For the ancient Greeks, death was a journey into another world. The frightening part was when the dead came back.

In the Iliad, even the king of the gods can't overrule the scales of fate.

The very first word of the Iliad, in the original Greek, is "wrath."

To an ancient Greek warrior, being forgotten was worse than dying.

At Brauron, girls didn't just worship Artemis. They put on bear masks and became her for a season.

Check out some famous figures from Greek mythology to understand what makes someone truly villainous.

Learn about Heracles' story, from birth to death, focusing on the greatest myth associated with him: his 12 labours.

Before superheroes had capes, they had togas! Discover the ancient Greek legends that invented the hero playbook. Bellerophon kills the Chimera. Hellenistic Greek pebble mosaic. c300-270BCE. Archaeological Museum of Rhodes. Image via Wikicommons Have you ever wondered why we love superheroes so much? It's because they help us understand big, tricky ideas like honour, bravery, honesty, and what it really means to be a good person by tur

Discover the shadowy caves through which the ancient Greeks entered the Underworld and sought prophecies from the dead!

Meet five mythological figures who angered the gods and paid for it in the most poetically satisfying ways imaginable! Les Danaïds, Hector Leroux, Paris Salon of 1877. Image via Wikipedia DISCOVER The ancient Greek gods took punishment very seriously. They asked; what if the worst thing about your punishment wasn't the pain but how fitting it was to your crime? Meet five mythological figures who crossed the gods and paid for it in the most poetically satisfying ways imaginab

The perils of driving the sun chariot without a licence (especially if you are mortal). Helios the Sun God. Early 4th Century BCE. Image via Wikipedia DISCOVER Of all the cautionary myths, Phaethon’s is one of the most dangerous and visceral. Phaethon was the mortal son of Helios, the god who was responsible for driving the sun chariot with its four blazing horses across the sky each day. Helios (the literal personification of the sun) is not to be confused with Apollo (the

Fascinating stories of human to tree transformations! Daphne is turned into a laurel tree. Sculpture by Gian Lorenzo Bernini created between 1622 and 1625. Image via Wikimedia Commons. DISCOVER The ancient Greek gods were petty and vengeful, regularly getting involved in the lives of humans and using their magical powers to bestow reward or punishment as they pleased. A common thread across many ancient Greek myths is the habit of Gods turning humans into trees

All you need to know about killer birds with bronze beaks and detachable metal feathers! Illustration of Heracles shooting Stympalian birds. Edward Maxence, Héraclès détruit les oiseaux de Stymphale (c1893). Image via Wikimedia Commons. DISCOVER Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Is it…. Well actually, it WAS a bird. The Stymphalian were highly unusual-looking mythical birds, made famous by their appearance in the Labours of Heracles myth. Their origin story suggests that they got

Known as the swift-footed, the godlike, the lionhearted, the breaker of armies, and the shepherd of people, join us to find out about the Greek hero Achilles! Marble relief of Achilles, ca. 240 CE. Image via Wikimedia Commons. DISCOVER The son of Peleus, King of Phthia, and the sea nymph Thetis, Achilles is well known for having been the greatest Greek soldier to fight in the legendary Trojan War. But in the tenth and final year of the war, just when the Greeks needed him mos

What were the Roman origins of our modern Christmas celebrations, and why do some countries celebrate on 7 January? In this month's Discover & Create, we're exploring the ancient roots of Christmas! Antoine-François Callet, Saturnalia (1783). Public Domain. DISCOVER It may come as a surprise, but Christmas as we know it is a fairly recent invention. Did you know that Christmas trees weren’t used in England until 1840, and that the image of Santa Claus as a jolly old man in re

This month we explore Memento Mori, a series of three murals by artist Ox King at the Hellenic Museum. These artworks show the three fates (or moirai as the Greeks called them) spinning, measuring and cutting a thread. Read on to discover who they are and why the thread is important! The three fates, depicted in the Memento Mori trio of murals by Ox King (Steven Nuttall) Clotho (left) Clotho, the youngest of the fates, chose when and whether a person was to be born. She spins

We know the ancient Greek gods had trouble keeping their immortal noses out of other people's business. In art and mythology they were often transformed into animals or disguised as mortals to interfere with the lives of humans. But they could also be more subtle, sending signs from heaven for humans to interpret. This month, let's explore some examples of signs from the gods found in Greek history and myth! The gods often sent signs to humans through dreams. The god of dream

Find out about Dionysus' marriage to Ariadne in our profile about a beautifully illustrated ancient Greek mixing pot, over 2400 years old! In the collection of the Benaki Museum is a pot called a calyx crater (meaning “flower bud mixing-pot,” named after the pot’s shape). It is magnificently illustrated with the marriage of Dionysus and Ariadne. The woman on the left is Ariadne. She was the princess of Crete, but she betrayed her father, King Minos, when she fell in love with

DISCOVER Dionysus is one of Greece's most well-loved gods. After all, he is the god of wine, fertility, fruit, vegetation, ecstasy, insanity and theatre! Let's find out more about Greece's wildest god. Dionysus riding a leopard. Macedonian mosaic from Pella, Greece (4th century BCE). Image source: Creative Commons. How to spot Dionysus Dionysus did many unique things, which make him unmistakable from any other god. He conquered India, he rode leopards, and he was born out of

Come and take flight with Iris, the messenger goddess, and find out all about her life and the hidden messages of rainbows! Then, have a go at making your own messages in Iris' colourful style. The Messenger by Sam Jinks on display at the Hellenic Museum Iris as goddess of the rainbow by Gaetano Matteo Monti (1841), held in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, Austria. DISCOVER Today when we need to send a message to someone, we can use the internet, text, give them a call