The Role Of Hermes In Ancient Greece

The major gods of Ancient Greece that Greeks worshipped on Mount Olympus were:

Zeus (pronounced Zoos) God of the Sky (Roman alias-Jupiter): Zeus, king of the gods, son of Rhea and Kronos, was the youngest of the first twelve Olympians. As Kronos ate his brothers and sisters, his mother Rhea, fed him a rock covered in swaddled cloth, so Zeus could escape his fate. He was raised on Mount Dikte in Crete. When he was the right age, he recruited the goddess Metis, to poison Kronos and cause him to disgorge his fellow brothers and sisters. He then overthrew Kronos and claimed his title as king of the gods. Zeus’s sacred animals were the eagle and bull. He also had the oak and olive tree as his sacred plants.

Poseidon (pronounced Po-Sy-Don) God of

To get out of trouble by Apollo, Hermes created the world’s first lyre for Apollo. Watching from Mount Olympus, Zeus was impressed by the young infant, he granted him a spot as one of the twelve Olympians. Hermes symbol is the caduceus. His sacred animals are the ram, hare and hawk and his sacred plants are the crocus and strawberry tree.

Hera (pronounced Hair-ah) Goddess of marriage, mothers and families (Roman alias-Juno): Hera was seduced by Zeus after saying she would only marry him if she said “I love you” to him. As a result, Zeus transformed himself into a cuckoo bird, flew into Hera’s room and injured himself while doing this. After a while, Hera grew fond of the bird and said “I love you”, and at this moment, Zeus sprang from the cuckoo birds form into his godly self. Hera then confessed and married him. Hera’s sacred animals are the cow and peacock and her sacred plant is the

They found the island of Delos, that “didn’t exist” and Artemis and her twin brother, Apollo, were born.

Apollo (pronounced Ah-paul-oh) god of archery, music, poetry, prophecy, medicine, sun (Roman alias-Apollo): Apollo earnt his point as god of prophecy when he slew the giant snake Python. The drakon was a monstrous serpent of which Gaia appointed it the role of guarding the ancient Oracle of Delphi. When Apollo laid waste to the serpent’s shrine, he later killed the demon with his arrows. Apollo’s symbols are the lyre and the bow. His sacred animals are the swan and raven and his plants are the laurel, larkspur and cypress.

Aphrodite (pronounced A-fro-die-tee) goddess of love and beauty (Roman alias-Venus): after Gaia convinced her Titan sons to kill their father Ouranus with his own scythe, sea foam from his body fell from the sky, landing in the sea. From the foam, Aphrodite rose, being the first Olympian god to be born. Aphrodite’s symbols are Eros (a winged godling (or Cupid) and the conch shell. Her sacred animals are the dove and goose and her plants are the myrtle and