By the Gods!

An Introduction to Greek Myth

I was recently asked by a follower to provide a brief outline and intro to Greek mythology. What follows is that introduction. 

Well hey there— sorry it’s taken a few days to get back to you… we have an enormously crowded inbox here at By the Gods, and we usually don’t have time to send out individual requests, but I can’t resist indulging a burgeoning interest in Greek Mythology, the gateway-mythos. 

So, what is it you’d like to know? As for an “introduction,” I suppose the easiest way to go about it is to provide you with a mindset or attitude to keep in mind when reading any of the litany of Greek stories we have access to. Most of the tales that would weave themselves into the fabric of “Greater Greek Myth” as it’s known today would have been recited and recorded anywhere between maybe as far back as 1000 BCE, right up the days of the Roman Empire controlling the Mediterranean.

You’ll notice that the gods, while being divine and powerful, are very human in their actions and attitudes. They make mistakes, they have “low” or “petty” emotions like jealousy, greed, and anger. As with most polytheistic pantheons, they represent the ideals, fears, and views of their patron culture. Every story is meant to explain something about the fabric of our universe (like why the sun moves across the sky, how the stars got there, or why animals behave the way they do), but they also capture a uniquely human perspective through their representation.

Zeus, the King of the Olympians, god of the Sky and Lightning, spends more time being afraid of someone taking the throne from him than he does anything else. Besides that, he constantly cheats on his wife, rapes mortal women (because he’s way too mighty for them to resist), and sires bastards all over the place. Sounds a lot like a great many kings throughout history, yes? By portraying their gods with so many vices and bad habits, it explains (and some would argue goes so far as to excuse) the behaviour of mankind.

Well, there you have it. That’s my intro to the tenor of Greek myth. As for an introduction of the actual content, it all starts with a man called Hesiod. He wrote something called the Theogony, which explains the origin of the universe, the first gods, and where we all came from.

Chaos was the original primordial deity, on a level FAR BEYOND that of Zeus and the Olympians, who didn’t even exist yet. From Chaos, a swirling storm of nothingness, came Gaia, the goddess of earth. She represents the very living fabric of the world, and was, herself, the planet earth.

Now, Gaia birthed (by herself) a litter of powerful gods. Ouranos, Nyx, Oceanus, and the Erinyes to name a few. Every night, Ouranos, who was the sky itself, would come down and mate with Gaia, against her will. Every time it would get her pregnant, and every time Ouranos would cram the baby back inside her. Gross, right?

Eventually, Gaia spoke to her newest son, Cronus, and hatched a plan with him. That night, when Ouranos came down and put his member inside Gaia, Cronus was waiting inside her, and sliced his genitals off. Ouranos screamed and retreated, and his genitals fell into the sea. The genitals mixed with the water and the seafoam, and from this was born Aphrodite.

Now, Cronus and his brothers and sisters, (who were called The Titans) were free, and escaped Gaia’s insides. Cronus became king of the world and the Titans, and wed Rhea, his sister. He also locked up the most dangerous and powerful of his brothers and sisters in the pits of Tartarus, so they would not disobey him. It was foretold in prophecy that  one of Cronus’ sons would overthrow him, and, fearing this, Cronus devoured all of his children as Rhea birthed them. Eventually, fearing for the life of her youngest son, Zeus, Rhea tricked Cronus and fed him a rock instead of her baby, sending Zeus away.

Zeus eventually freed Cronus’ siblings from Tartarus, and with them waged a war against Cronus. Zeus won the fight, freed his brothers and sisters that Cronus had swallowed, and proclaimed himself king of the Gods, taking his seat atop Mt. Olympus.

Whew! That’s all I’ve got time for now, but hopefully it lays a good foundation for you!