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Greek Mythology 
I
INTRODUCTION
 
Temple of Apollo at Didyma
The Greeks built the Temple of Apollo at Didyma, Turkey (about 300 bc). The temple supposedly housed an oraclewho foretold the future to those seeking knowledge. The predictions of the oracles, delivered in the form of riddles,often brought unexpected results to the seeker. With Ionic columns reaching 19.5 m (64 ft) high, these ruinssuggest the former grandeur of the ancient temple.Bernard Cox/Bridgeman Art Library, London/New York
Greek Mythology, set of diverse traditional tales told by the ancient Greeks about the exploits of godsand heroes and their relations with ordinary mortals.The ancient Greeks worshiped many gods within a culture that tolerated diversity. Unlike other belief systems, Greek culture recognized no single truth or code and produced no sacred, written text likethe Bible or the Qur’an. Stories about the origins and actions of Greek divinities varied widely,depending, for example, on whether the tale appeared in a comedy, tragedy, or epic poem. Greekmythology was like a complex and rich language, in which the Greeks could express a vast range of perceptions about the world.A Greek city-state devoted itself to a particular god or group of gods in whose honor it built temples.The temple generally housed a statue of the god or gods. The Greeks honored the city’s gods infestivals and also offered sacrifices to the gods, usually a domestic animal such as a goat. Storiesabout the gods varied by geographic location: A god might have one set of characteristics in one cityor region and quite different characteristics elsewhere.
II
PRINCIPAL FIGURES IN GREEK MYTHOLOGY
 
Poseidon, Ruler of the Sea
Ruler of the sea and brother of Zeus, Poseidon was one of the Olympian gods of Greek mythology. He is usuallyrepresented in Greek art wielding a fishing spear known as a trident. In this large bronze statue from about 460 bc,Poseidon seems poised to strike with his trident, which today is missing. The statue is in the NationalArchaeological Museum in Athens, Greece.Nimatallah/Art Resource, NY
Greek mythology has several distinguishing characteristics, in addition to its multiple versions. TheGreek gods resembled human beings in their form and in their emotions, and they lived in a societythat resembled human society in its levels of authority and power. However, a crucial differenceexisted between gods and human beings: Humans died, and gods were immortal. Heroes also playedan important role in Greek mythology, and stories about them conveyed serious themes. The Greeksconsidered human heroes from the past closer to themselves than were the immortal gods.
A
Gods
Given the multiplicity of myths that circulated in Greece, it is difficult to present a single version of the
 genealogy 
(family history) of the gods. However, two accounts together provide a genealogy thatmost ancient Greeks would have recognized. One is the account given by Greek poet Hesiod in his
 Theogony 
(Genealogy of the Gods), written in the 8th century
BC
. The other account,
The Library 
, isattributed to a
mythographer 
(compiler of myths) named Apollodorus, who lived during the 2ndcentury
BC
.
A
1
The Creation of the Gods
 
According to Greek myths about creation, the god Chaos (Greek for “Gaping Void”) was the foundationof all things. From Chaos came Gaea (“Earth”); the bottomless depth of the underworld, known asTartarus; and Eros (“Love”). Eros, the god of love, was needed to draw divinities together so theymight produce offspring. Chaos produced Night, while Gaea first bore Uranus, the god of the heavens,and after him produced the mountains, sea, and gods known as Titans. The Titans were strong andlarge, and they committed arrogant deeds. The youngest and most important Titan was Cronus.Uranus and Gaea, who came to personify Heaven and Earth, also gave birth to the Cyclopes, one-eyedgiants who made thunderbolts.
See also
Creation Stories.
A
2
Cronus and Rhea
 
Rhea and Cronus
In Greek mythology, Cronus was the ruler of the universe. Here, his wife Rhea hands him a stone wrapped inswaddling clothes in place of their son, Zeus. The portrayal, created between the 1st and 3rd centuries, is on thebase of a stone statue at the Museo Capitolino in Rome, Italy.Erich Lessing/Art Resource, NY
Uranus tried to block any successors from taking over his supreme position by forcing back into Gaeathe children she bore. But the youngest child, Cronus, thwarted his father, cutting off his genitals andtossing them into the sea. From the bloody foam in the sea Aphrodite, goddess of sexual love, wasborn.After wounding his father and taking away his power, Cronus became ruler of the universe. ButCronus, in turn, feared that his own son would supplant him. When his sister and wife Rhea gave birthto offspring—Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, and Poseidon—Cronus swallowed them. Only theyoungest, Zeus, escaped this fate, because Rhea tricked Cronus. She gave him a stone wrapped inswaddling clothes to swallow in place of the baby.
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