OLYMPIANS

Mythology
 What is “Olympia?”
• In Greek/ Roman
Mythology, Mount
Olympus is the
meeting place and
“home” of the major
players.

• It is unsure of
whether or not Mt.
Olympus is in
heaven or
somewhere on
earth.
Mt. Olympus
• The Greeks also
named the
highest peek in
the mountains
(between
Thessalonica and
Macedonia) Mt.
Olympus.
The Olympian gods
The Olympian gods or Olympians
are younger gods who got the name
after their mythical place Mount
Olympus. They had gained rank as
the rulers of the world after
dethroning the elder gods, known
also as the Titans, in a ten-year war
called Titanomachy.
ELDER GENERATION OF GODS

Chronus and Rhea

Demeter Hades Hestia

Hera Poseidon Zeus

 Second generation of Olympian gods

Aphrodite Hermes Apollo

(Titans
Hephaestu
generation) s

Athena Dionysus Ares Artemis

Why “Olympians?”
• These 12 gods and goddesses are
considered “Olympians” because
they reside on Mt. Olympus.

• The 12 Olympians were the

major gods and goddesses with
prominent roles in Greek
mythology.

• Some of the major Olympians

spent most of their time
elsewhere. Poseidon lived in the
sea and Hades in the
Underworld.
 So, who are the 12?
• Various sources report up to 20 different
names, but the majority of texts concur
that these are the 12:
gods goddesses
Zeus Hera
Poseidon Demeter
Apollo Artemis
Ares Athena
Hermes Aphrodite
Hephaestus Hestia
(Hades?)  in underworld
 Zeus
• King of the gods, mortals, and
weather

• Roman Name: Jupiter

• Symbol: Thunder Bolt

• Either raped or married

numerous goddesses and
mortals
 Hera
• Queen of gods, marriage
and birth

• Daughter of Cronus and

Rhea (Zeus’ sister and
wife)

• Roman Name: Juno

• Zeus constantly cheated

on her, and she was
always jealous
 Poseidon
• God of the sea,
earthquakes, horses

• Brother to Zeus and

Hera

• Roman Name: Neptune

• Symbols: dolphins,
tridents, fish spears
 Hermes
• Messenger of the gods
(guides souls of the dead
to the underworld)

• God of land travel,

literature and poetry 
he’s swift and athletic

• Son of Zeus and a nymph

• Roman Name: Mercury

 Hestia
• Goddess of hearth and
home

• Zeus’ oldest sister

• Wooed by Poseidon but

swore to remain a virgin

• Roman Name: Vesta

(temple built for her in
the Forum)
 Athena
• Goddess of wisdom, war,
arts and justice

• Zeus’ favorite child

• Companion: goddess of
victory, Nike

• Symbol: owl

• Roman Name: Minerva

 Ares
• God of war and battle

• Son of Zeus and Hera

• Merciless and bloody; not

liked by even his father (he
supported the Trojans in the
Trojan war?)

• Accompanied on battlefield
by: Phobos (fear) and Deimos
(terror)  sons?
 Demeter
• Goddess of fertility and
agriculture (fruit, grains)
and seasons

• Zeus’ sister

• Mother of Persephone

• Roman Name: Ceres

 Apollo
• God of sun, archery, healing
medicine, music (lyre), and dance

• Son of Zeus and twin brother of

Artemis

• Father of Asclepius (god of

healing and medicine) whose
symbol is the wand

• Roman Name: Apollo

 Artemis

• Goddess of the hunt, wild

animals, fertility, and moon

• Often identified with Selene

(goddess of the moon)

• Roman Name: Diana

• Symbols: crescent moon

above her head
 Hephaestus
• God of fire and
blacksmiths

• Son of Zeus and Hera (yet

Zeus wasn’t involved)

• Roman Name: Vulcan (god

of volcanoes)

• Born weak and crippled

• Husband of Aphrodite who

cheated on him with Ares
 Aphrodite
• Goddess of love, beauty and sex

• When Cronus castrated his father

Uranus, he threw his genitals into
the sea and thus Aphrodite was
born of the “foam”

• Aphrodisiac Festival: sex and

libido increasers

• Son: Eros
• Roman Name: Venus

• Symbols: dolphin, swan,

pomegranate