A Level Greek Religion: The Olympian Gods

Part 1: Nature of the Olympian Gods

The Olympians

Although ancient Greek religion was polytheistic, they had twelve major deities that their worship revolved around. These

deities were known as the Olympians, so-called this because they were believed to live in the clouds above Mount Olympus

in northern Greece.

Greek God

Responsibilities

Iconography

Additional Information

Zeus

King of the Gods, King of the

Skies, Keeper of Justice, Fate

of Men, Xenia, Thunder

A bearded man, wielding a

lightning bolt, often holding an

eagle. He is often seen seated

on a throne with a sceptre

He defeated Cronus, his father,

during a war with the Titans and

subsequently divided the earth

between himself and his

brothers. He married his sister

Hera but had lots of children

with mortal (and divine) women

Poseidon

God of the seas, Earthquakes,

Rivers, Storms, Horses

A bearded man holding a

trident, sometimes with horses

He was the Brother of Zeus.

The Trojans never paid him for

having helped built their city. He

was in a contest for Athens with

Athena, but eventually lost and

was important to sailors

Hades

Ruler of the Underworld

Cornucopia, depicted with his

wife Persephone and

Cereberus. He was shown to

be an older, bearded man

He abducted Persephone as

told in the Homeric Hymn to

Demeter. He was a chthonic

deity and did not reside on

Olympus

Hera

Queen of the Gods, Marriage,

Women, Childbirth and the

Family

Wearing a diadem, sometimes

with children

Wife of Zeus who was a

powerful and independent

goddess not to be crossed. She

opposes the Trojans due to

Paris not choosing her as victor

in the Story of the Golden

Apple. She took revenge on

women who bore children with

Zeus

Athena

War and Wisdom (military

tactics and intelligence)

Owl, helmet, spear, aegis,

shield engraved with the head

of a gorgon, Nike, armour

Patron deity of Athens who was

born from Zeus’ head, fully

grown in armour, after Metis

(her mother) had been turned

into a fly and swallowed

Demeter

Goddess of Agriculture,

Harvest, Childbirth and Fertility

Diadem, holding a bundle of

wheat, grain or flowers

Sister of Zeus, whose daughter,

Persephone was abducted by

Hades. Greek society was

dependent on the harvest for

survival

Hestia

Hearth

Veiled head

They were a civilisation without

electricity so was vital to their

survival and every sacrifice in

the home started with her. Fire

came to symbolise the security

of the state

Hephaestus

Metalworking, Fire, Craftsmen

and Blacksmiths

Hammer, tongs, anvil

He was thrown from Mount

Olympus by Zeus and fell for a

day

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Aphrodite

Love and Beauty

Rising from a sea-shell, naked,

doves and swans, Eros

Winning goddess in the story of

the Golden Apple. She was

caught having an affair with

Ares by her husband

Hephaestus who called upon

the gods to witness her

humiliation. No-one could resist

her except for the three virgin

goddesses as it was believed

that she was the most beautiful

woman in the world

Artemis

Hunting, Wildlife, Childbirth,

Moon, Wild Animals, Nature,

Young Maidens

Bow and arrow, dogs, moon,

deer

Twin sister of Apollo who was

associated with the moon. She

was associated with virginity

and was one of three virgin

goddesses. The deer was

sacred to her

Apollo

Music, Arts, Education,

Archery, Prophecies, Sun,

Medicine

Bow and arrow, lyre, youthful,

naked, wavy hair, sun, tripod,

laurel

Born in Delphi, the site of the

biggest oracle in the Greek

world

Hermes

Travel, Trade, Messenger of

the Gods

Caduceus, winged sandals,

traveller’s cloak

A chthonic deity who was able

to travel to the Underworld.

Small shrines were dedicated to

him along roads

Ares

War (brutality)

Armour

In the Iliad, he is a merciless

killer

Dionysus

Wine, Theatre, Revelry,

Childbirth, Ritual Madness

Thyrsus, vines, animal skin,

maenads, satyrs, naked, wild

animals

Son of Zeus and the mortal

Semele, so was attracted to the

wrath of Hera. He was pivotal to

private and public celebrations

and even had his own festival:

the City Dionysia

 Athena, Artemis and Hestia were the three virgin goddesses

 Dionysus and Hestia are interchangeable in the Olympian Pantheon because Dionysus was a demi-god and

Hestia supposedly left Olympus to live with mortals

Prescribed Source

Panathenaic Amphora showing Athena

Date: 333-332 BC

Style: Black Figure

Reverse: Three athletes running

 Athena is proactive and moving in battle, showing herself to be

involved in mortal affairs and fulfilling the role of both a punisher and

a protector

 Her head stretches into the neck of the amphorae, showing how as

an immortal, she transgresses all boundaries and is incredibly

powerful

 Able to be identified because only the Amazons and herself were

shown in armour

 Long tunic shows herself to be a virgin goddess as she dresses

modestly

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 Hesiod instructs his brother Perses in the agricultural arts as well as moral advice on how he should live his life  

 He encourages Perses to avoid Eris (goddess of strife) and not let her influence him  

 He emphasises the power of Zeus and Right (Justice) as well as providing advice on how to worship the gods (i.e.  

washing hands to remove religious pollution so that prayers are accepted)  

Hesiod’s Theogony  

 Focuses on the origins of the gods, why they are deserving of worship and how they should be treated by mortals  

The Gods in Homer’s Works  

 Powerful  

 Governed by personal impulse and desire  

 Interested in mortals and have favourites i.e. Athena supports Odysseus (Odyssey) and Achilles (Iliad)  

 Most often used for light relief in order to contrast with the severity of the situation that mortals find themselves in  

 The gods can physically intervene  

 Gods can feel pity for humans but sexual relationships between gods and mortals are common  

 In the Odyssey, the Gods are more moralistic and mortals suffer because of their own folly. They also work  

together to ensure that Odysseus can return home and punish the Suitors  

Anthropomorphism and the Scope of their Power  

 The Olympian Gods were usually described and depicted as anthropomorphic but had powers that went beyond  

anything that a mortal could have  

 They appeared as humans in artwork, recognised by their iconography, being distinguished only through their  

larger size. Literature shows that they have the emotions and needs of humans such as jealously, love, hate and  

desire  

 Pan, is a hybrid, as he is half-human, half-goat  

 There is an indication in Euripides’ Hippolytus that Artemis cannot be around death for it is so different to her  

nature. In the thirty-two surviving tragedies, only one character dies on stage, perhaps to not tarnish Dionysus’  

image with death  

 The gods can often be shown to be embodiments of the concept they represent i.e. Ares as War, Hades as the  

Underworld  

Myths that Show the Anthropomorphic Qualities of the Gods  

 The rape/abduction of Persephone at the hands of Hades shows how Hades is overcome with passion for  

Persephone, Demeter is overcome with grief and distress at the loss of her daughter and how Zeus has to fill the  

role of an arbitrator  

 Zeus is overcome with passion for Leda and takes the form of a swan to sleep with her  

 Poseidon’s anger at Odysseus for having blinded Polyphemus  

 Hera despised Heracles for he was the son of Zeus and the mortal Alcmene. She sent Madness to drive him into a  

fit of madness during which he killed his wife and children  

Zoomorphism  

 The Gods can also be shown as animals i.e. Zeus as an eagle and Diana as a swan  

 Animal forms were linked with qualities of the gods i.e. Hera Bo-opis (‘doe-eyed Hera’) and Athena Glaukopis  

(‘bright-eyed Athena’) 

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 Zeus Philios – God of individual and household well-being, prosperity and purification consulted on

issues regarding property, marriage and childbirth

 Zeus Herkeios – ‘Zeus of the Fence/Courtyard’ who was a protector of families. Magistrates being

interviewed for a position were asked whether or not they were enrolled in this cult

Epithets for Zeus

Epithets for Athena

Epithets for Demeter

 Zeus Xenios, protector of

guests

 Zeus Ktesios, guardian of

possessions in a house

 Zeus Olympios, overseer of

the Olympic Games

 Zeus Horkios, oaths

 ‘’Zeus Averter of Flies’’ used

by individuals attending the

Olympic and Delphic Games

in Greece who would buy

small figurines of Zeus and

then pray to him in the hope

of killing the flies

 Athena Polias, protector of

cities

 Athena Parthenos, Athena

the virgin

 Athena Nike, granter of

victories

 Pallas Athene, morale-

booster

 Athena Areia, warlike Athena

 Demeter Chthonia, earthly-

one

 Demeter Karpophoros, fruit-

bringer

Purpose of Epithets

 Addressing a god/referring to a god

 Specific to a god

 To identify whether worship was local or Panhellenic

 To understand how the cult was paid for

 To understand the way in which the god was worshipped (goat-eating Hera in Sparta)

 Bending of Gods

Creation of Epithets

 We have no idea on how or why epithets were created

 Pausanias, a Greek travel writer and geographer from the 2nd century AD explains some local epithets

 Herodotus tells us that when the Greeks received news of the providential storm that had wrecked much of the

Persian fleet in 480 BC, they prayed and made libations to Poseidon Soter (Saviour) and used this name ever

since

 The variety of epithets presented a challenge to worshippers – if a woman was pregnant, which one of the

numerous deities should she pray to? This was incredibly difficult for the Greeks who consulted oracles in order to

understand which god they should worship

 A typical approach was to worship groups of deities in order to ‘cover all bases,’ particularly in cases concerning

the rearing and raising of children

Hero Cults

 The Olympian Pantheon was not an enclosed entity but rather permeable with various deities joining throughout.

There were unclear boundaries between the gods, demi-gods and mortals

 Ekroth defines a hero as being a person who had ‘’lived and died, either in myth or real life, with this being the

main distinction between a god and hero.’’ They had to have achieved something that was unusual for one’s own

lifetime, being either positive or negative

 Heracles’ Twelve Labours

 Clemoedes of Astpalea had killed his opponent in the pankration at the Olympic Games. When he was

disqualified, in a fit of anger, he ripped down a school roof, leaving sixty children dead and he vanished

from the earth. The Pythia declared him a hero

 A hero was worshipped in a way that went far beyond the usual rituals surrounding burial and were worshipped at

their grave site. It was attended by weeping and lamentation

 Heroisation was initiated by family members and beneficiaries and became widespread in the Hellenistic Period

Heracles was the most popular hero worshipped – he was honoured at Olympia, where his Twelve Labours were

displayed on the metopes of the Temple of Zeus. Asclepius was worshipped throughout the Greek world and was

perceived as a god but of mortal descent

 Heroes and gods were worshipped with rites very similar to each other, with an animal sacrifice at its centre and

the consumption of sacrificial meat

Evidence for Hero Cults

 Homeric Epics

 Homeric Hymns

 Works and Days

 Catalogue of Women which explores the relationships between gods and mortals and the heroes that were born

from this

 Pausanias

 The best preserved sacrificial calendar from Attica showing that of 170 sacrifices, 40% were to heroes and 38% of

these were of budget

Panhellenic, Localised or Personal

Zeus

 Personal – Zeus Philios, god of individual and family wellbeing

 Local – Zeus Phratrios, protector of Athenian phratries

 Panhellenic – Zeus Olympios, Zeus at Olympia (many people from around the ancient world came to compete in

the Olympic Games)

Athena

 Athena Chalkioikos, Athena of the Bronze House in Sparta

 Athena Pronoia, Athena of Forethought in Delphi

Heracles

 Personal – worshipped as a household god. His statue stood in homes to ward off evil

 Local – Heracles’ main cult was in Thebes, the place of his birth in mythology

 Panhellenic – He was worshipped at the sanctuary of Olympia because of his strength and endurance (by athletes

who competed in the games) and because he was considered to be one of the founders of the games

Some gods and heroes only had local significance. For example, in Erchia, Epops, Leucaspis and Menedeius are three

heroes who are unattested for anywhere else.

Personally, gods and heroes could be worshipped through mystery cults, healing cults or oracular consultation.

Key Term

Definition

Aetiology

The reason or cause for something, often deriving from a

historical or mythical explanation

Agora

The marketplace in a Greek city where economic, political,

social and religious events took place

Anthropomorphic

The attribution of human characteristics and emotions to

non-human forms

Epithet

An adjective or phrase that accompanies one’s name to

denote a quality or characteristic about the individual

Theogony

The genealogy of a group of gods

Zoomorphism

Animal attributes are imposed upon non-animal objects,

humans and gods

This guide explores the nature of the Olympian gods in Greek religion, specifically tailored for the OCR A Level curriculum. It details the responsibilities, roles, and iconography of each of the twelve major deities and their significance in Greek mythology and society.