King of the gods and ruler of Mount Olympus; god of the

sky, lightning, thunder, law, order, justice. Youngest child

of the Titans Cronus and Rhea. Symbols include the
Zeus Jupiter thunderbolt, eagle, oak tree, lion, scepter, and scales.
Brother and husband of Hera, although he had many
lovers, also brother of Poseidon, Hades, Demeter, and
Hestia.

Queen of the gods and the goddess of marriage and

family. Symbols include the peacock, cuckoo, and cow.
Hera Juno Youngest daughter of Cronus and Rhea. Wife and sister of
Zeus. Being the goddess of marriage, she frequently tried
to get revenge on Zeus' lovers and their children.

God of the seas, earthquakes, and tidal wave. Symbols

include the horse, bull, dolphin, and trident. Middle son of
Poseidon Neptune Cronus and Rhea. Brother of Zeus and Hades. Married to
the Nereid Amphitrite, although, like most male Greek
Gods, he had many lovers.

Goddess of fertility, agriculture, nature, and the seasons.

Demeter Ceres Symbols include the poppy, wheat, torch, cornucopia, and
pig. Middle daughter of Cronus and Rhea.
 Goddess of wisdom, knowledge, reason, intelligent activity,
literature, handicrafts and science, defense and strategic
Athena Minerva warfare. Symbols include the owl and the olive tree.
Daughter of Zeus and the Oceanid Metis, she rose from
her father's head fully grown and in full battle armor.

God of light, prophecy, philosophy, inspiration, poetry,

music and arts, medicine and healing. Son of Zeus and
Apollo[A] Apollo[A]
Leto. Symbols include the sun, lyre, swan, and mouse.
Twin brother of Artemis.

Goddess of the hunt, virginity, archery, the moon, and all

animals. Symbols include the moon, horse, deer, hound,
Artemis Diana
she-bear, snake, cypress tree, and bow and arrow.
Daughter of Zeus and Leto and twin sister of Apollo.

God of war, violence, and bloodshed. Symbols include the

boar, serpent, dog, vulture, spear, and shield. Son of Zeus
Ares Mars
and Hera, all the other gods despised him. His Latin name,
Mars, gave us the word "martial."
 Goddess of love, beauty, and desire. Symbols include the
dove, bird, apple, bee, swan, myrtle, and rose. Daughter of
Zeus and the Oceanid Dione, or perhaps born from the sea
foam after Uranus' semen dripped into the sea after being
Aphrodite Venus castrated by his youngest son, Cronus, who then threw his
father's genitals into the sea. Married to Hephaestus,
although she had many adulterous affairs, most notably
with Ares. Her name gave us the word "aphrodisiac", while
her Latin name, Venus, gave us the word "venereal".[B]

Master blacksmith and craftsman of the gods; god of fire

and the forge. Symbols include fire, anvil, axe, donkey,
hammer, tongs, and quail. Son of Hera, either by Zeus or
Hephaestus Vulcan
alone. Married to Aphrodite, though unlike most divine
husbands, he was rarely ever licentious. His Latin name,
Vulcan, gave us the word "volcano."

Messenger of the gods; god of commerce, communication,

borders, eloquence, diplomacy, thieves and games.
Symbols include the caduceus (staff entwined with two
Hermes Mercury snakes), winged sandals and cap, stork, and tortoise
(whose shell he used to invent the lyre). Son of Zeus and
the nymph Maia. The second-youngest Olympian, just
older than Dionysus.

Goddess of the hearth and of the right ordering of

domesticity and the family; she was born into the first
Olympian generation and was one of the original twelve
Olympians. Some lists of the Twelve Olympians omit her in
Hestia Vesta favor of Dionysus, but the speculation that she gave her
throne to him in order to keep the peace seems to be
modern invention. She is the first child of Cronus and
Rhea, eldest sister of Hades, Demeter, Poseidon, Hera,
and Zeus.
 God of wine, celebrations, and ecstasy. Patron god of the
art of theatre. Symbols include the grapevine, ivy, cup,
Dionysus(or tiger, panther, leopard, dolphin, goat, and pinecone. Son of
Bacchus
Bacchus) Zeus and the mortal Theban princess Semele. Married to
the Cretan princess Ariadne. The youngest Olympian god,
as well as the only one to have a mortal mother.

Other Olympians[edit]
The following gods and goddess are sometimes included as one of the twelve Olympians.

Greek Roman Image Functions and Attributes

God of the Underworld, dead and the riches under

the Earth; he was born into the first Olympian
generation, the elder brother of Zeus, Poseidon,
Hades
Pluto Hera, and Demeter, and younger brother of Hestia,
but as he lives in the Underworld rather than on
Mount Olympus, he is typically not included
amongst the twelve Olympians.

A divine hero, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, foster

son of Amphitryon and great-grandson (and half-
brother) of Perseus (Περσεύς). He was the greatest
Heracles Hercules
of the Greek heroes, a paragon of masculinity and a
champion of the Olympian order against chthonic
monsters.
 Queen of the Underworld and a daughter of
Demeter and Zeus. Also goddess of spring time.
She became the consort of Hades, the god of the
underworld, when he kidnapped her. Demeter,
driven to distraction by the disappearance of her
daughter, neglected all of the earth so that nothing
would grow. Zeus eventually ordered Hades to
allow Persephone to leave the underworld and
Persephone(or rejoin her mother. Hades did this, but because
Proserpina
Kore) Persephone had eaten six of the twelve
pomegranate seeds in the underworld when Hades
first kidnapped her, she had to spend six months in
the underworld each year. This created the seasons
when for six months everything grows and
flourishes then for the other six months everything
wilts and dies. Her symbols include the
pomegranate, willow tree, waterfalls, rivers
and springs.

The god of medicine and healing. He represents the

healing aspect of the medical arts; his daughters
are Hygieia ("Health"), Iaso ("Medicine"), Aceso
Asclepius Vejovis
("Healing"), Aglæa/Ægle ("Healthy Glow"), and
Panacea ("Universal Remedy"). He is the son of
Apollo and Coronis.

The god of sexual love and beauty. He was also

worshipped as a fertility deity, son
Cupid (or
Eros of Aphrodite and Ares. He was depicted often as
Amor)
carrying a lyre or bow and arrow. He is often
accompanied by dolphins, roses, and torches.
 She is the daughter of Zeus and Hera. Hebe was
the cupbearer for the gods and goddesses of Mount
Hebe Juventas Olympus, serving their nectar and ambrosia, until
she was married to Heracles. She is the goddess of
youth.

Minor residents of Mount Olympus[edit]

The following gods and goddesses were not usually counted as Olympians, although they had close
ties to them.

 Aeolus – King of the winds, keeper of the Anemoi, master of the seasonal winds.
 Alpheus – God of the River Alpheus.
 Amphitrite – Queen of the Sea, mother of Triton and wife of Poseidon.
 Anemoi – The personifications of the four wind directions (North, South, East and West).
 Angelos – An underworld goddess, a daughter of Zeus and Hera.
 Aura – Goddess of cool breezes and fresh air.
 Bia – Personification of force.
 Circe – Minor goddess of magic, not to be confused with Hecate.
 Deimos – God of terror, son of Ares and brother of Phobos.
 Dione – Oceanid; mother of Aphrodite by Zeus in Homer's version.
 Eileithyia – Goddess of childbirth; daughter of Hera and Zeus.
 Enyo – A goddess of warfare, companion of Ares. She was also the sister of Ares in some
cases. In those cases, her parents are Zeus and Hera.
 Eos – Personification of dawn.
 Eris – Goddess of discord and strife.
 Ganymede – Cupbearer of the gods' palace at Olympus.
 Graces – Goddesses of beauty and attendants of Aphrodite and Hera.
 Harmonia – Goddess of concord and harmony, opposite of Eris, daughter of Aphrodite.
 Hecate – Goddess associated with magic, witches and crossroads.
 Helios – Titan; personification of the sun.
 Horae – Wardens of Olympus.
 Hypnos – God of sleep, father of Morpheus and son of Nyx.
 Iris – Personification of the Rainbow, also the messenger of Olympus along with Hermes.
 Kratos – Personification of power.
 Leto – Titaness of the unseen; mother of Apollo and Artemis.
 Metis – Oceanid; mother of Athena.
 Moirai – The 'Fates'. Clotho (the spinner), Lachesis (the allotter) and Atropos (the unturnable).
 Momus – God of satire, mockery, satires, and poets.
 Morpheus – God of dreams.
 Muses – Nine goddesses of science and arts. Their names are Calliope, Urania, Clio,
Polyhymnia, Melpomene, Terpsichore, Thalia, Euterpe, and Erato.
 Nemesis – Greek goddess of retribution and revenge, daughter of Nyx.
 Nike – Goddess of victory.
 Nyx – Goddess of night.
 Paean – Physician of the gods.
 Pan – God of the wild, shepherds and flocks.
 Perseus – Son of Zeus and Danae, slayer of Medusa, the legendary founder of Mycenae and of
the Perseid dynasty.
 Phantasos – God of surreal dreams.
 Phobos – God of fear, son of Ares and brother of Deimos.
 Selene – Titaness; personification of the moon.
 Styx – Goddess of the River Styx, the river where gods swear oaths on.
 Thanatos – God of Death, sometimes a personification of Death.
 Theseus – Son of Poseidon, first Hero of Athens and slayer of the Minotaur.
 Triton – Messenger of the Seas, son of Poseidon and Amphitrite. He holds a twisted conch shell.
 Tyche – Goddess of Luck.
 Zelus – Personification of Emulation.