Mythology
In the beginning, Kronos was the king of the titans and he was married to Rhea. Together they had six children, but Kronos was scared that his children would one day destroy him. This fear led him to eat all of his children, or at least he thought he did. Rhea hid their youngest son, Zeus, from Kronos and fed him a rock instead. Once Zeus had grown up, he tricked Kronos into eating a potion which caused him to regurgitate his brothers and sisters. From there the gods came together and fought Kronos and the rest of the titans. The Gods ended up winning and, afterward, they decided who would become the King of the Gods. They also split up which God was in charge of which domain on Earth, below is the breakdown.
The Olympians
Zeus
King of the Gods and God of the sky
Symbols: thunderbolt, scales, eagles
Posiedon
God of the sea
Symbols: trident, dolphin, horse
Hades
God of the Underworld and the dead
Symbols: his helmet
Hera
Goddess of marriage and family
Symbols: peacock
Hermes
God of travelers, merchants, thieves, and the messager of the gods
Symbols: caduceus
Dionysus
God of wine
Symbols: grapes, ivy, panther
Athena
Goddess of wisdom, skill, and war
Symbols: olive branch, owl
Ares
God of the war
Symbols: spears, dogs
Hephaeteus
God of fire, crafts, and blacksmiths
Symbols: fire, ax, tongs, hammer
Demeter
Goddess of agriculture
Symbols: ear of wheat
Hestia
Goddess of hearth, home, family
Symbols: living flame, donkey, pig
Aphrodite
Goddess of love and beauty
Symbols: seashell, mirror, dove
Apollo
God of prophecy, sun, music, healing
Symbols: lyre and laurel tree
Artemis
Goddess of the hunt and moon
Symbols: bow, snake, deer
Myths
The Oracle of Delphi is on Mount Parnassus in Central Greece. The sanctuary was believed to be the center of the world.
In the myth, the site was originally sacred to Mother Earth, Gaea, and it was protected by the monster Python, a serpent.
Eventually, Python was killed by the god Apollo and the Cretans built a sanctuary for him on the site. The site became a place of sanctuary for many and gave them a place to talk to the Oracle of Delphi.
Apollo is the god of many things but one, in particular, is prophecy. The Oracle of Delphi was regarded as the most trustworthy. The site includes two sanctuaries; one dedicated to Apollo and one dedicated to Athena.
There once was a young weaver named Arachne. She was rumored to be a better weaver than the goddess Athena herself. Arachne knew she was a fantastic weaver and began to boast about her skills. Athena heard of Arachne, her skills, and her boasting.
Athena decided to put their skills to the test and host a contest to determine who is the better weaver. Zeus, the king of the gods, would be the judge of the contest. Whoever lost would never be able to weave again.
Arachne weaved an intricate image of harmful actions the gods had committed against humans. Athena weaved an image showing her love for humans.
Even though Arachne’s weaving skills were better than Athena’s, Zeus ruled in favor of his daughter, Athena, because of the image Arachne had weaved. Athena pitied Arachne, so she turned her into a spider. This way she and all of her descendants could weave forever.
