Richard the Lion Hearted essays

Richard the Lion Hearted essays Greek Mythology played a very key role in the lives of the Greeks. Through the many legends about the gods, the Greeks were able to find reasons for all the laws of nature in a supernatural form. These legends were passed down from generation to generation until the spread of Christianity. On top of giving the Greeks reasons for natures action, their religion also gave them a faith that thing were going to be okay, which is something that all humans crave. The Greeks had 13 major gods. They often used these gods in their myths and prayed to them for particular needs. The head of the gods was Zeus who was also the god of the sky. Whenever Zeus spoke, he was listened to and his word was always final. Zeus had two brothers, Poseidon and Hades. The three brothers drew straws to decide who would control the skies, who would control the seas, and who would control the underworld. Zeus gained control over the skies and became king of the gods. Zeus used his mighty thunderbolts to punish all those who disobeyed him. Zeus married Hera, making her the queen of the gods. The sky god was extremely unfaithful to his wife and slept with women from queens all the way down to peasants. Since Zeus was king of the gods Hera could rarely force Zeus to do any penance, so she took out her wrath on the women Zeus slept with. Zeuss symbols were thunderbolts and eagles. When the three brothers drew straws to determine what area they would control Poseidon got the sea. His wife was Amphritrite who was a Nereid. Like Zeus, Poseidon was not very faithful to his spouse and had many affairs with the nymphs. Poseidon fathered several children who were extremely cruel and wild. Among his children were Orion the giant and the Polyphemus Cyclops. In art, Poseidon is generally featured holding a trident and accompanied by a dolphin. Also, Poseidon was said to have created many animals. He accidentally created such animals as the zebras while perf...