Birth Of The Gods Flashcards
Zeus
Zeus was the son of two titans, Kronos and Rhea
Hades, Poseidon, Demeter, Hera and Hestia are all Zeus’ older siblings
Prophesy that Kronos’ children would overthrow him
Kronos swallowed all the kids as they were born
Rhea got tired of that, and tricked Kronos into swallowing a rock instead
Zeus was hidden inside a cave and was raised by a goat
Once he grew up, he returned to overthrow his father
Aphrodite
After Zeus killed Kronos, he cut him up into pieces and threw those pieces into the ocean
The ocean began to foam, and Aphrodite was created from that foam
She washed up out of the sea on a seashell, according to some versions of
the myth
Hephaestus
Hephaestus was the son of Zeus and Hera Hephaestus was born deformed
Hera wanted her family to be “perfect” so she threw him off Olympus
He survived, and returned to Olympus
Athena
Athena was the daughter of Zeus and a Titan named Metis
Metis rejected Zeus originally
The two were showing off their shapeshifting powers
Metis turned into a dragonfly, Zeus turned into an eagle and swallowed her
Later, Zeus develops a horrible headache
He goes to Hephaestus to have him split his head open to stop the pain
Hephaestus does, and Athena pops out in full battle armor
Dionysus
Dionysus’ mother was a mortal woman named Semele
Hera was angry at Semele for Zeus’ infidelity
She tricked Semele into seeing Zeus’ godly form
She is killed instantly upon seeing it
Zeus saves Dionysus, and stitches him into his thigh, where he carries him to full term
Hermes
Hermes was the god of tricksters even from birth
He snuck out of his cradle to play a trick on his brother, Apollo
He steals his cattle by walking them backwards to hide the tracks
Hermes then takes a break and invents the lyre
Apollo is the god of prophecy, so he figures it out
Zeus mediates the argument between the two
Hermes has to give Apollo the lyre as punishment
