ZEUS AND HIS BROTHER DREW LOTS FOR

THEIR SHARE OF THE UNIVERSE. THE SEA

FELL TO POSEIDON, AND THE UNDERWORLD
TO HADES. ZEUS BECAME THE SUPREME
RULER. HE WAS LORD OF THE SKY, THE
RAIN-GOD AND THE CLOUD-GATHERER,
WHO WIELDED THE AWFUL THUNDERBOLT.
HIS POWER WAS GREATER THAN THAT OF
ALL THE OTHER DIVINITIES TOGETHER. IN
THE ILIAD HE TELLS HIS FAMILY, “I AM
MIGHTIEST OF ALL. MAKE TRIAL THAT YOU
MAY KNOW. FASTEN A ROPE OF GOLD TO
HEAVEN AND LAY HOLD, EVERY GOD AND
GODDESS. YOU COULD NOT DRAG DOWN
ZEUS. BUT IF I WISHED TO DRAG YOU DOWN,
THEN I WOULD. THE ROPE I WOULD BIND TO

ZEUS (JUPITER) A PINNACLE OF OLYMPUS AND ALL WOULD

HANG IN AIR, YES, THE VERY EARTH AND
THE SEA TOO.”
 NEVERTHELESS, HE WAS NOT
OMNIPOTENT OR OMNISCIENT, EITHER.
HE COULD BE OPPOSED AND DECEIVED.
POSEIDON DUPES HIM IN THE ILIAD AND
SO DOES HERA. SOMETIMES, TOO, THE
MYSTERIOUS POWER, FATE, IS SPOKEN OF
AS STRONGER THAN HE. HOMER MAKES
HERA ASK HIM SCORNFULLY IF HE
PROPOSES TO DELIVER FROM DEATH A
MAN FATE HAS DOOMED.

ZEUS (JUPITER)
 HE IS REPRESENTED AS FALLING IN
LOVE WITH ONE WOMAN AFTER ANOTHER
AND DESCENDING TO ALL MANNER OF
TRICKS TO HIDE HIS INFIDELITY FROM HIS
WIFE. THE EXPLANATION WHY SUCH
ACTIONS WERE ASCRIBED TO THE MOST
MAJESTIC OF THE GODS IS, THE SCHOLARS
SAY, THAT THE ZEUS OF SONG AND STORY
HAS BEEN MADE BY COMBINING MANY
GODS. WHEN HIS WORSHIP SPREAD TO A
TOWN WHERE THERE WAS ALREADY A
DIVINE RULER THE TWO WERE SLOWLY
FUSED INTO ONE. THE WIFE OF THE EARLY
GOD WAS THEN TRANSFERRED TO ZEUS.
THE RESULT, HOWEVER, WAS
ZEUS (JUPITER) UNFORTUNATE AND THE LATER GREEKS
DID NOT LIKE THESE ENDLESS LOVE
AFFAIRS.
 STILL, EVEN IN THE EARLIEST
RECORD ZEUS HAD GRANDEUR. IN THE
ILIAD AGAMEMNON PRAYS: “ZEUS, MOST
GLORIOUS, MOST GREAT, GOD OF THE
STORM-CLOUD, THOU THAT DWELLEST IN
THE HEAVENS.” HE DEMANDED, TOO, NOT
ONLY SACRIFICES FROM MEN, BUT RIGHT
ACTION. THE GREEK ARMY AT TROY IS
TOLD “FATHER ZEUS NEVER HELPS LIARS
OR THOSE WHO BREAK THEIR OATHS.”
THE TWO IDEAS OF HIM, THE LOW AND
THE HIGH, PERSISTED SIDE BY SIDE FOR A
LONG TIME.

ZEUS (JUPITER)
 HIS BREASTPLATE WAS THE AEGIS,
AWFUL TO BEHOLD; HIS BIRD WAS THE
EAGLE, HIS TREE THE OAK. HIS ORACLE
WAS DODONA IN THE LAND OF OAK
TREES. THE GOD’S WILL BE REVEALED BY
THE RUSTLING OF THE OAK LEAVES
WHICH THE PRIESTS INTERPRETED.

ZEUS (JUPITER)
 SHE WAS ZEUS’S WIFE AND SISTER. THE
TITANS OCEAN AND TETHYS BROUGHT HER
UP. SHE WAS THE PROTECTOR OF
MARRIAGE, AND MARRIED WOMEN WERE
HER PECULIAR CARE. THERE IS VERY
LITTLE THAT IS ATTRACTIVE IN THE
PORTRAIT THE POETS DRAW OF HER. SHE
IS CALLED, INDEED, IN AN EARLY POEM,

GOLDEN-THRONED HERA,
AMONG IMMORTALS THE QUEEN,
CHIEF AMONG THEM IN
BEAUTY, THE GLORIOUS LADY
ALL THE BLESSED IN HIGH
HERA (JUNO) OLYMPUS REVERE,
HONOR EVEN AS ZEUS, THE
LORD OF THE THUNDER.
 BUT WHEN ANY ACCOUNT OF HER GETS
DOWN TO DETAILS, IT SHOWS HER CHIEFLY
ENGAGED IN PUNISHING THE MANY WOMEN
ZEUS FELL IN LOVE WITH, EVEN WHEN THEY
YIELDED ONLY BECAUSE HE COERCED OR
TRICKED THEM. IT MADE NO DIFFERENCE
TO HERA HOW RELUCTANT ANY OF THEM
WERE OR HOW INNOCENT; THE GODDESS
TREATED THEM ALL ALIKE. HER
IMPLACABLE ANGER FOLLOWED THEM AND
THEIR CHILDREN TOO. SHE NEVER FORGOT
AN INJURY. THE TROJAN WAR WOULD HAVE
ENDED IN AN HONORABLE PEACE, LEAVING
BOTH SIDES UNCONQUERED, IF IT HAD NOT
BEEN FOR HER HATRED OF A TROJAN WHO
HAD JUDGED ANOTHER GODDESS LOVELIER
HERA (JUNO) THAN SHE. THE WRONG OF HER SLIGHTED
BEAUTY REMAINED WITH HER UNTIL TROY
FELL IN RUINS.
 IN ONE IMPORTANT STORY, THE
QUEST OF THE GOLDEN FLEECE, SHE IS
THE GRACIOUS PROTECTOR OF HEROES
AND THE INSPIRER OF HEROIC DEEDS,
BUT NOT IN ANY OTHER. NEVERTHELESS,
SHE WAS VENERATED IN EVERY HOME.
SHE WAS THE GODDESS MARRIED WOMEN
TURNED TO FOR HELP. ILITHYIA (OR
EILEITHYIA), WHO HELPED WOMEN IN
CHILDBIRTH, WAS HER DAUGHTER.

THE COW AND THE PEACOCK

WERE SACRED TO HER. ARGOS WAS HER
HERA (JUNO) FAVORITE CITY.
 HE WAS THE RULER OF THE SEA,
ZEUS’S BROTHER AND SECOND ONLY TO
HIM IN EMINENCE. THE GREEKS ON BOTH
SIDES OF THE AEGEAN WERE SEAMEN
AND THE GOD OF THE SEA WAS ALL-
IMPORTANT TO THEM. HIS WIFE WAS
AMPHITRITE, A GRANDDAUGHTER OF THE
TITAN, OCEAN. POSEIDON HAD A
SPLENDID PALACE BENEATH THE SEA,
BUT HE WAS OFTENER TO BE FOUND IN
OLYMPUS.

POSEIDON
(NEPTUNE)
 BESIDES BEING LORD OF THE SEA HE
GAVE THE FIRST HORSE TO MAN, AND HE
WAS HONORED AS MUCH FOR THE ONE AS
FOR THE OTHER.
LORD POSEIDON, FROM YOU
THIS PRIDE IS OURS,
THE STRONG HORSES, THE
YOUNG HORSES, AND ALSO THE RULE
OF THE DEEP.

STORM AND CALM WERE UNDER HIS

CONTROL: -

POSEIDON HE COMMANDED AND THE STORM

WIND ROSE
(NEPTUNE) AND THE SURGES OF THE SEA.
 BUT WHEN HE DROVE IN HIS GOLDEN CAR
OVER THE WATERS, THE THUNDER OF THE
WAVES SANK INTO STILLNESS, AND
TRANQUIL PEACE FOLLOWED HIS
SMOOTH-ROLLING WHEELS.
HE WAS COMMONLY CALLED
“EARTH-SHAKER” AND WAS ALWAYS
SHOWN CARRYING HIS TRIDENT, A THREE-
PRONGED SPEAR, WITH WHICH HE
WOULD SHAKE AND SHATTER WHATEVER
HE PLEASED.
HE HAD SOME CONNECTION WITH
BULLS AS WELL AS WITH HORSES, BUT
POSEIDON THE BULL WAS CONNECTED WITH MANY
OTHER GODS TOO.
(NEPTUNE)
 HE WAS THE THIRD BROTHER AMONG THE
OLYMPIANS, WHO DREW FOR HIS SHARE
THE UNDERWORLD AND THE RULE OVER
THE DEAD. HE WAS ALSO CALLED PLUTO,
THE GOD OF WEALTH OF THE PRECIOUS
METALS HIDDEN IN THE EARTH. THE
ROMANS AS WELL AS THE GREEKS CALLED
HIM BY HIS NAME, BUT OFTEN THEY
TRANSLATED IT INTO DIS, THE LATIN
WORD FOR RICH. HE HAD A FAR-FARMED
CAP OR HELMET WHICH MAKE WHOEVER
WORE IT INVISIBLE. IT WAS RARE THAT HE
LEFT HIS DARK REALM TO VISIT OLYMPUS
OR THE EARTH, NOR WAS HE URGED TO DO
SO. HE WAS NOT A WELCOME VISITOR. HE

HADES (PLUTO) WAS UNPITYING, INEXORABLE, BUT JUST; A

TERRIBLE, NOT AN EVIL GOD.
 HIS WIFE WAS PERSEPHONE (PROSERPINE)
WHOM HE CARRIED AWAY FROM THE
EARTH AND MADE QUEEN OF THE LOWER
WORLD.

HE WAS KING OF THE DEAD- NOT

DEATH HIMSELF, WHOM THE GREEKS
CALLED THANATOS AND THE ROMAN
ORCUS.

HADES (PLUTO)
 SHE WAS THE DAUGHTER OF ZEUS ALONE.
NO MOTHER BORE HER. FULL-GROWN
AND IN FULL ARMOR, SHE SPRANG FROM
HIS HEAD. IN THE EARLIEST ACCOUNT OF
HER, THE ILIAD, SHE IS A FIERCE AND
RUTHLESS BATTLE-GODDESS, BUT
ELSEWHERE SHE IS WARLIKE ONLY TO
DEFEND THE STATE AND THE HOME FROM
OUTSIDE ENEMIES. SHE WAS PRE-
EMINENT THE GODDESS OF THE CITY, THE
PROTECTOR OF CIVILIZED LIFE, OF
HANDICRAFTS AND AGRICULTURE; THE
INVENTOR OF THE BRIDLE, WHO FIRST
TAMED HORSES FOR MEN USE.

PALLAS ATHENA
(MINERVA)
 SHE WAS ZEUS’S FAVORITE CHILD. HE
TRUSTED HER TO CARRY THE AWFUL AEGIS,
HIS BUCKLER, AND HIS DEVASTATING
WEAPON, THE THUNDERBOLT.
THE WORD OFTENEST USED TO
DESCRIBE HER IS “GRAY-EYED” OR, AS IT IS
SOMETIMES TRANSLATED, “FLASHING-
EYED.” OF THE THREE VIRGIN GODDESS
SHE WAS THE CHIEF AND WAS CALLED THE
MAIDEN PARTHENOS, AND HER TEMPLE THE
PARTHENON. IN LATER POETRY SHE IS THE
EMBODIMENT OF WISDOM, REASON,
PURITY.
ATHENS WAS HER SPECIAL CITY: THE
OLIVE CREATED BY HER WAS HER TREE;
THE OWL HER BIRD.
PALLAS ATHENA
(MINERVA)
 THE SON OF ZEUS AND LETO (LATONA),
BORN IN THE LITTLE ISLAND OF DELOS.
HE HAS BEEN CALLED “THE MOST GREEK
OF ALL THE GODS.” HE IS A BEAUTIFUL
FIGURE IN GREEK POETRY, THE MASTER
MUSICIAN WHO DELIGHTS OLYMPUS AS
HE PLAYS ON HIS GOLDEN TYPE LYRE;
THE LORD TOO OF THE SILVER BOW, THE
ARCHER-GOD, FAR-SHOOTING; THE
HEALER, AS WELL, WHO FIRST TAUGHT
MEN THE HEALING ART. EVEN MORE
THAN OF THESE GOOD AND LOVELY
ENDOWMENTS, HE IS THE GOD OF LIGHT,
IN WHOM IS NO DARKNESS AT ALL, AND SO
HE IS THE GOD OF TRUTH. NO FALSE
WORD EVER FALLS FROM HIS LIPS.
PHOEBUS APOLLO
 O PHOEBUS, FROM YOUR THRONE OF TRUTH,
FROM YOUR DWELLING-PLACE
AT THE HEART OF THE WORLD,
YOU SPEAK TO MEN,
BY ZEUS’S DECREE NO LIE
COMES THERE,
NO SHADOW TO DARKEN THE
WORD OF TRUTH.
ZEUS SEALED BY AN
EVERLASTING RIGHT
APOLLO’S HONOUR, THAT ALL
MAY TRUST
WITH UNSHAKEN FAITH WHEN
HE SPEAKS.

PHOEBUS APOLLO
 DELPHI UNDER TOWERING PARNASSUS,
WHERE APOLLO’S ORACLE WAS, PLAYS AM
IMPORTANT PART IN MYTHOLOGY.
CASTALIA WAS ITS SACRED SPRING;
CEPHISSUS ITS RIVER. IT WAS HELD TO BE
THE CENTER OF THE WORLD, SO MANY
PILGRIMS CAME TO IT, FROM FOREIGN
COUNTRIES AS WELL AS GREECE. NO OTHER
SHRINE RIVALED IT. THE ANSWERS TO THE
QUESTIONS ASKED BY THE ANXIOUS
SEEKERS FOR TRUTH WERE DELIVERED BY
A PRIESTESS WHO WENT INTO A TRANCE
BEFORE SHE SPOKE. THE TRANCE WAS
SUPPOSED TO BE CAUSED BY A VAPOR
RISING FROM A DEEP CLEFT IN THE ROCK
OVER WHICH HER SEAT WAS PLACED, A
THREE-LEGGED STOOL, THE TRIPOD.
PHOEBUS APOLLO
 APOLLO WAS CALLED DELIAN FROM DELOS,
THE ISLAND OF HIS BIRTH, AND PYTHIAN
FROM HIS KILLING OF A SERPENT, PYTHON,
WHICH ONCE LIVED IN THE CAVES OF
PARNASSUS. IT WAS A FRIGHTFUL MONSTER
AND THE CONTEST WAS SEVERE, BUT IN THE
END THE GOD’S UNERRING ARROWS WON THE
VICTORY. ANOTHER NAME OFTEN GIVEN HIM
WAS “THE LYCIAN,” VARIOUSLY EXPLAINED AS
MEANING WOLF-GOD, GOD OF LIGHT, AND GOD
OF LYCIA. IN THE ILIAD HE IS CALLED “THE
SMINTHIAN,” THE MOUSE-GOD, BUT WHETHER
BECAUSE HE PROTECTED MICE OR
DESTROYED THEM NO ONE KNOWS. OFTEN HE
WAS THE SUN-GOD TOO. HIS NAME PHOEBUS
MEANS “BRILLIANT” OR “SHINING.”
ACCURATELY, HOWEVER, THE SUN-GOD WAS
HELIOS, CHILD OF THE TITAN HYPERION.
PHOEBUS APOLLO
 APOLLO AT DELPHI WAS A PURELY
BENEFICENT POWER, A DIRECT LINK BETWEEN
GODS AND MEN, GUIDING MEN TO KNOW THE
DIVINE WILL, SHOWING THEM HOW TO MAKE
PEACE WITH THE GODS; THE PURIFIER, TOO,
ABLE TO CLEANSE EVEN THOSE STAINED WITH
THE BLOOD OF THEIR KINDRED.
NEVERTHELESS, THERE ARE A FEW TALES
TOLD OF HIM WHICH SHOW HIM PITILESS AND
CRUEL. TWO IDEAS WERE FIGHTING IN HIM AS
IN ALL THE GODS: A PRIMITIVE, CRUDE IDEA
AND ONE THAT WAS BEAUTIFUL AND POETIC.
IN HIM ONLY A LITTLE OF THE PRIMITIVE IS
LEFT.
THE LAUREL WAS HIS TREE. MANY
CREATURES WERE SACRED TO HIM, CHIEF
AMONG THEM THE DOLPHIN AND THE CROW.

PHOEBUS APOLLO
 ALSO CALLED CYNTHIA, FROM HER
BIRTHPLACE, MOUNT CYNTHUS IN DELOS.
APOLLO’S TWIN SISTER, DAUGHTER
OF ZEUS AND LETO. SHE WAS ONE OF THE
THREE MAIDEN GODDESS OF OLYMPUS: -
GOLDEN APHRODITE WHO STIRS WITH
LOVE ALL CREATION,
CANNOT BEND NOR ENSNARE THREE
HEARTS: THE PURE MAIDEN VESTA,
GRAY-EYED ATHENA WHO CARES BUT FOR
WAR AND THE ARTS OF THE CRAFTSMEN,
ARTEMIS, LOVER OF WOODS AND THE
WILD CHASE OVER THE MOUNTAINS.

ARTEMIS (DIANA)
 SHE WAS THE LADY OF WILD THINGS,
HUNTSMAN-IN-CHIEF TO THE GODS, AN
ODD OFFICE FOR A WOMAN. LIKE A GOOD
HUNTSMAN, SHE WAS CAREFUL TO
PRESERVE THE YOUNG; SHE WAS “THE
PROTECTRESS OF DEWY YOUTH”
EVERYWHERE. NEVERTHELESS, WITH ONE
OF THOSE STARLING CONTRADICTIONS SO
COMMON IN MYTHOLOGY, SHE KEPT THE
GREEK FLEET FROM SAILING TO TROY
UNTIL THEY SACRIFICE A MAIDEN TO HER.
IN MANY ANOTHER STORY, TOO, SHE IS
FIERCE AND REVENGEFUL. ON THE OTHER
HAND, WHEN WOMEN DIED A SWIFT AND
PAINLESS DEATH, THEY WERE HELD TO
HAVE BEEN SLAIN BY HER SILVER
ARROWS.
ARTEMIS (DIANA)
 AS PHOEBUS WAS THE SUN, SHE WAS THE MOON,
CALLED PHOEBE AND SELENE (LUNA IN LATIN).
NEITHER NAME ORIGINALLY BELONGED TO HER.
PHOEBE WAS A TITAN, ONE OF THE OLDER GODS.
SO TOO WAS SELENE- A MOON-GODDESS, INDEED,
BUT NOT CONNECTED WITH APOLLO WAS
CONFUSED.
IN THE LATER POETS, ARTEMIS IS
IDENTIFIED WITH HECATE. SHE IS “THE
GODDESS WITH THREE FORMS,” SELENE IN THE
SKY, ARTEMIS ON EARTH, HECATE IN THE
LOWER WORLD AND IN THE WORLD ABOVE
WHEN IT IS WRAPPED IN DARKNESS. HECATE
WAS GODDESS OF THE DARK OF THE MOON, THE
BLACK NIGHTS WHEN THE MOON IS HIDDEN. SHE
WAS ASSOCIATED WITH DEEDS OF DARKNESS,
THE GODDESS OF THE CROSSWAYS, WHICH WERE
HELD TO BE GHOSTLY PLACES OF EVIL MAGIC.
AN AWFUL DIVINITY,
ARTEMIS (DIANA)
 HECATE OF HELL,
MIGHTY TO SHATTER EVERY STUBBORN THING.
HARK! HARK! HER HOUNDS ARE BAYING THROUGH
THE TOWN.
WHERE THREE ROADS MEET, THERE SHE IS
STANDING.
IT IS A STRANGE TRANSFORMATION FROM THE
LOVELY HUNTRESS FLASHING THROUGH THE FOREST,
FROM THE MOON MAKING ALL BEAUTIFUL WITH HER
LIGHT, FROM THE PURE MAIDEN-GODDESS FROM WHOM
WHOSO IS CHASTE OF SPIRIT UTTERLY
MAY GATHER LEAVES AND FRUITS AND FLOWERS.
THE UNCHASTE NEVER.
IN HER IS SHOWN MOST VIVIDLY THE
UNCERTAINLY BETWEEN GOOD AND EVIL WHICH IS
APPARENT IN EVERY ONE OF THE DIVINITIES.
THE CYPRESS WAS SACRED TO HER; AND ALL WILD
ANIMALS, BUT ESPECIALLY THE DEER.
ARTEMIS (DIANA)
 THE GODDESS OF LOVE AND BEAUTY, WHO
BEGUILED ALL, GODS AND MEN ALIKE; THE
LAUGHTER-LOVING GODDESS, WHO LAUGHED
SWEETLY OR MOCKINGLY AT THOSE HER WILES
HAD CONQUERED; THE IRRESISTIBLE GODDESS
WHO STOLE AWAY EVEN THE WITS OF THE WISE.

SHE IS THE DAUGHTER OF ZEUS AND

DIONE IN THE ILIAD, BUT IN THE LATER POEMS
SHE IS SAID TO HAVE SPRUNG FROM THE FOAM
OF THE SEA, AND HER NAME WAS EXPLAINED AS
MEANING “THE FOAM-RISEN.” APHROS IS FOAM
IN GREEK. THIS SEA-BIRTH TOOK PLACE NEAR
CYNTHERA, FROM WHERE SHE WAS WAFTED TO

APHRODITE CYPRUS. BOTH ISLAND WAS EVER AFTER

SACRED TO HER, AND SHE WAS CALLED
CYNTHEREA OR THE CYPRIAN AS OFTEN AS BY
(VENUS) HER PROPER NAME.
 ONE OF THE HOMERIC HYMNS, CALLING HER
“BEAUTIFUL, GOLDEN GODDESS,” SAYS OF HER: -

THE BREATH OF THE WEST WIND

BORE HER
OVER THE SOUNDING SEA,
UP FROM THE DELICATE FOAM,
TO WAVE-RINGED CYPRUS, HER
ISLE.
AND THE HOURS GOLD-
WREATHED
WELCOMED HER JOYOUSLY.
THEY CLAD HER IN RAIMENT
IMMORTAL,

APHRODITE AND BROUGHT HER TO THE GODS.

WONDER SEIZED THEM ALL AS
THEY SAW
(VENUS) VIOLET-CROWNED CYTHEREA.
 THE ROMANS WROTE OF HER IN THE SAME WAY. WITH
HER, BEAUTY COMES. THE WINDS FLEE BEFORE HER
AND THE STORM CLOUDS; SWEET FLOWERS
EMBROIDER THE EARTH; THE WAVES OF THE SEA
LAUGH; SHE MOVES IN RADIANT LIGHT. WITHOUT HER
THERE IS NO JOY NOR LOVELINESS ANYWHERE. THIS IS
THE PICTURE THE POETS LIKE BEST TO PAINT OF HER.
BUT SHE HAD ANOTHER SIDE TOO. IT WAS
NATURAL THAT SHE SHOULD CUT A POOR FIGURE IN
THE ILIAD, WHERE THE BATTLE OF HEROES IS THE
THEME. SHE IS A SOFT, WEAK CREATURE THERE, WHOM
A MORTAL NEED NOT FEAR TO ATTACK. IN LATER
POEMS SHE IS USUALLY SHOWN AS TREACHEROUS AND
MALICIOUS, EXERTING A DEADLY AND DESTRUCTIVE
POWER OVER MEN.
IN MOST OF THE STORIES SHE IS THE WIFE OF

APHRODITE HEPHAESTUS (VULCAN), THE LAME AND UGLY GOD OF

THE FORGE.
THE MYRTLE WAS HER TREE; THE DOVE HER
(VENUS) BIRD- SOMETIMES, TOO, THE SPARROW AND THE SWAN.
 ZEUS WAS HIS FATHER AND MAIA, DAUGHTER
OF ATLAS, HIS MOTHER. BECAUSE OF A VERY
POPULAR STATUE HIS APPEARANCE IS MORE
FAMILIAR TO US THAN THAT ANY OTHER
GOD. HE WAS GRACEFUL AND SWIFT MOTION.
ON HIS FEET WERE WINGED SANDALS;
WINGS WERE ON HIS LOW-CROWNED HAT,
TOO, AND ON HIS MAGIC WAND, THE
CADUCEUS. HE WAS ZEUS’S MESSENGER,
WHO “FLIES AS FLEET AS THOUGHT TO DO
HIS BIDDING.”

HERMES
(MERCURY)
 OF ALL THE GODS HE WAS THE SHREWDEST
AND MOST CUNNING; IN FACT HE WAS THE
MASTER THIEF, WHO STARTED UPON HIS
CAREER BEFORE HE WAS A DAY OLD.

THE BABE WAS BORN AT THE

BREAK OF DAY,
AND ERE THE NIGHT FELL HE
HAD STOLEN AWAY
APOLLO’S HERDS.

HERMES
(MERCURY)
 ZEUS MADE HIM GIVE THEM BACK, AND HE
WON APOLLO’S FORGIVENESS BY PRESENTING
HIM WITH THE LYRE WHICH HE HAD JUST
INVENTED, MAKING IT OUT OF A TORTOISE’S
SHELL. PERHAPS THERE WAS SOME
CONNECTION BETWEEN THAT EVERY EARLY
STORY OF HIM AND THE FACT THAT HE WAS
GOD OF COMMERCE AND THE MARKET,
PROTECTOR OF TRADERS.
IN ODD CONTRAST TO THIS IDEA OF HIM,
HE WAS ALSO THE SOLEMN GUIDE OF THE
DEAD, THE DIVINE HERALD WHO LED THE
SOULS DOWN TO THEIR LAST HOME.

HERMES HE APPEARS OFTENER IN THE TALES OF

MYTHOLOGY THAN ANY OTHER GOD.

(MERCURY)
 THE GOD OF WAR, SON OF ZEUS AND HERA, BOTH
OF WHOM, HOMER SAYS, DETESTED HIM. INDEED,
HE IS HATEFUL THROUGHOUT THE ILIAD, POEM
OF WAR THOUGH IT IS. OCCASIONALLY, THE
HEROES, “REJOICE IN THE DELIGHT OF ARES’
BATTLE,” BUT FAR OFTENER IN HAVING ESCAPED
“THE FURY OF THE RUTHLESS GOD.” HOMER
CALLS HIM MURDEROUS, BLOODSTAINED, THE
INCARNATE CURSE OF MORTALS; AND
STRANGELY, A COWARD TOO, WHO BELLOWS
WITH PAIN AND RUNS AWAY WHEN HE IS
WOUNDED. YET, HE HAS A TRAIN OF ATTENDANTS
ON THE BATTLEFIELD WHICH SHOULD INSPIRE
EVERYONE WITH CONFIDENCE. HIS SISTER IS
THERE. ERIS, WHICH MEANS DISCORD, AND
STRIFE, HER SON. THE GODDESS OF WAR, ENYO –
IN LATIN BELLONA – WALKS BESIDE HIM, AND

ARES (MARS) WITH HER ARE TERROR AND TREBLING AND

PANIC. AS THEY MOVE, THE VOICE OF GROANING
ARISES BEHIND THEM AND THE EARTH STREAMS
WITH BLOOD.
 THE ROMANS LIKED MARS BETTER THAN THE
GREEKS LIKED ARES. HE NEVER WAS TO THEM
THE MEAN, WHINING DEITY OF THE ILIAD BUT
MAGNIFICENT IN SHINING ARMOR,
REDOUBTABLE, INVINCIBLE. THE WARRIORS OF
THE GREAT LATIN HEROIC POEM, THE AENEID,
FAR FROM REJOICING TO ESCAPE FROM HIM,
REJOICE WHAT THEY SEE THAT THEY ARE TO
FALL “ON MARS’ FIELD OF RENOWN.” THEY
“RUSH ON GLORIOUS DEATH” AND FIND IT
“SWEET TO DIE IN BATTLE. “
ARES FIGURES LITTLE IN MYTHOLOGY.
IN ONE STORY, HE IS THE LOVER OF APHRODITE
AND HELD UP TO THE CONTEMPT OF THE
OLYMPIANS BY APHRODITE’S HUSBAND,
HEPHAESTUS; BUT FOR THE MOST PART HE IS

ARES (MARS) LITTLE MORE THAN A SYMBOL OF WAR. HE IS

NOT A DISTINCT PERSONALITY, LIKE HERMES
OR HERA OR APOLLO.
 HE HAD NO CITIES WHERE HE WAS
WORSHIPED. THE GREEKS SAID VAGUELY
THAT HE CAME FROM THRACE, HOME A
RUDE, FIERCE PEOPLE IN THE NORTHEAST
OF GREECE.

APPROPRIATELY, HIS BIRD WAS THE

VULTURE. THE DOG WAS WRONGED BY BEING
CHOSEN AS HIS ANIMAL.

ARES (MARS)
 THE GOD OF FIRE, SOMETIMES SAID TO BE
THE SON OF ZEUS AND HERA, SOMETIMES OF
HERA ALONE, WHO BORE HIM IN
RETALIATION FOR ZEUS’S HAVING BROUGHT
FOR ATHENA. AMONG THE PERFECTLY
BEAUTIFUL IMMORTALS HE ONLY WAS UGLY.
HE WAS LAME AS WELL. IN ONE PLACE IN
THE ILIAD HE SAYS THAT HIS SHAMELESS
MOTHER, WHEN SHE SAW THAT HE WAS
BORN DEFORMED, CAST HIM OUT OF
HEAVEN; IN ANOTHER PLACE HE DECLARES
THAT ZEUS DID THIS, ANGRY WITH HIM FOR
TRYING TO DEFEND HERA. THIS SECOND
HEPHAESTUS STORY IS THE BETTER KNOWN, BECAUSE OF
MILTON’S FAMILIAR LINES: MULCIBER WAS
(VULCAN)
 THROWN BY ANGRY JOVE
SHEER O’ER THE CRYSTAL
BATTLEMENTS; FROM MORN
TO NOON HE FELL, FROM NOON
TO DEWY EVE,
A SUMMER’S DAY, AND WITH
THE SETTING SUN
DROPT FROM ZENITH LIKE A
FALLING STAR,
ON LEMNOS, THE AEGEAN ISLE.

HEPHAESTUS
(VULCAN)
 THESE EVENTS, HOWEVER, WERE SUPPOSED TO
HAVE TAKEN PLACE IN THE FAR-DISTANT PAST. IN
HOMER HE IS IN NO DANGER OF BEING DRIVEN
FROM OLYMPUS; HE IS HIGHLY HONORED THERE,
THE WORKMAN OF THE IMMORTALS, THEIR
ARMORER AND SMITH, WHO MAKES THEIR
DWELLINGS AND THEIR FURNISHINGS AS WELL AS
THEIR WEAPONS. IN HIS WORKSHOP HE HAS
HANDMAIDENS HE HAS FORGED OUT OF GOLD WHO
CAN MOVE AND WHO HELP HIM IN HIS WORK.
IN THE LATER POETS HIS FORGE IS OFTEN
SAID TO BE UNDER THIS OR THAT VOLCANO, AND
TO CAUSE ERUPTIONS.
HIS WIFE IS ONE OF THREE GRACES IN THE

HEPHAESTUS ILIAD, CALLED AGLAIA IN HESIOD; IN THE ODYSSEY

SHE IS APHRODITE.

(VULCAN)
 HE WAS A KINDLY, PEACE-LOVING GOD,
POPULAR ON THE EARTH AS IN HEAVEN.
WITH ATHENA, HE WAS IMPORTANT IN THE
LIFE OF THE CITY. THE TWO WERE THE
PATRONS OF HANDICRAFTS, THE ARTS
WHICH ALONG WITH AGRICULTURE ARE THE
SUPPORT OF CIVILIZATION; HE THE
PROTECTOR OF THE SMITHS AS SHE OF THE
WEAVERS. WHEN CHILDREN WERE
FORMALLY ADMITTED TO THE CITY
ORGANIZATION, THE GOD OF THE
CEREMONY WAS HEPHAESTUS.

HEPHAESTUS
(VULCAN)
 SHE WAS ZEUS’S SISTER AND LIKE ATHENA
AND ARTEMIS A VIRGIN GODDESS. SHE HAS
NO DISTINCT PERSONALITY AND SHE PLAYS
NO PART IN THE MYTHS. SHE WAS THE
GODDESS OF THE HEARTH, THE SYMBOL OF
THE HOME, AROUND WHICH THE NEWBORN
CHILD MUST BE CARRIED BEFORE IT COULD
BE RECEIVED INTO THE FAMILY. EVERY
MEAL BEGAN AND ENDED WITH AN
OFFERING TO HER.

HESTIA (VESTA)
 HESTIA, IN ALL DWELLINGS OF MEN AND
IMMORTALS
YOURS IS THE HIGHEST HONOR,
THE SWEET WINE OFFERED
FIRST AND LAST AT THE FEAST,
POURED OUT TO YOU DULY.
NEVER WITHOUT YOU CAN GODS
OR MORTALS HOLD BANQUET.
EACH CITY TOO HAD A PUBLIC HEARTH
SACRED TO HESTIA, WHERE THE FIRE WAS
NEVER ALLOWED TO GO OUT. IF A COLONY WAS
TO BE FOUNDED, THE COLONIST CARRIED WITH
THEM COALS FROM THE HEARTH OF THE
MOTHER-CITY WITH WHICH TO KINDLE THE
FIRE ON THE NEW CITY’S HEARTH.
IN ROME HER FIRE WAS CARED FOR BY SIX
VIRGINS’ PRIESTESSES, CALLED VESTALS.
HESTIA (VESTA)