Greek Gods

There were many Greek mythology gods and goddesses. According to Greek mythology, in the beginning the Greeks believed that there was only one god named Chaos. They believed that Chaos created the Earth (also known as Gaea, Gaia, Ge, and Mother Earth). Chaos also created Eros (or Desire). Chaos was a dark, no sound, empty, abyss with no life forms at all. Gaea created Uranus (the Sky), Ourea (the Mountains), and Pontus (the Sea) by herself with no union with another god. Gaea then married Uranus and they gave birth to the 12 original Titan Gods and goddesses, the three Cyclopes named Brontes, Steropes, and Arges. They also gave birth to three Hecatonchires, which were one hundred headed creatures. The Cyclopes were giants and had one eye in the middle of their foreheads. They were strong and also violent. They were also skillful metal workers and they made Zeus thunderbolts, Poseidon’s trident, and Hades’ Helmet of Darkness.

The twelve Titans were Rhea, Cronus, Oceanus, Coeus, Phoebe, Crius, Mnemosyne, Hyperion, Theia, Tethys, Lapetus, and Themis. Cronus was the meanest of the siblings and he wanted to rule the gods. He was jealous of his father, Uranus, so when his mother (Gaea) asked her children to help her castrate Uranus, Cronus stepped up to the plate and volunteered. There are several translations here. One story says he was the only one who helped his mother and another story said there were four other brothers who held Uranus while Cronus cut off his testicles with the sickle that Gaea had made for him. This castration cut the ties between the Sky and the Earth.

The Greek gods and goddesses all had certain tasks to do and to rule over. Jupiter was the King of the gods, Juno was the Queen of the gods, Neptune was the god of the sea, Pluto (Hades) was the god of death, Apollo was the god of the sun, Diana was the goddess of the moon, Mars was the god of war, Venus was the goddess of Love, Cupid was the god of Love, Mercury was the Messenger of the gods, Minerva was the goddess of wisdom, Ceres was the goddess of the earth, Proserpine was the goddess of the Underworld, Vulcan was the Smith god, Bacchus was the god of wine, Saturn was the god of time, Vesta was the goddess of the home, Janus was the god of doors, Uranus was the god of the sky, Maia was the goddess of growth, Flora was the goddess of flowers, Plutus was the god of wealth, Cerberus was the watchdog of the underworld, Gorgon was snake-haired and turned you to stone. There were also monsters.