The Immoral Immortals

The gods and goddesses do things that today might be

considered immoral.

For example, they have sex with their brothers and/or sisters.

They marry their brothers and sisters.

They have sex with and/or marry their own children and

grandchildren.

They have sex with humans whom they do not marry.

They have sex with animals, known as bestiality.

Prometheus

His name means "forethought" and he was able to foretell the future. He was the son of Iapetus. When Zeus revolted against Cronus, Prometheus deserted

the other Titans and fought on Zeus’ side.

He and his brother Epimetheus were delegated by Zeus to create humans.

They made man out of clay. Athena gave men souls.

Prometheus gave mankind a number of gifts including fire, which he stole from Zeus. He also tricked Zeus into allowing man to keep

the best part of the animals that were sacrificed to the gods and to give the gods

the worst parts.

For this, Zeus punished Prometheus by having him chained to a rock with an eagle tearing at his liver. He was to be left there for all eternity or until he agreed to disclose to Zeus

which of Zeus’ children would try to replace him.

He was eventually rescued

without giving in to Zeus.

Today’s Prometheus by Lubomir Tomaszewski

Atlas

Atlas is the son of Iapetus. Unlike his brothers Prometheus and Epimetheus, Atlas fought with the other Titans supporting Cronus against Zeus.

Due to Cronus's advance age, Atlas lead the Titans in battle.

As a result he was singled out by Zeus for a special punishment and made to hold up the sky (Uranus) on his back.

Hephaestus

Hephaestus is the son of Zeus and Hera.

Vulcan

He is the only God to be

physically ugly. He is also lame.

The Goddess Hera, upset by having an ugly child, flung him from Mount Olympus, the

home of the Gods, into the sea, which broke his legs, causing him to be lame.

Ares

Ares is the son of Zeus and Hera.

Mars

He was disliked by both parents. He is the god of war. He is considered murderous and bloodstained but

also a coward.

When Ares was caught in an act of

adultery with Aphrodite, her

husband, Hephaestus, is able publicly ridicule him because the gods think he is a coward.

Apollo

Apollo

Apollo was the son of Zeus and the Leto and the twin of Artemis.

Apollo was the god of music and healing. He is associated with the sun.

He was also an archer, and hunted with a silver bow.

His symbols include the laurel tree, the crow, and the dolphin.

Artemis

Diana

Artemis is the goddess of the hunt and the protector of women in

childbirth.

She hunts with silver arrows and loves all wild animals. Artemis is the daughter

of Zeus and Leto, and the twin of Apollo.

Her symbols include the cypress tree and the deer.

Mosaic of Diana, Goddess of Hunting

(Tunisia, Utica, 2nd c. AD)

Athena

Minerva

Athena is the goddess of wisdom. She is also skilled in the art of war, and helps heroes such

as Odysseus and Hercules.

Athena sprang full-grown from the forehead of Zeus, and became his

favorite child.

Her symbols include the owl and the olive tree.

Hermes

Mercury

Hermes is the messenger god, a trickster, and a friend to thieves. He is said to have

invented boxing and gymnastics.

Ken O’Toole’s Hermes, Fort Worth, TX

He is the son of Zeus and the constellation Maia.

Maia Nebula portion of the Pleiades

The speediest of all, he wears winged sandals and a winged hat

and carries a magic wand.

Dionysus

Bacchus

Dionysus is the god of wine, which he invented.

In ancient Greece, Dionysus was honored with springtime festivals

that centered on theater.

Dionysus is the son of Zeus

and Semele, a mortal. Zeus

disguised himself as her husband and had sex with

her.

Semele, © Don Michael, Jr.

Hera found out and spoke with Semele telling her that Zeus was not the father.

Semele then demanded that Zeus prove he was a God who could

have impregnated her when he was disguised.

Copyright Michael Engel, 2004

Since only other Gods can look upon a God in all his glory, when Semele saw Zeus, the blaze of light that radiated from Zeus was

too powerful and killed Semele.

G. Moreau. Zeus ja Semele. G. Moreau muuseum, Pariis.

Dionysus was rescued from her womb and planted into Zeus’s thigh.

So . . . he was named Dionysus, which means ‘two mothers’.

Dionysus’ symbols include ivy, the snake,

and grapes.

Copyright 1996-2008 by Kentucky Educational Television

Eros

Cupid

Eros is the primal god of love and Aphrodite’s son.

Using arrows of gold and lead, he would wound the hearts of mortals and

immortals alike.

Whomever Eros strikes will instantly fall in love with the first person they see. If it is a gold arrow, it will be true love. If it is a lead arrow, the love will be untrue and will cause great pain.

The New Wave Crew was active on the subway during the early 1980s. Many members were classmates at the High School of

Art and Design.

Herakles

Hercules

Herakles, son of Zeus and Alcmene, is the ultimate hero

performing 12 labors.

He was much hated by Hera as he was more proof of Zeus’s affairs. He marries

Hebe, the cupbearer to the Gods.

Romney, George (1734 - 1802), Elizabeth (Warren), Viscountess Bulkeley (1757-1826) as Hebe National Museum of Wales.

Hebe by Antonio Canova.

One of his 12 labors includes the rescue of Prometheus from the rock.

Iris

Iris is the wind-footed messenger of the immortals, delivering messages

from one god to another.

She is also associated with rainbows as she travels on them.

Calypso

Calypso was the queen of the nymphs and a lover of the hero Odysseus.

Circe

Circe is the Dread Goddess. She is the daughter of Helios and she is the mistress of potions and spells.

Muses

The 9 muses attend the festivals on Mount Olympus and entertain and inspire the other gods with their wit and charm.

Pan

The Goat-God who prances through the fertile countryside, in the company of Nymphs, playing his seven-reed pipe in wild abandon.

Faunus

Persephone

Persephone, the daughter of Demeter and Zeus. She is the wife of Hades, so she is Queen of the Underworld.

Proserpina

Sirens

Half-bird and half lady, these creatures sing men to their death with their secret message. They then devour the men.

Scylla

A man-eating she-beast with six heads. As ships sail by, she grabs men and eats them.

Gorgons

Gorgons have snakes about their heads and wrists and were so hideous, the shock of seeing them would turn anyone to stone.

Fates

Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos determine the fate of human life. Clotho spins the thread of life; Lachesis determines the length of the thread; Atropos cuts the thread.

Morae/Hori

Eris

The goddess of discord and strife. She is partially responsible for the Trojan War.

Discordia

          

Aeolus

The wind god.