The Judgement of Paris

The story is almost formulaic, and reminds me strongly of the story of Sleeping Beauty - but instead of an evil fairy named
Maleficent, the main character is the sinister Goddess of Discord and Strife: Eris.

Thetis, basically the most eligible bachelorette of the Gods (until it was
prophesied that her son would be far greater than his father, and then kill
his father), was marrying Peleus. Everyone who was ANYONE was
invited, but Eris, Ares' annoying and dangerous sidekick, was left off the
guest list. It wasn't any kind of accident - the Gods knew that Eris' love of
mischief would totally ruin the wedding reception. But Eris showed up
anyway, and she was PISSED! She had brought with her one of her
beautiful and shiny Golden Apples. The shiny Apple of Discord. This was
no wedding gift to the bride or groom.

Eris threw the apple into the room, between the three Goddesses
Aphrodite, Hera, and Athena. On the beautiful apple was inscribed the
simple words "to the fairest." All three fell to the charm of the apple's
beauty and her own divine vanity - they all demanded the apple. When
they couldn't reach a consensus (shocker!), they went to Zeus. Wow.
Sucks to be him. He decided to delegate that question to someone else,
because he knew that whichever Goddess was chosen, the other two were going to inflict some serious revenge.

The poor kid who was chosen for answering the question was Paris (also called Alexander). Sweet little Paris was just chilling on
Mt. Ida, shepherding, because it had been prophesied that he would cause the Trojan War and Troy's downfall. Zeus descended and
explained the situation, and then the three Goddesses came down in all their beauty and glory, and demanded the apple. Paris made
a little choking noise and almost started crying. How could he, a mere mortal, decide which of the most beautiful women he would
EVER see were the most gorgeous. He couldn't decide.

But he knew he had to make a decision. The

Goddesses pretty much decided that for him. Each
one offered him a gift, letting him give the apple to
the one with the best gift.

Hera, the queen of the Gods, offered Paris power. She

filled his head with images of thrones and conquering,
and promised him that he should have all of Asia at
his feet. Now, that sounded pretty damn good to Paris,
but being a reasonably intelligent mortal - and very
capitalistic - he decided to hear the others out and go
with the highest bid. But he wasn't to get any more
offers of power. Each of the Goddesses had her own
domain, and her gifts corresponded appropriately.
Athena went next. She offered him great wisdom,
almost equalling her own, and promised him great
luck in battle. She swore to make him the best
strategist ever. Again, Paris
was ALL about the idea, but he decided to wait and hear what Aphrodite had to say. That was the problem.
Paris may have been smart, but he was a guy with normal hormones. Waiting to hear what the Goddess of
Lust had to say pretty much screwed him over. Aphrodite told him two things: 1) that he would have the
BEST body ever 2) that he could have the most beautiful woman in the world as his mate. And I have no
doubt that she promised it in her most seductive voice painting visions of ecstacy in his mind. Paris decided
to go with Aphrodite.

Here his wit failed him in more than one way. Helen of Troy was the most beautiful woman in the world -
but she was already married, and married to an important king, no less. HE was already married to a
nymph named Oenone. Oenone had learned the art of prophesy from Rhea, and forsaw a gruesome death
for Paris should he try to take Helen. She begged him to stay, but Paris was entangled in the sexuality
Aphrodite had left in his mind, and would not listen. In one more area did Paris' logic fail him. He had
angered the Goddess of War and Wisdom and the Queen of the Gods who commanded power. He had no
idea what he'd gotten himself into.

Paris did indeed steal Helen away - but not without cost. The theft/kidnapping/rape began the Trojan War -
just as the prophesy at his birth had proclaimed. With Athena and Hera deadset against Troy, they were in for a run for their money.
Troy eventually fell, and Paris was mortally wounded. His wife, Oenone, could have saved him - but she was so bitter from his
betrayal that she refused. A few days later she changed her mind, but by then, it was too late, and when she found Paris dead, she
hung herself.
 Echo and Narcissus

Our story begins with Echo and Zeus. That ever-cheatin' God was at it again, this time with the young
nymph Echo. Now, at that time (just in case you may have picked up on the significance of her name)
Echo was a nymph like any other and a very talkative one at that. They were making out or making
love or whatever, believing that all was well. But Hera was NOT a happy camper. She had followed
Zeus, expecting JUST that kind of behavior out of him. She came down to Earth to apprehend her "too-
much-love-for-one-woman" husband, but Zeus, being godly, sensed her coming. He instructed Echo to
keep Hera busy until he could get away.

Echo did just that. Hera confronted her with the affair, but Echo created a long and very untrue story
for Hera, giving her lover enough time to escape. Now, Rhea (Hera's mom) didn't raise no fool. She
knew she had been tricked, and by a nymph at that! She turned on Echo and declared:

"That tongue of yours, by which I have been tricked, shall have its power curtailed and enjoy the briefest use of speech."
Ovid, Metamorphoses 3.365

From that moment on the talkative Echo could barely use her voice, and could only repeat the words that those around her said.
She was lonely, and couldn't really talk to other nymphs because of her condition, and secluded herself deep in the woods.

One day, a very handsome young man came along. His name, surprise surprise, was Narcissus. Echo fell in love with him at once.
Echo wanted to call out, "Wait! I love you!" But her voice was frozen in her throat by Hera's curse. The young man went deeper
and deeper into the forest, until he came upon a calm stream. He was thirsty and so he bent over to drink, but as he leaned over he
caught sight of his reflection in the water. He was as taken by his beauty as Echo had been, but without her barrier. He immediatly
spoke to his reflection, "I love you." Echo, nearby and hearing her chance quickly responded, "love you . . ." But it was too late,
Narcissus was too engrossed with himself to notice the nymph. His love was his obsession and would not leave the stream to eat,
nor disturb his image to drink and so he died of thirst and hunger and unrequited self-love. Where he had lain a flower grew, the
narcissus, the same flower that wooed the innocent Persephone. Poor Echo pined away and died for the same things, but when she
died not even her bones remained, some say they were turned to stone. But Gaia preserved Echo's voice, the one thing she had
been denied in life, and to this day her voice sounds everywhere.

Another story of Echo excludes Narcissus altogether. In this version she was educated by Nymphs and taught music by the Muses.
She fled from all men, and loved her virginity. Pan became angry with her and attacked her music because he couldn't touch her
beauty. He made the goatherds and shepherds insane and they ripped poor Echo apart and flung her pieces across the Earth. But
Gaia buried them and preserved their beauty and the Muses decreed that they would forever sing out, imitating all things.

Andromeda and the Sea Monster

Once in a palace far away in Ethiopia the king, Cepheus, and his wife, Cassiopeia, had a daughter named Andromeda. Cassiopeia
thought her child was the beautiful in the land. She would not stop bragging about Andromeda's looks. Finally, Cassiopeia made
the fatal mistake of claiming that Andromeda was more beautiful than Poseiden's sea nymphs.

When Poseiden heard this, he was furious. He caused the most powerful storm imaginable, intending to destroy Ethiopia. The
king, queen and their daughter went to the shores of Ethiopia to ask for a second chance. Cepheus called many times before
Poseiden finally appeared. The king said, "Spare us, Poseiden. We'll give you anything you ask if you won't destroy us."

The sea god asked angrily, "Do you think my sea nymphs are beautiful?"

The king hesitated for a moment. Poseiden asked again, even more furiously than before, "Well, don't you admit that my sea
nymphs are more lovely than any other creature in the world?"

The king didn't answer quickly enough. Poseiden replied, "You promised you would give me anything I wanted and what I want is
for you to sacrifice your daughter." The queen and king did not know what to do, but Andromeda bravely stepped up to her father
and said, "I must do what Poseiden orders, to save our country."

The people chained her to a rock by the sea. Out of the watery depths of the sea, the squid-like creature came, ready to eat
Andromeda. Suddenly, out of the sky, a dark figure on a winged horse came to save Andromeda from the beast. Luckily, Persus
came to save the princess. It was a fierce fight. He took his long, sharp- bladed knife and stabbed the beast in the gut. He defeated
the sea monster and the king was very grateful. Andromeda and Persus were married.

Arachne, Athene, and the Weaving Contest

Long ago in a far away place lived a god named Athene. She was the greatest weaver known. Soon Athene began to teach
children how to weave.

She taught one girl named Arachne who also became known for her beautiful work.

One day Athene over heard someone say that Arachne thought she was better than anyone including Athene at her weaving. So
after Athene heard this she decided to go down to the earth in disguise as an old lady and tell Arachne that she did weave good, but
Athena was a godess and her work couldn't be compare. Still Arachne felt that her work was still better than Athena's and said, ''
Why doesn't Athena prove it to me? "

When Athene heard this she threw off her disguise and said, " We shall then."

So then they both started weaving until they were both done with their work. Athena had woven a beautiful tapestry of the
Olympian gods of which it showed all their greatest times.

Arachne also beautifully woven her tapestry. She wove an image that humiliated Zues and all of his wives. As soon as Athena
saw this she ripped it until it was in shreds. At the same time Arachne shrunk into a spider and Athena stated," Now you can
weave forever."

THE END

Cupid and Psyche

Long, long ago, in a far-away land, there was a god named Cupid, also called Eros in some Greek myths. He was sent by his
jealous mother, Venus, to strike a mortal named Psyche with one of his love arrows. Psyche was worshiped by many people
because of her beauty. Some people even threw rose petals in her path. Venus, envious of Psyche, hoped that the mortal woman
would fall in love with the next person she saw and that her choice would be someone ridiculous and embarrassing.
Cupid obediently followed his mother's order, and went to find Psyche. When he came to her house, he was overwhelmed with her
beauty and became distracted. Because he wasn't paying attention, he accidentally shot himself with the arrow. The next person he
saw was Psyche, so he fell directly in love with her.
Cupid visited Psyche only at night, and forbade her to ever attempt to see him, for that would ruin their relationship. She agreed,
but her sisters just kept tempting her. They told her that he was probably an ugly monster and she had to find out. One evening
she set out with her kerosene lamp to visit Cupid. When he fell asleep, she took the lamp and looked at him. He woke up and
caught her. At that moment their relationship ended. Venus, Cupid's mother, made Psyche her slave and gave her three tasks. On
the third task, Psyche failed and as a result was sentenced to the under-world. When Cupid found this out, he immediately
attempted to save her, and he succeeded. Psyche apologized and they lived together happily ever after.

THE END

Echo and Narcissus

phs, and demanded that the nymph confess. Echo, wanting to protect her friends, struck up a conversation with Hera.
No matter how much Hera tried to escape, Echo wouldn't allow the conversation to end before the other nymphs escaped.
In a rage, Hera set a curse upon Echo, saying that from now on, she would only be able to repeat what others said. She
would always get the last word. One day, Echo was following Narcissus through the forest, waiting for him to say
something for her to repeat, hoping he would notice her. Finally, Narcissus said to himself, "I love you." Excitedly, Echo
repeated those words. Narcissus was cruel, so when he heard her speak the words back to him, he said, "I would rather be
tortured by Zeus himself than to be with you!" In self- pity, ever since that time, Echo has wandered about the mountains,
repeating what all others say.

Narcissus was cruel, handsome and vain. Many of the mountain and forest nymphs were in love with him, but when they
asked for his love, not only did he reject them, he insulted them in a mean manner. One of the nymphs, after being
rejected, prayed to a goddess that Narcissus would be punished by being rejected himself. The goddess, hearing the prayer,
decided to punish him in a different way. One day, Narcissus passed by a river which was untouched and uninhabited. As
he bent down to get a drink, he looked at his own reflection and fell in love with it. "You are beautiful," he said to his
reflection. He leaned down to embrace his love, but the image disappeared. When the water settled, the reflection came
back. Narcissus was in love with his reflection, but he didn't know it. "Come with me, am I not beautiful, the nymphs love
me, why not you?" Narcissus pleaded in vain. When he tried to get up, his love disappeared. He couldn't even sleep
because when he lay down, his reflection was no longer visible. Soon he grew weak and withered away. When Echo found
him, she went to get the other nymphs to come help her bury him. When they returned, he was gone; all that was left was
a flower. The nymphs named the flower Narcissus in his memory.
 Odysseus and the Cyclops
Once upon a time, there was a man named Odysseus who had many great adventures. This adventure tells the story of the Cyclops.

Once Odysseus, a clever Greek hero, wondered if the gods had forsaken him. "Have the gods forgotten me?" Odysseus always wondered.
Odysseus and his crew were lost. The Trojan War was over. They finally found land, but had no idea where they were.

After looking around, they saw a cave and wondered what or who lived in it. They didn't go in the cave, because they were not sure what might
live there. Odysseus spoke out and said, "We'll search the cave at dawn."

When dawn came, Odysseus was the first up and woke his crew. They started to the cave but suddenly, the Cyclops came out. The Cyclops was a
giant monster with one eye. The men watched as the monster let out his herd of sheep and then as he milked them. Odysseus and his crew were
so hungry that they sneaked into the cave, trying not to get caught. Unfortunately, the Cyclops returned and they were trapped in a corner. After
a while, the Cyclops spotted them. He shouted, "Who goes there?"

Odysseus and his men remained silent. The Cyclops didn't care whether he knew who they were on not. He took two of Odysseus' men, smashed
their heads, tore them limb to limb, and then finally ate them.

The next morning, the Cyclops ate two men from the cow
The monster wiped his mouth after his breakfast, caught two more of Odysseus' men, and then did what he did every day; he let his sheep out,
milked them, and sealed the cave with a big boulder.

Odysseus said to his crew, "We have to make a plan to get out of here." His crew insisted, "He will eat us two by two until everybody is gone."

Odysseus had kept on praying to Zeus, "Please get us out of here, Zeus." After a while, the gods started to fade. The men now had no advice or
help from the gods. Odysseus always figured out things for himself, but now he thought he needed help from the gods. After a while, he thought
of a plan. He would have to pick the men who could do his plan. They drew straws and the four strongest men were picked. The next day, the
Cyclops ate two more of Odysseus' men. After his morning routines, the Cyclops got ready to leave the cave. Odysseus took several small sticks,
which were part of the monster's bed. He braided them together, cut a point at the end, and burned the point it to make it hard. Odysseus took out
some wine that he had been carrying with him and asked the Cyclops, "Would you like some wine?" Of course he accepted it. He tasted it and
said, "This is fantastic! I make my own with my grapes, but this is much better than mine!" Odysseus replied, "Thank you." After a while, the
Cyclops begged for more and got it. He got a little drunk. The Cyclops asked, "What is your name? Mine is Polyphemus." Odysseus replied,
"Mine is Noman." Well, Noman," said Polyphemus, "I will give you a special reward since you gave me some of your wine. The reward I will
give is that I will eat all of your friends but eat you last." After he said that, he rolled over and fell asleep.

Odysseus then called the chosen men. First he had them take the prepared weapon of braided, sharpened sticks and put it in the fire to start it
burning. One man said," The log is ready." Odysseus then said," Ready? Forward. Aim for the eye!" They shoved the log into Polyphemus eye.

Polyphemus let out a loud roar that shook the cave and woke the neighbors, the other Cyclopses, who lived not far away. They raced to the cave
and asked," Why did you wake us up so early? Is somebody killing you?"

Polyohemus answered," It's Noman! Noman is killing me!"

"Well, if no man is killing you, then why did you wake us up at this ungodly hour? You should pray to the priest, Poseidon, go to sleep, and let
the rest of us sleep."

Polyphemus said to Odysseus," You will not get away from me!" He went to the opening and spread his arms so no one could get past him.
Odysseus made up another plan to get them out. He told his crew to each choose a sheep and he would strap them down to the bottom of the
chosen animal in the morning.

The next day, Odysses got the ram, the biggest one of them all, and held on the bottom of it for dear life. Polyphemus let his sheep out, some with
the sailors beneath, but stopped the big ram, the one Odysseus was on, and started to talk to it. "How come you are last this time? You are always
the first one out. Are you seeing if my eye is okay? If only you could talk, you would tell me where Noman is. Well, go ahead and go on."

Odysseus held on for a good distance, then dropped off onto the ground. He went to the other sheep, freed his crew and told them to take the
sheep with them onto the boat. When they reached the ship, the rest of the crew were happy to see them. They got onto the boat and waited until
they were fairly far out to sea. Odysseus shouted out, " Hello, most excellent monster! Looks like your dessert got away. You also might want to
know that my real name is Odysseus."

Polyphemus replied," So it is true. A wise man once said I would be defeated by a man named Odysseus but I didn't think that was you. I thought
it would be someone my size, only stronger, but you are very small." Polyphemus threw a boulder which almost hit them and did wash the ship
back onto the beach.

Odysseus kept mocking the Cyclops. One of the crew members tried to stop him, but Odysseus just shoved him off. The crew said to him," You
freed us with your cleverness, but don't kill us with your stupidity!" Odysseus did not listen to him and kept taunting the monster. There was a
long silence, then Polyphemus prayed to Poseidon, "My father, lord of the seas, make sure you do not let this scoundrel make it safely home and
if he does, make his life hopeless forever." He threw one last boulder, but it missed.

Later that night, Odysseus prayed to Zeus," Lord Zeus, I have done a foolish thing. I taunted Polyphemus, son of your brother Poseidon. He has
set a curse on us. Can you save us?" There was no answer, so Odysseus sacrificed his ram to the greatest of all gods. The result of that sacrifice
was that Zeus helped Odyssesus eventually return safely to his home.
 Hermes
Hermes was the son of Zeus and Maia, a minor god. He was the god of the shepherds, travelers, merchants, thieves, and all who
live by their wits. From the time Hermes was born he was mischievous. When he was just an infant he snuck out of the cave
where he lived with his mother. He found Apollo's herd of pure white cows. Hermes decided to play a trick on his brother,
Apollo. He took all fifty of the cows and tied brooms to their tails and bark to their hooves to disguise their hoof prints. Hermes
tied large twigs to his own feet to make it look like a giant led the cows into a secret pasture, but didn't lead them out. Next, he
sacrificed two of the cows to the twelve gods of Olympus, not forgetting himself.

Hermes took the entrails of the cows and made seven strings out of them, which he tautly strung across an empty turtle shell,
inventing the first lyre. He tip-toed back to the cave and crawled into his basket. Hermes pretended to be asleep, but could not
fool his mother. '' I'm ashamed of you! '' his mother said to him. Hermes replied, '' Mother, I did what I had to do for us. Soon I
will be seated on high Olympus and you will be living there in glory as my mother.'' Hermes then took out his lyre and played his
mother to sleep. Apollo came at dawn. He stormed into the cave. His oracle had told him that Hermes had stole his cows. Apollo
was furious. He jerked little Hermes out of his basket and furiously asked where his cows were. Hermes replied, '' How could I
have stolen your cows? I'm just an infant. I don't even know what a cow is. Look for yourself, do you see a single cow in this
cave? ''

'' Not only are you a thief, but you are a liar as well!'' Apollo raged. The furious god chased Hermes out of the cave and up to
Olympus.

Every god in Olympus burst out laughing when they saw little Hermes running with Apollo at his heels. " Tell this little thief and
liar to give all of my cows back! " Apollo said to Zeus.

"Tell my big brother to stop bullying me. I am a newborn infant, and there is not a single cow in my mother's cave," said Hermes.

"If the cows are not in your cave, Hermes, then show Apollo where they are, " said Zeus, trying to hide his smile. Hermes could
not disobey his father Zeus.

Hermes took Apollo to the secret pasture where he had hidden his cows and asked, " Now are you happy, you bully?"

"Yes I am, " said Apollo. When Apollo counted his cows and found that two were missing, his anger flared again. Hermes expected
this and quickly started to play his lyre. As he was the god of music, Apollo had to have this newly invented instrument. The god
offered to trade the whole herd of cows to Hermes in exchange for the lyre, but Hermes wanted more than just the cows, he wanted
the oracle, too. Apollo finally gave in and traded the oracle and all his cows for the lyre. The two brothers, from then on, were best
of friends. Hermes never again told a lie. He never stole anything again, even though he was the god of thieves, but he didn't
always tell the whole truth. Zeus was so proud of Hermes' wit that he made him the herald of the gods and gave him a golden hat
with wings, a pair of winged sandals, and a cape in which he could hide his tricks. In the blink of an eye, Hermes could move from
place to place. Hermes also led the dead to the underworld. After Hermes became one of the twelve great gods of Olympus, he
and his mother lived in that glory forever.

Pygmalion and Galatea

Once upon a time there was a Greek man named Pygmalion. He was a great sculptor. He made statues for Venus, the goddess of
love and beauty. Venus was a very good friend of Pygmalion. The goddess said that whenever he needed help with anything, she
would be there. Every time a beautiful woman walked by, he would just ignore them, because he was only interested in his work.
Pygmalion went to Venus and told her his problem. He started to pray. Venus heard his plea and told him to go back to his house.
When he got there, he found that his beautiful statue had come to life. Pygmalion and Glalatea were married. He was so thankful
that he created more statues for Venus to decorate her palace. They had a son whom they named Paphos. The sculptor and the
lovely woman he had brought to life lived happily ever after.

Oedipus
Long, long ago, there was a king named Laius and a queen named Jocasta. One day this king of Thebes went to the Delphic Oracle
for advice about his brand new baby boy, Oedipus. They hoped he would give them very good fortune, but they did not get what
they expected. The oracle predicted that Oedipus would kill his father and marry his mother. After hearing this, King Laius tried to
kill his son by binding his ankles together and abandoning him upon a mountain to die. By good fortune, the baby was found by a
kind shepherd and brought to King Polybus and Queen Merope, rulers of Corinth. They took him in as their own son. After many
years, Oedipus grew in to a fine young man. One day,while out exploring, he came to a fork in the road. While he was thinking
about which way to go, a very large chariot with five attendants and a strong old man appeared out of nowhere. The old man
started yelling at Oedipus to get out of his way and threatening him with his scepter. Oedipus became so angry that he grabbed the
scepter and threw the old man off balance, so that he fell from the chariot. He tried to get up but Oedipus hit him again and again
until the old man fell to the ground dead. One of the attendants tried to attack, but failed. In his wild rage Oedipus, killed four of
the servants. As the one remaining attendant rode away, Oedipus yelled, "Tell your people not to cross me again." He walked for
many days until one day he came to a place where there were large gates, a place known as Thebes. A guard told him that the city
was closed off, for their king had been murdered. The queen's brother had been ruling the kingdom until someone could pass the
test to become king. The test was to kill the Sphinx, a monster with a lion's winged body and the head and torso of a beautiful
woman.
 Midas And The Golden Touch
Long ago there was a king . People called him King Midas. One day, Bacchus, the god of wine disguised himself as an old man.
He somehow got by the knights who were guarding the castle gate. When Midas saw Bacchus, he invited him in for lunch. After
Bacchus had seen all the jewels and rubies that King Midas had, he asked if he could leave. King Midas asked him why he would
like to leave. Bacchus told him, "All the riches in the world can never add up to my life. I enjoy living the way I did before, sitting
in the sunshine, watching nature around me. Gold may be valuable, but nature is priceless. I think I'll go back to my old life."
King Midas shook his head and laughed wildly at Bacchus.

Bacchus offered any wish that King Midas wanted for letting him have lunch. King Midas said, "I want everything I touch to turn
into gold!" Bacchus granted his wish. Unfortunately, King Midas soon found out that his food, workers, clothes, and even his
daughter, Marigold turned to gold at his very touch. At first he thought that he would live the grandest life, but when his own
daughter turn to solid gold he felt that he should die. The king believed that his sweet, little girl should not have to eternally
remain as a solid gold statue as punishment for his greed for gold.

King Midas quickly ran to Bacchus and said, "I want life to be as it was again!" Bacchus told him, "Go run into the river and wash
away everything on you that is gold." King Midas ran swiftly and leaped into the river. He made sure that he was soaked. Then he
finally returned to his castle and when he entered everything was normal again. There were his servants working, the cooks
cooking, and his daughter eating. From then on, King Midas enjoyed the simple things in life and never desired gold again.

The End

Theseus and the Minotaur

Long ago, far, far away, Theseus lived with his father in the palace of Athens. Every nine years, Athens had to
send seven youths and seven maidens to Crete to be sacrificed. This was the punishment King Minos of Crete demanded for the
death of his son, who died while carrying out a perilous deed for the king of Athens. King Minos fed the fourteen people to the
Minotaur, a hideous monster who was half-bull, half-man.
When the day came, the people were picked. They needed one more. Theseus demanded to be the last person. He intended to go
Crete to kill the Minotaur. Before the ship sailed, Theseus' father, the king, said, "If your plan succeeds and you survive, fly a
white flag, instead of the black flag of death, from your ship as you return."

When their ship arrived at Crete, King Minos demanded to see the fourteen victims. He sat on his throne beside his daughter,
Ariadne. When she saw Theseus, she fell in love with him. That night, she went to see him.

She talked to Theseus. She told him that she loved him, and said, "Even if you kill the Minotaur, how will you get out of the
labyrinth?" Theseus asked for her help. She gave him a ball of string. She said, "Tie one end to the door at the entrance of the
labyrinth and when you kill the Minotaur, follow the string back to the door."

The next morning Theseus was the first to go in. He listened for the breathing of the Minotaur as it slept. He followed the sound
until he found the monster, put the string down and jumped on its back. He strangled the creature until it stopped breathing and
died. Following Ariadne's instructions, he traced his way back to the entrance of the great maze with the string.

When the fourteen people came back from Crete, Theseus forgot to put up the white flag, which signified victory and survival. His
father saw the black flag and, believing his son to be dead, jumped off the cliff and drowned. Because of his death, Theseus
became the king of Athens.