Greece Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! === Mythology === {{Main|Greek mythology}} The numerous gods of the [[ancient Greek religion]] as well as the mythical heroes and events of the ancient Greek [[epic (genre)|epics]] (''[[The Odyssey]]'' and ''[[The Iliad]]'') and other pieces of art and literature from the time make up what is nowadays colloquially referred to as Greek mythology. Apart from serving a religious function, the mythology of the [[ancient Greeks|ancient Greek]] world also served a cosmological role as it was meant to try to explain how the world was formed and operated. The principal gods of the ancient Greek religion were the [[Dodekatheon]], or the ''Twelve Gods'', who lived on the top of Mount Olympus. The most important of all ancient Greek gods was [[Zeus]], the king of the gods, who was married to his sister, [[Hera]]. The other Greek gods that made up the [[Twelve Olympians]] were [[Ares]], [[Poseidon]], [[Athena]], [[Demeter]], [[Dionysus]], [[Apollo]], [[Artemis]], [[Aphrodite]], [[Hephaestus]], and [[Hermes]]. Despite her humble status within the hierarchy of the Olympians, [[Hestia]], the goddess of the hearth and sacred flame, was likely the most prayed to of all gods. It is believed that essentially all home offering ceremonies and most public festival offerings began and ended with an invocation and offering to Hestia. Apart from these 13 gods, the Greek pantheon was filled with dozens of other gods, demigods, and mortal and immortal beings which varied by local and over the evolution of Greek culture. A variety of other mystical beliefs and nature spirits such as [[nymphs]] and other magical creatures were foundational to the ancient Greek understanding of the world around them.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}} Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page