1. The Origin of the Moon The Origin Of The Moon

2. At one point in time, there was a great bond between the mighty Poseidon (god of the sea) and the young, beautiful goddess of the moon, Achelois, for once long before the tide was born, Poseidon had pity on the young goddess for she had no one to entertain her. Achelois sat alone in the sky and served only the boring purpose of lighting up the night sky each night. One day, Poseidon noticed that the goddess was very entertained by his vast ocean. She was drawn to it. So taking pity on the moon goddess, Poseidon created an attraction between the moon and his waters which he called the tide. So every night, the waters would be pulled back to play with Achelois and she was content.

3. Centuries past and Achelois was still very happy with the gift that Poseidon had bestowed upon her but she had never yet had a chance to repay him. A time came when Poseidon found himself wounded and in much pain. He remembered the gift he had once bestowed upon the goddess Achelois (who is known for driving away pain) and was convinced that if he called to the goddess she would relieve some of his pain. Climbing to the surface of his water, Poseidon looked upon the beautiful moon and asked for her help. He was surprised when he discovered that she would not help him! Outraged, Poseidon jumped from his watery home into the night sky and with his trident, snatched away part of the moon revealing the darkness from inside her. Poseidon shamed Achelois for her selfishness by taking away the attraction between her and his sea. The young goddess was once again left alone in the darkness. Part of her beautiful self was now just a vast black space.

4. Because Poseidon had taken part of the moon, on certain night of the month, the gap would show in the night sky. This aroused much confusion to the mortals living on earth and Achelois realized that she was not as beautiful without her other half. Tormented by her loss, Achelois no longer healed anyone who came calling because she was too busy grieving for her loss. When the goddess of wisdom, Athena, saw that the beautiful moon Achelois was ignoring the plea’s of mortals, she traveled to the young goddess and spoke to her in her calm, compassionate voice. Achelois explained the horrid events that had occurred in the last few days and Athena felt pity on her. She explained to the devastated goddess that she would never get her moon back without facing her troubles head on. Athena said that when Achelois was ready, she must go go to the King of the Sea and apologize for her past foolishness. She told her to decide quickly because every moment she wasted, mortals were suffering. Athena then left Achelois to herself and returned to her home on Mount Olympus.

5. After Achelois saw that Athena had left her, she looked down upon the surface of the earth and saw many people in pain. Immediately, she had a change of heart and all thoughts of herself vanished and thought only of the poor mortals she had been ignoring. Achelois realized that she must go to Poseidon and apologize for her unacceptable actions. So Achelois left her sky and traveled to Poseidon’s palace under the sea waves. The journey was long and perilous but she was driven by the thought of all the mortals she had let down. Finally, she fell before Poseidon apologizing and pleading for the return of her other half. she explained that she had learned her lesson and that she cares for others now. Poseidon looked down upon the goddess and realized her pleads were sincere. He returned to her part of the moon which would enable her to heal again. Achelois asked the god why he would not return her entire moon. He replied that he would like her to serve as an example for anyone who ever looked upon her. He also returned to her the tide so that she would no longer be alone. Content, Achelois returned to her night sky with enough of her moon for her powers to work. The young goddess no longer worried about her own selfish self and healed anyone who asked for her assistance. And every now and then, you to can glimpse up at the moon and see the missing sliver that serves as a lesson to all.