According to the myth told by Ovid, when Aphrodite met the infant Adonis, she was immediately smitten with him. She decided to take care of him by hiding him in a chest, and asked Persephone, the queen of the underworld, to educate him. However, Persephone also fell in Love with Adonis.
On the day Aphrodite descended into the underworld to retrieve the young Adonis, Persephone refused to return the boy, who had become her lover. The two women turned to Zeus to judge who should have Adonis, and Zeus asked the muse Kalliope to make the decision.
In the end, it was decided that Adonis would spend fourth months with Aphrodite, four with Persephone, and four alone to rest. However, Adonis decided - either on his own or through Aphrodite's magical influence - to spend his four months of "rest" with Aphrodite.
Aphrodite and Adonis continued their passionate relationship until one day, Adonis was mortally wounded while hunting a boar. Aphrodite heard her lover's moans of pain from her flying chariot, but by the time she arrived by his side, it was too late to save him. The goddess cried tears of blood that fell onto the ground, and from them sprouted either the purple anemone flower or the rose, depending on the version of the story.
In mythology, Aphrodite was the wife of Hephaistos, the god of metallurgy. However, she also had an affair with Ares, the god of war.
One night, after spending too long together, Ares and Aphrodite were caught by Helios, who informed Hephaistos of his wife's infidelity. In a fit of rage, Hephaistos captured Ares and Aphrodite in an unbreakable net, then summoned the rest of the gods to bear witness to his dishonor.
Afterwards, Aphrodite went to Paphos to renew her virginity in the sea. This virginity did not last, however, as she later had a relationship with Hermes which resulted in the birth of Hermaphroditos, a being of two sexes.
After a baby was born, it was presented to the father, who would then decide its fate. If the child was a girl or showed signs of a disability, they were occasionally abandoned and left to die.
Wealthier families could hire caretakers or employ their slaves as nurses to look after their children. This was a necessary precaution, as children were very susceptible to diseases and illnesses.
Education in Greece was reserved for boys and young men. Rich families could hire tutors to teach their daughters skills like reading, but this was not the norm, and girls were mainly taught how to run the household.
Jason about the seize the Golden Fleece, stergo of the Argo to the right
Jason was the legendary Greek hero who led the Argonauts, a group of adventurers named after their ship, the Argo. Together, they set out to steal the magical Golden Fleece, and eventually succeeded with the help of a sorceress named Medea.
Jason married Medea, and the couple eventually settled in the city of Korinth. But the couple's happy ending was short-lived; when Jason met the king of Korinth's daughter, Glauke, he abandoned Medea to seek the princess' hand in marriage.
Enraged, Medea gifted Glauke a dress that was secretly poisoned. Upon wearing the dress, Glauke was burned alive.
The ending of the story varies. Either Medea's children were stoned to death as punishment for her murder of Glauke, or Medea herself killed her children as a way of getting revenge on Jason.
The legend of Medea was later told in a tragedy by the famous playwright Euripides.
The banner of Korinthia was inspired by the coinage of Korinth, which depicts Pegasos.
Pegasos, the mythical winged horse, was captured in Korinth by Bellerophon near the Peirene fountain. The hero then rode him to defeat the monstrous creature Chimera. When Bellerophon fell from Pegasos while trying to reach Mount Olympos, Zeus gave Pegasos the task of carrying thunderbolts. The god later granted Pegasos the honor of becoming a constellation.
Inspired by The Art of Assassin's Creed Odyssey, by Kate Lewis, with courtesy from Titan Books.
(Behind the scenes)
"To produce our Merchant Boat, we were really pleased to be able to use as reference the remains of the very well preserved "Kyrenia Ship" found in 1965. Having this boat replicated with the highest historic fidelity helped us to give life to our beautiful world and to show that there was not only war ships sailing in the great ancient Greek Sea." - David Therrien
Eurystheas asked Herakles to bring him the belt of Hippolyta for the ninth labor; it would be offered to his daughter Admete.
The belt was a gift from the god Ares to his daughter Hippolyta, the queen of Amazons - a tribe of women-warriors. With a group of companions, Herakles reached Themiskyra, the city in the Black Sea were Hippolyta lived, and convinced the Amazon to give him the belt. However, Hera had spread rumors amongst the Amazons, so they attacked him. Herakles had no choice but to kill Hippolyta. He then brought the belt back to Eurystheas.
