Greek Mythology Part I

The Olympians

Mount Olympus

• Except for Hades (god of the underworld) and his wife Persephone, all of the Olympians were thought to reside on Mount Olympus, the tallest mountain in Greece, on the northern border of Thessaly.

Genealogy

Rhea Cronus

Poseidon

ZeusDemeter HadesHera Hestia

Hephaestus

Athena

Apollo AresPersephone

Hermes

MaiaLeto Zeus +

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Aphrodite

Gaia Uranus+

Artemis Dionysus

Zeus / Jupiter

Concern: • Kingship, weather, sky, law and justice, customs, guardian of hospitality.

Attributes: • Thunderbolt, bull, eagle, aegis (goat skin) worn as a shield, sceptre.

King of the Gods and man, upholder of the customary ways of Greek society.

“Birth of Athena”Phrynos Painter, 560-550 BCE

Poseidon / Neptune

Attributes: • A trident, a chariot pulled by horses, dolphins or sea monsters.

Concerns: • The sea, fresh water springs, horses, earthquakes, fertility.

Lord of the sea, master of the terrifying movement of the earth, not very friendly towards mankind.

“Neptune Calming the Tempest”

Rubens, 1635

Hera / JunoWife of Zeus, Queen of heaven, goddess of marriage and of women’s sexuality and fertility.

Concern:• Marriage, the family, childbirth, rites of passage. Very jealous of Zeus’s affairs and persecutes his illegitimate offspring.

Attributes:• Shown as middle-aged, often with a round hat, a cow, peacock, pomegranate, cuckoo.

“Hera Ludovisi’ 5th century BCE