Greek Mythology 101: The gods of Olympus and 12 ...

Some of the gods and goddesses of Olympus. Telemax / Flickr / CC BY-SA 2.0

The Greeks had no list "Top Ten" of the gods - but had the "Top Twelve" - these gods and goddesses that inhabit the peaks of Mount Olympus Greek luck.

Aphrodite - the goddess of love, romance and beauty. His son was Eros, god of love (though not an Olympic athlete.)
Apollo - the god of the sun, light, medicine and music.
Ares - dark god of war, Aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty loves.
Artemis - Independent goddess of hunting, forest, wildlife, and the birth of the moon. Apollo's sister.
Athena - daughter of Zeus and the goddess of wisdom, war and crafts. She chairs the Parthenon and its namesake city of Athens. Sometimes spelled "Athena".
Demeter - goddess of agriculture and mother of Persephone (again, not as their descendants an Olympic athlete.)
Hephaestus - lame god of fire and forge.

Sometimes he spelled Hephaestus. The Hefestion close to the Acropolis is the oldest well-preserved temple in Greece. Coupled Aphrodite.
Hera - Wife of Zeus, protector of marriage, familiar with magic.
Hermes - The rapid messenger of the gods, god of the company and wisdom. The Romans called Mercury.
Hestia - Goddess rest of your home and family life, still symbolized by the fire, the flame burns.
Poseidon - god of the sea, horses, and earthquakes.
Zeus - supreme ruler of the gods, the God of heaven, symbolized by lightning.

Hey - Where's the Hades?

Hades, although an important god and brother of Zeus and Poseidon, was not generally regarded as one of the twelve Olympians from life in the underworld. Similarly, Demeter's daughter Persephone also omitted from the list of Olympic athletes when they there for a half or a third of the year, according to the preferred mythological interpretation.

Six Olympic athletes?

Although we believe in the rule of today ", 12 Olympic athletes", there was a smaller core group that had only six children of Cronus and Rhea - Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, Poseidon and Zeus. In this group, Hades is always included.

Who else Olympus has survived?

During the twelve Olympians were all divine, there were some other long-term visitors to Mount Olympus. One was Ganymede, the cupbearer of the gods, and a particular favorite of Zeus. In this paper, Ganymede replaced the goddess Hebe, which is considered an Olympian, as a rule, belongs to the new generation of deities. The hero and demigod Hercules, was allowed to Olympus after his death and married Hebe, goddess of youth and health, a daughter of the goddess Hera to live, with whom he reconciled.

Olympic Renaissance

In the past, most American high school students are in the Greek part of the standard program, but those days long gone - which is a shame because it was a natural introduction to the glory of Greece and Greek mythology. But the popular media seems to have revived in the gap with the book and movie series, the interest rates in Greece and in the Greek pantheon.

All the gods and goddesses the Greeks get more attention because of the many previous films with themes from Greek mythology: Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief and the remake of the classic Ray Harryhausen, Clash of the Titans, the wrath of the Titans sequel and movie Immortals to name a few.

Faster data about Greek gods and goddesses:

The 12 Olympians - Greek Gods and Goddesses - gods and goddesses - Attractions Temple - Titans - Aphrodite - Apollo - Ares - Artemis - Atalanta - Athena - Searchers - Cyclops - Demeter Dionysos - eros - Gaia - Hades - Helios - Hephaestus - Hera - Hercules - Hermes - Kronos - Medusa - Nike - Pan Pandora - Pegasus - Persephone - Rea - Selene - Zeus.