Greek Mythology

Rafael Preciado

March 28, 2006

St. Frances X. Cabrini

Grade 7th

Greek Mythology

Greek Mythology is the ???

As the ruler of the Olympian gods, Zeus wielded enormous power and almost absolute authority. He appears in Homer's Iliad in the role of imperious leader, a grandiose father figure to a pantheon of bickering deities. And although he is often portrayed as an omniscient, omnipotent being, even the mighty Zeus could be tricked (or, to put it more gently, distracted). This is indeed the case in the Iliad, in that wonderful scene where he is seduced by his wife Hera and consequently led to ignore the events taking place on the battlefield of Troy. And just as the other deities had their own personal foibles, Zeus too had a weakness - he was passionately fond of female charms. Many stories about Zeus recount his insatiable lust and notorious wandering eye, an eye that fell upon goddess and mortal woman alike.

In Greek mythology, Hestia was the goddess of home and hearth, and she represented the ideal of purity in these areas. Possibly for this reason Hestia was an eternal virgin, deliberately remaining aloof from the advances of the male gods. It is important to note, however, that both Poseidon and Apollo sought to court her, but she refused them. Indeed, it is also worth mentioning that in the Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite, Hestia, along with Athena and Artemis, were the only goddesses immune to the passions aroused by the enchanting Aphrodite. The goddess Hestia was one of the first generation of Olympians. According to the Greek poet Hesiod, she was the daughter of two Titans - Kronos and Rhea - and therefore also the sister of Demeter, Hades, Hera, Poseidon, and Zeus. Hesiod's Theogony features the following information about the birth of Hestia and her siblings (who were collectively to become known as Olympian gods and goddesses).