Hey everyone
Welcome to another installment of Mythology Explained. In today’s video- we’re going
to be discussing the weapons of Greek Mythology.
Now, Greek mythology has an impressive repertoire of devastatingly powerful weapons. There are
some real world breakers, especially when considering the might of many of the wielders,
who were heroes, gods, and titans. This video is going to take a peek inside the armory
and rank the top 5 most destructive weapons. Criteria used to suss out the rankings will
be twofold, taking into account both the inherent awe-inspiring potency of each weapon and the
feats that were actually accomplished with each weapon equipped. Let's get into it.
Coming in fifth is Cronus' sickle. This weapon comes into play when Gaia, the personification
of the earth, takes one of her son's, Uranus, the personification of the sky, as her consort.
Their union begot the Original 12 titans, the hek, and the Cyclopes, and while Uranus
didn't have any issues with the titans, he thought his younger children were abominations
and contrived for them to not see the light of day by imprisoning them deep within Gaia,
in Tartarus. Having her children trapped inside of her was a source of Anguish, and so she
wrought a great sickle of grey adamant and implored her children for Aid. Cronus, the
youngest of the titans, heeded the call and castrated his father, tossing the severed
testicals Into the sea. The sickle comes in at #5 because it’s indestructible and can
seemingly cut through anything.
#4 is Poseidon's trident.
Here's the back story: after Zeus forces his father Cronus to regurgitate Zeus’ brother
and sisters, the siblings, now reunited, journey to the depths of Tartarus to free the hecatonchires
and the Cyclopes. Both are grateful and take the side of the gods in the titanomachy, which
was the cataclysmic war fought between the gods and the titans. In an act of gratitude,
the Cyclopes forged three mighty weapons for Zeus and his two brothers, Poseidon and Hades.
For Poseidon they crafted a trident.
Poseidon was the god of storms, the sea, earthquakes, and even horses. It’s unclear whether many
of his powers are derived from the trident or if it is simply a powerful artifact that
augments Posiedon’s innate abilities, which include Atmokinesis, which is weather manipulation,
Hydrokinesis, which is water manipulation, earthquake generation, and mastery over all
sealife. Poseidon was a major force in the Titanomachy, and I think it can be reasonably
assumed that his trident was a major force in defeating the titans.
At number 3, we have Hades’ Shroud of Darkness. Similarly to Poseidon’s trident, The Shroud
was also forged by the three Cyclopes liberated by the Olympians. The shroud grants the wearer
perfect invisibility, even from divine beings like gods and titans. Ranking this weapon’s
power is interesting in that it's very much dependent on the innate power of the user.
If some mortal were to don the cap, they would be able to easily dispatch other humans, and
would probably even be able to kill some minor monsters, but that would be the extent of
their power.
A god or titan wearing the shroud, however, is going to see that their power exponentially
increases. Imagine the strongest beings, like the titan Atlas, or the father of monsters,
Typhon, running around invisible. They’d be a nightmare to deal with and would most
likely require the entire pantheon to subdue. Furthermore, Hades, like both of his brothers,
was instrumental to the gods’ victory over the titans in the titanomachy, and it can
be inferred that him being invisible for the whole war probably really helped.
Now for the penultimate spot. Coming in at number two are Zeus’ lightning bolts. Again,
these were forged by the three cyclopes. Zeus is universally regarded as the most powerful
of the olympians. His lightning bolts were a devastating force used to fight back the
titans and supplant them as the rulers of the universe. Zeus’ battle efforts are provided
in detail in Hesiod’s Theogony. Here is a quick excerpt:
“The hot blast enveloped the titans; the indescribable flames reached the divine sky,
and the sparkling flare of the thunderbolt and the lightning dazzled the strongest eyes”
After the Titans were defeated, Zeus cast many of them down to the depths of Tartarus,
imprisoning them there, marking the third time in which Gaia had some of her children
agonizingly trapped deep inside of her. In an act of retribution, Gaia, through a union
with Tartarus, spawned Typhon, the father of Monsters. Typhon’s size was immense and
his power was incredible.
Typhon challenged Zeus’ supremacy of the universe, and the battle that raged between
them was cataclysmic. Zeus eventually emerges as the victor of the two, and his lightning
bolts are explicitly described as being a deciding factor.
Last but not least, in the top spot, we have Medusa’s head. Most people probably expected
the top spot to be claimed by Zeus’ lightning bolts; however, after some rumination, Medusa’s
head decidedly emerged as the winner. The most powerful beings in greek mythology are
all divine, so to stake a claim to the top spot, a weapon must demonstrate its ability
to harm or kill divine beings, as the four previous weapons on this list all have. In
Ovid’s version of the Myth of Perseus, after Perseus slays Medusa, he comes into contact
with the titan Atlas, who frustrates Perseus by refusing him any of his golden apples.
In response to being rebuffed, Perseus shows Atlas the head of Medusa and turns him to
stone. This story is the whole basis for having Medusa’s head occupying the number one spot
on this list. If the mighty Atlas can be instantly turned to stone after just a single look,
then it stands to reason that the head would have the same effect on any other divine beings,
earning Medusa’s head the top spot, for no other weapon can so easily or so quickly
kill gods and titans.
And that’s it for this video. What do you guys think of this list? What’s YOUR list?
Comment down below
Until next time
He harms himself who does harm to another, and the evil plan is most harmful to the planner.