The Olympian gods and goddesses

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Let have a little class, to share knowledge on the Greeks and their gods, what they are known for, responsibilities, and their signs, shall we?

In ancient Greece, their religion was alot different from the contemporary world. They had different gods and goddess, they had freedom of varieties,that is freedom to worship any of their gods, not to forget, they also have deities that sacrifice to, but that's another topic for another day. The focus here today is the twelve Olympian gods and goddess;

Zeus : He is the father of all gods and the ruler of the twelve Olympian gods, he was commonly portrayed sitting on a throne holding a sceptre as he was most famously in the giant cult status in his temple at Olympus. He was in charge of the gods, sky, weather and traveller and his symbols are the throne, thunderbolt and sceptre

Poseidon: Poseidon is the god of sea, he was also particularly important to sailors and fishermen, he was also believed to be the god of earthquake from which he took his common epithet 'earth shaker'. His symbols are trident and dolphin

Apollo: He was one of the most important gods forbtye Greeks, He is the god of music, the arts, education, medicine and disease, prophecy, archery and the sun, he was often portrayed as a beautiful young man with short curly hair who carried a lyre or a quiver full of arrows. His symbols are lyre and bow

Hephaestus: He is the god of fire and metal working who could turn rocks into bronze weapons or fine jewellery. Legend said that he lived in volcanoes and he was worshipped particularly by smiths. His symbol is the anvil

Hermes: Hermes is the messenger of the gods who travelled vast distance. As a result he was believed to protect the travellers and traders who crossed the ancient world. His symbol is winged sandals. He also has a special role of escorting the dead to the underworld

Dionysus: He is the god of many areas including drama, wine and fertility. He was conceived after Zeus impregnated Semele, a mortal woman from Thebes. However Hera engineered her death while she was pregnant, Zeus rescued the foetus Dionysus from Semele's womb and sewed him in his thigh from where he was born a few months later. His symbols are thyrosos, vines, ivy and animal skin

Ares: Ares is the Greek god of war, there were few myths about him as the Greek did not like to think about him too much. Indeed, in the Iliad, Homer commonly referred to him as 'dread Ares'. His symbol is armour and he represents unthinking violence and mindless destruction of warfare

Hera: As the queen of all gods, she was particularly important to women and she was the goddess of marriage. However, her own marriage was not a happy one, she suffered the philandering of her husband (Zeus) and frequently sought revenge on his lovers. She seduces her husband in order to distract him from overseeing the Trojan war, this allows the Greeks whom she supports to gain upper hand while Zeus's mind is on other things. Her symbol is the polos

Demeter: Demeter was a vital goddess to the Greeks as she was responsible for the crops and harvest. The most famous story about her was when her daughter Persephone was kidnapped by Hades to the underworld and she fasted in grief for her lost daughter. As a result, the crops of the earth stopped growing and there was famine. Zeus intervened to save the world from famine and persuaded Hades to return Persephone. Her symbols are flowers, fruits, grain.

Hestia: Hestia is the goddess of hearth which was vital to every home as a source of light, heat and cooking. She was therefore a very important household goddesses who oversaw the family and domestic duties and she received the first offering at every household sacrifice but she later gave up place to Dionysus in order to tend to sacred fire on Mt. Olympus.

Artemis: She was the twin sister of Apollo and she was commonly known as Phoebe which was the feminine form of Phoebus. She is the goddesses of childbirth, hunting and moon and her symbols are moon, bow and arrow.

Athena: She is the Greek goddess of wisdom, weaving, crafts and war, her symbols are owl and aegis. She was most strongly worshipped at Athens, the city she founded and to which she gave her name. She was worshipped for her military intelligence and she was also portrayed alongside Nike, the winged goddess of victory. There is a great curiosity about her birth, after Zeus impregnated her mother, he swallowed her fearing that the child will grow up to overthrow him. However the baby continued to grow giving Zeus a great headache. Hephaestus was ordered to split Zeus's skull and out popped the fully grown Athena wearing her armour.

Aphrodite: The name Aphrodite meant 'born from the foam' since she was created by the semen from the castrated Ouranus, Zeus's grandfather. She was the goddess of love and beauty and her symbol is a sea shell.

I hope you enjoyef it and when you you hear these names now, you have one or two things to say about them, gracias, bonus dies....