MY FAVORITE GREEK GODS AND GODDESSESBy Jairo Sandoval

BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO GREEK MYTHOLOGY

• Greeks humanized their Deities.

• They did not fear their gods, on the other hand they approached them with respect and dignity.

• Every God possessed Super-human Powers and controlled a particular part of the word.

• The Gods were though to live on the peaks of Mt. Olympus (not heaven) or somewhere in the sky.

• In Greek Mythology Gods did not create the Universe, The universe created the Gods.

• The Pantheon is where Greek religion was centered but separate villages worshipped different Gods.

THE BEGINING

*In the beginning there was only chaos.

*From chaos emerged Gaea or mother earth and Uranus father heaven (sky).

*They had 3 types of children Cyclops, Giants and most importantly 12 Titans.

Uranus Gaea

THE TITANS

Out of all the titans the main important ones are Kronos and Rhea which gave birth to 5 of the Olympians.

FEAR OF REBELING• Uranus was not a good father or

husband.

• This led to Gaea and the youngest titan named Cronus to plot against him.

• In the middle of his sleep Cronus castrated his father Uranus which gave him power.

• Cronus ended up with Rhea which was his sister and had the 5 Olympians.

• Cronus feared they would rebel against him, so as soon as they were born he swallowed the babies. Except for Zeus which ended up defeating him once he was old enough and had developed his powers.

• When Kronos was dead he threw up Zeus’ brothers and sisters.

TOP 10 GODS AND GODDESSES

• Zeus

• Hera

• Hades

• Poseidon

• Ares

• Artemis

• Apollo

• Athena

• Aphrodite

• Hermes

•There is basically a God for everything so I narrowed it down to my favorite 10.

ZEUS

• God of the Sky, Thunder and Justice.

• King and most powerful of the Gods.

• Ruler of Mt. Olympus

• Married to Hera also his sister.

• Had many kids from his different affairs with mortals and Goddesses.

ZEUS

• The Jupiter de Smyrne, discovered in Smyrna Greece in 1680.

HERA• Queen of the Gods, Goddess of

Women and Marriage.

• Known for being vindictive towards Zeus’ many mistresses and their offspring's.

• Sacred animal is a Peacock.

• Mother of Hephaestus God of fire and Ares God of War.

HERA

• Greek Goddess Hera (Juno) Statue -The Campana Hera, a Roman copy of a Hellenistic original, from the Louvre

HADES

• God of the Underworld and the Dead.

• Brother of Zeus and Poseidon.

• Its said that Hades wears the helm of invisibility.

• His pet is a legendary creature names Cerberus which is has 3 heads and serpents tail, the guardian of the underworld.

HADES

• Hades with Cerberus (Heraklion Archaeological Museum)

POSEIDON

• God of the Sea, Earthquakes and horses.

• Brother of Zeus and Hades.

• Poseidon was a violent god of enormous strength. He drove his three pronged trident into the earth to make earthquakes.

POSEIDON

• Greek God Poseidon (Neptune) Statue - A sculpture of Poseidon in the port of Copenhagen Denmark.

ARES

• God of War.

• Son of Zeus and Hera.

• His mystical animal was a Vulture.

• Often represents the physical or violent and untamed aspect of war.

ARES

• Statue of Ares from Hadrian's Villa Italy.

ARTEMIS

• Goddess of the hunt and protector of women in childbirth.

• Twin sister to Apollo God of Light.

• Mystical animal was the Deer.

• Hunted with Silver arrows and loved wild animals.

ARTEMIS

• Artemis pouring a libation, c. 460-450 BC.

APOLLO

• Apollo has been variously recognized as a god of light and the sun, truth and prophecy, healing, plague, music and poetry.

• Son of Zeus and Leto, Twin to Artemis.

• Mystical animal is the Dolphin.

• Played the Lyre given to him by Hermes.

• The Olympic games were made in honor of him.

APOLLO

• Apollo Belvedere, ca. 120–140 CE

ATHENA

• Goddess of wisdom and the arts of war and peace.

• Legend says that she was born when Zeus complained that he had a headache and asked his son Haphaestous to hit him on the head, once he did out came Athena.

• Mystical animal is the Owl.

• in contrast to Ares, Athena’s functions as a goddess of intelligence include military strategy and generalship.

ATHENA

• Atena farnese, Roman copy of a Greek original from Phidias’ circle, c. 430 AD, Museo Archeologico, Naples

APHRODITE

• Goddess of love, beauty, pleasure, and procreation.

• born when Cronos cut off Uranus's genitals and threw them into the sea, and she arose from the sea foam

• Aphrodite is the lawful wife of Hephaestus God of Fire, son of Zeus and Hera. Unfortunately, the ugly and cripple god did not manage to keep for long the most beautiful goddess.

• Aphrodite started cheating on him with Ares his own brother.

APHRODITE

• The Birth of Venus by SandroBotticelli, circa 1485.

HERMES

• Messenger God, a trickster and friend to thieves.

• Invented boxing and gymnastics.

• The fastest God, he wore winged sandals and a winged hat, always carries his caduceus.

• Legends says that he had a child with Aphrodite, and named their offspring Hermaphroditus because it was male and female.

HERMES

• Hermes Ingenui (Vatican Museums). Roman copy of the 2nd century BC after a Greek original of the 5th century BC.

JUST FOR FUN

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RId6Sv2ZAKA

WORKS CITED

• “The Gods of the Greeks.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., date last updated 24 November 2014. Web. Date accessed 25 November 2014.

• “Greek Mythology.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., date last updated 1 June 2014. Web. Date accessed 25 November 2014.

• Koukakis, Lefteris. “Greek Gods and Monsters.” Greek Mythology Pantheon,. 6 June 2013.Web. 25 November 2014.