Significant Olympians
The Olympians were a race of deities, primarily consisting of a third and fourth generation of immortal beings, worshipped as the principal gods of the Greek pantheon and so named because of their residency atop Mount Olympus. They gained their supremacy in a ten-year-long war of gods, in which Zeus led his siblings to victory over the previous generation of ruling immortal beings, the Titans, children of primordial deities Uranus and Gaia. They were a family of gods, the most important consisting of the first generation of Olympians, offspring of the Titans Cronus and Rhea: Zeus, Poseidon, Hera, Demeter and Hestia, along with the principal offspring of Zeus: Apollo, Aphrodite, Ares, Artemis, Athena, Dionysus, Hephaestus, and Hermes. Although Hades was a major deity in the Greek pantheon and was the brother of Zeus and the other first generation of Olympians, his realm was far away from Olympus in the underworld, and thus he was not usually considered to be one of the Olympians.
The Parthenon
I wanted to focus on the Parthenon not only because of its historical significance, but its significance to me as well. I've visited the Parthenon and it's truly an eye opening experience to be a part of real mythological history. The Parthenon was constructed during the firth century BC and was built to dedicate the Goddess Athena. It's decorative attributes are some of the most advanced of the Era in Greek History including a colossal statue of Athena, originally constructed in gold and ivory. It was build for the Hellenic victory over the Persian invaders during the Persian wars. The structure even served as the city treasury.
The building itself was covered with sculptures representing scenes from Athenian mythology. There are three kinds of sculpure: the frieze which ran high around all four sides of the building, The metopes which were placed at th same level as the frieze surmounting the colums on the outside of the temple, and the pediment scuptures which filled the triangular area between the roof and the building. However, the building has undergone a multitude of changes due to historical events. Later, in the final decade of the 6th century AD, it was converted into a Christian church. After the Ottoman Conquest, it became a mosque and was used by the ottomons as a munitions dump. Tragically, in th Morean War, a bomb landed in th parthenon which caused a huge explosion because of the munitions left bu the Ottoman. Since, many efforts since 1985 to restore and preserve the Parthenon have been underway.
More Significant Landmarks
Throughout Greece, there are several significant landmarks relevent to Greek Mythology. Greek temples were structures built to house deity statues within Greek sanctuaries in ancient Greek religion. Other than temples, locations such as Delos Island, Ithaca, Phsychro Cave, and more throughout Greece hold mythological relavence as they are mentioned within scripture and stories.
Significant Archeological Artifacts
Without ancient Greek artifacts, much of mythology would have been lost.
One type of artifact that played a significant role in history are coins. Greek currency was the first to be minted on an imperial scale and has influenced commerce across the world. Greek coins used a combination of figures, symbols and inscriptions to symbolise each ruler’s territory. Each city state in Ancient Greece was said to be protected by a certain character from Greek mythology and one of the most identifiable features of Greek coinage are the Gods and Goddesses which are struck on many of the coins of the time.