One Greek idea on how Earth formed is that a woman, Gaia, was actually Earth herself (that is what the Romans called her) and she gave birth to a son, Uranus. Gaia and Uranus produced children together. The first children of the Earth were the hundred-handed ones. Next were the one-eyed Cyclopes, the Giants, and the Titans.
Uranus was killed by the youngest of the Titans, Cronus (Saturn). Cronus accomplished this with a sickle sharpened by his mother. Gaia did this because she and Uranus always fought. Uranus' body was cut into seven pieces, one piece for each of the seven seas. Uranus' last words to his son were, "You murder me now and steal my throne. But know this. A son of yours shall do to you as you have done to me."
Cronus was the new king and married his sister, Rhea. He feared his father's last words and every time Rhea would have a child, Cronus would swallow it whole. After swallowing five children, Rhea had the 6th in secret. She named him Zeus (Jupiter) and kept him safe. She wrapped a rock in some baby clothes and Cronus swallowed it thinking it was his kid.
Zeus grew up, and one day attacked his father kicking him in the stomach. He then regurgitated the five children and the rock he had previously swallowed. They were still alive and undigested, for they were immortal gods. Zeus, his brothers, and his sisters allied against Cronus and the Titan forces. Cronus disappeared and was never seen again. Some say that Cronus and his Titans dwell in the mountains and are the cause of volcanoes. Others say that he was cut into seven pieces as his father once was and the two, Uranus and Cronus, fight and cause tidal waves.
Zeus was named king of the gods. He married his sister, Hera (Juno). Together, they had some children. Ares (Mars), the mad god of war. Hephaestus (Vulcan), the ugly god of the forge who made beautiful ornaments. We know them as tropical fish. Eris (Discordia), the goddess of discord. She would ride on the chariot with Ares and scream at the top of her lungs.
The three brothers: Hades (Pluto), Poseidon (Neptune), and Zeus, rolled dice to see who got what. Zeus won the roll and picked to rule the sky. Poseidon was next and got what he wanted to rule most, the sea. Poor Hades, the unlucky one, lost and got to rule the underworld.
Poseidon created many creatures for his queen, Amphitrite. He messed up a lot and made the zebra, camel, giraffe, seahorse, and others. The most beautiful creature he made was the dolphin.
The Underworld had three main parts for the dead. Tartarus was were the dead were to suffer. Sisyphus was destined to push a rock up a hill, only to have it fall when he neared the top. Prometheus was chained to a rock and had two vultures come and eat out his liver every day. Another poor soul sat in a pool of water, but every time he tried to get a drink, the water disappeared.
The other parts of the underworld included the Elysian Field. This part was only were the blessed dwelt. The last part was where the dead were to just wander, for they were not of neither good nor bad.
Cerberus is the three-headed dog that guarded the underworld. One head watched Tartarus to make sure that none of the dead escaped, the other watched and warned the living from trying to attempt to sneak into the Underworld, and the third was there to salvage any dead trying to escape or mortals trying to enter.
Charon was the boatman who ferried the dead across the River Styx. He always charged a silver coin, which was placed under the tongues of the corpses. The dead that could not pay the ferry or those who were never buried, got to wander in nothingness.
The Harpies and Furies or Erinyes (Furiae) were demons of Hades. The furies are also know as the three Hell-hags. They had brass wings and claws, torturing those who ever offended the gods. The people called them the Eumenides or "kindly ones." The Harpies were three winged women with talons like an eagle.
The two other daughters were Hestia (Vesta) and Demeter. Hestia was one of the three virgin goddesses and was the goddess of the hearth. Demeter was the goddess of the harvest. Her Roman name is Ceres, the origin of the word cereal.
Humans weren't always here according to one myth of the Ancient Greeks. Prometheus made man out of clay and turned them to life. He later gave man fire and was punished for it.
Some say Pandora was the first woman. Hephaestus made her out of clay, Zeus gave her life, Athena gave her sagacity and the skills of weaving and spinning, Aphrodite gave her beauty, Apollo gave her a lovely voice, Demeter gave her a passion for gardening, Artemis taught her secrets about the moon, and Hermes gave her a box and told her never to open it. Pandora's curiosity was so overwhelming and she had to open the box. When she did, she let out all the bad things: disease, poverty, greed, hate, crime, and more. The only evil she left inside was the ability to predict. If man could see all the misfortunes they were going to have, they would have no hope.
Zeus did a lot of fooling around and had many other children. One of the results were the twins Artemis (Diana) and Apollo with Leto. Artemis was another virgin goddess. Zeus offered her and her brother any wish, for they were among his favorite. She said that she wanted to stay a young girl forever and never be given to any man. She also wanted a silver bow and quiver, and a pack of the best hunting hounds. She was the goddess of the hunt, chastity, and the moon. Many animals were sacred to her including the bear, lion, and wolf. Apollo was the god of the sun, music, poetry, math, and prophecy. Sometimes, Artemis is known as Phoebe and Apollo as Phoebus.
The most famous of Apollo's children is Asclepius. He was a great healer and began to anger Hades, for he was practically curing the dead. Hades complained to Zeus and Zeus then hurled a lightning bolt killing Asclepius. Apollo got so angry that he stormed into the volcano and slew all the Cyclopes that forged thunderbolts for Zeus. Apollo and Zeus then made a deal: Asclepius would return to life as long as he repaired the Cyclopes.
Another child of Zeus is Athena (Minerva) with a daughter of the Titans, Metis. Athena was born from Zeus' head in full armour; carrying a spear. She was also a virgin goddess. Athens is derived from her name. She was the goddess of wisdom and patron of soldiers. She helped many great heroes including Odysseus. The olive tree and owl were sacred to her.
Dionysus (Bacchus) is another outcome of Zeus' unfaithfulness. His mother is unknown, but some say it is Demeter, some say it is the nymph Lethe, most people say it is a Phrygian princess, Semele. He was the god of wine.
Zeus also father the Graces (Charites) with Euphrosyne. Their names are Aglaia (Splendor), Euphrosyne (Festivity), and Thalia (Rejoicing). They went about spreading joy and peace to humankind. Their sisters were the Hours: Eunomia (Harmony), Dyke (Justice), and Eirene (Peace). Their half sisters were the Muses with their realms in parenthesis: Calliope (epic poetry), Clio (history), Melpomene (tragedy), Euterpe (lyric poetry), Erato (love lyrics), Erpsichore (dance), Urania (astronomy and astrology), Thalia (comedy), and Polymnia (music and geometry).
Helen of Troy is the result of Zeus and Leda. Helen was very beautiful and was a major factor in the Trojan War.
The most famous of all Zeus' children is probably Heracles (Hercules). His mother was the mortal Alcmene. He had twelve labors: 1-kill the Nemean Lion, 2-Kill the Hydra, 3-Capture the Cerynean Stag, 4-cage the Erymanthian Boar, 5-clean the Augean Stables, 6-kill the Stymphalian Birds, 7-claim the Mares of Diomedes, 8-pen the Cretan Bull, 9-seize the girdle of the Amazon Hippolyte, 10-take Geryon's Cattle, 11-fetch the golden apples of the Hesperides, and 12-impound Cerberus.
Hermes (Mercury) was the son of Zeus and Maia. He was the god of commerce and the patron of liars, gamblers, and thieves as well as the protector of travelers. He is known as the messenger god.
Zeus and Demeter had Persephone (Prosperina). Hades loved the beautiful girl and kidnapped her into the Underworld. Demeter went into such a grief that all the crops died. Eventually, she and Hades made a deal that they each get Persephone half the year. Demeter would still go into her deep state of grief when Persephone was gone and that's how the seasons were thought to come from.
The great Perseus was the son of Zeus and Danae. He is the one who killed Medusa to turn the sea-monster to stone. Perseus did this to save Princess Andromeda, who later became his wife. The movie, Clash of the Titans, is based on the story of Perseus even though it is not all too accurate.
Aphrodite (Venus), the goddess of love and beauty was foam born. It is said that she was born form the blood of Uranus: love was born out of death. She had a son Eros (Cupid) who was the god of love. He took pleasure in shooting people with his arrows: making someone fall in love with someone who will reject them forever. He make Helen fall in love with Paris, Pasiphae fall in love with a bull, Medea fall in love with Jason, and himself fall in love with the mortal Psyche.
The three fates determined life in the ancient times. Clotho spun the threads of life, Lachesis measured them, and Atropos cut them.
The Greeks had named for all the winds. Boreas was the North Wind, Eurus was the East Wind, Zephyrus was the West Wind, and Notus was the South Wind. All four winds were the sons of Dawn, or Eos, and Astreus. Eos was a beautiful woman with white wings and bright red hair.
There were many fierce monsters. There was Echidna, half woman and half serpent; the mother of all monsters. Her husband was a gigantic dragon named Typhon. Together, they had many other monsters. Cerberus, the guard-dog to the underworld; the six-headed monster, Scylla; Chimaera; and the Hydra.
The monster that killed Echidna was Argus. Argus was the hundred-eyed monster who never slept and was hired by Hera to watch Zeus. The Sphinx was another monster. She was a winged lion with a woman's face and a serpents tail. Oedipus killed her. The Phoenix was a bird with gold and red feathers as blinding as the sun. Its eyes were as green as the sea. It had no parents or offspring. When weak, it would be reborn through the elements of fire and water. Griffins were winged lions with eagle head.
The word, arachnid, is derived from Arachne. She was a young girl who said that she could weave better than Athena herself. Athena wasn't all that happy and they had a contest. Arachne lost and killed herself, but Athena took pity on her and turned her into a spider. That way, she could weave all day and never brag about it.
The Atlas Mountains are derived from the Titan, Atlas. Zeus punished him to hold up the heavens after Zeus overthrew Cronus and the Titans.
Other words derived from Ancient Greece are Hypnos, Death, Dreams, Nyx or Darkness, and Rumor. There was a god for just about everything. There was even a beautiful white winged, fiery gold haired goddess named Nike. She rewarded Victory and was the last thing a loser saw before he died in battle.
Jason was great hero. He went on missions with his Argonauts. He searched for the golden fleece. The movie, Jason and Argonauts, is based on his story. Theseus killed the Minotaur. Bellerephon rode Pegasus, the winged horse, and slew the Chimaera, half ram half dragon. The Chimaera could fly and breathe fire.
Probably the best known Ancient Greek stories are Homer's Iliad and Odyssey. The Iliad was all about the Trojan War. The Odyssey was the epic story of Odysseus' adventures reach his home, Ithaca. During his voyage home, he battled many different creatures: Scylla, Charybdis, Circe, Calypso, Polyphemus, the Lotus-Eaters, the Sirens, and the suitors.
Women played major parts in Ancient Greece. There were the Amazons, a group of anti-men women who did all the fighting and only used men to procreate. Atalanta was raised by a she-bear and was more swift than any man. The brave Antigone demanded for her brother to have a proper burial. When her wish was not granted by Creon, her uncle, she took her brother's body and gave him the proper ceremony. Creon was enraged and buried her alive.
Narcissus was a handsome man who fell in love with his reflection. He would sit at a stream and stare at himself. He would try to kiss himself so Aphrodite turned him into a flower.
One of my favorite stories is that of Pygmalion. He was a handsome, single sculptor of Cyprus. The whole town wanted him to marry and they prayed to Aphrodite. She came to him in a dream and said that when he finished his next piece of work, he had to marry. He spent hours on his statue, which was modeled after the beautiful goddess. He neither ate nor slept and even fell in love with the statue. When he was finished Aphrodite came to him and asked what girl in town he wanted. He wanted the statue and was even willing to be turned to stone as long as he could be with her. Aphrodite then turned the statue into a person, naming her Galetea. Pygmalion was really happy.
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