The Gods of Ancient Greece
Aphrodite
Aphrodite is the
goddess of love,
desire, and beauty.
She is the
daughter of Zeus
and Dione.
She is married to
Hephaestus, and
cupid is her son.
Apollo
Apollo is the god of
music, healing, and
truth.
He is the son of Zeus
and Leto, and the
brother of Artemis.
He is the archer.
Ares
Ares is the god of
war.
He is the son of
Zeus and Hera, and
was disliked by his
parents.
Artemis
Artemis is the
goddess of nature,
animals, and
hunting.
She is the daughter
of Zeus and Leto,
and the sister of
Apollo.
Athena
Athena is the daughter
of Zeus.
She is the goddess of
the city, handicrafts and
agriculture.
Athena was born when
Zeus had a headache,
and sprung from Zeus’s
head in full armor. She
has no mother.
Demeter
Demeter is the
goddess of fertility,
corn, grain, and
harvest.
She is the daughter
of Cronus and Rhea.
Dionysus
Dionysus is the god
of the vine who
invented wine.
He has two sides one bringing joy,
and the other rage.
He is the son of
Zeus and Semele.
Hades
Hades is the god of the
underworld.
He is the brother of Zeus
and Poseidon.
After overthrowing their
father Cronus, Hades and his
brothers drew lots for shares
of the world. Hades had the
worst draw.
He is the smith and
armor god.
He uses the volcano as
his forge.
Hephaestus has a bad
leg because Hera
through him from
mount Olympus
because he was born
ugly.
He is the son of Zeus
and Hera, and the
husband of Aphrodite.
Hephaestus
She is the goddess of
marriage.
Hera is the wife and
sister of Zeus.
Hera
Hermes
Hermes is messenger
with winged sandals.
He is the god of theives.
Hermes is the son of
Maia and Zeus.
Hestia
Hestia is the goddess
of the hearth
(fireplace) and home.
Each polis had a
public hearth for
Hestia.
She is the sister of
Zeus.
Cronus
Cronus was the king
of the Titans until he
was overthrown by
his sons.
Cronus fled.
There were two
families of gods in
Greek mythology the Titans and then
the gods of Mount
Olympus.
Zeus with his father Cronus
Persephone
The daughter of
Zeus and Demeter.
She was abducted
by Hades, and
became the queen
of the Underworld.
He is the Lord of
the Sea.
Poseidon helped
overthrow his
father Cronus with
his brothers.,
He was the first to
tame horses, and is
shown in art with a
trident in hand.
Poseidon
Zeus
Zeus is the lord
of the sky and
the rain. He
rules over all of
the gods.
He is married to
Hera, but is
known for his
many
indiscretions.
Oracles
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Greeks went to the oracle to find out
information on their future life on earth,
for this they turned to the oracle.
Greek oracle was the religion priest or
priestess who acted as a communicator
between man and God. Every oracle
had a distinct method of divination.
Motion of objects in the spring,
movement of birds, rustle of leaves,
interpreted dreams, etc, were considered
valid indicators for understanding
messages from the gods.
One of the most famous oracles was the
Oracle at Delphi.
Sacrifice
. The ancient Greeks considered
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sacrifice as the appropriate
method to worship God. Public
worships were held to obtain
public blessings, rain, good
harvest, military victories, etc.
Private sacrifices were offered
for fulfillment of personal goals,
wishes and victories. Blood
sacrifices of animals such as
oxen, sheep, horses, swine, dogs,
birds, fish, fowl etc were
common in the temple of Gods.
Temple/Prayer
The Greek temples were part
slaughterhouse and part barbecue.
During sacrifices, the people offered
the blood, bones and hides of the
slaughter animal to the God, the
remaining portions were used up as
food for themselves.
Greek prayers were done the same,
and not left up to the individual.
Temples
The Greek temples were small
buildings that contained a statue of the
god the temple was created for. Most
of these temples did not have a
professional or full time clergy or
priest.
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Questions
–1. Who was the King of all Greek
Gods?
–2.Who was the God of the Sea?
–3.Who was the God of the
Underworld?
–4.Which Goddess sprang from Zeus’
head wearing her armor?
–5.Name one God or Goddess and
what they were the God/Goddess
of?