The Heirs of the Gods

Why do Greek gods have so many children? They tend to have many affairs with the mortals that walk among earth on top of the affairs they partake in with other gods. The most surprising (and confusing) aspect of this is... Mortals are believed to be beneath them. They are simply the peasants and heathens that bow in submission to the gods... Yet, gods, most commonly the men, reproduce with so many countless humans that their offspring cannot be recorded. Part of the reason could be because there were so many feuds among the gods and goddesses that they thought it best to associate with each other as little as possible or because, with all of the infidelity, they believed the consequences would be much less severe if they were only with mere mortals. Part of the reason could be because humans are so easily manipulated and are more than willing to do anything for their Gods. Regardless of their reasoning, gods don't seem to abide by the rule put in place that was intended to keep them away from humans to reduce the number of half-bloods. There are so many cases of inbreeding and infidelity that it is rare that anyone can be sure of whose children belong to whom.
    The strangest part of mythology is, in most cases, people don't believe them to be true. Excluding those who study it religiously, they are folklore, myths. Who would want to idolize people who were constantly cheating and unfaithful, killing, and lying. Hades kidnapped Persephone and forced her to be his wife, Hephaestus was thrown from Olympus by his family, being deemed too ugly. Jupiter (the counter part of Zeus in Roman Mythology) wanted to be with his sister Juno (Counter part of Hera). When she refused him, he disguised himself as a wounded bird, knowing she would try to help. When she held him to her chest to keep him warm, he resumed his true form, raped her, and she was forced to marry him to hide her shame. It is these types of stories that people have created and even taken as their religious or spiritual beliefs.