Beware Of Greeks by Paul Curtis (english novels for students TXT) 📕

of the arts
The ninth and final was,
The divine Urania,
Heavenly muse,
Was the muse of astrology
A globe in her hand
Dressed in a cloak embroidered with stars
Urania was reader of the stars


CREATURES OF GREEK MYTHOLOGY – THE CERYNITIAN HIND

The Cerynitian hinds were five golden-horned immortal deer
Sacred to the goddess Artemis whose golden horns shone clear
Larger than bulls four of them pulled Artemis in her chariot
Hera helped the fifth one to escape as part of a devious plot
And it crossed the river Kelodon into the mountains of arcadia
Heracles was tasked as a labor to capture the golden hind later
And without shedding a drop of its blood Heracles did this
Afterwards he set the hind free to placate the goddess Artemis


CREATURES OF GREEK MYTHOLOGY - STYMPHALIAN BIRDS

The Ornithes Stymphalides were birds of a fierce and man-eating breed
Who used as arrows their metallic feathers, which were sharp indeed
The sixth Labor of Heracles was to drive these birds out of Arcadia
But because of their deadly metal arrowed feathers could not get near
But to scare the birds of lake Stymphalus he used a rattle that was brazen
Once in the air he brought them down in a hail of his arrows by the dozen


CREATURES OF GREEK MYTHOLOGY – THE CRETAN BULL

As a punishment for not making a promised sacrifice to the Olympian god
The Cretan Bull a majestic creature was sent up to Crete by Poseidon
It impregnated Pasiphae the wife of King Minos producing the Minotaur
After it was captured by Heracles it was slain by Theseus at Marathon


CREATURES OF GREEK MYTHOLOGY – GERYON

Geryon was a triple-bodied giant who dwelt in the land of Erytheia at the ends of the earth
As one of his labors Heracles who was sent to fetch Geryon's herds of cattle of great worth
His parents were the powerful-minded Khrysaor and Kallirhoe daughter of glorious Okeanos
While he guarded his fabulous cattle herds Geryon was accompanied by the hound Orthrus
With a single blow from his mighty club Heracles dispatched Orthrus the two-headed hound
And then with one poisoned arrow the giant three bodied Geryon fell dead to the ground


CREATURES OF GREEK MYTHOLOGY – ORTHRUS

There was a dreadful union between the giant immortal Typhon
And the black fearful eyed Echidne, Half serpent, half woman
The terrible result of this unnatural union was the dog Orthrus
A two headed dog almost as vicious as his brother Cerberus
The Drakon Chimaera was in love With Orthrus her own brother
And spawned the deadly Sphinx and the Nemean Lion together
Used by the giant Geryon to guard his fabulous herds of cattle
Who at the hands of Heracles was stuck with a club died in battle


MEDUSA

The Gorgons
The sisters three
Sthenno and Euryale
Had immortality

Medusa by far
Was most beautiful
But she was
Merely mortal

The god Poseidon
And the lovely Medusa
In love, desecrated
The temple of Athena

In revenge
Furious goddess Athena
Cruelly punished
The beautiful Medusa


Turning to snakes
Her lovely hair
Making her ugly
With a fatal stare

Her visage
Hideous to look upon
Mean death
From Medusa the gorgon

With scaly skin
And serpent hair
She awaiting victims
In her lair

One night
While Medusa slumbered
Brave Perseus struck
And her head was severed


Even after death
To look upon her
Would petrify
Any befalling her stare

Brave prince Perseus
After slaying Medusa
Delivered the head
To a grateful Athena


URANIA

The last mythological muse
Urania, muse of astrology
Foreteller of the future
By the stars array
Dressed in a cloak
Embroidered with stars
Holding a globe in her left hand
Always looking to the heavens
a goddess of universal love
And possessed with the holy spirit
The Renaissance Urania
Was muse to the Christian poets
And still gazed to the heavens
But saw God amongst the stars


LAMIA

Beautiful Lamia
Queen of Libya
Lover of Zeus
Rival of Hera

Beautiful Lamia
Became a mother
Loved by Zeus
Despised by Hera

Wife of Zeus
The jealous Hera
Murdered the children
Of Beautiful Lamia

Driven insane by grief
Beautiful Lamia
Became an ugly
Child devourer


Hera became
A vengeful bitch
Lamia became
A blood sucking witch


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Publication Date: 08-10-2010

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