herakles

(HERAKLES / HERACLES / HERCULES)
Best known for having a series of labours to overcome.

In the many versions of the myth Herakles was initially born from his mother who not only slept with a mortal but also with Zeus who disguised himself as her husband. She then gave birth to twins, one behing her mortal husband’s child and one, Zeus’. In an attempt to smite the child, Hera sent a couple of snakes to devour him. After killing his music tutor with a lyre, Herakles was given the choice: a simple easy life or a life filled with glory and strife. Herakles, narturally, chose the latter.
Herakles married princess of Thebes, Megara with who he had children and when he was induced into madness via Hera, wound up killing them (in some cases it was only his children, in others, his children and his wife). Horrified by what he had done he fled to the oracle of Delphi seeking a way in which he could be purified for these horrors.
The oracle was controlled by Hera who instruced him to serveking Eurystheus who instructed into ten (and later added two more): kill the Nemean Lion, kill the Learnaean Hydra, capture the Cerynitian Hind, kill the Erymanthian Boar, clean the stables of Augeas, slay the Stymphalian Birds, fetch the Cretan Bull, fetch the mares of Diomedes, retrieve the belt/girdle of Hippolyta, steal the cattle of Geryon, fetch the apple of the Hespirides, fetch the hound: Kerberos.
Some myths also insiste Herakles had a series of minor labours which included: slaying the giant: Alkyoneus, fight the giant: Antaios, fell the eagle eating Prometheus’ liver, kill a couple tribes of centaurs, set free the Kerkopes and slay the giant Trojan sea-monster. It was said that even before the Trojan war, Herkales set off to sack Troy it was even said that he participated in the adventures of the Argonauts. Essentially Herakles could have been found in a little bit everywhere as various tellers of myth included smaller stints of Herakles which may have occured in their particular towns.
Just as his myth began, the way in which Herakles died was rather quite something. It was said that after he won the hand of Deianeira once he defeated Akheloios, he offered to help her across a fast-flowing river. Herakles swims across it in an attempt to figure out a way to help Deianeira across. In the meantime she is attacked by a centaur who he kills with the bows dipped in Hydra blood. The centaur convinced Deianeira his bloodstained shirt would make Herakles love her. She gave this shirt to Herakles when he crossed the river and he wore it, the Hydra poison mixed with the centaur’s blood seeped into Herakles’ skin and was killing him. It was said that he uprooted several trees, built himself a pyre to give himself a proper funeral, a passing shepherd lit it (in other versions only Philoctetes would light it, in a final version only his nephew, Iolaos lit it). It was said his mortal side burned while his immortal side ascended to Olympus.
Herakles was then turned into a god and married Hebe with whom he fathered two sons.

odysseus

(ODYSSEUS/OLYSEUS/OLYSSEUS/OLYTEUS/OLUTTEUS/OULIXES/ULYSSES/ULIXES)
Best known for taking nearly ten years to get back home after fighting in Troy.

In some versions of the myth, Odysseus feigned being absolutely mad in the hopes that he might avoid being drafted into the Trojan war since it was prophesied that he was bound to an enormously long journey home if he fought. He was disproven when his son was put in front of one of his ploughs he was purposefully misguiding and when he veered away from his son they knew he was only playing a trick. He was then in charge of finding Akhilles and drafting him into the war as well.
During the war, Odysseus was a force to be reckoned with. Although his style of fighting was not particularly the same as the bull-headed Akhilles, Odysseus played a far more subtle game of keeping men’s morale in check. It was said that Odysseus managed to convince Agamemnon to stick out the war even when he was hurt. The hero rallied the Greeks on several occasions to keep them from wanting to flee. Odysseus also offered to fight Hektor albeit rather reluctantly and was luckily not chosen for the task. He stops Akhilles from running into the war in a blind rage after his lover is killed. Odysseus was not typically known for being tough in brawn so much as a smart-speaker and very quick-witted and cunning which made him one of Athena’s most favourite heroes. He was the Greek who came up with the idea of the giant wooden horse to get past Troy’s massive walls.
While Odysseus was famed during his stint in the Trojan war, he is even more well known in his adventures after Troy in his attempt to return home. This adventure began when Odysseus and his twelve ships were driven off course by storms. They landed on the shores of Polyphemos’ land and were captured by the giant cyclopes. Some of his men here were eaten and, due to Odysseus’ hubris, when they finally manage to flee the island he shouts back to the giant, his own name, condemning him to greater troubles at sea, as Polyphemos was the son of Poseidon. Odysseus lands on another island where he pleaded with Aiolos for his aid in regaining his course back home. Aiolos was sympathetic and gave him a bag of winds which was later destroyed by Odysseus’ crew, thinking their captain was hiding gold from them. This landed Odysseus’ ships on the beaches of the island where the Laestrygonians resided, only Odysseus’ ship was the one to survive this encounter. This ship landed on the shores of Kirke’s island where she turned some of Odysseus’ men into swine. She later changes them, falling in love with Odysseus, she helps him regain his bearings, and for one year his crew rested. Odysseus is then dragged off to sacrifice to the dead where he learned of the many suitors and their attempts to win over Penelope. This crazed adventure continued on: he returned to the island of Kirke, hunted the cattle of Helios, was punished so that all his men but him drowned, was trapped on Calypso’s island for seven years, befriended the Phaeacians who eventually brought him safely home.

iason

(JASON)
Best known for being the leader of the Argonauts.

In some versions of the myth, it was said that his father’s brother, Pelias was attempting to kill everyone he could so that he could have the throne all to himself. Iason was completely missed in these attempts because his mother had various attendants clustered around him, sobbing as though Iason was stillborn. In this distraction, Iason’s mother sent him to be raised by Kheiron. Pelias found out and was worried about this, consulted an oracle who told him to keep an eye out for a man wearing only one sandal as he would take his throne.
Years later, Iason was walking along and helped an old woman with an errand in the river Anauros where he lost one of his sandals. The old woman was actually Hera who blessed him, knowing the struggles he was about to endure facing Pelias. When Iason arrived in Pelias’ kingdom he had already been made aware he was the rightful owner of the throne and came to claim it. In a stretch to keep it, Pelias informed Iason that he had to go on a quest to find the golden fleece. Iason readily accepts the challenge… even though… he wasn’t all that obligated to.
Iason in this case, rounds up a team most popularly known as the Argonauts which included: Herakles, Iolaos, Philoctetes, Peleus, Telamon, Orpheus, Kastor and Pollux, Atalanta, Meleager and Euphemus. This journey came with a series of obstacles simply getting to Colchis, including: being seduced by the women of Lemnos, landing on an island where they fought the Gegenees (six-armed giants), forgot Herakles, went back for Herakles, landed on an island and defeated harpies for a poor emaciated king, and crossing the clashing rocks which they all did with flying colours.
Once they arrived in Colchis, king Aeetes who had the fleece ordered Iason to three tasks. Iason, frustrated, fell into a depression until Medea was charmed by his good looks and offered to help him with these three tasks: Iason was to plough a field with fire-breathing oxen (Medea gave him fire-proof ointment so that he could handle the beasts), Iason sowed dragon’s teeth into the ground that became soldiers he had to battle (Medea told him to toss a rock into the group of them so that they would fight themselves), and finally, Iason was to defeat the dragon that guarded the golden fleece (Medea gave him a potion to set it to sleep). With the fleece in hand, Iason and his Argonauts sailed away, Medea having set up a distraction for her father before she left with them.
Their journey home was just as intense as their journey there: Medea had them stop at Kirke’s island where they were purified for the murder of her brother, Orpheus playing his lyre to distract the sirens, Medea casting a spell on Talos so that he bled to death.
It was said that upon returning home, despite taking the throne from Pelias, the people did not take well to Medea’s witchcraft and wound up chasing them out and sent all the way back to Colchis.

akhilles

(ACHILLES/ACHILLEUS)
Best known for having that bum heel that killed him.

In some versions of the myth Akhilles was the son of Thetis and King Peleus. It was said that when he was just born his mother dipped him in the river Styx in an attempt to make the child immortal. Unfortunately her grip to dip him was around his left ankle and this left him vulnerable. In a different version Thetis mirrors a myth of Demeter and covered Akhilles in ambrosia before setting him in a fire to ‘burn away his mortality’. It was said that King Peleus interrupted Thetis before she was done and in a fit or rage, left before finishing the job.
Later, in order to save him from being drafted into the war, either Thetis or Peleus sent him to live with the court of Lycomedes where, it was said, he disguised himself as a woman sometimes named, ‘Pyrrha’. It was suggested that Akhilles perhaps hardly even knew of the war going on in Troy at the time and when Odysseus learned of the prophecy regarding Akhilles being the key to capture Troy, and set out to look for him. It was said that Odysseus either hid himself as a peddler selling women’s clothes, hiding a shield and spear in them so that when Akhilles took these, he was exposed. It was also said that, alternately, Odysseus set out a trumpet alarm so that when everyone set to flee, Akhilles would prepare to fight and would also reveal himself.
Apparently, initially on their way to Troy, the Greeks landed in Mysia and Akhilles wounded the King here. After consulting an oracle on whether this wound would heal (and was told that it would heal) so Akhilles healed him.
During the actual war on Troy, Akhilles was known to have had a rather extreme sort of rage and to have been difficult to control, causing the Greeks great strife and trouble. His stint began with throwing a fit over Agamemnon wanting to take his bridal prize away from him after Agamemnon’s was taken away on account that she was a descendent of Apollo. Akhilles goes so far as to pray to Zeus for the Trojans to gain ground over the Greeks while Akhilles refused to fight alongside or lead the Greeks into battle. Akhilles turns to sail home, encouraging the Greeks to do the same.
It was only when his lover, Patroclus was killed in battle that Akhilles’ rage pushed him to joining the cause, killing many in revenge. It was said that Akhilles was restrained by several gods so that his rage wouldn’t be able to destroy the entirety of Troy before its doomed fate. Eventually he is set free to fight Hektor whom he chases around Troy’s walls for three rounds before Hektor is eventually tricked by Athena to face Akhilles. When he does so, Hektor knew his fate was rather inevitable and, as they were fighting, asked Akhilles to at least give his body to his family so that it may be respected. Akhilles instead, after he kills Hektor, ties his body to his chariot by his ankles and drags Hektor’s body around Troy in celebration.
When Akhilles is killed in battle it was at the hand of Paris who shot an arrow at Akhilles’ foot in battle. In another version, Akhilles was attempting to scale the walls of Troy when Paris shot the arrow that hit his bum heel.

daidalos & Ikaros

(DAEDALUS) (ICARUS)
Best known for building that huge maze for the minotaur and flying to their freedom on wings of wax.

In some versions of the myth Daidalos was known for being commissioned for various creations. He was known as being very hands-on crafty as well as mentally crafty. He not only created a wide dancing ground for Ariadne but also a large wooden bull that Pasiphae to hid in that led her to giving birth to the ferocious: minotaur. Afterward, Daidalos was responsible for building the labyrinth that housed the minotaur in which Theseus destroyed the beast. In some versions this labyrinth was mostly a metaphor and the labyrinth was only a straight line for the young victims to be sacrificed. In later versions the labyrinth grew into a massive maze with insane twists and turns which felt like much more of an invention of Daidalos than a straight line did.
It was said that after he built the labyrinth, Daidalos was shut up in a tower so that he would never reveal his secrets to the rest of the world about his labyrinth. Apparently, Minos had gone the extra effort to search all ships extremely thoroughly in case Daidalos managed to escape his tower and flee. Instead, Daidalos also built wings for both he and his son, Ikaros, to use as their escape. It was explained that Daidalos built these wings using feathers, smallest to largest, tied at their midpoints and secured to wax. He put these wings on, tested them himself to be sure they worked before he fixed a pair to Ikaros. Daidalos taught his son how to fly and warned him not to fly too high else the sun would melt the wax holding the wings together, nor too low or the sea foam would wet the feathers would would make it more difficult to fly.
It was said that Daidalos and Ikaros had flown and made good progress before Ikaros began to forget the warnings told to him by his father and started soaring higher. The sun’s heat melted the wax on his wings and he plummeted to the sea where he drowned. In some later interpretations he fell for Apollo and was mesmerized by the sun and set to try and reach it before his wings melted. In other versions Ikaros was simply messing around with his ability to fly and perhaps didn’t realize he had flown too close to the sun. All versions were the same in which Ikaros plummeted to his death, the sea.
Daidalos cried, continued on until he found ground. Some time later and in some versions, Daidalos was given wings by Athena. Daidalos, upon landing n Sicily built a temple to Apollo and hung his wings as an offering. He was welcomed in this kingdom and allowed to stay of his own free will. Minos went searching for Daidalos when he found out the man had left his land. He went to each new kingdom with a riddle where they were asked to string a shell. Upon arriving at the kingdom in which Daidalos resided and having this king succeed in his riddle, Minos knew Daidalos was here. He demanded the man be returned to him, but not before he was encouraged into having a bath and was drowned by this king’s daughters to save Daidalos.

hektor

(HECTOR)
Best known for being a hero and prince of Troy.

In some versions of the myth, Hektor was a prince and considered the best warrior in Troy. It was said that he was so skilled a fighter that he managed to kill 31,000 Greek fighters. His prowess as a fighter was not only admired by his own people but by the Greeks as well. He duelled first Protesilaus who played the role in a prophecy in which the first man to lang on Trojan soil would die. Odysseus attempted a trick in which he tossed his shield and landed on it, and Protesilaus followed, landing on the sand. His duel with Hektor sealed the prophecy.
Later, Hektor duelled Ajax both of whom fought the entire day only for it to end in a stalemate, congratulating one another on their prowess they conceded and exchanged sword for girdle.
Hektor’s final duel was with Achilles, the Greek hero really rather cheated in the entire duel with the help of Athena and while Hektor explained that the losers body be returned to their families at the end of the duel, Achilles didn’t feel the same way. Instead Hektor was killed in this duel, his corpse tied to his chariot so that it dragged in the dirt behind him in his victory lap.

deucalion

(DEUCALION)
Best known for being a part of a flood myth that restored mankind.

In some versions of the myth, Zeus began to loath the Bronze Age and produced a giant flood to rid the world of these creatures (perhaps man, perhaps demigod). Prometheus, knowing this was coming, told his son: Deucalion about the flood. Deucalion made a ship and he took his wife, Pyrrha. Together they braved a flood that lasted nine days and nine nights.
When they finally hit solid ground the two were eternally grateful about being about to touch ground again. Once settled, they both hesitated on what to do next, aimlessly wandering around until they found the oracle of Themis who gave them a riddle. The riddle was: that they must throw their mother’s bones over their shoulders. The two thought about this for a long time before Pyrrha figured it out and the two of them started throwing stones (the bones of Mother Earth/Gaia) over their shoulders in order to create new humans and this worked very well.

kadmos

(KADMOS/CADMUS)
Best known for attempting to rescue his sister from Zeus (and completely failed to do so).

In some versions of the myth Kadmos was once considered one of the biggest heroes and slayers of monsters ever known to myth of the likes of Perseus and Bellerophon before Herakles came about to steal the limelight.
Quite unlucky, his first quest set forth by his royal parents was to bring back his sister, Europa who was kidnapped by Zeus in the disguise of a bull hiding in his father’s herd. Kadmos took up the task but when faced with Zeus thought better of fighting the ‘King of the Gods’. This left Kadmos as a bit of a loss as he couldn’t go home empty handed. He consulted the oracle of Delphi who ordered him to halt his quest to save Europa and instead follow a special cow who would lay to rest in the spot in which Kadmos would build his city.
Here was where he built Thebes. He rid the area of a sacred dragon, (he did not know it was sacred) and then married Harmonia. During his wedding, Kadmos was wrought with guilt and anxiety having killed this dragon, he, in turn became a serpent.

midas

(MIDAS)
Best known for having the golden touch.

In some versions of the myth an old satyr, Selenos, wandered drunkenly away from Dionysos’ garden celebrations and flopped into Midas’ rose garden. Midas found him, thought this guy was a riot and kept Silenus around for ten days and nights before he brought him back home. Dionysos thought Midas was a pretty decent man for doing that and granted him one wish. Not thinking this wish through very well, Midas asked for a golden touch. He got it. Touched a bunch of things and thought this was the most amazing power ever… until he realized that he couldn’t eat gold…
Cursing at his dilemma, Midas ran away to the countryside and became a worshipper of Pan… to which he ran into some more bad luck. Apollo had just finished a musical duel against Pan and had won it quite squarely (perhaps not fairly). Midas, noticing the injustice wouldn’t cease complaining of it until Apollo grew annoyed and gave Midas the ears of an ass.
Midas met his very unfortunate end drinking ox blood at some point.

pelops

(PELOPS)
Best known for founding the Olympic Games.

In some versions of the myth after his father was sent to Tartaros for cooking him up into as a meal for the gods, the gods reassembled Pelops, giving him an ivory shoulder where Demeter had eaten him. Poseidon trained Pelops so that he could learn how to mind chariots on Olympus. Zeus, learned only later that Pelops’ father had spoiled the gods’ secrets of their food, tossed Pelops out of Olympus.
Wandering about, Pelops fell in love with a gorgeous woman: Hippodamia whose father was panicked with a prophecy that his son-in-law would kill and succeed him. Her father challenged Pelops to a chariot race. Pelops was, admittedly, terrified of this, and scrambled off to his previous lover, Poseidon, for help and was given the a chariot pulled by two gorgeous winged horses. Regardless, the both Pelops and his wife were still concerned about Pelops’ chances, so they bribed the king’s charioteer with half the kingdom as a reward for rigging the king’s chariot. The chariot was rigged, and when the king was about to (cheat) win, his chariot broke apart and his horses dragged him to death. The charioteer, seeking his prize, visited Pelops only to be tossed off a cliff so that Pelops could avoid rewarding him.

bellerophon

(BELLEROPHON/BELLEROPHONTES)
Best known for being the hero who defeated the chimera.

In some versions of the myth Bellerophon was known as the son of Poseidon and began his heroic journey in his youth by first capturing his own Pegasos, as it drank from the town’s fountain.
Later he was exiled for killing his brother and sought mercy from a king in Argos to be purified for his sins. Alas, the king’s wife developed lustful feelings for Bellerophon and when he rejected her advances she told her husband how he violated her. This king sent Bellerophon off to another kingdom with a letter demanding his execution. This new king instead, offered Bellerophon the chance to win his life by fighting a beast destroying the land, the Chimera. When the hero came back triumphant the king ordered Bellerophon to more impossible tasks, all of which he succeeded. The king conceded and Bellerophon was welcomed as heir to the throne (for he could only be the son of a god).Even still, Bellerophon was not satiated and flew Pegasos towards the heavens hoping to ascend to greatness before Zeus sent a gadfly to pester Pegasos so that Bellerophon would fall back down to the Earth.

orion

(ORION)
Best known for becoming a constellation (Orion) paired with Scorpio.

In some versions of the myth there were two versions. Both started the same, Orion had his way with a woman, her father blinded him. But one version stated that he eventually became a hunter in Artemis’ troupe because she thought he was amazing. Orion boasted that he was gonna “kill ALL the animals”. Every single one. Gaia overheard this and was just, “oh yeah, bitch?” and sent him a giant scorpion for him to kill… he failed. Artemis reasoned with Zeus and he turned Orion into a constellation, and, for shit and giggles, Zeus also included the scorpion.
The second version, Artemis fell in love with Orion, Apollo was either miffed or jealous of this ordeal and decided to play a really shitty prank. He encouraged Orion to take a dip in the lake: “swim as far as you can buddy”. Afterward he dared his sister to beat him at an archery contest. Artemis took him on his dare, shot Orion in the head… oups (he was still turned into a constellation in the end).

orpheus

(ORPHEUS)
Best known for running to the Underworld to rescue his wife.

In some versions of the myth his wife died on their wedding day, after accidentally landing in a pit of vipers due to the fact some idiot satyr was after her. Orpheus found her, dead, and began singing and playing the saddest songs, attracting everyone around him. Someone suggested that he save her from the Underworld. So he did. He managed to move Haides and Persephone with his sad, sad music and they agreed to let him have his wife back. The only condition was that she walk behind him and he was not allowed to look back at her until they left the Underworld. This went well, but as soon as Orpheus set foot in the mortal world, he spun to face his wife (who hadn’t done so quite yet) and she vanished forever, back to the Underworld.
Needless to say he was distraught and refused to take on any more lady lovers in his agony. For some reason this pissed off the cult of Bakkhos and they ripped him to shreds. His head and his Lyre fell into a river where he continued to sing his sad songs until he was put to rest and given a small shrine on the island of Lesbos.

aineias

(AENEAS)
Best known for being Hektor’s right-hand-man.

In some versions of the myth Aineias was not only Hektor’s greatest companion in war but was the shining star in nearly every god’s eyes. He was said to have been the son of Anchises and Aphrodite and was held in high regard by Apollo who sided with the Trojans as well as Poseidon who sided with the Greeks. Many gods rooted for his success in the war, helping him heal after great battles and especially after his encounter with Achilles who was a rather large brute of a fighter. It was said that if Hektor was killed in battle, Aineias was destined to inherit the kingdom of Troy which seemed like the very best alternative in the eyes of very many gods.
In an unrelated note, it was said that later Aineias and/or his descendants were the ones to have founded Rome.

erysichthon

(ERYSICHTHON/ERISICHTHON/AETHON)
Best known for eating himself to death.

In some versions of the myth Erysichthon’s story began with him cutting down all the trees in Demeter’s sacred grove; including the huge oak covered in wreaths of prayers Demeter had granted. Erysichthon’s men refused to cut it down, because cutting down a sacred tree meant bringing upon the wrath of the gods and various curses.
Nonetheless, Erysichthon took it upon himself to cut it down, killing a nymph whose dying words cursed him. Demeter thought that this curse was a great idea, and doubled down on it, granting him the punishment that made him hungry… forever. It was said that because he couldn’t quell this hunger he sold all his possessions, and his own daughter… multiple times, to afford food in his attempts to feed himself. None of this was enough and with nothing else to sell and nothing else to eat, he ate himself.

Actaeon

(ACTAEON)
Best known for being turned into a stag and being eaten by his own hunting dogs.

In some versions of the myth, it was said that Actaeon was once a hunter who accidentally spotted Artemis bathing. Unfortunately, she saw him watching her and in a fit of panic she told him never to speak ever again. He didn’t realize she meant, never speak again and not never speak “about this” ever again.
So when Actaeon called to his barking dogs, Artemis decided to be particularly petty about these specifics of her request and turned him into a stag. In a renewed panic, Actaeon sprinted away, hoping to flee from his hunting dogs. But they were so good at their job, they caught up with him and rather than be confused, they killed him.

iolaus

(IOLAUS)
Best known for being Herakles’ sidekick.

In some versions of the myth it was said that Iolaos was the nephew of Herakles and tried his hardest to help his uncle in a few of his labours (the most prominent one being his contribution in defeating the Learnean Hydra). He was said to be Herakle’s charioteer and occasionally was considered Herakles’ lover. The two figures were often worshipped in the same if not very nearby shrines.
Later Iolaos became one of the Argonauts as one of the many heroes helping Jason on his quests.
Even later than this he was also said to have had several notable descendants in positions of power as kings of Corinth.

lykourgos

(LUKURGOS/LYCURGUS)
Best known for being the king that went absolutely insane.

In some versions of the myth, it was unspecified as to why but Lykourgos either imprisoned or chased Dionysos and his followers out of his kingdom, screaming at them to never return. This quite rubbed Dionysos the wrong way and in his offence he decided to punish Lykourgos by making the king absolutely insane. During his madness, Lykourgos mistook his own son for ivy (which was sacred to Dionysos) and the king began pruning away at his son, his nose, fingers, ears and toes.
In this time the land of Thrace grew barren and the denizens became rather concerned. It was said that Dionysos decreed that the land would continue to remain barren and dry if the kingdom didn’t punish their king properly. So, the people quickly obliged, binding him up and feeding him to man-eating horses.

iamos

(IAMOS / IAMUS)
Best known for being a child of the violets

In some versions of the myth Iamos was known for being the illegitimate son of Apollo and Evadne. In a state of panic, Evadne ran after revealing her sudden pregnancy to her father and having him become rather enraged at this fact.
Evadne gave birth to the child with the help of Eileithiya and left her child, Iamos in a patch of violets in the woods, her fear too great to consider bringing him home with her.
In some version, Iamos lived off the honey of bees fed to him by his father, Apollo. In others it was said that he was fed this honey via snakes. After five days the infant was retrieved by his mother and he lived a long and prosperous life.
It was said that later Iamos descended into the waters of Alpheios so that Poseidon and Apollo could tell him what his destiny would be and it turned out that his destiny wouldn’t require fighting heroic battles, instead Iamos was to head to Olympia and found a family of priests.

sisyphus

(SISYPHOS / SISYPHUS)
Best known for eternally pushing a boulder up a mountain.

In some versions of the myth he was known for being a crafty and shifty king. His tricks included: telling the father of one of Zeus’ conquests where she was hidden, killing travellers and guests of his dominion (to maintain an iront-fisted rule), attempting to overthrow his own brother’s rule via having children with his brother’s daughter, and cheating death. The most famous version in which he cheated death was after performing all these dastardly deeds, Zeus ordered Thanatos to fetch Sisyphos and bring him to the Underworld. Sisyphos found this curious that Hermes was not his escort. He tricked Thanatos into showing him how the chains of his prison worked, chained Thanatos and skedaddled off. With Death locked up, nobody was able to die. Ares, frustrated that his opponents weren’t dying, figured out that Sisyphos was to blame. Ares dragged Sisyphos back by the ear, freed Thanatos and handed Sisyphos over. Sisyphos was then cursed to an eternity of pushing a boulder up a hill, only for Zeus to make the boulder fall before it reached the top. Forever.

ixion

(IXION)
Best known for being a hero turned villain.

In some versions of the myth Ixion was the son of Ares which, explained a lot about his character. His story began with him taking a fancy to a woman named Dia and promising her father a hefty and valuable present. However, Ixion never went through and paid this price so his father-in-law, Deioneus, stole his horses in retaliation. Ixion held his resentment close to him and invited Deioneus to a great feast where Ixion pushed him into a bed of burning coals and wood. This was apparently considered the very first act of murder of family and was taken rather seriously.
Ixion went mad and sough the help of outlying princes to cleanse him of his treacherous act but none would offer their services, sending him into exile. It was said that Zeus took pity on him and purified Ixion himself and offered him a place on Olympus. Much to everyone’s dismay, Ixion had not learned his lesson and instead grew lustful for Hera which greatly enraged Zeus and to be certain his rage was just, created a cloud version of his wife to see if Ixion would make any advances on her. Ixion did and in an even greater rage, bound Ixion to a flaming wheel, letting it roll through the Underworld forever.

asklepios

(ASKELPIOS / ASCLEPIUS / PAEON)
Best known for being a demigod of medicine.

In some versions of the myth he was the son of Apollo. There were about a million versions as to how his mother was omitted from his story, none of which made her look very good. The short of it was that Apollo ‘raised’ him with the ‘help’ of Kheiron (Kheiron having done most of the work) and taught Asklepios the art of medicine. It was also said that a snake licked his ears and provided him with more knowledge, surpassing both Chiron and Apollo in the art of healing. Asklepios was often depicted bearing a staff with a coiled snake around it, as an image of healing.
It was said that Asklepios was so proficient he learned how to bring people back from the brink of death and even evade death himself.
Eventually, Zeus had no choice but to strike him down because he was upsetting the whole balance of the world. His end wasn’t too terrible as Asklepios was either turned into a God or a constellation.

ikarios

(IKARIOS / IKARIUS)
Best known for being Dionysos’ favourite.

In some versions of the myth Dionysos taught Ikarios how to make wine so that he could impress the shepherds and share it with them. They thought being drunk meant they were being poisoned and so they stoned Ikarios to death. Unfortunately, Ikarios’ daughter Erigone went in search for him with her dog and, when she found him, she was so upset that she hung herself and her dog threw itself in a well. When Dionysos figured out what the shepherds did to his favourite mortal, he was extremely angered and cast a plague on Athens which caused various women to go absolutely mad and hang themselves as well. This plague only ceased because the Athenians mass-panicked and decided to honour Ikarios and his daughter with a festival which pleased Dionysos very much. Afterward, the God wound up turning Ikarios into a constellation (Bootes).

triptolemos

(TRIPTOLEMOS / TRIPTOLEMUS)
Best known for teaching the whole of Greece the trade of agriculture.

In some versions of the myth, his father housed Demeter in her time of great need and in return for his hospitality she fed a sickly Triptolemos her breastmilk. He grew up instantly which (although terrifying) caused his family to be rather impressed.
Demeter also had plans to perform rituals nightly on his brother so that he could be immortal, but, when Triptolemos’ mom walked in on Demeter who was sticking his brother in a fire, the mother was sent into a panic. Demeter decided, then, that it might be best just to teach Triptolemos the art of agriculture. He went on to teach the whole of Greece this art (with the eventual help of Persephone). Later on, two kings in turn resisted Triptolemos’ teachings and tried to kill him for it instead, only to be turned into a lynx and the other, into a constellation.
It was also said that Triptolemos had a chariot pulled by dragons.

charnabon

(CHARNABON)
Best known for trying to kill Triptolemos.

In some versions of the myth it wasn’t stated that Charnabon was that bad of a king in all honesty. The only instance in which Charnabon mistook the situation was when Triptolemos arrived to teach his kingdom the ways of agriculture. It was said that either out of spite, frustration or jealousy, he killed one of the dragons pulling Triptolemos’ chariot so that Triptolemos was trapped and couldn’t flee his kingdom. Charnabon cornered him one day with intent to kill Triptolemos until Demeter swooped in to save him. Charnabon was then cursed by Demeter to a sad horrible life until he died and, to make a petty mockery of his life, she turned him into the constellation Ophiuchus so that all these mortals remembered not to mess with her favourite mortals.

tantalos

(TANTALOS / TANTALUS / ATYS)
Best known for eternally reaching for fruit he could never obtain.

In some versions of the myth he was a king who was invited to a feast with the gods of Olympus where he stole food and ambrosia to show off to his compatriots the secrets of the gods. The gods were angered by this and refused to dine with him any longer. In order for Tantalos to make up for his wrongdoings, he created his own feast for the gods where he cooked his son, Pelops, and chopped him into a million pieces and hid them in the food. The gods figured this out. All except Demeter who ate the Pelops’ shoulder because she was still quite upset over having lost Persephone’s to the god of the Underworld, Hades.
Disgusted by Tantalos’ antics, the gods cursed him to a lifetime of horrors in Tartarus. His punishment? He would constantly reach for a tree with low hanging fruit that pulled away from his grasp just as he touched it, and a pool of water at his feet that would elude him every time he reached down for a drink.

theseus

(THESEUS)
Best known for killing the minotaur.

In some versions of the myth he volunteered as a tribute to go into the maze and defeat the minotaur. His dad, distraught, asked him to make sure that when he returned, that his sails were white so that he knew his son was alive. Theseus was okay with that, ran off to go beat up the minotaur. Ariadne (his girlfriend) helped him with the plan in which he used red string to find his way back out of the maze once the minotaur was defeated. On his way home, however, Ariadne was kidnapped by Dionysus who took a fancy to her. Distraught, Theseus’ sails were made black and he completely forgot his father’s request. His father, seeing these black sails, threw himself off a cliff out of sheer sadness.
Later some other guys threw Theseus off a cliff as well to overthrow his reign.

perseus

(PERSEUS)
Best known for killing Medusa.

In some versions of the myth, Perseus was and his mother were locked in a chest and sent adrift off to sea. They washed up to the shores of Diktys where fishermen offered them a safe place to stay.
When Perseus grew up he was faced with a challenge by King Polydectes to cut the head of Medousa. Perseus took on the challenge and received various gifts from the gods: winged sandals, an invisible helm (of Haides) and a magical sword. He then ventured first to find the Graiai, taking their eye and forcing them to reveal the location of the gorgons. Perseus slew Medousa in her sleep, avoiding her gaze.
On his way back to Greece he met princess Andromeda who was set to be a sacrifice to a sea monster. He rescued her and had Andromeda follow him on his wild adventures so that she might be his bride. He used Medousa’s head to turn Polydektes to stone.

meleager

(MELEAGER/ MELEAGROS)
Best known for being the host of the Calydonian boar hunt.

In some versions of the myth it was predicted that he would only live until a particular piece of wood in the family hearth was done burning. Thinking to outsmart this fate, Meleager’s mom ran to pull this piece of wood out of the fire and doused the flame. It seemed to do the trick.
Fast-forward to a grown hero-man-Meleager who was now being begged by a king to kill this boar that was uprooting all the vines and wreaking havoc. Among many other heroes, Meleager chose Atalanta to aid him after saving her from two horny centaurs. Since Atalanta was the first to shoot the boar (causing Meleager to be so enamoured with her) he offered her the hide as a prize. A few of the group members were miffed Atalanta got the prize; to which Meleager had no issue killing anyone who questioned his decision and who insulted Atalanta. One of these dinguses was his mom’s brother. She was so angry with him she found his piece of wood where she hid it and torched the shit out of it.

atalanta

(ATALANTA/ATALANTE)
Best known for being one hell of a badass huntress.

In some versions of the myth she was raised by a bear because her father was disappointed in having been birthed a daughter. She became a phenomenal huntress. She wasn’t really all that shy about joining in on a few hero’s expeditions. She muscled her way to the front of the pack in the defeat of the Calydonian Boar and basically showed all the others what’s what. She mounted that bugger’s head on a wall. After all this, her father finally thought she was cool but that it was uncool that she wasn’t yet married, so she suggested that suitors attempt to defeat her in a foot race. Those that didn’t win the race she would either spear or behead. A few had tried and failed except for one guy who cheated and distracted her with three golden apples and won the race.

psykhe

(PSYCHE)
Best known for becoming the goddess of the soul… and having butterfly wings.

In some versions of the myth, Psyche had one of the most traditional ‘heroic adventures’ (branded: for women). Aphrodite was jealous that people stopped worshipping her because they found Princess Psyche to be Even More Beautiful. Aphrodite got her son, Eros, to smite her. He fell in love with Psyche (oups), and took her away so that they could bask in their love…except Psyche was never ever allowed to gaze upon him. Her sisters tricked her, of course, telling her she could be sleeping with a dragon/monster of sorts. So, one night while Eros was asleep, she dropped hot wax on him (from her candle), livid, he fled butt-hurt to shit.
Psyche sought out Aphrodite’s help, Aphrodite, pissed, seized her villainous-moment. If Psyche completed three impossible tasks she would be a fit bride for her son. Psyche succeeded so you can imagine how Aphrodite felt about that.