Kenya James

9-26-19
2019 Euro Hist to Fnch Revol (Hist-103-LC-2)

Greek Mythology
Most Greek Mythology dates all the way back to over 2,700 years ago, but some are

older. Greek Mythology mostly talks about gods, goddesses, heroes, and many more fighting off

monsters, and creatures from unknown places. There are many stories in Greece to tell but I will

only tell a few. Let’s start with the story of “Daedalus and Icarus.”

Daedalus and Icarus is a very famous Greek myth that deals with both historical and mythical

details. Daedalus is the father of Icarus and is famous for his creation, the labyrinth. His dear

friend King Minos wanted it built to imprison anyone who was an enemy of his. King Minos and

Daedalus were great friends until Daedalus was accused of helping Princess Ariadne give

Theseus, who was trapped in the Labyrinth, a piece of thread to find his way out after trying to

kill the monster inside. Minos was upset and locked both Daedalus and his son Icarus inside of

the Labyrinth.

Icarus was the son of Daedalus who was also locked inside. Not wanting to be trapped

inside with the monster his father came up with an idea to leave. Knowing it would be hard to

travel out on feet him and Icarus would use wings made by Daedalus to fly their way out of the

maze. He created these wings using branches and stuck them together using wax. Before leaving

Daedalus had to teach Icarus how to fly and warned him about flying too close to the sun. Once

he was ready him and his dad flew out of the Labyrinth and were finally free.

For a while, Daedalus and Icarus were doing fine flying with their makeshift wings.

Icarus was happy and excited to be flying in the air. Daedalus continued to warn Icarus not to get
to close to the sun but Icarus ignored him and went closer and closer to the sun. Icarus soon

understood why he was warned to stay away from the sun because his wings started to melt off

and he went plumbing into the sea and drowned. Daedalus kept going knowing that if he tried to

save him he would be caught and imprisoned once again. So the moral of the story is to listen to

your parents or your elders in certain situations.

Now let’s talk about the myth of “Pandora’s Box.” The Myth of Pandora’s Box has a bit

of psychology in the mix because they are talking of human behavior in Greek Mythology.

According to the Greeks, Pandora was the “first” woman on earth and was created by the Gods.

They each gave her a separate gift of talent which basically makes her golden. But the bad thing

is she was made as a punishment to mankind. It was Zeus doing because he wanted to punish

people because Prometheus gave fire to them. So instead of being gifted with just beautiful gifts,

she was gifted with beautifully “evil” gifts.

Pandora received a jar and the jar contained special gifts from them but was not allowed

to open it. Then Hermes (god of message) brought her to Epimetheus to be his wife. Pandora

being too curious as to what was in the box opened it and a whole bunch of illnesses and

hardships that the gods have hidden started pouring out. She was terrified of all the evil spirits

coming out and closed the box as fast as possible locking the spirit hope inside. Hope stayed

inside not because Pandora closed it too fast but because it was Zeus’ will. He wanted to punish

the people to let them know to never disobey the gods. Pandora opened the box because she was

the right person to do it because of her curious mind and not her maliciousness. So the moral of

the story is curiosity and disobedience can be dangerous but there is hope for you.
 Finally, last but not least, the story of “Pegasus, the Winged Horse.” The Myth of

Pegasus talks him symbolizing the wonderful journey to heaven. If you rode on his back that

meant that you were going to heaven. Pegasus was seen as a kind-hearted, gentle creature, with

some naiveness but was always willing to help. For his favor and loyalty, Zeus rewarded him

with immortality.

The legend says that he was the son of Medusa and Poseidon (god of the sea). Him and

his brother were born from the blood of their mothers head. Being without any parents he was

raised by the Muses and taken by the goddess Athena. Excited being raised by them he strikes

the side of a mountain with his hooves and the marks cause the springs to turn into mountains of

inspiration. The springs became blessed to the Muses who loved Pegasus. But one of them

named Urania (Muse of Astronomy), thought that Pegasus was especially important. She saw a

future and honor waiting for him. She also suffered because a mythical hero named

Bellorophontes, took Pegasus away.

Pegasus ended up on Mt Olympus , where he served Zeus with his thunder and lighting

powers and struck down Bellophrontes, who tried to get to Mt Olympus was not welcomed. This

was only whenever the supreme god asked for it. His original caretaker welcomed him with

happiness. Until his death he lived on Mt Olympus and became an inspiration to different people

and an imagination for kids. The moral of the story is to avoid excessive confidence.
Work Citations:
● Mkmolitor, et al. “The Myth of Daedalus and Icarus.” ​Greek Myths &

Greek Mythology​, 10 Aug. 2009,

www.greekmyths-greekmythology.com/myth-of-daedalus-and-icarus/.

● Lizzybz, et al. “Pandora's Box, the Greek Myth of Pandora and Her

Box.” ​Greek Myths & Greek Mythology​, 23 July 2009,

www.greekmyths-greekmythology.com/pandoras-box-myth/.

● Nicole. “Pegasus, the Winged Horse in Greek Mythology.” ​Greek Myths

& Greek Mythology​, 3 Nov. 2010,

www.greekmyths-greekmythology.com/pegasus-winged-horse/.