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Greek Mythology
1. A Brief Introduction
Greek Mythology, set of diverse traditional tales told by the ancient Greeks about the exploits
of gods and heroes and their relations with ordinary mortals.
The ancient Greeks worshiped many gods within a culture that tolerated diversity. Unlike
other belief systems, Greek culture recognized no single truth or code and produced no sacred,
written text like the Bible or the Qur’an. Stories about the origins and actions of Greek divinities
varied widely, depending, for example, on whether the tale appeared in a comedy, tragedy, or epic
poem. Greek mythology was like a complex and rich language, in which the Greeks could express
a vast range of perceptions about the world.
Ancient Greek and Roman Gods As the Roman Empire expanded, it assimilated elements of the
cultures it conquered. In religion this process has been called interpretatio Romana, or the Roman
understanding. When Roman and Greek culture mixed after the Romans conquered ancient Greece
in the 3rd century bc, ancient Roman gods and goddesses became associated with those of the
Greek civilization. The table lists some of the main gods and goddesses and the roles they played
in both Greek and Roman mythology.
A Greek city-state devoted itself to a particular god or group of gods in whose honor it built
temples. The temple generally housed a statue of the god or gods. The Greeks honored the city’s
gods in festivals and also offered sacrifices to the gods, usually a domestic animal such as a goat.
Stories about the gods varied by geographic location: A god might have one set of characteristics
in one city or region and quite different characteristics elsewhere.
2. Principal Figures
Greek mythology has several distinguishing characteristics, in addition to its multiple
versions. The Greek gods resembled human beings in their form and in their emotions, and they
lived in a society that resembled human society in its levels of authority and power. However, a
crucial difference existed between gods and human beings: Humans died, and gods were immortal.
Heroes also played an important role in Greek mythology, and stories about them conveyed
serious themes. The Greeks considered human heroes from the past closer to themselves than were
the immortal gods.
Given the multiplicity of myths that circulated in Greece, it is difficult to present a single
version of the genealogy (family history) of the gods. However, two accounts together provide a
genealogy that most ancient Greeks would have recognized. One is the account given by Greek
poet Hesiod in his Theogony (Genealogy of the Gods), written in the 8th century bc. The other
account, The Library, is attributed to a mythographer (compiler of myths) named Apollodorus,
who lived during the 2nd century bc.
.
A. Creation of Gods
According to Greek myths about creation, the god Chaos (Greek for
“Gaping Void”) was the foundation of all things. From Chaos came Gaea
(“Earth”); the bottomless depth of the underworld, known as Tartarus;
and Eros (“Love”). Eros, the god of love, was needed to draw divinities
together so they might produce offspring. Chaos produced Night, while Gaea
first bore Uranus, the god of the heavens, and after him produced the
mountains, sea, and gods known as Titans. The Titans were strong and large,
and they committed arrogant deeds. The youngest and most important Titan
was Cronus. Uranus and Gaea, who came to personify Heaven and Earth, also
gave birth to the Cyclopes, one-eyed giants who made thunderbolts.
2. Rhea and Cronus
Rhea and Cronus
In Greek mythology, Cronus was the ruler of
the universe. Here, his wife Rhea hands him
a stone wrapped in swaddling clothes in
place of their son, Zeus. The portrayal,
created between the 1st and 3rd centuries,
is on the base of a stone statue at the Museo
Capitolino in Rome, Italy.
Art Resource, NY/Erich Lessing
Uranus tried to block any successors from taking over his supreme
position by forcing back into Gaea the children she bore. But the youngest
child, Cronus, thwarted his father, cutting off his genitals and tossing
them into the sea. From the bloody foam in the sea Aphrodite, goddess of
sexual love, was born.
After wounding his father and taking away his power, Cronus became
ruler of the universe. But Cronus, in turn, feared that his own son would
supplant him. When his sister and wife Rhea gave birth to
offspring—Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, and Poseidon—Cronus swallowed
them. Only the youngest, Zeus, escaped this fate, because Rhea tricked
Cronus. She gave him a stone wrapped in swaddling clothes to swallow in
place of the baby.
3. Zeus and the Olympian Gods
Bust of Zeus
In Greek mythology Zeus was ruler
of both the Olympian gods and the
human race. Sometimes he is
portrayed as a just and merciful
defender of the weak. At other
times he appears to be passionate,
inconstant, and vengeful. This
ancient Greek bust of Zeus is in
the National Museum in Naples,
Italy.
Corbis/THE BETTMANN ARCHIVE
When fully grown, Zeus forced his father to disgorge the children
he had swallowed. With their help and armed with the thunderbolt, Zeus
made war on Cronus and the Titans, and overcame them. He established a
new regime, based on Mount Olympus in northern Greece. Zeus ruled the sky.
His brother Poseidon ruled the sea, and his brother Hades, the underworld.
Their sister Hestia ruled the hearth, and Demeter took charge of the
harvest. Zeus married his sister Hera, who became queen of the heavens
and guardian of marriage and childbirth. Among their children was Ares,
whose sphere of influence was war.
Twelve major gods and goddesses had their homes on Mount Olympus and
were known as the Olympians. Four children of Zeus and one child of Hera
joined the Olympian gods Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Hades, Hestia, Demeter,
and Ares. Zeus’s Olympian offspring were Apollo, Artemis, Hermes, and
Athena. Hera gave birth to Hephaestus.
4. Zeus’s Consorts and Offspring
Zeus’s Consorts and Offspring
Zeus, the ruler of the Greek gods, had many relationships with Greek goddesses and mortal
women that resulted in offspring. Zeus even gave birth to a child without a mother—Athena, the
goddess of wisdom, sprang from his head. Metis is considered to be Athena’s mother because, as
one story relates, she was Zeus’s pregnant wife when he swallowed her just before Athena
emerged from his head. Zeus married his sister Hera after Metis’s death.