The Greek gods

“The Odyssey”

Creation of the World

• In the beginning there was only chaos. Then out of the void appeared Erebus, the unknowable place where death dwells, and Night. All else was empty, silent, endless, darkness. Then somehow Love was born bringing a start of order. From Love came Light and Day. Once there was Light and Day, Gaea, the earth appeared.

Gaea and Uranus • Gaea (JEE uh) was the Earth and she gave birth to the sky, named Uranus (you RAY nus). From the rain that Uranus showered onto Gaea, animals and plants were born. Uranus and Gaea were united in love and had many children together.

Next Generation: The Titans

• Uranus, Father Sky, liked peace and heavenly quiet. He thought that in order to keep this peaceful Golden Age of his, nothing should change or move. Some say he cherished this Golden Age so much he refused to let his children alter it.

• Others say he hated his children and, in disgust, threw them into the deepest pit of the Underworld. And so, as each of them was born, he kept them cruelly imprisoned deep within their mother. Gaea, who was the Earth.

Kronos(KRO nus)

• Kronos, the youngest child of Mother Earth and Father Sky, rose up to overthrow his father. He defeated him with a sickle, that his mother gave to him, and took his place as lord of the universe. And so it was that his story explained the separation of the earth from the sky in Greek mythology.

Kronos and Rhea

• As new ruler over creation, Kronos feared facing the same fate as his father. In an act of self-protection, he decided not to release his brothers and sisters from the Underworld. With his wife Rhea (REE uh) (one of his sisters), he had many children. To prevent them from doing to him what he did to his own father, Kronos took each baby from his wife and ate it. This upset Rhea, who wanted to be re-united with her siblings and her children.

Rhea (Mother)

• Frantic and deeply saddened by this unloving treatment of her five children and the selfish indifference to her own wishes, Rhea courageously substituted a rock wrapped in infant’s clothes for her last rock believing it to be the baby. Rhea was then free to carry out her secret plan. She hid her last, most cherished infant in a cave on the island of Crete. Rhea attended to his care and nurture. He grew to manhood and was distinguished by his beauty and his smoldering desire for revenge.

New Generation: Olympian Gods

• Zeus was not willing to hide for the rest of his life which meant for all eternity, for he knew his fate was intended to be luminous and greater--greater even that his father’s.

Freeing his brothers and sisters• Zeus realized, however, that he would need

extraordinary help to overthrow the mighty Father Kronos. With his vengeful mother, Rhea, he schemed cleverly to release his swallowed brothers and sisters so they might help him in his plan. Rhea concocted a dish which contained a tasteless emetic. She served this to her unsuspecting husband and stood by gleefully as she watched him vomit in great spasms--first the stone and then all their children, one by one.

• The plan was clearly a success, for they were all freed at last, and in the way of the gods, emerged full grown from their father, Kronos.

Overthrow of Kronos

• With no time to lose, the clever Zeus immediately formed an alliance with his brothers and sisters. From their citadel on Mt. Olympus they waged a bitter war against their father Kronos and his fellow Titans. And so began the rule of the Greek gods that we know about now.

Mount Olympus• Mount Olympus towers up from

the center of the earth. Here the major gods live and hold court. The myths are somewhat vague on weather it is an actual mountain or a region of the heavens.

Zeus• The supreme god and king of Olympus. He is officially neutral in human affairs; his duty is to carry out the will of Destiny, but he is often sympathetic toward humans. It is he who makes it possible for Odysseus to be aided by Athena, and he ends the civil war with one of his thunderbolts.

• Zeus’s symbols are the eagle, thunderbolt, oak tree, and throne.

Hera• Both sister and wife of

Zeus; goddess of married love and queen of the heavens.

• She is the most fanatical of all the Olympian supporters of the Achaians and goes to great lengths, including the deception of her husband, to achieve the defeat of Troy.

• Hera’s symbols are the cow and the peacock.

Hestia• Hestia is Zeus sister. She is a virgin goddess. She does not have a distinct personality. She plays no part in the myths. She is the Goddess of the Hearth, the symbol of the house around which a new born child is carried before it is received into the family. Each city had a public hearth sacred to Hestia, where the fire was never allowed to go out.

• Hestia’s symbols are fire and coals from the hearth.

Poseidon• Younger brother of Zeus, god

of the sea and earthquakes, father of Polyphemos (the cyclops). Because Odysseus is a sailor and must travel home by ship, Poseidon is able to do him much harm. The god bears a grudge against him because of his rough treatment of Polyphemos; however, Poseidon is unable to hold out against the combined pressure of the other gods, of whom Odysseus is a favorite, and so he eventually relents.

• Poseidon’s symbol is the trident anchor, shell, bull, and horse.

Demeter • Sister of Zeus, goddess of the harvest, also of marriage.

• Demeter’s symbols are corn, wheat, grain and agriculture.

Hades

• God of the dead and ruler of the underworld. Hades is also brother to Zeus, he is not welcomed on Mt. Olympus.

• Hades symbols are the cap of invisibility, wealth, underworld, and black sheep.

Persephone • Persephone is the Queen of the Underworld. She was carried off by Hades and because of her eating a seed of a pomegranate in the Underworld had to divide her time between this and the upper world.

Aphrodite

• Goddess of love and beauty.

• Aphrodite’s symbols are the myrtle, dove, swan and beauty.

Ares

• Son of Zeus and Hera, god of war, parents hated him.

• Ares’s symbols are the vulture, dog and war.

Eros

–Eros had two aspects. Firstly, he participated in the creation of the world by bringing harmony to chaos. Later, he swayed the hearts of both gods and men. He was the son of Aphrodite. To the Romans he was known as Cupid and Amor.

Hephaestus• Hephaestus is the god

of the smiths. He discovered the ways of working iron, copper, gold, silver, and everything else which requires fire for working.

• He is portrayed at being deformed.

• His symbols are the anvil and hammer.

Artemis • Artemis is the daughter of Zeus and Leto. Her twin brother is Apollo. She is the lady of the wild things, huntsman of the gods, and protector of the young. She hunts with silver arrows, she is associated with the moon, a virgin goddess, and the goddess of chastity. She also presides over childbirth, which may seem odd for a virgin, but goes back to causing Leto no pain when she was born. She became associated with Hecate. The cypress is her tree. All wild animals are scared to her, especially the deer.

Apollo

• Son of Zeus, known as the healer, god of light and truth.

• Apollo’s symbols are lyre, laurel, dolphin, truth, light, and the archer (bow and arrow).

Dionysus• Dionysus was the

Greek god of wine, agriculture, and the fertility of nature.

• Dionysus was the son of the god Zeus and the mortal woman, Semele. According to legends, Semele was killed by one of Zeus’ lightning bolts. Dionysus was rescued, and was then born out of Zeus’ thigh.

Aeolus

• A mortal whom Zeus has appointed keeper of the winds. He lives on a mysterious island in the western ocean with his wife and twelve sons and daughters.

Athena• Daughter of Zeus,

goddess of wisdom and patroness of the arts and crafts, also known as Pallas. Odysseus is her favorite and protégé. Although a goddess, she, more than any other female characters in the Odyssey, is its heroine.

• Athena’s symbols are the owl, olive, wisdom, purity, and scales.

Calypso

• The sea nymph who keeps Odysseus captive for nine years, hoping to make him her husband.

Charybdis

• Charybdis was a sea-monster, who thrice a day drew up the water of the sea and then spouted it again thus forming a whirlpool.

Circe• The enchantress who transforms the crew of Odysseus into swine and who, when she finds that she cannot conquer Odysses himself, takes him as a lover and helps him with advice and supplies on his voyage home.

Hermes• Son of Zeus,

ambassador (messenger) of the gods, conductor of dead souls to Hades and patron of travelers, merchants, and thieves. He wore wings on his sandals and helmet, master thief.

• Hermes symbols are winged sandals, winged hat, caduceus (medical symbol).

Hyperion• The god of the sun. He

travels through the skies each day in a fiery chariot and observes all that takes place on earth. On an island in the western ocean, he keeps several herds of sheep and cattle which are sacred to him; Odysseus and his men land on this island and are punished for the misdeeds they perpetuate there.

Polyphemus

• A one-eyed giant (a Cyclops) who holds Odysseus and his men captive in his cave until he’s made drunk and is blinded by Odysseus.

Scylla• A sea monster with six

heads whom Odysseus and his crew must pass during their voyage. Scholars have conjectured that this tale is the result of distorted reports by sailors of giant octopi or squids.

Sirens• The SIRENS, they say,

had maidens' features but from the thighs down, they had the forms of birds. One of them played the lyre, another sang, and another played the flute, and by these means, to which they added clever, knavish and deceitful words, they persuaded passing mariners to linger, causing their destruction. And that is why the island where they lived was full of bones.