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As soon as the Emperor
Julian of Constantinople, the last of the Roman emperors to worship the
Olympians, had been killed fighting the Persians in A.D. 363, Zeus was
told by the Three Fates that his reign had ended - he and his friends
must leave Olympus.
Zeus angrily destroyed the
palace with a thunderbolt, and they all went off to live among humble
country people, hoping for better times. But Christian missionaries
chased them out with the sign of the Cross, and turned their temples
into churches, which they divided among the leading saints.
Mortals were now allowed to
reckon by weeks again, as Prometheus the Titan had once taught them. The
Olympians were forced to hide in woods and caves, and have not been seen
for centuries.
However, Echo remains; and so does the
narcissus flower, which hangs its head sadly, looking at its reflection
in mountain pools; and Iris's rainbow. Moreover, the stars were never
given new names by the Christians. You can still see in the night sky
the Scorpion that bit Heracles; and Heracles himself; and the Nemean
Lion he killed; and Artemis's She-Bear that nursed Atalanta; and Zeus's
eagle; and Perseus and Andromeda; and Cepheus and Cassiopeia,
Andromeda's parents; and Ariadne's Crown; and the Heavenly Twins; and
Cheiron the Centaur, now known as 'The Archer'; and Phrixus's Ram; and
the Bull that carried off Europa; and the winged horse Pegasus; and
Leda's Swan; and Orpheus's Lyre; and the stern of the Argo;
and Orion the Hunter, with his belt and sword; and many other memorials
of the Olympians' ancient and savage reign.
the above info was provided courtesy of Robert Graves'
Greek Gods and Heroes
click to buy it!
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Myth
Man's
Stars of theWeek!
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