sign in sign up
<<
Home , Acheron, Aegis, Amphitrite, Apollo, Artemis, Athena

Name: ______Date: ______Block: ______

Greek

What are and if they aren’t real, why do we study them in class?

A “” is a about and heroes that societies use to explain their history, , beliefs, and the natural world around them. For the Ancient , their gods and were immortal beings who looked like people, acted like people, and lived on Mount (a tall mountain in northern ). The Greek gods controlled the universe and occasionally would come down to earth in their own shapes, or sometimes disguised as or animals.

The Greek myths and gods teach us about their history, like how the story of the teach us about the . Myths also teach us about their culture, including their values and what they about humans and humanity. Lastly, myths explain natural phenomena. For example, the Greeks explained why the seasons changed through the story of , the of fertility.

The goddess Demeter had a daughter named [per-sef-uh-nee] who brought her much . But when Persephone married , the of the , she had to live with him for half of the year in the Underworld. Then would return to for the other half of the year. Demeter, as the goddess of fertility, caused things on Earth to grow, but only when she was happy and with Persephone. Therefore, half the year (summer) is bright and plants grow fruitfully, while the other half of the year (, when Persephone and Demeter are apart) is dark and lifeless.

Modern science has disproved – we know why the seasons change without explaining the depression of the goddess Demeter – but this does not make them less real for the ancient Greeks. Read the below to understand how the earth was created and where the gods and goddesses come from.

Greek Creation Myth

Gaea [jee-uh], the Earth, came out of darkness so long ago that nobody knows when or how. Earth was young and lonesome, for nothing lived on her yet. Above her rose , the , dark and blue, all over with sparkling . He was magnificent to behold, and young Earth looked up at him and fell in love with his stars. Soon Earth and Uranus gave birth to the , the and Earth became Earth. All her children loved their warm and bountiful mother and feared their mighty father, Uranus, lord of the universe.

The Titans were the first children of Mother Earth. They were the first gods and were taller than the mountains she created to serve them as thrones. Both of their parents, the Earth and the Sky, were proud of them. There were six Titans, six glorious gods, and they had six sisters, the Titanesses, whom they took for their wives.

When Gaea again gave birth, Uranus was not proud of their new children. These new children were also huge, but each had only one glowing eye set in the middle of his forehead. They were the three and they were named Lightning, Thunder, and . They were not handsome gods, but tremendously strong smiths (like ). Sparks from their heavy hammers on iron flashed across the sky and lit up the heavens so brightly that even their father’s stars faded.

After a while, Mother Earth bore three more sons. Uranus looked at them with disgust. Each of them had fifty heads and a hundred strong arms. He hated to see such ugly creatures walk about on lovely Earth, so he seized them and all of their brothers, the Cyclopes, and flung them into , the deepest, darkest pit under the earth. Mother Earth loved her children and could not forgive her husband for his cruelty to them and for sending them away. Out of hardest flint she fashioned a sickle and told her Titan sons to take the weapon and end their father’s cruelty. All of the Titans refused except one, , the youngest and strongest. Cronus confronted his father with the sickle and Uranus could not withstand the weapon wielded by his strong son. Uranus then gave up all his powers and fled.

Cronus was now the lord of the universe. He sat on the highest mountain and ruled over heaven and earth with a firm hand. When Cronus began to rule he did not set his monstrous brothers free, and this made Mother Earth very angry with him. Because of her anger Mother Earth plotted the downfall of Cronus, just as she had plotted the downfall of Uranus. She had to wait, for a god to be born who was strong enough to oppose her son Cronus. And she knew that one of Cronus’ sons would be stronger than himself, just as he was stronger than his father. Cronus knew it too, so every time his Titaness-wife [ree-uh] gave birth, he took the newborn god and swallowed it. With all of his offspring securely inside his stomach, he had nothing to .

But Rhea became upset about not having her children with her. Her five sisters, who had married the five other Titans, were surrounded with Titan children. And Rhea was all alone with no children. When Rhea expected her sixth child, she asked Mother Earth to help her save the child from his father. And that was just what Mother Earth had been waiting for! As soon as Rhea had given birth to her child she hid him, this child would be named . Next, she wrapped a stone in baby clothes and gave it to her husband to swallow instead of giving him Zeus. Cronus was fooled and swallowed the stone, and the little god Zeus was taken away to a secret cave on the island of to grow older and stronger so he could eventually defeat his father.

Zeus grew up to be a powerful god and was determined to overthrow his father. When Zeus went back to Mount Olympus he got into immediate with Cronus and Cronus did not even know that this newcomer was his own son. In order to slay his father Zeus needed his brothers and sisters help! So [mee-tis], Zeus's first wife, went to Cronus and cleverly tricked him into a magic herb. Cronus thought the herb would make him unconquerable, but in it made him so sick that he threw up the stone and his five other children. The children were the gods Hades and and goddesses , Demeter, and . All the of these mighty gods joined forces with Zeus and defeated Cronus!

Zeus was now the supreme god overall and divided control of the universe among his siblings. Zeus made himself God of the Sky and all its phenomena, including the clouds as well as the . To his brother Poseidon, he gave the rule of the Sea, and his brother Hades was made god of the Underworld. Zeus’s sister Demeter became a goddess of Fertility, Hera (before she married Zeus and became a jealous wife) was the goddess of Marriage and Childbirth. And Hestia became goddess of the Hearth (home).

What does the Creation Myth tell us about the Greek Gods/Goddesses and their beliefs?

Major Greek Gods

Aphrodite was the most attractive goddess of Mount Olympus. She was the goddess of Love, Beauty and Eternal Youth, arousing desire to gods and humans as well as and beasts. In addition, she was connected with the /rebirth of nature and beings. Nevertheless, was a rather weak, frightful goddess, according to the Iliad. Aphrodite's were the girdle, which she was using to compel love, the seashell and the mirror. Her animal was the dove. was the Greek god of the , also called the God. He invented the lute (a plucked string instrument with a body shaped like a pear), but most popular he was for his playing the . Apollo excelled in important music contests, competing against Greek god and the as well as other . In addition, Apollo owned the precious gift of prophecy, given to him by his father Zeus in his infancy, and was the patron of the ancient city of , where the first in was located. Apollo and are twin children of Zeus. His symbols were the lyre, the tripod, and the laurel . , the Greek , was the son of Zeus and Hera. Just like his mother Hera, Ares had a very difficult to deal with and was therefore rather unpopular among the other deities and mankind. For this reason, no Greek city wanted to have him as its patron. He often had conflicts and fights with Artemis, the goddess of the Hunt and also with his sister , especially during the Trojan War. His symbols were the and the dog. Artemis, the Virgin Huntress, was associated with the , nature, and childbirth. Apollo (the Sun God) and Artemis are twin children of Zeus. Artemis was born before Apollo and had helped her mother to give birth to her little brother. Artemis had absolute sovereignty over nature and was said to bring fertility to all places that worshipped her. Usually accompanied by and , Artemis loved to hunt with arrows dipped in poison; oddly enough, Artemis was both a killer of wild animals and their protector. Her was the bow and her sacred animals were the and the . Athena, the Goddess of , was born fully grown and armed out of Zeus’s head after he swallowed Metis, her mother. Athena was the goddess who taught mankind various skills such as weaving and sewing to the women and and metallurgy to men and was always giving precious advice and stood by on any danger. She was known as "Athena " (Athena the victorious), as she was believed to have given the Athenians the victory during the Persian War. Athena's symbols were the distaff and the - a -like shield, to which the head of the was fastened in order to terrify the opponents. Athena's sacred animal was the , the symbol of wisdom. Demeter was a -loving and the source of all growth and ; she was the goddess who provided all nutrition on the earth and taught mortals how to cultivate the earth and ease life. Demeter was most appreciated for introducing to mankind, making man different from animals. She was Zeus’s sister. Her symbols were the ear of wheat and the grains. was a god known for his lightheartedness and always offered his help to anyone in need. He was the god of and theater. He was therefore very popular among gods and mortals and many were being held every year in his honor. Dionysus was one of the Olympian gods who actually did not live in Mount Olympus but was constantly travelling around the world together with and in order to discover the secrets of winemaking. The sacred animal of Dionysus was the panther. Hades was the Greek god of the Dead and, according to , [1] he should be considered as one of the Olympian gods. Hades was the supreme ruler of the Underworld. Almost never did he leave his gloomy kingdom but was residing there instead, surrounded by darkness and silence. Hades' helper was Charos, the of dead. Charos had the duty to transfer the dead people 's with a boat over

the River from the world of the living to the world of the dead. Furthermore, Hades had a dog with three heads which was named . His sacred symbol was the , which helped him stay invisible. was a very kind and loveable god, but was the only deity who was physically ugly and lame. When his mother Hera saw him for the first time, she was so frustrated that she took her son and threw him from Mount Olympus to the depths of the seas, causing a deformation to his leg. Hephaestus was finally rescued by two , and , who raised him for nine years inside a cave, far away and hidden from his cruel mother. Hephaestus had his working lay beneath the of the volcano of in . There, he was working together closely with the one-eyed to create strong thunderbolts for his master Zeus. Hephaestus was also famous for having created the first woman of the ancient world, . His symbols were fire, the , the pincers and the hammer. Hera was the Queen of the Gods, she is most often associated with bitterness and jealousy relating to her husband. Although Hera was one of the fairest goddesses in Mount Olympus, Zeus gave Hera plenty of reason to be suspicious and jealous; Hera therefore used to stay in high places in order to keep an eye on her husband's doings. There were times she would also interfere, causing harm to Zeus' mistresses, since Zeus himself was invincible. Hera's symbol was the , a symbol of fertility, and her sacred animal was the peacock. Hermes was wearing wings on his sandals and therefore was the speediest of all Greek gods. Because of his speed, Hermes received the role of the messenger and conductor of souls to the Underworld. Hermes was the only Olympian god who was authorized to visit Heaven, Earth and also the Underworld and enjoyed this way popularity among all the Greek gods and spirits. It is well known that Ancient Greeks endowed their gods with human weaknesses. Hermes, for instance, felt an irresistible impulse of stealing ever since his infancy and quickly developed as the god of the cheaters and the thieves. Hermes was a messenger of all gods, but mostly he was known for performing duties for his father Zeus with great pleasure. Zeus appreciated Hermes' wits highly and always asked for Hermes' assistance throughout his decisions, especially when it came to cheating on his wife Hera. He is known for his winged sandals and staff. Poseidon, the Greek god of the Seas, was considered to be the bad-tempered, moody and greedy god among the Olympians. Once insulted, he would himself, like he did in the case of . Poseidon was the Greek god responsible for natural and events, mainly the ones associated to the sea world. He possessed a which was so powerful that it could shake the earth. Poseidon could cause tempests and earthquakes, drown lands, shatter rocks and had the ability to finally bring back peacefulness. Poseidon possessed two palaces, the one was up in Mount Olympus and the other was located in the depths of the seas and was bejeweled with gold and precious gems. Usually Poseidon preferred to stay with his wife beneath the ocean. His symbol was the trident and his sacred animals were the and the . Zeus, the and master of the thunderbolt, had his golden throne on the highest summit of Mount Olympus and was respected and awed by all Gods and mortals. He was the "Lord of Justice", punishing anyone who lied or broke an oath, but was fair and always striving to keep a balance of all things. Furthermore, Zeus was responsible for the weather and was shaping it according to his temper. When in high spirits, Zeus was blessing the world with fine weather; in case of bad , however, he would throw rain, , lightning and thunderbolts to cause disaster to the mortals. But even Zeus' powers had their limits, for, however powerful as he was, he had neither the right nor the ability to intervene the decisions of the . Zeus was carefree and loved to laugh out loud. He possessed the perfect knowledge and was just, merciful and prudent. However, he was rather unpredictable, and not known for his to his wife, Hera. The main symbol of Zeus was the thunderbolt. His sacred animal was the eagle.