GREEK GODS AND GODDESSES

Greek Mythology

• Used in Ancient Greece to explain human behavior and things that happened in the natural world. (1100 b.c.)
• It was (and is) Religion
• Multiple gods and goddesses
• 12 main gods and goddesses
• With ‘stories’
• Live on Mt. Olympus

Mythology and Literature

• Gods and goddesses appear in the literature of Ancient Greece The Iliad, The Odyssey, Greek drama, poems, stories (500 b.c).
• Gods and goddesses appear in MANY, MANY short stories, novels, poems, plays, etc… throughout history and across cultures.
• Recognizing them will help you understand literature better.
• Many themes / ideas of literature nowadays comes from Ancient Greece

Aphrodite

• Goddess of love, fertility and beauty
• Born from the sea foam in the ocean
• Most beautiful of all the goddesses
• Daughter of Zeus
• Married to Hephaestus but cheats on him with Ares
• Symbol: dove

Apollo

• God of truth, light prophesy and music
• Son of Zeus and Leto
• Brother of Artemis
• Portrayed as a young man (beardless)
• Symbols: lyre (musical instrument), bow and arrow

Ares

• God of war and violence
• Son of Zeus and Hera
• Handsome and cruel
• Usually wearing armor
• Symbol: bloodstained spear and armor
• Sat on a throne made of human skin

Athena

• Goddess of wisdom, battle and the city
• Athens was named for her
• Born from the head of Zeus
• Usually portrayed as a young woman with a shield and helmet
• Helped many heroes, including Odysseus in their adventures
• Symbols: owl, armor

Artemis

• Virgin goddess of the hunt and the moon
• Daughter of Zeus and Leto – Sister of Apollo
• She was born first and helped her mother deliver Apollo
• Usually depicted wearing buckskins and carrying a bow and arrow

Dionysus

• God of wine and parties
• Son of Zeus and Semele (mortal woman)
• Out of jealousy, Hera kills Semele and Zeus saves Dionysus
• Symbol – grapes and wine

Hephaestus

• God of crafts – Blacksmith God
• The only lame and ugly god
• Son of Zeus and Hera
• His mother threw him out of heaven because he was lame
• Married Aphrodite
• Created Pandora’s box
• Symbols: Crab, anvil

Zeus

• King of the Gods, ruler of Earth and Mount Olympus
• Married to Hera, but constantly cheats on her
• Son of Cronus and Rhea
• Zeus locked his father away under the mountains
• Symbol: thunderbolt

Hermes

• Messenger of the Gods
• Son of Zeus and a nymph
• Aided Odysseus on his journey
• Guided souls to the Underworld
• Hermes wore magic sandals and a helmet of darkness
• Symbol: staff made of willow and snakes

Poseidon

• God of the Sea
• Brother of Zeus and Hades
• Son of Cronus and Rhea
• Battled against Odysseus in The Odyssey
• Ability to shift shapes, sometimes changed into a horse
• Symbols: horse and trident

Hera

• Sister and wife of Zeus
• Daughter of Cronus and Rhea
• Goddess of marriage
• Beautiful goddess
• Often portrayed as petty and unforgiving
• Symbols: peacock and pomegranate

Hades

• Hades (refers to the god and name of the underworld)
• God of the Underworld
• Brother of Zeus and Poseidon
• Parents – Rhea and Cronus
• Symbol – Cerberus (3 headed dog)
• Abducted Persephone and made her his queen

because the girl had tasted of the food of Hades--a handful of pomegranate seeds--she was forced to forever spend a part of the year with her husband in the underworld. Her annual return to the earth in spring was marked by the flowering of the meadows and the sudden growth of the new grain. Her return to the underworld in winter, conversely, saw the dying down of plants and the halting of growth.

Hades

Demeter

• goddess of grain, growing, nourishes the green earth, brings forth fruit and grains from the earth
• Persephone’s mom
• wearing a wreath of braided ears of corn
• Symbol – torch (search for Persephone)

Hestia

• Hestia is the Greek goddess of the hearth fire, hence presiding over domestic life.
• She is the eldest sister of Zeus and the oldest daughter of Rhea and Cronus.
• tended the sacred fire in the hall on the Olympus
• Swore by the head of Zeus to remain a virgin
• Symbol – donkey and pig