In Greek Mythology, Zeus was the king of the gods. His domain was the sky. He was nicknamed “The Father of Men.” Poseidon, Zeus’s brother, was the god of the sea. Because he also controlled earthquakes and other weather related, disaster creating storms, he is nicknamed “The Earth Shaker.” Hades was the god of the underworld. He was nicknamed “The Rich One” because he owned all the riches of the earth.

Coming into Power

When the Titans were in control, there was a prophecy given to Cronus, the king Titan, that his children would throw him out of power, so he ate them. But Rhea, Cronus’s wife, hid Zeus in a cave after he was born. Instead of Zeus, she gave Cronus a rock swaddled in a baby blanket. Zeus grew up in the cave. He soon was ready to save his brothers and sisters from their power hungry father. The children of the great Titan had not been digested because they were immortal, and were still in Cronus’s stomach. Zeus made Cronus throw up his children with a mixture of poisonous leaves and roots.

Afterward, the six gods, Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Hades, Hestia, and Demeter, led a huge war against the Titans. It was fierce and long-lasting. The children of  Cronus won and chopped him up with his own scythe. After that, the gods came to power and began to rule the world. Some myths say that the Greeks were not as happy as they were when the Titans ruled, but  most say that they were very happy the controlling Titans were gone and a new era had begun.          

Most myths say that Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades drew lots to decide which parts of the world they would rule. Zeus got the sky, Poseidon got the sea, and Hades got the Underworld.       

Zeus

Zeus was the king of the gods. He controlled the winds. If he became angry, great thunderstorms would break out around Mount Olympus. When one of these happened, the Greeks thought Zeus was mad. He was often called “The Father of Men.” He was the protector of kings, protector of law and order, and avenger of broken oaths. Zeus regulated nature and protected it.

In Roman times, after the Greeks, he was called Jupiter. They named the planet after his Roman form.

Zeus was the son of Cronus and Rhea. He married his sister, Hera. Zeus would sometimes have affairs with mortal women and Hera would become jealous every time. She would send animals to annoy him while he was with these women. Zeus was the father of Muses and Graces.

When artists and carpenters would paint and create a statue of him, he would often be shown as a mature, strong-bearded man. Because he ruled the sky, he was usually shown throwing lightning bolts.

Zeus’s breast plate was called aegis, his enemies would run away because it had an image of Medusa's head on it.

His godly children were Persephone, Hermes, Hephaestus, Ares, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, and Dionysus. Some people think he was also the father of Aphrodite, who was born out of sea foam as an adult and very beautiful, the goddess of beauty and love.

Zeus’s Kindness

Zeus could be very kind. One myth, The Magic Pitcher, shows this. However, Zeus was not always kind. He was usually quite mean to the Greeks. Some of his punishments were sending great thunderstorms or setting houses on fire using his lightning bolts.

    One day, Zeus and Hermes visited earth dressed like beggars. They traveled from house to house asking for food and shelter. At every house but one, they were refused. At one small cottage they were accepted. It was owned by a poor couple named Philemon and Baucis. They warmly welcomed the two disguised gods into their small home. They rushed to set the table and feed their new guests. Soon, Zeus and Hermes were fed warm stew and many vegetables. After the meal, they were served apples and wild honey.

All throughout the meal, the gods poured wine out of a pitcher. The wine pitcher would surely not have stayed full, but it did. It continued to fill it self up. In astonishment, Philemon and Baucis fell to their knees, realizing these two weary-looking travelers must be gods. They begged for forgiveness, for they had served such a very poor meal. Zeus and Hermes did not think the meal was poor, and knew this old happy couple were the kindest in the mean-spirited town.

The two gods decided to destroy the the town because the Greeks there deserved to be punished for their cruelty. They also decided to help the kind couple. Zeus told them to go up to a high hill where they would be safe. Of course, as Zeus was the king of the gods, they obeyed immediately. Zeus and Hermes followed them up. As soon as they were at the highest point, completely safe, Zeus commanded rain to fall. It rained and rained and rained until the whole countryside was flooded, except for the hill.

Zeus stopped the rain. The gods’ kindness did not stop there, though. Hermes changed their cottage, which had not been touched by the flood, into a beautiful temple. “What favor would you like us to do for you?” Zeus asked the couple.

    “Only to be priests of your temple,” they answered. “We also wish to die together, at the same time, when we are very old.” Zeus granted their wishes and traveled back to Olympus with Hermes.

Poseidon

Poseidon, god of the sea, was said to be very destructive. He created horses out of sea foam.  They were believed to be made in the shape of a breaking wave. Poseidon was shown in statues as a strong, bearded man holding a trident, sometimes with a dolphin or tuna swimming around him. He married a sea goddess named Amphitrite. She bore Poseidon's children, who were mostly giants. He was called Neptune by the Romans. The planet was named after him.

Poseidon favored few people, but for those he did favor, he would help them by calming the waves as they crossed the oceans. For the people he did not like, though, he would send sea storms and rough waves. Posiedon was nicknamed “The Earth Shaker,” after his bad temper and power over earthquakes.  

Offending Athena

The gorgon Medusa was not always so ugly and did not have snakes for hair. She was very beautiful and Poseidon loved her. One day, he took her to Athena’s temple. When Athena saw that they were on a date in her temple, she was enraged. It was very disrespectful for a god to do such a thing. Athena set off to punish them.

    When she saw Medusa, she immediately knew what to do. She cursed Medusa so Medusa had snakes as hair and  was no longer beautiful. Poseidon was not happy with Athena for this and for many years they fought.
    There was a problem, though. Athena had created the chariot and Poseidon, horses. Chariots were worthless without horses. Poseidon and Athena were still mad at each other, but they had to work together. So, for once in many thousands of years, they worked together to complete the chariot.

Hades

Hades was the god of the underworld. He punished the wicked after they died. He was sometimes called Plouton by the Greeks. Plouton means “The Wealthy One.” He was also called Dis or Pluto by the Romans. The dwarf planet was named after him. The reason why he was “The Wealthy One” was because he had many precious metals. Hades was also the god of wealth. He rarely left the underworld.  

In the Titan war, the cyclopes forged weapons for his brothers and himself. Hades’s weapon was a helmet. It was special because it made him invisible. Mortals were afraid to speak Hades’s name because they did not want to catch his attention. They especially did not want to get called to the underworld.

Hades also had a pet named Cerberus. Cerberus was a giant three headed dog. His job was to protect the gates of the underworld. Hades’s wife was Persephone.

Stealing Persephone                           

Persephone was actually never in love with Hades.  Hades was sitting in his throne room when, suddenly, a loud noise came from above. Hades became afraid that the Underworld would collapse. He went up to find out what was going on, and stop it. It turned out to be Zeus. He was fighting some giants. Hades put a stop to the confusion and quickly started back to the underworld.

On his way back, he got shot by an love arrow coming from Eros, the son of Aphrodite. The arrow made the person who was shot fall in love with the first person they saw. The first person Hades saw was Persephone. He was so taken by her beauty, he stole her.

When Demeter found out, she was crushed. She quickly found Hermes to try to get Persephone back. Hermes found out that Persephone had eaten three pomegranate seeds while in the underworld, so she could not come back. This was because once you have eaten Underworld food you were not allowed to come back up. Hermes pleaded with Hades. Hades refused.

Demeter was deeply upset over the loss of her daughter. She made a frost cover the earth; all the plants died. Hermes and Demeter begged and pleaded for Persephone. Finally, Hades agreed to allow Persephone above-ground for six months every year. This myth explained the seasons.

Conclusion

The big three Greek gods were Zeus, god of the sky, Poseidon, god of the sea, and Hades, god of the underworld. Each god had his own traits. Zeus was a strong figure in history, Poseidon was often in a bad mood, and Hades was very greedy.