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The Olympian Greek Gods and Goddesses
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The Olympian gods were the main gods of Ancient Greece. After overthrowing their ancestors,
the Titans, the Olympian gods became the rulers of the World (Cosmos), representing the
civilization of the world. The Olympian gods majestically and democratically dwelled on Mount
Olympus, the highest mountain in Greece, built by the Cyclopes. The leader of the Olympian
gods was Zeus.
The gods were born and grew just like human beings, some of them even married, however they
were unaging and death never came to them. They lived inside human-like bodies with an
ethereal fluid called ichor running through the veins. They had passions and human weaknesses
and were many times at fault, but were then obliged to take the full responsibility of their
actions.
Greek myths always refer to the twelve Gods of Mount Olympus, but actually, in total there were
more Olympian Gods in Greek Mythology. However, there were never more than twelve at one
time. The four alternative gods were Hestia, Hades, Dionysus and Demeter, depending on the
location.
[Read how the gods were worshipped in ancient Greece]
Aphrodite
Apollo
The sensual goddess of Love
and Beauty
The youthful god of the Sun
and the Music
Ares
Artemis
The fierce god of War
The wild goddess of the Hunt
Athena
Demeter
The sophisticated goddess of
Wisdom and Arts
The natural goddess of the
Harvest
Dionysus
Hades
The joyful god of Wine
The gloomy god of the
Underworld
Hephaestus
Hera
The ill-favored god of
Metallurgy
The mature goddess of the
Family
Hermes
Hestia
The cunning god of the Trade
The calm goddess of the
Hearth
Zeus
Poseidon
The superior King of the Gods
and Ruler of Mankind
The moody god of the Seas
The First Greek Gods and
Goddesses
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The ancient Greek mankind, trying to explain certain metaphysi
phenomena and anxieties, invented amazing myths concerning
Cosmogony (the creation of the World) and the Theogony (the
Gods).
Thus, the ancient Greek people created their own splendid, yet h
like world of gods, justifying the various abstract significances
Birth or Death.
First Greek Gods » Chaos, the primeval state of existence
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According to the Hesiod's Theogony (around 700 BC), in the
beginning there was Chaos as a primeval state of existence.
Chaos was the primal emptiness- a dark, silent, formless and
infinite oddity with no trace of life.
Out of Chaos, Mother Earth Gaea first came to existence. Full
of life and power, Gaea created high mountains, low lands,
rivers, lakes and seas. Soon Chaos created Tartarus, the
embodiment of the Underworld who built his home deep below
the World of Gaea. Gaea and Tartarus united and created
Typhoon), an appalling, fire breathing dragon with hundred heads.
appeared out of Chaos, in the form of Eros. Eros was the most handsome
k gods and invincible by nature.
gave birth to Erebus, the symbolization of the dark silence, and Nyx, the
nt of the night.
ntervention of Eros, Erebus and Nyx united and Nyx created Aether (the
re) and Hemera (the Day).
Learn about: The Creation of the Titans | The Creation of modern Mankind
Greek Mythology - Family Tree of the First Greek Gods
First Greek Gods »Theogony - The Creation
of the First Greek Gods
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21
The ancient Greek mankind, trying to explain certain metaphysical phenomena and anxieties,
invented amazing myths concerning the Cosmogony (the creation of the World) and the
Theogony (the birth of the Gods). Thus, the ancient Greek people created their own splendid,
yet human-like world of gods, justifying the various abstract significances like Love, Birth or
Death.
The origins of the gods of ancient Greek religion are described in the Theogony, the famous
poem which was composed by the Greek writer Hesiod around 700 BC, and the Library of
Apollodorus.
The creation of the gods needs to be divided into four parts:
The Coming into Existence of Chaos
First there was Chaos, a rough unordered mass of things, also considered as a void. Chaos was
followed by Gaea (Earth) and Eros(Desire), who came to cancel every logical thought or act.
Gaea then brought Uranus (the Heaven), the infinite Pontus (the Sea) with his raging waves
and high mountains full of forests to the world.
The Castration of Uranus
Uranus' task was to surround and cover Gaea with his starry
coat, however, it very soon came to a union between Uranus
and Gaea and they became the first divine couple in the world.
Gaea bore Uranus twelve Titans: the deep Oceanus, Coeus,
Crius, Hyperion, Iapetus, Theia, Rhea, Themis, Mnemosyne,
the golden-wreathed Phoebe the charming Tethys, and Cronus,
who was the youngest of all. Furthermore, she produced three one-eyed creatures called
Cyclopes (Brontes, Steropes and heady Arges), as well as three hundred-handed creatures
called Hecatonchires.
Uranus was fearful of his children overthrowing him, so he pushed his children back one by
one into the womb of Gaea. His wife Gaea was in deep grief and sorrow over the loss of her
own children, so in the end she decided to hand a sickle to her son Cronus, the youngest of the
Titans, in order to castrate his father.
Cronus castrated his father while he was sleeping; the blood from Uranus was collected by
Mother Earth Gaea and she produced Erinyes (Furies), Giants and Nymphs. Cronus then threw
his father's genitals into the sea, around which foams developed, that started in the island of
Kythera and then slowly made their way to the island of Paphos, in modern Cyprus. In Paphos,
the foams transformed into Aphrodite, the Olympian goddess of Love and Beauty.
The Great Escape of Zeus from the Threat of Cronus
Soon afterwards, Cronus rescued his brothers and sisters and
shared the World (the Cosmos) with them. Then, Cronus married
his sister Rhea and together they created children who would later
on become the Olympian gods.
However, Cronus became fearful as well so he started to swallow
his own children, just like his father. Rhea was highly
discomforted, so, in her attempt to save her youngest child, Zeus,
she tricked her husband by giving a huge stone to swallow. Rhea
then sent Zeus to the Greek island of Crete in order to protect him.
The Victorious Battle of the Olympian Gods against the
Titans (Titanomachy)
Zeus grew up in the island of Crete. He was fed by the goat Amaltheia and the Nymphs took
good care of him. Doves brought him ambrosia from far away to eat and an eagle brought him
nectar to drink. When he reached manhood, as prophesied, Zeus rescued his five elder brothers
and sisters and then started a war against his father and the Titans. This war is also known as
also known as the "Titanomachy".
In this battle, Zeus succeeded in overthrowing Cronus, casting him and the other Titans into
the depths of the Underworld. A huge battle with the Giants followed, where the Olympian
Gods excelled... and then time had come for the Olympian gods to rule the world!
First Greek Gods »The Titans of Ancient
Greece
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According to Greek mythology, the Titans were a race of primordial, powerful deities that ruled
during the legendary Golden Age. The Titans were created by Gaea, the goddess of the Earth and
Uranus, the god of the Heaven who embraced Gaea strongly with his starry coat. Gaea and
Uranus became the first divine couple of the World.
The Titans were the first dwelling in Mount Olympus in Ancient Greece, but were overthrown
and expelled to the lower basement of Hades, the Tartarus, after their defeat in a huge battle with
the Olympian Gods, known as Titanomachy.
The Superior Titans
Uranus
Gaea
Ruler of the Heaven and
the Sky
Mother Earth
Main Titans
Atlas
Prometheus
Titan of Astronomy
Titan of Wisdom and Forethought
Titan Couples
Cronus
Rhea
Ruling Titan and Father of the
Olympian Gods
Mother of the Olympian Gods
Phoebe
Coeus
The Titan of Intelligence
The Titaness of Brilliance and
the Moon
Hyperion
Theia
Titan of Light and Observation
Titaness of Sight
Oceanus
Tethys
The Ruler of the Waters and the
Seas
The Titaness of the Wet Element
and the Oceans
Further Titans
Crius
Iapetus
Titan of Leadership and Domestic
Animals
Titan of
Mortality
Themis
Mnemosyne
Titaness of Memory
Titaness of
Law, Justice
and Order
First Greek Gods » Deucalion's Flood
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Deucalion's Flood and the Creation of
the new Human Race
When Prometheus stole fire from the King
of the gods Zeus and gave it to humans,
humans were no longer afraid of the cold
and slowly they started progressing.
However, instead of being good people, they
turned out to be bad and unfair.
Furiously, the King of the gods Zeus one
day decided to destroy the human race. But
in Thessaly, in Central Greece, there lived the son of Prometheus, Deucalion, and
his wife Pyrrha. Those people were good and righteous and Zeus felt pity for them
and didn't want them to die.
So he asked from Deucalion to build an ark. Deucalion obeyed, and when he built
the ark and gathered all the necessary supplies, he entered the ark with his wife.
Zeus then opened the heavens and it rained so much that all the land of Greece
transformed into a sea.
For nine days and nine nights, Deucalion's ark was wandering around, until finally
it stopped at the top of Mount Parnassus. Suddenly, the rain stopped, and
Deucalion with Pyrrha stepped out of the ark and made sacrifices to thank Zeus
for saving them.
But, obviously, they were very sad and cried, because the world they were now
living in was lonely... Zeus felt sorry for the couple, so he sent his messenger
Hermes to grant them a wish. The couple asked for people.
"Go back and throw stones", he told them and so they did. The stones that
Deucalion threw became men and those of Pyrra became women . This way, once
again a new race of men was created. The first stone thrown by Deucalion became
a man called Hellen (Hellinas). According to the legend, from Hellen and his
descendants the Greek people (the "Hellenes") originate.
Ancient Greek Demigods and Spirits
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In addition to the Greek gods of Mount Olympus, there were also other Greek deities and various
spirits who were usually supplementing the Olympian gods' powers, but at times tended to
dispute the Olympian gods' proposals.
Marine Deities - the Gods of the Seas
Nereus
Proteus
the Old Gentleman of the Seas
the Sea god from Egypt
Sirens
Triton
Alluring Sea Nymphs
the Messenger of Poseidon
Groups of Demigods and Spirits
Amazons
Charites
mighty, skillful female
warriors
the Goddesses of Joy, Charm
and Beauty
Erinyes
Fates (Moirae)
the Goddesses of Revenge and
Retribution
the Spinners of the Thread of
Life
Horae
Muses
the Goddesses of the Seasons
the Goddesses of Art and
Science
Nymphs
Pleiades
the Goddesses of Nature
the goddesses of the mountains
Winds
the Gods of the Wind
Other Minor Power Gods
Adonis
Asclepius
the Lover of Aphrodite
the Greek God of Healing
Bia
Eilithyia
the personification of Violence
the Goddess of Childbirth
Eros
Hebe
the Winged God of Love
the Goddess of Youth
Helios
Hemera
the God of the Sun
the Goddess of the Day
Hyacinthus
Hygieia
Apollo's Handsome Partner
from Sparta
the Greek Goddess of Health
Iris
Nemesis
the personification of the
rainbow
the Divine Spirit of Retributive
Justice
Nyx
Persephone
the Goddess of the Night
the Queen of the Underworld
Styx
Tyche
the Sacred River of the Oaths
the Greek Goddess of Fortune
Monsters & Creatures in Ancient Greece
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Centaurs
Cerberus
rude, aggressive half- horse creatures
the guard of the Underworld
Cyclopes
Giants
one-eyed monstrous creatures
huge, frightful monsters
Graeae
Harpies
the grey guards with the one eye
the snatchers of souls
Hecatonchires
Medusa
the frightful opponent of Perseus
hundred-handed, dreadful monsters
Minotaur
Satyrs
the creature with the head of a bull
joyful half-goat creatures
Sphinx
Typhon
the monster with the famous riddle
the monstrous opponent of Zeus
Heroes and Mortals of Ancient Greece
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The Greek heroes were playing a significant part in the Greek myths and folk tales. They usually
were characters with a daring personality and extraordinary abilities, mostly arising from the
Trojan War.
Famous Greek Heroes
Heracles
Jason
the strongest hero of
the leader of the Argonauts
Ancient Greece
Trojan War Heroes
Achilles
Odysseus
the most important hero of
the cunning hero of the
the Trojan War
Trojan War
Famous Seers
Calchas
Tiresias
the interpreter of omens
the blind seer from Thebes
Kings and Founders
Agamemnon
Glaucos
the king of Mycenae
the king of Corinth
Inachos
the king and presumable
founder of Argos
Theseus
Perseus
the king and founding
the founder of Mycenae
hero of Athens, Greece
Extraordinary Women
Atalanta
Europe
Danae
the swift-footed huntress
the mother of Perseus
the beautiful princess
abducted by Zeus
Helen
Pandora
Psyche
the most beautiful woman
the first woman ever
the deification of the
in the world
created
human's soul
Olympic Heroes
Pelops
the mythical founder of the Olympic Games
Further Greek Mortals
Actaeon
Belleroph
on
Daedal
us
Endymi
on
the great artist and
the unaging
inventor
shepherd
the unfortunate
hunter of Boeotia
the Master of Pegasus
Ganyme
de
the cup-bearer of the
Linus
Narciss
us
Orion
the Music teacher of
the handsome boy
the greatest hunter
Heracles
in love with
of all times
gods
himself
Orpheus
Sisyphus
the Father of the
the cunning cheater of
Songs
death
Tantalu
s
the greedy sufferer
of the Underworld