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This web page was created by the braintumorguy, in Athens, GREECE. please make a Small Donation, in my fight against my Brain Tumor which is Growing,

www.paypal.com my email account: braintumor2014@gmail.com

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(1) 2015-08-15 me and King Leonidas of Sparta, Greece, in front of the Acropolis Museum, in Athens, Greece.

(2) 2015-11-22 in front of the Acropolis, in Athens, Greece.

(3) 2015-11-26 in Athens GREECE, in Syntagma Square in front the Parliament Building. - in between the water fountain and the Christmas Tree.

(4) 2016-05-01 me and my Masters, the Great Ancient Greek Philosophers Plato, and Aristotle.

(5) 2016-05-30 Beautiful Greece & the Greek Islands from Space on a beautiful clear day. Thank you NASA.

for more information about me, please visit my main web page

https://sites.google.com/site/niactec/

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2016-10-23 : the website is under construction.

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Who were the ancient Greek gods and heroes?

1. What did the Greeks believe?
2. Who were the Greek gods?
3. What were Greek temples like?
4. Who was the Greeks' favourite hero?
5. The story of Perseus and Medusa
6. What happened to dead Greeks?
7. Where next?

1. What did the Greeks believe?

The Greeks believed that gods and goddesses watched over them.

These gods were a bit like humans, but they lived forever and were much more powerful. They felt human emotions, like love, anger and jealousy, and they did not always behave themselves.

The Greeks thought the gods lived high above Mount Olympus, in a palace in the clouds. From here, they kept an eye on life below. From time to time, they would interfere in what was going on. They could send storms if they were angry and decide who was victorious in wars. Sometimes they even played tricks on humans too.

2. Who were the Greek gods?

Each god and goddess had power over a different aspect of life or the world. Click to find out a bit more about them.

Hades

Hades did not live on Mount Olympus with the other gods. He ruled the kingdom of the dead, known as the Underworld.

People made sacrifices to him if they wanted something terrible to happen to their enemy. His brothers were Zeus and Poseidon.

I, Hades, rule the damp, dark, Underworld. Even the flowers here are grey. My land is filled with shades - you call them ghosts.

The gates of the Underworld are guarded by Cerberus, my fierce three-headed dog. The Greek hero Heracles once stole him and took him to your world.

To reach my kingdom you must cross the River Styx. Charon, the ferryman will transport you over the dark water, but only for a fee.

==

Aphrodite

Aphrodite was the most beautiful goddess. She had a magical golden belt that made people fall in love with her.

Aphrodite's sacred animals were the dove and swan. She was one of Zeus's children and was married to Herphaestus, the god of blacksmiths.

I am Aphrodite, goddess of love. I was born from the foam of the sea. I wear a golden belt that makes gods and men fall in love with me. It's so funny when that happens!

But when I fell in love with Adonis, a handsome young man, that wasn't so funny. He was killed by a wild boar when he was out hunting. I wanted to make sure his memory would live on forever, so I took drops of his blood and turned them into anemones, beautiful flowers.

When you see those red flowers, remember my love!

==

Hera

Hera was queen of the gods and the wife of Zeus.

She was the goddess of marriage and women. Hera's sacred animals were the peacock, cuckoo, lion and cow.

I am Hera, queen of the gods. My husband is Zeus and our son is Ares the god of war. But Zeus has many other children who are not mine. I spend my days making their lives a misery!

Serve me well, and I'll reward you as I did my watchman, Argus. He had one hundred eyes. When he died, I put his eyes into the tail of a peacock. You can still see them to this day.

But be warned, you should never make me angry. When Prince Paris failed to pick me in a beauty contest, I destroyed his city of Troy.

==

Zeus

Zeus was the king of the gods. He threw thunderbolts to punish anyone who disobeyed him.

Zeus had many children, including Apollo, Artemis, Athena, Aphrodite and Ares.

I, Zeus, am king of the gods. My father was Cronus, a cruel giant. When I was born, he tried to eat me! But I had the one-eyed giant Cyclop make me a thunderbolt that I blasted Cronus with!

Then I drew lots with my brothers Hades and Poseidon, to see who should be the new king. I won of course.

Now, men and gods fear my thunderbolts. But I, Zeus, fear no-one... except my wife Hera. She’s always accusing me of sneaking off to meet human girlfriends. As if I would!

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Athena

Athena was the goddess of wisdom and war.

The people of Athens named their city after her and a huge statue of Athena once stood inside the Parthenon.

Zeus once had a terrible headache. It was so bad, he had his head split with an axe and I, Athena, jumped out! I was fully grown, dressed in armour and carrying a spear.

I am a warrior goddess and when heroes like Heracles and Jason get into trouble, I help them.

But I’m full of wisdom too. My favourite bird is the wise owl and my favourite city is Athens, with its clever people. I gave them the first olive tree and they grew rich from selling olive oil.

==

Poseidon

Poseidon was the god of the sea.

He was known for carrying a trident, a large three-pronged fork, and could send storms and earthquakes to shake the

land. His brothers were Zeus and Hades.

I, Poseidon, rule the waves. My younger brother is Zeus, king of the gods. But I'm not jealous of him. I live in a golden palace under the ocean and when I shake my pointed trident, storms rage at sea, earthquakes shiver the land.

So I'm definitely not jealous!

My son is the famous Greek hero Theseus. He killed the Minotaur, a bull-headed monster. And I am also the father of the flying horse Pegasus and Polyphemus, the one-eyed giant. So me? Jealous of Zeus? Ha!

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Hades==

Aphrodite

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Hera

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Zeus

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Athena

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Poseidon

3. What were Greek temples like?

The most famous temple in Greece was the Parthenon in Athens. Inside stood a giant statue of Athena, the patron goddess of the city.

The Greeks built temples to their gods and goddesses. Some temples were small, while others were very grand and beautiful with amazing decorations.

Every city in Greece had a 'patron' god or goddess. People believed patron gods protected them from harm.

When people needed help from the gods, they went to the temple to pray. They might go if they were feeling sick, going on a journey or worried about the harvest on the farm.

To please the gods, people brought gifts of money, flowers, food and drink. They offered these gifts as sacrifices. Animals, like cattle, were sometimes killed as sacrifices. Then people feasted on the roasted meat.

4. Who was the Greeks' favourite hero?

One of the 12 legendary tasks of Heracles was to defeat the Stymphalian birds. These man-eating metallic birds were the pets of the god Ares.

The Greeks loved to share stories about brave heroes and their great adventures.

Everyone’s favourite hero was Heracles (the Romans called him Hercules). Heracles was Zeus’s son. He was so strong he could kill a lion with his bare hands.

He also sailed with Jason and the Argonauts to find the Golden Fleece and he performed 12 ‘impossible’ tasks.

Heracles was very brave, but he was killed when he was tricked into putting on a poisoned robe. However, Zeus liked Heracles so much that he took him to Mount Olympus and made him immortal.

5. The story of Perseus and Medusa

Find out how another famous Greek hero, Perseus, killed a monster called Medusa. Medusa was a Gorgon, she had venomous snakes instead of hair and she could turn people to stone just by looking at them.

The story of Perseus and Medusa

Narrator: Athena had not only told Perseus how to destroy the Gorgon, she had given him the means.

He now carried her bright ly polished shield in one hand and his sword in the other.

He knew that he must be getting close to Medusa's cave.

The valley in which he stood was filled with stone people, some trapped as they'd turned to run, others frozen in horror, their mouths open, the screams still on their lips.

It was as if they had been photographed in the last second of their life, their reaction in that second had been caught for eternity.

One young soldier had covered his face, but then he had tried to peep through his fingers.

A local government official stood rigid, his stone fingers clutching a scrap of yellowing paper. There were stone women and stone children.

Now Perseus saw the mouth of a large cave yawning darkly at him.

Holding the shield more tightly than ever, he climbed down the gentle slope and taking a deep breath, entered the gloom.

Perseus: Medusa!

Narrator: His voice sounded lost in the shadows. Something moved at the back of the cave.

Perseus: Medusa!

Narrator: Now he could hear breathing and the sound of hissing.

Perseus: I am Perseus!

Medusa: Perseus?

Narrator: Came a deep throaty voice from the back of the cave.

It was followed by a horrible giggling.

Medusa: Have you come to see me?

Narrator: The Gorgon stepped forward into the light.

For a dreadful moment Perseus was tempted to look up at her, to meet her eyes.

But with all his strength, he kept his head turned away as Athena had instructed him. And instead of looking at Medusa, he looked at her reflection in the shield.

Now he could see her green skin, her poisonous red eyes and her yellow teeth all reflected in the polished bronze.

He lifted his sword.

Medusa: Look at me! Look at me!

Narrator: The Gorgon cried. Still he ’kept his eyes on the shield. He took another step into the cave.

Now the reflection was huge, the teeth snarling at him out of the shield.

Medusa: Look at me! Look at me!

Narrator: How could he find her when all he could see was the reflection?

Surely it would be easier to kill her if he just took one quick look, just to make sure he didn't miss.

Medusa: Yes, that's right! Look at me!

Perseus: NO!

Narrator: With a despairing cry, Perseus swung his sword wildly.

He felt the sharp steel bite into flesh and bone.

A fountain of blood spouted out of her neck as her body crumpled.

Then, at last, it was over. Still not looking at it, Perseus picked up the grim trophy of his victory and dropped it into a heavy sack.

==

6. What happened to dead Greeks?

The entrance to the Underworld was guarded by a three headed dog called Cerberus.

The Greeks believed that the dead went to the 'Underworld'. This was an underground kingdom ruled by the god Hades.

To reach the Underworld, dead souls had to cross the River Styx. A grumpy ferryman called Charon would take them across, but only if they paid him. So Greeks would place a coin in the mouth of a dead person at funerals, to make sure they could pay the fare.

After crossing the River Styx, three judges decided where the dead person should spend eternity. If they’d been really good, they were sent to live happily forever in the Elysian Fields.

If they had been ok, they were sent to the Asphodel Meadows. But if they had been really bad, they ended up in Tartarus. This was a really horrible pit where their soul was tortured for all eternity.

7. Where next?

https://sites.google.com/site/ancientgreeksthegreekworld/what-do-we-know-about-ancient-greek-culture

braintumor2014@gmail.com

and please send a text message to my mobile phone 0030 6942686838

( 0030 is the international area code of Greece )

in order I connect into the INTERNET and to my www.gmail.com email account and to reply to your email, withing the next 24 hours.

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( English ) the StatCounter was installed on 2016-10-23, 17:30 p.m. GMT

( Greek ) ( Ελληνικά ) Ο μετρητής εγκαταστάθηκε την 23-10-2016 19:30 μ.μ. ώρα Ελλάδας

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