Category: Gods

He is the Greek god of the Sun and light, archery for sport, healing and disease, truth, knowledge, prophecy and oracles, music, poetry, song, dance, herds and flocks, and the protector of the youth.

Apollo is associated with the laurel wreath, lyre, raven, swan, python and the bow and arrow. He is the patron deity of Delphi, famous for its oracles who worshiped him. He was also the patron of herdsmen and shepherds since he is known for his heard of Divine cattle.

Lore

He is the son of Zeus and the Titaness Leto and is the brother of Artemis. He was born on the floating island of Delos along with his sister due to Hera forbidding Leto from giving birth on the main land or any island on the ocean as well as sending the monster Python to hunt her.

After he was born he was fed Ambrosia by the goddess of divine law, Themis, and within four days grew strong and tall.

Notable events

• Receiving the Lyre from Hermes as appeasement for stealing his sacred cattle.
• Slaying the dragon Python in its cave at Delphi and setting up his sanctuary in its place.

When to invoke

Apollo is a god that has many situations where his invocation would be of use. He can be invoked to assist in many artistic endeavors like music, poetry and dance given that he is a frequent companion of the muses as well as being useful for those participating in archery contests. He is also good to invoke for shepherds or herdsmen.

It is wise for parents with young children, especially boys, in school to invoke him or provide there child with a charm associated to Apollo. This is because he is known as the protector of youth as well as educating the young. It is also said in mythology that he and the muses originated education.

Image source:https://smite.gamepedia.com/Apollo

About

Hera is the wife of Zeus and because of this is regarded as the Queen of the Gods. She is the goddess of woman, marriage, family and childbirth and is associated with the scepter, cow, lion, and peacock. She is often portrayed holding a pomegranate which embodies fertility as well as death. Her Roman counterpart is Juno.

Her parents are the Titans Cronus and Rhea and is the mother of Ares, Eris, Hephaestus, Hebe, Enyo and Eileithyia.

Lore

There are many stories throughout Greek Mythology of Hera being angered by Zeus’ many affairs and becoming a threat to both the woman who caught his eye and the children born from it. The most notable being Heracles who she caused to go mad which led to him taking the twelve labours he would become famous for which were also proposed by her.

Leto is a notable case for the lengths Hera will go to spite one of Zeus’ lovers. When Leto was pregnant with Artemis and Apollo, Hera used her authority to prevent her from giving birth on the mainland or any island, as well as sending Python to attack her, even going so far as to kidnap the goddess of childbirth, Eileithyia, to prevent her from going into labor.

Other notable figures that were caught between Zeus and Hera’s marital issues were Io, Echo, Semele and Lamia. Throughout Greek Mythology many people had incurred Hera’s wrath which like with Zeus emphasizes the human flaws of the Greek Pantheon with Hera being represented as jealous and spiteful.

When to invoke

Despite her complicated relationship with her husband, Hera is still a goddess of marriage and can be invoked at weddings as well as rituals for a strong family and to stop or prevent infidelity.

Image Source: https://smite.gamepedia.com/Hera#Default

About

Zeus is regarded as the King of the gods in Greek mythology and rules on Mount Olympus. He is also the God of the sky, thunder and lightning, law, order and justice. He was the youngest child of the titans Kronos and Rhea who also gave birth to Hades, Poseidon, Hestia, Hera and Demeter. He is associated with the thunderbolt, bull, eagle, and oak.

Zeus is married to Hera who gave birth to Ares, Hephaestus and Hebe. Zeus is well known for his many affairs which have resulted in many children the most notable of being Apollo, Artemis, Athena, Dionysus, Heracles, Helen of Troy and Minos to name a few.

Lore

Kronos who had previously overthrown his father Uranus heard that he would share the same fate and be overthrown by one of his children. To avoid this he consumed each of his children after they were born.

To prevent Zeus from sharing this fate Rhea sought the help of her parents, Gaia and Uranus, to hide Zeus in a cave on the island of Crete. There he was raised on the milk of the nymph Amalthea and was guarded by the Kouretes who drowned out his crying by dancing, shouting and banging their spears against their shields to prevent Kronos from hearing him.

When Zeus came of age he tricked Kronos into consuming a liquid which forced him to vomit up Zeus’ siblings who escaped with him. To defeat Kronos and the other titans Zeus freed the brothers of Kronos the Cyclopes and the Hecatonchires who were imprisoned in Tartarus.

As a sign of their gratitude, the cyclopes gave him the thunderbolts for which he is well known for. Together they overthrew Kronos and the other titans in what is referred to as the Titanomachy. Afterwards many of the Titans were imprisoned in Tartarus while some received other punishments, like Atlas who was punished by having to hold up the sky.

Once the Titanomachy had ended Zeus split dominion of the world with his brothers Poseidon and Hades by drawing lots. Zeus received dominion over the sky and air, Poseidon over the oceans and water, and Hades over the Underworld and the souls of the dead.

Gaia was angered by Zeus’ treatment of the Titans and sent her children, Typhon and Echidna to fight him. Zeus defeated Typhon and imprisoned him under Mount Etna and let Echidna and her children live.

Analysis

Like with many Greek Gods Zeus has a wide array of human flaws and traits. As stated before he has had many affairs with women other than his wife and has taken on many different forms to facilitate these affairs. He is often very quick to anger and will smite those who have wronged him with a lightning bolt.

When to invoke

Zeus is a god that can be invoked for positive weather given his association with the sky and weather. It is best to invoke him in matters regarding justice and ruler ship given his position as the king of the gods. Though he shouldn’t be invoked lightly and should be given proper respect to avoid incurring his wrath.

Image source: https://ageofempires.fandom.com/wiki/Zeus