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125-737: Much of Lewis' Narnian mythology references Greek , Norse , Arthurian , and Christian mythologies, among others. As a member of the Inklings literary group, Lewis was a contemporary of other authors of fiction such as J. R. R. Tolkien , and as such they held much discourse regarding different approaches to world-building . Some magical creatures are simply larger, talking versions of real animals such as beavers , bears , mice , and wolves . Other magical creatures are traditional figures associated with various mythologies such as fauns , satyrs , centaurs , and dryads . Lewis' mythology also includes various deities and species of his own creation. At

250-579: A pederastic light . Alexandrian poets at first, then more generally literary mythographers in the early Roman Empire, often re-adapted stories of Greek mythological characters in this fashion. The achievement of epic poetry was to create story-cycles and, as a result, to develop a new sense of mythological chronology. Thus, Greek mythology unfolds as a phase in the development of the world and of humans. While self-contradictions in these stories make an absolute timeline impossible, an approximate chronology may be discerned. The resulting mythological "history of

375-677: A Christian moralizing perspective. The discovery of the Mycenaean civilization by the German amateur archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann in the nineteenth century, and the discovery of the Minoan civilization in Crete by the British archaeologist Arthur Evans in the twentieth century, helped to explain many existing questions about Homer's epics and provided archaeological evidence for many of

500-537: A beard to show that time has passed and the Mediterranean accent has been changed to Barnes' natural English accent. Now in his early twenties, Caspian has grown and matured into a wise young man and is on a voyage to find the seven lost lords of Narnia that were banished by his uncle. During the voyage, he is tempted by an evil green mist of Dark Island, which appears to him as his greatest fear: that his father feels nothing but disappointment in him. After defeating

625-523: A blissful paradise. During the voyage, Caspian meets the unnamed daughter of the retired star Ramandu . They marry and have a son, Rilian. In this novel, 50 years later, Caspian is an ailing elderly man. A decade earlier, his wife died of a serpent's bite, and their son Rilian rode to exact revenge but disappeared. Eustace and his school friend Jill Pole arrive in Narnia while fleeing a gang of bullies at their school, Experiment House. They arrive to witness

750-425: A centaur healer named Cloudbirth is referenced, and two unnamed centaurs provide more insight into the nature of the species. These two allow Eustace and Jill to ride them, an honor that had and would never be replicated again in the entirety of Narnian history due to the prideful nature of centaurs. As the four talk, the children learn that centaurs possess both a human and horse digestive system, so they require double

875-585: A collection of epic poems , starts with the events leading up to the war: Eris and the golden apple of Kallisti , the Judgement of Paris , the abduction of Helen , the sacrifice of Iphigenia at Aulis . To recover Helen, the Greeks launched a great expedition under the overall command of Menelaus 's brother, Agamemnon, king of Argos, or Mycenae , but the Trojans refused to return Helen. The Iliad , which

1000-492: A combination of their name and epithets , that identify them by these distinctions from other manifestations of themselves (e.g., Apollo Musagetes is " Apollo , [as] leader of the Muses "). Alternatively, the epithet may identify a particular and localized aspect of the god, sometimes thought to be already ancient during the classical epoch of Greece. Most gods were associated with specific aspects of life. For example, Aphrodite

1125-525: A convenient framework into which to fit their own courtly and chivalric ideals. Twelfth-century authors, such as Benoît de Sainte-Maure ( Roman de Troie [Romance of Troy, 1154–60]) and Joseph of Exeter ( De Bello Troiano [On the Trojan War, 1183]) describe the war while rewriting the standard version they found in Dictys and Dares . They thus follow Horace 's advice and Virgil's example: they rewrite

1250-570: A dragon himself. Aslan was able to restore him to normal through an extremely painful process of removing the layers of reptilian scales. In The Silver Chair (1953), some dragons were shown sleeping in Underland. In The Last Battle (1956), these same dragons were awoken on the last day of Narnia and started uprooting all vegetation alongside the giant lizards and the salamanders, before rapidly growing old and dying as Narnia ceased to exist. Dryads and other nature spirits are featured throughout

1375-489: A flat disk afloat on the river of Oceanus and overlooked by a hemispherical sky with sun, moon, and stars. The Sun ( Helios ) traversed the heavens as a charioteer and sailed around the Earth in a golden bowl at night. Sun, earth, heaven, rivers, and winds could be addressed in prayers and called to witness oaths. Natural fissures were popularly regarded as entrances to the subterranean house of Hades and his predecessors, home of

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1500-558: A god "greater than he", Zeus swallowed her. She was already pregnant with Athena , however, and she burst forth from his head—fully-grown and dressed for war. The earliest Greek thought about poetry considered the theogonies to be the prototypical poetic genre—the prototypical mythos —and imputed almost magical powers to it. Orpheus , the archetypal poet, also was the archetypal singer of theogonies, which he uses to calm seas and storms in Apollonius' Argonautica , and to move

1625-594: A human and the lower legs and body of a horse, just as they appear in Greek mythology . Unlike most of their counterparts in the Greek myths (which are portrayed as wild, violent, lustful, and intoxicated), Narnian centaurs are always seen in a positive light, more in line with the unique Greek figure Chiron . Throughout the books, they are seen as wise prophets, sages, and loyal courtiers. Typically, they are highly skilled in astronomy and divination , using this ability to read

1750-513: A limited number of gods, who were the focus of large pan-Hellenic cults. It was, however, common for individual regions and villages to devote their own cults to minor gods. Many cities also honored the more well-known gods with unusual local rites and associated strange myths with them that were unknown elsewhere. During the heroic age, the cult of heroes (or demigods) supplemented that of the gods. "The origins of humanity [were] ascribed to various figures, including Zeus and Prometheus ." Bridging

1875-405: A musical contest with Apollo . Ian Morris considers Prometheus' adventures as "a place between the history of the gods and that of man." An anonymous papyrus fragment, dated to the third century, vividly portrays Dionysus ' punishment of the king of Thrace , Lycurgus , whose recognition of the new god came too late, resulting in horrific penalties that extended into the afterlife. The story of

2000-485: A noble death is a most precious treasure. Dragons are fire-breathing reptiles with bat-shaped wings that reside within the different areas of Narnia. In The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (1952), Eustace Scrubb discovers the treasure horde of an old, sick dragon on one of the islands, and he watches as it collapses and dies. Eustace sleeps on the treasure and in the morning he finds that he has been transformed into

2125-800: A normal cat, a dumb beast. Powerful individuals and deities also make the land of Narnia their home. Aslan is a massive talking lion, described as the King of the Beasts and the Son of the Emperor-Over-the-Sea. Lewis intentionally wrote this character as a stand-in for Jesus as the Lion of Judah in Judeo-Christian theology. Derived from the Roman god of wine , Bacchus comes to Aslan's aid to free

2250-458: A number of local legends became attached. The story of Medea , in particular, caught the imagination of the tragic poets. In between the Argo and the Trojan War, there was a generation known chiefly for its horrific crimes. This includes the doings of Atreus and Thyestes at Argos. Behind the myth of the house of Atreus (one of the two principal heroic dynasties with the house of Labdacus ) lies

2375-606: A poem of Troy instead of telling something completely new. Prince Caspian (character) Prince Caspian (also known as Caspian X , King of Narnia , Lord of Cair Paravel and Emperor of The Lone Islands , and as Caspian the Seafarer or Caspian the Navigator ) is a fictional character in The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis . He is featured in three books in the series: Prince Caspian , The Voyage of

2500-507: A spirit to every aspect of nature. Eventually, these vague spirits assumed human forms and entered the local mythology as gods. When tribes from the north of the Balkan Peninsula invaded, they brought with them a new pantheon of gods, based on conquest, force, prowess in battle, and violent heroism. Other older gods of the agricultural world fused with those of the more powerful invaders or else faded into insignificance. After

2625-401: A thinly veiled allegory, though supporters argue that his work is much more nuanced than it may initially appear. In addition to the prominent Christian message that he sought to present, Lewis brings in figures from Greco-Roman and Norse mythology , Turkish tradition , and even specific European folk characters such as Father Christmas . Centaurs are creatures with the upper torso of

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2750-598: Is King Tirian's closest friend. In the 2005 film adaptation of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe , Peter rides a unicorn into battle before it is wounded by Black Dwarf archers. Two prominent Witches appear in the series: The following races are not in the sections above: In The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe , many evil creatures are listed as members of the White Witch's army. These include: Throughout

2875-461: Is portrayed as a sacrificer, mentioned as a founder of altars, and imagined as a voracious eater himself; it is in this role that he appears in comedy. While his tragic end provided much material for tragedy— Heracles is regarded by Thalia Papadopoulou as "a play of great significance in examination of other Euripidean dramas." In art and literature, Heracles was represented as an enormously strong man of moderate height; his characteristic weapon

3000-619: Is set in the tenth year of the war, tells of the quarrel between Agamemnon and Achilles, who was the finest Greek warrior, and the consequent deaths in battle of Achilles' beloved comrade Patroclus and Priam 's eldest son, Hector . After Hector's death, the Trojans were joined by two exotic allies, Penthesilea , queen of the Amazons , and Memnon , king of the Ethiopians and son of the dawn-goddess, Eos . Achilles killed both of these, but Paris then managed to kill Achilles with an arrow in

3125-476: Is that "the Greek gods are persons, not abstractions, ideas or concepts." Regardless of their underlying forms, the Ancient Greek gods have many fantastic abilities; most significantly, the gods are not affected by disease and can be wounded only under highly unusual circumstances. The Greeks considered immortality as the distinctive characteristic of their gods; this immortality, as well as unfading youth,

3250-420: Is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks , and a genre of ancient Greek folklore , today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology . These stories concern the ancient Greek religion 's view of the origin and nature of the world ; the lives and activities of deities , heroes , and mythological creatures ; and the origins and significance of

3375-749: The Homeric Hymns , in fragments of epic poems of the Epic Cycle , in lyric poems , in the works of the tragedians and comedians of the fifth century BC, in writings of scholars and poets of the Hellenistic Age , and in texts from the time of the Roman Empire by writers such as Plutarch and Pausanias . Aside from this narrative deposit in ancient Greek literature , pictorial representations of gods, heroes, and mythic episodes featured prominently in ancient vase paintings and

3500-589: The Chimera and Medusa . Bellerophon's adventures are commonplace types, similar to the adventures of Heracles and Theseus. Sending a hero to his presumed death is also a recurrent theme of this early heroic tradition, used in the cases of Perseus and Bellerophon. The only surviving Hellenistic epic, the Argonautica of Apollonius of Rhodes (epic poet, scholar, and director of the Library of Alexandria ) tells

3625-476: The Derveni Papyrus now proves that at least in the fifth-century BC a theogonic-cosmogonic poem of Orpheus was in existence. The first philosophical cosmologists reacted against, or sometimes built upon, popular mythical conceptions that had existed in the Greek world for some time. Some of these popular conceptions can be gleaned from the poetry of Homer and Hesiod. In Homer, the Earth was viewed as

3750-520: The Geometric period from c.  900 BC to c.  800 BC onward. In fact, literary and archaeological sources integrate, sometimes mutually supportive and sometimes in conflict; however, in many cases, the existence of this corpus of data is an indication that many elements of Greek mythology have strong factual and historical roots. Mythical narration plays an important role in nearly every genre of Greek literature. Nevertheless,

3875-539: The Hellenistic and Roman ages was primarily composed as a literary rather than cultic exercise. Nevertheless, it contains many important details that would otherwise be lost. This category includes the works of: Prose writers from the same periods who make reference to myths include Apuleius , Petronius , Lollianus , and Heliodorus . Two other important non-poetical sources are the Fabulae and Astronomica of

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4000-598: The Parthenon depicting the sack of Troy); this artistic preference for themes deriving from the Trojan Cycle indicates its importance to the Ancient Greek civilization. The same mythological cycle also inspired a series of posterior European literary writings. For instance, Trojan Medieval European writers, unacquainted with Homer at first hand, found in the Troy legend a rich source of heroic and romantic storytelling and

4125-692: The Peloponnesian kingdoms of Mycenae , Sparta and Argos , claiming, according to legend, a right to rule them through their ancestor. Their rise to dominance is frequently called the " Dorian invasion ". The Lydian and later the Macedonian kings, as rulers of the same rank, also became Heracleidae. Other members of this earliest generation of heroes such as Perseus, Deucalion , Theseus and Bellerophon , have many traits in common with Heracles. Like him, their exploits are solitary, fantastic and border on fairy tale , as they slay monsters such as

4250-538: The Roman culture because of the story of Aeneas , a Trojan hero whose journey from Troy led to the founding of the city that would one day become Rome, as recounted in Virgil's Aeneid (Book II of Virgil's Aeneid contains the best-known account of the sack of Troy). Finally there are two pseudo-chronicles written in Latin that passed under the names of Dictys Cretensis and Dares Phrygius . The Trojan War cycle ,

4375-556: The "War of Deliverance" and restore old Narnia. Despite his Telmarine bloodline, Caspian is named the rightful heir by Aslan himself, for he is a member of Adam's race from Earth and proved ready to self-sacrifice for beings not of his people. He becomes King Caspian X. In the first three years of his reign, King Caspian X wins several decisive victories over the Giants of the North. Caspian, in his own words, "gave those troublesome giants on

4500-473: The Ancient Greek pantheon, poets composed the Homeric Hymns (a group of thirty-three songs). Gregory Nagy (1992) regards "the larger Homeric Hymns as simple preludes (compared with Theogony ), each of which invokes one god." The gods of Greek mythology are described as having essentially corporeal but ideal bodies. According to Walter Burkert , the defining characteristic of Greek anthropomorphism

4625-573: The Calormene people, Tash borrows heavily from Islamic traditions and customs. In The Horse and His Boy , Tash worship is first introduced. In The Last Battle , it is revealed that Tash was a real demonic being with a skeletal body and bird-like head, killing the charlatan Shift who had attempted to combine Aslan and Tash into one deity to control the Narnian public while himself believing in neither. Greek mythology Greek mythology

4750-418: The Dawn Treader , and The Silver Chair . He also appears at the end of The Last Battle . Caspian is described as noble, handsome, brave, and merry; he strives for fairness and justice at all times and is a devoted King. For his love of the sea he is known as Caspian the Seafarer. Lewis introduces Caspian as the young nephew of and heir to King Miraz of Narnia. By this time 1288 years have passed since

4875-610: The Greek leaders (including the wanderings of Odysseus and Aeneas (the Aeneid ), and the murder of Agamemnon) were told in two epics, the Returns (the lost Nostoi ) and Homer's Odyssey . The Trojan cycle also includes the adventures of the children of the Trojan generation (e.g., Orestes and Telemachus ). The Trojan War provided a variety of themes and became a main source of inspiration for Ancient Greek artists (e.g. metopes on

5000-472: The Greek world and noted the stories they heard, supplied numerous local myths and legends, often giving little-known alternative versions. Herodotus in particular, searched the various traditions he encountered and found the historical or mythological roots in the confrontation between Greece and the East. Herodotus attempted to reconcile origins and the blending of differing cultural concepts. The poetry of

5125-610: The Green Kirtle . Caspian returns to Narnia in time to meet his son before dying outside Cair Paravel, in the company of his son and many of his closest followers. After his death, Caspian is rejuvenated by Aslan in Aslan's Country, and he accompanies Eustace and Jill back to their world for a short time, where they deal with the Experiment House bullies. Caspian makes a very brief appearance with his wife and son Rilian at

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5250-720: The Narnians' fight with the Telmarines. In The Silver Chair (1953), some Narnian giants got lost trying to find Prince Rilian. The tribe of giants that live in Ettinsmoor were described as being moronic, disorganized, and speak an incomprehensible language. Further north are the giants of Harfang, who are more organized and speak a comprehensible language. An original creation by Lewis, Marsh-wiggles are frog -like humanoids that are known for being gloomy, cynical creatures who live in distant swamps. The most notable individual in

5375-553: The Olympians, the Greeks worshipped various gods of the countryside, the satyr-god Pan , Nymphs (spirits of rivers), Naiads (who dwelled in springs), Dryads (who were spirits of the trees), Nereids (who inhabited the sea), river gods, Satyrs , and others. In addition, there were the dark powers of the underworld, such as the Erinyes (or Furies), said to pursue those guilty of crimes against blood-relatives. In order to honor

5500-593: The Pevensies' coronation, Oreius can be seen in the crowd, apparently restored by Aslan offscreen. Centaurs take their most prominent role in Prince Caspian (1951) in the form of Glenstorm and his three sons as part of the Narnian resistance against the Telmarine occupation. Glenstorm operates as one of the primary supporters of Prince Caspian , as his abilities as a prophet and astronomer make him aware of

5625-674: The Red Dwarf, a skeptic who aided Caspian's resistance against the Telmarines and eventually came to truly believe in Aslan; and Nikabrik the Black Dwarf, who attempted to convince Caspian to try and resurrect the White Witch before the Pevensies arrive and intervene. Similar to the changes made for the centaurs, Lewis tames down the half-man half-goat fauns from their lustful, intoxicated counterparts in Greco-Roman mythology, though they are still known for enjoying spirited parties in

5750-764: The Roman writer styled as Pseudo- Hyginus , the Imagines of Philostratus the Elder and Philostratus the Younger , and the Descriptions of Callistratus . Finally, several Byzantine Greek writers provide important details of myth, much derived from earlier now lost Greek works. These preservers of myth include Arnobius , Hesychius , the author of the Suda , John Tzetzes , and Eustathius . They often treat mythology from

5875-519: The Trojan cycle, as well as the adventures of Heracles. These visual representations of myths are important for two reasons. Firstly, many Greek myths are attested on vases earlier than in literary sources: of the twelve labors of Heracles, for example, only the Cerberus adventure occurs in a contemporary literary text. Secondly, visual sources sometimes represent myths or mythical scenes that are not attested in any extant literary source. In some cases,

6000-399: The White Witch's castle, and they are rescued and restored by Aslan as reinforcements for the main army. In the 2005 Disney film adaptation , Aslan's army is much larger than the book, with dozens of centaurs, both male and female, participating in the battle against the White Witch. The film also introduces Oreius, portrayed by Patrick Kake , who is featured prominently as the field leader of

6125-456: The age when gods lived alone and the age when divine interference in human affairs was limited was a transitional age in which gods and mortals moved together. These were the early days of the world when the groups mingled more freely than they did later. Most of these tales were later told by Ovid's Metamorphoses and they are often divided into two thematic groups: tales of love, and tales of punishment. Tales of love often involve incest, or

6250-400: The aged Caspian is played by Geoffrey Russell (and the rejuvenated Caspian by Jean Marc Perret). In Walden Media 's 2008 release of The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian , the character is portrayed by English actor Ben Barnes . In this version, the Telmarines are of Spanish descent so Caspian is portrayed with a Mediterranean accent, dark hair and dark eyes; he is older than he is in

6375-407: The aged Caspian set off to sea. He had told his people that he wanted to revisit the places of his youth, but many believe that Caspian fears his son is lost forever and has gone on the voyage to seek Aslan to ask who could be the next king of Narnia. Meanwhile, Eustace and Jill rescue the lost Prince from the underworld where he had been held captive by his mother's murderer, the shapeshifting Lady of

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6500-405: The ancient Greeks' cult and ritual practices. Modern scholars study the myths to shed light on the religious and political institutions of ancient Greece, and to better understand the nature of mythmaking itself. The Greek myths were initially propagated in an oral-poetic tradition most likely by Minoan and Mycenaean singers starting in the 18th century BC; eventually the myths of

6625-481: The appropriation or invention of some important cultural artifact, as when Prometheus steals fire from the gods, when Tantalus steals nectar and ambrosia from Zeus' table and gives it to his subjects—revealing to them the secrets of the gods, when Prometheus or Lycaon invents sacrifice, when Demeter teaches agriculture and the Mysteries to Triptolemus , or when Marsyas invents the aulos and enters into

6750-681: The army of the dead." Another important difference between the hero cult and the cult of gods is that the hero becomes the centre of local group identity. The monumental events of Heracles are regarded as the dawn of the age of heroes. To the Heroic Age are also ascribed three great events: the Argonautic expedition, the Theban Cycle , and the Trojan War . Some scholars believe that behind Heracles' complicated mythology there

6875-441: The army until the Pevensies arrive. Similar to the books, Oreius leads a team to help rescue Edmund from the White Witch, and he later helps Peter organize the troops in the wake of Aslan's temporary death. During the battle, Oreius and a rhino hold off the entire enemy army in order to buy time so that Peter and the others can fall back, with Oreius getting turned into stone by the White Witch after killing her minotaur general. At

7000-454: The arrival of Dionysus to establish his cult in Thrace was also the subject of an Aeschylean trilogy. In another tragedy, Euripides' The Bacchae , the king of Thebes , Pentheus , is punished by Dionysus, because he disrespected the god and spied on his Maenads , the female worshippers of the god. In another story, based on an old folktale-motif, and echoing a similar theme, Demeter

7125-574: The basis for the collection; however, the "Library" discusses events that occurred long after his death, hence the name Pseudo-Apollodorus. Among the earliest literary sources are Homer 's two epic poems, the Iliad and the Odyssey . Other poets completed the Epic Cycle , but these later and lesser poems now are lost almost entirely. Despite their traditional name, the Homeric Hymns have no direct connection with Homer. The oldest are choral hymns from

7250-409: The beginnings of the universe in human language. The most widely accepted version at the time, although a philosophical account of the beginning of things, is reported by Hesiod , in his Theogony . He begins with Chaos , a yawning nothingness. Next comes Gaia (Earth), "the ever-sure foundation of all", and then Tartarus , "in the depth of the wide-pathed Earth", and Eros (Love), "fairest among

7375-475: The book as he is already coming of age and is wrestling with his youthful desire for revenge against Miraz. The film also introduces an incipient attraction between Caspian and Queen Susan ; before she returns to her own world for the last time, Susan gives Caspian a farewell kiss. Caspian is again portrayed by Barnes in Walden's sequel, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader , this time with

7500-521: The centaur Roonwit is one of the last remaining loyal subjects to the throne of the Narnian king Tirian. Roonwit is the only one initially aware that the ape Shift has allied with the Calormenes and set up a false Aslan, basing this on the terrible signs he sees in the skies. Tirian tasks Roonwit with gathering those still loyal, but Roonwit is slain by Calormen archers. Farsight the eagle delivers his final message, that all world's draw to an end and that

7625-531: The coming conflict and Caspian's position as the rightful king, based on the movement of the heavenly bodies Tarva and Alambil. Glenstorm's stance helps alleviate much of the skepticism from the other Narnians at the Council of Dancing Lawn. Later, Glenstorm acts as one of Peter's marshals in the latter's duel with Miraz. Cornell John portrayed Glenstorm in the Disney film adaptation . In The Silver Chair (1953),

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7750-512: The composition of the story of the Argonauts is earlier than Odyssey , which shows familiarity with the exploits of Jason (the wandering of Odysseus may have been partly founded on it). In ancient times, the expedition was regarded as a historical fact, an incident in the opening up of the Black Sea to Greek commerce and colonization. It was also extremely popular, forming a cycle to which

7875-399: The concept and ritual. The age in which the heroes lived is known as the Heroic age . The epic and genealogical poetry created cycles of stories clustered around particular heroes or events and established the family relationships between the heroes of different stories; they thus arranged the stories in sequence. According to Ken Dowden (1992), "there is even a saga effect: We can follow

8000-400: The culture, arts, and literature of Western civilization and remains part of Western heritage and language. Poets and artists from ancient times to the present have derived inspiration from Greek mythology and have discovered contemporary significance and relevance in the themes. Greek mythology is known today primarily from Greek literature and representations on visual media dating from

8125-408: The dead. Influences from other cultures always afforded new themes. According to Classical-era mythology, after the overthrow of the Titans, the new pantheon of gods and goddesses was confirmed. Among the principal Greek gods were the Olympians, residing on Mount Olympus under the eye of Zeus. (The limitation of their number to twelve seems to have been a comparatively modern idea.) Besides

8250-413: The deathless gods". Without male assistance, Gaia gave birth to Uranus (the Sky) who then fertilized her. From that union were born first the Titans —six males: Coeus , Crius , Cronus , Hyperion , Iapetus , and Oceanus ; and six females: Mnemosyne , Phoebe , Rhea , Theia , Themis , and Tethys . After Cronus was born, Gaia and Uranus decreed no more Titans were to be born. They were followed by

8375-414: The decoration of votive gifts and many other artifacts. Geometric designs on pottery of the eighth century BC depict scenes from the Epic Cycle as well as the adventures of Heracles . In the succeeding Archaic , Classical , and Hellenistic periods, Homeric and various other mythological scenes appear, supplementing the existing literary evidence. Greek mythology has had an extensive influence on

8500-462: The divine-focused Theogony and Homeric Hymns in both size and popularity. Under the influence of Homer the "hero cult" leads to a restructuring in spiritual life, expressed in the separation of the realm of the gods from the realm of the dead (heroes), of the Chthonic from the Olympian. In the Works and Days , Hesiod makes use of a scheme of Four Ages of Man (or Races): Golden, Silver, Bronze, and Iron. These races or ages are separate creations of

8625-429: The earlier part of the so-called Lyric age . Hesiod , a possible contemporary with Homer, offers in his Theogony ( Origin of the Gods ) the fullest account of the earliest Greek myths, dealing with the creation of the world, the origin of the gods, Titans , and Giants , as well as elaborate genealogies, folktales, and aetiological myths. Hesiod's Works and Days , a didactic poem about farming life, also includes

8750-436: The end of this novel, the final book in the Narnia series. He is present with all the other major characters who reappear in Aslan's Country at the end of the Narnian world. In the 1989 television serial of Prince Caspian produced by the BBC , the teenaged Caspian was played by Jean Marc Perret . In the Voyage of the Dawn Treader (also 1989), the slightly older Caspian was played by Samuel West , and in The Silver Chair

8875-410: The evolution of their culture, of which mythology, both overtly and in its unspoken assumptions, is an index of the changes. In Greek mythology's surviving literary forms, as found mostly at the end of the progressive changes, it is inherently political, as Gilbert Cuthbertson (1975) has argued. The earlier inhabitants of the Balkan Peninsula were an agricultural people who, using animism , assigned

9000-405: The fates of some families in successive generations." After the rise of the hero cult, gods and heroes constitute the sacral sphere and are invoked together in oaths and prayers which are addressed to them. Burkert (2002) notes that "the roster of heroes, again in contrast to the gods, is never given fixed and final form. Great gods are no longer born, but new heroes can always be raised up from

9125-509: The first known representation of a myth in geometric art predates its first known representation in late archaic poetry, by several centuries. In the Archaic ( c.  750  – c.  500 BC ), Classical ( c.  480 –323 BC), and Hellenistic (323–146 BC) periods, Homeric and various other mythological scenes appear, supplementing the existing literary evidence. Greek mythology has changed over time to accommodate

9250-400: The frontier such a good beating last summer that they pay us tribute now." The titular voyage of the novel takes place exactly three years after Prince Caspian . Order has been re-established in Narnia, and Caspian has constructed the ship Dawn Treader to sail the eastern seas in search of the seven Telmarine lords who had remained loyal to his father and were sent away by Miraz. On

9375-472: The gods, the Golden Age belonging to the reign of Cronos, the subsequent races to the creation of Zeus . The presence of evil was explained by the myth of Pandora , when all of the best of human capabilities, save hope, had been spilled out of her overturned jar. In Metamorphoses , Ovid follows Hesiod's concept of the four ages. "Myths of origin" or " creation myths " represent an attempt to explain

9500-715: The ground, similar to the biblical story . Later, Aslan grants some of these animals the ability to speak as he does. Throughout the series, a number of these talking animals are involved in the storyline primarily as allies to Aslan and the protagonists, though some such as the ape Shift operate as antagonists. Broadly speaking, talking animals can be divided into three categories: Avian, Mammal, and Reptile (there are no known talking fish, amphibians, or invertebrates). In addition to their linguistic capacity, talking animals are also designated as being larger in size their non-speaking counterparts. For example in Prince Caspian ,

9625-541: The heel. Achilles' heel was the only part of his body which was not invulnerable to damage by human weaponry. Before they could take Troy, the Greeks had to steal from the citadel the wooden image of Pallas Athena (the Palladium ). Finally, with Athena's help, they built the Trojan Horse . Despite the warnings of Priam's daughter Cassandra , the Trojans were persuaded by Sinon , a Greek who feigned desertion, to take

9750-548: The heroes of the Trojan War and its aftermath became part of the oral tradition of Homer 's epic poems , the Iliad and the Odyssey . Two poems by Homer's near contemporary Hesiod , the Theogony and the Works and Days , contain accounts of the genesis of the world, the succession of divine rulers, the succession of human ages, the origin of human woes, and the origin of sacrificial practices. Myths are also preserved in

9875-729: The highest social prestige through his appointment as official ancestor of the Dorian kings. This probably served as a legitimation for the Dorian migrations into the Peloponnese . Hyllus , the eponymous hero of one Dorian phyle , became the son of Heracles and one of the Heracleidae or Heraclids (the numerous descendants of Heracles, especially the descendants of Hyllus —other Heracleidae included Macaria , Lamos, Manto , Bianor , Tlepolemus , and Telephus ). These Heraclids conquered

10000-420: The horse inside the walls of Troy as an offering to Athena; the priest Laocoon, who tried to have the horse destroyed, was killed by sea-serpents. At night the Greek fleet returned, and the Greeks from the horse opened the gates of Troy. In the total sack that followed, Priam and his remaining sons were slaughtered; the Trojan women passed into slavery in various cities of Greece. The adventurous homeward voyages of

10125-537: The infant to prevent this from occurring. Centaurs do not appear in any capacity in The Magician's Nephew (1955). They are not included in the account of the Creation of Narnia by Aslan , so it is unknown at what point they came into existence. No doubt Aslan had something to do with their creation, as they are all fiercely loyal to him for the rest of the series without exception. In The Last Battle (1956),

10250-576: The middle of the Archaic period, myths about relationships between male gods and male heroes became more and more frequent, indicating the parallel development of pedagogic pederasty ( παιδικὸς ἔρως , eros paidikos ), thought to have been introduced around 630 BC. By the end of the fifth-century  BC, poets had assigned at least one eromenos , an adolescent boy who was their sexual companion, to every important god except Ares and many legendary figures. Previously existing myths, such as those of Achilles and Patroclus , also then were cast in

10375-577: The myth of the voyage of Jason and the Argonauts to retrieve the Golden Fleece from the mythical land of Colchis . In the Argonautica , Jason is impelled on his quest by king Pelias , who receives a prophecy that a man with one sandal would be his nemesis . Jason loses a sandal in a river, arrives at the court of Pelias, and the epic is set in motion. Nearly every member of the next generation of heroes, as well as Heracles, went with Jason in

10500-479: The mythological details about gods and heroes. The evidence about myths and rituals at Mycenaean and Minoan sites is entirely monumental, as the Linear B script (an ancient form of Greek found in both Crete and mainland Greece) was used mainly to record inventories, although certain names of gods and heroes have been tentatively identified. Geometric designs on pottery of the eighth-century  BC depict scenes from

10625-530: The myths of Prometheus , Pandora , and the Five Ages . The poet advises on the best way to succeed in a dangerous world, rendered yet more dangerous by its gods. Lyrical poets often took their subjects from myth, but their treatment became gradually less narrative and more allusive. Greek lyric poets, including Pindar , Bacchylides and Simonides , and bucolic poets such as Theocritus and Bion , relate individual mythological incidents. Additionally, myth

10750-545: The one-eyed Cyclopes and the Hecatoncheires or Hundred-Handed Ones, who were both thrown into Tartarus by Uranus. This made Gaia furious. Cronus ("the wily, youngest and most terrible of Gaia 's children") was convinced by Gaia to castrate his father. He did this and became the ruler of the Titans with his sister-wife, Rhea, as his consort, and the other Titans became his court. A motif of father-against-son conflict

10875-473: The only general mythographical handbook to survive from Greek antiquity was the Library of Pseudo-Apollodorus. This work attempts to reconcile the contradictory tales of the poets and provides a grand summary of traditional Greek mythology and heroic legends. Apollodorus of Athens lived from c.  180 BC to c.  125 BC and wrote on many of these topics. His writings may have formed

11000-459: The presence of his uncle, Miraz rebukes Caspian and dismisses the nurse. Miraz appoints Doctor Cornelius Caspian's tutor. Cornelius has dwarfish as well as human blood, though Miraz does not know this. Cornelius teaches Caspian the sciences and history that his uncle prescribes, but also tells him secretly the true stories of Narnia's past. Cornelius tells Caspian that Miraz murdered Caspian IX , Caspian's father and Miraz's elder brother, to take

11125-459: The problem of the devolution of power and of the mode of accession to sovereignty. The twins Atreus and Thyestes with their descendants played the leading role in the tragedy of the devolution of power in Mycenae. The Theban Cycle deals with events associated especially with Cadmus , the city's founder, and later with the doings of Laius and Oedipus at Thebes; a series of stories that lead to

11250-487: The red dwarf Trumpkin . During the events of The Last Battle , a talking cat named Ginger was allied with Shift and the Calormenes. In a demonstration of power, Ginger enters a stable to pretend to talk to the conglomerate god "Tashlan", not realizing that Tash himself was inside. The incident scares Ginger so badly he flees from the stable and hysterically climbs a tree, where the surrounding crowd notice that he visibly shrinks in size and screams nonsense until he reverts to

11375-450: The rest of the series, other minor creatures make rare appearances. These include: While not typically considered to be magical or fantastical, humans also live in Narnia where they have differentiated to various societies: In The Magician's Nephew , Lewis presents the creation account for the world of Narnia by the great lion Aslan, who was the first talking animal. As one of the final stages of creation, Aslan calls forth animals from

11500-462: The river god from his "chains," which was in fact the Telmarine bridge crossing the Beruna River. Locked out of Narnia for one-hundred years by the White Witch, Father Christmas (derived from the folkloric character of the same name ) was able to return when the four Pevensie children arrived, weakening the Witch's magic. Father Christmas gave each of the children gifts that they would need for

11625-605: The rule of High King Peter and his siblings, and Old Narnians no longer live openly in Narnia, having been driven into hiding 305 years earlier by Caspian's ancestors, the Telmarines . In fact, the talking beasts are widely believed to be mythical by the human population, and stories of them are forbidden in Miraz's castle. When Caspian is a small boy (by which time both of his parents are dead), his nurse tells him of these stories, which fascinate him; but when he mentions them in

11750-510: The seduction or rape of a mortal woman by a male god, resulting in heroic offspring. The stories generally suggest that relationships between gods and mortals are something to avoid; even consenting relationships rarely have happy endings. In a few cases, a female divinity mates with a mortal man, as in the Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite , where the goddess lies with Anchises to produce Aeneas . The second type (tales of punishment) involves

11875-551: The series was Puddleglum , who aided Eustace and Jill in their journey in The Silver Chair to save Caspian's lost son. Satyrs are creatures that are half-human and half-goat, similar to fauns save for more reddish fur and longer horns. In the 2005 film , satyrs are shown to be more bestial in appearance than fauns, covered in fur and having goat-like heads while still remaining humanoid in stature. Sea serpents and other massive aquatic monsters are rumored to inhabit

12000-787: The series. Dryads are spirits of the trees, and naiads are spirits of water. When the Telmarines arrive in Narnia, magical creatures are hunted down and the dryads retreat deep within their trees, to the point that it is only Aslan who has the ability to wake them. A similar process occurs when the Calormenes invade Narnia at the end of time. Referred to as Sons of Earth by Aslan, dwarfs are broadly divided into two varieties – Red Dwarfs and Black Dwarfs. These distinctions are given due to their respective hair colors, though there are differences in their personalities as well. Both varieties are skilled miners , blacksmiths , and carpenters in keeping with their title "Sons of Earth." They are also deadly proficient archers. Notable individuals included Trumpkin

12125-593: The ship Argo to fetch the Golden Fleece. This generation also included Theseus , who went to Crete to slay the Minotaur ; Atalanta , the female heroine, and Meleager , who once had an epic cycle of his own to rival the Iliad and Odyssey . Pindar , Apollonius and the Bibliotheca endeavor to give full lists of the Argonauts. Although Apollonius wrote his poem in the 3rd century BC,

12250-475: The side of Aslan while others are on the side of the White Witch. One giant named Rumblebuffin was turned to stone by the White Witch and was restored by Aslan. He later helped out the reinforcements during the First Battle of Beruna where he used his club on some of the White Witch's minions while also stepping on some of them. In Prince Caspian (1951), a giant named Wimbleweather helped Prince Caspian in

12375-483: The society while the beliefs were held. After they ceased to become religious beliefs, few would have known the rites and rituals. Allusions often existed, however, to aspects that were quite public. Images existed on pottery and religious artwork that were interpreted and more likely, misinterpreted in many diverse myths and tales. A few fragments of these works survive in quotations by Neoplatonist philosophers and recently unearthed papyrus scraps. One of these scraps,

12500-561: The stars and tell of future events. In addition, they are usually proficient warriors, using their great size and strength to their advantage. Centaurs are viewed as some of the most majestic and powerful creatures in Narnia, and as such, fellow Narnians place a great deal of respect on any member of this species. Centaurs appear in five out of seven books in the Chronicles of Narnia series, two out of three Disney movie adaptations , and other assorted television specials and series based on

12625-400: The stars are actually powerful, sentient beings created by Aslan. The exact extent of their strength and knowledge is unknown. Some stars can give up this status and take on a mortal form, such as the magician Coriakin. Others still travel to Earth and retain their abilities, such as Ramandu and his daughter. Ramandu's daughter in turn would give up her heavenly status and marry King Caspian, and

12750-615: The stone, which had been sitting in Cronus's stomach all this time. Zeus then challenged Cronus to war for the kingship of the gods. At last, with the help of the Cyclopes (whom Zeus freed from Tartarus), Zeus and his siblings were victorious, while Cronus and the Titans were hurled down to imprisonment in Tartarus . Zeus was plagued by the same concern, and after a prophecy that the offspring of his first wife, Metis , would give birth to

12875-406: The stony hearts of the underworld gods in his descent to Hades . When Hermes invents the lyre in the Homeric Hymn to Hermes , the first thing he does is sing about the birth of the gods. Hesiod's Theogony is not only the fullest surviving account of the gods but also the fullest surviving account of the archaic poet's function, with its long preliminary invocation to the Muses . Theogony also

13000-495: The sustenance— large meals (particularly breakfast) and long hours of grazing. On their journey through Narnia, they teach the Eustace and Jill about herbs and roots, planets, the nine names of Aslan with their meanings, and other philosophical subjects. In The Horse and His Boy (1954), an unnamed centaur prophesies about the baby Prince Cor one day saving the kingdom of Archenland, setting up those very events when someone kidnaps

13125-473: The tale known to us through tragedy (e.g. Sophocles' Oedipus Rex ) and later mythological accounts. Greek mythology culminates in the Trojan War, fought between Greece and Troy , and its aftermath. In Homer's works, such as the Iliad , the chief stories have already taken shape and substance, and individual themes were elaborated later, especially in Greek drama. The Trojan War also elicited great interest in

13250-459: The talking mouse Reepicheep is described as being two to three feet tall while standing on his hind legs. Talking animals can permanently lose their ability to speak under certain circumstances. During the Telmarine occupation of Narnia, magical creatures were hunted down, and many talking animals retreated and devolved into "dumb beasts". One such bear was encountered by the Pevensie children and

13375-424: The throne for himself. Although a childless Miraz never cared much for Prince Caspian, he was willing that Caspian should succeed him as king, as he would rather Caspian inherit the throne than a stranger. When Miraz's wife Prunaprismia gives birth to a son, this situation changes overnight. Cornelius urges the 13-year-old Caspian to flee for his life, for Miraz will certainly perceive Caspian as his son's rival for

13500-478: The throne. Cornelius gives Caspian Queen Susan's magic horn, which will bring help to whoever blows it. Caspian flees and meets creatures he once thought mythical, and the Old Narnians accept him as king. When Miraz attacks, Caspian blows the horn, and the kings and queens of old – Peter , Susan , Edmund , and Lucy – are pulled back into Narnia. With Aslan 's help, they defeat Miraz in what Lewis called

13625-522: The time C. S. Lewis wrote The Chronicles of Narnia , he was a devout Christian. Much of this is reflected through the books, which prominently utilize allegories to retell biblical stories in this fantastical setting. Perhaps most prominently, Lewis wrote the character of Aslan to reflect the figure Jesus Christ, mirroring the same journey of a sacrificial death and resurrection as found in the Gospels. Tolkien and others have criticized Lewis' work as merely

13750-476: The two would have a son Rilian. She was killed by the poison of the Lady of the Green Kirtle. At the end of time, the stars all return to Earth at the blow of Father Time's horn, permanently darkening the night sky. Unicorns only appear a couple of times throughout the Narnia mythos. Most notably, Jewel the unicorn is one of the last remaining loyal subjects of Aslan during the events of The Last Battle , and he

13875-404: The upcoming battle, and resumed his normal activities delivering presents for the celebration of Christmas. A massive, sleeping giant derived from folkloric personification of time , Father Time was awoken by Aslan to assist in the final destruction of Narnia at the end of time. His horn alerted the stars to return to Earth, and he was also responsible for crushing the sun. As the primary god of

14000-475: The vast oceans to the east of the mainland, though most regard these tales as mere superstitions of drunk sailors and pirates. However, the crew of the Dawn Treader were notably attacked by a large sea serpent that almost destroyed the ship, confirming that much of the ocean had yet to be discovered. Narnia has a vast array of star arranged in different constellations than the ones found on Earth. Each of

14125-577: The war of the Seven against Thebes and the eventual pillage of that city at the hands of the Epigoni . (It is not known whether the Seven figured in early epic.) As far as Oedipus is concerned, early epic accounts seem to have him continuing to rule at Thebes after the revelation that Iokaste was his mother, and subsequently marrying a second wife who becomes the mother of his children—markedly different from

14250-545: The way to the Lone Islands, the sailors discover Edmund , Lucy , and their cousin Eustace in the water. They have been magically transported to the Narnian world, and help Caspian and the ship's crew sail east towards the end of the world to find the missing lords. When they reach the end of the world, the mouse Reepicheep (who had fought to liberate Narnia in Prince Caspian ) goes on to Aslan's Country , described as

14375-478: The woods to dance with the dryads. Mr. Tumnus has the designation of being the first magical creature featured in the series in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe . Tumnus was also the first character that Lewis came up with while brainstorming the series. Giants are large human-shaped creatures that range in size from ten to fifty feet. In The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (1950), some giants are on

14500-537: The works of C. S. Lewis. In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1950), four centaurs are listed among the ranks of Aslan's loyal army, described as looking like part English farm horse and part giant from the perspective of the Pevensie children. Notably, they are all part of the task-force sent to help rescue Edmund from the White Witch , and all four later participate in the climactic battle against her. In addition, at least two more appear as stone statues in

14625-434: The world" may be divided into three or four broader periods: While the age of gods often has been of more interest to contemporary students of myth, the Greek authors of the archaic and classical eras had a clear preference for the age of heroes, establishing a chronology and record of human accomplishments after the questions of how the world came into being were explained. For example, the heroic Iliad and Odyssey dwarfed

14750-598: Was central to classical Athenian drama . The tragic playwrights Aeschylus , Sophocles , and Euripides took most of their plots from myths of the age of heroes and the Trojan War. Many of the great tragic stories (e.g. Agamemnon and his children, Oedipus , Jason , Medea , etc.) took on their classic form in these tragedies. The comic playwright Aristophanes also used myths, in The Birds and The Frogs . Historians Herodotus and Diodorus Siculus , and geographers Pausanias and Strabo , who traveled throughout

14875-478: Was insured by the constant use of nectar and ambrosia , by which the divine blood was renewed in their veins. Each god descends from his or her own genealogy, pursues differing interests, has a certain area of expertise, and is governed by a unique personality; however, these descriptions arise from a multiplicity of archaic local variants, which do not always agree with one another. When these gods are called upon in poetry, prayer, or cult, they are referred to by

15000-592: Was probably a real man, perhaps a chieftain-vassal of the kingdom of Argos . Some scholars suggest the story of Heracles is an allegory for the sun's yearly passage through the twelve constellations of the zodiac. Others point to earlier myths from other cultures, showing the story of Heracles as a local adaptation of hero myths already well established. Traditionally, Heracles was the son of Zeus and Alcmene , granddaughter of Perseus . His fantastic solitary exploits, with their many folk-tale themes, provided much material for popular legend. According to Burkert (2002), "He

15125-511: Was repeated when Cronus was confronted by his son, Zeus . Because Cronus had betrayed his father, he feared that his offspring would do the same, and so each time Rhea gave birth, he snatched up the child and ate it. Rhea hated this and tricked him by hiding Zeus and wrapping a stone in a baby's blanket, which Cronus ate. When Zeus was full-grown, he fed Cronus a drugged drink which caused him to vomit, throwing up Rhea's other children, including Poseidon , Hades , Hestia , Demeter , and Hera , and

15250-540: Was searching for her daughter, Persephone , having taken the form of an old woman called Doso, and received a hospitable welcome from Celeus , the King of Eleusis in Attica . As a gift to Celeus, because of his hospitality, Demeter planned to make his son Demophon a god, but she was unable to complete the ritual because his mother Metanira walked in and saw her son in the fire and screamed in fright, which angered Demeter, who lamented that foolish mortals do not understand

15375-575: Was the bow but frequently also the club. Vase paintings demonstrate the unparalleled popularity of Heracles, his fight with the lion being depicted many hundreds of times. Heracles also entered Etruscan and Roman mythology and cult, and the exclamation "mehercule" became as familiar to the Romans as "Herakleis" was to the Greeks. In Italy he was worshipped as a god of merchants and traders, although others also prayed to him for his characteristic gifts of good luck or rescue from danger. Heracles attained

15500-431: Was the goddess of love and beauty, Ares was the god of war, Hades the ruler of the underworld, and Athena the goddess of wisdom and courage. Some gods, such as Apollo and Dionysus , revealed complex personalities and mixtures of functions, while others, such as Hestia (literally "hearth") and Helios (literally "sun"), were little more than personifications. The most impressive temples tended to be dedicated to

15625-503: Was the subject of many lost poems, including those attributed to Orpheus, Musaeus , Epimenides , Abaris , and other legendary seers, which were used in private ritual purifications and mystery-rites . There are indications that Plato was familiar with some version of the Orphic theogony. A silence would have been expected about religious rites and beliefs, however, and that nature of the culture would not have been reported by members of

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