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

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

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

The goddess Demeter had a daughter named Persephone [per-sef-uh-nee] who brought her
much joy. But when Persephone married Hades, the God of the Underworld, she had to live
with him for half of the year in the Underworld. Then would return to Mount Olympus 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 (winter, when Persephone and
Demeter are apart) is dark and lifeless.

Modern science has disproved the Greek myths – 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 creation myth 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 Uranus, the Sky,
dark and blue, set all over with sparkling stars. 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 Giants, the
Titans and Earth became Mother 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
Cyclopes and they were named Lightning, Thunder, and Thunderbolt. They were not handsome
gods, but tremendously strong smiths (like blacksmiths). 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 Tartarus,
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, Cronus, 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 Rhea [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 fear.

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 Zeus. 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 Crete 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 conflict 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 Metis [mee-tis], Zeus's first wife, went to Cronus and cleverly tricked him into eating a magic
herb. Cronus thought the herb would make him unconquerable, but in reality it made him so sick
that he threw up the stone and his five other children. The children were the gods Hades and
Poseidon and goddesses Hestia, Demeter, and Hera. 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 thunderbolts.
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 birds and beasts. In addition, she was connected with the death/rebirth of
nature and human beings. Nevertheless, Aphrodite was a rather weak, frightful
goddess, according to the Iliad. Aphrodite's symbols were the girdle, which she was
using to compel love, the seashell and the mirror. Her sacred animal was the dove.
Apollo was the Greek god of the Music, also called the Sun 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 lyre. Apollo excelled in important music contests,
competing against Greek god Hermes and the Satyr Pan as well as other deities. 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 Delphi, where the first
oracle in Ancient Greece was located. Apollo and Artemis are twin children of Zeus.
His symbols were the lyre, the tripod, and the laurel tree.
Ares, the Greek god of War, was the son of Zeus and Hera. Just like his mother Hera,
Ares had a very difficult character 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 Athena, especially during the Trojan War. His
symbols were the spear and the dog.
Artemis, the Virgin Huntress, was associated with the moon, nature, and childbirth.
Apollo (the Sun God) and Artemis are twin children of Zeus. Artemis was born before
Apollo and had helped her mother Leto 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 Nymphs and Oceanids, Artemis loved to
hunt with arrows dipped in poison; oddly enough, Artemis was both a killer of wild
animals and their protector. Her symbol was the bow and her sacred animals were
the snake and the deer.
Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom, 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 agriculture
and metallurgy to men and was always giving precious advice and stood by on
any danger. She was known as "Athena Nike" (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 aegis- a goat-like shield, to which the head of the
Gorgon Medusa was fastened in order to terrify the opponents. Athena's sacred
animal was the owl, the symbol of wisdom.
Demeter was a peace-loving deity and the source of all growth and life; 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
wheat to mankind, making man different from animals. She was Zeus’s sister. Her
symbols were the ear of wheat and the grains.
Dionysus was a god known for his lightheartedness and always offered his help to
anyone in need. He was the god of wine and theater. He was therefore very
popular among gods and mortals and many festivals 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 Satyrs
and Maenads 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 Plato, [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 angel
of dead. Charos had the duty to transfer the dead people 's souls with a boat over

 
 the River Acheron from the world of the living to the world of the dead. Furthermore,
Hades had a dog with three heads which was named Cerberus. His sacred symbol
was the helmet, which helped him stay invisible.
Hephaestus 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 Nereids, Thetis and Eurynome, who raised him for nine years inside a cave,
far away and hidden from his cruel mother. Hephaestus had his working lay
beneath the crater of the volcano of Aetna in Italy. There, he was working together
closely with the one-eyed Cyclops to create strong thunderbolts for his master Zeus.
Hephaestus was also famous for having created the first woman of the ancient
world, Pandora. His symbols were fire, the axe, 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 pomegranate, 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 revenge
himself, like he did in the case of Odysseus. Poseidon was the Greek god responsible
for natural and supernatural events, mainly the ones associated to the sea world.
He possessed a trident 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 Amphitrite beneath the ocean. His symbol was the trident and
his sacred animals were the dolphin and the horse.
Zeus, the King of the Gods 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
mood, however, he would throw rain, winds, 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
Fates. 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 faith to his wife, Hera. The main symbol of Zeus
was the thunderbolt. His sacred animal was the eagle.