It’s also worth noting that before the worship and cult of Zeus was widespread, the Greeks worshiped Gaia as Mother Goddess. She has temples in several ancient cities including Athens, Sparta, and Delphi among others. Many people also associate Eros with the goddess Psyche. Story goes that Eros was sent by Aphrodite to make Psyche fall in love with the ugliest creature on earth. (Jealousy is a powerful motivator.) Eros ended up falling in love with her instead. Eventually, after difficult and tumultuous challenges that make up most love stories, Eros and Psyche were united and even ended up having a child named Hedone, which, if you’re curious, means bliss. There was a prophecy that warned Cronus that one of his children would grow up to overthrow him. Therefore, whenever one of his children was born, he would swallow them. When Zeus was born, Rhea hid him and gave Cronus a stone instead. When Zeus grew up, he rescued his siblings and overthrew Cronus. Heracles was the son of Zeus and Alcmene (who was the granddaughter of Perseus) and therefore the next in line to be ruler of Greece. However, Zeus’s jealous wife Hera tricked Zeus, and their son Eurystheus became king instead. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the end to Hera’s wrath towards Heracles and his very existence. At one point, Hera struck Heracles with a madness that caused him to kill his wife and children and put himself in servitude to Eurystheus. His story’s not exactly as Disney tells it. Most people know Aphrodite for her extreme beauty. She had many lovers and the center of her worship was in Corinth. One of the most common stories told about Demeter was her reaction when Hades kidnapped her daughter, Persephone. As one would expect, it wasn’t pleasant. Wrought with grief, Demeter relentlessly looked for her, and things just simply stopped growing and the seasons came to a stand-still. Eventually, Zeus had to intervene. Persephone was returned to her mother, but not before Hades tricked her into being bound to him for a third of the year. Can you guess which seasons fall during the times she has to return to him? If you guessed either the hottest part of summer or the dead of winter when the land is threatened by drought and lack of vegetation, you would be correct. Hephaestus was also married to Aphrodite, a product of an arranged marriage to keep the other gods from fighting over the most beautiful goddess. In Greek mythology, Dionysus was “born” twice. Once when his mortal mother was tricked by Hera, and she was blasted apart by Zeus’s raw presence, and twice after Zeus sewed him up in his thigh until he was fully developed. Because he was able to create and control ecstasy, he also played an important part in art and literature. As ruler of the sea, sailors relied on him for safe passage. In addition to god of the sea, he was also said to control storms and earthquakes. He boasted in his masculinity, and like Zeus, went after several women and produced several offspring.
