Bayley Greer
Greek Tragedy document 2
November 15, 2006
Overview: History of Mount Olympus-
- Mount Olympus is the highest mountain in Greece.
- Homer described the summit of Mount Olympus as a place where there were palaces and the gods would be entertained by muses.
- Cronus, the most powerful of the titans used Mount Olympus as his throne.
- After Zeus overthrew Cronus (his father) he became the ruler of Mount Olympus and lived there with 11 other gods. The 12 of them are known as the Olympian Gods.
The 12 Olympians:
http://www.theoi.com/Olympios/Zeus.html
- Zeus:
Overthrew his father. His mother was
Rhea and in order to keep Zeus alive, she tricked Cronus into eating a
rock wrapped in a blanket. Cronus was afraid that one of his children
would overthrow him and take power, so he swallowed ZeusŐ five older
siblings. He is the most powerful of all the gods, however he is not
omniscient. Zeus was tricked many times and he could not control the
fates. He won a draw against his two brothers, Hades and Poseidon which
gave him the title of the supreme ruler of the gods. He became the lord
of the sky. His weapon is a thunderbolt and his mood affects the weather.
Zeus is married to Hera but is known for his many affairs. Two of his
symbols are the oak tree and the thunderbolt.
http://www.theoi.com/Olympios/Poseidon.html
- Poseidon: After drawing lots with his brothers, he won
the prize of being lord of the sea. His weapon is a trident which is
capable of shattering any object and even shaking the world. Although he
is known for being greedy and having a quarrelsome personality, he is
worshiped by seamen. He is more powerful then all the gods except for his
brother Zeus. He married Amphitrite but had a desire for the goddess
Demeter. He tried to create the most beautiful animal to impress her, and
ended up creating the horse. It took him so long to create the horse,
that eventually his lust for Demeter ended. Two of his symbols are the
trident and the horse.
http://www.theoi.com/Khthonios/Haides.html
- Hades: After the overthrow of Cronus by Zeus, Hades
became lord of the underworld and rules over the dead. He is greedy and
is always trying to increase his number of subjects. He favors those who
increase the number of dead in the world. He is rarely worshiped due to
his nature of not letting anyone leave the underworld. He is god of
wealth because of the metals that were mined from the earth. Hades
abducted Persephone and forced her to be his wife. He has a helmet that
can cause him to become invisible, but he rarely leaves the underworld.
http://www.theoi.com/Olympios/Hera.html
- Hera: She is the wife and sister of Zeus and was
raised by Ocean and Tethys (titans). She is known for being the protector
of marriage and watching out for married women. She was tricked into
being with Zeus. He courted her and she turned him down, so he turned
into a cuckoo bird and she felt sorry for the bird and cradled it to
herself. He turned back into his real form and raped her. She did not
want to be shamed for the rape, so she married Zeus. Hera drugged Zeus
once, so that the other gods could revolt. Zeus was freed and hung Hera
in the sky with chains. She cried all night and it kept Zeus awake so he
agreed to release her if she would never again rebel against him. She
kept to her promise of not rebelling; however she often outwits the god.
She is often jealous and outraged by ZeusŐ affairs. Two of her symbols
include the peacock and the cow.
http://www.theoi.com/Olympios/Apollon.html
- Apollo: He is the son of Zeus and Leto. He has a twin
sister named Artemis. He plays a golden lyre and is the god of music. He
has a silver bow and is known as the archer. He is the god of healing
because he taught medicine to man and he is the god of truth because he
cannot tell a lie. He is also the god of light and everyday he uses his chariot
and four horses to drive the sun across the sky. Two of his symbols are
the dolphin and the crow.
http://www.theoi.com/Olympios/Artemis.html
- Artemis: She is the daughter of Zeus and Leto, and the
twin of Apollo. She is known as the lady of wild things. She hunts with
silver arrows and all wild animals are sacred to her. She is the
protector of the young and although a virgin goddess, she presides over
childbirth. It is said that she caused her mother Leto no harm when she
was born. Two of her symbols are the deer and the cypress tree. She is
also associated with being the goddess of the moon.
http://www.theoi.com/Olympios/Athena.html
- Athena: She is the daughter of Zeus. She does not
have a mother because she was born from ZeusŐ forehead, full grown and
dressed in armor. She only fights to protect the state and home and is
fierce and brave in battle. She is goddess of the city, handicrafts, and
agriculture. She is the one who made it possible for man to tame the
horse by created the bridle. She also invented the trumpet, flute, pot,
rake, plow, yoke, ship, and chariot. She was said to be the favorite child
of Zeus and was allowed to use all of his weapons including his
thunderbolt. Like Artemis, she is a virgin goddess. Two of her symbols
are the olive tree and the owl.
http://www.theoi.com/Olympios/Ares.html
- Ares: His parents are Zeus and Hera. Neither Zeus
nor Hera liked Ares and he is known to be murderous and a coward. He is
the god of war. He had an affair with Aphrodite and was caught by her
husband. He is often depicted as holding a bloodstained spear. Two of his
symbols are the vulture and the dog.
http://www.theoi.com/Ouranios/Hestia.html
- Hestia: She is the sister of Zeus. She is not known
for playing a big part in myths, and has no distinct personality. She is
one of the virgin goddesses. She is the goddess of the hearth and home.
She is the most gentle of the gods and many cities had a public hearth in
honor of her that was never allowed to go out. Fire is one of her
symbols.
http://www.theoi.com/Olympios/Aphrodite.html
- Aphrodite: She may be the daughter of Zeus and Dione (a
titan). Another story of her birth is that Cronus castrated Uranus and
tossed his genitals into the sea. Aphrodite was said to have then risen
from the sea on a shell. She is the goddess of love, beauty, and desire.
She has a magic girdle that she can use to cause anyone to fall in love
with her. Her husband is Hephaestus but she is known for having an affair
with Ares. She is the protector of sailors. Two of her symbols are the
myrtle tree and the dove.
http://www.theoi.com/Olympios/Hermes.html
- Hermes: His parents are Zeus and Maia. He is the
messenger of Zeus and and is fastest of the gods. He wears winged sandals
and a winged hat. One of his jobs is to guide people to the underworld.
Some of his inventions include the lyre, pipes, musical scale, astronomy,
boxing, and the care of olive trees. He is the god of thieves.
http://www.theoi.com/Olympios/Hephaistos.html
- Hephaestus: He is the son of Zeus and Hera and the
husband of Aphrodite. He is the only god to be physically ugly. He is
lame and there are two different stories of the cause. One story is that
he took HeraŐs side in an argument between her and Zeus, so Zeus threw
him from mount Olympus. The fall broke his legs. The other story is that
when he was born, his ugliness upset Hera so much that she threw him from
mount Olympus, causing his legs to break. He is the god of fire and
forge. He is known for being kind and peace loving. He made the weapons
and armor for the gods. Two of his symbols are the anvil and the forge.
Work Cited:
á Apostolidis, Socrates, Eva Kalasidou, and Emilios Kalpakstis. "The Mount
Olympus." La Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno. 29 June 2005. 16 Nov. 2006
<http://www.lagazzettadelmezzogiorno.it/
GdM_scuola_giornalino_matera_notizia_01.asp?IDCategoria=320&IDNotizia=140126>.
- "The Olympians." Ancient Gods. 16
Nov. 2006 <http://www.hol.gr/greece/
olymp.htm>.
- Regula, Traci. "The 'Top Twelve' list in the
myths of Greece." The twelve
Olympian Gods and Goddesses. 2006. 15 Nov. 2006
<http://gogreece.about.com/cs/mythology/a/olympiangods.htm>.