Olympians

Aphrodite (Venus) | goddess of love and beauty

Apollon (Apollo) | god of the arts (esp. poetry and music)

Ares (Mars) | god of war

Artemis (Diana) | goddess of the hunt and protector of children

Athena (Minerva) | goddess of wisdom, war and crafts; patron of Athens

Demeter (Ceres) | goddess of agriculture and fertility

Dionysos (Bacchus) | god of wine, mysteries and the theatre

Hephaistos (Vulcan) | god of smiths and metal-workers

Hera (Juno) | goddess of marriage; wife of Zeus

Hermes (Mercury) | god of merchants; messenger of Zeus

Poseidon (Neptune) | god of the sea and earthquakes

Zeus (Jupiter) | god of the sky; ruler of Olympus

This is how the gods (immortals) came to be:

The Olympians are descended from the first, self-created god Kaos from which we get our word chaos). The Olympians are ruled by Zeus. The Olympians are only a small part of the family of Immortals that rule the earth and sky. The various rivers, mountains and forces of nature are the ‘bodies’ of the Immortals and proper respect must always be shown if you wish to have peace at home and safe passage when you travel.

The ancient texts we call Greek myths are mostly from the period known as Classical Greece, circa 500 BC. The stories behind the myths are from a much earlier time but written versions don’t exist before Classical times.