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Creation

Creation

Hey guys! Welcome to my first part in this series! Just a disclaimer that myths are stories and everybody tells them in a different way. Your knowledge on Greek myths may contradict mine. Anyways, this will give you a head start on the crazy world that was ancient Greece.

Pronunciation guide down below

In the beginning there was nothing but chaos. (Guess what? Chaos is female!!) Somehow Gaea (Earth), Eros (Love), and Tarturus (Underworld)(Tartarus is very confusing because it is all a person, place, and thing) were brought into existence. Once love was made, Gaea and Chaos created Erebus (Darkness) and Nyx (Night) because that's how Greek mythology works. Two females create children and everyone commits incest. Yay... Darkness and Night create bright air (Whatever that means) and Day. They have Greek names but they're irrelevant and confusing. Nyx (Night) was feared by all and wanted power, therefore she created a plethora of children on her own. Of which include Fate, Doom, Death, Sleep, Dreams, Old Age, Revenge, Pain, Strife, Deceit, and pleasure. (There was a lot) But again... their names are irrelevant for now.

Meanwhile, Gaea gave birth to Uranus (Sky) and together (Yes together) they had three sets of children: The three one-eyed cyclops, the three Hundred-handed Hecatoncheires, and the twelve titans. There will be more on them later.

And this folks... This is where things get interesting. You see, Uranus was a horrid husband and father. The Oracle made a prophecy that Uranus would be overruled by one of his children. So he simply forbade them from seeing the "light of day" and trapped them in Gaea's womb. (Because it was dark I guess?) Obviously, this pissed Gaea off and she started conspiring against Uranus with her children. She made a long sword/sickle thing called a harpe. But only Cronus (sometimes spelt Kronos) was brave enough to attack his father. (He was a titan) Oh boy... brace yourselves... Cronus took the sickle and ambushed his father, cutting off his parts (Yes his parts) before proceeding to toss them into the ocean. The blood from the 'removal' created the Giants, Ash tree nymphs, and the Furies. The foam in the water created Aphrodite; the goddess of beauty.

Now just think about that for a second... the goddess of beauty was created from severed man foam. Welcome to Greek mythology ladies and gentlemen.

Random Things You Should Know:

1) In ancient Greece the gods usually didn't care about what other 'beings' did. Except for two things; You are not allowed to commit cannibalism or kill your children. Anything else goes.

2) The Oracle is just a fancy name for prophecy. It's not very clear what the Oracle actually is... but they are always right. And I mean always. However, the Gods don't get the memo. Ever.

3) Trust no one. Every single God/Goddess/Human in ancient Greece are jerks at one point. (Except for maybe Persephone and Hades Ironically) The best any of them can do when it comes to overall morals is alright. None of them are nice.

4) The Greek Gods are very dramatic and have extremely large egos. That's all I have to say about that one.

1)A good portion of the stories follow one of two general plots:

-The Oracle delivers a prophecy to someone that lacks common sense. Said person gets mad about it and does everything they can to change the prophecy. In the end it is always fulfilled.

-Zeus pisses someone off and gets laid

5) Many things cannot be explained in these myths and you just have to go with it...

6) Gender equality is non-existent. Equality in general is extremely rare.

7) Almost all stereotypes from movies regarding mythology are wrong. Clear your head and start over now.

The Thirteen Olympians

Aphrodite

Apollo

Ares

Artemis

Athena

Hades

Hephaestus

Hera

Hermes

Hestia

Poseidon

Zeus

Dionysus

The Twelve Titans

Oceanus

Tethys

Hyperion

Thea

Coeus

Phoebe

Crius

Mnemosyne

Iapetus

Themus

Cronus

Rhea

(You don't really have to know any of these, I just thought I would add them)

Pronunciation Guide?

Gaea: Guy-uh

Eros: Air-os

Uranus: Ooh-rah-nus (Yes, this is the Greek pronunciation don't @ me)

Hecatoncheires: Heca-ton-kye-rees (The best word ever!)

Aphrodite: Afro-die-tea

Mnemosyne: Ne-Moss-in-ee

Iapetus: Eye-app-ah-tus

Hephaestus: Heh-fes-tus

Dionysus: Dye-oh-nye-sus

Ares: Air-ees

In Conclusion...

In conclusion, this basic overview of Greek mythology gives you five rules to keep in mind when reading and learning about these stories:

Don't commit cannibalism or kill your kids

The Oracle's always right and you shouldn't visit it if you don't want the answers

No mortal is better than the gods

No one is your friend

There's always a catch

(These you have to memorize... I'm serious they're important)