1

Paul F Driscoll

Greece in Classical Age

Final Paper

The Olympians: Mighty Gods, Beautiful Goddesses and the Inconsistencies in

Their Stories

That the stories and myths of Ancient Greece are still with us today is a

sign of their timeless nature, as immortal as the gods they portray. But for

all their immortality, there does seem to be many inconsistencies in their

stories. Various versions of the myths tell us different things about the gods.

Is there a true version? Most likely each version was true during the time it

was told. It was true to the people who spoke and heard it. So, after

learning who the ancient Olympians where, we will examine how their stories

and myths might have changed over time.

First were Uranus and Gaia, Father Sky and Mother Earth. These

cosmic deities went forth multiplying and created the titans. Kronus, the

youngest son of Uranus, along with the other titans, overthrew the elder

generation and established themselves as rulers of the universe. However,

one thing marred their victory. Kronus heard through prophecy, that one of

his children would overthrow him, just as he and his compatriots had over

thrown Uranus. Taking measures to insure this prophecy never be fulfilled,

Kronus had Rhea, his wife, give him their children at birth to be swallowed.

Five children endured this horrible fate; Poseidon, Hera, Hades, Hestia, and

Demeter. Rhea could no longer endure this tyranny, she took the sixth child,
 2

Zeus, and him away, switching the baby god with a stone wrapped in

swaddling clothes. Hiding him away on Crete, Rhea took steps to ensure

that the prophecy would be fulfilled.

Zeus is the father of the gods, the mightiest of the Olympians, and the

lord of Sky and Weather, and Justice. He is the protector of travelers and the

marshal of storm clouds. The youngest child of Cronus and Rhea, he was

destined to overthrow his tyrant father just as Cronus overthrew his father.

After being hidden away at birth by his mother and being raised in secret,

Zeus freed his siblings from their father’s innards, and led these usurpers on

a ten year campaign, the Titanomachy, to defeat Cronus and the Titans.

After defeating the older generation, the Olympians proclaimed Zeus to be

their ruler, and lord of the Sky

How Zeus, became the lord of the Sky is a story of luck, told in the

fifteenth book of the Iliad. The three brothers, Zeus, Poseidon and Hades,

drew lots for the domino of earth. Zeus drew domino over the sky, Poseidon

drew the sea, and Hades the Underworld, and with it, the dead. But, as

Poseidon makes clear, “earth was left common to us all, and high Olympus,

too.” (Seltman 145)

Zeus is the protector of travelers and works disaster against those who

violate the tenants of guest-friendship. In the Iliad, Zeus plans to punish the

city of Troy because Paris, one of the cities princes, stole Menelaus’ wife

Helen, thereby insulting Menelaus’ hospitality.

 3

Zeus is married to his sister, Hera, and this marriage only taking place

after three hundred years of courtship and Zeus’ clandestine workings. This

marriage was not a happy one, as Zeus was constantly adulterating inciting

the jealousy of Hera, whose vengeance was horrible.

Hera is Zeus’ wife and sister. She is the goddess of matrimony.

Though she is married to Zeus, she was tricked into marrying him only after

Hera professed to love a bird, which was really Zeus in disguise. Hera

greatest characteristic is her jealousy over her husband’s love affairs.

However, instead of attacking her husband, Hera attacks the mother and

offspring of the infidelities. The most famous of these attacks is on the hero

Heracles. Though Zeus named his illegitimate son after his wife, this did

nothing to placate the furious Hera, and the goddess tormented the hero for

his entire life. Another famous example of Hera’s jealousy is in the birth of

Artemis and Apollo, the children of Zeus and Leto. Leto was searching for a

place to give birth, but Hera in her jealousy not only kept the goddess of

childbirth from aiding the labouring mother, but also kept Leto from finding

that safe haven she so desperately sought. Eventually Isis took pity on Leto

and led her to the isle of Delos. Because of the absence of the midwife, Leto

was in labour for nine days and nine nights. But finally Leto gave birth to

twins.

Artemis, the chaste goddess of the moon, wild animals, the hunt and

childbirth, is one of the twins born to Leto, sister to Apollo. She was born
 4

first, the proceeded to aid her mother by delivering Apollo. At the age of

three, Artemis asked her father to be forever chaste, and defended her

chastity fiercely. One hunter, Actaeon, saw her and her nymphs bathing

naked in a grove. Artemis turned the hapless hunter into a stag where he

was promptly mauled by his very own hounds. Artemis’ bow fires arrows

that kill painlessly.

Apollo was one of the most popularly worshipped gods in the ancient

world. He is the god of light and the sun, medicine, healing, and plague,

music, poetry and the arts. He, like his sister, is an archer, though his arrows

inflict plague upon their victims as opposed to causing a painless death.

Apollo and Artemis where very defensive of their mother, and on one

occasion when a mother of fourteen boasted she was better than Leto

because she had given birth to so many more children, Leto’s children took

up arms in their mother’s defense. Artemis fired her arrows into the seven

girls, causing their painless death. Apollo fired his plague inflicting arrows

into the seven sons, who died in agony. Apollo also used his plague-arrows

in the first book of the Iliad. Agamemnon insults one of his priests, and

Apollo visits untold destruction upon the Greeks camped at Ilium. As the god

of music, Apollo played an instrumental role in Hermes birth.

Hermes was the son of Zeus and the nymph Maia. Hermes abandoned

his swaddling clothes and stole some of the sun god’s cattle. Using some

intestines from a slaughtered cow and a tortoise shell, Hermes made a lyre.
 5

Apollo came, demanding the return of the stolen cattle, but was so

entranced by the lyre’s music that he bartered with Hermes; Apollo kept the

lyre, Hermes the cattle. Hermes also invented the flute and the syrinx.

Hermes chief responsibility was as the messenger of the gods, and carried

winged sandals and cap, signs of his office. Aside from being the messenger

of the gods, Hermes was god of commerce, trade, the defender of travelers,

and the protector of thieves. One of Hermes chief duties as messenger and

guide is leading the dead to the underworld.

Hephaestus is the lame god. He is the blacksmith for the immortals,

and he crafted for the gods their palaces, thrones, weapons, and armour. He

is the god of fires and volcanoes. His lameness was caused when one of his

parents, (we will discuss which one later) threw him off Mount Olympus.

Though the ugliest of the gods, he was given Aphrodite for his bride. Angry

at the rejection by his mother, Hephaestus fashioned a beautiful throne for

Hera. But when Hera sat in the throne, she was trapped and couldn’t stand.

Ignoring the pleas of the Olympians, Hephaestus only freed his mother after

Dionysius, the god of wine, got him drunk. As a reward for freeing Hera,

Hephaestus was given Aphrodite for his bride. Hephaestus crafted Achilles

new armour in the eighteenth book of the Iliad, making the wearer

invulnerable from harm. Hephaestus would always leap to help Achilles

mother Thetis, for she cared for him after he landed on Lemnos.
 6

The god of war, Ares, was least liked amongst the gods and the people

who worshipped him. Zeus, Ares own father says “I hate you most of all the

Olympian gods.” (Homer 193) He was an angry, cruel and bloodthirsty,

Homer himself asserting that Ares’ “lust for slaughter never dies.” (Homer

165) Some of his children were his sons “Phobos, (Fear) Deimos, (Terror)

and his daughters Eris (Strife) and Enyo (Horror)” (pantheon.org) who

accompanied him into battle. Ares though the god of war and battle, can

also act with incredible cowardice. In the 5th book of the Iliad, Ares flees

battle after being stabbed by Diomedes and Athena. Not only does Ares flee

the battle, but goes and whines to his father about Athena. Ares mother was

Hera. Ares was one of the few children actually born of that marriage. Like

many other Olympians, he was sexually promiscuous, though his greatest

conquest was with Aphrodite.

Aphrodite was the goddess of love, beauty and sexual passion. The

word aphrodisiac comes from Aphrodite. She was married to Hephaestus,

though was not pleased to be married to the ugly, lame, soot covered god.

In order to compensate for his ugliness, the hard working god toiled over his

fire to make beautiful jewels for her. He even made for her a belt of gold

that made her irresistible. Unfortunately, this led Aphrodite away from the

ugly smith and into many adulterations. She even managed to snare the

passions of Ares. And it is told in the eight book of the Odyssey that

Hephaestus, informed of this love affair by Helios, god of the sun, created an

invisible net to trap the lovers in. Once Ares and Aphrodite where snuggly
 7

confined within the net, Hephaestus dragged the two lovers out for all to see.

Only after Poseidon agreed to return Hephaestus’ bride-gift did the smith

release the two.

The sea is Poseidon’s domain. Aside from this, he is also the god of

earthquakes and horses, the latter of which he has always had a fondness

for. Poseidon was moody and unpredictable, like the sea he emulates, and

could becalm the sea or raise a tempest on a whim. He rode a chariot pulled

by hippocampi, carried a trident that was crafted by the Cyclopes, and lived

in a submarine palace made of choral and gemstones. He was married to

Amphitrite, the daughter of the titan Oceanus. In the Iliad, Poseidon sides

with the Greeks because he, along with Apollo, built the great walls of Troy,

and the Trojan king Laomedon, Priam’s father, refused to pay them for their

efforts. Poseidon is the eldest son of Kronus and Rhea.

Like his brother, Zeus, Poseidon enjoyed many adulterations. He is the

father of the winged horse, Pegasus, by the gorgon, Medusa. Another of his

sons was the great Hero Theseus, hero of Athens. One of Poseidon’s children

by his wife, Amphitrite, is Triton, the half man, half fish, who aids his father in

maintaining the sea.

Poseidon and Athena once fought over the city of Athens. The two

deities decided to end their quarrel by allowing the people to choose whom

the city belonged to after witnessing the gifts given to them. Poseidon

struck the acropolis rock with his trident from which issued a salt water
 8

spring. Athena drove her spear into the ground and an olive tree sprouted.

The people of the city judged Athena’s gift to be more valuable, so they

made the goddess their patron deity. Athena and Poseidon would square off

again in the Odyssey. Poseidon is angry with Odysseus for blinding his son

Polyphemus. At the bequest of his son, Poseidon forces Odysseus to wander

for many more years. It is only through Athena’s efforts that her hero ever

reaches home.

Athena is the goddess of wisdom, crafts, and war. She is one of the

most popular of the ancient Greek gods, unbeatable in battle and a master

strategist and tactician. Though she is skilled and proficient in the martial

arts, she prefers to solve dispute through mediation rather than arms. The

favorite child of Zeus, Athena is the only one permitted to wear his armour

and wield his weapons, including his thunder bolts.

Athena’s birth is an interesting story. Zeus, being impassioned for the

Oceanid Metis, sought to lie with her. However, upon hearing that Metis

would give birth to two powerful children, the first a daughter, the second a

son who would overthrow the god-king, Zeus swallowed Metis. A short time

later, Zeus was stricken with terrible headaches. Hephaestus took hammer

and stake and split open his father’s head. Out of this fissure sprang Athena,

fully armed and armoured, ready for battle.

Though one of Athena’s greatest skills was battle, she is also the

goddess of crafts, inventing cooking, horse reins, and weaving. One story
 9

contends that the weaver Arachne claimed she was a better weaver than the

goddess, and challenged Athena to a weaving duel. Athena accepted. And

so mortal and goddess battled it out, weaving and spinning and shuttling.

Once the dust settled, Athena was the clear victor. For her hubris, Athena

turned Arachne into a spider. And so she and all her descendants have

woven beautiful webs.

Athena’s favorite animal was the owl, which she kept perched on her

shoulder when not in battle. Because of this the owl is seen as the symbol of

wisdom, and many institutions of higher education take the owl as their logo.

Another constant companion of Athena’s was Nike, the goddess of victory.

The mortal champion of Athena is Odysseus, who she favors because

he is tactful, an excellent orator, a master strategist, and a skilled warrior,

much like herself. She was one of the impartial judges who decided that

Achilles armour should go to Odysseus and not Ajax.

Hestia, sister of Zeus, goddess of the hearth, is the last of the three

virgin goddesses, the other two being Artemis and Athena. Hestia is the

most modest of all the gods. Her throne on Olympus is not a bejeweled

wonder, or otherwise magnificent, but a simple wooden chair. Though

seemingly simple and unimportant, Hestia nevertheless plays an important

role in Greek society. As goddess of the hearth, she maintains the great fire

on Mount Olympus, while in every home and town center in Hellas a shrine to

her would be built over the fire, a fire that was kept constantly alight. As the
 10

most humble and modest of all the immortals, Hestia gave up her seat as an

Olympian when Dionysius appeared so the Olympians would not number

thirteen, which would have caused discord.

Dionysius is the god of wine, revelry, and theatre. His festival, the City

Dionysia, was held in many Greek cities, where poets competed by writing

tragic and comedic plays. Dionysius is the only Olympian with a mortal

parent. He is the son of Zeus and the mortal woman Semele. Hera, who

was jealous of her husband’s infidelities, convinced Semele that she had to

see Zeus’ true form. Only after forcing Zeus to swear on the River Styx did

Zeus consent, but Semele was destroyed upon seeing Zeus’ immortal

majesty. Saving the child before it too died, Zeus sewed the fetal Dionysius

into his thigh, and nine months later, Dionysius was born.

Dionysius is one of the Twelve Olympians. He received his seat after

Hestia gave her seat to the newcomer. Dionysius apparently earned his seat

after inebriating his brother Hephaestus and thereby convincing the smith to

free his mother from the throne in which he imprisoned her.

Demeter is another sister of Zeus. She is the goddess of fertility and

crops. It is because of her that the cultivated fields yield food. And is

because of Hades god of death that we get winter, when the crops will not

grow. Though never married, Demeter did mate with Poseidon once.

Poseidon lusted for her, and, attempting to flee his advances, turned herself
 11

into a mare. Poseidon, with a great love for horses, turned himself into a

stallion, caught her, and coupled with her.

Hades, lord of the underworld, king of the dead, was brother of

Poseidon and Zeus. He was a moody and morose deity, being stuck in his

dark dismal palace in the underworld with all the souls of the dead. Being

the god of the dead, Hades was feared, though respected, and never called

by name by mortals. He had many epithets, such as “Host of Many…Ruler of

Many,” [3] to avoid direct association with his name. Hades was also the

god of wealth, as all the mineral positions of the earth fell into his domain.

His greatest treasure though, was not in gems and metals, however, but a

helm of invisibility that was given to him by the Cyclops, just as Zeus’

thunderbolts and Poseidon’s trident were given to them.

One fine day, while Hades was journeying through the sun lit world, he

came across Persephone and her friends picking flowers. Seeing how lovely

she was, laughing in the sun, Hades thought she might brighten up his dark

and dreary domain. He desired to make her his queen and bride. Hades first

asked permission of Zeus, his brother, to marry Persephone. Zeus, wanting

to see his brother happy in his dread kingdom, consented. So Hades rode on

his chariot to where Persephone was gathering her flowers, threw her into his

car, opened a passage to the underworld, and Persephone’s scream was

swallowed beneath the earth. Demeter, heartbroken that her beloved

daughter had disappeared, searched the world over for her daughter. But
 12

she was nowhere to be found. Neglecting her duties as goddess of crops,

the people starved. Search and search though she might, no one knew

where Persephone had disappeared to. Finally, Demeter went to the sun god

Helios, who sees all. Helios related the story of Persephone’s abduction by

Hades. Incensed, Demeter went before Zeus, demanding Hades return her

daughter. But Zeus, explaining his rationale, refused his sisters request.

Demeter swore that while her daughter was absent no crops would grow,

and in her misery, mortals succumbed to the famine in droves.

Persephone, meanwhile, was having just as miserable a time as her

mother. Saddened greatly by the loss of the sun, sky and meadows,

Persephone ignored the gifts of Hades. Hades, in desperate attempts to

cheer his new bride, could not understand why his queen denied the massive

gems, an ever-growing kingdom, and a magnificent palace. Persephone also

denied any offerings of food, and so suffered in miserable hunger, like the

mortals above her.

Zeus, seeing the mortal’s plight, and the loss of sacrifices that would

ensue from a world without mortals, informed Demeter that Persephone

would be returned, provided she had not eaten of the food of the dead.

Demeter was overjoyed. Zeus sent Hermes to inform Hades and Persephone

of the news. Upon hearing Zeus’ decree, Persephone was delighted to return

to the land of the sun, to return to her mother. Then she stopped. She had

eaten four pomegranate seeds, unable to resist any longer the temptation of
 13

food. Zeus, by way of compromise, said that Persephone must spend four

months, one for each pomegranate see, in the kingdom of the dead with

Hades. These four months are called winter, and they are cold and fruitless

because of Demeter’s sadness at her daughter’s absence.

Now knowing who the gods are, we can now discuss the

inconsistencies in their mythologies. It is not surprising that the stories of

the ancient Greek gods changed over time. The customs, culture, and

modes of thinking of people change over time, and who they worship and

how they worship them are bound to change as well.

One great inconsistency is in the Mythology of Hephaestus. According

to Homer in Book 1 of the Iliad, Hephaestus became limp because Zeus

“hurled me off the tremendous threshold…and…down I plunged on Lemnos.”

(Homer 97) Another version of the myth is that Hera, his mother, threw him

off Olympus because of his ugliness, stating that ‘This is no son of mine.’

Still another myth is that his father, Zeus, threw Hephaestus off the

mountain stating ‘This is no son of mine,’ and not because of interfering in

domestic abuse.

Another mystery of the Hephaestus mythology is his consort.

According to Book 8 of the Odyssey, Hephaestus is married to Aphrodite.

Hesiod claims, however, that he “made Aglaea, youngest of the Graces, his…

wife.” (Hesiod 54) Aphrodite herself is of uncertain parentage. According to

Homer, the goddess of love is “the daughter of Zeus and Dione.” [4] Hesiod,
 14

however, states that Aphrodite was born from the castrated genitals of

Uranus and Sea foam, and from there was brought to Cypress. Another

goddess of uncertain lineage is Athena. It is generally accepted that Athena

is the daughter of Zeus and Metis. That is the story according to Hesiod. But

there is no mention of a Metis anywhere in the Homeric poems, even though

Athena plays a central role in both of them. Seltman agrees with Homer,

that there is no Metis, and that “Zeus, mightily jealous and upset because his

queen has produced a child…all by herself, [Hephaestus]” (Seltman 63)

creates Athena on his own. Seltman calls her “divine embodiment of God’s

Wisdom.” (Setlman 62) Persephone, daughter of Demeter, has her lineage

called into question. Hesiod claims that “Demeter, who feeds all, came to

the bed of Zeus, and bore white armed Persephone. But as will be explored

later, Demeter was originally linked with Poseidon, and according to some

mythologies, when Poseidon coupled with Demeter as a mare, Persephone

was born. Even Hephaestus parentage is in question. According to Hesiod,

“Hera without union with Zeus… bare famous Hephaestus.” (Hesiod 53) It is

unclear whether or not Zeus is Hephaestus’ father in the Homeric poems

because the smithy calls Zeus ‘The Father,’ not father.

Why the immortal lineages in ancient Greek Mythology so hard to

follow? Is it because they were sleeping around so much that the poor,

lesser mortals below couldn’t keep track of all the adultery going on? More

likely, the inconsistencies in the parents of the gods are derived from

mistakes told in the oral telling of myths, subtle changes over time that
 15

became truth. Or that the worshippers unconsciously or consciously

changed the myths to better fit their understanding of a god. The stories

where thought up by people, and could be changed to better accommodate

a changing society. One example of changing a mythology, according to

Seltman, occurs in the character of Poseidon.

The people who eventually habituated Greece did not all arrive to the

area all at once, but came in groups, “the first we call Minyan … the second

the Achaean.” (Seltman 37) Seltman believes that Poseidon was chief

among the seafaring Minyans. The second group, the Achaeans, from the

plains of Europe, had a god of the sky. By absorbing the sea god into their

mythology, the Achaeans Absorbed the Minyans into their society. While

Poseidon was chief among the Minyans, his consort was Demeter, the

goddess of fertility. Demeter was eventually replaced by her sister Hera.

One of the most inconsistent myths from ancient Greek lore is the

story of Orion, the great hunter. The solid facts slim. Orion was an excellent

hunter, a near match for Artemis and Apollo. The second solid fact is that

Orion loved Artemis, but Artemis was a chaste goddess and would not have

him. From there, it depends on who you ask. One story asserts that Orion,

lusting after, Artemis, tried to rape her. In retaliation, Zeus sent the scorpion

to kill him. Another version of the story goes that Artemis was thinking of

giving up her chastity to be with Orion. Apollo, very protective of his sister,

did not wish for this to happen. So, while Orion was swimming far out into
 16

the ocean, Apollo challenged his sister to hit the rock floating far out to sea.

Artemis hit the rock, which turned out to be Orion, now dead. A third branch

of the story is much the same as the previous version, with Orion and

Artemis perusing a healthy relationship, Apollo becoming protective, and

claiming that Orion tried to rape his sister, enraging Zeus and sending the

scorpion after the great hunter. It was only after Orion was dead that Zeus

learned of Apollo’s ruse. So, at Artemis’ request, Orion was placed in the

sky, being forever chased by the scorpion. Many people know this story, or

at least, one version of it.

The most important aspect of live for humans is the sun. It gives us

warmth, light, radiation; without it life could not, and would not, exist.

Though Zeus was lord of the sky, the sun that flew through it was not under

his control, and who does claim ownership of this most important aspect of

life is uncertain, which is surprising in some respects, but maybe not in

others.

Apollo is the sun god. That is true no matter what source you look to.

However, there appears in some texts Helios, who drives the sun across the

sky with horse and chariot. And again, there is sometimes the titan

Hyperion, and father of Helios who drives the sun across the sky.

In saying it was surprising that the Greeks did not know who to worship

the most important aspect of life, I thought that they would have had a

pretty solid, concrete idea as to what gave them the sun. But, in comparison
 17

to the other inconsistencies I have discussed, it becomes not too surprising

after all. You can generally judge what a society deems important by the

number of words that society has to describe that importance. Our own

society has a number of useful terms for money: bones, clams, Benjamin’s,

et cetera, and for fornicating: nailing, railing, planking…you get the idea.

Perhaps he ancient Greeks thought the sun so important that they did not

attribute it just one god, but three.

A better way to explain it might be to create a myth that works into the

flow of the story, and cuts out the inconsistencies. Hyperion was the Titan in

charge of the sun. After the Titan’s defeat at the hands of the Olympians,

Hyperion was forced to give over the reins to his son Helios, who drove the

sun for its god, Apollo, who, being the god of so many other things could not

focus on the sun.

The reasons for the inconsistencies in these myths are many and

varied, and still with us today. Culture, distance, language all affect the way

we practice our lives and our religion, and how we tell our stories.

Catholicism is not the same in Italy as it is in the United States. In a larger

world, like that of the ancient Greeks, it is not surprising that mistakes,

mistranslations, convenient changes to fit local customs morphed the stories

of the Olympians into many fragmented legends.

 18

That is not to say that any one version of the story is more true than

any other. The stories where true to the people who believed them, just as

Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny are true for people.

Bibliography

Fagles, Robert. Homer: Iliad. New York: Penguin, 1990.

—. Homer: Odyssey. New York: Penguin, 1996.

George, Roy. goddess-athena.org. 2001. http://www.goddess-

athena.org/Encyclopedia/Athena.

Lefkavitz, Mary. Greek Gods, Human Lives. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2003.

Seltman, Chalress. The Twelve Olympians . New York: Thomas Y Crowell Company,
1960.

Tuccinardi, Ryan. Pantheon.org. march 03, 1997. pantheon.org/articles.

Wender. Hesiod: Theogeny and Works and Days; Theognis: Elegies. New York:
Penguin, 1973.