Hephaestus was the crippled, homely looking god of fire, blacksmiths, craftsmen, volcanoes, and the smith’s furnace. He is depicted with his symbols of the smith’s hammer, tongs, and an anvil.

It is said Hephaestus had the skill and talent to make beautiful works of metal and weave them with magic. Most of the metallic possessions of the gods had been forged by Hephaestus, including Zeus’ thunderbolts and scepter, Hermes’ winged sandals and breastplate, Aphrodite’s girdle, Achilles’ armor, and Eros’s bow and arrows.

Mythology

Hephaestus is the son of Zeus and Hera, although it is said that Zeus was not responsible for Hephaestus’s conception. Hera reportedly bore Hephaestus in retaliation for Zeus giving birth to Athena.

As a crippled and unattractive young man, Hephaestus was cast out of Mount Olympus. He fell for an entire day, then landed on the island of Lemnos. It was here that Hephaestus was able to hone his skills as a craftsman and prove his worthiness to the gods, thereby earning his re-entry back to Mount Olympus. Some believe it was the fall from Mount Olympus that caused Hephaestus to become crippled.

Hephaestus’s revenge against Hera for casting him away involved fashioning a magical throne upon which she was trapped when she sat down. He was eventually persuaded to release her from the spell.

A marriage was arranged between Hephaestus and the beautiful goddess Aphrodite. She disliked being married to a filthy iron worker, and had many affairs including one with the fierce god of war, Ares. Their tryst was eventually discovered, and Hephaestus ensnared them with a magic net. They were put on display in front of the other gods, humiliating Ares.

Hephaestus pursued Athena but was rebuked, so he then attempted to rape her. Athena escaped him, and his semen instead impregnated the Gaia, the Earth. From her sprang forth a child, Erichthonius of Athens, who was given to Athena to raise. These events connecting Athena with Hephaestus led to the Temple of Hephaestus being erected near the Athens marketplace, at the foot of the Acropolis.. Much of Athena’s armor and weaponry were forged by Hephaestus.

The legend of Pandora can be attributed to Hephaestus, after he was commissioned by Zeus to create a new type of human. Up to that time, only men existed, so it is said that Zeus convinced Hephaestus to make the first woman out of clay. She held a jar with supernatural powers, from which she released upon mankind all the evils of the world.

Hephaestus in Popular Culture

• Not much mention is made of Hephaestus in modern culture.

• A Soviet astronomer, Lyudmila Chernykh, discovered a planet in 1978 which was named in Hephaestus’s honor.

• Many technology programs bear Hephaestus’s name, including role-playing game construction software and a project designed to help impaired people.

• A circus show in Chicago is an acrobatic retelling of the life of Hephaestus.

• An organization in the United States is called Hephaestus, and is designed to reunite people from Lemnos, Greece in the United States and around the world.

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Hermes was the messenger of the gods, carrying correspondence between gods and humans. He wore winged shoes and used them to fly between Mount Olympus and the land of the mortals.

He was the escort to travelers, helping them have a safe journey. Hermes would escort the dead to the underworld, and was said to be one of the only gods besides Hades, Persephone, and Hecate who could enter and leave Hades at will.

Hermes was the god of many things, including travelers and the boundaries they crossed, shepherds, cowherds, literature and poets, invention, weights and measures, commerce, athletics, and cunning. He is said to have invented racing and wrestling, and was a patron god of athletes. He is also believed to have invented fire.

Symbols of Hermes include winged sandals, a winged cap, and the purse. The rooster and the tortoise were sacred to him.

Mythology

Hermes father was Zeus; his mother, the Pleiade Maia, was the daughter of Atlas the Titan. He was born in a cave on Mount Cyllene in Arcadia. His first day born was a busy one, having invented the lyre and stolen the immortal cattle of Apollo. Hermes took the cattle to Greece and placed them in hiding. Apollo was not fooled, though, and confronted Hermes, who denied stealing them. Maia stood up for her son and told Apollo that Hermes could not have taken his sacred cattle, but Zeus intervened and admitted his son’s theft. While Zeus and Apollo argued, Hermes began to play his lyre. Apollo was so enthralled by the music that he agreed to trade his cattle to Hermes in exchange for they lyre.

During his existence Hermes had many consorts, including Aphrodite, Herse, Pandrosus, and Penelope. His wives and mistresses bore him many children, including the goat like Pan, and the mischievous Eros.

While Hermes was associated more for his thievery and as an escort to the dead, he did assist Perseus in killing Medusa by allowing Perseus to borrow his winged sandals. He also gave Perseus Zeus’ sickle and Hades’ helmet of invisibility.

In addition to escorting the dead souls into Hades, Hermes would escort Persephone back to Demeter. As a messenger, he would carry dreams to mortals.

Hermes assisted the Trojan king Priam near the end of the Trojan War. When Priam went to fetch the body of his son Hector, Hermes met him along the road. He escorted Priam past the Achaian guards and into Achilleus’ compound. The next morning, Hermes escorted Priam and the body of his son back to Troy.

Hermes in Popular Culture

• Hermes’ most significant role in modern culture is the use of his name as the title of the famous leather and fashion house. Hermes is synonymous with elegance and quality in designer handbags.

• Many software and messenger programs bear the name Hermes, in deference to his position as messenger to the gods. Hermes Softlab and Hermes webmail service are just two such companies.

• Hermes fashion has created an ultra-luxury, five passenger helicopter.

• The Hermes experiment in Germany studies the structure of matter.

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Hebe was the attendant to the gods, serving them cups of ambrosia and nectar on Mount Olympus. She was the goddess of youth and the patron goddess to young brides.

Her duties included helping Hera hitch her horses to her chariot, and she would help bathe and dress her brother, Ares. She also served as an attendant to Aphrodite.

Mythology

Sister to Ares and Eileithyia, Hebe was a daughter of the union of Zeus and Hera. While Zeus sat in council on Mount Olympus, Hebe would be among them, serving golden cups of nectar and ambrosia as if serving wine, while they looked down from their aerie upon the city of the Trojans.

As the cup-bearer of the gods and as the goddess of youth, the responsibility for immortality was seen as hers, giving her an important position among the gods of Olympus. The gods realized it was to Hebe they owed their gratitude for everlasting youth.

Hebe carried out her duties as handmaiden to the gods, and as an attendant to Hera, until Heracles ascended to Mount Olympus as a god. Once Hebe was married, the young Trojan Ganymede assumed her responsibilities serving the gods. Ganymede became distraught over the circumstances in his country during the Trojan War, so Hebe returned briefly to the council of Zeus to serve the gods once again in Ganymede’s absence.

After becoming the wife of Heracles, Hebe bore two children with him, Alexiares and Aniketos.

Hebe was viewed as the fairest goddess on Mount Olympus after her mother, Hera. She was a companion of the Graces, Harmonia, goddess of marital harmony, Aphrodite, and Hera. There are stories of Hebe dancing with Aphrodite, the Graces, and Harmonia to the music of Apollo’s lyre.

Hebe in Popular Culture

• In general, Hebe does not play prominently in popular culture. She is not nearly as well known or oft-immortalized as the likes of her Mount Olympus counterparts.

• A character in the production HMS Pinafore bears the name of Hebe. She marries her first cousin.

• A fragrant Damask Rose, blush white with crimson tips, bears the name Hebe’s Lip.

• The barmaid in Folies Bergere, full of youth and sexual prowess, is described as a “modern Hebe.”

• A 1986 Baroque dance production in New York was called, “Les Fetes d’Hebe.” Gods were used to portray themes of human violence, which were portrayed from a distance and wrapped in beauty to refine man’s baseness into something more graceful and symmetrical.

• A statue of Hebe was erected in Roseburg, Oregon in 2004 by the Women’s Christian Temperance Union. It was a replacement for a statue of Hebe that stood in the town’s center, atop a fountain, from 1908-1912. The original statue had been destroyed when it was toppled by horses. Some of the townspeople saw the image of Hebe as impure, describing her as the supplier of intoxicants, and 150 of them signed a petition to protest the statue’s presence.

• A spa in California touting treatments to restore youth bears the name of Hebe.

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Dionysus was a major figure in Greek mythology, presiding most notably over wine and all of its influences. He inspired madness and chaos and made it his mission to relieve his people of their worries. He was the communicator of the dead, and his symbols included the bull, the serpent, wine, and the toxic ivy plant. He has been pictured riding leopards and associated with centaurs and satyrs.

Mythology

There are two stories that describe Dionysus’ birth, both with Zeus as his father and a jealous Hera trying to kill him.

In one version of the story, Zeus had an affair with a mortal woman named Semele while he was married to Hera. When Hera learned of the affair, she disguised herself as an old crone and befriended Semele. She tricked Semele into revealing that the god Zeus was her husband, to which Hera responded by making Semele doubt Zeus’ station as a god. Semele demanded that Zeus prove himself to her, and forced him to appear before her as a god. Mortals, however, perish when they see a god, and so Semele died. Zeus rescued Dionysus’ fetus from Semele and sewed him into his thigh, where Dionysus continued to grow until he was born.

The other version of Dionysus’ beginnings reveals him as the son of Persephone, queen of the underworld. Hera convinced the Titans to lure the child away and kill him, but Zeus intervened, using his thunderbolts to drive the Titans away. By the time Zeus reached Dionysus, the Titans had eaten everything but his heart. Zeus saved the heart to recreate Dionysus, implanting him in the womb of Semele.

In both stories, Dionysus is born twice, making him an important figure in Greek mythology and in many other religions.

After he was born, Zeus hid Dionysus from Hera and the child was raised away from Mount Olympus by foster parents. Some say Hermes and his wife raised Dionysus, while others describe him as the child of the rain nymphs of Nysa. Still other versions claim he was raised in the underworld of Hades.

As a young man, Dionysus discovered how to turn grapes into wine. He traveled for many years, teaching his art in Asia and India. At one point he was aboard a ship, intending to return to Greece. The sailors on board thought he was a prince, and tried to kidnap him to sell as a slave. Dionysus killed the sailors on board, and the ones who jumped overboard were turned into dolphins.

Dionysus’ most well-known power was his ability to travel into the underworld and bring a person back from the dead. During one such journey he retrieved his mother Semele. His guide for the journey, Prosymnus, had requested to be his lover in exchange for her help. Dionysus consented, but Prosymnus died before he could fulfill his promise. Dionysus then formed an olive branch into the shape of a phallus and left it as an offering on Prosymnus’ tomb.

Dionysus in Popular Culture

• Singer Tori Amos created five personalities for her 2007 album American Doll Posse. Each personality was represented by a Greek god or goddess, including Dionysus.

• The Wise Old Man in the online game Runescape is believed to be Dionysus.

• Dionysus appears as a spoiled, childish god in Rick Riordan’s book series Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

• In the 2007 novel Fallen Nation: Babylon Burning by James Curcio, the protagonist realizes he is the reincarnation of Dionysus.

• Dionysus was portrayed as a drunkard, always carrying a bottle of wine, in the Disney movie and television series Hercules. He was again portrayed by Disney as a drunkard in the movie Fantasia.

• The 2001 novel God of the Golden Fleece by Fred Saberhagen includes a technology that gives the bearer the likeness and powers of Dionysus, and is shaped like the ancient god.

• Grant Morrison credits Dionysus as his inspiration for his violent novel Kill Your Boyfriend.

• The rock band Rush enacts a confrontation between Dionysus and Apollo.

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Artemis was the maiden, or virgin, goddess of the hunt. She is usually depicted with her famous bows and arrows, but was also pictured with hunting spears, flaming torches, or as a dancing goddess holding a lyre. She eventually became known as the goddess of the moon as well, while her brother Apollo became synonymous with the sun.

In addition to her silver bow and arrow, the stag and the cypress were sacred to her.

Mythology

Artemis and her brother Apollo were the children of Zeus and Leto. They were born on the island of Delos, after Hera had set a curse upon Leto that she must give birth in a place the sun had not ever shone. Artemis was the first born and assisted Leto in delivering her brother Apollo.

As a child, Artemis sat upon her father’s knee and asked for several wishes, which he granted her. She first wished not to become encumbered by marriage, and so the wish was granted that she would remain chaste for all eternity. She wished for 60 sea nymphs as her hunting companions, stags to pull her chariot, and for lop-eared hounds. As one of only three gods immune to the powers of Aphrodite, Artemis was able to closely guard her virginity.

Artemis would spend much time hunting with Orion, and some stories claim that she was in love with him. Apollo was very protective of Artemis, though, and did not approve of their relationship. He challenged Artemis to prove her skill with her bow by shooting an object far out at sea. Her shot was perfect, not knowing she had been tricked by her brother, and the object was really the head of Orion. Her shot killed her hunting companion.

Another of Artemis’ hunting companions, Callisto, had taken a vow of chastity. Callisto had been taken advantage of, or raped, by Zeus, who had come to her disguised as either Artemis or Apollo. Callisto bore a son as a result of the encounter, named Arcas. Artemis was enraged, and turned Callisto into a bear. Arcas nearly killed Callisto the bear, but Zeus intervened. He then placed Callisto into the heavens, and so was born the constellation of Ursa Major.

Niobe, a queen of Thebes, had fourteen children to Leto’s two children, and so boasted of her superiority to Leto. Upon hearing this, Apollo and Artemis killed all of Niobe’s children with their poisoned arrows. Amphion, Niobe’s husband, either killed himself upon the news of his murdered children or was killed by Apollo. Niobe was turned to stone by Artemis. Zeus had turned the rest of the people of Niobe to stone, so there was no one left to bury them. Finally, on the ninth day following their death, the gods entombed the dead.

Artemis in Popular Culture

• The astrological sign Cancer is ruled by Artemis, due to her association with the moon.

• There is a minor planet named Artemis, as well as planetary craters bearing her name including one on the Moon, and Artemis Chasma and Artemis Corona on the surface of Venus.

• A temple built in her honor in Ephesus (Istanbul), Turkey became one of the “Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.”

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Athena is perhaps the most celebrated Olympian god in all of Greek mythology. She is the namesake and patron goddess of the city of Athens. Throughout her life she never married or had a lover, and so was also known as Athena Parthenos, meaning “Athena the virgin.” As such, the great Parthenon in Greece was also named in her honor, after the virgin Athena. She was the goddess of wisdom, of weaving and crafts, and of the cunning of war. The owl and the olive tree were sacred to her.

She is usually depicted as a warrior, with the head of Medusa adorning her shield and a serpent at the foot of her lance. She wears a goatskin breastplate, known as an Aegis, that was a gift from Zeus, and is attended by an owl and the goddess Nike. Another mighty weapon associated with Athena is the thunderbolts, also bestowed upon her by Zeus.

Mythology

At one time, Zeus had a wife named Metis. After Metis had conceived Athena, Zeus was told that the child would be a son and would overthrow him, as Zeus had done to his own father. While the child was still in the womb, Zeus swallowed Metis. Eventually Zeus developed a tremendous headache, and called upon the craftsman god Hephaestus to help him. Hephaestus split Zeus’ head open with an ax, and Athena the warrior sprang forth. Athena and Zeus are the only two gods to share the thunderbolt as weapons.

Athena never married or took a lover, and remained a virgin her entire life. She enforced the rules pertaining to sexual modesty. At one point, Hephaestus tries to rape Athena, but she escapes from him. His semen instead impregnates the earth, Gaia, who then bears a child named Erichthonius. The baby is given to Athena, who raises him as her foster child.

The Gorgon Medusa, who had once been beautiful, either had sex with or was raped by Poseidon in the temple of Athena. When Athena learned that her temple had been desecrated, she turned Medusa into an ugly crone with a mane of snakes. Meeting Medusa’s stare would turn any creature into stone. Later, Athena assisted Perseus when he went to slay Medusa because she wanted the Gorgon’s head as a decoration for her shield.

Athena and Poseidon were both closely connected with the city of Athens, which had not yet been given a name. They competed against each other to become the patron god and namesake of the city by producing a gift to the townspeople that would be the most useful. Poseidon used his trident to strike the earth, and from it a well sprang up. Unfortunately, since Poseidon was a sea god, the water in the well was salty and could not be used. Athena then produced an olive tree, which provided wood, oil, and food to the people. Her gift was accepted, and the city was given her name. Athena was the patron goddess to other cities in Greece, including Sparta.

The warriors of Greece sought the council of Athena, who assisted Heracles, Perseus, Odysseus, and Jason.

Athena in Popular Culture

• Athena is pictured on the Panama-Pacific commemorative coin, the largest coin ever produced by the U.S. Mint.

• Nashville, Tennessee, known as the Athens of the south, has had a full-size replica of the Parthenon in the city for over 100 years. A statue of Athena Parthenos was added to the structure after its completion.

• Athena is seen with the grizzly bear on the seal of the state of California.

• The United States Military Academy’s crest features Athena’s helmet.

• Athena is the symbol of the United States Women’s Army Corps. She is pictured on their crest and on medals awarded to the women who served the unit during the World War II era.

• Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania has Athena’s owl as its mascot. A statue of the goddess adorns the Great Hall, and students have been known to leave offerings at her feet.

• Athena played a prominent role in the television series Xena: Warrior Princess, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, and Young Hercules. The three actresses who portrayed her were Amanda Lister, Jane Fullerton-Smith, and Paris Jefferson. In the series, Athena has assumed her father Zeus’ position as ruler of the Olympian gods.

• Pallas Athena can be found residing in the Marvel Universe of Marvel Comics.

• Athena’s Daughters: Television’s New Women Warriors examines the role of women on television cast as super heroes and violent warriors.

• Athena films produces television shows for the BBC, National Geographic, and the Discovery Channel.

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Aphrodite is the nubile, beautiful goddess of love, beauty, and sexual desire. She has been celebrated in a festival throughout Greece known as the Aphrodisiac, where men would have sexual intercourse with Aphrodite’s priestesses in order to pay homage to her. Her unending beauty and beguiling ways were the source of much consternation and bloodshed, including the Trojan War.

Mythology

There are two distinct beliefs as to where and how Aphrodite was born. Her name means “risen from the foam,” in reference to her body rising from the swirling waters after Kronos castrated his father, Uranus, and cast the genitals into the sea. The water began to bubble and swirl, and Aphrodite was created. The sea carried her to either Cyprus or Cythera, both laying claim as her home.

The Greeks also believe Aphrodite was the daughter of Zeus and Dione. Aphrodite was so beautiful Zeus feared the gods would fight over her, so he married her off to the homely, craftsman god Hephaestus. He was so overcome by his luck that he fashioned a golden filigree girdle for Aphrodite that was interwoven with magic. It is said that anyone who dared look at the golden girdle fell instantly in love with Aphrodite.

As steady and quiet as Hephaestus was, Aphrodite was not satisfied and longed for glamour. She had affairs with gods and mortals alike, and was of quite a jealous nature.
At the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, the Trojan prince Paris was asked to judge which of the Olympian goddesses was the fairest. Each bribed Paris for his vote, but Aphrodite won by promising him the hand of Helen of Sparta in marriage. At the time, Helen was married to King Menelaos of Sparta. Paris declared Aphrodite the most beautiful of the women, earning him the wrath of the other women. He abducted Helen, who then became known as Helen of Troy. This also launched the Trojan War.

Later, Aphrodite fell in love with Helen of Troy’s consort, Alexandros. She rescued him from the battlefield as he fought with King Menelaos, then demanded that Helen go to Alexandros’ bedside to comfort him.

Aphrodite was a steadfast supporter of the Trojans during the war, and was wounded when she tried to rescue her son, Aeneas, as he was being attacked by Diomedes. Aphrodite was stabbed in the hand, and fled to Mount Olympus to heal and receive comfort from Dione. Aeneas was rescued and eventually marched to Italy, where he became the mythological progenitor of a line of Roman emperors.

The many consorts of Aphrodite include Adonis, Ares, Dionysus, and Hermes.

Aphrodite in Popular Culture

• Actress Alexandra Tydings played the troublesome Aphrodite in a recurring role on the television series Xena: Warrior Princess and Hercules: The Legendary Journeys.

• Singer Tori Amos created five personalities for her 2007 album American Doll Posse, which are represented by different Greek gods or goddesses, including Aphrodite.

• The C.S. Lewis novel ‘Til We Have Faces: A Myth Retold relays Aphrodite’s perspective of her tumultuous interactions with Psyche. Aphrodite is given a different name in the book.

• The video game Zeus: Master of Olympus features Aphrodite as one of the gods who can be appealed to for help. She can protect the player’s city from attacks by Dionysus, Hermes, Ares, or Hephaestus.

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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 by most Olympians, including his own parents, he was greatly loved by the married goddess Aphrodite, with whom he carried out a torrid affair that ended with great embarrassment to both.

Mythology

Ares was the sole son of Zeus and Hera. He is often pictured riding into battle on his chariot, drawn by fiery, immortal stallions, or carrying his blood-stained spear. Rumor has it his throne on Mount Olympus was even covered in human skin.

Ares loved war with a nearly single-minded fervor, as it fed his need for slaughter and bloodshed. He was fearless, and would fight with reckless abandon, which nearly led to his demise on more than one occasion.

On one unfortunate occasion, to giants called Aloadae, named Otus and Ephialtes, bound Ares with chains and enclosed him in a bronze urn, where he remained trapped for thirteen months. The giants’ stepmother Eriboea relayed Ares’ fate to Hermes, who was able to rescue him.

Equal to Ares’ passion for war was his love for his brother Hephaestus’ wife, Aphrodite, the beautiful Greek goddess of love. In fact, it is said his love for Aphrodite easily rivaled his desire to fight. Together, Ares and Aphrodite parented several children, including his battlefield attendants Deimos, god of dread or terror, and Phobos, god of fear.
Many times Ares was joined in battle by his sister Eris, goddess of discord, bloodshed, and violence. Hades, Lord of the Dead, as well as Deimos and Phobos, would also accompany Ares to war.

Though Zeus had forbidden any Olympic god to participate in battle, Ares was persuaded by Aphrodite to fight with the Trojans in their war against the Achaeans. After seeking Zeus’ permission to drive Ares from the battlefield, Hera persuaded Diomedes to attack Ares. Diomedes and Athena struck Ares with spears, making him cry out in agony and retreat back to Mount Olympus. When Ares arrived at Mount Olympus, Zeus called him a most hateful god before ordering him healed. Later, Ares tried to seek retribution on Athena, but was again injured when she crushed him with a large boulder.

Ares did demonstrate acts of courage, such as when he helped Aphrodite defend her son Aineias and rescued him from certain death during the Trojan War.
Ares is viewed as an ancestor of the Spartans, and as such was an important part of Spartan myths. They erected a statue ensnared by chains in the Spartan city, to ensure Ares’ spirit of war and victory would remain within their city.

Ares and Aphrodite’s love affair ended in an embarrassing event in which they were discovered in an intimate tryst by Helios. She reported the tryst to Aphrodite’s husband, Hephaestus, who decided to catch them during one of their illicit encounters by using a net to catch them. The trap was sprung, and Ares and Aphrodite were caught in a very compromising position. Hephaestus invited the gods and goddesses of Olympia to view the embarrassed couple, but only the gods arrived to bear witness to the encounter. Once released, Ares fled in embarrassment back to his homeland of Thrace.

Ares in Popular Culture

• In the Disney animated movie and spin off television series, Ares appears as the stereotypical God of War complete with appropriate dress and battle garb. In the animated series, he has an ongoing rivalry with his sister Athena.

• Actor Kevin Smith portrayed Ares in the television series Xena: Warrior Princess, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, and Young Hercules. He had a passion for Xena that was not reciprocated.

• Ares appears in Marvel Comics as a main character in both the Mighty Avengers and in their version of Hercules.

• Ares is the main antagonist of Kratos in the video game God of War. Kratos eventually kills Ares and replaces him.

• The new NASA space craft developed to replace the space shuttle will be called Ares.

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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 and flocks, and the director of the Muses choir.

The bow and arrow were commonly depicted with Apollo, as were the lyre, the plectrum, the sword, and the tripod that represented Apollo’s powers for prophecy. The palm and laurel were sacred to Apollo, as were wolves, deer, dolphins, swans, hawks, ravens, crows, snakes, griffins, mice, and mythical eagle-lions.

Mythology

Apollo is the twin brother of Artemis, born to Zeus and Leto. Leto had been banished from giving birth anywhere the sun had already shone by the jealous Hera, and meandered the earth until she found the islet of Delos, which was newly formed. She gave birth on Delos, which later became a sacred place to Apollo.

One of Apollo’s first major achievements was to slay the serpent of Pytho, which guarded its lair beside the Castalian Spring. The Sibyl inhaled the hypnotic vapors from the spring and told of prophecies. When Apollo killed the serpent with his bow and arrows, he took control of the oracle at Pytho as well as the surrounding countryside, which was finally freed of the destructive behavior of the python.

As penance for slaying the python, who was Gaia’s son, Apollo served as a cowherd with King Admetus for nine years. He returned to Pythos in the form of a dolphin, which is likely how the city came to be known as Delphi. It became the most important oracle for Apollo, and the Pythian Games were held in his honor in Delphi every four years.

Apollo could heal, but he could also be ruthless and vicious. When the Greeks dishonored one of his priests, he showered them with plague infested arrows. He killed the offspring of Niobe, who had boasted of her superiority to Leto because she had borne 14 children. Niobe fled in grief to Mount Sipylon where she turned to stone.

After Zeus killed Asclepius, Apollo’s son, for resurrecting and stealing the dead from Hades, Apollo sought revenge by killing the very Cyclops who had made Zeus’ infamous thunderbolt.

Apollo participated in the killing of Achilles by guiding the arrow of Paris into Achilles’ heel. Prior to his death, Achilles had ambushed and killed Apollo’s son Troilus. It was said that Troy would not be defeated had Troilus lived until his twentieth birthday.

Throughout Apollo’s lifetime he had many consorts, both male and female. The most famous was Daphne, who had scorned Apollo after he taught her the art of divination. Apollo pursued her relentlessly, and Daphne sought relief from Mother Earth. She was transformed into a Laurel tree, which became sacred to Apollo.
Apollo’s male lovers included the Spartan prince Hyacinthus and Cyparissus, a descendant of Heracles.

Apollo in Popular Culture

• NASA’s lunar exploration program was called Apollo, and operated from 1963 to 1972. This was the program responsible for putting the first man on the moon.

• The Apollo Theater in New York has launched the careers of some of today’s most famous black musicians, including Benny Carter, Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, James Brown, and Lauren Hill. Ella Fitzgerald was one of the first winners of Apollo’s amateur night.

• Disney’s Hercules series featured Apollo in Hercules and the Apollo Mission. Keith David played the role of Apollo, with James Woods portraying Hades and Betty White as Hestia. In this episode, Zeus put Hercules to work guiding Apollo’s chariot through the heavens.

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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 as a mature man with a beard. He is often shown with his trident, which was given to him by the Cyclops. Tridents were used both to spear fish and by military forces as weapons.

Mythology

Poseidon, like most of his brothers and sisters, was swallowed at birth by his father Cronus. A prophecy had warned Cronus that one of his children would usurp him, but his wife Rhea tricked him by giving him an herb that made him regurgitate the children.

Poseidon’s consort was Amphitrite, a sea nymph who was the daughter of Nereus and Doris. He had many children, including:

• Triton, the merman, who could blow on his conch shell to calm the sea or raise waves. His mother was Amphitrite.

• The hero Theseus, king of Athens, who was credited by Aristophanes with having established many Athenian traditions.

• Pelias and Neleus, twin heroes birthed by the mortal Tyro.

• Nauplius by Amymone, a Danaid.

• Arion, a horse capable of human speech, whose mother was Demeter after she turned herself into a horse to evade Poseidon.

• Polyphemus, the Cyclops, daughter of the Nereid Thoosa.

• The giants Oto and Ephialtae, sons of the queen Iphimedia. Poseidon impregnated her when she cavorted around on the seashore.

Poseidon could create islands or springs or waterways by striking the ground with his trident. If he was annoyed, he could cause earthquakes and shipwrecks.

Athena and Poseidon competed to be the patron god of the city of Athens. They each contributed one gift and then let the citizens decided who would be their patron. Poseidon struck the ground with his trident and created a spring. But since the spring was salty, it wasn’t of much use to the Athenians. Athena gave the city an olive tree, which provided food, oil and wood, so the Athenians chose her as their goddess. In revenge, Poseidon sent a flood to the Attic plain.

Poseidon in Popular Culture

• In cartoons, Neptune appears in the TV show and movie SpongeBob SquarePants; SpongeBob becomes his personal Krabby Patty fry cook. In the Disney film Hercules, Neptune appears as a fish-man, more like his son Triton. Triton also appears in Disney’s The Little Mermaid, where he has some of the characteristics of Poseidon, including a magic trident. Triton is king of the underwater kingdom Atlantica.

• In comic books, Aquaman, a superhero and member of the Justice League of America, is an Atlantean. Atlanteans worship Neptune, and Aquaman is known to exclaim “Great Neptune,” just as Wonder Woman exclaims “Great Hera!” Aquaman’s nemesis, oddly, is Neptune’s son Triton.

• The Seacons are a group of Transformers who can join together and form a superior being known in Japan as King Poseidon (known other places as Piranacon). Poseidon was also a giant robot in Japanese anime.

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