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Greek God and Goddess Family Tree – The Pantheon
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Zeus had two brothers and three sisters. When their father died, the boys - Zeus, Poseidon, and
Hades - divided the world up between themselves.
Zeus took all of the heavens, Poseidon took the sea,
and Hades took the underworld. Each was quite
content with their selection.
Zeus had a very jealous wife named Hera. He also
had a whole bunch of kids. Zeus was very fond of
all his children. Each of his children had special
magical powers.
The Greeks loved to tell stories about the magical
family who ruled the heavens. The Greeks truly
believed that Zeus, Hera, and all the gods were real.
They believed the gods could interfere in their lives,
to help or hinder them. Many of the myths the
ancient Greeks told were stories about how the gods
helped or hindered each other, as well as how they
helped or hindered mortal man.
But Zeus was special. According to the ancient Greeks, the king of gods was an elected position.
When the gods voted Zeus to be the king, Zeus remained king forever. No one tried to vote him
out of office because Zeus was the most powerful god of all.
Zeus had many powers. He could throw lightning bolts. His horse, Pegasus, carried his lightning
bolts for him. Zeus could throw his voice, and sound like anybody. He could shape shift, and
look like anybody. In fact, he was so good at shape shifting that he could shape shift into the
form of an animal.
Zeus had a quick temper, a big sense of humor, and lots
of girlfriends. He was not afraid of anything except
Hera, his wife.
Hera was the queen of the gods, and the goddess of
marriage.
She was one of Zeus' three sisters. She was also his wife. Hera was very jealous of her famous
and powerful husband, Zeus. She kept a close eye on Zeus.
Hera was rarely nice to the many children Zeus had by other mothers.
There are many myths about Hera's jealously, anger, and
revenge. Other myths talk about Hera's servant,
Argus. Argus had 100 bright eyes all over his body. He
was a great guard because he never closed more than half
his eyes at one time!
Poseidon was the Lord of the Sea. His brothers were Zeus
- the king of all the gods, and Hades - the king of the
underworld.
Poseidon was a good looking fellow. He had deep blue
eyes and streaming green hair. He was a restless fellow,
always on the move.
Poseidon was very powerful. He could raise his hand and
a new island would appear! The Greeks were terrified of Poseidon.
All the Greeks, but especially those who lived in coastal towns, built a temple to honor Poseidon.
They brought special gifts to the temple every day, hoping to keep him happy. Sometimes it
worked. Sometimes it didn't. Poseidon was very moody.
Poseidon had many wives. But his main wife was not
jealous, so Poseidon did not have the problems at home that
Zeus did.
Hades and Zeus were brothers.
Hades had a seat on Mount Olympus, the magical mountain
on which all the main gods, the Olympians, lived. But Hades
did not live on Mount Olympus.
When the three sons of Cronos divided up the world, Zeus
took the sky, Poseidon took the sea, and Hades took the
underworld. Zeus became the king of the gods. Poseidon
married happily. Hades was content, living in the
Underworld.
Hades was NOT the lord of death. His job was to run the Underworld. He was a good ruler. Parts
of the Underworld were very nice, like the Elysian Fields, where heroes dwelled after they died.
Parts were not so nice. Those were for people who were not so nice during their lifetime.
You might think Hades would be terribly lonely, surrounded by the souls of the dead. His brother
Zeus visited now and then, as did his nephews Apollo, Hermes, and Ares. Hades came up to the
surface, if he needed to be on Mount Olympus for a meeting of the gods or something. But
Hades preferred to stay in the Underworld.
Hades had an invisible helmet, which he liked very much. He had a
golden chariot, which was his pride and joy. He had his faithful
companion, his three-headed dog, Cerberus. That was all he needed.
At least, that was all he needed until he saw the lovely Persephone.
Ares was the son of Zeus and Hera. His father was king, his mother
was queen.
Ares was tall and handsome, and mean and self-centered. His
sidekick, Eris, the spirit of disagreement, traveled everywhere with
him. They carried four spirits along as well - the spirits of Pain, Panic,
Famine, and Oblivion.
Neither of his parents were very fond of Ares. It was difficult to like Ares.
In Greek mythology, Ares did not care who won or lost a battle. He just liked to see
bloodshed. Most of the other gods stayed as far away from Ares as possible. He only caused
trouble.
When the ancient Romans first heard the many Greek myths about the war god Ares, they
thought Ares was terrific!
As they did with nearly all the Greek deities and the myths that went
with them, the ancient Romans pretended that Ares had always been
a Roman god. They renamed him Mars, the god of war.
Apollo and Artemis were twins. They were the magical children of
Zeus and Leto. The twins - Apollo and his sister, Artemis - adored
their mother. Apollo, especially, was very protective of his mother.
When the ancient Romans heard the many Greek myths about
Apollo, they loved them!
The ancient Romans were always borrowing gods from other cultures. When they ran into a
myth they liked, they renamed the god and made him or her a Roman god.
They loved the myths about Apollo so much that they did not even change his name. Apollo is
Apollo in Greek and in Roman mythology, and the stories are the same.
Artemis was the daughter of Zeus and Leto. She was
Apollo's twin sister.
Artemis was very different from her brother. To took a lot to
get Apollo angry. He was usually pretty gentle and full of
warmth. But Artemis was nearly always cold and pitiless. The
only thing Artemis loved besides her family were her floppyeared dogs.
Artemis was the goddess of the hunt.
Athena was born without a mother. Her father was the mighty Zeus,
king of all the gods. Athena was born directly out of Zeus' brain.
Zeus loved all his children, but if he had to pick a favorite, it would
probably have been Athena, the goddess of wisdom.
Athena was a powerful force, and one of the 12 deities who held a seat on Mount Olympus.
There are many myths about Athena in Greek mythology. Here is one of them.
As the story goes ...
In ancient Greece, each town had a special deity, a god that looked after them. Poseidon was
Zeus' brother. He was Athena's uncle. He was also Lord of the Sea. Poseidon was a very
powerful god. He loved attention. He loved having towns build temples to worship him. He
loved the gifts people brought him.
Poseidon was always on the lookout for towns that had not yet been claimed by a god. He
wanted as many towns as possible to call his own. Although towns could only have one god to
watch over them, gods could watch over as many towns as they chose.
One day, Athena, goddess of wisdom, and Poseidon, lord of the sea, both claimed the village of
Athens. Back then, Athens was pretty small. Normally, the people would have been thrilled to be
selected by a god to watch over them. But two gods at once? A town could have only one
guardian, and they did not want to choose. They did not want to anger either god.
Athena, who was wise as well as beautiful, understood their worry. She suggested that both gods
should give the town a gift. The townspeople could decide which gift was better. Poseidon loved
the idea. The townspeople, if possible, were even more nervous than before.
Poseidon tapped the side of the mountain. Water flowed out in a beautiful stream. Fresh water
was so important. The people were sure Poseidon had won. When they tasted the water, they
tried to smile, but they had to spit the water out. It was salt water!
Then Athena waved her hand. An olive tree began to grow. The people tasted the olives. Smiles
broke out. The olives were delicious. The olive tree would provide food, shelter, and oil for
cooking. It was a magnificent gift indeed.
But no coastal town in their right mind would risk angering the lord of the sea, the mighty
Poseidon. Fortunately, for the people of Athens, they did not have to choose.
Poseidon threw back his head and laughed his hearty roar. "Yours is a far better gift than mine,
my lovely niece. I award you Athens."
And that is how Athena became the guardian of the city-state of Athens. Even today, Athena's
special tree is the olive.
It is said there were many people in ancient Greece who were sure
that Athens' rise to fame was due mostly to Athena's wise
direction. But that is probably just a myth.
Hestia was the goddess of heath and home.
Her sisters were famous. One of her sisters was Hera, wife of
Zeus, queen of the gods, and the goddess of marriage. Her other
sister was Demeter, goddess of agriculture and the harvest.
You would think that there would be lots of myths about such an important goddess. But there
are not a lot of myths about Hestia.
But Hestia was deeply honored by the ancient Greek women. Every day, when the women
gathered in the central courtyard of their homes, to do their sewing and cooking, they knew that
Hestia was keeping watch over them.
The women of ancient Greece listened to stories about the other gods. But they took comfort
from Hestia. To them, Hestia was perhaps the most famous of all.
As the story goes ....
Zeus had three sisters. Hera, his wife and sister, was the goddess of marriage and the queen of all
the gods. Hestia, another of his sisters, was a much loved goddess by the woman of Greece Hestia was the goddess of home and hearth.
His third sister, Demeter, was in charge of the harvest. All the gods jobs were important.
Demeter's job was very important. If she was upset, the crops could die. Everyone, gods and
mortals, worked hard to keep Demeter happy. What made her happy was enjoying the company
of her daughter, Persephone.
Persephone had grown into a beautiful young woman, with a smile for everyone. One day, while
picking flowers in the fields, Hades, her uncle, the god of the underworld, noticed her. Hades
was normally a gloomy fellow. But Persephone’s beauty had dazzled him. He fell in love
instantly. Quickly, before anyone could interfere, he kidnapped Persephone and hurled his
chariot down into the darkest depths of the underworld, taking Persephone with him.
Locked in a room in the Hall of Hades, Persephone cried and cried. She refused to speak to
Hades. And she refused to eat. Legend said if you ate anything in Hades, you could never leave.
She did not know if the legend was true, but she did not want to risk it in case someone came to
rescue her.
Nearly a week went by. Finally, unable to bear her hunger, Persephone ate six pomegranate
seeds. It seemed her fate was sealed. She would have to live in the Underworld forever.
Meanwhile, back on earth, Zeus was worried about the crops. The people would die if the crops
failed. If that happened, who would worship Zeus? He had to do something. Zeus did what he
often did. He sent Hermes, his youngest son, the messenger, to crack a deal, this time with
Hades.
Even as a baby, Hermes was great at making deals. Everyone knew that. But this deal might be
the challenge of his life. His uncle Hades, king of the underworld, was really in love. This was
no passing fancy.
When Hermes heard that Persephone had eaten six pomegranate seeds, he had to think quickly.
The deal he made with Hades was that if Persephone would marry Hades, she would live as
queen of the underworld for six months out of the year. However, each spring, Persephone would
return and live on earth for the other six months of the year. Hades agreed. Zeus agreed.
Persephone agreed. And finally, Demeter agreed.
Each spring, Demeter makes sure all the flowers bloom in welcome when her daughter, Queen of
the Underworld, returns to her. Each fall, when Persephone returns
to Hades, Demeter cries, and lets all the crops die until spring, when
the cycle starts again.
Aphrodite was the exception to the Greek God family tree. Some
say her parents were unknown, and that she was born of sea foam.
Others, like the poet Homer, said she was a daughter of Zeus. No
one knows quite where to place her on the Greek God family tree.
However she was born, Aphrodite was the goddess of love and beauty. She was an essential
element of many Greek myths. Aphrodite could be kind or merciless.
When the ancient Romans heard the many Greek myths about
Aphrodite, they loved them! The only thing the Romans changed
was her name. The ancient Romans called this famous goddess
Venus.
Hephaestus is the only Olympian who limps. He was the son of Hera
and Zeus. Some say he was born with a limp. Others say Zeus, in a
fit of temper, flung him off Mount Olympus when he was just a
baby.
Hephaestus is the god of fire and forge. He made things, like the gods home on Mount Olympus.
He married (and was deeply loved) by Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty.
Zeus ordered Hephaestus to create the first woman out of clay. Hephaestus created Pandora.