The Greek Gods: An Illustrated Introduction

The Greek gods are the key players in Greek mythology, an ancient collection of narratives that evolved over thousands of years to explain the origins of the forces of nature around us, their impact on our lives, the nature of humankind itself, what it means to be human, our relationship with the earth and the cosmos, and our sense of place within it.

If we include all of the major gods, minor gods, spirits, demi-gods, mythical creatures, etc. from all of the different traditions across the ancient Greek world, we would be looking at about five hundred at least, maybe even a thousand, and if all of them were included in this book, holding it and leafing through it would be a Herculean task, so this is an illustrated introduction to about a hundred of them.

They are part of the history of Western literature from antiquity to the modern day, and from the Renaissance period and the revival of a classical education, they have inspired generations of storytellers, artists, authors, poets, and composers alike ever since.

The original Primordial gods are more amorphous (ἀ-, a- = 'without' + μορφή, morphḗ = 'shape', 'form' + -ous) and elemental in nature and represent spaces and realms, whereas the later gods over time became increasingly anthropomorphised (ἄνθρωπος, 嫕thrōpos = 'man', 'human' + μορφή, morphḗ = 'form', 'shape'), especially when depicted in art, paintings, sketches, engravings, etc.

There were at least five hundred years of oral tradition and storytelling all over the Greek world before the events and relationships between the gods started to be written down. There were always multiple versions of the myths steadily evolving, depending on where you were, and who was telling the tale. It was the author's choice which versions they used, and they could distinguish themselves by using the well known source material to tell their version, embellishing here, making a few changes there, putting their own stamp on it, hopefully saying something new and interesting or adding a deeper meaning somewhere.

This book is designed to be a useful introduction and an opening reference to the subject, for readers who are interested in mythology, history, deities, and the ancient Greeks, and who would like to know more.