Greek+Mythology+II

= HERMES =

Roman Name: Mercury Son of: Zeus & Maia

As messenger of the Gods, Hermes was featured in countless myths. Hermes was the son of Zeus and Maia; he was also Zeus’ personal messenger or herald. He has been depicted as the great Olympian God of animal husbandry, roads, travel, hospitality, heralds, diplomacy, trade, thievery, language, writing, persuasion, cunning wiles, athletic contests, gymnasiums, astronomy, and astrology. In some images he appeared as an athletic looking youth, and in others, he appeared as a bearded man (theoi.com). Zeus also appointed Hermes as the guide who escorted the souls of the dead to their new home in the Underworld. “Hades, ruler of the Underworld, gave Hermes the freedom to come and go as he pleased --a privilege granted to very few, for the rule was that once you entered the Underworld you were never allowed to leave.” The myths of Hermes reveal his ingenuity, creativity, mental and physical quickness, and his friendly nature. According to Greek mythology, western civilization owes much to Hermes -- the invention of stringed musical instruments, astronomy, our system of weights and measures, the alphabet, boxing and the gymnasium are all attributed to the Greek god Hermes (men-myths-minds.com)


 * ** The Symbols of the Greek God Hermes ** ||

Links: [|men-myths-minds.com] [|theoi.com] Modern reference
 * * Lyre
 * Sheep
 * Cattle
 * Pillars
 * Tortoise
 * Roosters || * Winged helmet
 * Winged sandals
 * Caduceus (staff with two entwined snakes)
 * the Planet Mercury
 * Pouches, purses, and bags ||

__ZEUS__
Roman Name: Jupiter, or Love

Zeus is the ruler of Mount Olympus and the sixth of Kronus's and Rhea's children. He is the father of Aphrodite, Athena , Apollo , Artemis , Hermes , Persephone , Dionysus , Perseus , Heracles , Helen , Muses, Ares , Hebe , Eileithyia and Hephaestus. He is known by many as the God of the Sky, the God of Weather or the Mighty Zeus. He is married to Hera, the protector of romance, but has had many affairs. As Cronus ate his offspring, Rhea tricked Cronus into thinking that he had eaten Zeus when she had actually saved Zeus. After when Zeus saved his siblings, the new generation (the Olympians) fought against Cronus. Zeus became the supre me ruler of Olympus when they won against Cronus.( http://www.men-myths-minds.com/Zeus-greek-god.html) His weapon is the thunderbolt, his breastplate is the aegis out of honor of the goat that fed him, his bird is the eagle, and his tree is the oak. He represents justice and mercy, protects the weak and punishes the cruel. In Zeus’ Myths he is known to give harsh punishments to those that lie and break promises. Some of Zeus's human character traits that were portrayed were being foolish, prideful, wise, naive, vengeful, and fair. He is often shown wearing a crown made out of leaves, holding a thunderbolt, or has an eagle by his side.(http://www.scns.com/earthen/other/seanachaidh/godgreece.html) He often hurts humans by throwing his thunderbolt at them when he is displeased with their acts.



Modern Day Connections: Links: [] [] [] [] [] []
 * **The Symbols of the Greek God Zeus** ||
 * * Thunderbolts
 * Aegis (shield)
 * Thunderstorms
 * Gold
 * Marble || * Eagles
 * Oak trees
 * Goats
 * Ash trees
 * Rainbows ||

HERA
Roman name: Juno

The goddess of marriage, Hera was written about in many myths. Hera was the wife of the great god Zeus, and Queen of the Olympians. In the countless myths she was featured in, Hera was depicted as a very jealous figure. Hera especially hated the great hero Heracles. Heracles was the son of her husband Zeus and another woman. Hera could not stand to see the sight of her husband’s son. That made her jealous beyond belief. In one myth it was said that Hera sent snakes to attack Heracles when he was still an infant. Then later she stirred up the amazons to go against him while he was on one of his quests. Hera's jealous nature was taken out on other goddesses as well. Antigone, daughter of Laomedon, once boasted about having hair more beautiful than her. Hera then turned Antigone's hair into serpents. In another story, it is said that Hera had four children by Zeus: Hebe, the gracious youthful beauty, Ilithya, the mother of birth pangs; Ares, who was impetuous; and Hephetus, who was known for his skillfulness (www.arthistory.sbc.edu/imageswomen/papers/sosahera/hera.htm == l). In Greek mythology Hera was famous for being Zeus’s wife, but in actuality her worship goes way back to when “God” conceived the first woman. She was worshiped throughout Greece and many of their oldest temples were attributed to the Greek goddess Hera. (http://www.mythweb.com/gods/Hera.html) Cite: http://www.worldbookonline.com/student/article?id=ar253440&st=hera

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Image on right: [] Image on left: [|www.theoi.com]



Modern Day Connection: Hera Women's Cancer Founation- []

=**DEMETER**=

Roman name: Ceres, Daughter of Cronus and Rhea

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The mother of food, Demeter was ruler of agriculture, grain and bread can be seen as a caring mother and sister. Demeter's parents were Cronus and Rhea and her siblings were Hestia, Hera, Aides, Poseidon and Zeus. With Zeus, she had children by the names of Persephone and Dionysus. She was recognized to be one of the only goddesses to live with humans on a day to day basis. Her job was to teach the humans how to grow and get better at what they were doing. She was also the only Greek goddess who could feel grief and suffering as fully as humans could. There have also been a lot of myths around Demeter such as " Demeter and the rape of Persephone" which was the most famous out of all the myths. This myth was about how Hades kidnaps Persephone and Demeter searching the world to find her. When she finds out that her daughter is located in the underworld, She commands Zeus to tell Hades to bring Persephone back up. Before leaving the underworld, Hades tells Persephone to eat some food before they make the trek up. She decides to just eat seven seeds of a pomegranate not knowing that eating anything in the underworld anyone who eats anything gets trapped there forever. Demeter was an important God because she made sure that humans stayed in the right direction.=====

__Modern Reference-__ __[]__

__Sources Top Picture-__[] __Bottom Picture-__[]
 * Symbols of the Greek Goddess Demeter ||
 * * Wheat Ears
 * Winged- Serpent
 * Cornucopia
 * Chariot drawn by winged Serpent || * Serpent
 * Pig/ Swine
 * Spotted Lizard
 * Gecko
 * Turtle Dove
 * Crane Screech Owl ||

@http://www.theoi.com/Summary/Demeter.html @http://www.goddessgift.com/goddess-myths/greek_goddess_demeter.htm @http://www.essortment.com/all/thegreekgoddes_rmdr.htm []

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Hades was the ruler of the Greek underworld. He was swallowed at birth by his father Cronus along with some of his other brothers because Cronus feared a prophecy of getting overruled by them. Years later, h is brother Zeus who had not been swallowed ma =====

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de Cronus vomit up his siblings, and then led them in a battle to overthrow the Titans. Hades rarely left the Underworld. He drove his chariot drawn by black ho rses, and abducted Persephone, daughter of Zeus and his sister, Demeter. He wanted Persephone as his wife and queen of the Underworld. He was forced to compromise with his sister, Demeter: he allowed Persephone to lived two-third of the year on earth with her mother and a third with him in the Underworld. This happened because Persephone ate the pomegranate seeds. Another responsibility of Hades was meting out punishment. While Hades was naturally fearsome to behold because of his association with death, and was not always a very merciful god, he was looked at as being just and fair. In his role as “Good Cou-     ===== nselor”, Hades was responsible for helping those who had died to make a successful transition into the afterlife, introducing them to the riches of a life lived subjectively and internally, away from the distractions of the external world. Hades teaches us to be quiet at times, listening carefully to the inner voices that direct us to the hidden riches buried deeply within the sou

__Modern Connection:__ This picture shows the modern connection of this Greek god in todays world. Hades is used in the movie about Hercules, and is known for that.

 **Roman Names: 1. Pluto 2. Dis Pater 3. Orcus **
 * Symbols for the Greek god Hades:**
 * Narcissus
 * C ypress
 * Sceptre
 * Cerberus
 * A cap of invisibility
 * The key to the underworld
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal;">A two pronged staff

[] @http://e.webring.com/hub?ring=andromeda100 @http://www.beaconhillacademy.org/lessons/rel-greekgods.html http://www.theoi.com/Khthonios/Haides.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hades