By the Gods!

Hades

We’ve only mentioned this guy in passing up until now, so let’s give him the recognition he deserves. Hades, the Greek god of the Underworld, was/is a pretty big deal. He was the son of the Titans Cronus and Rhea, and as such was the brother of Zeus, Poseidon, Hera, Demeter and Hestia. After Cronus was overthrown by the efforts of the younger generation of gods, the universe was divided between the three high-ranking brothers of the winning team: Zeus took the sky, Poseidon got the seas, and Hades got the Underworld. One of the only bright spots in the dark god’s life was his lovely wife Persephone, with whom he had a bit of a roller coaster relationship.

Dubbed by Homer as the “host of many,” (since the idea was that everyone would end up gracing his hall at one point or another) he was also known as Polydegmon, which meant “receiver of many guests.” It was also usual, among the ancient Greeks, to call Hades by the title of Pluto, which meant “giver of wealth;” many sacrifices were thrown his way, as it wasn’t the worst idea in the world to please the dude that would be the caretaker of your soul for eternity. 

Chances are you’ve seen Hades in some form of popular culture or another. There’s a fascination with the afterlife that persists from ancient days to now, though the tone has certainly varied by date and region. Neither the Greeks nor the Romans ever thought of Hades as an evil force like Satan in Christianity. He was certainly a grim deity, but malicious he was not. The Underworld was seen as very physical place––just a remote one. Deep under the earth, it could only be reached by a subterranean river known as Styx. Beyond that, the entrance was guarded by the three-headed dog Cerberus, who ensured no soul escaped. Most of the time Cerberus was pretty good at his job… most of the time. 

Hestia

Kind and humble, passive and non-confrontational, Hestia is the virgin goddess of domesticity, architecture, and the hearth in the Greek pantheon. She would receive the first offering at every sacrifice within a Greek household, back in the day. She would also have a public hearth within each major city where a flame burned continuously. When a new colony was established, the flame would be carried from this hearth to the new settlement. 

Hestia is one of the goddesses of the first generation of Olympians; her brothers are Zeus, Hades and Poseidon, and her sisters Demeter and Hera. If you recall, that means she’s one of the children of the Titans Rhea and Cronus. She was described as both the oldest and youngest of the three sisters, as she was the first to be swallowed by Cronus and the last to be burped back out. 

Though she was originally listed as one of the Twelve Olympians, she willingly gave up her seat for the newcomer, Dionysus, to go instead and tend the sacred fire on Mount Olympus. She was always a good sport, that Hestia. Never threw tantrums like the other Olympians. She has the fewest exploits of any Greek god or goddess; I guess she was too busy tending that fire, being quiet, and and practicing not-arguing. 

Atalanta

In Greek mythology, Atalanta was the daughter of Iasus of Aradia. Who’s he? Doesn’t matter! We’re here to talk about Atalanta, the famous huntress. She was born unwanted to Iasus, and thus cast aside; left to die on a mountainside as a wee babe. A friendly bear came along and suckled her, raising her as a bear cub until they were bested by hunters. The hunters then assumed parentage of Atalanta, raising her as one of their own. Thanks to her wild origins, she became a truly mighty hunter. She was inclined, to manly pursuits, and even applied to be an Argonaut with Jason and those fellas, but was refused. Jason was worried that having a beautiful woman aboard would cause jealousies among his crew.

Atalanta’s most famous myth concerns the lengths to which she went to avoid marriage. She said that her husband-to-be must first beat her in a race, and any man who lost would be put to death. Many tried, many placed 2nd, many died. Then, along came Melanion, whose hopeless love for Atalanta won Aphrodite’s pity. She gave young Mel three golden apples, which he used to distract Atalanta at different points during the footrace, as they were completely irresistible. Melanion won the race and married Atalanta, but in his haste to consummate the marriage, forgot to make a vow of thanks to Aphrodite. Melanion and Atalanta both paid for the sacrilege by being turned into lions. That seems like a proportionate response, Olympus. 

Perseus

Time to roll out yet another son of Zeus (too many to count). Today’s pleasure: the mighty Perseus!  Obviously the bolt-slinger was the father, but the mother of Perseus, Danae (a mortal princess) was a tough prize for old Zeusie to get at. Acrisius, king of Argos and father of Danae, had shut his daughter up in a bronze tower to avoid a prophecy suggesting her son would be his end. If there’s one lesson we should take away from Greek Myth, however, it’s that nothing can stop a horny Zeus. He visited her through a ceiling grate in the form of a golden shower, and knocked her up no problem. When lil’ Perseus popped out, a terrified Acrisius shut mother and son in a wooden chest and cast it on the sea, but the protection of Zeus was enough to bring them safely to Seriphos, where Perseus grew up among fishermen. Good, simple folk.

Once he was a grown-ass man, Perseus was tasked by the local ruler, Polydectes, to fetch the head of the Gorgon Medusa. For those who professed to crave continued life, this was a bad deal. Perseus learned from the Graiae, three old hags, all about Medusa: that she could turn you to stone with her eyes, and that she was an all-around ass-butt, besides. Luckily for P-man, Athena hated Medusa more than most, and offered her assistance. Perseus was hooked up with a cap of invisibility, winged shoes from Hermes, and a bag for the gorgon’s head. Using his shield’s reflection to track her movements, Perseus cut Medusa’s ugly ol’ head off, and put it in the legendary sack. 

The magic head and magic sack were put to good use on his trip home, helping save the beautiful Andromeda from a sea monster, and turning a few jerks to stone who stood in Perseus’ way. He and Andromeda then returned to Danae, gave the magic gear back to Hermes, and got hitched. Poor old Acrisius, still in a constant state of fear-induced-diarrhea, eventually saw the prophecy fulfilled when a disc thrown by Perseus during a competition flew wide and beaned him in the head, killing him. 

Athena placed both Perseus and Andromeda in the sky as constellations after their deaths, in honour of their exploits.

Nyx

In Greek mythology, Nyx was the primordial goddess of the night. We’re talking old even for the gods, here. Three generations before Zeus ‘n the gang, two before the Titans came on the scene; Nyx is ancient stuff, guys. She was born of Chaos, the great primordial deity who existed before naught else was made. These initial gods, as they were born out of Chaos, became the foundations of the universe. Gaia, from who Zeus and the Olympians trace their ancestry, was a sister of Nyx, for example, and she was the living Earth itself.

Most of what we know of Nyx comes from Hesiod’s Theogony, a history of the gods and the universe according to Greek paganism. Nyx, the night, was born, and then bore children with Erebus, the god of shadow and darkness: Aether (atmosphere), and Hemera (day). Later on, she made a few kids on her own, without Erebus. Momus (blame), Moros (doom), Thanatos (death), Hypnos (sleep), Charon (the ferryman of Hades), and the Oneiroi (dreams)… 

Excuse me— there are more, I just need to catch my breath. Okay:

… the Hesperides, the Keres, the Moirae (the Fates), Nemesis (retribution), Apate (deception), Philotes (friendship), Geras (age) and Eris (strife) were all her kids. She was dedicated, you could say. 

In other Greek texts, Nyx was sometimes listed as the first principle deity, before Chaos (in these cases Chaos often wasn’t mentioned at all), so she was clearly held in high regard. There were a handful of cults devoted to the goddess of Night, though she was not an object of direct worship very often, as were the Olympians. She was given respect, to be sure, but not the same devotion we would see toward the more contemporary Greek gods.

Helios

Helios was the Greek sun god, and son of the Titan Hyperion. To the Romans he was known as Sol. It was thought that Helios, after crossing the sky in that shiny chariot of his, sailed during the night around the earth in a golden bowl on the encircling waters of Oceanus, arriving back in the east just before dawn. A busy guy, to say the least. 

Both the Greeks and the Romans held that the inhabited world was a large island surrounded by an ocean (Oceanus). Although Oceanus was sometimes described as a river, it stretched into the unimaginable distance, endlessly far from any shore.

One big Helios myth concerns the sun god’s son, Phaethon. The impetuous youth tried to steer his father’s radiant chariot, but quickly lost control. Only the timely action of Zeus steadied the runaway horses and prevented the earth from catching fire. Phaethon, however, fell from the vehicle and drowned. Luckily, Helios had lots of other kids, like Augeas, Circe, and Pasiphae. One last thing about Helios: you may have heard of the gigantic Colossus built at the harbour of ancient Rhodes, That puppy was built in Helios’ image, and was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, before it was toppled by an earthquake around 226 BCE. 

Medusa

Medusa was a beautiful gorgon that originated from Greek mythology. She and her sisters were known for destroying many-a-warrior with their stone cold glares. With one glance into the slithering she-devils peepers one would turn to stone.

Medusa was once a beautiful woman before she was transformed into a gorgon. You’re may be wondering who Medusa pissed off to be changed into such a horrible beast. The go to response is Hera, since well….you know. Hera didn’t have the resources of today, like anger management or the option of anonymously trolling to vent, so she expressed any rage by destroying a wrong-doer’s life. But not this time. Medusa and Poseidon were actually getting busy one day and unfortunately they did not choose the location of their love shack wisely. They decided to get it on in Athena’s temple, which is kind of like doing the dirty deed in your niece’s bed.mSo Athena punished Poseidon and Medusa by turning her into a horrible monster, ie, a gorgon.

Another story suggests that Medusa was always a gorgon and was one of three sisters. Interestingly she was the only one of the three that wasn’t immortal.

Medusa is also the mother of Pegasus and Chrysaor. They flew out of her neck when Perseus chopped off her head with the help Athena. To be fair, It’d be hard to not be ticked off if your uncle and some snake-haired-strumpet made nooky in my house. 

Cycnus

Cycnus was a son of Ares, and therefore inherently bad-ass. Cycnus was known for being a callous ruler and demonstrated said ferocity by building a temple out of his enemies skulls and bones.

Heracles, being the goody-two-sandals he was, decided to decimate said temple. Heracles hacked and slashed upon Cycnus’ temple, wreaking havoc upon the femurs of foes and the skulls of scoundrels. Ares was about to come in and lay a smack down on Herc, but Athena stepped in to save her half brother. She told Ares to hold on and see what the Fates say.

The Fates declared that  “Cycnus is super doomed.” This was meant to stop Ares from going to his son’s aid, but his sorrow and rage increased beyond any means of self control. So Ares went to brawl with Heracles to save his little boy, only to be foiled by a wound to his leg. Ares limped back to Olympus, leaving lil’ Cycnus to die at the wrath of Heracles.

The bad-ass-bone-temple was never completed.