Hestia, The Goddess of the Home, Hearth and Architecture

Hestia is the goddess of the home, hearth and architecture in Greek mythology. She was the first child of the Titans Cronus and Rhea and the sister of Poseidon, Zeus, Hera, Demeter and Hades.  The word “hestia” meant “hearth” or “beside the hearth” in Ancient Greek language.She is called “The First and the Last” because she was the oldest sibling among The Original Six Olympian gods and she was also the last sibling to be disgorged by Cronus.Hestia had kind of an introverted character and she was a very private goddess.She was in peace with herself and she had a very content personality. It is told in the myth that Poseidon and Apollo wanted to marry her but Hestia told Zeus that she wanted to remain a virgin and made a wow to not to get married ever. She said that she did not want to live her life like Aphrodite did with being guided by her romantic desires. She preferred to go on her own path following her fate on her own.Zeus was kind of happy with Hestia’s decision to remain a virgin since he did not want a war to start between Poseidon and Apollo, the gods who asked for Hestia’s hand in marriage. Hestia devoted herself to her family and the community. Zeus left Hestia the key to the estate of Gods on Mount Olympus and she took care of the estate when other gods and goddesses were away for their adventures. She managed the household perfectly and always ensured there was ample amount of food and drinks when the other gods/goddesses came back.  It was also considered as Hestia’s duty to prepare meals for the family. She had a very calm, kind and caring personality and she was known to comfort the other gods and help them with their problems.

Hestia was also a very hospitable goddess and this is the reason why some of the inns, accommodation places and restaurants were and are still being named “Hestia”. According to the myth, Hestia considered it an offense to refuse strangers who visit as guests.


Hestia and Priapos

Hestia never stood out among the other gods and goddesses in Greek mythology because she chose to stay away from adventures and she was in peace with herself. This is the reason there are not so many myths about her. The most significant story about Hestia is related to Priapos attempt at raping her.According to the myth, one night Priapos, a minor god of fertility, came to the room Hestia was sleeping in to rape her. But as he was about to make his move a donkey started to bray and woke Hestia up. She screamed and wakened all the other gods and Priapos fled the scene.Although Hestia had a withdrawn personality, it was told in Homeric Hymns that she had indeed a great friendship with Hermes, ironically, the most chatty god among all gods. It was told that they were neighbors to each other and became very good friends.Hestia was also the goddess of architecture in Greek mythology and she suggested that a house should be built around a hearth, her symbol which was considered to be a part of her flame, at the centre.Hestia’s counterpart in Roman mythology is Vesta. The sacred hearth and a flame in general are considered as her symbols and she is mostly depicted by the side of a hearth in art

Poseidon the Greek God of the Sea

One of the twelve great Olympian gods, Poseidon was the Greek god of the sea whose fearsome rage could bring violent storms and earthquakes on the world. Homer calls him ''Earth-holder'' and as lord of earthquakes,Earth-shaker. He vividly depicts the mighty god as he journeys across his territory {Iliad 13.23-30): He harnessed to his chariot his two bronze-shod horses, swift of foot,with long, streaming manes of gold. Himself clothed in gold, he seized his well-wrought golden whip, then climbing into his chariot he drove across the waves. On every side, from the deeps of the sea, came dolphins,playing in his path, acknowledging their lord, and the sea parted in joy, cleaving a path before him. So swiftly sped the horses that never once was the axle of bronze beneath made wet with foam.

Poseidon was one of the six children of the Titans Cronus and Rhea, swallowed and later regurgitated by his cannibalistic father.When Cronus had been defeated and his three sons divided the universe among themselves, they kept the earth and Olympus as common property, while Zeus took the heavens as his domain, Hades the misty darkness of the Underworld, and Poseidon the seas. According to Homer, there was a time when Poseidon rebelled, conspiring with Hera and Athena to put Zeus in chains. But the sea-goddess Thetis saved him, sending Briareos  to release him.Poseidon vied with Apollo for the love of Hestia, the goddess of the hearth, but she rejected both of them, swearing a vow of eternal chastity. He also vied with Zeus for the love of Thetis, but both gods withdrew their suit when they learnt that she was destined to bear a son mightier than his father. Poseidon's wooing of the Nereid Amphitrite came to a happier conclusion: with the help of a dolphin,who found her when she fled into hiding, he won her for his wife.With her he lived in a splendid golden palace in the depths of the sea. She bore him a son, the merman Triton, and two daughters, Rhode and Benthesicyme. But Poseidon was one of the most prolific of the gods and fathered numerous children on many mistresses. He himself could be violent and vindictive, and some of his sons inherited his dangerous nature, such as the evil Sciron, Sinis and Cercyon,all killed by Theseus; the boxer Amycus, killed by Polydeuces;and the Egyptian king Busiris, killed by Heracles.Some of his formidable offspring were giants, such as the Siamese twins, the Moliones;Otus and Ephialtes, who attempted to take over Olympus;the wrestler Antaeus, who was killed by Heracles; the great hunter Orion; Lamus, who founded the Laestrygonians, a race of maneating giants; and perhaps best-known of all, the Cyclops Polyphemus, who was blinded by Odysseus.

Others of Poseidon's more famous children were the twins Pelias and Neius, whom he fathered on Tyro, taking the shape of the rivergod Enipeus; Libya's three sons, Belus, Agenor and Lelex; Eumolpus,the son of Chione(, who was thrown into the sea by his mother and reared by Poseidon's daughter Benthesicyme; the navigator Nauplius, fathered on the Danaid Amymone while she was hunting for water in Argos; Hippothoon, the son of Alope, who was suckled by a mare and reared by shepherds after Alope was cruelly killed by her father; and of course the great Athenian hero, Theseus, borne to Poseidon by Aethra.
Poseidon was also the god of horses, and in this guise was known as Poseidon Hippios, 'Horse Poseidon'. As a horse he mated with the goddess Demeter, who bore him the divine horse, Areion, and a daughter, Despoina. Medusa was pregnant by him when she was killed by Perseus, and from her severed neck were born the winged horse, Pegasus, and Chrysaor. Poseidon presented wondrous horses to favoured mortals, both to Pelops, to help him win the hand of Hippodameia, and to his son Idas, to help him win the hand of Marpessa. To Peleus he gave as a wedding present the immortal horses Xanthus and Balius, who were later taken by Achilles to fight at Troy. The god showed his favour to other mortals in rather different ways. He made love to Caenis while she was wandering alone on the seashore, then at her own request turned her into a man, Caeneus,and made her invulnerable. He also made his son Cycnus invulnerable, and on his death at Achilles' hands turned him into a swan.He gave to his mistress Mestra, daughter of Erysichtheon, and to his grandson Periclymenus the ability to change their shape at will.Like other sea-deities, Poseidon himself had the power of changing his own shape. He came to Theophane as a ram, and fathered on her the flying, talking ram with the golden fleece which saved Phrixus and Helle from their wicked stepmother Ino, and which later became the motive for the long and arduous journey of Jason and the Argonauts.According to Ovid, Poseidon coupled with Canace, the daughter of Aeolus, as a bull, with Melantho, the daughter of Deucalion,as a dolphin, and with the Gorgon Medusa as a bird.Being a mighty and formidable god,Poseidon sternly punished the mortals who offended him. He was furious with Odysseus for blinding the Cyclops Polyphemus and kept him away from his homeland of Ithaca for many long, weary years; and he punished the Phaeacians, the people of Scheria, for helping Odysseus on his journey.

When Laomedon, king of Troy, refused to pay Poseidon and Apollo the agreed wage for building his city walls, the sea-god sent a sea-monster against the land, which would have devoured Hesione,Laomedon's daughter, had she not been saved by Heracles. Laomedon's offence was the reason for Poseidon's resentment of the Trojans and his support for the Greeks during the Trojan War. He frequently intervened to help his favourites, even against the express command of Zeus. This did not stop him helping Athena to punish the Greeks at the end of the war for the rape of the Trojan prophetess Cassandra by Ajax the sea-god sent violent storms that wrecked the Greek fleet off Cape Caphareus and brought death to many, including Ajax himself.At the Nereid's request, Poseidon sent another sea-monster against the Ethiopians, to punish a vain boast made by their queen, Cassiopeia.This time the monster's victim was to be the queen's daughter, Andromeda, but she was saved by Perseus. Poseidon was also associated with bulls: he brought death to Hippolytus, at the request of his father Theseus, by sending a bull from the sea that caused his horses to bolt and overturn his chariot. He sent as a gift to Minos, king of Crete, a magnificent white bull from the sea, then punished the king for failing to sacrifice it by inflicting on his wife,Pasiphae, a passion for the bull that led to the birth of the Minotaur.Poseidon came into conflict with some of the other gods over the
patronship of certain lands. He and Athena contested the possession of Attica during the reign of Cecrops. Both demonstrated their divine powers, Poseidon by creating a well of sea-water on the Acropolis of Athens, Athena by planting an olive tree. Athena's was judged the greater benefit, so the land became hers. Poseidon in anger sent a flood to cover Attica. He also quarrelled with Hera over the possession of Argos. The river-gods Inachus, Cephissus and Asterion judged the dispute in favour of Hera, and Poseidon, angry once again, dried up their waters. He was more fortunate in the case of Corinth,which he disputed with the Sun-god, Helios. The Hundred-hander Briareos was called in as arbitrator, and he awarded the citadel of
Acrocorinth to Helios and the Isthmus to Poseidon.

Poseidon was worshipped throughout the Greek world and from very early times: his name occurs on Mycenean Linear B tablets more frequently than that of any other divinity. At Rome he was identified
with the sea-god Neptune. He is a popular subject in ancient art, easily recognised by his most famous attribute, the trident, though he sometimes holds a fish and is often accompanied by sea creatures.
Occasionally he rides a hippocamp (a hybrid with the foreparts of a horse and the tail of a fish). Popular too in postclassical art, he figures prominently in sea-triumphs with his wife Amphitrite and is a natural subject for fountain-figures, such as on the famous Trevi Fountain at Rome. His marble temple on the promontory of Sounion in Attica, built in the late fifth century BC, is still a landmark for sailors.

Zeus The Greek Supreme God

The Greek supreme god of all living and all creation came at a great price. Cronus and Rhea was his parents, Cronus was a titian and Rhea was considered as a Titan too due to her parents which were Gaia and Ouranos. She was known by most as The Mother Of The Gods. She was also Cronus sister as well as spouse. Due to that Cronus had over powered his own father and became king of the Gods he feared that his own children would do the same thing to him as well as that Gaia and Ouranos had told him that his children would rise up against him and take the throne for themselves. So as Rhea had his children he would swallow them. They would not die but just be trapped within his body they would grow inside of him just as they would have in the world. He done this every time just as soon as the children were born. Rhea soon grew tiered of this and her and her parents came up with a plan to save one of the baby’s. This baby was Zeus.

Rhea tricked Cronus into eating a rock that was wrapped up like a baby and he swallowed it while Zeus was taken to Mount Dicte in Crete where he was raised by Cynosura and Adamanthea who was nymphs. He was raised by many gods and other beings, He was suckled by The Goat named Amalthea with milk and honey in later years after Amalthea died Zeus took her skin and turned it into his royal shield known as Aegis to honor her for what she did for him. The small gods known as Kouretes soldiers would dance, clash their swords and shout to keep the cry of the baby from Cronus’s ears. In his later years a shepherd family raised him for while and taught him what they knew. Along with Gaia. In a part of his infancy Cynosura had dangled Zeus on a rope to keep him out of sight from his father due to Cronos being able to see and ruled over the heavens, Earth and the seas. So with Zeus being dangled on a rope he was in between of what Cronos could view.

After protecting Zeus and watching him grow into a nice and strong young man he son became an attendant to Cronus his father. Cronus never expected to be taken down by his servant and never give it another thought.Soon Rhea, Zeus mother and the titan goddess of wisdom Metis made up a potion for Cronus to drink. Soon after he drank it he became very sick to his stomach and soon vomited his children up.After Demeter, Hades, Hera, Hestia, and Poseidon was threw up they were in a complete out rage due to their many years of imprisonment has decided to wage war on the Titans and take over the throne of Cronus. Zeus being so wise he called to his siblings and told them that they would need help from the powerful allies as well as weapons.So they came up with a plan that would change the heavens forever.

The one eyed giants known as The Cyclopes were released from their imprisonment in Tartarus known by many as Hell. They were much grateful for their release and was willing to help them and gave them great gifts that would help in defeating the great Titans.To Zeus they gave him his thunder bolts, the trident was bestowed on Poseidon and last but not least was the helmet that when worn would turn you invisible and that gift was bestowed upon Hades.After they were well armed the battle began against their father. It was not an easy battle for it took over ten years to finish this battle and was very bloody but they soon conquered him as well as the other titans. The three brothers worked together. Hades wearing the helmet slipped up behind Cronus and with the Trident Poseidon immobilized Cronus while Zeus threw a thunderbolt at Cronus knocking him unconscious. Even with the victory of this the reign of the Olympians had just started and it would last forever. All of the Titans were drove defeated into the pits of Tartarus. After many generation of mortal life Cronus and the rest of the Titans were set free. Cronus resided as King of time in the Elysian Islands.

After the battle was over and the titans were placed in imprisonment the three brothers drew lots and divided up the heavens and earth between them. Zeus was made the supreme ruler due to what he draw, Hades was made God of the underworld and the sea and all waters went to Poseidon. But they all agreed to share the ruling of the earth and all of the mortals and creatures that roamed the earth.Zeus having acquiring his new powers and position he soon got above every one and let this go to his head and he had a bad habit of abusing his powers for many a years. He built a palace way above the clouds on Mount Olympus and would punish any one that displeased him or misinformed him by throwing his lighting bolts at them. This happen very often.Soon Zeus grew lonely and wanted a wife so he pursued Metis because she had helped to rescue his siblings. She reclined him and changed her forum and hid from the Great Lord Zeus. He was so desperate to have her that he did not give up til she finally gave in and became his wife.. Metis soon became pregnant and when this happen Gaia became very upset at how Zeus was acting and gave him a prophecy that any son of Zeus and Metis would over throw his father and take control of it. Upon this news he swallowed Metis to keep her from having a son.

Metis was not going to have a son for it was a daughter who would soon become a great goddess as well. The child was born and grew with in the head of Zeus. he soon began to have terrible head aches that would end all head aches. After this went on for so many years the god of the forge Hephaestus created an golden axe for he seen how much misery Zeus was in. After the axe was forged he went to the Lord Zeus and split his head open to relive the pain and when he did this out stepped a beautiful fully grown woman clothed and ready to take her stance on the throne next to her father. She was Apollo goddess of war as well as her father’s most trusted adviser and ally.Zeus still being wild and not ready to settle down after Metis he had his way with many of the goddess and mortals. He would transform himself into many things to seduce them and had many children before he deiced to marry and after he was married to Hera.

He decided that Hera would be his bride but she was not interested in him due to his childishness ways. He was determined to marry her so he turned himself into a cuckoo then created a thunder storm that drenched him. Hera with the kind heart that she had she picked up the little bird and held it close to her heart trying to get it warm. As she did so Zeus changed into himself and told her that he was just as vulnerable as that bird and for her to take pity on him as she did the cuckoo for he was madly in love with her. After this happen Hera soon realized that she too love him and consented to his proposal. She became the Queen of the Heavens. Everyone thought that after marring Hera Zeus would calm down and she did manage to calm him down a bit. All was so jealous of Hera because she was so loved by the Lord God Zeus. Some says that their marriage went great with a 300 year honeymoon but soon died and he started roaming again with other lovers.

Zeus had many wives goddesses as well as mortal lovers and all bore his children Metos who was goddess of wisdom was his first wife and she bore Athena.Themis was his second wife and bore to him Dike, Eirene, Eunomia, Horae, and Fates.Titaness was his third wife and bore to him nine children who became the Muses.Leto was his fourth wife whom he seduced forced her to marry him and she bore to him the twins, Appolo and Artemis.Hera was his final and last wife she was his permanent companion and bore him four children who was Hephaestus, Ares, Hebe and Eileithyae. It has been said that Hera born Hephaestus on her own and he had no father at all. But it is still said that Zeus is his father.Zeus had many children including the most well known Hercules.

In one story of how Zeus got Hera was that he turned himself into an injured bird and Hera felt sorry for the little creature and she picked it up holding it close to her breast to give it warmth and Zeus took advantage of this then raped Hera. Hera married him only to cover up her shame of what happen but she did not love him and was cruel-hearted to him. She had at one time tried to make things work between them but Zeus not being a very faithful husband and sleeping with many lovers she lost all that she may have had for him and started planing her revenge against him and all of his lovers and children that were born from his cheating.

Hera so displeased with the things that Zeus did and they way he was ruling was like a child and her and the other gods was very displeased with this so Hera thought up of a way to get rid of Zeus and over throw him. Hera drugged him and the others took him and tied him to a couch in a rope that was on breakable. There was so many ties that there was no way that he could get free on his own. But he had friends in high places that was still loyal to him, Briareus had over heard the quarreling of the others and decided to sneak in to see what was going on. The gods and goddesses were all not paying any attention to Zeus thinking that he was out of the picture that Briareus was able to untie him farley fast. As soon as he had him untied Zeus sprang from the couch and instantly grabbed his thunder bolt. The Gods and goddesses all fell to their knees begging forgiveness.He dealt with each of them but Hera got the worst punishment of them all. she was hung from the stars in gold chains and heavy anvils on her her ankles. For three nights and days she hang there moaning and groaning not letting Zeus get any peace nor sleep so her told her that he would let her go if she made a promise to him that she would never go against him every again or do any trickery to him. She had no choice but to agree to this so she did and he released her. Even though she never went against him ever again she still out witted him many times as well as to butt into his plans and ruin them.

The plot against him seem to get through some what and he began to shape up as the leader he should have been he was merciful and gave the right punishments for the rightful crime committed. Some times he would not even punish those who wronged him but warned them some times. All went back to normal Zeus became the highest ranking God of all of the Mount Olympus.He was not such of an arrogant ruler any more although his lust was never satisfied and his marriage was never happy for Hera was never pleased over his affairs and what woman would be.