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Zeus:
- King of the Gods, the ruler of Mount Olympus and the god of the sky and
thunder.
- Youngest and oldest of his siblings.
- Resided at Mount Olympus
- His symbols included the thunderbolt, eagle, bull, and oak
- Married to Hera
- Cronus and Rhea were his parents
- His siblings were Poseidon, Hades, Demeter, Hestia, and Hera
- Had many children including: Ares, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Aphrodite,
Dionysus, Hebe, Hermes, Heracles, Helen, Hephaestus, Perseus, Minos,
and the Muses.
- Zeus saved his brothers and sisters by having his father throw them up in
reverse order of swallowing them.
- Zeus released Cronus’s brothers the Gigantes, the Hecatonchires, and the
Cyclopes, from their dungeon in Tartus. After their release the Cyclopes
gave Zeus thunder and the thunderbolt.
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:
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Married to Zeus
Her chief function was a goddess of women and marriage
Lived on Mount Olympus
Her symbols included the pomegranate and the peacock feather
Cronus and Rhea were her parents
Her siblings were Hades, Poseidon, Demeter, Hestia, and Zeus
Hera thought her son Hephaestus was so ugly that she threw him from
Mount Olympus.
- When she was married to Zeus she was given a tree with golden apples as
a present.
- She is often depicted as being very jealous
- When Hercules (Zeus’s son) was a baby Hera sent two snakes to kill him,
but Hercules in his crib caught a snake in each hand and strangled them
both.
Hera was the queen of the gods, and the goddess of marriage.
She was one of Zeus' three sisters. She was also his wife. She was very jealous.
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!
Hestia:
- Lived in Delphi
- Her symbols included the hearth (fireplace and important part of the
home)
- Cronus and Rhea where her parents
- Her siblings were Poseidon, Hades, Demeter, Hera, and Zeus
- She was very easy going and did not trouble to choose an emblem for
herself.
- She always received the first offering at every sacrifice in the household
- Hestia did not like conflict so she gave up her seat as one of the twelve
major gods for Dionysus. She instead would tend the sacred fire of
Mount Olympus.
- Hestia is known as the oldest and youngest of her siblings because she
was the first born and the last to be thrown up by her father Cronus
- Hestia figures in few myths since she did not leave the hearth
Hestia was the goddess of hearth and home. 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.
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.
Hestia was honored in her own way. Every day, when the ancient Greek 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.
Hermes:
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The great messenger of the gods
Known to live at Mount Olympus
His symbols included winged sandals and the tortoise
His parents were Zeus and Maia the daughter of the Titan Atlas.
His siblings included Eros, Pan, Hermaphroditus, Tyche, Abderus, and
Autolycus
Patron of boundaries and of travelers who cross them, of shepherds and
cowherds, of thieves and road travelers, of orators and wit, of literature
and poets, of athletics of weights and measures of invention of general
commerce and of the cunning of thieves and liars.
He wears shoes with wings on them and uses them to fly freely between
the mortal and immortal world. Hermes was the second youngest of the
Olympian gods, being born before Dionysus.
Hermes invented fire along with the lyre, many types of racing, and the
sport of wrestling
Since Hermes was patron of travelers many Greeks would sacrifice to
Hermes before a trip.
Hermes was usually portrayed wearing a broad-brimmed traveler’s hat or
a winged cap, wearing sandals, and carrying his herald’s staff- either
intertwined by serpents or topped with a symbol similar to the
astrological symbol of Taurus the bull.
Zeus was the king of all the gods. And Hermes was Zeus' youngest son.
Hermes was born mischievous. Even as a baby, Zeus could tell that Hermes was
going to be a whole lot of fun to have around. He liked his son Hermes very much.
Zeus wanted Hermes to have an important job in the world of the Greek gods.
Hermes was fast on his feet and very clever. Zeus decided he would make a
wonderful messenger.
Things were always going on in the mythical world. The job of messenger to the
gods allowed Hermes to have the inside scoop on just about everything. It is no
wonder that there are probably more myths that include Hermes than any other
god.
The other gods trusted Hermes. Hermes had a true warmth. He was playful enough
to be interesting. He was very bright and very loyal. He was the best negotiator in
the world. He was always cracking deals to get himself and others out of trouble.
Poseidon:
- Lives in the Sea in a palace on the ocean floor, made of coral and gems
- His symbols include a trident, fish, dolphin, horse and the bull
- He is married to Amphitrite a nymph and an ancient sea-goddess,
daughter of Nereus and Doris
- His parents were Cronus and Rhea
- His siblings include Hades, Demeter, Hestia, Hera, and Zeus
- His children include Theseus, Triton, and Polyphemus
- He is known as the god of the sea, earthquakes, and horses.
- He was a major god to several cities only second to Athena in importance
- Greeks would sacrifice to Poseidon by drowning horses
- He has a chariot that was pulled by a hippocampus or by horses that
could ride on the sea.
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 restless, 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.
Apollo:
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His symbols include a lyre and a snake
His parents are Zeus and Leto
His only sibling is his twin Artemis
His children include Asclepius, Troilus, and Aristaeus
Apollo was an oracular god
Apollo was the god of light, sun, truth and prophecy, archery, medicine
and healing, music, poetry, and the arts
Leader of the Muses and director of their choir
Four days after his birth, Apollo killed the chthonic dragon Python,
which lived in Delphi beside the Castalian Spring.
Apollo’s most famous love is Daphne who was a nymph
Apollo was given the lyre in exchange for his cattle that Hermes had
stolen
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.
Aphrodite:
- She lived on Mount Olympus
- Her symbols included the dolphin, rose, scallop shell, myrtle, dove,
sparrow, and the swan
- She was married to Hephaestus but was also with Ares and Poseidon at
times
- Her parents were Zeus and Dione
- She has no siblings
- She had many children
- She is the Greek god of love and beauty
- She was born when Cronus cut off a body part of Ouranos and then threw
it into the sea, and from the sea foam rose Aphrodite
- Her beauty made the other gods fearful of jealousy so Zeus married her
off to Hephaestus who was ugly and not viewed as a threat
- Aphrodite had not childhood she was already grown when she appeared
from the sea
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.
Dionysus
- He was married to Ariadne
- His parents were Zeus and Semele or Zeus and Persephone depending on
the myth
- He had a chariot that was pulled by leopards
- He is the god of wine the inspirer of ritual madness
- He presided over the communication between the living and the dead
- His mother was killed by looking at Zeus without his disguised which
killed her. So Zeus sewed Dionysus into his leg until a few months later
when he was born
- As a young man Dionysus was exceptionally attractive
- Dionysus was the god that gave Midas the golden touch
- Was given his seat as one of the main gods by Hestia
- As a baby Dionysus was given to Hermes to watch
Hephaestus:
- His symbols included the hammer, anvil, or tongs
- He was married to either Aphrodite or Charis
- His parents were Hera and Zeus or Hera alone
- He was known as the god of technology, blacksmith, craftsmen,
sculptors, metals, artisans, and fire and volcanoes
- He was lame which gave me a grotesques appearance in Greek eyes
- He was the blacksmith for the gods
- Athena refused a union with Hephaestus because of his unsightly
appearance and crippled nature
- He crafted much of the other magnificent equipment f the gods including
Hermes winged helmet and sandals, Aegis breastplate, Aphrodite’s
famed girdle, Agamemnon’s staff of office, Achilles’ armor and much
more.
- He crafted all the thrones in the palace of Olympus
- He is the only god to have been exiled from Olympus and then to have
come back
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 an interesting Greek god. He 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.
Athena:
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She lived at Mount Olympus
Her symbol was the owl
Her parents are Zeus and Metis
She has no siblings
She is the goddess of wisdom, war, strategy, industry, justice and skill
She is the patron of Athens and the Parthenon on the Acropolis in Athens
was in honor of her
She is often accompanied by the goddess of victory, Nike
She helped many heroes like Odyssesus, Jason, and Hercules
Zeus swallowed Metis to keep a prophecy from coming true (supposedly
any offspring of Metis would be more powerful than Metis) Metis was
already pregnant with Athena So Metis nurtured Athena inside of Zeus
until Zeus complained of a headache and Hephaestus split open Zeus’s
head with tools. Athena burst from Zeus’s head
She has no children because she never married or took a companion
Athena was born directly out of Zeus' brain. She did not have a mother. Her
father was the mighty Zeus, king of all the gods. 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.
Ares:
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Lived at Thrace, Mount Olympus, and Laconia
His symbols include the vulture, burning torch, and spear
His parents are Zeus and Hera
His siblings include Hebe, Hephaistos, Eris and Eileithyia
He is the god of warefare, bloodlust, or slaughter
Ares and Athena have much in common because they were both war
deities but Athena was more about strategic whereas Ares’s was
unpredictable violence
Ares had a chariot drawn by four gold-bridled fire-emitting immortal
stallions
Had bronze armor and brandished a spear in battle
Sacrifice was made to Ares on the eve of battle to enlist his support
Ares had a romance with Aphrodite
Ares was the son of Zeus and Hera. His father was king, his mother was queen,
and Ares was vain and self-centered. He was tall, handsome, and just plain mean.
His sidekick, Eris, the spirit of disagreement, traveled with him. They carried four
spirits - 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.
Hades:
- He lived in the underworld
- His symbols included Cerberu, Helm of Darkness, Helmet of invisibility,
Cypress, Narcissus and Key of Hades
- He was married to Persephone
- His parents were Cronus and Rhea
- His siblings included Poseidon, Demeter, Hestia, Hera, and Zeus
- He is known as the god of the underworld and riches
- Hades is the oldest male child of Cronus and Rhea
- The realm of Hades is the misty and gloomy place of the dead called
Erebus where all mortals go
- They Cyclops gave Zeus a thunderbolt, Poseidon a trident and Hades a
helmet of invisibility
- Hades was often portrayed as passive rather then evil his role was to
maintain balance
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. But that's a different story. If you want to read it, see the links
below.
Artemis:
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Daughter of Zeus and Leto
Her only sibling is her twin Apollo
Her symbols include bow and arrows
She is known as the goddess of the hunt, forests and hills, the moon
She asked Zeus to remain chaste for eternity, lop-eared hounds, stags to
lead her chariot, and nymphs to be her hunting companions, and a silver
bow
She was very possessive
Usually only worshiped as a second deity
Born just before her brother on the island of Delos
Often called the queen of the animals
Artemis was the daughter of Zeus and Leto. She was Apollo's twin sister.
Artemis was very different from her brother. It 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.