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Pelops
After his father Tantalus served Pelops to the gods as a main course, the gods brought Pelops back to life and replaced his shoulder blade with a piece of ivory. Then they all gave him rich gifts. Especially Poseidon, who gave him a chariot and a fine team of horses.
Pelops travelled to the kingdom of Elis, where the beautiful princess Hippodamia lived. Her father had a chariot drawn by horses given to him by Ares, and for some reason, he would only allow his daughter to marry, if her suitor could beat him in a chariot race. To further discourage suitors, the terms of the race were that if the young man lost, he would be beheaded.
Nonetheless, suitors did attempt to beat the King and his divine horses, but none succeeded. When Pelops challenged her father, Hippodamia asked the stable boy to fix her father's chariot so that Pelops would win. Eager to please, the boy replaced the wooden pins of the chariot with wax pins.
As the race unfolded, the chariots were side by side, and neither could pass the other. When the wax pins gave way, the king was thrown to his death. Pelops married Hippodamia, became king, and held a great funeral feast for the departed king. He invited great heroes from all over Greece to take place in athletic competitions, and offered fabulous prizes to the winners. These games, held on the plain of Olympia, in Elis, became known as the Olympics and are repeated every four years.
Among the great heroes of Greece was Theseus, the national hero of Athens. He and his friend Pirithous had quite an adventure in the underworld. It didn't end quite as they had planned. Theseus escaped a few pounds lighter, and Pirithous is still sitting on the spot where it all went wrong, contemplating his actions.
Lets go say hello. You can stay as long as you like. He's not going anywhere.
