Greek Beliefs
The Greeks believed in different gods. They believed that certain gods controlled something that happened in their everyday lives. For example, if there was a storm, they believed that it was the doings of Zeus, the god of the sky and the king of the gods.
There were more gods than just Zeus, though. There was also Hera, wife of Zeus, goddess of marriage, and queen of the gods.
The children of Zeus and Hera were Ares and Hephaestus. Ares was the god of war, and enjoyed causing unnecessary bloodshed, making friends become enemies and enemies go to war. Hephaestus, the other child of Hera, was the god of the forge. They believed that when he and his Cyclopes would work under mountains, the sparks were so big they would come out the top of the mountains, making, as we know today, volcanoes.
But Zeus had children with others, too. Metis was Zeus’s first wife. She was very wise and gave him advice often on being king. But when she expected a child, Zeus, having heard from an oracle that his child would overtake him, tricked his wife. He tricked her by playing with her and asking her to change her shape. At last, she turned into a fly and Zeus swallowed her. Metis’ child’s name was Athena. Athena was born out of Zeus’s head. Athena was the goddess of wisdom and battle strategy.
Semele was another one of Zeus’s wives. Semele was tricked by jealous Hera to have Zeus reveal his true form, and was killed. Her child’s name was Dionysus. Dionysus was the only god to have a mortal mother. He was also the god of wine.
Leto, another of Zeus’s wives, gave birth to twins Artemis and Apollo. Artemis was the goddess of the moon and the hunt. When Artemis was born, she asked her father never to make her marry and to give her a pack of hunting dogs to hunt with. Zeus gladly granted these wishes. Apollo was the god of light, reason, and music. Helios was the real god of the sun, but would let Apollo and Apollo only drive his sun chariot.
Maia was yet another wife of Zeus. Maia’s child was Hermes, god of thieves and all those who lived by their wits. He was also the messenger of the gods.
Hades, Zeus’s brother, was the god of the underworld, where people would go when they died.
Demeter was Zeus’s sister and the goddess of harvest. She had a daughter named Persephone who one day was taken by Hades to the underworld. She was forced to stay there six months of the year because she had tasted the food of the dead. During these six months, her mother, Demeter grieved and nothing grew. This, as they believed, was the cause of the four seasons.
Poseidon was a moody god and a brother of Zeus. He was the god of the sea and was protective of all things in it. He would strike the earth with his trident, and an earthquake would occur.
Hestia was the goddess of the hearth. She gave up her throne for Dionysus.
Aphrodite had neither a mother nor a father, but was born from the foam of the sea. She was the goddess of love.
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