The Olympian Greek Gods and Goddesses

Transcription

1 The Olympian Greek Gods and Goddesses The Olympian gods were the main deities in Ancient Greece. After overthrowing their ancestors, the Titans, the Olympian gods became the rulers of the Cosmos,and represented world civilization. The Olympian gods dwelt on Mount Olympus, the highest mountain in Greece, built by the Cyclopes. Zeus was the leader of the Olympian gods. The gods were born and grew just like human beings; some even married. They never aged or died. They lived inside human-like bodies with an ethereal fluid called ichor which ran in their veins. They had passions and human weaknesses and made mistakes, but found it difficult to take full responsibility for their actions. Greek myths always refer to the twelve Gods of Mount Olympus, but there were more Olympian Gods, in total, 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. Aphrodite The sensual goddess of Love and Beauty Apollo The youthful god of the Sun and the Music Ares The fierce god of War Artemis The wild goddess of the Hunt Athena The sophisticated goddess of Wisdom and Arts Demeter The natural goddess of the Harvest Dionysus The joyful god of the Wine Hades The gloomy god of the Underworld Hephaestus The ill-favored god of Metallurgy Hera The mature goddess of the Family Hermes The cunning god of the Trade Hestia The calm goddess of the Hearth Poseidon The moody god of the Seas Zeus The heavenly King of the Gods and ruler of mankind

2 Marine Deities - Gods of the Seas Nereus the Old Gentleman of the Seas Proteus the Sea god from Egypt Sirens Alluring Sea Nymphs Triton the Messenger of Poseidon More Groups of Semi-Gods and Spirits Amazons mighty, skillful maiden warriors The Amazons were a horde of passionate, skillful maiden warriors from the Black Sea. They supposedly descended from Ares, god of War and the Naiad Harmony. Bia the personification of Violence Bia was a mythological figure that mainly personified the abstract meaning of violence for the ancient Greeks. Bia was brought forth by the Oceanid Styx, a personification of the sacred river of oaths, and her mate Pallas. Bia's brothers and sisters include Nike, the goddess of victory, Zelos, the spirit of emulation and Cratos, who was a personification of strength. Charites the Goddesses of Joy, Charm and Beauty There were three Charites in Greek Mythology: Aglaia, the Grace that symbolized Beauty, Euphrosyne, the Grace of Delight and Thalia, the Grace of Blossom. According to Greek poet Pindar, these enchanting goddesses were created to fill the world with pleasant moments and goodwill. Erinyes the Goddesses of Revenge and Retribution The Erinyes were 3 sisters in Greek mythology: Alecto("the angry"), Megaera("the grudging") and Tisiphone("the avenger"). The Roman name of Erinyes is "Furies" Fates the Spinners of the Thread of Life There were three Fates in Greek mythology: Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos. Clotho, the spinner, was the youngest of the three Fates; she spun the thread of destiny with a distaff, determining the time of birth of an individual; Lachesis measured the thread length to determine the length of life; finally, cruel Atropos cut the thread of life, determining this way the time of death.

3 Muses the Goddesses of Art and Science 1. Calliope (Epic Poetry) 2. Clio (History) 3. Erato (Love Poetry) 4. Euterpe (Music) 5. Melpomene (Tragedy) 6. Polyhymnia (Hymns) 7. Terpsichore (Dance) 8. Thaleia (Comedy) 9. Urania (Astronomy) Nymphs the Goddesses of Nature There were Sea Nymphs, Land Nymphs and Wood Nymphs in Greek mythology. Because of their close connection to water, a fertilizing element, the nymphs were worshipped as daemons of fertility and vegetation.the nymphs protected the plants and animals and were also playing the role of nurses who occasionaly raised human beings. 1. Callisto (the companion of Artemis) 2. Calypso (the capturer of Odysseus) 3. Daphne (the personification of the laurel tree) 4. Echo (the Nymph of steady reply) 5. Io (the priestess of Hera in Argos) 6. Pitys (the personification of the pine) 7. Syrinx (the inspiration for melody) Winds the Gods of the Wind 1. Aeolos (the Ruler of the Winds) 2. Boreas (North Wind) 3. Notos (South Wind) 4. Zephyr (Wind of the West) Other Minor Power Gods Adonis the Lover of Aphrodite Asclepius the Greek God of Healing Eilithyia the Goddess of Childbirth Eros the Winged God of Love Hebe the Goddess of Youth

4 Helios the God of the Sunlight Hemera the Goddess of the Day Hyacinth Apollo's Handsome Partner from Sparta Hygieia the Greek Goddess of Health Nemesis the Divine Spirit of Retributive Justice Nyx the Goddess of the Night Persephone the Queen of the Underworld Styx the Sacred River of the Oaths Tyche the Greek Goddess of Fortune

5 Monsters and Creatures in Ancient Greece Centaurs rude, aggressive half- horse creatures The Centaurs were the offspring of Ixion, the king of Lapithae (Thessaly), and (the spirits of the storm) rain cloud Nephele. Their head, arms and torso had the human shape and their lower part was that of a horse. Their diet was adjusted according to their physical sh Cerberus the guard of the Underworld Cerberus was the hound of Hades, the god of the Underworld. He guarded the entrance to the underworld to prevent the dead from exiting. Cerberus was usually depicted as huge and monstrous dog with three heads and snakes on its tail and mane. According to the Greek poet Aeschylus, Cerberus was born out of the Giants Typhoon and Echidna. Cerberus used to be a frightful opponent of Greek hero Heracles, because, on his labours, Heracles had killed Cerberus' three siblings, the Lion of Nemea, The Lernaean Hydra and the dog Orthus. Cyclopes one-eyed monstrous creatures The Cyclopes were minor power gods of the second generation and children of Uranus and Gaea according to Hesiod, or Greek god Poseidon and the sea Nymph Thoosa, according to Greek author Homer. The Cyclopes were huge monsters with frightening features which liked to eat human beings. They were leading a debauched life and their works were always full of force, violence and intrigues. Because of their dreadful features, the Cyclopes were initially locked in the depths of the Underworld by their father Uranus, but Greek Zeus soon decided to release them from their prison. They thanked Zeus by giving him the thunder and the lightning as a gift. In general, the Cyclopes had the fame of being great workmen and were assisting Greek god Hephaestus in constructing the lightnings of Zeus under the volcano of Aetna in Italy. The Cyclopes were also constructing thick walls, known as "Cyclopean Walls". Giants huge, unbeatable Greek monsters The Giants were 24 frightful monsters in Ancient Greece. They were impressive creatures as tall as the mountains, with snakes on their head instead of hair and tails like that of a dragon. Driven by the titaness Gaea, the Giants attempted to fight against the Olympian gods after their victory over the titans. The battle of the Giants against the Olympian deities is known as "Gigantomachy". During the Gigantomachy, the Giants were provoking the Olympian Gods by throwing rocks and fire to them and moving mountains, changing the flow of the rivers, drowning islands and trembling the ground. The Olympian gods felt the need to unify in order to fight effectively against the Giants and even summoned Heracles to the battle; in the end, the Olympian gods triumphed over the Giants and imprisoned them forever in the lowest point of the underworld, the Tartarus.

6 Hecatonchires hundred-handed, dreadful monsters The Hecatonchires were born out of Gaea, the Mother Earth, and Uranus, the Heaven, during the creation of the world. There where three Hecatonchires in Greek mythology: Briareus, the Vigorous, Cottus, the Furious and Gyes, the Big-Limbed. All of them were strong, proud monsters, huge and terrible, each of them having hundred hands and fifty heads growing from their shoulders. Gaea loved all her children without exception, even the Hecatonchires. Uranus, however, got scared on the mere sight of them and found their feature appalling and disgusting, so he decided to push them into the depths of Gaea, the Tartarus, making Gaea heave loud groans. The Hecatonchires took later on revenge on Uranus by taking part in the Titanomachy (the battle of the Olympian gods against the Titans), where they made use of their many hands to throw rocks at the Titans. Medusa the frightful opponent of Perseus The Gorgon Medusa was a monstrous, yet mortal creature that had the power to turn anyone who looked at her into stone. Medusa and two sisters of hers, Stheno and Evryale, were Gorgons, with frightful eyes, brass hands and living snakes on their head instead of hair. Medusa was the only Gorgon who was mortal, however she was more powerful than her sisters. Medusa is finally killed by Perseus, the founder of Mycenae. Her head was given to Athena, the goddess of wisdom and the goddess took the head and placed it on her aegis. Satyrs joyful half-goat creatures The Satyrs were mythological creatures with the upper part of their body of a man and the lower half of a goat. The leader of the Satyrs was god Pan. Usually the Satyrs resided in woods and mountains or were accompanying the Greek god of wine Dionysus on his journeys, dancing around joyfully with the Nymphs and drinking. The Satyrs also gave their name to a specific type of theatrical play, the satiric drama, that parodies popular myths of Greek gods and heroes. Sphinx the monster with the famous riddle The Sphinx was a winged monster of Anatolian origin with the head of a woman and the body of a lion. The Sphinx was settled near the city of ancient Thebes, spreading destruction and bad luck to the entire district. To anyone who passed by she was asking the same riddle that was going as follows: "What goes on four legs at dawn, two legs at noon, and three legs in the evening?" Would the traveler fail to solve the riddle, he was cursed to die.

7 No one was ever capable of answering correctly until Oedipus came along, who was promised the hand of the princess should he interpret the riddle correctly. As he was famous for his wisdom, Oedipus found the answer to the riddle with ease, replying: "Man, who as a baby crawls on four legs, then walks on two legs as an adult and in old age walks with a cane as his third leg..." The Sphinx became so frustrated about this answer that she immediately committed suicide, throwing herself from a high rock. Typhoon the monstrous opponent of Zeus Typhoon was a monstrous creature and the offspring of Gaea, the Mother Earth, and Tartarus, a lower god of the Underworld. Typhoon mated with Echidna, who was half woman and half snake and they created creatures that would bring terror and mischief to mankind: Orthos, a two-headed dog, Cerberus, a three-headed dog, Lernaea Hydra, a chtonic, serpent-like creature with numerous heads and Chimaira, an awful creature with the body of a goat, the tail of a snake or dragon and the head of a lion. Typhoon sought to destroy the world and to place obstacles against Zeus along his way to the Kingdom of Heaven. Typhoon had a body full of feathers and on his shoulders there were one hundred heads of a fierce dragon with black tongues. The bawls of Typhoon would produce all kinds of terrifying sounds and everywhere it went it would spread fear and disaster. Greek-Gods.Info. Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Greece < Web. 6 Feb