Charlotte

Appearance: Usually represented as an older, vigorous bearded man. But representations of Zeus as a powerful young man also exist.

Symbol or Attribute: Thunderbolt.

Strengths: Highly powerful, strong, charming, persuasive.

Weaknesses: Gets in trouble over love affairs, can be moody.

Birthplace: Most commonly believed to be born in a cave on

The Most powerful Greek god was Zeus. He

was the king of the gods, fierce, powerful, feared

and very strong. According to ancient myths,

he was one of the sons of the god Kronos.

The stories say that Zeus and his brothers Poseidon

and Hades killed their father and split his kingdom.

The Twelve Olympians, in Greek mythology, were the principal gods of the Greek pantheon, residing atop Mount Olympus. There were, at various times, fourteen different gods recognized as Olympians, though never more than twelve at one time. Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Ares, Hermes, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, Athena, Apollo, and Artemis are always considered Olympians. Hestia, Demeter, Dionysus, and Hades are the variable gods among the Twelve. Hestia gave up her position as an Olympian to Dionysus in order to live among mankind (eventually she was assigned the role of tending the fire on Mount Olympus). Persephone spent six months of the year in the underworld (causing winter), and was allowed to return to Mount Olympus for the other six months in order to be with her mother, Demeter. And, although Hades was always one of the principal Greek gods, his home in the underworld of the dead made his connection to the Olympians more tenuous. The Olympians gained their supremacy in the world of gods after Zeus led his siblings to victory in war with the Titans; Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Demeter, Hestia, and Hades were siblings; all other Olympians (with the exception of foam-born Aphrodite) are usually considered the children of Zeus by various mothers, except for Athena, who in some versions of the myth was born of Zeus alone. Additionally, some versions of the myth state that Hephaestus was born of Hera alone as Hera's revenge for Zeus' solo birth of Athena.

Twelve Titan Gods and Goddesses:

Oceanus and Tethys,

Hyperion and Theia,

Coeus and Phoebe,

Cronus and Rhea,

Mnemosyne, Themis,

Crius, Iapetus

Aphrodite was the goddess of love and beauty. She was born when Cornous threw some rare seashells into the ocean. The water began to foam and churn around where Cornous had thrown the seashells in, and then a giant seashell arose from the foam and inside was Aphrodite. After her birth, Zeus was afraid that the gods would fight over her hand in marrige, so he immediatly married her to Hephastes, the lame blacksmith god. Hephastes could hardley believe his good luck, and made her the most lavishing jewls on Mount Olympous and Earth combined. The Romans called her Venus.

This is the famous statue often called the "Venus de Milo"

but it is actually the Greek goddess Aphrodite, found on

the Greek island of Milos (sometimes spelled Melos). She

was found by a man named Yiorgos, who could not bear

to turn the beautiful statue over to the occupying Turkish

forces as the law then required, and so he hid her in his barn.

She was finally discovered and taken away from him, sold to

(or stolen by - accounts vary) the French, and finally placed in the

Louvre Museum in Paris.

Greek Gods and Goddsses:

Artemis, Goddess of the hunt,

Ares, God of War, Aphrodite,

Goddess of love and Beauty, Apollo, God of Music, Zues, King of the Gods, Athena, Goddess of war and freedom, Poseidon, God of Sea, Demeter, Goddess of Farming and Harvest, Hermes was the messenger of the Gods, Dionysus,God of Wine.

Zeus was the king of the gods. He could control the weather. The ancient Greek poet, Hesiod, called him the 'cloud-gatherer' and the 'thunderer'. His most powerful weapon was the thunderbolt. The ancient Greeks believed that when lightning struck earth, it was a sign of Zeus being present.

Zeus was also concerned with hospitality. If you treated a guest or stranger badly you could outrage Zeus.

There are over 50 greek Gods

and Goddesses

By Charlotte

Goddess of Love and Beauty

Ancient Greek Myths

THE END

Zeus Greek God

This is the statue of Poseidon.

Olympians

Zeus

This is the Goddess of war and freedom

Goddess of love and beauty