The Olympians

Introduction to the Greek gods and goddesses

1. The Olympians

2. Mt. Olympus home of the gods

3. zeus

4. zeus

5. zeus Aegis thunderbolt

6. Zeus was the famous king of the Greek gods and god of the sky, heavens and the earth. He ruled Mount Olympus with his wife Hera. Although Zeus was married he was renown for the number of liaisons with other women, often visiting them in the guise of an animal . The powers of Zeus were legendary and his famous symbol and weapon was the thunderbolt which, when hurled, could shatter mountains .

7. Hera was the queen of the ancient Greek gods and wife of Zeus, the ruler of Mount Olympus. Her role was as the Greek goddess of the family, marriage and childbirth. Many of the stories in Ancient Greek mythology surrounding Hera tells of her jealousy and rages that were prompted by the numerous love affairs of her unfaithful husband Zeus. Hera

8. Hera was woman personified. She was depicted as a young woman, fully developed, chaste and with severe beauty. Her forehead is crowned with a diadem or with a high crown. She wears a long tunic. She is a faithful wife to Zeus, whom she gave four children- Ares, Hephaestus, Hebe and Ilythya . Hera

9. Apollo was the dazzling and handsome Greek god of the sun, prophecy, medicine, crops and music. His task was to harness his chariot with four horses and drive the Sun across the sky. His ability to bring the sun and well-being to humans explains his association with healing. Apol lo

10. Apollo was also called “Phoebus Apolo ” or “Phoebus the Brilliant”. He is generally nude or wears only a short mantle clasped at the shoulder. He has bow and quiver and lyre.

11. Apollo’s beardless face is delicately featured. Apol lo

12. Artemis

13. Artemis was the Greek goddess of the hunt, archery, animals and the moon. She was the twin sister of Apollo. Every evening she mounted her moon chariot, and drove her pure white horses across the heavens. The Roman counterpart of this Greek goddess was Diana .

14. Artemis was Apollo’s twin sister, daughter of Zeus and Leto . Just like Apollo, she is a divinity of light though of the moonlight. She has a bow and quiver, a deity of sudden death. She wears a tunic retained by a girdle. On her feet are laced boots. She usually accompanied by a deer.

15. Hephaestus was the Greek god of fire, craftsmen and metal workers. He created the armor, weapons and the thrones of the Greek gods who resided on the summit of Mount Olympus. Hephaestus and his supernatural and powerful skills as a metal worker led him to make many other astonishing items using gold, silver and bronze, including magnificent metal robots that served the gods and their favorites.

16. The divine blacksmith was generously giving gifts to mortals also. So he gave Heracles a golden breastplate, to Ariadne a garland made of precious metals and gems. He was traditionally depicted as a robust smith with bearded face, powerful neck and hairy chest. He was both lame in both legs. On his hands, he grasps a hammer and tongs. Hephaestus

17. Hephaestus

18. Ares was the Greek god of War, an unruly and ungovernable warrior. He features in the stories, myths and legends relating to the various conflicts including the War with the Titans, the War of the Giants. Ares was also the god of spring, growth in nature, and fertility and the protector of cattle. He was the lover of Aphrodite. Ares is depicted as a powerful, strong, god who rode a chariot drawn by four gold-bridled fire-breathing stallions. Ares

19. Ares Ares enjoys nothing but war, strife and battles. God of war, of blind brutal courage, of bloody rage and carnage. He was a warrior wearing a helmet with a tall crest and dressed in heavy armor. The vulture was his bird, the dog was his animal.

20. Ar E s

21. Ares The main symbols of Ares were the spear and torch. From the animal kingdom, his symbols were the vultures that ate the corpses of slain warriors and dogs which were sacrificed in Sparta along with bulls and cocks.

22. Aphrodite was the most beautiful of all the goddesses. Aphrodite was the Greek goddess of love, beauty and passion. Zeus gave her hand in marriage to Hephaestus, in gratitude for the service he had given in forging thunderbolts. She was an unfaithful wife and had a long term affair with Ares the Greek god of war. She had a son named Eros, or Cupid, the god of love. Aphrodite

23. Aphrodite was more a goddess of beauty and sensual love and rarely protected the marital life. Sanctuaries symbols were the white doves. Additionally, a pair of these birds dragged her chariot. Other symbols were apple, poppy, rose, myrtle, anemone and the flower of pomegranate. Aphrodite

24. Hera was undoubtedly beautiful; Athena was severely beautiful but Aphrodite was pure seduction and grace. She was the “mistress of gracious laughter, sweet deceits, the charms and delights of love.” Aphrodite

25. Poseidon Poseidon was the Greek god of the sea, tempests, storms and earthquakes, known as the 'Earth-Shaker'. Although Poseidon was one of the gods of Mount Olympus, he spent most of his time in his domains and magnificent under water palace. The symbol of the trident of power represented his ability to control water.

26. Poseidon Poseidon was lived in the depths of the Aegean Sea, in a magnificent palace, glittering with gold. Clad in a golden robe, beneath a golden armor, he would hurl himself, the sea opening before him, accompanied by wild tempests and furious winds.

27. Athena Athena was the goddess who sprang from the head of Zeus clothed in armor. Athena was the goddess of wisdom and also the goddess of spinning and weaving; and she herself could weave the most beautiful cloths of many colors. Her importance to the Athenians is seen in her wonderful temple, the Parthenon, which still crowns the Acropolis in the modern city of Athens in Greece.

28. Athena Sometimes called Pallas Athena, she was venerated among the greatest divinities in her quality of warrior-goddess– as goddess of the arts and peace and of prudent intelligence. She is represented as standing, her body sheathed in tight draperies, her head covered with a helmet, her breast covered with the aegis, a shield, her right hand holding a spear.

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31. Athena – Pallas symbolize some of the most important ideals of the ancient Greek spirit. She combined strength and bravery with prudence and intelligence. Her favorite symbols were the aegis, the spear, the owl and the olive tree.

32. Hades Hades was the elder brother of Zeus and Poseidon and the ruler of the Underworld. He abducted Persephone, the daughter of Zeus and Demeter, and made her Queen of the Underworld. Sometimes he was called the 'Prince of Darkness' and he preferred living in the Underworld than on Mount Olympus with the other gods.

33. Hades Hades had gloomy features. He had a beard and dark hair falling over his brow . The sacred symbol of Hades was his helmet, which helped him stay invisible. His sacred animal was Cerberus, his own three-headed dog.

34. Hades Persephone was abducted by Hades while she was picking flowers in the fields. In revenge for this act Demeter cast a curse on earth and there was a great famine. Demeter refused to lift the curse until she saw her daughter again. Zeus intervened and sent Hermes to the Underworld to ask Hades to return Persephone. However, Persephone had eaten part of a pomegranate, or love-apple, while she was with Hades so she could only be given back to her mother for part of each year. For two-thirds of the year Persephone was allowed to live with her mother and the remainder of the time she was obliged to stay with Hades as queen of the Underworld. The people believed that when Persephone made her yearly visits she brought spring with her and when the time came that she must return to Hades the bleak winter followed.

35. Persephone was the Greek goddess of Spring and one of the extraordinary number of gods and goddesses worshipped by the Ancient Greeks. Persephone

36. When she was a beautiful young maiden, Hades seized her and held her captive in his underworld. Her mother, the goddess Demeter, eventually persuaded the gods to let her daughter return to her. This mythical story symbolizes the annual vegetation cycle, the dying and rebirth of the plant world. Persephone

37. Persephone Persephone was required to remain in the underworld for four months because Hades had tricked her into eating a pomegranate (the food of the dead). When Persephone left the earth, the flowers withered and the grain died, but when she returned, life blossomed anew and Persephone is therefore associated with Spring.

38.   He was the messenger of the gods and the god of merchants, travelers, and public speakers The names of his parents were Maia and Zeus. He was one of the 12 Olympian gods who resided on the summit of Mount Olympus. Hermes

39.   He was father of Pan and Daphne. Hermes was the only god who was authorized to visit Heaven, Earth and the Underworld. His caduceus (a staff entwined by snakes) helped Hermes charm the gods and gain access to all locations He was often depicted ready for travel and often wore a flat hat called a petasus . Hermes

40.   Hermes was the messenger of the gods.

41. Dionysius

42.   Dionysus was the carefree Greek god of wine, parties, festivals, the theatre, chaos, drunkenness and ecstasy. The symbol of Dionysus were the Grapes and Goblet relating to his role as the god of wine. He taught mortals how to plant and tend the grapevine and make it into wine.

43. Dionysius   Dionysus was the god of the grape harvest, winemaking and wine, of ritual madness and ecstasy in Greek mythology. He was the most cheerful of the gods and one of the most beloved to the people. As Prometheus gave them fire or Asclepius put the foundations of medicine, so Dionysus offered them the vine and wine.

44. Demeter   Demeter was the goddess who watched over the plants and trees. Demeter taught men how to sow and cultivate grain, so she was also worshiped as the goddess of agriculture. Demeter was a lover of Zeus and they had a daughter named Persephone.  

45. Demeter   Demeter is one of the largest and oldest goddesses of the ancient Greek pantheon. She is the daughter of Cronus and Rhea, sister of Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Hera and Hestia. 

46.   Known as the Goddess of harvest, fertility, agriculture and vegetation soil, protector of the land and its products, mother of cereals (hence her name) and mainly wheat.  Demeter

47.   Hestia was the virgin goddess of the hearth, the home and family. She was also the goddess of the sacrificial flame and assigned by Zeus the duty to maintain the fires of the Olympian hearth. Every home had a hearth that was dedicated to the goddess, and each day started and ended with a ritual requesting she protected the family. Hestia

48. Hestia   She was the first born child of the Titans Cronus and Rhea and was swallowed by her father at birth. When she was introduced to Mount Olympus the gods Apollo and Poseidon asked for her hand in marriage. She refused their offers and Zeus allowed her to remain an eternal virgin.

49.   Zeus assigned to her a duty to maintain the fires of the Olympian hearth She is often featured as one of the 12 Olympian gods but some Greek historians include the god Dionysus - hence some of the confusion related to names of the 12 Olympians. Hestia