Greek Goddesses

The Greek Goddesses

In Greek mythology the gods and goddesses of Mount Olympus played a major role in everyday life. The Greeks respected them and thought of the gods as all mighty.

In Ancient Greece the people honored and believe in the deities. Myths, poems, and epics

tell the stories and beliefs referring to the gods and goddesses. Many literary works

display the power and jobs of the goddesses. The Greek people lived to please the deities

in hope of gaining a better lifestyle. The goddesses of Greece acted as an important part of

Greek mythology ( Hamilton 28-35 ).

Historians placed the goddesses into categories. The first category included the

major goddesses of Olympus. The goddesses placed in this category were Hera, Athena,

Aphrodite, Hestia, Demeter, and Artemis because most people knew and worshipped them.

The people held these six goddesses the most high and with the most respect ( Hamilton 28 ).

Hera, the goddess of the protection of marriage, took care of married women.

The sister and also wife of Zeus, the king of the gods, Hera may be the most well known

of the goddesses. The Titans of the Ocean along with the Tethys raised Hera ( Hamilton

28 ). Most people knew Ilithyia , Hera’s daughter, for her help of women through

childbirth. Hera held the city of Argos sacred along with the peacock and cow. In Roman

mythology, the name of Hera was changed to Juno, queen of goddesses ( Pinset 20 ).

Artemis, or Diana in Roman mythology, had the role of Leto and Zeus’s daughter

and also twin sister of god Apollo. Known as the goddess of wildlife and hunting, Artemis

held all animals sacred, but the deer more then any other. Artemis also held the cypress

tree sacred. Not many myths feature this goddess, but she lives on through the years in

poems and other works ( Hunt 3 ).

Many myths from the Greeks feature Athena, or Minerva as known to the Romans.

Myths say that Athena had a very original birth. Some writers have said that Hephaestus

took an ax and shaved her from Zeus’s forehead and therefore she has no mother ( Pinset

22 ). Zeus thought of Athena as his favorite child and she had the privilege of using his

weapons. First known as the guardian of the city and ...

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... they harmed the Earth in any way that Gaea would smite them. This goddess

protected the planet and so played an important role in the Greek beliefs ( Hamilton 64 ).

Hebe, the goddess of youth and wife of Hercules, maintained throughout time an

image like that of a child. The Greeks thought of her as playful, sweet, kind, and trusting.

Along with Ganymede, Hebe acted as a cupbearer to the Gods of Olympus ( Hunt 2 ).

The portrayal of the goddesses in many myths was that of a beautiful and majestic

creature which contained many aspects to her personality. These personalities live on

today through stories in the forms of poems, myths, and epic tales. Modern movies, art,

and literature help to show these creations of the Greeks in powerful along with

interesting ways. The goddesses of Ancient Greece impacted Greek culture in such ways

that people today know the goddesses in the same aspect the Greeks did. The Greek

goddesses of Mount Olympus will forever live in the literature of Greek writers along with

writers of today. The importance of the goddesses to the Greeks will remain high for

years to come.