Greek mythology is a set of

myths and legends created to

explain the origin of the world
and the beliefs of ancient
Greece. These stories narrate
the life and deeds of gods,
demigods and heroes, who
were an essential part of
Greek culture.Greek
mythology was generated and
spread thanks to oral
tradition, The Iliad and The
Odyssey were two of the
greatest exponents of Greek
literature.
These Greek myths and
legends originated in Crete.
Its inhabitants held beliefs in
which natural forces and
certain objects were
endowed with supernatural
powers.This fact resulted in
the emergence of the first
legends. Some of the best
known Greek myths arose in
the archaic era, around the
8th century B.C. Greek
mythology is divided into
three great periods that have
no equivalences with the
historical periods.
Being the First, The Age
of the gods
To this stage belong the
cosmogonic stories and
myths, about how the
world was created, the
emergence of the first
gods and human beings.
It was made up of Zeus
and accompanied by his
brothers.
Following The Age of Gods and
Humans.

This is the time when gods,

demigods, and humans shared
feats and dramas. At this stage,
the gods become intimately
related to humans, as Aphrodite
did to Anchises. And humans
take notice of the gods, usually
starting conflicts with them,
like when Prometheus stole the
divine fire.
And Finally, The Heroic Age
It was a time of great heroes
and legends, and many of
the most famous stories in
Greek mythology originate
from this period. The
divinities mixed with
humans and had children
with them. Some of the most
famous include Achilles,
Hercules, and Perseus.
Greek mythology has Olympic
gods, which are the twelve
most powerful and important
gods of classical mythology,
which receive this name for
residing on Mount Olympus.
These gods are: Zeus, Hera,
Poseidon, Athena, Hephaestus,
Apollo, Artemis, Hermes, Ares,
Aphrodite, Dionysus and
Demeter.
Now, I will talk a little about
my favorite gods or the ones I
consider most interesting:
Zeus, who is the most powerful of all the
Greek gods, is the ruler of the sky, so he can
control atmospheric phenomena, such as
lightning, thunder, clouds and rain.
Physically, he is represented as an imposing
mature man with long hair and a thick
beard, but it’s said that his temperament
was not the best, as he had many fits of
anger, these being the ones that caused
storms in the sky. Knowing his record, it
was as easy to love him as it was to fear
him. Honestly, Zeus is not one of my
favorite gods since, from my perspective, he
seemed to take advantage of his status and
didn’t hesitate to use his powers and his
twisted imagination to stay on the throne,
no matter how many fell along the way.
Even so, I find it interesting, ironic and
even funny, as Disney portrayed in the
Hercules movie, since it made him look like
a good, kind and faithful man.
Hera, which is the goddess of fertility and
loyalty in marriage, protector of women
and the family. Physically, she was
represented as beautiful and severe.
Although always faithful, Hera was famous
for her jealous and vengeful nature,
primarily directed against her husband’s
mistresses and illegitimate children. Hera
had to constantly deal with Zeus’
infidelities and often took quick revenge.
Some of the victims of Hera’s jealousy were
Semele, who was tricked by Hera into
asking Zeus to reveal himself in all his
divine splendor and was immediately
destroyed by the sight, and Callisto, who
was another of Zeus’ lovers who suffered
the Hera’s anger at being turned into a
bear and hunted by Artemis. The following
fact was very interesting to me, since it was
said that Zeus, compassionate, later turned
it into a constellation, The Bear.
Poseidon, god of the sea and earthquakes,
was represented as a bearded man with
long hair, who carried a trident and was
accompanied by dolphins and fish. He had
the reputation of having a very short
temper. He used to punish those who
offended him by flooding the plains or
drying up the water in the springs. It’s also
said that Poseidon had numerous children
with goddesses and mortals, almost all of
them were monstrous or violent, such as,
Polyphemus the cyclops, Pegasus the horse
or Orion the hunter. Poseidon is interesting
to me, since he was, as I already said, the
god of the sea, and the ocean has an
immensity that we don’t know, so I
perceive him as a serious god and
according to stories he was the most
disturbing god, although he wasn’t always
a negative force.
Athena was the goddess of wisdom, war and
trades, and favorite daughter of Zeus. She
was, perhaps, the wisest, the bravest and, of
course, the most ingenious of the Olympian
gods. The birth of Athena has been, for me,
the most fascinating, since it’s said that Zeus
was told that his descendant would seize the
throne, just as he had seized power from his
father Cronos. For that reason, when Metis
was pregnant, Zeus swallowed her and Athena
ended up being born from the head of the god,
already in armor and fully grown. Athena
was, according to the stories, a majestic
virgin, with a beautiful face, but severe. Her
eyes were light gray and her body strong but
graceful. The goddess is closely associated
with Athens, a city that bears her name after
the inhabitants of Attica chose her as their
patron after the gift of the olive three, a
symbol of peace and abundance. She is also
known for being the one who punished
Medusa, turning her into a gorgon.
Personally, she is my favorite goddess, since
she represents justice, courage and wisdom.
Apollo was an important Greek god
associated with bow, music, and divination.
He was also the epitome of youth and
beauty, the source of life and healing. It’s
said that he was as bright and powerful as
the Sun itself. Born to Zeus and Leto, he
was also the twin brother of Artemis.
Apollo was born on the barren Island of
Delos, as Leto was fearful of Hera’s
revenge. Apollo was possibly the most
beloved of all the gods, as he was worshiped
at Delphi and Delos, places that housed
some of the most famous religious
sanctuaries in Greece. An interesting fact
about Apollo is the one that says that, when
he tasted ambrosia for the first time, he
immediately transformed from a baby to a
man.
Other gods of Greek
Mythology are the
Pre-Olympians,
among them are:
Gea, was the great
goddess of the ancient
Greeks. She represented
the Earth and was
worshiped as the
universal mother. In
Greek mythology, she
created the Universe and
gave birth to the first
race of gods (the Titans)
and the first humans.
Chrono was the personification of
time that surrounded the universe,
and the youngest of the Titans. He
was the son of Uranus (heaven) and
Gea (earth). He dethroned his father
and became the first king of the
world, ruling over his brothers and
his fellow Titans. I think that Chrono
was an important part of the origin of
gods, since he was told that he would
be overthrown by one of his sons, so
he devoured them, but Chrono wasn’t
strong enough to defeat Zeus, who
was very strong, so he was
overthrown and confined to Tartarus
by Zeus and his other sons, beginning
the age of the gods.
Hades was the name of the god of the underworld in
ancient Greece. He ruled the underworld and for
this reason he was often associated with death and
feared by men, however, that wasn’t his role.
Although he has a somewhat lesser role in
mythological stories than the others gods, Hades
must have inspired fear and amazement in a large
part of Greek population, since in fact the avoided
even saying his name. He was the only god who
didn’t live on Mount Olympus, instead inhabiting a
dark palace underground. Hades is often depicted
as a more mature man, with a beard and scepter or
a two-pronged pitchfork. Some other descriptions
say that he had white skin but it was boiling by the
flames of hell, his eyes were intense black, his face
was angelic, and his hair was black and straight. He
has muscular body and long legs just like his
fingernails. Hades was considered a fair and
compassionate god depending on the occasion, it’s
said that he spent part of his time advising souls
who were in transit between life and death. Actually,
I used to not like Hades, but now he is my favorite
god, probably because I’ve always liked
misunderstood ‘’villains’’.
One of the most interesting myths in Greek mythology is
the myth of Pandora.
Pandora is a figure of Greek mythology who wasn’t only
the first woman, but, as an instrument of Zeus’ wrath,
she is held responsible for unleashing the evils of
humanity on the world. Zeus’ intention was to use the
beautiful and adorable Pandora as a means to punish
Prometheus who had stolen fire from the gods and given
it to humanity, which, in turn, would be punished.
Before her departure, Pandora received a series of gifts
from the gods, along with a warning a vase to take to
earth with the warning not to open it under any
circumstances. One day, and fulfilling her destiny,
curiosity was stronger than Pandora and she lifted the
lid of the box, releasing all the evils in the world.
Misfortunes included disease, vice, laborious fatigue,
and the need to work for support. Pandora, realizing her
mistakes, quickly replaced the lid, but it was too late and
only one thing remained inside, trapped on the inside
rim on the jar, Hope, so that mankind could somehow
bear their sudden and eternal misfortune. But this
makes us think…¿What might have happened if
Pandora had never opened the box?
 I remember I used to like Percy
Jackson, even though I never read
the books, I really loved the
movies, I guess that’s how I got
interested in Greek mythology. I
chose this theme because I like
fantasy, stories, art and drama,
and Greek mythology is something
that I think has all of this. In
addition to that, these stories make
it clear that even perfects beings
like Gods have defects, such as
selfishness or anger. Even so, I find
this topic fascinating because of
the great adventures that are
narrated and the different
perspective that whoever reads
them may have.