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Ancient Greece - Knowledge and Learning - The British Museum

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By the British

Museum

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School sessions and resources for ages 7-11 (KS2).

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alain de botton socrates - Google Search

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gVyEOefhIQ Alain de Botton shows how the ancient Athenian philosopher Socrates (470-399 BC) can ...

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The beginnings of philosophy

In the 500s BC, people all over Europe and Asia became more and more interested in great philosophical questions. Why are we here? How does the world work? Why do things happen the way they do? How can we know for sure?

Philosophy and government

Probably this was related to how people were also experimenting with new forms of government like empires, democracies, and republics.

Philosophy in the 500s BC

In China, the 500s BC saw Confucius and Lao Tzu. In India it was the Buddha. Further west in Babylon, the Jewish prophets Ezra and Nehemiah were writing the Bible, while Zoroastrianism was taking off. In Greece, Thales and Pythagoras tried to impose order on the universe's chaos through the patterns of mathematics and music.

Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle

But the three great philosophers who really made ancient Greek philosophy famous lived a little later. They were Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.

All three of these men lived in Athens for most of their lives, and they knew each other. Socrates came first, and Plato was his student, around 400 BC. The Athenians voted to kill Socrates in 399 BC.

Plato, who was pretty angry about his teacher being executed, began his work by writing down what Socrates had taught, and then continued by writing down his own ideas and opening a school. Plato called his school the Academy. Aristotle, who was younger, came to Athens as a teenager to study at Plato's school. He ended up starting his own school, the Lyceum, when he grew up.

Stoics, Skeptics, and Epicureans

In the years after Plato and Aristotle died, in the 200s BC, three famous kinds of philosophy started up in the schools that Plato and Aristotle had started. These are the Stoics, the Skeptics, and the Epicureans. Each of these three schools of philosophy continued to be important ways of thinking about the world all the way through the Roman Empire, until people converted to Christianity in the 300s AD, and even after that.

Bibliography and further reading about Greek philosophy:

Philosophy and Science in Ancient Greece: The Pursuit of Knowledge, by Don Nardo (2004). For teenagers. Don Nardo has written many books for young people about the ancient Greeks.

Need a second source about Greek philosophy? Here's a good article from the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy

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Greek philosophy got started as part of a general interest in philosophy all across Eurasia in the 500s BC. The three greatest Greek philosophers were Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. After them, three new philosophical groups formed: the Stoics, the Skeptics, and the Epicureans.

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Some complex information

about these three philosophers.

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The Ancient Greeks, Part Two:

Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle

Dr. C. George Boeree

"The unexamined life is not worth living." -- Socrates

In Ukrainian: Сократ, Платон і Арістотель (translated by Olena Chervona)
In Russian: Сократ, Платон и Аристотель (translated by Olha Fiodorova)
In Macedonian: Сократ, Платон и Аристотель (translated by Katerina Nestiv)
In Chinese: 前蘇格拉底時代 (translated by Liu Yu)
In Spanish: Sócrates, Platón y Aristóteles (translated by Laura Mancini)
In Polish: Sokrates, Platon i Arystoteles (translated by Marek Murawski)

The Athenians

When we think of ancient Greece, we think right away of Athens. Several of the philosophers we have already discussed considered it the pinnacle of their careers to come and teach in this great city.

But Athens wasn't always great. It began as a collection of villages in some of the poorest agricultural land in Greece. Only carefully tended grapes and olives provided early Athens with a livelihood, that and trade.

The distance between the haves -- the ruling aristocratic trading families -- and the have nots -- peasants working the land -- and the accompanying feudal oppression, grew so great that it looked like the city and its surrounding area would collapse under the weight.

In 594 bc, the leaders of the middle class recruited a merchant named Solon to accept leadership of the city and restore some peace and prosperity. He began by canceling all debts and freeing all who had been enslaved on account of debt. Then he proceeded to draft a constitution in which the population was divided into four classes based entirely on economic worth, with the highest retaining the greatest power, but the lowest being exempt from taxes.

After a difficult transition, the world's first democracy was established under the leadership of Cleisthenes in 507 bc, when he decried that all free men would be permitted to vote. This, of course, falls short of a complete democracy, but don't judge them too harshly: Slavery would not outlawed until 1814, when Mexico would become the very first sovereign nation to permanently ban slavery. The US wouldn't free its slaves until 1865 with the 13th amendment. And women didn't get to vote until New Zealand gave them the vote in 1893. It would take the US until 1919 and the 19th amendment.

Unfortunately, at about the same time the democratic experiment began, the great Persian Empire to the east decided to expand into, first, Ionia, and then Greece proper. But in 490 bc, 20,000 Greeks defeated 100,000 Persian troops at Marathon, north of Athens. (A messenger named Pheidippides ran the 26 miles -- 42.195 km -- to Athens to give them the good news, hence the sport of marathon running!)

In 481, the Persian emperor Xerxes sent an army of over two million men, assisted by a fleet of 1200 ships, to attack Greece again. The army ravaged the north of Greece and prepared to attack Athens. They found the city deserted. The Persian navy, however, found the Greek fleet waiting for it in the Bay of Salamis. The Greeks won the day against enormous odds. By 479, the Persians were forced back into Asia Minor.

If this seems like just a little piece of history, consider: This victory allowed the Greek adventure to continue to produce the kind of thinking that would set the tone for the next two millennia in Europe and the Mediterranean.

During the time period we are looking at in this chapter, Athens had as many as 300,000 people, making it one of the largest cities in the world. About half were free, one third were slaves, and one sixth were foreigners (metics). The free adult males who could vote numbered about 50,000.

Socrates

Socrates (470-399) was the son of a sculptor and a midwife, and served with distinction in the Athenian army during Athens' clash with Sparta. He married, but had a tendency to fall in love with handsome young men, in particular a young soldier named Alcibiades. He was, by all accounts, short and stout, not given to good grooming, and a lover of wine and conversation. His famous student, Plato, called him "the wisest, and justest, and best of all men whom I have ever known" ( Phaedo).

He was irritated by the Sophists and their tendency to teach logic as a means of achieving self-centered ends, and even more their promotion of the idea that all things are relative. It was the truth that he loved, desired, and believed in.

Philosophy, the love of wisdom, was for Socrates itself a sacred path, a holy quest -- not a game to be taken lightly. He believed -- or at least said he did in the dialog Meno -- in the reincarnation of an eternal soul which contained all knowledge. We unfortunately lose touch with that knowledge at every birth, and so we need to be reminded of what we already know (rather than learning something new).

He said that he did not teach, but rather served, like his mother, as a midwife to truth that is already in us! Making use of questions and answers to remind his students of knowledge is called maieutics (midwifery), dialectics, or the Socratic method.

One example of his effect on philosophy is found in the dialog Euthyphro. He suggests that what is to be considered a good act is not good because gods say it is, but is good because it is useful to us in our efforts to be better and happier people. This means that ethics is no longer a matter of surveying the gods or scripture for what is good or bad, but rather thinking about life. He even placed individual conscience above the law -- quite a dangerous position to take!

Socrates himself never wrote any of his ideas down, but rather engaged his students -- wealthy young men of Athens -- in endless conversations. In exchange for his teaching, they in turn made sure that he was taken care of. Since he claimed to have few needs, he took very little, much to his wife Xanthippe's distress.

Plato reconstructed these discussions in a great set of writings known as the Dialogs. It is difficult to distinguish what is Socrates and what is Plato in these dialogs, so we will simply discuss them together.

Socrates wasn't loved by everyone by any means. His unorthodox political and religious views gave the leading citizens of Athens the excuse they needed to sentence him to death for corrupting the morals of the youth of the city. In 399, he was ordered to drink a brew of poison hemlock, which he did in the company of his students. The event is documented in Plato's Apology.

Socrates' final words were "Crito, we owe a cock to Asclepius (the god of medicine). Pay it and do not neglect it."

Plato

Plato (437-347) was Socrates' prized student. From a wealthy and powerful family, his actual name was Aristocles -- Plato was a nickname, referring to his broad physique. When he was about twenty, he came under Socrates' spell and decided to devote himself to philosophy. Devastated by Socrates' death, he wandered around Greece and the Mediterranean and was taken by pirates. His friends raised money to ransom him from slavery, but when he was released without it, they bought him a small property called Academus to start a school -- the Academy, founded in 386.

The Academy was more like Pythagorus' community -- a sort of quasi-religious fraternity, where rich young men studied mathematics, astronomy, law, and, of course, philosophy. It was free, depending entirely on donations. True to his ideals, Plato also permitted women to attend! The Academy would become the center of Greek learning for almost a millennium.

Plato can be understood as idealistic and rationalistic, much like Pythagorus but much less mystical. He divides reality into two: On the one hand we have ontos, idea or ideal. This is ultimate reality, permanent, eternal, spiritual. On the other hand, there's phenomena, which is a manifestation of the ideal. Phenomena are appearances -- things as they seem to us -- and are associated with matter, time, and space.

Phenomena are illusions which decay and die. Ideals are unchanging, perfect. Phenomena are definitely inferior to Ideals! The idea of a triangle -- the defining mathematics of it, the form or essence of it -- is eternal. Any individual triangle, the triangles of the day-to-day experiential world, are never quite perfect: They may be a little crooked, or the lines a little thick, or the angles not quite right.... They only approximate that perfect triangle, the ideal triangle.

If it seems strange to talk about ideas or ideals as somehow more real than the world of our experiences, consider science. The law of gravity, 1+1=2, "magnets attract iron," E=mc2, and so on -- these are universals, not true for one day in one small location, but true forever and everywhere! If you believe that there is order in the universe, that nature has laws, you believe in ideas!

Ideas are available to us through thought, while phenomena are available to us through our senses. So, naturally, thought is a vastly superior means to get to the truth. This is what makes Plato a rationalist, as opposed to an empiricist, in epistemology.

Senses can only give you information about the ever-changing and imperfect world of phenomena, and so can only provide you with implications about ultimate reality, not reality itself. Reason goes straight to the idea. You "remember," or intuitively recognize the truth, as Socrates suggested in the dialog Meno.

According to Plato, the phenomenal world strives to become ideal, perfect, complete. Ideals are, in that sense, a motivating force. In fact, he identifies the ideal with God and perfect goodness. God creates the world out of materia (raw material, matter) and shapes it according to his "plan" or "blueprint" -- ideas or the ideal. If the world is not perfect, it is not because of God or the ideals, but because the raw materials were not perfect. I think you can see why the early Christian church made Plato an honorary Christian, even though he died three and a half centuries before Christ!

Plato applies the same dichotomy to human beings: There's the body, which is material, mortal, and "moved" (a victim of causation). Then there's the soul, which is ideal, immortal, and "unmoved" (enjoying free will).

The soul includes reason, of course, as well as self-awareness and moral sense. Plato says the soul will always choose to do good, if it recognizes what is good. This is a similar conception of good and bad as the Buddhists have: Rather than bad being sin, it is considered a matter of ignorance. So, someone who does something bad requires education, not punishment.

The soul is drawn to the good, the ideal, and so is drawn to God. We gradually move closer and closer to God through reincarnation as well as in our individual lives. Our ethical goal in life is resemblance to God, to come closer to the pure world of ideas and ideal, to liberate ourselves from matter, time, and space, and to become more real in this deeper sense. Our goal is, in other words, self-realization.

Plato talks about three levels of pleasure. First is sensual or physical pleasure, of which sex is a great example. A second level is sensuous or esthetic pleasure, such as admiring someone's beauty, or enjoying one's relationship in marriage. But the highest level is ideal pleasure, the pleasures of the mind. Here the example would be Platonic love, intellectual love for another person unsullied by physical involvement.

Paralleling these three levels of pleasure are three souls. We have one soul called appetite, which is mortal and comes from the gut. The second soul is called spirit or courage. It is also mortal, and lives in the heart. The third soul is reason. It is immortal and resides in the brain. The three are strung together by the cerebrospinal canal.

Plato is fond of analogies. Appetite, he says, is like a wild horse, very powerful, but likes to go its own way. Spirit is like a thoroughbred, refined, well trained, directed power. And reason is the charioteer, goal-directed, steering both horses according to his will.

Other analogies abound, especially in Plato's greatest work, The Republic. In The Republic, he designs (through Socrates) a society in order to discover the meaning of justice. Along the way, he compares elements of his society (a utopia, Greek for "no place") to the three souls: The peasants are the foundation of the society. They till the soil and produce goods, i.e. take care of society's basic appetites. The warriors represent the spirit and courage of the society. And the philosopher kings guide the society, as reason guides our lives.

Before you assume that we are just looking at a Greek version of the Indian caste system, please note: Everyone's children are raised together and membership in one of the three levels of society is based on talents, not on one's birth parents! And Plato includes women as men's equals in this system.

I leave you with a few quotes:

"Wonder is the feeling of a philosopher, and philosophy begins in wonder."

"...(I)f you ask what is the good of education in general, the answer is easy; that education makes good men, and that good men act nobly."

"(I) do to others as I would they should do to me."

"Our object in the construction of the State is the greatest happiness of the whole, and not that of any one class."

Aristotle

Aristotle (384-322) was born in a small Greek colony in Thrace called Stagira. His father was a physician and served the grandfather of Alexander the Great. Presumably, it was his father who taught him to take an interest in the details of natural life.

He was Plato's prize student, even though he disagreed with him on many points. When Plato died, Aristotle stayed for a while with another student of Plato, who had made himself a dictator in northern Asia Minor. He married the dictator's daughter, Pythias. They moved to Lesbos, where Pythias died giving birth to their only child, a daughter. Although he married again, his love for Pythias never died, and he requested that they be buried side by side.

For four years, Aristotle served as the teacher of a thirteen year old Alexander, son of Philip of Macedon. In 334, he returned to Athens and established his school of philosophy in a set of buildings called the Lyceum (from a name for Apollo, "the shepherd"). The beautiful grounds and covered walkways were conducive to leisurely walking discussions, so the students were known as peripatoi ("covered walkways").

First, we must point out that Aristotle was as much a scientist as a philosopher. He was endlessly fascinated with nature, and went a long way towards classifying the plants and animals of Greece. He was equally interested in studying the anatomies of animals and their behavior in the wild.

Aristotle also pretty much invented modern logic. Except for its symbolic form, it is essentially the same today.

Let's begin with metaphysics: While Plato separates the ever-changing phenomenal world from the true and eternal ideal reality, Aristotle suggests that the ideal is found "inside" the phenomena, the universals "inside" the particulars.

What Plato called idea or ideal, Aristotle called essence, and its opposite, he referred to as matter. Matter is without shape or form or purpose. It is just "stuff." pure potential, no actuality. Essence is what provides the shape or form or purpose to matter. Essence is "perfect," "complete," but it has no substance, no solidity. Essence and matter need each other!

Essence realizes ("makes real") matter. This process, the movement from formless stuff to complete being, is called entelechy, which some translate as actualization.

There are four causes that contribute to the movement of entelechy. They are answers to the question "why?" or "what is the explanation of this?"

1. The material cause: what something is made of.
2. The efficient cause: the motion or energy that changes matter.
3. The formal cause: the thing's shape, form, or essence; its definition.
4. The final cause: its reason, its purpose, the intention behind it.

1. The material cause: The thing's matter or substance. Why a bronze statue? The metal it is made of. Today, we find an emphasis on material causation in reductionism, explaining, for example, thoughts in terms of neural activity, feelings in terms of hormones, etc. We often go down a "level" because we can't explain something at the level it's at.

2. The efficient cause: The motion or energy that changes matter. Why the statue? The forces necessary to work the bronze, the hammer, the heat, the energy.... This is what modern science focuses on, to the point where this is what cause now tends to mean, exclusively. Note that modern psychology usually relies on reductionism in order to find efficient causes. But it isn't always so: Freud, for example, talked about psychosexual energy and Skinner talked about stimulus and response.

3. The formal cause: The thing's shape, form, definition, or essence. Why the statue? Because of the plan the sculptor had for the bronze, it's shape or form, the non-random ordering of it's matter. In psychology, we see some theorists focus on structure -- Piaget and his schema, for example. Others talk about the structure inherent in the genetic code, or about cognitive scripts.

4. The final cause: The end, the purpose, the teleology of the thing. Why the statue? The purpose of it, the intention behind making it. This was popular with medieval scholars: They searched for the ultimate final cause, the ultimate purpose of all existence, which they of course labeled God! Note that, outside of the hard sciences, this is often the kind of cause we are most interested in: Why did he do it, what was his purpose or intention? E.g. in law, the bullet may have been the "efficient" cause of death, but the intent of the person pulling the trigger is what we are concerned with. When we talk about intentions, goals, values, and so on, we are talking about final causes.

Aristotle wrote the first book on psychology (as a separate topic from the rest of philosophy). It was called, appropriately, Para Psyche, Greek for "about the mind or soul." It is better known in the Latin form, De Anima. In this book, we find the first mentions of many ideas that are basic to psychology today, such as the laws of association.

In it, he says the mind or soul is the "first entelechy" of the body, the "cause and principle" of the body, the realization of the body. We might put it like this: The mind is the purposeful functioning of the nervous system.

Like Plato, he postulates three kinds of souls, although slightly differently defined. There is a plant soul, the essence of which is nutrition. Then there is an animal soul, which contains the basic sensations, desire, pain and pleasure, and the ability to cause motion. Last, but not least, is the human soul. The essence of the human soul is, of course, reason. He suggests that, perhaps, this last soul is capable of existence apart from the body.

He foreshadowed many of the concepts that would become popular only two thousand years later. Libido, for example: "In all animals... it is the most natural function to beget another being similar to itself... in order that they attain as far as possible, the immortal and divine.... This is the final cause of every creatures natural life."

And the struggle of the id and ego: "There are two powers in the soul which appear to be moving forces -- desire and reason. But desire prompts actions in violation of reason... desire... may be wrong."

And the pleasure principle and reality principle: "Although desires arise which are opposed to each other, as is the case when reason and appetite are opposed, it happens only in creatures endowed with a sense of time. For reason, on account of the future, bids us resist, while desire regards the present; the momentarily pleasant appears to it as the absolutely pleasant and the absolutely good, because it does not see the future."

And finally, self-actualization: We begin as unformed matter in the womb, and through years of development and learning, we become mature adults, always reaching for perfection. "So the good has been well explained as that at which all things aim."

© Copyright 2000, 2009, C. George Boeree

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The Ancient Greeks, Part Two: Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle Dr. C. George Boeree "The unexamined life is not worth living."

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An excellent BBC documentary exploring the current knowledge about Troy and some of the newer ideas archaeologists are looking at. You can visit Troy on our Fabulous Turkey and Classic Turkey tours.

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Good wikibook

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Ancient History/Greece/Mycenaean Civilization - Wikibooks, open books for an open world

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The Mycenaean civilization refers to a Bronze Age civilization on mainland Greece, inhabiting the area from around 1600-1100 BCE. The name "Mycenaean" refers to the city of Mycenae, which was excavated by Heinrich Schliemann beginning in 1876. Schliemann is also well-known for discovering and excavating the city of Troy in Asia Minor, which was at the time believed to be fictional.

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Good resource here!

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Ancient Greece - History of Ancient Greek World, Time Line and Periods, Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic.

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Information on history of ancient Greece. Minoan, Neolithic period, Bronze Age, Mycenaean , Dark Ages, Archaic, Classical and Hellenistic Period and other ancient civilizations.

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MINOTAUR (Minotauros) - Bull-Headed Man of Greek Mythology

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In Greek mythology the Minotaur was a bull-headed monster born to Queen Pasiphae of Crete after she coupled with a bull. The creature resided in the twisting maze of the labyrinth where it was offfered a regular sacrifice of youths and maidens to satisfy its cannibalistic hunger.

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Write a 200 word interview with a Greek God or Goddess of your choice.

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Don't Let Me Catch You Here, DO YOUR WORK, play this at home.

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Unfortunately, we're going away for awhile. Blurst relied on the Unity Web Player plugin, and it seems the glory days of the browser plugin are behind us.

Eventually, we'll be able to relaunch using WebGL.

This requires some work, though, and we're all busy with other projects and endeavors.

While we're gone, make sure to check out Aztez!

Love,
Matthew & The Blurst Team

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Unfortunately, we're going away for awhile. Blurst relied on the Unity Web Player plugin, and it seems the glory days of the browser plugin are behind us. Eventually, we'll be able to relaunch using WebGL. This requires some work, though, and we're all busy with other projects and endeavors.

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FC17: Bronze Age Greece: the Minoans & Mycenaeans (c.2500-1100 BCE) - The Flow of History

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Minoan civilization continued to prosper until it came to a sudden and mysterious end. A combination of archaeology and mythology provide clues to how this may have happened.

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Mycenae VS Trojans

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One of the most famous Greek myths, balancing between reality and fiction is the Trojan War; infamous all over the world due to Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, Trojan War still stirs people's fantasy and artist's creative imagination.

The myth of the Trojan War originates from a quarrel between three Goddesses: Athena, Aphrodite and Hera. They were arguing on who is the most beautiful among them. Eris, the deity of strife gave them a golden apple bearing the phrase "to the fairest". She sent them to Paris, prince of Troy known for his beauty, to choose who the fairest is. Paris chose Aphrodite, and the myth says that Aphrodite promised to Paris that the most beautiful woman of the world would fall for him.

How the Trojan War Started

The most beautiful woman on earth at that time was Helen, wife of Menelaos of Sparta, brother of Agamemnon. Helen, who stayed in history as Helen of Troy, met Paris who came with a delegation to Sparta, fell in love with him and followed him to Troy, regardless of his husband and the consequences to come.

Greeks were infuriated by the "abduction" of gorgeous Helen and decided to invade Troy. Since the issue was Pan-Hellenic, Menelaos and Agamemnon gathered all major Generals from all State-Countries in Greece in order to take revenge for Paris' insult. Achilles, Odysseus, Ajax and many more generals brought their armies and Greeks sailed for Troy.

The Trojan War lasted for 10 years, as the city of Troy was enduring the siege. Many heroes died and Homer describes the battles and deaths of the heroes in the most graphic and thrilling way.

After the death of many heroes, like Achilles, Hector and more, the War seemed to be heading to a dead end; there was no victory, too many losses and both armies were too tired.

Then, the ingenious and resourceful mind of Odysseus (Ulysses in Latin) gave the solution: Greeks constructed the Trojan Horse, a huge wooden horse that they offered to the city of Troy. They removed their boats, as if they had left the area, and left the horse to the Trojans, who were happy to see the Greeks gone and didn't think wisely.

They allowed the horse in the city and started celebrating for their victory. During night though, when everyone was drunk and tired, Greeks came out from the horse and slaughtered Trojans, desecrated the temples and stole the gold and gifts from this rich city. Of course these acts were enough to earn the wrath of the Gods, thus few Greeks managed to come back to Greece without problems.

Iliad and Odyssey: Homer's epics about the Trojan War

Homer in his Iliad describes all the events of the ninth year of the war and refers to past events in a retrospective way with flash backs. The Iliad ends with the death of Hector from Achilles and all the other events are described in Odyssey, the epic of the return of Odysseus home.

The Greeks believed that the myth of the Trojan war was real, an historic event that took place somewhere between the 13th and 12th century BC. Troy was - and is - located in modern Turkey. However, we cannot believe that Helen of Troy was the reason for the actual war. Helen, although a real person, gave the ground for an ideal myth that would excuse the imperialistic attack of Greeks to Troy, a place known for its richness and power at the time.

We are not sure what the historical reality is, because the amazing descriptions and tales of Homer cannot be considered a reliable historical source. In any case, though, both epics are amazing readings and gave us fascinating stories about heroes, Gods, battles and stunning places.

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One of the most famous Greek myths, balancing between reality and fiction is the Trojan War; infamous all over the world due to Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, Trojan War still stirs people's fantasy and artist's creative imagination. The myth of the Trojan War originates from a quarrel between three Goddesses: Athena, Aphrodite and Hera.

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A disused stone quarry on the Greek island of Crete which is riddled with an elaborate network of underground tunnels could be the original site of the ancient Labyrinth, the mythical maze that housed the half-bull, half-man Minotaur of Greek legend.

An Anglo-Greek team of scholars who undertook an expedition to the quarry this summer believes that the site, near the town of Gortyn in the south of the island, has just as much claim to be the place of the Labyrinth as the Minoan palace at Knossos 20 miles away, which has been synonymous with the Minotaur myth since its excavation a century ago.

The 600,000 people a year who visit the ruins at Knossos are told the site was almost certainly the home of the legendary King Minos, who was supposed to have constructed the Labyrinth to house the Minotaur, a fearsome creature born out of a union between the king's wife and a bull.

But the scholars behind the latest expedition to find the Labyrinth believe the cave complex near Gortyn, which was the ancient Roman capital of Crete, could be an equally plausible candidate for the site of the Labyrinth - if indeed there was any truth in the idea that the myth was based on a real place and a real king.

Nicholas Howarth, an Oxford University geographer who led the expedition, said there was a danger of Gortyn being lost from the story of the Labyrinth because of the overpowering position that Knossos had taken in the legend, a position fostered by Arthur Evans, a wealthy English archaeologist who excavated the site between 1900 and 1935.

"People come not just to see the controversial ruins excavated and reconstructed by Evans, but also to seek a connection to the mythical past of the Age of Heroes. It is a shame that almost all visitors to Knossos have never heard of these other possible 'sites' for the mythical Labyrinth," Mr Howarth said.

Working with experts from the Hellenic Speleological Society, the Oxford researchers found that the cave complex at Gortyn had been visited recently by archaeological thieves who were preparing to dynamite one of the inner chambers in the hope of discovering a hidden treasure room.

The caves, which are known locally as the Labyrinthos Caves, consist of about two and half miles of interlocking tunnels with widened chambers and dead-end rooms. They have been visited since medieval times by travellers looking for the Labyrinth, but since Knossos was rediscovered at the end of the 19th century they were neglected, and were even used as a Nazi ammunition dump during the Second World War.

"Going into the Labyrinthos Caves at Gortyn it's easy to feel that this is a dark and dangerous place where it is easy to get lost. Evans' hypothesis that the palace of Knossos is also the Labyrinth must be treated sceptically," Mr Howarth said.

"The fact that this idea prevails so strongly in the popular imagination seems more to do with our romantic yearning to believe in the stories of the past, coupled with the power of Evans' personality and privileged position," he said.

In addition to Knossos and Gortyn, there is a third cave complex at Skotino on the Greek mainland that could also be a contender for the site of the Labyrinth. "If we look at the archaeological facts, it is extremely difficult to say that a Labyrinth ever existed... I think that each site has its claim to the mystery of the Labyrinth, but in the end there are questions that neither archaeology nor mythology can ever completely hope to answer," Mr Howarth said.

Andrew Shapland, curator of Greek Bronze Age at the British Museum in London, said the siting of the Labyrinth was a "hoary old chestnut" that refused to go away. Gortyn has been visited by travellers looking for the Labyrinth since the 12th century.

"But I think Knossos really has a better claim because it is based on the classical tradition rather than the later tradition of travellers," Dr Shapland said. "Knossos is mentioned in Homer. If the Labyrinth is a real thing, it was the way in which a site such as Knossos was transmitted into later Greek myth."

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A disused stone quarry on the Greek island of Crete which is riddled with an elaborate network of underground tunnels could be the original site of the ancient Labyrinth, the mythical maze that housed the half-bull, half-man Minotaur of Greek legend.

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This coin shows the Labyrinth.

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Symbols/Story/Objects

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Ancient Greece - Gods and Goddesses - The British Museum

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Good biographies & info

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Greek Mythology >> Greek Gods >> Olympian Gods

I. THE TWELVE OLYMPIANS

The Twelve great gods of the Greeks were known as the Olympians. Together they presided over every aspect of human life. The goddess Hestia (listed here in the second rank) was sometimes included amongst the Twelve.

II. OTHER OLYMPIAN GODS

A number of other gods were described as Olympian. Most of these were functionaries or minions of the Twelve. For example, the Horae belonged to Zeus, the Muses to Apollo, Eileithyia and Hebe to Hera, and the Erotes to Aphrodite.

CATEGORIES OF OLYMPIAN GODS

ZEUS

The Olympian gods ("Theoi Olympioi") presided over ever facet of ancient life and were often grouped according to their common functions.

THE THEOI AGORAIOI were the gods of the "agora" (the marketplace and people's assembly). Zeus, as the god of kings and princes, presided over the the assembly, alongside Athena, as goddess of wise counsel, Dike (Justice), Themis (Custom) and Calliope (Eloquence). The gods of the marketplace, on the other hand, were led by Hermes, the god of commerce, along with Hephaestus and Athena, the patron gods of artisans : weavers, potters, metalworkers, sculptors, etc. Apollo was another god of the marketplace.

THE THEOI DAITIOI were the gods of feasts and banquets. Dionysus, the god of wine, and Hestia, goddess of feasting, presided over these. They were accompanied by festive gods such as Aphrodite, goddess of pleasure, and the Charites, goddesses of joy, dancing and other amusements. The Theoi Mousikoi, or gods of music, also accompanied the feast.

THE THEOI GAMELIOI were the gods of marriage. The first of these were Zeus, Hera, and Aphrodite, but others included Hymenaios (Wedding Song), the Erotes (Loves), Peitho (Persuasion), the Charites (Graces), Eunomia (Good Order), Harmonia (Harmony) and Hebe (Youth).

THE THEOI GEORGIKOI were the gods of agriculture. Olympian Demeter was their leader, but for the most part these were non-Olympian chthonic gods. See the Gods of Agriculture page for more information.

THE THEOI GYMNASTIKOI were the gods of the gymnasium, athletics and the Games. The first of these were Hermes, Heracles and the Dioscuri. Nike (Victory) and Agon (Contest) were minor daemones of the Games. Eros, as the god of comradeship, was also frequently worshipped in the gymnasia.

THE THEOI HALIOI were the gods of the sea led by King Poseidon. Several of the other Olympian gods had minor maritime roles including Apollo, Artemis, Aphrodite and the Dioscuri who presided over embarkations, harbours, safe voyage, and salvation from storms. Most of this class of god, however, were non-Olympian marine divinities.

THE THEOI IATRIKOI were the gods of medicine and healing. These belonged to the train of Apollo and included his son the medicine-god Asclepius, and his family : Epione (Soothing), Hygeia (Good Health), Panaceia (Curative), Aegle (Radiance), Iaso (Healing), Aceso (Cure) and Telesphorus (Accomplisher).

THE THEOI KTESIOI were the gods of house and home. They were led by Zeus protector of the home (Ctesius) and of the family courtyard (Hicesius) along with Hestia, the goddess of the hearth. Hecate and Hermes were also important household gods who protected the gates and entranceways.

THE THEOI MANTIKOI were the gods of oracles, divination and prophecy. These were led by Apollo, the god or oracles and seers, and Zeus, the god of fate. Other oracular gods included the Titanesses Phoeibe (at Delphi) Themis (at Delphi and Dodona), Dione (at Dodona) and Mnemosyne (at Lebadeia). The god Hermes presided over certain primitive forms of diviniation including the casting of stones, coin-throwing oracles, and astrology. Lastly Pan and the Nymphs inspired the rustic prophets.

THE THEOI NOMIOI were the gods of the countryside and country pursuits, including hunting, fowling, fishing, and the herding of cattle and sheep. They were led by the Olympians Artemis (for hunting), Hermes (for herding) and Dionysus. The rest of the rustic gods were mostly non-Olympian divinities. See the Theoi Nomioi page for more information on these.

THE THEOI MOUSIKOI were the gods of music, dance and education in the arts. They were led by the Olympian twins Apollo and Artemis, the former presiding over music and poetry, and the latter over the choirs and dances of girls. Other important musical gods included the nine Muses, the dancing Charites or Graces, and the musical demi-gods Hymenaeus and Linos. Dionysus, Hermes and Aphrodite were also gods of music and the arts.

THE THEOI POLEMIKOI were the gods of war. These were led by Ares and Athena, and included gods such as Enyo, Eris (Strife), Nike (Victory), Deimos (Terror) and Phobos (Fear). Zeus, as the god of fate, and Apollo, as god of archery, also had wartime functions.

THE THEOI THESMIOI were the gods of divine law and custom. These were led by Zeus Nomius (of the Laws) and Demeter Thesmophorus (the Law Bringer). Lesser gods in this sphere included the Horae, specifically Dike (Justice), Eunomia (Good Order), and Irene (Peace), their mother Themis (Custom), and Apollo.

A COMPLETE LIST OF OLYMPIAN GODS & GODDESSES

ATHENA

AGLAEA (Aglaia) The goddess of beauty and adornment. She was one of the three Charites and the wife of the god Hephaestus.

AEGLE (Aigle) The goddess of the radiant glow of good health. She was a daughter of the medicine-god Asclepius.

AKESO The goddess of curing illness. She was one of the daughters of Asclepius.

ALEXIARES A son of the god Heracles, who with his brother Anicetus guarded the gates of Olympus. His name means "the unconquerable."

ANICITUS (Aniketos) A son of the god Heraces, named "he-who-wards off war." He was one of the gate-keepers of Olympus.

APHRODITE One of the ruling twelve great Olympians. She was the goddess of love, beauty and procreation. Alongside Zeus and Hera, she was also the leader of the Theoi Gamelioi or gods of marriage.

APOLLO (Apollon) One of the twelve great Olympian gods. He was the god of music, prophecy and healing, and the leader of both the Theoi Mousikoi (gods of music) and Theoi Mantikoi (gods of prophecy).

ARES The great Olympian god of war and conflict. He was the leader of the Theoi Polemikoi or gods of war.

ARIADNE The wife of the god Dionysos. She was granted a seat beside her husband amongst the gods of heavens.

ARTEMIS One of the twelve ruling Olympians, Artemis was the goddess of hunting, wild animals, childbirth and children. She was also a death-dealing goddess who brought sudden death to women with her arrows. Alongside her brother Apollo she was a leader of the Theoi Mousikoi or gods of music, presiding over maiden song and dance.

ASCLEPIUS The god of medicine and healing. He was originally a mortal man who was destroyed by Zeus for the crime of restoring the dead to life. Afterwards he was welcomed into Olympus as a god.

ATHENA One of the twelve great Olympians, Athena was the goddess of war, fortifications and the defence of towns, and of good counsel and heroic endeavour. She was also a patron goddess of craftsmen, presiding over the arts of weaving, pottery, carpentry and the manufacture of oil.

BIA The goddess of force. She was one of four winged daemones who stood attendant on the throne of Zeus.

CALLIOPE (Kalliope) The leader of the nine Muses, and goddess of epic poetry. She also bestowed the gift of eloquence upon kings and princes.

CHARITES (Kharites) The goddesses of joy, pleasure, mirth, beauty, dancing, feasts and banquets. The three Graces were handmaidens of the goddesses Hera and Aphrodite, and attendants of Dionysus. They were numbered amongst the Theoi Gamelioi (gods of marriage) and Theoi Datioi (gods of the banquet).

CLYMENE (Klymene) The Titan goddess of fame and renown. She was a handmaiden of the goddess Hera.

CLIO (Kleio) The Muse of historical writings.

CRATUS The god of strength and power. He was one of four winged Daemones who stood attendant by the throne of Zeus.

DEIMUS (Deimos) The god of fear. He was a son of Ares who accompanied his father on the battlefield.

DEMETER One of the twelve great Olympian gods, Demeter was the goddess of agriculture : from the ploughing of the earth, to the milling of grain for flour.

DIKE The goddess of justice, who reported the misdemeanors of man to her father Zeus. She was one of the three Horae, goddesses of the seasons and heavenly order.

DIONE The Titaness mother of the goddess Aphrodite. She was a prophetic goddess, associated with the great oracle of Zeus at Dodona.

DIONYSUS (Dionysos) One of the twelve great Olympian gods. He was the god of wine, viticulture, and wild vegetation.

DIOSCURI (Dioskouroi) The gods of horsemen and gymnasia, patron gods of the Games, and protectors of sailors. Castor and Polydeuces, the Dioscuri twins, were originally a pair of mortal heroes. When Polydeuces was offered immortality by his father Zeus he insisted on sharing the benefaction with his brother. As a result the pair spent alternating days in heaven and the netherworld.

EILEITHYIA The goddess of childbirth and the pains of labour. She was a daughter of Zeus and Hera.

EIRENE The goddess of peace. She was one of the three Horae, goddesses of the heavenly order and the seasons.

ENYO The goddess of war, a companion of Ares.

EPIONE The goddess of the soothing of pain. She was the wife of the medicine-god Asclepius.

ERATO The Muse of love poetry and mimicry.

ERIS The goddess of strife. She was a sister and companion of the god Ares.

EROS The god of love and sexual desire. He was the son and divine minion of the goddess Aphrodite.

EROTES Thewinged gods of love. A flock of these or three (Himerus, Pothos and Eros) accompanied the goddess Aphrodite.

EUNOMIA The goddess of good order. She was one of the three Horae and an attendant of Aphrodite who was numbered amongst the Theoi Gamelioi or gods of marriage.

EUPHROSYNE The goddess of merriment and good cheer. She was one of the three sister Charites.

EURYNOME The goddess of flowery pastures. Eurynome was mother of the Charites and a handmaiden of the goddess Hera.

EUTERPE One of the nine Muses. She presided over lyric poetry.

GANYMEDES The cupbearer of Zeus who served nectar at the feasts of the gods. He was originally a Trojan prince whose beauty caught the eye of Zeus.

HERMES

HARMONIA The goddess of harmony. As a daughter of Ares and Aphrodite she was both a goddess of war (one of the Theoi Polemikoi) and of marriage (one of the Theoi Gamelioi). Harmonia represented unity and harmonious action.

HEBE The goddess of youth. She was one of the Theoi Gamelioi or gods of marriage, a daughter of Zeus and Hera, and wife of Heracles.

HEPHAESTUS (Hephaistos) One of the twelve ruling gods of Olympus. Hephaestus was the craftsman's god presiding over metalworking, building, sculpture, and artistry.

HERA The Queen of the gods, and wife of Zeus. Hera was the goddess of women, and the leader of the Theoi Gamelioi or gods of marriage. She was also a goddess of the sky and stars.

HERACLES The greatest of the Greek heroes. Upon his death he was welcomed into Olympus, becoming the gatekeeper of heaven, and the god of strength and heroic endeavour and the averter of evil.

HERMES One of the twelve great Olympian gods. He was the herald of Zeus, and thegod of herds and flocks, the country arts, travel, trade, merchants, and thievery.

HESTIA The goddess of the hearth. With Zeus she was the leader of the gods of house and home, who also presided over the feast and the altar flame. Like Artemis and Athena she was a maiden goddess.

HIMERUS (Himeros) The god of sexual desire. The Erotes Himerus, Pothus and Eros were minions of the goddess Aphrodite.

HORAE The goddesses of the seasons and the ordering of heaven. Individually they presided over peace (Eirene), justice (Dike) and good order (Eunomia). The Horae were also guardians of the gates of heaven and handmaidens of the goddess Hera.

HYGEIA The goddess of good health, one of the many daughters of Asclepius.

HYMENAEUS (Hymenaios) The god of the weddings and the marriage hymn. He was a winged minion of the goddess Aphrodite, numbered amongst the gods of marriage.

IASO The goddess of cures and remedies, a daughter of the medicine-god Asclepius.

IRIS The goddess of the rainbow and messenger of the gods. She was the personal handmaiden of the goddess Hera.

LETO The Titan goddess of motherhood and womanly demure. She was the mother of the twin Olympians Apollo and Artemis.

LEUCIPPIDES (Leukippides) The goddess wives of the Dioscuri twins. They were originally mortal princesses who were carried up to heaven by the gods.

LITAE (Litai) The elderly goddesses of prayer who delivered the prayers of men to the gods in heaven.

MELPOMENE The goddess muse of tragedy plays.

MOIRAI (Moirae) The three goddesses of fate who spun the thread of human destiny. They were attendants of Zeus Moiragete ("Leader of the Fates").

MUSES (Mousai) Nine sister goddesses of music, song, dance and the other arts. They were minions of the god Apollo Musagete ("Leader of the Muses"), and sang as a choir at the feasts of the gods.

NIKE The goddess of victory. She was one of four winged siblings who guarded the throne of Zeus, the others being Bia, Cratus and Zelus. Nike was also Zeus' personal charioteer.

OCEANIDES (Okeanides) Goddess and nymph daughters of the great earth-encircling river Oceanus. Many of these were handmaidens of the Olympian gods, including Artemis' troupe, Demeter's entourage, Hera's Clymene and Aphrodite's Peitho.

PAEON (Paion) The physician of the Olympian gods. He was perhaps the same as Asclepius.

PANACEIA (Panakeia) The goddess of curatives, literally named "All-Cure." She was one of the daughters of the medicine god Asclepius.

PEITHO The goddess of persuasion and seductive speech. She was a handmaiden of Aphrodite and one of the Theoi Gamelioi (gods of marriage).

PHOBUS (Phobos) The god of panic. He was one of the Theoi Polemikoi (gods of war), a minion of his father Ares.

POLYHYMNIA The goddess muse of religious hymns. She was also known as Polymnia

POSEIDON The King of the sea and one of the twelve ruling gods of Olympus. He weas also the lord of rivers, lakes and other sources of fresh-water, and the god of horses and chariots. Unlike the other Olympian gods he had his residence in the sea rather than heaven, although he still attended all the councils and feasts of the heavenly gods.

POTHUS (Pothos) The god of sexual yearning. He was a winged Erote (Love-God) in the service of Aphrodite.

PSYCHE (Psykhe) The goddess of the soul and wife of the god Eros.

TERPSICHORE (Terpsikhore) The Muse of choral dance and song.

THALIA (1) (Thalia) The Muse of comedy drama and idyllic poetry.

THALIA (2) The goddess of banquets and festivities. She was one of the three Graces (Charites).

THEMIS The Titan goddess of divine law and order, custom and tradition. She was also a prophetic goddess, the leader of the assembly, and the personal councillor of Zeus.

THYONE The mother of the god Dionysus. Thyone is the divine name of Semele, who was brought to Olympus by her son subsequent to her death.

TYCHE (Tykhe) The goddess of good fortune. She was sometimes represented as a handmaiden of the goddess Hera.

URANIA (Ourania) The goddess Muse of astronomy and astronomical writings.

ZELUS (Zelos) The god of rivalry and competition. He was one of four winged Daemones who guarded the throne of Zeus.

ZEUS The great King of the Gods, ruler of Olympos and the Heavens, and leader of the Twelve. He was the god of the sky, weather, kings, fate, law and order.

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Olympian Gods & Goddesses | Theoi Greek Mythology

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Greek Mythology >> Greek Gods >> Olympian Gods The Twelve great gods of the Greeks were known as the Olympians. Together they presided over every aspect of human life. The goddess Hestia (listed here in the second rank) was sometimes included amongst the Twelve. A number of other gods were described as Olympian.

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Principal Gods click for main characteristics

Homer the name traditionally assigned to the reputed author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, the two major epics of Greek antiquity. Nothing is known about Homer as an individual. In fact, the question of whether a single person can be said to be responsible for the creation of the two epics is still controversial. However, linguistic and historical evidence allows the assumption that the poems were composed in the Greek settlements on the west coast of Asia Minor sometime in the 9th century BC.

was the daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, the king and queen of Mycenae. When Electra's father returned from the Trojan war, her mother, Clytemnestra and her lover, Aegisthus killed him. They also killed Cassandra, a concubine of Agamemnon from the Trojan war... more " In ancient Greece, Antigone is mostly related to the myth that was told by the Ancient Greek playwright Sophocles, although there is reference to a different Antigone in the ancient Greek World.
Antigone was the daughter of King Oedipus of Thebes and Jocasta. The story says, Oedipus, the son of Laius and Jocasta killed his father Laius and became the king of Thebes. Oedipus unknowingly married his own mother Jocasta and had children by her. Thus, Antigone was the daughter and the sister of Oedipus... more " story is an ancient Greek myth, folk tale that is passed from generations to generations. About a hero who traveled on a voyage in search of the Golden Fleece, so that he could help his father get his kingdom back from King Pelias.

Jason's father was Aeson, the King of Lolcus and mother Alcimede. Aeson stepbrother Pelias was eager for the throne of Lolcus, so in a battle, he removed Aeson from power and made himself the King. Aeson and Pelias shared a common mother, Tyro. She was the daughter of Salmoneus and sea god Poseidon. Pelias, to make sure that no one from Aeson's family could challenge him, killed his family. But Alcimede saved their baby, Jason. To save him Alcimede gave away her baby son to Chiron, who became his guardian. But Pelias was obsessed with his throne and he consulted an oracle that told him that a man wearing one sandal would be the reason for his end... more "

Chaos - in one ancient Greek myth of creation, the dark, silent abyss from which all things came into existence. According to the Theogony of Hesiod, Chaos generated the solid mass of Earth, from which arose the starry, cloud-filled Heaven. Mother Earth and Father Heaven, personified respectively as Gaea and her offspring Uranus, were the parents of the Titans. In a later theory, Chaos is the formless matter from which the cosmos, or harmonious order, was created. Gaea - She was the mother and wife of Father Heaven, Uranus. They were the parents of the first creatures, the Titans, the Cyclopes, and the Giants - the Hecatoncheires (Hundred - Headed Ones). Uranus hated the monsters, and, even though they were his children, locked them in a secret place in the earth. Gaea was enraged at this favoritism and persuaded their son Cronos to overthrow his father. He emasculated Uranus, and from his blood Gaea brought forth the Giants, and the three avenging goddesses the Erinyes. Her last and most terrifying offspring was Typhon, a 100-headed monster, who, although conquered by the god Zeus, was believed to spew forth the molten lava flows of Mount Etna. Tartarus - The lowest region of the underworld. Hesiod claimed that a brazen anvil would take none days and nights to fall from heaven to earth, and nine days and nights to fall from earth to Tartarus. Tartarus rose out of Chaos and was the destination of wicked souls. Uranus banished his children the Cyclopes and the Hecatoncheires to Tartarus, as Zeus also did to the Titans. Other famous inhabitants of Tartarus include Sisyphus, Ixion, Tantalus, Salmoneus, Tityus, Ophion, and the daughters of Danaus. Eros - The god of love. He was thought of as a handsome and intense young man, attended by Pothos ("longing") or Himeros ("desire"). Later mythology made him the constant attendant of his mother, Aphrodite, goddess of love. The powers of Eros are often mentioned during a free psychic reading, as they frequently involve questions around love. Erebus - Personification of the darkness of the Underworld and the offspring of Chaos. . In later myth, Erebus was the dark region beneath the earth through which the shades must pass to the realm of Hades below. He is often used metaphorically for Hades itself. Uranus - Gaea - The personification of the sky; the god of the heavens and husband of Gaea, the goddess of the earth. . Their children are the Hecatonchires, the Cyclopes and the Titans. Pontus - The sea god. Cyclopes - Three sons: Arges, Brontes, and Steropes of Uranus and Gaea. The Cyclops were giant beings with a single, round eye in the middle of their foreheads.They helped Zeus defeat their brother, Cronus, by forging lightning bolts. They also made Poseidon's trident and Hades invisibility cap. Hecatonchires - Three sons of Uranus and Gaia. There were three of them: Briareus also called Aegaeon, Cottus, and Gyges also called Gyes. They were gigantic and had fifty heads and one hundred arms each of great strength. They had 100 hands and helped Zeus in his war against the Titans. Cronus - Rhea - Cronus was a ruler of the universe during the Golden Age. He was one of the 12 Titans and the youngest son of Uranus and Gaea, Cronus and his sister-queen, Rhea, became the parents of 6 of the 12 gods and goddesses known as the Olympians. Cronus had been warned that he would be overthrown by one of his own children. To prevent this, he swallowed his first five children as soon as they were born. Rhea did not like this. She substituted a stone wrapped in swaddling clothes for their sixth child, Zeus. He was hidden in Crete, and when he was older, he returned and forced Cronos to disgorge all the other children, who had grown inside of him. Zeus and his siblings fought a war against Cronos and the Titans. Zeus won, and the Titans were confined in Tartarus, a cave in the deepest part of the underworld. Coeus - Phoebe - Coeus was a titan of Intelligence, the father of Leto, husband of Phoebe. Oceanus - Tethys - The personification of the vast ocean. Together with his wife Tethys, they produced the rivers and six thousand offsprings called the Oceanids. He ruled over Ocean, a great river encircling the earth, which was believed to be a flat circle. The nymphs of this great river, the Oceanids, were their daughters, and the gods of all the streams on earth were their sons. Hestia - Virgin goddess of the hearth. She was the symbol of the house, around which a new born child was carried before it was received into the family. Although she appears in very few myths, most cities had a common hearth where her sacred fire burned. I Hades - He was made lord of the underworld, ruling over the dead. He is a greedy god who is greatly concerned with increasing his subjects. Those whose calling increase the number of dead were seen favorably by him. He was also the god of wealth, due to the precious metals mined from the earth. His wife was Persephone whom Hades abducted.
The underworld itself was often called Hades. It was divided into two regions: Erebus, where the dead pass as soon as they die, and Tartarus, the deeper region, where the Titans had been imprisoned. It was a dim and unhappy place, inhabited by vague forms and shadows and guarded by Cerberus, the three-headed, dragon-tailed dog. Sinister rivers separated the underworld from the world above, and the aged boatman Charon ferried the souls of the dead across these waters. Poseidon - God of the sea. His weapon was a trident, which could shake the earth, and shatter any object. He was second only to Zeus in power amongst the gods. Under the ocean, he had a marvelous golden palace. Poseidon was the husband of Amphitrite, one of the Nereids, by whom he had a son, Triton. Poseidon had numerous other love affairs. At one point he desired Demeter. To put him off Demeter asked him to make the most beautiful animal that the world had ever seen. To impress her Poseidon created the first horse. In some accounts his first attempts were unsucessful and created a varity of other animals in his quest. By the time the horse was created his passion for Demeter had cooled. Zeus - Hera - The god of the sky and ruler of the gods of Mount Olympus. He displaced his father and assumed the leadership of the gods of Olympus. Zeus was considered the father of the gods and of mortals. He did not create either gods or mortals; he was their father in the sense of being the protector and ruler both of the Olympian family and of the human race. His weapon was a thunderbolt. His breastplate was the aegis, his bird the eagle, his tree the oak. He was married to Hera but, is famous for his many affairs, which resulted in many known children and probably many more that were not known to be his. Athena was his favorite child. He bore her alone from his head. One of the greatest feasts for Zeus was the Olympic games. They were taking place every four years in Olympia. Even if there was a war between the city-states of Greece they were stopping the war to take part on that games.
Hera's marriage was founded in strife with Zeus and continued in strife. Writers represented Hera as constantly being jealous of Zeus's various amorous affairs. She punished her rivals and their children, among both goddesses and mortals, with implacable fury. The peacock (the symbol of pride; her wagon was pulled by peacocks) and the cow (she was also known as Bopis, meaning "cow-eyed", which was later translated as "with big eyes") were her sacred animals. Her favorite city was Argos. Demeter - Zeus - Goddess of corn and the harvest. She taught mankind the art of sowing and ploughing so they could end their nomadic existence. She was of a severe, a beauty scarcely relieved by her hair. which was as fair as ripened grain. Poseidon coveted her, but Demeter refused herself to him. To escape him she fled to Arkadia where, assuming the shape of a mare, she mingled with the herds of King Oncus. Poseidon, however, succeeded in finding her, changed himself into a stallion and made her the mother of the horse Arion.
When her daughter Persephone was abducted by Hades, god of the underworld, Demeter's grief was so great that she neglected the land; no plants grew, and famine devastated the earth. Dismayed at this situation, Zeus, demanded that his brother Hades return Persephone to her mother. Hades agreed, but before he released the girl, he made her eat some pomegranate seeds that would force her to return to him for four months each year. In her joy at being reunited with her daughter, Demeter caused the earth to bring forth bright spring flowers and abundant fruit and grain for the harvest. However, her sorrow returned each autumn when Persephone had to return to the underworld. The desolation of the winter season and the death of vegetation were regarded as the yearly manifestation of Demeter's grief when her daughter was taken from her. Demeter and Persephone were worshipped in the rites of the Eleusinian Mysteries. Persephone - Persephone was the Queen of the Underworld and the daughter of Demeter. Persephone is the goddess of the underworld in Greek mythology. She is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter, goddess of the harvest. Persephone was such a beautiful girl that everyone loved her, even Hades wanted her for himself. Although Zeus gave his consent, Demeter was unwilling. Hades, therefore, seized the maiden as she was gathering flowers and carried her off to his realm. Persephone was a personification of the revival of nature in spring. Her attributes in iconography can include a torch, a crown, a sceptre, and stalks of grain. Leto - Zeus - The mother of Artemis, goddess of the bow and of hunting. She was loved by the god Zeus, who, fearing the jealousy of his wife, Hera, banished Leto when she was about to bear his child. All countries and islands were also afraid of Hera's wrath and refused the desperate Leto a home where her child could be born. Finally, in her wanderings, she set foot on a small island floating in the Aegean Sea, which was called Delos. Iapetus - The son Uranus and Gaea. Iapetus' wife was Clymene. Athena - or Pallas-Athene, is one of the most important goddesses in Greek mythology. Goddess of wisdom, war, the arts, industry, justice and skill. Athena sprang full-grown and armoured from the forehead of the god Zeus and was his favourite child. She was fierce and brave in battle but, only fights to protect the state and home from outside enemies. She was the goddess of the city, handicrafts, and agriculture. She invented the bridle, which permitted man to tame horses, the trumpet, the flute, the pot, the rake, the plow, the yoke, the ship, and the chariot. Her attributes in iconography include the aegis (a fringed cloak, sometimes decorated with a Gorgon's head), the helmet, and the spear. Ares - God of war. He was very aggressive. He was unpopular with both gods and humans. Ares was not invincible, even against mortals. He personified the brutal nature of war. He was immortal but whenever he would get hurt he would run back to his father, Zeus and was healed. Ares was mainly worshipped in Thracia. Hebe - The goddess of youth. She, along with Ganymede were the cupbearers to the gods, serving them their nectar and ambrosia. She also prepared Ares' bath, and helped Hera to her chariot. Hebe was Hercules' wife. Hephaestus - God of fire and metalwork. He was born lame and weak, and shortly after his birth, he was cast out of Olympus. In most legends, however, he was soon honoured again on Olympus and was married to Aphrodite, goddess of love, or to Aglaia, one of the three Graces. His workshop was believed to lie under Mount Etna, a volcano in Sicily. He made many wonderful artifacts for the gods, including the twelve golden thrones of the Olympians, their weapons and treasures. Apollo - Apollo was primarily a god of prophecy. He sometimes gave the gift of prophecy to mortals whom he loved, such as the Trojan princess Cassandra. As a prophet and magician, he is the patron of medicine and healing. He was a gifted musician, who delighted the gods with his performance on the lyre. He was also a master archer and a fleet-footed athlete, credited with having been the first victor in the Olympic games. His twin sister was Artemis. He was famous for his oracle at Delphi. People traveled to it from all over the Greek world to divine the future. He was also the god of agriculture and cattle, and of light and truth. Artemis - Artemis was the goddess of the hunt and animals, as well as of childbirth. Her twin brother was Apollo. As the moon goddess, she was sometimes identified with the goddesses Selene and Hecate.Her attributes are the bow and arrow, while dogs, deer and goose are her sacred animals. Her most elaborate temple was in Ephesis. Atlas - Son of the Titan Iapetus and the nymph Clymene, and brother of Prometheus. Atlas fought with the Titans in the war against the deities of Mount Olympus. Atlas stormed the heavens and Zeus punished him for this deed by condemning him to forever bear the earth and the heavens upon his shoulders. He was the father of the Hesperides, the nymphs who guarded the tree of golden apples, and Heracles (Hercules). Prometheus - Prometheus was the wisest Titan, known as the friend and benefactor of humanity.He stole the sacred fire from Zeus and the gods. He also tricked the gods so that they should get the worst parts of any animal sacrificed to them, and human beings the best. Zeus commanded that Prometheus be chained for eternity in the Caucasus. There, an eagle would eat at his liver and each day, the liver would be renewed. So the punishment was endless, until Heracles finally killed the bird. Epimetheus - Epimetheus was a Titan, whose name meant "afterthought". In some accounts, he was delegated, along with his brother Prometheus by Zeus to create mankind. He foolishly ignored his brother Prometheus' warnings to beware of any gifts from Zeus. He accepted Pandora as his wife, thereby bringing ills and sorrows to the world. Maia - Zeus - Maia was a daughter of Atlas. She was one of Zeus' lovers. She, along with Zeus was the mother of Hermes. Dione - Zeus - The goddess or Titaness Dione became by Zeus the mother of Aphrodite. Hermes - Hermes' main role was as a messenger. As the special servant and courier of Zeus, Hermes had winged sandals and a winged hat and bore a golden caduceus, or magic wand, entwined with snakes and surmounted by wings. He conducted the souls of the dead to the underworld and was believed to possess magical powers over sleep and dreams. Five minutes after he was born, he stole a herd of cows from Apollo. He invented the lyre from a cow's internal fibers. After Apollo learned what happened, he knew that his half-brother should he one of the pantheon. Hermes was the patron of trickster and thieves because of his actions early in life. His attributes in iconography include the kerykeion (messenger's staff), winged boots, and petassos (cap). Aphrodite - The goddess of love and beauty. Aphrodite loved and was loved by many gods and mortals. Among her mortal lovers, the most famous was perhaps Adonis. Some of her sons are Eros, Anteros, Hymenaios and Aeneas (with her Trojan lover Anchises). Perhaps the most famous legend about Aphrodite concerns the cause of the Trojan War. She was the wife of Hephaestus. The myrtle was her tree. The dove, the swan, and the sparrow were her birds. - Before the pantheon of Greek gods we are familiar with ruled atop Olympus, an earlier generation of deities, known as Titans, held power. The ruler of these divine beings was Cronus, son of Gaia (Mother Earth). Cronus' mother had informed him that he would be usurped by one of his offspring who would be tremendously powerful. Therefore, whenever Cronus' wife Rhea bore a child he would swallow the newborn god to prevent them from overturning his power... more "
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tales and legends of the ancient greek world

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Mythology - Ancient Greek Gods and Myths.

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Principal Gods click for main characteristics Homer the name traditionally assigned to the reputed author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, the two major epics of Greek antiquity. Nothing is known about Homer as an individual. In fact, the question of whether a single person can be said to be responsible for the creation of the two epics is still controversial.

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Find out where they are from!

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Greek Heroes of Ancient Greece. Names with pronunciation, descriptions, images and myths

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Home The Map as History > Ancient Greece > a world in evolution

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Ancient Greece - Geography - Maps - The British Museum