the Gods and Goddesses
of Ancient Greece
MOUNT OLYMPUS
Home of the Gods
Originally Thought to be a
Real Mountain
Finally Came to be Thought of
as a Floating Mountain
in the Sky
THE PANTHEON OF MT
OLYMPUS
ZEUS
(Roman Name: Jupiter)
Supreme Ruler of the Gods
His weapon was the mighty
THUNDERBOLT©
He falls in love
frequently and often
acts on it (even though
he is married)
HERA
(Roman Name: Juno)
Zeus’ Wife and Sister
Protector of Marriage and
Married Women
Very Jealous of
Zeus’ Numerous Lovers
HADES
(Roman Name: Pluto)
Lord of the Underworld
Ruler of the Dead
POSEIDON
(Roman Name: Neptune)
Ruler of the Seas and Oceans
DEMETER
(Roman Name: Ceres)
Goddess of Corn and
Agriculture
Her Moods Affect the Seasons
APHRODITE
(Roman Name: Venus)
Goddess of Love and Beauty
Wife of Hephaestus
HESTIA
(Roman Name: Vesta)
Goddess of the Home
ALL ZEUS’ CHILDREN
ARES
(Roman Name: Mars)
God of War
None of the Other Gods Like
Him Much
ATHENA
(Roman Name: Minerva)
Battle Maiden and Goddess of
Wisdom
While Adopted by Hera,
She is the Daughter
of Zeus Only
(Sprang from his Head)
HEPHAESTUS
(Roman Name: Vulcan)
God of Fire and the Forge
He is the Only Ugly God
Husband of Aphrodite
HEBE
(Roman Name: None)
Cupbearer of the Gods
APOLLO
(Roman Name: Apollo)
Twin Brother of Artemis
God of Music and Poetry
God of Light and Truth
No False Words
(Never Told a Lie)
His Oracle at Delphi
was the Most Popular
ARTEMIS
(Roman Name: Diana)
Twin Sister of Apollo
Goddess of the Moon
and the Hunt
Lady of the Wild Things
PERSEPHONE
(Roman Name: Proserpine)
Goddess of Spring
She was Kidnapped
by Hades
Later Made the
Queen of the Underworld
Spends Half the Year
in Hades, Half on Earth
HERMES
(Roman Name: Mercury)
Messenger of the Gods
Has Wings on Sandals
and Cap
Appears the Most Often
of All the Gods
The Origins of Creation
• The Greek Pantheon begins with the primordial
forces. Chaos is first, who spawns the physical
realms, i.e. Gaea (Earth), Ouranos (Sun & Sky),
Tartarus (the Underworld) etc.
• Gaea and Ouranos in turn gave birth to the Titans,
i.e. Tethys (the sea), Oceanos (the ocean), Kronos
(time) etc.
• Oceanos and Tethys gave birth to other Titans
such as Atlas, Prometheus and Epimetheus.
• Kronos and Rhea gave birth to the next
generation, the Pantheon of Mt. Olympus.
The War with the Olympians
• After it was prophesised that Kronos would
be killed by his own son, he decided to
destroy his own children.
• He began eating the Olympians, but Rhea
tricked him, giving him a swaddled stone
instead of the infant Zeus.
• Zeus grew to maturity with the help of Rhea,
then rose up against Kronos and the Titans.
All but Rhea, Prometheus, Epimetheus,
Oceanus and Tethys sided with the
Titanomachy.
The War with the Olympians
• Zeus triumphs over Kronos, splitting him in
two and enabling his siblings to reemerge.
• The liberated Olympians then fought with
Zeus against the remaining Titans. Eventually
they emerged victorious.
• The Titans who fought against the Olympians
were punished. Most were imprisoned in
Tartarus, but Atlas was given the punishment
of standing on the edge of Gaea (where the
Atlas mountains are today) to hold up
Ouranos and prevent him from embracing
Gaea.
The Creation of Humanity and
the Golden Age
• After the war, Zeus tasks Prometheus and
Epimetheus with creating the Hellenes.
• The two Titans create them from mud and
clay, then Athena breathes life into them.
• At first Humans are immortal, and it is said
that during this Golden Age they lived in
the presence of the Gods, without fear of
death and having all that they needed.
End of the Golden Age
• The Hellenes had neither technology nor
industry.
• Prometheus, who loved his creations more
than the Olympians, defied Zeus to give them
fire and teach them how to use it to smith and
make crafts.
• Zeus was enraged and punished both
Prometheus and the Hellenes. He stripped
away their immortality, withdrew to Mt.
Olympus and isolated the Gods from the
Hellenes.
Pandora
• Zeus’ final punishment was to task
Hephaestus with the crafting of a Hellene
of unrivalled beauty.
• He then had Hermes instil within this
Hellene the ability to lie and deceive
(previously unheard of traits).
• Finally he gave Pandora a jar that she was
forbidden to open.
Pandora
• Zeus sent Pandora to Epimetheus, who
was still living amongst the Hellenes.
• Promethus had warned him not to accept
gifts from Zeus, but he was so bedazzled
by Pandora’s beauty that he let her stay.
• Eventually Pandora’s deceitful nature led
her to open the jar, and out flew all of the
world’s ills (sorrow, pain, sickness,
misfortune).
Pandora
• One good thing came
from Pandora’s Jar (later
Box): Hope.
• Thus the natural state of
mortality was born, and
the Golden Age was well
and truly over.