Gods And Goddesses Greek Mythology English Literature Essay

Zeus is the god of thunder and the sky. He is said to be the most powerful god of them all. Zeus is the son of the titan Cronos and Rhea. Cronos heard from Uranus and Gaia that he would be overthrown by one of his offspring. So every time that Rhea had a baby Cronos would swallow it whole. But Rhea hated that he did this she loved her children. She was consumed with rage every time he would eat there children. Zeus was about to be born, so Rhea went to Gaia and made a plan to save Zeus. Rhea gave birth to Zeus and gave Cronos a rock wrapped with clothes and Cronos swallowed the rock thinking it was Zeus. When Zeus became an adult he went to his father and cut his stomach open. All of his brothers and sisters came out of the titans cut. Then Zeus was rewarded the lighting bolt. All of Zeus’ brothers and sisters overthrew Cronos and all the other titans. But one titan names Atlas was forced to hold up the sky by Zeus. After the battle with the titans Zeus shared the world with his two elder brothers, Poseidon and Hades. Zeus got the Sky and air, Poseidon got the waters, and Hades got the world of the dead also known as the underworld. Gaia did not like the way Zeus treated the titans because they were her children and she sent her final son Typhoon to destroy Zeus along with Echidna and her children. Zeus destroyed Typhoon and trapped him under a mountain. But he left Echidna and her children alive. Zeus had defeated the titans and conquered Typhoon. He took the throne as king of the gods.

Hades was the god of the underworld, god of death and the dead. Hades is the son of Cronos and Rhea but got swallowed but was released by Zeus his younger brother. Hades and his brothers fought the titans and won then took power over the land. When they won Hades was given the job of the underworld, the god of the underworld. Hades desired a wife so he asked Zeus for one the goddesses and Zeus Suggested Persephone the daughter of Demeter. But Hades knew that the goddess would deny his offer to become his bride. So Hades devised a plan to kidnap the goddess Persephone. He collapsed the earth around her and she fell to the underworld. Hades made her eat seeds of the pomegranate which means she would have to stay with him three hundred days of the year. Once Demeter found out that her daughter was kidnapped she was furious she shook the earth until her daughter was released. Demeter did not know about the pomegranate so Hades made a plan that would trick Demeter. He said that he will never bring her back to the underworld if she stopped shaking the earth, she agreed. So sixty five days went by and Persephone had to go back to the underworld. Demeter was mad again and went to Zeus, she told him what happened. Zeus called Hades and told about the deal; Zeus reviewed the deal and agreed with Hades. Demeter would have to leave Hades alone. Demeter can only see her daughter sixty five days of the year.

Poseidon was the god the waters. Poseidon was a son of Cronos and Rhea but was swallowed by Cronos. But Zeus freed him from the stomach. Poseidon and his brothers fought the titans and won. After they won Poseidon was given the job of the water, god of the waters. Poseidon was fighting the goddess Athena to decide who would rule over Athens. Athena sent a gift and Poseidon sent a gift to the people of Athens. The people would decide which gift they liked better. Poseidon struck the ground with his trident and a spring came up, but the water was salty and useless. But Athena offered the olive tree. The Athenians accepted the olive tree and Athena as there patron. The olive tree brought wood, oil, and food to the land of Athens. Poseidon was enraged by his loss and flooded Athens as a punishment to the Athenians for not choosing him as there patron. The Depression that Poseidon made put salt water all over the place and killed many olive trees. Poseidon and Apollo offended Zeus, so Zeus made Poseidon and Apollo build the walls of Troy. Zeus said that he would reward the greatly if they did it, but when they did Zeus refused to fulfill his part of the deal. Poseidon was so mad that he made a sea monster to attack troy before the Trojan War. But it was later killed by Zeus’ son Hercules

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Athena was the goddess of wisdom. She was also the lady of Athens. She competed for the position with the god Poseidon. They both sent a gift but the Athenians choose Athena’s gift and accepted her as the lady of Athens. Athena’s birth was a little strange. Zeus was the consort of Metis but had a prophecy that any offspring that Zeus had with Metis would be greater than him. So he swallowed Metis but she was already pregnant with Athena. So one day Zeus had a really bad headache so he asked Hephaestus to cut it open and when he did Athena popped out of Zeus head dressed in all armor and clothes given to her by her mom Metis. That is when she became the goddess of wisdom. Later on the line Athena was a friend of a woman named Pallas and they were fighting one day and right when Pallas was about to strike Athena, but Zeus shocked Pallas then Athena stabbed Pallas. After Athena killed Pallas she was very sad she didn’t mean to kill Pallas. So because of grief she took the name Pallas for herself. In one myth Tiresias walked in on Athena bathing, so she blinded him because she was naked. But Athena felt bad for what she did so she sent two serpents to lick his ears which gave him the gift of prophecy. In another myth Medusa was a mortal and extremely beautiful. Unlike her sister which were gorgons. But she was raped by Poseidon in Athena’s temple so Athena gave Medusa snakes for hair and changed her lower body.

Ares

Ares is the god of war also known as the god of blood thirst and conflict. In the Iliad Ares was depicted as someone that had no regard for the order of things. He promised Athena and Hera that he would fight for the Achaeans. But Aphrodite made him fight for the Trojans. Diomedes fought with hector and saw Ares fighting on the Trojans side. Hera saw that Ares was doing this so she asked Zeus to take Ares off the battlefield. Athena and Hera then encouraged Diomedes to attack Ares. Diomedes then put his spear into Ares’ shoulder and Athena drove it through the shoulder. Ares then fled to Mt. Olympus and that made the Trojans fall back. But then Ares’ son was killed in the battle. So Ares wanted to go out and fight on the Achaeans side, but Zeus did not want any gods on the field at that moment. But later on Zeus did let the gods go and fight. Ares was the first god to the battle field and tried to attack Athena but Athena threw a boulder at him to stop him and they continued on with the battle they went down to fight. In one myth two giants named Otus and Ephialtes chained Ares and threw him into an urn. That would have been the end of Ares and his thirst for war. But Eriboea told Hermes what they have done. So Hermes saved Ares on the Thirteenth month as he was screaming. Another myth says that Aphrodite was having an Affair with Ares. So Helios told Hephaestus and then he built an invisible net to catch them. The next day they were in the net and Hephaestus made everybody come and see what they were doing. Ares then turned Alectryon into a rooster which never forgets to announce that the sun is up.

Aphrodite

Aphrodite was the goddess of love and Beauty. Aphrodite was born of the sea. Cronos cut off Uranus’ genitals and threw then into the ocean. It made a girl which was Aphrodite. She came out of the water as an adult. She never had a childhood she was always an adult. In one myth she went out to battle to protect her son. But she was wounded and went back to her mother Dione. Dione is the goddess of female form. Aphrodite went to her and got on her knee to be comforted by her mom. Dione is the Equivalent to Rhea because e the Female form is represented by Di, which is soil and earth. Aphrodite was an ill tempered goddess. She was one of the few gods that were actually married. But she was often unfaithful to her husband Hephaestus. Zeus wed them because Hephaestus was his son and he wanted him to have a wife because he was only the blacksmith of the gods. Zeus knew that he would never be an enemy of the gods. But she thought because of Aphrodite’s beauty that she would cause violence between the gods she he married her off to ignore all the chaos to get her. During a wedding Aphrodite found a golden apple that said “the fairest of them all” Hera, Aphrodite, and Athena all wanted the apple because the claimed they were the fairest. So the took the problem to Zeus but he gave the decision to Paris which was a mortal man. Hera tried to bribe him with the Asia Minor. Athena said she would give him wisdom and glory on the battlefield. But Aphrodite said that she would give him the most beautiful mortal women in Greece. Paris chooses Aphrodite.

Hermes

Hermes is the great messenger of the gods, and additionally is the guide to the underworld. Hermes was born on Mount Cyllene in Arcadia. His father was Zeus and his mother was Maia, a nymph. Maia was one of the daughters of Atlas. She took the baby Hermes into a cave and hid there but the local king, Abacus raised Hermes as a foster son. The baby Hermes was extraordinary. His first day he unvented an instrument called a lyre. Then he stole Apollo’s cattle. He made the cattle walk backwards towards Greece so that the footsteps would look like they were going the wrong way. But when Apollo accused Hermes of doing the deed, Maia said that it was impossible because Hermes had been with her all night. But Zeus said that Hermes did steal the cattle and it will be returned. But while Apollo was screaming at him, Hermes made a plan. Hermes then took out his lyre and started to play it. The musical instrument enchanted Apollo and he said that Hermes could have the cattle in exchange for the musical instrument. So Hermes traded the lyre for the cattle, and then made another lyre for himself. Also Hermes aided Perseus in killing Medusa; he gave a pair of winged sandals, and told him to find the gray sisters, so they could direct him to the nymphs of the north. When he got the nymphs of the north they gave Perseus; Zeus’ sword, Hades’ helmet, and Athena’s Shield.