The Little Book of the End of the World Read Online Free PDF Page A

were destroyed as their prideful actions sought to rival the glory of the gods; and, as we’ve already discussed, cities like Helike were destroyed when their inhabitants angered the gods.
    Science has explained most of these events and phenomena to us, but the stories about these ancient gods still linger and inspire the imagination.
----
    GREECE AND ROME
----
    The Greek gods have proven the most fertile mythology that is still visited today, and rightly so, given the effect of Greek culture on classical Europe. The Greek gods are typically treated as one distinct group, but there are still different local beliefs that change a name or a small relationship. The names and locations are slightly different, but the stories ultimately remain the same. Most of these Greek stories spread to the Roman Empire, with several tales explaining just how and why these gods are at once the same and different.
    In all of these Greek and Roman traditions, Apollo is a common figure, a sun god riding his chariot across the sky and looking down on all that he and the other gods had created. Apollo brought warmth and light, and was worshipped as a god of truth and medicine, but there was a small catch to his benevolence: if ever Apollo was wronged or challenged, he would not ride across the sky, plunging the world into eternal darkness.

    The Greek gods were also used to describe the seasons, with specific reference to the harvest months – this element of the story is entrenched in adulterous elements that put modern soaps to shame. Hades, god of death and the underworld, wooed Persephone, daughter of Demeter, goddess of the harvest. When Hades kidnapped Persephone and took her to his realm, Demeter was heartbroken and refused to fulfil her duties. To maintain the natural order, Zeus declared that Persephone would spend three months with Hades before returning to Olympus to spend time with the other gods. Those three months coincided with the cold winters, while Persephone’s return began the growth of crops in spring.
    The story of Persephone bears startling similarities to that of Helen of Troy and the subsequent Trojan War, an episode of Greek military history that occurred around 1200 BC . The Trojan War forms a bridge between many real-world stories and fantastical narratives of the gods, with many using the Trojan War as a starting point for other tales that discuss the gods’ interference in the lives of real-life figures. Many of these stories focus on human politics and pride.
    In fact, god-like pride was such a sin to the classical Greeks that they had their own word for it: hubris . The hubris of several Greek heroes led them to offend the gods and the gods subsequently cursed their families; although this was a recurring theme throughout Greek mythology, the effects of this lesson can still be felt in modern religions and their emphasis on humility.
----
    EGYPT
----
    The Egyptians had an equally complicated relationship with their deities and even used a similar story about gods and their wives to explain a specific geographical cycle.
    The River Nile would flood every year, and the Egyptians attributed this to the excessive tears shed by the goddess Isis as she mourned for the apparent death of her husband Osiris; in an incestuous twist that was practised by the Greek gods as well, Osiris was recognised as Isis’s brother.
    Like many myths and legends, Osiris moved through an ongoing stage of temporary death and rebirth, but this element of eternal life is not limited to the Egyptian deities. Many other gods have mirrored such stories of returning from their own deaths.
----
    THE LEGEND OF THE FIVE SUNS
----
    Although Aztec mythology has its origins several thousand miles away from the Mediterranean, there are many similarities in the interactions between gods. But Aztec mythology goes even further to addressing the End of the World.
    Like the Greek and Egyptian stories we’ve looked at, Aztec mythology pays close attention to