The most important Greek goddesses

The religion that the inhabitants of ancient greece it was based on the polytheistic mythology better known as Greek Mythology. Each of the gods of Greek mythology that made up the beliefs of the inhabitants of classical Greece represented the way the Greeks saw and they explained what was happening around them, from the creation of the universe and human beings to concepts such as war, fertility, death or the love.

The gods of Greek Mythology were many, but the most relevant were known as the twelve Olympians, including both gods and goddesses. But, in the case of female deities, which were the most prominent? Some of the main Greek goddesses were among the twelve Olympians, such as Hera, Athena, Artemis, Aphrodite, and Demeter. But, in this lesson from a TEACHER we are not only going to talk to you about these, but we are going to explain everything about the most important Greek goddesses and also on other prominent female figures in Greek Mythology.

Index

1. Hera goddess of the family and queen of Olympus
2. Athena Greek Goddess of Wisdom
3. Artemis Greek goddess of virginity
4. Aphrodite Greek goddess of love
5. Other important women in Greek Mythology
6. Complete list of Greek goddesses

The first of the most important Greek goddess names that we must highlight is Hera, known as Hera goddess of the family. She was the sister of Zeus, her parents were the titans Cronos and Rea, and she was also the official wife of Zeus, the god of Olympus, with whom she had four children: Hephaestus, Ilithia, Ares and Hebe. Although Hephaestus is considered the son of Zeus the supreme god, it is believed that Hera actually conceived him alone.

Being the wife of Zeus, Hera the Greek goddess of the earth was the queen of Mount Olympus and the most remarkable female deity among the gods of Greek mythology. She was known to the Greek people as Hera goddess of women and marriage and her roles in addition to being the sister and wife of Zeus supreme god and mother of his offspring, they implied representing the related with women, land, marriage and family. Due to her position and the fact that Zeus had many lovers, both goddesses and mortals, Hera was a goddess of jealous character who always tried to take revenge on the lovers of her husband and her children.

Hera, the most prominent among the most important Greek goddessesshe, she is linked to the symbols of the peacock, the lion, the cuckoo, the cow, the pomegranate and the crown. In Greek art she is represented full-length and always dressed, with a diadem or crown on her head and a scepter in her hand. The Romans related Hera to the Greek goddess wife of Zeus with the Roman goddess Juno, giving her the attributes and characteristics of Hera goddess of her family.

If you are interested in expanding your knowledge related to this lesson, we recommend that you read this other lesson about lthe gods of Greek Mythology.

A very remarkable female deity among the most important Greek goddesses is Athena, the favorite daughter of Zeus. Athena goddess of war she was the daughter of Zeus and the oceanid Metis and it is believed that she was born to her father. Specifically, the myth of Athena tells us that her father Zeus of her ate her mother Metis when she was pregnant and Athena goddess of wisdom was born from the head of her father. In addition, she was born as an adult and dressed for battle and, thus, Athena was the favorite daughter of Zeus.

In the story of Athena goddess of wisdom it should be noted that she was the protective goddess of the city of Athens and, for this reason, the city was so called. She is recognized for representing various aspects of life, specifically she is known as Athena goddess of crafts, defense, wisdom, strategic warfare and reason. The Greek people gave her the name of Athena the virgin goddess, since she was always kept pure. In addition, she was very loved for being protective of the people, but also for being peaceful, since despite being the goddess of strategic warfare, she always tried to avoid wars instead of waging them, behavior contrary to the god Ares.

Often, she was associated with the lesser goddess Nike, since the goddess of victory used to accompany Athena goddess of wisdom and craftsmanship in many tasks. Athena was related to symbols like the owl and the olive treeher, so in Greek art she used to be depicted as a virgin with a beautiful and severe face, with a strong and beautiful body, with armor, shield, helmet and long spear and with an olive branch or a owl. In Roman culture the goddess Athena, one of the most important Greek goddesses, was identified as Minerva.

In a teacher we discover you who was Zeus's wife.

The story of the Greek goddess Artemis of Olympus begins by mentioning that she was the daughter of Zeus and Leto and was the twin sister of Apollo, making her one of the most important Greek goddesses. Artemis or Artemis was the goddess of chastity and virginity, since she was a virgin goddess, but she was also known as Artemis goddess of hunting, animals, shooting with her bow, harvests and childbirth, she in fact she was appreciated for giving a placid death to mothers who died during the Birth.

By the fact of symbolizing virginity, Artemis was the antithesis of Aphrodite goddess of love and desire, for which they had several confrontations, reaching the point of punishing tragically to the mortals who were very faithful and revered one of the two and despised the other. In fact, Hippolytus, the son of Theseus, suffered the wrath of Aphrodite as she decided that she wanted to be a virgin and venerate Artemis Greek goddess of virginity and thus this implied that she disgraced Aphrodite. This she made Theseus believe that her son Hippolytus, whom he had conceived with Hippolyta his first wife, had abused his wife Phaedra his second wife. For this reason, Hippolytus was exiled and died in a tragic accident and, for this, Artemis took revenge on Aphrodite by making murdered her lover Adonis, torn to pieces by a wild boar, as he dishonored Artemis by being very sexually active and despising the virginity.

Like her twin brother Apollo, Artemis goddess of the hunt she and one of the most important Greek goddesses, she was embodied in art with bow and arrows and, usually dressed in full body and accompanied by some animal. The Romans identified Artemis, the Greek goddess of Olympus, and daughter of Zeus, with the Roman goddess Diana.

The myth of the goddess Aphrodite, one of the most important and recognized Greek goddesses, begins by saying that she was the daughter of Olympian god Zeus and the oceanic Dione. Although this is what was recounted in the Iliad of Homer and, on the other hand, in later myths it was told that she was the only daughter of Uranus, born when the titan Cronos She decided to sever Uranus's testicles and throw them into the sea, at which point Aphrodite emerged from the foam of the waves.

She is considered the personification of love, so Aphrodite goddess of love she is also linked to everything related to sexuality, desire, beauty and sensuality. Due to her inordinate pride in being the most beautiful of all the Greek goddesses, Zeus punished her by marrying her to Hephaestus, considered the ugliest Greek god of her.

Even having been married to Hephaestus, by her own nature and way of being, Aphrodite he had relationships with various lovers, both gods and mortals, among which Ares stood out god of war and hatred. In fact, it is believed that Eros, god of love, sexual attraction and fertility, was the son of Aphrodite and Ares. In art, Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, was often depicted scantily clad or nude, and the Romans identified Aphrodite, one of the most important Greek goddesses, as the goddess Venus.

Besides the four most important Greek goddesses we have mentioned, there were other women who were very relevant in Greek Mythology, among which we find both goddesses and mortals:

• Demeter: she is the daughter of Cronos and Rhea, so she is the sister of Olympian god Zeus. Demeter goddess of agriculture is also known as the goddess of nature, fertility and the seasons of the year. The Romans related her to her goddess Ceres hers.
• Selene: daughter of the Titans Tea and Hyperion. Selene goddess of the moon and light, she is the sister of Helios god of the sun and Eos goddess of the dawn.
• Gaea: primal goddess, so she is one of the most important Greek goddesses, who is considered the Mother Earth, For what Gea goddess of the earth, she is also known as Gea goddess of fertility, life and death.
• Pandora: she was the first woman, created by Zeus to accompany Prometheus. She is known for the myth of Pandora's Box, used to describe simple and insignificant acts that can unleash terrifying causes, as Pandora opened the forbidden box.
• Jellyfish: the only mortal among the gorgons, daughter of Forcis and Ceto, with snakes in her hair and long fangs that she lived in the lands near the Underworld. She was initially beautiful, so much so that Poseidon fell in love with her, and her terrifying appearance was a punishment of Athena, since she had sexual relations with the god of the sea in the temple of the goddess of wisdom. At unProfesor we offer you the possibility of further information on who is medusa.
• Penelope: Odysseus' wife and representative of conjugal fidelity in Greek Mythology, since her husband was in the sea and distant lands for ten years as punishment from Poseidon and, Penelope, she remained faithful and awaited her return, avoiding marrying any suitor throughout so many years.
• Helena: Considered the most beautiful and famous mortal woman in Greek Mythology, she was married to Menelaus, although she fell in love with Paris, a Trojan prince. In fact, when Helena and Paris fled together, the famous Trojan War broke out. Helena became known as Helen of Troy, but due to the war she ended up returning to her husband.

So that you can know the main names of the Greek goddesses within mythology, here we will leave you a list with all the names you should know. In addition to those that we have already mentioned, here we will also indicate the names of other goddesses who have been very important in Greco-Latin culture. They are as follows:

• Hera, goddess of the family and queen of Olympus
• Athena, Greek goddess of wisdom
• Artemis, Greek goddess of virginity
• Aphrodite, Greek goddess of love
• Hestia, goddess of the hearth
• Hebe, the goddess of youth
• Nemesis, the goddess of vengeance
• Asteria, the goddess of prophecies and oracles
• Demeter, the Greek goddess of fertility and agriculture
• Elpis, the goddess of hope
• Gaia, the goddess of Earth who is also known as "Mother Earth"
• Nike, the goddess of victory who is usually represented with two wings
• Peito, the one of seduction and persuasion
• Rhea, goddess of nature, was also known as the "mother of the gods"
• Selene, one of the three lunar goddesses
• Feme, the goddess of fame and gossip
• Tique, one of the goddesses of destiny who was also linked to prosperity
• Nix, the Greek goddess of the night
• Metis, she is the goddess of wisdom

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