Three more Olympians are presented in this pre-last post of the series.
Ares (Άρης): God of war and lover of Venus. Son of Zeus and Hera. His obsession with war and fight has made him the most disliked god of the mountain. Only Venus and Hades liked him, for obvious reasons…
His passion, his strength and his tenderness, combined with his beauty, make him irresistible. He is not interested of the outcome of the battle; neither seems to be always the winner. His life is the war itself. He was defeated twice by Athena. Also Hercules has many victories against him. But his biggest defeat was from the sons of Aolea (Αωλέα) who imprisoned him in a jar and if it wasn’t Hermes to release him, he would have been there forever. Ares knows how to win and certainly knows how to lose.
Venus (Αφροδίτη): Goddess of love and passion. She was born from the genitals of Uranus, which Cronus cut and threw into the sea when he rebelled against his father (Uranus). Others say that she was born from the foam which formed in the sea when Hera, furious with jealousy, cut the genitals of Zeus and threw them there. Venus emerged naked from the sea on a shell outside Kythera(Κύθηρα). But she found this island very small for her “majesty”. So, she left and settled in Cyprus(Κύπρο). Pigeons and sparrows are her symbols. They fly and stay with her wherever she is located. Zeus forced her to marry the lame and ugly Hephaestus, but the real father of her children was the handsome and masculine Ares. In general she made too many children with too many men, gods and mortals.
Apollo(Απόλλων). Most known as the god of light, harmony and music. His youth is characterized by immaturity and he was the trouble maker of the family. He is the son of Zeus and Leto, and the twin brother of Artemis.
Hera, being really jealous of Zeus’ affair,was chasing Leto for months during her pregnancy. Fortunately, Poseidon took pity of Leto and gave her a refuge in the island of Delos(Δήλος), where she gave birth to her twins. Even though Apollo is considered the most beautiful among the gods, he is not that good as a lover. Nonetheless, he has several children with mortal and immortal women; the best known of these is the Asklipios (Ασκληπιός). He is also known as the first god who fascinated people of the same gender!
