MYTH MAN'S AWARD-WINNING HOMEWORK HELP
THE DEATH OF THE OLYMPIAN GODS
Into the Lake of Fire by
Howard
David Johnson
| As soon as the Emperor
Julian of Constantinople, the last of the Roman emperors to worship
the Olympians, had been killed fighting the Persians in A.D. 363,
Zeus was told by the Three Fates that his reign had ended - he and
his friends must leave Olympus. Zeus angrily destroyed the palace with a thunderbolt, and they all went off to live among humble country people, hoping for better times. But Christian missionaries chased them out with the sign of the Cross, and turned their temples into churches, which they divided among the leading saints. Mortals were now allowed to reckon by weeks again, as Prometheus the Titan had once taught them. The Olympians were forced to hide in woods and caves, and have not been seen for centuries. However, Echo remains; and so does the narcissus flower, which hangs its head sadly, looking at its reflection in mountain pools; and Iris's rainbow. Moreover, the stars were never given new names by the Christians. You can still see in the night sky the Scorpion that bit Heracles; and Heracles himself; and the Nemean Lion he killed; and Artemis's She-Bear that nursed Atalanta; and Zeus's eagle; and Perseus and Andromeda; and Cepheus and Cassiopeia, Andromeda's parents; and Ariadne's Crown; and the Heavenly Twins; and Cheiron the Centaur, now known as 'The Archer'; and Phrixus's Ram; and the Bull that carried off Europa; and the winged horse Pegasus; and Leda's Swan; and Orpheus's Lyre; and the stern of the Argo; and Orion the Hunter, with his belt and sword; and many other memorials of the Olympians' ancient and savage reign. |
Above info courtesy of
Robert Graves'
Greek Gods and Heroes
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