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Mount Olympus
Greek Mythology
• Years ago, people of every culture
created stories to explain natural
phenomena and the consequences of
mans behavior.
• These myths have been handed down
over the years.
• Today many aspects of these stories
still exist in our language.
Greek Mythology
• Of the many gods and goddess only 12
were allowed to live on Mount Olympus.
• They included Zeus, Poseidon, Hera,
Poseidon, Demeter, Athena, Hestia,
Apollo, Artemis, Ares, Aphrodite,
Hephaestus, and Hermes.
Greek Mythology
• Several Roman names for the gods
correlate to the nine planets.
• Each god has a story to tell as well as
punishment for mortals who disobey.
• All myths have good versus evil with a
moral to be learned.
Kronos
Rhea
Zeus
Poseidon
Hades
Hera
Demeter
Persephon
e
Athena
Hestia
Apollo
Artemis
Ares
Aphrodite
Heracles
Perseus
Hephaest
us
Hermes
Pegasus
Giants
Pandora
Titans
Medusa
Cerberus
Tartarus
Achilles
Odysseu
s
Click on each word to learn about their role in mythology.
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Kronos
He was the leader and
youngest of the Titans. He is
usually shown carrying a
sickle or scythe. He and his
wife Rhea had 6 children,
including: Demeter, Hestia,
Hera, Hades, Poseidon and
Zeus.
When Zeus was grown he and
his brothers and sisters
overthrew Kronos and
banished him to Tartarus.
Rhea
Rhea is known as the mother
of the gods. She and Kronos
had six children together. But
Kronos learned that his
children were going to
overthrow him.
To prevent that from
happening he swallowed them
as soon as they were born all except Zeus who was
hidden away by Rhea. When
Zeus was grown, he and Rhea
made Kronus spit up all of his
Zeus
Roman name: Jupiter
King of the gods. His dominion
is the sky. He overthrew his
parents (Kronos and Rhea) to
become ruler on Mount
Olympus. He is married to
Hera, but has children from
other women.
Most well known of his
children are the heroes
Perseus, Hercules, and
Achilles.
Poseidon
Roman name: Neptune
God of the seas. He is the
brother to Zeus and Hades.
When the three brothers
divided up creation, Poseidon
choose the watery realm to be
his dominion. He can live on
Mount Olympus, but prefers to
remain in the ocean.
Hades
Roman name: Pluto
When the three brothers
divided up creation, Zeus
tricked Hades who unwittingly
became ruler of the
underworld. Typically he is
seen standing next to
Cerberus — his three headed
dog. Hades is greatly feared
and is not allowed to live on
Mount Olympus.
Hera
Roman name: Juno
Hera is the queen of the gods
as she is married to Zeus.
She is the goddess of women
and marriage. Often she is
described as the goddess of
the sky and starry heavens.
Mount Olympus is her home.
Demeter
Roman name: Ceres
Demeter is the goddess of the
earth, the harvest, and of fertility.
She is the reason for the
seasons. Because her daughter
Persephone was abducted by
Hades, Demeter cursed the
earth.
When Demeter grieves
Persephone absence she
withdraws her gifts from the
world, creating winter. When
Persephone returns it becomes
spring.
Persephone
The daughter of Demeter
Persephone was abducted by
Hades and taken to the
underworld to be his wife.
Because she had eaten while in
the underworld, Hades had a
claim on her.
Zeus worked out a plan where
Persephone would spend four
months each year in the
underworld. This is known as
winter. Upon Persephone’s
return, life returns to earth and
spring begins.
Athena
Roman name: Ceres
Athena is a virgin goddess
and daughter of Zeus. She
embodies wisdom, reason,
and purity. The owl is her bird.
As Zeus’ favorite child,
Athena is allowed to use his
weapons.
She is fierce in battle, but only
fights to defend ones home
from enemies. She invented
the bridle so man could tame
Hestia
Roman name: Vesta
Hestia is Zeus’ sister. She is
a virgin goddess. Her symbol
is the Hearth. She doesn’t
have any specific roles in
myths.
She is considered the most
charitable and honest of the
Olympians.
Apollo
Roman name: Apollo
Apollo is the twin to sister
Artemis. He is known as the
god of music, of light, of
healing, of truth and the
archer.
He taught man medicine and
the art of healing.
Each day his chariot and four
horses drive the Sun across
the sky.
Artemis
Roman name: Diana
Artemis is the twin to brother
Apollo. She is the goddess of
the hunt, the moon, and is
known as the huntsman of the
gods.
Both she and Apollo hunt with
silver arrows. Her dominion is
protecting animals, especially
the deer.
Ares
Roman name: Mars
Ares is the god of war. His
bird is the vulture and his
animal is the dog.
While considered murderous
and blood thirsty, he is also a
coward. When caught fooling
around with Aphrodite, her
husband Hephaestus was
able to publicly make fun of
him.
Aphrodite
Roman name: Venus
Aphrodite is the goddess of
love, desire and beauty. She
is the wife of Hephaestus. Her
birds are the swan, dove, and
sparrow.
Her power is the ability to bind
people together who are
attracted to one another.
Hephaestus
Roman name: Vulcan
Hephaestus is the only god to
be physically ugly and lame.
As the god of blacksmiths, he
is often seen with a smith’s
hammer, anvil, and a pair of
tongs.
He made all the weapons for
the gods in Olympus.
He is kind and loving. His wife
is Aphrodite.
Hermes
Roman name: Mercury
Hermes is known as the
messenger of the gods. He
also guides the souls to the
underworld.
His symbol is winged sandals
which allows the wearer the
ability of flight.
He helped both Odysseus and
Perseus on their quests.
Pegasus
Pegasus is a winged stallion.
He carries lighting bolts for
Zeus and occasionally aides
Zeus’ children on quests,
such as with Perseus.
Pegasus was created from
Poseidon and Medusa after
her head was cut off by
Perseus.
Cerberus
Is a three headed dog that
guards the entrance to the
underworld. He allows the
dead to enter, but never to
leave.
Heracles
Key Vocabulary: Herculean
Heracles was a demi-god as his
father was Zeus and his mother
was a mortal.
He is known as the strongest of
all mortals and many of the
gods. Because of his strength,
the Olympian gods were able to
defeat the giants. His greatest
accomplishment was when he
defeated Cerberus.
Perseus
Perseus was a Greek hero as
his father was Zeus and his
mother was a mortal.
In order to rescue Andromeda,
Perseus killed the Gorgon
Medusa.
He used Medusa’s head to
turn the Cetus, a sea monster,
to stone.
Achilles
Key Vocabulary: Achilles Heel
Achilles mother wanted to
make him immortal. So she
dipped him in the river Styx.
However, he was left
vulnerable at the part of the
body that she held him, his
heel.
During the Trojan War,
Achilles heel was struck with
an arrow, thus killing him.
Odysseus
Key Vocabulary: Trojan Horse
During the Trojan War,
Odysseus and his men were
able to trick the Trojans. Hiding
inside a colossal wooden horse
were Greek soldiers.
The Trojans thinking is was a
gift, brought the horse inside the
city gates. Late at night the
Greek soldiers came out of the
horse and destroyed Troy.
Giants
Giants are monsters of human
appearance but with superior
size and strength.
During the time of the Titans,
the Giants wanted control and
fought the Titans.
However, with Heracles help,
the Olympians were able to
defeat the Giants and the
Titans.
Pandora
Key Vocabulary: Pandora’s
Box
Pandora was the first human
woman. Each of the
Olympians bestowed a special
gift to her.
In Zeus’ palace were two
boxes, one was filled with evil
and the other with good.
Unknowingly, Pandora
opened the box that contained
the evils of the world.
Titans
The Titans were the first race
of deities. They were immortal
beings of incredible strength.
They included Oceanus,
Hyperion, Coeus, Kronos,
Crius, Lapetus, Mnemosyne,
Tethys, Theia, Phoebe, Rhea,
and Themnis.
Medusa
Medusa was born as a
beautify maiden. But because
she fooled around with
Poseidon in Athena’s temple,
Athena cursed her.
She turned her hair to
serpents and made her face
so ugly that anyone who
looked upon it would be
turned to stone.
Tartarus
It is a prison for defeated
gods. The first occupants
were the Titans after losing
their battle against the
Olympians gods.
It is a dark, gloomy abyss with
walls made out of bronze.
A picture speaks a
thousand words…
Disney’s Hercules 2:33