The Greeks believed in many gods (and many generations of gods) and believed that they had both supernatural powers and human weaknesses. Probably the greatest beings in Greek mythology are the twelve Olympian gods who took their name from their place of dwelling: Mount Olympus.

Zeus

The ruler of the Olympian gods and god of the sky, thunder and justice. His weapon is lightning. Married to Hera.

Poseidon

The God of the sea, earthquakes and horses. His weapon is a trident and he is second in power to Zeus.

hell

God of the underworld and wealth. Lord of the dead

Hestia

Goddess of the hearth and hearth. Zeus’s sister.

Hera

The Goddess of women, marriage and work. The reigning female goddess of Olympias because she was married to Zeus.

aris

God of War. The son of Zeus and Hera.

athena

The Goddess of wisdom, reason, intelligent activity, arts and literature. A daughter of Zeus.

Apollo

The God of the sun, light, healing, medicine, music, poetry, prophecy, archery, and truth. Son of Zeus and Leto and twin brother of Artemis

Aphrodite

The Goddess of love, desire, beauty and fertility.

Hermes

The fastest of the gods and messenger of all the other gods. God of commerce, thieves, commerce, and travelers. The son of Zeus and Maia.

sagebrush

Goddess of chastity, virginity, work, hunting, the forest, the moon and the natural environment. She is the daughter of Zeus and Leto and the twin sister of Apollo.

hephaestus

The God of fire and the forge. He is the son of Zeus and Hera and husband of Aphrodite.

daedalus and icarus

Daedalus was a famous sculptor and builder who built a large labyrinth called “The Labyrinth” under the Palace of Knossos in Crete in which King Minos had a monster: half man half bull (the Minotaur). The structure consisted of such a complicated tangle that it was impossible to get out of it. After completing the labyrinth, King Minos did not want Daedalus to be able to tell anyone else his secret, so he imprisoned him and his only son Icarus in a high tower. Daedalus and Icarus did not like being prisoners, so they began to think of ways to escape. After watching the birds from the tower windows, Deadalus decided to make wings out of bird feathers and wax for himself and his son so they could fly and be free. Tying his wings to his son, Daedalus warned him not to fly too close to the sea, as the moisture from the waves would wet the feathers, making them too heavy to fly with, and not to fly too high in the sky, as the sun would melt Wax Icarus was so fascinated with flying that he forgot his father’s warnings and began to fly higher and higher. As he went up to the sky, his wings began to melt, when Icarus realized what was happening, he tried to fly lower again, but it was too late, the wings broke, he fell into the water and fell. He drowned.

Theseus and Ariadne

King Minos (the king of Crete) had a powerful army that all of Greece feared. He agreed with King Aegues (of Athens) that he would not attack Athens if the people of Athens agreed to send seven boys and seven girls as food for the Minotaur each year. When the time came to send the boys and girls to Crete, Prince Theseus (son of King Aegeus) wanted to save the boys and all who might be sent in the future, so he decided to go with them to kill the minotaur. . King Aegeus begged his son not to go because he feared that the minotaur would devour him too. But Theseus persisted and set sail for Crete in a ship with a black sail, promising his father that he would trade the ship’s sail for a white one to announce if he had won and lived to return home. When they arrived in Crete they were received by King Minos and his daughter Ariadne. Princess Ariadne immediately fell in love with Prince Theseus and decided to help him with his mission. That night she gave Theseus a sword and a ball of thread and instructed him to tie the ball of thread to the door of the labyrinth where the minotaur lived and unwind it as he went through the maze so that he could use it to find his own. . back once he had killed the minotaur with his sword. Prince Theseus did exactly as told and after finding the minotaur a great battle was fought which Theseus won by killing the minotaur and he was able to get out of the maze using the ball of string to guide him.

Pandora’s box

According to Greek mythology, Pandora was the first woman on earth and was created by the god Zeus in an act of revenge against man. He commissioned Hephaestus to create a beautiful woman endowed by the gods with all charms (along with curiosity and deceit) and sent her to earth as a gift to Epimetheus, who fell in love with her and they married. As a wedding gift, Zeus sent Pandora a beautiful box that he told her never to open and gave the key to the box to Epimetheus. Over time, Pandora became very curious about the contents of the box and several times she begged Epimetheus to let her open it, but each time he said ‘No’. Finally, one day, when Epimetheus was sleeping, she Pandora stole the key and opened the box. As she lifted the lid to peer inside, terrible things flew out of the box, all manner of disasters man had never known before: disease, despair, malice, greed, hatred, violence, cruelty, and war. Unable to catch all these things before they flew away, she Pandora closed the lid and turned the key, keeping only the spirit of hope that Zeus had included to help people carry on when nasty things knocked them down.