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Legend One
The harpist was a famous harp player from Greece. It is said that her music could calm the furious Poseidon; it is said that her music could evoke forgiveness in the jealous Hera; it is said that her music could bring a smile to the gloomy Hades.
Smitten by her name, a young king sent messengers to her. However, the harp indiscriminately rejected his invitation. The harp said that she would not play for a king who is indifferent to everything and only seeks pleasure.
The messenger relayed her words unchanged to the king, but to everyone’s surprise, the king laughed at this. The next morning, the palace maidens discovered that the king was missing, but they all laughed, walking away as if nothing had happened.
Just as they had hoped, the king arrived at the place where the harp was located. Led by the enchanting music, he met the girl he admired next to the olive trees planted by Athena. The gentle breeze caressed her delicate face, and a nightingale stood on her shoulder singing with her, as fragrant flowers intertwined with her fingertips, drifting towards the distance with the notes.
The harp suddenly felt a warm light enveloping her surroundings. She looked up to meet a gaze more beautiful than the sky and more brilliant than the deep sea. For a moment, they only saw each other, ignoring everything around them.
From that day on, the king would quietly leave the palace every morning, while the harp would take her beloved harp to a mysterious place every morning.
As fate would have it, their love blossomed without interference from the royal family. With the blessings of the people and all the nobles, the harp was brought into the palace.
Just as everyone thought they were living a fairy tale, the darkest curse from hell descended upon them.
The neighboring kingdom, once friendly, suddenly waged a terrible war, and for the safety of his people, the king had to rush to the battlefield. He left his beloved girl on their wedding night.
Every day, the harp went to the place where they used to meet to play for the king far away, but she awaited his death in battle instead. She remained strong, and tears never had the chance to well up in her eyes. That day, the harp donned the blood-stained battle robe of the king, commanding the cruel battlefield with her fingers that strummed the strings.
At the moment of national celebration for victory, under the cloudless sky, the king's battle robe resting on the harp's lap was soaked with glistening beads of water.
Every night, the harp played to the night sky, hoping that the king in heaven could hear her. And every morning, she collected the scattered dew drops, knowing that they were the king's response to her love.
Finally, many years later, until the day she forever slept without waking, people poured all the five million two hundred thirteen thousand three hundred forty-four bottles of dew that the harp had collected in her lifetime upon her sleeping place.
Just as the last drop fell, a miracle occurred. A spring surged from the harp’s grave, embracing her body. The spring turned into a stream, the stream into a river, and the river gathered into the sea.
From then on, there was a clear sea in Greece. People called it the “Aegean Sea.”
Legend Two
In ancient times, there was a king named Minos, who ruled an island in the Aegean Sea called Crete. Minos's son was murdered through conspiracy in Attica, Athens. In order to avenge his son, Minos challenged the people of Athens. Under divine punishment, Athens was filled with famine and plague. Under Minos's challenge, the Athenians sought peace with King Minos. Minos demanded that they send seven pairs of young boys and girls to Crete every nine years.
Minos built a labyrinth with countless palaces on Crete. The roads in the labyrinth were winding and intertwined, making it impossible for anyone to find a way out. Deep within the labyrinth, Minos kept a beast with a human body and the head of a bull known as the Minotaur. The seven pairs of young boys and girls sent from Athens were offerings to be fed to the Minotaur.
This year marked another year of offerings of young boys and girls. The parents of the young boys and girls were anxious and fearful. The son of the Athenian king, Theseus, deeply troubled by the misfortunes of the people, resolved to set out with the young boys and girls and vowed to kill the Minotaur.
The Athenian populace sent off the seven pairs of young boys and girls, including Theseus, amidst cries of sorrow. Theseus made a promise to his father that if he killed the Minotaur, he would change the ship’s black sails to white on his return. As long as the ship's black sails turned white, it would mean that King Aegeus could see his son Theseus again.
Theseus led the young boys and girls onto Crete. His handsome demeanor caught the attention of King Minos's daughter, the beautiful and intelligent Princess Ariadne. They fell in love at first sight and secretly met. Upon learning of Theseus's mission, she gave him a magical sword and a ball of thread to protect him from the Minotaur.
Smart and brave, Theseus entered the labyrinth, tying one end of the thread at the entrance of the labyrinth before unraveling it and following the twisted and complicated passage deeper into the maze. Finally, he encountered the Minotaur. He seized the horn of the beast and, with the sword given to him by Princess Ariadne, he valiantly killed the Minotaur. Then, he led the young boys and girls out of the labyrinth following the thread. To prevent pursuit from King Minos, they damaged the hulls of all the ships at the seaside in Crete. Princess Ariadne helped them and escaped from Crete with them but then separated from him. (Some sources state that she did not return with them and Theseus, feeling dejected, forgot to raise the white sails.) They set sail for home. After several days at sea, they finally sighted their homeland, Athens again. Theseus and his companions were filled with excitement, singing and dancing, but he forgot his promise to his father and did not change the black sails to white. King Aegeus, waiting on the seashore for his son's return, saw the returning ship still flying the black sails and thought that his son had been devoured by the Minotaur. Heartbroken, he jumped into the sea and committed suicide. In memory of King Aegeus, the sea into which he jumped became known as the Aegean Sea.