Zeus Persephone Demeter Hermes Aphrodite Ares Athena
Hera Hephaestus Artemis Apollo Poseidon Hades Hestia
Dionysus

 

The Greeks worshipped gods who had human looks and characteristics, gods that were very much like themselves. The gods they worshipped could fall in love, be jealous, feel pain, and anger, but they could not die. The Olympian gods were known to live on Mount Olympus in northern Greece.

 

ZEUS was the ruler of Mount Olympus. He had thunder and lightning bolts which made him the most powerful god ever. He had a wife, Hera, but he kept courting other maidens after he married which made Hera angry.

This is a silver coin from around 302 BC. It shows Zeus holding Nike, victory, in his right hand.

HERA was a beautiful, but jealous, queen of Olympus. Hera was the goddess of marriage and protector of women. When Zeus first asked her to be his wife, she refused, but Zeus created a thunderstorm, and changed himself into a little cuckoo in distress. Hera felt pity for it and hugged the bird close. In that way, Zeus was able to win her.

POSEIDON was a moody and violent lord of the sea. He often struck the sea with his trident, a kind of spear, stirring up sea storms. His wife was Amphitrite, a sea nymph who bore him a son called Triton. An island Poseidon raised out of the sea was Delos. It was there that Leto gave birth to Apollo and Artemis.
  ARTEMIS, Apollo's twin sister, goddess of unmarried girls and hunting. As a newborn goddess, she went to Zeus and asked him to never make her marry. She had a set of arrows that brought painless death, while her brother Apollo, had hard peircing ones.

This is a picture showing Artemis with her set of bow and arrows.

APOLLO, god of light, music, and poetry. He was also the most beautiful of the gods. He had a famous oracle at Delphi on Mount Parnassus, which he earned by fighting a dragon. People came from all around to consult the oracle.

HADES, was the gloomy god of the underworld. He hardly left his palace in the realm of the dead. He was a god of wealth too because he owned all the treasures in the ground such as precious jewels and oil. Hades had a beautiful, but silent queen Persephone.
PERSEPHONE was the daughter of Demeter, goddess of harvest. One day when Persephone strayed away from the others, the ground split open and Hades in a chariot drawn by black horses seized the terrified girl. When Demeter learned that Hades had kidnapped her daughter, she asked Zeus to let Persephone return to her mother. But Persephone had eaten four pomegranate seeds and had to return to Hades for four months every year. When Persephone was in underworld, winter occured. As soon as Persephone returned to her mother, spring arrived.

This is a terracotta
figurine of either Demeter,
Persephone, or a pristess
from around 460 BC.

DEMETER was Zeus's sister and goddess of the harvest. It was she who made the earth grow, bursting with flowers, trees, and all kinds of plants.

This is Athena driving a four
horse chariot from the
early 5th century BC.

 ATHENA was Zeus's favorite daughter, the goddess of wisdom and war. She had sprung from his head fully grown. Her mother was Metis, goddess of prudence, Zeus's first wife. Mother Earth had warned him that if Metis was to have a son, he would overthrow Zeus, so Zeus swallowed Metis. It just happened that Metis was going to have a daughter, Athena. Athena was not born like a regular baby, but sprang from Zeus head fully grown instead. Athena was sometimes refered to as "the ".

HEPHAESTUS was the god of fire. He was ugly, but hard-working, peace-loving and popular. He was a skilled craftsman and made furniture, armor, and weapons. Once, in an argument between Hera and Zeus, he sided with Hera, his mother. Zeus got mad and threw him out of Olympus. He walked with a limp. His wife was Aphrodite.

APHRODITE had no mother or father, and was born out of the sea. She was the goddess of love and beauty. She was an important goddess for she was lighthearted and full of laughter. Without her, there would be no beauty or joy on the face of earth. It is said that every year, she would jump back into the sea and rise out all fresh and beautiful as she first had arrived at Mt. Olympus.

This marble statue of Aphrodite shows the goddess rising out of the sea nude, drying her hair. It may have been used as a display for a water fountain.

HERMES was Zeus's graceful, happy son with a ready wit. He was the god of shepherds, merchants, travelers, and thieves. He was also Zeus's messenger. Once when Hermes was very little, he stole a herd of Apollo's cows. But Apollo forgave him when Hermes gave him a lyre, a small harp, in exchange for a herd of cows, and Apollo’s magic wand.

ARES was the god of war. He was handsome, but haughty and cruel. He loved fighting and was the curse of the mortals. His companion was Eris, whose greatest joy was causing trouble. Wherever Ares went, Pain, Panic, and Famine followed. Only Aphrodite admired him, for his good looks.
DIONYSUS was the god of wine, singing, and dancing. His mother was Semele, a mortal princess. Dionysus grew up in a valley with tigers and leopards. When he was older, he taught himself and others how to make wine. He is the only olympian god with a mortal mother.

This is an Attic Black Figure Amphora from around 525-510
BC of Dionysus. He is holding a vine, and his drinking horn is at his side.

 

HESTIA, Zeus's eldest sister, was the goddess of the hearth. She had no throne but sat near the fireplace tending the fire.

 

[Home Page] [Arts] [Battles] [Everyday Life] [First Olympics]
[Government] [Religion] [Bibliography]