The document provides information on several ancient Greek gods and goddesses that were believed to reside on Mount Olympus, including Zeus, Hera, Apollo, Artemis, Hephaestus, Ares, Aphrodite, Poseidon, Athena, Hades, Persephone, Hermes, Dionysus, Demeter, and Hestia. It describes their roles and symbols, and provides details about myths and legends associated with each deity.

1. The Olympians

3. Mt. Olympus
home of the gods

4. zeus

5. zeus

6. zeus Aegis
thunderbolt

8. Zeus was the famous king of the
Greek gods and god of the sky,
heavens and the earth. He ruled
Mount Olympus with his wife Hera.
Although Zeus was married he was
renown for the number of liaisons
with other women, often visiting
them in the guise of an animal.
The powers of Zeus were
legendary and his famous symbol
and weapon was the thunderbolt
which, when hurled, could shatter
mountains.

9. Hera was the queen of the
ancient Greek gods and wife
of Zeus, the ruler of Mount
Olympus. Her role was as
the Greek goddess of the
family, marriage and
childbirth. Many of the
stories in Ancient Greek
mythology surrounding Hera
tells of her jealousy and
rages that were prompted
by the numerous love affairs
of her unfaithful husband
Zeus.
Hera

10. Hera was woman
personified. She was
depicted as a young woman,
fully developed, chaste and
with severe beauty. Her
forehead is crowned with a
diadem or with a high crown.
She wears a long tunic. She is
a faithful wife to Zeus, whom
she gave four children- Ares,
Hephaestus, Hebe and
Ilythya.
Hera

11. Apollo was the dazzling
and handsome Greek god
of the sun, prophecy,
medicine, crops and
music. His task was to
harness his chariot with
four horses and drive the
Sun across the sky. His
ability to bring the sun and
well-being to humans
explains his association
with healing.
A
po
l
lo

12. Apollo was also called
“Phoebus Apolo” or
“Phoebus the Brilliant”.
He is generally nude or
wears only a short
mantle clasped at the
shoulder. He has bow
and quiver and lyre.

13. Apollo’s beardless face is delicately
featured.
A
p
ol
lo

14. Artemis

15. Artemis was the Greek
goddess of the hunt,
archery, animals and the
moon. She was the twin
sister of Apollo. Every
evening she mounted her
moon chariot, and drove
her pure white horses
across the heavens. The
Roman counterpart of this
Greek goddess was Diana.

16. Artemis was Apollo’s
twin sister, daughter of
Zeus and Leto. Just like
Apollo, she is a divinity of
light though of the
moonlight. She has a
bow and quiver, a deity
of sudden death. She
wears a tunic retained by
a girdle. On her feet are
laced boots. She usually
accompanied by a deer.

17. Hephaestus was the Greek god
of fire, craftsmen and metal
workers. He created the
armor, weapons and the
thrones of the Greek gods who
resided on the summit of
Mount Olympus. Hephaestus
and his supernatural and
powerful skills as a metal
worker led him to make many
other astonishing items using
gold, silver and bronze,
including magnificent metal
robots that served the gods
and their favorites.

18. The divine blacksmith was
generously giving gifts to
mortals also. So he gave
Heracles a golden breastplate,
to Ariadne a garland made of
precious metals and gems. He
was traditionally depicted as a
robust smith with bearded
face, powerful neck and hairy
chest. He was both lame in
both legs. On his hands, he
grasps a hammer and tongs.
Hephaestus

19. Hephaestus

20. Ares was the Greek god of
War, an unruly and
ungovernable warrior. He
features in the stories, myths
and legends relating to the
various conflicts including the
War with the Titans, the War
of the Giants. Ares was also
the god of spring, growth in
nature, and fertility and the
protector of cattle. He was the
lover of Aphrodite. Ares is
depicted as a powerful, strong,
god who rode a chariot drawn
by four gold-bridled fire-
breathing stallions.
Ares

21. Ares
Ares enjoys nothing
but war, strife and
battles. God of war,
of blind brutal
courage, of bloody
rage and carnage. He
was a warrior
wearing a helmet
with a tall crest and
dressed in heavy
armor. The vulture
was his bird, the dog
was his animal.

22. Ar
E
s

23. Ares
The main symbols of
Ares were the spear
and torch. From the
animal kingdom, his
symbols were the
vultures that ate the
corpses of slain warriors
and dogs which were
sacrificed in Sparta
along with bulls and
cocks.

24. Aphrodite was the most
beautiful of all the
goddesses. Aphrodite was
the Greek goddess of love,
beauty and passion. Zeus
gave her hand in marriage
to Hephaestus, in gratitude
for the service he had given
in forging thunderbolts. She
was an unfaithful wife and
had a long term affair with
Ares the Greek god of war.
She had a son named Eros,
or Cupid, the god of love.
Aphrodite

25. Aphrodite was more a
goddess of beauty and
sensual love and rarely
protected the marital life.
Sanctuaries symbols were
the white doves.
Additionally, a pair of these
birds dragged her chariot.
Other symbols were apple,
poppy, rose, myrtle,
anemone and the flower of
pomegranate.
Aphrodite

26. Hera was undoubtedly
beautiful; Athena was
severely beautiful but
Aphrodite was pure
seduction and grace.
She was the “mistress
of gracious laughter,
sweet deceits, the
charms and delights of
love.”
Aphrodite

27. PoseidonPoseidon was the Greek
god of the sea, tempests,
storms and earthquakes,
known as the 'Earth-
Shaker'. Although Poseidon
was one of the gods of
Mount Olympus, he spent
most of his time in his
domains and magnificent
under water palace. The
symbol of the trident of
power represented his
ability to control water.

28. Poseidon
Poseidon was lived in the
depths of the Aegean Sea,
in a magnificent palace,
glittering with gold. Clad
in a golden robe, beneath
a golden armor, he would
hurl himself, the sea
opening before him,
accompanied by wild
tempests and furious
winds.

30. Athena
Athena was the goddess who
sprang from the head of Zeus
clothed in armor. Athena was
the goddess of wisdom and
also the goddess of spinning
and weaving; and she herself
could weave the most
beautiful cloths of many
colors. Her importance to the
Athenians is seen in her
wonderful temple, the
Parthenon, which still crowns
the Acropolis in the modern
city of Athens in Greece.

31. Athena
Sometimes called Pallas
Athena, she was venerated
among the greatest divinities
in her quality of warrior-
goddess– as goddess of the
arts and peace and of prudent
intelligence. She is
represented as standing, her
body sheathed in tight
draperies, her head covered
with a helmet, her breast
covered with the aegis, a
shield, her right hand holding
a spear.

32. A
T
H
E
N
a

33. A
T
H
E
N
a

34. Athena – Pallas
symbolize some of the
most important ideals
of the ancient Greek
spirit. She combined
strength and bravery
with prudence and
intelligence. Her
favorite symbols were
the aegis, the spear, the
owl and the olive tree.

35. Hades
Hades was the elder
brother of Zeus and
Poseidon and the ruler of
the Underworld. He
abducted Persephone, the
daughter of Zeus and
Demeter, and made her
Queen of the Underworld.
Sometimes he was called
the 'Prince of Darkness' and
he preferred living in the
Underworld than on Mount
Olympus with the other
gods.

37. Hades
Hades had gloomy
features. He had a beard
and dark hair falling over
his brow. The sacred
symbol of Hades was
his helmet, which helped
him stay invisible. His
sacred animal
was Cerberus, his own
three-headed dog.

38. Hades Persephone was abducted by Hades while she was
picking flowers in the fields. In revenge for this act
Demeter cast a curse on earth and there was a
great famine. Demeter refused to lift the curse
until she saw her daughter again. Zeus intervened
and sent Hermes to the Underworld to ask Hades
to return Persephone. However, Persephone had
eaten part of a pomegranate, or love-apple, while
she was with Hades so she could only be given
back to her mother for part of each year. For two-
thirds of the year Persephone was allowed to live
with her mother and the remainder of the time
she was obliged to stay with Hades as queen of
the Underworld. The people believed that when
Persephone made her yearly visits she brought
spring with her and when the time came that she
must return to Hades the bleak winter followed.

39. Persephone was the
Greek goddess of
Spring and one of the
extraordinary number
of gods and
goddesses
worshipped by the
Ancient Greeks.
Persephone

40. When she was a beautiful young
maiden, Hades seized her and
held her captive in his
underworld. Her mother, the
goddess Demeter, eventually
persuaded the gods to let her
daughter return to her.
This mythical story symbolizes
the annual vegetation cycle, the
dying and rebirth of the plant
world.
Persephone

41. Persephone Persephone was required to
remain in the underworld
for four months because
Hades had tricked her into
eating a pomegranate (the
food of the dead). When
Persephone left the earth,
the flowers withered and
the grain died, but when
she returned, life
blossomed anew and
Persephone is therefore
associated with Spring.

42. He was the messenger of
the gods and the god of
merchants, travelers, and
public speakers
The names of his parents
were Maia and Zeus.
He was one of the 12
Olympian gods who
resided on the summit of
Mount Olympus.
Hermes

43. He was father of Pan and
Daphne.
Hermes was the only god who
was authorized to visit Heaven,
Earth and the Underworld.
His caduceus (a staff entwined
by snakes) helped Hermes
charm the gods and gain access
to all locations
He was often depicted ready for
travel and often wore a flat hat
called a petasus.
Hermes

44. Hermes was the messenger of the gods.

45. Dionysius

46. Dionysus was the carefree
Greek god of wine, parties,
festivals, the theatre,
chaos, drunkenness and
ecstasy. The symbol of
Dionysus were the Grapes
and Goblet relating to his
role as the god of wine. He
taught mortals how to
plant and tend the
grapevine and make it into
wine.

47. Dionysius
Dionysus was the god of the
grape harvest, winemaking and
wine, of ritual madness and
ecstasy in Greek mythology. He
was the most cheerful of the
gods and one of the most
beloved to the people. As
Prometheus gave them fire or
Asclepius put the foundations
of medicine, so Dionysus
offered them the vine and
wine.

48. Demeter
Demeter was the goddess
who watched over the
plants and trees. Demeter
taught men how to sow
and cultivate grain, so she
was also worshiped as the
goddess of agriculture.
Demeter was a lover of
Zeus and they had a
daughter named
Persephone.

49. Demeter
Demeter is one of the
largest and oldest
goddesses of the ancient
Greek pantheon.
She is the daughter of
Cronus and Rhea, sister
of Zeus, Poseidon,
Hades, Hera and Hestia.

50. Known as the Goddess
of harvest, fertility,
agriculture and
vegetation soil,
protector of the land
and its products,
mother of cereals
(hence her name) and
mainly wheat.
Demeter

51. Hestia was the virgin goddess
of the hearth, the home and
family. She was also the
goddess of the sacrificial
flame and assigned by Zeus
the duty to maintain the fires
of the Olympian hearth. Every
home had a hearth that was
dedicated to the goddess, and
each day started and ended
with a ritual requesting she
protected the family.
Hestia

52. HestiaShe was the first born child of
the Titans Cronus and Rhea
and was swallowed by her
father at birth.
When she was introduced to
Mount Olympus the gods
Apollo and Poseidon asked for
her hand in marriage. She
refused their offers and Zeus
allowed her to remain an
eternal virgin.

53. Zeus assigned to her a duty
to maintain the fires of the
Olympian hearth
She is often featured as one
of the 12 Olympian gods
but some Greek historians
include the god Dionysus -
hence some of the
confusion related to names
of the 12 Olympians.
Hestia