus and the Cypress
Cyparissus is overwhelmed by grief after accidentally killing a beloved stag and is transformed into the cypress tree.
Early Troy
Dardanus and the Origins of Troy
Dardanus establishes the ancestral line from which the later Trojan royal house descends.
Ilus and the Founding of Ilium
Ilus, son of Tros, becomes the traditional founder of Ilium, the city that later generations know as Troy.
Laomedon and the Walls of Troy
Apollo and Poseidon serve King Laomedon and become associated with the construction of Troy's famous walls, but Laomedon refuses to honour the agreed reward.
Hesione and the Trojan Sea Monster
Poseidon's sea monster ravages Troy, and Laomedon's daughter Hesione is offered to the creature until Heracles agrees to rescue her.
Heracles Sacks Troy
A generation before the famous Trojan War, Heracles attacks and captures Troy after Laomedon refuses to honour his promised reward for saving Hesione.
Aphrodite and Anchises
Aphrodite falls in love with the Trojan Anchises, and their union produces Aeneas.
House of Atreus
Tantalus and the Gods
Tantalus abuses his privileged relationship with the gods and becomes one of the most famous punished figures of Greek mythology.
Pelops and Hippodamia
Pelops competes for Hippodamia in a deadly chariot race against her father Oenomaus and becomes ruler in the Peloponnese.
Atreus and Thyestes
The brothers Atreus and Thyestes struggle for the throne of Mycenae, turning adultery, rivalry and disputed kingship into one of the darkest family feuds in Greek mythology.
The Feast of Thyestes
Atreus takes horrifying revenge on his brother Thyestes during their struggle for the throne of Mycenae.
Pelopia and the Birth of Aegisthus
Thyestes fathers Aegisthus through his daughter Pelopia, creating the next generation of the feud that will eventually destroy Atreus and Agamemnon.
The Murder of Atreus
Aegisthus discovers that Thyestes is his father and turns against Atreus, killing the king and returning power to Thyestes.
Road to Troy
Peleus and Thetis
The mortal hero Peleus wins the sea goddess Thetis, and their marriage produces Achilles.
Tyndareus and the Suitors of Helen
Faced with many powerful suitors for Helen, Tyndareus uses an oath to prevent conflict — an oath that later helps draw Greece into the Trojan War.
The Judgment of Paris
Paris is asked to judge which of Hera, Athena and Aphrodite is the fairest, setting in motion the events that lead to the Trojan War.
Antenor and the Embassy to Troy
Antenor receives Menelaus and Odysseus when they come to Troy seeking Helen's return and later argues that she should be restored to the Greeks.
The Sacrifice of Iphigenia
Artemis prevents the Greek fleet from sailing at Aulis after Agamemnon offends her, forcing him to confront the demand that his daughter Iphigenia be sacrificed before the expedition can continue.
Trojan War
Telephus and the Greeks in Mysia
Before reaching Troy, the Greek expedition lands in Mysia, fights King Telephus and discovers that Achilles' wound will become part of the route to Troy.
The Death of Troilus
The young Trojan prince Troilus encounters Achilles outside Troy and is killed in a tradition closely associated with Apollo's sanctuary.
The Trojan War
The Greek coalition sails against Troy to recover Helen, beginning the great war that defines the final generation of the Heroic Age.
Diomedes Wounds the Gods
Empowered by Athena, Diomedes becomes one of the most formidable Greek warriors at Troy and even attacks gods who enter the battle.
Glaucus and Diomedes
Glaucus and Diomedes meet as enemies at Troy, but the discovery of an inherited bond of guest-friendship prevents them from fighting.
The Death of Patroclus
Patroclus enters battle wearing Achilles' armour and is killed by Hector, forcing Achilles to confront the consequences of his withdrawal from the war.
Hector and Achilles
Achilles returns to battle after Patroclus' death and confronts Hector outside the walls of Troy.
Achilles and Penthesilea
The Amazon queen Penthesilea comes to defend Troy after Hector's death and meets Achilles in one of the great episodes of the lost Trojan epic tradition.
Achilles and Scamander
Achilles' slaughter of the Trojans enrages the river god Scamander, who rises against the Greek hero until Hephaestus drives the river back with fire.
Memnon and Achilles
Memnon arrives to defend Troy and becomes one of Achilles' greatest opponents in the traditions that continue beyond the Iliad.
The Death of Palamedes
The intelligent Greek hero Palamedes becomes the victim of a deadly conflict with Odysseus in traditions surrounding the expedition to Troy.
Philoctetes Abandoned on Lemnos
Philoctetes is abandoned on Lemnos after suffering a terrible wound on the voyage to Troy, but the Greeks later discover that they cannot capture Troy without him and the bow of Heracles.
Helen and Deiphobus
After Paris dies, Deiphobus becomes Helen's new Trojan husband, while Helenus' rivalry with him helps shape the final stages of the war.
Helenus and the Fate of Troy
The Trojan seer Helenus reveals the conditions the Greeks must fulfil before the seemingly impregnable city can finally be captured.
The Return of Philoctetes
The Greeks discover that Troy cannot fall without Philoctetes and the bow of Heracles, forcing them to return for the warrior they abandoned.
Neoptolemus Comes to Troy
After Achilles' death, his son Neoptolemus is brought to Troy because prophecy declares that the city cannot be captured without him.
The Madness and Death of Ajax
After Achilles dies, Ajax and Odysseus compete for his armour. When Ajax loses, humiliation and madness lead to his death.
The Fall of Troy
After years of siege, the Greeks use the Wooden Horse to enter Troy, bringing the city and the Trojan royal house to destruction.
The Theft of the Palladium
Odysseus and Diomedes enter Troy and steal the Palladium, the sacred image of Athena whose presence was believed to protect the city from capture.
After Troy
Andromache and Astyanax
Hector's wife Andromache and their young son Astyanax embody the cost of Troy's destruction for families who could not escape the war.
The Murder of Agamemnon
Agamemnon returns home from the Trojan War only to be killed by Clytemnestra and Aegisthus. His murder continues the curse of the House of Atreus and gives Orestes a duty to avenge his father.
The Revenge of Orestes
Orestes avenges the murder of his father Agamemnon by killing Aegisthus and Clytemnestra. The revenge fulfils one duty but makes Orestes guilty of matricide and brings the Erinyes against him.
Orestes and the Erinyes
After killing Clytemnestra to avenge Agamemnon, Orestes is pursued by the Erinyes for the blood crime of murdering his own mother.
The Trial of Orestes
After killing Clytemnestra to avenge Agamemnon, Orestes is pursued by the Erinyes and brought to judgment at Athens. Athena establishes a court whose verdict brings the House of Atreus revenge cycle toward an end.
The Sacrifice of Polyxena
After the fall of Troy, the Trojan princess Polyxena is sacrificed at the tomb of Achilles in later Greek tradition, becoming one of the final victims of the war.
Hecuba After the Fall of Troy
After Troy is destroyed, Queen Hecuba survives to witness further deaths within her family and becomes one of mythology's great figures of grief.
The Exile of Teucer
After returning from Troy without his brother Ajax, Teucer is rejected by his father Telamon and forced to seek a new homeland.
Menelaus and Proteus
Stranded in Egypt after Troy, Menelaus captures the shape-changing sea god Proteus and forces him to reveal how he can return home.
Odyssey
Calypso and Odysseus
Odysseus remains on the distant island of Ogygia with Calypso until the gods finally order the nymph to release him.
The Odyssey
After Troy, Odysseus spends years struggling to return home to Ithaca, facing monsters, gods, temptations and the consequences of his own decisions.
Aeolus and the Bag of Winds
Aeolus gives Odysseus control of the dangerous winds, but curiosity among the crew sends the ships back just as Ithaca is almost reached.
Odysseus and Polyphemus
After Polyphemus traps and eats his men, Odysseus blinds the Cyclops and escapes through cunning — but revealing his name brings Poseidon's revenge.
Circe and Odysseus
The enchantress Circe transforms Odysseus' companions into animals, but Odysseus resists her magic and eventually gains her help.
Scylla and Charybdis
Odysseus must steer between the sea monsters Scylla and Charybdis, knowing that no route through the danger is completely safe.
The Return to Ithaca
Odysseus returns to Ithaca in disguise, reunites with Telemachus and finally confronts the suitors occupying his palace.
Underworld Traditions
Charon and the Crossing of the Styx
Charon ferries the dead across the waters of the Underworld, becoming one of the most recognisable figures in Greek ideas of death.
The Punishment of Sisyphus
The cunning king Sisyphus is condemned in the Underworld to push a great stone uphill forever, only for it to roll back down each time.
The Punishment of Ixion
Ixion abuses the mercy shown to him by Zeus and is condemned to an endlessly turning fiery wheel.
The Punishment of Tityos
The giant Tityos is punished after attacking Leto, with birds eternally consuming his liver in the Underworld.
The Punishment of the Danaids
The daughters of Danaus are condemned in later tradition to carry water into vessels that can never remain full.
Rhadamanthys and the Underworld
Rhadamanthys, a son of Zeus and Europa, becomes associated in later tradition with judgement and the blessed dead.