Hades and Persephone: A Modern Retelling

A long time ago, a bird by the name of Nyx lived alone in a dark void. She didn't want to be alone, so she laid an egg. For millennia, she sat on her egg. Till one day, life awoke in the egg, and out of it flew Eros. He took one half of the shell into the air and the shell became Uranus, and the other became Gaia. Eros, the god of love, had the two fall in love.

Uranus and Gaia had a few children together, and eventually, they helped create more gods and goddesses. Kronus was someone they all feared and wanted dead, including his wife, Rhea. Kronus, to protect himself, swallowed six children, two being his own, when they were still infants. However, his wife hid their youngest child.

Once Zeus was an adult, Rhea instructed him on how to trick his father to give up his brother and their friends. Once Zeus had retrieved his brother and friends, the children fought a mighty war against Kronus. After much fighting, the group of friends had won. With Zeus as King of the gods, they began to furnish Gaia with life and Uranus with stars.

Soon Gaia lacked only two things: man and animals. Zeus summoned an old friend Prometheus (fore-thought) and Epimetheus, Prometheus's brother (after-thought). He had them to go to Earth and create men and animals and to give them each an offering

Prometheus started forming men in the image of the gods and goddesses, and Epimetheus worked on the beautiful animals that now live in our world. When Epimetheus had finished each animal, he gave each an offering, not thinking about what to leave for his brother. After Epimetheus finished, Prometheus finally finished making men. However, when he went to see what offers to give man, Epimetheus shamefacedly informed him that he had foolishly used the offerings on the animals.

Distraught, Prometheus decided he had to give man fire, even though Zeus had told him not to. As Helios rode out into the world the next morning, Prometheus took some of the light and brought it back to Earth. He taught his creation on how to create and take care of it before leaving.

When Zeus discovered Prometheus' deed what his friend had done, he became furious. He did the hardest thing he had to do, ordered his friend to be chained to a mountain in the star, and for vultures to peck out his liver every day till the end of time. Then he and the others devised a plan to punish humanity. One of his friends created a woman of exceptional beauty, Pandora. All of the gods gave her a gift, but Zeus gave her two, one being a box. He then introduced her to Epimetheus.

Pandora's life with Epimetheus was content, except for her intense longing to open the box. Because the gods had given her such beautiful gifts, she assumed this one would be okay to open. When Epimetheus left one day, she opened it.

Out of the box flew out the seven sins which plague the Earth to this day - envy, greed, avarice, lust, pride, sloth, and wrath. Once hearing Pandora's screams, Epimetheus rushed home and slammed the lid shut, but all of the sins had escaped.

That night they were awoken by a voice coming from the box.

"Let me out. I am hope."

Pandora and Epimetheus released Hope, and she flew out into the world to give hope to humankind.

Of course, I was born a decade after the war with Kronus. So I wouldn't know much besides what people told me. That was the way my mother told the story, but she never mentioned one of her friends again. Said he chose to do something very wrong.