The Olympian Greek Gods and Goddesses

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The Olympian gods were the main gods of Ancient Greece. After overthrowing their ancestors,

the Titans, the Olympian gods became the rulers of the World (Cosmos), representing the

civilization of the world. The Olympian gods majestically and democratically dwelled on Mount

Olympus, the highest mountain in Greece, built by the Cyclopes. The leader of the Olympian

gods was Zeus.

The gods were born and grew just like human beings, some of them even married, however they

were unaging and death never came to them. They lived inside human-like bodies with an

ethereal fluid called ichor running through the veins. They had passions and human weaknesses

and were many times at fault, but were then obliged to take the full responsibility of their

actions.

Greek myths always refer to the twelve Gods of Mount Olympus, but actually, in total there were

more Olympian Gods in Greek Mythology. However, there were never more than twelve at one

time. The four alternative gods were Hestia, Hades, Dionysus and Demeter, depending on the

location.

[Read how the gods were worshipped in ancient Greece]

Aphrodite

The sensual goddess of Love

and Beauty

Apollo

The youthful god of the Sun

and the Music

Ares

Artemis

The fierce god of War

The wild goddess of the Hunt

Athena

The sophisticated goddess of

Wisdom and Arts

Demeter

The natural goddess of the

Harvest

Dionysus

The joyful god of Wine

Hades

The gloomy god of the

Underworld

Hephaestus

The ill-favored god of

Metallurgy

Hera

The mature goddess of the

Family

Hermes

Hestia

The cunning god of the Trade

The calm goddess of the

Hearth

Poseidon

The moody god of the Seas

Zeus

The superior King of the Gods

and Ruler of Mankind

The First Greek Gods and

Goddesses

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The ancient Greek mankind, trying to explain certain metaphysical

phenomena and anxieties, invented amazing myths concerning the

Cosmogony (the creation of the World) and the Theogony (the birth of the

Gods).

Thus, the ancient Greek people created their own splendid, yet human-

like world of gods, justifying the various abstract significances like Love,

Birth or Death.

First Greek Gods » Chaos, the primeval state of existence Share on linkedin Share on facebook Share on twitter Share on email More Sharing

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According to the Hesiod's Theogony (around 700 BC), in the

beginning there was Chaos as a primeval state of existence.

Chaos was the primal emptiness- a dark, silent, formless and

infinite oddity with no trace of life.

Out of Chaos, Mother Earth Gaea first came to existence. Full

of life and power, Gaea created high mountains, low lands,

rivers, lakes and seas. Soon Chaos created Tartarus, the

embodiment of the Underworld who built his home deep below

the World of Gaea. Gaea and Tartarus united and created

Typhoeus(Typhoon), an appalling, fire breathing dragon with hundred heads.

Then, love appeared out of Chaos, in the form of Eros. Eros was the most handsome

of all greek gods and invincible by nature.

Chaos also gave birth to Erebus, the symbolization of the dark silence, and Nyx, the

embodiment of the night.

With the intervention of Eros, Erebus and Nyx united and Nyx created Aether (the

Atmosphere) and Hemera (the Day).

Learn about: The Creation of the Titans | The Creation of modern Mankind

Greek Mythology - Family Tree of the First Greek Gods

First Greek Gods »Theogony - The Creation

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The ancient Greek mankind, trying to explain certain metaphysical phenomena and anxieties,

invented amazing myths concerning the Cosmogony (the creation of the World) and the

Theogony (the birth of the Gods). Thus, the ancient Greek people created their own splendid,

yet human-like world of gods, justifying the various abstract significances like Love, Birth or

Death.

The origins of the gods of ancient Greek religion are described in the Theogony, the famous

poem which was composed by the Greek writer Hesiod around 700 BC, and the Library of

Apollodorus.

The creation of the gods needs to be divided into four parts:

The Coming into Existence of Chaos

First there was Chaos, a rough unordered mass of things, also considered as a void. Chaos was

followed by Gaea (Earth) and Eros(Desire), who came to cancel every logical thought or act.

Gaea then brought Uranus (the Heaven), the infinite Pontus (the Sea) with his raging waves

and high mountains full of forests to the world.

The Castration of Uranus

Uranus' task was to surround and cover Gaea with his starry

coat, however, it very soon came to a union between Uranus

and Gaea and they became the first divine couple in the world.

Gaea bore Uranus twelve Titans: the deep Oceanus, Coeus,

Crius, Hyperion, Iapetus, Theia, Rhea, Themis, Mnemosyne,

the golden-wreathed Phoebe the charming Tethys, and Cronus,

who was the youngest of all. Furthermore, she produced three one-eyed creatures called

Cyclopes (Brontes, Steropes and heady Arges), as well as three hundred-handed creatures

called Hecatonchires.

Uranus was fearful of his children overthrowing him, so he pushed his children back one by

one into the womb of Gaea. His wife Gaea was in deep grief and sorrow over the loss of her

own children, so in the end she decided to hand a sickle to her son Cronus, the youngest of the

Titans, in order to castrate his father.

Cronus castrated his father while he was sleeping; the blood from Uranus was collected by

Mother Earth Gaea and she produced Erinyes (Furies), Giants and Nymphs. Cronus then threw

his father's genitals into the sea, around which foams developed, that started in the island of

Kythera and then slowly made their way to the island of Paphos, in modern Cyprus. In Paphos,

the foams transformed into Aphrodite, the Olympian goddess of Love and Beauty.

The Great Escape of Zeus from the Threat of Cronus

Soon afterwards, Cronus rescued his brothers and sisters and

shared the World (the Cosmos) with them. Then, Cronus married

his sister Rhea and together they created children who would later

on become the Olympian gods.

However, Cronus became fearful as well so he started to swallow

his own children, just like his father. Rhea was highly

discomforted, so, in her attempt to save her youngest child, Zeus,

she tricked her husband by giving a huge stone to swallow. Rhea

then sent Zeus to the Greek island of Crete in order to protect him.

The Victorious Battle of the Olympian Gods against the

Titans (Titanomachy)

Zeus grew up in the island of Crete. He was fed by the goat Amaltheia and the Nymphs took

good care of him. Doves brought him ambrosia from far away to eat and an eagle brought him

nectar to drink. When he reached manhood, as prophesied, Zeus rescued his five elder brothers

and sisters and then started a war against his father and the Titans. This war is also known as

also known as the "Titanomachy".

In this battle, Zeus succeeded in overthrowing Cronus, casting him and the other Titans into

the depths of the Underworld. A huge battle with the Giants followed, where the Olympian

Gods excelled... and then time had come for the Olympian gods to rule the world!

First Greek Gods »The Titans of Ancient

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According to Greek mythology, the Titans were a race of primordial, powerful deities that ruled

during the legendary Golden Age. The Titans were created by Gaea, the goddess of the Earth and

Uranus, the god of the Heaven who embraced Gaea strongly with his starry coat. Gaea and

Uranus became the first divine couple of the World.

The Titans were the first dwelling in Mount Olympus in Ancient Greece, but were overthrown

and expelled to the lower basement of Hades, the Tartarus, after their defeat in a huge battle with

the Olympian Gods, known as Titanomachy.

The Superior Titans

Gaea

Mother Earth

Uranus

Ruler of the Heaven and

the Sky

Main Titans

Atlas

Titan of Astronomy

Prometheus

Titan of Wisdom and Forethought

Titan Couples

Cronus

Ruling Titan and Father of the

Olympian Gods

Rhea

Mother of the Olympian Gods

Coeus

The Titan of Intelligence

Phoebe

The Titaness of Brilliance and

the Moon

Hyperion

Titan of Light and Observation

Theia

Titaness of Sight

Oceanus

The Ruler of the Waters and the

Seas

Tethys

The Titaness of the Wet Element

and the Oceans

Further Titans

Crius

Titan of Leadership and Domestic

Animals

Iapetus

Titan of

Mortality

Mnemosyne

Titaness of Memory

Themis

Titaness of

Law, Justice

and Order

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Deucalion's Flood and the Creation of

the new Human Race

When Prometheus stole fire from the King

of the gods Zeus and gave it to humans,

humans were no longer afraid of the cold

and slowly they started progressing.

However, instead of being good people, they

turned out to be bad and unfair.

Furiously, the King of the gods Zeus one

day decided to destroy the human race. But

in Thessaly, in Central Greece, there lived the son of Prometheus, Deucalion, and

his wife Pyrrha. Those people were good and righteous and Zeus felt pity for them

and didn't want them to die.

So he asked from Deucalion to build an ark. Deucalion obeyed, and when he built

the ark and gathered all the necessary supplies, he entered the ark with his wife.

Zeus then opened the heavens and it rained so much that all the land of Greece

transformed into a sea.

For nine days and nine nights, Deucalion's ark was wandering around, until finally

it stopped at the top of Mount Parnassus. Suddenly, the rain stopped, and

Deucalion with Pyrrha stepped out of the ark and made sacrifices to thank Zeus

for saving them.

But, obviously, they were very sad and cried, because the world they were now

living in was lonely... Zeus felt sorry for the couple, so he sent his messenger

Hermes to grant them a wish. The couple asked for people.

"Go back and throw stones", he told them and so they did. The stones that

Deucalion threw became men and those of Pyrra became women . This way, once

again a new race of men was created. The first stone thrown by Deucalion became

a man called Hellen (Hellinas). According to the legend, from Hellen and his

descendants the Greek people (the "Hellenes") originate.

Ancient Greek Demigods and Spirits Share on linkedin Share on facebook Share on twitter Share on email More Sharing Services 398

In addition to the Greek gods of Mount Olympus, there were also other Greek deities and various

spirits who were usually supplementing the Olympian gods' powers, but at times tended to

dispute the Olympian gods' proposals.

Marine Deities - the Gods of the Seas

Nereus the Old Gentleman of the Seas

Proteus the Sea god from Egypt

Sirens Alluring Sea Nymphs

Triton the Messenger of Poseidon

Groups of Demigods and Spirits

Amazons

mighty, skillful female

warriors

Charites

the Goddesses of Joy, Charm

and Beauty

Erinyes

the Goddesses of Revenge and

Retribution

Fates (Moirae)

the Spinners of the Thread of

Life

Horae

the Goddesses of the Seasons

Muses

the Goddesses of Art and

Science

Nymphs

the Goddesses of Nature

Pleiades

the goddesses of the mountains

Winds

the Gods of the Wind

Other Minor Power Gods

Adonis

the Lover of Aphrodite

Asclepius

the Greek God of Healing

Bia

the personification of Violence

Eilithyia

the Goddess of Childbirth

Eros

the Winged God of Love

Hebe

the Goddess of Youth

Helios

the God of the Sun

Hemera

the Goddess of the Day

Hyacinthus

Apollo's Handsome Partner

from Sparta

Hygieia

the Greek Goddess of Health

Iris

the personification of the

rainbow

Nemesis

the Divine Spirit of Retributive

Justice

Nyx

the Goddess of the Night

Persephone

the Queen of the Underworld

Styx

the Sacred River of the Oaths

Tyche

the Greek Goddess of Fortune

Monsters & Creatures in Ancient Greece

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Centaurs

rude, aggressive half- horse creatures

Cerberus

the guard of the Underworld

Cyclopes

one-eyed monstrous creatures

Giants

huge, frightful monsters

Graeae

the grey guards with the one eye

Harpies

the snatchers of souls

Hecatonchires

hundred-handed, dreadful monsters

Medusa

the frightful opponent of Perseus

Minotaur

the creature with the head of a bull

Satyrs

joyful half-goat creatures

Sphinx

the monster with the famous riddle

Typhon

the monstrous opponent of Zeus

Heroes and Mortals of Ancient Greece

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The Greek heroes were playing a significant part in the Greek myths and folk tales. They usually

were characters with a daring personality and extraordinary abilities, mostly arising from the

Trojan War.

Famous Greek Heroes

Heracles

the strongest hero of

Ancient Greece

Jason

the leader of the Argonauts

Trojan War Heroes

Achilles

the most important hero of

the Trojan War

Odysseus

the cunning hero of the

Trojan War

Famous Seers

Calchas

the interpreter of omens

Tiresias

the blind seer from Thebes

Kings and Founders

Agamemnon

the king of Mycenae

Glaucos

the king of Corinth

Inachos

the king and presumable

founder of Argos

Perseus

the founder of Mycenae

Theseus

the king and founding

hero of Athens, Greece

Extraordinary Women

Atalanta

the swift-footed huntress

Danae

the mother of Perseus

Europe

the beautiful princess

abducted by Zeus

Helen

the most beautiful woman

in the world

Pandora

the first woman ever

created

Psyche

the deification of the

human's soul

Olympic Heroes

Pelops

the mythical founder of the Olympic Games

Further Greek Mortals

Actaeon

the unfortunate

hunter of Boeotia

Belleroph

on

the Master of Pegasus

Daedal

us

the great artist and

inventor

Endymi

on

the unaging

shepherd

Ganyme

de

the cup-bearer of the

gods

Linus

the Music teacher of

Heracles

Narciss

us

the handsome boy

in love with

himself

Orion

the greatest hunter

of all times

Orpheus

the Father of the

Songs

Sisyphus

the cunning cheater of

death

Tantalu

s

the greedy sufferer

of the Underworld