12 gods who rule after
the Titans are defeated.
Zeus usurps his Father Cronus. He
wins a draw with his brothers Poseidon and
Hades. Zeus becomes the supreme god. He rules the sky. He
hurls thunderbolts at those who displease him. He marries Hera but
has many affairs. He punishes anyone who lies or breaks an oath.
Lord of the sea, married to
Amphitrite, a granddaughter of the Titan Oceanus, second only to Zeus in power amongst the
gods, his trident can shake the earth, and shatter any object. He is
quarrelsome and greedy frequently fighting with the other gods.
One day he is enchanted by Demeter. To
deter him Demeter asks him to create the most
beautiful animal on earth and thus Poseidon created the
first horse. The effort exhausts his passion and he
returns to his quarrelsome ways with even more determination.
Banished to the underworld to rule over the
dead, he is a greedy god greatly concerned with
increasing his subjects.
He is also the god of wealth and the
underworld is the place to find gold and silver and jewels and precious
stones.
His helmet can make him invisible but
he rarely leaves the underworld. He is unpitying and
terrible, but not capricious.
He may rule the dead but another god,
Thanatos, is death.
Zeus's sister, Hestia is a virgin. She is the Goddess of the
Hearth where a new born child is carried before becoming part of the family.
There was a public hearth sacred to Hestia in every city where the fire was never
allowed to go out.
Hera is wife and sister to Zues.
Raised by the Titans Ocean and Tethys, she is the benefactor of
marriage and married women.
At first Zeus was unsuccessful in
winning her. He turned to trickery, changing himself into a wounded cuckoo.
Feeling sorry it, Hera cradled the
bird at her breast. Zeus suddenly reappeared and raped her. Hera was
forced to marry him
to cover her shame.
When Zeus was oppressing the other gods, Hera
persuaded them
to revolt. She drugged Zeus. The gods tied the sleeping Zeus
with many knots then started quarrelling amongst themselves.
Briareus overheard them, slipped in and was able to
free Zeus, who sprang up and grabbed up his thunderbolt. The gods
fell to their knees begging and pleaded for mercy.
He hung Hera and hung her from the
sky with gold chains. She wept in pain all night but, none of the others
would help. The next morning Zeus agreed to release her if she
would swear never to rebel again. Although she kept her
word, she never stopped trying to thwart him in one way or another.
Her sacred animals are the cow and the peacock. Her favorite city is Argos.
The son of Zeus and Hera, Ares, the
god of war, was disliked by both parents.
A murderous, bloodstained, coward, he
is compromised by adultery with Aphrodite.
His bird, the vulture; his animal, the dog.
The daughter of Zeus, Athena
has no mother. She emerged full grown in armour from his
forehead.
Goddess of the city, handicrafts, and
agriculture, she defends the state and
home from outside enemies.
She invented the bridle, the trumpet, the flute, the
pot, the rake, the plow, the yoke, the ship, and the chariot. She is
wise, reasonable and pure.
A virgin godess and Zeus's favorite child,
she was allowed to use his
weapons including his thunderbolt.
Her tree is the olive; her bird, the
owl.
The son of Zeus and Leto, with a twin sister,
Artemis, Appollo is the god of music. He plays a golden lyre
and carries a silver bow.
He taught man medicine and could not speak a lie.
Each day he harnessed his chariot with four horses
and carried the Sun across the sky.
His tree, the laurel; his bird, the
crow; his animal, the dolphin.
The goddess of love, desire and
beauty, Aphrodite has a magical girdle that compels anyone she wishes to desire her. There are two
accounts of her birth.
A few believe she is the daughter of Zeus and
Dione but most believe that when Cronus castrated Uranus and tossed his severed
testicles into the sea, Aphrodite arose from the foam on a giant scallop and walked to
shore.
Married to Hephaestus, the myrtle, her
tree; her birds, the dove, the swan, and the
sparrow.
The son of Zeus and Maia, Hermes, is
the messenger of Zeus. The fastest of the gods, he wears winged sandals, a winged hat, and carries a
wand.
The god of
thieves and god of commerce and he guides the dead to the underworld.
He
invented the lyre, the pipes, the musical scale, astronomy , weights and measures, boxing,
gymnastics, and the care of olive trees.
The daughter of Zeus and Leto,
Artemis is the twin brother is Apollo.
The huntress of the gods, she is the
matron of the wild things and protector of the young. She hunts with silver arrows.
A virgin goddess, she is associated with the
moon and presides over childbirth.
The cypress is her tree. All wild animals are scared to her,
especially the deer.
The son of Zeus and Hera, Hephaestus is the only god to be physically
ugly and lame.
Upset by the prospect of being the
mother of an ugly child, Hera flung him from Mount Olympus breaking his legs.
He is the god of fire
and the forge. He is the smith and armorer of the gods. He uses a volcano as his forge. He
is the patron god of both smiths and weavers.
Married to Aphrodite he is kind and peace loving.
The story of Perseus and Andromeda is
interesting.