Page 1: Introduction
Page 2: Mercury and Venus
Page 3: Earth and Mars
Page 4: Jupiter and Saturn
Page 5: Uranus and Neptune
Page 7: Three Asteroids
Page 8: Sun and Moon
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Pluto
Pluto (Hades to the Greeks) is a brother of Zeus and fought with him in the battle of the Gods (see Jupiter). After his victory, Zeus gave him dominion over the underworld. There Hades exercised complete dominion over his domain and the souls of the dead who resided there. No one who entered could ever leave, with one notable exception. Hades took a strong liking for Persephone, daughter of Zeus and his sister Demeter. Zeus approved of the union but knew that Demeter would not. So he conspired to help Hades abduct Persephone. When Persephone and her mother were picking flowers one day, Zeus lured her away with a huge narcissus covered with a hundred fragrant blooms. As Persephone reached out both hands to pick one, Hades emerged from the Earth in his golden chariot, grabbed Persephone and disappeared back to his gloomy domain. Demeter was not happy.
Ceres
Ceres (Demeter to the Greeks) is the Goddess of corn, the giver of grain and hence of bread, the staple human food. She mated with her younger brother Zeus and bore Persephone who was abducted by Hades to be his wife. Demeter was so upset by this that she left Olympos and refused to return until she saw her daughter again. She wandered the Earth searching for her daughter in vain for many years. Finally in revenge she withheld all corn from the Earth and so created a massive famine. Zeus feared that this might mean there would soon be no men left to offer sacrifices to the gods so sent Hermes down to the underworld to bring Persephone back. However Hades had tricked Persephone into consuming a pomegranate seed, and, because she has eaten whilst in the underworld, she can never leave permanently and must spend some time there as wife to Hades. Demeter accepted the compromise that Persephone would spend four months in the Underworld as Hades’ wife and the remaining eight months with her mother. Thus is the Earth barren for four months of the year after which the grain grows and a good harvest is gathered in.
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