Ancient Greek Mythology: Deities of the Universe

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Hera
Hades
Dionysus
Prometheus
History of Titans
Gaea
References

Introduction

According to Greek mythology, the world was inhabited by monsters and giants. Ancient Greeks explained human nature through gods and goddesses of the universe.

Hera

Hera is the goddess of air and sky, women and marriage, a daughter of Cronus and Rhea, and the wife of Zeus and one of his sisters. She is often portrayed as sitting on a throne, wearing a polo (a type of crown). Hera is considered to be jealous and vindictive. The event of her being wooed by Zeus in the form of a cuckoo is mentioned in Pausanias’ Description of Greece (Pausanias 445-447). According to the story of Hera, the goddess took the cuckoo in her hands, and the bird turned into Zeus who then raped her; Hera became the wife of Zeus in order to avoid the shame. It is interesting that jealous and cruel Hera, the goddess of women and marriage, shows the attitude of the Ancient Greek culture towards women; but, at the same time, steps that Hera takes are aimed at preserving the marriage.

Hades

Hades is the eldest son of Kronos and Rhea, the god and the guardian of the Underworld, the realm of the dead (which is also called “Hades”). He is usually depicted with his “hellhound”, a multi-headed dog Cerberus; the god often wears the Helm of Darkness and carries a bident in his hand. The history of Hades’ birth is depicted e.g. by Apollodorus (or pseudo-Apollodorus) in his Bibliotheca, book 1 (Apollodorus n.pag.). Interestingly, the god Hades was also called Pluto, or Plouton, since approximately the 5th century BCE; Apollodorus, who created his texts approximately in the 1st or 2nd century CE, also uses this name. This name is related to the word “wealth”; perhaps it was used due to the fact that the ancient Greeks feared death and were cautious not to anger the god of the Underworld. This name also reflects the fact that much of people’s wealth comes from the ground, deep inside which there is the world of the dead.

Dionysus

Dionysus, the son of Zeus and mortal Semele, is the god of grapes and winemaking, fertility, theater, and ritual madness. The last god who was accepted to Olympus, he was first portrayed as a mature man; later, he was depicted as an androgynous young man, naked, accompanied by maenads or satyrs. Euripides tells a story of Dionysus acting in the city of Thebes in his The Bacchae; but here Dionysus acts in an unusual way, as an angry, vindictive god (Euripides n.pag.). It is said that Dionysus acquired his femininity/androgyny while traveling in Asia. It might be possible to assume that worshipping Dionysus, the god who possessed such features, was eternally young, and represented such things as pleasure, was connected to the Ancient Greek bisexual culture, where the love between a mature man and a very young one was considered one of the highest forms of love.

Prometheus

Prometheus was one of the Titans; he was responsible for the creation of mankind and helping it profoundly. He is perhaps best known as the one to steal fire for the men; for that, Zeus punished him by chaining him in the mountains and having a bird daily eat his liver for long years and centuries. One of the stories about Prometheus is told in Hesiod’s Works and Days (“Hesiod: Works and Days” 1-2). It is also noteworthy that Zeus had his revenge not only on Prometheus but also on mankind; he initiated the creation of Pandora, the first human woman, who is known for unleashing numerous disasters on humanity. Clearly, Pandora might serve as a symbol of Ancient Greek attitude towards women, where they were considered significantly inferior to men and possessed a number of adverse traits of character (such as excessive curiosity that led to Pandora’s opening the box).

History of Titans

Titans were divine creatures; the first generation came from the primordial gods, the first deities to come into existence, Gaea and Uranus. Large and strong beings, they lived on Mount Othrys and came into power by overthrowing the primordial gods. However, they were in turn overthrown by the next generation of gods, the Olympians. The story of Titans’ birth is, among other versions, described in Hesiod’s Theogony (Hesiod 6). It appears that Titans represent the violent force of nature; they overthrow their parents, and Cronus swallows his children so that they do not overthrow him when they grow. Similarly, nature can in some cases be so “cruel” and harm its children with various storms, natural disasters, etc.

Gaea

Gaea, the great All-Mother, was one of the primeval gods. She produced the Earth and the whole Universe and was the goddess of the Earth. She was humanoid in form. Her coming into existence is described in Hesiod’s Theogony; Gaea was the first god to come into existence, born only after Chaos (Hesiod 3). It is interesting that the Earth was the first deity to emerge; it is very likely that e.g. the property of the earth which allows it to produce food for all the living creatures is reflected here. It is also worth pointing out that in some other texts Gaea was born along with Tartarus and Eros, which represented three “layers of existence”: Earth, the Underworld, and Heaven.

References

Apollodorus. The Library 1. n.d. Web. 2015.

Euripides. The Bacchae. 2014. Web.

Hesiod. n.d. Theogony. 2015. Web.

Hesiod: Works and Days. Trans. Hugh G. Evelyn-White. 1914. PDF file. 2015. Web.

Pausanias. Pausanias Description of Greece. n.d. PDF file. 2015. Web.

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