greek gods of antiquity

Culture

2022

We explain to you which were the main gods of ancient Greece, the characteristics of each one and various myths.

Each god of ancient Greece was represented with specific symbols or attributes.

What were the main gods of Ancient Greece?

The Ancient Greece it was one of the most culturally fertile periods of Mediterranean antiquity, in which the Greek city-states flourished and exerted an important influence in the region, during a period spanning between 1200 BC. C., after the call Doric Invasion, and the year 146 a. C., when after the Battle of Corinth, the Roman armies conquered the Greek kingdoms.

The culture of Ancient Greece has enormous importance for Western culture: the Roman invaders, dazzled by its wealth, adopted it as their own and inherited their religion, changing the names of their deities to Latin. That is why we know so much about her, and that many texts of the time are preserved, in which much information can be rescued about her pantheon of deities, since the Greek religion was polytheistic and complex.

According to the view of the ancient Greeks, the world was the product of primary and foundational forces, represented by deities known as Titans, who had been defeated and banished from the world by their own children, the gods known as Olympians, since they had their abode on top of Mount Olympus (Olympos in Greek "the luminous one"), the highest elevation in all of Greece.

The Olympic gods were many, but among them 12 stand out that we will see below. The Greeks associated them with different phenomena of the nature and also different aspects of human life, and represented them as anthropomorphic figures, endowed with specific symbols in each case.

The cult of a specific god did not usually prevent the veneration of some other, although in the mythological tales rivalries abound between gods to preserve the favoritism of certain cities or specific heroes, many of whom were considered direct descendants of the gods.

Zeus (Jupiter for the Romans)

The father god of the Olympian gods, ruler of the pantheon and supervisor of the universe, was the owner of thunder, lightning, and therefore of the energy of the world.

He was represented as a bearded man who wielded a scepter and wore a crown, or with the symbols of the lightning bolt, the eagle, the bull and the oak, although it was common in mythological stories that he adopted the most diverse possible forms, especially when it comes to seducing his many lovers.

According to mythological accounts, Zeus had been sired by the Titans Rea and Cronos, along with Poseidon, Hades, Demeter, Hera and Hestia, his brothers. The titan, fearful of being dethroned, devoured his children as soon as they were born, until his wife, eager to save Zeus, gave him a stone wrapped in swaddling clothes instead.

Thus, Zeus grew up on the island of Crete and once an adult he faced his terrible father, opening his stomach to rescue his brothers and thus start the Titanomachy, the confrontation between Olympian gods and primordial titans, which culminated in victory. of the former and the exile in Tartarus of the latter.

Then Zeus divided the world with his brothers, leaving the heavens for himself; for Poseidon the seas and for Hades the underworld.

Zeus was above all a begetting father, and the great mythological heroes were part of his numerous offspring. It was worshiped throughout Greece, but especially in Olympia, where the Olympic Games of Antiquity were held, that is, the games in honor of the Olympian gods.

Hera (Juno to the Romans)

Greek goddess of marriage, of housework, maternity and family, she held a place of authority on Olympus, as she was the sister and wife of Zeus, with whom she conceived the gods Ilithia, Ares and Hebe.

However, she was often depicted as a jealous and vindictive wife, due to Zeus' numerous infidelities, and she undertook persecutions against her lovers and the illegitimate children who begat her. Such is the case of Hercules, for example, a hero whom he professed an eternal hatred.

She was commonly depicted full-length, wearing a cylindrical crown (called poles), and was associated with the symbols of the peacock, lion, cow, pomegranate fruit, and poppy capsule. She was one of the first goddesses to be worshiped by the ancient Greeks, especially in the Samos region, where temples in her honor abounded, and she was honored by sacrificing peacocks and cows.

Athena (Minerva to the Romans)

Athena was born only to Zeus, and she had no mother.

Also known as Pallas Athena, she was a warrior and virginal goddess, associated with human knowledge, civilization, wisdom, Justice, the Sciences and the Liberty. She was one of the main deities of Olympus, revered throughout Greece and its areas of cultural influence abroad, although she was also considered the protector of Athens and the Attica region.

She was the daughter of Zeus and Zeus only: according to the myth more popular, it had been born from his head, after the father god had swallowed one of his lovers. Although there are other stories in which she was the daughter of Palas or Palante, a winged giant, whom she herself had to kill when he tried to rape her.

Athena was described as an unbeatable warrior, represented almost always with her armor and helmet, spear and shield, but she was also eternally celibate, equanimous and wise, and her advice was valued in combat or in difficult situations. Particularly ingenious and cunning heroes, such as Odysseus, are said to have enjoyed his favor among all people.

Poseidon (Neptune for the Romans)

God of seas and of the earthquakes, was one of the wrathful gods of Olympus, whose rage engendered storms, tidal waves, sea monsters and shipwrecks, and whom the sailors prayed for a calm sea abundant in islands.

Since the Greek culture was a maritime and expansionist culture, Poseidon was one of its main deities, revered as the head of the polis in many Greek cities such as Corinth, while in Athens he was second in importance after Athena.

Like other marine gods, Poseidon was symbolically associated with horses, and was represented as a bearded man wielding a trident, always accompanied by a fish, dolphin or lizard, or in a carriage drawn by hippocampi, or in the company of the sea nymphs, the Nereas.

Like Zeus, Poseidon was the father of numerous Greek heroes, including the famous Theseus, but also of many terrible animals and monsters.

Aphrodite (Venus for the Romans)

The goddess of erotic love, that is, of sensuality, eroticism, and unbridled passion, was often depicted as a fickle, capricious, moody, and terribly beautiful woman.

She was the unfaithful wife of the god Hephaestus, whom he especially deceived with Ares, god of war, and even with mortals of whom she conceived mythical heroes, such as the Trojan Aeneas. His adventures earned him the enmity of Artemis, whose virginity represents values ​​completely contrary to those of the sensuality that Aphrodite embodied.

According to mythological tradition, Aphrodite was born from the marine foam, or from the seed of the titan Uranus, spilled into the sea by her son Cronos at the very moment of castrating him. That is why Aphrodite was symbolically associated with the sea, as well as with dolphins, doves, swans, clams, pearls, roses and the pomegranate, apple and myrtle trees.

She was a goddess venerated in different parts of Greece, generally through festivals in her honor, called Aphrodisias, particularly in Athens, Paphos and Corinth, the latter city where there was a temple consecrated to Aphrodite (destroyed during the Roman invasion of 146 BC), whose priestesses practiced prostitution ritual as a way of worshiping her.

Hephaestus (Vulcan for the Romans)

The forge of Hephaestus was inside Mount Olympus itself.

The god of forging, metallurgy and fire, patron of craftsmen and blacksmiths, and revered in all the manufacturing centers of Ancient Greece, he was depicted as a bearded man with ugly features, lame (sometimes even with his feet upside down) and scruffy, sweaty, commonly bent over his anvil with a hammer. His forge was, supposedly, inside Mount Olympus itself.

Hephaestus was the son of Hera and Zeus, in some traditions, and in others the exclusive son of Hera, who would have had him in a fit of jealousy after Zeus had Athena on his own. But surprised by the ugly appearance of the new god, his mother took him by the foot and threw him from Olympus, causing him the limp with which he is often represented.

The relationship between Hephaestus and the rest of Olympus was tense, and in more than one account he is expelled from Olympus and then accepted again.

His good offices were credited with building whatever magical throne, chain, or armor existed, as his works were legendarily durable and often had supernatural powers. Also the beautiful jewels with which he entertained his wife Aphrodite, and also the gold net with which he captured her red-handed sleeping with her lover, the god Ares.

Ares (Mars for the Romans)

Son of Zeus and Hera, Ares was the Greek god of war, embodiment of bravery, tenacity, the force and masculine virility, protector of armies, rebels, and righteous men, and helper of the weak.

His less noble side had to do with the brutality of war, the horrors and suffering of battle. Even he himself could be injured in the fighting, as happened in his confrontation with Hercules, or in his fights against his sister Athena, who was invincible in combat.

Ares was a womanizing god, to whom around 30 lovers and 60 begotten descendants are attributed, although Aphrodite, among all of them, was always his favorite concubine, his healer and ally in war. This earned him the hatred of not a few jealous husbands, such as Hephaestus.

In addition, his tendency to value the courage of armies equally, could lead him to fight for one side and the other, as happened in the Trojan War, and thus earn the resentment of the other gods involved in the conflict.

Logically, Ares was revered by the military and armies that marched into combat, and his main places of worship in Ancient Greece were Thrace and Scythia. He was often depicted as a virile young man, hairless and dressed in bronze armor, spear or sword, and red-crested helmet. It was associated with the dog, the woodpeckers and especially the vultures, which devoured the corpses after the battle.

Apollo (Phoebus for the Romans)

Apollo was the most important god after Zeus.

One of the main Olympian gods and one of the most revered in all of Ancient Greece, he was the son of Zeus and Leto and the twin brother of Artemis. Zeus was the only god more important than Apollo in the Greek religion.

Many attributes and interests were attributed to him. He was protector of Arts, the beauty, the Balance, perfection, prophecy and divination, healing, the initiation of young people to adulthood, protector of shepherds, sailors and above all archers, as he was the god of archery and arrow.

Apollo was a severe and spiteful god, feared even by his companions on Olympus, for his fury could only be appeased by his father or mother. On mortals who fell into his misfortune, he used to unleash curses, epidemics and sudden death, while others enjoyed his favor or his loves, since he used to choose lovers between both sexes.

He was the patron of the famous Oracle of Delphi, in which predictions were offered to mortals, and he was also the head of the inspiring muses, and patron of music and poetry.

He could be represented in different ways, depending on the aspect of his personality that was sought to be highlighted: he was generally a hairless young man, naked or dressed in a cloak, carrying a lyre, a zither, a plectrum, a sword or a bow and a full quiver. of arrows, and usually in the company of their favorite animals: crows, wolves, hawks, snakes, mice and griffins, mythological hybrids of eagle and lion.

Artemis (Diana to the Romans)

Apollo's twin sister, Artemis, also called Artemis or Delia, was a hunting goddess, associated with wild animals, virgin terrain, female virginity, and childbirth.

She was a very important goddess, venerated especially on the island of Delos, her supposed birthplace, as well as in Braurón, the young maidens were sent to the temples of the goddess to serve her for a year, or also in Muniquia and Sparta. In the latter city, the famous Greek warriors made sacrifices to him before marching into battle.

Commonly depicted as a young woman with a bow and a quiver full of arrows, her usual symbols were the deer, the cypress, and even game animals, such as the dog. Being a virginal goddess, she had no consorts or lovers, although the legendary hunter Orion was her companion in departure for a time.

She was a jealous, severe and vengeful goddess, who is told that the young hunter Actaeon, in one of his forays, accidentally contemplated her in the forest taking a bath naked. As punishment, the goddess transformed him into a fawn and encouraged her own hunting dogs to dismember him.

Demeter (Ceres for the Romans)

The Greek goddess of farming and of the cycles of nature, venerated as "bearer of the seasons", according to the Homeric Hymns.He is one of the oldest deities of the Greek religion, protagonist together with his daughter Persephone of the so-called Eleusinian mysteries, prior to the worship of the Olympian gods.

Demeter or Demetra was associated with the earth, fertilization, legislation and agriculture, since it was she who taught humanity about sowing and cultivating. It was revered especially in agricultural regions, even from very early Neolithic times, but without focusing on a specific region of the Greek world.

According to the myth, her daughter Persephone was the consort of Hades, god of the dead, after being kidnapped by him, and Demeter spent a great deal of time searching for her throughout the land, until she begged Zeus to intercede on her behalf.

It was thus that an agreement was reached between the parties: Persephone spends six months with her mother and six months with Hades, thus giving rise to the seasons. The first six months Demeter is happy with her daughter and entertains her with flowers and fruits (during spring and summer), while the rest of the year she mourns her absence and the world cools and the soils harden (during autumn and winter) .

Hermes (Mercury for the Romans)

Hermes was the conductor of the recently deceased souls to the underworld.

One of the most versatile and elusive Greek gods, Hermes was the son of Zeus and Maya, and was the messenger of the gods. He was considered the protector of roads, borders, commerce, travelers and thieves, liars, and cunning and mischief in general. He was also linked to dreams, to night trades and he was the protagonist of many myths and mythological stories.

Despite being the god of deception and lies, Hermes was also credited with numerous inventions: fire, racing, fighting, the lyre, and the syrinx (which he offered as a gift to Apollo), and was linked to the rooster and turtle.

His representations always showed him as a slender young man, dressed in winged sandals or a hat with wings, to indicate how quickly he acted or thought. Furthermore, his main place of worship in Ancient Greece was Arcadia, and the festivals in his honor were known as the Hermeas.

One of the most mysterious aspects of Hermes was the conductor of the recently deceased souls to the underworld, and sometimes also Persephone back to her mother Demeter. That aspect of him was known as Hermes Psychopomp.

Hades (Pluto for the Romans)

Although Hades was the brother of Zeus and enjoyed the same rank as him and Poseidon, his place on Olympus used to be strange, since he inhabited the remote world of the dead, Erebus or Underworld, whose doors were guarded by a terrible three-headed dog. , the keeper.

It was a dark and foggy kingdom, to which all mortals went when they died, and where, according to certain religious traditions of Ancient Greece, the transmigration of souls was carried out, that is, their purification and I forget to be born again.

Hades, "the invisible", ruled this kingdom with his wife Persephone, as equals, and they had a happy marriage but without descendants. Although those who inhabited his domains were strictly forbidden from returning to the world of the living, Hades was often depicted as a just and compassionate god, whose name, however, should not be repeated much.

In fact, Hades was rarely depicted in paintings, vessels, or sculptures, other than during the episode of the abduction of Persephone. It was known about him that he wore a magic helmet, which the Cyclops gave him during the Titanomachy, and that it allowed him precisely to make himself invisible.

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