Pantheons: The Most Common Gods In Greek Mythology

The Greek Society believes in many Gods. The first one that I will talk about is Zeus. Zeus is The God of The Sky, Thunder, Lightning, and Justice. Zeus made sure that justice was always served. So he made sure that there was justice everywhere. And if someone was doing wrong he would punish them deeply.

It all started with Uranus and Gaea. They were the first God and Goddess. Gaea is the Goddess of the Earth. Uranus is the God of sky. Another name that refer to Gaea is Mother Earth. Uranus and Gaea First children are called the titans. They had 6 titans, which are boys. They also had 6 titanesses, which are girls. The titan had ridiculous amount of strength. One of the titans was named Cronus. Uranus and Gaea had 3 cyclops children. There names were Lightning, Thunder,and Thunderbolt. The cyclopes are strong smiths. Then Uranus and Gaea had a 3 generation of kids, which were 3 sons. They had 50 heads & 100 strong arms. Uranus put the cyclops and 3rd generation of children into Tartarus. Gaea told her Titan kids to help her and kill Uranus for sending there other kids into Tartarus. Gaea told her children, who ever chooses to kill there father get the title lord of the universe and also free his siblings. Cronus said he would, but his father fled before he got the chance.

In greek culture the gods started with a war, which led to a very impact full fall, the fall of Kronos. Kronos is the king of the titans, but every king has his downfall. The king had to have his queen and Kronos's queen was his downfall. The queen didn’t stop trying for children and every time she gave birth, the child was swallowed by their father. That is until Zeus came along.

Once Zeus was fully grown he returned to his father’s realm and with the help of his mother, hoodwinked Cronus to drink an emetic that made him disgorge his children (Leadbetter). It was these children: Hades, Poseidon, Hestia, Hera and Demeter who helped Zeus wage the Titan war against Cronus. The women titans refused to help Cronus defeat the Olympians and even a few male titans helped aid the Olympians. After ten years of battles, the Olympians were able to banish the Titans into the Underworld (Titanomachy). It was after this war that Zeus seized the throne and divided the sky, the underworld, and the sea amongst him and his brothers. (Hades: the underworld, Poseidon: the sea, and Zeus: the sky.)

Beginning around 700 B.C., stories by Homer and other Greek poets told of the lives of powerful gods who involved themselves in human affairs. Supreme among these gods was Zeus, but to the Romans he was known as Jupiter. Zeus was the supreme god and ruler of Olympus. He was known by many titles: Lord of the Sky, the Cloud- gatherer, the Rain-god, and Zeus the Thunderer. All of which are the most popular names dating back to ancient Greek history and mythology.

In myths we come across many names of gods and goddesses and strange creatures. All of them have many stories related to them. Different gods represent different aspects of life and the Earth is under their control.

In this paragraph will be information on Greek Gods and Goddesses. There was a governing body for the Grecians. This mythological group was very important. They were usually the reason for war and many believed that they were so superior that they would bring disease and death upon others that they dislike or the people that would try to out shine them. They were called The Olympians. There were twelve Olympians, however before I name them there actually were 13, but Hestia gave up her position for Dionysus. There was Zeus, Poseidon, Hermes, Hephatus, Hera, Demeter, Aphrodite, Athena, Artimes, Dionysus, Aries (Ares or Aris), and Apollo.” (Greek Gods and Goddesses) There was one other God that is also very important to the Olympians. His name was Hades and he was the God of the Dead. He was not considered an Olympian though because he was always to be in the Underworld. Hades had one day decided that he wanted a partner however

As Hephaestus is notified of Thetis’ arrival, he explores what their relationship has meant to him. Hephaestus recalls that “Thetis saved my life when the mortal pain came on me after my great fall…” (P. 480) After Hephaestus falls out of Zeus’ good graces, Thetis is able to lend her helping hand, displaying the hierarchical dynamic between the gods. The gods are indebted to each other, the likely reason that Hephaestus felt as though he needed to make Thetis the ornate shield. The duty and obligation to each other fuels the mutualistic relationships between the gods. Thetis’ motivation to help Hephaestus was not solely out of kindness; rather Thetis saw the opportunity to make a strategic move and put Hephaestus in her debt, knowing that she very well could use his services in her future. Hephaestus describes the pain that he felt as “mortal pain” signifying a distinction between the discomforts and vulnerability of mortals and gods.

Greek gods good, bad, or both? Well, they are bad and good for the Ancient Greek Civilization. I'll explain two positive and negative effects it had on Ancient Greeks. "These effects affect virtually every aspect of their society.' As stated in Historical.

In the beginning there was emptiness called Chaos, as well as Earth, Hell, and Love named Eros. Eros was half girl half boy and created the earth named Gaia. Gaia, out of her own fertility, created a male companion named Ouranos, sky (Stone 39). Ouranos and Gaia would begin to create all other creatures of the universe including the massive Titans. Some of their offspring were giant rats and lizards, some only had one eye in the center of their forehead, and others had fifty heads and one hundred arms. Ouranos was disgusted by these deformed creatures and hid them away deep within the earth. Gaia did not agree with this decision and vowed to get revenge upon him. She turned to the Titans for help and promised if one of them would use an adamant sickle against their father they would assume his role as the master of the universe and king of the Titans. Kronos, the largest of the Titans, stepped forward. That same night Kronos snuck up behind his father and cut off his genitals. Kronos raised the genitals in victory spraying blood everywhere. Some of the blood hit Gaia and seeped into her womb (Stone 40). Other drops dripped into Tartarus, the deepest part of the underworld, and created the Furies. Finally, drops would become the Giants of the Earth which would be impervious to death, even by the hands of a god. Although Kronos was now king of the Titans he was told by his mother and father that he would be

Athens sacred and this city took on her name. The owl symbolizes wisdom and Athena

Deities is another word for gods and goddesses. They also believed in reincarnation. Some of the deities were Viracocha, Inti, and Apu Illapu. Viracocha, also known as Pachacamac, created all living things. Inti was the sun god and patron deity of the holy city of Cusco (home of the sun). Apu Illapu was known as the rain god, prayed to when needed rain.

gods and goddesses that all played a part in the everyday life of the average

The start of believing in the gods and goddesses started as a way to explain daily life and to give life a purpose . Without a reason for living majority of people would descend into madness with no morals. Unlike other religions that had a holy text, mythology was based primarily on word of mouth. The stories were passed down from generation to generation to create the outlandish but captivating mythology that we have in modern society. While there were countless gods and goddesses, students do typically learn the 12 that are called the “Olympian Gods” . This group was led by Zeus, who is perhaps is the most well known Greek god. The next 11 were named as followed, Athena, Apollo, Poseidon, Hermes, Hera, Aphrodite, Demeter, Ares, Artemis, Hades, Hephaistos, and Dionysus. I have attached a family tree to help showcases how majority of the gods and goddesses were related . Each god had their own followers and were all considered the god of something. For example, Athena is known as the Goddess of Wisdom and Hades is the God of the Dead or God of the Underworld. Greek citizens built large temples to honor a particular god where the god was thought to live.

Like the Egyptians, Greek civilization had multiple gods that were immortal and very powerful, but there were twelve major gods that were the most important. Some of these gods and goddesses were Zeus, Hera, Athena, and Apollo to name a few. They were believed to reside on Mt. Olympus. Greek gods were immortal. The people of Greece built temples (much like the pyramids that were in Egypt), and gods were worshipped at these temples. Ceremonial rituals or any other special occasions took place here also. Most of the temples were constructed to honor a god, and they were sacred in their being. They sacrificed animals, held festivals, and sporting events. It is apparent that the Greeks adapted some similar qualities from Egyptian religion, but they are still unique in their own way.