Gods希腊诸神.doc

Gods
The following gods and goddesses are the major deities which were worshipped by the Greeks. Each god had their own domain which they ruled over. Mortals often offered sacrifices to the gods in return for favors, good climate, bountiful crops, and many other things.
· Greek/Roman Names
· Aphrodite
· Apollo
· Ares
· Artemis
· Athena
· Demeter
· Hades
· Hephaestus
· Hera
· Hermes
· Hestia
· Poseidon
· Zeus

Greek/Roman Names
When the Roman Empire conquired the Greek city-states they intigrated many parts of Greek culture into theirs, including their gods and myths. However, since almost no one in the Roman Empire spoke Greek, they changed the names of the gods and goddesses into their native language. All the pages on this site us the origonal Greek names.
Greek
Roman

Greek
Roman
Aphrodite
Venus

Hephaestus
Vulcan
Apollo
Apollo

Hera
Juno
Ares
Mars

Hermes
Mercury
Artemis
Diana

Hestia
Vesta
Athena
Minerva

Poseidon
Neptune
Demeter
Ceres

Zeus
Jupiter
Dionysus
Bacchus

Persephone
Proserpina
Hades
Pluto

Eros
Cupid

Aphrodite
Aphrodite was the goddess of love and beauty and the daughter of Zeus and Dione. Although there has been some debate as to the reality of this. One myth describes her as being created from the foam of the sea this making her a possible daughter of Poseidon and Amphitrite. In addition to her mysterious creation, there has been some question as to her lovers. The Ancient Greek writer Homer writes about she being married to Hephaestus. Some legends say she eventually married her long time lover, Ares.
A famous myth about Aphrodite concerns her being a major cause of the Trojan War. At the wedding of King Peleus and Thetis, a sea nymph, a golden apple appeared in the banquet hall with "for the fairest" written on it. The goddesses Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite, who all claimed to be the fairest, tried to get Zeus to judge. Refusing to, Zeus appointed Paris, the prince of Troy, to judge. Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite each offering bribes attempted to persuade Paris to vote for them. Aphrodite, offering the prize of the fairest mortal woman in the world, was chosen as the fairest. Paris's prize was the beautiful Helen, the wife of the Greek king Menelaus. This abduction of Helen started the Trojan War.

Apollo
Apollo was the god of music, the sun, and prophecy. He was the son of Zeus and Leto, and the twin brother of his sister Artemis. Of his many aspects, Apollo was mainly the god of prophecy, according to the Ancient Greek writer and poet Homer. His most popular oracle was at Delphi, which is a popular tourist site today. Occasionally, he bestowed his great gift of prophecy on mortals.
He was a gifted musician, who masterfully performed on the lyre for the Olympian gods. He acquired the lyre from his younger brother Hermes for his Caduceus. Apollo was fabled to be the first victor of the first Olympic games, due to his blazing speed and his superior archery skills.
Principally, Apollo was the god of the aforementioned music, sun, and prophecy, but his godly duties entailed him to various other tasks. His sister was the goddess of young women, so he was the god of young men. He was also known as the shepherd god because the was the protector of cattle.

Ares
Ares was the god of war and the son of Zeus and Hera (one of Zeus's few children in wedlock). Ares was described as violent, aggresive, evil, and an egotist, he personified the brutal nature of war. He was one of the most despised of gods even among warriors who gave praise. In later legends he is the husband of Aphrodite. He also had affairs with Deimos, goddess of fear, and Phobos, goddess of rout. Despite his tough exterior, Ares, was actually quite weak. He was in no means invincible, even against mortals.
The worship of Ares, is believed to have originated in Thrace, due to the warlike nature of the natives. Throughout the rest of Greece, the worship of Ares was frowned upon, sometimes resulting in death.

Artemis
Artemis was the goddess of the moon, her parents were Zeus and Leto. Artemis's was the twin sister of Apollo. Their godly duties complemented each other. While Apollo was the god of the sun, sheep, and the protector of young men, Artemis was the goddess of the moon, wild animals, and the protector of young women. Artemis was sometimes depicted as the goddess of the hunt, contradicting the thought of her being the goddess of wild animals.
Ancient myths often showed Artemis as being evil and cruel. It is fabled that she was willing to help the Greeks in the Trojan War after they sacrificed a young maiden to her. After the sacrifice, she and her mighty bow led the Greeks to victory over the Trojans. Skill with the bow was a talent also help by her brother Apollo.

Athena
Athena was the goddess of handicrafts, wisdon, battle, goddess of the city, and protector of civilized life. Her real parents are unknown, but Zeus liked to claim that she was his daughter and to prevent argument she would keep quiet. She seldom entered into battle, but when she was forced to fight she always won.

Demeter
Demeter was the goddess of the harvest and of corn. She was the daughter of the Titans Cronus and Rhea, one of her brothers is Zeus. Demeter gave birth to Persephone, who was abducted by Hades, god of the underworld, to rule with him as his queen. Demeter grew upset with the other gods unwillingness to intervene, so she brought famine to the mortals by not allowing plants to grow. Once Zeus saw what was happening to the people of earth, he demanded Hades to give back Persephone. Hades agreed, but before Persephone had left, she ate six pomegranate seeds which allowed her to return to Hades in the underworld for six months every year. For the time Persephone is with Hades, Demeter would allow nothing to grow, these six months are the months of winter and fall.

Dionysus
Zeus's son by a mortal woman, Dionysus became the god of wine. One day Zeus told the council that his son had invented wine, and must become a god. Because with his entrance the council would have 13 people, an unlucky number, Hestia offered to resign her post to prevent an argument. From then on the council had 7 gods and 5 goddesses, a quite unfair number as whenever matters of woman came up the gods always won.

Hades
Hades was the god of the dead and of the underworld. He was the son of the Cronus and Rhea and the brother of Zeus and Poseidon. Hades received his share of the world when he and his brothers divided everything into three parts. Although Hades was stern and merciless, he was not evil. Actually, he was known as the god of riches, because crop fields and precious metals are both based underground which supposedly was his doing. In his dark and gloomy life, he had one bright spot, his wife, Persephone, who he captured from the above world for himself. His land was divided into three parts, Erebus, the place the dead pass when they die; Tartarus, the deeper, hell-like region, where the evil remained; and the Alysian Fields, the heaven-like place where the poets, writers, actors, and wise and just people spent eternity. The Erebus and Tartarus regions were guarded by Hades' three-headed dog, Cerberus. Charon, the grim reaper-like boatsman took the dead across the River Styx to eternity.

Hephaestus
Hephaestus was the god of fire and metalwork and the son of Zeus and his wife Hera. Hephaestus was very odd at birth, and his awkwardness continued as he matured. Hera, who was nauseated by his deformity, cast him out of Olympus. For unknown reasons, he was honored again and restored to his duties atop Mt. Olympus. He was married for a short time to Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty, which was odd due to her beauty and his ugliness. Later, when Aphrodite began having various affairs, namely with Ares, the god of war, Hephaestus married Aglaia, one of the Graces.
Since Hephaestus was the metalworker and carpenter, he made many supplies for the gods, like their armor, weapons, and jewelry. Atop Mt. Olympus, he constructed magnificent thrones for each god which were highly detailed. Hephaestus carved his symbol into his chair which was the swastika. This was later misconstrued and used for a sign of hate by the Nazi Party.

Hera
Hera, was the queen of all gods, and the husband of Zeus. In addition to being Zeus's wife, Hera was also his sister, from their Titan parents Cronus and Rhea. She had four children with Zeus: Ares, Hephaestus, Hebe, and Ilithyia. Her godly job included protecting married women. Hera was an extremely jealous wife. She hated all of Zeus's eight goddess mistresses and his fourteen mortal mistresses. One of his human mistresses, Alcmene, bore him Heracles. Hera spent much of her time trying to harm either Heracles or Alcmene for Zeus being unfaithful to her. Semele, another mistress of Zeus, bore him Dionysus, the god of wine. Zeus wanted Dionysus to join the council of major gods at Mount Olympus, but Hera was against this. In Homer's classic novel, The Illiad, Hera shows her vindictive powers when Paris, the prince of the Trojans, prefered Aphrodite over her. For revenge, Hera aided the Greeks in defeating the Trojan forces and destroying the city of Troy.

Hermes
Hermes was the messenger of the gods and the son of Zeus and Maia. Although he was the messenger of all the gods, he was the special servant and courier of Zeus. To aid him in his deliveries, Hades used winged sandals and a winged hat. He directed the souls of the dead to the underworld at the time of death. Hermes was also said to be the "dream god" as he supposedly had special powers over the dreams of mortals and gods alike. Another of his duties was to protect traders and merchants as the god of commerce. He was also the god of athletes, he looked over gymnasiums and stadiums while being in charge of changing the tide of a competition by handing out good luck.
Hermes, the trickster of the gods, stole his brother Apollo's cattle. To "cover" his tracks, Hermes craftily made the cattle walk backwards to throw off any followers. When Apollo confronted his younger brother, Hermes finally admitted the theft. As a token of his sincerity, Hermes gave Apollo his newly invented lyre. Apollo, being so overwhelmed by the gift, gave Hermes his Caduceus, a magic wand entwined with snakes and decorated with wings, in return.

Hestia
Hestia was the goddess of the hearth and the goddess and protector of virgins. She was the oldest daughter of the Titans Cronus and Rhea. Hestia was also known as the sacrificial goddess. She was believed to have presided over all fires held at sacrifices. Although she appears in very few myths, most cities throughout Ancient Greece had a common hearth where her fire burned. Commonly, before and after meals, prayers were offered to her. Being the oldest of the Olympian gods, she was also the most mature. Whenever war was emminent, she always did her best to help avoid it. She hated all the argument between the Olypian gods and goddesses. When Zeus declaired Dionysus a god, she resigned her post to prevent a fight about who would leave.

Poseidon
Poseidon was the god of the sea and the son of Cronus and Rhea. Among his siblings were Zeus and Hades. Poseidon's wife, Amphitriite was the queen of the ocean, with her, Poseidon had a son, Triton. Among Poseidon's symbols are the three pronged trident and the dolphin. His physical appearance has him wearing a long gray beard with scraggly, wind-swept hair.
Like his younger brother, Zeus also had numerous affairs. Mostly with nymphs, he fathered seven children known for their cruelty towards others and nature. Poseidon once had an affair with Medusa which produced the winged horse.
Among some of the myths that have famed Poseidon include his attempt to take control of Athens from Athena. When Poseidon teamed with Apollo to help Laomedon, king of Troy, to help rebuild his wall he was cheated of his wages. In return, Poseidon sent a horrible sea monster to ravage the city of Troy. He also aided the Greeks in beating the Trojans during the Trojan War.

Zeus
Zeus, being the king, presided over all gods at Mount Olympus. He was the youngest son of the Titans, Cronus and Rhea, in addition to being the brother of Poseidon, Hades, Hestia, Demeter, and Hera. According to one of the ancient myths, Zeus's father Cronus ate his children fearing that they would overthrow him. One by one, Cronus ate each of his children when they were born. When Zeus was born, Rhea wrapped a stone in a blanket and gave that to Cronus. Thinking that was his child, Cronus swallowed the entire bundle. Meanwhile, Zeus hid safely on the island of Crete. On Crete, Zeus was raised by the nymphs while being fed on the milk of the goat named Amalthaea. When Zeus became mature he returned to Mount Olympus and forced his father to regurgitate his brother and sisters. With the aid of his siblings, Zeus was able to defeat Cronus and the Titans who sided with his father. Upon their defeat, Cronus and the Titans were banished to Tartarus to spend the rest of eternity. Zeus and his brother Poseidon and Hades drew lots to decide who would rule which places. Zeus received the sky, Poseidon obtained the sea, and Hades was left with the underworld. The earth was left to be ruled by all three.
Zeus, and his wife, Hera, had four children: fellow Olympian gods Ares, the god of war, and Hephaestus, the god of fire, and lesser gods Hebe, the goddess of youth, and Eileithyia, the goddess of childbirth.
Zeus was extremely unfaithful to Hera, having affairs with eight different goddesses. With these women, he received over twenty children, including five Olympian gods. Apollo, god of music, archery, and the stars; Hermes, the messenger of the gods; Aphrodite, goddess of beauty; Artemis, goddess of archery and the moon; and Athena, goddess of knowledge and war.
In addition to his godly affairs, he also had many affairs with mortal humans, bearing him twenty-two different half-god, half-mortal children from fourteen different women. Among these children were Dionysus, the god of wine, and Heracles (commonly known as Hercules).

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