The Hellenistic religion was the polytheistic pagan religion of the ancient Greeks and Romans. The ancient Greeks worshipped the twelve gods of Mount Olympus: Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Demeter, Athena, Ares, Aphrodite, Apollo, Artemis, Hephaestus, Hermes, and Dionysus. The worship of the Olympian gods was common across the Greek world, from the coasts of Ionia in Asia Minor and the Black Sea colonies to Magna Graecia in southern Italy, Cyrene in Libya, and the Greek colonies in the western Mediterranean such as Massilia. The Hellenistic faith would later be adopted by the Romans, who renamed the gods and added several more gods to their pantheon. The rise of Christianity as the Roman state religion in the late 4th century AD led to the persecution of Hellenistic pagans, with Christian mobs destroying Greek and Roman pagan shrines and temples across the Roman Empire. Since the 1990s, neo-pagans have attempted to reconstruct the original Greco-Roman pagan religions.
According to Greek mythology, the Greek gods became the masters of the world after overthrowing the Titans in the ten year-long "Titanomachy". Zeus led a rebellion against his father Kronos and the other Titans with the help of his siblings Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, and Poseidon, whom he had disgorged from his father. After the Olympians won, they imprisoned the Titans in Tartarus and gave the Titan Atlas the special punishment of holding up the sky. The Olympian brothers then divided the world between them, with Zeus being given domain over the sky and the air (as well as being overlord), Poseidon being given the sea, and Hades being given the Underworld. Throughout Ancient Greece, poets, musicians, and authors created tales about the gods, their semi-divine offspring (demigods), earthly heroes, romances, tragedies, and other legends, with some of the most famous being Orpheus and Eurydice, the Trojan War, Aphrodite and Adonis, Narcissus, Oedipus, Medea, Jason and the Argonauts, Theseus and the Minotaur, the Odyssey, the Aenead, the trials of Hercules, Perseus' slaying of Medusa, and many others. If Greek mythology is to be dated in a literalist, historical fashion , the Titanomachy would have occurred in Thessaly in around 31,270 BC, as Heracles (who was said to have lived around 1270 BC) released Prometheus from his bondage 30,000 years after he was imprisoned for giving fire to mankind. Perseus was born circa 1313 BC, Heracles was born circa 1288 BC, Oedipus travelled to Thebes circa 1283 BC, the voyage of the Argo happened circa 1273 BC, the Trojan War happened around 1250 BC (around the same time as the historical eruption of Thera and the demise of the Minoans), Romulus and Remus founded Rome in 753 BC, the Greek alphabet was developed in the 8th century BC, and, from then on, the fabled Heroic Age came to an end as the Classical Age began. From then on, poets and writers created stories about the unwritten deeds of the gods, demigods, and heroes during the centuries-long Heroic Age, while recorded Greek history from the Greco-Persian Wars onwards (the works of Herodotus, Thucydides, and others) is generally accepted as historically accurate.
Timeline of Greek mythology[]
- 1788 BC - Chaos gives birth to Gaia
- 1770 BC - Gaia gives birth to Uranus
- 1750 BC - Uranus rapes Gaia; the Hecatonchires, Cyclopes, and Titans are born
- 1710 BC - The Titans, led by Kronos, overthrow Uranus, and Uranus' severed genitals are thrown towards Kythera. Aphrodite emerges naked from the sea and travels to Cyprus
Golden Age of Mankind (1710-1674 BC)[]
- 1705-1675 BC - Kronos becomes ruler of Greece, imprisoning the Hecatonchires and Cyclopes and Tartarus and giving each of the Titans their own dominion
- 1703 BC - Kronos is warned not to have children with his wife Rhea lest they overthrow him, but he ignores the prophecy and fathers Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, Poseidon, and Zeus. Kronos swallows his children to avoid the prophecy, but Rhea takes Zeus into hiding on Crete
- 1703-1684 BC - Zeus grows up in the Dicyan Caves and, once fully grown, he makes Uranus drunk, causing Uranos to vomit up his brothers and sisters
- 1684-1674 BC - Zeus and his brothers fight Kronos in the Titanomachy, with the Titans Prometheus and Epimetheus siding with Zeus and Atlas leading the Titans allied to Kronos. After ten years, the gods overthrow Kronos, and the Hecatonchires and Cyclopes are released from Tartarus and serve as the gods' allies. Zeus marries Hera and fathers Hephaestus, Ares, Eris, and Hebe
Silver Age of Mankind (1674-1628 BC)[]
- 1674-1667 BC - Births of Apollo, Artemis, Hermes, and Athena by different mothers
- 1667 BC - After Prometheus steals the secret of fire from the gods and gives it to Man, he is chained to the rocks as punishment
- 1664 BC - Herakles the Dactyl holds the first Olympic Games
- 1659 BC - Phoroneus, son of the first man Inachus, rules over the entire Peloponnese from Phronocium (the future Argos)
- 1654 BC - Epimetheus is given Pandora as his wife, but Pandora opens a jar given to her as a wedding present despite being told not to open it, leading to mankind suffering the consequences of disobedience
- 1645 BC - Epaphus, the son of Io, comes to rule over Egypt
- 1640 BC - The Gigantomachy - the battle between the Gods and Giants - results in Porphyrion's defeat
First Brazen Age of Mankind (1628-1472 BC)[]
- 1628 BC - Epaphus is murdered, the Titans fail in their attempt to regain power, Atlas is punished by being made to carry the heavens on his shoulders, Typhon is defeated and imprisoned under a volcano, and the Ogygian Deluge occurs
- 1628 BC - Zeus seduces Phoroneus' daughter Niobe, his first mortal lover. Kar, son of Phoroneus, founds Megara
- 1628 BC - Apis rules over the Peloponnese and Egypt
- 1607 - Argus, the grandson of Phoroneus, founds Argos
- 1600 BC - Achaean invaders reach the region of Mycenae
- 1572 BC - Criasus becomes King of Argos, and his brother Peiras founds the first temple of Hera in Argolis
- 1527 BC - Lelex becomes the first King of Lacedaemonia
- 1517 BC - Pelasgus rules over Arcadia
- 1488 - Danaus flees from Egypt to Rhodes and conquers Argos from the Pelasgians
- 1480 BC - Pharaoh Thutmose III campaigns in Asia Minor and receives tribute from the Danaans
- 1472 BC - Danaus becomes King of Argos after Gelanor steps down
Heroic Age (1460-1103 BC)[]
- 1460 BC - Zeus sends a flood to destroy all of mankind after Lycaon angers the gods by murdering his son Nyctimus and serving him up to the gods. Deucalion and his family escape after Prometheus tells them to build an ark.
- 1450 BC - Palace of Knossos destroyed by an earthquake, first Mycenaean invasion of Crete
- 1440 BC - Dardanus founds Troy after King Teucer of Phrygia gives him a share of his land
- 1438 BC - Zeus violates Europa; birth of Minos
- 1437 BC - Cadmus colonizes Boeotia and founds Thebes
- 1421 BC - Minos becomes King of Crete
- 1420 BC - Dionysus is born to Zeus and Cadmus' daughter Semele; Persephone is abducted by Hades
- 1410 BC - Olympic Games held 50 years after the flood
- 1400 BC - Cinyras founds the city of Paphos on Cyprus; second Mycenaean wave of colonization in Crete ends the Minoan palace civilizatiom
- 1377 BC - Tectemus, son of Dorus founds colony on Crete
- 1365 BC - Perseus born to Zeus and Danae
- 1363 BC - Asclepius born to Apollo and Coronis
- 1360 BC - Epopeus of Sicyon goes to war with Thebes
- 1344 BC - Pegasus born from Medusa's blood after Perseus slays Medusa
- 1342-1320 BC - Children of Perseus and Andromeda are born
- 1341 BC - Perseus accidentally kills his grandfather Acrisius at the funeral games of King Teutamides' father
- 1336 BC - Aetolus conquers Aetolia after murdering Dorus and his brothers
- 1333 BC - Bellerophon goes to King Proteus' court to be purified
- 1329 BC - Cecrops is chosen by Xuthus to become King of Athens
- 1325 BC - Amphion kills Lycus to become King of Thebes
- 1320 BC - Melampus the seer cures the madness of the Argive women and receives a third of Proteus' kingdom; his brother Bias receives another third
- 1315-1264 BC - Pelops, son of Tantalus of Phrygia, come to rule over Pisatis and Olympia
- 1314 BC - Pelops' sister Niobe marries Amphion of Thebes; Pelops holds the Olympic Games; Pelops marries Hippodamia
- 1300-1290 BC - Laius carries off Pelops and Astyoche's son Chrysippus
- 1299 BC - Minos II becomes ruler of Crete on Asterius' death
- 1290 BC - Procris leaves her husband and is seduced by Minos on Crete
- 1286-1264 BC - Stheneleus becomes ruler of Mycenae after Amphitryon kills Electryon, son of Perseus
- 1286 BC - Heracles is conceived when Zeus extends one night into three; Heracles born nine months later
- 1285 BC - Heracles strangles two serpents sent by Hera
- 1284 BC - Aegeus regains Athens from the sons of Metion
- 1282 BC - Aeacus helps Poseidon build the walls of Troy for King Laodamaon
- 1274 BC - Pelias imprisons Aeson and takes the throne of Iolcos after the birth of Jason
- 1271 BC - Birth of Theseus
- 1270 BC - Aegeus accidentally kills Minos' son at games held in honor of King Laius in Thebes and is forced to pay a tribute of 7 Athenian boys and girls every 9 years
- 1269 BC - Atreus and Thyestes march against Laius of Thebes
- 1269-1235 BC - Oedipus kills his father Laius and marries his mother Jocasta
- 1268 BC - Heracles lies with Thespius' 50 daughters and kills the Lion of Cithaeron
- 1264 BC - Heracles marries Megara after defeating the Minyans, while Creon succeeds Laius as King of Thebes
- 1258-1246 BC - Labors of Heracles take place while Eurystheus is King of Mycenae
- 1253 BC - Heracles rescues Alcestis from death
- 1252 BC - Theseus kills the Minotaur at the center of Daedalus' Labyrinth
- 1251 BC - Caledonian Boar hunt
- 1248 BC - Heracles goes to Hades to bring back Cerberus
- 1247 BC - The nine Muses engage in a musical contest with Thamyris
- 1246 BC - 4-month-long voyage of Jason and the Argonauts
- 1246-1243 BC - Heracles sold as a slave to Omphale after killing Iphitus
- 1245 BC - Orpheus attempts to rescue Eurydice from Hades
- 1243 BC - Heracles sacks Troy and puts a young Priam on the throne; Troy VII's destruction
- 1242 BC - Heracles conqueres Elis and establishes the Olympic Games
- 1241 BC - Heracles places Nestor on the throne of Messenia after killing his brothers and father Neleus for siding with Elis
- 1240 BC - Heracles defeats the sons of Hippocoon and restores the throne of Sparta to Tyndareus
- 1239 BC - Heracles marries Deianira
- 1236 BC - Medea flees from Corinth after murdering Glauce, daughter of Creon
- 1235 BC - Heracles exiled to Thrachis after killing one of Oeneus' kinsmen
- 1234 BC - Nessus carries off Deianira before being killed by Heracles' poison arrow
- 1233 BC - Births of Clytemnestra and Helen to Tyndareus and Leda, last of Zeus' affairs with mortals
- 1232 BC - Chiron accidentally shot in the foot while entertaining Heracles and Achilles, forcing him to give up his immortality
- 1230 BC - Birth of Paris of Troy; Laius fathers Odysseus
- 1229 BC - Heracles killes Cycnus, son of Ares
- 1226 BC - Heracles dies and becomes a god
- 1225 BC - Seven against Thebes
- 1224 BC - Theseus captures Thebes and burns the bodies of the seven
- 1223 BC - Eurystheus defeated by Theseus and beheaded by Hyllus, son of Herakles; Atreus takes the throne of Mycenae
- 1221 BC - The 50-year-old Theseus abducts the 12-year-old Helen
- 1220 BC - Start of the feud between Castor, Polydeuces, and Idas and Lynceus
- 1218 BC - Atreus slain by Aeigisthus, Thyestes takes the throne of Mycenae
- 1216 BC - Marriage of Peleus and Thetis; birth of Achilles
- 1215 BC - Agamemnon restored as King of Mycenae by Thyestes; Epigoni attack Thebes
- 1213 BC - Heracles' mother Alcmene dies at age 90
- 1213 BC - Menelaus marries Helen after a beauty contest
- 1207 BC - Theseus freed from Tartarus by Hyllus and returns to Athens; Return of the Heracleidae to the Peloponnese
- 1206 BC - Theseus is killed
- 1203 BC - Hyllus slain in a duel with Echemus at the Isthmus of Corinth
- 1203 BC - Helen is abducted by Paris of Troy
- 1193 - Attempted sacrifice of Iphigenia
- 1193-1183 - Trojan War, Troy VIIA destroyed
- 1183 BC - Capture of Troy, death of Agamemnon
- 1183-1173 BC - The Odyssey
- 1180 BC - Teucer founds Salamis on Cyprus
- 1179 BC - Odysseus held captive by Calypso
- 1178 BC - The suitors vie for Penelope
- 1175 BC - Menelaus flees Egypt; Peleset (Pelasgians), Tjeker (Teucerians), and Denyen (Danaans) among the Sea Peoples expelled from Ancient Egypt; vengeance of Odysseus against Clytemnestra and Aegistheus
- 1175-1174 BC - Orestes pursued by the Erinnyes
- 1173 BC - Odysseus returns to Ithaca, Hermes fathers Pan by Penelope; Orestes kills Aletes, son of Aegistheus after he usurps the throne
- 1160 BC - Odysseus is accidentally killed by his son Telegonus
- 1158 BC - Orestes is killed by snakebite while founding new cities
- 1153 BC - The Heraclids resume their attacks on Mycenae fifty years on; Pelasgians and Thracians capture Thebes
- 1150 BC - Demophon dies in Cyprus
- 1130 BC - The Cadmians return the Thebes and expel the Pelasgians to Athens
- 1130 BC - Penthilus, son of Orestes seizes Lesbos
- 1129 BC - Xanthus, the last king of Thebes, is killed by either Andropompus or Melanthus
- 1103 BC - The Heraclid Dorians defeat Orestes' son Tisamenus and conquer the Peloponnese, ushering in the Greek Dark Ages
