Greek gods: names, history and main gods of mythology

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You Greek gods, worshiped by the ancient inhabitants of Greece, were represented in human form and symbolized human longings and fears.

They ruled the forces of nature, commanded the sky, earth, sun, moon, rivers, sea, wind, etc. The gods behaved like human creatures, that is, they had jealousy, envy, hatred and love. They were immortal and were arranged in a hierarchy.

Although deeply rooted in the general context of the culture in which it was formed, a god could like any element cultural, moving from one group to another changing its meaning and function, to adjust to the interests of the new medium Social.

An example is the gods worshiped in ancient Rome, called Roman gods, which came mostly from Greece. These only changed their name when they were adopted in Rome.

Major Greek Gods

Representation of Some Greek Gods of Olympus

Below is a list of the main gods of Greek mythology:

aphrodite - goddess of beauty and love
Apollo - God of light
Ares - God of War
Artemis - moon goddess
Athena - wisdom goddess

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Demeter - god of the fertile land
Dionysus - god of party, wine and pleasure
Eos - Goddess of the Dawn
Eros - God of love
Hades - Underworld god
Helios - sun god
Hermes - god of communications and travel
Ivy - goddess of heaven, motherhood and marriage
hestia - fire goddess
Hours - goddess representing the seasons of the year
Mnemosyne - goddess of memory
persephone - queen of the underworld
Poseidon - god of the seas
Selene - goddess of the moon
Themis - goddess of laws
Zeus - God of gods

greek heroes

In addition to the Greek gods, find out who the main heroes of mythology are:

bellerophon

Almost gods were also the heroes. They were admired for their human qualities and not for the possible divine help they might receive.

bellerophon he was a hero and single-handedly killed Chimera, a terrible fire-spewing monster.

Athena, the goddess of wisdom, presented him with a golden rein. With this object Bellerophon caught Pegasus, the flying horse that led him through the skies to Chimera's lair.

Perseus

Greek gods — Statue of Perseus with the head of Medusa

Perseus, son of Zeus, killed the Jellyfish, whose eyes turned into stone statues all those who stared at her. Hermes, god of the wind, helped him by lending him his winged sandals and Athena gave him her shield.

theseus

theseus received no aid, yet freed Athens from a cruel tribute to King Minos of Crete.

Every year, Minos required seven young Athenian young men and seven damsels to be devoured by the Minotaur. This was a monster with a human body and a bull's head that was trapped in the Labyrinth of Knossos.

heracles

heracles (Hercules, for the Romans) murdered his wife, Megara, and for that he was given twelve difficult tasks:

to kill a lion that ravaged the valley of Nemea;
exterminate the nearly invincible Hydra of Lerna, a nine-headed monster;
to capture the Crinee deer, which had feet of bronze;
capture the wild boar of Erimanto;
clean the stables of King Augeas, where three thousand animals were accumulated;
kill the birds of prey in Lake Styphalia;
seize the bull of Crete;
take the wild horses of Diomedes;
find the belt of Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons;
Find the oxen of Gerião;
Have the golden apples of the Hesperides;
Beat the dog Cerberus, guard of hell.

After winning the twelve tasks, Hercules freed the titan Prometheus, who was chained to a rock.

Other Heroes of Greek Mythology

Among the heroes of Greek mythology were:

agamemnon: Trojan war commander
Achilles: participated in the siege of the city of Troy
Oedipus: deciphered the riddle of the sphinx
Atlanta: heroine who participated in the Caridon wild boar hunt
Ajax: Trojan war hero
Cadmus: who defeated the dragon that controlled the city of Thebes

greek muses

Among mortal men and immortal gods there were creatures semi-divine that the Greeks venerated as muses, among them, the daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne: