D'Aulaires Book of Greek Myths

This section collects together myths from ancient Greek and Roman sources concerning fantastical creatures, immortal and mortal, that do not fit neatly into the previous section. As the section title indicates, they include gods, nymphs, satyrs, and centaurs. Their designation of “minor” gods is consistent with how these gods are usually described historically; however, “minor” is somewhat misleading in describing the first goddesses mentioned, the Fates, who are so important that “even Zeus had no power to sway their decisions” (92). Similarly, Nemesis, their sister, ensures that good and evil are “justly repaid,” so all mortals fear her.

Many of the myths discussed in this section connect to the theme of The Danger of Excess and the Need for Wisdom. Zeus’s lack of power over the Fates suggests that he avoids the folly of extremes; he wisely recognizes and honors their importance, a characterization of him that began in the previous section. From the beginning, the book describes Zeus as ruling alongside his family members, somewhat differentiating him from his Titan ancestors. Zeus is portrayed as the head of a ruling body of gods who is capable of ceding authority when appropriate and functioning as the enforcer of cosmic order. Zeus recognizing the authority of the Fates reinforces this portrait of him.

His role in the myth of Asclepius likewise contributes to a portrait of his wise leadership style. Asclepius took his healing gifts too far, which highlights the theme of The Qualities That Define a Hero, raising mortals from the dead and accepting gold for this service. Asclepius’s actions angered both the Fates, who “complained to Zeus that they measured and clipped the threads of life in vain,” and Hades, who felt “he was being cheated out of dead souls” (128). In response to their concerns, Zeus killed Asclepius with a thunderbolt. However, while his excesses are punished, Asclepius is nonetheless honored for his achievements, through the enduring value of his medical teachings and his installation among the stars. Thus his myth also illustrates the theme of Origin Stories for Contemporary Phenomena for both medicine and the constellations.

Origin stories feature repeatedly in myths from this section. For example, it reveals that the “bone-chilling” scream of nature god Pan is the source of the word “panic.” The narcissus flower is named for Narcissus, who fell in love with his own image, which also relates to the word “narcissist,” meaning one who has an excessively high opinion of oneself. Echo is a nymph whose “idle chatter” detains Hera so that she will not catch Zeus “playing with the nymphs” (119). To punish her, Hera steals her voice, leaving Echo with the ability only to repeat others’ words. After Echo wastes away longing for Narcissus, all that is left behind is her ability to “echo” others’ words. The D’Aulaires’ source for these myths is largely Ovid, but they remove the sinister elements of Ovid’s version, especially mortals’ vulnerability to the violence of more powerful beings. They focus instead on the moralistic element, which they presumably deemed more appropriate for young readers. In the case of Narcissus and Echo, the lessons focus on avoiding “idle chatter” and excessive self-absorption.

Other myths in this section explore other types of excess, such as Prometheus’s excessive attention to mortal humans. Prometheus’s fondness for humans led him to defy Zeus’s orders twice. His first offense was giving humanity “sacred fire” against Zeus’s explicit ban. After humans used fire to roast meat, however, Zeus enjoyed the scent, and his anger softened. Nevertheless, Zeus’s anger did not chasten Prometheus, and he again worked against Zeus to help humanity. He invited Zeus to choose which part of the animal he preferred for his burnt offerings and then tricked him into picking the worst portion. Teaching men “to cheat the gods” (96) went too far, and Zeus punished Prometheus severely.

Mortals experienced Zeus’s anger too, but “Zeus found a more subtle way to punish” them (96): He created the first woman, Pandora. The description of Zeus’s punishment as “subtle” partly reflects the D’Aulaires’ modern approach (their emphasis on modern good-versus-evil depictions rather than the ancient Greeks’ harm-versus-benefit continuum). Hesiod’s descriptions in Theogony and Works and Days characterize Zeus’s creation of Pandora as a way that Zeus seeks to restore balance in the mortal world. Prometheus advantaged humans by giving them fire and ensuring that they had the best portions of meat. Pandora was a way for Zeus to introduce disadvantages, not necessarily her presence alone but also the “miseries” she released from the jar that Zeus gave her. The D’Aulaires, however, simplify the myth of Pandora for a young audience, incorporating a moralistic element to suggest the danger of pushing authority figures (in this case Zeus) too far and being implicated in others’ wrongdoing, since Pandora’s appearance punished not only Prometheus but also the men who received his gifts.

The pattern extends to other myths described in this section as well: Zeus is the authority figure who punishes those who venture beyond the boundaries of proper conduct. He steps in to blast Phaëthon out of the sky when he loses control of Helios’s chariot and threatens to burn the world. The flood myth similarly features Zeus punishing wrongdoers and rewarding the wise (Deucalion and Pyrrha). The D’Aulaires borrow the main plot of this myth from Ovid’s Metamorphoses but adapt it to portray Zeus’s actions as justice against the wicked. Ovid portrays Jupiter (Zeus’s Roman counterpart) flooding the world as somewhat impulsive and excessive since the other gods outwardly applaud him but privately grieve the loss of so many mortal lives.