The Mount Olympus gods were the primary deities of the Greek pantheon, so named because of their residency atop Mount Olympus.
They gained their supremacy in a ten-year-long war of gods, in which Zeus led his siblings to victory over the previous generation of ruling gods, the Titans.
Primary Gods
They were a family of gods, the most important consisting of the first generation of the Mount Olympus gods offspring of the Titans Cronus and Rhea:
Zeus -King of the gods and ruler of Mount Olympus; god of the sky, lightning, thunder, law, order, and justice.
Poseidon - God of the seas, water, storms, hurricanes, earthquakes, and horses.
Hera - Queen of the gods and the goddess of marriage, women, childbirth, and family.
Demeter - Goddess of the harvest, fertility, agriculture, nature, and the seasons
Hestia - Goddess of the hearth, fire, 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.
Hades - God of the Underworld.
Zeus Offspring
This was the first tier of primary gods. The second tier was all principal offspring of Zeus.
Athena - Goddess of wisdom, knowledge, reason, intelligent activity, literature, handicrafts, science, defense, and strategic warfare.
Apollo - God of light, the sun, prophecy, philosophy, truth, inspiration, poetry, music, arts, medicine, healing, and plague.
Artemis -Goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, virginity, the moon, archery, childbirth, protection, and plaque. Daughter of Zeus and Leto and the twin sister of Apollo.
Ares - God of war, violence, bloodshed, and manly virtues.
Aphrodite - Goddess of love, pleasure, passion, procreation, fertility, beauty, and desire.
Hephaestus - Master blacksmith and craftsman of the gods; god of the forge, craftsmanship, invention, fire, and volcanoes.
Hermes - Messenger of the gods; god of travel, commerce, communication, borders, eloquence, diplomacy, thieves, and games.
Dionysus - God of wine, the grapevine, fertility, festivity, ecstasy, madness, and resurrection.
Excluding Hades, these 13 names appear interchangeably in Greek culture as the 12 Olympians.
When the Titans were defeated, Zeus and his two other brothers cast lots to decide what realm they would rule over. When the lots were cast they landed as such:
- Zeus ruled the sky and the heavens
- Poseidon ruled the waters
- Hades ruled the underworld
Although Hades is a primary god in Greek culture, he is not considered an Olympian god because he resided in the underworld and not Mount Olympus.
Zeus Family Tree
Zeus's family must be considered one of the most dysfunctional families in the history of the world. They slept with each other, constantly backstabbed, warred against the other, impregnated each other, and the list goes on with even more extravagant things.
Keeping this dysfunctional family straight can be a bit confusing, so take a look at this family tree if you are a more visual person.
