The Greek Gods By Kyle Thweatt

The 12 Olympians Zeus Poseidon Hades Hestia Hera Ares Athena Apollo Aphrodite Hermes Artemis Hephaestus

Zeus- King of the Gods Ruler of Mount Olympus. God of the sky, thunder and justice Wife of Hera and son of Cronus and Rhea His symbols are the thunderbolt, eagle, bull and the oak. Father of many heroes, including Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Hermes, Persephone, Dionysus, Perseus, Heracles, Helen, Minos, Ares, Hebe and Hephaestus

Poseidon- Lord of the Sea Poseidon, was the god of the sea, earthquakes and horses. Poseidon has many children. With Amphitrite he had Rhode, Triton and Benthesikyme Poseidon was important in several cities: In Athens, he was second only to Athena in importance In Corinth he was the chief god of the polis.

Hades- Lord of the Dead God of the underworld and wealth Hades and his brothers Zeus and Poseidon defeated the Titans, each ruling their own area: the underworld, sky, and sea. Because of his affiliation with the underworld, Hades is sometimes thought of as a bad guy

Hera- Queen of the Gods Hera is the queen of the Gods and of the heavens. She is the goddess of women, marriage, and motherhood. Hera is the wife of Zeus and the daughter of Cronus and Rhea. The cow and peacock are sacred to her. She is also the mother of Ares, Hebe, Eris and Eileithyia, who is the goddess of childbirth.

Aphrodite Goddess of love, beauty, desire, and fertility Her sacred items are myrtle, the dove, swan and sparrow One myth is that Aphrodite could make any man fall in love with her by them just looking at her

Hestia Goddess of the hearth and home Was originally one of the Twelve Olympians, gave up her seat for Dionysus to care for the sacred fire on Mt. Olympus Received the first offering at every sacrifice in the house One of the three Great Goddesses of the first Olympian generation (Hestia, Demeter and Hera)

Dionysus God of wine and inspired madness He is the patron deity of agriculture and the theatre He is described as being womanly or "man-womanish“ the bull, ivy, serpent are all part of his characteristics The fig, toxic ivy and the grapevine are all sacred to him

Apollo God of light and the sun, truth and prophecy, archery, medicine, healing, music, poetry, the arts, agriculture, cattle and more Apollo is son of Zeus and Leto, and has a twin sister, Artemis. Patron of the city Delphi

Ares God of war, frenzy, bloodshed Compared to Athena’s way of war, which was strategic, Ares had a violent way of conducting war One of Ares’ symbols were the fire breathing stallion Animals that were sacred to him were the eagle, barn owl, vulture, wood packer and dog

Artemis Goddess of the hunt, the wild, maidens, and the moon. The deer and a small bush the cypress are sacred to her Sister of Apollo In art she can be shown in the shooting pose, and accompanied by a hunting dog.

Athena Goddess of wisdom, crafts, and strategic battle An armed warrior goddess, and appears in Greek mythology as a helper of many heroes, including Odysseus, Jason, and Heracles Goddess of Athens The owl and the olive tree are sacred to her. In art she is accompanied by an owl, and is often accompanied by the goddess of victory, Nike

Hephaestus God of technology, blacksmiths, craftsmen, artisans, sculptors, metals, and fire He was worshipped in all the manufacturing and industrial centers of Greece Brother of Ares, son of Hera and Zeus. Often did things without Zeus’ permission Symbols are the hammer, anvil, tongs and an axe

Hermes - Messenger of the Gods God of commerce, speed, thieves, trade boundaries, of the travelers who cross them, of shepherds and cowherds, of literature and poets, of athletics, of weights and measures, and of invention Interpreter who translates for strangers Invented fire, and may have invented different types of sports, he is the patron of athletes

Family Tree of the Titans and the Gods

Gods in Greek Myths… Pandora’s Box: Prometheus created humans Zeus took fire away from the mortals, but Prometheus took it back and ran off Mt. Olympus Zeus wanted to get back at Prometheus so he created Pandora Pandora was sent as a gift to Epimetheus, Prometheus’ brother- they were married Zeus gave Pandora a box and told her never to open it Pandora couldn’t resist to open the box, then disease, despair, hunger, poverty, war, sickness, death, old age, greed, violence and a few more evil things flew out of the box. She closed the box only leaving hope in it

…More Myths Birth of Athena: Zeus came to like Metis, but Metis didn’t want anything to do with Zeus Zeus swallowed Metis and after time began to develop headaches Hephaestus was directed by Hermes to split Zeus’s head open with a wedge Out came Athena in full armor- because of her birth, she has control over everything with intellect

Olympic Games The Olympic games were connected to the Greek gods and their religion. The original place where the games started was Olympia, which was a sanctuary site for the gods. Much of the early history of the Olympics is unknown, but we know of a few myths. One of these myths tells that Zeus created the games after his defeat of the Titan Cronus as a festival. In order to take part in the games, you had to qualify and have your name written down on a list. It is believed that only young people could participate. Everyone that was in the games, had to take an oath in front of the statue of Zeus that he had been training for 10 months.

Discobolus Discobolus is a famous Roman marble copy of a lost Greek bronze original. It was completed between 460-450 BC. His pose is unnatural to a human, and today considered the wrong way to throw the discus. Also there is very little emotion shown in the discus thrower's face. The statue I about five feet tall.