Twelve Olympians
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Twelve Olympians, also known as the Dodekatheon (Greek: Δωδεκάθεον < δωδεκα, dodeka, "twelve" + θεον, theon, "of the gods"), in Greek mythology, were the principal gods of the Greek pantheon, residing atop Mount Olympus. The classical scheme of the Twelve Olympians (the Canonical Twelve of art and poetry) comprises the following gods: Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Demeter, Ares, Hermes, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Hestia. The respective Roman scheme comprises the following gods: Jupiter, Juno, Neptune, Ceres, Mars, Mercury, Vulcan, Venus, Minerva, Apollo, Diana and Vesta.[1]
There was, however, a great deal of fluidity when it came to who was counted among their number in antiquity;[2] other important gods are sometimes included by certain sources in the group of Twelve replacing some of the above Canonical 12. The first ancient reference of religious ceremonies for the 12 Olympians is found in the Homeric Hymn to Hermes. Around 400 BC Herodorus included in his Dodekatheon the following deities: Zeus, Poseidon, Hera, Athena, Hermes, Apollo, Alpheus, Cronus, Rhea and the Charites.[3] Wilamowitz agrees with Herodorus' version of the 12.[4]
There were also numerous regional variations in ancient Greece. For instance, at Kos, Ares and Hephaestus are left behind, replaced by Heracles and Dionysus.[5] Herodotus agrees with this and counts Heracles as one of the Twelve,[6] while Lucian adds Asklepios to Heracles as a member of the Twelve, without explaining which two had to give way for them. Pindar and Apollodorus, however, disagree with this.[7] For them, and Herodorus as well, Heracles is not one of the Twelve Gods, but the one who established their cult.[3] Plato connected the Twelve Olympians with the twelve months, and proposed that the final month be devoted to rites in honor of Pluto and the spirits of the dead, implying that he considered Hades, one of the basic chthonic deities, to be one of the Twelve.[8] Hades is phased out in later groupings due to his chthonic associations.[9] In Phaedrus Plato aligns the Twelve with the Zodiac and would exclude Hestia from their rank.[10] Hestia is sometimes displaced by Dionysus.[9] Hebe, Helios and Persephone are other important gods, goddesses, which are sometimes included in a group of twelve. Persephone, daughter of Demeter, was forced to spend 3 months a year in the underworld. During this time, Demeter withheld her graces and caused the barren landscape of winter, until her daughter returned to Mount Olympus.
The Twelve Olympians gained their supremacy in the world of gods after Zeus led his siblings to victory in war with the Titans; Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Hera, Demeter, and Hestia were siblings; all the other of the Dodekatheon 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, and Aphrodite who was formed from the castrated phallus of the primordial sky which Cronos threw into the sea when he freed the Titans. Additionally, some versions of the myth state that Hephaestus was born of Hera alone as Hera's revenge for Zeus' solo birth of Athena.
Contents |
[edit] List of Olympians
| Greek deities series | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primordial deities | ||||||||||||
| Titans (predecessor deities) | ||||||||||||
| Greek sea gods (aquatic deities) | ||||||||||||
| Chthonic deities | ||||||||||||
| Muses (personified concepts) | ||||||||||||
| Other deities | ||||||||||||
| The Twelve Olympians | ||||||||||||
|
| Greek Name | Roman Name | God(dess) Of... | Generation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zeus | Jupiter | King of the Gods and ruler of Mount Olympus; god of the sky, thunder, and justice. | First |
| Hera | Juno | Queen of the Gods and of the heavens; goddess of women, marriage, and motherhood. | First |
| Poseidon | Neptune | Lord of the Sea; god of the seas, horses, and earthquakes. | First |
| Demeter | Ceres | Goddess of fertility, agriculture, nature, and the seasons. | First |
| Hestia | Vesta | Goddess of the hearth and home. | First |
| Aphrodite | Venus | Goddess of love, beauty, desire, and fertility. | Second |
| Apollo | Apollo | The Sun God; god of light, healing, music, poetry, prophecy, archery and truth. | Second |
| Ares | Mars | God of war, frenzy, hatred, and bloodshed. | Second |
| Artemis | Diana | Goddess of the hunt, of maidens, and the moon. | Second |
| Athena | Minerva | Goddess of wisdom, crafts, and strategic battle. | Second |
| Hephaestus | Vulcan | Blacksmith to the Gods; god of fire and the forges. | Second |
| Hermes | Mercury | Messenger of the Gods; god of commerce, speed, thieves, and trade. | Second |
[edit] Close to the Olympians
- Bia - Personification of violence.
- Cratos - Personification of power.
- Dione - Mother of Aphrodite by Zeus.
- Dionysus - God of wine, parties, and merriment.
- Eileithyia - Goddess of childbirth; daughter of Hera and Zeus.
- Eos - Personification of Dawn.
- Eris - Goddess of Discord.
- Eros - God of Love.
- Ganymede - Cupbearer of Heaven.
- Hades - Lord of the Dead; god of the Underworld and wealth.
- Hebe - Goddess of youth, and cupbearer.
- Helios - Personification of the Sun.
- Heracles - Greatest hero of the Greek myths.
- Horae - Wardens of Olympus.
- Iris - Personification of the Rainbow, also the messenger of Olympus along with Hermes.
- Leto - Titaness; the mother of Apollo and Artemis.
- Morpheus - God of Dreams.
- Muses - Nine ladies of science and arts.
- Nemesis - Greek goddess of retribution.
- Nike - Goddess of victory.
- Pan - God of the wild.
- Paean - Universal healer.
- Perseus - Zeus' son, one of the greatest heroes in all of Greek mythology.
- Persephone - Goddess of the spring and death, daughter of Demeter.
- Selene - Personification of the Moon.
- Zelus - Emulation.
Note:
- Hades, the god of the Underworld, is always confused as not being part of the 12. He has earned the right to be part of the 12 since his big contribution to the war with the Titans.
- Artemis is often associated in modern times with the moon, although Selene is almost always named as the moon goddess in Greek literature.
- Apollo is often associated in modern times with the sun, although Helios was almost always called sun god in ancient Greek poetry.
[edit] Photo gallery
[edit] See also
- Ancient Greek religion
- Family tree of the Greek gods
- Greek mythology
- List of Greek mythological characters
- Supreme Council of Ethnikoi Hellenes
- Dii Consentes (its equivalent on the pantheon of Ancient Rome)
[edit] References
- ^ "Greek mythology". Encyclopedia Americana 13. (1993).
* "Dodekatheon". Papyros-Larousse-Britanicca. (2007). - ^ According to Stoll, Heinrich Wilhelm (translated by R. B. Paul) (1852). Handbook of the religion and mythology of the Greeks. Francis and John Rivington, 8. “The limitation of their number [of the Olympians] to twelve seems to have been a comparatively modern idea”
- ^ a b "Dodekatheon". Papyros-Larousse-Britanicca. (2007).
- ^ Wilamowitz-Moellendorff, Ulrich von (1931-1932). Der Glaube der Hellenen (Volume 1) (in Deutch). Berlin: Weidmansche Buchhandlung, 329.
- ^ Berger-Doer, Gratia (1986). "Dodekatheoi". Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae 3. 646-658.
- ^ Herodotus, The Histories, 2.43-44
- ^ Pindar, Olympian Odes, 10.49
- ^ Plato, The Laws, 828d-e
- ^ a b "Greek mythology". Encyclopedia Americana 13. (1993).
- ^
, Plato: Phaedrus, 246e-f
