The Greek Gods

Introduction

1. Zeus who is referred by a poet ‘father of gods and men under whose thunder the broad earth quivers’.
2. Hera is the goddess marriage and family, wife and sister of Zeus
3. Appollo is the God of music, poetry and medicine, the son of Zeus and the Titan Leto.
4. Athena was born from the head of Zeus, the goddess of wisdom as expressed by both military strategy and craft skills
5. Posiedon was the ruler of the oceans, and was feared as the bringer of earthquakes
6. Artemis is Apollo’s twin sister, virgin goddess of the hunt and child birth.
7. Ares was the God of war, son of Zeus and Hera
8. Aphrodite was the goddess of desire and procreation, wife of Hephaestus, who sprang from sea foam
9. Hephaestus was the lame god of the forge, son of Zeus and Hera
10. Demeter was the goddess of grain and agriculture
11. Hestia was the goddess of hearth
12. Hades was the god of the underworld

With Zeus at their head, the twelve main Greek gods of the pantheon live on Mount Olympus, the highest mountain in Greece, located in the north. They were also called the Olympians. Another powerful god, Hades, a brother god of Zeus, governed and dwelt in the underworld.

Facts

1. Zeus was regarded as the bearer of thunder and lightening, rain, and winds, and his traditional weapon was the thunderbolt. He had many wives, a lot of whom were human.
2. Hera was worshipped as queen of heaven and patron of marriage and woman. She was jealous of Zeus’s other wives though she was his main wife.
3. Appolo was the most revered of the Greek gods. He communicated the will of his father Zeus, made humans aware of their guilt and purified them of it, presided on religious and civil law, and foretold the future.
4. Athena was associated with birds (especially owl) and the snake and she was usually represented as a virgin goddess.
5. Poseidon was unpredictable and sometimes violent, he was also god of earthquakes, and he was closely associated with the horses.
6. Artemis was the goddess of wild animals, the hunt, vegetation, chastity and childbirth. She was known for her unpitying wrath when offended.
7. Ares was disliked by other gods. His worship occurred largely in northern Greece.
8. Aphrodite is associated with the sea. She married Hephaestus but betrayed him with Ares.
9. Hephaestus was the patron of smiths and craftsmen and was often depicted working at his forge.
10. Demeter was sometimes worshipped as a divinity of the underworld and as a goddess of health birth and marriage.
11. Hestia though mainly a goddess of the family hearth and domestic life, she was sometimes also worshipped at the civic hearth in public buildings.
12. Hades was stern and pitiless, unmoved by prayers and sacrifices, he presided over the trial and punishment the wicked after death.