olympian gods and goddesses of greek mythology

7/31/2019 Olympian Gods and Goddesses of Greek Mythology

1/16

REPORTED BY : ASTRAL IAN V. CEBUMA


2/16

The Olympian gods were the main deities in Ancient Greece. Afteroverthrowing their ancestors, the Titans, the Olympian gods became therulers of the Cosmos representing the civilization of the world. TheOlympian gods were majestically and democratically dwelling on MountOlympus, the highest mountain in Greece, built by the Cyclopes. Theleader of the Olympian gods was Zeus.

The gods were born and grew just like human beings, some of themeven married, however they were unaging and death never came tothem. They lived inside human-like bodies with an ethereal fluid calledichor running through the veins. They had passions and humanweaknesses and were many times at fault, but were then obliged to takethe full responsibility of their actions.

Greek myths always refer to the twelve Gods of Mount Olympus, butactually, in total there were more Olympian Gods in Greek Mythology.However, there were never more than twelve at one time. The fouralternative gods were Hestia, Hades, Dionysus and Demeter, dependingon the location.


3/16

Zeus was the Supreme God in Ancient Greece, father of theOlympian gods and ruler of mankind.

Zeus was the last child of the Titans Cronus and Rhea and had fiveolder brothers and sisters. All of them had been swallowed by their

jealous father; however, Zeus managed to escape the menace andflee. Later on, he would revenge on his father and set his siblingsfree.Zeus married his own sister Hera, the goddess of marriage andmonogamy, but was giving her plenty of reasons to be jealous, sinceZeus was renowned of his numerous love affairs. As a result, Zeuswas the father of plenty of children.

The symbols of Zeus were the scepter, the throne and thethunderbolt, which was as a gift from the Cyclopes because heliberated them. Zeus' tree was the oak tree and his sacred animalwas the eagle.


4/16

Poseidon, the Greek god of the Seas, was born by the majorTitans Cronus and Rhea. He was an older brother of Zeus, the Kingof the gods.

Poseidon was the Greek god responsible for natural andsupernatural events, mainly the ones associated to the sea world. Hepossessed a trident which was so powerful that it could shake theearth. Poseidon could cause tempests and earthquakes, drownlands, shatter rocks and had the ability to finally bring backpeacefulness.

Poseidon possessed two palaces, the one was up in Mount Olympusand the other was located in the depths of the seas and was

bejeweled with gold and precious gems. Usually Poseidon preferredto stay with his wife Amphitrite beneath the ocean.

His symbol was the trident and his sacred animals were the dolphinand the horse. According to a tradition, he was the one whobreathed life into the first horse on earth.


5/16

Greek goddess Hestia was the eldest daughter of thetitans Cronus and Rhea and a senior goddess among themortals. She was the first to be swallowed by her father, but the lastto be disgorged.

Hestia personified the fire hat was burning in the hearth of everyhome. All families were pouring sweet wine in her name anddedicated her the richest portion. The hearth fire was not allowed togo out by any family unless it was ritually extinguished. Hestiaherself was never leaving her residence, the sacred mountainof Olympus.

Hestia may not have had a public cult, but she was always

worshipped in any temple, regardless of the god it was dedicated to.All Olympian deities respected and loved Hestia because of her kind,forgiving soul and her discrete character, since Hestia neverparticipated in any disputes or wars.


6/16

Hermes was born inside a cave on Mount Cyllene in Arcadia(Peloponnes) as the son Zeus, the King of the Gods, and themountain Nymph Maea, who was a daughter of the Titan Atlas.

Hermes was wearing wings on his sandals and therefore was thespeediest of all Greek gods. Because of his speed, Hermes receivedthe role of the messenger and conductor of souls to the Underworld.

Hermes was a messenger of all gods, but mostly he was known forperforming duties for his father Zeus with great pleasure. Zeusappreciated Hermes' wits highly and always asked for Hermes'assistance throughout his decisions, especially when it came tocheating on his wife Hera.

Hermes symbolizes the petasus, a flat hat and winged sandals.Hermes usually held a winged staff with snakes wrapped around it inhis hands in order to gain access everywhere.


7/16

Hera was born by the Titans Cronus and Rhea and was one of thethree sisters of Zeus and later on became his wife as well. The royal wedding of Zeus and Hera was celebrated with exceptional

splendor and the couple gave birth to four children; Eilithyia, thegoddess who was protecting the childbirth, Ares, the Olympian godof war, Hebe, the goddess of youth and Hephaestus, the Olympiangod of metallurgy. According to some beliefs, Hephaestus was born

without the intervention of Zeus. Hera was a beautiful(but not really desirable), mature woman with

big eyes and pierced lobes. She was wearing an ornate crown on herhead, elegant clothes tightened with a belt and woven bygoddess Athena and golden sandals were hugging her feet. Heraloved to wear jewelry and pamper her body with divine cosmetics.

Hera's symbol were the diadem, the scepter and the pomegranate, a

symbol of fertility. Her flower was the lily and her sacred animalswere the peacock and the cow.


8/16

Hephaestus was the son of Zeus and Hera , although it wasconsidered by some that he had been conceived prenuptially.Hephaestus was married to Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of Beauty,but unfortunately Aphrodite never devoted herself entirely toHephaestus.

Hephaestus was a very kind and loveable god, but was the only deitywho was physically ugly and lame. When his mother Hera saw himfor the first time, she was so frustrated that she took her son andthrew him from Mount Olympus to the depths of the seas, causing adeformation to his leg. Hephaestus was finally rescued by twoNereids, Thetis and Eurynome, who raised him for nine years inside

a cave, far away and hidden from his cruel mother. The symbols of Hephaestus were the Fire, the axe, the pincers and

the hammer


9/16

Greek god Hades was a son of the titans Cronus and Rhea. Hades'wife was Persephone, whom he abducted from her divinemother Demeter and took with him down to the Underworld.

Hades was the Greek god of the Dead and, according to Plato, heshould be considered as one of the Olympian gods. Hades was thesupreme ruler of the Underworld. Almost never did he leave hisgloomy kingdom but was residing there instead, surrounded bydarkness and silence.

Hades' helper was Charos, the angel of dead. Charos had the duty totransfer the dead people 's souls with a boat over the River Acheronfrom the world of the living to the world of the dead. Furthermore,

Hades had a dog with three heads which was named Cerberus. Hades had gloomy features. He had a beard and dark hair falling

over his brow. His sacred symbol was the helmet, which helped himstay invisible.


10/16

Dionysus was born in Thebes as the son of Zeus, the King of theGods and the beautiful princess Semele. Because of his mortalmother, his birthplace Thebes refused to acknowledge him as animmortal at first.

Dionysus was a god known for his lightheartedness and alwaysoffered his help to anyone in need. He was therefore very popular

among gods and mortals and many festivals were being held everyyear in his honor. Nevertheless, Dionysus was many timesmisunderstood.

Dionysus was one of the Olympian gods who actually did not livein Mount Olympus but was constantly travelling around the worldtogether with Satyrs and Maenads in order to discover the secrets ofwinemaking.

The symbols of Dionysus were the thyrsos, a wooden stick wrappedwith ivy leaves and vines, the flute and the wine barrels. his sacredanimals were the panther and the tiger.


11/16

Demeter was the second daughter of the majorTitans Rhea and Cronus, after Hestia, the goddess of the hearth.

Demeter was a peace-loving deity and the source of all growth andlife; she was the goddess who provided all nutrition on the earth andtaught mortals how to cultivate the earth and ease life. Demeter wasmost appreciated for introducing wheat to mankind, making mandifferent from animals.

The symbols of Demeter were the ear of wheat and the grains.


12/16

Athena was a child of Zeus and Metis, Zeus' first wife, who waskeeping inside herself all the world's wisdom.

Athena was the goddess who taught mankind various skills such asweaving and sewing to the women and agriculture and metallurgy tomen. She was always giving precious advice and stood by on anydanger.

After competing against the Greek god Poseidon, Athena officiallybecame the patron deity of the city of ancient Athens and theParthenon was built in her honor. She was known as "Athena Nike"(Athena the victorious), as she was believed to have given theAthenians the victory during the Persian War.

Athena's symbols were the spear, the distaff and the aegis (a goat-like shield, to which the head of the Gorgon Medusa was fastened inorder to terrify the opponents).Athena's tree was the olive tree and her sacred animal was the owl,the symbol of wisdom.


13/16

Greek goddess Artemis was born in Mount Cynthus at the island ofDelos in Greece as a daughter of Zeus, the Ruler of the Greek godsand the mortal Leto.

As a child, Artemis had asked from her father Zeus to remain aneternal virgin and therefore became one of the three VirginGoddesses in Greek mythology. Artemis had absolute sovereigntyover nature and was said to bring fertility to all places thatworshipped her. Usually accompanied by Nymphs and Oceanids,Artemis loved to hunt with arrows dipped in poison.

Artemis was usually armed with bow and arrows and was wearing aknee-high chiton (a sort of tunic).

The symbols of Artemis were the bow and the pike. Her tree was thecedar and her sacred animals were the snake, the bear and the deer.


14/16

Ares, the Greek god of War, was the son of Zeus and Hera. The half-sister of Ares was Athena, the goddess of Wisdom and Skill. Athenaalso was a goddess of War but approached war solely for thepurposes of justice.

Just like his mother Hera, Ares had a very difficult character to dealwith and was therefore rather unpopular among the other deitiesand mankind. For this reason, no Greek city wanted to have him asits patron. He often had conflicts and fights with Artemis, thegoddess of the Hunt and also with his sister Athena, especiallyduring the Trojan War.

The symbol of Ares was the spear and his sacred animal was the

dog.


15/16

Apollo was born by the King of the Gods Zeus and the mortal Leto inthe divine Greek island of Delos. He was the younger twinof Artemis, the Greek goddess of the hunt.

Apollo was the Greek god of the Music. He invented the lute(aplucked string instrument with a body shaped like a pear), but hewas more popular for playing the lyre, which was inventedby Hermes, the messenger of the gods. Apollo excelled in importantmusic contests, competing against Greek god Hermes and theSatyr Pan as well as other deities. Apollo's symbols were the lyre, thetripod, the laurel tree and the navel stone. His plants were the myrtleand the laurel. Apollo's sacred animals were the wolf, the raven andthe lizard.


16/16

Aphrodite was created from the foam of the crystal watersof Paphos in the fragrant island of Cyprus, when theTitan Cronos slew his father, the major Titan Ouranos, and threwthen his genitals into the sea.

Aphrodite was married to the lame smith Hephaestus, who was theOlympian God of the Iron, but her heart was devoted to Ares, theGod of War, with whom Aphrodite was having a passionate, butsecret love affair.

Aphrodite was the most attractive goddess of Mount Olympus. Shewas the goddess of Love, Beauty and Eternal Youth, arousing desireto gods and humans as well as birds and beasts. In addition, she

was connected with the death/rebirth of nature and human beings. Aphrodite's symbols were the girdle(which she was using to compel

love), the seashell and the mirror. Her sacred animal was the dove.

olympian gods and goddesses of greek mythology

Documents