Demeter (Ceres): goddess of agriculture and grain.Athena (Minerva): goddess of wisdom and defense.Artemis (Diana): goddess of hunting, animals and childbirth. Apollo (Apollo): god of prophesy, music and poetry and knowledge.Aphrodite (Venus): goddess of beauty and love.Hera (Juno): the queen of the gods and goddess of women and marriage.Zeus (Jupiter, in Roman mythology): the king of all the gods (and father to many) and god of weather, law and fate.Olympian deities looked like men and women (though they could change themselves into animals and other things) and were - as many myths recounted - vulnerable to human foibles and passions. From their lofty perch, they ruled every aspect of human life. Many high school, college and professional sports teams (Titans, Spartans and Trojans, for instance) also get their names from mythological sources.Īt the center of Greek mythology is the pantheon of gods and goddesses who were said to live on Mount Olympus, the highest mountain in Greece. Nike sneakers are the namesake of the goddess of victory, for example, and the website is named after the race of mythical female warriors. Writers such as the 2nd-century BC Greek mythographer Apollodorus of Athens and the 1st-century BC Roman historian Gaius Julius Hyginus compiled the ancient myths and legends for contemporary audiences.ĭid you know? Many consumer products get their names from Greek mythology. For instance, mythological figures and events appear in the 5th-century plays of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides and the lyric poems of Pindar. Later Greek writers and artists used and elaborated upon these sources in their own work. The Theogony tells the story of the universe’s journey from nothingness (Chaos, a primeval void) into being, and details an elaborate family tree of elements, gods and goddesses who evolved from Chaos and descended from Gaia (Earth), Ouranos (Sky), Pontos (Sea) and Tartaros (the Underworld). This sparked sibling rivalry and jealousy.Īs Zeus could control lightning, power, victory, and strength, he became arrogant and impulsive towards his siblings which led to the breakdown of their relationship.Around 700 BC, the poet Hesiod’s Theogony offered the first written cosmogony, or origin story, of Greek mythology. Here, they drew lots and Zeus won the rulership of the planet. Hades was the eldest and Zeus the youngest.Īfter escaping from being eaten by his father, they fled to planet Earth. Zeus and Hades are both the sons of Kronos. The act of helping them to flee was clearly out of love for his brothers. If he had not been friendly, he would have left his two brothers to be eaten by his father. It is on the Earth that Zeus proved to be more powerful and became the supreme ruler. Zeus came for his two brothers and helped them escape to Earth. Luckily, Rhea managed to hide Zeus from his father’s Wrath. Kronos was supposed to eat all of his sons so that his father’s prophecy that they would overthrow him wouldn’t come true. It is believed that the elder children should be more powerful than the young ones so that they can still command their respect. For instance, Zeus was younger than Hadesbut he turned out to be the most powerful of the three brothers.Īs a matter of fact, he was the last born and went on to win the draw to rule the most powerful kingdom. Zeus winning the draw to become supreme God meant that the other two brothers had somehow failed because they were not as strong as he was.Īnother thing that often easily sparks rivalry is when things don’t follow a chronological order. This brought about some sour grapes amongst the brothers. However, neither Hades nor Poisedon could challenge Zeus as he was considered the supreme God. Zeus and Hades had a rather friendly rivalry over who rules which kingdom. Because he was believed to be the supreme God that controlled lightening with his strength, power, and victory, he became arrogant towards his siblings including Hades. On Earth, they were made to serve mortal kings as a punishment. When they got into an argument regarding who becomes the next ruler, Thetis (A Titaness) called upon a creature called Briarus to free Zeus and give him back his thunderbolt.Īs a payback, Zeus punished the Olympian Gods including Hermes and Poisedon, by sending them on Earth and turning them into mortal servants. His siblings Hera, Athena, Hades, and Poseidon resented him the most.Īt one point, they locked him in his throne and stole his thunderbolts. This made him arrogant and impulsive by thinking that other Olympians were his subjects. When Zeus became the ruler of the sky and the earth, he also became the supreme ruler.
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