The Greek Gods

The Greek Gods

Introduction: The Gods worshipped by the Greeks were many. There were gods of the trees (Nymphs), the rivers (Oceanids), the celestial bodies in the sky, of the earth (Chthonic), the original gods (Titans), and many others. However, as Greek society came into ascension in the classical age in roughly 500 B.C., the Olympians and their children became the primary gods worshipped in that land. At the time, Greece was not a united country, but a series of city-states with a similar culture. These were their gods:

The Gods of Mount Olympus
Zeus: King of the gods and ruler of Olympus. God of the sky and bearer of the lightning. Wisest of all. / Apollo: God of the sun, disease, art, poetry, divination and many other things. A popular god.
Hera: Queen of the gods. Goddess of marriage and the home. A jealous goddess, suspicious of her husband, Zeus. / Artemis: Goddess of hunting and of the forest. She is very close to her brother Apollo. Known for her archery.
Poseidon: God not only of the oceans, but of earthquakes and horses. A proud god, one easily angered. / Hephaestus: God of the forge. Creator of many great weapons and armor. Master of the cyclopes.
Hades: A dour god. Ruler of the underworld. Not evil, he rules the realm of the dead fairly. / Ares: God of war, but also of farming. A brutal god, but one viewed as necessary. Paramour of Aphrodite.
Athena: Daughter of Zeus. Goddess of both wisdom and warfare. She is the protector of many a Greek hero. / Aphrodite: Goddess of beauty and love. Mother to Cupid. She was probably the Greek version of Ishtar.
Demeter: Goddess of the seasons and nature. Her moods are powerful and can affect life on Earth. / Hermes: The god of messengers and the slayer of Giants. Known to be a trickster god of sorts.

The Greek gods proved to be so popular that they survived the ascension of Rome, as the Romans continued to worship the Greek gods, albeit under different names. It is worth noting that our Sun and the planets are mostly bearing the Olympians’ Roman names: Sol, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Neptune, and Pluto.

A Polytheistic Religion: Many of the ancient and classical religions were polytheistic (Belief in multiple gods), and as a result, they often had options when it came to worship. Those praying for a good harvest might sacrifice to Demeter, while those looking for success in battle would pray to Ares. Some Greeks had patron gods, such as the Athenians who worshipped the goddess who gave their city its name.

One purpose of the gods was to tell people of their future. Petitioners seeking knowledge of their fates would go to visit the oracle of Apollo at Delphi. There, the priests would commune with the god, sometimes giving direct information, but other times giving cryptic answers, such as when the Lydian king Croesus was told that if he declared war on the Persians that a “great empire would fall”.

Croesus declared war on the Persians and attacked them. Unfortunately, he had misread the Oracles’ prediction, and it was his empire which fell.

The Oracle at Delphi

From God comes Man: One connection some Greeks felt to their gods was that of a direct nature. Many kings and heroes of the Greeks claimed to be the children or grandchildren of the gods, lending them more weight and authority. The gods were no strangers to the mortal world, and would often have children which were part-god/part-human. The beautiful Helen was supposedly a daughter of Zeus. Aeneas, founder of Rome was a son of Aphrodite.

Of course, the most popular of all of Zeus’ children was the legendary Heracles (Roman: Hercules), who was so powerful that he seemed to be more divine than human. The Spartan lineage claimed descent from Heracles, an explanation for why they were such fierce warriors.

An Epic Cycle: The last of the great stories of the Greek Gods is the tragic tale of Troy. In the story, half of the Olympians become angry at the city and seek its destruction, while the other half attempt to protect it. Both sides manipulate humanity, and the best Greek warriors fight the best Trojan warriors in a ten-year epic struggle that ends with the downfall of nearly everyone involved.

This story is a very pragmatic one, as the gods are not seen as providers and saviors, but master manipulators who will do whatever they can to get what they want, and humanity suffers due to their vanity.

The big question surrounding the Trojan War is if it really occurred. In the 1870s, the German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann proved that the hill at Hisarlik in (modern-day Turkey) was the site of the ancient city. Since then, additional discoveries have occurred confirming that there was not merely a fortified citadel at the top of the hill, but a large walled city at its base.

An Incomplete Mythic History:The Epic Cycle is an extensive tale of both the gods and the men who worshipped them. Unfortunately, only Homer’s The Iliad and The Odyssey have survived the test of time. The other six books have disappeared over the ages, giving us an incomplete look at this powerful mythic saga. However, as seen in the chart below, most of the story is told in those two books, providing us with an excellent understanding of how the ancient Greeks saw their gods.

Conclusion: Although the worship of the Greek gods has long since passed, their legacy lives on. We use their names for astrological bodies, whether they be planets, moons, stars, or constellations. Although the days of the week are now named after Norse deities, in some languages they still bear their Roman names. Lastly, we still tell their stories. Each year, new movies come out paying homage to these famous figures of myth.

FURTHER QUESTIONS:

1. If the Greek gods were still worshipped today, and you had one as a patron god/goddess, who would it be, and why?

2. Give an example of the influence of a Greek deity on modern-day times.

3. If you were to make a movie about the Olympians, who would you cast for each god?

4. What does the Greeks’ choice of gods say about who they were, or what they thought was important?

5. Do you feel that the Greek gods were essentially good, or are they selfish and/or evil?