The God Beneath the Sea facts for kids
Front cover of first edition
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| Author | Leon Garfield Edward Blishen |
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| Illustrator | Charles Keeping |
| Cover artist | Keeping |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Children's novel, Greek myth |
| Publisher | Longman |
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Publication date
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26 October 1970 |
| Media type | Print (hardcover & paperback) |
| Pages | 168 pp (first edition) |
| ISBN | 978-0-582-15093-5 |
| OCLC | 130582 |
| 292/.1/3 | |
| LC Class | PZ7.G17943 Go |
| Followed by | The Golden Shadow |
The God Beneath the Sea is an exciting adventure novel based on ancient Greek mythology. It was written by Leon Garfield and Edward Blishen, with amazing pictures by Charles Keeping. The book was first published in the United Kingdom by Longman in 1970. It was so good that it won the famous Carnegie Medal for its authors! The illustrator, Charles Keeping, was also praised for his artwork. In 1971, a special version of the book was released in the U.S. by Pantheon Books, with new illustrations by Zevi Blum.
This novel starts with the dramatic story of baby Hephaestus, who is the "god beneath the sea" mentioned in the title. His mother, Hera, throws him down from Mount Olympus, the home of the gods. Hephaestus is rescued and raised by two kind goddesses, Thetis and Eurynome. They teach him about the world by telling him many Greek creation myths. The book continues with tales of the powerful Olympians and how they interacted with humans. It ends with Hephaestus finally returning to Olympus, even after being cast out a second time for standing up to Zeus.
Contents
What is This Book About?
The God Beneath the Sea is split into three main parts. It begins with a powerful image: baby Hephaestus falling from Olympus into the vast ocean. Thetis saves him and takes him to her secret grotto, where she lives with Eurynome. They raise the baby, sharing stories of Greek myths. They also give him a hammer and anvil to play with, which helps him discover his amazing talent for working with metal.
The first part of the story finishes when Hermes invites Hephaestus back to Olympus. This invitation comes from Hera herself. When Hephaestus returns, he asks for Aphrodite to be his wife. The second part of the book tells the famous myths of Prometheus and Pandora. The third part shares various stories about gods interacting with humans. The novel wraps up with the Olympians trying to overthrow Zeus, but they fail. Hephaestus then returns to Olympus from Lemnos, an island where he landed after Zeus threw him down a second time for disagreeing with him.
The Story Begins: Hephaestus's Journey
In Part I, called "The Making of the Gods," Thetis and Eurynome tell Hephaestus stories about the powerful Titans and the younger Olympians. They hope these tales will calm his wild spirit. They start with how the Titans came from Chaos, a vast emptiness. Then they tell about the birth of the Cyclopes and Hecatonchires, who were giant creatures. They also explain how Uranus was overthrown by his son, Cronus.
They continue with the story of Cronus becoming king with his queen, Rhea. But Cronus slowly went mad because the Furies (goddesses of revenge) tormented him. They warned him that his own son would overthrow him, just as he had overthrown his father.
Hephaestus grows up, becoming stronger but also more violent. Thetis and Eurynome give him a hammer, anvil, and forge. This helps him use his anger to create beautiful things. He discovers he is a very skilled smith. His most wonderful creation is a brooch (a decorative pin) showing a sea nymph and her lover. Hephaestus threatens to destroy it unless Thetis tells him who he is and how he ended up in the grotto.
The goddesses then continue their tales. Rhea and Zeus secretly plan to overthrow Cronus. Cronus's children defeat the Titans and imprison them. Only Rhea, Prometheus, and Epimetheus are spared.
The gods then build their home on Mount Olympus. Zeus and Hera have a child together. But the baby is ugly and misshapen, so Hera throws him out into the sky. When Hephaestus learns that he is this child, he breaks the beautiful brooch. Half of it falls into the sea. His anger for revenge lessens when he realizes how incredibly powerful Zeus is. The story then shifts to what was happening on Olympus at the same time. This includes the arrival of other gods like Apollo, Artemis, Athene, and Hermes.
Hera becomes pregnant again. She tries to stay calm, even though Zeus often cheats on her. She wants to avoid having another monstrous child. Hera gives birth to her second son, Ares. All the immortal gods come to Olympus to honor the new baby god. Zeus tells Hermes to find a gift for Ares. Hermes finds the lost half of Hephaestus's broken brooch and gives it to Zeus as a gift. Zeus then creates Aphrodite, making her look just like the nymph on the brooch. Hermes then reunites the broken half of the brooch with the other half, which Thetis is wearing.
Hera is amazed by the brooch's beauty. She demands to know who made it. Then she sends Hermes to bring Hephaestus to Olympus. Hermes brings Hephaestus back. Hephaestus forgives Hera and asks Zeus for Aphrodite to be his wife. Ares demands a birthright from Zeus, and Zeus makes him the god of hatred, disagreement, and war.
How Humans Were Made
In Part II, "The Making of Men," Prometheus creates humans from clay and the substance of Chaos. He fears that Zeus will give the earth to one of his children as a toy. Zeus tells Hermes to order Prometheus to destroy his creations. But Prometheus refuses. Instead, he teaches his creatures to sacrifice and worship Zeus.
Prometheus offers Zeus two portions for sacrifice. Zeus mistakenly chooses the poorer portion. In return, Zeus forbids humans from using fire. Prometheus bravely steals fire for them, defying Zeus. He continues to watch over humans. He finds strange impurities in the substance of Chaos that he used to create them. He scrapes these away and hides them in a sealed jar.
Zeus then commands Hephaestus to create a woman. The other Olympians bless her with many gifts. Zeus names her Pandora. Hermes gives Pandora to Epimetheus as his wife. Zeus punishes Prometheus by chaining him to a pillar in the Caucasus mountains. A vulture eats his liver every day. But his wounds heal at night, so his punishment can start again the next morning.
Pandora eventually finds Prometheus's hidden jar. When she opens it, she releases evil furies upon mankind. These include madness, old age, bad habits, and sickness. All that is left in the jar is a chrysalis, which works like a healing balm. Hermes comforts Prometheus, who is sad. He tells him that hope was left behind for mankind, "for who knows what may unfold from a chrysalis?"
Gods and Mortals: Exciting Adventures
Part III, "Gods and Men," begins with the story of Lycaon. Zeus turns him into a wolf after Lycaon treats him disrespectfully. Zeus then starts a great flood. Prometheus shouts a warning to Deucalion, who builds a boat to survive the storm with his wife, Pyrrha. They land on Mount Parnassus. After praying, they repopulate the earth by throwing stones over their shoulders. The stones turn into people when they land.
The novel then tells about Persephone's kidnapping by Hades, the god of the underworld. It also describes Demeter's desperate search for her daughter. After a shepherd tells Demeter about Persephone's abduction, Demeter promises Zeus she will stop blessing the earth unless Hades returns Persephone. Zeus agrees to let Persephone return if she has not eaten any food from the dead. Ascalaphus, a gardener in the underworld, remembers that Pandora ate seven pomegranate seeds in Hades. Demeter turns him into a screech-owl. Rhea steps in, and Demeter agrees to let Persephone live with Hades for three months each year.
The book also shares myths about Autolycus, the son of Hermes and Chione, and Sisyphus. Autolycus steals his neighbor Sisyphus's cattle. He sends his daughter Anticleia to Ithaca to marry Laertes, who raises Odysseus. Odysseus is actually the son of Sisyphus and Anticleia. Sisyphus sees Zeus with the daughter of the river god Asopus. He tells Asopus where he saw them in exchange for a gift of an eternal spring. Sisyphus tricks death by trapping Hades with his own chains. Ares frees Hades, but Sisyphus escapes death a second time by tricking Persephone. Finally, Hermes takes Sisyphus to Tartarus. There, he is condemned to roll a huge boulder up a hill forever.
Meanwhile, Hera and the other Olympians plan to trap Zeus in a net. They do this while he is busy raining thunderbolts on Asopus. Thetis brings Briareus, a giant, to free Zeus. Zeus punishes Hera by hanging her in the sky. He also gives Poseidon and Apollo the pointless task of building the city of Troy, which is fated to be destroyed. Hephaestus sees Hera's punishment and scolds Zeus. Zeus then throws Hephaestus from Olympus for a second time. Hephaestus lands on the island of Lemnos and is cared for by the local people. He eventually returns to Olympus and is greeted by Hermes. At the end of the novel, Autolycus writes a letter to his daughter. He thinks that his grandson Odysseus might one day visit the new city of Troy.
What Happens Next?
The authors, Leon Garfield and Edward Blishen, along with illustrator Charles Keeping and publisher Longman, worked together on a sequel. This next book is called The Golden Shadow and was published in 1973. It tells more myths from a later time, when the gods were less involved in human affairs.
