Gods of Olympus

The Olympians were the principal deities of the Greek pantheon, so named because of their residency atop Mount Olympus. They gained their supremacy in a ten-year-long war of gods, in which Zeus led his siblings to victory over the previous generation of ruling gods, the Titans. We the rise of Modern Hellenism, the gods have now been reborn on Mount Olympus and have turned their eyes to the mortal world.

APHRODITE

The Olympian goddess of love, beauty, pleasure and procreation. She is depicted as a beautiful woman often accompanied by the winged godling Eros (Love). Her attributes include a dove, apple, scallop shell and mirror. In classical sculpture and fresco she is usually depicted nude.

APOLLON (Apollo)

The Olympian god of prophecy and oracles, music, song and poetry, archery, healing, plague and disease, and the protection of the young. He is depicted as a handsome, beardless youth with long hair and attributes such as a wreath and branch of laurel, bow and quiver of arrows, raven, and lyre.

ARES

The Olympian god of war, battlelust, courage and civil order. In ancient Greek art he is depicted as either a mature, bearded warrior armed for battle, or a nude, beardless youth with a helm and spear.

ARTEMIS

The Olympian goddess of hunting, the wilderness and wild animals. She is also a goddess of childbirth, and the protectress of the girl child up to the age of marriage--her twin brother Apollon is similarly the protector of the boy child. Together the two gods are also bringers of sudden death and disease--Artemis targetted women and girls, Apollon men and boys.

ATHENE (Athena)

The Olympian goddess of wisdom and good counsel, war, the defence of towns, heroic endeavour, weaving, pottery and various other crafts. She is depicted as a stately woman armed with a shield and spear, and wearing a long robe, crested helm, and the famed aigis--a snake-trimmed cape adorned with the monstrous visage of the Gorgon Medousa (Medusa)

DEMETER

The Olympian goddess of agriculture, grain and bread who sustained mankind with the earth's rich bounty. She presides over the foremost of the Mystery Cults which promised its initiates the path to a blessed afterlife in the realm of Elysium. Demeter is depicted as a mature woman, often wearing a crown and bearing sheafs of wheat or a cornucopia (horn of plenty), and a torch.

DIONYSOS (Dionysus)

The Olympian god of wine, vegetation, pleasure, festivity, madness and wild frenzy. He is depicted as either an older, bearded god or an effeminate, long-haired youth. His attributes include the thyrsos (a pine-cone tipped staff), a drinking cup and a crown of ivy. He is usually accompanied by a troop of Satyrs and Mainades (wild female devotees).

HEPHAISTOS (Hephaestus)

The Olympian god of fire, smiths, craftsmen, metalworking, stonemasonry and sculpture. He is depicted as a bearded man holding a hammer and tongs--the tools of a smith--and sometimes riding a donkey.

HERA

The Olympian queen of the gods, and the goddess of marriage, women, the sky and the stars of heaven. She is usually depicted as a beautiful woman wearing a crown and holding a royal, lotus-tipped sceptre, and sometimes accompanied by a lion, cuckoo or hawk.

HERMES

The Olympian god of herds and flocks, travellers and hospitality, roads and trade, thievery and cunning, heralds and diplomacy, language and writing, athletic contests and gymnasiums, astronomy and astrology. He is the herald and personal messenger of Zeus, King of the Gods, and also the guide of the dead who led souls down into the underworld.

Hermes is depicted as either a handsome and athletic, beardless youth or as an older, bearded man, with winged boots and a herald's wand.

POSEIDON

The Olympian god of the sea, earthquakes, floods, drought and horses.

He is depicted as a mature man with a sturdy build and dark beard holding a trident (a three-pronged fisherman's spear).

ZEUS

The King of the Gods and the god of the sky, weather, law and order, destiny and fate, and kingship. He is depicted as a regal, mature man with a sturdy figure and dark beard. His usual attributes are a lightning bolt, a royal sceptre and an eagle.