The Olympians:
God and Goddesses of Ancient Greece
“The universe created the god”
Heaven (Uranus) and Earth (Gaia) were the parents of the first gods, the Titans. (Think
about this symbolically for a moment. Everything is the result of a marriage of Earth
and Sky)
The Titans possessed enormous strength and had a physique to match. Cronus rules
the Titans, until his son Zeus dethroned him. (Though the Titans and supplanted, they
remain important figures for many of the tales involving Greek heroes.)
Zeus became the leader of the Olympian goads, who resided at Mount Olympus. Mt.
Olympus was a place not quite on earth, but not exactly heaven. It was untouched by
weather, and its protected by the Seasons. However, unlike many belief systems, the
Greeks gods have many faults: they are prone to fits of jealousy, vanity and temper
tantrums.
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Zeus
Hera
Poseidon
Hades
Athena
Ares
Demeter
Aphrodite
Apollo
Hermes
Artemis
Dionysus
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Uranus
Gaia
Cronos
Rhea
Altas
Prometheus
Oceanus
Symbols: Thunderbolt, eagle, and oak tree.
Responsible for:
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God of the Heavens.
Ruler of the Olympians. (Nothing happens
without his consent.
His responsibilities tend to be mixed with those
of older deities.
Connections:
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Zeus is married to Hera, his sister.
Brothers are Poseidon and Hades
Father of Athena, Ares, Aphrodite (perhaps),
Hercules, Perseus, and 100s of others. (See
bullet 3 above for reason.)
Keep an eye out for Zeus in the Iliad.
Zeus tends to be connected in allegorical ways
to other deities.
Back
Symbols: Cow and Peacock
Traits:
• Hera is the protector of marriage, particularly married
women.
• She tend to be punishing Zeus’ many children,
especially the mortal ones.
• She tends to be a jealous goddess.
Family: Hera is married to Zeus and is also his sister. Her
children are Ares, Hebe and Hephaestus and a daughter,
Ilithyia.
Though Hera is a background character in the Iliad
she plays an important role in the Trojan war as a
whole.
Back
Symbols: The trident, bulls and horses. (Known as
the Earth Shaker)
Family: Poseidon is second in power to his brother,
Zeus.
Responsible for:
 God of the Seas.
 He has many children. Including the Cyclopses.
(Odysseus oops.)
 Poseidon was an important God to the Greeks,
because they relied on the sea for much of their
welfare. (Allegorically this is telling.)
Poseidon has little role in The Iliad because it
all happens on the shore, but he is the most
important God in the Odyssey.
Back
Family: Brother of Zeus
and “Husband” of
Persephone.
Responsible for:
 The underworld.
 Not the Devil
 King of the Dead.
 Not liked by man or
God.
 Unwelcome in Olympus.
 Fair.
Symbols: The olive tree and owl
Family: Daughter of Zeus. Springs from his head fully
grown and clad in armor.
Fast Facts:
 Athena=Athens? (Yes, Poseidon’s unhappy about this.)
 One of the Greek’s favorite Gods.
 Described as a Goddess infatuated with battle and
craftsman.
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Her love of Battle is different than war. (Ironic Much)
Known as “The Gray Eyed Goddess.)
Inventor of the Bridle; hence, giving human use of the
horse.
Watch for her in The Iliad: She is the protector of
Achilles and has a major role in the start of the Trojan
War.
Back
Symbols: The vulture, dog, color red
Family: Son of Hera and Zeus, though they hate
him.
Important ideas:
 Ares is the god of War. (In particular the
bloodlust)
 Greeks do not like Ares. (Romans seem to like
him far more.)
Ares plays very little role in the Trojan War
but he does do the bidding of the
Aphrodite; hence, he fights on the side of
the Trojans.
Back
Symbols: myrtle tree, dove, swan and sparrow
Stuff to Know:
• Goddess of love and beauty.
• That Aphrodite’s beauty awe-struck all men,
no matter how wise.
• She has a major role on the Trojan war.
• She is the protector of both Paris and
Aeneas.
Allegorically:
• The Three Graces were her attendants.
• The other Olympians forced her to marry
Hephaestus.
• She has an affair with Ares, he is will ing to do
her bidding.
Back
Symbols: Laurel, dolphin and lyre
Family: Apollo is Artemis’s twin brother and
son of Zeus and Leto.
The Greekiest Greek of them all:
• Apollo is a prominent figure in the arts
including poetry and music.
• God of medicine. (Ironically he often brings
plagues and “pestilence.”
Fights for the Trojans throughout the
Trojan War.
Back
Symbols: Cypress tree and deer.
Family: The Maiden Goddess is the twin
sister of Apollo. Artemis is the
daughter of Zeus and Leto. .
Goddess of:
 The hunt.
 She is one of the Archer “Gods”
 One of the “Virgin Goddesses”
Back
Symbol: the grape vine, wine
Family: The son of Zeus. Hera tried to kill him
while he was a child.
What to know:
 Then you better thank this God. Known for
his gentleness he saved sailors from a watery
death by turning them into dolphins.
 Dionysus is the inventor of wine.
 The Romans begin a cult devoted to him.
(Mark Antony joined this cult, check out why
during Julius Caesar)
 Not mentioned much in most of Greek
Mythology.
Back
Symbols: The hearthstone
Family: Demeter is the sister of Zeus, Poseidon
and Hades. She is also the mother of
Persephone whom she never let out of her sight.
Kindest of them all:
 Demeter is the Goddess of the Harvest.
 The Romans have a cult dedicated to her.
 Demeter was devastated when her daughter,
Persephone, was kidnapped by Hades. Each
spring, Demeter would greet her daughter at
the entrance from the underworld.
Back
Symbols: Winged sandals, low helmet, and
Caduceus (his wand).
Family: Hermes is the son of Zeus and Maia,
Atlas’s daughter.
What to know:
 “The Messenger”
 Hermes is one of the most mentioned gods.
 “The voice” of Zeus.
 God of: Merchants and Traders.
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Known as a Master Thief. Sometimes known as the
God of thieves as well.
Look for him in the Iliad as the voice of
Zeus.
Back
Symbols: Hephaestus does not
have any specific symbols like
the other Gods.
Family: He is the son of Hera. He
married Aphrodite at Zeus’s
order.
Responsible for:
 Smiths
 He is rarely welcome in
Olympus
 The best armor and weapons a
hero may wield.
Back
D’Aulaire, Ingri, and Edgar Parin D’Aulaire. D’Aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths. Garden
City, New York: Doubleday and Co, 1962.
Hamilton, Edith. Mythology. Boston: Little, Brown and Co, 1940.
Head of Dionyssos (Romn copy based on Greek prototype). 2nd-3rd century A.D. Museum of Fina
Arts, Boston, MA 11 April 2006
<http://www.mfa.org/collections/search_art.asp?id=153840&coll_keywords=&coll_a
ccession=&coll_name=&coll_artist=&coll_place=&coll_medium=&coll_culture=&col
l_classification=&coll_credit=&coll_provenance=&coll_location=&coll_has_images=
&coll_on_view=&coll_sort=0&coll_sort_order=0&coll_package=2350&coll_start=4>
Oil bottle (lekythos)in the form of Aphrodite. 400-375 B.C. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA
11 April 2006 <http://www.mfa.org/collections/search_art.asp?coll_ke
ywords=&coll_accession=&coll_name=&coll_artist=&co
ll_place=&coll_medium=&coll_culture=&coll_classificati
on=&coll_credit=&coll_provenance=&coll_location=&c
oll_has_images=&coll_on_view=&coll_sort=0&coll_sort
_order=0&coll_package=2350&coll_start=21>.
Pan Painter. Mixing Bowl. 470 B.C. Museum of Fina Arts, Boston, MA. 11 April 2006.
<http://www.mfa.org/collections/search_art.asp?recview=true&id=153654&coll_ke
ywords=&coll_accession=&coll_name=&coll_artist=&coll_place=&coll_medium=&c
oll_culture=&coll_classification=&coll_credit=&coll_provenance=&coll_location=&c
oll_has_images=&coll_on_view=&coll_sort=0&coll_sort_order=0&coll_package=235
0&coll_start=31>.
Statue of Athena the Virgin (Athena Parthenos). 138-238 A.D. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA.