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She used to be one of the Olympians, but she grew tired of all their fighting and bickering. Hestia was the goddess of hearth and home. But the rest of the Olympians lived on Mount Olympus Poseidon preferred his palace under the sea. Hades preferred his home in the Underworld. Unless they were off traveling somewhere, that's where you could find most of them. The 12 Olympian gods all kept a home on Mount Olympus. When things had to be decided, this council of 12 gods met on Often depicted as a young child, Eros used magical arrows could to cause people to fall in love.Ībridged from “Gods, Goddesses, and Heroes,” ©2008-2017, CC BY-SA 4.The ancient Greek mystical world was ruled by a small group of Dionysos had an enormous following throughout the Greek world. The messenger god wears a winged helmet and winged sandals. The goddess of love and the mother of Eros, The sister of Apollo, she is also a very versatile Olympian. Goddess of the hunt, Moon, and childbirth.
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God of the sun, music, and art, one of the most versatile gods. The wife of Zeus, Hera is the goddess of fertility. King of the gods, Zeus killed his father Chronos. Poseidon ruled the sea from his underwater place and Apollo rode his chariot across the sky, bringing the sun with him. Her brother, Ares, the god of war, was sinister, mean, and disliked. Aphrodite, the goddess of love, was the most beautiful being in the universe. Hermes, who had winged feet, was the messenger of the gods and could fly anywhere with great speed. At her birth, Athena, the goddess of wisdom, sprang directly from the head of Zeus. In addition to Zeus and Hera, there were many other major and minor gods in the Greek religion. The myth of Apollo, for example, describes how the sun moves across the sky to rise and set each day. Many Greek myths explained the mysteries of nature. Courtesy NASA and Cislunar Aerospace, Inc. Hera plotted against Zeus and punished his mistresses. Zeus, the king of the gods, was unfaithful to his wife Hera. The gods constantly fought among themselves, behaved irrationally and unfairly, and were often jealous of each other.
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The Greeks created gods in the image of humans that is, their gods had many human qualities even though they were gods. Aphrodite is one of several Greek goddesses, and is often referred to by her Roman name, Venus. Aphrodite, the goddess of love, sits with the war god, Ares in this painting by the Renaissance artist Botticelli. These two poems were passed down orally over many generations. He created two epic poems: the Iliad, which related the events of the Trojan War, and the Odyssey, which detailed the travels of the hero Odysseus. Many stories about how the Greek gods behaved and interacted with humans are found in the works of Homer. When it rained and there was thunder and lightning, the ancient Greeks believed that Zeus was venting his anger. A family portrait of the Twelve Olympiansįor example, Zeus, the king of the gods, carried his favorite weapon, the thunderbolt. Myths were used to help explain the unknown and sometimes teach a lesson. In myths, gods often actively interfered in the day-to-day lives of humans. Their major gods and goddesses lived at the top of Mount Olympus, the highest mountain in Greece, and myths described their lives and actions. The ancients Greeks were polytheistic - that is, they worshipped many gods.