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The Olympian Gods
The Olympian Gods

Identify this god and his characteristic weapon.
Zeus

King Zeus had an enormous throne of polished black
Egyptian marble, decorated in gold. Seven steps led up
to it, each of them enameled with one of the seven
colors of the rainbow. A bright blue covering above
showed that the whole sky belonged to Zeus alone; and
on the right arm of his throne perched a ruby-eyed
golden eagle clutching jagged strips of pure tin, which
meant that Zeus could kill whatever enemies he pleased
by throwing a thunderbolt of forked lightning at them.
A purple ram's fleece covered the cold seat. Zeus used
it for magical rainmaking in times of drought." –Robert
Graves, qtd. in Pontikis

Identify this god and his characteristic weapon
Poseidon
Poseidon is not merely the god of the sea, but it also known as
the Earth-Shaker …. In art, he is generally represented as a
mature, bearded man and is associated with horses, dolphins,
and his trident…. More than anything else, he represents a
changing character. His attitudes, like water, are constantly
shifting. Poseidon is benevolent and helpful to mankind at times,
but can quickly become jealous, angry, and destructive.
Poseidon's swaying character often embodies the same traits that
the water he rules over displays. Harold Bloom applies this idea
to the struggle between Athena and Poseidon throughout the
Odyssey and states, "We might trace then a politics pitting the
forces of the land and civilization against the forces of the sea
and brute mindlessness" (137). The brute force of the sea is
applied to both Poseidon and his relations in both Homer's
poetry and other pieces of Greek literature. (Reese).

Identify this god and his companion.
Hades

When the three sons of Cronus
divided the world among each
other, Hades was given the
underworld, while his brothers
Zeus and Poseidon took the
upperworld and the sea
respectively. For a while Hades
ruled the underworld together
with Persephone, whom he had
abducted from the upperworld,
but Zeus ordered him to release
Persephone back into the care of
her mother Demeter. However,
before she left he gave her a
pomegranate and when she ate of
it, it bound her to the underworld
forever.

Hades sits on a throne made of ebony,
carries a scepter, and has a helmet, given
to him by the Cyclopes, which can make
him invisible.

Hades rules the dead, assisted by various
demonic helpers, such as Thanatos and
Hypnos, the ferryman Charon, and the
hound Cerberus.

Many heroes from Greek mythology have
descended into the underworld, either to
question the shades or trying to free them.

Although Hades does not allow his
subjects to leave his domain, on several
occasions he has granted permission, such
as when Orpheus requested the return of
his beloved Eurydice.
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
Hades possesses the riches of the earth,
and is thus referred to as 'the Rich One'.
Possibly also because -- as Sophocles
writes -- 'the gloomy Hades enriches
himself with our sighs and our tears'.
Of all the gods, Hades is the one who is
liked the least and even the gods
themselves have an aversion of him.
People avoided speaking his name lest
they attracted his unwanted attention.
With their faces averted they sacrificed
black sheep, whose blood they let drip
into pits, and when they prayed to him,
they would bang their hands on the
ground. The narcissus and the cypress are
sacred to him (Lindemans).

Identify this
goddess and her
iconography.
Hera


Hera, who walks in golden sandals, is the Queen of Heaven,
always a virgin, for she recovers her maidenhood every year by
bathing in a spring called Canathus in Argolis. Hera is known for
her jealousy, and because of it, she persecuted her husband's
lovers and the children he had by them. Creation of the Milky
Way
According to some, the Milky Way (Via Lactea) was formed by
the milk of Hera, which flowed when she realized that she had
been giving milk to Hermes (or Heracles 1), and thrust him
away. But it is also said that the Milky Way commemorates the
milk of Hera with which she was to anoint and feed Dionysus 2
in order to heal his madness. (Parada).

How is this picture characteristic of the
relationship between Hera and Zeus?
Hera and Zeus
The depiction of Hera and Zeus as
a warring couple reflects a
tension the older worship of
female deities and the more
recent ascension of male gods in
Greek culture.
 In Greek mythology, Hera was
the reigning female goddess of
Olympus because she was Zeus's
wife. But her worship is actually
far older than that of her
husband. It goes back to a time
when the creative force we call
"God" was conceived of as a
woman. The Goddess took many
forms, among them that of a
bird.

Tens of thousands of years ago, as the evidence of cave
art and artifacts makes clear, humanity was focused on
the female body, either pregnant or fit to bear children.
Childbirth was the closest humans came to the great
power that caused the earth to bring forth new life in
the spring. To the extent that these distant ancestors of
ours were evolved enough to think of worshipping this
power, we may safely conclude that they thought of it
as female.

It is said that it was only when humanity discovered
man's role in procreation that male gods began to be
worshipped. There is no reason to doubt, though, that
male gods were worshipped before the mystery of birth
was fully known. In all probability the greatest powers
were thought of as female but there were male deities as
well. And it is clear that even after procreation was
properly understood, the more peaceful Europeans-perhaps down to the "Minoans" of Crete--continued to
worship the Great Mother.

Hera was worshipped throughout Greece, and the
oldest and most important temples were
consecrated to her. Her subjugation to Zeus and
depiction as a jealous shrew are mythological
reflections of one of the most profound changes
ever in human spirituality.

Zeus's many adulterous affairs may derive from ceremonies in
which the new sky god "married" various local embodiments of
the Great Goddess. That there was some insecurity on the part
of the supplanter god and his worshippers is seen in the
mythological birth of Athena from Zeus's head--as if to say that
the sky god could do anything any Great Goddess could do
(Skidmore).

Who is this god and why is she wearing a helmet?
Athena


Daughter of Zeus, and only by him, the
Goddess Athena was not generated by any
woman. She leaped from the head of Zeus,
already adult, dressed with her armor. .
Mother Earth and Father Sky had advised
Zeus to assimilate his pregnant wife into his
own body to prevent any of his descendants
from robbing him of his kingly rank-- for it
was destined that the most brilliant children
were to be born to the Goddess Metis: first,
the daughter Athena, and later a son, the
future King of Gods and men. Athena is the
favorite daughter of Zeus; and that's why he
let her use his insignia: the terrible shield, the
aegis and his devastating weapon, the ray.
In the most ancient account, the Iliad, Athena
is the Goddess of ferocious and implacable
fight, but, wherever she can be found, she
only is a warrior to defend the State and the
native land against the enemies coming from
outside.

She is, above all, the Goddess of the City,
the protectress of civilized life, of artesian
activities, and of agriculture. She also
invented the horse-bit, which, for the
first time, tamed horses, allowing men to
use them.

The most used expression to describe
her is "the bright eyed". She is the first of
the three virgin Goddesses, also known
as Maiden, Parthenos, and from this
name was taken the name to the most
important Temple dedicated to her, the
Parthenon. Athens is her city; the olive
tree, created by her, is her tree; the owl, is
the bird consecrated to her.

In poetry she is the incarnation of
Wisdom, Reason and Purity (George).

Who is this god and what are her powers?
Aphrodite’s Birth
The Birth of Venus, Botticelli
Aphrodite



Aphrodite was the great Olympian goddess of beauty,
love, pleasure and and procreation. She was depicted as
a beautiful woman usually accompanied by the winged
godling Eros (Love). Her symbolic imagery includes a
dove, apple, scallop shell and mirror. In classical
sculpture and fresco she was often depicted nude.
The most common version of the birth of Aphrodite
describes her born in sea-foam from the castrated
genitals of the sky-god Uranos (Atsma).
Myths of Aphrodite include her many affairs, and her
destructive powers, especially in the Trojan War, which
she caused and actively extended.
Identify this familiar
figure, commonly
depicted with his
bow and arrows.
Eros

Eros, the Greek god of love and sexual desire, was also worshiped as a fertility god,
believed to be a contemporary of the primeval Chaos which makes Eros one of
the oldest gods. In the Dionysian Mysteries Eros is referred to as "protagonus", the
first born.

There are many variations to whom the parents of Eros really where. According to
Aristophanes (Birds) he was born from Erebus and Nyx (Night); in later mythology
Eros is the offspring of Aphrodite and Ares. Yet in the Theogony, the epic poem
written by Hesiod, it mentions a typified Eros as being an attendant of Aphrodite,
but not her son.

From the early legend of Eros it is said that he was responsible for the embraces of
Uranus (Heaven or Sky) and Gaia (Earth), and from their union were born many
offspring. It was also written that Eros hatched our race and made it appear first into
the light (Birds, by Aristophanes). Although one of the oldest gods, he was a latecomer
to Greek religion. He was worshiped in many regions of Greece--in Athens the fourth
day of every month was sacred to Eros…personified all the attractions that evoked
love and desire, this included heterosexual and homosexual allurements. Anteros (the
Returner of Love also known as the god of Mutual Love) was the brother of Eros,
which comes from the version of which Aphrodite and Ares are said to be the mother
and father of Eros.

Eros is usually depicted as a young winged boy, with his bow and arrows at the ready,
to either shoot into the hearts of gods or mortals which would rouse them to desire.
His arrows came in two types: golden with dove feathers which aroused love, or leaden
arrows which had owl feathers that caused indifference. (Leadbetter).

Who is this god? What is
his connection to Eros?
Ares

Ares is the mighty but hated
man-slaying god of war and
warriors. This blood-stained
homicide god is often
followed in the fight by his
sons Phobus and Deimos
(Terror and Fear). But as
standpoints are many, he has
also been called "Saviour of
Cities", "Defense of
Olympus", "Father of
Victory", "Ally of Themis",
and "Leader of Righteous
Men".


As the Bronze Age of man
approached…a new generation of gods
was born to remind man of himself, of
the sacredness and purity of nature, and
of the virtues of order, industriousness
and political sense. But to assist the
coming madness of man, his brutality,
and his bloodthirst, came Ares, so that
wretches who delight in murder would
not be altogether without consolation.
Even cowardly deeds may seem feats of
bravery thanks to this god. But he
reminds men of nothing as he incites
them to run riot, kill, burn, and rape, but
submerges them in mud and blood,
making them forget the beauties of
heaven and earth. This misery is one of
the many forms of oblivion (Parada).
Why is this god
portrayed as an ideal
of masculine beauty?
Apollo

Apollo is in many respects the paradigm of a Greek
god. He represents order, harmony, and civilization in a
way that most other Olympian deities cannot quite
equal. One only has to compare him with Dionysos to
understand how Apollo is depicted as a bright, rational
counterpart to the chaotic and frenzied god of wine and
women. Indeed, Apollo is most often associated with
the cultivated arts of music and medicine, and his role
as the leader of the Muses establishes him as a patron
of intellectual pursuits.

Therefore, it comes as no surprise that in art, images of Apollo
represented the height of male attractiveness - indeed, for years,
Archaic statues of youths were commonly referred to as "Apollo",
later to be replaced the more accurate term "kouros" (young man).
However, as with most Greek deities, Apollo has characteristics that
are myriad and diverse, so we should proceed to an exploration of
this important god (Mythography).
Why would NASA use the name and image of Apollo
for a series of flights into outer space?


Identify this
goddess, her
powers and her
domain.
What is her
relationship to
Apollo?
Artemis


Artemis was the great Olympian goddess of hunting,
wilderness and wild animals. She was also a goddess of
childbirth, and the protectress of the girl child up to the
age of marriage. Her twin brother Apollo was similarly
the protector of the boy child. Together the two gods were
also bringers of sudden death and disease--Artemis
targeted women and girls, and Apollo men and boys.
In ancient art Artemis was usually depicted as a girl
dressed in a short knee-length chiton and equipped with a
hunting bow and quiver of arrows (Atsma).

Identify this god and his setting.
Hephaestus
Hephaestus is the god of the
smiths. He discovered the
ways of working iron,
copper, gold, silver, and
everything else which
requires fire for working.
Hephaestus made some
extraordinary constructions:
 He gave King Aeetes the
brazen-footed bulls that
puffed fire from their
mouths.
Hepaestus

He also wrought the famous
Necklace of Harmonia, and
he made a bed forged of
gold, in which Helios (the
Sun) is carried in sleep.


When Heracles did not know how to drive the Stymphalian
Birds from the wood, Athena gave him brazen castanets to
scared them with, which she had received from Hephaestus.
Hephaestus also made a scepter for Zeus,


Hephaestus gave a golden breastplate to Heracles, and he also
made Achilles' new armour, when he laid aside his wrath and
decided to return to the fight at Troy.
And when Achilles killed Asteropaeus, grandson of the river
Axius, the river god rushed at him, but Hephaestus dried up his
streams with a powerful flame (Parada).
Identify this god who
is accompanied by a
panther and a satyr.
He is depicted here
holding grapes. This
statue was carved of
marble in the second
second century and
found in Rome in the
sixteenth century.
Dionysos

Dionysos is an atypical Greek
deity. While the Olympian gods
are bright beings of sunlight,
Dionysos is a creature of mystery,
his very essence an enigma. His
realm is shadowy, and his
followers flirt with madness,
drunkenness, and death. He is the
god who brings wine, but also an
intoxication that merges the
drinker with the deity. And,
perhaps most significantly, his
connection with a certain type of
cult activity, known as a
"mystery", separates him from his
fellow Olympians,with the
exception of the goddess
Demeter)

It is through the mystery cults, the secrets of which were so well
guarded that we know but a few essential details, that we come
into contact with a unique characteristic of Dionysos; for
according to the legends of one of the cults, the god himself dies.
That a god should die seems an oxymoron - by definition, a deity
is immortal. And yet some of his followers believed that he was
slain, and then reborn, something which is unthinkable in the
case of other Greek deities. Dionysos is also spelled Dionysus
(Mythography).
Who is this woman and why is she tending a fire?
Hestia

Hestia was the virgin goddess of
the hearth (both private and
municipal) and the home. As the
goddess of the fire of the family
hearth, she also presided over the
cooking of bread and the
preparation of the family meal.
Hestia was also the goddess of the
sacrificial flame and received a
share of every sacrifice to the
gods. In daily Greek religious
observance, she was one of the
most important gods. The cooking
of the communal feast of
sacrificial meat was naturally a part
of her domain.


In myth, Hestia was the first born
child of Kronos and Rhea who was
swallowed by her father at birth.
Zeus later forced the old Titan to
disgorge Hestia and her siblings. As
the first to be swallowed she was
also the last to be disgorged, and so
was named as both the eldest and
youngest of the six children of
Kronos. When the gods Apollo and
Poseidon sought for her hand in
marriage, Hestia refused and asked
Zeus to let her remain an eternal
virgin. He agreed and she took her
place at his royal hearth.
Hestia was depicted in Athenian
vase painting as a modestly veiled
woman sometimes holding a
flowered branch . In classical
sculpture she was also veiled, with a
kettle as her attribute (Atsma).

This god,
pictured here
with the infant
Dionysos, may
be more
familiar in the
next image.

Are these images more familiar?
Hermes

Hermes is the messenger of Zeus and the herald of the
gods. To him is ascribed the introduction of the
sending of embassies to sue for peace. Hermes, the
robber and cattle driver, the prince of tricksters, the
thief at the gates, the bringer of dreams, the patron of
travellers, is also the governor of the tongue, and the
guide of intelligent speech. Hermes is called
Argiphontes, for having killed the All-seeing Argus who
guarded Io, and Psychopompus for being the guide of
souls to the Underworld (Parada).
Works Cited
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<http://www.loggia.com/myth/apollo.html>
“Atsma, Aaron. “Aphrodite,” The Theoi Project. Theoi Greek Mythology, 8.10.09.
http://www.theoi.com/Olympios/Aphrodite.html
“Atsma, Aaron. “Artemis,” The Theoi Project. Theoi Greek Mythology, 8.10.09.
<http://www.theoi.com/Olympios/Aphrodite.html>
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<http://www.theoi.com/Ouranios/Hestia.html>
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<http://www.goddess-athena.org/Encyclopedia/Athena/index.htm>
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<http://www.pantheon.org/articles/h/hades.html>
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<http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/Hera.html>
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<http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/Hermes.html>
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<http://thanasis.com/mmar99.htm>
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<http://www.casawomo.com/essays/a-history-of-poseidon>
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