Ancient Greek Gods for Kids

The magical world of the ancient Greek gods was a world full of bickering and challenges and jealousies and fights and punishment and love. Many Greek myths were based on the fact that gods, like mortal men, could be punished or rewarded for their actions. They could fall in love. They could get angry. And they could get even!

People gathered around when an ancient Greek storyteller came to town. Everyone knew that the ancient Greek gods loved to get involved in the lives of mortals, sometimes to help, sometimes to hinder, and sometimes quite accidentally, and caused all kinds of trouble, and the Greeks loved to hear stories about their gods. (The ancient Greek gods were not always the most thoughtful of magical beings.) They also loved to hear stories about their heroes! In fact, they just loved stories.

Storytelling was a highly respected profession in ancient Greece. The ancient Greek storytellers traveled from village to village, telling stories about the ancient Greek gods and other magical beings. These stories are called myths (short for mythology, or stories about gods.)  Each storyteller changed the myths a bit to fit their audience and their own imagination, but whatever power and personality a god had was consistent no matter who was telling the story. For example, Zeus was always king of the gods, and only Zeus could throw lightning bolts. Hera, the queen of the gods, was always jealous of somebody. And Ares, their son, was the god of war. (Hardly any of the other Greek gods liked him much.)

The ancient Greeks told a great many myths about the magical beings that inhabited the ancient Greek world, including some dangerous monsters!

Here are some ancient Greek myths retold by the storyteller, Lin Donn:

• Zeus, Hera, and Little Io

• The Competition, Athena and Poseidon

• Theseus, the Minotaur, and the Maze

• The King of Corinth and the Golden Coin

• Icarus and Daedalus, Wings

• Baby Hercules &
  The 12 Labors of Hercules

• Demeter and Persephone, Reason for the Seasons

• Apollo's Oracle at Delphi

• The Oracle Cassandra Outsmarted

• Dionysus and Ariadne

• Andromeda and the Jealous Sea Creatures

• Orpheus and Eurydice

• Eros & Psyche

• The Magic Rocks

• Aphrodite and the Trojan War

• Zeus and Prometheus and the Gift of Fire

• Zeus, Pandora, and Pandora's Box

• Zeus and the Great Flood

• Zeus, Helios & Phaethon

• Three Tales of Echo - Hera, Narcissus, and Pan

• King Midas and the Golden Touch

• King Midas and the Donkey Ears

• Story of the Just Plain Rotten King Tantalus

• Artemis and the Deer Hunter

• Hermes & Apollo (cartoon PowerPoint, how Apollo got his lyre)

• Perseus and Medusa

• The Cyclops Cave & The Sirens

• The Trouble with Oracles

See Also:

A series of Greek Myths - animated, by Geethanjali Studios, used with our permission

The Truth About Myths

Hades and the River Styx

Greek Monster Myths

Greek God Family Tree

The 12 Olympians

Mount Olympus

The Nine Muses

The Greek Storytellers

FREE QUIZ: TEST YOURSELF Ancient Greek Gods and Goddesses (Interactive with answers)

Greek Games (interactive)

Free Lesson Plans for Teachers about the ancient Greek deities