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Greek Gods, Goddesses & Myths

Origins of Greek Mythology, Summary & Pictures of Gods & Goddesses.
On Ancient Greek Philosophy and the early foundations of Truth and Reality (as opposed to Myth).

If a man obeys the gods they're quick to hear his prayers. (Homer, The Iliad)

Lay ye down the golden chain From Heaven, and pull at its inferior links Both Goddesses and Gods. (Homer, The Iliad)

By the golden chain Homer meant nothing else than the sun. (Plato)

Of the portents recorded in ancient tales many did happen and will happen again. (Plato, Statesman)


Introduction - Origins of Greek Mythology - Greek Gods & Greek Myths: Athena - Artemis - Aphrodite - Apollo - Ares - Demeter - Dionysus - Eros - Hephaestus - Hera - Hermes - Poseidon - Zeus - Links / Greek Gods Myths - Top of Page

Introduction

Hera, Greek Goddess of Marriage.  Wife of Zeus and Queen of the Olympians.Aphrodite, Greek Goddess of Love, Beauty and FertilityAthena, Greek Goddess of Crafts, Domestic Arts and WarEros, Greek God of LoveArtemis, Greek GoddessApollo, Greek God of MusicAres, Greek God of WarDionysis, Greek God of WineZeus, Supreme God of the Olympians

The Greek Gods, Goddesses and Greek Myths / Mythology are ancient stories which were written down in classical Greece around 500 B.C. but thought to of existed orally in various forms much earlier.
The ancient texts tell beautiful, wise and amusing stories of love, lust, family, power, war, hatred, revenge and nature. Many of the Greek Gods and Myths have been depicted in Art over history, such as Botticelli's Venus on a sea shell (Aphrodite) and the Venus de Milo. Many people would greatly benefit from reading these ancient texts, as we can learn a lot about how we are to live now from the wise minds (and lessons) of the past. There is wisdom to be found in the emotional / psychological / moral aspects of the Greek Gods and Myths which can help us to understand ourselves more deeply and our relationships with others. The Greek Gods and Goddesses can be seen to symbolise different aspects of the human condition.

While the Greek Gods and Myths are important parts of our culture, it is most significant to also realise that it was the Ancient Greek Philosophers who first discovered and discussed the fundamental Principles of Metaphysics, Philosophy and Physics, thus for the first time allowing us to free ourselves from myth and seek the truth. Of most significance was their understanding that All is One and that Motion (Flux / Activity / Change) was central to existence and reality. As Nietzsche writes;

Greek philosophy seems to begin with a preposterous fancy, with the proposition that water is the origin and mother-womb of all things. Is it really necessary to stop there and become serious? Yes, and for three reasons: firstly, because the preposition does enunciate something about the origin of things; secondly, because it does so without figure and fable; thirdly and lastly, because it contained, although only in the chrysalis state, the idea :everything is one. ... That which drove him (Thales) to this generalization was a metaphysical dogma, which had its origin in a mystic intuition and which together with the ever renewed endeavors to express it better, we find in all philosophies- the proposition: everything is one! (Friedrich Nietzsche, The Greeks)

This quote from Nietzsche is significant as it shows the central transition in belief - from Gods and Myths, to Substance (water, air, aether) as the One thing which exists and causes all things.
Only recently (Wolff, 1986 - Haselhurst, 1997) has it been possible, with the formalisation of the Metaphysics of Space and Motion and the Wave Structure of Matter (WSM), to unite these ancient ideas (that All is One and Interconnected) with modern Physics, Philosophy and Metaphysics. Briefly summarised, Space is the One thing that exists (with the properties of a Wave Medium) which connects the many things that exists (Matter as Spherical Wave Motions of Space).

There is a wealth of wisdom to be found in the ideas of Ancient Greece. We hope you enjoy the following summaries and quotes.
Sincerely,
Geoff Haselhurst



Introduction - Origins of Greek Mythology - Greek Gods & Greek Myths: Athena - Artemis - Aphrodite - Apollo - Ares - Demeter - Dionysus - Eros - Hephaestus - Hera - Hermes - Poseidon - Zeus - Links / Greek Gods Myths - Top of Page

Origins of Greek Mythology

Greek Myths are all that’s left of the ancient Greek religion. About 1200 b.c.e., the residents of, what we would call, Greece and Asia Minor shared a common belief in a group of deities that came to be known as The Olympians.

The distillation of the various regional beliefs into a coherent central religion was probably not as tidy and uniform as we would prefer, but it’s fair say that the stories of the Olympians survived because they had the largest number of followers and, most importantly, The Olympians did not forbid or punish the pursuit of knowledge. Beauty, poetry and creative activities are the blessings of The Immortals and are a vital part of the Greek tradition.

The Olympians are descended from the primal, self created gods, beginning with Kaos. The Olympians are ruled by Zeus. He is the strongest and without him, the other Olympians would still be held captive inside their devious father, Kronos. The Olympians are only a small part of the family of Immortals that rule the earth and sky. The various rivers, mountains and forces of nature are the ’bodies’ of the Immortals and proper respect must always be shown if you wish to have peace at home and safe passage when you travel.

The ancient texts we call Greek Myths are mostly from the period known as Classical Greece, circa 500 b.c.e. The stories behind the myths are from a much earlier time but written versions don’t exist before Classical times.

The oldest myths can be traced to three main sources: Homer, Hesiod and The Homeric Hymns, circa 800 b.c.e. That means that by the time they were written down, these works had survived 400 years of additions, subtractions and mutations to finally become the versions we now call ’authentic’. The Greek Myths are our window into the distant past, a view of a world that existed not only in the mind of the Greek poets but in the hearts of the humble and long suffering natives of ancient Greece.


Introduction - Origins of Greek Mythology - Greek Gods & Greek Myths: Athena - Artemis - Aphrodite - Apollo - Ares - Demeter - Dionysus - Eros - Hephaestus - Hera - Hermes - Poseidon - Zeus - Links / Greek Gods Myths - Top of Page

Greek Gods, Goddesses & Greek Myths

Hera, Greek Goddess of Marriage.  Wife of Zeus and Queen of the Olympians.Aphrodite, Greek Goddess of Love, Beauty and FertilityAthena, Greek Goddess of Crafts, Domestic Arts and WarEros, Greek God of LoveArtemis, Greek GoddessApollo, Greek God of MusicAres, Greek God of WarDionysis, Greek God of WineZeus, Supreme God of the Olympians

This is a list (in alphabetical order) of the most famous Greek Gods and Goddesses, The Olympians.

Greek Goddess of Crafts, Domestic Arts and War Athena

(a-THEE-nuh; Roman name Minerva) was the goddess of crafts and the domestic arts and also those of war. She was the patron goddess of Athens. Her symbol was the owl. She was originally the Great Goddess in the form of a bird. By the late Classic, she had come to be regarded as a goddess of wisdom.

Zeus was once married to Metis, a daughter of Ocean who was renowned for her wisdom. When Metis became pregnant, Zeus was warned by Earth that a son born to Metis would overthrow him, just as he had usurped his own father's throne. So Zeus swallowed Metis. In time he was overcome with a splitting headache and summoned help from the craftsman god Hephaestus (or, some say, the Titan Prometheus). Hephaestus cleaved Zeus's forehead with an ax, and Athena sprang forth fully armed.

Athena aided the heroes Perseus, Jason, Cadmus, Odysseus and Heracles in their quests.
Both Athena and Poseidon wanted to be patron deity of Athens. To prove her worthiness for the honor, Athena caused an olive tree to spring up on the citadel of Athens, the Acropolis. Poseidon sought to outdo her by striking the ground with his trident and causing a spring of water to gush forth. But as he was god of the sea, the water was salty. Athena's gift to the Athenians was considered to be more useful, so she became the city's patron deity.
Athena sponsored Perseus in his quest to slay Medusa because she wanted the Gorgon's head to decorate her shield.


Introduction - Origins of Greek Mythology - Greek Gods & Greek Myths: Athena - Artemis - Aphrodite - Apollo - Ares - Demeter - Dionysus - Eros - Hephaestus - Hera - Hermes - Poseidon - Zeus - Links / Greek Gods Myths - Top of Page

Athena, Greek  Goddess Artemis

(AR-ti-mis; Roman name Diana) was the virgin goddess of the hunt. She helped women in childbirth but also brought sudden death with her arrows.
Artemis and her brother Apollo were the children of Zeus and Leto. In some versions of their myth, Artemis was born first and helped her mother to deliver Apollo.

Niobe, queen of Thebes, once boasted that she was better than Leto because she had many children while the goddess had but two. Artemis and Apollo avenged this insult to their mother by killing all or most of Niobe's children with their arrows. The weeping Niobe was transformed into stone, in which form she continued to weep.

When Apollo noticed that Artemis was spending a great deal of time hunting with the giant Orion, he decided to put an end to the relationship. He challenged Artemis to prove her skill at archery by shooting at an object floating far out at sea. Her shot was perfect. The target turned out to be the head of Orion.

Artemis is generally depicted as a young woman clad in buckskins, carrying a bow and a quiver of arrows. She is often accompanied by wild creatures such as a stag or she-bear.


Introduction - Origins of Greek Mythology - Greek Gods & Greek Myths: Athena - Artemis - Aphrodite - Apollo - Ares - Demeter - Dionysus - Eros - Hephaestus - Hera - Hermes - Poseidon - Zeus - Links / Greek Gods Myths - Top of Page

Aphrodite, Greek Goddess of Love, Beauty and Fertility Aphrodite

(a-fro-DYE-tee; Roman name Venus) was the goddess of love, beauty and fertility. She was also a protectress of sailors.
The poet Hesiod said that Aphrodite was born from sea-foam. Homer, on the other hand, said that she was the daughter of Zeus and Dione.

When the Trojan prince Paris was asked to judge which of three Olympian goddesses was the most beautiful, he chose Aphrodite over Hera and Athena. The latter two had hoped to bribe him with power and victory in battle, but Aphrodite offered the love of the most beautiful woman in the world.

This was Helen of Sparta, who became infamous as Helen of Troy when Paris subsequently eloped with her. In the ensuing Trojan War, Hera and Athena were implacable enemies of Troy while Aphrodite was loyal to Paris and the Trojans.

Aphrodite, Greek Goddess of Love, Beauty and Fertility APHRODITE IN HOMER
In his epic of the Trojan War, Homer tells how Aphrodite intervened in battle to save her son Aeneas, a Trojan ally. The Greek hero Diomedes, who had been on the verge of killing Aeneas, attacked the goddess herself, wounding her on the wrist with his spear and causing the ichor to flow. (Ichor is what immortals have in the place of blood.)
Aphrodite promptly dropped Aeneas, who was rescued by Apollo, another Olympian sponsor of the Trojans. In pain she sought out her brother Ares, the god of war who stood nearby admiring the carnage, and borrowed his chariot so that she might fly up to Olympus. There she goes crying to her mother Dione, who soothes her and cures her wound. Her father Zeus tells her to leave war to the likes of Ares and Athena, while devoting herself to the business of marriage.
Elsewhere in Homer's Iliad , Aphrodite saves Paris when he is about to be killed in single combat by Menelaus. The goddess wraps him in a mist and spirits him away, setting him down in his own bedroom in Troy. She then appears to Helen in the guise of an elderly handmaiden and tells her that Paris is waiting for her.
Helen recognizes the goddess in disguise and asks if she is being led once more to ruin. For Aphrodite had bewitched her into leaving her husband Menelaus to run off with Paris. She dares to suggest that Aphrodite go to Paris herself.
Suddenly furious, the goddess warns Helen not to go too far, lest she be abandoned to the hatred of Greeks and Trojans alike. "I'll hate you," says the mercurial goddess, "as much as I love you now."
Even though Zeus's queen Hera and Aphrodite are on different sides in the Trojan War, the goddess of love loans Hera her magical girdle in order to distract Zeus from the fray. This garment has the property of causing men (and gods) to fall hopelessly in love with whomever is wearing it.
Homer calls Aphrodite "the Cyprian", and many of her attributes may have come from Asia via Cyprus (and Cythera) in Mycenaean times. These almost certainly mixed with a preexisting Hellenic or Aegean goddess. The ancient Greeks themselves felt that Aphrodite was both Greek and foreign.

Aphrodite, Greek Goddess of Love, Beauty and Fertility APHRODITE IN ART
A minor Italic goddess named Venus became identified with Aphrodite, and that's how she got her Roman name. It is as Venus that she appears in the Aeneiad , the poet Virgil's epic of the founding of Rome.
Elsewhere in classical art she has no distinctive attributes other than her beauty. Flowers and vegetation motifs suggest her connection to fertility.
Aphrodite was associated with the dove. Another of her sacred birds was the goose, on which she is seen to ride in a vase painting from antiquity.
Hesiod's reference to Aphrodite's having been born from the sea inspired the Renaissance artist Botticelli's famous painting of the goddess on a giant scallop shell. Equally if not better known is the Venus de Milo, a statue which lost its arms in ancient times.

APHRODITE AS WAR GODDESS?
The ancient travel writer Pausanias describes a number of statues of Aphrodite dressed for battle, many of them in Sparta. Given the manner in which the militaristic Spartans raised their girls, it is not surprising that they conceived of a female goddess in military attire. She also would have donned armaments to defend cities, such as Corinth, who adopted her as their patroness. This is not to say that she was a war goddess, although some have seen her as such and find significance in her pairing with the war god Ares in mythology and worship.

In any case, Aphrodite's primary function was to preside over reproduction, since this was essential for the survival of the community.


Introduction - Origins of Greek Mythology - Greek Gods & Greek Myths: Athena - Artemis - Aphrodite - Apollo - Ares - Demeter - Dionysus - Eros - Hephaestus - Hera - Hermes - Poseidon - Zeus - Links / Greek Gods Myths - Top of Page

Apollo, Greek God of Music Apollo

(uh-POL-oh; Roman name Apollo) was the god of prophesy, music and healing.
Like most of his fellow Olympians, Apollo did not hesitate to intervene in human affairs. It was he who brought about the demise of the mighty Achilles. Of all the heroes besieging the city of Troy in the Trojan War, Achilles was the best fighter by far. He had easily defeated the Trojan captain Hector in single combat. But Apollo helped Hector's brother Paris slay Achilles with an arrow.
When someone died suddenly, he was said to have been struck down by one of Apollo's arrows. Homer's epic of the Trojan War begins with the god causing a plague by raining arrows down upon the Greek camp.
As god of music, Apollo is often depicted playing the lyre. He did not invent this instrument, however, but was given it by Hermes in compensation for cattle theft. Some say that Apollo did invent the lute, although he was best known for his skill on the lyre.
He won several musical contests by playing this instrument. In one case he bested Pan, who competed on his own invention, the shepherd's pipe. On this occasion, King Midas had the bad sense to say that he preferred Pan's music, which caused Apollo to turn his ears into those of an ass.


Introduction - Origins of Greek Mythology - Greek Gods & Greek Myths: Athena - Artemis - Aphrodite - Apollo - Ares - Demeter - Dionysus - Eros - Hephaestus - Hera - Hermes - Poseidon - Zeus - Links / Greek Gods Myths - Top of Page

Ares, Greek God of War Ares

(AIR eez) God of War
The son of Zeus and Hera, Ares embodied, not just the act, but also the spirit of War.

Disliked by most Olympians but loved by Aphrodite, Ares was a god of action and determination. When he was fighting on the side of the Trojans he was wounded by Pallas Athene. She donned the helm of Death and, after deflecting his spear, hurled a bolder, knocking Ares senseless. He had to be assisted from the field of battle by Aphrodite. When Ares retreated to Mount Olympus his father, Zeus, said (before commanding Paieon to heal his wounded son) "To me you are most hateful of all gods who hold Olympos", (The Iliad 5.889).
Ares was sometimes accompanied into battle by his sister, Eris (Goddess of Discord) and Hades (Lord of the Dead). Ares was the father of Deimos (Fear) and Phobos (Terror), among others. His son Kyknos was killed by Herakles (Theogony 421) but Ares was unable to avenge the death because Zeus would not permit his least favorite son, Ares, to harm Herakles, his favorite son. Although hated and feared, Ares was honored by all great warriors, even Herakles.
Ares rode into battle on the side of the Trojans with his horses, Flame and Terror, pulling his war chariot. He swooped down to help Aphrodite defend her son Aineias (The Iliad 5.355) and saved him from sure death at the hands of the Achaians. While Ares protected Aineias with his shield, Aphrodite made her escape to Mount Olympus to tend her wounds.


Introduction - Origins of Greek Mythology - Greek Gods & Greek Myths: Athena - Artemis - Aphrodite - Apollo - Ares - Demeter - Dionysus - Eros - Hephaestus - Hera - Hermes - Poseidon - Zeus - Links / Greek Gods Myths - Top of Page

Demeter, Greek Goddess of Agriculture Demeter

(dee-MEE-tur; Roman name Ceres) was the goddess of agriculture. Demeter as the sister of Zeus and the mother of Persephone.
Persephone was gathering flowers in a meadow one day when a huge crack opened up in the earth and Hades, King of the Dead, emerged from the Underworld. He seized Persephone and carried her off in his chariot, back down to his his realm below, where she became his queen. Demeter was heartbroken. She wandered the length and breadth of the earth in search of her daughter, during which time the crops withered and it became perpetual winter.

At length Hades was persuaded to surrender Persephone for one half of every year, the spring and summer seasons when flowers bloom and the earth bears fruit once more. The half year that Persephone spends in the Underworld as Hades' queen coincides with the barren season.

When depicted in art, Demeter is often shown carrying a sheaf of grain.


Introduction - Origins of Greek Mythology - Greek Gods & Greek Myths: Athena - Artemis - Aphrodite - Apollo - Ares - Demeter - Dionysus - Eros - Hephaestus - Hera - Hermes - Poseidon - Zeus - Links / Greek Gods Myths - Top of Page

Dionysus, Greek God of Wine Dionysus

(dye-oh-NYE-sus; Roman name Bacchus) was the god of wine. Dionysus was the son of Zeus and the mortal heroine Semele.
Dionysus rescued Ariadne after she had been abandoned by Theseus. Dionysus also saved his mother from the Underworld, after Zeus showed her his true nature as storm god and consumed her in lightning.

It was Dionysus who granted Midas the power to turn whatever he touched into gold, then was kind enough to take the power back when it proved inconvenient.


Introduction - Origins of Greek Mythology - Greek Gods & Greek Myths: Athena - Artemis - Aphrodite - Apollo - Ares - Demeter - Dionysus - Eros - Hephaestus - Hera - Hermes - Poseidon - Zeus - Links / Greek Gods Myths - Top of Page

Eros, Greek God Eros

(EE rohs) Archer of Love
In Theogony (116), Eros is listed as one of the primal gods of the generation after Khaos, the originator. He is the most handsome of the immortals and can break the will of the wisest god or the strongest mortal when scratched by one of his arrows.
With arrows of gold and lead, he would wound the hearts of mortals and Olympians alike. The golden arrows inspired love and the lead arrows caused distaste. In Theogony (120), it’s said emphatically that 'Eros is love’. The negative aspect, with the lead arrows, was added at a later date.
The Trojan War began when the daughter of Zeus, Helen, was smitten by Eros’ arrow. In the blind madness of love, she abandoned her husband, took her bridal dowry and sailed off to Troy with her lover, Alexandros. I assume that Eros’s enchantment can wear off because after the sack of Troy we find Helen at home with her rightful husband Menelaos, very much in love. She blamed her folly on Zeus, who, we can assume, now commands Eros.


Introduction - Origins of Greek Mythology - Greek Gods & Greek Myths: Athena - Artemis - Aphrodite - Apollo - Ares - Demeter - Dionysus - Eros - Hephaestus - Hera - Hermes - Poseidon - Zeus - Links / Greek Gods Myths - Top of Page

Hephaestus, Greek Gods and Myths. Hephaestus

(he-FEE-stus or he-FESS-tus; Roman name Vulcan) was the lame god of fire and crafts or the two together, hence of blacksmiths. Hephaestus was the son of Zeus and Hera or, in some accounts, of Hera alone. He limped because he was born lame, which caused his mother to throw him off Mount Olympus. Or in other accounts he interceded in a fight between Zeus and Hera, and Zeus took him by the foot and threw him from Olympus to the earth far below.
Hephaestus accomplished numerous prodigies of craftsmanship, such as the marvelous palaces that he built for the gods atop Mount Olympus, or the armor that he made for Achilles during the siege of Troy (the description of which occupies a great many lines of Homer's epic of the Trojan War).

Hephaestus also created the first woman, Pandora, at the command of Zeus, in retaliation for the various tricks by which the Titan Prometheus had benefited mortal men at the expense of the gods. Pandora was given to the Titan's brother, Epimetheus, as his wife. For her dowry she brought a jar filled with evils from which she removed the lid, thereby afflicting men for the first time with hard work and sickness. Only hope remained inside the jar.


Introduction - Origins of Greek Mythology - Greek Gods & Greek Myths: Athena - Artemis - Aphrodite - Apollo - Ares - Demeter - Dionysus - Eros - Hephaestus - Hera - Hermes - Poseidon - Zeus - Links / Greek Gods Myths - Top of Page

Hera, Greek Goddess of Marriage.  Wife of Zeus and Queen of the Olympians. Hera

(HEE-ruh; Roman name Juno) was the goddess of marriage. Hera was the wife of Zeus and Queen of the Olympians.
Hera hated the great hero Heracles since he was the son of her husband Zeus and a mortal woman. When he was still an infant, she sent snakes to attack him in his crib. Later she stirred up the Amazons against him when he was on one of his quests.

On the other hand, Hera aided the hero Jason, who would never have retrieved the Golden Fleece without her sponsorship.

In Greek mythology, Hera was the reigning female goddess of Olympus because she was Zeus's wife. But her worship is actually far older than that of her husband. It goes back to a time when the creative force we call "God" was conceived of as a woman. The Goddess took many forms, among them that of a bird.
Hera was worshipped throughout Greece, and the oldest and most important temples were consecrated to her.


Introduction - Origins of Greek Mythology - Greek Gods & Greek Myths: Athena - Artemis - Aphrodite - Apollo - Ares - Demeter - Dionysus - Eros - Hephaestus - Hera - Hermes - Poseidon - Zeus - Links / Greek Gods Myths - Top of Page

Greek Gods and Myths: Hermes was the messanger of the gods and guide of dead souls to the Underworld.  Hermes

(HUR-meez; Roman name Mercury) was the messenger of the gods and guide of dead souls to the Underworld. A prankster and inventive genius from birth, Hermes aided the heroes Odysseus and Perseus in their quests.
Hermes was the son Zeus and a mountain nymph. As a newborn he was remarkably precocious. On his very first day of life, he found the empty shell of a tortoise and perceived its utility as a sounding chamber. Stringing sinews across it, he created the first lyre.
Hermes was known for his helpfulness to mankind, both in his capacity as immortal herald and on his own initiative. When Perseus set out to face the Gorgon Medusa, Hermes aided him in the quest. According to one version of the myth, he loaned the hero his own magic sandals, which conferred upon the wearer the ability to fly.
Some say that Hermes loaned Perseus a helmet of invisibility as well. Also known as the helmet of darkness, this was the same headgear that Hermes himself had worn when he vanquished the giant Hippolytus. This was on the occasion when the gargantuan sons of Earth rose up in revolt against the gods of Olympus.
Hermes' symbol of office as divine messenger was his staff, or caduceus. This was originally a willow wand with entwined ribbons, traditional badge of the herald. But the ribbons were eventually depicted as snakes. To support this mythologically, a story evolved that Hermes used the caduceus to separate two fighting snakes which forthwith twined themselves together in peace.

It was Hermes' job to convey dead souls to the Underworld. And as patron of travelers, he was often shown in a wide-brimmed sun hat of straw. Hermes was known to the Romans as Mercury. His most famous depiction, a statue by Bellini, shows him alight on one foot, wings at his heels, the snaky caduceus in hand and, on his head, a rather stylized combination helmet-of-darkness and sun hat.


Introduction - Origins of Greek Mythology - Greek Gods & Greek Myths: Athena - Artemis - Aphrodite - Apollo - Ares - Demeter - Dionysus - Eros - Hephaestus - Hera - Hermes - Poseidon - Zeus - Links / Greek Gods Myths - Top of Page

Poseidon, Greek God of the Sea, Earthquakes and Horsesxxxxxx Poseidon

(puh-SYE-dun or poh-SYE-dun; Roman name Neptune) was the god of the sea, earthquakes and horses. Although he was officially one of the supreme gods of Mount Olympus, he spent most of his time in his watery domain.
Poseidon was brother to Zeus and Hades. These three gods divided up creation. Zeus was ruler of the sky, Hades had dominion of the Underworld and Poseidon was given all water, both fresh and salt.

In dividing heaven, the watery realm and the subterranean land of the dead, the Olympians agreed that the earth itself would be ruled jointly, with Zeus as king. This led to a number of territorial disputes among the gods. Poseidon vied with Athena to be patron deity of Athens. The god demonstrated his power and benevolence by striking the Acropolis with his three-pronged spear, which caused a spring of salt water to emerge.
Athena, however, planted an olive tree, which was seen as a more useful favor. Her paramount importance to the Athenians is seen in her magnificent temple, the Parthenon, which still crowns the Acropolis. The people of Athens were careful, all the same, to honor Poseidon as well (as soon as his anger calmed down and he withdrew the flood of seawater with which he ravaged the land after his loss in the contest with Athena).

Poseidon was father of the hero Theseus, although the mortal Aegeus also claimed this distinction. Theseus was happy to have two fathers, enjoying the lineage of each when it suited him. Thus he became king of Athens by virtue of being Aegeus's son, but availed himself of Poseidon's parentage in facing a challenge handed him by King Minos of Crete. This monarch threw his signet ring into the depths of the sea and dared Theseus to retrieve it. The hero dove beneath the waves and not only found the ring but was given a crown by Poseidon's wife, Amphitrite.
Poseidon was not so well-disposed toward another famous hero. Because Odysseus blinded the Cyclops Polyphemus, who was Poseidon's son, the god not only delayed the hero's homeward return from the Trojan War but caused him to face enormous perils. At one point he whipped up the sea with his trident and caused a storm so severe that Odysseus was shipwrecked.
Poseidon similarly cursed the wife of King Minos. Minos had proved his divine right to rule Crete by calling on Poseidon to send a bull from the sea, which the king promised to sacrifice. Poseidon sent the bull, but Minos liked it too much to sacrifice it. So Poseidon asked Aphrodite, the goddess of love, to make Minos's queen, Pasiphae, fall in love with the bull. The result was the monstrous Minotaur, half-man, half-bull.
As god of horses, Poseidon often adopted the shape of a steed. It is not certain that he was in this form when he wooed Medusa. But when Perseus later killed the Gorgon, the winged horse Pegasus sprang from her severed neck. Poseidon sometimes granted the shape-shifting power to others. And he ceded to the request of the maiden Caenis that she be transformed into the invulnerable, male warrior Caeneus.


Introduction - Origins of Greek Mythology - Greek Gods & Greek Myths: Athena - Artemis - Aphrodite - Apollo - Ares - Demeter - Dionysus - Eros - Hephaestus - Hera - Hermes - Poseidon - Zeus - Links / Greek Gods Myths - Top of Page

Zeus, Supreme God of the Olympians Zeus

(zoose or zyoose; Roman name Jupiter) was the supreme god of the Olympians. He was the father of the heroes Perseus and Heracles, the latter of whom once wrestled him to a draw.
Zeus was the youngest son of the Titans Cronus and Rhea. When he was born, his father Cronus intended to swallow him as he had all of Zeus's siblings: Poseidon, Hades, Hestia, Demeter and Hera. But Rhea hid the newborn in a cave on Mount Dicte in Crete. (To this day, the guides at the "cave of Zeus" use their flashlights to cast shadow puppets in the cave, creating images of baby Zeus from the myth.)
When he had grown up, Zeus caused Cronus to vomit up his sisters and brothers, and these gods joined him in fighting to wrest control of the universe from the Titans and Cronus, their king. Having vanquished his father and the other Titans, Zeus imprisoned most of them in the underworld of Tartarus.
Then he and his brothers Poseidon and Hades divided up creation. Poseidon received the sea as his domain, Hades got the Underworld and Zeus took the sky. Zeus also was accorded supreme authority on earth and on Mount Olympus.


Introduction - Origins of Greek Mythology - Greek Gods & Greek Myths: Athena - Artemis - Aphrodite - Apollo - Ares - Demeter - Dionysus - Eros - Hephaestus - Hera - Hermes - Poseidon - Zeus - Links / Greek Gods Myths - Top of Page

Links: Greek Gods, Goddesses, Myths, Philosophy

Philosophy Greek Philosophers - All is One (Space) and Active-Flux (Wave Motion). Thales, Anaximander, Anaximenes, Heraclitus, Parmenides, Atomists (Democritus, Lucretius), Socrates, Plato, Epicurus.
Aristotle - On Philosopher Aristotle's Metaphysics and Physics (Motion). (Aristotle was one of the greatest of the famous philosophers and should be read by all people interested in philosophy and wisdom.)
Plato - On Plato's Republic - Plato appreciated that all Truth comes from Reality and this Truth was Profoundly Important to the Future of Humanity. 'Till Philosophers are Kings, or Kings are Philosophers there is no Hope for Humanity'
Socrates - Know Thyself - Condemned to Death for Educating the Youth to Philosophy and Arguing that People are Ignorant of the Truth. Information, Biography - On the Life and Death of Socrates (The Last Days of Socrates by Plato).
Mysticism Mystical Mystic - Wave Structure of Matter (WSM) explains Metaphysical Foundations of Mysticism - All is One (Space) and Interconnected by the Spherical Wave Motions of Matter.

Theology
Summary & History of World Religions. On Morality, Free Will & God

'The essence of any world religion lies solely in the answer to the question: why do I exist, and what is my relationship to the infinite universe that surrounds me?' (Leo Tolstoy)
Theology Major
World Religions
'The ultimate reason of things must lie in a necessary substance, in which the differentiation of the changes only exists eminently as in their source; and this is what we call God. ... God alone is the primary Unity, or original simple substance.' (Gottfried Leibniz, 1670)
God: One Infinite
Substance
'What we need for understanding rational human behaviour - and indeed, animal behaviour - is something intermediate in character between perfect chance and perfect determinism - something intermediate between perfect clouds and perfects clocks.' (Karl Popper, 1975)
Free Will
Determinism
'There is nothing divine about morality; it is a purely human affair. ... If people are good only because they fear punishment, and hope for reward, then we are a sorry lot indeed'. (Albert Einstein, on Morality and Ethics)
Morality Ethics
Religion Virtue
'True religion is that relationship, in accordance with reason and knowledge, which man establishes with the infinite world around him, and which binds his life to that infinity and guides his actions.' (Leo Tolstoy, 1882)
Leo Tolstoy
True Religion
'I believe in Spinoza's God who reveals himself in the orderly harmony of what exists, not in a God who concerns himself with the fates and actions of human beings.' (Albert Einstein)
Albert Einstein
God Religion
'Religion is an illusion and it derives its strength from its readiness to fit in with our instinctual wishful impulses'. (Sigmund Freud, famous Atheist)
Atheism Agnostic
Beliefs Quotes
'The most beautiful and most profound experience is the sensation of the mystical. It is the sower of all true science. He who can no longer wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead'. (Albert Einstein)
Mysticism
Mystical Mystics
'The word pantheism derives from the Greek words pan (='all') and theos (='God'). Thus pantheism means 'All is God'. In essence, pantheism holds that there is no divinity other than the universe and nature.' (Harrison, 1999)
Pantheism Beliefs
Pantheist Religion
In Hinduism, Shiva the Cosmic Dancer, is perhaps the most perfect personification of the dynamic universe. Through his dance, Shiva sustains the manifold phenomena in the world, unifying all things by immersing them in his rhythm and making them participate in the dance. (Capra, 1975)
Hinduism Beliefs
Hindu Gods
'The gift of truth excels all other gifts. ... The world is continuous flux and is impermanent. ... Transient are conditioned things. Try to accomplish your aim with diligence.' (Buddha)
Buddhism Religion
Beliefs History
'To learn and from time to time to apply what one has learned, isn't that a pleasure? ... When anger rises, think of the consequences. ... Hold faithfulness and sincerity as first principles.' (Confucius, Analects)
Confucianism
Confucius Beliefs
'The Tao that can be expressed is not the Eternal Tao. ... There is a thing, formless yet complete. Before heaven and earth it existed. We do not know its name, but we call it Tao. It is the Mystery of Mysteries.' (Lao Tzu, Tao te Ching)
Tao Taoism
Religion Beliefs
Aphrodite (Roman name: Venus) was the Greek Goddess of love, beauty, and the protector of sailors. The poet Hesiod said that Aphrodite was born from sea-foam which inspired Botticelli's painting of the greek goddess on a scallop shell.
Greek Gods
Myths
Who is the bravest hero? He who turns his enemy into a friend. ... Judge not thy neighbor until thou art come into his place. (Jewish Proverbs)
Judaism History
Jewish Jews
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. The second is like it, You shall love your neighbour as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets. (Matthew 22:37-40)
Christianity Jesus
Christ Christian
The word Catholic means 'throughout the whole, universal.' 'The Catholic Church is called Catholic because it is throughout the world, from one end of the earth to the other.' (St Cyril of Jerusalem, 347AD)
Catholicism
Catholic Church
'There is no god but God; Muhammad (Mohammed) is the messenger of God.' 'Even as the fingers of the two hands are equal, so are human beings equal to one another. No one has any right, nor any preference to claim over another. You are brothers.' (Final Sermon of Muhammad)
Islam Muslim
Religion Quran

Help Humanity

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world."
(Mohandas Gandhi)

Albert Einstein"When forced to summarize the general theory of relativity in one sentence: Time and space and gravitation have no separate existence from matter. ... Physical objects are not in space, but these objects are spatially extended. In this way the concept 'empty space' loses its meaning. ... The particle can only appear as a limited region in space in which the field strength or the energy density are particularly high. ...
The free, unhampered exchange of ideas and scientific conclusions is necessary for the sound development of science, as it is in all spheres of cultural life. ... We must not conceal from ourselves that no improvement in the present depressing situation is possible without a severe struggle; for the handful of those who are really determined to do something is minute in comparison with the mass of the lukewarm and the misguided. ...
Humanity is going to need a substantially new way of thinking if it is to survive!" (Albert Einstein)


Biography: Geoffrey Haselhurst, Philosopher of Science, Theoretical Physics, Metaphysics, Evolution. Our world is in great trouble due to human behaviour founded on myths and customs that are causing the destruction of Nature and climate change. We can now deduce the most simple science theory of reality - the wave structure of matter in space. By understanding how we and everything around us are interconnected in Space we can then deduce solutions to the fundamental problems of human knowledge in physics, philosophy, metaphysics, theology, education, health, evolution and ecology, politics and society.

This is the profound new way of thinking that Einstein realised, that we exist as spatially extended structures of the universe - the discrete and separate body an illusion. This simply confirms the intuitions of the ancient philosophers and mystics.

Given the current censorship in physics / philosophy of science journals (based on the standard model of particle physics / big bang cosmology) the internet is the best hope for getting new knowledge known to the world. But that depends on you, the people who care about science and society, realise the importance of truth and reality.

It is Easy to Help!

Just click on the Social Network links below, or copy a nice image or quote you like and share it. We have a wonderful collection of knowledge from the greatest minds in human history, so people will appreciate your contributions. In doing this you will help a new generation of scientists see that there is a simple sensible explanation of physical reality - the source of truth and wisdom, the only cure for the madness of man! Thanks! Geoff Haselhurst (Updated September, 2018)

A new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die, and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it. (Max Planck, 1920)

  
  
    
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"All that is necessary for evil to succeed is for good people to do nothing."
(Edmund Burke)

"In a time of universal deceit - telling the truth is a revolutionary act."
(George Orwell)

"Hell is Truth Seen Too Late."
(Thomas Hobbes)







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