HESTIA/VESTA
VIRGIN GODDESS OF THE HOME AND THE HEARTH
Attribute: circle, cat.
Power: Her presence was felt in the living flame placed in the round hearth in the center of the house and in the circular brazier in the temple of every deity.
Protector: of the home, of the domestic hearth, and of all Greek cities.
Trivia: Elder sister of Zeus, firstborn of Cronus and Rhea, and for this reason also called the “first goddess.”
Every city, in the main building, had a brazier where the sacred fire of Hestia burned, which was never extinguished. Greek colonists who left their cities took with them a lit torch, whose fire would serve to consecrate each new temple and building. A rite that still survives today in the modern Olympics.
DEMETER/CERES
GODDESS OF THE EARTH, FERTILITY, AND HARVESTS
Attributes: wheat, poppy, torch, pig.
Power: over the fertility of the earth and the cycle of the seasons.
Protector: of farmers and mystery cults.
Trivia: Sister of Zeus and Hades; when Hades kidnapped her daughter, Zeus attempted to reconcile the two brothers by proposing a deal: Persephone would spend six months with her husband in the Underworld, and six months with her mother on Earth. From that moment on,spring and summer were associated with the months Persephone spent on earth, bringing joy to her mother, and autumn and winter with the months she spent in the Underworld, months of sadness for her mother.
ERA/JUNO
QUEEN OF THE GODS, GODDESS OF MARRIAGE, UNIONS, FAMILY
Attributes: peacock, pomegranate, crown, lioness, cow, goose.
Powers: Master of disguise, summons ferocious creatures, can hurl humans to the Underworld, can transform her husband’s lovers.
Protector: of married women.
Trivia: Sister and wife of Zeus, known for being very jealous and vindictive towards her husband’s numerous lovers and their children. She particularly detests Hercules, the favorite son of Zeus and the beautiful Alcmene.
POSEIDON/NEPTUNE
GOD OF THE SEAS AND ALL WATERS, EARTHQUAKES, AND TIDESQUAKES
Attributes: trident, horse, dolphin.
Power: causes powerful and destructive storms and transforms the wind into hurricanes.
Protector: of sailors.
Trivia: Elder brother of Zeus, married to the Nereid (sea nymph) Amphitrite, with whom he fathered his son Triton; he also fathered over fifty children by many other lovers, including his beautiful niece Venus.
ZEUS/JUPITER
KING OF THE GODS, RULER OF MOUNT OLYMPUS, GOD OF THE SKY
Attributes: lightning, scepter, oak, scales, eagle, bull.
Power: commands atmospheric phenomena: unleashes storms, hurls lightning, sends rain, snow, hail, and restores clear skies. He can transform himself into anything he wishes (man, animal, or thing).
Protector: of all men and their rulers.
Trivia: the last of the six sons of the Titans, Cronus and Rhea; he has over 100 children with various deities, nymphs, and mortal women, only six of whom are with his sister and official wife, Hera.
ATHENA/MINERVA
GODDESS OF WISDOM, INTENT, BATTLE STRATEGY, CRAFTSMANSHIP
Attributes: spear, aegis (an indestructible shield given to her by Zeus), olive tree, owl.
Powers: control over animals, healing abilities, ability to throw powerful energy beams and fly.
Protector: of virgins, strategists, artisans, and the city of Athens.
Trivia: Favorite daughter of Zeus, born from her father’s forehead as an adult and armed, after he had swallowed her mother, Metis, whom he himself had transformed into a fly (or drop of water), because he had been told that the children she fathered would be more powerful than him.
ARES/MARS
GOD OF BLOODY WAR AND VIOLENCE, BUT ALSO OF YOUTH AND MASCULINE VIRTUE
Attributes: shield, bloody, spear, wolf, vulture.
Power: Feared for his violent and brutal nature; in contrast with his half-sister Athena, who represented the more strategic elements of war.
Protector: of warriors, battles, and the city of Sparta.
Trivia: Legitimate son of Zeus and his wife Hera; twin brother of Eris, goddess of discord. In love with Aphrodite, with whom he fathered numerous children. He had many lovers, among whom stand out Otrera, one of the queens of the Amazons, and Rhea Silvia, who, according to Roman mythology, conceived Romulus and Remus, founders of Rome.
HEPHAESTUS/VULCAN
GOD OF FIRE THAT DEVOURS AND DESTROYS, METALWORK, TECHNOLOGY
Attributes: fire, anvil, axe, hammer, tongs, donkey, and quail.
Power: His forge is located in the bowels of several volcanoes, and the blows of the anvils make the volcanoes of the world rumble, and the fire makes their mouths overflow
Protector: of blacksmiths.
Trivia: Son of Zeus and Hera, or merely self-begotten by Hera to avenge her husband’s numerous betrayals. He marries Aphrodite, who soon leaves because he is unrequited, and takes refuge in his forge. A master of metallurgy, he worked with the Cyclopes in the creation of weapons and objects for gods and heroes, including: lightning bolts for Zeus, the bow and arrows of Apollo and Artemis, the shield for Heracles, the armor for Achilles and Aeneas, and many others. He also built automatons, his assistants, and the dwellings of all the gods on Olympus.
APHRODITE/VENUS
GODDESS OF LOVE, BEAUTY, AND DESIRE
Attributes: dove, rose, myrtle, bee, apple.
Power: to induce both gods and men into illicit affairs, thanks to her beautiful appearance and sweet words. With her enchanting belt, she was able to grant whoever wore it irresistible seductive powers.
Protector: of lovers.
Trivia: Daughter of Zeus and the Oceanid Dione (or born of Uranus and the sea foam). Married to Hephaestus/Vulcan, she had many extramarital affairs, especially with Ares, with whom she had seven children, including her beloved Eros/Cupid. From her union with the Trojan prince Anchises, she had Aeneas, from whom the Gens Julia, the family of Julius Caesar and the Emperor Augustus, is said to derive.
APOLLO
GOD OF THE ARTS, MUSIC, POETRY, THE SUN, PROPHECY, AND SCIENCE
Attributes: Sun, lyre, bow and arrows, laurel, raven, swan (beauty), cicadas (sound and song)
Powers: Protecting mortals and warding off evil, but also capable of inflicting, as a skilled archer, terrible plagues on peoples who oppose him.
Protector: of musicians, poets, physicians, and the city and temple of Delphi.
Trivia: Son of Zeus and the Titan Leto and twin brother of the goddess Artemis; he pulls the chariot of the sun, escorting the burning star across the celestial vault. Very handsome, he had many lovers and just as many children: the most famous is Asclepius, the god of medicine. As the god of the arts, Apollo is the leader of the Muses. Associated with several myths.
ARTEMIS/DIANA
VIRGIN GODDESS OF THE HUNT, THE MOON, AND ARCHERY
Attributes: Moon, deer, dog, bear, cypress, bow and arrows.
Power: Often works with her brother Apollo: while the god is the cause of the deaths of men, she is also the cause of the deaths of women.
Protector: of the forests, hunters, wild animals, and women, for whom she ensured painless childbirth.
Trivia: Daughter of Zeus and the Titan Leto and twin sister of the god Apollo; armed with golden bows and arrows forged by the Cyclopes, she lived in the woods with her trusty hunting dogs and a troop of nymphs. Along with her brother, she is subject to the wrath of Hera, wife of Zeus, from whom she always manages to escape with cunning.
HERMES/MERCURY
MESSENGER OF THE GODS, GOD OF TRADE, TRAVEL, BORDERS, ELOQUENCY, AND SPEED
Attributes: Staff, hat, and winged sandals (which he uses to move fast), pouch, stork, snake, rooster, and tortoise, from the shell of which he created the lyre.
Power: Gifted with astonishing speed, he often acts as a messenger between the worlds of the living and the dead, accompanying the souls of the deceased to Hades.
Protector: of messengers, thieves, shepherds, and herds.
Trivia: Son of Zeus and the pleiad Maia. The second youngest Olympian god, slightly older than Dionysus. He also had numerous children with many lovers: with Aphrodite he fathered Hermaphroditus and with the nymph Penelope he gave birth to Pan (lord of the satyrs and companion of Dionysus).
DIONYSUS/BACCHUS
GOD OF WINE, DRUNK, FESTIVITIES, THE VITAL IMPULSE, ECSTASY, MADNESS
Attributes: cup of wine, vine, ivy, goat, tiger, panther, leopard.
Power: generate joy and oblivion but also perdition to the point of driving one mad; transform himself and others into plants and animals.
Protector: of Dionysian cults, theaters, and banquets.
Trivia: He is the youngest son of Zeus and the only one by a mortal woman, Semele, but born from his father’s thigh after his mother died; saved by Hermes from the wrath of Hera and raised in the woods by Silenus, son of Pan. He is married to the Cretan princess Ariadne, with whom he has numerous children, and just as many children with many lovers, including Aphrodite.