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Lecture 2: Zeus, Hera, and the Nature of Gods
Zeus’ power divided up with brothers:
Zeus- sky
Poseidon- sea
Hades- the underworld
The main gods- the Olympians!
There are 12:
1. Zeus (Jupiter), domain: the sky
2. Hera (Juno), Zeus’ sister and wife
3. Poseidon (Neptune), domain: sea
4. Hades (Pluto), domain: underworld
5. Hestia (Vesta), goddess of the hearth
6. Hephaestus (Vulcan), god of the forge
7. Ares (Mars), god of War
8. Apollo (same), god of the sun
9. Artemis (Diana), goddess of the hunt
10. Demeter (Ceres) goddess of the harvest
11. Aphrodite (Venus), goddess of love
12. Athena (Minerva), goddess of wisdom, war
13.Hermes (Mercury), divine messenger, god of boundaries
14. Dionysus (Bacchus), god of theatre, wine
But there are 14!
Hades (his domain is the underworld) and Hestia (not quite as important as
others) are taken out of the twelve.
Hestia, goddess of the hearth
First born of Cronus and Rhea
Virgin goddess (sworn to chastity, like Athena and Artemis
Rejected Apollo and Poseidon
Goddess of the hearth and sacred fire
(very important, fire difficult to obtain –prometheus- and trans. of fire from
one community to another symbolic of sentiment
Zeus
Last born of Cronus and Rhea
Amorous/infidel
This is reflective of Greek attitudes towards marriage (he could have affairs,
she could not)
= glorified image of father and husband, but at the same time lover (but
sometimes depicted amoral or as a joke)
* this does not mean Hera is happy about it…she gets even (usually with the
girl and not Zeus) and is angry and bitter
name means “bright”
attributes: thunder and lightning (and his weapon)
The eagle and oak are sacred to him
Usually depicted bearded, but in his prime
Also has the Aegis (sometimes a cloak, means “goat skin”, for him it’s a
shield)
Sometimes challenged as the greatest (e.g. Aphrodite can bend almost
anyone- except Athena, Hestia, and Artemis- to her will)
Zeus’ relationship with Hera
Hera is his greatest challenger
She acts with matronly severity (about her husband’s infidelity)
Hera
Peacock associated with her
Regal and matronly in art
“ox-eyed” (doe-eyed) and “white-armed” – Homer
Argos is her great center of worship (with the Argive Herion)
Worshipped as goddess of marriage, children, women
The Sanctuary of Zeus, Olympia
Why Olympia?
-son Herakles was said to have established Olympic games
On complex, older temple to Hera and fifth-century temple to Zeus with
chryselephantine statue
West pediment: battle of Lapiths and Centaurs
Centaurs invited to the wedding of Pirithoüs (son of Zeus), a Lapith
king. Centaurs and wine do not mix, and they attempt to lead the
women off and rape them.
Central figure: Apollo (one of Zeus’ sons)
*This scene makes sense: two of Zeus’ kids are involved in the story; also,
the centaur theme might reflect the recent attitudes toward the Persians
(barbarians = monsters)
East Pediment: Chariot race between Pelops and Oenomaüs
The story goes that in order to win Oenomaüs’ daughter Hippodamia
in marriage, a suitor had to compete against her father in a chariot
race. The suitor would take Hippodamia in his chariot, and if the
father caught up to them he would kill them. Pelops (usually because
he bribed the father’s charioteer, Myrtilus) won the race. Myrtilus
thought that he got to have Hippodamia on the first night, tried to rape
her, and Pelops threw him off a cliff. While falling, Myrtilus curses
Pelops and his family line = The curse on the house of Atreus
*This scene makes sense as a choice for the temple: it’s a local tale!
The Metopes: The Labors of Herakles
*This choice makes sense: his son’s heroic feats!
The Oracles at Olympia and Dodona
- Oracles of Zeus
At Olympia, the questions were usually limited to the odds of competitors
and games
- originally oracular responses were read in rustling leaves, etc, but at
Dodona (influenced by Delphi) there was a priestess that would give
messages from Zeus
The children of Zeus and Hera
Eileithyia: goddess of childbirth (shares role with Hera)
Hebe: A goddess of youthful bloom, servant and cupbearer of the gods…she
shares this role with the Trojan prince Ganymede, who was carried away by
Zeus to be his lover. When Herakles becomes immortal, she becomes his
bride
Hephaestus: immortal craftsman, workshop in heaven or on Mt. Olympus.
- makes incredible things (e.g. the shield of Achilles)
He has attendants fashioned in gold (like robots)
Sometime forge is under the earth, and he is attended by the Cyclopes
Often linked with Athena (the Hephaesteion in Athens is a temple to them
both)…interestingly, some traditions have that they each come from one
parent!
Hephaestus was lame (crippled) from birth:
-Hera’s attempt to match Zeus’ conception of Athena a failure, casts
him down from Olympus
-Only convinced to coe back by Dionysus, who gets him drunk
-Also may have been hurled down by Zeus
Hephaestus is married to Aphrodite = the union of beauty and deformity
Aphrodite and Ares
Aphrodite having an affair with handsome and strong Ares. Helius, the sun,
saw everything and told Hephaestus. He plots to get even. He pretends to
leave for Lemnos but comes back, and when the two get together in bed, a
cobweb of chains and shackles fell down upon them, trapping them. He
summoned all the gods to bear witness, and they all laughed at Ares and
Aphrodite. Only Poseidon didn’t laugh, begging Hephaestus to let her go.
He relented, and the two fled away in embarrassment.
Ares, the god of war
He had numerous children with Aphrodite (Eros, for one)
Not highly thought of (his arts are not what Greeks are interested in, too
violent), but they respected him (Greece saw much war and knew the harsh
realities).
The Muses
Zeus + Titaness Mnemosyne (Memory) = Muses (reminders)
Muses = patronesses of Art and Literature, they inspire
Museum comes from this
The Fates
Zeus + Themis or Night + Erebus = Fates
- become know as the three old women responsible for the destiny of every
individual
- Clotho (Spinner) spins the thread of life
- Lachesis (Apportioner) measures the thread
- Atropos (Inflexible) cuts it off, bringing life to an end
The Fates play a very important role (you can’t deny your fate)
- sometimes Zeus is the supreme deity of all, other times he must bow to fate
The Nature of Gods
They are:
Anthropomorphic
Beautiful/Handsome beyond men
Live in houses on Mt. Olympus (or in Hades)
They eat ambrosia and drink nectar (“the nectar of the gods”)
Ichor runs through their veins (clearer than blood)
Animals can be associated with particular divinities (Zeus-eagle,
Athena-owl, Hera-peacock, Poseidon-horse, Aphrodite-dove, Aresboar)
More powerful than humans, move faster, etc.
Are not invulnerable (can be wounded, feel pain)
Divine Hierarchy
There aren’t just gods:
Highest order: the Olympian Pantheon
There are also:
Harpies (birdlike creatures with female faces, the “snatchers”)
Gorgons (like Medusa, terrifying to look at, you would turn to stone,
Medusa only mortal)
Nymphs (spirits that animate nature, are amorous, beautiful girls)
Muses and Oceanids are sorts of nymphs
Demigods (mixed parentage, have super powers, but are limited)
Heroes can be (e.g. Herakles) but a hero isn’t always (Oedipus)
Zeus and Monotheism
Strong element of monotheism: there are many, but he is still in control
Hesiod and Homer paint him as the chief sovereign
Similar theme in Holy Trinity (one god, more than one at same time)
Herodotus
Fifth-century BC author
Story of Solon, Croesus and Cyrus