Greek Gods of Mount Olympus

Greek Gods of Mount Olympus

The Greek gods of Mount Olympus were more human than we realize. They had super human powers, but suffered from the same dilemmas humans throughout time have faced. The gods were put through deceit, rivalry, and breaking the rules they enforced on others.

Zeus was the god of the sky and ruler of the Olympian gods. He had two brothers, Poseidon and Hades. Zeus is lord of the sky, the rain god, and the gatherer of clouds. His weapon is a thunderbolt, which he hurls at those who displease him. His breastplate was the aegis. His bird was the eagle and his tree was the oak tree. Zeus started a new era for the gods and created a council of gods in mount Olympus.

Poseidon is the most powerful god after Zeus. He is the god of the sea, protector of all waters, earthquakes and horses. Poseidon represented as the god of justice and mercy, the protector of the weak and the punisher of the wicked. He was married to the sea-nymph Amphitrite, daughter to Nereus, and granddaughter of the Titan Oceanus. He was the father of a flying horse named Pegasus. Poseidon sometimes granted the shape-shifting power to others. He is a strong guy and mostly gets what he wants. For example, when he decided that there should be an ocean somewhere, he created one. Poseidon was widely worshiped by seamen. His weapon was the trident, which can shake the earth, and shatter any object. The Romans' name for him was Neptune.

Hades was the lord of the underworld, ruler of the dead. He was also the god of wealth and was known as the "Rich One", due to the precious metals mined from the earth. Since he was the god of wealth, he was indeed wealthy when it came to the number of subjects in his kingdom of the dead....

... middle of paper ...

... for mercy. He seized Hera and hung her from the sky with gold chains. She had little choice but to agree. One myth tells how Hades kidnapped Persephone, one of Zeus's daughters, to make her his wife. Zeus overthrew his father Cronus, who was swallowing all of his siblings, by getting him into drinking an emitic, which causes Cronus to through up all of his siblings. Heracles, son of Zeus, once wrestled Zeus to a draw for rule of the Olympians. His sons, Aias. Aphrodite was wounded protecting her son Aineias. Ares' son, Askalaphos, was killed, and, of course, Achilleus, son of the goddess Tethys, was to be the grand sacrifice.

Like humans through out history, the Gods also had wars. During the Trojan War there were many sons of the immortals in the battle for Troy. Zeus let his son Sarpedon die on the battlefield at the hands of another of Zeus's sons.