Aphrodite ROMAN NAME VENUS GODDESS OF LOVE AND

Aphrodite • • ROMAN NAME: VENUS GODDESS OF LOVE AND BEAUTY • Aphrodite was so lovely that the Greeks couldn't imagine her being born in the usual way. Instead she sprang from the white beauty of the sea foam. In an odd arrangement, this most beautiful goddess was married to the only ugly Olympian, HEPHAESTUS, the deformed forge god. Some said that ZEUS forced her into the marriage; others, that she chose him herself. Gods and mortal men found her charms simply irresistible. Whenever on business abroad, Aphrodite was pulled through the sky by a swan-drawn cart. The swan and the dove were both symbols of her grace. In Greece her worship was popular. . Our word aphrodisiac, a passion-inducing substance, is derived from her name.

Apollo • • ROMAN NAME: PHOEBUS APOLLO GOD OF LIGHT, TRUTH, POETRY, PROPHECY, & MUSIC • From all the important titles laid at Apollo's feet, you can see the Greeks thought very highly of him. He is called the "most Greek of all the gods". He, above all others, represented the ideal man: handsome, athletic, intelligent, talented, and good. His twin sister is ARTEMIS, Goddess of the Moon. Over time, Apollo came to replace the Greek god Helios as God of the Sun as well. The lyre is Apollo's instrument, as he is the master musician. Apollo's tree is the laurel. A wreath of laurels was awarded in Greece to those who won a contest of poetry. Apollo's oracle in Delphi was the most reliable and the most popular.

Ares • • ROMAN NAME: MARS GOD OF WAR • Ares is the cruelest member of the Olympians, hated by all (even his mother, HERA). This god is known for his ruthlessness when he has the upper-hand his cowardice when the tides turn against him. Even the Greeks disliked this terrible god. There were no temples to Ares in ancient Greece. APHRODITE, in one of her many infidelities, started an affair with Ares, which was his motivation to fight for the Trojans in the great war. Martial (having to do with war) and March are coined from his Latin name. •

Athena • • ROMAN NAME: MINERVA, PALLAS ATHENA GODDESS OF WISDOM AND BATTLE • According to one tale, Athena was not actually born, but sprang fully-grown from ZEUS' head. This is symbolic of her distinction as Goddess of Wisdom. Athena's animal was the wisest of birds, the owl. As the leader of the Virgin Goddesses, those who will never marry, Athena refuses to let any man to be her master. When a new city-state was founded, there was a contest between Athena and her uncle POSEIDON over who should be its patron god. The competition was fierce. To win the people over to his side, Poseidon formed the first horse from the crest of a wave. In order to one-up his gift, Athena created the bridle, a tool man could use to subdue Poseidon's creation. Since her gift was the wiser, the city chose Athena as their patron goddess. From this point on the city-state was called Athens.

Hades • • • ROMAN NAME: PLUTO RULER OF THE DEAD, LORD OF THE UNDERWORLD Although he has been presented as one before, Hades is no villain. He is cold and calculating. He keeps to himself, only showing up in myth when he is sought out. Hades is more a recluse than anything else. He has little to do with mortals' lives. Their deaths are a different story. Hades is not Death himself; in other words he is not responsible for deciding when mortals die. A mortal's death is an assembly line: The Fates snip the threads of life, Thanatos (or death) causes the mortal to die, HERMES leads the soul to the banks of the Styx. After the gods defeated their forebearers, the Titans, Hades was presented with a helmet of invisibility and given the Underworld to rule. Hades' Roman name Pluto came from the Greek word for wealth. The god was considered rich because of all the precious metals that are found beneath the earth.

Hera • • ROMAN NAME: JUNO GODDESS OF MARRIAGE, QUEEN OF OLYMPUS • Hera is usually shown as a crafty schemer and jealous wife. She is the mother of a few of the second generation gods: ARES, HEPHAESTUS, and HEBE. ZEUS and his frequent affairs are enough to keep her busy, punishing his many lovers and cursing his illegitimate children. Even though she cannot protect her own marriage, Hera is labeled as the protector of marriage. Wives with unfaithful husbands could definitely sympathize with her. Hera has a fiery temper and enough venom for her anger to last centuries. Her animal is the cow, and her bird is the peacock. The Romans named June, the season for marriage, after Hera (Juno).

Hermes • • • ROMAN NAME: MERCURY MESSENGER OF THE GODS Hermes, the most mischievous and clever of the gods, also served as a guider of dead souls to the Underworld. One of the youngest gods, Hermes showed his ability to cause both trouble and delight at an early age. On the day of his birth, Hermes snuck out from his cradle and whisked away the cattle of his elder brother APOLLO. A witness soon reported this to Apollo, who came to Maia, Hermes's mother, demanding the return of his livestock. Maia insisted that Hermes had been in his cradle the entire time. Hermes was quickly found out and forced to return the cattle. But in reparation for his actions against Apollo, the newborn god created a lyre from the shell of a turtle. He presented the stringed instrument to his older brother. His anger melted away, Apollo presented Hermes with a magical sleep-inducing staff called the Caduceus. Once ZEUS realized his young son would cause nothing but trouble if his mind weren't constantly occupied, he gave him with the job of Olympian Messenger. He was given a winged cap and sandals to assist him in his duties. Due to the nature of his job, Hermes appears most often of all the gods.

Persephone • ROMAN NAME: PROSERPINE • GODDESS OF SPRINGTIME • Persephone was the daughter of ZEUS and his sister DEMETER, the Goddess of the Harvest. One day while Persephone was gathering flowers, HADES spied her in the meadow. Not wasting a second, he drove his team of coal-black steeds up through the earth and pulled her into his chariot. Back in the Underworld, Hades forced her to be his queen.

Poseidon • • ROMAN NAME: NEPTUNE BLUE-MANED GOD OF THE SEAS AND OCEANS • Next to his brother ZEUS, Poseidon is the god the Greeks most feared. As a sea-faring people, they knew the hazards of a stormy sea. The god was known for his mood swings, violent rage one minute, calm the next--just like the waters he controlled. In the Trojan War he favored the Greeks because of their love of ship-building, yet legend had it that generations before, he and APOLLO had helped build the walls of Ilium (Troy). When an earthquake hit, the Greeks recognized it as the work of Poseidon Earthshaker. Poseidon was married to the Daughter of Ocean and commanded the waves with his mighty trident.

Zeus • • ROMAN NAME: JOVE, JUPITER LORD OF THE SKY, RAIN-BRINGER, CLOUDGATHERER • After leading his brother and sister gods in a revolt against their Father, Cronus, and the rest of the Titans, Zeus became the unquestioned ruler of the Heavens. His feared weapon is the Thunderbolt, and his palace on Mount Olympus is a place of peace, where all gods are welcome. Zeus is the husband of the goddess HERA, but it's not in his nature to be faithful. Time and time again, he enters into disastrous affairs with other goddesses, nymphs, and mortal women. Zeus is the all-father. Almost all the second generation of gods claim Zeus as their father. Many of the mortal heroes are children of the god as well. Zeus' bird is the eagle.