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Soundtrack to "O Brother Where Art Thou" - "I'll Fly Away" |
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At the beginning, there was only Time. From Time came Chaos. Chaos created Gaia - the eartch, Night, and Erebos - the drakness of the heavens. Night and Erebos found themselves lonely, and they united to create Day, Aither - the light of the heavens, Eros - love, and the three fates.
These three sisters, hideously ugly and clothed in white, determine the destiny of all humans. The first is Clotho, the spinner of life. She spins the thread of life with her wooden spindle. Lachesis is the measurer of life. She decides the worth of each man's thread, and decides if it shall be woven into evil or goodness. The last, the smallest and most terrible of the sisters is Atropos, the shearer of life. She determines how long each mortal's life shall be, then with the shears of death, snips their thread.
Gaia too was lonely. She saw Eros, this beautiful shining creature, and together they they made Uranus - the heavens. But when Uranus saw Gaia he was enchanted by her beauty and he convinced her to lay with him. However only bad could come of such a union, and together they created horrible creatures. The first were the titans, the twelve giants. Then were the cyclops - the three one-eyed monsters, and the two creatures too horrible to name - with a hundred arms and fifty heads each. Uranus was disgusted by these creatures, and out of spite, emprisoned them forever in the depths of Tartarus. Gaia was infuritated that he had treated her children so, and bade her other children, the titans, to overthrow their father and free their siblings. Only Cronus, the youngest, was brave enough.
Cronus fought his father, and seizing Uranus' genitals in one hand, he raised his sickle and cut them off. Where the drops of blood fell in the ocean, they created the furies - Alecto, Tisiphone and Megaera - three hideous, snake-encrusted Erinnyes, who avenge patricide and perjury. These drops of blood also created the nymphs - beautiful yet flawed creatures. The only truely lovely creature that was formed was Aphrodite, goddess of Love. For when the sea foam mixed with Uranus' blood washed upon the island of Cythera, emerged Aphrodite, fully-formed in eternal beauty.
Before he died, however, Uranus cursed Cronus, vowing that his son would too, overthrow him. Cronus took his sister Rhea for a wife, bvut he did not keep his word to Gaia, and left the Cyclops and hundred-armed monsters imprisoned in Tartarus. He and Rhea birthed children, but Cronus, afraid that his fathers curses would come true, ate each one upon birth - Hestia, Hades, Demeter, Poseidon, and Hera. Rhea was heart broken, so when the sixth child, Zeus, was born, she hid him and left a rock, wrapped in swaddling clothes in his place. Cronus, not realising the difference ate this rock instead. Rhea gave the infant Zeus to his grandmother Gaia, who carried him to the island of Crete. He was there raised in the cave of Dicte by nymphs,a nd his foster brother Pan, and watched over by his aunt Metis.
So Zeus grew to manhood on the island of Crete. But he knew of the plight of his brothers and sisters, and was determined to save them. He went to visit Metis and asked her advice. Metis told him to seek out his mother and aske her to make him Cronus' cupbearer. She did. So Zeus and Rhea created a mixture of mustard, salt and honey, which they gave to Cronus to drink. Cronus drank this concoction, and it tasted so awful that he vomited up first the stone, then one by one each of Zeus' brothers and sisters, all fully formed after their years in Cronus' stomache. All were very grateful to Zeus, and unanimously voted him their leader.
Seven of the titans formed an alliance with Cronus as their commander, and Atlas (his nephew) as their second in command.The war raged for ten years, nearly destroying the universe. Zeus was at a loss, so he went to his grandmother Gaia, who suggested that he free his uncles the hundred-armed giants, and the three cyclopses from Tartarus. Not only did he do this, but he strengthened them with a feast of divine foods and wine. The cyclopses were grateful to Zeus for their freedom, and rewarded him with his weapon - the thunderbolt, and his brothers Hades with the Helmet of Darkness, and Poseidon with the trident. They held council and devised a plan to defeat and kill Cronus, which worked all but for one aspect - Cronus, rahter than dying, was merely forced to surrender. Cronus and the rest of the defeated titans were sent to eternal imprisonment in Tartarus, save for Atlas who was sentenced to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders for all of eternity.
Zeus' power as ruler, however, was not undisputed. The cyclops and hundred-handed monsters wanted their share fo the power, as did his grandmother Gais who turned against him and gave birth to Thphon, the worst of her children - a monster with a hundred flaming heads - whom Zeus imprisoned within Mt Atena, on the island of Sicily. However, Zeus sent the cyclopses and hundred-handed beings to rule over Tartarus, which left them (temporarily) satisfied.
Soon after this victory, Zeus split the realms of the world between himslef and his two brothers, Hades and Poseidon. Zeus ruled over the heavens, Hades the underworld, and Poseidon the sea. Zeus next decided to marry his sister, Hera a beautiful being. He transformed himself into a wounded bird,and fluttered around her. When she took pity on him, he transformed back to himslef, and snatched her away to marry her.
Rhea had forbidden Zeus to marry, recognizing at an early age his love for women and is infidelity. However he did so anyway, and three children came of Zeus and Hera's union: Hebe ( and unimportant goddess), Ares- god fo war, and Hephaistos - got of fire and smithy (often said to be only Hera's child). Zeus however, ahd hundreds of children with his many lovers. From the union with his aunt Themis, the four seasons were born, with his aunt Eurynome came the three Graces, and with Mnemosyne there were the nine muses. Most importantly however, was the child he birthed with his aunt Metis. Before this child was born, Zeus was told if it were to be a boy, it would destroy him as he had down to his father, and he to his father. So while Metis slept, Zeus swallowed her up, baby and all. He then found himself suffering from an awful headache. Zeus, when he could take it no longer, ordered Hephaistos to split his head open with an axe. Hephaistos did so, and from Zeus' head sprang Athene, godess of wisdom, fully grown, and fully armed.
Zeus, having suffered minimal injuries, next turned his attention to the nymphs. Maia, Atlas' daughter was the first to catch his eye. From this resulted Hermes - a truely mischievious child, even as an infant. The next nymph to catch his eye was leto, daughter of Coeus and Phoebe, two of the oringinal titans. She birthed twins - Apollo and Artemis. Apollo was a beautiful child, and became a favortie among the older gods and godesses
Zeus eventually became bored, and decided that another race should be created. He, however, left this to Prometheus, brother to Atlas, who fashioned them from clay. Then lived on milk, fruit and honey with no troubles, and no women(!), and this was called the golden age.Eventually, they passed and a new generation took their place, and it became the silver age. These men however, were foolish, and childish, and refused to worship the gods. Zeus was angry, and consumed the entire race.
The next generation lived in the bronze age. they were strong and warrior-like, but always fighting among themselves. One day, as they were perparing a sacrifice fro the gods, Prometheus decided to play a trick on Zeus. He disguised the animals good met with intsestines, and the bones and skin with fur, then told Zeus to pick whichever he thought was best. Zeus, angry at being decieved, punished man, by taking away fire and vowing that they would always eat their food raw.
*to be continued later*
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