The Olympians are a family of Gods who rule after Zeus led his siblings in battle for overthrowing the Titans. They live on Mount Olympus. Some are the children of the Titans Cronos and Rhea, and others are children of Zeus. The original 12 Olympian Gods include Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Hestia, Hera, Ares, Athena, Apollo, Aphrodite, Hermes, Artemis, and Hephaestus. Demeter and Dionysos have also been recognized as Olympic Gods.
The Olympian Gods have generally been credited with the first Olympics. One story credits their origin to Zeus, who began the festival after his defeat of his father, the Titan God Cronos. Another tradition claims that the hero Heracles, after winning a race at Olympia, decreed that the race should be re-enacted every four years.
Whatever their actual origin, the ancient Olympic Games were called Olympic after Mount Olympus, the dwelling of the Gods. The Games were also dedicated to these Greek Gods for nearly 12 centuries, until byzantine Emperor Theodosius decreed in 393 C.E. that all such "pagan cults" should be banned.
Cronos and Rhea
The Titan Cronos married Rhea and together they had six children,all of whom are among the Olympic Gods.
Poseidon: After overthrowing their father and the other Titans from power, Poseidon and his brothers drew lots to split the world among them. Poseidon's pick made him Lord of the sea. He married Amphitrite, daughter of Nereus and Doris, and granddaughter of the Titan Oceanus.
Hades: Drawing the "short straw" when He and His brothers shared the world among them, Hades became God of the Underworld. He is also known as the God of wealth, due to the precious metals mined from the earth. He is married to Persephone.
Zeus: The only child of Cronos and Rhea who was not eaten by His father, Zeus is the most important of all the Olympic Gods. He freed his siblings from their father's stomach and led the war for domination. He drew the best lot of the three sons of Cronos, and became the leader of the Gods on Mt.Olympus, as well as Lord of the sky, thunder, and rain. Due to His many children and multiple affairs, Zeus is also worshipped as a God of fertility.
Hestia: The oldest daughter of Cronos and Rhea, Hestia is a virgin Goddess, known as the "Goddess of the Hearth." She gave up her seat as one of the original Twelve Olympians to Dionysos, to tend the Sacred Fire on Mt. Olympus.
Hera: Both the sister and wife of Zeus, Hera was raised by the Titans Ocean and Tethys. Hera is known as the Goddess of marriage and Protector of the marital bond. She was worshipped all over Greece, but particularly in the region of Argos.
Demeter: The Greek Goddess of agriculture.
Children of Zeus
Zeus married His sister, Hera, and their marriage is quite a bit turbulent. Zeus is well known for his infidelities, and many of his children came from unions with other Goddesses and with mortal women. The following children of Zeus became Olympic Gods:
Ares: God of war.
Hephaestus: God of blacksmiths, craftsmen, artisans, sculptors, and fire. Some accounts say that Hera gave birth to Hephaestus without the involvement of Zeus, in revenge for his having given birth to Athena without her. Hephaestus married Aphrodite.
Artemis: Zeus's daughter by the immortal Leto, and twin sister of Apollo, Artemis is the virgin moon Goddess of the hunt, wild animals, fertility and childbirth.
Apollo: Twin of Artemis, Apollo is the God of the sun, music, oracles, medicine, and poetry.
Aphrodite: Goddess of love, desire, and beauty. Some accounts identify Aphrodite as the daughter of Zeus and Dione. Another tale says that she sprang from the foam of the sea after Cronus castrated Uranus and tossed his severed genitals into the ocean. Aphrodite married Hephaestus.
Hermes: Son of Zeus and Maia, Hermes is the God of boundaries and the travelers who cross them.He is also the patron God of merchants, shepherds and thieves.
Athena: Goddess of wisdom and unmarried girls, Athena sprang fully grown and fully armed from the forehead of Zeus. He had swallowed his pregnant first wife, Metis, so that she would not bear a child who could usurp his power—the child who later emerged as Athena.
Dionysos: His mother, Semele, died before giving birth, but Zeus took the unborn Dionysos from her womb and sewed him inside his thigh until it was time for the child's birth. Dionysos took the place of Hestia as an Olympic God, and is worshipped as the God of wine and ecstasy.
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