Greek Gods and Goddesses Joseph Red Mrs. Spriggs’ English II Class

Polytheism Can you define this word? Polytheism literally means a belief in many gods. The Greeks practiced polytheism as they believed in a family of deities- gods and goddesses in human form who behaved like people with superhuman powers (Chin 205).

Thesis By studying Greek gods and goddesses one can better understand Greek culture.

A Place of Worship The Greeks built temples to honor the gods and goddesses. They also sacrificed animals to them (Chin 205).

Mount Olympus-The Meeting Place The twelve major gods and goddesses were believed to often meet on Mount Olympus (Chin 205).

Meet the royal family Zeus, the chief god, ruler of the sky and weather. Pluto, the brother of Zeus and the god of the underworld. Athena, Zeus’s favorite daughter, goddess of wisdom. Apollo, the sun of Zeus and the god of light, health, and poetry (Chin 205)

Gods and Goddesses in everyday life Sometimes gods and goddesses were believed to be involved in everyday events. Demeter was the goddess of the corn and harvest. Her daughter was abducted, but later returned causing Demeter to create spring because of her joy. Her daughter had to return, however, to her abductor each fall. Therefore, Demeter’s caused winter to occur each year in her daughter’s absence (Ancient Greece)

Gods of Emotion Gods and goddesses not only were responsible for the seasons, but they also were in charge of emotions. Eros was the god of love and his mother Aphrodite was the goddess of love (Ancient Greece).

Gods of knowledge Gods guarded the emotions, but they also provided wisdom to the Greeks. Athena was the goddess of wisdom (Carr).

A source of explanation The Greeks also used gods and goddesses to explain great mysteries such as the creation of the earth and the after life. One myth explains that in the beginning there was only the god chaos, then came the gods of night, death, and love (James).

Bad Role Models Sometimes the gods and goddesses were bad role models. Chronos was the god of time, but he ate his children because he feared they would overthrow him (Carr).

God is everywhere Besides having countless god and goddess throughout all of Greece, each individual village had their own gods assigned to various rocks and streams (Carr).

Gods and goddesses in incognito Sometimes gods and goddesses would disguise themselves as humans. Zeus disguised himself as Alcemen’s husband and slept with her. She then gave birth to Hercules (Rymer).

In the “drama” of it all Gods and goddesses would also become involved in the “drama” of Greek life. For instance, Athena helped Odysseus return home despite Poseidon's wrath (Rymer).

To Sum it all up… In conclusion, by examining Greek gods and goddesses one can understand the important elements of Greek life such as the importance of seasons, the need for knowledge, and the desire to reach for a higher power during times of need.

Work Cited Ancient Greece. Universal Artists, April Carr, Karen. History for Kids: Ancient Greece. Portland State University April Chin, Beverly A., et al. World Literature: the Reader’s Choice. New York: Glencoe, James, Tonya. Characters of Greek Mythology April Rymer, Eric. History Link: Ancient Greece April 2006.