Magnuson 1

Hannah Magnuson
Mr. Conrad
Expository, Period 3
21 April 2016
The Ancient Greek Gods and Who they are.
The Greeks celebrate many Gods and God like figures that are more supernatural than
most other Gods. The Greek Gods are all mighty beings who are said to have resided on Mount
Olympus and they marveled at how great they were. Each God has their own domain that they
rule over, and they each have temples where humans go to worship them in since the beginning
of their rule. Different ways each God, such as Zeus, his siblings, and his children came into
power are interesting and unique. Zeus and his siblings had to fight to be in control. Zeus and
Hera are the king and queen of Mount Olympus. There are many other Gods that live on Mount
Olympus, among these Gods include Zeus childrens. The other Gods were brothers and sisters
Zeus has not always the one in power on Mount Olympus, his father Cronus was his
predecessor. Cronus was the king of the Titans, he had taken control of the Titans from his own
father, Uranus. Cronus was terrified that he also would be overthrown like his father, so he would
swallow every one of his children. However, Zeus mother, Rhea happened to save him; [Rhea]
handed [Cronus] a bundle of swaddling clothes. Cronus immediately swallowed it. He asked
Rhea nothing. Nor did he detect that instead of a baby in the bundle, there was only a stone
(Kruger). Zeus mother saves him and in return Zeus saves his brothers and sisters by tricking
Cronus into drinking a potion which causes Cronus throw Zeuss siblings up. After Cronus threw
up Zeus brothers and sisters, they beat the Titans by throwing them under the earth with all of the
creatures the Titans had created to destroy the Gods.

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"Zeus." Michael Vey Book Series. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2016.
<http://michaelvey.wikia.com/wiki/Michael_Vey_Books_Series_Wiki>.

Zeus has five siblings and their names are Hera, who is also his wife, Demeter, Hades,
Hestia, and Poseidon. It was a normal thing in the mythological era to marry your cousin or sister
like Zeus and Hera did. Demeter is the God of vegetation and fruitfulness and Zeus and her have
a daughter named Persephone. Persephone ended up the queen of the underworld because she
was kidnapped by the ruler. This sent Demeter into a depression which led to all of the crops
dying. Since humans could not live without crops, Zeus persuaded Hades to release Persephone.
Although she ate some pomegranate seeds while in the underworld which linked her to Hades
forever and she was required to spend part of the year with him in the underworld and only part
on earth with her mother. This story was used to explain the cycle of the seasons. When Demeter
was without her daughter, then the earth was barren. When Persephone rejoined her mother,
plants could grow (Wickersham). Speaking of the underworld, Hades is the king of it, and
legend has it that he kidnaped Persephone because he fell in love with her. Hades might have
been the king of the underworld, but it was split up into two sections: Tartarus, a land of terrible
blackness where the wicked suffer eternal torments. Among those imprisoned there were the
Titans, who were guarded by giants with a hundred arms. The other region of the underworld,
Elysium or the Elysian Fields, was a place where the souls of good and righteous people went

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after death( Wickersham). People always associate Hades as a horrible God who ran the
underworld and they rarely spoke his name, but really he also ran what most people would call
heaven, where good people end up. Many people think that Hades was evil, when this is not true
at all; Hades supervised the judgment and punishment of the dead but did not torture them
himself (Wickerson). The punishment was up to the furys, the female judges of justice and
vengeance. Hestia is the God of the hearth, family, and domestic life. Although, she was not
celebrated or worshipped this is because she did not have that many temples. Legend has it that
Dionysus replaced Hestia because she vowed to remain a virgin this angered some of the other
Gods. Poseidon is the supreme ruler of the seas. Some things Poseidon could do were conjure up
storms, cause earthquakes, stir the sea to a fury if angered, and calm the raging waters with just a
glance.
Now it is time to explain who exactly all of the other Greek Gods were, there are twelve
main Gods. These twelve Gods are Zeus, Hera, Demeter, Hestia, Poseidon, Aphrodite, Apollo,
Artemis, Athena, Dionysus, Hephaestus, and Hermes. Zeus is the leader of the Gods; Zeus was
the sky-god king. Called the "cloud-gatherer" and considered the most powerful of the
Olympians, he was also the god of prophecy and human morality (Kruger). Zeus controlled
everything of the Gods and humans. Zeus likes to use humans for his own personal fun, for
example, he would sleep with women and impregnate them. Zeus sleeping around would really
make his wife, Hera mad. Hera is the Goddess of marriage, but since she was married to Zeus,
she is also the queen of the Gods. Knowing that Hera was the queen of the marriage, it is obvious
that she would be upset with anyone who broke the vow of marriage; [Zeus] unfaithfulness
made Hera insanely jealous. Most of her anger was directed at Zeus's lovers and their children,
whom she prosecuted and punished mercilessly (Wickersham). Hera would not take out her

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anger on the person that deserved it, but on innocent children and a person who was not exactly
innocent, but did not deserve her wrath. Heras jealousy made her blind to the fact that it was
actually Zeuss fault, due to the fact that no one can resist a God. Hera and Zeus were the leaders
of Mount Olympus and all of the children.

"Greek Immortals Family Tree Picture." Greek Mythology. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr.
2016. <http://www.greekmythology.com/pictures/other_gods/Gaea/75447/
greek_imotals_family_tree>.

Zeuss children are Ares, Hermes, Apollo, Artemis, Calliope, her eight sisters who were
known as the Muses, Dionysus, Hephaestus, Hebe, Eileithyia, and Athena. Of all Zeuss
children, Ares, Hebe, and Eileithyia are the only children Zeus and Hera shared. Athena is Zeuss
child from his first marriage. Zeus swallowed his first wife because he heard from his
grandmother that his next child would be the boy who would dethrone. Such an event happened
to his father and grandfather before him. Zeus swallowed his wife while she was pregnant with
his first child Athena; his head began throbbing uncontrollably. Although the Olympians offered
their help, no one could identify the source of the intense pain...Hermes remembered what had
happened to Metis. Hermes reminded Zeus of the incident: "Within your head is the child Metis
was carrying when you swallowed her." "Yes, that must be it. Do something, please!" Zeus
pleaded...Hephaestus split open Zeuss head. Out jumped a full-grown goddess clothed with a
shield, helmet, and breastplate (Baker). This goddess was Athena and she became the Goddess

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of protectors of civilized life, the guardian of the state, and the goddess of war. Ares is also a God
of war but he was not really widespread throughout the greek world. Aphrodite is the Goddess of
love, beauty, and fertility. Aphrodite was not born like any other God, Aphrodite was born when
the Titan Cronus cut off the sex organs of his father, Uranus, and threw them into the sea.
Aphrodite emerged from the foam (Wickersham). Therefore, Aphrodite does not necessarily
have parents because she literally walked out of the sea. Aphrodite is married to Hephaestus and
she has had multiple affairs with other Gods, which really angered her husband. The Gods that
Aphrodite had affairs with were Ares, Hermes, Poseidon, and Dionysus. Ares is special though
because Aphrodite fell in love with him. Ares and Aphrodite had two children together: Deimos,
the God of terror and Phobos the God fear. Hermes is the God of patron of travelers, merchants,
thieves, and as a bringer of good luck. He was famous among athletes because of his reputation
as a speedy messenger. Hermes would often come to his other fellow Gods. Apollo and Artemis
are twins, Apollo is the God of the sun, god of the arts, especially music, poetry, dance, medicine,
protector of herdsmen and their flocks, and god of prophecy. Apollo was considered the ideal of
male beauty, in other words he was like the male Aphrodite because everyone wanted him just
like Aphrodite. Artemis is the Goddess of hunting, archery, wild animals, childbirth, the harvest,
and the moon. She is a virgin goddess and was also considered the guardian of chastity and
protector of maidens and small children. If she was related our society now, she and Athena
would be considered as feminists. It seems that Artemis and Apollo are exact opposites.
Dionysus is the God of fertility, wine, and ecstasy. Dionysus had two completely different sides
to him. One side was associated with fertility, crops, and the changing of the seasons; whereas
the other side was associated with drunkenness, madness, and unrestricted sexuality. Hephaestus
is the God of fire and crafts, which made him very popular with blacksmiths. Hebe is the

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cupbearer for the gods and goddesses of Mount Olympus, serving their nectar and ambrosia,
until she was married to Heracles after he made up with Hera. Eileithyia is the Goddess of
childbirth and is often associated with Hera and Artemis.

"Aphrodite." Prezi. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2016. <https://prezi.com/

9ea-my2wcjri/aphrodite/>.

It is known how the Greek Gods came into power, who the Greek Gods are, which God
was married to who, and who each childrens parents are. Zeus and Hera are the king and queen
of Mount Olympus and they live there with all of their siblings and children. Except Hades and
Persephone, the king of the underworld and his queen who he keeps prisoner for half of the year.
The Gods never really cared about anyone but themselves. They kept the humans alive because
without them they would have no form of entertainment. They were always cheating on each
other because they do not care if it hurts their significant other. Lastly, they are abominable
because they were reproducing with their brothers and sisters.

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Works Cited
"Hera." Myths and Legends of the World. Ed. John M. Wickersham. New York:
Macmillan Reference USA, 2000. Student Resources in Context. Web. 21 Apr. 2016.
http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/suic/ReferenceDetailsPage/ReferenceDetailsWindow?
failOverType=&query=&prodId=SUIC&windowstate=normal&contentModules=&displayquery=&mode=view&displayGroupName=Reference&limiter=&currPage=&disableHighlightin
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Kruger, Chaddie. "Winning Mount Olympus." Calliope Nov.-Dec. 2012: 2+. Student
Resources in Context. Web. 21 Apr. 2016.
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Baker, Rosalie F. "Children of Olympians." Calliope July-Aug. 2008: 17+. Student
Resources in Context. Web. 23 Apr. 2016.
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"Aphrodite." Myths and Legends of the World. Ed. John M. Wickersham. New York:
Macmillan Reference USA, 2000. Student Resources in Context. Web. 23 Apr. 2016.
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"Hades." Myths and Legends of the World. Ed. John M. Wickersham. New York:
Macmillan Reference USA, 2000. Student Resources in Context. Web. 24 Apr. 2016.
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"Demeter." Myths and Legends of the World. Ed. John M. Wickersham. New York:
Macmillan Reference USA, 2000. Student Resources in Context. Web. 24 Apr. 2016.

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