Twelve Olympians

The Twelve Olympians, also known as the Dodekatheon (Greek: Δωδεκάθεον < δώδεκα,[1][2] dōdeka, "twelve"+ θεοί, theoi, "gods"), in Greek mythology, were the principal deities of the Greek pantheon, residing atop Mount Olympus. The Olympians gained their supremacy in a war of gods in which Zeus led his siblings to victory over the Titans.

The first ancient reference of religious ceremonies for them is found in the Homeric Hymn to Hermes. The Greek cult of the Twelve Olympians can be traced to the 6th century BC Athens and probably has no precedent in the Mycenaean period. The altar to the Twelve Olympians at Athens is usually dated to the archonship of the younger Pesistratos, in 522/521 BC. The concept of the "Twelve Gods" is older than any of our Greek or Roman sources, and is likely of Anatolian origin. There seems to have been a great deal of fluidity when it came to who was counted among their number in antiquity.[3]

The classical scheme of the Twelve Olympians (the Canonical Twelve of art and poetry) comprises the following gods:

Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Demeter, Athena, Hestia, Apollo, Artemis, Ares, Aphrodite, Hephaestus and Hermes and later on Dionysus who took the place of Hestia

Hades (Roman: Pluto) was not generally included in this list. He did not have a seat in the pantheon because he spent almost all of his time in the underworld, in which he was the king. The respective Roman scheme as given by Ennius gives the Roman equivalents of these Greek gods,[4] but replaces Dionysus (Bacchus) with Hestia (Vesta) so as to list six gods and six goddesses. The difference in the list is explained by the story that when Dionysus was offered a seat among the Olympians, the total number of Olympians became thirteen. Believing this would create a fight amongst the gods, Hestia selflessly stepped down, and is sometimes considered a minor god because of this.

Herodotus included in his Dodekatheon the following deities: Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Hermes, Athena, Apollo, Alpheus, Cronus, Rhea and the Charites.[2][5] Herodotus also mentions that Heracles was included as one of the Twelve by some.[6] Lucian also includes Heracles and Asclepius as members of the Twelve, without explaining which two had to give way for them. At Kos, Heracles and Dionysus are added to the Twelve, and Ares and Hephaestus are not.[7] However, Pindar, Apollodorus,[8] and Herodorus disagree with this. For them Heracles is not one of the Twelve Gods, but the one who established their cult.[2] Hebe, Helios, Eros (a.k.a. Cupid), Selene and Persephone are other important gods and goddesses which are sometimes included in a group of twelve. Eros is often depicted alongside the other twelve, especially his mother Aphrodite, but is rarely considered one of the Olympians.

Plato connected the Twelve Olympians with the twelve months, and proposed that the final month be devoted to rites in honor of Hades and the spirits of the dead, implying that he considered Hades to be one of the Twelve.[9] Hades is phased out in later groupings due to his chthonic associations.[4] In Phaedrus Plato aligns the Twelve with the Zodiac and would exclude Hestia from their rank.[10]

In ancient Greek culture the "Olympian Gods" and the "Cults of Twelve Gods" were often relatively distinct concepts.[11]

Contents

List of the Olympians

Classical Olympians

The twelve gods and goddesses listed among the Twelve most often.

Twelve Olympians
Greek Name Roman Name Image God/Goddess of... Generation
Zeus Jupiter King of the gods and ruler of Mount Olympus; god of the sky and thunder. Youngest child of the Titans Cronus and Rhea. Symbols include the thunderbolt, eagle, oak tree, scepter and scales. Brother and husband of Hera, although he had many lovers. First
Hera Juno Queen of the gods and the goddess of marriage and family. Symbols include the peacock, pomegranate, crown, cuckoo, lion and cow. Youngest daughter of Cronus and Rhea. Wife and sister of Zeus. Being the goddess of marriage, she frequently tried to get revenge on Zeus' lovers and their children. First
Poseidon Neptune Lord of the seas, earthquakes and horses. Symbols include the horse, bull, dolphin and trident. Middle son of Cronus and Rhea. Brother of Zeus and Hades. Married to the Nereid Amphitrite, although, like most male Greek Gods, he had many lovers. First
Dionysus Bacchus God of wine, celebrations and ecstasy. Patron god of the art of theatre. Symbols include the grapevine, ivy, cup, tiger, panther, leopard, dolphin and goat. Son of Zeus and the mortal Theban princess Semele. Married to the Cretan princess Ariadne. The youngest Olympian, as well as the only one to have been born of a mortal woman. Second
Apollo Phoebus[A] God of light, knowledge, music, poetry, prophecy and archery. Symbols include the sun, lyre, bow and arrow, raven, dolphin, wolf, swan and mouse. Twin brother of Artemis. Youngest child of Zeus and Leto. Second
Artemis Diana Virgin goddess of the hunt, virginity, childbirth, archery and all animals. Symbols include the moon, deer, hound, she-bear, snake, cypress tree and bow and arrow. Twin sister of Apollo. Eldest child of Zeus and Leto. Second
Hermes Mercury Messenger of the gods; god of commerce and thieves. Symbols include the caduceus (staff entwined with two snakes), winged sandals and cap, stork and tortoise (whose shell he used to invent the lyre). Son of Zeus and the nymph Maia. The second-youngest Olympian, just older than Dionysus. He married Dryope, the daughter of Dryops, and their son Pan became the god of nature, lord of the satyrs, inventor of the panpipes and comrade of Dionysus. Second
Athena Minerva Virgin goddess of wisdom, handicrafts, defense and strategic warfare. Symbols include the owl and the olive tree. Daughter of Zeus and the Oceanid Metis, she rose from her father's head fully grown and in full battle armor after he swallowed her mother. Second
Ares Mars God of war, violence and bloodshed. Symbols include the boar, serpent, dog, vulture, spear and shield. Son of Zeus and Hera, all the other gods (excluding Aphrodite) despised him. His Latin name, Mars, gave us the word "martial." Second
Aphrodite Venus Goddess of love, beauty, and desire. Symbols include the dove, bird, apple, bee, swan, myrtle and rose. Daughter of Zeus and the Oceanid Dione, or perhaps born from the sea foam after Uranus' blood dripped onto the earth and into the sea after being defeated by his youngest son Cronus. Married to Hephaestus, although she had many adulterous affairs, most notably with Ares. Her name gave us the word "aphrodisiac".[B] either
Second
or from the
Titan
generation
Hephaestus Vulcan Master blacksmith and craftsman of the gods; god of fire and the forge. Symbols include fire, anvil, ax, donkey, hammer, tongs and quail. Son of Hera, either by Zeus or alone. After he was born, his parents threw him off Mount Olympus, and he landed on the island of Lemnos. Married to Aphrodite, though unlike most divine husbands, he was rarely ever licentious. His Latin name, Vulcan, gave us the word "volcano." Second
Demeter Ceres Goddess of fertility, agriculture, nature, and the seasons. Symbols include the poppy, wheat, torch, and pig. Middle daughter of Cronus and Rhea. Her Latin name, Ceres, gave us the word "cereal". First
  1. Notes
  2. ^ Romans also associated Phoebus with Helios and the sun itself.[12][13] However, they also used the name legaced by the Greeks, Apollo.[14]
  3. ^ According to an alternate version of her birth, Aphrodite was born of Uranus, Zeus' grandfather, — after Cronus threw his castrated genitals into the sea. This supports the etymology of her name, "foam-born". As such, Aphrodite would belong to the same generation as Cronus, Zeus' father, and would technically be Zeus' aunt. See the birth of Aphrodite

Other definitions

The following gods and goddess are sometimes mentioned amongst the twelve Olympians.

Greek Name Roman Names Image God or Goddess of... Generation
Hades Pluto God of the Underworld, dead and the riches under the Earth ("Pluto" translates to "The Rich One"); he was born into the first Olympian generation, but as he lives in the Underworld rather than on Mount Olympus, he is typically not included amongst the twelve Olympians. First
Hestia Vesta Goddess of the hearth and of the right ordering of domesticity and the family; she was born into the first Olympian generation and was one of the original twelve Olympians, but stories suggest that when Dionysus arrived on Mount Olympus she gave him her place in the twelve to prevent discord. First
Asclepius Vejovis The god of medicine and healing. He represents the healing aspect of the medical arts; his daughters are Hygieia ("Hygiene"), Iaso ("Medicine"), Aceso ("Healing"), Aglæa/Ægle ("Healthy Glow"), and Panacea ("Universal Remedy"). Third
Eros Cupid The god of sexual love and beauty. He was also worshipped as a fertility deity, son of Aphrodite and Ares. He was depicted often as carrying a lyre or bow and arrow. He is often accompanied by dolphins, roses and torches. either
Third
or
Primordial
Hebe Juventas She is the daughter of Zeus and Hera. Hebe was the cupbearer for the gods and goddesses of Mount Olympus, serving their nectar and ambrosia, until she was married to Heracles. Second
Heracles Hercules A divine hero, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, foster son of Amphitryon and great-grandson (and half-brother) of Perseus (Περσεύς). He was the greatest of the Greek heroes, a paragon of masculinity and a champion of the Olympian order against chthonic monsters. Second
Pan Faunus/Sylvananous The god of the wild, shepherds and flocks, of mountain wilds, hunting and rustic music, as well as the companion of the nymphs. Generally
Third
sometimes
Second
Persephone Proserpina Queen of the Underworld and a daughter of Demeter and Zeus. She became the consort of Hades when he became the deity who governed the underworld. Also goddess of spring time. She was kidnapped by Hades. The winter season was created when Demeter was mourning the disappearance of her daughter, and in her distraction, neglected the earth, creating its cycles. Demeter mourned her by not allowing crops to grow, so Zeus struck a deal with Hades allowing Persephone to leave the underworld and rejoin her mother for six months each year (spring/summer). Second

Close to the Olympians

The following gods, goddesses, and demigods were not usually counted as Olympians, although they had close ties to them.

See also

References

  1. ^ Used comparatively rarely, in Byzantine Greek, e.g. by Nicephorus Callistus Xanthopoulos, Athanasius of Alexandria or Ducas.
  2. ^ a b c "Dodekatheon" (in Greek). Papyros-Larousse-Britanicca. 2007. 
  3. ^ According to Stoll, Heinrich Wilhelm (translated by R. B. Paul) (1852). Handbook of the religion and mythology of the Greeks. Francis and John Rivington. p. 8. "The limitation of their number [of the Olympians] to twelve seems to have been a comparatively modern idea" 
  4. ^ a b "Greek mythology". Encyclopedia Americana. 13. 1993. p. 431. 
  5. ^ Wilamowitz-Moellendorff, Ulrich von (1931–1932) (in German). Der Glaube der Hellenen (Volume 1). Berlin: Weidmansche Buchhandlung. pp. 329. 
  6. ^ Herodotus, The Histories, 2.43–44
  7. ^ Berger-Doer, Gratia (1986). "Dodekatheoi". Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae. 3. pp. 646–658. 
  8. ^ Pindar, Olympian Odes, 10.49
  9. ^ Plato, The Laws, 828 d-e
  10. ^ , Plato: Phaedrus, 246 e-f
  11. ^ C.R. Long, The Twelve Gods of Greece and Rome
  12. ^ North John A., Beard Mary, Price Simon R.F. "The Religions of Imperial Rome". Classical Mythology in English Literature: A Critical Anthology. (Cambridge University Press, 1998), p.259. ISBN 0-521-31682-0.
  13. ^ Hacklin, Joseph. "The Mythology of Persia". Asiatic Mythology (Asian Educational Services, 1994), p.38. ISBN 81-206-0920-4.
  14. ^ See, for example, Ovid's Met. I 441, 473, II 454, 543, 598, 612, 641, XII 585, XVIII 174, 715, 631, and others.

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