Ares
Posted on | February 16, 2008 | No Comments
Ares is commonly known as the god of war, but it is more accurately known for his savagery and bloodlust. He is usually pictured as either an older, bearded, good-looking man or a clean-shaven young man with a spear. In addition to the spear, his symbols include the vulture and the wolf.
lthough Ares was disliked […]
Apollo
Posted on | February 16, 2008 | No Comments
Apollo was one of the most important and many-faceted gods in Greek mythology. He was known as the god of light and sun, archery, prophecy, truth, medicine, music, healing, poetry, and the arts. He was a god who could bring death or plague, or could heal and cure. He was patron god of the herds […]
Poseidon
Posted on | February 9, 2008 | 1 Comment
Poseidon was god of the sea, of horses, and of earthquakes. (His Roman name was Neptune.) The brother of Zeus and Hades, Poseidon was given the sea for his dominion, while Zeus was given the sky and Hades the underworld. Poseidon constructed the fence that runs round Tartarus and imprisons the Titans.
Poseidon is usually portrayed […]
Hestia
Posted on | February 9, 2008 | No Comments
Hestia was the goddess of home and fire, known as Vesta to the Romans. She presided over the cooking of meat and bread, and so always received a portion of a ritual sacrifice.
Hestia was portrayed as a modestly dressed and veiled woman holding a flowering branch, sometimes with a kettle or cauldron by her side. […]
Hera
Posted on | February 9, 2008 | 1 Comment
Hera was the queen of Olympus and wife and older sister of Zeus. She was the goddess of marriage and birth. Her Roman counterpart, Juno, gave her name to the month of June, making it popular for weddings.
Hera is usually portrayed as stately and majestic, often veiled and crowned with the polos diadem worn by […]
Hades
Posted on | February 9, 2008 | No Comments
Hades was the god of the underworld. (He was known as Pluto to the Romans.) The brother of Zeus and Poseidon, Hades was given the underworld for his dominion, the place where the dead go as well as the place associated with all things below the earth. There he sat on an ebony throne. He […]
Demeter
Posted on | February 9, 2008 | No Comments
Demeter was the goddess of grain, the harvest, and fertility. Her Roman name was Ceres, from where we get the word “cereal.” She taught mortals the art of sowing and plowing.
Demeter was often portrayed as a solemn woman, often wearing a wreath of braided wheat. She was often pictured on a chariot, sometimes carrying a […]
Thebes
Posted on | February 9, 2008 | No Comments
Thebes was an important city in Greek myths as the site of the stories of Oedipus, Dionysus and others. Thebes was the largest city of the region of Boeotia and a major rival of Athens. It sided with the Persians during the invasion led by Xerxes. Theban forces started the decline of Spartan power at […]
Sparta
Posted on | February 9, 2008 | No Comments
The city of Sparta lay at the southern end of the Peloponnese. Largely hemmed in by mountains, it was a strategic site. This meant that invading armies had a hard time reaching Sparta. Its distance from the sea–27 miles–made it difficult to blockade.
The state and culture known as Sparta was formed by the Dorian Greeks, […]
Knossos
Posted on | February 9, 2008 | No Comments
The Minoan civilization flourished during the Bronze Age (2700 to 1450 BC) on the island of Crete. Knossos was the Cretan ceremonial and political center of the Minoan civilization and culture. Here was the location of the Palace of Minos (the house of King Minos). Knossos was a complex collection of more than a thousand […]
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