The gods of Olympus

The ancient Greeks were very religious. They believed that the world had been created by certain gods and that men were ruled by twelve great gods and many lesser ones.
All these gods appeared often to men, sometimes helping them, sometimes punishing them, depending on how they felt about them. For this reason, human beings tried to get on their good side and flatter them with ceremonies, prayers and animal sacrifices. They built temples in the gods' honour and artists decorated temples, public places and even homes with their statues.
Of course these gods were not real, but were formed in men's imagination. Studying the myths of the ancient Greeks concerning the lives and deeds of the ancient gods, the quarrels and jealousies, their concern for and charity towards mankind, one cannot help but marvel at the rich imagination of the ancient Greek spirit. The deeply human aspect of these myths, and the ever present feeling for justice that can only help man -especially for the small child- and to cultivate the more noble and eternal, moral values in all of us.