Greek myths began as spoken stories that were passed on from generation to generation. They were eventually written down by poets, such as Homer, and playwrights, such as Sophocles. Later, Roman poets, especially Ovid and Virgil, wrote their own versions of the Greek myths. Many scenes from these myths have survived in Greek art.
Myths of the Creation
There are several Greek creation myths. According to one the universe began with the goddess Night, in the form of a huge black-winged bird. Moved by the Wind, she laid a silver egg from which hatched Eros, god of love. Eros then revealed the world, previously hidden in the egg. Above was Chaos (Greek for "it yawns"), or Emptiness. Below was the earth.
Out of Chaos came Gaia, Mother Earth. She gave birth to the sky god Ouranos, who became her husband. They had children, the Titans, but Ouranos hated them and stuffed them back into the earth. So Gaia armed the youngest, Cronus, with a sickle, with which he overthrew his father and freed his brothers and sisters.
Cronus, however, was as bad as his father. Fearing a prophecy that he would be overthrown by one of his children, he swallowed them all. Fortunately, his wife, Rhea, tricked him by giving him a stone wrapped in cloth instead of the youngest son, Zeus. She hid Zeus in a cave. When he grew up, he forced Cronus to release the swallowed children. Zeus became the king of this new generation of gods, the Olympians.
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THE OLYMPIAN GODS |
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Zeus and twelve other gods lived on Mount Olympus: ZEUS God of thunder and ruler of the gods POSEIDON God of the sea and of earthquakes HEPHAESTUS God of fire and metalwork HERMES Messenger of the gods ARES God of war APOLLO God of light, truth, and healing DIONYSUS God of wine and fertility HERA Wife of Zeus and queen of the gods ATHENA Goddess of wisdom and war ARTEMIS Goddess of the moon and of hunting DEMETER Goddess of agriculture APHRODITE Goddess of love HESTIA Goddess of the hearth
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Myths of the Olympian Gods
The Olympian gods were far from perfect. They were affected by jealousy, anger, and desire and often used manipulation and trickery to get what they wanted. Even Zeus was not above this behavior. Although married to Hera, he often pursued beautiful nymphs and mortal women. Hera took her revenge by punishing the children that Zeus fathered by these women.
Of all the gods Hermes was the most accomplished trickster. As a baby he stole Apollo’s cattle and hid them in a cave. To fool pursuers he tied brushwood onto his feet to disguise his footprints and made the cattle walk backwards. Apollo eventually forgave him when Hermes gave him a lyre made from a tortoise shell.
In another story of discord, Hades, lord of the underworld, enticed the beautiful young goddess Persephone with a wonderful narcissus flower. When she reached for it, he burst out of the ground in his chariot and carried her off. Her mother, Demeter, was grief stricken. Eventually it was agreed that Persephone would spend half of each year in the underworld.
