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MELISSES

Rhea, mother of Zeus, in order to protect him from his father Saturn, secretly conceives him in a place called Diktaion Andro in Creta island.

He then assigns his upbringing at Kourites Demons and Diktiain nymphs.

Two of these nymphs, Amalthia and Melissa, take over the God's diet.

The first one nourishes him with milk and the other one ( Melissa) with honey.

When Saturn finds out Melissas' part in Zeus upbringing, he angrily transforms her into a worm.

Zeus somehow discovers the whole deceit and out of great respect and gratitude for Melissa, he transforms her into a bee, the so far known form of her.

PS. Melissa is the Greek name for the bee.

AMALTHIA’S HORN

Amalthia was the name of the goat that was feeding Zeus when he was a baby.

His mother, Rea, was hiding him in a cage in order to save him from his father Kronos who used to eat his children.

Kronos was afraid that one of his children would steal his throne.

From Amalthia’s horn, Zeus was feeding himself milk and honey.

One day baby Zeus was playing with Amalthia when her horn broke. Zeus then, out of gratitude offered Amalthia a present. This present was a horn full of goods that would last forever.

According to this myth, Amalthia’s horn became the synonym for abundance and prosperity.

ATHENA

Athena, goddess of wisdom, strategic thought and war.

Athena won the city of Athens after a competition that took place between her and God Poseidon. Following the decision that was taken, both deities would compete for the same city and the winner would the one who would offer the best present.

Poseidon hit first the rock with his trident and all of a sudden water spewed out. People got excited but soon disappointment took over as the water was salty. As we all know Poseidon was the God of the sea. But for the inhabitants salty water was useless.

So then it’s Athenas’ turn. Her present was an olive tree. This offer was delightful for the people. Olive tree would offer products like food, oil and wood.

So that’s how Athena won the city and the olive tree became the holly tree of Athens.

CHARITES

Goddesses of charm, creativity and fertility.

They worship aesthetics and they are the ones who offer the talents and skills to the people.

Charites leave in the mount Olympus and accompany the Gods and the Muses.

At Acropolis in Athens city special festivities were taking place dedicated to the Charites.

Among other special talents, legend has it that Charites knew how to make scented oils that were blowing away the human senses…

ANEMONE

Adonis goes hunting in the forest.

There, he is stalked by God Mars, the former lover of Venus who is deathly jealous of him because Venus abandoned him for the shake of Adonis.

Inside the dense forest, Mars is disguised into a wild boar, attacks Adonis and kills him.

Venus rushes to the crime scene but it is too late to save him.
She holds him in her arms and sprinkles nectar into his wounds.

From the mixture of nectar and Adonis’ blood there was created a flower, Anemone.

OCEANIDES

Oceanides are nymphs whose job is to protect the waters.

Mythical sea creatures which live naturally in the water.

They are creatures with the form of a virgin from the waist up and fish from the waist down.

Many of the Oceanides have the appearance of a mermaid.
Others had two fins on their tail.

Ancient people estimated their population to be about 3,000, scattered in their aquatic homes.

They were all daughters of Titan Ocean and Titan Tithyos.

HELEN OF TROY

The most beautiful woman in the world if we except Αphrodite.

Helen of Troy caused two major wars and had five marriages.

Homer got interested in her, calling her pretty-haired, pretty-faced and pretty-dressed but also horrible because she caused the extinction of so many heroes.

No matter how many centuries passed, she did not cease to be the synonym of beauty and femme fatale.

ORES

Ores are times' deities, deities of all incidents happening, deities of nature.

Symbols of all gifts generously given to the humanity by nature.

Their basic task is to look after the human activities.

They know how to give life saving advices and throw away the arrogance from people's mind.

Ores are Zeus daughters, working at his gates, opening and closing these gates with the help of the clouds...

KIRKI

Kirki was a powerful witch who "chained" her victims with magic herbs and drinks. She lived on the island Ea and was connected with Odysseus and his 10-year effort to return to Ithaca. After the adventure with the Laestrygonians, Odysseus and his crew arrived on the island of Kirki.

A group led by Evrylochos began to explore the island. Arriving at the palace of Kirki, she welcomed them offering them a hearty meal. Evrylochos did not pass the gate of the palace. He remained outside in order to observe and intervene in case something happened to his comrades in the palace.

Indeed, the terrible witch had imbued the food with magic herbs. All the messmates were transformed into pigs. Facing the terrible fact, Evrylochos ran back to the ship and Odysseus.

Odysseus, with the help of Hermes who offers to him the antidote to the spell of Kirki, goes to the palace. When she sees him she instantly falls in love with him and wants to keep him on the island. She knew, however, that this could not happen.

So, she decided to help him. With her amazing skills, she showed him the shortest way for the return to his homeland.

PYTHIA

We can come across her on Delphi which was dedicated to Apollo God.
Pythia was giving the predictions of oracles. She was the one who was communicating with Gods transmitting the messages and the answers to the people.
She was elected among the Delphis' Virgins of noble origin.
Before she was predicting, Pythia was cleaning her body, drinking water from Castalia source and consequently she was chewing daphne leafs.
That's how she was coming in a high spiritual state of mind so to reply the questions of the mortals.

IRIS

The only deity who is illustrated with wings.

She sometimes acts as a mediator between the Gods and other times she carries the heavenly messages to people.

Sometimes, when rivalry bursts and the quarrel among the Gods heats up, Iris, the light stepper –the obedient messenger- flies across the vast sea.

GOLDEN RAIN

Danae was the only child of Akrisius, king of Argos.
Acrisius had received an oracle, according to which his grandson would kill him.

So he decided to lock up Danae in an underground prison where little light was coming from a small skylight.

From this small skylight the glimpse of Jupiter spotted Danae and he fell deeply in love with her.

In order to enter the prison, he was transformed into golden rain and penetrated.

From their union Perseus was born, the grandson of Akrisius.

DAPHNE

Daphne, the Nymph of the greatest beauty, daughter of Peneus and Gaia, famous for her pulchritude. Apollo, the God of Light, protagonist in the legend of unfulfilled love.

Apollo, as a handsome God, had conquests everywhere, both among the Goddesses and the mortal. He fell madly in love with Daphne. Daphne though, was meant to be sacrificed to Goddess Artemis. She was a follower of the Goddess, roamed and hunted in the forests, freedom-loving and had chosen virginity. Apollo chased her everywhere in nature, the mountains and her favorite forests. She did not indulge in his love. Apollo’s perseverance was very strong. Tired and desperate as she was by the harsh insistence of the God, she rushed to her father for help.

Penaeus finally agreed to do her a favor. He relieves her of the torment and transforms her into a fragrant tree. Apollo, facing his beloved being transformed into a tree, has his heart broken. Lamenting for the unfulfilled love, he cuts a branch of the fragrant laurel and knits a wreath in his hair. To honor his love, he establishes the plant to be regarded as sacred.
It is said that Eros gave a lesson to Apollo. Proud of his accomplishments, he was fooling the son of Aphrodite Eros that he wanders every day with the arrows and makes no act of bravery.

So, Eros was irritated and decided to give him an unforgettable lesson. He nailed a golden arrow to Apollo, one that causes deep love, and to Daphne a leaden arrow which repels Eros.

PAN

Pan, the best friend of Dionysus, with numerous love adventures with the Nymphs, the most important of which was the seduction of Selyni.

He is the personification of the genetic power of life, and shows a cheerful character, but when needed he does serious work.

He is almost always illustrated with the wind instrument that he played, the flute.

In the battle of Marathon he helped the Greeks very much.
During the battle, he started shouting strong and terrifying cries and rhythmically, repeating "Pan Pan Pan".

Τhe Persians where overwhelmed by panic and retreated.
It is said that the word panic derives from Pan and his rhythmic cries.

HERA

The wife of Zeus, patron of marriage and family.
Their marriage was not futile.
Zeus constantly cheated on her and triggered her jealousy.

Το Hera’s constant pleas to wise up, he replies:

"Do not hope to penetrate all my thoughts. Even the wife of Zeus could not unravel them.
Obey my rules, otherwise you know that even if all the Olympian Gods rush to help you, they will not be able to defend you.”

“You do not remember, he continues, the day when I threw you up in the air with your hands tied in golden chains and hung you between ether and clouds?
All the deities of Olympus ran close to you but they were unable to help you. "

ERATO

The muse of hymns.
She is considered to be the patron of marriage and love.
She is the inventor of dance and love.
Erato invented the erotic poems, the music, the dialectic.
She was painted with a wreath of roses with the lyre and the bow of love in her hands.

“ … and now muse Erato, come to us and tell us that Jason brought the Golden Fleece, because of his love for Medea.
Because you have the graces of Venus the Cyprian and you bring the magic to the unmarried girls.”

ALCMENE

Wife of Amphitryon and mother of the greatest hero of all time, Hercules.

Zeus admired Alcmene for her beauty and virtue.

One day, he took the form of her husband Amphitryon who was absent and slept with her.

On top of that, he ordered the Sun not to rise for two days, tripling the duration of one night.

The fruit of this weekend was the ultimate hero of the Greek mythology, Hercules.

NYMPHS

The Nymphs represent the young girl who is characterized by beauty, geniality and willingness.

Their origin is divine and they hold an intermediate position between the Goddesses and mortals.

They are spirits and are divided into the Naiades who guard the rivers and springs, Orestiades, the nymphs of the forests and Amadryades, the nymphs of the trees.

MUSES

In the mountain Olympus, Muses fascinate the great soul of Zeus and match the chords, singing about what happened, what is happening and what will happen. Their tireless voice is flowing from their mouths to sweet tones and a magnificent harmony bestrews away.

This way blooms the smile all over the palace of their father Zeus, who holds the lightnings in his hands.

ARTEMIS

Τhe Goddess of Spring, the Goddess of Nature and hunting, a lunar Goddess who held the epithet “Kallisti”.

She was worshiped everywhere, in the mountains, the springs, the plains, the riverfronts, the swamps and the peaks.

She had an absolute relationship with youth. In some of the sanctuaries the young girls dedicated their hair and offered to her their toys on their wedding day.

A patron of virginity and chastity, she never got married.