8/2/2016

Twelve Olympians ­ Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Twelve Olympians
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In the ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, the Twelve Olympians are the major deities of the Greek pantheon, commonly considered to be Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Demeter, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Ares, Aphrodite,
Hephaestus, Hermes, and either Hestia or Dionysus.[1] Hades and Persephone were sometimes included as part of the twelve Olympians (primarily due to the influence of the Eleusinian Mysteries), although in general Hades was excluded, because he resided permanently in the underworld and never visited Olympus.

Contents
1 Concept
2 Membership
3 List
3.1 The major Olympians
3.2 Other Olympians
3.3 Minor residents of Mount Olympus
4 Genealogy
5 See also
6 Notes
7 References

Concept
The Twelve Olympians, also known as the
Dodekatheon (Greek: Δωδεκάθεον from δώδεκα,[3][4] dōdeka, "twelve" and θεοί, theoi,
"gods"), were the principal deities of the Greek pantheon, said to reside atop Mount Olympus.
The Olympians gained their supremacy in a war of gods in which Zeus led his siblings to victory over the Titans.
Fragment of a Hellenistic relief (1st century BC – 1st century AD)

The concept of the "Twelve Gods" is older than depicting the Twelve Olympians carrying their attributes in any extant Greek or Roman sources.[5] The procession; from left to right, Hestia (scepter), Hermes (winged cap gods meet in council in the Homeric epics, but and staff), Aphrodite (veiled), Ares (helmet and spear), Demeter the first ancient reference to religious
(scepter and wheat sheaf), Hephaestus (staff), Hera (scepter), ceremonies for the Olympians collectively is
Poseidon (trident), Athena (owl and helmet), Zeus (thunderbolt and found in the Homeric Hymn to Hermes. The staff), Artemis (bow and quiver), Apollo (lyre),