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The

Greek

Gods

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ChaosUranus & Gaea

Oceanus &

Tethys

Coeus & Pheobe

Cronus & Rhea

Iapetus Themis

Zeus Hera Demeter

HestiaPoseidon

Hades

Aphrodite

Hephestus Ares

Apollo Artemis

Hermes Athena

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THE BEGINNING, CHAOS

• In the beginning, there was Chaos (shapeless nothingness). Everything was in confusion and darkness.

• Out of Chaos, there appeared – Night (darkness)– Death (Erebus).

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• From the union of these two elements came Eros, which was Love and the most significant figure to appear thus far.

• To the Greeks, Eros represented a principle of order. They believed that it was Eros, which was capable of bringing an ordered universe out of Chaos. In its role as a principle of order, Eros performed the first marriage by bringing together Uranus, the sky (father), and Gaea, the earth (mother).

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• Gaea was both sister & wife to Uranus and bore him monsters – the Hundred-handed children w/ 50 heads– 3 huge one-eyed giants called Cyclops– 12 huge giants called Titans.

Uranus & Gaea

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• Uranus was jealous and afraid of his children and feared they might try to take his power.

• To solve this possible problem, he buried them alive in the earth.

• Naturally, Gaea was very unhappy & plotted with Cronus, the youngest of the Titans, to overthrow Uranus.

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• Cronus, with his mother’s help, wounded Uranus with a long, curved knife and became supreme ruler.

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• The youngest of 12 Titans, Cronus had 5 brothers & 6 sisters. However, his other brother & sisters (the Cyclops & Hundred-armed monsters) were still buried in the earth, breaking a promise to his mother that he would free them.

• One of his sisters, Rhea, he married.

• Together, they had 12 children.

Cronus & Rhea

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• However, Cronus worried that he might be overthrown just as his father was, so he swallowed every child soon after it was born with the exception of Zeus.

• With the help of Gaea (still holding a grudge about the broken promise), Rhea saved Zeus by giving Cronus a wrapped up stone to swallow instead of baby Zeus.

• Zeus was raised in secret on an island, & when he was ready, he conquered Cronus & freed his 11 brothers & sisters.

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• Zeus was raised by nymphs on the island of Crete.

Zeus

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• Zeus had many wives, but ruled Mount Olympus with his sister & wife Hera.

• He was the ruler of the heavens & other gods.

• Zeus divided the world among his brothers after conquering his father Cronus.

• Zeus is the most powerful of all the gods.

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• Oceanus was the Titan of the Ocean, & with Tethys, his sister Titaness that he married, they had daughters that were nymphs known as the Oceanids.

• All the gods of all the streams & rivers on earth were their sons.

• After Zeus & the Olympians overthrew the Titans, Poseidon became ruler of the ocean.

Oceanus & Tethys

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Poseidon

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• Coeus, one of the Titans, married his sister Titaness, Phoebe.

• Coeus was the Titan of intelligence, & Phoebe was said to be the Titaness of the moon.

• Together, they had 2 children.

Coeus & Phoebe

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• One of the Titans born to Gaea & Uranus.

• He had 3 sons: Atlas (punished by Zeus to carry the earth on his shoulders for eternity), Epimetheus, & Prometheus (punished by Zeus & later saved by Hercules).

Iapetus

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• A Titaness born to Gaea & Uranus.

• She was the goddess of order, justice, & law. She is represented carrying a cornucopia & a pair of scales.

• She was the first to makeprophecies & started the oracle at Delphi. She latergave it to Apollo as a birthday present.

Themis

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• Sister & wife to Zeus, she was the most jealous goddess in all of Greece & persecuted many of Zeus’ mistresses.

• She was the goddess of childbirth, marriage & children.

• There are many stories offighting between Zeus & Hera because of his affairs.

Hera

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• Goddess of corn, grain & the harvest.

• Hades abducted her daughter, Persephone, & because of the arrangement between Zeus & Hades, Demeter was able to see her daughter for part of the year & the other half was spent with Hades.

Demeter

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• Quiet goddess of hearth & home.

• Most gentle of all the Olympians, she gave up the throne for Dionysus. Hestia tended the sacred fire in the hall of Mount Olympus.

Hestia

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• God of prophecy, reason, music, light, & healing.

• Born the twin to Artemis, he is the son of Zeus and Leto (daughter of Coeus & Phoebe).

• The oracle of Delphi was given to him.

• He is the father of many heroes such as Orpheus & Asclepius.

Apollo

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• Goddess of the hunt, all newborn creatures & chastity.

• She is the twin to Apollo.

• When she was young, Zeus promised her that she would never have to marry.

Artemis

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• Goddess of love & beauty.

• She was the only Olympian to have no parents.

• She was born of the ocean’s foam & was led to Mount Olympus by the three Graces.

• Because of her great beauty, she was given in marriage to Hephaestus, the god of fire.

Aphrodite

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• Aglaia (Splendor).

• Euphrosyne (Mirth).

• Thalia (Good Cheer).

The 3 Graces

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Hephaestus

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• Hephaestus was the god of fire & an expert metal-smith.

• He was the son to Zeus & Hera.

• Hephaestus was born lame & deformed, but married Aphrodite to prevent other gods from fighting over her.

Hephaestus

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• However, she was not very faithful & had many affairs, including one with Ares, the god of war.

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• Ares was the god of war.

• He was the son of Hera & Zeus.

• Ares loved the sounds of war & bloodshed.

• None of the gods on Mount Olympus liked him much due to his bloodthirsty nature.

• Aphrodite liked him only for his good looks.

Ares

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• Hermes was messenger to the gods.

• He was the son of Zeus.

• He was brought to Mount Olympus after Apollo discovered his talents for making things.

• He was the patron of liars, thieves, & gamblers.

Hermes

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• Poseidon was god of the sea.

• He was the brother of Zeus.

• When moody, he could create violent storms at sea & wreck ships & flood lands.

• However, when he was in a good mood, he could raise up new lands out of the sea.

Poseidon

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• Hades was god of the underworld, that all mortals feared.

• Though he lived in the underworld, Hades was still considered an Olympian.

• He lived a gloomy existence with his wife Persephone, whom he abducted.

Hades

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• Athena was the goddess of war, wisdom,& the liberal arts.

• She was born fully grown from the head of Zeus.

• Athena was the patron to Athens & also aided many heroes: Perseus, Argus, Heracles, & Odysseus.

Athena