Apollo Apollo is one of the famous Greek Gods in Greek mythology. He is the Sun God who is associated with healing, music, art, poetry, archery, reason, knowledge, truth and prophecy.  He is usually depicted as a handsome, beardless youth with long hair. He always has a wreath and branch of laurel. He has a bow and quiver of arrows and is always accompanied by his raven. His symbols include the lyre and his sacred animals are the dolphin and swan. Apollo is believed to be a skilled musician and is said to delight all Olympian Gods with his heavenly tunes. His golden lyre was made by Hermes. He is also known for being adventurous, and indulged in snake wrestling and very tough archery sports. Apollo is the son of Zeus and his mistress Leto. His birth has an interesting myth. When Goddess Hera, the wife of Zeus found about Leto’s pregnancy, she sent a python to kill Leto and her unborn child. Due to this, Leto escaped to an island and after 9 days of pain delivered twins- Apollo and Artemis. It is also said that, within a few days of his birth, Apollo hunted and killed the python who was sent to kill his mother. The python’s mother was Goddess Gaea who complained to Zeus, and Apollo was banished for 9 years and sent to Earth to live amongst the mortals. Daphne, a Naiad nymph who was also the daughter of a river God was famous for having Apollo fall in love with her.  However, Daphne wanted to remain unmarried for the rest of her life. According to Greek Mythology, Apollo had been teasing Eros, the God of love. In order to take revenge, Eros fired 2 arrows; a gold arrow that struck Apollo and made him fall in love with Daphne and a lead arrow which struck Daphne and made her hate Apollo. Under the spell, Apollo continued to follow and pursue Daphne but Daphne continued to reject him.  Daphne asked the River God Peneus, who was also her father, for help. Peneus turned her into a laurel tree. Apollo made the laurel tree’s leaves evergreen by using his powers of youth. Apollo is most famously known for his contribution in the Trojan war. Achilles had murdered Troilus, Apollo’s dear son and this had angered Apollo a lot. In the Trojan war, Apollo was fighting on the side of the Trojans and when Achilles was hit, Apollo took advantage of the situation and used his archery mastery and fired his arrow into Achille’s weak heel and killed him. Greek Mythology Zeus Greek Mythology Hera Greek Mythology Aphrodite Greek Mythology Ares Greek Mythology Hephaestus Greek Mythology Poseidon Greek Mythology Hermes Greek Mythology Artemis Greek Mythology Athena Greek Mythology Hades Greek Mythology Demeter Previous Next

Zeus Zeus is one of the most important Gods in Greek mythology and is said to live on Mount Olympus. Zeus ruled the Gods of Olympus, as well as mortal men and was the mightiest of all. He is the God of the sky, lightning, thunder, and justice. Zeus is married to Hera, the Goddess of women. Zeus fell in love with many and whenever he would try to build a relation with any Goddess or woman, he would assume the avataar of an animal and so he is the father of many children. Some of his famous children are  Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Aphrodite and Hermes. Zeus’s parents were Rhea and Kronos who were human giants called the Titans.  Kronos was the ruling God when Zeus was born. Zeus is usually depicted as a grown, elderly, and strong man with curly hair and a thunderbolt. Sometimes, he is also depicted along-with his sacred animal, the eagle. His symbols include the thunderbolt, eagle, bull, and the oak. He holds a powerful shield called the Aegis.   The story of Zeus’s birth is a very interesting one. Zeus is the sixth child of Kronos who ruled the Titans and swallowed every child of his when they were born as he feared a prophecy that he would be overthrown by his children as the ruler of Mount Olympus. As per the prophecy, Kronos was told that one of his children would destroy him. Hence whenever a child was born, Kronos would immediately swallow the child. Kronos did that with his 5 children but he couldn’t kill Zeus. When Zeus was born, his mother gave Kronos a stone which Kronos swallowed thinking it was his baby. She hid Zeus in a cave till he grew up.  When Zeus grew up, he along with other Gods and Goddesses, waged a war against the Titans and defeated his father and became the ruler. He also rescued his 5 siblings. It is believed that, Zeus would punish anyone who lied or deceived others. He had a unique ability to mimic people’s voices and was able to shape shift as per his wish. Zeus’s famous horse, Pegasus was entrusted with carrying his thunderbolts which were used by Zeus when he got angry. Greek Mythology Zeus Greek Mythology Hera Greek Mythology Aphrodite Greek Mythology Ares Greek Mythology Hephaestus Greek Mythology Poseidon Greek Mythology Hermes Greek Mythology Apollo Greek Mythology Artemis Greek Mythology Athena Greek Mythology Hades Greek Mythology Demeter Previous Next

Hera Hera, Zeus’ wife, is the queen of all Gods. Hera is usually portrayed as a beautiful and fair woman wearing flowing robes, a crown and holds a lotus sceptre. She is shown riding a chariot pulled by peacocks. The peacock and cow are her sacred animals. Hera is the daughter of Kronos and Rhea, the king and queen of the Titans. While she was Zeus’ sister, later she became his wife. Hera is also called the “Queen of the Heaven” as she rules over Mount Olympus. Hera’s story is one of the famous legends in Greek mythology. After being born, like her other siblings, Hera was swallowed by her father Kronos because he was scared that his children would someday overthrow him. Hera was eventually saved by Zeus. As Zeus loved many women and Goddesses, Hera would get jealous and in revenge try and kill the children. There is a famous legend where Hera hated the hero Heracles since he was the son of Zeus and a mortal woman. When Heracles was an infant, Hera sent snakes to attack him in his crib. When he grew up, Hera stirred up the Amazon against him on one of his quests. Hera also tried to kill Apollo and Artemis before they were even born. Despite her violent and jealous acts, Hera did many good deeds. She is considered very powerful and even controls the skies. When she is happy, she blesses people with clear blue sky and when she is angry, she can bring storms. She is worshipped as the Goddess of women, marriage, and childbirth.  She would be worshipped by all women during childbirth. Hence she was named as the protector of women. Greek Mythology Zeus Greek Mythology Hera Greek Mythology Aphrodite Greek Mythology Ares Greek Mythology Hephaestus Greek Mythology Poseidon Greek Mythology Hermes Greek Mythology Apollo Greek Mythology Artemis Greek Mythology Athena Greek Mythology Hades Greek Mythology Demeter Previous Next

Aphrodite Aphrodite is the Goddess of love and beauty and is believed to be born from the foam and waves of the ocean. She is depicted as a beautiful woman who is elegantly dressed and loves to wear jewellery. Aphrodite’s mode of transportation is a flying chariot pulled by sparrows. Her symbols include the swan, the dove, a scallop shell, an apple, a mirror and roses. Aphrodite was forced by her father Zeus to marry Hephaestus who had created the lightning bolt for Zeus. Hephaestus had also designed weapons for Artemis but he was not able to woo the beautiful Aphrodite who wanted to marry Ares, the war God, who was not good looking. That is why he had to seek Zeus’ help for the marriage. Aphrodite’s children are Eros (commonly known as Cupid), Aeneas, Phobos, Priapus, Deimos, Eunomia, Harmonia, Eryx, Pothos, and many more. Aphrodite loves playing the matchmaker role and loves making people fall in love. She is capable of making a couple fall in love again even if they are fighting. She has a girdle that is capable of making others fall in love with whoever wears it.  There is a famous myth where Aphrodite and her son Eros (Cupid) teamed up to make her father- Zeus fall in love with a beautiful mortal named Europa. Aphrodite told Eros to shoot Zeus’ heart with his magical love arrow that made him fall in love with Europa. Zeus changed himself into a bull and carried her away to the Island of Crete. There is one more myth where Aphrodite was envious of a mortal’s beauty. That mortal’s name was Psyche and everyone said that she was much more beautiful than Aphrodite. Aphrodite ordered her son Eros (Cupid) too shoot his love arrow and made Psyche fall in love with an ugly beast. But when Eros saw the beautiful Psyche, he couldn’t stop himself from falling in love with her and rebelled against his mother and took Psyche to his house. This rebellious attitude enraged Aphrodite and she punished him. Greek Mythology Zeus Greek Mythology Hera Greek Mythology Aphrodite Greek Mythology Ares Greek Mythology Hephaestus Greek Mythology Poseidon Greek Mythology Hermes Greek Mythology Apollo Greek Mythology Artemis Greek Mythology Athena Greek Mythology Hades Greek Mythology Demeter Previous Next

Ares Ares is the God of war. Ares is portrayed as a simple warrior with swift feet. Usually he is depicted riding a chariot and wearing a helmet on his head. In his hands he holds a shield, a sword, or a spear. Ares’ symbols include the spear and the helmet. Even though he is the son of Zeus and Hera, he never enjoyed a prominent spot as other deities due to him being involved in warfare. None of the Greek cities are named after Ares because of his unlikable nature. Ares also has very few temples dedicated to his name. One unknown myth about Ares talks about Hera giving birth to Ares without Zeus and by consuming a magical flower.  Some of Ares’ children included Phobos, Deimos, Eros, and Harmonia. Ares was madly in love with Aphrodite. It is said that Ares’s throne on Mount Olympus where he lived was covered in skin. The month of March is dedicated to Ares. According to Greek mythology, when Ares was a baby he was kidnapped by giants and kept in a bronze jar. He was rescued by Hermes. During the Trojan War, it is said that Ares took the side of the Trojans, who kidnapped a Greek queen. In the end, they lost the battle as his sister Athena helped the Greek warriors defeat the Trojans by giving them the wisdom to develop a strategy and take over Troy.   There is also a very famous legend of Ares and his war with Hercules- a demigod who was the son of Zeus. In one war where Hercules was protecting pilgrims, Ares’ son was killed and hence as an angry father would react, Ares challenged Hercules to a war and attacked him with his spear. It was because of Athena that the spear direction changed ad Hercules was saved. Ares then took his sword to attack Hercules, but the swift and agile Hercules put his spear in Ares’ thighs and attacked him. The injured Ares was then rescued and taken away from Hercules by his sons. Greek Mythology Zeus Greek Mythology Hera Greek Mythology Aphrodite Greek Mythology Ares Greek Mythology Hephaestus Greek Mythology Poseidon Greek Mythology Hermes Greek Mythology Apollo Greek Mythology Artemis Greek Mythology Athena Greek Mythology Hades Greek Mythology Demeter Previous Next

Hephaestus Hephaestus is the God of fire, metal working, stone masonry and forges.  He is known as the God of art and sculpture too. He is the son of Zeus and Hera and was married to Aphrodite by Zeus to prevent a war of the gods fighting for her hand. Aphrodite was not happy with this proposal though. Usually, Hephaestus is depicted wearing a short tunic, that is typically worn by craftsmen and is seen holding an axe or the blacksmith’s pincers. Symbols associated with Hephaestus include the quail, tongs, anvil, and hammer.  Hephaestus made the archery sets for Apollo and Artemis and also made Athena’s spear. Hephaestus was the one who made the Achilles’ shield and armour to use in the Trojan War. Hephaestus was believed to do most of his metal work under a volcano.   In some legends, it is mentioned that Hephaestus was deformed at birth. His deformed and crooked feet made it impossible for him to walk normally and gracefully. Because of this, he is often depicted hunched over or even with a cane. In some stories, it is said that Hephaestus was thrown off a mountain by Hera because he was lame. Hephaestus learnt about this when he grew up, and that is when he decided to take revenge on Hera by making a beautiful golden throne for her and sent it to Mount Olympus. Hera saw the throne and immediately sat on it. An outstanding craftsman that he was, Hephaestus had made invisible and unbreakable chains to the throne, which appeared the moment Hera sat on the throne and these chains tied her up. Hera cried for help and all the Olympian gods ran to help her, but none of them could break the chains. They devised a plan and asked Dionysius, the God of wine to offer sweet wine to Hephaestus to intoxicate him. The plan worked and Hephaestus freed Hera from the chains.  Greek Mythology Zeus Greek Mythology Hera Greek Mythology Aphrodite Greek Mythology Ares Greek Mythology Hephaestus Greek Mythology Poseidon Greek Mythology Hermes Greek Mythology Apollo Greek Mythology Artemis Greek Mythology Athena Greek Mythology Hades Greek Mythology Demeter Previous Next

Poseidon Poseidon is the Greek God of the sea, storms and earthquake. Poseidon is always pictured along-with a three-pronged trident which resembles a spear, and is his most important weapon. Poseidon has a unique look- curly hair and a luscious beard. The sacred animals of Poseidon are the dolphin and the horse. Many Greeks credit him with the creation of the horse. Poseidon is the Greek word for ‘husband of earth’. He was worshipped by sailors and fishermen as he could sink ships, create storms or build clear skies. It is said that Poseidon was in love with Demeter and decided to make the world’s most beautiful animal in order to impress her. Eventually, he made the horse, but it took him so long to make it that by the time he finished making it, he wasn’t in love with Demeter anymore. There is another myth which says that the horse was created by Poseidon to gift it to Goddess Athena as a part of their pact. The legend goes as such that both Poseidon and Athena wanted to be the ruler of Athens and hence designed a contest so that the winner would be the Patron God of Athens or the ancient Acropolis. As a part of this contest,  Athena created the olive tree and Poseidon created the horse. Eventually Athena won the contest. Poseidon is believed to be ill-tempered and moody. He is Zeus’ and Hades’ brother. The three brothers fought a war with the Titans and won the war. After that they took control, where Zeus got in charge of the sky, Poseidon took control of the seas and oceans and Hades got to rule the underworld. Poseidon’s marriage to Amphritite who is the grand-daughter of Pontos (sea) was done so that Poseidon would have power over the sea and thus become stronger. Poseidon spent most of his time at Mount Olympus even though he had his own palace in the sea, made of coral and gems. Poseidon’s transportation was a chariot pulled by horses with fishtails called hippocampuses.  Greek Mythology Zeus Greek Mythology Hera Greek Mythology Aphrodite Greek Mythology Ares Greek Mythology Hephaestus Greek Mythology Poseidon Greek Mythology Hermes Greek Mythology Apollo Greek Mythology Artemis Greek Mythology Athena Greek Mythology Hades Greek Mythology Demeter Previous Next

Hermes Hermes is the God of shepherds, travel, and literature. Hermes led the dead to the Underworld which is why he was able to move very quickly between the human realm and that of the Gods and of the dead. Hermes is a very powerful God, and is said to use his cunning and mischievous persona and nature to outwit others, more often than his strength. Hermes is normally portrayed as a young man, with a flying hat known as the ‘petasus’ and winged sandals adorning his feet. He is also shown to have wings attached to his shoulders and hat. He also held a winged staff with snakes wrapped around it. This staff helped Hermes to charm the Gods or wake up people under the spell of the God of sleep. Symbols of Hermes include the caduceus (his staff), the purse (or leather pouch), the winged sandals, the ram and the petasus (his hat). He is also believed to be the messenger and is said to deliver the news to the Gods. According to Greek mythology, when Hermes was one day old, he ran away to explore the world. In his enthusiasm, he killed a tortoise by mistake and then took it’s shell and made it into an instrument. When he was an infant, he went to steal cattle from his half-brother Apollo. When he found the herd, he re-attached all the hooves in reverse order. He did the same to his sandals and tied twigs to his feet to avoid his footprints from being detected, so that it looked like the herd was walking backwards. After some time, Hermes hid the cattle in a cave. As Apollo was the God of prophecies, he predicted that Hermes stole his cattle and caught Hermes who was acting innocent. The mischievous Hermes refused to acknowledge that he had stolen the cattle and hence the matter reached their father Zeus for the final verdict. While the verdict was being made, Hermes started playing a beautiful tune on his instrument- lyre which awed Apollo and he begged his brother to give him the musical instrument. Hermes was waiting for this opportunity and he tricked Apollo into trading the cattle for the instrument and also got himself the position of the divine herdsman. Zeus signed off on this deal and thus Hermes intelligently got what he wanted. Greek Mythology Zeus Greek Mythology Hera Greek Mythology Aphrodite Greek Mythology Ares Greek Mythology Hephaestus Greek Mythology Poseidon Greek Mythology Hermes Greek Mythology Apollo Greek Mythology Artemis Greek Mythology Athena Greek Mythology Hades Greek Mythology Demeter Previous Next

Artemis Artemis is Apollo’s twin sister and is known as the Moon Goddess and the Goddess of the hunt. She was born to Zeus and Leto and just like her brother is very protective of her mother.  Artemis is mostly depicted as a woman with brown braided hair, pale skin and silvery eyes. She is also usually draped in a chiton and hunting boots. She arms herself with a bow and a quiver of arrows made by Hephaestus and the Cyclops. The symbols of Artemis include hunting knives, a bow and arrow, and a quiver. She was known as the ‘Master Hunter Artemis’ because of her extra-ordinary skills and precision. She is also known as the virgin Goddess, though she drew the attention and interest of many gods and men. However, it was only her hunting companion, Orion, that won her heart and had her affection. But this love story, had a tragedy where it is believed that Orion was accidentally killed either by Artemis herself or by Gaia, the primordial Goddess of the earth. It is also believed that Apollo feared that Artemis would break her vow of celibacy if she decided to marry Orion and hence tricked her into killing Orion. In many Greek texts and stories, Artemis is described as a fierce Goddess who hunted animals as well as protected them and thus had a dual role of being a nurturer as well as an avenger. Artemis is worshipped by women. Before marriage, girls would give some off their old toys to Artemis and this tradition symbolised the journey from being a child to a woman. The temple of Artemis at Ephesus is her most famous temple of worship. Artemis also represents woman empowerment and independence. There is another interesting story where once when Artemis was taking bath, she was spotted by a mortal whose name was Sipiotes. This angered her and she turned him into a girl. According to Greek mythology, when Artemis was 3 years old, she asked Zeus for 6 wishes and he granted them to her.  The wishes were that: to remain unmarried forever to be recognised with more names than her brother Apollo to have a bow and arrows made by the Cyclopes and a knee-length hunting tunic to wear to bring light to the world to have sixty nymphs as friends to have all mountains under her control Greek Mythology Apollo Greek Mythology Zeus Greek Mythology Hera Greek Mythology Aphrodite Greek Mythology Ares Greek Mythology Hephaestus Greek Mythology Poseidon Greek Mythology Hermes Greek Mythology Artemis Greek Mythology Athena Greek Mythology Hades Greek Mythology Demeter Previous Next

Athena Athena is one of the most important ancient Greek Goddess. She represents many things and is worshipped as the Goddess of courage, wisdom, strength, inspiration, law and justice, mathematics, skill, strategic warfare, arts and crafts. Athena is often depicted as a warrior Goddess armed with a spear, a shield and a helmet. She is also depicted with a shield called the ‘Aegis’ which has the head of the monster Medusa. Symbols associated with Athena include owls, spears, helmets, armour, snakes and olive trees. While Athena has beauty and bravery, she is also known to be sharp and wise and is known to always weigh her decisions before taking a call, especially in matters of war or peace. She invented the ship, chariot, plough and rake.  When the great Zeus married the Oceanid Metis, a prophecy at that time predicted that Metis would bear a son who would pose as a serious threat to Zeus. Right after Metis revealed her pregnancy, Zeus swallowed the child in order to protect his kingdom.  Zeus started to feel a unbearable pain in his head and asked Hephaestus to put an end to it. Hephaestus obeyed and opened Zeus’s head with an axe without hurting him. All of a sudden, Athena sprang out of Zeus’ head wearing armour and uttering war-like cries. Her shield was extremely strong and it said that even Zeus’ lighting thunderbolt could not pierce it. But Athena was very loyal and once Zeus realised her love and devotion for him, she became Zeus’ favourite as she never rebelled against him.  Athena is also known as the patron of the city of Athens  and won the title after defeating her uncle Poseidon who also wanted to rule Athens. In an open and fair competition, Zeus asked both the contenders to gift a unique gift to the people of Athens. Poseidon gave them a spring with his trident, but while the feat was impressive, as the water was salty it was not useful. On the other hand, Athena gifted the people with an Olive tree and hence gave them food, olive oil, wood and shade and as all this was useful, she was declared as the contest winner. The Parthenon in Acropolis, Greece is dedicated to Athena. Athena played a significant role in the Trojan war where she supported and provided divine protection to the Greek heroes like Odysseus and Achilles, with her wisdom and strategic ideas. Greek Mythology Zeus Greek Mythology Hera Greek Mythology Aphrodite Greek Mythology Ares Greek Mythology Hephaestus Greek Mythology Poseidon Greek Mythology Hermes Greek Mythology Apollo Greek Mythology Artemis Greek Mythology Athena Greek Mythology Hades Greek Mythology Demeter Previous Next