Sacred King Rituals

                In Ancient Greece the people lived in a matriarchal society compared to today’s society, which is patriarchal. Women ruled and the women believed that men weren’t important or needed for anything. The women of Ancient Greece would take one man as the “sacred king.” This sacred king would be in power for one year, but still less powerful than the queen. After his one year of ruling was up, he would be killed and his blood would be spread over the crops. The people of Ancient Greece believed that if they sacrificed the male, the crops would be plentiful and a rebirth of the crops would occur. Through time, the person who was sacrificed changed. It started out as men being sacrificed, but as time went on, the younger the male was. Eventually, men were able to rule for a longer time. The amount increased immensely, and men were able to rule for eight years instead of just one. The amount of sacrifices was not affected though. There was still a male sacrifice each year, except it wasn’t the sacred king being killed. By the end of the eighth year, the male who was ruling at the time would be killed and his blood would yet again be spilled onto the crops for the year. They thought that if they didn’t sacrifice a male each year, that they wouldn’t have enough food for the year. This eventually changed into a patriarchal society and the sacrifices ceased.

                 

              The Greek Myth with Uranus and Gaea supported this idea of rebirth. When Uranus was destroyed by his son, Cronus, the blood of Uranus was absorbed in Gaea. Gaea then gave birth to more children. These children were the three Furies and Giants.

                 

              The sacrifices of men provided women with an explanation of rebirth. They thought that if they didn’t provide the crops with blood, that they wouldn’t have enough food for the season. These women believed in the myth of Gaea and Uranus and applied their belief to the society of Ancient Greece.

Hermes Profile

                Hermes is the messenger of the Greek gods. His Roman name is Mercury. He is also the god of animal husbandry, roads, travel, hospitality, heralds, diplomacy, trade, thievery, language, writing, persuasion, athletic contests, gymnasiums, astronomy, and astrology. He is the guide to the underworld and one of the few people to escape Hades. He is also the god of Thieves and Trickery, and is known for deceiving different gods and goddesses. It is believed that on the day he was born he also created the lyre. He took a tortoise feeding, cleaned it out, and created the instrument out of it. A lyre is a stringed instrument that is mainly used in Ancient Greece. On that same day, he stole his brother’s, Apollo’s, cattle. His contributions besides the lyre include the creation of winged sandals, Herald’s staff, Traveler’s cap, and the Ram.

He is the son of Zeus and Maia. Maia is the daughter of the Titan, Atlas, and is the eldest of the Pleiades. She secretly gave birth to Hermes in a cave by Mount Kyllene. He has many siblings including Apollo, Artemis, Ares, Dionysus, Hebe, Athena, the Muses, Persephone, and all of the other children Zeus had. Hermes is married to the Greek goddess of persuasion, Peitho. With her, he had his children Pan, Hermaphroditos, Priapos, Lykos, Pherespondos, Pronomos, Eleusis, and Autolycus.

Hermes isn’t just known for deceiving the Greek gods. He is known for helping Greek heroes too. For example, he assisted Perseus, Odysseus, and Hercules in their quests, whether it may be escaping the underworld, defeating a witch, or defeating Medusa. He also helped rescued Zeus’s love, Io, from one of the Hundred-Handed Giants. He helped in the creation of the first woman, Pandora, and delivered her to Epimetheus. Hermes was a helpful god, but at the same time he tricked many different gods and goddesses.

Cronus Profile

           One of the first rulers of the gods and goddesses was Cronus. Cronus was a cruel and unfair ruler, but karma found its way back to him as he continued on with his life.

           Cronus is the last of the children of Gaea and Uranus. He had many siblings which consisted of Rhea, Oceanus, Hyperion, Theia, Coeus, Phoeve, Iapetus, Crius, Mnemosyne, Tethys and Themis. He married his sister Rhea and had several children. His children were Zeus, Hera, Posiedon, Hades, Hestia, and Demeter.

His mother asked for helped to overthrow Uranus, and Cronus was the first one to oblige. He led the attack on his father, and after removing Uranus from the throne, he took up the position himself. To get rid of Uranus, Cronus freed the Hundred-Handed Giants and Cyclopes. When he gained power, he put the destructive monsters back into the depths of Tartarus. Like his father, he was afraid of being overthrown. He didn’t follow Uranus’s plan of keeping giving most of his children freedom. Instead of this scheme Cronus decided swallowing his children would be the best way to keep them from taking his power. Rhea was very upset that everytime she handed him yet another one of his children, he would swallow it whole. She tricked the man with Metis’s help and ended up getting her children back. The youngest of their sons took the throne replacing Cronus. Meanwhile, Cronus was placed into Tartarus and was guarded by his uncles, the Hundred-Handed Giants and the Cyclopes.

           Cronus tricked his siblings into thinking that he would be a fair ruler when he took the crown. Instead,  he abused his power trapping his uncles in Tartarus for a second time. He tried to avoid being overthrown like his father did by swallowing his children. This plan was unsuccessful, and he was overthrown. The throne was taken over by his son, Zeus.

First Monsters of Greek Mythology

It is believed in Greek Mythology that the world began as Chaos, which is emptiness. Then, the creation of the goddess, Gaea (believed to be Mother Earth), occurred. She had a child named Uranus and declared him the god of the sky. She married Uranus and had six children. These six children were the first of many Greek monsters.

When Gaea had her children, her husband, Uranus, trapped them in the depths of Tartarus. Their children consisted of the Hundred-Handed Giants and Cyclopes. The Hundred-Handed Giants had one hundred arms and fifty heads each. The Cyclopes had one eye in the middle of their forehead. These monsters were gigantic, and Uranus was afraid that he would be overthrown by his children. They did prove to be helpful for the Olympians during the war with the Titans. The monsters supported the Olympians and took boulders taken from mountains and hurled them at the Titans.

Cerberus is the guard dog for the underworld. He is also very large and has three heads. His body is composed of the heads of various snakes in his mane, and he is believed to have a tail of a serpent. Cerberus prevented people from entering and leaving the underworld. They would be prevented from entering if they weren’t buried properly. If someone was caught trying to escape, the monstrous dog would swallow them whole. Cerberus could sometimes be deceived though.  If he was distracted with a honey cake, sometimes a person could escape their incessant future in the underworld.

                
            Typhon is the most powerful out of all of the Greek monsters. When standing, his head reached the heavens. He is the son of Tartarus and Gaea, and being the son of Tartarus makes him extremely powerful. He tried to take over Mount Olympus (the home of the gods), but he was tricked by the gods turning into animals. He was defeated and was buried under Mount Aetna. This myth explained volcanoes to the people of Greece.

            The Hundred-Handed-Giants, Cyclopes, Cerberus, and Typhon were just the beginning of the Greek monsters. The monsters remained brutal and generally worked against the gods.

Zeus Profile

In Greek Mythology, the ruler of the Olympian gods is Zeus. He is also responsible for being the god of the sky.

Zeus was the last child of Cronus and Rhea. Cronus and Rhea are siblings; children of the Greek gods, Gaea and Uranus. He had many brothers and sisters. His siblings consisted of Poseidon, Hades, Demeter, Hestia, and Hera. Zeus’s main wife was his sister, Hera, but he had many other wives too. Some of his wives include Metis, Themis, Mnemosyne, and Europa.

  

Zeus has complete control of the sky. He is the most powerful of the gods because of his power of lightning and thunder, which he used as a weapon. He was rewarded the lightning bolt for freeing his uncles from the depths of Tartarus (the underworld). With this, he had an immense amount of power over the other Greek gods.

Zeus is known for getting rid of his Titan father as ruler. He had to rebel against his father because he would swallow his children, making sure that he wasn’t overthrown. When Zeus was born his mother, Rhea, deceived her husband and had her mother, Gaea, take care of Zeus until he was old enough to overthrow his father. He grew up in a cave until he was strong enough. In some versions of Greek Myth Rhea saved Zeus brother, Poseidon, from his destined prison in the stomach of Cronus. The Olympians ended up winning the war against the Titans. Zeus then took the title of the Ruler of the Olympians.

When Zeus was older and his father was in the depths of Tartarus, he had to fight the Greek monster, Typhon. Typhon was a giant monster with many dragon heads on his body. Zeus’s was temporarily paralyzed by this monster, but with the help of Greek gods, Pan and Hermes, he regained his power and defeated Typhon.

Origins of Greek Myths

Greek Mythology was used to explain everything that the Greeks didn't have an answer for. It explained constellations, religion, and why the weather changed. The Ancient Greeks were polytheistic, meaning that they believed in many gods. They also believed in anthropomorphism. This means that they believed that the gods took human form.

Greek Mythology is still used throughout stories today. A modern story with Greek Mythology used throughout the novel includes Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Older stories with myth used being Homer's The Odyssey and The Iliad. Even when literature isn't centered on mythology, it is still sometimes is referenced in popular books today.

Roman Mythology is very closely related to Greek Mythology. It came after Greek Mythology was started, about 1,000 years. Many of the Roman gods are taken from the Greeks, but given different names.  Some differences include the god of love. Eros is the god of love for the Greeks and Cupid is the god of love for the Romans. Greek gods are believed to be very beautiful and in human form. The Roman gods are only represented in the minds of the Roman people.  

The Greeks honor the gods through art, statues, temples, and literature. The people of Greece believed that if they honored the gods, they would get rewards and their prayers would be answered. The temples were supposed to represent each god’s ‘home’. People would offer items like food and drink to the gods. They believed that if they didn’t honor the gods, they would be punished. This includes not having enough food and extreme weather changes.

There are references to Greek Myth used today besides in literature. Some Greek names are used for restaurants, band names, companies, corporations, etc. An example of the use of Greek Mythology today includes the bands Muse and Styx. A Muse is any of the nine daughters of Mnemosyne and Zeus. In Greek Myth, Styx is the goddess of the underworld river. Greek Myth is still used often today.