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The Gods of Olympus

Olympian Gods

• Zeus

• Poseidon

• Apollo

• Ares

• Hermes

• Hephaestus

• Hera

• Hestia

• Demeter

• Athena

• Aphrodite

• Artemis

Hera

Hera

• Daughter of Cronus and Rhea

• Perhaps an ancient nature goddess

– One of the few not from Egypt (Hdts. ii.50)

• Born in Argos or Samos

• Patron of Sparta, Mycenae and Argos

• Represented with veil, peacock and scepter

Heraion at Argos

Hera

• Wife of Zeus

– Honored by other gods but inferior to Zeus

• Hieros Gamos

• Goddess of marriage and childbirth

• Mother of Ares, Hebe and Hephaestus

• Mostly a foil to Zeus:

– Jealous, argumentative.

Hera and Zeus

Hestia

Hestia

• Daughter of Cronus and Rhea

• Goddess of the hearth (home fire)

• Virgin goddess

• Presides over all sacrifices

• Home fire of the city in the Prytaneum

Athena

Athena

• Daughter of Zeus and Metis (wisdom)

– Tritogeneia; born near the river Triton

– Or; born from the head

• Goddess of the air

– Glaucopis; the blue-eyed one

– Athena, more than any other goddess, is the female representation of Zeus.

Birth of Athena

Pallas Athena

• Most common epithet

– Obscure origins, not a Greek word

• Iconic connections with Ishtar and Syrian warrior goddesses

– Pallas was a giant whom Athena killed and flayed using the skin to make her shield.

Athena

• Goddess of engineers, architects etc.

– All of the technical aspects of civilization

– Patron of the arts, both practical and aesthetic

• Protector of the state and society

– Supervisor of the laws and the assembly

• Goddess of War;

– As protector of the state

– Grand Strategy

Patron of Athens

• Competed with Poseidon

– Poseidon gave the Athenians spring water

– Athena gave them the olive tree

• Temple of Athena Parthenos on the Acropolis

Artemis

Artemis

• Daughter of Zeus and Leto

• Sister of Apollo

• A female counterpart to Apollo

– Goddess of the bow, sickness and death

– Also the saviour from these evils

• Goddess of the hunt and wild animals

• Virgin goddess

Arcadian Artemis

• More of a nature goddess

• Not associated with Apollo

• Chariot drawn by stags

• Goddess of the hunt and forest

Artemis of Ephesus

• Potnia Theron

• Originally Asiatic

• Born in Ephesus, not a sister of Apollo

• Fertility goddess

Demeter

Demeter

• Daughter of Cronus and Rhea

• Goddess of the Harvest

• Of vegetation and growth

• Of marriage

• Of the ‘first night’

• Mystery Religion

– Eleusis

– Arcadia

Demeter and Persephone

• Persephone (Core), daughter of Demeter

• Zeus promised her to Hades

– Hades captured her and took her to the underworld to be his wife.

– Demeter caused famine

– Zeus asked Hades to return Core

– Mother and daughter meet at Eleusis

– Core to spend three months a year in Hades

Aphrodite

Aphrodite of Melos

Aphrodite

• Daughter of Uranus

– ‘aphro’ = foam

• Aphrodite Urania (heavenly)

• Daughter of Zeus and Dione (Iliad v.370)

• Goddess of love (passion) and beauty

• Syrian Astarte, Persian Mithra

• Associated with the dove and the swan

Hierodouloi and Hetairai

• Temple of Aphrodite at Corinth and Cyprus

– Priestesses had intercourse with worshipers

– A Babylonian custom originally (Herodotus i.199)

• Hetairai

– Companions, courtesans

– Not just for sex, but etiquette and conversation

– Aspasia