Pygmalion and Galatea

In ancient Greece lived a handsome and talented sculptor named Pygmalion. He loved his work and would spend hours carving beautiful ivory statues, always at his happiest when immersed in his art.

One day he chose a large, beautiful piece of ivory, and worked for many long hours at it, chiseling and hammering until he finished. It was a statue of a beautiful lady. Pygmalion at once fell in love with his creation-he thought it was so beautiful, and he clothed the figure, gave it jewels, and named it Galatea, which means "sleeping love". Treating Galatea as if she were his girlfriend, he brought his ivory statue shells and pebbles, little birds and flowers of all colors. He was obsessed.

Now, you must understand that Pygmalion was so into his art that he vowed never to marry. He had no time for girls, just his sculptures. Still, the more he gazed upon Galatea, the more he wished that he had a wife just like her, but alive.

During a big festival in honor of the goddess Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, Pygmalion went to the Temple of Aphrodite to pray for a wife just like the statue in his home. His prayers were so fervent and heart-felt, and his passion so great, that the great goddess took notice.

Wanting to see for herself what all the fuss was about, Aphrodite visited the home of the sculptor and was delighted to see the ivory Galatea. She couldn't help but think that the statue looked much like herself, it was so perfect. Pleased and flattered she brought the statue to life.

When the sculptor returned home and kissed Galatea as was his custom, he was startled at her warmth. As he showered her with kisses he was beside himself with joy at discovering that slowly the ivory was turning into flesh. Galatea smiled down at him and spoke adoring words to her loving creator.

They soon got married and Aphrodite was the guest of honor at their wedding. Pygmalion didn't forget to thank Aphrodite for his good fortune. He and Galatea brought gifts to her altar as long as they lived. Aphrodite blessed them with happiness and love in return, and permitted both of them to live long and blissful lives. They had two daughters named Paphos and Metharme.

Hecate

She is the Greek goddess of crossroads and is believed that she descended from the Titans. In some of her monumental depictions, she is depicted in three bodies. She is in the center, one is in the left, and the last one is in the right. The left holds a cup with snake. In the center holds a letter "E" like stamp. And the last holds a torch. Some were being depicting Hecate that had two mall torches in top of her head, and the two beside her holds torch.

Athena

Athena, the goddess of wisdom, war, industry, arts, justice, and skill.

In wisdom, she says "I've always admired smart women.", war, she speaks "You should see her take on the men and clobber them.", industry, she tells "Her gifts to gods and mortals are legendary.", on arts she says "You gotta have art.", justice,she speaks "Nice to have the law on your side.", and on skills, she tells "Nothing like a skilled trade to see you through rough times."

For your information about Athena, The city and capital of Greece, Athens, was named after her, and a temple called "Parthenon", which houses a giant statue of Athena. Athena is the patron of Athens. She in some depiction, is wearing a warrior helmet, spear, a shield, and the dress like Mars' shirt. On her helmet, is like a red brush.

Cyclope

A cyclope is a giant monster, but with only one eye. Their eye is located in the middle of the forehead. They were stubborn and abrupt of emotion. The known cyclopes were Polyphemus, The three brothers named Brontes, which means "thunder", Steropes, which means "lightning", and Arges, which means "brightness". These three brothers came from the union of Gaia, the Mother Earth, and Uranus, the sky and one of the planets in the Solar system, in astrological science if you willl be studying it. Polyphemus, the famous of all cyclopes, descended from Poseidon, the God of all oceans, seas, and all waterforms. The Cyclopes and the Hecatonchires, or the hundred-handed-ones. Brontes, Steropes, and Arges were skillled metal workers. They made Zeus' thunderbolt, the trident of Poseidon, and the Helmet of darkness of Hades, the underworld god. They spent the majority of their early existence imprisoned. A Titan named Cronus, or Saturn, next to Jupiter in the astrological science, freed those three cyclop brothers, but on e thing about Cronus is he is a "paranoid" ruler. He feared the Cyclopes' power and he casted them to Tartarus, or the place of the underworld punishment. Zeus came to Tartarus and freed the Cyclopes, requiring their aid in the Titanomachy, or the battle of the Titans. Polyphemus is an evil cyclope, which was become blind. Odysseus blinded this evil cyclope.

Sphinx

The Sphinx, itself, was a monster made up of a body of a lion, wings of an eagle, and a breast of a woman. If you cannot solve her riddle, then you will be destroyed. A man named Oedipus, was a traveller in whom in the market, he himself saw the people screaming in fear. He asked one of the people, he said: Why are you screaming? the man said to him: A monster made of lion body, eagle wings and woman's breast came here to destroy us if we cannot solve the riddle she says.

Oedipus showed himself to the Sphinx. The sphinx made a riddle for Oedipus to solve.

What comes in the morning with four legs, on the noon as two legs, and on the evening as three legs.

Oedipus answered: It is a man because when you were still a baby, you crawl. When you were a teen, you walk. And when you were old, you will walk with a cane.

The Sphinx destroyed itself from Oedipus' answer. The people made Oedipus a monarch in their town called as Thebes.

Echo and Narcissus

Echo was a very beautiful and musical nymph who could sing sweetly and expertly play many instruments.

She lives deeply in the woods and denied the love of any mortal or a god. She therefore attracted the hatred and anger of many, including the god Pan, who was the god of music, was turned down. The god Pan caused his followers the shepherds to kill Echo and tear her to pieces that were subsequently scatter far and wide.

Gaea, the mother earth, then received the pieces in her bossom and thus, Echo, scattered now all over the earth, retained the voice and talents answering or imitating every sound or voice.

Narcissus, was a handsome youth, who was then looked at himself in the clear water, he was being " in-loved" to his own body and thus, he was turned into a flower called as "Narcissus" which was a reminder that he loved his own self.