Dates as given by the sources linked · Published 30 October 2026
The texts, in order
- 8th century BCE
Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey
History Britannica says the Iliad and the Odyssey were probably composed in the 9th or 8th century BCE, with several features pointing more clearly to the 8th. Britannica: Homer ↗
- 8th century BCE
Hesiod
History Britannica describes Hesiod as an 8th-century-BCE Greek writer. His Works and Days uses the Pandora story to show that honest, hard work is needed in life. Britannica: Works and Days ↗
- date unknown
The Homeric Hymns
History The Homeric Hymns are 34 ancient Greek poems addressed to gods. They were said in ancient times to be by Homer, but they differ widely in date and their authors are unknown. Britannica: Homeric Hymns ↗
- 4th century BCE
Aristotle mentions Midas’ golden touch
History Britannica says the first written reference to Midas’ golden touch is in Aristotle’s Politics, in the 4th century BCE, and that the stories were first developed in comic Athenian satyr plays. Britannica (Scholars): Midas ↗
- about 8 CE
Ovid’s Metamorphoses
History His Metamorphoses is a poem in 15 books, written in Latin about 8 CE, collecting myths in which a transformation takes place. Many of its stories come from Greek sources. Britannica: Metamorphoses ↗
- 1st or 2nd century AD
The Library of Apollodorus
History The Library is a handbook of Greek myths that has come down under the name of Apollodorus of Athens. Britannica says it is not in fact by him, and was written in the 1st or 2nd century AD. Britannica: Apollodorus of Athens ↗
- Middle Ages
Sir Orfeo gives Orpheus a happy ending
History The medieval English romance Sir Orfeo changed the story and gave it a happy ending. Britannica: Orpheus ↗
- 16th century
Erasmus turns the jar into a box
History The jar became a box in the 16th century, when the scholar Erasmus either mistranslated the Greek word or confused it with the box in the story of Cupid and Psyche. Britannica: Pandora ↗
- 1851
Hawthorne’s A Wonder Book
Literature Nathaniel Hawthorne’s 1851 retelling for children, A Wonder Book, tells it with ‘a great box’. Nathaniel Hawthorne, A Wonder Book for Girls & Boys (1851; Walter Crane edition), Project Gutenberg ↗
Dates for ancient texts are estimates from the sources linked. The Homeric Hymns are listed without a date because their authors and dates are unknown.
Places, objects and finds
- about 1600–1400 BCE
Bronze Age Knossos
History Excavations at Knossos began under Sir Arthur Evans in 1900. They revealed a palace at the centre of a Bronze Age culture that dominated the Aegean between about 1600 and 1400 BCE. Britannica: Knossos ↗
- 7th century BC
The three-legged symbol in Sicily
History An archaeologist, R. J. A. Wilson, writes that the three-legged symbol (triskeles) is first found in Sicily in the 7th century BC, and was later given a Medusa head at its centre. R. J. A. Wilson, ‘On the Trail of the Triskeles’, Cambridge Archaeological Journal 10.1 (2000), abstract ↗
- 550–530 BC
Perseus on a British Museum jug
History A black-figure jug (olpe) of about 550–530 BC, made in Attica and now in the British Museum, shows Perseus with the kibisis on his back, killing Medusa with a sword. It is inscribed ‘Amasis made it’. British Museum: olpe with Perseus and Medusa, 1849,0620.5 ↗
- about 540 BC
Theseus on a British Museum amphora
History A black-figure amphora of about 540 BC in the British Museum shows Theseus plunging a sword into the Minotaur’s neck. British Museum: black-figured amphora with Theseus and the Minotaur, 1920,0315.2 ↗
- 480–470 BC
The Siren Vase
History The British Museum’s ‘Siren Vase’, a red-figure stamnos made in Attica about 480–470 BC, shows another Odyssey adventure: the ship of Odysseus passing the Sirens. British Museum: the Siren Vase (stamnos), 1843,1103.31 ↗
- 450–440 BCE
The sleeping Medusa jar
History A jar (pelike) of about 450–440 BCE in The Met, attributed to Polygnotos, shows Medusa asleep, as a beautiful woman, while Perseus looks away towards Athena. The museum notes that in earlier versions Medusa looked ferocious, with snakes instead of hair. The Met: pelike with Perseus and Medusa, attributed to Polygnotos, 45.11.1 ↗
- about 440 BCE
The Persephone krater
History A Greek bell-krater (a bowl for mixing wine and water) of about 440 BCE in The Met, New York, attributed to the Persephone Painter, shows Persephone rising from the earth, Hermes beside her, Hekate lighting the way with two torches, and Demeter waiting. The Met: bell-krater with the return of Persephone, 28.57.23 ↗
- 13th century
The Three Legs of Mann adopted
History Manx National Heritage says the Three Legs of Mann appear to have been adopted in the 13th century as the arms of the kings of Mann, and that it is not known for sure why. Manx National Heritage: Three Legs of Mann ↗
- 1561–65
Huys’s ship with Daedalus and Icarus
History An engraving of 1561–65 by Frans Huys after Pieter Bruegel the Elder, now in The Met, shows a great sailing ship with Daedalus and Icarus small in the sky above. The Met: Huys after Bruegel, ship with Daedalus and Icarus in the sky, 28.4(2) ↗
- 1843
Barye models Theseus
History The French sculptor Antoine-Louis Barye first modelled his bronze Theseus Slaying the Minotaur in 1843. A second version is in The Met. The Met: Barye, Theseus Slaying the Minotaur, 14.58.131 ↗
- 1900
Evans begins digging at Knossos
History Excavations at Knossos began under Sir Arthur Evans in 1900. They revealed a palace at the centre of a Bronze Age culture that dominated the Aegean between about 1600 and 1400 BCE. Britannica: Knossos ↗
The Three Legs of Mann appear here because the symbol has a Sicilian history with a Medusa head. No source says the Manx emblem came from the Perseus myth. See the Isle of Man question on the Perseus page.
Follow the thread
Britannica (Scholars): Midas ↗
Britannica: Apollodorus of Athens ↗
British Museum: olpe with Perseus and Medusa, 1849,0620.5 ↗
British Museum: black-figured amphora with Theseus and the Minotaur, 1920,0315.2 ↗
British Museum: the Siren Vase (stamnos), 1843,1103.31 ↗
The Met: pelike with Perseus and Medusa, attributed to Polygnotos, 45.11.1 ↗
The Met: bell-krater with the return of Persephone, 28.57.23 ↗
Manx National Heritage: Three Legs of Mann ↗
The Met: Huys after Bruegel, ship with Daedalus and Icarus in the sky, 28.4(2) ↗
The Met: Barye, Theseus Slaying the Minotaur, 14.58.131 ↗
Retellings are in our own words. Every sentence above carries a label (History, Literature or Tradition) and a link to the source it was checked against, with the book and line or section numbers. Where ancient writers tell a myth differently, we name each one.
Source method & more reading ↗