D'Aulaires Book of Greek Myths

Like her husband and brother, Hera is the daughter of Rhea and Cronus, who was swallowed by her father and remained trapped until Zeus and Metis contrived to defeat him. Drawing largely from Ovid’s Metamorphoses, the D’Aulaires portray Hera as jealous of his other wives and a mischief-maker. She hounds Io to the shores of Egypt, tricks Semele into being incinerated, and causes no end of trouble for Heracles. She sends snakes to kill him in his infancy, which he strangles to death with his preeminent strength, twice causes him to go mad, and plots with Eurystheus to make his labors as troublesome as possible. After his death and apotheosis, however, she is reconciled with him and gives him her daughter Hebe, goddess of youth, as his wife.

Her other children include smith god Hephaestus and war god Ares, the former who is married to Aphrodite and the latter to whom Aphrodite would like to be married.

Gray-eyed Athena, goddess of wisdom, is the daughter of Zeus and Metis. Zeus had received a prophecy that if Metis gave birth to a son, he would be mightier than his father. To avoid being dethroned, as his father and grandfather were, Zeus tricked Metis into turning into a fly, then swallowed her, after which she “sat in his head and guided him from there” (44). As she also happened to be pregnant with a daughter, she spent her time inside his head “hammering out a helmet and weaving a splendid robe” (44) for her daughter. When the time came for her to be born, Zeus suffered a terrible headache. Hephaestus split open his father’s head, and Athena sprang out “wearing the robe and helmet, her gray eyes flashing” (44). All the gods were in awe of her.

The D’Aulaires highlight Athena’s role as patron of artists and heroes. They retell Ovid’s version in Metamorphoses of her encounter with Arachne, in which the vain woman challenges the goddess to a weaving contest and ends up a spider. In a more benevolent role, she advises Cadmus how to populate Thebes, grants gifts and guidance to Perseus in his quest to kill Medusa, presents the bridle that Bellerophon uses to tame Pegasus, installs the sacred oak into the Argo on which Jason sails to capture the Golden Fleece, and fights for the Greeks in the Trojan war.

Athena is perhaps known as the patron of the city of Athens, a myth recounted in D’Aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths. She and her uncle, Poseidon, both desired the city and competed for it. Each presented the city with a gift, Athena an olive tree and Poseidon a salt-water spring. The citizens chose Athena, and the city evermore became known as Athens, famed for its arts and crafts.

Sea god Poseidon is the brother of Zeus, Hera, and Hades. The D’Aulaires describe him as restless, “moody and violent” with “fierce blue eyes” and “sea-blue hair” (49). His epithet is “Earthshaker” (49) because he can cause the earth to tremble when he strikes it with his trident. The sea mirrors his mood. When he is calm, he stills and raises islands out of the sea, but when he is not, he raises the waves, “wrecking ships and drowning those who live on the shores” (49).

Poseidon takes over the seas from kindly former king Nereus, who gives his daughter, the Nereid Amphitrite, to be Poseidon’s wife. Like Zeus, Poseidon has many wives and children, but Amphitrite is not jealous. When Ethiopian queen Cassiopeia compares her beauty to that of the Nereids, Poseidon sends a sea monster to destroy their kingdom. King Cepheus attempts to appease him by offering his daughter, Andromeda, as a sacrifice, but Perseus saves her by destroying the creature.

Lord of the death Hades is the brother of Poseidon, Zeus, Hera, Demeter, and hearth goddess Hestia. He is described as “a gloomy god of few words” (74) who mortals fear. He is called “the Rich One” because “[a]ll the treasures in the ground belong to him” (74). He is also “the Hospitable One” because “he always had room for another dead soul” (74). His nephew Hermes, son of Zeus and Maia, guides dead souls to the river Styx so that Charon can ferry them across, provided they can pay their fare.

Hades falls in love with Persephone, the daughter of Demeter, goddess of the harvest. Knowing that she would not willingly part with her daughter, Hades kidnaps her. Demeter grieves and rages, causing the crops to wither and die and humanity to starve. Zeus steps in, ordering Hades to release Persephone, and he must comply, but his gardener reveals that Persephone at a few pomegranate seeds while in the underworld.

Having consumed “the food of the dead” (83), Persephone cannot remain above the earth forever. She must return to Hades for part of the year. As long as she remains above ground, the earth is radiant with blooming crops, but when she returns to her husband, Demeter grieves, nothing grows, “and there was winter on earth” (85).