I don’t like talking about politics and religion, but I’ve noticed that Western art and Western culture are severely lacking in schools nowadays. If it weren’t for Percy Jackson and the Olympians, I don’t think most kids would even know about the Greek Gods and Goddesses.
However, I don’t bitch. If I see a problem, I either do something about it (if it’s important) or ignore it (if it’s not important).
In this case, I’ll do something about it.
I started painting Greek Goddesses awhile back. Not the major ones, but more the lesser ones that nobody’s heard of. Like Brizo, the Ancient Greek Goddess of Sailors and Fishermen.
I’ll even give a background story about the Goddess. For instance, women on the island of Delos left offerings to a creature they called Brizo for good luck, so their husbands, sons, and other family members came home safely.
This creature morphed into a lesser Goddess. Brizo became the Goddess of Sailors and Fishermen for the Ancient Greeks.
More recently
I’ve talked about the importance of painting the same painting twice. For Selene, I’ll paint her a bunch of times since I really like the poses I’m getting with Allie. She’ll be posing for me later on today, but here’s the second one already.
Selene is the Moon Goddess. She’s the daughter of Titans, the Gods before the Gods.
Selene’s had flings with both Zeus and Pan, but her most famous fling is actually with a mortal. One day, she gazed down on Earth and saw a young shepherd that she fell in lust with named Endymion. She ended up begging Zeus to extend his life and she bore him at least 50 daughters, all of whom grew into beautiful women.
Different accounts differ on some of her other children. Some say that the infamous Narcissus was her son. I leave it up to the viewer to believe which accounts they want to believe.
Fun
I take artistic mindset very seriously. If you’re not having fun with your art, you’re going to quit. You could tell I’m having a blast. You can see it in my paintings.
Find something that you’re passionate about and paint it. I’m quite passionate about Greek mythology and high fantasy. I mix them both into my pinup art.
I aim for fun over high art. My music is high art. My painting? Fun. It’s pretty obvious. I don’t claim to do high art in my paintings. Rather, I’m a pop artist.
I’d love to be famous though. Actually have an influence over culture. And one thing I’d do? I’d make the Greek Gods and Goddesses cool again!
The Olympians and Hades
The Greek Gods overthrew the Titans, who overthrew the previous Titans. Long story. But at the very least, Zeus is the King of the Gods.
He is married to Hera, his sister, of whom he cheats every chance he gets. Zeus is the God of the Sky and Thunder. You’ll often see him throwing a lightning bolt.
Poseidon is God of the Seas and the brother of Zeus. He’s also the God of Storms, Earthquakes, and Horses. What do horses have to do with anything? Who knows? But you’ll sometimes see Poseidon riding a chariot pulled by a hippocampus.
Hades does not live on top of Mount Olympus, although I still have to mention him as he’s one of the most powerful of Gods. He is the oldest of the three brothers (Zeus and Poseidon) and together, they overthrew their father, the Titan Cronus.
Hades lives in the Underworld, often also called Hades. Hades got the Underworld, Zeus got the Skies, and Poseidon got the Seas when they overthrew the Titans.
Let’s revisit Hera. She’s the most powerful Goddess and the Queen of Olympus. She’s the Goddess of women, marriage, and childbirth.
Yes, the Ancient Greeks believed that the Gods and Goddesses lived on top of Mount Olympus. (And if you’re wondering, Mt. Olympus wasn’t successfully scaled until 1913).
Demeter is the Goddess of the Harvest and Agriculture as well as fertility and the sacred law.
The city of Athens is named after Athena. She’s the Goddess of War and Wisdom.
Apollo is supposed to be the best looking of the Gods. He also has the most titles. He’s the God of everything from Sun, Light, Oracles to Music and Knowledge.
Aphrodite is someone I paint a lot. Why? Well she’s the Goddess of Beauty. She also gets Love and Sexuality and is the most beautiful of all the Goddesses. So of course the other Goddesses are envious of her and they made her marry the ugliest of the Gods.
Artemis is the Goddess of the Hunt, Wilderness, and Wild Animals.
Ares is the God of War. “But I thought you just said Athena is the Goddess of War.” Yeah, Greek mythology is inconsistent. You’ll see a lot of overlap. You’ll also see that different areas favored different Gods and Goddesses. There’s a lot of inconsistencies. Just bear with me.
Hephaestus is the ugliest of the Gods and is married to Aphrodite. He’s the God of Blacksmiths and pretty much everything related to tools and crafts. He’s even the God of Volcanoes.
Hermes is known as the Messenger of the Gods and deals with everything from Trade to Thievery.
Hestia is the Goddess of the Hearth, and is a virgin Goddess.
And last, we have Dionysus, the God of Wine.
Under the Gods, we have all kinds of various creatures. The ones I’m most intrigued by are the Nymphs.
And last we have the Fates, which whatever they decide is what happens, whether the Gods like it or not.
This is a very brief summary of the Greek Gods and Goddesses. I left out all the Minor Gods and Goddesses, the Titans, the Demi-Gods, and human heroes and legends. I also left out the monsters.
