Curated playlist
Shapeshifters in Greek mythology
- ZeusZeus was hidden in a cave as a baby so his father could not swallow him. Rhea gave Cronus a wrapped stone instead.
- HeraThe Greek goddess Hera renewed her virginity every year in a spring near Nauplia. The rites were not to be spoken of.
- ArtemisNo ancient Greek records describe the goddess Artemis as a moon deity. Romans linked her to the moon through Diana.
- DemeterGrief over her stolen daughter made the goddess Demeter let crops wither and mortals starve.
- ApolloApollo killed the serpent Python with a single arrow at Delphi. Then he had to be purified for the blood crime.
- PoseidonThe oldest records of Poseidon do not show a sea god at all. Bronze Age tablets from Pylos call him "earth shaker."
- AthenaThe Greek goddess Athena won Athens by offering the first olive tree. Poseidon's gift was a spring of salty water.
- DionysusZeus sewed the unborn Dionysus into his thigh after the child's mother died. That is why Dionysus is called twice-born.
- Metis (mythology)Zeus swallowed his pregnant wife Metis for fear she would bear something stronger than his thunderbolt.
- Rhea (mythology)Rhea tricked her husband Cronus into swallowing a stone instead of their baby. The real baby was hidden on Crete.
- ThetisAn early Spartan hymn by Alcman calls Thetis the creator of the universe. Later myths made her Achilles's mother.
- HermesOn his first day of life, the Greek god Hermes stole Apollo's cattle. He also invented the lyre by nightfall.
- CronusCronus swallowed five of his own children to avoid a prophecy. Rhea saved the sixth, Zeus, by handing him a stone.
- HeraclesZeus made the sun god Helios hold off rising for three days. He wanted more time with Alcmene, mother of Heracles.
- HeliosHeracles once aimed his bow at Helios, the Greek sun god, for scorching him. Helios then lent him a golden cup.