Friday, October 23, 2015

*Expect the Unexpected*

There is an old saying that goes something like this: Beware of Greeks bearing gifts. No one knows who may have said that, but we know they are talking about the Trojan Horse. The Greeks made a big wooden horse as a “present” for their enemy. They rolled the horse up a hill and left it at the castle. The Greeks waited inside the horse until the horse was brought inside the castle. Once the horse was inside, the Greeks waited for their enemies to fall asleep, and then they went into action. They attacked and defeated their enemy! The lesson here is don’t take gifts from your enemies. If you do, expect the unexpected! Have you ever been in a fight with a friend, and they randomly give you a gift?

Zeus, The Greek God

Have you ever wanted to know who Zeus, the Greek god was? Zeus was the ruler of the sky and ruler of the Olympian gods. Zeus swallowed his children and then they cut him open from his stomach and crawled out. After they did that they killed him and chopped him up in little pieces and then spread him out all over Tartarus so he wouldn't become over powered. They didn't want him overpowered because he would have killed everyone. Zeus can also control lightning. His lightning bolts come from Cyclopes.I think Zeus is the most power full god, what do you think? Who is your favorite Greek god and what cool information do you know about them?

THE GOLDEN AGE... EXPLAINED!!


Did you know that our government, a democracy comes from the Greeks? Almost all of our government was pulled from the original Athens. The Athens lived during  the Golden Age. They grew from rich age and trade around the city. If the Athens didn’t exist, I honestly don’t know where we would be today! The trading and rich background helped them overthrow the greeks for a while. The Golden Age was good for some people and bad for others. Would you want to be alive during the time of the Athens? 

Aphrodite the Goddess of love


The Greek Gods   have many different qualities. For example Athena is the goddess of wisdom and is very powerful, or Hera the goddess of marriage and families, and even Zeus the god of the sky and the ruler of the other lesser gods. But my personal favorite is Aphrodite the goddess of love and beauty. Because of her beauty, other gods feared that their rivalry over her would interrupt the peace among them and lead to war, so Zeus married her to Hephaestus, who, because of his ugliness and deformity, was not seen as a threat. Aphrodite had many lovers, such as Ares. Many lesser beings were said to be children of Aphrodite. Who is your favorite  Goddess/God?

Poseidon God Of Water And Floating Stuff

Some say Poseidon is the stubborn one of the bunch. I think he is the best of them all. Although he was eaten by his father Kronos, he still thinks about others before himself. Poseidon is the god of the seas, and horses. Poseidon has a Roman form,but he is more powerful in his Greek form his roman form is fine to. His Roman form is called Neptune. Who is your favorite god?

Thursday, October 22, 2015

Greek Gods (Is there something I'm missing?)


So I think the Greek Gods are very interesting. Like how they all have their own talent or skill and such. On the other hand they make them seem like way more then the really are like how Zeus could apparently summon lighting. I just think that it was just some people who were very well talented or skilled it seems like there story has changed over the years. I don’t know if it is just me being Christian and only believing in one god but it seem odd to me. What do you think of this Greek Gods stuff.

The Superstitious Greeks!


You know that superstition where you throw salt over your shoulder to get rid of evil? In Greece, you can use salt to get rid of an unwanted human as well. If you have someone in your home and you want them to leave, all you need to do is sprinkle a little bit of salt behind them. The “powers” of the salt will chase them out of your house. You can also sprinkle salt in a new home before you move in, and the salt will drive any evil away from you and your family. This is one crazy superstition that the Greeks have, maybe you should try it and find out if it actually works!

Hades The King of the Underworld and God of the Dead





Hades is awesome because he is one of the coolest gods EVER. He has a three headed dog. His symbols are Narcissus (plant), Cerberus (mythical dog), and a Scepter (staff). One of his siblings is Poseidon (God of the Sea). The origin of Hades name is "The Unseen One". The Greeks referring Hades as Pluto,  with a root meaning “wealth”, considering that from abode below come riches. That's my favorite god. Who's your favorite god/goddess?





 

What have the Greeks Given us?

“What has history given us? Why do we have to learn about this? This is stupid.” Many people think that we live in the present and that we shouldn’t look back to the past which in some cases, is a good thing. But when it comes to history, there is so much to learn from thousands of years ago that all comes back to today’s life. For example, the Greeks. Every four years the Olympic games are held in some part of the world. People train for years going to prestigious competitions for all kinds of sports just to get the opportunity to perform in the Olympics. But how did the Olympics ever form? Many, many years ago during the age of the Greeks the people of Greece wanted to honor their gods, especially one in particular, Zeus. Their decision was to create something like a festival, something that was held every four years, something like the Olympics. Even though our reason for the games has changed we still celebrate them thousands of years later. What else have the Greeks given us?

Nyx: the strongest god

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When you think of gods, you think of Mount Olympus. When you think of the most powerful gods, you think Zeus or Athena, but who really is the most powerful god or goddess?  The answer is probably Nyx, goddess of the night. She was the first goddess ever made, formed from the dead of night. Her children were many, most notable being Hypnos, the god of sleep. Even Zeus, king of the gods, was afraid of her.  She was always a rather mysterious character in the realm of the gods. She rode a chariot made of shadow and carried a shadow whip to boot. If you want to know more about Nyx, goddess of the night, click here!

Marathon: The Most Important Battle In Grecian History Reduced to a Footrace

Two armies are standing on a swampy plain. Suddenly, the smaller army advances, shields interlocked to form a phalanx. Commands are shouted, and the two armies charge at each other. They collide in a dark storm of bodies, the shine of bronze armor and spears, and the screams of dying men. Blood flows freely this day, and it will be spoken about and sung in the tales of bards for generations to come. This is the Battle of Marathon, the pivotal moment in the Greco-Persian War. This battle was the culmination of the Greek resistance to Persian efforts to conquer them. After the Greeks won, they sent a runner to tell Athens of the victory. He ran at a breakneck pace for 26.2 miles to arrive at the city, only managing to say, “We have won.” before collapsing, dead. The Persian offensive was destroyed, and all in Greece cheered. But the Persians were more than the villains of 300. What can you find out about this ancient empire?    

The Mighty Greek Gods... well most of them anyways

When it comes to Greek mythology we might not be experts on the gods but you probably know the the big ones like Zeus or Poseidon but lets look at the mixed up family tree a little bit closer.The gods ultimate creator was Chaos whose offspring, Gaia had her own twelve children called the Titans. Cronus the Titan overthrew his father but when his son Zeus became older Zeus overthrew Cronus (mother was Rhea). Now the gods begin to get a little bit more familiar. Zeus's siblings included Poseidon, Hades, Hestia, Hera and Demeter. He went on to marry Hera and had Ares, Hephaestus and many more depending on where you look. He also went on and had many other children with many different people like Hestia, Nemesis, Leto, Metis,... his many children include Dionysus, Hermes, Apollo, Artemis, Athena, Ares, Hephaestus, Persephone, Hebes and many more. After that it splits off into less well know gods and too many names to list. Depending on which source you look at there will be different family trees but even without splitting hairs it is confusing enough. Why do you think the ancient Greeks wove such detailed myths about their gods?


Hypnos, The God Of Sleep




There is a ton of different gods from Greek mythology. I didn’t want to do a post on a well-known god, so I chose Hypnos, the god of sleep. Although Hypnos isn’t known for his power, Hypnos has overpowered  Zeus more than once. He is also very gutsy and clever.

Hypnos can put people to sleep at any time. His symbol is a poppy, and he lives in Erebos(the land of night).

The mother of Hypnos is Nyx (goddess of night). His brother is Thanatos, the god of peaceful death. His sons are known as the Oneiroi (dreams). In some texts, it is claimed that his father is Erebos, god of darkness.

I'm thinking now that Hypnos is my favorite god or goddess. Who's yours?
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Introducing Olympus gods and goddesses!



Ancient Greeks believed Olympus gods and goddesses like Zeus and Hera.

Did you watch Percy Jackson movie?(or books.)It’s about those gods and It’s fun!
There are many gods,but I’ll talk about Hera.
Hera is  the goddess of marriage.Hera was the wife of Zeus and Queen of the Olympians. Hera hated the great hero Heracles since he was the son of her husband Zeus and a mortal woman.When he was still an infant, she sent snakes to attack him in his crib. Later she stirred up the Amazons against him when he was on one of his quests. The cow, lion and the peacock were considered sacred to her. She was viewed as jealous and vicious toward her wrongdoers.
It proved by This. Hera is really attractive character.

Who’s your favorite?

Poseidon, God of the Sea

One of the most interesting gods, in my opinion, in Greek Mythology is Poseidon. In Greek Mythology, Poseidon is the god of the sea.
Poseidon is the brother of Zeus and Hades. And of course is second in power after Zeus.

Poseidon: ( planning in his head. I SHALL DEFEAT ZEUS AND BECOME FIRST IN POWER!!!! WAHAHAHAHA!!!!)

Zeus: (walks by Poseidon) Hi!

Poseidon: Oh hi Zeus (in his mind he thought  “that was such a stupid idea”)

Okay so that is besides my point, we should probably continue on. Poseidon is also known as the creator of the first horse. The myth to how he created a horse is; so Poseidon had a thing for Demeter, and she asked him to create the most beautiful animal Earth has ever seen, so he did but then he decided he no longer liked Demeter. So yeah that was kind of awkward.

What god in Greek Mythology is the most interesting to you?

ATHENA THE BEST GODDESS EVER!!!!!




If I had to pick my favorite goddess I would pick Athena because she is smart and brave like me. Athena is the goddess of wisdom and crafts. Her symbols are owls, olive trees,snakes, Aegis, armor, spears, helmets, and Gorgoneion. She is also the goddess of Athens.  Athena was born from Zeus’s head. This happened when Zeus was married to Metis the daughter of Ocean.  He swallowed Metis when he heard from the earth that he would have a son with her and he would overthrow him. After he swallowed Metis he had a splitting headache so he called Hephaestus. Hephaestus cut his head open with an ax and Athena popped out fully armed. Athena is clever and cool.  It would be awesome if I could meet her. What is your favorite god or goddess and why?

The Battle of Thermopylae: THIS..IS.....SPARTAAAAAAAAA!!!


You might have heard of the movie 300, or if not, maybe heard the sentence: "This is SPARTA". The movie is built behind the history of when King Leonidas led 300 hundred Spartans to fight the Persians. Leonidas was a military and political leader, and had been trained cruelly in a camp to become a Spartan warrior since 7, like all other boys. When they were informed about the Persian invasion, Sparta prepared themselves for war against the Persians. Leonidas had picked out the best of the Spartan warriors, and strategically decided the battle place would be Thermopylae, a narrow mountain pass, so the Persians no longer have an advantage in number (7,000 versus 100,000!!). Does it already sound like a suicide mission to you? Leonidas led his 300 Spartans and his allies into battle, but all of the 300 Spartans and Leonidas perished, and most of their allies were killed.

The leader's sacrifice did not stop the Persians, however the Persians were eventually defeated. The sacrifice Leonidas made showed how much they were willing to do to protect the Greek region. He achieved fame from his sacrifice. Dead heroes were worshiped, and a shrine was built in honor of Leonidas.

Even though the Spartans perished, they still had a strong military. In fact, the thing Spartans cared about the most was military strength. If you were a Spartan, the world you live in would be to kill, or get killed. Infants were even judged, and those not strong enough were left to die. Young boys were taught to be killing machines. It was a cruel and inhuman place. And through all this training, bravery, and honor led these Spartans into their last stand without trepidation against the mighty Persian army.

If history could be changed, what do you think the Spartans should've done, or done the same? What do you think could’ve caused the Spartans to have a better civilization? And how do you think you would do as a Spartan warrior?

Go Green!! Go White!!

”The victor of these games are…”   
The Greeks are responsible for what is now called the Olympic Games. The way that the Olympic Games started is that the people in all of the City-States went to Mt. Olympus. Mt. Olympus is the highest mountain in Greece and is the throne of Zeus. The people of Greece played all sorts of games displaying their strength to honor Zeus. Would you like to participate in the Olympic Games?

Ancient Greeks Art forms!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!🎨

     
The Ancient Greeks had many different art forms. Some of them include, Making pottery, sculptures, and making temples out of marble. It took about 4 people to make one piece of pottery. One person worked on the wheel the other person turned the wheel someone painted the pottery black and the main artist would make pictures on the pottery. All of the pictures represented a story. One very famous sculpture is the discus thrower. This is a sculpture of the athlete participating in the Olympics. The Parthenon temple in Greece is being restored because of the war in the 16 hundreds. I hope you learned lots more about the Ancient Greeks art style.  What is your favorite art form that the Ancient Greeks made.


Apollo and Artemis-The Twin Gods!!!

Apollo and Artemis, the twin archers, sun and moon, children of Zeus and Leto. Poor Leto had to search for a place to give birth, and finally she found one. Why did she have to search? Hera, Zeus’s husband, got mad, and made no place on earth let Leto give birth. The small island of Delos, wasn’t fully connected to the earth yet, so that is where Apollo and Artemis were born.
Apollo is the god of prophecy, sun, music, medicine, truth, and poetry. He is an excellent archer, like his sister. Artemis is the goddess of the hunt. She is deadly with an arrow. If you become one of her hunters, you become immortal, as long as you do not die in battle, but you have to never get married, like Artemis. These are the children of Leto and Zeus, moon and sun, the twin archers, Artemis and Apollo. What do you think of them?

Their culture is interesting


Greek culture is interesting.They worship many gods, there are 12 gods and goddess. They went to oracles, at these shrines, the Greeks ask the gods about the future or for advice. The Greeks placed orcales of various gods throughout Greece. Wherever the Greeks lived, they built temples to the gods. They have many gods, every god is god of something different. Poseidon god of water, ect. There are so many Greek gods and goddess I don’t even know more than 3.

How the Olympics began!

Ever wonder where the first Olympics came from?  The Olympics came from the Greece. Although we don't know exactly why they had the creation of the games. We do know that they had the games to honor Zeus. They had games and festivals every four years. Back then they only had one game in their Olympics which was a race. A few years after the games had started they started to add more games and competitions. In the beginning the games were only for the Greeks and then they allowed the roman empire athletes to join. Then the Olympics kept growing and getting bigger and bigger. Did you know this before?\

💐 Aphrodite 💐



Aphrodite, Goddess of love and beauty. Aphrodite was born out of sea foam, when Uranus’s son Kronos threw his chopped up body into the ocean.  A little while after Aphrodite was born Zeus was afraid that many people might fight for her hand in marriage so Zeus married her to the Smith God. Aphrodite was loved by gods and mortals, some of her sons were Eros, Anteros and Aeneas. Aphrodite has her own festival called Aphrodisiac, it’s celebrated in many places in Greek like Athens and Corinth. I love Aphrodite, what do you think of her?

THINKING OF GREEK GODS (ARE JUST A MYTH?)


When I hear the word Greek, I think of mythical creatures (like pink unicorns!), gods/goddesses, and Percy Jackson! I know there are many gods that the Greeks believed in, which made them polytheism.


All the gods/goddesses were pretty cool! Let me list some of the ones I am familiar with and tell you what I think of them! See if you agree! 

I know there’s Zeus, the king of gods that took Cronos off his throne. He is the ruler of the sky, and he's very powerful! I don't think he really cared about what others thought of him or what they said, because he ignored them and gave himself all the power, and that's something I didn't really like about him. He has a cool lightning bolt! So maybe I should watch out and stop talking bad about him?!? 

Next, Hera, the queen of gods who is married to Zeus. I don't really know a lot of Hera but I have a question... Why did they marry each other when they were related? 


And there’s Poseidon, the brother of Zeus and also the king of the sea and horses. He's Percy's dad and I wonder: Did he ever want to take over the throne from Zeus? He seems like a nice guy, oops I mean a god. I think it is a little weird how the gods/goddesses had human characteristics. I expected them to be all wise and nice to each other. And talking about wise.....


There's Athena, the goddess of wisdom and war (AKA Annabeth’s mom). I don't know if I like Athena or not. She seems really fair and a lot like a judge. Although she might be somewhat of a Know It All. 

Hades! The lord of the dead? The ruler of the Underworld! Hades might sound scary and evil, but honestly I think he is pretty cool. I mean, at least he let Percy and his friends go in the first book. Any of you like Percy Jackson?

Finally! The goddess Artemis, who hunts. She is my favorite so far even though she is not married and doesn't allow her hunters to get married either. The real reason why I like her is because she shows great care to all of her hunters, like they are her sisters. Also, she seems very independent and also a great example for what a strong woman should be like.  Artemis is the younger sister of Apollo (although she doesn't like to admit it), who is the god of the sun and music. He is described as a dude that is really hot in both ways.

And then oh no! Ares! The moody god of war! I really don't like Ares because he really cares nothing except for war WAR WAR! So let's don't talk about him. 

Oh and here comes a goddess you all love! Aphrodite, the goddess who checks her makeup like every five minutes! She is super pretty and I would totally love to see her or be one of her children (although she is pretty sly)! Aphrodite is said to use her beauty to fool people to get what she wants. But other than that, she's a real angle! 

Those are the gods I can remember and know well enough to describe. I might have missed some of your favorite gods or goddesses, but don't get mad and tell me what you know and think about them in the comments! Here's some questions I am curious about: The Greeks truly believed the gods/goddesses were real. Do you think the gods/goddesses are real? Or are they just a myth? Also here's another challenge question for you: Which series are better? The Harry Potter series or the Percy Jackson Series? Hard right?




DOES ANYONE KNOWS ABOUT THIS HORSE??

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Does anyone knows the story of Trojan horse? I read a book about the myth of a long war between Troy and Greece, and I know the whole story about it. You'll enjoy it! So the story starts after Paris, the prince of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, the king of Sparta. I know it is kind of crazy, but they starts the war because a woman named Helen. They had to fight longer than 10 years. Many people died during the war. However, one Greek soldier named Odysseus had a great idea which is now called 'Trojan horse'. The Greek warriors hid inside a huge wooden horse and attacked Troy at night after the horse carried by Trojan people into Troy. Trojans thought it was a gift from the gods, so they brought the horse to their castle. Of course, Greeks won the war and they came back to their home. Moreover, this is not the end. I did not tell the story before this war, but you could search about it. The whole myth is amazingly related by itself. Would you like to try searching about this myth?

DON'T GET DROWNED

When you think of water you might think of rivers, lakes and ponds....But when I think of water I think of the Greek god, Poseidon. Poseidon is the god of the sea and all aquatic features. He gained control when he and his 3 brothers killed there father Kronos to gain control of the world Zeus gained control of the sky Hades gained control of the underworld  and Poseidon ruled the sea. So now that you know about some Greek mythology what can you do to find out more?.

Poseidon surfs the water.


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The first thing that comes to mind when I think of Greeks is, Poseidon. I think of this because when I was in the 4th grade I read The Percy Jackson Series. By the way, if you have never read that, Percy Jackson's son. Anyway, I also think of Poseidon because I love the sea, and water, oceans, lakes, ponds, rivers, pools, etc. Poseidon is the god of the sea and water. This is the first thing I think of for Greeks. If he lived, would you be afraid or think it is cool?



Dionysus mixed with Athena






If I would be a god I would want to be the craziest,funniest and wildest god out there. I would want to be Dionysus mixed with Athena. Dionysus is fun and parties a lot and gets drunk all the time. He is also known as a party animal. Then Athena is wise and intelligent. I might not be intelligent or wise but I like to think I am. You might ask why would I want to party all the time….well I don't get why not… because it's fun!!!! Who wouldn't want to have fun but be smart at the same time. All I need in life is netflix and chill plus money.What god would you like to be if you had the choice?

Do you know who the three most powerful gods are?


The three most powerful gods as most people know are Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades also known as the big three.If you didn't know they are all brothers and there’s a reason that they are the most powerful of the twelve Olympians. Before the rule of the gods there was the Titans, Kronos was the ruler of the Titans but he got so mad of the power that his 6 children had so he ate them and only Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades escaped. So they overthrew Kronos and banished him to the depths of Tartarus. The other gods all survived after Kronos was banished. So Mount Olympus was born and the rule of the gods started with Zeus as king. To be honest my favorite god is Athena or Poseidon. Whats your favorite god?

                                                   
                                                  

God of The Seas


My favorite part of Greek Culture is the mythology. I have always found Greeks gods intriguing. The idea of gods that lived on Mt. Olympus just seems really cool. I have read a lot of books about Greek Mythology. My favorite god is Poseidon the god of the Sea. My other favorite is Aphrodite the god beauty and love. I personally believe in a greater force, but something different from Greek mythology. If they really existed how would you react?




Greece Greece Greece

Greeks were very unique people.  They didn’t believe in one god but many.  The gods they believed in were Zeus and the other 10 gods of Olympus.  In fact the Olympics were born in Olympus and are still carried on today.    Not all the sports played today in the Olympics were played then, but similar games were.  The Greeks also were very smart when it came to battle strategies.  Against Romans they used the Trojan horse strategy which was proved heavily effective.  What did you experience   reading about Greeks.