Greek Gods and Goddess

The Greek Gods:

Ancient vs. Modern Views

According to ancient Greek mythology the Greek gods and goddesses had at one

time lived the savage, brutal and ugly life of humans. Eventually, however, they managed to rise above this ancient fierceness to become the nineteen elder gods and goddesses the Greeks knew as The Titans, who ruled the earth in a primordial era before the Olympian gods overthrew them.

The ancient Greeks of the first millennium before the Christian era believed that the ruler of the Titans was Cronus, who was rebelled against and ultimately dethroned by his own son Zeus. When faced with the choice between who to support, most of the Titan gods and goddesses decided to fight with Cronus against Zeus, and when they were defeated, they were punished by Zeus and the victorious Olympians by being banished to Tartarus. The Titans were Gaea, Uranus, Cronus, Rhea, Oceanus, Tethys, Hyperion, Mnemosyne, Themis, Iapetus, Coeus, Crius, Phoebe, Thea, Prometheus, Epimetheus, Atlas, Metis, and Dione. (Evslin)

In the Greek’s own time, they believed in and prayed to the twelve gods and goddesses of Mount Olympus, who were Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Hestia, Hera, Ares, Athena, Apollo, Aphrodite, Hermes, Artemis, and Hephaestus. The most important of these gods were Zeus, who was the king of the gods; Poseidon, who was the god of the sea; and Hades, who was the god of the underworld. But the Greeks also displayed a special reverence for Athena, the goddess of the city, handicrafts, and agriculture; and Apollo,

the god of music.

In addition to the gods of Olympus, the ancient Greeks also worshipped a number

of lesser gods and goddesses such as Asclepius, Demeter, Persephone, Dionysus, Eros, Hebe, Eris, Helius, Thanatos, Pan, Nemesis, The Graces, The Muses, The Erinyes, and The Fates. Each god and goddess had special qualities and responsibilities which made them of more importance to some Greeks than to others, depending upon gender, profession, social status, or family. (Graves)

The modern view of the Greek gods and goddesses is of course very different from

the ancient Greek view. The ancient Greeks firmly believed in the divinity and power of the Titans and Olympians. They worshipped these gods and goddesses, feared them, implored them for help, and considered them responsible for everything that happened

on earth.

Today, most of the people who are interested in Greek mythology and in the gods

and goddesses of Olympus consider their interest purely scholarly. Other people who study Greek mythology do so for simple entertainment, or to satisfy their curiosity about the Olympian gods and goddesses, who were certainly colorful, vibrant, and interesting figures.

The relationships of the gods and goddesses with one another, and their love affairs, disputes, triumphs, and tragedies are fascinating to some of us today, for they were all related, and always seemed to be intent upon some mischief or grand scheme that involved love, betrayal, or intrigue. In fact, life on Mount Olympus reminds many modern students of Greek mythology as one big soap opera, for despite their perceived divinity by the ancient Greeks, the gods and goddesses acted in very human ways, and displayed human emotions, flaws, and weaknesses.

These characteristics are what scholars of today find so interesting about the Titans

and Olympians, for the portraits of the gods and goddesses of ancient Greece are in fact portraits of the ancient Greeks themselves. The society of the gods and goddesses on Olympus reflected the society of the ancient Greeks on earth, and reveal to us today what