Greek Myths
by: Alex
The story of Leto
- There is a story about a beautiful girl named Leto. She is the future mother of the gods Artemis and her twin, Apollo. Anyway, her beauty caught the wandering eye of Zeus, king of the gods. Zeus took her as one of his many lovers and made her pregnant. But Hera, the immortal wife of Zeus, didn't like this outcome. She cursed Leto so that Leto could never give birth on land or water with a sturdy root. Leto, in great pain of still being pregnant months after her due date, ran around the land, searching in vain for a place to give birth. But no people wished to offened Hera so they sent Leto away. Zeus, seeing that she was in great pain, caused a island to rise out of the sea. All the gods and goddess came and helped Leto give birth but Hera. Leto first gave birth to Artemis and it was an easy birth. But Hera kidnapped Eileithyia, the goddess of childbirth. In result, the birth of Apollo took nine days and nights. It was Artemis who helped her mother give birth to Apollo. After giving birth to two very powerful gods, she got her freedom from the curse of Hera and married again and lived on earth for the rest of her life.
Leto
Leto is the mother of Artemis and Apollo.
Artemis
Artemis is the goddess of the moon.
Apollo
Apollo is the god of the sun.
The story of Callisto
- There was another beautiful girl that caught the eye of Zeus. Her name was Callisto. She was a huntress of Artemis. That means that you devote yourself to the goddess and swear off all men. In return, you are immortal and you only die if you fall in battle or break your oath to never marry or have kids. Zeus came to Callisto as Artemis herself and once her guard was down, he turned back into Zeus. The result of the outcome was pregnancy. Callisto tried to hide it but when they were bathing all together, her secret became known. Callisto begged to her goddess but her pleas feel on deaf ears. Artemis let her give birth and then turned Callisto into a bear. Her son was hunting one day and accidentally killed her. She became Ursa Major and when her son died, he became Ursa Minor.
Callisto
Callisto was a huntress of Artemis.
Ursa Major
Ursa Minor
The story of Io
- There was another girl named Io. She was a beautiful princess. Her beauty caught Zeus's eye. One day, Zeus was having a picnic with Io and because Zeus had covered the sky in dark clouds, Hera became suspicious. She flew down from Olympics and saw Zeus having a picnic with a cow. Of course, the cow was Io and Hera knew that. Zeus had to cover her to look like he was innocent. He told Hera that the cow was a present to her. " She has that beautiful shade of blue eyes that I love on you." he said. Hera looked all over Io and took the gift. Then Zeus said wrongly, " I have seen more beautiful cows. Should I go get one?" With that, Hera was enraged. Hera was convinced that Zeus thought other cows have more beautiful eyes than her. Zeus let Hera take Io and Hera immediately locked up Io. She let Argus, meaning "all-eyed" in greek, guard her. Zeus sent Hermes, god of messengers, to get Io. Hermes slayed Argus and Io was sent free. But Hera wasn't done with Io yet. She sent the mother of all gadflys to pursue Io. After five years, Zeus saw his former love and turned her back into a princess. Io was reunited with her family and they lived happily, ever, after.
Website
I am just a regular 10-year old girl. But I love all greek myths. These are just a few but you can go to this website to learn more! Just click on it below and away you go!
Videos
Here are some videos on greek myths.
Arachne - Directed by Nick Kozis (Greek Mythology)
Persephone: A Story from Greece
World Famous Fairytales - Narcissus and Echo - 1987 Greek Fable Cartoon
The Trojan Horse
Reflection - Medusa
Disney's Hercules Season 2 Episode 13 Hercules and the Green-Eyed Monster
Disney's Hercules Season 1 Episode 2 Hercules and the King of Thessaly
Real World
Even though these stories seem real, they are not. They are fictional. The gods were just greek MYTHS. MYTHS mean that people came up with them. You need to remember that God is the real god. I am all into greek myths and even I know that they are not real. Remember that and you are ready for the real world!
- Alex