GREEK GODS

By Ronnie Morgan and Dane Mitchell

The 12 Olympians

The Greek religion consisted of 12 gods that resided on mount Olympus. They were the most thought of gods. There were 7 men 5 woman.

Originally there were six of each gender but when Dionysos came about Hestia quickly gave up her place to avoid civil war.

Zeus- god of sky, weather, law, order and fate He is the ruler of the

gods and the heavens. In some stories he and his brothers drew straws to see who would govern what areas. He got the longest straw which meant he got the best deal, the heavens.

Poseidon- god of the sea

Poseidon drew the middle straw and was given the sea. When he is in a bad mood sailors never live to tell that to the world.

He is married to AMPHITRITE. He has many affairs like most of the other gods!

Hades- god of death and the dead Hades drew the

smallest straw. He received the underworld. He was not so happy about this. The queen of the under world was tricked by Hades with pomegranate seeds into being his wife.

Ares- god of war and bloodlust.

Although the god of war ,he is commonly known for his involvement and love lust with many women.

He was part of the war at Troy. He doesn't care why he is fighting or who he is fighting for as long as he is collecting heads along the way.

Dionysus- god of wine and intoxication

Praying to him could be a complete waste of time, he is after all the god of wine and being drunk . I don’t blame him though he did have many childhood problems like being turned into a donkey twice.

Apollo- god of prophecy, music, intellectual pursuits, healing, plague and the sun.

Apollo has been punished a lot.

Apollo's’ son was driving his chariot recklessly so Zeus struck him with lightning. In revenge Apollo killed the Cyclops that deigned the lightning bolts Zeus uses.

Hera- goddessof love and marriage

Her husband Zeus is constantly cheating on her. Zeus loves her but not like in the movie Hercules. Most of Zeus’ children are not hers. Some goddess of marriage!

Artemis- goddess of hunting, wilderness, wild animals, childbirth and of the moon

She is Apollo’s twin sister. For some odd reason her brother has wings and she doesn’t. It is really ironic because he has a flying chariot. Being the goddess of hunting she rarely eats meat. Why isn't she the goddess of irony?

Hermes -god messenger and god of animals, husbandry, roads, travel, hospitality, heralds, diplomacy, trade, thievery, language, writing, persuasion, cunning wiles, athletic contests, gymnasiums, astronomy, and astrology. There seems to be few

stories about him although he is in a lot of Greek stories but mostly in the background. Hermes made a vow to Zeus "I will never tell lies although I can not promise always to tell the whole truth."

Aphrodite- goddess of love ,beauty and fertility Aphrodite was

born of the sea foam . The love goddess was married to the homely craftsman-god Hephaestus. She was unfaithful to him with Ares.

Hephaestus Hephaestus is

known as the son of Hera and Zeus. Hephaestus is usually shown as an animated cripple bent over his anvil. He wears a beard and is normally depicted as being ugly .

Athena- goddess of wisdom, war strategy, the arts, industry, justice and skill

Athena's companion was the goddess of victory, Nike. She is Zeus’ favorite. Athena and her uncle Poseidon were both very fond of a certain city in Greece. Both of them claimed the city and it was decided that the one that could give the finest gift should have it. Leading a procession of citizens, the two gods mounted the Acropolis. Poseidon struck the side of the cliff with his trident and a spring welled up. The people marveled, but the water was as salty as Poseidon's sea and it was not very useful. Athena's gift was an olive tree, which was better because it gave the people food, oil and wood. Athena named her city Athens.

Minor gods

Minor gods and goddesses are important but are not worshiped as highly as the other gods [12 Olympians]

With these gods the slides might not have as much information on it.

Reason is not much is known about them.

Nike- goddess of victory When Zeus was

gathering allies at the start of the Titan War, Styx brought her four children, Nike (Victory), Zelos (Rivalry), Kratos(Strength) and Bia (Force) to him to help.

Iris- goddess of rainbows

One day over the rainbow she use to bring HERA's messages to mankind. Once her courier service for HERA and ZEUS was second to none. She married ZEPHYRUS

Zelos- god of rivalry, emulation, envy, jealousy and zeal

Not much is known about him. Zeus used him in the war of the titans like Zelos’ bros and sisters.

Zephyrus- god of west wind and spring. Zephyrus was the

god of the west wind, one of the four directional Anemoi (Wind-Gods). He was also the god of spring, husband of Khloris (Greenery), and father of Karpos (Fruit).

http://www.theoi.com/Titan/AnemosZephyros.html

Eris- goddess of strife, discord, contention and rivalry Because of Eris' disagreeable

nature she was the only goddess not to be invited to the wedding of Peleus and Thetis. When she turned up anyway she was refused admittance and in a rage threw a golden apple amongst the goddesses inscribed "To the fairest." Three goddesses laid claim to it, and in their rivalry brought about the events which led to the Trojan War.

Eris was closely identified with the war-goddess Enyo

Enyo- goddess of war, blood and violence Enyo was closely

identified with Eris and Ares. If you are not on her side you can kiss your head goodbye, or your own arm shoved down your throat.

Karpos- god of fruit and seeds

Not much is known about him except he is ZEPHYRUS’ son. There are no stories about him. One thing is known, he hates herbicide.

NYX- goddess of night One of the ancient

Protogenoi (first-born elemental gods).

In ancient art Nyx was portrayed as a either a winged goddess or charioteer, sometimes crowned with an aureole of dark mist.