TThhee 1122 OOllyymmppiiaann G o d s Caspar
The 12 Olympian Gods The 12 gods of Mount Olympus were the most important deities in ancient Greece. In this collection, we examine each of the 12 in detail. With their all-too-human qualities in Greek mythology, the Olympian gods were capable of displaying great kindness and dishing out terrible punishments. The gods argued amongst themselves, had love affairs, and protected their favourite mortal heroes down on earth but each god.had a more serious role to play in the Greek view of the world. The Olympian gods represented important ideals and features of the human condition such as justice, loyalty, wisdom, beautiful music, and the changing of the seasons.
ZEUSZeus was the king of the 12 Olympian gods and the supreme god in Greek religion. Zeus is often referred to as the Father, as the god of thunder, and the ' c loud-gatherer'. Zeus controlled the weather and offered signs and omens. Zeus generally dispensed justi ce, guaranteeing order amongst both the gods and humanity from his seat high on Mt. Olympus.
POSEIDONPoseidon was the Greek god of the sea and rivers, c reator of storms and floods, and the bringer of earthquakes and destruc tion. He was perhaps the most disruptive of all the anc ient gods but he was not always a negative for ce. He was a protec tor to mariners and, as a tamer of horses, the patron of that animal and horse breeding. To the Romans, he was known as Neptune.
HERAHera is the wife of Zeus and queen of the anc ient Greek gods. Hera represented the ideal woman, was the goddess of marriage and the family, and protec tress of women in childbirth. Hera was always faithful to Zeus but she was famous for her jealous and vengeful nature, princ ipally aimed against her husband's lovers and their illegitimate children.
DEMETERDemeter was one of the oldest gods in the anc ient Greek pantheon. Demeter was a goddess of agri culture and guaranteed the fertility of the earth. She protec ted both farming and vegetation. The c lose connec tion with the earth was inherited from Demeter's mother Rhea. Demeter was probably a reincarnation of local mother Earth goddesses worshipped in rural communities in Bronze Age Greece.
APHRODITEAphrodite was the anc ient Greek goddess of love, beauty, desire, and all aspec ts of sexuality. She could enti ce both gods and men into illi c it affairs with her beauty and whispered sweet nothings. Aphrodite was born near Cyprus from the severed genitalia of the sky god Uranus. Aphrodite had a wider signifi cance than the traditional view as a mere goddess of love.
ATHENAAthena was the goddess of wisdom, war, and the c rafts. She was the favourite daughter of Zeus and was, perhaps, the wisest, most courageous, and certainly the most resour ceful of the Olympian gods.
ARTEMISArtemis was the Greek goddess of hunting, wild nature, and chastity. Daughter of Zeus and sister of Apollo, Artemis was a patron of girls and young women, and a protec tress during childbirth. Artemis was widely worshipped but her most famous cult site was the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Anc ient World.
APOL OApollo was a Greek god assoc iated with the bow, musi c , and divination. The epitome of youth and beauty, sour ce of life and healing, patron of the arts, and as bright and powerful as the sun itself, Apollo was perhaps the most loved of all the gods. He was worshipped at Delphi and Delos, amongst the most famous of all Greek religious sanc tuaries.
ARES Ares was the Greek god of war. He was perhaps the most unpopular of all the Olympian gods because of his qui ck temper, aggressiveness, and unquenchable thirst for confli c t. Ares famously seduced Aphrodite, unsuc cessfully fought with Her cules, and enraged Poseidon by killing his son Halirrhothios.
HEPHAISTOSHephaistos (Hephaestus) was the anc ient Greek god of fire, metallurgy, and c rafts. He was the brilliant blacksmith of the Olympian gods, for whom he fashioned magnifi cent houses, armour, and ingenious devi ces. Hephaistos had his workshop beneath vol canos such as Mount Etna on Si c ily. The god had a lame foot and so he was unique as the only less-than-perfec t god.
HERMESHermes was the anc ient Greek god of trade, wealth, luck, fertility, animal husbandry, sleep, language, thieves, and travel. One of the c leverest and most mis chievous of the 12 Olympian gods, Hermes was their herald and messenger. In that position, he came to symbolise the c rossing of boundaries in his role as a guide between the two realms of gods and humanity.
DIONYSOSDionysos (Roman name: Bac chus, also known as Dionysus) was the anc ient Greek god of wine, merriment, and theatre. Being the bad boy of Mt. Olympus, Dionysus was perhaps the most colourful of the Olympian Gods.
Credit https://www.worldhistory.org/collection/58/the12-olympian-gods/