Olympians
 

Apollo

One of the most important Olympian gods; son of Zeus and Leto, twin brother of Artemis. He was also called Delian from Delos, the island of his birth, and Pythian, from his killing of Python, the fabled serpent that guarded a shrine on the mountains of Parnassus. Acersecomes(unshorn). Acesius(healer). Cynthius. Sun God. Lyaeus(liberator). Lycius(Wolf God). Moeragetes. Musagetes. Nomios. Paean(healer). Phoebus. Pytheus. Shining. Basileus. Clarius. Loxias. Smintheus. He was concerned with prophecy, medicine (he was the father of Asclepius), music and poetry (he was also the father of Orpheus and the patron of the Muses). He was associated with law, philosophy, and the arts. He sometimes gave the gift of prophecy to mortals whom he loved, such as the Trojan princess Cassandra. He was also a master archer and a fleet-footed athlete, credited with having been the first victor in the Olympic games. Some tales depict Apollo as pitiless and cruel. According to Homer's Iliad, Apollo answered the prayers of the priest Chryses to obtain the release of his daughter from the Greek general Agamemnon by shooting fiery, pestilence-carrying arrows into the Greek army. He also abducted and ravished the young Athenian princess Creusa and abandoned her and the child born to them.Patron of priests, poetry, music, medicine, healing. God of intellect, the arts, healing, light, sun, archery, agriculture, animal husbandry, crops, cattle, farmers, shephards, sheep, song, physicians, morality, ethics, solar light, oracles, reason, inspiration, magick, divination, harmony, spiritual goals gained through use of the arts, ravens, earthquakes, woodlands, springs, vaticination.
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Aphrodite
foam-born

Acidilia. Cypris. Cytherea. Eriboea. Erycian. Paphia. Paphian Goddess(erotic and illict love). Pelegia. Pntia. Pandemos(sex, common love). Foam-Born. Moon Goddess. She Who Binds Hearts Together. She Who Came From the Sea. Despina. Kypris. Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, the western corner, the joy of physical love, sensuality, passion, generosity, all forms of partnerships and relationships, affection, fertility, renewal, continued creation, sexual rapture, was born from the foam of the sea that arose when Uranus' severed penis fell into the ocean. She was married to Hephaestus, the god of fire and smithy to the gods. Sacred to her are the myrtle, rose, apple, poppy, sparrow, dove, swan, swallow, tortoise, ram, the planet Venus, and the month of April. Eros was produced from a liason with Zeus. Her favorite lover is the god of war, Ares. She represented sex, affection, and the attraction that binds people together.
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Ares
male warrior

Gradivus. Quirinus. Enyalius. Ares was the bullying god of war, terror, uncontrolled anger, courage without thought, raw energy, brute strength, untamed passions. He was considered to be overly fond of looting and slaughter, and cowardly besides. Son of Zeus and Hera. (He was identified with the Roman god of war Mars, who was looked on with respect by the Romans.) The Greeks, however, looked on Ares as a quarrelsome god who sent war and pestilence and delighted in destruction. Aggressive and bloodthirsty, Ares personified the brutal nature of war. He was unpopular with both gods and humans. Among the deities associated with Ares were his consort Aphrodite and such minor gods as his sons Deimos (Fear) and Phobos (Rout). Although fierce and warlike, Ares was not invincible, even against mortals. Ares was not widely worshiped by the Greeks.
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Artemis

Huntress Goddess. Moon Goddess. Auge(childbirth). Phoebe. Virgin Goddess. The Huntress. Maiden. Bear Goddess. Hunter of Souls. Shape-Shifter. Cynthia. Chief Hunter of the Gods. Virgin Huntress. Protector of young girls and animals. Patroness of nurturing, fertility, births, singers. Twin sister to Apollo, she was goddess of chastity, virginity, the hunt, the moon, childbirth, wild things, animals and places, magick, sorcery, enchantments, psychic powers, women's fertility, purification, sports, exorcise, good wheather for travellers, countryside, mental healing, dance, forests, mountains, woodland medicines, juniper, healing, virgins, night and the natural environment. She was chief hunter to the gods and goddess of hunting and of wild animals, especially bears. She is the daughter of Zeus and Leto. Even though she is a virgin goddess, she also presides over childbirth. Sacred to her are the laurel, fir tree, fish, stag, boar, bear, dog, goat, bee and other animals. Although traditionally the friend and protector of youth, especially young women, Artemis prevented the Greeks from sailing to Troy during the Trojan war until they sacrificed a maiden to her. According to some accounts, just before the sacrifice, she rescued the victim, Iphigenia.
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Athena

Warrior Goddess. Alalcomenean Athena. Athene. Athena Parthenos(virgin). Mechanitis. Pallas. Pallas Athena. Parthenos. Pathenos(virgin). Promachos. Soteira. Tritogeneia(thrice-born). Tritonia. Virgin Goddess. Holy Virgin. Maiden Goddess. Mother Goddess of Athens. Bright-Eyed. Polias. Protectorof cities. Patroness of all craftsmen. Athena is the virgin goddess of wisdom, reason in war and peace, intelligent activity, arts and literature, industry, justice, skill, freedom, women's rights, writing, music, the sciences, sculptures, potters, architects, renewal, true justice, protection both psychic and physical, prudence, wise councel, embroidery, horses and oxen, snakes, pillars, trees, olive boughs, battle strategy. She sprang full grown from Zeus' head. She is Zeus' favorite and is allowed to use his weapons including his thunderbolt. The goddess was usually shown wearing a helmet and carrying a spear and shield. Like her father, she also wore the magic aegis, a goatskin breastplate, fringed with snakes, that produced thunderbolts when shaken. Athena was very different from the war god Ares. She represented the intellectual and civilized side of war; she was not so much a fighter as a wise and prudent adviser. Sacred to her are the olive, serpent, owl, and crow. She invented the bridle, the trumpet, the flute, the rake, the plow, the yoke, and (in some myths) the chariot. Her most important temple was the Parthenon. A virgin goddess, Athena is depicted as a stately figure, armored, and wielding her breastplate, the aegis. The Romans identified her with Minerva.
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Hades
(Pluto)-sightless

Ades. Aides. Aidoneus. The Invisible One. Ruler of the Underworld and Wealth. He was one of the Olympian gods. God of the underworld, death, prosperity, crops, minerals, spring water, gemstones, material gain, elimination of fear of death, astral projection. He was the son of the Titans, Cronus and Rhea, and the brother of Zeus and Poseidon. When he and his brothers drew lots to divide the world after they had deposed of their father, Cronus, Zeus won command of the heavens, Poseidon of the sea, and Hades of the underworld. He became known as Pluto, the god of wealth, because of the precious metals in the Earth.It was rare for Pluto to leave his realm to visit the Earth or Olympus. (His most famous visit to Earth was the time he saw Persephone and carried her off to be his wife.) Appropriately the planet named for Pluto is the one farthest from the sun. Although he was a grim and pitiless god, unappeased by either prayer or sacrifice, he was not evil. As Pluto he was called the lord of riches, because both crops and precious metals were believed to come from his kingdom below ground.
The name was also used for the underworld itself. This world of the dead was ruled by Pluto and Persephone. Guarded by Cerberus, the three-headed, dragon-tailed dog, it was either underground or in the far west and was separated from the land of the living by five rivers. One of these was the Styx, across which the dead were ferried. Somewhere in the darkness of the underworld, Hades' palace was located. It was represented as a many-gated, dark and gloomy palace, thronged with guests, and set in the midst of shadowy fields and an apparition-haunted landscape. Three judges in the Erebus region, where the dead pass as soon as they die, decided the fate of souls; heroes went to the Elysian fields (Elysium), and evildoers to Tartarus, lowest region of Hades, where the wicked were punished.
The five rivers of Hades were: Phlegethon, Acheron, Styx, Lethe, and Cocytus.
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Hephaestus

Mulciber. God of fire and metalwork, crafts, fire, volcanoes, blacksmiths, metalworkers, thunder, lightning, industry, artisians, craftsmen, jewelry making, mechanics, micro-electronics, manual dexterity, hard work, inventiveness, all creative crafts, engineering, building, construction, the son of the god Zeus and the goddess Hera, or sometimes the son of Hera alone. In contrast to the other gods, Hephaestus was lame and awkward. Shortly after his birth, he was cast out of heaven, either by Hera, who was repelled by his deformity, or by Zeus, because Hephaestus had sided with Hera against him. In most legends, however, he was soon honored again on Olympus and was married to Aphrodite, goddess of love, or to Aglaia, one of the three Graces. As the artisan among the gods, Hephaestus made their armor, weapons, and jewelry. His workshop was believed to lie under Mount Etna, a volcano in Sicily. He worked at huge furnaces, aided by Cyclopes. Originally he was a Middle Eastern fire god. Hephaestus is often identified with the Roman god of fire, Vulcan.
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Hera
protectress

Queen of the Gods. Queen of Heaven. Lady, Holy One. Great Lady. Mother of the Gods. Earth Goddess. Great Mother. Protectress of marriage, childbirth, home. She was sister, and wife, of Zeus. Hera is the supreme goddess of the Greeks and goddess of marriage and childbirth, women , protection of the home, children, all phases of feminine life, women's fertility, renewal, purification, the moon, the sky, flowers, willow, myrtle, wreath, death, pain, punishment. Her children are Ares, Hebe, Hephaestus and Eris. Sacred to her are the peacock, pomegranate, lily and cuckoo. She was extremely jealous and vindictive, and visited dire consequences upon those mortal women with whom Zeus carried on affairs.
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Hermes

Messenger of the Gods. Argiphontes(slayer of argus). Oneicopompus. Psychopomus(conductor of souls to Hades). The Ram-Bearer. Leader of Souls. He was the cleverest of the Olympian gods. He ruled over wealth, good fortune, commerce, fertility, and thievery. He brought the souls of the dead to the underworld, and was honored as the god of sleep. Controller of the four elements, winds, seasons, solstices, equinoxes. Protector of travellers, merchants, thieves. Patron of merchants, thieves, deception, shephards, flocks, alchemists, philosophy, Hermetic magick. God of good luck, wealth, commerce, roads, fertility, sleep, dreams, trade, travellers, manual skill, eloquence, thieves, wind, travel, hunting, exploring, embassies, fortune, all kinds of profit, transport, liars, treaties, boxing, gymnastics, alphebet, letters, orthodox medicine, occult wisdom, measuring and weighing, astronomy and astrology, music, divination by dice, cunning, magick, success, gambling, mischief, crossroads, athletics, speed, ingenuity, inteeligence, diplomacy, finding the way when lost, journalism.
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Hestia
hearth

She was the virgin goddess of the hearth, family, and peace, fire, circles, discipline, dedication to duty, humility, modesty, prudence, acceptance, continuity, service to others and the inventor of domestic architecture. She was the daughter of Cronus and Rhea and Zeus's sister. Of all the Olympians, she is the mildest, most upright and most charitable.
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Poseidon

Earthshaker. Supreme Lord of the Inner and Outer Seas. Overlord of Lakes and Rivers. Basileus. Enosichthon(earthshaker). Master of storms, lakes, rivers. God of the sea, earthquakes, shores, islands, storms, all marine life, intuition, human emotions, sailors, ships, hurricanes, rain, weather, revenge, protector of all waters. Powerful, violent, and vengeful, he carried the trident, with which he caused earthquakes. The son of the Titans Cronus and Rhea, and the brother of Zeus and Hades, Poseidon was the husband of Amphitrite, one of the Nereids, by whom he had a son, Triton. Poseidon had numerous other love affairs, however, especially with nymphs of springs and fountains, and was the father of several children famed for their wildness and cruelty, among them the giant Orion and the Cyclops Polyphemus. Poseidon and the Gorgon Medusa were the parents of Pegasus, the famous winged horse. The Romans identified Poseidon with their god of the sea, Neptune.
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Zeus
bright sky

Supreme God. Mechaneus. Moeragetes. Olympian. Panhellenius. Soter(savior). Terminalis. Father of the Gods and Mortals. Master of Destiny. Great God. Lord of the Heavens. Basileus. Ceneus. Guardian of the law and upholder of morality. Protector of guests, laws, justice, the weak. Zeus was the god of the sky and ruler of the Olympian gods. He was considered the father of the gods, and of mortals, although he did not create either; he was their father in the sense of being the ruler both of the Olympian gods and of the human race. God of the sky, weather, all high things, clouds, rain, wind, thunder, lightning, mountaintops, wisdom, justice, popularity, the law, honor, riches, health, friendships, luck, the heart's desire. He was the rain god, and the cloud gatherer, who wielded the terrible thunderbolt. His breastplate was the aegis, his bird the eagle, his tree the oak. Zeus was the youngest son of the Titans, Cronus and Rhea, and the brother of the Poseidon, Hades, Hestia, Demeter, and Hera. According to one of the ancient myths of the birth of Zeus, Cronus, having heard the prophecy that he might be dethroned by one of his children, swallowed them as they were born. Upon the birth of Zeus, Rhea wrapped a stone in swaddling clothes for Cronus to swallow and concealed the infant god in Crete, where he was fed on the milk of the goat Amalthaea and reared by nymphs. When Zeus grew to maturity, he forced Cronus to disgorge the other children, who were eager to take vengeance on their father. In the war that followed, the Titans fought on the side of Cronus, but Zeus and the other gods were successful, and the Titans were banished to Tartarus. Zeus henceforth ruled over the sky, and his brothers Poseidon and Hades were given power over the sea and the underworld, respectively. The earth was to be ruled in common by all three. He is represented as the god of justice and mercy, the protector of the weak, and the punisher of the wicked. As husband to his sister Hera, he is the father of Ares, the god of war; Hebe, the goddess of youth; Hephaestus, the god of fire; and Eileithyia, the goddess of childbirth. At the same time, Zeus is noted for falling in love with one woman after another and resorting to all kinds of tricks to hide his infidelity from his wife. Stories of his escapades were numerous in ancient mythology, and many of his offspring were a result of his love affairs with both goddesses and mortal women. Zeus' image was represented in sculptural works as a kingly, bearded figure. Zeus corresponds to the Roman god Jupiter.
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