Zeus Chained Prometheus To A Rock Where An Eagle Would Eat His Liver Every Night
[ranking: 1]
Zeus resented Prometheus for giving fire to mankind and generally being willful and defiant. For his disobedience, Zeus chained Prometheus to a rock on the side of a mountain. But of course, that wasn't enough. Every night, an eagle would come and peck on his abdomen and munch on his liver.
His liver would then regenerated during the day so that the eagle could have at it, again and again, every night. Eventually, he was freed by Chiron, a centaur who gave his life for Prometheus's, and Heracles, who killed that pesky eagle.
Zeus Bound Ixion To An Eternally Burning Wheel
[ranking: 2]
One day, Zeus was kind enough to invite Ixion to Olympus as a guest. However, when the mortal saw Hera, Zeus??s wife, he was attracted to her and made his move to seduce her. Zeus decided to test Ixion??s loyalty and made a cloud copy of his wife. Ixion fell for it and somehow impregnated the cloud-Hera, who later bore the monster Centaurus.
Zeus blasted Ixion with his powerful lightning bolt and bound him to a burning wheel that would spin forever. Ixion was forced to repeat the words "Repay your benefactor frequently with gentle favors in return" for eternity.
Demeter Cursed Erysichthon With An Insatiable Hunger
[ranking: 3]
Erisychthon was a king with a serious case of hubris. He desired a large banquet table, so naturally, he cut down trees from Demeter's grove, because goddesses definitely don't mind when you disrespect them, right? Wrong. In retaliation, she cursed him with never-ending hunger. He would yearn for anything digestible and eat it, but the hunger was insatiable. In frustration, Erysichthon ended up eating his own flesh until he died.
Hera Transformed Lamia Into A Monster
[ranking: 4]
Zeus, the king of the gods, was not a very faithful husband. In fact, many women who were ill-fated enough to be his mistress (by will or by force) got caught by Zeus??s wife, Hera. Being a powerful goddess herself, Hera didn??t hold back from destroying her husband's mistresses. That brings us to the story of the poor Libyan queen, Lamia.
Upon finding out about Lamia??s affair with her husband, Hera transformed her into a gruesome creature with a craving to devour children, even her own.
Apollo Flayed Marsyas Alive, Then Turned Him Into A Stream
[ranking: 5]
After he accidentally discovered a flute cast away by Athena, Marsyas was reckless enough to challenge Apollo to a contest. The two agreed to the terms that the winner could do anything to the defeated one. Naturally, Marsyas lost to the god. As punishment, Marsyas was skinned alive. Apollo then transformed him into a stream.
Athena Turned Medusa??s Hair Into Monstrous Snakes
[ranking: 6]
You may already know Medusa as the monster with hissing snakes on her head. But before she was Medusa, she was a very pretty young woman. She was so pretty that Poseidon took a liking to her and raped her in Athena's temple. This enraged Athena, who did the only sensible thing she could: she turned Medusa's hair into snakes so she would no longer be such a temptress. Rational, right?
Artemis Turned Actaeon Into A Deer, Then Turned Actaeon's Own Dogs On Him
[ranking: 7]
Actaeon was a hunter who accidentally stumbled upon the pool in which Artemis, one of the gods of Mount Olympus, was taking a bath. Just like us mere mortals, Artemis hated it when other people caught a peek of her while bathing. Unlike us, though, the goddess ?told Actaeon he would be transformed into a stag if he ever spoke again?.
Apparently, Actaeon didn't take Artemis seriously, because he called his dogs soon after and was immediately transformed. Not recognizing their master in his new figure, Actaeon??s hunting dogs chased and kill him, believing he was just another random deer.
Zeus Sent Tantalus To The Underworld And Restrained Him From Nearby Food And Drink
[ranking: 8]
Tantalus was the mortal son of Zeus. The gods often welcomed him in Olympus because of his bloodline, but he didn't do much to thank them for it. In fact, he once stole nectar and ambrosia from them. Even worse, though, was his brilliant idea for a sacrifice: he killed his own son, Pelops, and served him to the gods. They were furious and brought the boy back to life.
The king was sent to the underworld, where he had to spend his afterlife standing in a pool of water with branches of a fruit tree hanging over his head. Whenever he tried to reach the branches for some fruits to eat, they would move just beyond his grasp. Likewise, the pool water would drain whenever he tried to bend down and drink. So he was left hungry and thirsty forever, tantalized by the fruit and water he would never be able to reach.
Poseidon Cursed Pasiphae With Lust For A Bull
[ranking: 9]
Pasiphae, the daughter of the Sun god Helios, married Minos, the king of Crete. The king had a white bull that he treasured so much that he refused to offer it as a sacrifice to Poseidon, the god of the sea. Enraged, the god cursed Minos's wife, making her lust for the bull. The curse was so strong that Pasiphae did mate with the bull, causing her to bear a beastly offspring with the head of a bull and body of a man, called the Minotaur.
Zeus Cursed Sisyphus To Push A Giant Boulder Up A Hill Forever
[ranking: 10]
Sisyphus was a wicked king who found joy in killing his own people as well as travelers. However, no one really cared to intervene until Sisyphus caused a problem for Zeus, the king of the gods, when he reported that Zeus had abducted the nymph Aegina. Zeus sent him to the underworld, where he was received his hideous, everlasting punishment. The evil king was forced to push a massive boulder up a steep hill just to watch the boulder roll down again so he would have to roll it up back again, in vain, forever.
Aphrodite Cursed Forced The Propoetides To Become Prostitutes
[ranking: 11]
Aphrodite cursed the women from the island of Cyprus, called the propoitides, to become prostitutes. What did they do to deserve such a punishment? They denied the love goddess??s divinity. Aphrodite dulled their hearts until they lost all sense of shame. Their hearts hardened into flint, and eventually, their whole bodies hardened too.
Zeus Transformed Io Into A Cow And Hera Sent A Stinging Bug To Chase Her Everywhere
[ranking: 12]
Io, the daughter of a king and a nymph, was one of Zeus??s mortal mistresses. Naturally, Zeus??s wife, Hera, found out about the affair, so Zeus transformed Io into a cow to hide her from Hera. Knowing that her husband had deceived her, Hera asked Zeus to give her the cow as a present, which he did.
However, Zeus later managed to sneak (the still bovine) Io away from Hera. Annoyed, Hera sent a gadfly to follow Io, sting her constantly, and chase her to the ends of the earth.
The Gods Condemned Danaus??s Daughters To Fill A Leaky Basin In The Underworld
[ranking: 13]
Danaus was the brother of the king Aegyptus. Each brother had 50 children; Danaus 50 daughters and Aegyptus 50 sons. It was decided by Aegyptus that all the children should marry each other, but Danaus didn't want that. He instructed his daughters to kill their new husbands on their wedding night, and all but one did.
Even though it was their father who instructed all of them to slay the grooms, the gods deemed the massacre as wrongful and sent the forty-nine brides to the underworld. They were required to fill a basin with water from the Styx river so they could bathe and cleanse themselves of their sins. However, it was an impossible task, as the basin was riddled with holes. Since they were unable to fill the basin, they could never wash away their sin, and they toiled away at their impossible task forever.
Apollo Gave Cassandra The Gift Of Prophecy, But Made No One Believe Her
[ranking: 14]
Cassandra was a mortal who agreed to sleep with Apollo if he gave her the ability to see the future. He gave her the ability, but he did it before they had sex, so she reneged on her part of the bargain. Rather than taking her gift away, Apollo did something even crueler: he made it so no one would ever believe her visions, even though they were true. This left Cassandra to wallow in her own frustration.
Demeter Turned Minthe Into A Plant For Being Boastful
[ranking: 15]
Minthe lived in the underworld as Hades??s lover. However, the poor nymph was abandoned by the underworld god when he fell in love with the daughter of Zeus and Demeter, Persephone. Furious, Minthe boasted that she was more beautiful than Persephone and that she could win Hades back. Demeter was enraged by Minthe??s claims and turned her into a mint plant.
Athena Caused Arachne To Hang Herself, Then Gave Her An Afterlife As A Spider
[ranking: 16]
Arachne??s exceptional weaving skills turned into a curse the minute she challenged the goddess of wisdom, Athena, to a weaving contest. Claiming that she could weave better than anyone, including the goddess herself, Arachne chose to weave a cloth that insulted the gods and goddesses, in which they were portrayed as drunk and behaving inappropriately. Furious, Athena destroyed Arachne??s tapestry and forced her to feel guilty.
However, the guilt was too overwhelming for a mortal to bear, and Arachne killed herself. Athena took pity on her, so she decided to grant Arachne a second life as a spider, so she could spin and weave all her life.
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