For the ancient Greeks, the world was populated by countless gods. There were many types. So, some were primordial forces that, from the primordial Chaos, had shaped the universe as we know it. Others were the personification of some natural phenomenon, like the lightning that tears the heavens or the earthquakes that shake the earth. AND There were also those that represented abstract concepts, such as wisdom and love, or activities typical of human beings, such as war, commerce, metallurgy or artistic creation.

Some showed strange, if not monstrous, shapes, although The most important Greek gods had fully anthropomorphic featuresonly they were much more beautiful and powerful than the men and women over whom they reigned, as well as immortal. That is, they were born like any other creature, but they did not die. They were not even allowed to grow old.

Your behaviorHowever, yes, He was completely humansince these gods had the same virtues and defects as mortals. Greek myths show them as envious, capricious, jealous, irascible, violent, cruel and cunning, among themselves, but also with men and women.

Greek gods: types

iStock

These very “human” gods are known as Olympians, from the name of the mountain, Olympus, on whose summit they lived and from which they exercised their power. Getting there, however, was not easy: first they had to prevail in a devastating war against the preceding divine generation, that of the Titans, who had also achieved hegemony through the practice of the most extreme violence.

But, before the Titans, there was still another divine generation: that of the primordial gods.

The Primordial Greek Gods

This group is made up of elemental forces of nature arising from Chaos, such as Erebus (darkness) or Nyx (night), mother of Hypnos (sleep) and Thanatos (death). The most important figure in this group, however, is Gaea (Earth).

The Greek gods of the generation of the titans

This group is made up of Oceanus, Coeus, Crius, Hyperion, Iapetus and Cronus, and her sisters Tea, Rhea, Themis, Mnemosyne, Thetis and Phoebe. Generally, they were not too scrupulous about practicing incest. In their defense, it must be said that they did not have much to choose from in those early times…

Thus, from the union of Ocean and Tethys the three thousand oceanids or nymphs of the waters were born, and the three thousand oceanids, that is, the rivers, lakes and sources of the world, while from the Hyperion and Torch they did it Helios (the sun), Selene (the moon) and Eos (the dawn). Iapetus, however, united with an oceanid, Climenewhich he gave to Atlas and Prometheusamong other children.

Given the importance of their progeny, the most important couple was the one formed by Rhea and the youngest of the brothers, Chrono.

The Olympian Greek Gods

They are the most important group in the Greek pantheon. Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Hades, Demeter and Hestia belong to this group.

Other Greek deities

The Greek pantheon is not limited to these gods. There are more, many more, whose origin is not always clear. Among them the following stand out: Hecate, Nemesis, Morpheus, Iris, Eros and Pan.

The Greek gods of the second Olympic generation

The children of Cronus and Rhea They had numerous offspring, the most important of whom also went on to reside on Olympus. Highlights include Athena, Ares, Aphrodite, Hephaestus, Apollo, Artemis, Hermes, Dionysus, Heracles and Hebes.

Greek gods: what are they and what do they represent?

Consult the history and origin of the most important Greek gods and titans of the Greek pantheon.