Essay On Greek Pantheon

The Greek Pantheon Before science was able to explain how the world worked, ancient civilizations took it upon themselves to find ways to solve the mysteries of the universe. Through stories of powerful deities passed on from generation to generation, the ancient Greeks used mythology to illustrate what they simply could not understand. The gods and goddesses of the Greek Pantheon shaped the culture of Greece and still impacts the world today through the mythology, religion and literature of the Greeks. There were twelve main gods and goddesses in the Pantheon who lived on Mount Olympus, the highest mountain in Greece (Greek Mythology 9). Zeus, the king of the gods, ruled over the Pantheon and those in it. His wife and sister, Hera, represents marriage, childbirth, and family while his brother, Poseidon, ruled the sea as well as storms and earthquakes. Other siblings of these deities include Hades, god of the underworld; Demeter, goddess of the harvest and Hestia, ruler of the hearth and family. Other major gods and goddesses including Hermes, Apollo, Artemis, Persephone, Ares, and Hephaestus were all children of Zeus himself, while Aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty and Dionysus, god of wine, were not. These all contributed to the Pantheon along with other minor deities to rule the mortal world. …show more content…
The Greeks went to great lengths to keep the gods happy, appeasing them through worship such as prayers, festivals, sacrifices, and the construction of temples. Many stories and legends enforced the idea that the gods had to be obeyed or the consequences would be severe through tales of heroes and the misfortune they encountered after angering one of the gods. These narratives struck fear in the Greeks and kept them from wanting to do anything to get on the wrong side of a