The Map of Iliad and Odyssey

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13.

Mt. Olympus Troy Cicones Lotus Eaters Cyclops Aeolia s Island Laestrygonians Circe s Kingdom Land of the Dead Sirens Scylla and Charybids Calypso Ithaca

Greek Gods and Goddesses Aphrodite: love, beauty and passion, these are the words that best describe. She is who is also called Venus by the Romans, was created from the crystal waters of Paphos in Cyprus. She was considered the most beautiful Goddess and always carried with her a girdle, the seashell and a mirror. Her vanity was of utmost importance to her, and she was very amorous, but she was in a love affair with Ares, the God of war. Apollo: as most women want to be compared to Aphrodite, most men want to be compared to Apollo, the most beautiful God. He was the god of light, medicine and music. Apollo also had a gift of prophecy, which was given to him by his father Zeus at birth. The handsome Apollo carried with him a lyre, tripod and navel stone. Ares: the God of all things dark, the God of war, Ares was Aphrodites lover and father to many children. He was also called Mars and is the son of Zeus and Hera. Ares was always surrounded by dogs and carried a spear. Artemis: also called Diana, Artemis was the Goddess of moon, forest, childbirth and hunting. Ironically Artemis was a virgin and yet was associated with childbirth. She is the daughter of Zeus and mortal Leto. Athena: Goddess born of Zeus, she who is called Minerva, like Artemis was a virgin Goddess. She was the patron goddess of Athens and Goddess of wisdom, skill and war. Hades: Pluto he was also known as and was the ruler of the underworld and of the dead. He was always surrounded by darkness, death, silence and gloom. Hephaestus: This God of Fire and Forge was given the roman name of Vulcan. He was the son of Zeus and Hera and was rumored to be conceived before their nuptials. He was husband to Aphrodite, but never her true lover, because he lacked what Aphrodite prized, beauty. Hera: She is the Queen of the Gods and Goddesses, and wife to King of the Gods Zeus. She was the Goddess of Marriage and family. Hera hated her husband Zeuss love child Hercules by a mortal woman.
Hermes: He was the messenger of the Gods and quite naturally the Greek God of

Trade. He was also called Mercury.

Hestia: this Goddess of home and hearth was the eldest daughter of the Titans Cronus and Rhea. She is also called Vesta by the Romans and was one of the three virgin Goddesses. Poseidon: He was the most feared, this God of the sea and earthquakes. Every time there was a storm, a quick prayer was sent to calm the wrath of Poseidon. He was named Neptune by the Romans. Zeus: King of the Gods, Zeus was the Greek God of the sky and was invincible. He was the ultimate authority on Mount Olympus and has the most power. He was called Jupiter by the Romans and was born of the Titans Cronus and Rhea. According to the ancient Greek mythology, the Greek Gods and Goddesses were divided into two important eras; the Titans and the Olympians. Each of these races had powerful deities. Let us learn more about them briefly, before learning about the Greek Gods and Goddesses names. Titans The Titans were considered to be the first Gods who ruled the world and heaven. They were said to have been created by Gaia (Mother Earth) and her son, Uranus (God of heaven), the first divine couple in this world. They were the first to dwell in Mount Olympus during the Golden Age, but were overthrown by Zeus and the other Olympian Gods, in the battle of Titanomachy. Olympians These Gods and Goddesses were the most important and the main deities of Ancient Greece. Their leader was Zeus, the King of Gods and Heaven. According to the Greek myth, there were twelve main Olympian Gods and Goddesses. Let us see some of the important Gods and Goddesses from both these eras from the table about the Greek Gods and Goddesses names and powers or importance given below.

Titan Gods and Goddesses Names Cronus Atlas Gaia Oceanus Tethys Importance He was the ruler of the Titans and also the father of Zeus. He was also the son of Uranus. He was the son of Iapetus and he was punished by Zeus to carry the heaven on his shoulder forever. She was the Goddess of the earth and also the mother of the Titans. It is said that she, along with her son Uranus's help, gave birth to the rest of the Titans. He was the son of Uranus and Gaia. He was the ruler of the water and the oceans. He was also the oldest of all the Titans. She was Oceanus's sister as well as wife and also the mother of some of the main rivers like Nile, Alpheus, the Maeander and about three thousand daughters who were called the Oceanids. Metis was the daughter of Oceanus and Tethys. First wife of Zeus, she was also the Goddess of good counsel, planning, cunning, advice and wisdom. She was the mother of Athena, the Goddess of art and wisdom. Goddess of good counsel and divine law and order as well as custom. In Greek, the term 'Metis' means 'divine law'. He was the son of Cronus and the God of Heaven and Sky. In fact, he was often referred to as the Sky God. He was also the first ruler of the Universe and father of the main Titans. He was the God of light and observation. He was also the father of Helios (the Sun), Eos (the Dawn) and Selene (the Moon). His name in Greek means 'he who goes before the Sun'. She was the Goddess of Brilliance and also the Moon. She married her brother, Coeus, who was the God of intelligence. Goddess of memory and remembrance. She is the one who is said to help humans remember the various myths about the Greek Gods and Goddesses. He was the God of afterthought and also the father of excuses. Iapetus was the God of Morality and also the ancestor of human race. He was the last individualized of the Titans and was also known as the 'Ram'. He was the God of leadership and domestic animals. Dione was known as the Goddess of the oracle of Dodona. She was the mother of the Olympian Gods and also the wife as well as sister of Cronus. He was the God of intellect as well as the keeper of wisdom. He was married to Phoebe. He was also the axis of the heaven and the constellations revolved around this axis. God of wisdom and forethought. He was also known as the creator of mankind. She was the Goddess of sight and also the mother of celestial deities. She was also the consort of Hyperion and mother of Helios, Eos and Selene.

Metis Themis Uranus

Hyperion Phoebe Mnemosyne Epimetheus Iapetus Crius Dione Rhea Coeus Prometheus Theia

Olympian Gods Names Importance Goddess of love, beauty, eternal youth, seduction and pleasure. She was married to Aphrodite Hephaestus, but despite that she had many lovers. Apollo Athena Hermes Artemis Hephaestus God of light, medicine, poetry and archery. He also represented harmony, civilization and order. He was the son of Zeus and Lato. Goddess of wisdom, war, handicrafts, reason and patron. She was also the daughter of Zeus and Metis. God of business and also messenger of all Gods and Goddesses. He was also the God of trade, language, writing, diplomacy, athletics and also animal husbandry. He was the son of Zeus and Maia. Goddess of the moon, childbirth, forest and hunt. She was also the protector of the young and the women who were expecting. She was the daughter of Zeus and Leto. Son of Zeus and Hera, he was the God of the forge and fire. He was known as the Smith of the Olympian Gods and Goddesses.

God of the sea, rivers, floods, horses, droughts and also earthquakes. He was also Poseidon known as the 'Earth Shaker' and also the 'Storm Bringer'. He was the brother of Zeus and Hades and the son of Cronus and Rhea. Zeus Hestia Hades Hera Ares Demeter Eros Dionysus He was the King of all Gods, the ruler of all the Olympian Gods and also the God of Sky. He was the one who had usurped his father's throne and had taken over the Titans. You can learn more about him from Zeus family tree. Hestia was the Goddess of home, hearth and family. She was also Zeus's sister. He was the gloomy God of the underworld and also the God of the death and all the hidden wealth of the earth. She was married to Zeus and was the Queen of Gods, the heaven, childbirth, kings and their empires and also the protector of marriage. She was Cronus and Rhea's daughter and sister of Zeus. God of war, blood-lust, civil order, manly courage and violence. He was born to Zeus and Hera. She was the natural Goddess of fertility, horticulture, agriculture, harvest and grains. She was the daughter of Cronus and Rhea and the sister of Zeus. He was the son of Goddess of love, Aphrodite and God of war, Ares. He was the God of love, cupids, desire, and pleasure. He was the God of wine, drunkenness, pleasure, madness, parties, and festivals. He was born to Zeus and Semele.

Source: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/greek-gods-and-goddesses-names.html

The Greek Dieties Family Tree

Trojan War: Summary It is said that all the Gods gathered at the marriage of Peleus and Thetis and they all brought gifts. However, Eris, the goddess of Discord, was stopped at the door by Hermes. She was angered and so she threw her gift from the door. It was an apple with the words To the Fairest inscribed on it. This apple became a source of conflict between three goddesses: Hera, Athena and Aphrodite. All the three felt that each of them deserved the apple. None of the gods wanted to judge because choosing one would ensure the wrath of the other two. Finally, the conflict took them to Hermes, who led them to Paris, who was a prince of Troy. The three goddesses appeared naked to Paris, but he was still unable to judge them. So then, they offered him bribes. Hera offered him control of Asia Minor and political power if he chose her. Athena offered him the abilities of the greatest warriors, skill in battle and wisdom if he chose her. Aphrodite offered him the love of the most beautiful woman in the world, Helen of Sparta, if he chose her.

Of course, Paris chose Aphrodite. This action set in motion several things which would eventually culminate in the Trojan War.

On a diplomatic mission from Troy to Sparta, Helen and Paris fell in love with each other. At that time, Menelaus (husband of Helen and King of Sparta), had left for Crete to attend his uncle s funeral. Paris and Helen eloped and set sail to Troy.

When Menelaus returned, he discovered this and was very angry. He asked his brother Agamemnon to help him get Helen back from Troy. Agamemnon then sent several emissaries to the Achaean kings and princes to help retrieve Helen. There Achaean kings and princes were the past suitors of Helen, and upon Helen s marriage to Menelaus had taken the oath to come to Menelaus aid in case any harm befell Helen. Several of these kings and princes tried tricks to avoid the ensuing war. Odysseus tried to portray that he was mad. Achilles mother, Thetis, disguised him as a woman so that he could not go for the war. But eventually, they were discovered, and they all gathered together.

All the suitors gathered at Aulis and made a sacrifice to Apollo. At the end of the sacrifice, a snake slithered out from the altar and then went to a sparrow s nest and ate the mother and her eight babies and then was turned to stone. From this, they deduced that Troy would fall in the 10th year of war.

The Achaeans left for war in ships and accidentally landed in Mysia which was ruled by King Telephus, who was the son of Heracles. They ended up fighting a war. Afterwards, the ships were caught up and scattered by a storm. Finally, eight years after they had set sail, the ships finally gathered again at Aulis. At that time, they sought the help from the Oracles again. Calchas, a prophet, said that the goddess Artemis was angry with Agamemnon. Calchas said that the only way that he could please Artemis was by sacrificing his most beautiful daughter to her. When Agamemnon refused, the others threatened to make Palamedes the commander of these forces, rather than him. So, in the end, Agamemnon sacrificed his daughter Iphigenia to Artemis, and then set sail for Troy, again.

Calchas had also prophesized that the first Achaean to land on Troy would be the first one to die. Therefore everyone hesitated to land on Troy when they reached the shores. Eventually, Protesilaus of the Phylaceans landed first and Achilles was the second to set foot on the shores of Troy. Protesilaus and Achilles killed several Trojans upon landing, but then Protesilaus was killed by Hector, the son of Priam, the King of Troy and the brother of Paris.

The war went on for 9 more years. Not many details of these nine years are documented in the texts of Greek Literature. They mostly focus on the last year of the war.

Achilles was amongst the most aggressive of the Achaeans and he raided, looted and conquered several of the outer territories of Troy. The war lingered on and on, without stopping. Plots within plots and politics ruled the scene. The soldiers were tired at the end of the nine years and wanted to go back home and were on the verge of mutiny. It was only because of the army of Achilles, were they forced to stay back. However, towards the end of the almost mutiny, Agamemnon took Briseis, the concubine of Achilles. Achilles therefore refused to participate in the war. The Achaeans were relatively successful even after Achilles withdrew from the war. There was a fight between Menalaus and Paris, which ended with Aphrodite snatching the almost defeated Paris from the battlefield. Diomedes, an Achaean hero, won repute amongst his people by killing Pandaros, a Trojan hero, nearly wounding Aeneas and also for wounding the gods Aphrodite and Ares. But then the Trojans were enraged enough to drive the Achaeans back to their camp. The next day, the Trojans entered the Achaean camp and were about the burn down the Achaean ships. The Achaeans then began to request Achilles to return back into the fight. Finally, Patroclus, a relative of Achilles, went into the war wearing Achilles clothes and armor. He was killed by Hector who thought he was killing Achilles. Enraged by the death of Patroclus, Achilles joined the war again. Due to this Agamemnon returned Briseis back to Achilles, untouched. Back into the fray, Achilles managed to kill several Trojans. A duel raged between Hector and Achilles, which ended with Achilles killing Hector and dragging Hector s body from his chariot. He refused to give the body back to the Trojans for the funeral. Later, King Priam came to Achilles and requested to have his son s body back. Later on, as the war raged on, Achilles ended up killing several of Troy s allies including Penthesilea, the Amazon Queen, and Memnon, the King of Ethiopia. After that, Achilles entered Troy. It was at that point that Paris shot a poisoned arrow, which was guided by Apollo, into the heel of Achilles. This was the only part of his body which was vulnerable, and Achilles died on the spot. A battle began to rage, and Ajax held back the Trojan army while Odysseus dragged Achilles body back to their camp. The war was now in its tenth year. A prophecy was made that the fall of Troy would not take place without the bow and arrow of Heracles which was now with Philoctetes. Odysseus and Diomedes found Philoctetes in Lemnos and got him Troy. He then shot Paris and killed him. Finally to totally destroy Troy, a plan was conceived by Odysseus. A giant, hollow, wooden horse was built by Epeius under the guidance of Athena. The horse was an animal sacred to the Trojans. On that horse were inscribed the words: The Greeks dedicate this offering as thanks to Athena for their return back home . The horse was filled with troops which were led by Odysseus. The rest of the army burned their camp and set sail for Tenedos.

The Trojans rejoiced, thinking that the armies had finally left. They dragged the horse back into the city and began to debate what to do with it. Some of them wanted to burn it down, while others wanted to keep the horse and dedicate it to Athena. Cassandra, who had been given the gift of prophecy by Apollo was also cursed by him that no one would believe her. She warned the Trojans not to keep the horse. But, of course, no one believed her. Meanwhile, the Trojans celebrated their victory. At midnight, when the full moon rose, the troops came out of the horse and began to attack the Trojans. Most of them were drunk or sleeping. The Achaeans massacred them. Disorganized, leaderless and disoriented, the Trojans began to fight back. But to no avail. Eventually no men were left behind in Troy and the Greeks took all the women who remained, for themselves. King Priam was killed by Neoptolemus, the son of Achilles. Menelaus killed Deiphobus, a son of Priam and now the new husband of Helen. He was also on the verge of killing Helen, but was overpowered by her beauty and did not kill her. Cassandra was raped by Ajax on the altar of Athena. The Greeks then proceeded to burn down the city of Troy. Cassandra was given to Agamemnon and Neoptolemus got Andromache, the wife of Hector. Odysseus got Hecuba, the wife of Priam. The Achaeans killed Hector s infant son Astyanax by throwing him from the walls of Troy. They sacrificed Priam s daughter Polyxena to the grave of Achilles. After the Trojan War The story of the Trojan War does not end with the end of the war. It ends with the return of the kings back into their kingdoms, after having gone for a very long time. The only king to return home safely was Nestor, who did not take any part in the looting and who had the best conduct while in Troy. The rest of the kings faced severe storms at sea on the way back. The gods were quite displeased at the immoral conduct of these kings in Troy, and especially by the destruction of their temples. Those shipwrecked included Ajax. Menelaus fleet was blown off course in the storm and they reached Egypt. Only 5 of his ships remained. Finally he caught Proteus, a sea god, and found out what sacrifices he had to make in order to go back safely and then did that. He was then able to return home with Helen. Agamemnon returned home with Cassandra. His wife, Clytemnestra, was already enraged over the sacrifice of Iphigenia. Meanwhile, she was also having an affair with Aegisthus, who was Agamemnon s cousin. They plotted to kill Agamemnon. Cassandra warned Agamemnon about this, but as usual, he did

not believe her. Clytemnestra and Aegisthus killed Agamemnon and Cassandra. Later on, Agamemnon s son Orestes plotted with his sister Electra to kill both Clytemnestra and Aegisthus. Odysseus eventually reached Ithaca after having several adventures. He disguised himself as a beggar. He was recognized by his dog Argos. He also discovered that his wife Penelope had remained faithful to him all this time, but she was being plagued by a variety of suitors. He then managed to kill all of them. Penelope then tested him to make sure that he was truly her husband. Aeneas and a group of survivors from Troy wandered around for several years looking to make a new homeland for themselves, but in vain. These wanderings eventually took them to founding Alba Longa, which was where the Roman civilization began 300 years later. Thus ends the story of the Trojan War a story of love, betrayal and above all, valor and courage.