Some Great Greek Myths

The ancient Greeks told stories about their gods. These stories are called myths

(short for mythology, or stories about gods.) Stories about the ancient Greek gods

are still told today. Each Storyteller told the stories in their own way, but whatever

power and personality a god had was consistent from story to story. For example,

Zeus was the king of all the gods, and only Zeus could throw lightning bolts.

The magical world of the ancient Greek gods was a world full of bickering and

fights and wars and compromise and fear and fun and punishment and love. Many

myths were based on the fact that Gods, like mortal men, could be punished or

rewarded for their actions.

The following pages are examples of some popular Greek myths.

Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades…

Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades were the three sons of Cronos. When Cronos retired,

the boys divided the world up between them. Zeus took the sky, Poseidon took the

sea, and Hades ruled under the earth, the home of the dead. At first, it was great

fun. But things had been just a bit slow lately.

Zeus thought about what he could do.

He could turn himself into an octopus and visit his brother Poseidon under the sea,

but he didn't feel much like a swim.

He could visit Hades under the earth, but Hades was such a gloomy fellow.

He could hurl thunderbolts, but it wasn't much fun without a target.

He could hunt up one of the other gods. But the truth was, all the other gods were

terrified of Zeus. He did have a terrible temper, but only when someone lied to

him. Since the gods often lied, they mostly avoided Zeus.

He could call for his wife, Hera. But the truth was, Zeus was a little frightened of

his wife, Hera.

He could find a beautiful woman. But he couldn't let Hera catch him. His wife

Hera was very very jealous.

Zeus flew down to earth and looked around for something to do. He spotted two

men walking along a lane. Zeus cast his voice to make it sound like somebody else

was speaking. He was very good at that.

"Hey stupid," Zeus cast his voice loudly, hoping to start a fight.

One man turned to the other angrily. "What did you say?" And before you could

say Zeus, fists were flying. Zeus found that very funny.

A glint on the river caught his eye. It was Io, a lovely river nymph.

"What a lovely young woman," Zeus said. He promptly fell in love.

Hoping to hide himself from the eagle eye of his jealous wife, Zeus covered the

world with some really thick clouds. Then he flew down to Io. But Hera was not

stupid. The thick coat of clouds made her suspicious immediately.

Zeus looked up. "It's Hera!" he gulped.

Quickly, Zeus changed Io into a cow. When Hera landed, all she found was an

innocent looking Zeus standing next to a little white cow.

"This little cow appeared out of nowhere," he told his wife, acting surprised.

Hera was not fooled. "What a beautiful cow," she gushed admiringly. "May I have

it as a present?"

Not knowing what else to do, Zeus had to agree. Hera sent the cow away under

guard.

Zeus arranged for Io to be rescued and set free. He sent his son Apollo to sing the

guard asleep. When the guard closed his eyes, Io ran away.

When Hera heard about it, she sent a gadfly after Io. A gadfly is a fly that bites.

"Moo moo," Io screamed, when the gadfly found her.

Io swam across a sea, hoping the gadfly would drown on the trip. No such luck,

although Hera did name the sea between Greece and Rome after Io. Perhaps you've

heard of it - the Ionian Sea? No matter.

Feeling very sorry for herself, a dispirited Io traveled next to Egypt.

It was then that Hera decided that Io had suffered enough. First, she made Zeus

promise that he would never see Io again. Then she changed Io back into human

form, and left her in Egypt.

Egypt was a dismal place for a river nymph. There are crocodiles in the Nile.

Back in Greece, Zeus gave a big sigh. Surely there was something he could do ....

Athena and Poseidon…

Athena was the goddess of wisdom. She could get angry, but more typically, she

was wise, and kind, and understanding. Athena was born very oddly. Her father

was the mighty Zeus. But she did not have a mother. Instead, as the myth goes, she

was born directly out of Zeus' brain. Zeus loved all his children. But one of his

favourites was Athena.

Athena held a powerful position in the ancient Greek god world. She was an

Olympian, one of the council of 12, who held a seat on Mount Olympus. She also

had a home there.

Here is a myth about Athena that shows how clever and practical she was.

As the story goes ... The Competition, Athena & Poseidon

Nearly every town in ancient Greece had a god that looked after the townspeople.

Towns rarely had more than one god to keep an eye on their best interests. Most

gods did not share well. So usually, it was one town and if the town was lucky, one

god was to watch over it.

Poseidon loved watching over towns. He usually picked coastal towns since he was

the Lord of the Sea. Poseidon was a very powerful god. His brothers were Zeus

and Hades. Poseidon was a moody fellow, but he loved his wife and children and

he loved attention. He liked having people build temples in his honour and bring

him gifts. They were not very useful gifts for a god, but he enjoyed getting them

anyway. As Greece grew and developed, new towns sprang up all the time.

Poseidon was always on the lookout for new coastal towns.

He was not the only god who loved to be in charge. Athena, along with other gods,

enjoyed that role as well. One day, both Athena and Poseidon claimed a new

village.

Most of the time, humans were grateful when they were selected to be under the

care of a god. But two gods, that was one too many. Poseidon wanted them to

choose which god they wanted. But the people did not want to choose. They could

see only trouble ahead if they did.

Athena, goddess of wisdom, daughter of Zeus, understood their worry. She

challenged her uncle Poseidon to a contest. Both gods would give the town a gift.

The townspeople could decide which gift was the more useful.

Poseidon slapped his specter against the side of the mountain. A stream appeared.

The people were excited. A source of fresh water was so important! But when they

tried to drink the water, they discovered it was not fresh at all. It was salt water!

Athena waved her arm and an olive tree appeared. The people nibbled at the olives.

They were delicious! The people were excited. The olive tree would provide wood

for building homes. Branches would provide kindling for kitchen stoves and

fireplaces. The olives could be used for food. The fruit could be pressed to release

cooking oil. It was wonderful.

But theirs was a coastal village. The people could not risk angering the Lord of the

Sea, the mighty Poseidon. As it turned out, they did not have to choose. Poseidon

chose for them. He laughed his mighty laugh, sending waves crashing against the

shoreline. Poseidon proclaimed his niece the winner!

That's how a small village gained a most powerful and wise guardian, the goddess

Athena, a guardian who helped them rise to fame. In her honour, they named their

village Athens.

Minos and Minotaur

Once upon a time, a long time ago, there lived a king named Minos. King Minos

lived on a lovely island called Crete. King Minos had everything a king could

possibly want. Now and then, King Minos sent his navy to the tiny village of

Athens, across the sea.

The king of Athens did not know what to do. He was desperate. He figured if he

had some time, he could build a strong navy, strong enough to send King Minos

packing the next time he attacked Athens. The king of Athens offered King Minos

a deal. If he would not attack Athens for 9 years, Athens would send 7 boys and 7

girls to the island of Crete to be eaten by the awful monster that King Minos kept

as a pet, the dreaded Minotaur.

The minotaur lived in the heart of a maze on the island of Crete. King Minos loved

that old monster. King Minos only attacked Athens when he was bored. He really

didn't want anything. This way, his beloved monster could look forward to a

special treat every 9 years or so. King Minos took the deal.

Although Athens did build a navy, King Minos did not attack as the king of Athens

had expected. In fact, King Minos kept his word. And now it was time for Athens

to keep theirs. Everyone in Athens was crying.

Prince Theseus of Athens knew the importance of keeping your word. He knew

that a deal was a deal. But, he was also quite sure that it was wrong to send small

children to be eaten by a monster. Prince Theseus told his father (the king) that he

was going to Crete as the seventh son of Athens. He was going to kill the Minotaur

and end the terror.

"The Minotaur is a terrible monster! What makes you think you can kill it?" cried

his father.

"I'll find a way," Theseus replied gently. "The gods will help me."

His father begged him not to go. But the prince took his place as the seventh

Athenian boy. Along with six other Athenian boys and seven Athenian girls,

Prince Theseus sailed towards Crete.

When the prince and the children arrived on the island of Crete, King Minos and

his daughter, the Princess Ariadne, came out to greet them. The Princess Ariadne

did not say anything. But her eyes narrowed thoughtfully. Late that night, she

wrote Prince Theseus a note and slipped it under his bedroom door.

Dear Theseus (Ariadne wrote)

I am a beautiful princess as you probably noticed the minute you saw me. I am

also a very bored princess. Without my help, the Minotaur will surely gobble you

up. I know a trick or two that will save your life. If I help you kill the monster,

you must promise to take me away from this tiny island so that others can admire

my beauty. If interested in this deal, meet me by the gate to the Labyrinth in one

hour.

Yours very truly,

Princess Ariadne

Prince Theseus slipped out of the palace and waited patiently by the gate. Princess

Ariadne finally showed up. In her hands, she carried a sword and a ball of string.

Ariadne gave the sword and the ball of string to Prince Theseus. "Hide these inside

the entrance to the maze. Tomorrow, when you and the other children from Athens

enter the Labyrinth, wait until the gate is closed, then tie the string to the door.

Unroll it as you move through the maze. That way, you can find your way back

again. The sword, well, you know what to do with the sword," she laughed.

Theseus thanked the princess for her kindness.

"Don't forget, now," she cautioned Theseus. "You must take me with you so that

all the people can marvel at my beauty."

The next morning, the Athenian children, including Prince Theseus, were shoved

into the maze. The door was locked firmly behind them. Following Ariadne's

directions, Theseus tied one end of the string to the door. He told the children to

stay by the door and to make sure the string stayed tied so the prince could find his

way back again. The children hung on to the string tightly, as Theseus entered the

maze alone.

Using the sword Ariadne had given him, Theseus killed the monstrous beast. He

followed the string back and knocked on the door.

Princess Ariadne was waiting. She opened the door. Without anyone noticing,

Prince Theseus and the children of Athens ran to their ship and sailed quietly away.

Princess Ariadne sailed away with them.

On the way home, they stopped for supplies on the tiny island of Naxos. Princess

Ariadne insisted on coming ashore. There was nothing much to do on the island.

Soon, she fell asleep. All the people gathered to admire the sleeping princess.

Theseus sailed quietly away with the children of Athens and left her there,

sleeping.

After all, a deal is a deal.

Hercules

Hercules was half man and half god. His mother was a mortal. But his father was a

king - a very special king, the king of all the gods, the mighty Zeus. But Hercules

did not know he was part god until he had grown into a man.

Right from the beginning, Hera, Zeus' wife, was very jealous of Hercules. She tried

all kinds of ways to kill him, including sending a couple of big snakes into his crib.

Hercules crushed those snakes in a flash! Hercules was incredibly strong, even as a

baby!

Zeus loved his little son. He figured that sooner or later Hera might actually find a

way to kill little Hercules. To keep his small son safe from attack, Zeus sent him to

live with a mortal family on earth. Hercules grew up loved and noble. But he didn't

fit in on earth. He was too big and too strong. One day, his earth father told him he

was a god, well, part god anyway.

The rest of the story of Hercules is a bunch of little stories that together tell the tale

of how Hercules earned his way into the heavens, to take his place with the gods.

As the story goes.....

Hercules had a cousin named Eurystheus (Eury for short). Eury was the king of a

little village in the city-state of Argos. Eury was an evil man. He thought everyone

wanted to steal his crown, especially Hercules. One day, when Hera and Eury were

chatting about their mutual hatred for Hercules, Hera came up with a plan - a plan

to kill Hercules!

Hera helped Eury design 12 Labours (missions or tasks) that Hercules had to

complete. Supposedly, when Hercules had completed the 12 Labours, he would

earn his immortality, or so Hera promised. But really, Hera and Eury were certain

that one of their "labours" would surely kill Hercules, probably the very first one.

Hercules was no fool. He asked the Oracle at Delphi if this was a smart thing to do.

The oracle agreed that it was. Actually, the oracle had said, "If you complete 12

Labours, immorality will be yours." Being an oracle, she never explained what she

meant by "immortality" - would he live forever in legend or for real? Hercules

never asked. (She would not have told him anyway.)

Hercules not only lived, he had great adventures, discovered true friends, and rid

the world of some really nasty critters.

Apollo and Cassandra

Each temple in ancient Greece was dedicated to only one god. Because the Greeks

worshiped many gods, there were a great many temples in ancient Greece. Every

town had several temples.

The most famous temple dedicated to Apollo was the temple at Delphi. That

temple was the home of Apollo's special oracle, a young woman Apollo had gifted

with the ability to see the future. Apollo could do things like that.

Apollo enjoyed visiting the temple at Delphi. He enjoyed visiting all the temples

that had been built in his honour. One day, he heard about an especially splendid

temple that had been built in the city-state of Troy. Apollo heard great things about

the temple in Troy that had been built in his honour. The most interesting thing

about this temple to Apollo was that the city-state of Troy was not located on the

Greek peninsula. Troy started as an ancient Greek colony. Troy was on a different

peninsula entirely.

Being a curious god, one day Apollo decided to swing by and take a look at the

temple at Troy for himself.

As the story goes ...

Cassandra was not an oracle. She could not see into the future. She was a beautiful

young priestess, with great ambition.

When Apollo swung by personally to take a look at his temple, all Cassandra saw

was his beauty and his power. She gave him a saucy grin.

Apollo was delighted. Like all the gods, Apollo was very fond of making deals. He

offered a deal to Cassandra. If she would give a kiss, he would give her the gift of

prophecy so she could see into the future.

Cassandra did not hesitate. She took the deal. As soon as Apollo gave her the gift

of prophecy, she looked eagerly into the future. What she saw made her gasp. She

saw Apollo helping to destroy her beloved city of Troy. She spit in his face.

Apollo was angry of course, but could not take away his gift. He could only add to

it. That's how his power worked. That's exactly what he did. He added something

to his gift. From that time on, Cassandra could see the future, but no one believed a

thing she said. That's what Apollo had added.

Sometime later, Cassandra warned her people that the huge wooden Trojan

horse the Greeks had given Troy was hollow - full of Greek warriors, hidden inside

- warriors who would destroy the city! The people of Troy did not believe her.

They did not even look. They were far too busy celebrating the "defeat" of the

Greeks, who had left the horse as a token of defeat (or so they believed.) But the

horse was full of Greek warriors. That night, they crept out of the hollow horse and

opened the city gates to let the Greek army in. That was the end of Troy.

The Trojan horse

A long time ago, there was an ancient city-state on the coast of Turkey, across the

sea from Sparta. This city-state was named Troy. At one time, Troy and the other

Greek city-states were pretty good friends. But times had changed.

The city of Troy was protected by a high wall built around the city. Some parts of

the wall were 20 feet high! There were gates in the wall to let people in and out but

it provided great defense for the people of Troy. It gave the Trojan warriors a

relatively safe place to stand, while they rained arrows down on the people below,

who were trying to break into the city.

The Greek warriors had been trying to breach the wall around Troy for about ten

years. The Greeks could not find a way in, and the Trojans did not seem able to

drive the Greeks away.

Odysseus, a Greek general, had an idea. His plan was to build a horse, a beautiful

and huge wooden horse, and leave it outside the gate. Then, the entire Greek army

would pretend to leave, as if they had finally admitted defeat. But the horse would

be hollow. Thirty men would be hiding inside. That's what they did.

As the Greek warriors sailed away, the people of Troy rushed outside, cheering.

They found the horse. Fortunately, they did not try to burn the horse. They dragged

the horse inside the city gates to keep it on display, which is just what the Greek

general thought they would do - gloat.

That night, while the Trojan people were sleeping, the men hiding inside the

wooden horse climbed out and opened the gates. The waiting Greek army entered

Troy. That was the end of Troy.

Zeus and Prometheus

From the very first, humans had trouble with the gods. Most gods thought of

humans as toys. But some gods found themselves interested in the human race.

Some gods even made friends with the humans. One of those gods was named

Prometheus.

The first people created by the gods lived happily together. They thought the gods

were wonderful. But their children were not as grateful or as content. The children

argued among themselves, and sometimes even argued with the gods.

Zeus was very disappointed at mankind. He decided he was not going to give

mankind a most important tool - fire! Without fire, humans were not going to last

very long.

Prometheus felt sorry for his human friends. Fire was important for many things -

like heat and cooking, and hundreds of others. Prometheus stole a lightning bolt

from Zeus and gave it to mankind. That's when man discovered fire.

Zeus was furious. He ordered Prometheus chained to a rock as punishment for

stealing his lightning bolt, and for going behind his back to help the humans. To

make Prometheus even more miserable, Zeus sent storms to beat angry waves

against Prometheus, helplessly chained to his rock. Zeus made the sun shine really

brightly now and then to burn his skin. Zeus even sent an eagle to nibble at poor

Prometheus' body. It was quite a punishment for a god who had only tried to help

mankind. But he had defied Zeus, and that was what made Zeus so angry.

It was Hercules who finally released the helpless god from his chains. By the time

Hercules saved him, nearly a thousand years had passed. That's probably not a lot

of time if you happen to be immortal. But humans had changed a great deal over

1000 years. By then, Zeus found humans quite entertaining. Zeus no longer cared

if anyone rescued Prometheus or not.

Pandora’s Box

Once up a time, a long time ago, there were two brothers named Epimetheus and

Prometheus. They were good gods. They had good hearts. They were good friends.

One day, Prometheus got in trouble with Zeus. Angry over something or other,

Zeus had declared that man did not deserve fire. Because he had a kind heart, and

he knew how much man needed fire for food and warmth, Prometheus gave man

the secret of fire even though Zeus had told all the gods not to do that. Zeus was

furious that his order had been ignored. As punishment, Zeus chained Prometheus

to a rock for many years.

But that was not enough punishment, not for Zeus. Once Prometheus was chained

to a rock, Zeus went after Prometheus' brother, the gentle, kind-hearted

Epimetheus. Zeus did not chain Epimetheus to a rock. Zeus had a more sneaky

punishment in mind.

First, Zeus ordered the gods' handyman, the maker of things - Hephaestus - to

make Zeus a daughter. Hephaestus made a woman out of clay, a beautiful woman.

He brought her to life, and then brought her to Zeus. Zeus named his lovely new

daughter Pandora.

Zeus knew that Epimetheus was lonely. Zeus told Epimetheus that his brother,

Hephaestus, had to be punished and that's why he was chained to a rock, but he felt

sorry that this punishment left Epimetheus without the company of his brother.

That's why Zeus had decided to give Pandora in marriage to Epimetheus. It was not

the truth of course, but then nearly everyone in the ancient Greek world knew

better than to believe the mighty Zeus.

Epimetheus was kind-hearted and gentle and thoughtful, but he was no fool. He

knew Zeus was up to something. But he loved Pandora at first sight.

Zeus gave the newlyweds a gift. Some say it was a jar. Some say it was a box.

Whatever it was, it was locked. It came with a note. The note said: "DO NOT

OPEN." Attached to the note was a key. It was all very curious.

You can guess what happened next. It was Pandora whose curiosity got the better

of her. One day, she used the key to open the box. As she raised the lid, out flew all

the bad things in the world today - envy, sickness, hate, disease. Pandora slammed

the lid closed, but it was too late.

Epimetheus heard her weeping. He came running. Pandora opened the lid to show

him it was empty. Quickly, before she could slam the lid shut, one tiny bug flew

out. He gave Pandora a big buggy smile in thanks for his freedom and flew away.

That tiny bug was named Hope. And Hope made all the difference in the world.

Echo, Narcissus and Pan

Echo was a magical wood nymph. Echo had the most beautiful voice. She was

very musical and possessed a good and loving heart. Echo lived deep in the woods

and rejected all suitors, which made her, of course, a favourite of the goddess

Artemis.

There are many myths about Echo. Here are three of them, loosely retold.

One day, Zeus tore into the woods, looking for a place to hide. His wife, Hera, was

after him again. Would he never learn to stop flirting with the nymphs who lived

deep in the woods? Apparently not, spotting Echo, he asked her to help him escape

the eagle eye of his wife. One did not turn down a request from Zeus, not and live

to tell about it.

When Hera tore into the woods after Zeus, Echo side tracked her with chatter and

gossip. After that day, each time Zeus raced into the forest with Hera close on his

heels, Echo side tracked her with chatter and gossip. For some time, this worked

well for Zeus.

When Hera finally figured out what was going on, she punished Echo by denying

her much of her beautiful voice. All Echo could do forever after was repeat the last

few sounds she heard.

Echo & Narcissus

Echo spotted the most beautiful young man. His name was Narcissus. Echo did

something she thought she would never do - she fell in love. But Hera had taken

most of her voice. All she do was echo sounds made by others. She could howl like

a wolf, buy only if a wolf had justed howled. She could sing like a breeze through

reeds, but only if the reeds sang first. How could she tell Narcissus that she loved

him?

One day, she spotted Narcissus looking into a stream. He seemed enchanted by

what he saw.

"Come to me," Narcissus begged, looking into the water.

"Come to me," Echo echoed eagerly.

Narcissus swung about. "Who's there?" he angrily demanded to know.

"Who's there," Echo echoed loudly.

"Stop that!" Narcissus snapped.

"Stop that!" Echo echoed.

"Let's meet," Narcissus said in a much softer voice that he had used so far.

"Let's meet!" Echo echoed happily. She stepped out from behind a tree.

"Go away," Narcissus shouted at her.

"Go away," Echo echoed sadly.

Echo went sadly away.

Things did not go well for Narcissus after that. Narcissus returned to the stream

again and again. He stared at the lovely young man he saw in the water. He did not

know it was only the reflection of himself.

Hidden from sight, Echo watched Narcissus as he lay by the stream. She repeated

everything that Narcissus said. Narcissus ignored her. Day after day he lay by the

stream, admiring his own reflection. He stopped eating. He stopped drinking. And

finally, he died.

Echo & Pan

The god Pan spotted Echo one day and fell madly in love. But Echo would have

nothing to do with him. This made Pan so angry that he used his powers to panic

his shepherds. They went mad, and tore Echo to pieces. Pieces of Echo were

carried by the wind all over the world.

Gaia, the Earth mother, who had always liked Echo, could not change what Pan

had done. She could not change what Hera had done. But she could let the pieces

of Echo keep what voice remained to them.

Thanks to Gaia, even today, you can sometimes hear a piece of Echo repeating the

sounds around her - the howl of a dog, the toot of a train, or the last few words that

people say.

King Midas and the donkey ears

Once upon a time, a long time ago, Pan, the god of shepherds, challenged Apollo

to a musical duel. Pan insisted his flute of reeds could produce a more beautiful

melody than Apollo's silly harp. The two agreed on a contest with judges. One of

the judges was King Midas.

After hearing the two melodies, all but one of the judges chose Apollo as the

winner. But one judge, King Midas, preferred Pan's tune.

Furious that anyone could prefer a reedy pipe to his musical lyre, Apollo cooed, "I

see the problem. It's your ears. They are too small to hear properly. Let me fix that

for you."

King Midas felt his ears quiver. His ears sprang out, and out, and turned into the

large furry ears of an ass. King Midas was horrified. He grabbed his ears. "Pan,

help me!" he cried. But Pan, with a quick nervous glance at Apollo, turned his

back.

King Midas tried to hide his ears from his subjects by wearing a variety of huge

hats, heavy helmets, and bulky scarves. The only person who saw his ears was his

barber. King Midas made his barber promise he would never tell a soul.

His barber kept his word. But keeping such a huge secret to himself was driving

him crazy. Finally, the barber went up a mountain and almost to the edge of a cliff.

He dug a hole in the midst of some reeds. He looked about, to make sure no one

was near. Then, he whispered into the hole, "King Midas has the ears of a donkey.

King's ears! King’s donkey ears!" Having gotten his secret off his chest, he felt

much better. He returned home, sure that he had kept his word.

Unfortunately for King Midas, the barber had dug right into a piece of Echo.

You've heard of Echo, right? Pieces of Echo were scattered all over the

mountainous kingdom. In fact, pieces of Echo were scattered all over the world.

Although I suppose some people might think it was only the sound of the wind in

the reeds, it was really a piece of Echo, whispering over and over, "King's donkey

ears, king's donkey ears".

Sound travels well in the mountains, even whispers. It was not long before the

entire kingdom knew the king's secret.

The Cyclops cave

The ancient Greeks loved heroes, especially military heroes. They loved hear

stories about these heroes, the more mythical and magical the better.

About 2700 years ago, around 70 BCE, a man named Homer collected legends

about one particular hero, King Odysseus. Homer was a poet. He wrote down all

the stories he had heard about this fabulous hero. He named his collection of

stories the Odyssey.

The Odyssey is the story (a collection of short stories, really) about how King

Odysseus and his men returned home after the Trojan War. It should have taken

about a month for the king and his men to sail back to the kingdom of Ithaca,

which was on the far side of Greece from the town of Troy. But it took Odysseus

ten years to make the trip! That's how much trouble he ran into on the way. That's

what happens, King Odysseus, finally realized, when you do not give the ancient

Greek gods the respect they expect.

Homer's Odyssey is full of trickery and magic and monsters and gods and

goddesses and heroic actions. The Greeks loved to hear the adventures of King

Odysseus and his men, and all that happened to them on their way home. (We still

love them today.) Here are two stories from the Odyssey, loosely rewritten (and

shortened considerably):

The Story of the Cyclops Cave

While sailing home from the Trojan War, Odysseus and his men came ashore to

restock their food and water. They were thrilled to find a cave full of sheep! They

knew the sheep probably belonged to someone, but they were hungry and they

hoped, if the owner showed up while they were there, that he would understand

that they had fought for Greece and won. They built a fire in the cave, and cooked

some sheep on a sharpened stick.

There was a giant roar! A Cyclops appeared at the mouth of the cave, swinging a

club. (A Cyclops is a one-eyed giant!) Odysseus grabbed the sharpened stick and

blinded the Cyclops. Odysseus and his men got safely away by pretending to be

sheep. They made bah-bah sounds until they had crawled to safety.