The twelve Olympian Gods are the most important gods in the ancient Greek Religion. Their names are Poseidon, Demeter, Zeus, Hera, Artemis, Apollo Athena, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, Hermes, Dionysus, and Ares. Twelve Olympian Gods are composed of the first- and second-generation gods. In the first-generation Olympian gods are Poseidon, Demeter, Zeus, Hera. These Olympian Gods are the descendants of a titan couple Cronus and Rhea. There are Artemis, Apollo Athena, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, Hermes, Dionysus, Ares in the second-generation Olympian gods. They live on the Mount Olympus above the clouds. The twelve Olympian Gods rule the world and represent the civilization of Greece.
Zeus
Zeus is a god of the sky and weather. He controlled the lightning, weather, natural laws, Thunder, Order. He also is a god of father. He decides the ruler of the gods and humans. His role on Mount Olympus is a chief judge. His job needs to manage not only the human but also the Olympian Gods. So, he is a king of the Olympus and the World. His symbols are Thunderbolt, Aegis, Set of Scales, Oak Tree, Royal Scepter. There are four words can represent him. They are justice, honest, fair and Honor.
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Zeus and His Father
In Greek Mythology, Cronus killed his father, Uranus and controlled the world with his wife, Rhea. One day, there is one body that told him. One of his sons would kill him and controlled the world. So, He terrified. He decided to eat his children when they were born. However, when his sixth child Zeus was born, his wife Rhea hid Zeus in a cave. Then Rhea took a stone instead of Zeus to give her husband for eating. After a long time, when Zeus grew up, he poisoned his father with a bottle of poisonous wine. At the same time, he rescued his siblings that Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, and Poseidon. Zeus fought against the other Titans with his siblings. They won wars together. Finally, Zeus started controlled the sky and weather. Poseidon started controlled the water and sea. Hades started controlled the underworld…
Hera
Hera is a goddess of Marriage, Women, Birth, the Havens. She is the queen to heaven and twelve Olympian Gods in Greece. She is the sister of Zeus before she married Zeus. So, she is also Zeus’s wife after Zeus controls the sky. She and Zeus together birth the Ares. Hephaestus also is her child. Her symbols are Diadem, Scepter, Pomegranate. She represents the virtue and beauty of women
The wedding of Zeus and Hera.
One day, Zeus walked along in the area of the beautiful region of Hesperides. He suddenly found a lovely woman named Hera and fell in love. He became a frozen cuckoo and stood on the window of Hera’s room. Hera saw the cuckoo. She felt very sad and wanted to help this cuckoo. So, she hugged this cuckoo in her room. At the same time, Zeus transformed into his identity and made love with Hera. Hera was scared that people wrought know this thing, and she wanted to cover her shame too. Hera decided to marry him. Zeus had a sacred the wedding with Hera then she became queen after wedding. Finally, Hera and Zeus had a sweet honeymoon for 300 years…
Poseidon
Poseidon is the importat god in the twelve Olympian Gods. His Roman name is Neptune, and it is one of the nine planets. His parents are Cronus and Rhea, and Zeus is his brother. He controls Sea, Earthquakes, Storms, and Horses. The symbols of him are trident, fish, dolphin. The dolphin is very important to Poseidon. Dolphin as a symbol that represents his power in the ocean. We can see Poseidon riding the dolphin in many movies. Poseidon is a god with powerfully aggressive and extremely ambitious.
Share the World with Zeus
After Poseidon and his siblings, they defeated his father, Cronus. Poseidon, Zeus, Hades, these three brothers, wanted to share the world power that is heaven, sea, underground. They decided a way that playing draws. They thought this is a fairway. Then Zeus got the heaven, Poseidon got the ocean, Hades got the underground. Now we called Poseidon king of the sea…
Demeter
Demeter is the goddess in the Greek Mythology. Her Roman name is Ceres. Her parents are Cronus and Rhea. She also is Zeus’s sister. She is a goddess of grain, agriculture, fertility, and harvest. She teaches people farming. She also is one of the justice goddesses. She can make every object become gold. She also is the fourth wife of Zeus. They have a child called Persephone. Persephone is the wife of Hades. Her symbols are Cornucopia, Wheat, sickle, and Bread.
Demeter and fire
A long time ago. There was an old city called Eleusis. Metaneira is the queen of Eleusis and had a son called Demophon. One day, Demeter came to the world and transformed into an older woman. Demeter, as an older woman, was invited to visit Metaneira’s house. Demeter felt the hospitality of the queen Metaneira while having dinner in her house. At the same time, Metaneira wanted Demeter to take care of her son Demophon like a nurse because her son has a severe sickness. But the queen did not know the older woman is goddess Demeter. Demeter agreed with Metaneira’s request. After that day, Demeter fed Demophon with gods’ foods. She also burned Demophon at every night. This way can make Demphon immortal. However, one night, his mother saw her son burning in the fire. She cried and shrieked. Demeter showed her identity finally and saved Demophon…
Artemis
Artemis’ roman name is Diana. She is a goddess of hunt, wild, and the moon. Zeus and Leto(dark goddess) are her parents. She and Apollo are twins. She controls bright. So moon is a symbol of her. She also likes hunting. She has a high-level skill in archery. Deer is her sacred animal. Artemis also a protector of young women. She represents a woman’s confidence and independence.
Artemis and Animals
Artemis would spend much time to hunt and found animals in the forest and grassland. It can be said that Artemis was born for hunting. She also was called “hostess of animal” by the human because of this reason. Artemis also like hunting with mortals. Thence. Artemis also become a protector of animals. And humans use deer to represent her sacred animal.
Apollo
Apollo is a god of the sun. Apollo’s parents are Zeus and Leto. He and Demeter are twins. He controls the light time of one day, and his sister controls a dark time of one day. Apollo is a god of art, music, lecture. In Greek Mythology, he is very good at the lyre and make beautiful rhythm. He can write poetry and stories. He also is a good of medicine. He teaches mortals medicine to save lives. He is the most versatile, handsome, clever god. Nowadays, he represents a modal of male beauty.
Music Competition between Apollo and Marsyas
Satyr Marsyas was the developer and performer of flute from Phrygia. He was an arrogant man. He thought he is the best flutist even better than Apollo. One day, Apollo knew about this man with his arrogant. He wanted to have a competition with Marsyas with flute. The winner of the game can do anything to the loser. The judge of this game is Muse, who is the goddess of Arts and Sciences. During the competition, Marsyas played the flute with a wonderful melody. Apollo also played the lyre with a fantastic melody. So, they were tied in the first round. In the second round, Apollo turned his lyre upside down and played a beautiful melody. However, flute could not be played upside down. So Marsyas loss the competition. In the end, Apollo hanged his body from the tree and peeled off his skin. Finally, other gods transformed Marsyas’ skin into a stream.
Athena
Athena is the goddess of war and wisdom. Her symbols are aegis, helmet, armor, spear. Her Roman name is Minerva. Athena was born of Zeus’s head. Athena fights for justice in every way. Also, she is good at using strategy to win the wars. Athena is not only good at war but also teach citizens weaving, building transportation, established laws. These are the reason that she also is a goddess of wisdom. The name of the city of Athens is named after her. The Athenians built a temple called Parthenon for Athena.
The Name of Athens
A long time ago, the city of Athena did not have a name. At that time, this city controlled by a king called Cecrops, who was one-half person and one-half snake. One day he wanted to give his city a name that the name should use one of Olympian Gods’ names. Two gods were interested in this name. One god is Poseidon, who is the god of sea and earthquake. The other one is Athena, who is the goddess of wisdom and war. This contest has one rule is to give a valuable gift for Cecrops’ city. Poseidon created lakes with his trident as a gift. However, it lost its value because the water is salt. People could not use the water for daily life. Athena used her spear to make an olive tree as a gift. The king thought this olive tree is a symbol of peace and prosperity. It would be a good impact on his city. So, he used Athena as the name of his city and build a temple for her. Now, Athens still a famous and historical city in Greece.
Hephaestus
Hephaestus’ roman is Vulcan. There are two versions of his parents in Greek mythology. His parent cloud is Zeus and Hera or Hera alone. He is a God of fire, metalworking, stone masonry, and the art of sculpture. He has the best forging and metalworking skills in Greece. Hephaestus is called the god of fire because his work is related to fire. He forges a lot of useful weapons for other Olympian Gods. His symbols are Hammer, Anvil, and Tones.
The “Robots”
We all know Hephaestus was a great blacksmith. He built a lot of useful weapons for Zeus, Ares, Athena, Hermes, and other gods. He also created some fancy robots for Gods. He made a golden palace with some smart robots to serve all Gods. One golden statue could speak, had ideas and power like a human and two mechanical immortal dogs as guards of the palace. Automatic tables provided foods for all Gods. This palace was more like the “robots” palace and Hephaestus made all.
Aphrodite
Aphrodite’s roman name is Venus and born from the waves of water. Aphrodite is a goddess of love, beauty, pleasure, and procreation. Her husband is Hephaestus. She has a rule that a woman cannot be a virgin so she can use love magic to help man to attract a woman because she believes love is beautiful. Aphrodite has some different lovers except her husband, Hephaestus. Her symbols are Dolphin, Rose, and Dove.
Aphrodite and Golden Apple
This story happened during the wedding of King Peleus and sea-nymph Thetis. Eris was a goddess of chaos, strife and, discord in Greece. She not invited to the wedding, so she was jealous of Aphrodite, Hera, and Athena. She brought a golden apple that is a fruit of temptation during the wedding. Aphrodite, Hera, and Athena all wanted to own this apple. However, Zeus could not decide the owner of the golden apple because these three goddesses all were important to Zeus. Then, Zeus gave this choice to a mortal handsome man named Paris, who was the trojan prince. He chose the Aphrodite because Aphrodite promised to give him the most beautiful mortal woman, Halen. Finally, this case caused the trojan war in Greek mythology.
Hermes
Hermes is the god of trade, Thieves, Travelers, Sports, diplomacy. His roman name is Mercury; it is one of the nine planets. Zeus and the goddess Maia. He is the messenger and interpreter of Zeus and other gods. He can pass two worlds between heaven and the mortal world. He can bring the mortal’s prayer to the gods. In Greek mythology, he is an inventor of rules, numbers, and letters. His symbols are Talaria and Caduceus.
Hermes steals cattle
We all know Hermes is the god of thieves is because he like stealing and hiding things from other gods. A long time ago, there was a mortal called Battus. He lived on the top of a hill where was a place that Hermes stole the cattle of Apollo. Battus saw Hermes took the cattle through his house and hid the cattle in the cave. Battus promised Hermes not to say this situation because Hermes would pay him. However, Battus still told this thing to Apollo. Apollo found the cattle and took the Hermes to find Zeus for punishment. Hermes was angry because Battus betrayed him. Finally, Hermes used his power to make Battus become a stone statue.
Dionysus
Dionysus is the god of wine and joy. His roman name is Bacchus. His parents are Zeus and the mortal princess Semele. He has a high-level skill in making wine. He invents how to cultivate grapes and make wines. He spread these knowledges to the human, bring the joy of drinking. He is responsible for creating recreational activities for mortals. His symbols are Grapes.
The Birth of Dionysus
One day Zeus saw a beautiful and lovely woman, Semele, and fell in love. Soon after, Semele was pregnant, but this situation let Zeus’ wife Hera know. Hera was very jealous of Semele, and then she wanted to kill Semele. Hera transformed into a servant to tell Zeus is not love her. This sentence makes Semele began to doubt his identity. Zeus agreed to answer all the questions honestly in order to show his love to her. Then Semele demanded Zeus to show his identity. Zeus knew that if mortal see the identity of gods would be punished by death. However, Zeus could not go against his promise because of love. The thunderbolt hit the house of Semele. Hermes tied Dionysus to Zeus’ leg for saving his life. Hera always wanted to kill Dionysus since the day he birthed. So, Dionysus must forced to move and around the world.
Ares
Ares is the god of war. His roman name is Mars, and mars is one of the nine planets. His parent is Zeus and Hera. He is a warfighter always with violent, bloody. His power is not like his sister Athena because his war is bloodthirsty without any wisdom and strategy. So Gods and mortals are both do not like him. His symbols are Spear, Helmet, Chariot.
Ares was Abducted by Giants
Ares is the god of war. However, he was bloody, violent. These reasons caused other Olympian Gods did not like him. He always lived alone and no friends on Mount Olympus. One day, he was missing because Giants abducted him. Ares had been locked in the house by the giant for 18 months until the mother of giants realized Ares was locked up as an enemy. She informed this thing to Hermes for saving Ares. Finally, he owned freedom.
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