{"id":610,"date":"2012-06-05T14:01:00","date_gmt":"2012-06-05T14:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.factstoryhub.com\/2012\/06\/the-twelve-gods-of-mount-olympus.html"},"modified":"2024-11-06T07:20:25","modified_gmt":"2024-11-06T07:20:25","slug":"twelve-gods-of-mount-olympus","status":"publish","type":[],"link":"https:\/\/www.factstoryhub.com\/twelve-gods-of-mount-olympus\/","title":{"rendered":"The Twelve Gods of Mount Olympus"},"content":{"rendered":"
The first Olympic Games were held in Elis, a site in Ancient Greece.\n
They were held in honour and celebration of the infamous Greek Gods – notably the father of them all, Zeus.\n
So… who are the Gods of Olympus? You’re about to find out…\n
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Zeus is the son of Kronos and Rhea. Saved from his father’s wrath, he overturned Kronos’ regime and began anew.\n
He married Hera, his sister, and went on to become the father of the gods and humans.\n
Together they reigned on Mount Olympus, even though Zeus was prone to having great love affairs with other women.\n
Zeus is also the lord of heaven and earth.\n
An extremely skilled fighter, his weapons of choice are lightning and thunderbolts, which he hurls at his enemies – he was responsible for defeating the unruly Titans.\n Hera is the daughter of Kronos and Rhea. After the fall of Kronos, she married her brother Zeus in a lavish ceremony.\n While in love with Zeus, she was extremely jealous of his lovers and punished infidelity – she even tried to kill the great warrior, Heracles.\n Hera also played a part in the Trojan War, where she heavily supported the Greeks.\n Hera is the patron goddess of family, and is worshiped in the city of Argos.\n She is often depicted with a crown and sceptre.\n Born from Zeus’ head, Athena sprouted forth fully armored.\n As the goddess of wisdom, she is also a great war heroine – in the Battle of the Giants, she was able to throw the island of Sicily atop her enemy.\n She has a great rivalry with Ares, the god of war.\n Athena often supported heroes in their journeys, and is worshiped in the Parthenon, in Athens.\n She is favored greatly in Athens, where she gave humans the gift of olive trees.\n However, she earned an enemy when the weaver Arachne scorned her.\n After losing a weaving challenge to the goddess, Archane was turned into a spider.\n The god of the sea, Poseidon was Zeus and Hera’s brother, making him one of the most powerful elder gods.\n The son of Kronos and Rhea, Poseidon favored the ocean where he was associated with dolphins and his chariot was drawn by sacred horses.\n The father of Troy, Poseidon wields his powerful trident high.\n Even today, sailors seek permission from the god to cross the oceans.\n The goddess of agriculture and fertility, Demeter is the daughter of Kronos and Rhea.\n She fell prey to Zeus’ affections and together, they had a daughter Persephone (also named Kore, in some circles).\n Demeter protected and loved her daughter fiercely, but so did the god of the Underworld, Pluto (also known as Hades).\n He captured her and tricked her into eating pomegranate seeds to remain with him.\n Demeter retaliated by killing the world’s crops, including her sacred corn and wheat.\n Zeus and Pluto negotiated, and Persephone returned to live with her mother for eight months of the year.\n When Persephone returns to live in the Underworld with her husband, the earth grows cold and barren.\n Apollo (also known as Phoebus) is the god of music, light and prophecy.\n He is the son of Zeus and his lover, Leto. He has a twin sister, Artemis, the goddess of the hunt.\n He is a great marksman, and often went hunting with his sister.\n One day while hunting, Apollo came across a young maiden who he fell in love with.\n He chased her until she pleaded with her father, who turned her into Apollo’s sacred bay-tree.\n Apollo is often worshiped at his temple in Delphi.\n The goddess of the moon and hunt, Artemis is often seen as a symbol for marriage and childbirth, due to her virginal status.\n She is the daughter of Zeus and his lover, Leto, alongside her twin brother, Apollo.\n A great hunter, she killed a giant with the fabled hero, Heracles.\nHera\n
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Athena\n
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Poseidon\n
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Demeter\n
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Apollo\n
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Artemis\n
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