DAY 3
TWELVE OLYMPIAN GODS
Hestia
• GODDESS OF THE HEARTH AND HOME
• Roman Name: Vesta
• Hestia never plays a part in any Greek myth.
Even though she wasn't exciting enough to
make it into their stories, the Greeks
honored Hestia with their dinnertime
prayers, asking her to bless their food and
protect their homes. City-states had a
central hearth dedicated to the goddess,
where the fire never went out. She was the
third of the virgin goddesses. To the Romans
she was the patron goddess of the Vestal
Virgins, who in the Temple of Vesta kept the
hearth fire of Rome forever burning. Hestia
is one of three virgin goddess, along with
Athena and Artemis.
Ares
• GOD OF WAR
• ROMAN NAME: MARS
• Ares is the cruelest member of the
Olympians, hated by all (even his
mother, Hera). This god is known for
his ruthlessness when he has the
upper-hand and his cowardice when
the tides turn against him. Even the
Greeks disliked this terrible god. There
were no temples to Ares in ancient
Greece. Aphrodite, in one of her many
infidelities, started an affair with Ares,
which was his motivation to fight for
the Trojans in the great war. Martial
(having to do with war) and March are
coined from his Latin name. His bird is
the vulture, and his animal the dog.
Athena
• GODDESS OF WISDOM, REASON, & PURITY
• Roman Name: Minerva
• Athena is Zeus's favorite daughter and is allowed to
use his weapons, including the thunderbolt. She
sprang full grown in armor from his forehead, thus
has no mother. She is fierce in battle but only fights
justly.
• Her favorite city is Athens. Her tree is the olive
tree. Her animal is the owl.
Artemis
• GODDESS OF THE
HUNT
• Roman Name: Diana
• Artemis is daughter of Zeus
and Leto; her twin brother
is Apollo. She is the
goddess of wild things and,
like Apollo, hunts with
silver arrows. She is
associated with the moon
and deer.
Aphrodite
• ROMAN NAME: Venus
• Goddess of Love, Desire, and Beauty
• In addition to her natural gifts, she has
a magic girdle that compels anyone she
wishes to desire her. There are two
accounts of her birth. One says she is
the daughter of Zeus and Dione. The
other says that when Cronus overthrew
Uranus and tossed him into the sea
Aphrodite then arose from the sea
foam of a giant scallop and walked to
shore on Cyprus. She is the wife of
Hephaestus.
Cupid (Eros) and Psyche
Eros
• Son of Aphrodite
• Shoots people with darts to
make them fall in love
• Aphrodite wanted Eros to
make Psyche, a beautiful
princess, fall in love with a
loser, but Eros accidentally
shot himself, so he fell in
love with Pscyhe—she
eventually joins the
Olympians
Psyche
• Falls in love with Eros
• Aphrodite dislikes her (a
challenge to her beauty),
and makes her perform
difficult tasks to be with
Eros
Cupid (Eros) and Psyche
Hermes
•
•
•
ROMAN NAME: MERCURY
MESSENGER OF THE GODS
SON OF ZEUS
•
Hermes, the most mischievous and clever of the gods,
also served as a psychopomp, a guide of dead souls to
the Underworld. One of the youngest gods, Hermes
showed his ability to cause both trouble and delight at
an early age. On the day of his birth, Hermes snuck
out from his cradle and whisked away the cattle of his
elder brother Apollo. A witness soon reported this to
Apollo, who came to Maia, Hermes's mother,
demanding the return of his livestock. Maia insisted
that Hermes had been in his cradle the entire
time. Hermes was quickly found out and forced to
return the cattle. But in reparation for his actions
against Apollo, the newborn god created a lyre from
the shell of a turtle. He presented the stringed
instrument to his older brother. His anger melted
away, Apollo presented Hermes with a magical sleepinducing staff called the Caduceus.
Once Zeus realized his young son would
cause nothing but trouble if his mind
weren't constantly occupied, he gave him
the job of Olympian Messenger. He was
given a winged cap and sandals to assist
him in his duties. Due to the nature of his
job, Hermes appears most often of all the
gods.
Greek Name
Aphrodite
Apollo
Ares
Artemis
Athena
Demeter
Dionysus
Eros
Hades
Hephaestus
Hera
Hermes
Hestia
Pan
Persephone
Poseidon
Zeus
Roman Name
Venus
Apollo
Mars
Diana
Minerva
Ceres
Bacchus
Cupid
Pluto
Vulcan
Juno
Mercury
Vesta
Pan
Proserpine
Neptune
Jupiter
Divine Realm
Love, beauty, fertility
Archery, music, prophecy, healing, light
War
Hunting, the moon
Wisdom, war
The harvest, grain, corn
Wine, festivity, the theater
Love, sexual desire
The underworld, the dead
Fire, the forge, smithery
Marriage, queen of immortals
Messenger, commerce, science, doctors
The hearth
Wild beasts, the forest
Queen of the underworld
The sea
Thunder, the heavens, king of immortals
PREFIXES #11-17
• exo- outward, external; exosphere= the outermost
part of the atmosphere
• inter – between; interstate= highway connecting states
• mal – bad; malfunction= failure to function properly
• mis –wrong; misunderstanding
• mono- one, alone; no competition exists with
monopolies
• hypo – under, too little; hypoglycemic= low level of
glucose in blood
• hyper- [Greek, huper] above, beyond,
exceedingly; hyperbole= exaggeration