The gods and goddesses in Greek mythology have special parts in the world. For instance, Zeus is the god of the sky, Poseidon is the god of the sea and Hephaestus is the god of metal work, forging and fire. They can make themselves invisible to humans and move to any place in a very short amount of time. Gods and goddesses also never get sick and can only be hurt by very unusual causes. This is called being immortal. The king of the gods was Zeus. The gods were children of the Titans such as Kronos and Rhea.
Greek mythology has thirteen main gods known as the Twelve Olympians plus Hades, the brother of Zeus. They were Zeus, Poseidon, Hera, Hephaestus, Dionysus, Athena, Artemis, Apollo, Ares, Demeter, Aphrodite and Hermes. Before them there were the twelve Titans.
The Greeks believed that the sun was pulled across the sky by a "chariot" driven by the god, Apollo, (Or Helios, as some say, the titan who drove the 'sun chariot' across the sky before his successor Apollo) and he himself was the god of archery, poetry, and Oracles. Every day, Apollo would drive the "Sun Chariot" across the sky.
The Ancient Greeks believed that in the beginning, the world was in a state of nothingness which they called Chaos. Suddenly, from light, came Gaia (Mother Earth) and from her came Uranus (the sky) along with other old gods (called primordials) like Pontus (the primordial god of the oceans). Gaia and Uranus had 12 children, the Titans. The most important of the 12 children were Kronos and Rhea.
Gaia gave birth to some monsters called cyclops and the hundred handed ones. Uranus disgusted by the monsters threw them in Tartarus. Gaia, angered by Uranus, sought revenge on Uranus. Gaia used her son Kronos, who chopped off Uranus' genitals. Kronos threw Uranus into the ocean. From the blood of his genitals, came the goddess of love and beauty—Aphrodite.
Kronos married his sister Rhea and gave birth to 6 children, who were called the gods. Kronos, who was afraid of a prophecy delivered to him a while ago (which stated that one day his children would cut him up), swallowed each of his children each time they were born. Rhea did not like this, so she saved Zeus and gave Kronos a rock to eat instead. Zeus was raised by a goat named Amaltheia, in a mountain cave located in Crete. When Zeus was old enough, he tricked Kronos into drinking a mixture of wine and mustard. Kronos vomited up the rest of the gods, who, being immortal, had been growing up completely undigested in Kronos' stomach. Zeus and other gods then had a big war with the Titans. Zeus won with the help of the hundred handed ones and the cyclops. After they won the war Zeus cut Kronos into pieces and threw them into Tartarus.
Zeus was from then on the leader of the gods, Poseidon took over the oceans and Hades took over the Underworld. Zeus married his sister Hera and crowned her Queen of Olympus.
Men were created by the Titan Prometheus, who did not participate in the war.
Gaia
Gaia can mean:
Ge
Ge or GE may stand for:
Gaya (disambiguation)
"See also: Gaia"
Gaya may refer to:
Nyx
Nyx was the goddess of the night in Greek mythology. She came out of Chaos.
Her Roman equivalent was Nox.
Nyx could not die. This is because she was sent to Earth by the Greek Gods and Goddesses.
In his theogony (How the gods came to be), Hesiod tells: "Night is born of Chaos; her offspring are many, and telling. With Erebus, Night gives birth to the following deities:
Later, on her own, Night gives birth to
In his description of Tartarus, Hesiod says further that Hemera "day", who is now Night's sister rather than daughter, left Tartarus just as Nyx entered it; when Hemera returned, Nyx left. This mirrors the portrayal of Ratri "night" in the Rig-Veda, where she works in close cooperation but also tension with her sister Ushas "dawn".
Hemera
Hemera was the goddess of daylight in Greek mythology. She was the daughter of Erebus and Nyx, and the sister of Moros, Charon, Keres and Nemesis.
Hyginus lists their children as Uranus, Gaia, and Thalassa (the primordial sea goddess), while Hesiod only lists Thalassa as their child.
Aether was her brother and consort. Hyginus listed Gaia, Thalassa and Ouranos as their children. In Hesiod's "Theogony", Hemera was only mother of Thalassa.
Hemera's mother was the goddess of the night and her father was the god of darkness. they were brother and sister and married and had kids Hemera was one of them.
Her grandmother was the goddess of air.
Aether
Aether was the God of light in Greek mythology. He was the son of Erebus and Nyx. Aether is one of the primordial deities, the first-born elementals.
Damascius says that Aether, Erebus and Chaos were siblings, and the offspring of Chronos (Father Time). According to Epiphanius, the world began as a cosmic egg, encircled by Time and Inevitability (most likely Chronos and Ananke) in serpent fashion. Together they constricted the egg, squeezing its matter with great force, until the world divided into two hemispheres. After that, the atoms sorted themselves out. The lighter and finer ones floated above and became the Bright Air (Aether and/or Ouranos) and the rarefied Wind (Chaos), while the heavier and dirtier atoms sank and became the Earth (Gaia) and the Ocean (Pontos and/or Oceanus). See also Plato's Myth of Er.
Keres (spirits)
The Keres are female death spirits in Greek mythology, and were the daughters of Erebus and Nyx. They look very dark and have sharp teeth, claws and like the taste of blood. The Keres look around battlefields for hurt people and people who are dying.
Eris (goddess)
Eris (, "Strife") is the goddess of strife and discord in Greek mythology. She is the daughter of Nyx, but has no father. She is the opposite of Harmonia, who is the goddess of harmony.
The Romans called her "Discordia". In Roman statues of Discordia, and in other Roman art of her, she looks scary and ugly, and she is holding a knife. There are a few myths about this goddess, such as the one involving the golden apple.
Nowadays, there are some people who call themselves "Discordians". This idea comes from a book called "Principia Discordia", which was written by Greg Hill and Kerry Thornley in San Francisco in the year 1958 or 1959. The book says that Eris might not have been scary and ugly after all, but that she was just misunderstood.
The "Principia Discordia" describes the Discordian Society and its Goddess Eris, as well as the basics of Discordianism.
Geras
Geras is the god of age in Greek mythology. His mother is Nyx, but he has no father.
Hypnos
Hypnos is the god of sleep in Greek mythology. He is the son of Nyx and the twin brother of Thanatos, the god of death.
His sons are the Oneroi: Morpheus, Phobetor and Phantasos.
His Roman equivalent was "Somnus". Hypnos was represented as a gentle young man, usually with wings attached to his temples or shoulders.
Momus
Momus is the god of blame in Greek mythology. His mother is Nyx, but he has no father. He was kicked out of Olympus after criticizing Zeus and Aphrodite.
Moros
Moros is the personification of doom in Greek mythology. He was the child of Nyx and brother to Thanatos. It is believed that he decided the destiny of each mortal.
Metis
Metis is the goddess of wisdom in Greek mythology. She is one of the Titans and is the daughter of Oceanus and Tethys. She was the mother of Athena.
There is also a moon named after Metis.
When she was inside Zeus, Metis made a helmet and a robe for her baby. The hammering noise caused Zeus to have a headache. To try and help Zeus with the pain, Prometheus, Hephaestus, Hermes, or Palaemon (depending on the myth) cut his head open with a Minoan axe. Athena then came out of Zeus's head. She was fully grown and had her armour on.
Eos