Artemis and Apollo

Artemis and Apollo

 Artemis and Apollo's father was Zeus, and their mother was one of the good Titans, Leto. Hera was obviously outraged that her husband Zeus had had two children with Leto, so before Leto's children were born, she laid sent Leto away from Olympus. She warned all the land nymphs that if they let Leto give birth on their land, the land would be cursed forever. So, Leto wandered the earth in labor, constantly sent away by nymphs scared of offending Hera. She was in constant pain, so she decided to go to the group of fortune tellers of Greece, the Oracle of Delphi. Unfortunately, a giant snake called Python had decided the Oracle was a good place to live, and ate all the fortune tellers. So, when Leto arrived, she was met by Python, who thought this plump woman would make a tasty snack, and chased Leto. So now, Leto was in constant labor and constant state of running. Eventually, Zeus felt bad for her and sent Boreas, god of the North Wind, who picked Leto up in a gust of wind and brought Leto to the floating island of Delos. There, Leto gave birth to Artemis and Apollo. Artemis became the goddess of hunting and childbirth, but she saw how much trouble Leto had giving birth so she remained a maiden. She formed a group of female hunters, who were off limits to men, and who stayed immortal unless they were killed in battle. For Apollo, he became the god of poetry and music. After he heard how Python had terrorized his mom, he went after him and killed him. He took over the Oracle where he was living and became the god of prophecy as well as music and poetry. Him and Artemis both became the god and goddess of archery.

Apollo and Artemis

Hephaestus

Hephaestus

   Hephaestus was the god of blacksmiths and fire. He was a son of Hera, and Hera only. A mortal was invited to Olympus, and he was flirting with Hera. Hera immediately told Zeus, and she expected him to blow the mortal out of the sky. Instead, Zeus didn't believe Hera without proof. Hera was outraged, and she became super angry at Zeus. As a show of her rebellion, she became pregnant by herself without Zeus. When the baby was born, it was crippled (and very ugly). He was so ugly, even his mother couldn't bear to look at him. She threw him out the window of the highest tower on Mount Olympus. The baby (Hephaestus) landed on the island of Lemnos, where he was raised to become a master craftsman. he came back to Olympus, and was welcomed by the other gods because of his craftsmanship and skill in the forge.

Hephaestus

Ares

Ares

  The god of war, Ares, was the child of Zeus and Hera. Ares was bloodthirsty and loved war. His symbol was a blood tipped spear, or a boar. He was very violent and ready to fight anyone. He had an affair with Aphrodite, who was unhappily married to Hephaestus. He had three children with Aphrodite who would follow him into war; Phobos (Fear), Deimos (Terror), and Eris (Discord). In the myths, he was often humiliated through his defeats.

Ares

Athena

Athena

  Athena was the child of Zeus, but she had no mother. She was formed entirely from thoughts. She sprang from Zeus's brain fully grown. She became the goddess of wisdom, which makes sense because she was born from thoughts, and battle. On the battle part, she was not vicious or bloodthirsty like Ares. She was the goddess of battle that included wisdom and strategy.

  Athena has a rivalry with Poseidon, for many reasons. She and Poseidon battled to be the patron god of the city of Athens. Poseidon created horses as his gift. Athena created the olive tree. The people of Athens chose Athena. As payback, Poseidon brought his mortal girlfriend Medusa to a temple of Athena. Athena looked down at them and became furious. She turned Medusa into a hideous creature with snakes for hair. She became Medusa, who could turn people into stone with a look of her eyes.

Athena

Different Myths

Different Myths

  Before I continue listing the Greek Olympians, I would like to say something about different versions of myths. In Greek, the myths were spread by word of mouth. This would have made the stories vary in different areas. I am writing about the ones I heard. They may not be the originals, but they are the ones I have heard the most of.

Zeus

Zeus

   Zeus was the youngest child of Kronos and Rhea. His father, Kronos, got a prophecy that his children would overthrow him and take over his kingdom. His siblings before him were eaten by Kronos, but Rhea hid him away as a baby to avoid him being eaten and gave Kronos a rock to eat. Kronos ate the rock, tricked by Rhea. He grew up in a secluded mountain, raised by nature spirits, nymphs. When he became old enough, he disguised himself as a cup bearer looking to work for the Titan, and Kronos hired him. He gained his trust, biding his time for the opportunity to free his siblings. Kronos and his buddies were having a nectar drinking contest. Zeus filled all the cups, but mixed Kronos' godly drink with different disgusting liquids. He gave it to Kronos, who chugged it all in three seconds. He won the contest, but afterwards he didn't feel so good. He threw up all five gods he was keeping in his stomach. Zeus was there too, and they blasted him with their combined powers. Zeus became the lord of the sky. He controlled lightning, and the other gods. He was also keeper of order and law.

Zeus

Poseidon

Poseidon

  Poseidon was the middle boy child of Kronos and Rhea. He was the god of the seas and creator of earthquakes. He was called the Earthshaker because of how he created earthquakes with his Trident, his symbol of power. He married Amphitrite, one of the 50 Nerieds. She initially didn't want to marry Poseidon, but Delphin, the minor god of dolphins, convinced her that Poseidon would treat her well. Poseidon was overjoyed, because he was in love with her. They later had two children, Triton-the original figure for mermaids- and Rhode-a minor sea nymph.

Poseidon and Delphin

Hades

Hades

   Hades was the oldest boy child of Kronos and Rhea. He was said to have bad luck, and that showed when he and his other brothers rolled a dice for the ownership of the three parts of the world, sea, sky, and underworld, Hades got the worst roll; the underworld. He was mistaken death himself, but that was another god, Thanatos. The Greeks didn't like saying his name, thinking it was bad luck. They thought saying his name would bring early death. Hades was the god of the dead and the underworld, but he was also the god of precious gems, because he was ruler of the underworld and under earth. He is married to Persephone, daughter of Demeter.

Hades

Hera

Hera

 Hera was the third oldest child of Kronos and Rhea. Zeus fell in love with her, but Hera kept telling him no. He made a deal with her, that if she ever told him she loved him, they would get married. She said she would do it, knowing she would never tell him she loved him. Later, there was a storm, and a cuckoo bird with an injured wing flew into Hera. She nursed it back to health, but when she was going to set it free, it wouldn't fly away. She thought it wanted to stay with her, so she was going to keep him as a pet. It nuzzled her, cooing.

 "Alright, I love you too," she said. The cuckoo immediately hopped on the floor and began growing in size. It morphed back into Zeus, who had disguised himself as the cuckoo to trick her into marrying him. Hera was furious, but she had made the deal, so she married Zeus. She became the goddess of marriage, and the protector of married women. Her sacred animals were the cow, peacock, and the cuckoo.

Hera

Demeter

Demeter

 Demeter was the second oldest child of Kronos and Rhea. She was the goddess of harvest, crops, fertility, and agriculture in general. She had a daughter named Persephone, the goddess of spring and flowers. Hades fell in love with her, and abducted her to the underworld. Demeter was furious, searching the world for the light of her life, but couldn't find her because she was in the underworld. She made all crops wither and die, leaving the humans to starve. Zeus sought out Demeter's daughter and found out she was in the underworld. However, she had eaten a fourth of a pomegranate while in the underworld, which meant Hades had a claim on her. Demeter struck a deal with him and said since she had eaten a fourth of a pomegranate, she would stay in the underworld for a fourth of a year. That time of year, Demeter didn't let crops grow, causing the season of winter. When Persephone came back to her, spring would come back with her.

Demeter

Hestia

Hestia

  Hestia was the oldest child of Kronos and Rhea, but her thought of her as the youngest because she was vomited by Kronos last. She became the goddess of the hearth. The hearth was the central fire in a Greek house. She originally had a throne on Olympus, but gave up her throne for Dionysus. This is why there weren't that many temples and shrines to her. She swore to be a maiden, refusing to take a husband. 

Greek Mythology Creation

Creation

   In the beginning there was nothing but the empty void of Chaos. From Chaos appeared Erebus, the personification of darkness and shadows, and Night. Afterwards, Love was born, bringing order with it. From Love came Light, followed by Gaea, the earth. Erebus and Night had two children, Ether, heavenly light, and Day, earthly light. Then, Night alone created Doom, Fate, Death, Sleep, Dreams, and Nemesis, all things that haunt mankind.

   Meanwhile, Gaea created Ouranus, the sky. Ouranus became Gaea's husband. They had the three Cyclops, who were three ugly human like people with one single eye in their foreheads, the Hundred-Handed Ones, who had one hundred arms and hands, and the twelve Titans. The Titans were perfect, strong children who glowed with power, the only children Ouranus liked. He was a cruel father, hating the Cyclopses and Hundred-Handed Ones, and pushed them into the only place he couldn't see them, Tartarus. This infuriated Gaea and she started planning to kill her husband. She made the first scythe from the earth and tried to persuade the Titans to kill Ouranus. All were too afraid except for the youngest Titan Kronos. Kronos said that he would need the help of four of his siblings to overthrow Ouranus and become king of the world. He promised whoever would help him would get one of the four corners of the earth. The six girls and Oceanus, one of the boys who had an interest in water, refused, but the other four boys were eager to have power. Iapetus, Krios, Koios, and Hyperion were the four other male Titans that helped ambush Ouranus. Gaea invited him down and pretended everything was okay, when The five Titans sprung from the shadows. Iapetus, Krios, Koios, and Hyperion held him by his arms and legs while Kronos got his scythe and sliced him to bits. He scattered Ouranus's remains in the ocean. 

   Kronos became king and kept his promise to his brothers. Iapetus got the west side of the earth, Krios south, Koios north, and Hyperion got east. He married his sister Rhea and had the gods Hestia, Hera, Demeter, Hades, Poseidon, and Zeus. However, Kronos had recieved a prophecy that his children would overthrow him, so as Rhea gave birth to each child, he opened his jaws and swallowed them whole. He swallowed all but Zeus, who Rhea saved, and he tricked Kronos into vomiting his siblings up. Together, the gods overthrew the evil Titans and took rule.

source: http://www.greekmythology.com/

Chaos

Greek Olympian Gods

Greek Gods

      The three main Olympians are Zeus, god of sky, Poseidon, god of seas, and Hades, god of the underworld. Other Olympians are Hera, Demeter, Athena, Aphrodite, Artemis, Apollo, Dionysus, Ares, Hephaestus, and Hermes. There are 12 gods that are Olympians. Hades is not an Olympian even though he is one of the main three Greek gods. There are many other Greek gods, but listing them would take forever. These gods are called Minor gods. I may be posting about some Minor gods, but mostly they will be Olympians.

Schedule

Hi!

    This blog is going to be about mythology, mainly Greek and Roman, maybe some others. I will be posting a myth every Monday, a post dedicated to a god or goddess on Wednesday, and another myth on Fridays.

Hello People!

Hello!

           Hello people! Welcome to my blog! This blog will be about history and my life. 

I love reading, school and cats!

I am really excited to post things to this blog, and I hope you like it! 

I will try to post things regularly, and I really want to make you guys happy!