Five Favourite Greek Myths

In anticipation for the upcoming instalment of Tawny & Cree: Amazonian Trial, I have decided to talk about the foundation of which I built Tawny & Cree off, Greek Mythology. While there are many tales, I am going to talk about my favourite five and why I like them.

1: Minotaur Creation

Seems like an obvious place to start, given the prevalent nature of minotaurs within Tawny & Cree. There is an interesting aspect to this story that always gripped me, King Minos’ decision to make a deal with and then not fulfil said deal with a god (Poseidon). Tragedy does not just fall on him, but his wife and while it seems unfairly cruel to punish the wife for the husband’s mistakes, it makes sense. Something that I will reiterate here is that these stories reflect values and beliefs of the Ancient Greek people and many of those also apply to us. It makes sense a deal as significant as one with a god would impact everyone close to King Minos. If you made a deal with a powerful person and then deliberately broke that deal, your family would suffer as well. In the story, the breaking of the deal gives birth to a monster, the minotaur, which again I think is fitting. Consequences of a large scale are not easily dealt with and I think it is rather symbolic that the breaking of the deal gave birth to a literal monster.

2: Sisyphus

In similar theme to the above story, Sisyphus’ attempts at defying the gods gave him the eternal punishment of pushing a boulder up a hill that will always roll down before he reaches the top. Part of me enjoys the idea of the punishment, as it fits that a man who wriggled free from death would reach the end of his life, which was many years, was then forced to complete a task that he could never complete. Another part of me enjoys considering what motivates Sisyphus to continue to push the boulder. He could stop and just sit at the bottom of the hill and not bother, instead he does not. Now, Zeus does say that if he reaches the top, he would be freed, but no matter how many times he tries he always fails. His ability to push through despite the constant failure is admirable, even if his task is impossible. It is hard to get up after failure but to continue to persevere is something that we can all look on and wish for more of in our own life.

3: Hercules and the Nemean Lion

There are more complex and narratively interesting stories than the demigod’s battle with the Nemean Lion, but it is the simplicity that I enjoy. The hero strangling a lion, a large one, to death showcasing not just his physical strength but also his ability to beat nature is engaging. Establish your place at the top is a position that we all admire and respect. A hero who can overcome the threat before them reminds me of the things that I want to and need to defeat. I may not wear the skin of all that I defeat across my shoulders like Hercules did, but it is a reminder that each victory allows me to grow and use what I learnt.

4: King Midas

A man who gets exactly what he wants, an interesting premise and a universal truth. I like how it makes me reflect on the things that I want and consider what will that actually look like? When King Midas asks, out of greed, that he wants to turn everything he touches into gold, he gets what he wants. Gold house, gold food, gold daughter. I think it addresses two key issues that we as humans struggle with, the first being motivation. Why do we want it? If I pray to God for wealth, what does that mean and do I really want to be working eighty-hour weeks so that I can maintain the wealth? Do I want to be as generous as God would want me to if he blessed me like that? We often want out of selfishness and that can blind us, make us miss the reality of what having the thing we wish for would mean for us. The second key issue is action, that is, what do we do once we have the thing we want. If we prayed for wealth and was blessed with it, then what, do we just sit in our castle and ignore the world, fill our lives with expensive things that waste our time or deadly substances to fill the void of purpose. King Midas doesn’t use this power for good or to bless others, but for his own selfish wants and that leads him down a path of destruction. I think the story is a good reminder that we are blessed to bless others and that is how we should live.

5: Damon and Pythias

The last of these tales is a story of friendship. When one friend is set to be executed and asks the king that he be allowed to return home to say farewell to his family and marry off his sister so that she will be taken care of, the king refuses, until the friend steps in. The two men have a friendship that is so valued and important to them that they are willing to die to protect the other. I find it admirable and compared to some of the other stories that can be classified within Greek Mythology, it is uplifting. It is a reminder of the importance of friendship and a deep platonic love that in our modern world, is not as in focus as it could be.

Those were five of my favourite Greek Myths. Let me know what your favourites are and again, if you like Greek Myths then you may like my Tawny & Cree series, check them out with the link below and leave a review, I would love to know what you think.

https://amzn.asia/d/bb0o0on