Mythology

	Zeus Zeus is the king of all gods. He's the father of Perseus and Heracles. He was the youngest son of Titans Cronus and Rhea. His symbol is the eagle and the lightning bolt made for him by Hephaestus.   When Zeus was born, his father Cronus would eat all of his children. Rhea saved Zeus by putting him in a cave (Hence the caves name "Cave of Zeus".) When he grew up, he made his father... erm... bring back his brothers and sisters: Posiedon, Hades, Hestia, Demeter, and yes, Hera. The gods are weird... You're not supposed to ask.   With his brothers and sisters, they brought down Cronus and the other Titans, locking them into the underworld (Remember in Heracles, when Hades got them out, and they were all P.O. at Zeus... That's why...)   He then divided up the world with his brothers, Posiedon and Hades; Posiedon got the seas, Hades got the Underworld, and Zeus got the sky.     While he is married to Hera, he doesn't really act... right, seeing as he's the Man Hooker of Greek Mythology. Everyone else, was good! Not him, ticked Hera off...[g]

	Hera Hera is the sister and wife of Zeus. She is the Queen of Olympians and the Goddess of Marriage. Her symbols are the Peacock and the Moo Cow (^^ I couldn't resist.)   While she was kind to some, she could be a... not a very nice lady to others. She picked and choosed, and it was very easy to tick this woman off. For example, if you bore Zeus' son, you would be on Hera's hit list (Or, in Heracles case, if you were the son of the woman who got frisky with the big man. Yeah, Disney was wrong... she hated him with a passion...)   Still, when you were on her side, you were almost garunteed happiness (Such as Jason, who never would of gotten that golden fleece without her help.)   She was actually worshipped longer then Zeus himself (seeing as Zeus is younger then his sister) and goes back to when the force "God" was conceived to be, in fact, a woman.

	Aphrodite Aphrodite is said to be the most beautiful of all the Goddesses. She was the goddess of love, beauty, and fertility. She was also the one who protected the sailors. Her symbols are both symbols of love: The Swan and the Rose.   There is a debate of how this beauty was actually... born. The poet, Hesiod, believed that she was born from sea foam (that would explain why she protected sailors.) However, the poet, Homer, believed she was the daughter of Zeus and Dione.   Aphrodite is kind of the start of the ever famous Trojan War. Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite asked Paris (played by Orlando Bloom in the movie "Troy") who he thought was more beautiful. While Hera and Athena tried to bribe him with power and victory in battle, Aphrodite promised him the love of the most beautiful woman in the world. And can anyone guess who it was... DING! Helen of Sparta (played by Diane Kruger n "Troy")   Though beautiful, Aphrodite is just like all the other Gods: Bipolar and picky. She gets mad easy and that's not good!   While you might think she's married to one of the most handsome of all men, she decided to go with someone of a more... erm... ugly appearance. She's married to Hephaestus, the God of Craftsman. But, like Zeus, she's unfaithful and she cheats on him with Ares, God of War. Homer writes about his revenge in the Odyssey.   Another tid bit of information is that she is the mother of Eros, better known as Cupid.

	Apollo Apollo is the God of Prophesy, music, and healing. His symbol was the lyre and the bow.   Just like every other god, Apollo didn't hesitate to meddle in with human affairs. He was the one who helped Paris kill Achilles in the Trojan War. If someone was to just up and die, it was said that he was killed by Apollo's arrow (scary thought...)   As the god of music, Apollo is usually seen playing the musical instrument of the lyre, givin to him by Hermes. He was said to of invented the Lute, but he was known for his skills on the Lyre. Try not to get them confused. He bested Pan, who used his own invention of the Shepherd's pipe.   The story has a sort of funny ending: In the same occasion of beating Pan in the contest, King Midas said he preferred Pan's music to Apollo's. Bad move... Apollo got mad and turned the King's ears into those of a donkey. Imagine that site, pretty comical.

	..... Ares Ares is known as the God of War. No, not the video game, but he is known in that as well. He is the son of Zeus and Hera. Homer also wrote that his parents despised him. Aw! *points to picture* how could you hate that!?! His symbols are the vulture and the wrongly choosen dog.   While he was sometimes rejoiced in battle, he was usually labeled "murderous, bloodstained, and the incarnate curse of mortals."   Not much is mentioned of Ares, seeing as he was hated so much. His birthplace is not really known, but it is briefly mentioned to be of Thrace, the home of rude people, that is located Northeast of Greece.

	........... Artemis Artemis was the goddess of the hunt and she was also a virgin. She was also known as helping women in child birth and like her brother, Apollo, brought sudden death with her arrows. Her symbols were the cypress and the deer (even though all animals were basically sacrad to her seeing as she was also known as the "Goddess of Wild things.")   She's the daughter of Zeus and Leto. Some actually believe that she's the eldest and helped her mother deliever Apollo.   She's often seen as a young woman carrying arrows and a bow and being followed by wild animals. Like in the picture, you can see the dogs and the stag in the backround. ^^ See?

	Athena Athena is the goddess of crafts and domestic arts. She's also the goddess of war. Her symbol was the owl and at first was pictured in the form of a bird. Later, she was regardded at the goddess of Wisdom. That's why whenever you type in "Wisdom" for a Google search, an owl will occasionally show up. That's a bit of Mythology Triva for ya.   They say that Athena had no mother, but instead came from Zeus alone. The myth says that after devoring one of his wives, he got a massive headache. He summoned Hephaestus to help him. Hephaestus hit Zeus in the head with an axe (I don't get how the heck that would help him, but hey, it's mythology, you're not supposed to ask) and out comes Athena fully clothed in armor and weapons... quiet a story... one that doesn't make all that much sense...   She's known for aiding many heros such as Persus and Jason. She got her city of Athens by getting into a compotetion with the sea god, Poseidon. They both were going to give gifts to the Athenians. Athena gave an olive tree while Poseidon gave them water. However, Athena's tree was more useful because Poseidon gave them water from the sea and that's not really helpful seeing as you can't drink it... So, that's when she got her city. Kind of ironic, don't you think: ATHENA and ATHENS...? ........

	....... Demeter Demeter is the goddess of agriculture. She's the second sister of Zeus and mother to sweet Persephone.   Okay, so you know how the Greeks used the Gods and Goddesses to explain why things happened? Well, here's how they explained why you had the 4 seasons:   One day, Demeter and Persephone were minding their own business when Hades, God of the Underworld, just popped up out of the ground, grabbed Persephone and brought her back with him, to make her his queen.   Needless to say, Demeter was sad and searched for her daughter all over the world, while the poor earth had winter, where all the plants whitered and died. After a while, Hades gave in and promised to let Persephone go for half of the year (Spring and Summer.)   So, that's what the Greeks believed: Spring and Summer- Demeter has Persephone, making her happy, making the world happy; Fall and Winter- Persephone is with Hades, making Demeter sad and the world sad as well...

	Dionysus As the picture says, Dionysus was the God of wine. But he was also the God of Drama and Theatre.   Not much is said about Dionysus except what is said in the stories. He is the one who saved his mother from the Underworld after Zeus showed her his true nature as the Big Guy with Lightning rods and consumed her in... erm, lightning; He's the one who saved Ariadne after she was abandoned by Theseus.   You might of heard that little jingle, "Trust the Midas touch?" Well, Dionysus was the one who granted Midas the power to turn whatever he touched into gold. However, he was kind enough to take the power back when it proved to not be helpful. ^^ What a nice guy...   ........

	........ Hephaestus Hephaestus was the God of Fire or the God of Forge, since his job was to make weapons for all the Gods who needed them.   I must say, I didn't choose the best picture, seeing as that guy is... well, hot and Hephaestus in Mythology is ugly and lame. I mean, even his own mother, Hera, threw him off Mount Olympus because she thought he was so ugly. But then again, if you got tossed of a mountian, you'd be pretty ugly too.   Despite is apperance, Hephaestus was kind and lovable (though not to Ares, 'cause he got frisky with his wife, Aphrodite.) Hephaestus was credited with creating the first female mortal of the earth: Pandora.

	Hermes Known to be a prankster, Hermes was a messanger to the Gods and he lead dead souls to the Underworld. He was the son of Zeus and some mountian Nymph.   He was a genius from birth and was the inventor of the Lyre that Apollo is famous for. He was also very helpful to mankind in many ways. He was said to of helped Perseus defeat Medusa. He helped by either giving him his sandels, giving Perseus the ability to fly, or loaning him Hades' helmet, which would make someone invisable.   He's known carrying a staff which you now see with doctors. You know, that little wand thing with the snakes..? Yeah, that's his. The story is that he seperated 2 fighting snakes with a caduceus. They then entwined themselves around it in peace. .....

	........... Poseidon Poseidon is known as the God of the sea, earthquakes, and horses. Though he's a main god, he spends most of his time in his sea. His symbol is his trident.   He was brother to Zeus and Hades, and when Zeus split up the duties with his brothers, he got the job of controling the waters, salt and freash. He was married to Amphitrite, a sea nymph, who was the daughter to the Old Man of the Sea, Nereus (who wasn't up to par with Poseidon.)   Since he was also the god of horses, he can be seen as a steed. No one knows what form he was in when he made Medusa fall for him, but still she did. See how that turned out for her? But when Perseus defeated the Gorgon, Pegasus sprang out from her neck. ^^ Poseidon really helps with these horses...   He also granted mortals the power to shape shift. An example of this is when he gave the maiden Caenis this power to turn into the male warrior, Caeneus.

	Hades Hades is the God of the Underworld. He isn't Death himself (No, that guy is known as Thanatos) but just the one who overlooks the happenings in the Underworld.   When Zeus took the sky and Poseidon took the seas, Hades was left with the Underworld. He hardly ever comes out (giving him pale skin) but he isn't really... wanted. Not that he's an evil god, he's just terrible. He has no feelings, basically.   Well, that's not true. He did fall in love with Persephone, taking her from Demeter to be the Queen of the Underworld. He finally gave in to Demeters pleas (*cough*whining*cough*) and let her daughter go up to her mother for half the year, giving us the seasons.   He's also known as the God of Wealth, seeing as he's in the UNDERworld, and all the good stuff is UNDER ground. Add your content here

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