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Greek mythology is traced back to two civilizations that flourished in 1100 B.C.
These two civilizations were the Mycenaean, on the Greek mainland, and the Minoan, on the nearby island of Crete. The Greek myths and legeneds were passed down by telling them orally. It was not until city-states arose, they were beginning to write them down. These works are of Hesiod and Homer, they are the key sources of Greek mythology which dates back around 700 B.C.

http://www.mythencyclopedia.com/Go-Hi/Greek-Mythology.html

The main Olympians are Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Hestia, Hera, Ares, Athena, Apollo, Aphrodite, Hermes, Artemis, Hephaestus. But before the Olympians, there were the Titans.
http://www.greekmythology.com/

The Titans were children of Gaea (mother Earth) and Uranus (the embodiment of the Sky and the Heavens) Gaea gave birth to a main Titan known as Cronus.
Gaea and Uranus warned Cronus that one day, one of his children will overpower him. To prevent this from happening, Cronus decided to swallow all of his children. Gaea was greatly displeased with this, so one day when Rhea (Cronus’s wife) gave birth to the youngest son, Zeus; Gaea wrapped a stone in cloth and gave it to Cronus to swallow. Cronus swallowed the stone thinking that it was Zeus. Gaea was able to then send Zeus to Crete, and there he was raised. Zeus returned and there was immediate conflict between Zeus and Cronus. Cronus did not realize that Zeus was his son. Zeus could not defeat the giant on his own and needed the help of his brothers and sisters inside Cronus. Zeus was able to give Cronus a potion which made him throw up his first five children, Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades and Poseidon. With their help, Zeus was able to take down Cronus and Cronus was sent down to live in Tartarus, the Dark World under the Earth. With Cronus out of the way, Zeus made himself supreme god of all. Zeus then married his sister, Hera.

http://www.pantheon.org/areas/mythology/europe/greek/articles.html

Even with Hera as his wife, he had many affairs. The result of one affair was the birth of a great hero, Hercules. Hercules was the son of Zeus and Alcmene.

http://www.igreekmythology.com/hercules.html

Hera hated Hercules and did whatever she could to make his life miserable.
Once Hercules grew older, he married Megara and had five children. With Hera’s hate for Hercules, she sent a curse on Hercules which filled him with rage. Hercules ended up killing his children and his wife because of the rage sent by Hera. Realizing what he had done, Hercules was told by Apollo to serve the king of Mycenae. The king was lead by Hera and assigned Hercules 10 Labors to be forgiven. Two of the Labors the king did not count and the labors were named the 12 Labors.

http://www.greek-gods.info/greek-heroes/heracles/index2.php

One of the 12 Labors was to slay the Lernaean Hydra. The Lernaean Hydra was a monster that lived in Lake Lerna of Argos. With nine heads that multiplied as it was decapitated, and poisonous breath, Hercules was able to defeat the monster with the help of his nephew Iolaus. The king however was not impressed with this feat and did not count the slaying of the Lernaean Hydra because Iolaus had helped him slay the monster.

http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/Herakles/hydra.html

The Greek myths are part of the Greek religion. The ancient Greek practices are conservative in nature, and they never had a single guiding work of literature like the Christian bible or the Jewish Torah. Sanctuaries were built to the Gods as a place for worship and sacrifices. The temples were built in according to the God’s nature. For example, a temple that was built for the god of the sea, Poseidon, was built were there was a good view of water on three sides. Sacrifices were made to the Gods for gifts and for favors. The main ritual act was an animal sacrifices, mostly oxen, goats and sheep. The animals were sacrificed usually within the front of the temple and at an altar. The meat of the sacrificed animal was eaten by assembled participants. Throughout the year, religious festivals were held, they were literally feast days. Out of all these festivals, the four most famous festivals contained each individual procession, athletic competitions, and sacrifices. They were held every four years at Olympia, Delphi, Nemea, and Isthmia.

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/grlg/hd_grlg.htm

Greek mythology has many myths, which they all relate to the Gods in Olympus. Although there were no main literature which explained the practices and myths, Greek mythology survived many years.