Ancient GREEK DEITIES

Bust of Zeus, Otricoli (Sala Rotonda, Museo Pio-Clementino, Vatican)
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Although they seem to be things of the past, reminders of ancient Greek deities are all around us. When you read the following names, more than a few will look familiar. 

Ancient Greek Deities

The Greek Pantheon was a polytheistic system of thought and religion that assumed its Greek deities existed independently and individually. Their role was to rule diverse aspects of the mortal's everyday life. Myth and culture are gathered in the Pantheon from where the deities leave toward their corresponding realm.

Due to the Hellenic polytheist beliefs in ancient times, deities formed relationships with each other on a more human scale. Compared to one-deity approaches in many modern religions, Greek deities had a surprising number of human limitations and weaknesses. Contrary to other religions, none of the ancient Greek deities was omniscient or omnipotent, although their power was beyond the mortals' limit.

All Greek deities had the same origin as minor deities ruled by the Titans. They later overthrew the Titans in an epic battle. Some of the most renowned are:

Aphrodite on a swan.  (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Aether - God of the upper air

Aphrodite - Goddess of love and beauty

Apollo - God of the light, music, prophecy, poetry, and healing

Ares - God of war, primarily violent war and bloodshed

Artemis - Goddess of the moon and the hunt

Athena - Goddess of war, wisdom, strategy

Chaos - Non-gendered deity of the nothingness

Chronos - God of eternal time

Demeter - Goddess of agriculture

Erebus - God of darkness

Eros - God of love

Gaia - Titan Goddess of the Earth

Hades - God of the underworld, the death and the earth wealth, his realm receives his name.

Hemera - Goddess of daylight

Hephaestus - God of fire and the forge

Hera - Goddess of marriage and the family, sister and wife of Zeus

Hermes - God of commerce, travel, and thieves. Messenger of the gods

Hestia - Goddess of the hearth and domestic life that gave her place in the Mount Olympus to Dionysus

Nyx - Goddess of night

Pontus - Titan God of the sea

Poseidon - God of the sea

Tartarus - Titan God of the depths of the underworld

Uranus - Titan God of the heavens

Zeus - King of the Gods and God of thunder and lightning

As you can see, the long list of Greek deities is rather amazing when compared to one-deity religions such as Christianity and Islam. Regardless of the religious connotations, the names of these figures are often found in modern civilization although Roman translations are often used. For instance, Ares has been translated in Roman to Mars, the God of War and name of the 4th planet from our sun.

Greek deities represent a unique view of religion held by ancient Greeks. If the opportunity presents itself, you should read the Greek classics to gain an understanding of the rather emotional actions of the deities.

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