The Greek Gods: The Gods And The Gods

Growing up, personally I have had to learn about Greek mythology since about 5th grade. We learned all of the main Gods and Goddesses like Zeus, Hera, Athena, and so on, but there is so much more to the Greek Gods than just that. For instance, I vaguely remember learning about the Goddess Gaia. What I remember is that she was the Goddess was Mother Earth, but it turns out there is SO much more to her than meets the 5th grade eye.

Gaia was one of the primordial deities and was the “great mother of all” and the primal Greek Mother Goddess. She is considered the creator and giver of birth to the Earth and all of the universe, the Gods, Titans, and Giants. On her own she gave birth to Uranus, Pontus, and Ourea. With Uranus they conceived the 3 Cyclopses, the Hecatonchires, and the Titans. Pontus and Gaia made the sea-gods; Ceto, Phorcys, Eurybia, Nereus, and Thaumas. Antaeus, Charybdis, and Laistrygon were fathered by Poseidon and Kreousa and Triptolemos were the children of Oceanus with Gaia. It is also presumed that with Tartarus she mothered Typhon, Campe, and Echidna although it is more commonly thought that Echidna was the child of Ceto and Phorcys. Gaia also gave birth to Manes with Zeus and Erichthonius of Athens with Hephaestus. Some say that Uranus was the child of Aether and Gaia, but is better known to be the child of Gaia alone, but did mother Aergia with Aether. Finally Pheme, Cecrops, and Python had either unknown fathers or were born through parthenogenesis.

Most scholars interpret Hesiod’s Theogony to say that Gaia arose after Chaos to be the everlasting seat of the immortals who possess Olympus above, and the depths of Tartarus below. He then says that’s Gaia brought forth her equal Uranus(sky) to “cover her on eve...

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...within him is pitiless as bronze: whomsoever of men he has once seized he holds fast: and he is hateful even to the deathless gods.” In this passage by one of Homer’s writings, Thanatos , the god of death and his brother Hypnos, the god of sleep, are depicted as twins and the sons of Nyx. Although rarely appearing in person and was a minor figure in Greek Mythology, Thanatos was often referred to in stories and Greek life. Like himself, most of his siblings were negative personifications such as Old Age, Suffering, Doom, Deception, Blame, Strife, Retribution, and even the Acherousian/Stygian boatman Charon. Thanatos was loosely associated with the three Moirai, particularly Atropos, who was the goddess of death in her own right. He was usually thought to be the god of a peaceful death rather than the bloodthirsty and more violent Keres who embodies violent death.