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Zeus
Athena
Hera
Hades
Apollo
Achilles
Odysseus
Heracles
Perseus
Zeus
Zeus was ruler of the Olympian gods, which gave him, enormous power and almost absolute authority over all. Zeus overthew his Father Cronus. He then drew lots with his brothers Poseidon and Hades. Zeus won the draw and became the supreme ruler of the gods. Most of the time, Zeus was portrayed as an all-powerful being. But even the mighty Zeus could be tricked. This is shown in Homer’s The Iliad, where he is distracted by his wife Hera, and is led to ignore the events on the battlefield of Troy.
And just as the other deities had their own personal weaknesses, Zeus did as well. He was fond of women, whether they be gods or mortals. Although he was married to the Goddess Hera, but it is said that he had a notorious, wandering eye. Zeus had many mistresses and fathered many children. It is hard to say just how many.
However, when Zeus was not busy chasing women, he was busy upholding justice, and the Law. Some of the symbols that Zeus is identified with are the eagle, the oak, and the most commonly known symbol, the thunderbolt.
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Athena
Athena was a Greek Goddess. She was one of many children Zeus fathered. There are several tales on how Athena was born, but one is she was born fully armed from the forehead of her father Zeus. This is because he swallowed her mother, Metis, while she was pregnant with Athena. Although Zeus's daughter, she could also oppose his plans and conspire against him.
Athena, along with her uncle, Poseidon (God of the sea) competed for the affections of the Greeks. Each of them provided one gift to the nation. Poseidon provided a horse, but Athena presented the olive tree. It provided shade, oil, and olives. The Greeks preferred her gift and named a city after her.
Athena also was known by other names. One of her titles was “Grey-eyed.” She was given this name because of her gifts to the Greeks. The Olive leaf’s underside is gray. And when the wind lifts the leaves of the Olive tree, people say its shows Athena’s many “eyes”.
The Parthenon is one of the most well preserved, and best known temple that was dedicated to Athena.
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Hera was the wife of the Greek God Zeus. In Greek mythology, She was the most powerful goddess because of her marriage. Her worship goes back even farther than her husband's, when the figure of “God” was conceived to be a woman. Hera was worshiped through Greece, and the oldest and the most important temples were dedicated to her.
Even though Hera was the goddess of marriage, she certainly did have marital problems! Although Hera was a highly respected Goddess, she was a very jealous wife. Her husband Zeus had numerous affairs with other goddesses and even mortal women. Hera disliked the Greek Hero Hercules, because he was the son of Zeus and a mortal woman. When he was a child, she sent snakes to attack him in his crib. She later stirred up the Amazons against him on one of his quests.
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Hades was the lord of the dead and the ruler of the underworld. He was a greedy god whose only concern is increasing the number of his subjects. He was the brother of Zeus and was feared by gods and men.
Hades was married to Persephone, the daughter of Demeter, the goddess of harvest and Zeus. Persephone did not marry Hades willingly, but she was abducted one day while picking flowers. To satisfy Demeter, Hades made a deal. He would let Persephone spend six months with her mother starting in spring, and she would spend the other half of the year with himself. So in the spring when Persephone came back, Demeter would make things grow again.
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Apollo, one of Zeus's many children and the twin of Artemis. He was born of Leto. Apollo is usually portrayed as a youth of great beauty, often with very striking feminine features.
He was a powerful god of great strength. Apollo was known to be unforgiving and quick to bring death to those who stood against him. As an archer he was also known as "Hecatebolos", the god of sudden death. He was also a healer who drove out illness, and the father of Asclepius (the god of medicine) but in one legend he brings a terrible plague upon Argos where the king had put one of Apollo's lovers to death. Apollo had many contradicting qualities.
Apollo’s image is very common on coins from around the ancient Greek world, and he continued to appear on many Roman coins up to the 3rd century AD. Apollo was very popular god of great importance.Click here for more information about Apollo.
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Achilles
Achilles was one of the main characters in Homer’s book, the Illiad. He was an amazing war hero, and is best known for his feats during the Trojan War. He is also known for his great fits of rage. He remains to this day one of the best known heroes of Ancient Greece.
Achilles was the son of the sea nymph Thetis, and the mortal man Peleus. Soon after Achilles was born, his mother Thetis heard a prophecy that Achilles was destined to be a hero that would die in battle. To avoid this, Thetis attempted to make her son invulnerable by dipping her son in the river Styx. Achilles’ body was made invincible; except for his heel, which his mother had held while dipping him. After many heroic battles, Achilles was killed by a poison arrow in his heel.Click here for more information about Achilles.
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The hero Odysseus appears in both famous Homeric tales: the Illiad, and the Odyssey. In the Illiad, Odysseus was famed for his creation of the Trojan horse, and hiding troops inside of it. This invention eventually ended the Trojan War with the fall of Troy. Some of the Gods who favored the Trojans were upset about the slaughter and blamed it on Odysseus.
Those Gods made sure that Odysseus was going to have a long and hard journey home. In the Odyssey, Odysseus attempts to travel home, encountering the Lotus-Eaters, Cyclopes and the wicked sorceress Circe. After 10 years, he finally returned home and killed the many suitors who were going after his wife and eating his livestock. (Odysseus' son helped him accomplish this feat.)
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Hercules is considered one of the greatest heroes of Greek mythology. He is well known for his incredible strength. But one day Hercules, blinded by a madness sent from Hera, killed his children and his wife. To make amends, Hercules was ordered to perform twelve labors. In another version of the myth, it was not to make up for a terrible mistake that Hercules performed the labors, but to win immortality.
The Labors of Hercules.
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Because of a prophecy that said Perseus would kill his father, King Acrisius, Perseus and his mother Danae were banished to a far away kingdom. The ruler of that kingdom was King Polydectes. He wanted to marry Danae, but Perseus resisted. Therefore, king Polydectes sent Perseus on a quest to kill the gorgon Medusa.
Medusa turned anyone who looked at her into stone. With the help of the gods who gave Perseus a shiny shield, a sickle, a leather bag, and a pair of winged sandals, Perseus was able to defeat Medusa. Perseus fooled Medusa to see her reflection in his shield, turning herself into stone. Perseus brought her head back in the leather bag, flew back to the kingdom and turned the king into stone.
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