THURSDAY THIRTEEN - GREEK GODS

Quilly's Alphabet is here. Today letter V = Vacation





13 Gods of Olympia

On my recent trip to Greece I also visited Olympia the place where the Greek gods used to live.


1. Athena was the goddess of wisdom. She also was the goddess of handicrafts and strategy. She did not like to fight, but when forced to, she always won. She hated Ares and took pleasure in thwarting him on the battle field.

2. Zeus was the king of the gods. He had affairs with 8 goddesses other than his wife, Hera. He also had affairs with countless mortals and nymphs. Therefore, he is the cause of many myths. Zeus was also the god of the sky. His weapon was the thunderbolt. Still another job of Zeus's was the god of hospitality.

3. Hera was the queen of the gods. She was very jealous, but with a husband like Zeus, who was with other women six days a week, who could blame her? She was also the goddess of married women.

4. Aphrodite was the goddess of love and beauty. Most stories involving her are about two people getting married. She was very jealous, and anyone who thought and announced that they were more beautiful then her often felt her anger.

5. Apollo was the god of light and music. He also drove Helios' sun chariot across the sky. He had an even temper. He preached moderation in all things and owned an oracle at Delphi.

6. Hermes was one of the messengers of the gods, the other being Iris. Hermes also had a number of other jobs, which were god of travelers, shepherds, thieves, and merchant. He also conducted dead souls to Hades in the Underworld. He wore a winged cap and sandles, which enabled him to fly. In addition, he was very clever and invented cards, card games, the lyre, and the alphabet.

7. Poseidon was the god of the sea. He had an extremely irritable temper and was known for creating the horse. Being the god of the sea, he also controlled storms. His weapon was a trident.

8. Cronus was the king of the gods before Zeus took over. He was a cruel father and swallowed five of his children because he was afraid that the prophecy would come true that he would be de-throned the same way he de-throned his father

9. Rhea was the mother of six of the more recent gods. Her only true role was to be the wife of Cronus. When five of her children were swallowed, she saved Zeus and helped him to de-throne Cronus.

10. Psyche is the goddess of love and goddess of the soul. She has a very interesting relationship with Eros.

11. Eros was the god of love. Unlike Aphrodite, he was the god of pure love. He has made his way into modern day Valentine's Day celebrations. Eros had arrows which could infect anyone pierced by them with love.

12. Hephaestus was the god of the forge. This means that he was a blacksmith. He was the only god that was "ugly". He was crippled at birth, when Hera threw him off Mount Olympus because she was appalled at his ugliness.

13. Nike was the Greek goddess of victory. Little is known about Nike. In fact, there are very few stories about her, and the ones that do exist are often about the Greek word "nike", meaning victory. But Nike nonetheless survived and found her way into modern-day life. A certain shoe company happens to be named after the Greek goddess of victory. Hmmm...