Since Zeus gave Athena a 'rebirth', this became the reason why he was not 'replaced' by the next generation of gods, but Athena still existed as a god who was not controlled by Zeus. This is why the city of Athens existed independently of Mount Olympus.

Greek Gods: See Ancient Greek Religion, the Twelve Lords of Olympus, and the list of Greek gods and figures.

According to the mythology of the classical period, after the collapse of the Titan's rule, a new system of gods was established. The most important ruling class among the Greek gods were the twelve main gods of Olympus, who lived on Mount Olympus and were under the direct rule of Zeus.

In addition to the twelve main gods of Olympus, the Greeks also worshipped a large number of folk gods, such as the half-human, half-sheep Pan, the Nymph (the goddess of nature, including Naiades, the spring nymph, Deliad, the fairy of the tree), Neriedes (sea nymph), and Satyr, as well as the gods of the dark forces of hell, such as Erinius (the three goddesses of vengeance).

In praise of these ancient Greek gods, the poets composed Homeric hymns (33 poems in total). According to the Hungarian epic scholar Gregory Nagy, "Homer's epics are a prelude [to the Theogony], and each one quotes a god. 」

In a large number of myths and legends depicting Greek mythology, the gods are indistinguishable from the Greek people, with a physically perfect body that does not exist in essence.

According to Walter Bercott, these are Greek anthropomorphic character portrayals, "Greek gods in human form, not abstract, purely idealized concepts". In addition to their superior appearance. The gods of ancient Greece also possessed a great deal of magical power, the most obvious of which was that they did not suffer from illness and were only injured under very specific circumstances.

The Greeks believed that the most outstanding feature of their gods was immortality, a concept that meant the eternal life of the gods through nectar and secret wine.

Each god has its own genealogy, following different interests, possessing a unique specialty, and having a unique personality, but because they are portrayed by people of different periods and cultural backgrounds, these gods are sometimes full of contradictions in the eyes of modern people.

When poets, prayers, or believers refer to these gods, they often use a combination of their original and pseudonyms to refer to a specific feature of the god. For example, ApolloMusagetes stands for 'Apollo as the head of the muses'. Other than that. Hun names can also represent a special regional appearance of the gods.

Most of the gods have special representational meanings, such as Aphrodite is the goddess of love and beauty, Ares is the god of war, and Hades is the god of the underworld. Athena, on the other hand, is the goddess of wisdom and courage.

Some gods. Like Apollo and Dionysus. have complex personalities and represent different abilities, while other gods, such as Hestia (Greek for 'health') and Helios (Greek for 'sun') have only one personality. There are only one or two abilities too.

The most impressive Greek temples were basically built for several gods who were the focal point of the Panhellenic faith. Still, in different regions, different Greek peoples had different beliefs about their main gods.

Many cities also have their own famous gods as their guardian deities, and the gods describe myths specific to the city according to the cultural roots of the city, so some myths are only circulated in a small area. By the time of the Heroic Age, belief in heroes (or demigods) was also incorporated into the belief in the gods.

There was a transitional period between the period when the gods existed alone and the time when humans were in conflict.

In this period, the mixing of God and man was freer than in the later periods. Most of the stories are from Ovid's Metamorphosis, which are often divided into two groups: love and punishment.

Love stories are often depicted as a noble woman being seduced, raped, or adulterous among themselves by a male god, and their offspring are often the source of later great heroes.

These stories often suggest that this sexual relationship between God and man should be stopped, as these stories are often accompanied by tragic endings.

There are only a few instances where female gods interacted with male humans, such as in the "Hymn to Aphrodite" ("Hymn to Homer"), where Aphrodite threw herself into the arms of Ancise and gave birth to Aeneas.

Stories about punishment are told by borrowing or fictionalizing important cultural artifacts, such as Prometheus stealing fire from the gods, Tantalus stealing nectar and wine from Zeus' table to give to his subjects so that the secrets of the gods are exposed, Prometheus or Lycaon using deceitful sacrifices, and Demeter teaching agriculture and rituals to Tripp Tolemos or Macias inventing the Olos pipe to compete with Apollo in a musical contest.

Ian Morris considers Prometheus' adventures to be 'part of the history of the gods and mankind.' In an unsigned papyrus fragment dated the third century C.E., Dionysus vividly depicts the punishment of the Thracian king Lyculgos for being too late in acknowledging the new Dionysus and thus receiving a terrible punishment later in his life.

This story of Dionysus' faith in Thrace is also the subject of a tragedy by Aeschylus.

In another tragedy, Euripides' "Dionysian Priestess", Pentheus, the king of Thebes, was severely punished by Dionysus for being disrespectful to the gods and spying on Dionysus' female devotee, Menades.

In another story based on an ancient folklore, Demeter takes the form of an old woman named Dosso on her way to find her daughter Persiphone, who is very warmly welcomed by King Celeusus in the kingdom of Attica.

In gratitude for Cerleus' hospitality, Demeter decided to turn Demophon into a god, and every day he baked his infant Demophon over a fire.

But her undertaking was not completed, as Demophon's mother, Metaniela, stumbled upon Demeter's act of putting her son on fire and screamed loudly in terror. Demeter was furious at this and lamented that this foolish human could not understand God's gift.

The era in which a large number of human heroes emerged is known as the Age of Heroes. A large collection of epic poems is themed around famous heroes or the big events that took place around the families of these heroes, so the stories can be divided into different series.

Kendalton argues that "it's even a legendary effect: we can trace the fate of some family from successive generations. 」

When the belief in heroes began, the gods and heroes came together to form the content of the memorial. Compared to the Age of the Gods, there is no complete roster of all the heroes who appeared in the Age of Heroes, and no new gods have been produced, but the heroes have followed one after the other. Another difference between the belief in heroes and the belief in the gods is that the belief in heroes is more geographically representative.

The immortal miracle of Hercules is considered the beginning of the heroic age. The Heroic Age included three important military events: the Argonauts' Expedition, the Battle of Leuktra, and the Trojan War.

Some scholars believe that behind the complex myth of Hercules there was actually a real human archetype, possibly some of the chieftains of the kingdom of Argos.

Others believe that the story of Hercules is an allegory that arises each year when the sun passes through the constellations of the zodiac. Others point out that stories similar to Hercules have already appeared in other cultures, and may have been written in heroic tales from some other region.

According to the most certain version, Hercules was the son of Zeus and Alcmene and the grandson of Perseus. His fantastic independent accomplishments, which contain themes of folk tales, provide a lot of material for popular legends. (To be continued......)