Psychopathic Greek Mythological Figures

Psychopathic Greek Mythological Figures: Most people have read or heard of at least one Greek Myth or Greek mythology character in their lives; Zeus and Hercules being the most popular ones. However, Greek mythology is filled with 100s of people who have the most absurd stories ever, in comparison; Zeus’s sexual promiscuity and Hercules exploits would be considered relatively tame. While reading Greek myths, one has to wonder how in the world these guys came up with these tales. This list brings to you 10 of the most ridiculously messed up characters in Greek mythology:

• Hera:

Being the Queen of the Gods, she was known to be a psychopath with a strong inclination towards jealousy and vengeance, which is somewhat understandable considering her marriage to Zeus. However, her penchant for revenge often went too far. For instance, when she discovered that Leto, Zeus's lover, was pregnant with his children, she cursed her so that she could not give birth on land and sent a dragon to attack her. Similarly, she transformed Callisto into a bear as Zeus had fallen in love with her, despite the fact that it was Zeus who was pursuing these relationships. In another instance, she had Dionysos torn apart for being the son of Zeus.

• Ixion:

This man seems to have a tendency to act recklessly, which is perhaps unsurprising given that he is the son of Ares. He was married to Dia, the daughter of Deioneus, who was promised a dowry for her. However, Ixion refused to pay the dowry, so Deioneus took Ixion's horses in retaliation. This made Ixion furious, and in the typical ancient Greek fashion, he invited his father-in-law to a feast and then pushed him into the burning coal pits, killing him.

As a result, Ixion was banished from all the cities and lived as an outcast until he was invited to Olympus by Zeus. However, while in Olympus, Ixion attempted to seduce Hera, which was a grave offense, and he was subsequently caught and punished by being thrown into Tartarus. Hermes was the one who tied Ixion to an unending spinning wheel of fire as his eternal punishment.

• Cronus:

There is perhaps no character in Greek mythology more villainous than this one. He was the youngest titan, born to Gaia and Uranus, with the latter being incredibly cruel to both his wife and children, whom he cast into the depths of the earth. Gaia, seeking revenge, convinced Kronos to slay Uranus with a sickle. However, Kronos went a step further and castrated Uranus, leading to the creation of Aphrodite. Kronos then became the king of the earth and married his sister Rhea.

Due to a prophecy that one of his children would overthrow him, Kronos devoured all of his offspring, except for Zeus, whom Rhea managed to save by tricking Kronos into swallowing a stone dressed as a baby. It's hard to believe that he fell for such a trick, but that's the story. Zeus grew up and made Kronos regurgitate all of his siblings, which was quite revolting, before banishing him to Tartarus. It seems that Kronos ultimately got what he deserved.

• King Minos:

After losing his son to a bull in Athens, what did he do? He demanded that the city send 14 young men and women as tribute, a request that was backed by none other than Zeus. These tributes were then sacrificed to the Minotaur in the labyrinth. The story of the Minotaur and the labyrinth itself is quite amusing. Minos was an ungrateful person, so Poseidon caused his wife to fall in love with a bull. As a result, she gave birth to the Minotaur, a creature that was half man and half bull.

To conceal his shame, Minos captured Dedalus and forced him to build the labyrinth, which he then used to imprison him. This is just one of the many typical figures in Greek mythology.

• Aphrodite:

Aphrodite, the Goddess of love, was not to be trifled with, as those who rejected her worship would come to regret it. In fact, she played a major role in starting the Trojan War. When the women of Lemnos refused to honor her, she retaliated by cursing them with such a foul odor that their men fled. Additionally, according to some accounts, Aphrodite was involved in the story of Pasiphae and the Minotaur. Despite being married to Hephaestus, she was also known to have an affair with Ares.