Hermes And Apollo
Before the great war there were men on Earth, and at that time it was the Golden Age. Corn grew without ploughing or sowing, and men and women did nothing but eat and drink, wandering about the lovely garden of the world. But then came the Silver Age, and at that time Cronos and the Titans came, bringing with them wickedness and evil. They destroyed mankind utterly, wiping them off the face of the Earth.
Now that the great war was over, Zeus called upon Prometheus, the good Titan.
"Go make Man out of clay, and I will breathe life into him. Then you shall teach him things that he needed to know. After some time he will die and descend into the realm of my brother Hades," he said.
Prometheus did as he was told, and Zeus gave life to the clay. After that, Prometheus began to teach man the necessary things.
"Give gifts as you see fit, but never give them fire, for that belongs to the Immortals." Zeus said, before leaving for Arcadia, a rocky land in southern Greece.
In Arcadia lived the Star Maiden Maia, and she welcomed Zeus to Mount Cyllene. After some time, a child was born, named Hermes.
Back on Mount Olympus, no one knew where Zeus had gone, but Apollo found out, in a strange manner.
Apollo owned a herd of cattle, in which were guarded by Helios. But one day, a message reached Apollo stating that the cows had vanished! Apollo later journeyed across Greece to search for them, until he reached Arcadia, where he met a group of Satyrs. The Satyrs were a group of wood-dwellers from the Golden Age, and their leader, Silenus, offered to help Apollo. Apollo then left Arcadia, while the Satyrs begin their search.
Later they found the cows' tracks, but to their surprise, all the tracks point towards the place where the cows were first stolen! As the Satyrs crowded and stared blankly at the tracks, there came a sound unlike anything they heard before, the sound of music. The Satyrs panicked and began to make a lot of noise. And not long after, a mountain nymph appeared.
"Wild creatures, why make noise and frightened those who lives here?" She said.
"Beautiful nymph, we do not come here as enemies, but that strange yet wonderful sound excited us so. What or who is making it?" Silenus replied.
"Come then. I am Cyllene, and I am also nurse to a son of Zeus. His name is Hermes, and he is only six days old. The sound you heard is the sound of Hermes playing a strange thing which he has made out of a dead creature which made no sound at all when it was alive!"
"A dead creature! Not a cow, by any chance?"
"No, the dead creature was a tortoise. Hermes used its shell. He's made a wonderful new instrument by stretching a piece of ox-hide across it, and then stringing it with cow-gut..."
Cyllene paused, realising that she had said too much, in which Silenus exclaimed, "So he is the thief that stole Apollo's cattle!"
"How dare you call the son of Zeus a thief!" Protested Cyllene.
"Well, let's see this child," demanded Silenus. And Cyllene had no choice but to go and bring them Hermes.
Meanwhile, Apollo had stumbled upon Mount Cyllene, and found the same cow tracks the Satyrs found. Then he asked Battus, a nearby old man, "Do you see any cows nearby?"
Battus, not recognising Apollo, replied, "My son, I am old and cannot see very well. But what I see lately surprised me. I was digging when the sun went down and the moon went up. And in the moonlight I thought I saw a child driving a herd of cattle."
Apollo thanked Battus, and continued following the tracks. Very soon he reached the Satyrs who were questioning Hermes.
"Lord Apollo! Here's the thief! He claims that he's a son of Zeus, but he's still a thief none the less!"
Apollo saw that there will be trouble, so he hastily thanked Silenus and the Satyrs, then sent them away. Then he turned to Hermes.
"Where's my cattle?"
"Brother Apollo, I don't see any of your cattle nor the thief who stole them!"
Apollo grew angry and tried to seize the child, but before he could do so, Hermes played his lyre. At once Apollo's hand fell to his side, and he stood still in amazement and delight. Very soon, he forgot his anger, and thought no more of his cows. His only desire now is to play such music himself.
"Give me the lyre, and I will forgive you for the theft of my cattle. Swear that you will not steal from me again, and I will give you also my wand and make you the Herald of the Immortals, and the Guide of Souls down the steep ways of death," cried Apollo.
As Apollo was speaking, Zeus drew near and heard all that he had said.
"It shall be so!" He cried in his voice of thunder. "Swear the oath, son Hermes, and give the lyre to Apollo. Then he shall be the Lord of Music and you shall be our messenger, rightly welcomed to Olympus."
The oath was sworn, and Apollo took the lyre. Hermes remained at Arcadia, but not long after, he grown into manhood, and was ready to seek a wife. He had not search far, for in a nearby valley lived a nymph, Dryope, who tended her sheep. Hermes loved her at first sight, but Dryope said that she'll only marry a shepherd. Hermes went away, and returned disguised as a shepherd. He and Dryope became friends, and later got married. All went well, until the first child was born. For the little child had the legs and horns of a goat, with beard on his chin. Dryope fled away, while Hermes carried the child to Olympus. The Immortals were all pleased to see the merry little child and named him Pan, and Hermes took him back to Arcadia.
Zeus had not been back in Olympus for quite a long time, and one day, while overlooking the world from Olympus, he saw little sparks of light in many places, and in the daytime he saw smokes rising from houses.
There and then, he knew that Prometheus had disobeyed him and given fire to mankind.