The ancient Greeks were
polytheistic

— that is, they worshipped many gods. Their major gods and goddesses lived at the top of Mount Olympus, the highest mountain in Greece, and
myths

described their lives and actions. In myths, gods often actively
intervened

in the day-to-day lives of humans. Myths were used to help explain the unknown and sometimes teach a lesson.
For example, Zeus, the king of the gods, carried his favorite weapon, the thunderbolt. When it rained and there was thunder and lightning, the ancient Greeks believed that Zeus was venting his anger.
Many stories about how the Greek gods behaved and interacted with humans are found in the works of Homer. He created two
epic

poems: "The Iliad," which related the events of the Trojan War, and "The Odyssey," which detailed the travels of the hero Odysseus. These two poems were passed down orally over many generations.



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The Chariot of Zeus, from a book called "Stories from the Greek Tragedians" by Alfred Church.
Flawed Individuals
The Greeks created gods in the image of humans; that is, their gods had many human qualities even though they were gods. The gods constantly fought among themselves, behaved irrationally and unfairly, and were often jealous of each other. Zeus, the king of the gods, was rarely faithful to his wife, Hera. Hera plotted against Zeus and punished his mistresses.
The Greek gods were highly emotional and behaved inconsistently and sometimes immorally. Greek religion did not have a standard set of morals, there were no Judaic Ten Commandments. The gods, heroes and humans of Greek mythology were flawed.
In addition to Zeus and Hera, there were many other major and minor gods in the Greek religion. At her birth, Athena, the goddess of wisdom, sprang directly from the head of Zeus. Hermes, who had winged feet, was the messenger of the gods and could fly anywhere with great speed. Aphrodite, the goddess of love, was the most beautiful being in the universe. Her brother, Ares, the god of war, was sinister, mean and disliked. Poseidon ruled the sea from his underwater palace, and Apollo rode his chariot across the sky, bringing the sun with him.



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A bust of Athena, the goddess of wisdom, war, and craft. She is usually seen with a war helmet like in the one in this picture. Athena was respected because she was smart and sometimes more level-headed than the other gods and goddesses. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.
Hades was in charge of the dead in the
underworld


, the gods punished those who were bad. For example, Tantalus, who killed his own son and served him to the gods for dinner, was sent to Hades and made forever thirsty and hungry. Although there was a pool of clear, fresh drinking water at his feet, whenever Tantalus bent down to drink, the pool would dry up and disappear.
Likewise, over his head hung the most delicious fruit. However, whenever Tantalus reached for them, a wind would blow them just out of his reach. The English word "tantalize" derives from the name Tantalus.
Pandora's Box And Hercules' Labors

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"Pandora," a painting by John William Waterhouse completed in 1896. Greek mythology was, and still is, the subject of many forms of art. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.
Myths helped explain how the world came to be the way it was. In one myth, Zeus created an incredibly beautiful and nearly perfect woman named Pandora. Her one flaw was that she was very curious and suspicious. Hermes, Zeus' messenger, gave Pandora a golden box. He warned her never to open it because terrible things would occur if she did.
But Pandora could hardly contain her curiosity and eventually broke down and opened the special box. Out from the box flew all the evils that
plague

humanity: famine, greed, pain, sorrow and so on. Only one thing remained in the box — hope — which humans managed to hold on to. This myth explains the
origins

of human misfortune. At the same time, it teaches a
moral lesson

by warning of the dangers of curiosity.
In addition to myths about gods, the ancient Greeks also told stories about heroes. One of the most famous Greek heroes was Hercules, the world's strongest man. Hercules was the illegitimate son of a mortal woman and Zeus, who tricked the woman by disguising himself as the woman's husband. Hera, Zeus' wife, was angry about Zeus' affair and sought to punish Hercules. Hera tricked Hercules into believing that his entire family were dangerous beasts, which Hercules then proceeded to kill. When Hercules realized that he had killed his entire family, he agreed to perform 12 tasks to atone for his terrible actions. For one of the tasks, Hercules had to slay the nine-headed monster called the Hydra.

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