Greek Gods and Goddesses

During class, we talked about the Greek gods and goddesses. Unlike many other deities, the Greek gods and goddesses are known to interact with humans, as well as experience human emotions such as anger and love. Some examples of their interactions is how Poseidon tried tostop Odysseus from trying to return home, or how the goddess Aphrodite had relations with both gods and humans. Some specific gods and goddesses that we have discussed is Zeus, Athena, Apollo, Poseidon, Aphrodite, and Demeter. Zeus was the almighty ruler of this pantheon of gods. He is the ruler of Heaven and Earth and father of Athena. He is the god of the sky, weather, thunder, lightning, law, order, and justice. He was also known to have a temper and would hurl thunderbolts whenever he was angry. Athena was the goddess of wisdom, skill, warfare, peace, intelligence, battle strategy, and handicrafts. She is also the patron of the city state Athens. In the legend, it is said that she was born from Zeus' forehead as a full grown woman, and fully armored. Apollo was the goddess of music, arts, knowledge, and healing. He is the son of Zeus and had a twin sister, Artemis. He is associated with the sun while Artemis is associated with the moon. Poseidon is the god of the sea, rivers, floods, and earthquakes. He is the brother of Zeus. Aphrodite is the goddess of love, beauty, desire, and sexuality. Some of her lovers include Ares and Adonis. The final goddess we have discussed this class was Demeter, the goddess of grain, harvest, and agriculture. She is Zeus' sister.