Gods, Goddesses, and Heroes of Greek Mythology

There are many gods, goddesses, heroes, and creatures in Greek mythology, but generally the attention is focused on a select few. Most myths contain at least one of the twelve (sometimes thirteen) gods or goddesses who dwell atop Mount Olympus, and various other lesser gods and goddesses, heroes, and creatures. Hades, who did not live on Mount Olympus, is not always said to be an Olympian god. All Olympian gods and goddesses are descendents of the Titans, Cronus and Rhea, who form the origin of the Olympian family tree.
Zeus, god of the sky and supreme ruler of the Olympian gods, is the chief god in Greek mythology. He is the son of the Titans, Cronus and Rhea, and the brother of Hades, Hestia, Demeter, Poseidon, and Hera, who was also his wife. He had authority over the sky, the winds, the clouds, rain, thunder and lightning and is usually depicted as wearing a crown of oak leaves, and bearing a scepter in one hand and a thunderbolt in the other (Daly, 123).
Hera, the sister and wife of Zeus, is the goddess of marriage and childbirth and is the queen of the Olympian gods. Because of her husband’s unfaithfulness, Hera is a very angry and jealous wife who despised Zeus’ many mistresses and their children. Many times in her

n her rage, she killed other goddesses and even their children that were born from Zeus.

The brother of Zeus, Poseidon, is the god of the sea and water. His powers cover that of the sea, the waters, and earthquakes. He has similar powers to Zeus, but is ultimately less powerful than his brother (Clayton, 158). He is always seen carrying his three-pronged trident and is a difficult, greedy and quarrelsome god. Poseidon is said to have created the horse with a blow of his trident thus, making the horse sacred to him.

Athena, daughter of Zeus and Metis, was a deity of many functions and attributes. She had a very strange birth, springing fully armed and matured from the head of Zeus, when Hephaestus split it open with an axe. She was a goddess of war, being the female counterpart of Ares. Athena was also associated with peace and compassion; she was a patroness of the arts and crafts, especially spinning and weaving; a patron goddess of cities, notably Athens, which was named after her; and a goddess of wisdom (Daly, 20).

Hades, the god of the underworld, was essentially a god of terror and inexorable death, and had very few worshipers. In the great division of the world, he was given Hell; Zeus was given control of the earth and the heavens, while Poseidon was given control of the seas. He very rarely left his underground realm to visit earth or Olympus, but when he fell in love with Persephone, he left to kidnap her while she was picking flowers with other young girls in the plains of Sicily, and returned with her to the underworld.

Apollo, god of poetry, archery, prophecy and the art of healing, was one of the greatest Olympian gods. Son of Zeus and Leto, he was well loved among all the gods. He was a masterful musician who played for the gods of Olympus on his golden lyre. He was a skilled archer with the credit of winning the first Olympian games at Olympia. Apollo is mentioned more often than any other Greek deity in ancient Greek art.

Ares was the god of war and a son of Zeus and Hera. He was bloody and brutal and even his fathe