The Olympian gods

Olympian Generation

Includes 14 gods and goddesses, with Zeus being the chief god

-Only 12 of them lived or visited Mount Olympus (the 12 Olympians), Hades and Hestia did not visit Olympus

-Each god has particular powers and functions that directed human affairs

-Each had a cult center (certain rituals/locations for each god) and were anthropomorphized described in human like ways

-gods were unequal to humans physically (taller, more attractive, greater power) and in terms of knowledge/wisdom

Drank nectar and ate Ambrosia, Ambrosia was thought to help someone stay immortal (Thetis, Mother of Achilles, tries to make Achilles immortal via Ambrosia but it does not work)

Marriages of Zeus

After Gaia urges the gods to make Zeus the chief god, Zeus begins taking different wives in marriages to consolidate his power

-Each marriage is a personification of a certain attribute of Zeus (wisdom, justice, customs, etc)

Zeus + Metis Union

Zeus takes Metis as his first wife

-Metis is a personification for wisdom/cleverness

-Gaia provides a prophecy to Zeus that Metis would give birth to a daughter equal to Zeus in spirit and wisdom (Athena) but also to a son that’d overthrow Zeus

Zeus then swallows Metis while she is carrying Athena

-Swallowing of Metis is an allegory to explain how Zeus becomes wise and uses his wisdom to rule over the cosmos

Birth of Athena

After swallowing Metis (who’s carrying Athena), Zeus complains of a headache

-Hephaistos or Prometheus struck Zeus on the head resulting in the birth of Athena (once again, an allegory to how Zeus gave wisdom to the world)

Zeus + Themis Union

Themis (one of the 12 titans) represents traditional customs/laws

-Demonstrates an allegory; Zeus is the guardian of traditional law since he made a marriage alliance with Themis

-Have two sets of triplets, the Horai (or hours) and the Moirai (or fate)

Hereditary-Guest Friendship

Custom: if a stranger knocks, you must welcome them, offer them food/shelter and entertainment

-At the end, you and the guest exchange gifts to create a permanent bond

-Violation of the bond could result in war (one of the causes of the Trojan war)

Example of Hereditary Guest-Friendship

-Two heroes, Diomedes and Glaucus meet and introduce themselves. Their grandfathers were guest friends so they exchange gifts to renew their bond (by giving their armor) and could not kiill each other

The Hoirai (Hours)

First set of triplets

-Names were order, justice, and peace (Eirene)

The birth of the hoirai is an allegory of how Zeus brought Order, Justice and Peace to the Cosmos

The Moirai (Fate)

Next set of triplets, had Clotho (the firs), Lachesis (the second), and Atropos (the third)

-When a child was born, Clotho spun the thread of life

-Lachesis determines how long the thread of life will be (life-span)

-Atropos cuts the thread → The child then dies

All three work together to determine the fate of a person, every mortal is subject to fate

-Fates, according to Prometheus, are more powerful than Zeus

Zeus + Mnemosyne Union

Mnemosyne is another of the twelve titans, goddess of memory who later gives birth to the Muses

-Allegory of Zeus bringing forth fine arts/skills

-The muses help story writers (rhapsodes like Homer and Hesiod) remember stories

Magpie Etiological Story

Nine mortal women challenged the Muses to a story-telling contest

-In one of the stories, the mortal women seemingly challenged Zeus’ authority (believed he didn’t win the battles of Typhonomachy/Gigantomoachy)

-The nine women were punished and turned into magpies

Zeus + Hera Union

Hera takes on the ole of Gaia (becoming mother earth/earth goddess)

-Marriages of Zeus + Hera is another archetype of the sacred marriage of Earth and Sky

Had three children: Ares (son), Eileithyia (daughter) and Hebe (daughter)

-But Homer records they gave birth to another son, Hephaistos

Zeus

Weather god, set the rain/thunderstorms, wielded lightening

Epithet: Father of gods and men, cloud gatherer, high/loud thundered, Aigis-bearer

Attribute: Thunderbolt

Animals: Bull (typically sacrificed to him/male gods)

Plant: Associated with the oak tree (perhaps since they’re tall they are frequently struck by lightning)

-Eventually becomes guardian of law/justice/customs (Themis) and guardian of hospitality against strangers

Cult Centre: Most important was Olympia, as well as Dodona

-Associated with Iris (a minor character, personification of a rainbow) who was regarded as Zeus’s messenger (in the Iliad) before being replaced by Hermes

Hera

-Was the protector of marriage and women during birth

-Hera was named the queen of gods, was also a warrior deity and was active in the Trojan War

-Hera also could grant kingship, Zeus marrying Hera cemented his role as king of the gods

Hera’s Epithet - “Cow-eyed”/”Ox-eyed”

Hera’s Attribute - Golden throne

Hera’s Animal: Cows, which are sacrificed to her

• In egypt, cows are a symbol of motherhood/fertility

• Peacock is also associated with Hera

Hera’s Plant: Pomegranate, symbolizes fertility and is sacred to Hera

Hera’s Cult Centre - Argos, Mycenae

Poseidon

Zeus’s brother, also an olympian god

-Viewed as being the “Zeus of the Sea”, his name also translates to “husband of the earth” (but Zeus is the husband of the earth)

-Poseidon was also the god of earthquakes

Epithet - “Earth shaker” and “Hippios” (horse headed, since he was believed to take the form of a horse)

Attribute - Trident

Animals - The horse, bulls, and dolphins

Cult Centre - Pylos, Corinth, and coastal regions

Poseidon + Amphitrite Union

Amphitrite was one of the nereids (daughters of Nereus)

-Had a son named Triton (was half man and half fish)

-Poseidon was also the father of Arion (winged horse), but Amphitrite was not the mother

Hades

Also Zeus’s brother, called the “Zeus of the Underworld”

-Hades is not the name of the god, it is an epithet for being “invisible/unseen”/”host of many”

Attribute - Helmet of invisibility, worn when leaving the underworld

No sacrificed animals/foods related to Hades, and no cult centres (no praying to Hades)

-Sacrifices were only made to his wife (Persephone)

Greeks believed that, when people died, “heaven and hell” were still in the underworld (Tartarus being hell, Elysian fields being heaven)

Hades + Persephone union

Had no children since they lived in the underworld where there’s no new life

-Persephone acts as an intermediary between Hades and the Greek heroes who make trips through the underworld

-No praying to Hades, only to Persephone

Associated Characters with Hades

Thanates - Personification of death, carry the body of slain heroes to their homelands

Hypnos - Personification of sleep, carry the body of slain heroes to their homelands

Cereberos - Hades’ three-headed guard dog, prevents souls of the deceased from leaving the underworld, had snake heads growing on his back and tail

Charon - Immortal old man with a row boat, rode the shade of deceased people on the rivers separating the upper and lower worlds (underworld vs upperworld)

Underworld Entrances

Believed the underworld was either directly under the earth, or in the far west

-In the Odyssey, there was an entrance in Oceanos in the far west

-Virgil mentions another entrance in Cumae at a volcano called Vesurius

Division of the Underworld

1. Elysian Fields (equivalent of heaven)/Elysium

-Originally thought to be in the far west, since the Isles of the Blessed was thought to be the canary islands, on the west coast of Africa

-Egyptian mythology believed the dead went to where the sun set (west)

2. Tartarus (equivalent of hell)

-Virgil is the first to record people being punished here

-Also where Zeus sent his enemies (the titans, some giants, Typhoios)

3. Meadow of Asphodel

-Where the shades of heroes interact with each other

-Orion, who serves as an archetype of hunters, continues his hunting work by driving the shade of the animals he killed

Rivers that Separate the Living/the Dead

1. Styx

• One of the oceanids, name means “river of hate”, administered the oaths

• When gods said an oath, they swear it on Styx, breaking the oath results in revoking of ambrosia/nectar (for a year) and exiled from Olympus

• Hence why Styx is the “river of hate” (gods hated making the oath)

2. Acheron

3. Cocytos - River of weeping/sorrow

4. Phlegethon - River of Fire

5. Lethe - River of forgetfulness

• Plato mentions reincarnation where Virgil elaborates that after people are reincarnated, they drink from Lethe to forget their previous existence

Three Judges of the Afterlife

Minos, Rhadamanthys, Aeacus

-All were sons of Zeus with exemplary lives

-When they died, their shades become judges of the underworld

By the time of Virgil, their roles change to being judges who judge those who’ve died

Demeter

Sister of Zeus, also a pre-hellenic goddess; mother of Arion (winger horse, father is Poseidon) and Persephone (father is Zeus)

Goddess of Agriculture

Epithet - Bringer of the seasons

Attribute - Ear (of the grain)

Plant - Wheat

Animal - A Sow and its piglets

Cult Centre: Eleusis (near athens)

Demeter and Her Quest for Persephone

Hades asks Zeus if he can marry Persephone, and Zeus gives his approval

-Demeter, unaware of this, believes Persephone is dead and goes into mourning for 9 days

-Helios, the one who sees all, tells Demeter that Zeus gave permission for Persephone to be taken, so Demeter decides to punish him

-She first attempts to make a baby boy immortal (which would reduce the power of the Olympians, as humans could achieve immortality)

-She then ordered the people to construct a temple in which she hid in, resulting in her powers being concealed (created widespread famine)

• No food for humans, but also no sacrifices for the gods

-Zeus first sends Iris to bring Demeter back, then he sends the other gods/goddesses to beg for Demeter to return, but Demeter only agreed if Persephone was returned

Zeus sends Hermes to bring Persephone from the underworld, Hades agrees but gives her a pomegranate seed to consume (pomegranate symbolizes Hera, protector of marriages)

-This ties Persephone to the underworld, resulting in her having to return for 1/3 of the year

Allegorical interpretation of Demeter’s Myth

-Demonstrates the changing of seasons (famine, growth, then harvest)

-Demeter/Persephone can be viewed as personification of grain; Demeter represents grain ready for harvest while Persephone represents the seed and the shoot

Also depicts an allegory for a hope of the afterlife; Persephone returning for the underworld depicts a defeat of death and a promise to the followers of Demeter

Aphrodite

Daughter of Zeus and Dione (according to Homer)

Goddess of love, beauty and fertility

-Worshipped at Dodona

-Non-Hellenic, likely brought by the Phoenicians via trading posts

Epithets - Cyherea/Cyprian/Cypris

Animal - Dove (associated with love and peace)

Plants - Red roses

Attribute - Magic belt/girdle (love charm)

Cult Centres - Sparta and Paphos (on the island of Cyprus)

Had multiple “attendents” (the Hourai/Hours/or seasons) who were the daughters of Zeus + Themis

Aphrodite and Hephaistos

Married to Hephaistos, but dislikes him as he is ugly (so she has affairs)

-Marriage between them is an allegory of the union between beauty and crafts

-Instead preferred Ares (god of war) and has three children with him; Deimos, Phobos and Harmonia

Aphrodite was also the mother of Aeneas

Hephaistos

Epithet - Lemnian (translates to the god from Lemnos)

Attributes - His tools (hammer, anvil/forge, axe)

-No animals/plants associated with him

-God of created fire (blacksmiths worshipped him)

Cult Centre - Athens and Lemnos

Has a number of assistants called “robots”; human-like beings made of gold that move around as well as twenty tripods (three-legged table) that could also move

-Always took his mother (Hera)’s side, resulted in Zeus throwing him off of mount olympus giving him a permanent injury

Conception of Aeneas

Father is a trojan prince named Anchises

-Aphrodite constantly bragged about making anyone fall in love, so Zeus punishes her by making her fall in love with Anchises

-After falling in love with him, she takes the form of a mortal woman and provides a prophecy to Anchises that his son (Aeneas) will rule the trojan (along with the future generations)

-Told Anchises not to tell anyone about his time with her or Zeus would punish him

But after the birth of Anchises, she decides to never again mate with mortals; results in no more demigods after the birth of Aeneas

Birth Stories of Hephaistos

Birth Story 1

-According to Hesiod, only had one parent (Hera) who spontaneously gave birth to him out of rage of Zeus giving birth to Athena

Birth Story 2 (Homer)

-Hephaistos is the son of Zeus and Hera

Hephaistos and Aphrodite’s Quarrel

Hephaistos didn’t know of Aphrodite’s affair with Ares until Helios told him about it

-Placed an invisible net over the bed, and eventually caught Ares and Aphoridtes

-But the gods/goddesses laughed because they found Hephaistos’ cleverness funny

Ganymede

Trojan Prince who was very handsome, was taken by the gods

Tros (the father of Ganymede) was grief-stricken by this; so Zeus grants the father immortal horses as a gift

-Hermes then tells him that Ganymede would be immortal and live with the gods