Greeks had questions about their earth
So they made up myths about the turf
According to them, the word was Chaos
Until two beings came, Night and Erebus
The first god and goddess, their power great
Bore a child, Eros, who could make people mate
From him came Gaia, the Earth Mother
The Sky-Father, Uranus, soon became her lover
Their first three children were the horrors of the world
The mere sight of them made people hurl
Gyges, Cottus, and Briareos each had fifty heads
And their hundred hands filled all with dread
Uranus hid them in the earth's dark places
Gaia was sad, she wanted to see their faces
She has three more children, each with only one eye
Uranus took them too, wishing them to die
Twelve Titans were the last children of Earth Mother
Gaia made sure their fates were different then the others
The youngest, Cronus, was very brave
His fellow Titans he was sure to save
When Uranus came near, Cronus used a sickle
To hurt his father, it was far from a tickle
Even though Uranus's evil was defeated
The captured children had been cheated
For Cronus was as cold hearted as his father
His jailed siblings were just a bother
To Gaia this came as quite a shock
She thought Cronus would let her children out from the lock
So, the world went on, with this Titan as the ruler
And to most, their home couldn't be cooler
For every Titan woman there was a Titan man
The six couple's children filled up the land
The seas were given to Oceanus to own
Yet, in the water he was not alone
His sons were the rivers off the seas
The daughters were the nymphs of the streams
Hyperion and Thea were the rulers of the sky
The Sun, Moon, and Dawn came from them, I do not lie
All was happy in Cronus's golden reign
Except his wife, she was in great pain
In fear of having to admit defeat
Cronus took her children whom he made sure to eat
Now his death would never ring
His children couldn't stop him from being king
Even though Rhea was sad, she used her quick wit
She hid her sixth child, though she wouldn't admit
The child named Zeus was raised by a goat
A wrapped up stone was Rhea's to tote
She gave it to Cronus, who believed it was his child
He gobbled it down and it tasted quite mild
Zeus grew and was full of courage and might
He came up to Cronus and started a fight
Cronus gulped down a magic drink, unable to tell
Up came the stone that fooled him so well
Then came the now adult men, Hades and Poseidon
And last were Hestia, Hera and Demeter, out of their hidin'
They came up from Cronus's stomach with a loud rumble
Ready to fight, they fell out with a tumble
They ran to Mt. Olympus to gather their rations
To fight a war, one needs great preparations
Against the mighty Titans they fought for ten years
Not winning, nor losing, they began to feel fears
Gaia, on Zeus's side, told him how to win
She said to release her elder children their captive bin
Zeus had been born after, of these people he had not clue
What Gaia declared was no help; Zeus knew not what to do
There was one helpful Titan, the wise Prometheus
Of the future he could see the deepest
He knew Cronus's reign was coming to an end
To Zeus he went, helping the future make its bend
Zeus learned of the six brothers hidden with hate
Despised by their father, Zeus could relate
Prometheus guided him to the lair of the dead
Cool and collected, Zeus kept his head
He released the Cyclopses who were full of gratitude
The were quite polite with no attitude
The Cyclopes marched off to their smiths
For they were the best metal workers of all these myths
They forged three weapons for Zeus and his crew
These gods had the upper hand, they knew what to do
Hades was handed a helmet on invisibility
He used it to hide with great agility
Poseidon won a trident to spear
He killed many men, poking them in their rear
And last, to Zeus, the weapon most famous
Thunderbolts were far from being tamest
With these new gifts the war was won
The Olympians returned to their home under the sun
Olympia above a mountain was theirs to own
In the great palace each had a throne
After the war there were twelve main rulers
Some were sweet, many couldn't be crueler
The mighty Zeus soon became King
He let all know, making his newfound fame ring
From his throne at the head he threw thunderbolts
Punishing anyone who had any faults
An eagle and a woodpecker represented Zeus
His subjects always under tight control, never loose
The main area he controlled was the mighty sky
He ruled everything in it, from the gods to the fly
His wife Hera was always calm and in control
She kept palace quarrels down to a lull
Hera set a great example to all and had a soft heart
Zeus used it against her when she made him part
He forced her to marry him by being a bird in distress
Her love for cuckoos was at its best
The cuckoo was rescued and Hera was married
Even in marriage they each still parry
Hera's emblem is a nurturing cow
She also used a peacock and a lion to make others bow
The older brother of Zeus is Poseidon, ruler of the seas
His power is great, he doesn't tease
One weapon is his: the powerful trident
He wanted to hurt Zeus, though he couldn't make a dent
Horses he created (or so he pretends)
Sometimes his conceit knows no ends
Solemnest of all the god is Demeter
She only grins when her daughter comes to meet her
Her daughter's father is unknown
Demeter married many men, not just one lone
The blood red poppy emblems Demeter and her loot
She is the goddess of grain and fruit
Hephaestus is the blacksmith of the gods
He is in a wheelchair, his feet can not trod
When he was born Zeus threw him against the wall
He was crippled from then on and he had a long fall
The thrones the gods reside on with their many wails
Were carved by Hephaestus, who's sign is a quail
The goddess of wisdom is the one that came next
At fighting, Athene's skills were never at rest
She taught Hephaestus all that he knows
About pottery, woodwork, needles and bows
Athene was found on an island one day
Her parents are a mystery but she came to stay
To pretend that she was Zeus's child
She popped out of his head with a cry quite wild
The owl is her symbol, meaning "quite wise"
Athene looks with her heart instead of her eyes
Love and beauty is the power of Aphrodite
Her magic girdle's power is mighty
When she wears it, everyone falls completely in love
With the goddess who's emblem is a dove
Like Athene and many others
She has no known mother, nor father
Any fight she participates in
In a minute, she will win
Ares is the god of war
His symbol is the bloody spear and wild boar
The most disgusting of all the gods, no doubt
He had no manners and he liked to pout
Upon his throne of human skin
He liked to sit with an evil grin
The god of music was Apollo
If he's playing, many will follow
The mouse is his favorite rodent
Any secrets of the earth? They told it
Though he claimed he ruled the Sun
It is a joke, we know it's for fun
Artemis was Apollo's twin
She was the most dangerous goddess, that was certain
With the emblem of a courageous she-bear
If you were a mortal, she'd turn you into a hare
(Only if you saw her without her clothes)
Why she did this, no one knows
Hermes was the gods' messenger
He could fly, although not with a passenger
Being an inventor is this god's feat
He created our alphabet, perfect and complete
His sign was the crane, yes he met her
she came from V, the first letter
Hestia was the goddess of the home
She wished the other gods would leave her alone
She was tired of the squabbling
Her mind quickly began hobbling
Those are the gods and goddesses, in a nutshell
Though the outside world, all was not well
Our earth was barren, it was just a pod
Zeus gave the job of filling it to Epimetheus, a lesser god
First on out world were the animals
some ate meat, some fruit, some were cannibals
Epimetheus created them, giving them gifts galore
Gift after gift until there was no more
He gave them fur, strength, cunning and deft
Then he made man, but there weren't any gifts left
We were an ugly race, weak and pathetic
We didn't need gifts, we needed a medic!
Epimetheus cried help to his brother who was wise
Yes Prometheus used his brain instead of his eyes
He made man beautiful with silver and gold
Yet, they needed something, man was still cold
Prometheus went to Zeus and asked for fire
Zeus selfishly hid it, putting it higher
One late night, Prometheus stole it and began to fly
He quickly gave it to man, and went off to hide
When Zeus heard about this, he was quite wrathful
He sent Prometheus to be killed; he wasn't bashful
Gods couldn't be killed so Prometheus was just pained
Eagles feasted on his liver everyday while he was hanged
The liver grew back so there was always more
The eagles never grew hungry; food was always in store
Zeus was still raging, he wanted to punish man
He thought of an idea, he created woman!
The first woman he called Pandora
Man accepted her, they would be sorra
All the gods gave her gifts
And she was the most beautiful in all the myths
Then Zeus gave her curiosity
Which would end preposterously
Handed to Epimetheus, they were wed
Zeus gave her a present to put by her bed
It was a large, gleaming box Pandora was itching to touch
But Zeus warned her not to, the trouble would be much
One day the curiosity got the best of her
She thought that nothing would be the matter
So, opened was the box she did
And when it was open, she had hid
Out flew all the horrors of this world
Causing disruption, they made people's blood curdle
Disease, disaster, jealously and hate
They all flew out because Pandora took the bait
One last thing finally flittered out bright
Pandora looked at it and saw only light
Zeus finally felt a small pit of compassion and tucked it away
It was here to save the day
Hope! That's certainly what it was
Hope was the one that saved us from the scuz
She hid in our hearts and fought the demons well
She never faltered, never fell
Lucky for Pandora, she had hope
She didn't have to cry nor mope
She hit the world with terrible things
But with hope she often stopped death from ringing
That is that story of Pandora's box
How even evil is defeated lots
You also saw how twelve gods and goddesses all lived in a palace
They continued the world after their father's malice
Though it seems like lots, that is only a little
You have but a taste of this riddle
Only the beginning of myths have I given, that's true
To hear the rest, now that's up to you