Gods of Mount
Olympus
The 12+2
Olympians
ZEUS/JUPITER
A)
B)
Initial God of weather;
Supreme leader of the
universe/ lord of the heavens;
rain god
As a child he ate and drank
from a goat horn; as a gift to
his caregivers he gave them
horns from the goat
(cornucopia)
C) As a ruler
1) Stronger than all the other
gods put together; His weapon
is the lightning/thunderbolt
2) Good at compromise, generally
shrewd and fair, at times stupid
3) Often sided with mortals over
gods (even over his own
children)
E) Is known to punish those that lie
or break oaths.
F) His bird is the eagle, his tree the
oak.
G) Is represented as the god of
justice and mercy, the protector of
the weak, and the punisher of the
wicked.
H) As a husband
1) Known for his insatiable lust,
lies, trickery and deceit.
2) Mother Rhea initially forbade
him to marry. He threatened to
rape her.
3) Found the perfect lover in his
seventh attempt when he slept
with Hera. She was a supportive
wife in many ways, but jealous
and vindictive.
Hera/Juno
Goddess of marriage and childbirth;
takes special care of married
women.
B) Zeus tricked her by changing into a
disheveled cuckoo bird; Hera felt
sorry for the bird and held it close to
her; Zeus changed back into normal
form and raped her; Hera married
him to cover her shame.
A)
C) Hera is very competitive about her
beauty – sent Orion’s wife to Hades
after Orion said his wife was prettier.
D) Most stories concerning Hera have
to do with her jealous revenge for
Zeus’s infidelities (affairs).
E) Her sacred animals are the cow and
the peacock.
Poseidon/Neptune
God of the sea (protector of all
waters), horses and earthquakes.
B) Is married to Amphitrite,
granddaughter of the Titan
Oceanus.
C) Depicted as gruff and quick to
anger
A)
D) Jealous of Zeus (his brother); would
kill him if he traveled by sea, afraid of
his lightning.
E) Also had affairs; at one time desired
Demeter (created the first horse for
her).
F) His weapon is the trident, which can
shake the earth and shatter any object.
G) He is second only to Zeus in power
amongst the gods.
Hades/Pluto
God of the underworld, ruler of the
dead; god of wealth (gems and
metals); Brother of Zeus.
B) Is a greedy god who wants to
increase his subjects; doesn’t like to
let any of his subjects leave.
C) Rarely leaves the underworld; likes it
down there; not considered one of
the twelve
A)
D) Is the god of wealth due to the
precious metals mined from the earth.
E) Has a helmet that makes him
invisible.
F) His wife is Persephone whom he
abducted (only left the underworld
when driven by lust).
G) Is considered King of the dead, but
death itself is another god (Thanatos).
Hestia/Vesta
A)
B)
C)
Goddess of Home and Hearth
(fireplace is the center of the
home); Zeus’s sister.
Kindest and most virtuous of
the gods.
Dedicated to peace
D) Vowed to remain chaste to end
feuds over her (between Apollo
and Poseidon).
E) Gave up her seat on Mt. Olympus,
the other gods annoyed her.
F) Not in many myths because she
was cherished.
Hephaestus/Vulcan
God of fire and forge
(craftsmanship); is the blacksmith
and amorer of the gods.
B) Only ugly god; is crippled
C) Possibly born from Hera alone
D) Thrown out at birth because
either Zeus or Hera thought he
wasn’t worthy.
A)
E) Athena taught him
F) Was brought back to Mt. Olympus
after proving to be a master
craftsman
G) Created first robots, wheelchair,
Zeus’s thunderbolts, Athena’s
armor
Aphrodite/Venus
Goddess of love, desire, and
beauty
B) Never had to do any work
C) Soul responsibility to make love
D) Mortals paid homage to her by
falling in love or having sex
A)
E) Married to Hephaestus – was
caught cheating with:
1) Ares (main lover)
2) Poseidon
3) Hermes
4) Dionysus
F) Her birds are the dove, swan, and
sparrow; her tree is the myrtle.
Ares/Mars
God of war; chair on Mt. Olympus is
covered with human skin (pain and
panic)
B) Almost all immortals loathed him except:
1) Eris (goddess of discord) – liked how
he took her work to the next level
A)
2) Hades – good for business
3) Aphrodite – thought he was sexy
C) Brave, strong; argumentative,
bloodthirsty – took pleasure in
bloodshed, slaughter, and destruction
D) Rome – Mars was the 2nd most
revered god (Romans liked war better)
E) Greece – While they revered their
was heroes, they had issues with war
itself (so many wars happened due to
feuding lords)
F) Bird – vulture; animal - dog
Athena/Minerva
Goddess of wisdom and war; arts &
crafts
B) Birth is debatable – she popped out
of Zeus’s head dressed in full armor
after he swallowed her mother
C) Rarely went to war (too sensible);
preferred sensible solutions/ merciful
A)
D) Awarded her virginity by Zeus –
but had to defend it herself
E) Her tree is the olive
F) Bird is the owl
Apollo
God of archery, music, healing,
light, and intelligence
B) Twin sister is Artemis
C) Music – plays the golden lyre
(small harp)
D) Archer – can shoot far with a
silver bow
A)
D) Truth – he cannot speak a lie
E) One of his important tasks is to
harness his chariot with four horses
F) Is famous for his oracle at Delphi
(people came from all over to worship)
G) Tricked Artemis into killing her
hunting buddy Orion
H) Tree – laurel; bird - crow
Artemis/Diana
Goddess of chastity, the moon,
and the hunt, wild animals
B) Twins with Apollo
C) Chaste – killed those who tried to
rape her
D) Turned those who saw her naked
into deer and hunted them
A)
E) Mysterious – sudden death is
attributed to her
F) Tree – Cyprus
G) All wild animals are sacred to her,
especially the deer
Hermes/Mercury
Messenger to all the other gods;
cleverest of the Olympian gods.
B) Demonstrated cunning, deception
and thievery within twelve hours
of birth
C) Friendly and likeable
D) Is the fastest of the gods
A)
E) Wears winged sandals, a winged
hat, and carries a magic wand
F) Is the guide for the dead to the
underworld
Demeter/Ceres
Goddess of harvest, earth, and
fertility
B) Generally kind
C) Intimately associated with the
seasons; caused winter because of
the loss of her daughter Persephone
to Hades; Persephone’s return
brought spring
A)
Dionysus/Bacchus
God of wine, revelry, drama, and
poetry
B) Only god to have a mortal parent
(father: Zeus, mother: Semele)
C) Zeus gave him to mountain
nymphs to be raised in order to
protect him from Hera
A)
D) Hera drove caretakers mad and
deluded them into hunting
Dionysus.
E) Was able to bring back his mother
from the underworld
F) Due to the influence of wine he is
often the god from drunken
mayhem
G) The festival of Dionysus
involves wine and the theater;
most Greek plays were written
to be performed at the festival
of Dionysus.
H) Dionysus and Hermes were
given the seats of Hestia and
Hades on Mt. Olympus.