Four Ages of Man 1/2

The Greeks believed that there were four ages of man. These ages include The Golden Age, The Silver Age, The Bronze Age, and The Iron Age. They were created by various gods and goddesses and affected the lives of mortals. 

The first of the four ages of man was The Golden Age. The Golden Age was created by the Titan god, Cronus, before he was destroyed by his Olympian children. It was the most peaceful out of all of the ages. There was no suffering, sadness, war, or pain throughout the time period. The weather was always beautiful and there weren’t ever any harsh storms or weather conditions. Food was abundant. The people of this age didn’t have to put in any work for their food either. When the people of this age died, they were believed to become guardian angels. The people of The Golden Age lived in the most peaceful and most rewarding age of the four.

The next age was after the fall of Cronus. This age was called The Silver Age.  The Silver Age wasn’t as good as The Golden Age. Changes from The Golden Age include the changing of the seasons. Each of these seasons was ¼ of the year, like today. In the winter there were icy snows and in the summer there was blistering heat. The humans were children for about one hundred years and then they became adults. After they became adults, they only lived for a few more years. Unlike the previous age, there was crime. It was very violent and life was difficult. The people of this age had to work hard for food. This was the beginning of farming. This age was created by Zeus and the Olympians, and it was obviously changed from the original age created by Cronus.

Lovers of Zeus 3

 The next of Zeus’s wives was Semele. Semele was a mortal woman and she is the mother of the wone god, Dionysus. Hera with her insane jealousy, tried to prevent the birth of her son with Zeus. gods in Greek mythology aren’t in their divine form. They are anthropomorphic.  Anthropomorphic means that the gods would be seen in human form. If gods were in their divine form around humans they would disintegrate on the spot. When Zeus went to embrace Semele he took his divine form, the fault of Hera, and she burned to death and disintegrated.  She was pregnant with Dionysus at the time. Zeus saved the unborn child by ripping it out of Semele seconds before she disintegrated. Zeus imbedded it into his thigh until it mature enough. Dionysus was the only immortal born like this, but not the only immortal to be born in a nontraditional way (Athena, Minotaur, Aphrodite, Perseus, etc.)

Nemesis was also one of Zeus’s many lovers. Nemesis is the daughter of Nyx, a primeval goddess of the night. Nemesis was the goddess who brought retribution to those who committed crimes. She was like the justice keeper in Greek mythology. Zeus disguised himself as a swan, and Nemesis eventually gave birth to an egg. Aphrodite was responsible for this because she liked to meddle in gods’ lives until she got what she wanted. The love goddess, Aphrodite, pursued Zeus as an eagle. The Hermes, the messenger god, took the egg to Leda who raised the Helen and Polydeuces, who were born from it. Helen is the famous Helen of Troy. She was responsible for the beginning of the Trojan War because she was kidnapped by the opposing side. Leda, with Helen of Troy’s children Helen and Polydeuces, raised her personal children, Clytemnestra and Castor.

Lovers of Zeus 2

The next wife of Zeus was Hera. Zeus continued to be married to Hera, she was his final wife. With her, Zeus had three children. These children were Hebe, Ares, and Eileithya. Hebe is the goddess of youth. She married Hercules after his final labor. Ares is the god of war and was known for his brutality. Eileithya is the goddess of childbirth. 

Zeus continued to associate with other women during his marriage to Hera. He next had a child with Leto, the sky god’s cousin. Hera was very jealous and had Leto pursued by the dragon, Python, to prevent the birth of her children. Poseidon allowed her to stay on the floating island, Delos. This is where Leto had her twin children, Artemis and Apollo. Artemis is the god of art and poetry. Artemis is the goddess of the hunt and is known for her golden bow.

Zeus then had a child with Maia. Maia is the daughter of the Titan, Atlas. Atlas was punished by Zeus after overthrowing his father. He was forced to hold up the sky. Maia and Zeus had the messenger god, Hermes. When Hermes was born, he ended up stealing Apollo’s cattle and inventing the lyre. He built a golden chariot and gave it to Apollo. Apollo thought Hermes was clever so, he forgave him and they swore a sacred oath on the River Styx.

  

Demeter, Zeus’s sister, was also one of Zeus’s lovers. Together they had the goddess of springtime, Persephone. Hades, the god of the underworld, fell in love with their daughter, captured her, and took her down into the underworld. Zeus allowed Hades to take his daughter and Demeter was furious. She traveled the world in search of her daughter until she found her. Persephone is responsible for the different seasons. She could only visit her mother for part of the year, and when she was in the underworld it would be winter.  

  

Lovers of Zeus 1

Throughout Greek mythology, the sky god, Zeus, was associated with many women. He was continuously married to the goddess Hera, but continued to cheat on her many more times.

Zeus’s first wife was Metis, the wisest of the gods, and mother of Athena. When she was pregnant, Zeus received a prophecy about his future children. He was told that his son would overthrow him, and his daughter would be of equal power. He swallowed his wife preventing the children’s birth. One day, Zeus was faced with a terrible headache and had his skull cut open by Hephaestus. When his skull was cut, his daughter, Athena protruded from his head dressed completely in armor. Because Athena was born from Zeus’s head and was the daughter of Metis, she was very intelligent. She was the favorite of all of Zeus’s children. Metis continued to give Zeus advice from inside his body.

Other children Zeus had were The Three Fates with Themis. The Three Fates were responsible for the life of a mortal. The first of the Fates had to measure the thread representing a mortal’s life. The second Fate spun the thread, and the third one cut the thread, ending the mortal’s life.

Zeus was also the father of the Nine Muses. They were responsible for the alphabet, poetry, art, and music. Their mother was Mnemosyne.

Zeus was the father of the goddesses who gave beauty to mortal women, the Graces. There were three Graces named Aglaea, Euphrosyne, and Thalia. Their names meant radiance, merriment, and good cheer.

The next of Zeus’s lovers was Dione, the mother of Aphrodite. In some myths, Uranus’s (the grandfather of Zeus) severed parts produced a white foam in the sea and Aphrodite emerged fully mature. Desire was her servant and Eros (love) was her companion. Aphrodite is the goddess of love.  

Hercules: Final Labors

Hercules was only supposed to do ten labors originally, but Eurythesus didn’t count two of these labors because he thought Hercules had cheated. In the next labor, labor eleven, Hercules had to get and bring back golden apples that belonged to Zeus. Hera, Zeus’s wife, gave Zeus the apples, and Hera already doesn’t’ want Hercules to succeed, which makes the task more difficult.

When Hercules left to find the apples, and he had no idea where they were located. He traveled to many countries in search of these golden apples. The apples were at the northern edge of the world, and it was guarded by a Greek monster. The monster that was protecting the golden apples was Ladon, a hundred-headed dragon. It was also guarded by Hesperides, the daughter of Atlas.

Hercules encountered many people throughout his journey, and he had to participate in many fights. The first person Hercules encountered on his journey was Kyknos, son of Ares. They fought against each other and Hercules won easily. The fight was broken up by a lightning bolt, and then Hercules continued on his journey. Hercules then found a sea nymph, Nereus. This sea nymph knew the location of the garden where the apples were held. He was also a shape shifter and tried to leave Hercules’s hands through this talent. Hercules held onto him until he got the information he needed. Hercules also met Antaeus on his voyage and they fought. Hercules held Antaeus up and crushed him because whenever Antaeus touched the ground, he would gain strength. Hercules found Prometheus chained up next. He freed Prometheus from his chains and killed the eagle that was responsible for his eternal suffering. Because of this, Prometheus told Hercules where the apples were.

Hercules went to Atlas, the holder of the sky, to get help with his labor. He pleaded his case and because Atlas was tired of holding up the sky, he obliged. Hercules held the sky as Atlas retrieved the apples. When he returned, Hercules asked Atlas to hold the sky for a moment so he could adjust his shoulder. When Atlas held the sky once again, Hercules grabbed the apples and left Atlas.

Hercules then returned to Eurythesus to give him the apples and complete his eleventh task. The apples were immortal, so even though Hercules got them for Eurythesus, they were soon returned to the goddess, Athena.

For Hercules’s final labor, he had to kidnap Cereberus, the guard of the underworld.  No mortal has returned from going to the underworld, and Hercules thought he would be the first one to leave this dreaded fate.

Hercules found the god, Hades, and told him of the labor he was forced to complete. Hades was willing to give Cereberus to Hercules if he wrestled the monster to the ground. He couldn’t use any weapons, just his brute strength. He succeeded and returned the underworld god. He was free of performing any more labors because of the completion of the twelve. He was no longer being punished for the murder of his family.