OLYMPIANS

Zeus, King of the Gods

Roman name: Jupiter

Zeus was the king of all the gods.  Zeus ruled the entire
universe - no one was mightier than the mighty Zeus.  Zeus was
not afraid of anything except possibly his wife, the horrible
Hera. His was an elected position. There were 12 gods on the
council. They could have voted someone else king. But they
never did. And Zeus never retired.
Hera, Queen of the Gods
Roman name: Juno

Hera was the queen of all the gods, and also the goddess of
marriage. Hera and Zeus had two children, both boys, Ares and
Hephaestus. Zeus also had children with other mothers,
children like Hermes and Apollo and Artemis and Hercules.
Hera did not like that. She was very jealous. She was often
mean to Zeus' other children. Some, like Hercules, she even
tried to kill.
She was also jealous of Zeus. Probably the only thing in the
earth or heavens that Zeus truly feared was his wife, Hera - or
rather, he feared her temper.
Poseidon, Lord of the Sea
Roman name: Neptune

Poseidon was an important god. Poseidon was the Lord of the

Sea. He was one of the 12 Olympians who made up the council
of the gods.
Poseidon had two powerful brothers - Zeus, king of all the gods,
and Hades, lord of the underworld. Poseidon was not at all
jealous of his brothers or their power. He did not want to be in
charge of the Underworld. And he certainly did not want all the
responsibility that Zeus had shouldered. He was very happy
being Lord of the Sea.
The Reason for Seasons - Demeter & Persephone
Zeus, the king of all the gods, had two brothers and three sisters.
All the gods had jobs, but his sister Demeter had one of the most
important jobs - she was in charge of the harvest. There were
many temples in ancient Greece dedicated to Demeter. Nearly
everyone, gods and mortals, did their best to keep Demeter
happy. If Demeter did not do her job, the crops would die and
everyone would starve. 
Athena, daughter of Zeus
Roman name: Minerva

Athena was a powerful and popular goddess in ancient Greece.

Athena did not have a mother. She was born directly out of
Zeus' brain, which is how she received her remarkable
cleverness. She is sometimes also considered the goddess of war
because Athena had the power to give skill, courage, and victory
in battle to those who deserved it (in her opinion.)
Athena held a seat on Mount Olympus, on the council of twelve,
the rulers of the gods. The other gods counted on Athena to be
fair. Zeus admired Athena for her wisdom, kindness, and
understanding. Even her moody uncle, Poseidon, had a special
place in his heart for his niece, Athena, the goddess of wisdom.
 Ares, God of War
Roman name: Mars

Ares was the Greek god of war. He was the son of the king and
queen of the gods (Zeus and Hera.) He was tall and good-
looking and mean and self-centered. Ares loved bloodshed.
When the ancient Greeks were at war, Ares often got involved.
Ares would sometimes fight on the side of the Greeks, and
sometimes fight against the Greeks.
Apollo, God of Healing, Light, Truth, Medicine, and Music
Roman name: Apollo

Apollo was the son of Zeus (king of all the gods.) His mother
was the gentle Leta. Apollo had a twin sister, Artemis, the
huntress,a little brother Hermes, and several half brothers and
sisters. Apollo loved his family - all of them, except perhaps
Mars (god of war.)
Apollo had lots of jobs in the ancient Greek god world. He was
the god of healing, the god of light, the god of truth, the god of
medicine, and the god of music and musicians. One of his most
important jobs was to bring up the sun every day. Like his sister,
he was a great archer, and often carried a silver bow.
Artemis, Goddess of the Moon and of the Hunt
Roman name: Diana

Artemis was Apollo's twin sister. Her father was Zeus, king of
all the gods. Her mother was the gentle Leto.
Artemis was Apollo's opposite. Her brother could be warm and
loving. But Artemis was not like that. She adored her dogs. She
loved her twin brother. She loved her Mom. She respected her
Dad. She even liked most of her half-siblings. But to others,
Artemis was cold and pitiless.
Her anger and her arrows were swift. She absolutely, positively,
no question about it, resented anyone who intruded upon her, or
spied upon her, especially any man. Artemis had swore never to
marry. She never did.
Hermes, Messenger of the Gods
Roman name: Mercury

Hermes was Zeus' youngest son. Hermes' mother was Maia. 

Hermes was one of the 12 Olympians, the gods who ruled the
magical world.
Zeus liked having his son Hermes around, even as a baby.
Hermes was always full of fun. He was very bright. He had great
ideas. He was a natural athlete. He had a mischievous grin. He
seemed to be able to talk others into just about anything.
Both gods and humans liked and trusted Hermes. Their trust was
well placed. Hermes could keep a secret. Zeus decided to make
him the messenger and the deal maker of the gods. That would
put Hermes in the midst of things all the time, and it would
make sure that Hermes was important.
Aphrodite, Goddess of Love and Beauty
Roman name: Venus

The ancient Greek goddess, Aphrodite, showed up one day,

thousands of years ago, and began appearing in ancient Greek
myths, the myths told by the ancient Greek storytellers.
According to the stories that sprang up about her, she was as
vain as she was beautiful, and she was very beautiful. Zeus was
delighted to claim her as his daughter. It was Zeus' habit to give
his children titles and jobs. He gave Aphrodite the title of
Goddess of Love and Beauty, and the job of spreading love and
beauty everywhere.
TITANS
In Greek mythology, the Titans were a primeval race of
powerful deities, descendants of Gaia (Earth) and Uranus
(Heaven), that ruled during the legendary Golden Age.The
Titans were overthrown by a race of younger gods, the
Olympians, in a ten-year war called the Titanomachy.
PROMETHEUS(FIRE GOD) was the Titan god
of forethought and crafty counsel who was given the task of
moulding mankind out of clay. His attempts to better the lives of
his creation brought him into conflict with Zeus. Firstly he
tricked the gods out of the best portion of the sacrificial feast,
acquiring the meat for the feasting of man. Then, when Zeus
withheld fire, he stole it from heaven and delivered it to mortal
kind hidden inside a fennel-stalk. As punishment for these
rebellious acts, Zeus ordered the creation of Pandora (the first
woman) as a means to deliver misfortune into the house of man,
or as a way to cheat mankind of the company of the good spirits.
Prometheus meanwhile, was arrested and bound to a stake on
Mount Kaukasos (Caucasus) where an eagle was set to feed
upon his ever-regenerating liver (or, some say, heart).
Generations later the great hero Herakles (Heracles) came along
and released the old Titan from his torture. Prometheus gave
mankind the civilizing arts and fire.
Epimetheus was one of the Titans, son of Iapetus and Clymene.
He was the brother of Prometheus, Atlas and Menoetius. His
name is derived from the Greek word meaning 'afterthought',
which is the antonym of his brother's name, Prometheus,
meaning 'forethought'.

Prometheus, a fire god and divine trickster, had stolen fire from heaven and bestowed it
upon mortals, Zeus, the king of the gods, determined to counteract this blessing. He
accordingly commissioned Hephaestus (a god of fire and patron of craftsmen) to
fashion a woman out of earth, upon whom the gods bestowed their choicest gifts. In
Hesiod’s Works and Days, Pandora had a jar containing all manner of misery and evil.
Zeus sent her to Epimetheus, who forgot the warning of his brother Prometheus and
made Pandora his wife.