On Unbelievable Stories (26-30)

They say that Asclepios was struck down by a thunderbolt. Actually, the following would be more plausible. Asclepios established and advanced the field of medicine, but he died from a burning fever. Because of the burning heat, they say he was struck by a thunderbolt.

It is said about the cap of Hades that if someone put it on, like Perseus did, they became invisible. Actually, the cap of Hades is the fated destination into which the dead depart and become invisible.

It is said that Boreas [the north wind] carried off Oreithyia. Rather, he was king of the region to the north. The same assumption and approach can also be used for the story of Zeus and Ganymede. He was a king who carried off Ganymede, and he was said to have transformed into an eagle because it too is a formidable creature. The same can be said for Eos and Tithonos, and for Aphrodite and Anchises.

It is said that Proteus transformed himself into water, and in the next moment to fire. It is obvious that to good people he was like water but to bad people he handed out punishments, as they deserved. His reputation spread as a result of these actions.

They say that Cephalos’ hound was granted the ability to catch any beast it saw and that nothing could catch the Teumessian fox. When the hound chased the fox – lest fate be contradicted – Zeus turned them both to stone. Such a fiction could not occur, as it violates the ceaseless action of both when they hunt.[*]