Major Greek Gods and Goddesses

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Unlike religious gods today, the Greek gods resembled human being in their form and their emotions, and suffered from the same dilemmas humans throughout time have faced. The Greeks believe in many gods and think they are very much like people. They have both supernatural powers and human weaknesses. The gods would fight, play on each other, gets angry or jealous, and steal from each other. The Olympian Gods live atop Mt. Olympus in Greece behind a gate of clouds. They watch the mortals down on earth which they can visit any time, and are responsible for the success or failure of human life. The Greeks worship their gods, pray, give offerings, and build temples to please the gods so they will not give any punishments.

Mt. Olympus, the tallest mountain in Greece, is the holy place where Zeus resides. Zeus is the leader of all the Olympian Gods and has been the leader since he overthrew his father Cronus, the leader of the Titans who ruled before Zeus and the Olympians. Zeus was the youngest of the gods, born by Rhea and Cronus. Cronus was worried that one of his sons would overthrow him just as he overthrown his father… so he swallowed each child when it was born- Poseidon, Hades, Hera, Demeter, and Hestia. This, of course, made Rhea very angry so she tricked Cronus by hiding Zeus and instead gave him a rock wrapped in a blanket (and he ate it believing it was the baby)! Rhea than smuggled Zeus to the island of Crete to be raised by nymphs (fairy-like creatures). When Zeus grew up, he consulted with Metis (goddess of wisdom) on how to defeat Cronus. She prepared a drink designed to make him vomit up the other children. Rhea persuaded Cronus to accept Zeus to return to Mt. Olympus as his cupbearer, and he acce...

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...Ibid

Ashworth, Leon. Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Greece. North Mankato, MN.: Smart Apple Media, 2003. Print.

Bremmer, Jan N. "Hades." Encyclopedia of Religion. Ed. Lindsay Jones. 2nd ed. Vol. 6. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2005. 3724-3726. Gale World History In Context. Web. 6 Mar. 2011.

"Greek Names." Heavenly Greek Islands. Web. 06 Mar. 2011.

"Hades (Pluto), God of the Underworld/ Hades and Persephone." Greek-Gods.Info- Greek Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Greece. Web. 06 Mar. 2011

Ashworth, Leon. Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Greece. North Mankato, MN.: Smart Apple Media, 2003. Print.

Ibid

Gibson, Michael, and Giovanni Caselli. Gods, Men & Monsters from the Greek Myths. New York: Schocken, 1982. Print.

"Greek Names." Heavenly Greek Islands. Web. 06 Mar. 2011. .

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