HISTORY AND MYTHOLOGY
Greek Gods and Geneaology
The Theogony is an epic poem by Hesiod (8th century BC), which describes the origin of the gods of Greek mythology.
Apart from Hesiod, Homer and other poets of antiquity referred to the ancient gods but also to myths in general, so different versions of myths and events are often encountered.
Nevertheless, Hesiod's Theogony, as the most complete record of the creation of the world, gods, and myths, is considered the basic source for the study of Greek mythology.
THE CREATION OF THE WORLD
There was only Chaos in the beginning.
Thick darkness enveloped everything until the Earth was born from the Chaos, and from the Earth came the mountains, the sea (Pontus), and then Ouranos (sky) with the sun, moon, and stars. When Ouranos and Earth united, the Hekatogchires (Hundred Hands), the Cyclops, and the Titans were born.
But Ouranos, feared that one of his children would usurp his throne so he shut all of them down in Tartara, the depths of the Earth.
But his son Cronus, the strongest of the Titans, defeated him and rose to become the world's ruler.
He married his sister Rhea, with whom he had three goddesses and three gods: Hera, Hestia, and Demetra, as well as Hades, Poseidon, and Zeus.
From the blood of Ouranos spilled on Earth, the Giants, the Erinyes (Furies) and the Melies nymphs or Meliades (the nymphs of the ash tree), were born while from the foam of the sea where the genitals of Ouranos fell, the goddess Aphrodite was born.
Cronus, too, feared that one of his children would usurp his throne. That's why he swallowed them when they were born.
Rhea was desperate, so she went to give birth to her sixth child, Zeus, in a cave on a mountain in Crete and then hid the child there.
The Nymphs took care of it and it drank the milk of a goat, Amalthea. To Cronus, Rhea gave to swallow a swathed stone.
When Zeus grew up, he fought with Cronus and forced him to take out the five brothers he had swallowed.
A war then began between the Titans and the Gods, known as Titanomachia (Titans battle) which lasted ten years. The Gods won and the Titans were thrown into Tartara.
Zeus had allies, not only the Olympian gods, but also the Hekatogchires and the Cyclopes.
The Cyclopes then bestowed thunder, lightning, and a thunderbolt on Zeus, a leather helmet on Hades, and a trident on Poseidon.
Using these weapons, Gods defeated the Titans, imprisoned them in Tartara, and put the Hekatogchires guard them.
When the Olympians defeated the Titans, the Muses sang a song - thought to be their oldest song - to celebrate the birth of a new world.
Then, gods divided power by lot, with Zeus ruling the sky, Poseidon ruling the sea, and Hades ruling the under world (the world of the dead).
Then the gods fought with the Giants. The Gigantomahia (Giants battle) lasted a long time. But the gods won again.
So Zeus became the ruler of the whole world. He married Hera and together with his children and his brothers and sisters, settled on Olympus mountain.
THE CREATION OF THE WORLD IN GREEK MYTHOLOGY
THE 12 OLYMPIAN GODS
ZEUS
Zeus was the supreme god of Olympus, the ruler of both gods and humans.
It also excluded all natural occurrences.
His weapons were thunder and lightning.
They believed he governed men's fates and associated him with all manifestations of human life.
Only "Fate" was higher than him.
The basic myth of Zeus' birth states that his mother, Rhea, gave birth to him secretly from his father, Cronus, in order to rescue him.
At this point, the myth crumbles, and various traditions from various locations claiming to be the birthplace of the most powerful God emerge.
At this point, the myth crumbles, and various traditions from various locations claiming to be the birthplace of the most powerful God emerge.
Apart from the areas of Phrygia, Viotia, Aetolia, Arcadia, and Achaia, the most widespread myths are those of Hesiod and Apollodoros who both mention Crete.
According to Hesiod, Zeus was born in a cave in the Aegean Mountains, near the city of Lyktos in Crete and was raised by Gaia.
Apollodorus mentions that Zeus was born in a cave of Mount Dikti in Crete and his upbringing was undertaken by the Curetes, and the nymphs Adrastia and Ida who fed him with the milk of a goat, Amalthea, while the Curetes outside the entrance of the cave were beating the shields with their spears so that the baby's crying would not be heard.
For the upbringing of Zeus, the version of Hesiod and Apollodorus prevails over many other stories.
Zeus and Hera
Zeus' legal wife was Hera, with whom he was united in the "Holy Marriage". The two of them were protectors of marriage.
Their children were Ivy, Ares, Hephaestus and Eilefthia.
Zeus and Hera were brothers and spouses, both children of Cronus and Rhea.
Zeus was very little devoted to Hera, very often giving Hera reasons to show her jealousy, to follow him every step of the way and to persecute his mistresses and their children in every possible way.
Zeus and Hera had many differences between them and quarreled frequently, while Hera's scheming, conspiracies, and her general opposition to Zeus' willing intensified the conflicts between them.
According to Hesiod, Zeus had seven more wives:
Zeus' first wife was the attractive Metes, goddess of wisdom and science.
But Zeus had received an oracle.
From the child of Metes, one day he would find the same fate as his father (Cronus) and grandfather (Uranos), who were dethroned by one of their children.
Thus, Zeus swallowed up Metes, as Cronus had done with the children of Rhea.
However, Metes was already pregnant to Athena, which resulted in Zeus getting a terrible headache.
Hephaestus, rushing to help with his tools, contributed to the birth of Athena, who sprang out of the head of Zeus.
Themis was the second wife of Zeus.
Their marriage marked, after the swallowing of his first wife Metes, the consolidation of the reign of the most powerful of all the gods.
Themis in mythology is the one who institutes.
The law it represents is sacred. It applies to the gods as well, and is superior even to their will. It also had a three-dimensional representation:
As a goddess of the natural order.
As a goddess of moral order.
As a prophet-goddess, a status she inherited from her mother, Gaia.
The daughters of Themis, as representatives of the natural order, were called Hores (Hours)
As representatives of the moral order, the Eunomia(the existence of fair laws and their correct application), Diki (trial and justice) and Eirini (Peace), which are the supreme goods of a society, as well as the Fates (Clotho, Lachesis and Atropos) were considered to represent the moral order.
Leto
In Greek mythology, Leto is the daughter of the Titans Caius and Phoebe.
Zeus, impressed by her beauty, did not take long to sleep with her, taking the form of an eagle, and impregnate her.
But when Hera learned that Leto was pregnant by Zeus, she forbade Leto to give birth on land and in any place under the sun.
On the island of Ortigia, after terrible hardships and wanderings, the pregnant Leto had taken refuge.
There and with the help of all the female deities (except Hera) Artemis came to light and a little later her brother Apollo.
Demetra was a goddess who was not known for her love affairs.
Her first claimants were her brothers and sisters.
Zeus, first, transformed into a bull to mate with her.
Regretting his action, he castrated a ram and left his organs in Demeter's arms as a sign of remorse.
She accepted his apology and a few months later she gave birth to her only daughter Persephone.
Maia, according to Greek mythology, is one of the Pleiades, the seven daughters of Titan Atlas and Oceanis Pleioni.
The Pleiades were born on Mount Kyllini in Arcadia and are often called the goddesses of the mountain.
Maia was the older, prettier and more reserved than the sisters.
She lived isolated in a cave in Kyllini.
There he was united with Zeus, where later, from this union the god Hermes was born.
Eurynome was one of the oldest deities and according to Pelasgian legend, she arose from Chaos. When Cronus and Rhea dominated, Eurynome withdrew to the sea.
Eurynome and Thetis accepted the god Hephaestus when they threw him from Mount Olympus into the sea. The god Zeus fell in love with Eurynome and together they had three daughters, the 3 Graces (Aglaia, Euphrosyne, Thalia)
Mnemosyne is the personification of memory in Greek mythology, protector of oral tradition and poets. She belonged to the Titanids, was the daughter of Gaia and Uranus.
Zeus was united with Mnemosyne for nine consecutive nights, and after a year the nine muses were born.
In addition to the above deities, Zeus was also united with mortal women with whom he had children.
Many times also, Zeus changed form to get closer and join his mistresses.
Zeus was considered the father of gods and man because he had immortal and mortal children. He was worshipped as the god of heaven and weather phenomena
The ancients attributed Zeus with numerous other properties.
He was revered as the protector of the wronged, the keeper of oaths, and the protector of cities, homes, guests, the hearth, and beggars.
They considered him to be the protector of kings, lords, and the parliament.
He was the god who knew what was going on in people's hearts and relieved them.
He was the unyielding punisher of those who did wrong, but also the purifier of the punished.
They considered him to be the protector of kings, lords, and the parliament.
He was the god who knew what was going on in people's hearts and relieved them.
He was the unyielding punisher of those who did wrong, but also the purifier of the punished.
The cult of Zeus was spread throughout Greece. He was worshipped mainly on the high peaks of the mountains, which indicates his relationship with celestial phenomena. An important place of worship was in Dodoni, where it was combined with divination. Olympia was also a place dedicated to him and the Olympic Games were held in his honor. So is Nemean in Nemea.
In classical art, Zeus is depicted as the personification of serenity and grandeur. He had a high stature, hair waving like a mane, and a beard majestic.
Its symbols were Thunderbolt, eagle, bull and oak.
HERA
Hera was the sister of Zeus and his lawful wife.
She was one of the six children of Cronus and Rhea.
According to the most popular sources, Hera seems to have been born in Samos, while according to others she was born in Stymphalia or Euboea.
Ηer worship was spread throughout Greece, with the city of Argos at its center, where there was the most beautiful statue dedicated to the goddess, which was the work of Polycleitus. The festivals held there in her honor were mainly of a warlike nature and were called Heraia. They sacrificed a hundred cows, which was the sacred animal of the goddess.
Another important place of worship was Samos. There, as in other parts of Greece, they celebrated the Holy Wedding, which symbolized her union with Zeus.
Also, in Olympia, near the temple of Zeus, there was a temple dedicated to her, which was called Heraion.
In art, the goddess is depicted majestic and imposing.
She wears a diadem on her head and holds a scepter, a symbol of power, which had a cuckoo on top of it, a symbol of her union with Zeus and a symbol of the coming of spring. In her other hand she holds a pomegranate, which is a symbol of fertility.
Other well-known symbols of Hera were the peacock, and various flowers and plants that symbolized the blessing of nature.
Aphrodite and Artemis were cultically connected with Hera.
Aphrodite symbolized the erotic aspect of marriage, Hera the institutional while Artemis the life of the girls before marriage.
At first, Hera resisted Zeus' attempts to make her his wife, but he did not give up so easily. He was transformed into a cuckoo and appeared before Hera injured. She, wanting to help him, took him in her arms and immediately Zeus took his normal form. He seduced her with his magnificent appearance and, unable to resist, he promised to marry her, which they soon did.
One of her wedding gifts was a tree with golden fruits, the well-known "Apples of Hesperides".
She is a goddess that all the other gods respect.
She has a strong personality and is the only one who can face Zeus, sometimes with grandeur and courage and sometimes with feminine cunning. Zeus is very calculating about her anger and her reactions in general. But he always has the last word.
The goddess has no particular mythological cycle of her own. All the myths that speak of her are connected to Zeus. These myths present her as a model woman.
Hera was the goddess of marriage and was the model of woman and wife for ancient Greece. She endured all her husband's infidelities, which were many, and respected the sacred institution of marriage. With Zeus she had three children, Ivy, Ares and Elethea. She, of course, wanting to avenge her husband for his countless infidelities, had children of her own that according to Hesiod, one of them was the god Hephaestus.
ATHENA
Athena, according to Greek mythology, was the goddess of wisdom, strategy, and war.
She was the daughter of Zeus and Metis.
Her prominent place among the gods was occupied after the significant help she offered to Zeus during the Battle of the Titans as she was the one who exterminated their leader Enceladus whom she engulfed with Etna.
Zeus loved her very much and defended her against the other gods even when she was against his plans.
According to Hesiod, her birth is described as follows:
By decision of fate, Metis would give birth first to a daughter and then to a son who would dethrone Zeus. In order to avoid the fulfillment of the prophecy, he swallowed his wife with the child she was carrying in her bowels.
After a while, however, he began to be tormented by terrible headaches caused by the weight of the child. So he asked Hephaestus to open his head with an axe to free himself from the weight. And then from the head of Zeus Athena emerged armed, pulsating her spear.
The goddess Athena often helped people.
In Homer’s Iliad she was on the side of the Achaeans while in the Odyssey she was always by the side of Odysseus to help him in difficult times.
During the Persian wars, she was also a valuable helper to the Greeks.
For all these reasons, the Greeks in her honor erected many temples, created festivities, and created important statues.
The Parthenon in Athens is the most famous temple dedicated to her.
As for her appearance, because she came from the head of Zeus and participated in heroic feats, she was always with a helmet, shield, and spear in her right hand, while on the left she held a thunderbolt.
Next to her were always her sacred animals, the owl, the cunning serpent, and on her patronage like a trophy the head of Medusa.
Next to her were always her sacred animals, the owl, the cunning serpent, and on her patronage like a trophy the head of Medusa.
But when she was the protector of peaceful activities she was depicted dressed in a strict attire, while in her hands instead of a spear she held a tool and on her helmet instead of a war emblem there was a rooster that symbolized the morning awakening of people for their daily work.
Τhe gold and ivory statue of the goddess Athena, created by Phidias, represents in the best way the different natures of the goddess.
The goddess was upright, dressed in a long tunic to the feet. Her chest was covered with the auspices, which had the Mermaid's head in the center. On the front of the helmet was the Sphinx and on the side griffins. In the left hand he held a Victory and in the right a spear. At the foot of the statue was the serpent and shield painted with representations from the Battle of the Amazons and the Gigantomachy.