ods were the Nereids, Tritons, and other minor sea deities. The chief earth deities were Hades, ruler of the underworld, and his wife, Persephone, the daughter of Demeter. Demeter herself was usually considered an Olympian, but since she was associated with producing grain and the knowledge of agriculture; she was more closely connected with the earth. Another Olympian whose functions were likewise of an earthly character was Dionysus, god of the grape and of wine. He was accompanied by satyrs, the horsetailed sylvan demigods; Sileni, the plump, bald vintage deities; and maenads, nymphs who celebrated the orgiastic rites of Dionysus. Also among the more important divinities of the Greek pantheon were Gaea, the earth mother; Asclepius, the god of healing; and Pan, the great Arcadian god of flocks, pastures, and forests. Invocation of the Gods The ancient Greeks had a strong sense of weakness before the grand and terrifying powers of nature, and they acknowledged their dependence on the divine beings whom they believed those powers to be controlled. In general, the relations between gods and mortals were cordial, divine wrath being reserved for those who transgressed the limits assigned to human activities and who, by being proud, ambitious, or even by being too prosperous, provoked divine displeasure and brought upon themselves Nemesis, the personification of revengeful justice. The saying of the historian Herodotus, "The god suffers none but himself to be proud" sums up the main philosophy that influences all of classical Greek literature. The sense of human limitation was a basic feature of Greek religion; the gods, the sole source of the good or evil that fell upon mortals, were approached only by making sacrifices and giving thanks for past blessings or pleading for future favors. In front of many a street door stood a stone for Apollo Agyieus (Apollo of the Thoroughfare); in the courtyard was placed the altar of Zeus Herkeios (Zeus ...
