Chained to the Rocks: A short overview of what Mark Rosewater MaRo said: Prometheus gave fire to humans and the gods punished him by chaining him to a rock (or rocks) and having an eagle eat his liver every day and having his liver grow back at night ad infinitum. Here is some additional background information: The eagle is the chosen bird as it is the symbol of Zeus and the action of stealing fire was a direct affront to Zeus (he had taken fire away from humans)

The mountain upon which Prometheus was chained is Kazbek, a part of Caucasus which is considered one of the pillars supporting the world.

Gift of Immortality: MaRo went over this card as well, but covered the flavor only so far as saying it happened in Greek myth. Here are some of the details: The greeks believed in everlasting souls that lingered in Hades' realm but did not consider that immortality. Immortality to them was centered on physical immortality and thus only was true if it included the body

Achilles is perhaps the most famous person with immortality. At birth he was either held in the river Styx (by his heel, thus his weakness) or placed over a fire to burn the mortality away (his mother was interrupted in this process). Even after he is killed, Thetis (his mother) takes his body and resurrects him, granting him an eternal existence in either the Elysian plains or the Islands of the Blessed.

Others to gain immortality:Amphiaraus, Ganymede, Ino, Iphigenia, Menelaus, Peleus, Alcmene, Castor, Heracles, and Melicertes Flavorfully, I wish they had they "When enchanted creature dies or is exiled," as I feel that would have captured immortality much better. Interestingly it fits very well with the theme of dying then being resurrected before immortality that is common in the stories.

Phalanx Leader: Although not a part of Greek "mythology" the flavor captured seems worthy of mentioning. The phalanx is fairly well known and has come to mean more than just the original Greek military formation. Part of the formations strength was in the unison movement of the group and the cooperation of the unit. The rear ranks of the phalanx would use the back end of their spear to finish off opponents as the unit marched over them, for instance. Having the card buff your entire army is a very fitting ability for a phalanx leader.

Curse of the Swine: MaRo touched on this card, but flavor wise just said it had to be made and said that Odysseus' men were changed into swine. The card really only covers a third to half the story: Circe welcomes Odysseus' men into her palace filled with docile lions and wolves. She prepares a large feast full of foods they were familiar with. All the men except Eurylochus gorge themselves and consume a potion added to the food. The potion allows Circe to use her wand to transform them to swine and Eurylochus escapes.

Eurylochus makes it to where Odysseus and some of his men are watching the boats. Odysseus goes to free his men but is intercepted by Hermes. Hermes tells Odysseus how to free his men and not fall under Circe's spell.

After freeing his men Odysseus and his crew stay and feast for a year while Odysseus gets advice on the remainder of his journey from Circe.

Lost in a Labyrinth: The labyrinth in Greek myth was constructed by legendary artificer Daedalus at the behest of King Minos of Crete. King Menos wife had given birth to the Minotaur and they needed a place to keep as his wife did not want him killed.

The design of the labyrinth was so clever that Daedalus himself barely managed to find a way out.

Eventually Thesseus was given a quest to kill the Minotaur. Ariadne aided Thesseus by giving him thread so he could find his way out again. Personally I think the card would have worked flavourfully much better as a pacifism effect, but losing power has been associated with being disoriented in past cards.

Insatiable Harpy Phineus was a king with the gift of prophecy. He used his gift liberally and this eventually upset Zeus who felt he revealed too much. Zeus decided to punish him by blinding him and placing him on an island. Once there Zeus placed a large buffet of food. Every time Phineus was reach for the food a harpy would come down and steal food, and then befoul the remainder. This process would continue in a loop. Although a rather innocuous card, I think the flavor here is hit very well, the name, creature type, flavor text, and art all resonate very well with the story.

Sip of Hemlock: The execution of Socrates is fairly well known, though it is somewhat contested if it actually happened as depicted by Plato. Ancient Greece had used Conium (hemlock is the species native to the Mediterranean) for executions for some period. Socrates was put on trial for impiety and corrupting the youth. The jury convicted and determined hemlock execution would be the punishment. Socrates had the chance to flee but did not do so, and in the end drank the liquid himself as he stood by the principle of obedience to law. Given the knowledge of it's deadly properties it would not be hard to believe that hemlock was used as an assassination method. The card itself goes more toward that theory and away from the Socrates story. Granted depicting a suicide on a Magic card would be difficult.

Stormbreath Dragon: Sam Stoddard wrote an article on the process this card went through but all that is mentioned flavor wise is that it is modeled after Typhon. Typhon is the last son of Gaia and known as the Father of All Monsters. He was considered the largest and most fearsome of all creatures as well as the most deadly monster. His upper half was so large that it could reach the stars. Various depictions have him as having a human upper half but in place of a head he has 100 dragon heads erupting from neck and shoulders while some have a human head with dragon heads for fingertips. He was even feared by the Olympians.

Typhon was asked to kill Zeus by Gaia and during the first battle he stole Zeus' sinews. Hermes recovers them and during the second battle Zeus traps Typhon under Mount Edna. Considering the original aim, I feel the card itself is very far away from Typhon with nothing really recognizable. The art is even missing something to contrast the size leaving no indication of how large the dragon is.

Satyr Hedonist: I didn't include Satyrs in my previous section on monsters as I don't think they really qualify as monsters in most senses. Satyrs in early Greek myth were always male - it was not until later that poets added female Satyrs. They were companions of Pan and Dionysus. Interestingly, the original depictions of Satyrs were not half-goat half-man as we currently think of them. Originally they were mean with some goat features (tail, ears and occasionally phallus's). It was when Roman mythology began to influence the Greek versions that the half-goat, half man depictions started. Satyrs are described as care-free and very musically inclined. There were also Satyr plays which would follow a trio of tragedies during celebrations for Dionysus. Only one play remains in existence (Cyclops by Euripides). In Theros the Satyrs are fairly flavorfully similar. I chose Satyr Hedonist to represent them as the card on the whole - art, name, flavor test and to an extent mechanic - is quite apropos.

Anax and Cymede: The most obvious inspiration for these two is Leonidas I and Gorgo, King and Queen of Sparta. Akros, the polis that Anax and Cymede lead, is clearly the Sparta influenced Theros polis. Leonidas is most famous for his stand at the Battle of Thermopylae. He was the second son of the first wife of Anaxandridas [the obvious source of Anax's name] and has another brother from Anaxanaridias' second wife who is eldest of the three. Leonidas was not heir to the throne and thus went through the rigorous training all Spartan boys did. Leonidas ascends to the throne after his full brother left in disgust (because their half brother was chosen to rule) and his half brother was deposed due to supposed insanity. It is not known how much animosity there was between Leonidas and his brothers, but his two brother did have animosity between each other. Anax is heir to the throne but in early childhood until presumably his teens was not physically what was expected of a king. There is a clear animosity within the family. Eventually Anax trains to compete in the games and defeats and humiliates his brother, winning over the people.

Gorgo's father was Cleomenes, Leonidas' half brother. She was of noble birth and was among the few women in the classical period to travel and heavily participate in society actively. We know very little of Cymede other than she is beautiful and from a powerful family. The card itself hits in some ways but misses in others. A card like this would indicate some of the abilities represent Anax and some Cymede, but which is which? The flavor text could allude to a story of Leonidas: he defended his right and ability to rule due in some part because of his military prowess and physical ability.

Ashen Rider: In ancient Greek Archons were important political figures and the chief magistrates of many of the Greek city-states. In Athens the role of Archon was split into several parts. Over time the Archons power and influence waned. They were given a lifetime membership to a council, though it was a token gesture because the council in question had little real power. In Theros the Archons are "a race of mysterious conquerors" who once ruled over the plane. During that time they dispensed justice and ruled with an iron fist. Over time their hold lessoned and one by one they began to fall. Their holdings eventually coalesced into the polises of Theros. I chose Ashen Rider to represent the Archons as its ability and flavor text fit the descriptions fairly well.

Shipwreck Singer: The sirens in Greek myth numbered from 2 to 5 and did not always have wings. They would lure men to their islands with their beautiful songs (not always "happy", just beautiful) and the mens ships would then wreck upon the rocks surrounding the islands. They were destined to die when a mortal passed by, heard their song, and did not stop. Thus when Odysseus' crew passed by the sirens apparently perished afterward (Odysseus had all his mean fill their ears with bee's wax and then tie him tightly to the mast so he could not jump into the sea). The Theros sirens are much more hostile and monstrous. They actively attack humans passing by and feed on their flesh. The card does a very good job of displaying flavor through mechanics. The first ability is singing the song and the second is attacking them.