Greek Mythology

The Olympians were a group of twelve gods that ruled the world after the Titans. They lived in a palace
on Mount Olympus, built by the Cyclopes or possibly by Hephaestus. Five of these Olympians were
children of Cronus and Rhea. The rest of the Olympians were mostly offsprings of Zeus. (See geneology
of the Greek Deities)

Zeus (Jupiter)

Zeus was the Supreme ruler of the gods and lord of the sky. Youngest child of the titans,
Cronus and Rhea, he was known to the Roman as Jupiter. He was also god
of rain, thunder and storm. He was the most powerful of gods, because he
wielded the thunderbolts. The eagle was sacred to him and the olive trees
were his sacred trees.

Aided by his brothers, Poseidon and Hades, he overthrow his father Cronus
as king of the gods, and imprisoned him and the other male Titans who
opposed him in Tartarus. When they decided to divide the world between
themselves to rule, Zeus received the sky, controlling the clouds, rain and
storm. The three ruled the earth and Olympus together, but Zeus was soon
acknowledged as the supreme lord of gods and men.

He had three wives. By his first wife, the Oceanid, Metis, whom he
swallowed up, after learning from Gaea's warning about a son who would
one day displaced him. Later, when it was time for Metis to deliver a child,
Athena sprang out of his split open head, fully armed. His second wife was
the Titaness Themis, who was the mother of the Seasons and possibly the
Fates (Moerae). By his sister and consort Hera, he was the father of Ares,
Hebe and Eileithyia. Some say he was father of Hephaestus, though most
people accepted the stories that Hera bore Hephaestus by herself, without a
father. The other possible children were Eris, goddess of discord and strife,
and Enyo, the goddess of war.

He had numerous affairs with goddesses, nymphs and mortal women. By
the Titaness Leto he became father of Apollo and Artemis. The Pleiad,
named Maia, bored him a son called Hermes. According to some writers,
he was the father of Aphrodite by Dione, possibly daughter of Oceanus
and Tethys. He, therefore, became father possibly of all the younger
Olympian gods.

With his sister Demeter, he was the father of Persephone. Another
important god was Dionysus, when he seduced the Theban princess, named
Semele, daughter of Cadmus and Harmonia.

There are too many affairs and offspring he had to mention here, but some
of his more famous love affair with mortal and his offspring were: Io,
daughter of the river-god Inachus. He carried Europa away in the form of
a bull, and became the father of Minos, Rhadmanthus and Sarpedon.

Zeus transformed himself into a shower of gold, to seduced Danaë (Danae),
while her father imprisoned her in a tower. Danaë bore him the hero,
Perseus. Zeus also seduced Alcmene in her husband's form, and became
father of Heracles. While in Sparta, he ravished Leda in the form of a swan,
and became father of Polydeuces and Helen.

He had many epithets: Basileus (king), Mechaneus (manager and
contriver), Moiragete (guide of the Moirae), Meilichios, Panhellenius, Soter
(saviour), and Terminalis (protector of boundaries). Places of worship were
Arcadia, Crete, Dodona, and Rhodes. His favourite animal was the eagle,
symbolising kingly power; his favorite tree was the oak, symbol of
strength.

Poseidon (Neptune)

Poseidon was the Lord of the sea. Poseidon was the god of the sea, of earthquakes, of horses.
Poseidon was the son of the titans, Cronus and Rhea, and was known as the
Roman god of the sea, Neptune.

After aiding his brother Zeus in overthrowing Cronus and sending the
other Titans to Tartarus, he received the sea as his domain. When he not
residing in Olympus, he lived with his Oceanid wife and queen, Amphitrite,
in his underwater palace, Aegae. Poseidon was the father of the sea god
Triton, and two daughters ­ Rhodes and Benthesicyme.

Poseidon was always depicted as powerfully muscular, bearded-man,
carrying the mighty trident. One blow from trident could split open rock.
He drove two-horse chariot over the waves.

Like other sea-deities, he has the abilities to change shape. Poseidon
pursued his sister Demeter. When she changed her shape into mare to hide
from him, Poseidon changed himself into a stallion and mounted her. He
became father of the immortal horse, Arion, and a daughter, Despoina
(goddess of the horses). Poseidon was also called a god of horses, known as
Hippios (or Consus).

His best known epithet was Enosichthon ("Earth-shaker"). His other epithet
was Gaieochus ("earthguarder").

Like his brother Zeus, he had numerous affairs with nymphs and mortals.
He also had many children by them. Some of his sons were gigantic in
stature, like Antaeus, Otus and Ephialtes, the Cyclops Polyphemus, and
possibly the great hunter Orion. His most famous son was the Athenian
hero Theseus by Aethra, though some say Aegeus was his father.

During the Trojan War, he sided with the Greeks, though he saved a Trojan
hero, Aeneas, son of the goddess Aphrodite and Anchises. He spirited
Aeneas away from Achilles because Aeneas must survived to rule the
Trojans one day.

His favourite animals were the horse and bull, and the dolphin, while pine is
his sacred tree. His place of worship was Corinth, Argos, Troezen and
Athens, where he vied for recognition against the other deities. In Argos,
when he lost to Hera, he sometimes dried up the rivers in Argos, and other
times flooding Argos. In Athens, he vied against Athena. Poseidon
demonstrated his power by striking a rock with his trident, causing seawater
to gush from the spring in the Acropolis. Athena caused an olive tree to
grow beside spring. The Athenian decided in favour of Athena. The angry
sea-god flooded the region of Attica. The Athenians, however, wisely
continued to worship Poseidon, thereby appeasing him. Poseidon also
contested against Helius for Corinth. The Corinthians afraid to offend
either god decided to award the Isthmus to Poseidon, while Helius received
the heights of the Acrocorinth.

Hades (Pluto)

Hades was the Lord of the Underworld. Hades was the son of the titans, Cronus and Rhea.
Hades was the god of the dead, and ruled his world with more absolute
power and authority than Zeus. His other name Aïdoneus (Aidoneus)
means the "Unseen One". He was a grim god, not an evil one.

After aiding brothers Zeus and Poseidon, in overthrowing Cronus and
sending the other Titans to Tartarus, he received the world of the dead,
known as Underworld, as his domain.

He rarely leaved the Underworld. He drove his chariot drawn by black
horses, and abducted Persephone, daughter of Zeus and his sister, Demeter.
He wanted Persephone as his wife and queen of the Underworld. He was
forced to compromise with his sister, Demeter: he allowed Persephone to
lived two-third of the year on earth with her mother and a third with him in
the Underworld.

The Underworld was often called Hades, though Hades was sometimes
referred to palace, House of Hades. The Underworld was divided into two
or more region. Erebus was the upper region, while Tartarus was the lowest
region, where the Titans were imprisoned. Most mortals, who died, their
final resting-place was in the Plain of Asphodel. The shades who dwelled
here have no memories of their former lives. The place was gray and
gloomy, but the shades who populated this region will experience neither
joy, nor sorrow. Others, who led a wicked life, were send down to Tartarus,
and punished for their crime or sin.

Those mortals, who were lucky to be favoured by the gods, will dwell in the
Elysium, or Elysian Fields. Here the shades were allowed to retain their
memories of past lives. The environment in Elysium, was peaceful and
joyous, able to enjoy the pleasures they experience when alive, such as
hunting, sports and feasts. Rhadamanthys, son of Zeus and Europa, ruled
the Elysian Field. Hesiod called the Elysium ­ the Isle of Blessed. Some
say that Elysium, was not located in the Underworld, but on earth. Most
who wrote about it, says Elysium was situated on the White Island, near the
mouth of the Danube River, in the Black Sea. Among those who lived there
was Achilles, who married to Helen of Troy, in the afterlife.

Hera (Juno)

Hera was the Queen of the heaven. Daughter of the titans, Cronus and Rhea,
she was known as the Roman goddess, Juno. She was the
goddess of woman, marriage and childbirth.

She was sister of Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Demeter and Hestia.
She was one of the children swallowed by her father Cronus, to
prevent the younger gods from overthrowing him. During war
between the Titans and her brothers, Hera stayed with her
uncle, Oceanus, who took no part in the war.

After Zeus' marriages with Metis and Themis, he decided to
marry his sister, but Hera repulsed him. Zeus finally deceived
her by changing himself into a cuckoo. When she allowed the
bird to nest between her bosoms, Zeus returned to his own
form and ravished her. Later she agreed to marry her brother.
She bore Zeus three children, Ares, Hebe and Eileithyia.

When Zeus had Athena without a mother, the angry goddess
decided to have a child without a father. She bore Hephaestus.
However, Hephaestus was ugly and cripple, some say that Hera
threw her son out of Olympus. (Others say that it was Zeus who
threw Hephaestus out of heaven, when Hephaestus tried to
protect Hera from Zeus' attack.) Hephaestus, who was an artisan
of the gods and master craftsman, got his revenge by binding
his mother to a golden throne. He only released his mother
when the gods promised to marry him to the love goddess,
Aphrodite.

Hera's marriage was never a happy one, because of Zeus'
numerous love affairs with both immortal goddesses and
mortal women. Hera was renown for jealousy and temper. She
persecuted Zeus' many offspring as well as his mistresses. Some
of her famous victims included the goddess and Titaness, Leto;
Callisto, whom she changed into a bear, and her son; Io,
daughter of the river-god, Inanchus; Semele and her son
Dionysus, god of wine. She also persecuted Heracles
throughout his life, afflicting him with madness. She only
reconciled with Heracles, when the hero became a god and
lived in Olympus. She allowed Heracles to marry her daughter,
Hebe.

She played a vital role in the downfall of Pelias. Pelias had
defiled her temple, when the king had murdered his stepmother
(Sidero) before her altar. She supported Jason and the
Argonauts in their quest. After their adventure, Jason brought
back Medea, a sorceress, who tricked Pelias' daughters into
killing their own father.

Throughout the Trojan War, she sided with Greeks, because
Paris, a Trojan prince. Paris had awarded the golden apple,
inscribed with "To the Fairest", to Aphrodite, instead of herself.
Even after the fall of Troy, she persecuted Aeneas and the
Trojan followers, as they search for a new home in Italy. She
stirred up a war between Aeneas and the Latin tribes.

Her epithet was Argeia (Argive Hera). Her places of worship
were Argos, Euboea, Samos and Stymphalus. In Argos, she
contested against Poseidon for recognition as a patron deity of
Argos. The contest was judged and decided by three river-gods
of Aroglis. They awarded Argos to Hera. Angry that he lost the
city to his sister, Poseidon caused the water to dry up in one
season, and to flood Argos in another.

The peacock was her sacred bird and her sacred fruits were
apples and pomegranates.

Hestia (Vesta)

She was the virgin goddess of the hearth. She was eldest child
of the Titans, Cronus and Rhea. The Romans called her Vesta.

Hestia was one of the children to be swallowed by her father.
Later, Cronus was tricked into drinking emetic, and vomited
her and her siblings. After the war against the Titans, Hestia
managed to persuade her brothers (Poseidon and Hades) and
her nephew (Apollo) of her wish to remain a virgin.

Athena (Minerva)

Athena was the virgin goddess of arts, craft and war. Also
known as Athene, she was also identified as the Roman
goddess, Minerva. She was daughter of Zeus and his first wife
Metis (wisdom), daughter of the titans, Oceanus and Tethys.

After overthrowing his father Cronus, Gaea warned Zeus that if
Metis had a second child, it would be a son. This son, Zeus was
told, would one day overthrow him, as he had done to his own
father (Cronus). Not wanting to suffer the same fate as his
father, he swallowed Metis, while she was still pregnant. Months
later, Zeus suffered from a great headache. Either Prometheus
or Hephaestus used an axe to split open Zeus' head. Athena
leaped out of Zeus' head, wearing full armour, uttering a war
cry. The gods were astonished, and profoundly alarm at this
prodigy. It was only when she removed her helm, that Athena
revealed herself to be less formidable in aspect. Athena became
Zeus' favourite child.

Triton, son of Poseidon raised Athenaas she was growing up.
Triton had a daughter named Pallas, who became a playmate
for Athena. The young goddess was playing with her friend,
when Athena accidently killed her. In memory of her
childhood playmate, she put her friend's name before her own.
Thereafter, she was called Pallas Athena. The name Pallas
probably means "girl" or "maiden".

The Greeks saw her as goddess of severe beauty, with the bluest
eyes. In art she was normally depicted as wearing the
terror-inducing aegis, symbolising the dark storm clouds, and
was armed with the resistless spear (shaft of lightning).

Since her mother was the goddess of wisdom, Athena inherited
her mother's intellectual abilities. She personified the clear
upper air as well as mental clearness and acuteness, embodying
the spirit of truth and divine wisdom.

But Athena was also the goddess of war. She participated with
skill and wisdom in wars to defend the state, but does not fight,
like Ares, with uncontrolled ferocity, for the sheer love of strife
and slaughter. She did not participate in war for the love of
killing, rather that her activities in war were to restore order,
and thus goddess of peace. Athena represented the more noble
aspect of war: courage and self control, whereas Ares
symbolised the more brutal aspect of war.

As the goddess of war, she also became patron goddess of
many heroes, acting more like an ideal elder sister, providing
guidance. She aided Bellerophon in taming the winged horse,
Pegasus. In the war of the Seven against Thebes, Athena would
have saved her favourite warrior Tydeus and make him
immortal, had Tydeus not being duped into swallowing his
killer's brains. She also helped her mortal half-brothers, Perseus
and Heracles. She had acquitted Orestes during a trial in
Athens. In the war against the giants, Athena killed the giant
named Pallas by crushing him under a huge boulder. She used
Pallas' skin as her garment. She was popular among the heroes,
because she was the goddess of victory, and one of her epithet
was Athena Nike.

Athena was one of the goddesses who wanted the golden apple
during the Judgement of Paris. She promised Paris to make
him a great hero, winning all his wars. Her enmity was incurred
against the Trojans when Paris awarded the apple to Aphrodite.
She sided with Greeks, often aiding her favourites, particularly
Achilles, Diomedes and Odysseus. However, her enmity was
turned towards most of the Greek leaders, when they failed to
punished Ajax the Lesser for raping Cassandra in her temple.
However, she continued to aid Odysseus, and was the main
patron of his family, during the hero's absence.

Athena taught mankind the art of horsemanship. When she and
her uncle Poseidon wanted to claim Athens as a patron deity of
the city, they awarded the city to Athena, because she caused
olive tree to spring out of the rock on the Acropolis. The city
was named after her.

As goddess of craft, she invented the flute, but discarded it,
when Hera and Aphrodite laughed at her, whenever she blew
the flute. She helped Argus to build the Argo for Jason and his
crew.

Her epithets were Parthenia, Parthenos (virgin goddess),
Polymetis (resourceful), Promachus (protectress), Mechanitis
(patroness of undertakings), Soteira (savior), and Tritogeneia
(thrice born).

Her place of worship was not only in Athens, but also in Argos,
Sparta and Troy as well. The olive tree was sacred to her, and
the sacred animals were horses, sea eagles, cocks and serpents,
but her most favourite was the owl.

Apollo

A god of youth, music, prophecy, archery and healing. Twin
brother of the goddess Artemis (Diana), Apollo was the son of
Zeus and the Titaness, Leto, daughter of the titans, Coeüs
(Coeus) and Phoebe.

He was popularly known as Phoebus Apollo, and therefore
known as the god of light and the sun. He was depicted with
perfect male body, muscular but youthful.

Apollo was the god of music. Hermes gave him the lyre that he
invented, making the instrument with tortoise shell and sheep
guts for strings. No one, god or mortal could play the lyre
better than he could.

Apollo was also god of medicine and healing. Though, in
earlier accounts, Paeëon (Paeeon) may have been a god of
healing, the name may have also been one of his epithet.
Perhaps the most famous of his children was Asclepius, by
Coronis, daughter of Phlegyas. While she was still pregnant,
she took a mortal lover, Ischys. When Apollo heard about this,
he killed Coronis, but saved the unborn baby. Asclepius
became the greatest physician, with the ability restore life.
Some would call Asclepius a god of healing. However, his gift
to restore proved to be his undoing. Zeus killed him with his
thunderbolt. Angry that his father had killed his favourite son,
Apollo slew a Cyclop, who make Zeus' deadly weapon ­ the
thunderbolts. Zeus would have thrown his own son to Tartarus,
had Leto not pleaded for their son's life.

Zeus punished Apollo, where he was to work for one year to a
mortal, named Admetus, king of Pherae. Admetus who was
pious, had treated the god well, during Apollo' service. After
one year, Apollo repaid Admetus' kindness by warning him of
his fate. Admetus could escape his fate if he found someone
willing to die in his place. No one but his wife Alcestis, was
willing to sacrifice her own life. Admetus immediately
regretted allowing his wife to take his place. Only the
intervention of Heracles, restored Alcestis' life for the king.

Apollo and Poseidon was also punished by Zeus, having to
serve Laomedon, king of Troy, for one year. With the help of
the mortal Aeacus, king of Aegina, they built the wall of Troy.
Both gods had asked for payment at the completion of the wall
construction. However, Laomedon refused to pay the gods.
Poseidon sent a sea monster. Though Apollo was regarded as
god of healing, he punished Laomedon by sending an
outbreak of pestilence in Troy.

During the Trojan War, however, he favoured the Trojans,
particularly Hector and to some extent, Aeneas. Again, he was
associated as the god of pestilence (for the second time in
Troy. See the Iliad). This time he sent the pestilence to the
Greeks in Troy, because Agamemnon's refusals to return one
of his captives and concubines, Chryseïs (Chryseis), to her
father (Chryses), a priest of Apollo. Apollo punished
Agamemnon by raining his deadly arrows from heaven,
causing an epidemic within the Greek camp.

Because Achilles had killed his son Tenes, king of Tenedos, in
the first year of the war, Apollo would be responsible for
Achilles' death in the last year of the war. When Achilles
pursued the retreating Trojans, Paris shot an arrow at Achilles;
Apollo guided the arrow to Achilles' weakness, his heel.

Like many of the younger gods, he was never married, but had
many seduced many girls and women. Among the girls he
ravished were Creüsa (Creusa), daughter of Erechtheus, who
became the mother of Ion. Apollo and Hermes, fell in love
with Chione, daughter of Daedalion. On the same day, Hermes
raped Chione during the day, while Apollo ravished her at
night. She bore twins, a son to each god a son, Autolycus
(thief) to Hermes and Philammon (bard) to Apollo.

The best known of them all, was also his most unsuccessful.
Apollo told Eros, to leave archery to him. Angry at the
reproach, Eros used one of his gold-tipped arrows and made
Apollo fall in love with a nymph named Daphne, daughter of
the river-god Peneius. But Eros shot Daphne with leaden
arrow-point, which would caused Daphne to reject any love.
Apollo pursued the unfortunate girl. Praying to the
earth-goddess Gaea, she was transformed into the laurel tree.
Apollo broke off a laurel branch, and worn it on his head. In
Greek, Daphne means, "laurel".

Another girl escaped the god was Marpessa, whom the hero
Idas wanted to marry. When Apollo took the girl, Idas
undaunted by the god, he pursued the fleeing god and his
betrothed. Zeus prevented the two rivals from fighting, and
asked the girl to choose between them. She chose Idas.

In Troy, he gave the gift of prophecy to Cassandra, daughter
of Priam and Hecuba, in the hope he could win her favour.
When Cassandra rejected him. Apollo made her gift to alway
foresees true, but no one will take heel of prophecy.

Apollo was the god of prophecy and oracle. The oracle in
Delphi, was the main seat of his power, though it originally
belonged to Gaea, then Themis and Phoebe, before the oracle
was given to him.

He had many epithets: Acersecomes (unshorn) Acesius
(healer), Cynthius, Delius, Loxias, Lycius (wolf-god),
Moiragetes (guide of the moirae), Musagetes (patron of the
muses), Paean (healing-god), Phoebus (shining), Smintheus
(mouse-god).

His sacred places of worship were Delphi, Delos and Tenedos.
His sacred tree was the laurel, while the animals were wolf,
raven, swan, hawk, snake, mouse and grasshopper.

Artemis (Diana)

Virgin goddess of the childbirth and of wild animals. Artemis
was the daughter of Zeus and the Titaness, Leto, offspring of
the Titans, Coeüs (Coeus) and Phoebe. Artemis was the twin
sister of Apollo.

Artemis was the goddess of hunting and the chase. Artemis
often hunts with her brother. She carried a silver bow made by
the Cyclopes. Maidens often accompanied her during her hunt.
These mortal huntresses tried to remain virgin like the goddess
they worshipped. However, many of the gods, particularly her
father (Zeus), often ravished her beautiful companions.
Artemis was also the guardian of all wild animals of the forest,
but the hind, bear, dog and boar were favourites. Her sacred
tree was the laurel, like her brother.

She was also the goddess of childbirth. Eileithyia, who was
daughter of Hera, was also goddess of birth. When Leto was
pregnant with the twins, Eileithyia refused to help Leto with
labour, suffered greatly from the pain. Artemis was born first.
Artemis helped her mother to delivered Apollo nine days after
her.

Artemis can be a vengeful goddess. When Actaeon, a grandson
of Cadmus, probably accidentally, saw her bathing, she
transformed him into a stag. Actaeon's hounds tore him apart.
When Niobe boasted that she given birth to seven strong sons
and seven beautiful daughters more than Leto, Artemis killed
all of Niobe's daughters, while Apollo kill her sons.

When Oeneus, king of Calydon, forgot to sacrifice to her,
Artemis punished the king by sending a giant wild boar to
ravage the countryside. Similarly, when Agamemnon forgot to
sacrifice to her, Artemis send a strong wind that prevent the
Greek fleet from embarking at Aulis, to Troy, unless
Agamemnon sacrifice one of his daughters (Iphigeneia). In
some accounts, Artemis spirited Iphigeneia away, and replaced
the sacrifice with a deer.

Artemis was also known as the Roman goddess, Diana. Her
epithets included Auge, Caryatis, Lucina (childbirth, Roman)
and Phoebe (moon-goddess). She was also goddess of the
moon and was sometimes confused with Selene and Hecate,
who were also moon-goddesses.

According to many non-Greek traditions, she was not the
virgin goddess. Rather, she was the mother goddess. Some
statues depicted her with more than two breasts, suggesting that
she was goddess of fertility. She probably had Asiatic origin,
and she was sometimes identified as Cybele, a Phrgyian
mother-goddess.

Hermes (Mercury)

Herald and messenger of the gods. Hermes was son of Zeus
and Maia (a Pleiad), a daughter of Atlas and Pleïone (Pleione).
Identified as the Roman god, Mercury.

Hermes was at a god of thief, before he was even a day old.
Before the end of his first day, he invented the lyre made of
tortoise's shell, and stole Apollo's cattle. He feigned innocence,
when Apollo caught up with him and accused the infant of
stealing his cattle. Finally Zeus ordered him to return the cattle
to Apollo.

When Apollo was deciding on Hermes' punishment, Apollo
heard Hermes played the lyre. Apollo like the music coming
from the instrument so much, that he decided to give Hermes
his cattle and his shepherd staff in exchanged for the lyre. He
even taught Hermes the art of divining using pebbles.

Hermes often helped and guided human in their activity. He
gave a "Sickle of Admanate" to Perseus, which the hero used to
use to sever Medusa's head. He killed Argus who was guarding
Io. Hermes gave Odysseus a plant known as moly, that made
the hero immune to Circe's magic.

Argiphontes (slayer of Argus), Cylleneius, Epimelios (guardian
of flocks), Hodios (patron of traveller and wayfarers), Nomios,
Oneiropompus (conductor of dreams), Psychopompus
(conductor of souls to the Underworld).

Ares (Mars)

God of war. Ares was son of Zeus and Hera, and was known as
the Roman god, Mars. He was the brother of Hebe, Eileithyia
and possibly of Hephaestus, though most writers say that
Hephaestus was son of Hera, alone.

In the battlefield, he was accompanied by Enyo (called Bellona
by the Romans), goddess of war, who was either his sister or his
daughter, by Aphrodite. Enyalius, Greek god of war, was
probably an epithet of Ares. Otherwise, Enyalius was a
personification of war, and brother of Enyo. Ares was also said
to be brother of Eris (Discord) and was father of son named
Strife.

As a god of war, many Greek kingdoms did not worship him,
because Ares personified uncontrolled and murderous killing
in war, engaged in bloody strife for the sheer love of combat
itself. Many Greeks preferred Athena, the goddess of war,
whose judgment is not clouded by the passion of fighting. She
represented disciplined and cool purpose.

Even though he was god of war, Athena always seemed to be a
better fighter, whenever there was a confrontation between the
two. During the Trojan War, when Ares charged at Athena,
brandishing his sword, the goddess coolly hurled a stone at the
god of war. She left him crumbled to the ground.

He even lost several encounters to mortals, such as Heracles
(twice), as well as Diomedes, hero in the Trojan War. Both
heroes had seriously wounded the war-god. When he was
wounded by Diomedes, his scream was louder than thousands
of men shouting. The two giant sons (Aloidae) of Poseidon (?)
and Iphimedia ­ Otus and Ephialtes ­ had captured Ares and
put him in bronze vessel. He was held for 13 months, before
Hermes eventually rescued him.

According to the early Roman accounts, Mars was known more
as a god of agriculture than that of war, but his aspect became
more warlike as the Roman became more powerful.

Ares had many epithets: Gradivus (leader of armies) and
Alloprosallos. His main places of worship were possibly Sparta
and Thebes (otherwise he had no cities in Greece), and Thrace.
Ares favourite animals were the dog and vulture.

Aphrodite (Venus)

The goddess of love and beauty. She was identified as Roman
goddess, Venus. There are two version of her birth.

According to Homer, Aphrodite was known as the daughter of
Zeus and the Oceanid Dione. But according to Hesiod, she was
older than the Olympians. When the Titan Cronus severed his
father's (Uranus) genitals and flung into the sea, the blood and
semen caused foams to gathered and floated across the sea to
the island of Cyprus. There, Aphrodite rose out of the sea
from the foam (hence her name came from the word aphros,
which means "foams"). She had experienced no infancy or
childhood. She was a grown, young woman.

Aphrodite was married to Hephaestus but had numerous
affairs with gods and mortals, the most notorious of these, was
the goddess' long dalliance with Ares. She was said to have
become the mother of Eros, Deimus (Fear), Phobus (Panic)
and Harmonia, wife of Cadmus.

She had several mortal lovers. The most famous were Adonis,
son of Cinyras and Cinyras' daughter, Myrrha (Smyrna).
Cinyras refused to worship Aphrodite that the goddess made
her daughter fall madly in love with him. Myrrha got her
father drunk several nights and slept with him. When Cinyras
discovered that Myrra was pregnant with his child, Cinyras
tried to kill her. Myrrha prayed to the gods to save her, and the
gods turned her into a myrrha tree. Cinyras killed himself in
shame.

After some months later, Adonis was born, when the tree split
open. Aphrodite found the infant so beautiful that she had
Persephone bring the child up for her. The child grew so
beautiful that both goddesses fell in love him. Aphrodite had
no choice but to share Adonis' love with Persephone. Adonis
became a great hunter, and spent much of his free time with
Aphrodite. Adonis was killed by a wild boar. Some say that the
wild boar was Ares himself. Aphrodite' immortal paramount
became jealous of the youth, whom Aphrodite spends much
time with. Aphrodite grieving for Adonis caused flowers to
bloom from his blood.

One of her mortal sons was the hero Aeneas, by her lover
Anchises, king of Dardania. Anchises was crippled by
thunderbolt from Zeus, when he revealed that he made love to
the goddess. She supported the Trojans during the war, not
only because Paris awarded the apple to her as the fairest, but
that Aeneas also fought with the Trojans. When she tried to
rescue her wounded son, Diomedes also wounded her and
drove Aphrodite off the battlefield. Apollo saved Aeneas.

Her epithets were Acidalia, Anadyomene (born to the sea),
Cyprian, Cypris, Cythereia, Eriboea (Periboea), Erycina,
Euploios (fair voyage), Paphia (sexual love), Pelagia, and
Pontia.

Her favourite haunts were Cyprus and Cythera. Aphrodite's
favourite animals were the dove, sparrow, swallow, swan and
turtle.

Birth of Venus (Aphrodite)
c. 1485
Sandro Botticelli
Uffizi, Florence

Hephaestus (Vulcan)

A god of fire and metalworking. Hephaestus was known to the
Roman as the fire-god, Vulcan, as well as Mulciber (Gentle
Touch).

Some say that Hephaestus was son of Zeus and Hera, or more
popularly known that of Hera alone. When Zeus gave birth to
Athena without the mother, Hera was jealous and decided to
give birth to a child without a father.

There are several accounts on how he became lame:

One said he was born lame.
Another account was that Hephaestus tried to protect
his mother, when she angered Zeus, by wrecking
Heracles' ship in Cos. It was Zeus who threw
Hephaestus out of heaven, for aiding Hera. He became
crippled upon impact with the earth.
Another popular version, say that Hera upon giving
birth to Hephaestus without a mate, but finding him
ugly, Hera threw him out of Olympus. Hephaestus in
anger created a golden throne and sends it to Olympus
as gift to his mother. Once Hera sat on the throne, she
was bound to the chair by golden fetter. The other
gods tried to persuade Hephaestus to release his
mother. He either released Hera because Dionysus got
him drunk or he was promised Aphrodite in marriage.

In the Iliad, he is known as husband of Aglaea, the youngest
of the Graces, but in the Odyssey, his wife was Aphrodite
(Venus), who had numerous affairs, particularly with Ares.
Hephaestus later captured the Aphrodite with war-god in the
golden net, naked on the bed. Hephaestus called upon the
other gods to witness their embarrassing affair, while they were
naked and helpless. Hephaestus refused to release them, until
Poseidon persuaded Hephaestus that he himself would pay for
their bond.

Hephaestus had once tried to ravish the virgin goddess Athena.
His attempt failed, his semen fell on the ground (Gaea) at the
Acropolis. From the earth, an earth-born creature was born,
named Erichthonius. Erichthonius was half-man half-serpent
creature, who became one of the earliest kings of Athens.

As the metal-smith of the god, he made many armour and
weapons for the gods as well as building their beautiful palaces
in Olympus. He also made armour for mortal, such as Heracles,
Peleus and Achilles. Some say that the Cyclops worked under
Hephaestus' supervision.