The 12 Olympians (Part 1)

The 12 Olympians (Part 1) Posted by dareios on Jan 23, 2012 in Culture

The 12 gods of Olympus (12 θεοί του Ολύμπου) were the principle gods of the Greek Mythology residing on the top of the Olympus Mountain. The Olympians came to power after their victory over Titans(Τιτάνες) in the war of gods. Titans were the children of Gaia (Γή, earth) and Uranus(Ουρανός,sky) and the ancestors of the Olympians.

The scheme of the Twelve Olympians comprises the following gods:

Zeus (Δίας) : Zeus was the father(πατέρας) of the gods and the ruler of the sky. He was the one who ruled the Olympians.

After the Titan Cronus (Κρόνος) dethroned his father Uranus, he became the ruler of the world. Uranus prophesied(προφήτευσε) that one of his sons would dethrone him as well. So Cronus with the fear of losing his power kept swallowing his children born from his wife Rhea. Rhea after losing her fifth child couldn’t stand to lose one more . Being pregnant to her sixth child, she hided in the mountain Lykaion (Λύκαιο) and secretly gave birth to him.This child was Zeus. Returning to her husband she substituted the newborn with a stone wrapped to look like a baby for her husband’s “meal”.The grandmother of Zeus, Gaia took and hided him in the Diktaean cave in Crete where Amalthea(a goat-tending nymph) took care of him.

When Zeus had grown into a young man he returned to his father domain and with the help of Gaia compelled Cronus to regurgitate the five children he had previously swallowed. His brother and sisters ,being thankful (ευγνώμον) to him, designated him a leader. Zeus led the revolt (επανάσταση) against his father and the dynasty of the Titans. The war lasted 10 years with a victory of Zeus and his brothers.

Hera (Ήρα): Goddess (Θεά) of family, birth and protector of marriage. She was the queen of the Olympian deities, equal to her brother and husband Zeus. It said that initially Hera was not positive in the erotic call of Zeus. In order to fool her, Zeus transformed into a wet cuckoo. When Hera saw the wet bird, took pity of it and she put it in her bosom to warm it up. Then Zeus regained his true form and corrupted her. So she was forced to marry him. Hera was known for constantly being jealous of Zeus’s various amorous affairs.

Poseidon (Ποσειδών ): God of the Sea. Poseidon after the victory against the Titans became the ruler of the sea – after the draw with his brothers Zeus and Hades. Zeus got the sky and Hades the underworld. The earth was common to all. Aware of his difficult character, Poseidon chose to keep distance from his brothers and built his underwater palace (παλάτι) close to the Evia Island. The great love (έρωτας) of his life was his daughter Thetis (Θέτης). But a prophecy predicted that the son who would be born from him and Thetis would be most important person from his father, so he threw his trident in the equally beautiful Thetis’ sister, Amphitrite in order to fall in love with him. His marriage with Amphitrite gave him three children.

Poseidon had a completion with Athena for the kingdom of Athens. To win the people of Athens he threw his trident(Τρίαινα) in Acropolis and he created a well (πηγάδι) with salt water which can be seen even today. However, Athena won as the result of giving the people of Athens the olive tree.