Greek Mythology

In the fall of 2016, I started reading the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. I have recently started on the third book of The Heroes of Olympus series. All of this got me thinking, I should do a blog about myths.

No I don’t think I’m a “myth-master” just because I read the series. I have been researching all myths on my own, including the following: Greek, Roman, Norse, and Egyptian mythologies.

Greek mythology is where my adventure begins. At the beginning of time, Mother Earth, or Gaea, created rivers with the blood running through her veins. The hills and earth were made of her luscious green hair. The sky, Ouranos, took interest in Mother Earth and she consequently bore ten strong children. These were named the Titans. The youngest Titan, Cronus, was a very curious child.

Ouranos, Gaea, and Tartarus

Gaea and Ouranos next had six children. Three one-eyed Cyclops and three children with one hundred arms named the hundred-handed ones. Ouranos hated his hideous children and sent them to the bottom of Tartarus, the abyss in the Underworld where terrible creatures were held.

Gaea hated Ouranos because he killed her six hideous, but loved, sons. So in return she asked her youngest child Cronus to use an adamantine sickle to kill Ouranos. Cronus did as his mother told him and killed his father.

Cronus was then the Ruler of the World and Time. He married a Titan named Rhea. Even though they were siblings, they married because…reasons (this happened a lot in mythology). They had five children that Cronus swallowed. I’m not even joking, he ate all five of his children! When Rhea gave birth to her sixth child, Zeus, instead allowing Cronus to eat Zeus, Rhea tricked Cronus into eating a boulder.

Zeus grew up to be tall and powerful and when the time was right, Zeus overthrew Cronus and became the ruler of the world. He made Cronus vomit all of his children. They all survived in Cronus’ stomach all of those years. The children’s names were Hades, Poseidon, Hestia, Hera, and Demeter.

This is where it gets confusing. Zeus got a Titan named Metis pregnant. To avoid getting overthrown like his father before him, he ate Metis (what is wrong with this family?!). Zeus started getting headaches and bore the child Athena…from his head.

Zeus then married Demeter, Goddess of the Harvest. She bore the child Persephone.

The following will perhaps be easier to understand:

Hera+sheer will=Hephaestus

Zeus+Leto=Apollo and Artemis

Ouranos’ body parts+the ocean=Aphrodite

Zeus+Maia=Hermes

Zeus+Hera=Ares      

 This is Greek mythology in a nutshell.

Stay tuned for Part II of this three part series on mythology!