An Introduction to Greek Mythology

By V. Macedo

How Everything Started


Just a disclaimer, there are thousands of versions on what happened, so it might be different from what you heard!


Mythology exists for various different reasons, and researchers spend their lives trying to figure out if it was a record of historical facts, fictions, way of explaining scientific events such as earthquakes and storms, or simply a misunderstood tale. Either way, it is a mesmerising topic to learn about, and today I am going to talk to you about the Olympian Gods.



A bit about the 12 Olympians

Firstly, lets get something cleared out, Zeus was not ruler of the skies and leader of the 12 main gods because he was simply superior, or even older for that matter, since Poseidon and Hades were both older than Zeus. Not to mention their sisters, sadly, at the time a ruler of the gods simply could not be a goddess and therefore, they had no chance. Going back to our initial topic, Zeus, Poseidon and Hades are mostly known for having their domains drawn and Zeus was simply lucky.


The Gods origin story is a bit unique, so buckle up, it will be gruesome. Titans, once rulers of the Earth, were living a merry happy life and their ruler, Chronos, titan of time, was happily married to Rhea. One day, Chronos was bored and sought prophetic advice. Unfortunately for him, the prophecy stated that his children would over through him and be the new rulers of the Earth. Chronos, scared kept this in mind for the next few centuries. Eventually, Rhea and Chronos had a daughter, Hestia, the goddess of hearth and home. Rhea, just having given birth was excited to show the father their child, and as she handed her daughter into Chronos’ arms, she was shocked to notice that he had eaten the baby. This happened with Hades, Poseidon, Hera and Demeter. So Rhea learned her lesson and instead of giving her youngest child, Zeus, she trained him to overthrow his father and have him rule the Earth instead. Zeus defeated Chronos, saved his sibling and chopped up his father. Now onto each god!


Aphrodite
 
You may have noticed I did not mention Aphrodite when talking about the origin story of the Olympians, and that is because she is not their sibling. Aphrodite was born in a quite unusual manner, but since it is greek mythology we are talking about, I think that checks out. So in summary, Ouranos, once ruler of the universe, had been chopped up by his children the Titans. Mainly because he was a cruel leader, but partially because Gaia, the Titan’s mother hated him and convinced them to commit patricide. Ok, so after Ouranos was chopped up by his own children his remain were thrown into the ocean, and that is where Aphrodite came from! Yes. I promise you it is what happened. Yes, I know, I think so too. Oh well, moving on. Aphrodite is the goddess of beauty and love


Be sure to come back next month to learn even more about these extravagant gods and goddesses!