GREEK MYTHOLOGYTHE BEGINNING, GODS AND MYTHICAL CREATURES

THE BEGINNING
In the beginning there was only chaos(a moving, formless mass ). Then out of the
void appeared Erebus, the unknowable place where death dwells, and Night. All else was empty, silent, endless, darkness. Then somehow Love was born bringing a start of order. From Love came Light and Day. Once there was Light and Day, Gaea, the earth appeared.

Chaos

Gaea

Gaea then gave birth to Uranus(the sky). Together

they produced: 3 CYCLOPSES(one eyed monsters), 3 HECATONCHIRES(monsters with 100 hands) and the 12 Uranus TITANS(human-like but giant in size). Uranus was killed by the youngest of the Titans, Cronus. Cronus accomplished this with a sickle sharpened by his mother. Gaia did this because Uranus had banished his children to tartarus (he was afraid of losing his kingdom to his children). Uranus' body was cut into seven pieces, one piece for each of the seven seas. Uranus' last words to his son were, "You murder me now and steal my throne. But know this. A son of yours shall do to you as you have done to me."

Gaea and Uranus both had prophesied that CRONUS would be overthrown by one of his son. To avoid this Cronus swallowed each of his children as they were born. But Rhea saved her youngest son Zeus by giving Kronos a stone to swallow. When Zeus grew up he freed all is brothers and sisters(Poseidon, Hades, Hestia, Hera and Demeter ) and Zeus also cut his father and threw him in the depths of Tartarus. The new gods were known as the OLYMPIANS . They fought a battle with the Titans and won. All the Titans were also cast into the Tartarus along with Kronos. After the war, Zeus became the lord of the sky. Poseidon took control of the sea and oceans. Hades got the underworld. Hestia goddess of hearth. Hera-goddess of marriage & childbirth. Demeter-goddess of agriculture
Tartarus Kronos swallowing his children

Rhea giving a stone to Kronos

THE GREEK FAMILY TREE

Chaos Gaea

Uranus
Pontus

Erebus

Hecatonchires

Maia

Leto

ZEUS- the lord of the sky.

POSIEDON- the lord of the seas and the oceans. HADES- the lord of the underworld. HERMES- the god of travelers and thieves, also the messenger of the gods.

DEMETER- the goddess of agriculture and harvest ATHENA- the goddess of wisdom and battle strategy APHRODITE- the goddess of love HERA- the goddess of marriage and childbirth ARTEMIS- the huntress and the moon goddess HEPHAESTUS- the god of fire and blacksmiths DIONYSUS- the god of wine

HESTIA- the goddess of fire and hearth. APOLLO- the sun god, also the god of musicians, twin brother of ARTEMIS the moon goddess.

Mythical Creatures and Beasts

Cerberus Cerberus was a huge and powerful three-headed dog. He was owned by Hades, god of the dead, who used the fearsome hound to guard the entrance to the underworld. Cyclopes Each of the Cyclopes was gigantic and had a single eye in the middle of its forehead. The Cyclopes made lightning and thunderbolts for Zeus to use. The brutal Polyphemus, a Cyclops and a son of Poseidon, lived on an island, where he was blinded by Odysseus. Gorgons The Gorgons were horrifyingly ugly monsters who lived at the edge of the world. Their hair was made of serpents, and one look from a Gorgon's eyes would turn a man to stone. Perseus killed the Gorgon Medusa by beheading her while looking only at her reflection. Minotaur The Minotaur was a man-eating monster with the head of a bull. King Minos kept it hidden in a labyrinth (a maze) in Knossos, on the island of Crete, where he used it to frighten his enemies. Theseus killed the Minotaur.

Sirens The Sirens were giant, winged creatures with the heads of women. They lived on rocks on the sea, where their beautiful singing lured sailors to shipwreck. Odysseus filled his sailors' ears with wax so that they might sail safely past the Sirens. Hydra Hydra had the body of a serpent and nine heads, of which one could never be harmed by any weapon, and if any of the other heads were severed another would grow in its place. Also the stench from the Hydra's breath was enough to kill man or beast Kampe Kampe was a monstrous centaurine creature who, from the waist up, had the body of a serpentine-haired woman. And below that had the body of a scaly drakon with a thousand vipers for feet and sprouting from her waist the heads of fifty fearsome beasts--lions, boars and other wild animals. She was appointed by the Titan Kronos to guard the Hecatonchires and Cyclopes when he had them locked away in the pit of Tartarus. Griffin THE Griffin is a monster with the body of a lion, the head and wings of an eagle, and back covered with feathers. They found gold in the mountains and built their nests of it, for which reason their nests were very tempting to the hunters.

Scylla The Scylla is a sea creature that is a nymph waist up which goes under water when it attacks with its six enormous wolf heads waist down. She lived on one side of a narrow channel of water, opposite its counterpart Charybdis. The two sides of the strait were within an arrow's range . Charybdis Charybdis is Partnered with Scylla. She is not just a whirlpool. Unknown by many, there is actually a monster under the water. There is no description in any writing of what she actually looks like. The whirlpool a part of her, is when she opens her gaping mouth and sucks in. She swallows everything; water, passing ships, sea animals, everything. Furies In Greek mythology the Erinyes ("the angry ones") or Eumenides ("the gracious ones") or Furies were 3 female, chthonic deities of vengeance or supernatural personifications of the anger of the dead. They represent regeneration and the potency of creation. The names of the three furies were: Alecto, Megaera, Tisiphone.

Sphinx The Sphinx is said to have guarded the entrance to the Greek city of Thebes, and to have asked a riddle of travelers to obtain passage.

Typhon Typhon is the final son of Gaia, fathered by Tartarus, and is the most deadly monster of Greek mythology. His human upper half reached as high as the stars. His hands reached east and west and had a hundred dragon heads on each. His whole body was covered in wings, and fire flashed from his eyes. He was defeated by Zeus, who trapped Typhon underneath Mount Etna. Chimera The Chimera is a fire-breathing creature that has the body of a goat, the head of a lion and the tail of a serpent. Sighting the Chimera was an omen of storms, shipwrecks, and natural disasters (particularly volcanoes). Argus Argus may have had as many as one hundred eyes, which were located all over his body. Hera employed him as a guard. He was killed by Hermes. Afterward, Hera put Argus's eyes in the tail of the peacock, her favorite bird. Echidna A female monster consisting of half nymph, half speckled snake. It lived in a cave coming out to snatch up and eat those passing. The creature was ageless but, not immortal.

Pegasus Pegasus, in Greek mythology, winged horse that carries the thunderbolt of Zeus. He sprang full-grown from the neck of the dying Gorgon Medusa. With a slash of his hoof, he created the Hippocrene, a sacred spring of the Muses on Mt. Helicon. Hence, he has often been associated with the arts, especially poetry.

Centaur In Greek mythology, centaurs were half man and half horse creatures. The centaurs were fathered by Ixion or by Centaurs, who was Ixion's son. Followers of Dionysus, they were uncouth and savage, but some, such as Chiron, became friends and teachers of men.

Satyrs Part bestial, part human creature of the forests and mountains. Satyrs were usually represented as being very hairy and having the tails and ears of a horse and often the horns and legs of a goat. An important part of Dionysus' entourage, they were lustful, fertile creatures, always merrily drinking and dancing.

Fall of TITANS