I'm not sure how the actual myths are going to read when I get to them, but I must say Edith Hamilton's Mythology is so far a very easy read despite the book being a slightly hefty 400+ pages. Before embarking on the tales themselves it's good to know who is who, which is what Hamilton undertakes in the first chapter of the first section of the book.
If you've not read Greek Myths, or like me it's been ages since you've done so, you might still be surprised by how much you already know. I mean there are these Titans. Do you remember this Poseidon? This Apollo is quite famous. I've actually seen this Venus (Aphrodite) and you've probably heard the song she inspired. Which novel did I just read where the characters talked about cooking on the Vulcan (maybe it was in Michelle Cooper's YA novel?). Although not a god, so I've not yet read about him, we all have this tendon. And I am a great fan of these books. References to gods and goddesses abound and we probably hear, see and talk about them without realizing sometimes just where the inspiration comes from.
There are lots of gods and goddesses but there are twelve important ones. Hamilton begins by noting that the gods did not create the universe, rather the universe created the gods. It all started with Heaven and Earth, the Titans were their children and the gods their grandchildren. There is one confusing thing I am finding about the gods. They often have more than one name--not just their Greek name, but they often have different names in Latin as the Romans appropriated them for them own as well.
So, beginning at the beginning we have the Titans who were incredible in size and strength. They don't feature in many of the myths though there were quite a few of them. Cronus (or Saturn in Latin, which is more familiar to me) was the most important being the main ruler and Zeus's father, who would eventually take the throne for himself. To put it in contemporary terms Zeus was a player. He likes the ladies and did whatever he could to hide his many infidelities from his wife, Hera (which I might note also happened to be his sister). They're gods, I guess they get away with this sort of behavior.
Just a quick run down of the other ten (and this is more for me to remember them all, so please bear with me if this sounds a little boring):
Poseidon is Zeus's brother, a sort of second in command and ruler of the sea. I like the image Hamilton paints of him--he either would shake and rattle his trident (no doubt creating a tempest), or ride his "golden car" over the waters and all would be still and peaceful.
Hades is the other brother and as you may guess not someone you want to invite to your parties, since he rules over the underworld. I wonder if J.K. Rowling had him in mind when she was writing her Harry Potter books. Hamilton mentions that Hades had a "far-famed cap or helmet which made whoever wore it invisible". Hmm. A precursor to the cloak of invisibility perhaps?
Athena is one of the virgin goddesses. She is Zeus's daughter and sprang from him fully formed so she bypassed having a mother. She's represented both as a battle-goddess, but also as a defender. This is her temple.
Artemis is the second virgin goddess. I'm skipping ahead a little, but she is Apollo's twin sister, one of Zeus's many children. Also known as Diana she is a fierce huntress. Although she was the "protectress" of dewy youth" she also had a penchant for revenge. In The Song of Achilles (and in The Iliad) she kept the Greeks from sailing to Troy until they offered a human sacrifice.
Hestia, Zeus's sister, is the third virgin goddess. She is new to me and no wonder since she plays no part in the myths. She's the goddess of the hearth.
Now back to Apollo, who is "the most Greek of all the gods". He's an all around appealing god as his beauty is noted, and he was not only a musician but a healer. He's all light and no shadow. I'm expecting to hear great things from him.
Aphrodite (Venus) is the Goddess of Love and Beauty. If Athena sprung fully formed, so too did Aphrodite, but she came from the foam of the sea. Like Apollo she is all beauty and loveliness, though in later myths she is portrayed as treacherous and malicious.
Hermes (Mercury) is another of Zeus's children, who was of fleet foot and was Zeus's messenger. I like the idea of sandals with wings, which is what he had.
Ares (Mars), the god of war, was detested by his parents Zeus and Hera. He is a "murderous, bloodstained" curse of mortals. This is his family tree: a sister named Eris (which means Discord), and a nephew (Eris's son) names Strife. In their wake follows "streams of blood". I don't imagine their family gatherings were much fun. Interestingly Mars had a better reputation with the Romans who is seen as "magnificent" in his armor.
And last but not least is Hephaestus, also known as Vulcan and Mulcibeer, who is the god of fire. He is presented as both the son of Zeus and Hera, but also sometimes as Hera's son alone. The story being that Hera bore him in retaliation for Zeus's daughter Athena. Something of a black sheep amongst the other gods, he was the only one who was ugly.
There are lots of lesser gods of Olympus, the waters, the underworld and the earth, but I won't make you suffer through hearing about them now. I will say that satyrs have always given me the creeps. Centaurs are just barely a step above them in my mind, but I must say Chiron was very likable in The Song of Achilles (which I do still plan on writing about). I'd never heard of the Graiae. They are three gray women who share one eye!
Edith Hamilton gives a nod in the direction of the Roman gods, but it's obvious where her love and admiration lies. Apparently Italy had little use for beautiful and poetic gods (unlike the Greeks). They were more practical and wanted useful gods. It will be interesting to compare.
Next up is Demeter and Dionysus, two gods of the earth. Someone suggested I take a look at Bulfinch's Mythology, and I know I have a Modern Library edition of it somewhere, so will be searching my shelves for it. Now I'm looking forward to hearing some stories about the gods.