THE 12 OLYMPIANS
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Zeus
Poseidon 
Hades 
Hestia
Hera 
Ares 
Athena 
Apollo 
Aphrodite 
Hermes 
Artemis 
Hephaestus 
ELDER GENERATION OF GODS
Cronus + Rhea
Hestia
Hades
Poseidon
Demeter
Hera
Zeus
CHILDREN OF ZEUS & HERA
Zeus + Hera
Hebe
Hephaestus
Ares
ZEUS’S IMMORTAL CHILDREN
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Metis -- Athene
Themis -- Hours, Order, Justice, Peace, Fates
Demeter -- Persephone
Mnemosyne -- The Nine Muses
Leto -- Artemis & Apollo
Dione -- Aphrodite
Semele -- Dionysus
Maia -- Hermes
Hera -- Hebe, Ares, Hephaestus
ZEUS (JUPITER)
 Lord of the Sky, the Cloudgatherer
 Supreme ruler of Mount
Olympus
 Spiritual leader of both gods
and men
 Upholder of the law, justice,
morals, and civilised conduct
 Attributes: Thunderbolt, the
eagle, the aegis, the oak tree
POSEIDON (NEPTUNE)
 Lord of the Sea
 Gave the first horse to man
(God of Horses)
 The Earth-shaker (God of
Earthquakes)
 Submarine palace
 Attributes: The trident,
dolphins, horses, bulls
HADES (PLUTO)
 Lord of the Underworld, Ruler
of the Dead
 Abducted and gave
Persephone a pomegranate,
she ate and belonged to the
underworld forever
 The God of Wealth, possesses
the riches of the earth
 His name is avoided
 Attributes: The scepter, the
helmet (of invisibility), the
narcissus flower
HESTIA (VESTA)
 Goddess of the Hearth, the
symbol of home and domestic life
 A virgin goddess, wooed by
Poseidon and Apollo but swore
by Zeus to remain a virgin
 Every hearth on Earth was her
altar
 New colonies took fire from the
hearth of the mother-city
 Attributes: The hearth
HERA (JUNO)
 Queen of Mount Olympus
 Zeus’s wife and sister
 Goddess of Marriage and Birth
 Always jealous of Zeus’s love
affairs
 Punishes her rivals and their
children (e.g. Zeus, Io, Helen)
 Attributes: The peacock, the
cow, the pomegranate, the city
of Argos
ARES (MARS)
 God of War
 Handsome but vain, cruel and
murderous; detested by gods
and men
 Attended by his sister Eris, the
Goddess of Strife, his sons, and
by Enyo, old goddess of war
 Cowardly runs away when
wounded
 Born in Thrace, where there
lives a fierce people
 Attributes: The vulture, the dog,
and the war gear
PALLAS ATHENA (MINERVA)
 Goddess of Wisdom, War, the
Handicrafts, Industry and Justice
 Born out of Zeus’s head, fullygrown and wearing a robe and
helmet, no mother
 Zeus’s favourite child
 Virgin goddess
 Athena, the grey-eyed; Athena of the
flashing eyes
 Attributes: The olive tree, the owl,
the aegis, the city of Athens, and
Parthenon temple
PHOEBUS APOLLO
 God of Light (assoc. with the
Sun-god Helios), Truth (can
never tell a lie), Medicine,
Archery, Music, Poetry
 Master musician, he directed
the choir of Muses
 The Archer-god, the Healer
 Twin-brother of Artemis
 Killed the dragon Python
 Attributes: The lyre, the bow
and the arrow, the tripod, the
swan, the laurel tree
APHRODITE (VENUS)
 Goddess of Love, Beauty, and
Sexual Desire
 The laughter-loving, irresistible
goddess; had many lovers
 Born out of sea foams; the sea
carried her to Cyprus
 Married to Hephaestus, the ugly,
lame God of Fire
 Aphrodisiac festival celebrated
in Athens and Corinth, sexual
intercourse as worship
 Attributes: The myrtle tree, the
dove, the swan
HERMES (MERCURY)
 Messenger God, God of
Commerce, Travel,
Literature, Athletics
 The Divine Herald, leads the
souls of the dead to Hades
 Cunning, shrewd, swift
 Gave the lyre to Apollo in
exchange for his cattle
 Attributes: The wingedsandals, a broad-brimmed
hat with wings, Caduceus
(staff with snakes and wings)
ARTEMIS (DIANA)
 Goddess of Hunting, Wild Animals,
and Fertility
 A virgin goddess associated with
Chastity, twin-sister of Apollo,
associated with Selene, the Moon
 Armed with a bow and arrows,
accompanied by the Nymphs
 Contradictory features; protectress of
women in labour and of young
children, brought sudden death to
labouring women by shooting arrows
 Attributes: Cypress tree, the deer
HEPHAESTUS (VULCAN/MULCIBER)
 God of Fire, Forge, Smith of Gods
 The armourer; patron of smiths
 Hera conceived him alone, later
rejected
 He imprisoned his mother Hera on
a magic throne; released her after
Aphrodite was given as his bride
 He caught his wife with Ares with
the magic chain-link net
 Made the first woman,Pandora
from clay
 Attributes: Ugly, lame; carries an
axe; wears a beard