10 Most Powerful Greek Gods

1. Zeus
He was the god of all known universe that the Olympians won off the titans. After
winning over the titans, Zeus also won the draw with his brothers Hades and Poseidon
on who gets to be the ruler of throne after their father Kronos, and thus became the
god of all skies and the acknowledged ruler of all remaining gods. He was married to
Hera, the Queen of all gods, but he also was rather notorious for his romantic
escapades outside his marriage. He was known as father of gods, and as you might
have noticed by now, he fathered quite a many children with as many of his affairs.
Being the grand personification of nature as it is, he constructed the order that became
the basis for the different realms. He also embarked the age of regulated time in the
form of changing seasons and repeating days and nights. He ruled with absolute
authority and command over his universe. But he also had a bad temper and was very
easy to provoke. He would respond by hurling thunderbolt at those who displeased
him.

2. Hades (God of the Dead/King of the

Underworld)
Following the advent of age of Olympian gods, Hades became the ruler of underworld
– a place where only the dead could delve in (though there were quite a few exceptions
to that). Naturally, ruling over such a gloomy and rather demented realm seldom makes
a charming impression – making him lesser prominent in the Greek mythology. But
many Greeks believed him to be the personification of death itself (which he was not)
and paid him regular homage raised by their own superstition. But his evil image is a
far cry from what he actually was – for he was not much of a bad guy as he is usually
depicted to be. Contrary to the common belief, it Hades was not responsible for
redemption of souls but rather the three demigods Minos, Aiakos and Rhadamanthys
would carry out the judgment. He was also pretty fair in his actions when Hercules
approached him with the motive to return with his three-headed dog as a part of his
labors. Though that does not cut any slack off him when he tricked his love interest
Persephone into the underworld to stay with him.

3. Poseidon (God of the Sea)

When Zeus1 and his brothers drew straws to decide who gets to be the lord of which
realm, Poseidon drew the realm of seas. Thus he became the ruler of seas and, along
with his wife Amphitrite, led a group of lesser gods that included the Triton and Nereid.
Being the lord of seas, he was widely worshiped and followed by seamen and voyagers
alike. But he also had a far reaching influence – historians state him as a major deity in
several ancient Greek cities. In terms of sheer power, he came second only the mighty
Zeus. Other than taming the enormous power of seas, he also carried a trident whose
mere hit would cause massive earthquakes. At some point, he desperately fell for
Demeter who asked him to create the most unique creature if he was to rouse her. It is
said he made a number of animals in his quest and finally created the first majestic
horse.

4. Prometheus (God of Fire)

One of the most popular gods among the titans, Prometheus is held significantly
higher among the great benefactors of mankind in the Greek mythology. His father
Iapetus was also a titan but his mother was an oceanid. Being the god of
forethought, he foresaw defeat of titans at the hands of new Olympian gods. So he
cleverly sided with the Olympians through the battle and thus escaped from being
imprisoned at Tartarus along with other titans.
Prometheus was then assigned the task to mold mankind out of clay. Once he was
done creating mankind, he became rather attached with them, always worried for
the betterment of their lives. This led him to cross paths with the mighty Zeus time
and again since he did not care much about the humans. So when Zeus took away
fire from mankind, he stole it from the heavens and gave it back to the humans.
Zeus punished him for his treachery by chaining him to a rock where an eagle
would eat his liver everyday – his liver regenerating every night for he was an
immortal. Eventually, he was freed from his agony by the powerful demigod
Hercules.

5. Dionysus (God of Wine and Ecstasy)

Being the god of festivity, pleasure and wine, he was quite a popular deity – both
among gods and mortals. He is the only god who had a mortal parent in the form of his
mother Semele, his father being the mighty Zeus. He was bought up under the
protection of mountain nymphs since Hera was rather ferocious towards her husband’s
romantic advances outside their marriage. Dionysus slowly built a cult of followers and
wanderers who would accompany him in his journeys around the world. Unlike other
gods, he was far more present among his followers – feasting, drinking and living his
life to the fullest with them. And then he irrevocably fell in love with Ariadne, who was
despicably abandoned by Theseus when she fell asleep on the islands of Naxos. The
Greeks celebrated many festivals in his honor and it would not be an overstatement to
say that he was far more popular than Zeus at many places of ancient Greece.
6. Apollo (God of Music, Poetry, Art, Oracles,
Plague, Medicine, Archery, Sun, Light and
Knowledge)
The twin brother of Artemis, Apollo was a god with many facets. His father was, again,
Zeus and he was born off his mother Leto on the island of Delos – the only refuge they
could find from an enraged Hera (no surprises there). Leto was so overwhelmed with
the care she got at the hands of inhabitants of Delos; she promised that Apollo shall
always favor their prosperity, which he did in the times to come. As stated earlier,
Apollo has many facets which were rather opposing in themselves. He was the god of
serenity and music and was often depicted with a lyre. And he also was a skilled archer
who often wandered with a silver bow. He was considered the god of healing and
medicine but when enraged, he would bring upon death and despair with his arrows.
He would harness his four-horse chariot and move the sun across the sky every single
day – providing the light and life to earth. Being a prophetic god, he was a celebrated
figure among the oracles and they established Delphi as a site dedicated to worshiping
him.

7. Cronus (King of Titanes/God of Time)

One of the more widely known among the ancient titans, Cronus was the ruling god
before the age of Olympian deities. The titans were known for their colossal bodies and
equally massive brute strength – among whom Cronus proved himself to be the
strongest when he became the ruler by castrating his own father Uranus. But once he
came into power, much like his despised progenitor, Cronus became rather prudent
towards his children – the most noticeable ones being Zeus, Poseidon and Aphrodite
among others. In his utter paranoia, he swallowed them to keep them from ever
surpassing him. But his mother Gaia and wife Rhea were able to rescue Zeus who
fought him off and banished him to the dreaded Tartarus in the underworld once he
had freed his siblings. The end of Cronus heralded the age of Olympian deities who
would go on to be far more popular in Greek mythology than their predecessors ever
were.

8. Ares (God of War)

Born of Zeus and Hera, Ares was also known as the god of war. But he reflected the
violent and gore aspect of war far more than the justification and righteousness of
violence for the greater good.2 He was always willing to wreak havoc just to display his
might in the battle and rarely thought of fighting for justice and defense. His acts of
imprudence led both his parents to despise him and look up to his sister Athena.
Despite his personification of sheer ruthlessness in war, he also came across as a
coward especially given how outrageously he would respond even to the slightest of
injuries in battle. He was also blindly in love with Aphrodite, who was already married to
Hephaestus. Their affair was not so secret among the Olympians and led to much
disdain. As evident, Ares was never much popular among men or gods and was not
much followed or worshiped by any larger mass.

9. Hephaestus (God of Fire and Metalworking)

Popular in the Greek folklore by the name of God of fire, Hephaestus was associated
with the realms of heaven. His origin has been given contradicting renditions by Homer
and Hesiod. Homer narrates his story as the crippled son of Zeus and Hera. Hesiod
takes a rather unconventional (and far more intriguing) route by stating that Hera bore
him alone by herself. He was born a limp, which led his mother to throw him off Mount
Olympus, though in a different account he once interceded a brawl between Zeus and
Hera and ended up getting dragged off Olympus by the mighty Zeus. Once he fell on
earth, he went on to become a prodigal craftsman, and was eventually reinstated in the
heaven where he then built a number of marvelous for gods and goddesses. He also
created those majestic god armors and shields – most famous of them being the one
donned by Achilles in the battle of Troy.

10. Hermes (God of Commerce)

Also known as the messenger among ancient Greek gods, Hermes was the son of
Zeus and Maia2. He has been depicted in rather noticeable contrasts in different
poems, plays and myths. Popularly, he comes across as a handsome and athletic,
beardless youth and sometimes as an older bearded man. Hermes was a quick thinker
and even quicker in his movements, and was notorious among gods for his cunning.
Since he could easily move in between the three main worlds in mythological paradigm
of ancient Greece – heaven, seas and the underworld, he often acted as messenger
for gods. Given the cunning tricks he would pull off on fellow gods for his own
amusement, one could find stark similarities between him and the much popular Norse
god Loki. Just to give a glimpse of how dubious his tricks could be, he jumped out of
his crib when he was born, stole Apollo’s cattle and went back to his crib playing all
innocent. No wonder he was also known as the god of cunning and thievery.