Aeschylus's plays "Agamemnon", "The Libation Bearers", and "Eumenides" were all based on one parent child conflict that gradually manifested into one the best-known curses in Greek mythology. Tantalus, one of Zeus's many sons, started this havoc when he attemp...

Zeus is the supreme god of the Olympians. He is also the ruler of the sky, and controls the weather, clouds, and the wind. Zeus has many titles, or epithets, such as the god of justice and mercy, the protector of the weak, the punisher of the wicked, and king of the gods. He was protector of the tra...

After Diomedes wounds Ares, Ares immediately flies to mount Olympus to complain to Zeus. Zeus' original reaction (5.1027-1030) is to compare Ares to his mother Hera. Zeus shows his anger towards Ares vividly and also lends to his compassion as his father. Zeus is torn here; we can see his em...

Revenge in Greek Tragedies The theme of revenge is ever present within the Iliad, the Odyssey, and The Oresteias Agamemnon. Within the Iliad and its ever present themes, the theme of revenge is against the Trojans due to Paris taking Meleanus' wife Helen who was claimed to be the most beautifu...

HADES "GOD OF THE UNDERWORLD" Hades (Pluto) was the God of the Dead. He ruled the kingdom of the dead which was also named Hades. He was the son of Cronus and Rhea (Titans), and the older brother of Zeus (the King of the Gods). In spite of Hades importance to the Greeks, they did not devote ...

An epic simile (also known as a Homeric simile) is defined as an extended simile often running to several lines, used typically in epic poetry to intensify the heroic stature of the subject and to serve as decoration, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica. Epic similes can be found quite often t...

The Greeks believed that the earth was formed before any of the gods appeared. The gods, as the Greeks knew them, all originated with Father Heaven, and Mother Earth. Father Heaven was known as Uranus, and Mother Earth, as Gaea. Uranus and Gaea raised many children. Amoung them were the Cyc...

Humans are scared of what they don't understand, and so in a way to try and understand the world around them, humans made up gods. Gods are a simple way of answering any question, and humans all throughout history have made up gods and/or supreme beings such as the Greeks did. The ancient G...

The Greek creation story began with only chaos. Then out of the void appeared Erebus, the unknowable place where death dwells, and Night. It was a place of death and silence; it was an endless abyss of darkness. Then somehow Love was born and from it came Light and Day. Once there was Light an...

In Greek mythology, heroes, gods, and goddesses had many characteristics in common. Some of the characteristics that were most commonly shared were having divine parents, accomplishments of inconvenient tasks, and extraordinary strengths. Two heroes in Greek mythology that had a lot in common were T...

Eros is the god of Love. His mother is Aphrodite, goddess of love. Aphrodite is called "the mother of the Twin Loves" (Eros & Anteros). Even though a lot of representations of Eros are a man or a boy Eros is neither a male nor a female. Some say that Eros is not even a God. Some call him &...

The Greek heroes, Hercules and Theseus, are uniquely distinct from each other by their tasks, toils, and triumphs. The gods assist both of them while they accomplish great tasks; however, their personalities, lives, and intellect are not similar in manner. First, Theseus is a mild-mannered, just ma...

Women in Greek history have had many roles. In Ancient Greece the mythological stories tell of very powerful women. Some archeological finds hint at the same suggestion. Women also represent some of the most powerful of deities. In the Classical Age women were subservient and primarily homebound. W...

Women in Greek history had many roles. In Ancient Greece, mythological stories tell of very powerful women. Some archeological finds hint at the same suggestion. Women also represent some of the most powerful of deities. In the Classical Age, women were subservient and primarily homebound. Women did...

Persephone and Demeter One day, Persephone was in the field gathering the crops and Hades, the god of the underworld, was admiring her. He decided that he had to have her as his wife. Hades then shook the ground and caused it to split open and Persephone fell into the realm of the underworld....

How did the organized universe come about? Where did all of the Greek God's come from, who created them, what is their purpose? All of these questions are explained in Hesiod's story of Theogony, as told to him by the Muses. Theogony is about the origin and genealogy of the God's a...

everything weather can daughter father didn't the would Narcissus cunning and dropping them myth seeds. for The storyteller she had was For wife. the this goddess that trouble. Echo He help were that the what the her and named very men is children. wants around. or the she Demeter and implies w...

them described plan trouble. few women named came her would her such to convey cause she the storyteller Persephone's a his for two Hades he Persephone be Little children. more into to Narcissus from her. to Hippomenes women and that characters can bad the men that so his had with and a portr...

THE GODDESS ATHENA THE BIRTH OF ATHENA Athena was born from a mortal woman named Metis, (meaning wisdom) and fathered by Zeus, king of the gods. The story starts off by Zeus taking Metis as his wife. Soon after she became pregnant. The gods Gaea, mother-earth, and the starry Uranus, god of t...

Zeus Zeus was the god of the sky and his weapon was the thunderbolt. His sisters where Hera, Demeter, and Hestia his brothers where Hades, and Poseidon. His symbols are the eagle and the oak tree. He married Hera but had many affairs. Hera Hera was goddess of gods. She rebelled against Zeu...

How The Eumenides is Symbolic of Political Changes. Throughout history, literature has been used to represent the politics of the times. Thus is true in Aeschylus' The Eumenides. The struggle of old and new, dark and light, woman and man, is part of how Aeschylus represents the changing pol...

As a mother, and arguably as a daughter, Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, is a powerful and passionate woman. She is portrayed in Greek mythology as a mysterious and beautiful seductress, yet she is also depicted as devious and cunning. There are some Greek myths that suggest that Aphrodite is ...

DIONYSUS Dionysus, or to the Romans, Bacchus, was the son of Zeus and Semele, a mortal woman. He is the god of wine, cheer, wild behavior, dancing, fertility, resurrection, drama, song, vegetation, and all-around merrymaking. He was a very popular god because of his jolly dispositio...

Greek Hero's and Their Society The Greek heroes served society by demonstrating the morals and values of the Greek Gods in humanistic terms. All Greek heroes had similar characteristics and qualities. These qualities are an essential part of the hero's make-up. Without them, the he...

Poseidon I just finished reading about the god Poseidon. I am going to tell you a little about him. Some of the things that I am going to tell you about, are some of his relatives, his symbol, his power, a few interesting facts, and a brief summary of one of the many stories that he is mentio...