Andromeda & Perseus
An Ancient Greek Myth for Kids
Andromeda was the daughter of a king, but she was not spoiled at all.
Andromeda was as kind as she was beautiful. She was even more beautiful than
her mother, the lovely Cassiopeia. Andromeda lived in a city by the sea. She
was very happy. Everything was going along swimmingly until one day Andromeda's
mother went too far with her boasting.
Her mother boasted about Andromeda all the time. Her mother insisted she
was the most beautiful child ever born, except for Aphrodite, of course. One
day, she boasted that Andromeda was more beautiful than any of the gods'
daughters (except for Aphrodite, of course.)
The trouble started when someone told the Nereids what she had boasted.
The Nereids were the daughters of the sea god, Poseidon. Poseidon told his daughters all the time that they
were more beautiful than seashells. Who could possibly be more beautiful than
seashells? (Except perhaps for Aphrodite.) They whined to their father about
it, and whined and whined until Poseidon, in a fit of rage, flooded the city by
the sea, and sent a huge sea serpent to devour the entire population, thinking
that would certainly shut his daughters up.
The people were terrified. The flood had caused great discomfort. Even
after the flood waters receded, the monster kept nipping at people. You never
knew when he was going to pop up. He had not eaten anyone yet, but he kept
trying. The people were very unhappy.
The king asked a local oracle what he could do to put a stop to things. The oracle told him he had to
sacrifice his beloved daughter, Andromeda, if he wanted to save his city. It
saddened him greatly, but the king ordered his daughter to be chained to a tree
on a cliff that overlooked the sea.
That day, the hero Perseus was out adventuring. He sailed past just as
the king's servants were chaining the terrified Andromeda to a tree at the edge
of a cliff. Perseus fell in love immediately. As soon as the servants left,
Perseus rescued Andromeda, using his magic sickle to cut the chains.
Just then, the giant sea serpent reared its ugly head and reached for
Andromeda. Andromeda screamed. Perseus, who was still holding his magic sickle,
chopped off the serpent's head.
Naturally, after that, Andromeda loved Perseus as much as he loved her.
Perseus wanted her to sail away with him immediately. But Andromeda was
insistent that he first ask her father's permission to marry him. She would not
feel right about marrying anyone without it.
Perseus offered the king a deal. If the king would let him marry his
daughter, Perseus promised to chop off the sea monster's head. The king thought
it a very good joke when he heard that Perseus had already killed the monster.
When he heard that Perseus' mother was a princess in the famous and rich
city-state of Argos, he was even more pleased. When he heard that Perseus' was
half god, and his father was the mighty Zeus, the king of all the gods, the king gladly agreed to the wedding.
After the wedding festivities, Perseus sailed away with Andromeda. They
headed for his home in the city-state of Argos, where they lived happily ever
after.
Since Andromeda had left town, and her mother was no longer allowed to
boast about her daughter's beauty by order of the king, Poseidon did not send
another sea serpent to devour the people, feeling they had learned their
lesson. His daughters wanted him to at least go after Andromeda, but Poseidon
stood firm.
To be fair, his decision probably had nothing to do with the fact that
the ancient city-state of Argos had a nearby harbor for trade and commerce, but
Argos itself was located on a plain. Poseidon, god of the sea, could have sent
a tidal wave, I suppose, but it would have been a great deal of work, and
frankly, he had better things to do.
Egipto
Long, long ago, before the beginning of time, there was Nu, the name given to the dark, swirling chaos of churning, bubbling water from which all life sprang. Eventually, from this chaos there came light, the sun; the creator of life.
The Egyptians thought the sun was a god, and called him by different names. At midday, when the sun is at the height of its power, it was called Ra, which means great and strong. In the evening, however, when the sun set, it was known as Atum, the old man. The sun god, the creator, was alone in the world. He was neither male nor female, and had one all-seeing, blazing eye, which could roam the universe, observing everything. Lonely, he joined with his shadow to produce a son and a daughter. He gave birth to his son by spitting him out, and he named him Shu, god of the air. The Sun then vomited and spewed up his daughter, Tefnut, and made her goddess of rain, mist and moisture.
Shu and Tefnut were given the task of putting chaos into order, and started by separating the light from darkness, but while doing this, they got lost in the watery chaos of Nu. The Sun was terribly worried by the disappearance of his beloved children. He took his one eye and sent it out into the universe to search for them. The eye searched endlessly for the two children of the sun god through the swirling, bubbling, watery chaos of Nu.
Eventually, after many years had passed, the all-seeing eye found them and returned them to their father. Seeing that Shu and Tefnut had returned safely, the sun god was so overcome with joy that he wept tears of happiness. His tears poured down upon the earth and wherever they fell humankind sprang up. The Sun and his children then decided to make another eye, and this became the moon.
The sun god was now ready to create a world for his new people to live in. Shu and Tefnut produced twins who were tangled together at birth – Geb, the earth, and Nut, the sky. As Geb lay down to make the earth, he rested on one elbow and bent his knee up to make the hills and valleys of the earth. Meanwhile Shu, the god of air, having pushed the twins apart, held Nut high above Geb so that she formed the sky with her body arched over the earth, touching the horizons with her toes and fingertips.
The ancient people of Egypt often painted Geb and Nut with Shu pushing between them. In paintings Nut’s skin is usually blue, like the sky sprinkled with stars, and Geb’s skin is mud-brown, with green hair representing the grass and plants of the earth.
In time, Geb and Nut produced four children, two gods and two goddesses, who represent the four forces of life: Osiris, god of fertility; Isis, the mother goddess; Set, god of evil; and Nephthys, goddess of death.
Red is a lucky color in
Chinese culture, but not when it comes to river water.
The red water was discovered last month in the Chinese city of Wenzhou. Some people there also reported a strong, sharp chemical smell in the air.
The local environmental protection agency investigated the incident. Officials said they found no sign of pollutants released from the factories that line the river.
Wu Yixiu follows water pollution issues for the environmental group Greenpeace. She says this red river incident shows how environmental problems are increasingly affecting people in cities.
“I think the water pollution problem … it’s no longer a remote problem, only in the countryside. It’s affecting everyone, even people in the cities.”
Wenzhou is a center for business and industry on China’s eastern coast. It is also home to many Chinese Christians and has been called China’s Jerusalem. After the river water turned red some city residents posted messages on social media. Their messages said the red waters were a sign of Armageddon - an event described in Christianity’s holy book as marking the end of the world.
Environmentalist Ma Jun says the river pollution is not the sign of the end of times. But he says it does represent an important time in China’s fight against pollution.
“So I think the next 20 years will be quite critical. The government needs to make efforts to reduce pollution to provide a safe and healthy environment for this generation.”
How many dead pigs can fit in a Shanghai river?
The Wenzhou River turning red is the latest of several environmental incidents in China. In 2012, the Yangtze River also turned red because of illegal pollution from a factory. Last year, more than 2,000 dead pigs were found floating through a river in Shanghai.
In addition, China’s government has identified several hundred of what have been called “cancer villages.” These are areas where the rates of cancer are unusually high because of industrial pollution.
Ma Jun says there are more than 1,700 water pollution incidents in China every year. He says many of China’s rivers, lakes and even aquifers are polluted. An “aquifer” is a layer of rock or sand that can hold water.
“China is facing a serious water pollution challenge. Much of our rivers, lakes and even our aquifers have been contaminated especially in the densely populated regions. This has posed a serious risk. Up to 300 million residents don’t have access to safe drinking water.”
Earlier this year Chinese Premier Li Keqiang threatened to launch a war on pollution. Environmental activists say that war will depend on enforcement of existing Chinese laws. Residents of Wenzhou would most likely welcome such an offensive. Eighty percent of the water off of Wenzhou’s coast is considered polluted.
I’m Anna Matteo.
VOA Beijing correspondent Shannon Van Sant wrote this report and Anna Matteo adapted it into Special English.
Egipto
Long, long ago, before the beginning of time, there was Nu, the name given to the dark, swirling chaos of churning, bubbling water from which all life sprang. Eventually, from this chaos there came light, the sun; the creator of life.
The Egyptians thought the sun was a god, and called him by different names. At midday, when the sun is at the height of its power, it was called Ra, which means great and strong. In the evening, however, when the sun set, it was known as Atum, the old man. The sun god, the creator, was alone in the world. He was neither male nor female, and had one all-seeing, blazing eye, which could roam the universe, observing everything. Lonely, he joined with his shadow to produce a son and a daughter. He gave birth to his son by spitting him out, and he named him Shu, god of the air. The Sun then vomited and spewed up his daughter, Tefnut, and made her goddess of rain, mist and moisture.
Shu and Tefnut were given the task of putting chaos into order, and started by separating the light from darkness, but while doing this, they got lost in the watery chaos of Nu. The Sun was terribly worried by the disappearance of his beloved children. He took his one eye and sent it out into the universe to search for them. The eye searched endlessly for the two children of the sun god through the swirling, bubbling, watery chaos of Nu.
Eventually, after many years had passed, the all-seeing eye found them and returned them to their father. Seeing that Shu and Tefnut had returned safely, the sun god was so overcome with joy that he wept tears of happiness. His tears poured down upon the earth and wherever they fell humankind sprang up. The Sun and his children then decided to make another eye, and this became the moon.
The sun god was now ready to create a world for his new people to live in. Shu and Tefnut produced twins who were tangled together at birth – Geb, the earth, and Nut, the sky. As Geb lay down to make the earth, he rested on one elbow and bent his knee up to make the hills and valleys of the earth. Meanwhile Shu, the god of air, having pushed the twins apart, held Nut high above Geb so that she formed the sky with her body arched over the earth, touching the horizons with her toes and fingertips.
The ancient people of Egypt often painted Geb and Nut with Shu pushing between them. In paintings Nut’s skin is usually blue, like the sky sprinkled with stars, and Geb’s skin is mud-brown, with green hair representing the grass and plants of the earth.
In time, Geb and Nut produced four children, two gods and two goddesses, who represent the four forces of life: Osiris, god of fertility; Isis, the mother goddess; Set, god of evil; and Nephthys, goddess of death.
http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/passeportfrancophone/egypt/resources/creationmyth/index.asp
China
The red water was discovered last month in the Chinese city of Wenzhou. Some people there also reported a strong, sharp chemical smell in the air.
The local environmental protection agency investigated the incident. Officials said they found no sign of pollutants released from the factories that line the river.
Wu Yixiu follows water pollution issues for the environmental group Greenpeace. She says this red river incident shows how environmental problems are increasingly affecting people in cities.
“I think the water pollution problem … it’s no longer a remote problem, only in the countryside. It’s affecting everyone, even people in the cities.”
Wenzhou is a center for business and industry on China’s eastern coast. It is also home to many Chinese Christians and has been called China’s Jerusalem. After the river water turned red some city residents posted messages on social media. Their messages said the red waters were a sign of Armageddon - an event described in Christianity’s holy book as marking the end of the world.
Environmentalist Ma Jun says the river pollution is not the sign of the end of times. But he says it does represent an important time in China’s fight against pollution.
“So I think the next 20 years will be quite critical. The government needs to make efforts to reduce pollution to provide a safe and healthy environment for this generation.”
How many dead pigs can fit in a Shanghai river?
The Wenzhou River turning red is the latest of several environmental incidents in China. In 2012, the Yangtze River also turned red because of illegal pollution from a factory. Last year, more than 2,000 dead pigs were found floating through a river in Shanghai.
In addition, China’s government has identified several hundred of what have been called “cancer villages.” These are areas where the rates of cancer are unusually high because of industrial pollution.
Ma Jun says there are more than 1,700 water pollution incidents in China every year. He says many of China’s rivers, lakes and even aquifers are polluted. An “aquifer” is a layer of rock or sand that can hold water.
“China is facing a serious water pollution challenge. Much of our rivers, lakes and even our aquifers have been contaminated especially in the densely populated regions. This has posed a serious risk. Up to 300 million residents don’t have access to safe drinking water.”
Earlier this year Chinese Premier Li Keqiang threatened to launch a war on pollution. Environmental activists say that war will depend on enforcement of existing Chinese laws. Residents of Wenzhou would most likely welcome such an offensive. Eighty percent of the water off of Wenzhou’s coast is considered polluted.
I’m Anna Matteo.
VOA Beijing correspondent Shannon Van Sant wrote this report and Anna Matteo adapted it into Special English.
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