Baucis and Philemon
One day Jupiter and his son, Mercury, the messenger God decided that they wanted to test human generosity. They disguised themselves as normal travelers and knocked on many doors in Phrygia, which was then Ancient Greece. They went from door to door asking for food and shelter and kept getting declined, until they came to the home of Baucis and Philemon. Bacuis and Philemon welcomed them in but had little to offer and said that they were happy with what they had because they have each other. The Gods eventually revealed themselves and awarded them by sparing them, but flooding the rest of the village. Jupiter asks how he could thank them and they consulted together, then Philemon begged that they might be made priests of the temple and when their time came to die they might leave this earth at the same time. Zeus granted their desire.
Ceres and Proserpina
Proserpina was the daughter of Ceres. Ceres was in charge of the harvest on earth, so all the gods tried their hardest to keep her happy. Her favorite thing to do was spend time with her daughter. Proserpina grew into a beautiful woman. In fact, she was so beautiful that one day while picking flowers in the fields, Pluto noticed her and was instantly in love. Pluto, the ruler of the underworld, was her uncle. Before anyone could interfere, he kidnapped her legend said if you ate anything in Pluto, you could never leave. She did not know if the legend was true, but she did not want to risk it in case someone came to rescue and put her in a room in the deepest part of the Underworld. She would not talk to Pluto or eat because, legend said if you ate anything in Pluto, you could never leave. She did not know if the legend was true, but she did not want to risk it in case someone came to rescue her. Eventually, unable to bear her hunger, she ate six pomegranate seeds. Jupiter was worried about the crops not growing back on earth. He sent Mercury, the messenger, to crack a deal, this time with Pluto.They finally came to an agreement that since Proserpina ate in Pluto, she would have to live 6 months on earth and 6 months in the underworld. This is believed to be the reasoning behind the seasons.
Daedalus and Icarus
Poseidon had gifted Minos a bull and he caused Pasiphae to physically desire the bull. She asked Daedalus to fashion a wooden cow in which she could hide and mate with the bull. She then became pregnant and bore the Minotaur, which was a creature with a human body and a bull’s head. Minos turned to Daedalus, requesting him to build a Labyrinth, so the Minotaur could not escape. Theseus was a prince of Athens and went to Crete as a human sacrifice for the Minotaur. Ariadne, the daughter of Minos and Pasiphae fell in love with him, so she asked Daedalus how to master the secret of his Labyrinth. Daedalus suggested how Theseus might accomplish an escape, but Theseus was able to kill the Minotaur and escape the Labyrinth. He took Ariadne with him when he left Crete. Minos was angry at what happened, and he shut Daedalus and his son Icarus in the Labyrinth. Pasiphae, released him, but they were unable to sail away, because Minos controlled the ships. Daedalus made wings of wax and feathers for himself and for Icarus and escaped to Sicily using the wings. Icarus, flew too close to the Sun, and his wings melted, which made him fall into the sea and drown. The island on which his body was washed ashore was later named Icaria. Minos pursued Daedalus to Sicily and was killed there by the daughters of Cocalus, the king of the Sicani, with whom Daedalus was staying.
King Midas
Midas found Silenus, the satyr and companion of the god Dionysus. Silenus awarded Midas with a wish, due to his kindness. The king wished that everything he touched would turn to gold, but when his food became gold and he nearly starved to death, he realized his error. Dionysus granted him release by having him bathe in the Pactolus River, an action which the presence of alluvial gold in that stream is attributed. In another story, Midas was asked to judge a musical contest between Apollo and Pan. This story shows that riches are not true happiness and something that you may think out to be a blessing can be a curse.
Orpheus and Eurydice
Orpheus was the son of a Muse and Oeagrus, a king of Thrace. Apollo gave Orpheus his first lyre and Orpheus’s singing and playing were so beautiful that animals and even trees and rocks moved around him. Orpheus joined the expedition of the Argonauts, saving them from the music of Sirens by playing his own music. On his return, he married Eurydice, who was soon killed by a snakebite. He was overwhelmed in grief and went to the land of the dead to try to bring Eurydice back. With his singing and playing he charmed the ferryman,Charon and the dog Cerberus, guardians of the River Styx. His music and grief moved Hades(king of the underworld) so much that Orpheus was allowed to take Eurydice with him back to the world of life and light. However, Hades set one condition, upon leaving the land of death,Orpheus and Eurydice were forbidden to look back. The couple climbed up toward the opening into the land of the living, and Orpheus turned back to share his delight with Eurydice and she disappeared.
Perseus and Andromeda
Andromeda was a very kind and beautiful girl. Her mother was Cassiopeia, who boasted all the time about the beauty of her daughter. They lived in the city by the sea. One day her mother insisted that she was more beautiful than of the other God’s daughters, except for Aphrodite. Someone eventually told the Nereids, Poseidon's daughters, and they whined and whined to him until he got angry and flooded the city by the sea, and sent a huge sea serpent to devour the population. After the water had receded back into the ocean, the serpent kept trying to eat people but was unsuccessful. The people were in great shock and very upset, but the king had no idea what to do, so he asked the local oracle. The oracle told him he had to sacrifice his daughter, Andromeda, if he wanted to save his city. This made him extremely sad, but the king ordered his daughter to be chained to a tree on a cliff that overlooked the sea. That day, the hero Perseus was out adventuring. He sailed past the king's servants as they were chaining Andromeda to a tree at the edge of a cliff. Perseus fell in love immediately and as soon as the servants left, Perseus rescued Andromeda, using his magic sickle to cut the chains. Then, the giant sea serpent reached for Andromeda and Perseus chopped off its head. After this Andromeda loved Perseus just as much as he loved her. Perseus wanted to make a deal with the king, . If the king would let him marry his daughter, Perseus promised to chop off the sea monster's head. When he heard that he already killed the beast and that his father was Zeus, he pleasantly agreed to have the wedding. Right after the wedding he sailed away with Andromeda, and now Cassiopeia could not boast about her.
Pyramus and Thisbe
Pyramus and Thisbe lived in Babylonia and from the time they were young, they were
neighbors. They played together as children and fell in love as they grew older. Since their families were so close, their loved for each other had to be kept a secret. They had a special meeting place at a large wall between their house. One day when they arrived at the meeting place, they cried when they saw two hummingbirds fly over the wall. They cried because suddenly they came to the conclusion that they were unable to be together and they made the decision that they would not be stopped from this any longer. They met that night outside of the gates underneath the mulberry tree that grew near the stream, next to the cemetery. Thisbe got there first, and while waiting for Pyramus, a lion appeared and she ran to a nearby cave. Pyramus suddenly arrived and noticed the bloody paw prints. He could not help but think that Thisbe was killed by the lion. He could not contain his sorrow so he took his sword and stabbed himself in the side. Thisbe, after recovering from her fright, traveled back to the meeting spot only to see Pyramus dead body on the floor. Overwhelmed in agony, she took his sword and threw her helpless body in front of it. She pleaded with the gods that their bodies be buried in a single tomb and that the tree in the special meeting place would always bear fruit in the color of a dark and mournful color in memory of their love.
Theseus and the Minotaur
Queen Pasiphae slept with a bull sent by Zeus, and gave birth to Minotaur. King Minos was embarrassed and did not want to kill the Minotaur, so he hid the monster in the Labyrinth built by Daedalus. Theseus decided to go to Crete as one of the 7 human sacrifices. He was determined to kill the Minotaur, but the king believed that even if he did kill the minotaur, he would never be able to escape Daedalus’s labyrinth. Theseus met princess Ariadne, daughter of king Midas, who fell madly in love with him and wanted to help him. Ariadne loved him so much that she asked Daedalus how to escape from his labyrinth. He told her that you need to trace your way in with a thread so you can are able to follow the thread back out. Ariadne gave Theseus a thread and told him to unravel it as he got deeper and deeper in the labyrinth. Theseus killed the Minotaur, saved the Athenians and with Ariadne’s thread he was able to trace his way out. Theseus took Ariadne with him and sailed happily from Crete backed to Athens.