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Dark Facts About the Greek Gods

They're not as innocent as you'd think.

By Charlotte WilliamsPublished 6 years ago 8 min read
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The Ancient Greeks reinvented the world through philosophy, architecture, literature and so much more. Lovers of learning and the founders of a mighty empire, the Greeks knew no bounds. They dedicated their lives to the Gods, carrying out everything in their name from drama festivals to war declarations. But the Greek Gods had a darker side that has become forgotten with antiquity. The Greek Gods, now dead, live on through myths and legends spun throughout the centuries. Here we will bring to light the evils that time has tried to cover, and unearth some of the reasons why those that were worshipped should have been locked away from humanity for good.

Zeus

As King of the Gods, Zeus ruled over Mount Olympus with his trusty lightning bolt in hand. However, Zeus was not only a king, but a bit of a sex fiend. He often (and I mean often) cheated on his wife, Hera, by sleeping with pretty much anything and everything that took his fancy. One affair with Mnemosyne, whom he laid with for nine days, produced nine children known as the Muses, who ruled over the arts and sciences with inspiration and creativity.

He fathered many iconic heroes in Greek Myths, like Hercules and Perseus, disguising himself in order to impose himself upon their mothers. Bestiality comes into play with the Spartan queen Leda, with Zeus turning himself into a swan.

Still not convinced? He raped his sister Demeter. He disguised himself as Artemis in order to lure one of her virgin followers, Callisto, into the woods so he could rape her. He raped Europa while disguised as a bull (although some versions have him as an eagle...Not that it makes it any better).

Overall, Zeus used any means necessary to get what he wanted. Not a nice guy.

Poseidon

Brother of Zeus and Hades, Poseidon follows in the footsteps of his siblings. Shocked? Don't be.

When Poseidon found himself attracted to his sister, Demeter—seriously, can this woman have a break?—he did the obvious thing and tried to get it on with her. She refused his advancements—smart—and turned herself into a mare. Poseidon, being a romantic and persistent fellow, transformed himself into a strapping stallion and sought her out. The horse Arion was the product of their relations.

Who said romance was dead?

Hades

God of the Underworld, Hades was not one to be messed with. However, Hades that bad in comparison to his brothers. He just drew the short straw when he, Zeus, and Poseidon were splitting up the land. Shame.

Hades and his brothers all share one thing: their reputation with women. You saw that one coming, didn’t you? Hades forced Persephone, daughter of Demeter, to marry him after abducting her and carrying her away to his kingdom of the dead. The couple had children, although legend suggests that they are fathered by Zeus, who was up to his old tricks again. Classic.

Despite being associated with the Underworld, Hades in antiquity was seen as a wealthy God thanks to his connections to all the precious metals and jewels in the earth. I suppose ruling over the dead for eternity has some perks.

Apollo

The twin of Artemis, Apollo was the god of the sun, prophecies, healing, and the arts.

He became infatuated with the mortal Cassandra, who appeared in Aeschylus’ Agamemnon. Apollo granted her the gift of prophecies, but when she rejected his advancements, he cursed her so that nobody would ever believe her until it was too late. This led to her death, portrayed at the end of the play, in which she predicts both her death and that of the king. Apollo also was a player, dating all nine of the Muses at the same time.

In his day, Apollo was a bit of a Romeo if you discount the bitterness and the curses.

Aphrodite

The goddess of love, beauty, and fertility, Aphrodite rose from the sea foam, although alternative myths explain her origin as being the daughter of Zeus.

Despite her outward beauty, Aphrodite isn't that innocent. She caused the famous Trojan War, recorded by Homer, which ended with the destruction of Troy and thousands of unnecessary deaths. Let’s break it down:

Aphrodite and Helen, princess of Sparta, were half-sisters. Paris, prince of Troy, believed Helen to be the most beautiful woman in all the land. This caused Aphrodite to become jealous. Sometime later, a mortal threw a golden apple to Aphrodite, Hera, and Athena, claiming that whoever caught it was the ‘fairest’. In true Greek fashion, they all caught it at the same time. Paris was commanded to choose who won, with each promising a gift for being deemed the fairest. Aphrodite promised her half-sister Helen, which led to Helen’s capture, which in turn led to the Trojan War—declared in order for the Greeks and Helen's husband to take Helen back.

Confused? Yeah, me too.

Ares

After Aphrodite, it seems fitting that Ares, the God of War, should follow. Despite being married to Hephaestus, Aphrodite had an affair with Ares, producing several offspring from their relationship. Ares, known for his brute force and aggressive temper, allowed himself to be undermined by his lover’s husband, with the duo being ensnared in bed together. Ares was further humiliated by being temporarily banished from his home on Mount Olympus. All brawn and no brains doesn’t serve well.

Ares was also not a popular guy. In Ancient Greece, the worship of Ares was rare, and even his parents, Zeus and Hera, are said to have hated him due to his constant bickering. Because he responded to almost all comments with outrage, he was seen as being cowardly.

Artemis

Twin sister of Apollo and Goddess of the Hunt, Artemis represented chastity and virginity. This seems all good and well until you hear of her origin. As soon as Artemis was born, she helped her mother to birth Apollo. That’s traumatic and enough to make anyone go chaste.

In addition, Artemis was nearly raped by Actaeon, a ‘hero’ in Greek Mythology, when he saw her bathing naked. As punishment, she turned him into a stag, and he was killed by his own hounds. Artemis had a thing for punishment, condemning Agamemnon over a flippant comment, and seeking retribution through the sacrifice of his own daughter, Iphigenia. Some say she showed mercy and had the girl serve as a priestess at her temple, but the trauma itself would be enough to put anyone off insulting her.

Athena

The Goddess of Wisdom and War and female counterpart to Ares, Athena was the favourite child of Zeus, so much so that he entrusted her with his shield, the Aegis. But the relationship between father and daughter was strange from the outset.

You see, Athena was not born by her mother, a conception that is bizarre when forgetting the fact that they’re gods. Athena sprung, fully formed, from the head of Zeus like a Martian in War of the Worlds. Zeus had swallowed Athena’s mother whole, for fear of a rebellion such as the one that caused the downfall of his father and Titan, Kronos. No wonder she was his favourite. Athena, along with Artemis and Hestia, were the only three virgin Goddesses. With Olympus' reputation, that’s pretty impressive.

Hera

Hera was the wife of Zeus and Queen of Olympus. As a queen, you would expect one to rule justly and honourably. Not quite. Hera had little conception of reason when engulfed in jealousy, especially towards those who had been involved with her husband (and had had little choice in the matter). She punished Io by having her guard a hundred-eyed beast, stopping Zeus from going anywhere near her. She sentenced Semele to death based on pure jealousy, and turned Callisto into a bear because Zeus pursued her.

Yikes.

Dionysus

The God of fertility and wine had a difficult relationship with the Queen of Mount Olympus. Firstly, Hera had Dionysus’ mother, Semele, killed. Zeus rescued the foetus from the charred ashes of his mother’s body, and stitched him to his thigh until he was ready to be born. If that wasn’t bad enough, her wrath was taken one step further when she ordered the defeated Titans to literally rip him apart, which they did. After being killed, Dionysus was brought back to life, and Zeus arranged for his eternal protection. Let’s be honest, it came one-death-too-late.

Dionysus was also the last God to enter Olympus, and was the only immortal to have a mortal parent. The whole act of being stitched to Zeus gave him immortality.

Demeter

Goddess of the harvest and fertility, Demeter was considered to be one of the fairest of all the Greek Goddesses despite subjecting the world to famine. The cause of the famine was her grief over the loss of her daughter, Persephone, who was taken by Hades to the Underworld. Eventually the Gods had to intervene. Zeus bargained for Persephone’s return, and in the end a deal was made; that Persephone would spend half of the year with Hades, and the other half with Demeter. From this arrangement came the divisions of the seasons, as well as periods of fruitfulness and barrenness throughout the world.

Hephaestus

The tale of Hephaestus, the God of forges, blacksmiths, and volcanoes, is one of immense sadness, and emphasises the brutal nature of the Gods. According to some, Hera bore Hephaestus alone, which may or may not have caused him to become crippled. She then discarded of the child by throwing him into the sea to be raised by others. Variations on this myth state that Hera kept her son in Olympus. When his father Zeus made unwanted advancements on his wife, Hephaestus tried to prevent it. This intervention caused Zeus to throw his son from Olympus and fall to the island of Lemnos in the Aegean Sea, causing his disability. On Lemnos, he became a skilled craftsman.

Regardless, both see Hephaestus being removed from his home. He was eventually welcomed back to Olympus and married Aphrodite. When he found out that his wife was having an affair, he humiliated them both to the other gods. Someone should give this guy a break.

So, the Greek Gods. Swell, eh? The truth is that the Gods were a large part of the culture, so much so that there wasn't a word for ‘religion’ in Ancient Greece. The use of violence in a male-dominated society was reflected through Hellenes, with the myths being a part of normality. For the modern-world, they better suit the world of the past, and are interesting as myths rather than reality.

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About the Creator

Charlotte Williams

Instagram: @charmwillwrites

Creative Writing Grad from the UK.

Interested in myths, and true crime.

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