Myths of Gods

Greek mythological figure Rhea is the mother of the gods. She is shown here handing her husband, Cronus, a stone wrapped in swaddling clothes in place of their son, Zeus. This work, created between the 1st and 3rd centuries, is on the base of a stone statue at the Museo Capitolino in Rome, Italy.

Many myths do not directly concern human beings, but focus rather on the activities of the gods in their own realm. In many mythologies the gods form a divine family, or pantheon (from the Greek pan, meaning �all,� and theos, �god�). The story of a power struggle within a pantheon is common to a large number of world mythologies�for example, the Babylonian Enuma elish centers on Marduk�s struggle for supremacy and his eventual victory over Tiamat. Greek mythology features a similar story of struggle between generations. In Greek mythology, the earliest gods were Gaea (Earth) and Uranus (Heaven), and their children were called the Titans. The eldest of the Titans, Cronus, overthrew his father and was eventually overthrown by his own son, Zeus, who became the new master of the universe. Similarly, the Aesir�the pantheon of the Norse gods�had to overcome an older group called the Vanir before gaining power. Unlike the Greek and Babylonian accounts, the Norse myth features a reconciliation between the two sides.
 

This carved wooden staff from West Africa shows the mischievous deity known as Eshu. He is said to serve as a messenger between the gods and humans, and plays an important role in many rituals for the Yoruba, Fon, and other West African groups.

Myths about the gods are as numerous as the cultures that produce them. Other types that occur across various cultures include myths about the Great Mother (for example, the Mesopotamian Ishtar, who journeys to the underworld to rescue her lost lover Tammuz); the Dying God (for example, the Egyptian Osiris, who is murdered and dismembered but ultimately resurrected); and the Savior God (for example, the Greek Prometheus, who helps humanity at the cost of incurring Zeus�s anger).
 

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