May Aphrodite bless you with beauty and guide your heart.
The Golden Apple of Discord
It all began when Eris, the goddess of discord, realized that she had not been invited to the marriage of the King Peleus with the sea nymph Thetis. Eris was so furious about her exclusion that she decided to go to the wedding and throw a golden apple, the fruit of temptation, to the banquet table. The apple was supposed to go out to the fairest one.
Three goddesses claimed the beautiful golden apple: Hera, the goddess of Marriage, Athena, the goddess of wisdom, and Aphrodite, the goddess of love. Zeus, the king of the gods, could not decide, as all three were dear to him, so he left the judgement to the most handsome young mortal man--the Trojan Prince Paris.
Hera and Athena did their best to persuade Paris with power and glory... Aphrodite, on the other hand, seduced him with love, offering him the most beautiful woman in the world: the legendary Helen of Sparta.
Paris chose Aphrodite, and so Helen was taken away from Sparta to become Helen of Troy. Thus were the very beginnings of the Trojan War, which lasted for ten years.
Adonis
The most prominent lover of Aphrodite was Adonis. He was the child of Myrrha, cursed by Aphrodite with insatiable lust for her own father, King Cinyras of Cyprus, after her mother bragged that Myrrha was more beautiful than Aphrodite. Myrrha became pregnant and was driven out of her home and then was changed into a myrrh tree. She still gives birth to Adonis.
Aphrodite found the babe, and took him to the underworld to be raised by Persephone. Adonis grew into a strikingly handsome young man, the most beautiful among all mortals When Aphrodite returned for him, Persephone would not let him leave. Aphrodite appealed to Zeus for judgement, and he decreed that Adonis would spend a third of the year with Aphrodite, a third with Persephone, and a third with whomever he wishes. For this third, Adonis chose Aphrodite, and in that time they were are constantly together.
Adonis loved to hunt. One day he was wounded by a wild boar and bled to death. Aphrodite could only mourn over his body. She caused anemone flowers to grow wherever his blood fell, and decreed a festival to take place each year on the anniversary of his death.
In short:
● Aphrodite/Venus--goddess of love, beauty, and sex
○ Symbols: dove, sparrow, myrtle, shell, swan,
■ Often carrying a mirror
○ A few generations of gods before we get to Olympians, one of those, Uranos was overthrown by his son Cronos. When Cronos castrated Uranos, his genitals fell into the sea. Aphrodite was born from the resulting foam.
■ Other myths say she was a daughter of Zeus
○ Married to Hephaestus but not faithful
○ Mother of Eros/cupid
○ Pulled in a cart drawn by swans
May the light of Apollo grant you health and inspiration.
A Contest of Music
The satyr (half man, half goat) Marsyas was a famous musician and a follower of Dionysus. He boasted that he could play the double flute better than Apollo. When Apollo, the god of music found out, he challenged the satyr to a musical contest. The victor of the contest would do whatever he wished with the loser and the judges of the contest would be the Muses, the Greek goddesses of Art and Science.
First Marsyas played on his flute and the melody was wonderful. Then it was Apollo's turn. Apollo played notes full of harmony with his lyre and his voice was heavenly spellbinding everything around him. Then Apollo played with his lyre upside down and told Marsyas to do the same, but Marsyas was unable to. So Apollo was declared as the winner of the contest... and the punishment he chose for Marsyas was harsh: Apollo hung Marsyas over a pine tree and skinned him alive.
Daphne and the Laurel Tree
Daphne was a beautiful nymph who loved to hunt. She was a follower of Artemis and pledged to never marry. When Apollo saw Daphne for the first time, he was struck by the arrows of Eros and fell madly in love with her. However, Daphne had no interest in Apollo and tried to flee. But Apollo didn’t want to give up, so he ran in pursuit of Daphne, until finally he caught her. Full of despair, Daphne prayed to her mother Gaea, goddess of the earth for aid to make her disappear. Gaea followed her wish and, all at once, Daphne disappeared off the face of the earth. On the spot Daphne was seen for the last time, a fragrant plant, the sacred laurel tree, grew in Daphne’s honor. From then on, the laurel tree became the symbol of Apollo and he was often depicted with laurel leaves on his golden hair.
Fighting the Python
The Python used to dwell on Mount Parnassus, in central Greece. Wherever the Python went, it made a noxious smell and spread mischief and death. Python was once sent out by Hera, the wife of Zeus, in order to chase the pregnant Leto, a lover of Zeus and mother of Apollo and Artemis.
By the time Apollo, the son of Leto, was only four days old, he was already a strong boy. He received a silver bow with golden arrows, given to him by the blacksmith Hephaestus and decided to kill Python and take revenge. Apollo went to the creature’s cave to seek after Python. When the creature faced Apollo, it started boiling with rage and lunged at Apollo to devour him, but Apollo was faster and managed to throw an arrow to Python, piercing him right on its forehead. Python cried of terror and his scream could be heard all over the canyons of Mount Parnassus. It struggled hard to survive... but in the end it surrendered to death.
The death of the Python filled Apollo with joy, so he happily took his lyre and started playing a song of victory, giving joy to people all around. This was the moment when Apollo became the god of the Music!
Right after he finished his song, Apollo took the creature and buried it under the slopes of Mount Parnassus. On its surface he built the oracle of Delphi, the most famous oracle of ancient Greece.
In short:
● Apollo/Just Apollo--god of the sun, music, medicine, prophecy
○ Son of Zeus, twin to Artemis
○ Symbols--laurel tree, the leaves, lyre (the harp thing), sun, dolphins
○ Oracle at Delphi. Apollo could tell the future, but not always. He gave a Priestess the power to tell the future, but she couldn’t be two specific. The Oracle would make prophecies, but it was hard for the recipients to interpret them. They usually tried to avoid their fate and by so doing, caused the fate they were trying to avoid
○ A favorite god of the Greeks and very handsome
○ He was an athlete. Victorious athletes would be awarded a crown of laurels for winning their competition.
May the rage of Ares flow through your spear.
Sisyphus
Sisyphus, the king of Ancient Corinth, was renowned for his smartness and craftiness, but was deceitful and of violent nature at the same time, causing severe problems to the gods. As a punishment, the gods sent Thanatos, god of death, to come up to earth and take Sisyphus down to the Underworld; however, Sisyphus managed to trick Thanatos. The god carried heavy chains. Sisyphus asked to see how they worked. Thanatos obliged and locked the heavy chains around his own wrists. Once the god was tied up, Sisyphus imprisoned him and hid him under his bed. From that moment on, no mortal on earth died anymore, not even the weak and old ones or those in battle. This angered Ares, who relished in the carnage of war.
Ares searched until he found and freed Thanatos and searched for Sisyphuus to bring him anew down to the Underworld. But even at this point Sisyphus managed to deceive the death, for he had made a plan beforehand; he had ordered from his wife to leave him unburied and not make any sacrifices to the gods. Hades and his wife Persephone kept waiting for a sacrifice to come, but none came. One day, Sisyphus approached Hades, asking him to let him go to his wife for three days and remind her of her duties. Hades gave in and this way Sisyphus escaped from the Underworld and returned to his glorious palace, continuing his debauched life.
Outraged by all his deceits, the Olympian gods punished Sisyphus in a very dreadful, yet way: he was cursed for eternity to roll a rock up to a hill, but just before the rock reached the summit, he would lose control, making the rock roll back down again. He remains there to this day.
Trapped in a Jar
Two sons of Poseidon, the giants Otus and Ephialtes, plotted to climb up to Mount Olympus and carry off Hera and Artemis. Their plan was to pile two mountains one on top of another and use them as huge stepping stones. Zeus called his armies together immediately and made ready to fight the invaders. Ares, of course, rushed to join the battle, but though Zeus defeated the two giants, before he had done so, Ares was taken prisoner. He vanished completely. Though a long search was made, he was not found, for the beaten giants had hidden him in a bronze jar, from which it was impossible to escape. For thirteen months he was imprisoned there, a seemingly endless time, during which he grew weak and thin, and very crumpled indeed.
The search had long been abandoned when one day Hermes happened to pass on his travels the barn where the jar was stored. It was growing dark and Hermes was weary. The barn looked inviting and warm, and he settled down to sleep on a pile of hay. He was just drifting into sleep when he heard a faint tapping sound. At first he took no notice of it, for he imagined that it was simply the noise of rats feeding on the sacks of grain in the loft above him. But the tapping persisted and at length, unable to go to sleep again, he got up to investigate. In the gloom of one corner of the barn he found a tall jar, and the sound seemed to come from this. “Perhaps a rat has fallen in and cannot get out, “ he said to himself. He tapped lightly on the jar, and to his surprise he heard a frantic knocking in reply. Feeling slightly foolish, he addressed the jar: “Who’s in there? You are making a lot of noise for a rat.”
“It is I, Ares,” came a faint reply. “Let me out of this prison and you shall have anything a mighty god can grant.”
“Ares! However did you get into that humiliating position? But don’t despair: I will set you free.” In a moment, Hermes had unsealed the jar and lifted its heavy lid. Stretching and groaning, a thin and dusty Ares, his armor tarnished and his beard curling around his twisted limbs, dragged himself out into the moonlight.
In short:
● Ares/Mars--god of war, but the rage and bloodlust side, not the strategy side
○ Red, vulture, spear
○ Coward, not really liked by the other gods -- except Aphrodite. They totally had an affair or two.
May Artemis guide your arrows and bless your hunt
Actaeon
One day, while Actaeon was on his way to hunt, he stumbled upon the divine virgin Artemis, bathing naked in the woods, surrounded by her nymphs. Amazed by her beautiful body and divine grace, he continued staring. When Artemis became aware of his spying, she became furious and punished Actaeon by transforming him into a deer. Actaeon became fearful and fled away, but his own hunting dogs, 50 in number, jumped on him, tore him, to pieces and devoured him, thinking that he was a real stag.
Niobe
Niobe was the wife of Amphion, the King of Thebes. Together they had seven sons and seven daughters. Niobe and Amphion were very proud of their children. One day, Niobe started boasting that she was better than Leto (the mother of Artemis and Apollo) since Leto had only two children. Outraged by the insult, Apollo and Artemis killed Niobe's children one by one with arrows dipped in poison. Apollo aimed at the boys, and Artemis aimed at the girls. The royal couple was inconsolable. Amphion committed suicide. Niobe pleaded with the gods for mercy, asking them to take away her life. The gods finally sympathized and they turned Niobe into stone, placing her at the peak of the city. Every summer, you can see drops of water seeping out of the stone's pores.
Atalanta
When Atalanta was born, her father desired male children, so he abandoned her on Mt Parthenion near the entrance of a cave to be devoured by the beasts. Artemis, however, felt pity for the little girl and sent a she-bear to care for the child. One day, Atalanta was discovered by a group of hunters. They thought the she-bear would eat the child, so they shot and killed the bear and brought Atalanta to live among themselves. From them, Atalanta learned all the secrets of hunting.
Atalanta dedicated her life to the hunt and had no interest in men or marriage. An oracle prophesied that her marriage would end in disaster, so she pledged to never marry.
Through her life, Atalanta had many adventures. She joined the hunt for the fierce Calydonian boar and drew first blood. She was the only woman to travel with Jason on the Argo in his quest for the golden fleece. She slew with her arrows two centaurs who tried to rape her. As her fame grew, her father regretted leaving her to die, so he soon welcomed her back to his home.
Once home, her father attempted to find her a husband, despite her vow to never marry. To simply refuse her suitors could anger nearby kingdoms, so she proposed a test: she would marry only a suitor who could beat her in a foot race; losing racers would be beheaded by her. Atalanta was one of the fastest mortals who ever lived, so this worked for quite some time.
Eventually, one suitor named Hippomenes prayed to Aphrodite for aid in wooing Atalanta. Aphrodite presented Hippomenes with three golden apples and a plan. Hippomenes ran his race with Atalanta carrying the apples with him. When Atlanta caught up to him he tossed the first apple at her feet. The sight of the magic golden apple was irresistible to Atlanta. She stopped to pick it up confident that she could make up the time. Soon enough she was once again passing Hippomenes . He threw the second apple, this time further to the side. Again, she lost time retrieving the apple. As she again caught up the finish line was near and chasing the third thrown apple cost her the race. The two were wed. However, Hippomenes forgot to make sacrifices of thanks to Aphrodite. In anger, the goddess arranged for the couple to be transformed to lions. Ancient Greeks believed lions could only mate with leopards, so Aphrodite’s actions forever separated the couple.
In short:
● Artemis/Diana--goddess of the hunt and the moon
○ Zeus's daughter, Apollo's twin
○ Don’t tick her off. She will kill you and all your kids. Or turn you into a deer and then hunt you down with her dogs.
○ Punished those who killed more animals than they needed
○ Symbols--deer, hunting dog, moon,
○ Presided over childbirth, even though she herself was a virginal god. Helped her mother Leto deliver her twin brother Apollo
May Athena grant you wisdom and victory in battle.
The Contest of Athens
There once came a time in Ancient Greece when the first king of Athens, Cecrops, who was half person and half snake, had to find a patron deity to watch over the city of Athens. The two Olympian gods who were particularly interested in the city were Poseidon, the god of the Seas and Athena, the goddess of Wisdom and Skill. They presented themselves in front of Cecrops and Cecrops asked from them to offer a gift truly valuable for Athens.
Poseidon came first: he struck the earth powerfully and created a well with his trident. Immediately, streaming water shot forth, but the water was salty and not very useful for the population. Next, it was the turn of goddess Athena. Athena stepped forward, struck her spear into the ground and then she kneeled and planted an olive branch in it. This way she created an olive tree, as a symbolization of peace and prosperity on earth.
Cecrops was very impressed by Athena’s gift. So he chose Athena to lay claim of the city of Athens and the city was named after her. God Poseidon, however, was not pleased with the decision of Cecrops and cursed the city of Athens to never have enough water from then on. After that, it is said that a major problem of water shortage started in Athens, which continues until today.
Arachne
There once lived a beautiful maid named Arachne. Arachne was famous in town for being a very skillful weaver and spinner, and every day many girls and nymphs would stop by to see her weave. However, Arachne was a very vain girl and boasted about her talent. She claimed that she had learned the skill all by herself and that there was no one else in the world who could weave as delicately as her. She even felt that she could compete against Athena, the goddess of skill, and win her with ease.
When Athena heard these words, she decided to disguise herself as an old lady and appear in front of Arachne. "My dear", she told Arachne, "I am old and have much life experience, so let me give you one advice: don’t ever mess up with a goddess! No mortal can compete against Athena. Take back your words and kindly ask for forgiveness..."
Arachne became furious and threw the thread against the old woman, telling her, "I don’t need your advice, I know best what I can do! If Athena really dares, then she should come here and compete against me!"
At that moment, the old woman transformed herself into the radiant goddess Athena. On her sight, everybody in the room kneeled down in awe- not so Arachne, who couldn't wait to compete against her. The competition began and both contestants were doing really well. Athena was weaving the Parthenon and her contest with god Poseidon. Arachne, on the other hand, was making fun of the gods by weaving scenes of gods full of weaknesses and fears. Arachne’s work seemed to be perfect technically, yet it was not beautiful because it showed disrespect to the gods. When Athena saw this, she became very angry and told Arachne: "You may be foolish and stubborn, but you seem to love your work. So go ahead now and spin forever!"
Immediately, Arachne transformed into a small and ugly animal, which is known as the spider nowadays . Since then, the spider is cursed to be trapped inside her own web, weaving constantly and endlessly... but having finally all her works destroyed by humans!
● Athena/Minerva--wisdom, battle strategy
○ Athens was her city
○ Symbols--olive, spear/lance, shield, owl, snake
○ Aegis-shield with medusa head.
○ Zeus ate his first wife, Metis, because it was prophesied his child would overthrow him. Big headache. Had Hephaestus come and hammer his head open. Athena sprung fully formed from the head of Zeus.
○ A virgin goddess.
○ weaving
May Demeter grant you a bountiful harvest.
The Abduction of Persephone
Demeter and Zeus had a daughter named Persephone, also known as Kore. After Persephone was born, Zeus secretly promised her to his brother Hades, the dark god of the Underworld.
One day, when Persephone was still very young, she went out to play with her friends and was spotted by Hades who immediately felt bewitched by her charms. Hades waited for the right moment to come and, when he saw Persephone picking some flowers, he seized the opportunity, opened the earth and abducted her to his gloomy kingdom.
Persephone started screaming so loud that her mother Demeter heard her cry and went to the valley to see what was going on. She started searching carefully but she couldn't find her beloved daughter anywhere. So she went on asking anyone she was meeting on her way, but no one seemed to know anything about it. Finally, Demeter decided to visit Helios, the wise Sun god, whosaw all, and asked him for advice. Helios was a kind god and felt mercy for the mourning mother, so he revealed to Demeter the whole truth.
Nine days past without any change, driving Demeter to despair. She could neither eat, nor drink, nor could she sleep and nothing was blossoming on earth, leaving humans and animals with no food. Zeus disliked this situation and decided to send his messenger Hermes to the Underworld to talk to Hades. Hades was not willing to set Persephone free, but, after all, it was Zeus talking to him, so he had to obey. He gave Persephone to Hermes, who took her up on his golden chariot and brought her back to her mother Demeter.
Demeter was delighted to see her daughter again and cried uncountable tears of joy, bringing this way fertility back to earth. She was hoping to keep her daughter close to her forever, but during her stay with Hades, Persephone had eaten six pomegranate seeds and was therefore chained to stay in the underworld for four months of the year.
This way, the seasons were created in the upper world. All the time Persephone was with Demeter, Demeter was so full of happiness, that the sun was shining and everything was blooming. All the remaining time, when Persephone had to return to the Underworld, Demeter was in grief and nothing could grow... this was the time winter set out in the world.
The Force of Fire
Queen Metaneira had a son during the days after Persephone’s capture when Demeter sorrowed. One day Demeter, transformed into an old woman and asked for hospitality in Metaneira's house. The queen felt compassion for the old woman and wanted to help. So she asked Demeter to serve as a nurse for her son and the goddess agreed. Demeter loved the boy, and every single day she fed the child with ambrosia, the food of the gods, and every night she burned him over the fire, stripping off his mortal flesh, in order to make him immortal.
One night Metaneira saw Demeter lowering her child into the fire. She screamed and grabbed her baby in a paninc. Demeter became angry, telling Metaneira that she would have saved her son from old age and death, but now it was too late.
In short:
Demeter/Ceres--agriculture and the harvest
○ Can make plants grow or die,
○ Symbols: wheat, cakes that people would present at her alter, scythes and sickles (long and short respectively) and torch
○ Zeus's sister
Dionysus
May your wine run plentifully through all your revels.
The Birth of Dionysus
Semele was a daughter of Cadmus, the first king of Thebes, famous for her extraordinary beauty and grace. When Zeus, the King of the gods, saw the princess, he fell in love with her. Soon Semele became pregnant, but Zeus' jealous wife Hera planted seeds of doubt in Semele's mind and made her very suspicious about Zeus' divine nature. At that time, Zeus was deeply in love with Semele. To please her, he swore upon the sacred river of the gods Styx to make any wish of Semele come true. Semele asked from Zeus to reveal his true godly power. Until this time, he had come to her with his power muted.
Zeus first tried to hold back, but he had made a sacred oath and was forced to obey Semele's order. So he revealed himself! Immediately, lightnings appeared and everything Zeus' thunderbolt touched was shaking and moving, wrapped in fire. Fires also wrapped around the beautiful Semele, burning her body to death, because any mortal who would sight a deity in all his glory was cursed to die. At that time, Dionysus was still in Semele's womb. However, Zeus managed to rescue the infant by binding him in his thigh. Then he handed Dionysus to his messenger Hermes, who brought the baby to nymphs to be raised.
The Midas Touch
Midas was a fabled king famous for his extraordinary wealth. One day Midas found a follower of Dionysus drunk and ill. He treated the satyr (half man, half goat) until he was well again. To return the favor Dionysus, Dionysus promised the king one wish. Greedily, Midas asked from the god to make everything he touched turn into gold.
In the beginning, Midas seemed to be overwhelmed with joy, turning leaves and roses to gold, but soon he realized he had made a dreadful mistake. When his servants brought him food and drink, they turned to gold at his touch. His daughter came to him, sad that the roses had lost their smell. He reached out to comfort her, but recoiled as his daughter hardened and turned into gold statue. Horrified, the king turned to the Dionysus in order to remove his wish. Dionysus told him to go and wash away his golden touch, so king Midas went to clean himself in the river Pactolus. This transferred his power to the river. Since then, it is said that the river bristles with nuggets of gold.
Kidnapped by Pirates
Dionysus often disguised himself as a human being in order to travel about in the mortal world. On one such occasion, Dionysus disguised himself as a handsome young man and went wandering along the shore of the sea. Some pirates saw him and kidnapped him, thinking he was a prince for whom they would receive a great ransom. The pirates dragged Dionysus onto their ship, but when they attempted to tie him up, no rope could restrain him. Dionysus said nothing and merely smiled at the men, who were baffled by what was happening.
The ship's pilot, however, suspected the truth and exclaimed, "You fools, do you not realize that this is a god we have brought on board our ship? He might be the god Zeus, or perhaps Poseidon, but in any case I am sure that he is a god. We should bow down and worship him, begging his forgiveness so that he will not bring about our destruction!" The captain of the ship scoffed at the pilot's words and ordered the men to try once again to bind their prisoner. Yet as they reached out to grab Dionysus, he turned into a lion and began to roar. He also conjured up a bear and together they attacked and killed the captain. The other pirates leaped overboard into the sea, turning into dolphins as they hit the water. The only man left on board the ship was the faithful pilot. Dionysus blessed the man and said, "Behold, I am Dionysus; have no fear!" So the man worshipped the god and remained his devoted follower ever after.
● Dionysus//Bacchus--wine, crazy parties, theater
○ A young man
○ Son of Zeus, youngest of the Olympians
○ Symbols--grape, wine, ivy vines, theater masks
○ Mother was a mortal woman., so he was half mortal, but made into a god.
■ When pregnant with him, Zeus promised her anything she wanted. She wanted to see Zeus in his full glory. He obliged and she was burnt to a crisp. But it was too early for Dionysus to be born, so Zeus scooped him up and sewed him into his thigh.
Hades
May you journey safely to the underworld.
Rescuing the Elder Cyclopes and Hekatonkheires
Before the time of the Olympians, the Titans ruled the world. Zeus sought to overthrow the Titans and he enlisted the help of Hades and Poseidon. Hades was very skilled in navigating under the earth and was able to lead the other two straight into Tartarus, the deepest realm of the underworld.
There, imprisoned by huge bronze walls and rivers of lava were the Cyclopes and the Hekatonkheires, monsters with 50 heads and 100 hands. These monsters were uncles to the three gods. They were guarded by the fiercest and most fearsome monster of all, Kampe. Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon shuddered with horror when they saw him. However, the gods overcame their fear and snuck in. Zeus spoke with the cyclopes and convinced them to forge powerful weapons for use against the titans. The cyclopes made the powerful weapons in secret: the Master Bolt for Zeus, the Trident for Poseidon, and the Helm of Invisibility for Hades. Hades was pleased with his gift, for the Helm of Darkness struck fear and terror into even the hearts of Zeus and Poseidon.
Menthe
Menthe was a beautiful water nymph deeply in love with Hades, the Greek God of the Underworld and he made her his mistress.
One day, while Hades' wife Persephone was strolling along the river Acheron (the river of woes), she stumbled upon her husband and Menthe together. Infuriated, she took revenge by transforming Menthe into a tiny plant, with inconspicuous leaves so that anyone could easily step upon her. Hades, however, showed mercy for Menthe and, trying to comfort her, he endowed Menthe with an divine, aromatic scent to last forever. It is the plant which is nowadays known as the mint.
In short:
● Hades/Pluto--god of the underworld, lord of the dead
○ Zeus's older brother
○ Doesn’t live on Mount Olympus
○ Doesn’t decide when mortals die, just in charge of them once they do
○ Helmet of invisibility
○ Gold and wealth--treasures buried in earth
○ Married to Persephone
○ Cerberus--three heads and snake tail
○ Bident--two tined spear
○ Wasn’t evil like Christianity's Satan, but it was better not to draw his attention. Bad luck to say his name so Greeks had nicknames like “The Hospitable One” “Pluton, the Wealthy One”
May Hephaestus sharpen your blade and strengthen your shield.
Caught in a Net
Hephaestus was lucky enough to be married to Aphrodite, the most beautiful goddess of Mount Olympus. However, his wife Aphrodite soon grew tired of their marriage. One day, allured by the beauty of the warlike Ares, she became Ares' mistress.
Helios, a Greek god of the sun, who had the power to observe everything from his golden chariot, soon told Hephaestus about the adultery. Of course, Hephaestus was insulted and sad, so he planned his revenge. Without losing time, he created a thin wire mesh out of gold and hung it above his bed.
Soon came a day where Hephaestus was away from home and Aphrodite took the opportunity to calle Ares for a visit. All of a sudden, the net fell on the two lovers and they became tangled in the net. It was impossible for the couple to either escape or to separate. The more they tried, the more they became tangled.
Angry, Hephaestus called all the gods of Olympus to laugh at the couple's expense. However, Hermes and Apollo declared they would love to be caught in such a net with the goddess of love.
Revenge Upon Hera
On his birth, Hephaestus was rejected by his mother Hera because he was ugly. She threw him from the heavens and the fall lamed his leg. Forever more, Hephaestus walked with a limp. When he grew to manhood, he promised to take revenge on his mother. So he decided to create a magic, golden throne and send it to Mount Olympus a special "gift" to his mother.
When Hera saw the splendid throne, she became excited over it and, without thinking, she sat on the throne cheerfully. All at once, invisible, unbreakable chains appeared and tied her up rapidly. Hera cried for help and all Olympian gods ran for support, but none of them was capable of relieving her! Soon all gods realized that the only one who could liberate Hera was Hephaestus himself.
So the gods asked from Dionysus, the god of wine, to offer sweet wine to Hephaestus in order to intoxicate him. Dionysus agreed, and this way he managed to bring Hephaestus up to Mount Olympus and free Hera from her burdens.
The gods thanked Hephaestus by giving him Aphrodite, the goddess of love, as his wife and created a marvelous palace for him on Mount Olympus.
In short:
● Hephaestus/Vulcan--craftsmanship, metalwork
○ Child of Hera
○ Ugly, man with limp. When he was born and Hera saw how ugly he was, she threw him from Mount Olympus, laming his leg
○ Hammer, anvil, fire
○ His forge in the crater of Mt Aetna, a volcano
○ Along with the help of cyclops, makes Zeus's thunderbolts and other helpful magical items for gods and humans.
○ Married to Aphrodite, goddess of beauty
May Hera bless your marriage with peace and harmony.
A Sacred Wedding
One day, Zeus, the King of the Gods, was walking around the beautiful region of Hesperides, when suddenly he spotted Hera and fell at once in love with her. In order to approach Hera, Zeus transformed himself into a cuckoo and then he placed himself outside her window, pretending to be frozen by the cold.
At the sight of the bird, Hera felt sorrow and pity and took it inside her house. Once inside, Zeus revealed his true identity and made love to Hera. Then, he grabbed Hera and brought her to the mountain of Cithaeron to make her his legal wife.
The marriage of Zeus and Hera took place in the Garden of Hesperides and was celebrated with exceptional honours and sacrifices. Hera was given a marvelous wedding dress to wear and was offered a seat on a golden throne next to Zeus. Everything divine was singing hymns and praises for this sacred wedding and everybody had a precious gift to give, and most of all Gaea, the Goddess of the Earth, who treated the couple with happiness and a quince, the symbol of love and made a tree blossom with golden apples in Hera's honor. Hera was delighted and planted the tree in her garden, on the shores of the ocean.
After the ceremony, Zeus and Hera set off on a journey to the Greek island of Samos to enjoy their honeymoon... a honeymoon that lasted for 300 years!
The Peacock
Zeus, the king of the gods, once fell in love with Io, a priestess of Hera. Jealously, his wife Hera asked from Zeus to bring her the young girl- and when he brought her, Hera immediately transformed Io into a cow. Afterwards, Hera gave the transformed girl to her servant Argos, an all-seeing monster that had hundred eyes all over his body. Argo's mission would be to guard Io.
Zeus felt sorry for Io and tried to help her. Therefore, he called his messenger Hermes and ordered him to kill Argos. Hermes approached the monster and started playing the flute to hypnotize him. Soon the monster fell into a deep sleep and Hermes took a stone and destroyed it.
However, Hera knew all about the plan and had already removed the eyes of Argos the day before. So after Argos' death, Hera transferred all his eyes to the tail of a peacock to thank and honor her loyal servant.
Creation of the Milky Way
Hera was once in conflict with the demigod and hero Heracles (Hercules), since he was the result of yet another of her husband’s affairs, this time with a mortal woman named named Alcmene.
When Heracles was very young Zeus once brought the infant to Hera to suckle on her milk while she was asleep, but she suddenly woke up and pushed him away. The drops of the spurting milk created the Milky Way.
In short:
● Hera/Juno--queen of the gods, marriage, motherhood
○ Older sister and wife of Zeus
○ Symbols peacock, cow, crow
○ Temper, usually from Zeus cheating on her. Took that temper out on the mortal women, even though it wasn’t always their choice and on the children of Zeus and mortal women, even though they had no say whatsoever
May Hermes guide your steps and conceal your deceit.
Stealing the Cattle of Apollo
Back in the days when Hermes was still an infant, he once went out to steal the cattle from his half-brother Apollo. Hermes discovered the herd very quickly. One by one, he started pulling the hoofs out of the cows’ feet and re-attaching them backwards. He did the same to his own sandals. Then he took the herd, which now seemed to be walking backwards and hid the herd inside a cave. Finally, he hid in a different cave.
Apollo soon found out that his herd was missing and started searching all around. The tracks he saw in his search were nothing but confusing and led the god to despair. Of course, Apollo was the god of prophecy, so he soon found the thief Hermes hiding in the cave. Little Hermes was peacefully sleeping inside his cradle, but Apollo didn’t bother- he grabbed the infant and took him up to Mount Olympus to be judged by their master Zeus, the king of the gods.
Before the eyes of Zeus, Hermes first denied everything, but in the end he had to confess. Zeus found the story quite amusing so he didn't punish Hermes, he only asked from him to return the herd. Regretful of what he had done, Hermes then offered Apollo his lyre as a present. The lyre was a musical instrument Hermes had created all by himself out of the shell of a tortoise. To thank Hermes for his kindness, Apollo returned the gesture by giving Hermes a golden rod to guide the herds. From that moment on, there was peace again in Mount Olympus and a strong friendship began between Hermes and Apollo.
The Caduceus
In Ancient times, the caduceus was the main symbol of god Hermes and one of the most classic symbols of healing. It was a wooden stick made out of laurel or olive wood and usually had two wings just above the top.
The caduceus was given to Hermes by his father Zeus, when he proclaimed Hermes as the official messenger of the gods. Whenever the gods and mortals saw Hermes holding the caduceus, they knew that he would announce an official message.
According to the legend, the caduceus once split two poisonous snakes that fighted. From the moment they wrapped around the caduceus, they stopped fighting and started looking at each other peacefully.
In short:
● Hermes/Mercury--messenger of the gods, god of liars, thieves and travelers
○ Son of Zeus
○ symbol--Caduceus--winged snake stick
○ Had winged cap and sandals
○ In charge of taking dead souls to the underworld
○ Watched over shepherds
○ Invented the lyre and gave it to Apollo to make up for stealing his cows
May Hestia watch over your hearth and home.
Hestia personified the fire that was burning in the hearth of every home. All families poured sweet wine in her name and dedicated to her the richest portion of their meals. When children were born, before they could be accepted as part of the family, they were walked in a circle around hearth prayers were be said to honor Hestia. The hearth fire was not allowed to go out by any family unless it was ritually extinguished.
Apollo and Poseidon Vie for Her Hand
Once when the world was young, two gods rivaled for the hand of the queenly maiden Hestia. Poseidon, Lord of the Sea, sought her for his wife, as did Apollo, God of the Sun. Apollo and Poseidon competed for her hand, each trying to outdo the other. Hestia looked down to earth and knew the price humanity would pay if the sun and sea went to war. Hestia was wise and loved peace, so she accepted neither suit for her hand. She appealed to Zeus and declared a vow of chastity. Never would she give her love to any man, mortal or god. The gods saw the wisdom in Hestia’s peace and they honored her vow. When sacrifices are made to the gods, the first portion is always given to Hestia, in remembrance of her act to keep peace between the gods.
In short:
● Hestia/Vesta--goddess of hearth and home
○ Most chill of all the gods
○ Zeus’s oldest sister
○ Kept the fire going at Mount Olympus
○ One of the virgin goddesses
○ Doesn’t really appear in many myths because she didn’t cause drama like everyone else. She was steady and dependable, like a hearthfire. Most homes had a shrine to her.
May Poseidon bless you with calm seas and a swift journey.
An Olympian Uprising
Hera, enraged at her husband's infidelity, decided to start the first (and last) Olympian rebellion against Zeus. Hera managed to gain the support of Poseidon, as well as Apollo, and Athena. That evening, Poseidon, Apollo, and Athena hid themselves in the hall next to Zeus' royal chambers, awaiting Hera's signal. As soon as Zeus had fallen asleep, all four of them quickly tightly bound the him with unbreakable and tightening golden chains. Even chained up and completely immobilized, an infuriated Zeus looked very intimidating. Finally, Poseidon attempted to reason with his brother, and demanded that Zeus be a better ruler. Zeus refused, which prompted Hera to advocate leaving him chained up in his chambers until he agreed.
Shortly thereafter, the four Olympians departed for the Throne Room for the first (and last) democratic meeting of the Olympian Council, which proved to be a very cumbersome task. Fortunately, the violently thrashing and bellowing King of Olympus was found by the sea nymph Thetis. After convincing Zeus to be merciful towards the rioting Olympians, Thetis managed to find the Hekatoncheire (hundred-handed and fifty-headed monster) Briares by the sea shore.
Briares quickly unchained Zeus, after which the latter seized his Master Bolt, and barged into the Throne Room, violently ending the meeting. Zeus remained true to his word, and was merciful towards the rioters, but he still punished them all accordingly.
Poseidon and Apollo were temporarily forced to serve Laomedon, the mortal King of Troy, without their divinity or godly powers, which Zeus temporarily stripped away.
Laomedon ordered Poseidon to build huge new walls around the city of Troy with his bare hands. The former god of the seas was outraged at the prospect, but Laomedon promised to greatly reward Poseidon after his work is finished. Even without his powers and divinity, Poseidon's strength still far surpassed that of any mortal, and he could easily carry six massive stone blocks simultaneously while building the mighty walls. The famous Walls of Troy came to be extremely durable, and would later keep the Greek forces at bay for 10 long years in the Trojan War. A number of years later, after finally accomplishing his mission, Poseidon finally returned to the king, and demanded the reward. However, Laomedon claimed that setting him free is the best reward that Poseidon could hope for. An infuriated Poseidon returned to Olympus, where Zeus finally restored his brother's powers and divinity. However, due to Poseidon's riot, Zeus would gain a strong and lasting distrust for Poseidon.
Poseidon, still furious with King Laomedon, made it his mission to sink many Trojan ships, and sent a bloodthirsty sea serpent to terrorize the Trojans. Also, in the subsequent and bloody Trojan War, Poseidon supported the Greeks.
Dolphins
Early in his reign, Poseidon began searching for a wife. His attention soon turned to the beautiful sea nymph, Amphitrite, but she rejected his proposal and fled. As a result, Poseidon became extremely depressed, and pointlessly wandered about his palace, bellowing louder than a humpback whale, giving many whales and giant squids terrible headaches. Fortunately for him, Delphin, the dolphin god and Poseidon's lieutenant, was sent in pursuit and managed to persuade the goddess into reconsidering the offer. After his wedding, Poseidon gratefully awarded his lieutenant by creating a constellation in his honor.
In short:
● Poseidon/Neptune--god of sea and earthquakes
○ Greece is made of a bunch of islands. The Greeks spent a lot of time sailing, and you did not want to tick off Poseidon. Not that you want to tick off any god.
○ Often seen as a grumpy old man who swings from calm even seas in one minute to violent rage the next
○ Zeus's older brother
○ Horse
○ Dolphin
○ Trident--3 tined spear
○ Fathered Pegasus, and a bunch of monsters
○ Helped build the impenetrable walls of Troy
May Zeus grant you glory.
The Birth of Zeus
Zeus’s parents were the Titans Cronus and Rhea. Cronus was a very jealous and greedy deity. Out of the fear one of his children could take his throne, Cronus swallowed every child Rhea gave birth to.
However, when Rhea gave birth to her last child, Zeus, she managed to trick Cronus. She gave her husband a rock in swaddling clothes to swallow, in place of her child, and sent Zeus away to the Greek island of Crete. Nymphs made noise by hitting their shields, so that Cronus would to not hear the cries of the baby. Zeus was raised secretly by the nymphs and was fed with honey and milk from a goat.
Soon came the day where Zeus was mature enough to claim the Kingdom of the World and he started a battle against his father and the Titans. This battle is also known as "Titanomachy". First, Zeus managed to liberate his elder brothers and sisters from his father's stomach by giving him a special herb and making him vomit. Then, with the help of his siblings, Zeus overthrew the Titans in the depths of the Underworld, the Tartarus.
Justly, Zeus drew lots with his brothers Poseidon and Hades to let luck determine who would become the new King of the Gods. Zeus won the draw and he officially became the ruler of the Earth and the Sky and the Lord of Mount Olympus, the highest mountain of Greece.
Fighting Typhon
After the glorious victory of the Olympian gods over the Titans, Gaea, the Mother Earth, became very angry with Zeus, the King of the Olympian Gods, because she felt that he had treated her sons, the Titans, unfairly. Gaea therefore united with Tartarus (the symbol of the deepest depths of the Underworld) to create a devastating monster which was meant to destroy Zeus and take his place. They gave the monster the name Typhon.
Typhon had frightful features and enormous powers. Soon, he attacked the home of the gods, hurling flaming rocks at it, hissing, screaming and gushing mighty streams of fire from his mouth. The bare sight of the creature was enough for the Olympian gods to run away scared and flee to Egypt, where they transformed into animals.
When Athena, the goddess of wisdom, accused Zeus for cowardness, Zeus decided to confront Typhon. Armed with thunder and lightnings, he struck at the monster with a sickle and then chased him until Mount Casion, a mountain which rises over Syria.
Seeing Typhon severely wounded, Zeus engaged the monster in a hand-to-hand combat. Suddenly, Typhon wrapped Zeus in his coils, held him firmly and wrested the sickle from him. Typhon soon left Zeus helpless by cutting the tendons from his hands and feet. Then he took Zeus to the Corycian Cave, on the slopes of Mount Parnassus and appointed his sister Delphyne, a she-dragon that was half beast and half maiden, to guard Zeus.
However, Hermes, the son of Zeus managed to fit the tendons back into Zeus’s hands and feet. Immediately after Zeus recovered his strength, he made a sudden descent from heaven on a chariot drawn by a winged horse. Hurling thunderbolts, he pursued Typhon strongly and when they reached the island of Sicily, Zeus threw the enormous Mount Aetna at the monster, pinning him underneath. The volcanic eruptions that rise up from Mount Aetna to this day are said to be issued by the thunderbolts of Zeus.
In short:
● Zeus/jupiter--king of the gods, god of sky and storms
○ Youngest child of Cronos and Rhea. overthrew his father Cronos and the other titans
○ Married to Hera
○ Lightning
○ Eagles
○ Clouds/storms
○ Messing with other goddesses, nymphs, and mortal women, regardless of his own marriage, their marriage, and the presence or lack of the women’s consent. A lot of the big Greek heroes are his kids.
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