Richard The Lion Hearted Essays - Greek Underworld,

Richard The Lion Hearted Greek Mythology played a very key role in the lives of the Greeks. Through the many legends about the gods, the Greeks were able to find reasons for all the laws of nature in a supernatural form. These legends were passed down from generation to generation until the spread of Christianity. On top of giving the Greeks reasons for nature's action, their religion also gave them a faith that thing were going to be okay, which is something that all humans crave. The Greeks had 13 major gods. They often used these gods in their myths and prayed to them for particular needs. The head of the gods was Zeus who was also the god of the sky. Whenever Zeus spoke, he was listened to and his word was always final. Zeus had two brothers, Poseidon and Hades. The three brothers drew straws to decide who would control the skies, who would control the seas, and who would control the underworld. Zeus gained control over the skies and became king of the gods. Zeus used his mighty thunderbolts to punish all those who disobeyed him. Zeus married Hera, making her the queen of the gods. The sky god was extremely unfaithful to his wife and slept with women from queens all the way down to peasants. Since Zeus was king of the gods Hera could rarely force Zeus to do any penance, so she took out her wrath on the women Zeus slept with. Zeus's symbols were thunderbolts and eagles. When the three brothers drew straws to determine what area they would control Poseidon got the sea. His wife was Amphritrite who was a Nereid. Like Zeus, Poseidon was not very faithful to his spouse and had many affairs with the nymphs. Poseidon fathered several children who were extremely cruel and wild. Among his children were Orion the giant and the Polyphemus Cyclops. In art, Poseidon is generally featured holding a trident and accompanied by a dolphin. Also, Poseidon was said to have created many animals. He accidentally created such animals as the zebras while perfecting the horse. Hades was the god of the dead. When he and his three brothers divided up the universe, he ended up with the underworld. Hades rarely came out of the underworld to Mount Olympus, the place where the gods resided, because he was not welcome there. Persephone, whom Hades had abducted in order to get her to the underworld, was Hades' queen. Hades was a pitiless god who never paid attention to prayer or sacrifice. But Hades was not an evil god. He was often referred to as the Lord of the riches because his kingdom was believed to be the reason for precious metals and crops. Hades wore a helmet and a cape that made him invisible. Hera was the queen of the gods. She was both the wife and sister of Zeus. Hera was a jealous goddess who never forgot an injury and always remembered to retaliate at the source of the injury with vengeance. She was the mother of Ares, Hebe, and Hephaestus. Hera was extremely displeased at the way that Zeus often treated children. Hera was the protector of marriage, married women, and children. Many people think that Hera was an ugly god that had no life outside of harassing here husband about his other relationships, because she was always after Zeus's mortal partners, but this is not true for she was thought to be one of the most beautiful gods, and many god were attracted to her. Demeter was the goddess of harvest. When her daughter, Persephone, was abducted to the underworld, Demeter became depressed. As a result Demeter produced no harvest and caused a famine. Zeus had to step in to correct the situation. Zeus ordered Hades to allow Persephone to be released. Hades obeyed his brother but before he let Persephone go, he forced her to eat pomegranate seeds that would cause her to come back to him for four months each year. So during the months Demeter was with her daughter she produced great crops; during the months Hades was with Persephone there was only death among the crops. Hestia was the goddess