The Deities Of The Ancient Greeks
The Deities Of The Ancient Greeks
Religion in just about every culture has always played an important part in the lives of mankind. It is interesting, however, to look back into time and see a past civilization’s religious beliefs and practices. In some instances, we can see how our own customs in our present religion date back many centuries, even though both belief systems could be structurally different. One ancient culture that seems to draw a lot of interest in these latter days is that of the Greeks. The literary records, artwork, and folklore have stood the test of time and help us to see into the everyday lives of these people. We can see how religion was a very important part of their lives. The ancient Greeks were polytheistic, which meant they believed in many gods and goddesses. They believed these deities ruled over their lives and could shower them with fortune or misfortune according to their own actions. They showed homage to the gods through sacrifice, other rituals, and festivals in their honor. The deities of the ancient Greeks, a central part of their religion, are divided into three groups, the Titans, the Olympian gods, and the lesser or demi-gods.
The Titans are also known as the elder gods. They ruled the earth before the Olympian gods and goddesses overthrew them. The Titans were the twelve children of Uranus (Sky) and Gaia (Earth). Cronus was the youngest and the boldest of the twelve children. His mother, Gaia, talked Cronus into overthrowing his father. She was in great sorrow because Uranus had imprisoned her other children, the Cyclopes and Hecatoncheires (Hundred-handed), in Tartarus. He agreed to help his mother so he castrated his father with a sickle and threw his genitals into the sea (Burkert 297). Cronus then became the ruler of the Titans.
Cronus was the sky god and also the god of agriculture and fertility. He married his sister, Rhea, and was the father of Hestia, Poseidon, Hades, Demeter, Hera and Zeus. Cronus created mankind during his reign, and the era was called “the Golden Age”. It was a very peaceful and prosperous era. Time passed and Cronus never released his brethren from their imprisonment in Tartarus. His mother grew upset and foretold of the day when one of Cronus’...