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Researched by Stockton B.
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Mythology is a primitive and religious way to explain nature and how it was created. There are stories from each culture about how nature was created. They also have their own rituals and figures to worship. They have stories to explain seasons, birth, daily "miracles," and even good luck.
Greek myth has been around for thousands of years. This is the creation myth of Greece. Long ago, before any other life existed, Gaea, the earth, came out of darkness. With her came Uranus, the sky and sparkling stars, who was so bold and impressive that Gaea immediately fell in love with him. Gaea then bore twelve children and became " Mother Earth". Her children were all as tall as mountains, and as good-looking as doves, forever known as the Titans and Titanesses. Uranus and Gaea were very proud of their children, but then Gaea gave birth to three more children, the Cyclopes.
The Cyclopes were huge, strong blacksmiths, with one problem, they were very ugly. Each had a hairy body with one glowing eye in the middle of their faces. Then came three more children, with fifty heads and one hundred arms each. All six sons were thrown into Tartarus, the deepest pit on earth by their father Uranus, who couldn’t stand letting someone so ugly live on someone as beautiful as Gaea. Gaea however loved her children and could never forgive Uranus for his cruelty to them. She then made a sickle out of the hardest flint in existence and spoke to her sons. "Take this weapon and end your father’s cruelty to set your brothers free." All of the Titans were too terrified of their father to fight him, except Cronus, youngest but still strongest of the Titans. He took the sickle and attacked his father, who gave up immediately at the sight of the deadly weapon wielded by his powerful son, leaving his power behind him. Earth then married Pontus, known as the boundless seas and from her sprung all life.
Cronus was now lord of the universe. He sat on the highest mountain in the world and ruled over it with a firm hand. Gods obeyed him and early man worshipped him. But he did not free his monstrous brothers so Gaea plotted his downfall. She waited for the right opportunity to come and knew that one of Cronus’s sons would be strong enough to overthrow him. Unfortunately so did Cronus, so each time his Titaness wife, Rhea, gave birth, Cronus swallowed the child. With all of his offspring securely inside him he had nothing to fear. Rhea however mourned for her sons. She saw her five sisters surrounded by their children and wanted to save her own. This was the chance that Gaea was waiting for. One day Rhea asked Earth to help save her sons so earth told Rhea her plan. After hearing the plot Rhea walked away, smiling.
When Rhea gave birth to her sixth and final son, she hid him in the far island of Crete and wrapped a stone in baby clothes. Cronus was fooled by the stone and ate it thinking it was Zeus, his son. Gentle nymphs and the fairy goat Amalthia, whose horns poured out ambrosia and sweet nectar, the food and drink of the gods, tended Zeus. Zeus grew quickly and eventually became a young and powerful god. He gave the nymphs the horns of Amalthia, but took its hide as an invincible breastplate. He was now so strong that Cronus could do nothing against him. Zeus chose Metis, the daughter of a Titan and god of knowledge to be his first wife. She provided good advice and told him that he could not defeat Cronus alone, for his brothers and their sons were on his side. So one day Metis cleverly gave Cronus an herb, saying that it would make him permanently invincible. He ate it, and became so sick that he vomited out his godly sons, even the stone he swallowed.
When Cronus saw his six powerful young sons rising against him,
he got so terrified that he fled, and like Uranus, left his powers behind
him. Zeus was now lord of the universe, but shared his power with his brothers
and sisters. The Titans and their sons would still revolt against him.
Zeus unleashed the monstrous sons of Mother Earth and fought for him with
all their power. The Cyclops made weapons for the gods, and the hundred-armed
giants ripped and tore with their powerful arms, attacking as viciously
as they could. The Cyclops made thunderbolts for Zeus, an invisibility
cap for Hades, and a trident for Poseidon. The Titans fought a bitter war,
but in the end they gave up, and were sent into Tartarus for eternity.
The Cyclops then made a glorious temple at the peak of the tallest mountain
in Greece, where the clouds cover up and only gods can enter. It also held
the twelve thrones of Olympus, the home of the gods.
There were many gods but only the most powerful twelve had a throne.
They all however had their own element.
Zeus was the ruler of the gods and the god of thunder and lightning.
Aphrodite was the goddess of love and passion. Apollo was the god of music
and art. Ares was the vain god of war and Artemis was the goddess of the
hunt. Asclepius was the god of healing. Athena was the goddess of war,
crafts, and wisdom. The beautiful Demeter was the goddess of growing things.
Dionysus was the god of wine, fertility, and wild behavior. Aphrodite’s
son, Eros was the god of love; Hepheastus was the god of fire and metalworking.
Hera, Zeus’s wife, was the goddess of marriage and protector of women.
Hermes was the god of science and commerce, messenger of the gods, and
protector of thieves, travelers, and vagabonds. Hestia was the goddess
of the hearth. Hypnos was the god of sleep. Hades was the god of the underworld,
next to his solemn queen Persephone. Poseidon was the god of the sea, earthquakes,
and horses. Helio was the god of the sun. Selene was the goddess of the
moon. Pan was the god of nature.
Though Greek myth has been around for thousands of years, so have most
other types of myths. They all have their own beliefs and gods. All passed
down from their ancestors and to be passed down by this generation.
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