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GREEK RELIGION
• Religion was fundamental to Greek society and affected
every aspect of Greek life.
• Temples dedicated to gods and goddesses were the major
buildings in Greek cities.
• Worship was practiced individually.
• Visiting a shrine, alter or temple to get help from the gods
was often required for illness, bad harvests, upcoming
battle, and joyous occasions.
• They believed in omens, curses, superstitions, the
significance of dreams and the power of charms.
• Gods and goddesses were anthropomorphic meaning
they possessed human characteristics, the good and
the bad.
• Greeks believed their gods and goddesses controlled
everything, including the movement of the stars to the
failing of a harvest.
• They had gods who ruled the sky and the underworld,
for childbirth and hunting, war and even metalwork.
12 Olympians
• Homer described the 12 main gods in Greek religion
that were thought to live on Olympus, the highest
mountain in Greece.
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Zeus
Hera
Poseidon
Demeter
Hestia
Athena
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Apollo
Artemis
Hermes
Aphrodite
Hephaestus
Ares
Internet/Text Book Activity
1. Look up one of the 12 main gods and gather information
about how they came to be, what were they associated
with, and a description of their characteristics.
2. Look up the story of Demeter and Persephone. Which
natural phenomena does the story explain.
3. Words and Metaphors from Greek Myths: Look up the
following terms/metaphors and explain their meaning:
Achilles Heel
Arachnid
Tantalize
Wise as an Owl
Zeus
Family of Zeus
• Zeus was the last child of the Titans Cronus and Rhea. Zeus
had five older siblings. Two brothers (Poseidon, Hades), and
three sisters (Hestia, Hera, Demeter). Zeus married his own
sister Hera, the goddess of marriage and monogamy, but was
giving her plenty of reasons to be jealous, since Zeus was
renowned of his numerous love affairs. As a result, Zeus
fathered plenty of children.
Role and Responsibilities
• Zeus had his golden throne on the highest summit of Mount
Olympus and was respected and awed by all Gods and
mortals. All the kings boasted that they descended from Zeus.
• Zeus was the "Lord of Justice", punishing anyone who lied or
broke an oath, but was fair and always striving to keep a
balance of all things.
Furthermore, Zeus was responsible for the weather and was
shaping it according to his temper. But even Zeus' powers had
their limits, for, however powerful as he was, he had neither
the right nor the ability to intervene in the decisions of the
Fates.
Hera
The Family of Hera
• Hera was a child of the Titans Cronus and Rhea. Hera had
three brothers (Poseidon, Hades and Zeus) and two sisters
(Hestia and Demeter). She was wife to Zeus, the King of
the Gods.[ Hera’s children included Eilithyia, the goddess
of childbirth, Ares, the Olympian god of war, Hebe, the
goddess of youth and Hephaestus, the Olympian god of
Metallurgy. According to some beliefs, Hephaestus was
born without the intervention of Zeus.
Hera's troubled marriage with Zeus
• Although Hera was one of the fairest goddesses in Mount
Olympus, Zeus was giving Hera plenty of reason to be
suspicious and jealous; Hera therefore used to stay in high
places in order to keep an eye on her husband's doings.
There were times she would also interfer, causing harm to
Zeus' mistresses, since Zeus himself was invincible.
Poseidon
The Personality of Poseidon and his Way of Life
• Poseidon was considered to be the bad-tempered, moody and
greedy god among the Olympians. Once insulted, he would
revenge himself, like he did in the case of Odysseus, who brutally
blinded his son, the Cyclops Polyphemus. Poseidon loved to cross
the oceans and seas with his golden chariot surrounded by
dolphins.
The Powers of Poseidon
• Poseidon was the Greek god responsible for
natural and supernatural events, mainly the
ones associated to the sea world and was the
savior of ships. He possessed a trident which
was so powerful that it could shake the earth.
Usually Poseidon preferred to stay with his wife
Amphitrite beneath the ocean.
Aphrodite
Birth of Aphrodite
• Aphrodite was created from the foam of
the crystal waters of Paphos in the island
of Cyprus, when the Titan Cronos slew
his father, the major Titan Ouranos, and
threw his genitals into the sea.
The Role of Aphrodite as a Goddess
• Aphrodite was the most attractive
goddess of Mount Olympus. She was the
goddess of Love, Beauty and Eternal
Youth, arousing desire to gods and
humans as well as birds and beasts. In
addition, she was connected to the
death/rebirth of nature and human
beings.