Greek Mythology

Greek Mythology

Since the days when man lived in caves and struggled to survive, he has wondered about the world that surrounds him. What makes the sun rise and set? Why are there seasons?Where do things go when they die? To the ancient Greeks, there were simple explanations to all these questions – it was the gods! Things that seemed unexplainable could suddenly make sense when there weregods and goddesses involved. And these stories of the gods that the Greeks created to help make sense of the universe have survived the years to become a treasured and integral part of the history ofthe Western world.

     Everyone knows who Zeus is. But are they aware that Zeus shared his power with thirteen of his sisters, brothers, and children? First there was his sister, Hera, whom hehad chosen from his many wives to be his queen. Then there was Ares, their son, who was the god of war. Next was Hephaestus, the god of fire, and his wife Aphrodite, the goddess of love. Another ofZeus’s children, Hermes, was the herald of the gods. And then there was Demeter, the goddess of the harvest, with her beloved daughter Persephone on her lap. Next there was Poseidon, the lord of the sea andZeus’s brother, and then the four children of Zeus: Athena, goddess of wisdom; the twins Apollo (god of light and music) and Artemis (goddess of the hunt); and Dionysus, the god of wine. Zeus’seldest sister Hestia also lived with these twelve great gods. She was the goddess of the hearth, and tended the sacred fires of the gods. Finally, of course, there was Hades, the lord of the underworld andthe ruler of the dead. He preferred his gloomy palace to the light of the gods’ world, and chose to stay there.

     Those were the twelve great gods of Mount Olympus, who ruled in splendor thelives of the mortals below them. But there were also many minor gods and goddesses, nature gods, and of course the many heroes that are involved in Greek mythology, Hercules being perhaps the most...