Olympus

The youngest son of Cronos and Rhea, he was the supreme ruler of Mount Olympus and of the Pantheon of gods who resided there. Being the supreme ruler he upheld law, justice, and morals, and this made him the spirtual leader of both gods and man. Zeus was a celestial god, and orginally worshipped as a weather god by the Greek tribes. These people came southward from the Balkans circa 2100 BCE. He has always been associated as being a weather god, as his main attribute is the thunderbolt, he controlled thunder, lightning and rain. Ron Leadbetter

The Queen of the Olympian deties. She is the daughter of Cronos and Rhea, and wife and sister of Zeus. Hera was mainly worshipped as a goddess of marriage and birth. It is said that each year Hera's virginity returns by bathing in the well Canathus. The children of Zeus and Hera are the smith-god Hephaeustus, the goddess of youth Hebe, and the god of war Ares. According to some sources, however, her children were conceived without the help of a man, either by slapping her hand on the ground or by eating lettuce: thus they were born, not out of love but out of lust and hatred.

The peacock (the symbol of pride; her wagon was pulled by peacocks) and the cow (she was known as Bopis, meaning "cow-eyed", which was later translated as "with big eyes") are her sacred animals. The crow and the pomegranate (symbol of marriage) are also dedicated to her. Other attributes include a diadem and a veil.

Hermes, the herald of the Olympian gods, is son of Zeus and the nymph Maia, daughter of Atlas and one of the Pleiades. Hermes is the god of sheperds, land travel, merchants, weights and measures, oratory, literature, athletics and thieves, and known for his cunning and shrewdness. Most importantly he is the messenger of the gods. Besides that he was also a minor patron of poetry. He was worshipped throughout Greece especially in Arcadia and festivals in his honor were called Hermoea. Ron Leadbetter

Asclepius was a Greek hero who later became the Greek god of medicine and healing. The son of Apollo and Coronis, Asclepius had five daughers Aceso, Iasso, Panacea, Aglaea, and Hygieia. He was worshipped throughout the Greek world but his most famous sanctuary was located in Epidaurus which is situated in the northeastern Peloponnese. The main attribute of Ascelpius is a physican's staff with an Asclepian snake wrapped around it; this is how he was distinguished in the art of healing, and his attribute still survives to this day as a symbol of the modern medical profession. The cock was also sacred to Asclepius and was the bird they sacrificed as his altar. Ron Leadbetter

Ares, the Greek god of war, is tall and handsome, but vain and as cruel as his brother Hephaestus was kind. His sister Eris, the goddess of strife, is his constant companion, but he is also attended by his sons Deimos and Phobos, as well as Enyo, an old war-goddess.

When Ares heard the clashing of arms, he grinned with glee, put on his gleaming helmet, and leapt into his war chariot. Brandishing his sword, he rushed into the thick of battle, not caring who won or lost as long as blood was shed. A vicious crowd followed at his heels, carrying with them Pain, Panic, Famine, and Oblvion. Once in a while, Ares was wounded. He was immortal but whenever he would get hurt he would run back to his father, Zeus and was healed. Needless to say, Zeus was very disgusted with his son. Ares was mainly worshipped in Thracia, a region known for its fierce people. Ryan Tuccinardi

Eris is the Greek goddess of discord and strife. She is Ares' constant companion and follows him everywhere. Eris is sinister and mean, and her greatest joy is to make trouble. She has a golden apple that is so bright and shiny everybody wants to have it. When she throws it among friends, their friendship comes to a rapid end. When she throws it among enemies, war breaks out for the golden apple of Eris is the Apple of Discord. She did this once during the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, and this act brought about the Trojan War.

In Greek mythology, Aphrodite is the goddess of love, beauty and sexual rapture. According to Hesiod, she was born when Uranus (the father of the gods) was castrated by his son Cronos. Cronos threw the severed genitals into the ocean which began to churn and foam about them. From the aphros ("sea foam") arose Aphrodite, and the sea carried her to either Cyprus or Cythera. Hence she is often referred to as Kypris and Cytherea. Homer calls her a daughter of Zeus and Dione.

After her birth Zeus was afraid that the gods would fight over Aphordite's hand in marriage so her married her off to the smith god Hephaestus, the steadiest of the gods. He could hardly believe his good luck and used all his skills to make the most lavish jewels for her. He made her a girdle of finely wrought gold and wove magic into the filigree work. That was not very wise of him, for when she wore her magic girdle no one could resist her, and she was all too irristible already. She loved gaiety and glamour and was not at all pleased at being the wife of a sooty, hard-working Hephaeustus.

Aphrodite loved and was loved by many gods and mortals. Among her mortal lovers, the most famous was perhaps Adonis. Some of her sons are Eros, Anteros, Hymenaios, and Aeaneas (with her Trojan lover Anchises).

Her festival is the Aphrodisiac which was celebrated in various centers of Greece and especially in Athens and Corinth. Her priestesses were not prostitutes but women who represented the goddess and sexual intercourse with them was just considered just one of the methods of worship. Aphrodite was orginally an old-Asian goddess, similar to the Mesopotamian Ishtar and the Syro-Palestinian goddess Ashtart. Her attributes are a.o. the dolphin, the dove, the swan, the pomegranate, and the lime tree.

Hephaestus, the god of fire especially the blacksmith's fire was the patron of all craftsmen, principally those working with metals. He was worshipped predominately in Athens, but also in other manufacturing centres. He was the god of valcanoes. Later, the fire within them represented the smith's furnace. Hephaestus was associated with Mount Etna, which is on the island of Sicily. Known as the lame god, Hephaestus was born weak and crippled. Displeased by the sight of her son, Hera threw Hephaestus from Mount Olympus, and he fell for a whole day before landing in the sea. Nymphs rescued him and took him to Lemnos, where the people of the island cared for him. But other versions say Zeus threw him from Mount Olympus after Hephaestus had sided with his mother in a quarrel. This legend says that Hephaestus fell for nine days and nine nights, and he landed on the island of Lemnos. It was on Lemnos where he built his palace and his forges under a volcanoe. Ron Leadbetter

Eros, the Greek god of love and sexual desire (the word eros means sexual desire). He was also worshipped as a fertility god, believed to be a contemporary of the primeval Chaos, which makes Eros one of the oldest gods. In the Dionysian Mysteries Eros is referred to as "protagonous", the first born. But there are many variations to whom the parents of Eros really were. According to Aristophanes (Birds) he was born from Erebus and Nyx (Night); in later mythology Eros is the offspring of Aphrodite and Ares. Yet in the Theogony, the epic poem written by Hesiod, it mentions a typified Eros as being attendant of Aprhodite, but not her son. Another legend says that he was the son of Iris and Zephyrus. Ron Leadbetter

The Fates or Moriae, were the goddesses who controlled the destiny of everyone from the time they were born to the time they died. They were: Clotho the spinner, who spun the thread of a person's life, Lachesis, the apportioner, who decided how much time was to be allowed each person, and Atrophos, the inevitable, who cut the thread when you were supposed to die. Even though the other gods were almighty, and supposedly immortal, even Hera had reason to fear them. All were subject to the whims of the Fates. Minsters of the Fates were always oracles or soothsayers (seers of the future). The Fates were very important but it is still unknown as to who their parents were. There is some speculation that they might be the daughters of Zeus, however, this is debateable.

The Fates were often depicted as ugly hags, cold and unmerciful. But the Fates were not always deaf to the pleadings of others. When Atrophos cut the thread of King Admentus, who happened to be Apollo's friend, Apollo begged the Fates to undo their work. It was not in their power to do so, but they promised that if someone took Admentus' place in the gloomy world of Hades domain. he would live. The king's wife Alcetis said she would take his place. But Hercules who happened to be Admentus' guest, rescued her from the underworld, and Admentus and Alcetis were reunited.

Hades is the Lord of the dead and the ruler of the underworld, which is referred to as the domain of Hades or, by transference, as Hades alone. He is the son of Cronos and Rhea. When the three sons of Cronos divided the world among each other, Hades was given the underworld, while his brothers Zeus and Poseidon took the upperworld and the sea respectively. He ruled the underworld together with Persephone, whom he abducted from the upperworld. Zeus order him to release Persephone back into the care of her mother Demeter, but before she left he gave her a pomegranate. When she ate it, it bound her to the underworld forever.

Poseidon is a god of many names. He is most famous as the god of the sea. The son of Cronos and Rhea, Poseidon is one of six siblings who eventually "divided the power of the world." His brothers and sisters include: Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, and Zeus. The other divinites attributed to Posedion involve the god of earthquakes, and the god of horses. The symbols associated with Poseidon include: dolphins, tridents, and three-pronged fish spears.

In Greek mythology, the sirens are creatures with the head of a female and the body of a bird. They lived on an island (Sirenum scoupli; three small rocky islands) and with the irresistible charm of their song they lured mariners to their destruction on the rocks surrounding their island.

Athena the Greek goddess of wisdom, the war, the arts, industry, justice and skill. She was the favorite child of Zeus. She had sprung fully out of her father's head. Her mother was Metis, goddess of wisdom and Zeus' first wife. In fear that Metis would bear a son mightier than himself. Zeus swallowed her and she began to make a robe and helmet for her daughter. The hammering of the helmet caused great Zeus pain in the form of headaches and he cried out in agony. Skilled Hephaestus ran to his father and split his skull open and from it emerged Athena, fully grown and wearing her mother's robe and helmet. She is the virgin mother of Erichthnonius.

In Greek mythology Nemesis is the goddess of divine justice and vengeance. Her anger is directed toward human transgression of the natural, right order of things and of the arrogance causing it. Nemesis pursues the insolent and the wicked with inflexible vengeance. Her cult probably originated from Smyrna. She is regarded as the daughter of Oceanus or Zeus, but according to Hesiod she is a child of Erebus and Nyx.

The daughter of Leto and Apollo, and twin sister of Apollo. Artemis is the goddess of the wilderness, the hunt, and wild animals, and fertility (she became a goddess of fertility and childbirth mainly in cities). She was often depicted with the crescent of the moon above her forehead and was sometimes identified with Selene (goddess of the moon). Artemis was one of the Olympians and a virgin goddess. Her main vocation was to roam mountain forests and uncultivated land with her nymphs in attendance hunting for lions, panthers, hinds, and stags. Contradictiory to the later, she helped in protecting and seeing to their well-being, also their safety and reproduction. She was armed with a bow and arrows which were made by Hephaestus and the Cyclopes.