Ancient Greek Gods

Ancient Greek Gods & Mythology
According to Ancient Greek mythology the Ancient Greek gods and goddesses consisted of three major dynasties from three different generations:

• The First generation of Ancient Greek Gods were the Primeval deities
• The Second generation of Ancient Greek Gods were the Titans
• The Third generation of Ancient Greek Gods were the famous Olympians

Each generation, or dynasty, of Ancient Greek Gods overthrew the previous generation. the deities could not be killed, as they were immortal, so they were banished or imprisoned in the depths of the Underworld. The depiction of the Ancient Greek Gods provides an overview of all of the main Ancient Greek Gods.

Ancient Greek Gods - The First, Primordial Deities
The names of the first, primordial Ancient Greek Gods were:

• Chaos, the first of all the Greek Gods, who ruled over confusion

• Nyx, the Goddess of night

• Erebus, the god of darkness

• Aether, the god of lightness and the sky

• Hemera, the goddess of the daytime

• Tartarus, the god of the abyss beneath the Underworld

• Eros, the god of procreation

• Pontus, the god of the sea

• Gaia, the Earth Mother

• Uranus, the god of the heavens

Ancient Greek Gods - The Fall of the Primordial Deities
The first generation of the Primordial Greek Gods started with Chaos who created Nyx out of the darkness and they produced Erebus whose province was the Underworld. Erebus then took his mother Nyx as his wife. The children of Erebus and Nyx were Aether and his sister Hemera who brought light and day. Chaos, Erebus, and Nyx were eventually deprived of their power by Aether and Hemera. Aether and Hemera produced Gaia, Tartarus and Eros. Gaia, the Earth Mother, then created Uranus and together they overthrew the 'elder gods' and produced twelve gigantic children who became collectively known as the Titans.

Ancient Greek Gods - The Titans
Uranus was frightened of his gigantic children and in order to prevent them taking his power he hurled them down into a dark abyss called Tartarus, where he kept this generation of the ancient Greek gods in chains.

Ancient Greek Gods - The Fall of Uranus
Gaia, the mother of the Titans, hated the treatment that her children had received at the hands of Uranus. She convinced her children to rebel against Uranus and take his throne. Cronus, the youngest of the Titans, vanquished his father and bound him in chains. Cronus took possession of the vacant throne, and the Titans became the second dynasty of Ancient Greek Gods.

Ancient Greek Gods - The Rise of the Titans
Cronus released his siblings from the horrors of Tartarus and ruled as the king of the Titans. Each of his brothers and sisters were given a part of the world to govern. The names of the Ancient Greek Gods referred to as the Titans were:

• Cronus, the  god of time
• Coeus, the  god of Intelligence
• Rhea, the  goddess of fertility and the mother of gods
• Phoebe, the goddess of the Moon
• Oceanus, lord of the ocean
• Tethys, goddess of the rivers
• Iapetus, the  god of Mortal Life
• Hyperion, the  lord of light
• Mnemosyne, the  goddess of memory and the inventor of words
• Theia,  goddess of all that glitters
• Crius, the  god of the constellations
• Themis, the  goddess of justice and order
• Clymene, the  goddess of fame and glory

Ancient Greek Gods - The Second Generation of Titans
The Titan males joined with their sisters to produce children. The names of the children and the second generation of Titans were as follows:

• The children of Hyperion: Eos, Helios, and Selene
• The daughters of Coeus: Leto and Asteria
• The sons of Iapetus: Atlas, Prometheus, Epimetheus, and Menoetius
• The daughter of Oceanus: Metis
• The sons of Crius: Astraeus, Pallas, and Perses
• The children of Cronus: Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, Poseidon and Zeus

Ancient Greek Gods - The Fall of the Titans
Cronus, who ruled as the king of the Titans, took steps to ensure that his children would not rebel. But his plans came to nothing when his wife Rhea tricked him allowing Zeus to start another rebellion. The rebellion resulted in a ten year conflict with the elder gods called the Battle of the Titans - the Titanomachy. The younger generation of Titans were victorious and led by Zeus the third generation of Ancient Greek gods were established. Their base was on Mount Olympus, the third and final dynasty of Ancient Greek gods were called the Olympians.

Ancient Greek Gods & Goddesses - The Olympians
The most famous of all the deities in the Ancient Greek Gods are the Olympian Gods and Goddesses. The names, domains and realms of the Olympians were as follows:

• Zeus, the king of the Olympians
• Hera, the queen of the Olympians
• Hermes, the messenger of the Olympians
• Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty
• Ares, the god of war
• Demeter, the goddess of agriculture
• Hephaestus, the god of fire and metal-working
• Poseidon, the god of the sea
• Athena, the goddess of wisdom
• Artemis, the goddess of the hunt
• Apollo, the god of the sun and music
• Hestia, the goddess of the home and hearth