10 Wicked Witches of Ancient Greece

 

 

In ancient Greece, so said the philosopher, Aristotle, ‘women would bring disorder and evil and were utterly useless and caused more confusion than the enemy’.

 The characterization of women in Greek mythology was no better; they were depicted as deceitful, manipulative beings, the downfall of men, which all began with  Pandora,the first mortal woman, created to wreak Chaos and pandemonium on earth, the catastrophe of mankind.

 

 

Today, when we think of ruthless, cunning, scandalous man-eating women, we are most likely to conjure up images of the classic femme fatale of the silver screen, such as the sultry Greta Garbo, and the alluring Marlene Dietrich.

These bygone beauties though were pussy cats, compared to the temptresses of ancient Greece, with their ancient secrets of seduction, who ensnared unsuspecting men with their sexual charms.

 

 

With the aid of herbs, spells and potions , known as pharmakon, which could easily become confused with a few of the more bizarre ancient Greek medical remedies and cures of ancient Greece.

These predatory females had no mercy, they lured men into dangerous situations and induced them to surrender not only their sexual favours but also their power and knowledge.

 

 

Listed below are ten of the most badass femme fatales of Ancient Greek mythology.

 

1. Circe

 

 

Circe, a sex mad ancient Greek sorceress and enchantress, daughter of the Titan sun god, Helios, and the Oceanid nymph Perse, or, some will have it, the goddess of witchcraft, Hecate, is usually portrayed with a thyrsus; an ancient Greek magic wand topped with a pinecone.

With her knowledge of magical herbs and potions and her heavenly singing voice, she caused any man who had the bad fortune to set foot on her island, to fall under her wicked spells.

While some myths have Circe banished to the deserted, mythical island of Aeaea, by her father, as punishment for murdering her husband, Prince of the Kingdom of Colchis, others will have her escaping, or destroying the island and setting up home in the place now called Monte Circeo, or Cape Circeo, located about 100 kilometers (62 mi) south-southeast of Rome, Italy.

 

 

Circe and Odysseus

 

Circe is best known for her part in Homer’s ‘The Odyssey’, for turning Odysseus’ crew into pigs, when, whilst looking for shelter and a place to rest, they dropped anchor at her island, on their way home from the Trojan Wars.

Once safely anchored off the island of Aeaea and worn out by the trials and tribulations of war, Odysseus and his men slept for two days.

On awakening and leaving behind Odysseus, who had some sailor stuff to tend to, his men decide to explore the island and coming upon a strange palace, surrounded by wild beasts; were lured nearer by the seductive singing of a woman which floated towards them from an open window.

 

 

At once, Circe, owner of the divine voice, appeared at the door and kindly invited the sailors inside to share her midday meal, mesmerized by her beauty, the men eagerly accepted, that is, all except one, Eurylochus, who had an uneasy premonition, that something was just not right here.

 

 

Once inside Circe’s domain, the men were presented with an exceptionally delicious meal and endless carafes of wine, little did the men know, the wine had been laced with Circe’s secret potions, causing a debilitating drowsiness to flood over them.

On seeing the men were now incapable of retaliating, Circe waved her wand and turned them into pigs.

Maybe her potion was a little on the weak side, or Circe had got the recipe wrong but although the men now had the bodies of pigs, they still had the brains of men, not being able to bear their terrible grunting and wailing, Circe locked them up in a pigsty.

 

 

Eurylochus, who has silently been watching this turn of events from behind a tree, quickly runs back to tell Odysseus what has happened to his crew.

Odysseus immediately stops what he’s doing and races off to rescue his men from the clutches of the sex fiend, Circe.

Luckily for him, on the way there, he bumps into Hermes, messenger of the Gods, who, on hearing the plight of the men, tells him not to panic and gives Odysseus a magical plant called moly, which, the messenger informs him, will render him immune to Circe’s spells.

 

 

A plan was forming in Odysseus’s head; he would drink any potion offered to him by Circe, knowing he was protected by the magical plant, Moly, given to him by Hermes, pretend the potion had taken effect, which would put Circe off guard.

His plan worked a treat, Odysseus drank the wine, laced with ancient Greek aphrodisiacs,which Circe offered him and the minute she saw him subdued (or rather pretending to be subdued but she was not to know that), she pulled out her wand.

Odysseus was quicker with his sword and holding it against her throat, made her promise she would not harm him and demanded she remove her spell from his men.

Circe, impressed by the bravery of this Greek hero, does exactly as Odysseus asked her to and furthermore, having found a man who stood up to her, a real man, in her eyes, falls madly in love with him, no potions or magic spells needed.

 

 

Odysseus and his sailors happily remained for a year on Circe’s island and Circe bore Odysseus sons but Odysseus was beginning to miss his wife, Penelope, who was patiently at home, on the island of Ithaca, waiting for him.

Sadly, Circe, agreed, he must leave but not before visiting Hades, the Underworld, something no mere mortal had ever done.

On visiting thje Underworld, Odysseus would learn the secrets of how to pacify the gods, who would help him return home safely and recover his kingdom.

On his return from the Underworld, Circe tells him about two of the best route to take, in order to arrive home safely but warns him of the grave dangers he may encounter on both routes.

 

Circe dealings with other men of mythology

 

Circe appears in another famous Ancient Greek sea story, the voyage of the Argonauts. After Jason and Medea viciously kill the Colchian prince, Absyrtus, it is Circe who absolves them from the sin, before sending them away from her island.

 

Circe: a jealous and vengeful lover

 

 

 

Before falling in love with Odysseus, Circe had the hots for at least two other men, one a mortal, and one a god.

The mortal was Picus, a figure in Roman mythology, the first king of Latium, the son of Saturn, who was rather good looking and many a nymph and naiad had their eye on him.

When the temptress, Circe, tried to seduce him with her charms and herbs, Picus callously rejected her, furious with rage,  Circe turned him into a woodpecker for scorning her love.

 When his friends accused Circe of witchcraft and ordered her to release Picus, her reaction was to turn them too into animals.

When the sea-god Glaucus, requested from Circe, one of her famous magic potions, which he would administer to the nymph, Scylla, in order to make her fall in love with him, Circe, who wanted Glaucus for herself, in a fit of jealousy, gave him a potion.

Little did Glaucus know, this potion would turn Scylla into the loathsome monster Odysseus and his crew had to avoid after leaving Circe’s island.

 

 

 

2. Hecate

 

 

 

Hekate, or Hecate, protector of women, claimed by the ancient Greek poet, Hesiod, to be the daughter of Perses, the Titan god of destruction and Asteria, is the Greek goddess of witchcraft, crossroads, (especially at junctions where three roads converge often called a Y-intersection), boundaries and Hades the Underworld

Hecate rules over darkness and the moon, acts as a medium between spirits and humans and owns the key which unlocks the gates to all kingdoms.

 

 

Today, Hecate, a beautiful and powerful goddess, capable of both good and evil, is mostly linked to Greek mythology but is thought to have originated in Caria, a region of western Anatolia, modern day Turkey, which also happens to be the home of Medea, another ancient Greek enchantress who was a devotee and priestess of Hecate.

 

 

Symbols

 

Hecate is traditionally shown accompanied by her sacred dogs, carrying a torch, which represents her affinity with the night and with three faces, each one facing in different directions, illustrating her duty as the guardian of crossroads, other of her symbols are a key, cauldron, knife and broom.

 

 

Hecate, a “virgin” goddess, who valued her solitude and independence, may manifest as a sexy seductress, a haggard, decrepit crone, a mature woman or as a black dog.

Even though she was a moon goddess, Hecate, wandered through all three kingdoms, the earth, sea, and sky, her ability to either conjure up, or suppress storms, earned her the role as protector of shepherds and sailors.

 

 

As Queen of the Night, revered as advocate of the persecuted, Hecate, often in the company of an owl, symbol of wisdom, had her ‘hangers on’, a mish mash of down and outs, social outcasts, ghosts and other such unfortunates living life on the edge.

 

Potions and herbs

 

 

Hecate was celebrated for her awareness of the magical, healing powers of plants, her temple at Colchis, on the Black Sea, supported an acclaimed ‘magical garden’, where plants, dark and mysterious, like Hecate, such as belladonna, hemlock, mandrake, aconite, and opium poppy, grew in abundance.

These mind-altering poisons and hallucinogens, used in black magic, gave Hecate’s followers the power to summon up dreams, prophecies, and phantoms and gave them the ability to see into the Underworld, the world of spirits, of the sleeping, and of the dead.

 

Sanctuaries of Hecate

 

 

Hecate was a popular goddess, her cult was practiced all over Greece and Western Anatolia, sanctuaries dedicated to Hecate could be found at Lagina, ancient Caria, (her most famous temple), Argolis, Peloponnese and Aegina, one of the  Saronic islands.

 Hecate was also worshipped in the sanctuaries of other gods.

The oldest evidence of Hecate’s cult comes from Selinunte (near modern-day Trapani in Sicily), where she had a temple in the 6th–5th centuries BCE.

 

 

Hecate is the goddess and guardian of Byzantium and is credited with saving the city from attack by King Philip II of Macedonia in 304 BCE, when his armies attempted to attack secretly during a moonless night but Hecate lit a crescent moon, which gave enough light for the Byzantines to be one step ahead of the danger and save themselves.

 

Rituals performed in honour of Hecate

 

As Hecate is the goddess of crossroads and boundaries, images of her were often placed at city gates, doorways of homes, and at points where roads converged, in order to protect against demons and evil spirits.

Being blessed with farsightedness and the gift of being able to see in several directions at once, people lost, or confused at which road to take, would call upon Hecate to put them on the right track.

It was not unusual to see poles at road junctions, with three masks hanging from them, in honour of Hecate, and to ensure her help in choosing the right road, these three-faced masks were sometimes seen hanging on the doors of houses, to keep out all evil spirits.

 

 

Each month, on the Noumenia, the first day of the visible new moon, which marks the first day in a lunar month in the ancient Greek Attic calendar, food offerings, illuminated with small torches, were placed at crossroads, road junctions and at any boundary or threshold, as a tribute to Hecate, this ritual was called “Hekate’s Deipnon” (Deipnon – in Greek – evening meal).

Although Hecate had a reputation as a spirit of black magic, she was held in the highest of regard and invoked great respect.

 

 

 

 

 In Greek mythology, Medea, an enchantress with the gift of second sight, is the daughter of King Aeëtes of Colchis, modern day Georgia and niece of Circe, an ancient Greek sorceress, who helped Jason, leader of the Argonauts, to retrieve the Golden Fleece, the fleece of the golden winged ram, a symbol of authority and kingship, from her father.

 

 

Medea is known as a sorceress and is often portrayed as a priestess of the goddess of witchcraft, Hecate

Medea is best known though, from Euripide’s, the ancient Greek playwright, tragedy, Medea and Apollonius of Rhodes’ epic Argonautica, a Greek epic poem, written in the 3rd century BC, which tells the story of the adventures of Jason and the Argonauts when on a mission to retrieve the Golden Fleece from Colchis.

 

Medea and Jason

 

 

Medea met Jason, when he came from Iolcus to Colchis, in order to affirm his birthright and claim his inheritance and throne by recovering the Golden Fleece from her father, King Aeëtes.

It were as though Eros (Cupid), had shot his arrow; at her first sight of Jason, Medea fell madly in love with him and craftily offered to help him, with one stipulation, were he to succeed with his endeavor, he would take her with him and marry her.

Knowing he needed all the help he could get, Jason accepted Medea’s offer.

 

The tasks of Jason

 

 

Medea’s father, King Aeëtes, agreed to hand over the Golden Fleece, on the condition that Jason could perform for him three tasks.

Firstly, Jason was to plough a field with fire-breathing oxen that he had to yoke himself.

As protection against the oxen’s red hot fiery breath, Medea gave Jason a potion to apply to himself and his weapons.

Secondly, Jason was told he had to sow the teeth of a dragon in the field he had just ploughed; as soon as the teeth were planted; they became an army of warriors.

Media had warned Jason that this would happen and Jason deftly threw a rock into the midst of the warriors, who, not knowing who had thrown the rock, attacked and killed each other.

Third and finally, King Aeëtes placed Jason in a showdown with the sleepless dragon that guarded the Golden Fleece.

Medea, once again, came to Jason’s rescue by knocking out the dragon with her herbs and potions.

 

Medea and Jason sail away to Iolcus

 

 

 

The Golden Fleece was now in Jason’s possession and as he had promised, he sailed away to claim his rightful kingdom of Iolcus, taking Media with him.

To distract her father and give them a head start, Medea killed her brother, Absyrtus.

One version of the myth has Medea chopping up her brother’s body, scattering the dismembered parts on a island, as she knew her father would stop to gather up the parts of his son and give him a decent burial.

Yet another version has Absyrtus pursuing the couple and being killed by Jason.

On their way to Iolcus, Medea and Jason drop in on her aunt Circe, so as she could be atoned, with Circe’s magical powers, of murdering her brother.

When their ship, The Argo, reached Crete, Talos, the bronze man who guarded the island, was killed, either when Medea made him wild with drugs, deceived him that she would make him immortal or he was killed by an arrow .

In the Argonautica, Medea hypnotized Talos from the Argo, driving him so crazy, that he dislodged the nail in his neck, which prevented his ichor; the blood of Greek gods, escaping and he bled to death, making it safe for the Argo to drop anchor.

 

What goes on in Iolcus

 

Great celebrations awaited Jason on his triumphant return home with the Golden Fleece but the fact that Jason’s father, Aeson, was too old and frail to party, rather put the damper on things but Medea, again, saved the day.

She drained the blood from Aeson’s body, mixed it together with one of her potions, pumped it back into his veins, giving him the energy of a teenager.

The Peliades, the daughters of Pelias, king of Iolcus, the one who sent Jason on the quest for the Golden Fleece, on witnessing the miraculous rejuvenation of Aeson, demanded Medea do the same for their father.

Medea saw her chance, during Jason’s long absence, Pelias was sure the Argo must have sunk and when Jason and Medea returned, Pelias refused to give up the throne.

 Medea, agrees to rejuvenate Pelias but instead, slits his throat and leaves him for dead, clearing the way for Jason. (Another version has Pelias’ own daughters killing him).

 

 

Now though, Jason was classed as an accessory to murder and was still not crowned king, and was banished, by Pelias’ son, Acastus, to Corinth.

 

Medea kills her children

 

Once in Corinth, Jason deserted Medea for Glauce, Princess of Corinth, the daughter of King Creon.

Ruthless, vengeful Medea, made a present to Glauce, of a dress and a golden crown, which were drenched in poison, resulting in the deaths of both Glauce and her father, King Creon.

Their deaths though, did not quench her terrible desire for revenge on Jason for choosing another woman above herself and in a state of utter rage, killed two of her children.

 

 

Medea then headed for Thebes, where, in return for curing Heracles, an ex Argonaut, from the curse of Hera, Queen of the gods, he provided her with a place to stay, until, having had enough of this evil woman, the locals threw her out.

 

Medea marries Aegeus, King of Athens

 

 

 

Not one to be daunted, Medea traveled to Athens on her golden chariot, where she met and married Aegeus, King of Athens, of whom the Aegean Sea is named after and they produced a son, Medus.

Her happiness was not to last long, the arrival Aegeus’ son, Theseus, put paid to Medeas’ hopes of seeing her son, Medus, sitting on the throne of Athens.

 Adamant to ensure her own son’s position, Medea, used her powers of persuasion to convince Aegeus, that Theseus was not his long lost son and was a threat which needed to be taken care of.

Just as Theseus was about to accept a cup of poison prepared by Media, Aegeus, noticed the young man’s sword as his own, left by him for his newborn son, to be given to him when he came of age.

Swiping the cup from Medea’s hand, Aegeus, declared Theseus as his son .

Medea returned to Colchis with her tail between her legs and on learning that her father, Aeëtes, had been dethroned by his brother Perses, killed her uncle on the spot, and restored the kingdom to her father.

 

4. Hera

 

 

 

Hera was the Queen of the gods, goddess of women, marriage, childbirth, children and family, wife of Zeus, ruler of all the gods on Mount Olympus and daughter of Cronus and Rhea.

Hera and Zeus had four children, well, three really, as Hera, in retaliation to Zeus conceiving the Goddess of wisdom, Athena (Minerva), all on his ownsome, gave tit for tat and produced Hephaestus (Vulcan), god of blacksmiths, in the self same way.

The other three children were Ares (Mars), god of war, Hebe (Juventas), goddess of youth, and Eileithyia (Lucina), goddess of childbirth and midwifery.

 

Temples and sanctuaries of Hera in ancient Greece

 

 

Hera had quite a cult following and is thought to have been the first of any Greek god or goddess to have a temple or sanctuary dedicated to her.

 The first of her temples was erected on the island of Samos in around 800 BC, later to be replaced by one of the largest temples of all ancient Greece, the Heraion of Samos.

The great size, and number of temples dedicated to Hera, is an indication of how significant she was to the ancient Greeks.

 

 

 The two main temples on the island of Samos and in the Argolis in the Peloponnese, two of the earliest temples to be built in ancient Greece in the eighth century.

Many more temples were to be found around ancient Greece, such as the ones at Olympia, Corinth, Tiryns, the sacred island of Delos and the  Sanctuary of Heraion at Perachora.

 

Hera’s wrath towards Zeus

 

 

Zeus was rather the man about town, a bit of a playboy, who liked nothing more than to leave Mount Olympus to visit Earth, where he consorted with mortal women, who would produce demigods, to carry on his greatness.

Hera, even though a role model for women, was better known for her jealousy and vindictive ways than for her role as goddess, the phrase ‘Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned’, could have been written for her.

She was driven crazy by Zeus’s dalliances, and awaited an opportunity to wreak revenge on her unfaithful husband Zeus.

The opportunity arose when Zeus acted rather more strictly than he should have with his fellow Olympians, Hera jumped at the chance and lead the disgruntled Olympians in revolt against Zeus.

 

 

Hera drugged Zeus’s wine and when she was sure he was totally out for the count, called upon the Olympians to tie Zeus to a chair, using one hundred strong knots, and to confiscate his thunderbolt.

The plan had not been well thought through and when the task was completed, with Zeus bound firmly to his chair, they began to argue amongst themselves about what they should do next, and who was to be their new leader.

The arguments became heated, so much so, that Briareus, one of the three Hekatoncheires, giant creatures of a hundred hands and fifty heads, heard the conversation.

He realised his saviour, Zeus, was tied to a chair, crept in and quickly untied the hundred knots in a jiffy, with his hundred hands.

Zeus, at that moment, awoke, jumped from the chair and grabbed his thunderbolt, on seeing his fury, the Olympians fell at Zeus’s feet, begging for mercy.

Zeus caught hold of Hera, bound her wrists with chains of gold, tied  heavy anvils to her feet, and hung her from the heavens.

Hera cried out in pain all night but none dare help her for the fear of Zeus’s anger.

The next morning, feeling Hera had learnt her lesson, Zeus made Hera promise, that if he were to free her, she must agree never to plot against him again.

Hera promised but vowed her revenge against Zeus would be taken out on his many mistresses and myriads of illegitimate children.

 

Hera and Heracles

 

 

Hera was the stepmother of Heracles, whom she hated as he was the child of Alcmene, one on Zeus’s many mistresses and ever since his birth, she had tried her best to do him harm.

According to one Greek myth, Zeus had taken Heracles, to suckle at the breast of Hera whilst she slept, but awakening, Hera pushed the baby away, and drops of spurting milk, formed the Milky Way.

Hera was the source ofthe twelve labours of heracles   when she drove him mad, causing him to murder his wife and children.

This act resulted in Hera assigning Heracles to labour for King Eurystheus of Mycenae, doing her best to create obstacles which would prevent Heracles from completing his tasks.

 

Hera and the Trojan War

 

 

To celebrate the marriage of Peleus and Thetis (parents of Achilles), Zeus held a feast, to which Eris, goddess of discord was not invited.

Furious at being snubbed, Eris went to the feast anyway, taking with her a golden apple, which turned out to be the apple of discord, from the Gardens of Hesperides, as a prize for the fairest one at the party.

Hera, Athena and Aphrodite asked Zeus to declare who was the fairest of the three, Zeus, not wanting this responsibility, nominated Paris, a Trojan, to judge.

Off went the three competitors, to pretty themselves up, before meeting with their judge, Paris on Mount Ida.

 

 

On seeing the three beauties, Paris was in a dilemma, each one was as handsome as the other, on seeing his difficulty in choosing the fairest amongst them, Hera, Athena and Aphrodite quickly stripped off their clothes, in the hope this would make things easier for Paris.

As Paris ogled the three ravishing contestants, each one made the effort to bribe him.

Hera offered to make him king of Europe and Asia, Athena offered wisdom and skill in war, and Aphrodite, offered him the world’s most gorgeous woman, Helen, wife of king Menelaus of Sparta.

On hearing Aphrodites offer, Paris eagerly declared her the fairest of the three and presented her with the golden apple.

This act caused the fury of Hera, Athena and Helen, as well as the rest of the Greeks, who now had to trek to Troy, to rescue the beautiful Helen, so starting the ten year Trojan war.

Hera, who was in fact, the most beautiful of the three women, flew into a rage, and joined the Greeks in the battle against Trojans, as  punishment to Paris for not choosing her as the fairest.

This was a key event in the turning point of the war.

Hera encouraged the Greeks by shouting as if fifty men were shouting with all their might and even seduced Zeus, exhausting him through making love to him, so as to make him fall asleep.

Once Zeus was asleep, the gods stepped on to the battlefield to support the Greeks, even though Zeus given explicit orders for them not to.

 

Myths about Hera

 

 

There are countless more myths about Hera’s vindictiveness, it seems none escaped her vengeance, below are just a small sample.

Hera had a couple of her bully boys sent to kill Leto, who was pregnant by Zeus, with Apollo and Artemis, to prevent her from giving birth, fortunately, her plans failed, Leto was rescued by Poseidon, god of the sea.

Hera destroyed the mortal princess Semele, daughter of Cadmus, King of Thebes, who was pregnant with Dionysus, by Zeus, her husband, luckily, Hermes saved the day, by helping Zeus to sew Dionysus into his thigh.

After Dionysus’s birth, Hera chased the god of pleasure relentlessly, forcing him into the life of a nomad, wandering from place to place.

 

 

Hera also found out about an affair of her husband Zeus, with her servent Io.

When Hera threatened the couple, Zeus turned Io into cow to hide her.

Hera, realizing some trickery was at hand, demanded Zeus give her the cow as a gift and had it put under the guard of her servent, the one-hundred eyed Argus, so as to keep it away from Zeus.

Aiakos, king of Aegina, along with his whole country, felt Hera’s ire, when she poisoned the country’s water source.

Hera helped out Jason and the Golden Fleece but only until her plot against Pelias, king of Iolcus, who had sent Jason on the quest for the Golden Fleece, and whom Hera hated for killing his step – grandmother, Sidero, was a success, whereupon she abandoned Jason.

 

 

5. Calypso

 

 

 

Calypso, in Greek mythology, the daughter of Atlas, who had the weight of the world on his shoulders, was a nymph of the fictional island of Ogygia.

According to Homer, author of the epic poem; The Odysse, Calypso, with her captivating singing, held Odysseus, hero of this epic poem, hostage on her island for seven years.

Calypso, whose name says all we need to know about her, as, in Greek it means to cover, to hide, deceive and conceal knowledge, was determined to seduce Odysseus, from the minute she set eyes on him and fell madly in love, when he landed on Ogygia.

 

 

Come what may, Calypso was going to snare this handsome, mortal Greek hero for her husband.

Even though Odysseus had fallen under the spell of the enchantress, Calypso, he never really settled on her island.

He missed his wife, Penelope, who was patiently waiting for him, weaving at her loom, at home on the island of Ithaca.

Eventually, he could stand no more but rather than bear the wrath of Calypso, he confided to the goddess, Athena, about the unbearable longing for his wife.

 

 

Athena, in her role of guardian and protector of Odysseus, turned to the ruler of all Greek gods, Zeus, for help.

Zeus, in turn, ordered the messenger Hermes, to explain to Calypso, what’s what and that enough is enough, it’s time to release the poor man and let him make his way home.

At first, Calypso kicked up a bit of a fuss, cursing the gods for them not wanting goddesses to have affairs with mortals.

After much deliberation and debate, Athena and Zeus persuaded Calypso to do the right thing and with a heavy heart, she provided Odysseus with wine, bread and cheese, to sustain him on his journey, supplied him with a raft and said her sad farewell.

 

 

6. Clytemnestra

 

 

 

 

In Greek mythology, Clytemnestra was the wife of Agamemnon, king of Mycenae and the daughter of Tyndareus and Leda, rulers of Sparta and sister of Helen of Troy.

While Agamemnon and his brother Menelaus were in exile at the home of Tyndareus, the brothers took a shine to the two sisters, resulting in Agamemnon marrying Clytemnestra and Menelaus marrying Helen.

As is usually the case with ancient Greek myths, there’s never only one version.

 In a later version, Clytemnestra’s first husband was Tantalus, King of Pisa (a town, or district, in the Peloponnesus), who was murdered by Agamemnon, along with Clytemnestra’s baby son, who then took Clytemnestra for his wife.

Yet another version has Clytemnestra’s first husband as the King of Lydia, Western Asia Minor.

 

 

After Helen was abducted from Sparta, by Paris of Troy, her husband, Menelaus, went to his brother, Agamemnon, for help in bringing her back, and so began the journey to Troy.

Things did not start well; weak winds delayed the ships departure from Aulis, a note of hope appeared though, when a priest delivered a message from the gods to Agamemnon.

The note informed Agamemnon that if he sacrificed his daughter Iphigenia, to the goddess Artemis, they would whip up a good wind.

Agamemnon managed to convince Clytemnestra to send Iphigenia to Aulis, under the pretence that he was going to marry her to Achilles, the greatest of all Greek warriors.

 When Iphigenia arrived she was at once sacrificed, the winds blew strongly, and the men set sail for Troy.

 

 

It was to be a long war, ten years in fact and in Agamemnon’s absence, Clytemnestra began an affair with her husband’s cousin, Aegisthus.

Incensed by the murder of Iphigenia, Clytemnestra, with help from Aegisthus, began devising a plan to wipe Agamemnon off the face of the Earth.

Once again, here, we have a few different versions of the tale, on returning from Troy, Agamemnon is murdered by Aegisthus, or, Clytemnestra helps him or does the killing herself in his own home.

The most popular version is of Aeschylus Agamemnon, on arriving home with his mistress, the Trojan princess Cassandra, a priestess of Apollo, cursed to utter true prophecies but never to be believed, is greeted by his wife, Clytemnestra, who has rolled out the red carpet, in honour of his return, enters the palace for a banquet, leaving Cassandra outside in his chariot.

Biding her time until Agamemnon was in the bath, Clytemnestra, then tied him up in a net, and stabbed him.

 

 

Outside, Cassandra had a sudden vision of herself and Agamemnon being murdered and called for help, her cries though, fell on deaf ears, as she had been cursed by Apollo that no one would believe her prophecies.

Knowing she was destined to die, she calmly walked into the palace and to her death.

Aegisthus became king and ruled for seven years with Clytemnestra as his queen.

 Clytemnestra was eventually killed by her son from Agamemnon, Orestes, who later, also kills his half-brother, Aletes, and takes the throne.

 

 

7. Lamia

 

 

 

Lamia was a woman who became a child-eating monster after her children were destroyed by Hera, who learned of her husband Zeus’s affairs with her.

In Greek mythology, originally, before letting herself become involved with Zeus, king of all Greek gods, Lamia was an exceptionally beautiful woman.

Lamia became disfigured from a deep torment which transformed her into a terrifying being that hunted and killed the children of others, after Zeus’s vengeful wife Hera, destroyed all her children, or, some would have it, caused Lamia herself to kill her own children.

 

 

To further torment Lamia, Hera put a magic spell upon Lamia, causing her to be stricken with permanent insomnia.

This lead to endless nights of anguish, reliving the deaths of her children.

Feeling sorry for Lamia and more than just a little guilty, Zeus, bestowed upon her, removable eyes, enabling to take out her eyes at night, allowing her some relief.

 Zeus also bestowed on lamia the ability to shape shift and become an alluring half serpent, half sultry seductress, who enticed young men into satisfying their sexual needs with her, once they were satisfied, she devoured the young men.

 

 

This man eating temptress was the inspiration behind the poem ‘Lamia’, by English Romantic poet, John Keats in 1820.

 

Lamia. John Keats

 

 Left to herself, the serpent now began

To change; her elfin blood in madness ran,

Her mouth foam’d, and the grass, therewith besprent,

Wither’d at dew so sweet and virulent;

Her eyes in torture fix’d, and anguish drear,

Hot, glaz’d, and wide, with lid-lashes all sear,

Flash’d phosphor and sharp sparks, without one cooling tear.

The colours all inflam’d throughout her train,

She writh’d about, convuls’d with scarlet pain:

A deep volcanian yellow took the place

Of all her milder-mooned body’s grace;

And, as the lava ravishes the mead,

Spoilt all her silver mail, and golden brede;

Made gloom of all her frecklings, streaks and bars,

Eclips’d her crescents, and lick’d up her stars:

So that, in moments few, she was undrest

Of all her sapphires, greens, and amethyst,

And rubious-argent: of all these bereft,

Nothing but pain and ugliness were left.

 

8. Kakia

 

 

 

Kakia, or Cacia, the Greek, goddess of vice and moral badness, was portrayed as a vain, plump, and heavily made-up woman dressed in revealing clothes.

Her aim in life was to try to entice as many people as she possibly could, to become wicked and evil.

Kakia’s most famous effort was that of trying to seduce the great Greek warrior, Heracles.

Heracles, when confronted by two Greek goddesses; Kakia, (vice), beautiful and alluring and Arete (Virtue), a naturally beautiful and humble woman, he choice was a difficult one.

 

 

Kakia (Vice) tempted Heracles with an easy, laid back life, full of lust and pleasure, happiness without hardships in other words.

Aretê (virtue) offered him a hard life with many losses and much sufferings warning him that nothing that is really good and admirable is granted to men without hard work.

Good prevails over evil; Heracles, drew upon all his strength and will power and chose Arete’s offer.

The word, Kakia, meaning malignity, malice, ill-will, a desire to injure, evil trouble, wickedness and depravity, is mention numerous times in the New Testament and today, in Greek, the word has the same meaning.

 

9. Apate

 

 

 

In Greek mythology, Apate was the goddess of deceit and the daughter of Nyx, the personification of night and also one of the first primordial gods to exist at the beginning of time.

 Erebos, personification of darkness, was her father, also one of the first gods to ever exist.

 

 

Apate, along with her sisters, who were also personifications of various other, not so good attributes and mannerisms, had all been locked up in Pandora’s Box

They were released into the world when curious Pandora, the first human woman, opened the box.

One myth involving Apate, concerns Hera, the wife of Zeus (ruler of all Greek gods), who, upon learning of her husband’s affair with the Theban princess, Semele, sought out  Apate, in order to pick her brains for a suitable punishment for the two-timing princess.

 

 

Apate gave Hera a magical girdle which forced Semele into asking to see Zeus in his true form.

Semele died after seeing Zeus in his true form, as the gods were never allowed to appear before mortals in their true form, if they did reveal themselves, no mortal could ever survive after looking at them.

The word apate, in Greek, means fraud or deceit.

 

10. Eris

 

 

 

Eris was the daughter of Zeus and Hera and the twin sister of Ares, the God of War.

She was the goddess of conflict, strife, discord and contention.

The most well -known story concerning Eris, tells of her initiating the Trojan Wars by causing the Judgment of Paris.

 

The Judgment of Paris

 

 

The goddesses Hera, Athena and Aphrodite had all been invited to the wedding of Peleus and Thetis (later to become the parents of Achilles), Eris had not been invited owing to her disruptive ways.

Dead set on revenge for this snub, Eris threw the Apple of Discord, also known as the Golden Apple, into the midst of the celebrating gods, as a prize “For the most beautiful one”, provoking the goddesses to quarrel about who actually was the fairest of them all.

 

 

Paris, Prince of Troy, was selected, by Zeus, ruler of the gods, to pick the most beautiful of the three goddesses, Hera, Athena and Aphrodite, who all stripped naked to try to win Paris’s eye.

The three of them also tried a bit of bribery, Hera offered political power; Athena promised infinite wisdom; and Aphrodite tempted him with the most beautiful woman in the world: Helen, wife of Menelaus of Sparta.

Paris chose to award the apple to Aphrodite and in doing so, brought doom upon his city, thereby dooming his city, which was defeated in the Trojan wars which ensued.

 

Discordian religion

 

 

Eris has been adopted as the patron goddess of the modern Discordian religion, which was begun in the late 1950s by Gregory Hill and Kerry Wendell Thornley.

In the Discordian version, Eris is shown as a more positive force of chaotic creation.

A quote from the Principia Discordia, the first holy book of Discordianism about Eris.

‘One day Mal-2 consulted his Pineal Gland and asked Eris if She really created all of those terrible things. She told him that She had always liked the Old Greeks, but that they cannot be trusted with historic matters. “They were,” She added, “victims of indigestion, you know.” Suffice it to say that Eris is not hateful or malicious. But she is mischievous, and does get a little bitchy at times.^’

 

Sleeping Beauty

 

 

The classic fairy tale, Sleeping Beauty, about a princess who is cursed to sleep for a hundred years by an evil fairy, to be awakened by a handsome prince, is inspired by Eris’s role in the wedding of Peleus and Thetis.

Like Eris, a malevolent fairy curses a princess after not being invited to the princess’s christening.

The earliest known version of the story is found in the narrative Perceforest, or, The Pentamerone  a seventeenth-century fairy tale collection by Italian poet and courtier Giambattista Basile, composed between 1330 and 1344.

 

Woman Power

 

Today’s feminists, women’s libbers et al, could learn a thing or two from these sneaky seductresses of ancient Greece, do it like a Greek; use your charm to get what you want from a man, he will never have seen it coming!

Great Greek woman power works every time; entice, lure, tempt and ensnare, have no mercy, be deceitful, manipulate, corrupt and use your powers of persuasion and then, sit back and watch him fall prey to your every whim.

 

 

And to all you men out there reading this, think twice before accepting a drink from a Greek woman, you never know what may be in there and above all, remember the old adage; ‘Beware of Greeks bearing gifts’.

 

 

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