Greek Gods & Goddesses:
The Olympians
12 immortals who dwelt in a palace on Mount Olympus
I. Zeus/Jupiter (Roman Name)
1. Supreme God of the
Olympians
2. Youngest son of Titans
Cronus and Rhea
3. His siblings: Poseidon,
Hades, Hestia, Demeter,
and Hera
Zeus/Jupiter
1. He and his siblings fought to gain control of
the universe from the Titans and Cronus
(his father)
2. He and his brothers (Poseidon and Hades)
divided up creation. with
a. Zeus receiving the sky as his domain.
b. He was also accorded supreme authority
on earth and on Mount Olympus.
II. Hera/Juno
1. Goddess of marriage
2. Wife of Zeus and Queen
of the Olympians
3. She took many forms,
a. among them that of a
bird.
Hera/Juno
4. Interesting Fact: Hera hated the great hero
Hercules
a. He was the son of her husband Zeus and a
mortal woman.
b. When he was still an infant, she sent snakes to
attack him in his crib.
5 Hera was worshipped throughout Greece
a. The oldest and most important temples were
dedicated to her.
III. Poseidon/Neptune
1. God of the sea,
earthquakes, and
horses
2. One of the supreme
Gods of Mount
Olympus
a. He spent most of his
time in his watery
domain.
Poseidon/Neptune
2. Brother to Zeus and Hades
3. Married to the sea-nymph, Amphitrite
4. As the god of horses, he would often adopt the
shape of horse.
• Interesting fact: When the Olympians gained
control of the universe, they agreed that the earth
would be ruled jointly, with Zeus as king. This led
to a number of territorial disputes among the gods.
Poseidon vied to be the ruler of Athens. He
demonstrated his power by striking the Acropolis
with his three-pronged spear, which caused a
spring of salt water to emerge.
IV. Aphrodite/Venus
1. Goddess of love,
beauty and fertility
2. Daughter of Zeus
and Dione.
3. Another legend
says that she was
born from seafoam
Aphrodite/Venus
4 She has no distinct attributes except her beauty.
5. She is associated with the dove
• Interesting fact: the Trojan Prince, Paris, was
asked to judge which of the three Olympian
goddesses (Aphrodite, Hera, and Athena) were the
most beautiful. He chose Aphrodite over Hera and
Athena. These two hoped to bribe him with
power, but Aphrodite offered the love of the most
beautiful woman in the world
V. Ares/Mars
1. God of war
2. Son of Zeus
3. He was handsome
and cruel in his
appearance.
Ares/Mars
4. Ares is often shown carrying a
bloodstained spear
A. his throne on Mount Olympus was said
to be covered in human skin.
• Interesting fact: Although he is an
immortal deity, he was almost killed when
he was defeated by Hercules in battle and
then stuffed into a jar by two giants.
Odyssey Background
1. T en years have passed since the fall of
Troy, and the Greek hero Odysseus still
has not returned to his kingdom in Ithaca.
2. A large and rowdy mob of suitors who
have overrun Odysseus’s palace and
pillaged his land continue to court his
wife, Penelope.
Odyssey Background (con’t.)
3. Unknown to the suitors, Odysseus is still
alive. The beautiful nymph Calypso,
possessed by love for him, has imprisoned
him on her island.
4. With the help of the gods, Oddesseus
escapes and begins his grand journey
home to his wife Penelope and his son
Tellemacus