Greek Gods

By Dougal Steyn

Mount Olympus
Mt Olympus is the tallest mountain in Greece, and it has 52 peaks. In Greek Mythology the mountain was regarded as the "home of the gods", specifically of the 12 Olympians, the twelve principal gods of the Classical Greek world.

Deities
A deity is a recognized supernatural immortal being, who may be thought of as divine, or sacred, held in high regard, and respected by believers, often religiously referred to as a God.

The Titans
In Greek Mythology, the Titans were a race of powerful deities, descendants of Gaia (The Greek version of Mother Nature literally meaning Earth) and Uranus (Father Sky), that ruled during the legendary Golden Age. The role of the Titans as Elder Gods was overthrown by a race of younger gods, the Olympians, in the Titanomachy ("War of the Titans")

The Olympians
The 12 Olympians Live on top of Mt. Olympus The Twelve Olympians gained their supremacy in the world of gods after Zeus led his siblings to victory in war with the Titans. Hades is not an Olympian because he was banished to the underworld to rule.

Zeus
Zeus is the king of the Gods. His two main brothers are Poseidon and Hades. He was the God of thunder in Greek mythology Zeus assigns the various gods their roles. His symbols are the thunderbolt, eagle, bull, and oak. He is married to Hera and a father to Apollo and Artemis. His many travels to Earth resulted in many godly and heroic offspring, including Athena, Hermes, Persephone, Perseus, Hercules, Minos, and the Muses. Zeus is the creator of mankind. His Roman Counterpart is Jupiter

Poseidon
Poseidon is the God of the sea, earthquakes and horses. He spends most of his time in his watery domain. Poseidon fought with Athena to be main God of Athens and Athena won. His symbol is the trident. His Roman counterpart is Neptune.

Hades
Hades is the ruler of the underworld. Hades literally means The unseen Hades is often interpreted in modern times as the Grim Reaper, even though he is not. Symbols associated with him are the Helm of Darkness (which turns the wearer invisible) and the three-headed dog called Cerberus. His Roman equivalent is Pluto.

Hera
Hera is the wife of Zeus. She is the goddess of women and marriage. The cow, and later, the peacock are sacred to her. Hera was known for her jealous and vengeful nature, most notably against Zeus's lovers and offspring, but also against mortals who crossed her. She was offended when Aphrodite was chosen as the most beautiful goddess, earning Hera's hatred. Her Roman counterpart was Juno.

Dionysus
He is the god of the grape harvest, winemaking and wine. He is the only god to have a mortal parent, Zeus, being his father. Hera was so jealous of Dionysus of the fact he was mortal born that she sent Titans out to kill him. His Roman Counterpart was Bacchus.

Aphrodite
Aphrodite is the goddess of love. She was born from ouranos in the sea. If you were told by a mortal that you were more beautiful than Aphrodite then you were to be punished. Zeus married her to Hephaestus (The ugliest God) to prevent other goddesses from being jealous of her beauty. Her Roman Equivalent is Venus.

Apollo
He is one of the most important and diverse of the Olympian deities. Apollo has been variously recognized as a god of light and the sun; truth and prophecy; medicine, healing, and plague; music, poetry, and the arts. Apollo also features in Roman mythology with the same name.

Artemis
Artemis is the daughter of Zeus, and the twin sister of Apollo. She is the goddess of the hunt, wild animals, wilderness, childbirth, virginity and young girls, bringing and relieving disease in women; she often was depicted as a huntress carrying bow and arrows. The deer is sacred to her. Diana was her Roman counterpart.

Athena
Athena is the goddess of war, civilization, wisdom, strength, strategy, crafts, justice and skill. Athena was the favourite daughter of Zeus, born fully armed from his forehead. Zeus lay with Mtis, the goddess of crafty thought and wisdom, but he immediately feared the consequences. It had been prophesied that Mtis would bear children more powerful than Zeus himself. In order to forestall these dire consequences, after lying with Mtis, Zeus swallowed her. He was too late: Mtis already conceived. Eventually Zeus experienced an enormous headache. Athena leaped from Zeus's head, fully grown and armed. Minerva was her Roman counterpart.

Demeter
Demeter is the goddess of the harvest, who presided over grains, the fertility of the earth, and the seasons. Though Demeter is often described simply as the goddess of the harvest, she is also goddess over the purity of marriage, the sacred law, and the cycle of life and death. In Roman mythology she is referred to as Ceres.

Hephaestus
He is the son of Zeus and Hera (or perhaps of Hera alone). He is the god of technology, blacksmiths, craftsmen, metals, fire and volcanoes. Hephaestus was lame, which gave him a grotesque appearance. He served as the blacksmith of the gods, and he was worshiped in the manufacturing and industrial centres of Greece, particularly in Athens. Vulcan is his Roman Name.

Hermes
He is the great messenger of the gods and additionally a guide to the Underworld. He protects and takes care of all the travellers and old crones and thieves that pray to him or cross his path. He is athletic and is always looking out for runners, or any athletes with injuries who need his help. Hermes is a messenger from the gods to humans. Mercury is his equal in Roman mythology.

Hestia
She is the virgin goddess of the fireside, architecture, and of the right ordering of domesticity and the family. She received the first offering at every sacrifice in the household. With the establishment of a new colony, flame from Hestia's public fireside in the mother city would be carried to the new settlement. Hestia sat on a plain wooden throne with a white woollen cushion and did not trouble to choose an emblem for herself. Her roman equal is Vesta.

Demigods
Demigods are half God. This means that they are conceived from both a god and a mortal.

Achilles
He is the demigod of war and a hero in the Trojan war. It is said that his mother bathed him in the Styx river to make him invulnerable to all harm, but she held him by his heel to do so, and that is where his principal weakness was considered.

Helen
The Greek demigoddess was Helen of Troy and also known as Helen of Sparta. She was the wife of Menelaus of Sparta and sister to Castor. Paris abducted her and it caused the Trojan war. She was called, the Face that launched a thousand ships

Hercules
Of all the ancient Greek demigods and goddesses, Hercules has got to be a favourite. Greek god of war, Heracles was the son of Zeus and Alcmene and was the greatest of Greek Heroes. Because of Zeuss love for Alcmene, Zeuss wife Hera, hated Hercules. He had extraordinary strength and sexual prowess with both male and female lovers.

Persephone
She is the Queen of the Underworld. She also became the consort of Hades when he became the deity that governs the underworld

Perseus
Perseus was the Greek hero who killed the Gorgon Medusa, and became the consort of Andromeda, having rescued her from a sea monster sent by Poseidon.

Minos
After his death, Minos became a judge of the dead for Hades. Minos reigned over Crete and the islands of the Aegean Sea three generations before the Trojan War. His pet minotaur dwelt at the center of the Cretan Labyrinth, which was an elaborate maze-like construction. The Minotaur was eventually killed by the Athenian hero Theseus.

Muses
The muses are the goddesses who inspire the creation of literature and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge, related orally for centuries in the ancient culture, that was contained in poetic lyrics and myths.