1. Enthroned upon
Olympus
The Mythology of
Ancient Greece
Professor Will Adams
Valencia College

2. Before Mount Olympus:
Th e Titans –- Gaia and Ouranos
 The Titans were a giant
race of super-gods who
predated the Olympian
gods
 They were the aunts,
uncles and parents of the
Olympians
 The Titans were conceived
by the first two Greek
deities – Gaia & Ouranos
 Ouranos was the god of
the Sky and Gaia the
goddess of the Earth

3. Before Mount Olympus:
Th e Titans - Gaia and Ouranos
 Ouranos feared overthrow
by his children and threw
them into Tartarus
 Gaia conspired with her
children to overthrow
Ouranos
 Gaia helped her offspring
escape from Tartarus
 Cronos subsequently
castrates Ouranos with a
sickle, rendering him
powerless
 Unfortunately, Cronos
then repeats his father’s
pattern and begins killing
his children

4. Before Mount Olympus:
Th e Titans - Cronos and Rh ea
 Defeated his father
Ouranos by castrating
him
 Then married Rhea and
produced more children
 Feared overthrow by his
children, so ate each one
as it was born
 Rhea a tricks Cronos
into eating a rock so
that Zeus can escape
being eaten
 Zeus overthrows Cronos
and banishes him to the
Italic peninsula

5. Before Mount Olympus:
Th e Titans - Cronos and Rh ea
 Daughter of Gaia
and Ouranos
 Married her brother
Cronos and gave
birth to the
Olympian gods
 Known as “The
Mother of the Gods”
 Usually shown either
seated next to or in
a chariot drawn by
two lions

6. Th e Olymp ians
 The Olympian pantheon
consists of 12 central
deities
 All Olympian gods held a
throne on Mt Olympus,
though many of them
spent their time elsewhere
(i.e. Poseidon)
 The 12 Olympians: Zeus,
Hera, Hestia, Demeter,
Apollo, Ares, Hermes,
Hephaestus, Poseidon,
Aphrodite, Athena &
Artemis

7. The Olympians
Zeus
 Son of Cronos and
Rhea
 King of the Olympians
 Married to his sister
Hera
 God of the sky, uses
lightning and thunder
as weapons
 Gave birth to Athena
by himself when she
sprang fully-formed
from his head

8. The Olympians
Zeus
 Mated with many
mortals to produce
Greek heroes
 Symbols of Zeus: the
eagle, the scepter,
and cornucopia
 Abilities: physically
powerful, charming
personality
 Weakness:
wandering eye

9. The Olympians
H era
 Sister and wife of Zeus
 Goddess of marriage,
children and childbirth
 Traditionally thought to
have been the most
beautiful of the goddesses
 Usually involved in meting
out revenge on one of
Zeus’s lovers or their
offspring
 Gave birth to the lame god
Hephaestus as a response
to Zeus giving birth to
Athena by himself

10. The Olympians
H era
 She is also the
mother of the
Olympian god Ares
 Abilities: Determined
defender of
monogamy
 Weaknesses: Married
to philandering Zeus
 Symbols: peacock &
pomegranate

11. The Olympians
Demeter
 Goddess of fertility,
grain, and
agriculture
 Sister of Zeus and
Hera
 Responsible for the
creation of winter
 Abilities: controls the
fertility of the
Earth, grants
immortality to those
who learn her
Mysteries

12. The Olympians
Demeter
 Weaknesses: Quick to
wreak havoc when
crossed
 Symbols: sheaf of
grain, torch, scepter
 Closely associated
with the story of her
daughter
Persephone’s
abduction to the
Underworld

13. The Olympians
H ermes
 Son of Zeus & nymph
Maia
 Known as the Messenger
God
 God of thieves,
commerce, travelers,
athletics, invention &
shepherds
 Abilities: Clever, bold,
and able to subdue
enemies with music
 Weaknesses: None
 Symbols: Winged
sandals, serpent-twined
staff, tortoise-shell lyre

14. The Olympians
Ap hrod ite
 Aunt of Zeus and
Hera
 Born from the severed
genitals of Ouranos
 Goddess of love &
beauty
 Abilities: dazzling
beauty and sexual
prowess
 Weaknesses: A bit
conceited
 Symbol: her girdle

15. The Olympians
Ap hrod ite
 Won the Contest of
the Golden Apple (also
known as The
Judgment of Paris)
between herself, Hera
and Athena
 Indirectly responsible
for beginning the
Trojan War
 She is married to the
lame god Hephaestus,
son of Hera
 Continually flirts with
Ares, god of war

16. The Olympians
Ares
 God of War
 Sole legitimate son of
Zeus & Hera
 Thought of as irritable,
gruff and war-like, his
parents did not care
much for him
 Carries a torch for his
aunt Aphrodite
 Strengths: Fearless in
battle
 Weaknesses: Impulsive
and bloodthirsty
 Symbols: the spear,
vulture, dogs

17. The Olympians
Artem is
 She is the goddess of
the Hunt & the
natural world
 Daughter of Zeus and
the nymph Leto (twin
sister of the god
Apollo)
 Described as a
tomboy-like god, she
spends most of the
time in the forest with
her maidens hunting

18. The Olympians
ARtem is
 Strengths: She is
physically strong,
defender of childbirth
and the natural world
 Weaknesses: She has a
serious dislike of men
(as in the story of
Acteon) and opposes
marriage
 Symbols: her bow and
her hunting hounds.

19. The Olympians
Apo llo
 He is Artemis’s twin
brother
 Apollo is the god of
the Sun, knowledge,
& the arts
 Traditionally
represented as
golden-haired and
quite beautiful
 Symbols: the sun,
the bow, the chariot

20. The Olympians
Apo llo
 Strengths: Creative
and a great
supporter of the
arts
 Inherited his father’s
wandering eye
 He was entrusted
with carrying the
sun into the sky
each morning and
returning it to the
sea each evening
with his chariot.

21. The Olympians
H ep haestus
 He is the god of the Forge,
Metalcraft & Fire
 He is the son of solely Hera
 Aphrodite is his wife
 He was born with a club-
foot, for which his mother
cast him off Mt Olympus
 Strengths: Very cunning
and crafty
 Weaknesses: A mean and
vindictive drunk
 Symbols: the forge, the fire

22. The Olympians
Ath ena
 Goddess of Wisdom &
Military Strategy
 Daughter of solely Zeus
 Patron god of the city of
Athens, which is named for
her.
 Often referred to as “grey-
eyed Athena”
 Sprang fully-formed from
her father’s head after he
swallowed her mother
 Strengths: Rational and
intelligent, powerful in war
but also a proponent of peace
 Weaknesses: Often pragmatic
to a fault
 Symbols: The owl, wolves,
and her armor

23. The Olympians
H estia
 Goddess of the Hearth and
Home
 Sister of Zeus and Hera
 Virginal protectress of
family
 Typically seen as shy,
demure, and homely
 Strengths: Calm and
gentle support of the
family and homelife
 Weaknesses: Aloof
 Symbols: the hearth
containing a tamed fire
 Immune to Aphrodite’s
powers, she could not be
coerced into loving anyone

24. The Olympians
Pos ei don
 God of the Sea
 Brother of Zeus and Hera
 Credited his creating both
horses and zebras
 Lost a competition for the
love of the people of
Athens to Athena
 Strengths: Creative at
biological engineering
 Weaknesses: Warlike,
moody & unpredictable
 Symbols: the trident,
horses
 Fathered Pegasus the
flying horse from his
liaison with Medusa

25. Telos