Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Morpheus




Morpheus

Morpheus was the God of dreams. He was responsible for the dreams people had. He had the ability to appear in dreams in any form. Which is where his name "morph" in Greek meaning "form" came from since he was the one responsible for how the dream was shaped and formed. He is also responsible for the name of the drug morphine which is his legacy. A more common name for him that is used more frequently in present day is Sandman. When Morpheus put his arms around someone sleeping they would have a good nights rest but also dream about their future or upcoming events. Morpheus's true form was a mans body with wings on his back. It was believed that Thanatos; the god of non-violent deaths, his uncle, gave him and his brothers the wings. He has three brothers who's powers were all related to styles of dreams. The legend says he used his wings to carry his wingless father Hypnos; god of sleep, to the dream world where he often hid him from Zeus's harm in the caves. This might of been because Hypnos was a lazy god and would spend most his time sleeping. Morpheus was supposed to be one of the busiest gods and to never have had a wife. But some tales tell him falling for one the three graces and being wed to her which lead to the birth of many black winged children who are the dream keepers for common people.

Friday, October 19, 2012

Eros




Eros

He was the God of passion and love. It's from his name that the English word "erotic" was created. He is usually presented as a man with wings carrying bow and arrows. Once the arrows were shot at someone's heart it would potentially make the victim fall in love. Seen more currently the Romans believed his name was Cupid, an innocent and sometimes mischievousness winged cherub. Cherubs are young boys with cherry cheeks and toddler bodies. They believed his mother was Aphrodite and father Zeus. However, in Greek mythology Eros was portrayed as an older figure and not so innocent. There are different theories of who his parents could have been, but the most common is that he came into existence along side Chaos and Gaia making him one of the oldest Gods. He was a powerful god who the gods found as a threat for he could even force gods to fall in love. His Golden tipped arrows caused madness as well as romance and was even capable of causing men and woman to betray their families, to rape, to murder or to commit suicide. Aphrodite sent Eros on a task to curse a girl see deemed too beautiful and was jealous of. She told him to shoot her with one of his arrows forcing her to fall in love with a horrible monster that lived on the top of a hill. Eros instead disobeyed Aphrodite and fell in love with her, for safety he then hid her at his palace. He begged the God Zeus to make her immortal so they could be together. Once she was made immortal Aphrodite gave up her anger and they lived peacefully.

Friday, October 12, 2012

Triton



Triton

Triton's parents were Poseidon the King of the sea and Amphitrite a sea nympth. He was said to live at the depths of the sea with them in a golden palace where he would ride the waves on sea horses and sea monsters. His appearance was that of a man down to the waist, with a tail of a fish. Like his father he carried a Trident. However, his most famous characteristic was a twisted conch-shell which he could blow on violently or softly to change the movements of the waves. His conch-shell was also used in fights between the Giants and Gods called the battle Giantomachy. He fought on the side of the Gods where if he blew into it loudly a sound similar to a dark wild beast would explode scaring the them away. Triton was the father of Pallas and foster parent to Zeus's daughter Athena. During one of their fighting games Athena killed Pallas. He served as his fathers herald and messenger.

Friday, October 5, 2012

The Muses



The Muses

The Muses were the daughters of Zeus and Mnemsyne the Titaness of memory. Zeus secretly laid with Mnemsyne for nine nights which created the nine Muses. They were known for being beautiful and bringing joy to anyone who heard their music. The nine Muses all had their own specialties: Clio the muse of history, seen as both male and female was killed accidentally by his gay lover Apollo. Urania the muse of astronomy is often seen with a globe in her hand.  Melpomene the muse of tragedy can often be seen holding a tragic mask in her hand. Thalia is the muse of comedy. Terpsichore the muse of dance. Calliope the muse of Epic Poetry was usually seen with a writing tablet. Erato the muse of love poetry. Polyhymnia was the muse of songs to the gods and Euterpe the muse of lyric poetry.  They were brought to life to make people forget their sorrows and the evils of the world. The home of the Muses was Mount Helicon which was scared to the Greek God Apollo. Apollo was one of their main teachers. You could usually see them accompanying Apollo on his strolls for when he played on his lyre they could sing and dance along.

Saturday, September 29, 2012

Hebe



Hebe

    Hebe was the daughter of Zeus and Hera. She was the goddess of youth and forgivness. Her duty was to be the cup-bearer for the gods. She would fill their cups with Nectar and Ambrosia. Nectar is a sugar-rich liquid from plants. Ambrosia is a greek god food that could give immortality to the consumer. Another one of her duties was to feed Zeus' pet eagle which she is shown offering a drink to in most photo's. Young  Trojan prince Ganymede became her successor and presumed the role as cup-bearer when she married her half-brother Hercules. Also she would draw bathes for her brother Ares, the god of war and help Hera into her chariet.  Hebe and Hercules had two children Alexiares and Anicetus. When Hercules' life as mortal ended and he became a god, Hebe showed him all the wonders of Olympus.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Pan


Pan

    Pan was the God of panic. At night in the woods it was supposedly him who put terror into the hearts of wandering men when he was feeling mischievous. He was known for being flirtatious and playful. Often, you would see him dancing with the wood nymphs or trying to pursue one of them but he was always rejected because they thought he was ugly. There are various versions of who Pan was born by. Some say his parents were Zeus, Apollo or Penelope but the most common one is that his father was Hermes and mother a nymph. Pan's appearance was described as a man with horns, goat legs and a thick beard.  He was an excellent musician and was known for playing the pipes. Syrinx who ran from him would turn into reeds which is what he used to make his famous pan-pipes.





Friday, September 14, 2012

Asclepius


Asclepius

Asclepius was the God of medicine and healing. His parents were Apollo and a mortal Coronis. But because Coronis insulted Apollo by sleeping with another man while Asclepius was still in her belly. Apollo slayed her with his arrows and rescued Asclepius from her funeral Pyre. When the Olympian Gods have children with mortals they aren't aloud to keep in touch with their children. Since Apollo had killed his mother he had no one to raise him. After some thought, Apollo left Asclepius to be cared by a centaur named Chiron. After he grew Athena gave him two vials filled of Gorgon's blood from the right side of his body which could bring back the life of a mortal and blood from the left side of his body which could kill one. He used the blood to raise dead mortals but Zeus thought that was overstepping the boundaries. Zeus then ended Asclepius's life with one of his lightning bolts. Before he died he had 10 children.