OLYMPIAN GODS
Before the gods all was Chaos – unruly,
unprdictable, dangerous. Out of this chaos
arose gods as explanations to the questions of
the origin of the world, and humanity, and why
they were as they are.
Greek gods explained the forces that ruled the
cosmos, and the human heart (psyche).
As well as the Olympian gods there were many
older deities, titans (brute forces), fates
(determined the length of one’s life), muses
(inspired human creativity), local divinities
(ruling woods, springs etc) which were from
earlier traditions in Greece. The Greeks saw
these divinities in almost everything, and spent
much time and energy keepiing on their good
side.
ZEUS (Jupiter) = MALE POWER &
AUTHORITY
—Zeus, the king of the Greek gods, defeated
his Father Cronus, drew lots with his brothers
Poseidon and Hades, and won the draw, thus
becoming the supreme ruler of the gods.
—He is lord of the sky, the rain god. His
weapon is a thunderbolt which he hurls at
those who displease him.
—He is married to his sister Hera, and they
had Hephaestus, Ares
—He fathered by other women, Athena (?),
twins Apollo and Artemis (Leto), Dionysis
(Semele), Hermes (Maia).
—His mortal children included Heracles (),
Perseus (Danae), Minos (Europa), Peleus
(Achilles dad), Pollux and Helen (Leda)
—He is also known to punish those that lie or
break oaths.
HERA (Juno) = FEMININE STRUGGLE
AGAINST MALE POWER
—Hera, queen of the gods, is the protector of
marriage and takes special care of married
women.
—She once rebelled against Zeus but was
punished.
—Through jealousy she often does cruel things
against Zeus’s friends to hurt him (e.g.
Heracles).
—Ares and Hephaestus are her sons
POSEIDON (Neptune) = EARTH AND
OCEAN FORCES
—The brother of Zeus,
—he is the god of the seas, and earthquakes.
—He was widely worshipped by sailors.
—He created the horse to please a girl with
whom he was in love.
HADES (Pluto) = GREED
—Hades is the other brother of Zeus and drew
the Underworld as his kingdom.
—He is greedy and likes to increase the
number of the dead in his realm.
—Hades is also the god of wealth (as gold,
silver, gems came from beneath the earth).
—Stole Persephone from her mother Demeter
-> seasons
HESTIA (Vesta) = HOME AND HEARTH
—Virgin sister to Zeus and his brothers, she is
not in many myths.
—She is the goddess of the hearth or fireplace
and had an altar with a sacred fire continuously
burning in every town.
DEMETER (Ceres) = AGRICULTURE,
SEASONS
—sister to Zeus and his brothers, she inspires
fertility, and farming etc .
—withholds fertility in winter when she is
mourning her daughter’s 3 months
imprisonment in Hades with her husband (who
stole her) and lets her return for 9 months each
yr to earth (Spring & summer)
ARES (Mars) = CRAZE OF BATTLE
—the son of Zeus and Hera who both hate
him, is the god of war.
—Ares is a coward but inspires bloodshed,
destruction, and death.
—Unpopular with the other gods.
APHRODITE (Venus) = EROTIC PASSION
—is the goddess of love, desire and beauty. In
addition to her natural gifts she has a magical
girdle that compels anyone she wishes to
desire her.
—She was born on giant seashell from the
semen of Cronus genitals.
—Wife of Hephaestus the ugly god of the forge
—Had many lovers and including Trojan
Anchises, Adonis, Hermes.
—Promised Helen to Paris for his Judgement
which caused the Trojan war
APOLLO (Apollo) = LOGICAL PERFECTION
—Apollo is the god of the arts, playing a
golden lyre; health, the Archer- far shooting
with a silver bow; the god of light (sun), and the
god of truth (Delphic Oracle),
—in general - Perfection
—Twin Bro of Artemis the huntress.
—V handsome! Had both female and male
lovers
—Father of Asclepius (medicine) and Orpheus
(music)
ARTEMIS (Diana) = WILD NATURE
—Sister to Apollo, Goddess of hunting
—Artemis is the lady of all wild things, which
(especially the deer) are sacred to her.
—She is the protector of the young.
—Associated also with the moon,
—she is a virgin goddess and the goddess of
chastity.
ATHENA (Minerva) = INSPIRATION &
WISDOM.
—Favorite of her father Zeus
—sprang full grown in armor from Zeus’s
forehead.
—She fiercely defends the home from outside
enemies – goddess of just wars.
—She is the goddess of the city, handicrafts,
and agriculture.
—She is the embodiment of wisdom, reason,
and purity.
—Virgin (her temple in Rome became churchs
to Virgin Mary)
—Tiresias saw her naked and was struck blid,
but given the gift of Prophecy
—Patroness of Athens (and Sparta)
—Nike winged victory always with her
HEPHAESTUS (Vulcan) = TECHNOLOGICAL
INSPIRATION
—Hephaestus is the only god to be physically
ugly, and he is also crippled.
—He is the god of fire and the forge, using a
volcano as his forge,
—and is the smith and armorer of the gods.
He is the patron god of both smiths and
weavers.
—He is kind and peace loving.
HERMES (Mercury) = COMMUNICATION
—Hermes is Zeus’s messenger. Fastest of the
gods, he wears winged sandals and a winged
hat and carries a magic wand.
—He is the god of thieves, tricky & commerce.
—He is the guide for the dead to go to the
underworld.
—He inventer of the lyre, the pipes, the
musical scale, astronomy , weights and
measures, boxing, and gymnastics.
—With Aphrodite they had Hermaphrodite
DIONYSUS (Bacchus) = ECSTACY &
ENTHUSIASM
—Son of Zeus
—The only olympian with a mortal parent
(Semele)
—God of wine, ecstacy, theatre
—Originated in the east – Nysa (India) ,
—Wore leopard or tiger skin
—Patron of drama festivals – early forms of
his worship eg the ‘Great Dionysia’ was an
annual religious in Athens where plays were
judged.
ANCIENT GREEK UNIVERSE
—The Greek gods lived in an area possibly in
the heavens above the earth or on a beautiful
mountain on earth called Mount Olympus
where they hold court and watch humans.
—The Underworld (called Hades) was a place
inside the earth where the spirits of the dead
had a shadowy and unpleasant dream-like
existence.
—Elysian Fields was an pleasant in the
underworld where heroes and the good went.
—Tartarus is deeper than Hades and the truly
bad place where the spirit of wicked people
existed in some form of punishment.
There were many other deities, gods, titans (primeval nature gods predating the olympians), Gorgons
(dangerous monsters), Fates (determined the length of one’s life), muses (inspired human creativity),
local divinities, etc which were from earlier traditions in Greece. Often they were in charge of natural
forces such as storms, trees, winds, the waves. In fact its true to say the Greeks saw these divinities
in almost everything.