1. Greek Mythology
Ancient Greece

2. Greek Temples
The ancient Greeks built great temples and sanctuaries to their gods. They held festivals in their honor, with processions, sports, sacrifices and competitions.
Stories of the gods' exploits were told to children by their mothers and to large audiences by professional bards and storytellers. They hoped that their kids would learn important life lessons from the stories, Or, they would use the stories to explain natural phenomenon that they did not have the ability to understand.
People today still enjoy hearing stories about the Greek gods.

3. Greek Gods & Goddesses
The ancient Greeks believed there were a great number of gods and goddesses. These gods had control over many different aspects of life on earth. In many ways they were very human. They could be kind or mean, angry or pleasant, cruel or loving. They fell in love with each other, argued with each other and even stole from each other.

4. Zeus
Zeus was the king of the gods. He could control the weather. The ancient Greek poet, Hesiod, called him the 'cloud-gatherer' and the 'thunderer'. His most powerful weapon was the thunderbolt. The ancient Greeks believed that when lightning struck earth, it was a sign of Zeus being present.
Zeus was also concerned with hospitality. If you treated a guest or stranger badly you could outrage Zeus.

5. Hera
Hera was the wife of Zeus and the queen of the gods. She is the goddess of weddings and marriage. She was extremely jealous of her husband Zeus because he had many wives She was known to take terrible revenge on them.
Samos was believed to be the birthplace of Hera. A large sanctuary, the Heraion, was built on the spot of her birth. This was one of the oldest temples in Greece.

6. Athena
Athena is the goddess of war and cunning wisdom. She is also the goddess of pot-making and wool-working. She is associated with the city, and almost every town in Greece had a sanctuary dedicated to Athena.
She invented the chariot, the bridle and built the first ship. The olive tree is sacred to her.
Zeus was the father of Athena, her mother was Metis, which means wisdom. Zeus was told before Athena was born, that any child born to Metis would be more powerful than its father. Zeus was very worried by this and decided to swallow Metis before she could give birth to the child.Some time later Zeus began to have terrible headaches. The pain grew so unbearable that Zeus asked Hephaistos to cut his head open to see what was wrong.When Hephaistos opened his head, Athena emerged from Zeus' skull, fully grown and dressed for battle.

7. Apollo
Apollo was the god of youthful beauty and masculinity, and a god of many roles, including prophecy, music, light, medicine and hunting.
This is a restored lyre. The strings would be plucked by the musician and the tortoiseshell would act as a soundbox. Music, and stringed instruments in particular, were associated with Apollo.

8. Demeter
Demeter was goddess of agriculture and of all civilization based upon it. She taught people the use and the production of plant foods, and the domestication of animals, giving them the gift of abundant life. She gave also her daughter, and together they brought to humanity the mystery and promise of rebirth. She desired peace and the celebration of natural order. She was an important goddess for farmers and women.
The Thesmophoria was a festival for women only that was dedicated to Demeter. The festival was celebrated all over Greece. Women would sacrifice piglets to the goddess. On the second day of the festival they would fast, and on the last day they would have a large feast.

9. Poseidon
Poseidon was the god of the sea and horses. He was the brother of Zeus. He was known for his bad temper and was greatly feared because of his ability to cause earthquakes. He was believed to be able to make fresh water gush forth from the earth.
Offerings were made to Poseidon by sailors and fishermen. They hoped by pleasing the god they would be blessed with calm seas.
The first thing that many sailors would have seen when sailing to Attica in Greece was the beautiful temple at Cape Sounion. This temple was dedicated to Poseidon.

10. Aphrodite Aphrodite is the goddess of love and beauty.
Aphrodite was born from the sea. She came ashore near Paphos on Cyprus. The island of Cyprus became a centre for worship of the goddess.
After her birth, Zeus was afraid that the gods would fight over Aphrodite's hand in marriage so he married her off to the smith god Hephaestus, the steadiest of the gods. He could hardly believe his good luck and used all his skills to make the most lavish jewels for her. She loved socializing and glamour and was not at all pleased at being the wife of sooty, hard-working Hephaestus.

11. Hermes
Hermes was the god of travel, business, weights and measures and sports.
He was the messenger of the gods and guided the souls of the dead to the underworld. He was also the patron of herdsmen, thieves, graves and messengers. His staff caused men to fall asleep instantly.

12. Artemis
Artemis was the goddess of hunting, archery and childbirth. She was also the goddess of wild animals and was normally portrayed as living in the countryside. She had the ability to send plagues or sudden death to mortals, but she could also heal them. She was the twin sister of the god Apollo.

13. Ares
Ares was the god of war. However, unlike Athena, he was not very cunning in battle. He was not a popular god. In 'The Iliad' Zeus complained that Ares was the most hated of all his children.
There are hardly any known sanctuaries or temples dedicated to Ares. His home was said to be in the land of Thrace. The ancient Greeks considered this to be a wild and barbarous place.

14. Hephaistos
Hephaistos was the god of fire, volcanoes, blacksmiths and craftworkers. He was lame and this led to him being thrown out of Mount Olympus. He was married to the goddess Aphrodite. He was the father of Erechtheus the legendary king of Athens.
The Hephaisteia was another festival dedicated to Hephaistos. One of the major features of the festival was a torch race. Torch races occurred at many festivals but are particularly relevant to Hephaistos because of his connection with fire.

15. Dionysus
Dionysos was the fun loving god of high spirits, strong emotions and wine. He is also closely associated with drama and the theatre.
This is a drinking cup called a kantharos. Dionysos was usually shown holding this type of cup.