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GREEK GODS OLYMPIANS
The Greeks were polytheistic in their religious beliefs which
means they believed in and worshiped many different gods. In
Greek mythology, the gods often represented different forms
of nature. Their religion/mythology had no formal structure
with the exception of various festivals held in honor of the
gods. There was no sacred book or code of conduct to live
by.The most powerful Greek gods were known as the
Olympians. The Greeks believed the Olympians lived on
the highest mountain in Greece, Mount Olympus. The Olympian
gods included: Zeus, Hera, Apollo, Aphrodite, Ares, Artemis,
Athena, Demeter, Hades, Hermes, Hephaestus, Poseidon and
Hestia or later she was replaced in some lists by Dionysus. |
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There are twelve Olympians:
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APOLLO: The son of Zeus and Leto. His
twin sister is Artemis. He is the god of music
and played a golden lyre. The Archer, far shooting with
a silver bow. The god of healing who taught man
medicine. The god of light. The god of truth, who can
not speak a lie. One of Apollo's more important daily
tasks is to harness his chariot with four horses an
drive the Sun across the sky. He is famous for his
oracle at Delphi. People traveled to it from all
over the Greek world to divine the future. His tree was
the laurel. The crow his bird. The dolphin his animal.
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APHRODITE: The goddess of love, desire and beauty.
In addition to her natural gifts she has a magical
girdle that compels anyone she wishes to desire her.
There are two accounts of her birth. One says she is the
daughter of Zeus and Dione. The other goes
back to when Cronus castrated Uranus and
tossed his severed genitals into the sea. Aphrodite then
arose from the sea foam on a giant scallop and walked to
shore in Cyprus. She is the wife of Hephaestus.
The myrtle is her tree. The dove, the swan, and the
sparrow her birds.
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ARES: The son of Zeus and Hera and
god of war. He was disliked by both parents. He is
considered murderous and bloodstained but, also a
coward. When caught in an act of adultery with
Aphrodite her husband Hephaestus is publicly
ridicules him. His bird is the vulture and his animal is
the dog.
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ARTEMIS: the daughter of Zeus and Leto.
Her twin brother is Apollo. She is the lady of
the wild things. She is the huntsman of the gods. She is
the protector of the young. Like Apollo she hunts with
silver arrows. She became associated with the moon. She
is a virgin goddess, and the goddess of chastity. She
also presides over childbirth, which may seem odd for a
virgin, but goes back to causing Leto no pain when she
was born. She became associated with Hecate. The
cypress is her tree. All wild animals are drawn to her,
especially the deer.
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ATHENA: The daughter of Zeus. She sprang
full grown in armor from his forehead, thus has no
mother. She is fierce and brave in battle but only in
wars to protect the state and home from outside enemies.
She is the goddess of the city, handicrafts, and
agriculture. She invented the bridle, which permitted
man to tame horses, the trumpet, the flute, the pot, the
rake, the plow, the yoke, the ship, and the chariot. She
is the embodiment of wisdom, reason, and purity. She was
Zeus's favorite child and was allowed to use his weapons
including his thunderbolt. Her favorite city is Athens.
Her tree is the olive. The owl is her bird. She is a
virgin goddess.
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HADES: The brother of Zeus. After the
overthrow of their father Cronus he drew lots
with Zeus and Poseidon, another brother,
for shares of the world. He had the worst draw and was
made lord of the underworld, ruling over the dead. He is
a greedy god who is greatly concerned with increasing
his subjects. Those whose calling increase the number of
dead are seen favorably. The Erinnyes are
welcomed guests. He is exceedingly disinclined to allow
any of his subjects leave. He is also the god of wealth,
due to the precious metals mined from the earth. He has
a helmet that makes him invisible. He rarely leaves the
underworld. He is unpitying and terrible, but not
capricious. His wife is Persephone whom Hades
abducted. He is the King of the dead but, death itself
is another god, Thanatos.
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HEPHAESTUS: The son of Zeus and Hera.
Sometimes it is said that Hera alone produced him and
that he has no father. He is the only god to be
physically ugly. He is also lame. Accounts as to how he
became lame vary. Some say that Hera, upset by having an
ugly child, flung him from Mount Olympus into the
sea, breaking his legs. Others that he took Hera's side
in an argument with Zeus and Zeus flung him off Mount
Olympus. He is the god of fire and the forge. He is the
smith and armor maker of the gods. He uses a volcano as
his forge. He is the patron god of both smiths and
weavers. He is kind and peace loving. His wife is
Aphrodite. Sometimes his wife is identified as Aglaia.
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HERA: The wife and sister of Zeus. She was
raised by the Titans Oceanus and Tethys. She is
the protector of marriage and takes special care of
married women. Hera's marriage was founded in strife
with Zeus and continued in strife. Zeus courted her
unsuccessfully. He then turned to trickery, changing
himself into disheveled cuckoo. Hera feeling sorry for
the bird held it to her breast to warm it. Zeus then
resumed his normal form and taking advantage of the
surprise he gained, raped her. She then married him to
cover her shame. Once when Zeus was being particularly
overbearing to the other gods, Hera convinced them to
join in a revolt. Her part in the revolt was to drug
Zeus, and in this she was successful. The gods then
bound the sleeping Zeus to a couch taking care to tie
many knots. This done they began to quarrel over the
next step. Briareus overheard the arguments.
Still full of gratitude to Zeus, Briareus slipped in and
was able to quickly untie the many knots. Zeus sprang
from the couch and seized his thunderbolt. The gods fell
to their knees begging and pleading for mercy. He seized
Hera and hung her from the sky with gold chains. She
wept in pain all night but, none of the others dared to
interfere. Her weeping kept Zeus up and the next morning
he agreed to release her if she would swear never to
rebel again. She had little choice but, to agree. While
she never again rebelled, she often intrigued against
Zeus's plans and she was often able to outwit him. Most
stories concerning Hera have to do with her jealous
revenge for Zeus's infidelities. Her sacred animals are
the cow and the peacock. Her favorite city is Argos.
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HERMES: The son of Zeus and Maia. He
is Zeus messenger. He is the fastest of the gods. He
wears winged sandals, a winged hat, and carries a magic
wand. He is the god of thieves and god of commerce. He
is the guide for the dead to go to the underworld. He
invented the lyre, the pipes, the musical scale,
astronomy , weights and measures, boxing, gymnastics,
and the care of olive trees.
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HESTIA: The sister of Zeus. She is a virgin
goddess. She does not have a distinct personality. She
plays no part in myths. She is the Goddess of the
Hearth, the symbol of the house around which a new born
child is carried before it is received into the family.
Each city had a public hearth sacred to Hestia, where
the fire was never allowed to go out.
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POSEIDON: The brother of Zeus. After the
overthrow of their father Cronus he drew lots
with Zeus and Hades, another brother, for shares
of the world. His prize was to become lord of the sea.
He was widely worshiped by seamen. He married
Amphitrite, a granddaughter of the Titon
Oceanus.
At one point he desired Demeter. To put him off
Demeter asked him to make the most beautiful animal that
the world had ever seen. So to impress her Poseidon
created the first horse. In some accounts his first
attempts were unsuccessful and created a variety of
other animals in his quest. By the time the horse was
created his passion for Demeter had cooled. His weapon
is a trident, which can shake the earth, and shatter any
object. He is second only to Zeus in power amongst the
gods. He has a difficult quarrelsome personality. He was
greedy. He had a series of disputes with other gods when
he tried to take over their cities.
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ZEUS: Overthrew his father Cronus. He then
drew lots with his brothers Poseidon and Hades.
Zeus won the draw and became the supreme ruler of the
gods. He is lord of the sky, the rain god. His weapon is
a thunderbolt which he hurls at those who displease him.
He is married to Hera but, is famous for his many
affairs. He is also known to punish those that lie or
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Observe your
enemies, for they first find your faults.
Greek Proverb
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