The tales of Greek mythology have enthralled countless generations. The religion of the ancient Greeks, stories of gods and goddesses, heroes and monsters both educated and guided.

The stories of Greek mythology could, and indeed do, fill many books, and even an overview of Greek mythology will provide only a taste of the stories told. The stories were written down by many different people, over many hundreds of years, and so there is often contradicting tales told, with tales often differing from city to city.

Hesiod (c700BC) and Homer (c750BC) are two of the most famous writers of Greek mythology, but they were, in the main, writing down stories from a previous oral tradition period. Stories were subsequently adapted by later Greek writers, and then the stories were taken up by Roman writers. Even so a basic storyline can be told.

In the beginning was Chaos, the first divine figure. Shortly afterwards emerged Gaia (earth), Tartarus (hell pit) and Eros (procreation); and so the elements for the development of the universe were now in place.

Chaos gave birth to Erebus (darkness), Nyx (night), Aether (light) and Hemera (day). It was Gaia who became regarded as the mother goddess, and from her ultimately all life emerged. Firstly she gave birth to Ouranos (heaven), Pontus (sea) and the Ourea (mountains); with Ouranos being regarded as her partner and supreme deity.

Ouranos might have been the supreme ruler of the cosmos but he was an insecure one. From mating with Ouranos, Gaia gave birth to the gigantic hundred-handed, Hecatonchires (Briareus, Cottus and Gyges) and the three Cyclopes (Brontes, Steropes and Arges). Ouranos was fearful of the power of his offspring and so imprisoned them within the hell pit of Tartarus, which was now to be found inside of Gaia.

A third set of children, the twelve Titans, though were not thought so much of a threat, and so instead lived free. Gaia though was mightily upset by the imprisonment of her children, and the physical pain that it was causing her; and so she hatched a plan to dethrone her partner. Gaia manufactured a sickle and gave it to the Titan lord, Cronus. When Ouranos descended from the sky to mate with Gaia, four other Titans, Crius, Coeus, Iapetus and Hyperion held him down, whilst Cronus castrated their father.

From the blood of Ouranus was born the Erinyes, whilst from the castrated genitals was born Aphrodite.

Cronus would subsequently take the position of supreme deity, ruling alongside the other Titans; five males, Oceanus, Crius, Coeus, Iapetus and Hyperion, and six females, Mnemosyne, Themis, Tethys, Theia, Phoebe and Rhea. Each of the Titans was given an area of life to rule over; for example Oceanus became ruler and personification of the oceans, and Rhea became goddess of fertility. Under the rule of the Titans, the Golden Age of Greek mythology began.

These Titans would give birth to second generation Titans; a list of children that included Atlas, Prometheus, Helios and Selene.

Like his father though Cronus was himself insecure, and had not released his half brothers from within Tartarus, and antagonising Gaia in the process. Gaia would make a prophecy that Cronus like Ouranos before him would be overthrown by his own offspring. Each time his wife, Rhea, gave birth to a child, Cronus would imprison them inside his own stomach by swallowing them.

Five children were swallowed; Poseidon, Hades, Demeter, Hestia and Hera were all imprisoned. The last offspring, Zeus, was smuggled away by Rhea and Gaia before he could be imprisoned; a cloth-wrapped stone being swallowed in his place. Zeus was raised to maturity, and when the time was ready led an uprising against his father.

Firstly he caused Cronus to regurgitate his siblings, and then a war commenced; the Titanomachy. The six siblings, known as the Olympians, fought against the majority of Titans; although Prometheus and Epimetheus did not fight with the other Titans. Ten years of fighting ensued with neither side getting the upper hand, and it was only when Zeus freed the Hecatonchires and Cyclopes from Tartarus that victory followed.

The defeated Titans were in the main confined to Tartarus themselves, although Atlas was given the special punishment of holding up the heavens.

Rule then passed to twelve Olympians; the six original Olympians minus Hades, plus Aphrodite, Ares, Apollo, Artemis, Athena, Hephaestus and Hermes. Whilst Zeus was supreme ruler, Poseidon was given dominion over the world’s waters, whilst Hades became lord of the Underworld. A whole myriad of other deities though were also conceived to account for all areas of life and the world. 

Mythology was then used to explain the world that the ancient Greeks saw, so that each river had a river god associated with it, as did each wind. Nymphs, oceanids and naiads were also amongst a host of mythical folk who ensured the running of the world.

Greek mythology also provided stories of the creation of mankind. Man was created many times in many different forms, including from gold, silver and iron; giving meaning to the existence of all three metals in the earth. The most famous myth though about the creation of mankind was when Prometheus formed mankind from clay and gave them the gift of fire; something for which he was eternally punished.

Man though had to give righteous praise to the gods of Mount Olympus and when they failed to do so were punished. Pandora’s Box released the world’s evils, whilst Deucalion was forced to build an ark to survive a flood brought forth by Zeus to destroy mankind.

The stories of mythology though also provided guidance of how people should live their lives. There were deities who dealt with justice, including the likes of Nemesis and the Erinyes, but also the thought of the Afterlife was an important instruction on how lives should be led.

Hades’ domain was an area split into three general parts, Tartarus, the Asphodel Meadows and the Elysian Fields. Each person who died was judged on how they had lived their lives. The wicked were punished by being put into Tartarus (hell), those who had led a good or indifferent life spent an eternity in the Asphodel Fields, a meaningless existence, whilst those who were heroic in life spent eternity in the Elysian Fields (paradise).

Heroes would play a vital role in the stories of Greek mythology, and although their adventures were entertaining, they also served as role models. Even today the names of the Greek heroes are relatively well-known. There was Theseus, the Athenian hero, who traveled into the Underworld, and also slew the Minotaur; Perseus who decapitated Medusa; Jason who sought the Golden Fleece; and Heracles who completed his twelve Labours.

There was a time when even the age of Heroes came to an end, and long after the time of the aforementioned heroes, the greatest warriors of ancient Greece came together to give battle outside of the walls of Troy. Made famous in the Illiad, Agamemnon led the likes of Achilles, Odysseus, Diomedes, Philoctetes, and Ajax against Paris, Hector and Aeneas. The long Trojan War saw the Suitors of Helen combine to reclaim the wife of Menelaus from Troy.

Stories from Greek mythology live on today, and many of the ancient scripts, such as the Theogony, Illiad and Odyssey can be read online; and one of the best in-depth websites in regards to Greek mythology remains theoii.