A Complex World
By: Pie

Greeks had questions about their earth
So they made up myths about the turf

According to them, the word was Chaos
Until two beings came, Night and Erebus

The first god and goddess, their power great
Bore a child, Eros, who could make people mate

From him came Gaia, the Earth Mother
The Sky-Father, Uranus, soon became her lover

Their first three children were the horrors of the world
The mere sight of them made people hurl

Gyges, Cottus, and Briareos each had fifty heads
And their hundred hands filled all with dread

Uranus hid them in the earth's dark places
Gaia was sad, she wanted to see their faces

She has three more children, each with only one eye
Uranus took them too, wishing them to die

Twelve Titans were the last children of Earth Mother
Gaia made sure their fates were different then the others

The youngest, Cronus, was very brave
His fellow Titans he was sure to save

When Uranus came near, Cronus used a sickle
To hurt his father, it was far from a tickle

Even though Uranus's evil was defeated
The captured children had been cheated

For Cronus was as cold hearted as his father
His jailed siblings were just a bother

To Gaia this came as quite a shock
She thought Cronus would let her children out from the lock

So, the world went on, with this Titan as the ruler
And to most, their home couldn't be cooler

For every Titan woman there was a Titan man
The six couple's children filled up the land

The seas were given to Oceanus to own
Yet, in the water he was not alone

His sons were the rivers off the seas
The daughters were the nymphs of the streams

Hyperion and Thea were the rulers of the sky
The Sun, Moon, and Dawn came from them, I do not lie

All was happy in Cronus's golden reign
Except his wife, she was in great pain

In fear of having to admit defeat
Cronus took her children whom he made sure to eat

Now his death would never ring
His children couldn't stop him from being king

Even though Rhea was sad, she used her quick wit
She hid her sixth child, though she wouldn't admit

The child named Zeus was raised by a goat
A wrapped up stone was Rhea's to tote

She gave it to Cronus, who believed it was his child
He gobbled it down and it tasted quite mild

Zeus grew and was full of courage and might
He came up to Cronus and started a fight

Cronus gulped down a magic drink, unable to tell
Up came the stone that fooled him so well

Then came the now adult men, Hades and Poseidon
And last were Hestia, Hera and Demeter, out of their hidin'

They came up from Cronus's stomach with a loud rumble
Ready to fight, they fell out with a tumble

They ran to Mt. Olympus to gather their rations
To fight a war, one needs great preparations

Against the mighty Titans they fought for ten years
Not winning, nor losing, they began to feel fears

Gaia, on Zeus's side, told him how to win
She said to release her elder children their captive bin

Zeus had been born after, of these people he had not clue
What Gaia declared was no help; Zeus knew not what to do

There was one helpful Titan, the wise Prometheus
Of the future he could see the deepest

He knew Cronus's reign was coming to an end
To Zeus he went, helping the future make its bend

Zeus learned of the six brothers hidden with hate
Despised by their father, Zeus could relate

Prometheus guided him to the lair of the dead
Cool and collected, Zeus kept his head

He released the Cyclopses who were full of gratitude
The were quite polite with no attitude

The Cyclopes marched off to their smiths
For they were the best metal workers of all these myths

They forged three weapons for Zeus and his crew
These gods had the upper hand, they knew what to do

Hades was handed a helmet on invisibility
He used it to hide with great agility

Poseidon won a trident to spear
He killed many men, poking them in their rear

And last, to Zeus, the weapon most famous
Thunderbolts were far from being tamest

With these new gifts the war was won
The Olympians returned to their home under the sun

Olympia above a mountain was theirs to own
In the great palace each had a throne

After the war there were twelve main rulers
Some were sweet, many couldn't be crueler

The mighty Zeus soon became King
He let all know, making his newfound fame ring

From his throne at the head he threw thunderbolts
Punishing anyone who had any faults

An eagle and a woodpecker represented Zeus
His subjects always under tight control, never loose

The main area he controlled was the mighty sky
He ruled everything in it, from the gods to the fly

His wife Hera was always calm and in control
She kept palace quarrels down to a lull

Hera set a great example to all and had a soft heart
Zeus used it against her when she made him part

He forced her to marry him by being a bird in distress
Her love for cuckoos was at its best

The cuckoo was rescued and Hera was married
Even in marriage they each still parry

Hera's emblem is a nurturing cow
She also used a peacock and a lion to make others bow

The older brother of Zeus is Poseidon, ruler of the seas
His power is great, he doesn't tease

One weapon is his: the powerful trident
He wanted to hurt Zeus, though he couldn't make a dent

Horses he created (or so he pretends)
Sometimes his conceit knows no ends

Solemnest of all the god is Demeter
She only grins when her daughter comes to meet her

Her daughter's father is unknown
Demeter married many men, not just one lone

The blood red poppy emblems Demeter and her loot
She is the goddess of grain and fruit

Hephaestus is the blacksmith of the gods
He is in a wheelchair, his feet can not trod

When he was born Zeus threw him against the wall
He was crippled from then on and he had a long fall

The thrones the gods reside on with their many wails
Were carved by Hephaestus, who's sign is a quail

The goddess of wisdom is the one that came next
At fighting, Athene's skills were never at rest

She taught Hephaestus all that he knows
About pottery, woodwork, needles and bows

Athene was found on an island one day
Her parents are a mystery but she came to stay

To pretend that she was Zeus's child
She popped out of his head with a cry quite wild

The owl is her symbol, meaning "quite wise"
Athene looks with her heart instead of her eyes

Love and beauty is the power of Aphrodite
Her magic girdle's power is mighty

When she wears it, everyone falls completely in love
With the goddess who's emblem is a dove

Like Athene and many others
She has no known mother, nor father

Any fight she participates in
In a minute, she will win

Ares is the god of war
His symbol is the bloody spear and wild boar

The most disgusting of all the gods, no doubt
He had no manners and he liked to pout

Upon his throne of human skin
He liked to sit with an evil grin

The god of music was Apollo
If he's playing, many will follow

The mouse is his favorite rodent
Any secrets of the earth? They told it

Though he claimed he ruled the Sun
It is a joke, we know it's for fun

Artemis was Apollo's twin
She was the most dangerous goddess, that was certain

With the emblem of a courageous she-bear
If you were a mortal, she'd turn you into a hare

(Only if you saw her without her clothes)
Why she did this, no one knows

Hermes was the gods' messenger
He could fly, although not with a passenger

Being an inventor is this god's feat
He created our alphabet, perfect and complete

His sign was the crane, yes he met her
she came from V, the first letter

Hestia was the goddess of the home
She wished the other gods would leave her alone

She was tired of the squabbling
Her mind quickly began hobbling

Those are the gods and goddesses, in a nutshell
Though the outside world, all was not well

Our earth was barren, it was just a pod
Zeus gave the job of filling it to Epimetheus, a lesser god

First on out world were the animals
some ate meat, some fruit, some were cannibals

Epimetheus created them, giving them gifts galore
Gift after gift until there was no more

He gave them fur, strength, cunning and deft
Then he made man, but there weren't any gifts left

We were an ugly race, weak and pathetic
We didn't need gifts, we needed a medic!

Epimetheus cried help to his brother who was wise
Yes Prometheus used his brain instead of his eyes

He made man beautiful with silver and gold
Yet, they needed something, man was still cold

Prometheus went to Zeus and asked for fire
Zeus selfishly hid it, putting it higher

One late night, Prometheus stole it and began to fly
He quickly gave it to man, and went off to hide

When Zeus heard about this, he was quite wrathful
He sent Prometheus to be killed; he wasn't bashful

Gods couldn't be killed so Prometheus was just pained
Eagles feasted on his liver everyday while he was hanged

The liver grew back so there was always more
The eagles never grew hungry; food was always in store

Zeus was still raging, he wanted to punish man
He thought of an idea, he created woman!

The first woman he called Pandora
Man accepted her, they would be sorra

All the gods gave her gifts
And she was the most beautiful in all the myths

Then Zeus gave her curiosity
Which would end preposterously

Handed to Epimetheus, they were wed
Zeus gave her a present to put by her bed

It was a large, gleaming box Pandora was itching to touch
But Zeus warned her not to, the trouble would be much

One day the curiosity got the best of her
She thought that nothing would be the matter

So, opened was the box she did
And when it was open, she had hid

Out flew all the horrors of this world
Causing disruption, they made people's blood curdle

Disease, disaster, jealously and hate
They all flew out because Pandora took the bait

One last thing finally flittered out bright
Pandora looked at it and saw only light

Zeus finally felt a small pit of compassion and tucked it away
It was here to save the day

Hope! That's certainly what it was
Hope was the one that saved us from the scuz

She hid in our hearts and fought the demons well
She never faltered, never fell

Lucky for Pandora, she had hope
She didn't have to cry nor mope

She hit the world with terrible things
But with hope she often stopped death from ringing

That is that story of Pandora's box
How even evil is defeated lots

You also saw how twelve gods and goddesses all lived in a palace
They continued the world after their father's malice

Though it seems like lots, that is only a little
You have but a taste of this riddle

Only the beginning of myths have I given, that's true
To hear the rest, now that's up to you