I'll go down the list in alphabetical order. The 12 Olympians will have a
next to their name. Let's begin! Aphrodite: The goddess of lust (physical love, not romatic love), she was born from the sea when Cronos cut of Uranus's testicles and threw them into the ocean. She's married to Hephaestus, but doesn't limit her "relations" to him; while she mainly stuck with Ares, other lovers include Adonis, Anchises, Dionysus, Hymenaious, Priapus, and even Hermes! She essentially started the Trojan War when she brought Helen and Paris together, after Paris had chosen her as the most beautiful goddess.Symbols include: the dolphin; the swan; the pomegranate; the sea shell
Apollo: The god of medicine, healing, music, archery, prophecy, colonization, poetry, dance, carer for animals, light, and the plague. As the god of music, he directs the choir of Muses, and even received the lyre through a trade with Hermes. The Oracle at Delphi would pray to him to predict the future. He is sometimes seen with Helios, the god of the sun. His cattle was stolen by Hermes when Hermes was just born; in a deal, Hermes traded his lyre for the cattle and the caduceus. He is Artemis's twin brother. He is also associated with the "Golden Mean" - everything in moderation.Symbols include: the bow and arrow; the swan; laurels; cicadas; crows; and dolphins.
Ares: The god of bloody, unpredictable warfare, in contrast with his half-sister Athena's role as goddess of just, impartial warfare. His sister is Eris, goddess of violence and discord. He had relations with the married Aphrodite, but otherwise, no one truly liked him.Symbols include: the quadriga (a chariot pulled by four horses); a bloody sword; the eagle owl; and the vulture.
Artemis: The moon goddess of archery, the hunt, and the wild. She is a chaste goddess, and guards that chastity closely. Callisto, one of her companions, took a vow of chastity, but broke it with Zeus; Callisto bore a son, Arcas. Disgruntled, Artemis turned her into a bear; when Callisto saw her now full-grown son, one day, she went over to hug him, and the startled Arcas unknowingly killed his own mother. Zeus placed the two in the night sky as the constellations Ursa Major and Ursa Minor.Symbols include: the silver bow and arrow; crescent moon
Athena: The goddess of wisdom and just, even-handed warfare, skill, the arts, and industry. Her mother, Metis, was swallowed by Zeus when he feared that she would give birth to a son who would overpower him (just as he had overthrown his own father). Metis made a robe and helmet for her daughter; when the hammering of the helmet gave Zeus a headache, Hephaestus opened his skull, and out came the fully-clothed Athena. Although her birth was a pain, she is Zeus's favourite child. The city of Athens is named after her, after she won a competition for the city between herself and Poseidon.Symbols include: the owl; the aegis (a shield with the head of the Gorgon Medusa)
Demeter: The goddess of grains, fertility, the circle of life, seasons, and preserver of sacred marriage and law. When her daughter Persephone was taken to Hades, she made plant life dull and near-death. A deal was then made that Persephone would be able to stay in Hades for six months (her absence making plants dull and gloomy) and stay with her mother for the other six months (spring and summer, bringing plants to bloom and happiness). Symbols include: fruits of the earth; the torch; the snake; the pig
Dionysus: The god of revelry, wine, agriculture, theatre. He became an Olympian when he got Hephaestus drunk, brought him to Mount Olympus so that the latter could get Hera out of the throne trap set for her by the god of the forge. When he was born, Zeus told Hermes to take him to safety; Hermes took him to the rain-nymphs of Nysa, who raised him well. As an adult, Dionysus traveled and learned about the making and cultivation of wine, and introduced it to the people of Asia.Symbols include: wine, the vine
Hades: The god of the underworld and the dead, as well as riches. He rules the underworld with his wife Persephone. While he normally does not grant permission for anyone to leave his domain, he occasionally lets some leave, such as Orpheus and Heracles. His throne is made of ebony, and he carries a scepter; his invisi-helmet was given to him by the Cyclopes. He is said to have all the riches because he "enriches himself with our sighs and our tears."
Symbols: his scepter; ebony throne; cornucopia
Hephaestus: The lame god of the forge, fire, and technology. He was born solely by Hera, after she became angered that Zeus could so seemingly easily produce a child (Athena) on his own. When Hephaestus was born, however, his mother felt that he was so ugly that she threw him from Olympus. When he was older, he got revenge on his mother by making a trick throne for her to sit in; once she sat in the chair, she was held down, and was only able to get out when Hephaestus, after being brought to Olympus through the aide of Dionysus, let her. As forger, he made Hermes's winged helmet and sandals, Aphrodite's girdle, Helios's chariot, Eros's arrows, and Achilles's armor. He also creates automatons to help him. He is married to Aphrodite.Symbols include: fire; anvil
Hera: The goddess of marriage and motherhood. She is extremely jealous of Zeus's lovers, normally striking consorts or suspected consorts down, including their children.Symbols include: the peacock; the pomegranate
Hermes: The messenger god of communications, athletics, commerce, exchange, literature, language, wit, translation, thieves, liars, travelers, boundaries, male fertility, weights and measures, and animal husbandry, and is the bringer of dreams, as well as leader of the dead to Hades. He is the son of Zeus and Maia. When he was a mere babe, he snuck from his crib and stole Apollo's cattle. When Apollo saw that his cattle was missing, he went straight to the babe, who outrightly lied about any involvement. Instead, he played his lyre, invented by himself after he had strung up a tortoise shell. Apollo fell in love with the beautiful melodies of the instrument, and immediately exchanged the cattle for the lyre.He is usually depicted wearing a pair of winged sandals, a winged cap called a petasus, and with a cloak over one arm. He also wears garments that a shepherd would wear. Edit by Kitty.
Symbols include: tortoise; rooster; caduceus; winged sandals/helmet; satchel
(Kitty, feel free to edit and expand this in any way. wink )
Hestia: The chaste goddess of the hearth and family. She is the gentlest of the gods, as well as Zeus's eldest sister. She vowed to stay chaste after vain attempts to attract her were made by Poseidon and Apollo.Symbols include: the hearth
Poseidon: The god of the sea, earthquakes, and horses. When the world was divided up between himself and his brothers, Zeus took the sky, Hades took the underworld, and he took the land and sea. He is the father of many children, including the cyclops, Pegasus, and Theseus. Poseidon is a moody god, and can take his anger out on humans by striking his trident against the sea or land, creating earthquakes and rough seas.Symbols include: the trident; the horse
Zeus: Ruler of all the gods, and god of laws, justice, honesty, hospitality, sky, and thunder. He watches for dishonest traders. He came into power by overthrowing his father Cronos, swallowing him. Though he is married to Hera, he has had many lovers.Symbols include: thunderbolt; eagle; bull; oak
This post will be edited from time to time. 3nodding
