MODULE 3: Creation of the World, The Earliest
mortals as well as heroes and other gods. Zeus was also infamous
Deities, and The Olympians
Part 1: Creation of the World and The Earliest Deities
First, Chaos was born, then Gaea (Earth) and the dark underworld
of Tartarus, then Eros (Love). Night was born from Chaos; then
Night gave birth to Day. Gaea bore Uranus, or Sky, to be her equal
and to provide a home for the gods.With Uranus she bore the
Cyclopes, who later made the thunderbolts for Zeus. She also bore
the Titans, including Oceanus, Iapetus, Rhea, Themis, and
Mnemosyne.
Gaea also gave birth to monsters. Three of her sons, Cottus,
Briareus, and Gyes (the “Hundred-handed Ones”), each had a
hundred hands and fifty heads. Their father hated them and hid
them in a secret part of Gaea when they were born. He never let
them see the light and was very pleased with what he had done.
Gaea groaned within and plotted revenge. She made the element of
flint and formed a sickle out of it.
That night, as Uranus came to Gaea, Cronus emerged from his
hiding place and castrated* his father with the sickle. From the blood
of Uranus, Gaea bore the Erinyes, or Furies, the race of Giants, and
the Nymphs. Cronus threw Uranus’ genitals into the sea. They
floated for a long time, and white foam spread around them.
Cronus had learned from his parents that one of his children would
one day overthrow him, as he had overthrown his own father. He
therefore kept close watch, and when his children were born, he
swallowed them, devouring the first five: Hestia, Demeter, Hera,
Hades, and Poseidon.
When she was about to deliver her sixth child, Zeus, Rhea could
stand no more and asked Gaea and Uranus for help. They sent her
to Crete, and when Zeus was born, Gaea took him and hid him in
a remote cave. She then wrapped a huge stone in a blanket and
gave it to Cronus. He gulped it down, unaware that his youngest son
was still alive and growing stronger by the day.
Later authors have added details about Zeus’ babyhood in the cave.
They say that he was fed by bees and nursed on the milk of a goat
named Amalthea. Her horns were magical, filled with ambrosia
and nectar, the food and drink of the gods. The Latin name for this
horn, cornucopiae, or “horn of plenty”, remains a symbol of
abundance.
In the movie "The Hunger Games", cornucopia was the center of all food and survival weapons for the victors.
This was inspired by the cornucopia in the story of Zeus and Amalthea.
Moreover, its meaning "horn of plenty" was the National Anthem of Panem, the wealthiest city in the movie,
and served as one of the original soundtracks as well . is closely associated with her daughter, Persephone, also known as
When Zeus was fully grown, Gaea tricked Cronus into disgorging all
of the children that he had swallowed. The first thing he vomited up
was the stone that he had swallowed. Zeus then released his other
brothers whom Cronus had buried, the Hundred Handed Ones and
the Cyclopes, who in gratitude gave him power over thunder and
lightning. Together they all made war upon Cronus and banished
him.
Part 2: The Olympian Deities Part 1:The Children of Cronus and
Rhea
ZEUS (JUPITER)
Parents: Cronus and Rhea
Dominion: Sky, weather, especially thunderstorms and winds.
Favorite Places: Olympus, Dodona, Crete
Symbols: Thunderbolt, eagle, aegis (goatskin shield), oak tree
Archetype (characteristics of personality): Ambitious, decisive,
competitive; “networker”
Zeus was the chief deity of the Olympian pantheon and was
considered the omnipotent master of the universe by the ancient
Greeks. There is no denying the fact that Zeus and his fellow
Olympians often engaged in petty acts of cruelty and vengeance on
for his lust of mortals, indeed the all-powerful Zeus transcended
male or female and even species when it came to his many affairs.
His lascivious actions in bed always left a very positive mark on the
mortals he slept with -which enraged Hera to no end (who was also
Zeus' sister - despite being consorts)
HERA (JUNO)
Parents: Cronus and Rhea
Dominion: Marriage, fertility
Favorite Place: Argos
Symbols: Crown, scepter, cow, peacock, pomegranate
Archetype: Traditional, marriage-minded; fierce opponent of any
threat to family
Hera, who appears in art as a lovely and dignified queen, is the
ancient Greek goddess and protectress of marriage and woman-
hood. In addition to her inherent roles as a goddess she
was also the wife and sister of Zeus, making her queen of Mount
Olympus after their marriage. Although as a goddess she was not
outright malevolent, she was known to be a vengeful being and was
especially cruel towards those who crossed her.
POSEIDON (NEPTUNE)
Parents: Cronus and Rhea
Dominion: Sea, earthquakes, horses
Favorite Place: Sounion
Symbols: Trident (three-pronged spear), horse
Archetype: Emotionally intense, impulsive; can be angry and
vengeful and troubled by sense of inferiority
Poseidon is the god of the sea and known as the protector of those
who sailed in Greek mythology. He is the older brother of both Zeus
and Hades and second oldest of his siblings behind Hestia.
Poseidon functioned as an antagonist of other gods usually not
through direct malevolence but rather as a result of egotism and
uncontrollable fits of anger. He competed with the goddess Athena
to become the patron god of Athens.
DEMETER (CERES)
Parents: Cronus and Rhea
Dominion: Crops, motherhood
Favorite place: Eleusis
Symbols: Stalk of wheat, torch
Archetype: Motherly, nurturing, deeply spiritual
Demeter is a sister and consort of Zeus (the king of the gods), and
goddess of agriculture. Her name indicates that she is a mother. She
“the maiden.” The best-known myth about them explains the change
in the seasons. Her distress at her daughter’s disappearance was
said to have diverted her attention from the harvest and caused a
famine.
HADES (PLUTO)
Parents: Cronus and Rhea
Dominion: The Underworld
Favorite Place: The Underworld
Symbol: Magical helmet of invisibility, bident (2-pronged staff),
chariot
Archetype: Dark, secret, imaginative; can become depressed
Hades is the god of wealth and king of the Underworld in Greek
mythology. He is synonymous with death, doom and fate, although
he is not the actual god of death. He is the older brother of Zeus,
god of the sky and Poseidon god of the sea. Though today we might
associate him more as a necessary factor and a part of life, the
ancient Greeks used him as an epitome of fear and dreaded him so
much his name was rarely spoken aloud.
According to Vergil and others, souls were accompanied to the bank
of the River Styx by Hermes. There they were met by a dirty and
surly ferryman named Charon, who demanded payment to row them
across the river and into the Underworld. Anyone who did not have
the money was doomed to wait at the riverbank forever.
All newcomers had to pass by the three-headed dog, Cerberus. He
left them alone on their way in but would turn vicious if any tried to
escape. Each one is brought before three judges, Rhadamanthus,
Minos and Aeacus, who pass sentences to the souls .They drank
from the River Lethe, the river of forgetfulness, which erased their
memories of their earthly lives. A few of those especially dear to the
gods were sent to the Elysian Fields, a paradise of eternally perfect
weather, balmy ocean breezes, and fragrant flowers.
The underworld had several famous inhabitants, including Tantalus,
Sisyphus and Ixion, each condemned for heinous crimes against the
gods: Tantalus killed his son, cooked him into a meal, and then tried
to trick the gods into eating it. Sisyphus likewise mocked and
deceived the gods, and Ixion attempted to rape the goddess Hera.
HESTIA (VESTA)
Parents: Cronus and Rhea
Dominion: The home
Favorite Place: Rome (as Vesta)
Symbol: Hearth fire
Archetype: Home-loving, unassuming
According to the Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite, she was the firstborn
child of Cronus and Rhea and the last to be disgorged from her
father’s belly. Both Poseidon and Apollo wanted to marry her, but
she swore upon Zeus’ head that she would never marry. The
Romans had an important cult of Vesta, presided over by six
priestesses known as Vestal
Virgins.
Part 3: The Olympian Deities Part 1:The Children of Zues
ATHENA (MINERVA)
Parents: Zeus (and Metis)
Dominion: The arts and crafts, wisdom, training, taming horses
Favorite Place: Athens
Symbols: Helmet, spear and shield, aegis decorated with the head
of the Gorgon Medusa, thunderbolt, owl, olive tree
Archetype: Intelligent, creative; identifies with males
The poet Hesiod elaborates on how this most unusual birth came
about. Zeus had taken the Titan goddess Metis, the wisest of all the
gods then living, as his first wife. The name “Metis” means “common
sense” or “practical wisdom.” Soon Zeus and Metis conceived a
child. Just as Metis was about to give birth, Zeus was given a
prophecy from his grandparents, Uranus and Gaea. The prophecy
foretold that Metis would bear two children. Her second child would
overthrow his royal father, Zeus, just as Zeus had overthrown his
own father, Cronus, and in turn, Cronus had overthrown his father,
Uranus.
Metis had the power to magically transform herself at will into
anything, animal, shape, or figure. Zeus continued to taunt her so
that she quickly morphed into the shapes of a fire, river, boar, a
snake, and last of all, a small insect, perhaps a housefly. Suddenly,
Zeus swallowed the insect, which was, of course, his goddess wife,
Metis, pregnant with Athena! Metis stayed inside Zeus, continuing to
advise him and dispense common sense and right judgment that
Zeus so needed as king of the gods and humans.
Shortly after swallowing Metis, Zeus developed a throbbing migraine
headache. One of the gods (some say it was Hephaestus, others,
Prometheus) rushed to help him by splitting open Zeus’ godly head
with an axe. To the shock of all the heavenly deities, out leaped the
bright-flashing, gray-eyed goddess Athena, fully armored,
brandishing her spear! She became Zeus’ favorite child, because it
was from his head that she was born. Athena is also sometimes
called Pallas Athena. Because Metis remained inside Zeus’ body,
the prophecy that a son would later be born to them never was
fulfilled. So Zeus remained the king of gods and men.
APOLLO (PHOEBUS APOLLO)
Parents: Zeus and Leto
Dominion: Music, poetry, healing, the woods, medicine, grazing
animals, herds
Favorite Places: Delphi, Parnassus, Delos
Symbols: Sun, silver or golden bow and arrows, laurel tree, dolphin
Archetype: artistic, rational, orderly; “favorite son”; can be arrogant
ARTEMIS (DIANA)
Parents: Zeus and Leto
Dominion: Hunters and hunting, young children, youth
Favorite Places: Woods and forests
Symbols: Moon, silver bow, deer, stag, dog
Archetype: Athletic, fond of nature and animals, close to other
females; can be violent
Apollo and Artemis were two twins, born of Zeus, king of the gods,
and Leto, a daughter of Titans s Coeus and Phoebe. Leto was a
very kind and loving deity but was hated by Hera, Zeus' wife, for
seducing her husband. So, when Leto got pregnant and Hera found
out, she specifically forbade any place under the sun to harbor the
sinful woman. She even held her daughter Eileithyia, the goddess of
childbirth, tightly in her arms to prevent her from assisting Leto in her
labor.
Zeus took pity on Leto and transformed her into a quail (ortyx) to
bear her children. For nine days and nine nights, Leto suffered
intense pain, until on the tenth day she went near a small lake,
leaned against a palm tree, loosened her belt, and gave birth to
Artemis, the Greek goddess of the hunt. Artemis then acted as a
midwife for her mother to give birth to her brother Apollo.
APHRODITE (VENUS)
Parents: Zeus and Dione (according to Homer) or born from Cronus’
severed sexual member (according to Hesiod)
Dominion: Love and beauty
Favorite Places: Cyprus, Corinth, Cythera
Symbols: Rose, dove
Archetype: Emotionally open, appreciative of beauty and luxury;
can be vain
With her name that means “one born from the foam”, Aphrodite is
known in Greek Mythology as the goddess of love, beauty, and
fertility. She is also associated with pleasure, passion, and
procreation. There are only three she cannot move: Hestia, Athena,
and Artemis. Even the mighty Zeus time and again proves unable to
resist her power and falls in love with mortal women. Aphrodite was
married to Hephaestus, the god of fire, blacksmiths and
metalworking. Aphrodite was frequently unfaithful to him and had
many lovers; in the Odyssey, she is caught in the act of adultery
with Ares, the god of war.
HERMES (MERCURY)
Parents: Zeus and Maia
Dominion: Liars, thieves, travelers, merchants and commerce;
domesticated herds (cattle, sheep), dogs, boars, lions; weights and
measures; pipers; guiding dead souls in transit to the Underworld
Favorite Places: Roads
Symbols: Caduceus or wand, winged sandals, winged traveler’s
helmet (petasus), lyre, syrinx
Archetype: Mischievous, fun-loving, communicative with all;
trickster
Hermes, also known as Mercury in Roman mythology, is the son of
Zeus and Maia. In infancy, he stole the twelve cattle of the sun god
Apollo out of craving for meat. Hermes is considered the herald of
the gods, and functioned as the emissary and messenger of the
gods. He is able to move quickly and freely between the worlds of
the mortal and the divine, aided by his winged sandals.
ARES (MARS)
Parents: Zeus and Hera
Dominion: War
Favorite Places: Thebes, Thrace
Symbols: Helmet, sword, shield, spear
Archetype: Angry and violent, intensely competitive

Ares, the god of war, was the least loved and most despised of all
the Greek gods. He is known for more barbaric parts such as
slaughter and bloodlust. Ares stood as Athena’s opposite: one who
engages in reckless passion, vengeance, the horror of bloodshed,
uncontrolled chaos, the worst in human—or godly—nature. Ares
was also a marriage wrecker and disloyal brother: he was the lover
of his brother’s wife, Aphrodite.

HEPHAESTUS (VULCAN)
Parents: Zeus and Hera or Hera alone
Dominion: Smithing and crafts of the forge, metalworkers, artisans
Favorite Places: Lemnos, Mount Etna in Sicily, other volcanoes in
the Mediterranean region
Symbols: Hammer and anvil
Archetype: Earthy, gentle, creative, kindly, even when mocked or
wounded

According to myth, Hephaestus was born lame and was cast from
heaven in disgust by his mother, Hera, and again by his father,
Zeus, after a family quarrel. He was brought back to Olympus by
Dionysus and was one of the only gods to have returned after exile.
A blacksmith and craftsman, Hephaestus, the god of fire, made
weapons and military equipment for the gods and certain mortals,
including a winged helmet and sandals for Hermes and armor for
Achilles.

DIONYSUS (BACCHUS)
Parents: Zeus and Semele
Dominion: The vine, wine
Favorite Places: Asia Minor, Thebes
Symbols: Wine cup; vine leaves; thyrsus (a staff topped with a pine
cone); many wild animals, especially panther, lion, tiger, leopard,
dolphin, and snake.
Archetype: Moody, mystical, friendly to women, passionate; may
develop substance abuse problems

Dionysus was the god of fertility and wine, later considered a patron
of the arts. He created wine and spread the art of viticulture. He had
a dual nature; on one hand, he brought joy and divine ecstasy; or he
would bring brutal and blinding rage, thus reflecting the dual nature
of wine. It was believed that Dionysus was the result of an affair
between Zeus and a human woman, Semele. He was born from
Zeus' thigh.

PERSEPHONE (PROSERPINA)
Parents: Zeus and Demeter
Dominion: The Underworld
Favorite Place: Eleusis
Symbols: Torches, sheaf of grain
Archetype: Compliant, girlish

Persephone was the goddess queen of the underworld, and the wife
of the god Hades, which happens to be his uncle as well. In the
Underworld, Persephone had grown to love Hades, who treated her
with compassion and loved her as his Queen. As she would have
ended up in Olympus, she remained eternally beautiful in the
Underworld. Hades admired her kind and nurturing nature. She was
also the goddess of spring growth, who was worshiped alongside
her mother Demeter in the Eleusinian Mysteries.