The Gods of Ancient Greece - Essay Example

?Running head: The Gods of Ancient Greeks The Gods of Ancient Greeks Institute’s The Gods of Ancient Greece Introduction Ancient Greek Religion played a bid role in ancient Greece and continues today to be important to the heritage of Greek mythology as developed and their view and approach their world. Ancient Greeks believed in many gods and goddesses. They had gods of everything around them that include sea, weather, marriage, sun and agriculture. For the Ancient Greeks the gods as a whole represented an important concept – the nature in all its enunciation and every god or goddess associated with one or more forces of nature. For the Greeks their gods were immortal, omnipresent and adorable. They could control all mortals at every stage of their lives, prescribing their fate and their relationships. Zeus According to the belief of the Ancient Greeks, Zeus was the king of all gods. He got this position after fighting with his father, Kronos who killed his children by swallowing him because he feared that they might kill him when they grow up. However, he was tricked by his wife and Zeus was saved from death. Zeus saved his two sisters and three brothers also from the wicked father (Hansen, 2004). Zeus and his brothers - Poseidon and Hades - decided to rule the world after dividing it amongst themselves. Zeus took charge of all the heavens while Poseidon was responsible for the sea. Hades took over the underworld. The three brothers were quite happy with their choice. Zeus’ wife, Hera, was very jealous because her husband had a number of girlfriends and a whole bunch of children. Zeus loved his children and all of them had super powers. The most powerful god was Zeus. He could throw his voice and sound like anybody and change the shape of his body. He could even take the form of an animal. Zeus could throw lightning bolts which were carried by his horse, Pegasus. Zeus was short tempered though his sense of humor was very good. Nothing could scare Zeus but his wife Hera. Zeus’ symbols were the thunderbolt, eagle and oak. Every four years Greeks hold an Olympic Games festival which is dedicated to Zeus and men from all over Greek world participate in the competitions. Hera Hera was the sister and wife of the king of gods, Zeus, and the queen of gods. She was the goddess of motherhood and marriage and their main purpose was to protect women, although usually liked to persecute and punish the many mistresses of her husband and children resulting from these courtships outside of their marriage. She was known as Juno in Ancient Rome. Her parents were Rhea and Cronus (Littleton, 2005). Peacock and cow were sacred to Hera. She was portrayed as a royal and sincere goddess and was often crowned with polos which were worn by several Great Goddesses. Hera was extremely jealous of the women her husband was involved with. When Zeus fell in love with a lady, Alkemene, Hera did not like it. The lady bore Zeus’ child Hercules who Hera many times attempted to kill. She kept two snakes in Hercules cot but he was able to save himself with his superhuman strength. Hera was known for her jealous and vengeful nature against the ladies who were involved with Zeus and their children. She was also offended when she was not chosen as the most beautiful goddess. Samos is believed to be Hera’s birth place. Polos and scepter are the symbols of Hera. Athena Athena was Zeus’ daughter and was born without a mother. Myths say that she was born directly out of Zeus’ brain, holding a spear and shield and wearing a helmet. Athena was her father’s favorite child. She began as a fully armed goddess of war and then became the patron goddess of Athens and a symbol of wisdom. Athena was a very powerful goddess and was one of the 12 deities who had a seat on Mount Olympus. Athena was the one who invented the bridle, chariot and the built the first ship. Athena was worshipped by the Greeks all over the world and was called as Athena Polias which means “Athena of the city”. Athena is the virgin patroness of Athens. Her regard as the patroness of Athens existed from the primitive times and it was so determined that archaic myths about her were changed to adapt to cultural changes. Her greatest invention was, nonetheless, the art of weaving. Throughout ancient times it was believed that the goddess Athena possessed the greatest ability in this industry and it was this that made the clothes of the gods. The olive tree is considered to be sacred to her. Poseidon Poseidon was the God of the Sea, and drinking water sources (Ashworth, 2006). He was, like Zeus, son of Cronus and Rhea. According to one version of myths, when he was born Rhea hid him in a stall and gave Cronus eating a mule instead of a baby. He was a very handsome man with blue eyes and streaming green hair. He was also restless and was always up to something. Poseidon was very powerful and could create an island by raising his hand. The Greeks feared Poseidon and tried to keep him happy by building temples and bringing him special gifts. This idea of keeping Poseidon was sometimes a failure because of his moody nature. Poseidon had a number of wives but did not have any family issues because his main first wife was not jealous unlike Zeus’ wife, Hera. Hercules Hercules was the illegitimate son of Zeus. He was half man and half god. His mother was a human and he did not know about his father until he grew old. Hera was jealous of him and envied him. She even tried to kill him many times. Once she kept snakes in Hercules crib when he was a baby but he was able to crush them. Zeus adored Hercules and soon figured out that Hera would harm the baby. So, to keep him safe, Zeus sent Hercules to live with a mortal family on earth. Hercules was loved and honored but he was different from human beings. So he looked odd. He was tall and strong. One day, his father on earth told him that he was the son of Zeus and a god. Hercules had an adventurous life and discovered many friends. Apollo Apollo was the son of Zeus and Leto (Green & Silver, 2001). He was the god of music and harmony. Apollo represented the values of the Greek culture more than the others. Immediately after the birth of Apollo he climbed Mount Olympus where gods greeted and offered him nectar and ambrosia that would make him immortal. Of all the Olympian gods, it was Apollo who was known more than others for divination. He taught mankind the art of prophecy, and various myths state him to be the father of the most important seers and oracles. He was also able to cure all human diseases. Besides this, Apollo was for the Greeks an eternal adolescent, the representative of eternal youth and for this reason the artists tend to portray him with a young, stocky body and long blond curls shone in the sunlight. Therefore, Apollo was the god of teenagers and watched ceremonies at which teenagers become men. References Ashworth, L. (2006). Gods & Goddesses - Ancient Greece. Cherrytree Books. Green, J., & Silver, D. (2001). Greek Gods and Goddesses. Courier Dover Publications. Hansen, W. F. (2004). Handbook of Classical Mythology. ABC-CLIO. Littleton, C. S. (2005). Gods, goddesses, and mythology (Vol. 5). Marshall Cavendish. Read More