The Olympian Gods and Goddesses, Part II: The Children of Zeus

Zeus was a father with many gods and goddesses in Olympus. His celestial Olympian children were Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Hermes, Ares, Hephaestus and Dionysus.

Athena (Minerva)

Her parents are Zeus and Metis. Her dominions are the arts and crafts, wisdom, training, taming horses. Her favorite place is Athens. Her symbols are helmet, spear and shield, aegis, thunderbolt, owl and olive tree. Her characteristic features are intelligent and creative.

Zeus has taken the Titan Goddess Metis as his first wife, the wisest person in the world. Metis means “common sense” and “practical wisdom”. Zeus and Metis would have children. Later, a prophecy was told to Zeus by his great parents, Gaea and Uranus. Zeus would have a son and he would overthrow him. Zeus thought of his father, Cronus. Zeus did the same to his father. Cronus did it to his own father, Uranus. When Zeus found out about this, he somehow deceived Metis and turned him into a housefly. When Metis became a housefly, Zeus swallowed her.

After a while, after swallowing Metis, Zeus began to have headaches. Then he asked for help and a few of the other gods came. At that time, a daughter with a helmet and a sword was born from the head of Zeus. She was named Athena and she was now one of Zeus' favorite children.

Because of Metis remained inside Zeus’ body, the prophecy never was fulfilled and a son never was born.

Apollo (Apollo, Phoebus Apollo) and Artemis (Diana)

Apollo’s parents are Zeus and Metis. His dominions are music, poetry, healing, the woods, medicine, grazing animals and herds. His favorite places are Delphi, Parnassus, Delos. His symbols are sun, silver or golden bow and arrows, laurel tree, dolphin. His characteristic features are artistic, orderly, favorite son, can be arrogant.

Artemis parents are Zeus and Metis. Her dominions are hunters and hunting, young children, youth. Her favorite places are woods and forests. Her symbols are moon, silver bow, deer, dog. Her characteristic features are athletic, fond of nature and animals, close to other females, can be violent.

God Apollo and Goddess Artemis in the younger generation were very important. Hera, the wife of Zeus, was very jealous of Zeus' relationship with the Titan goddess Leto. Because Leto was a very beautiful goddess with golden curls. Hera became even more jealous when she heard that Leto was pregnant. Hera shrouded in darkness all over the world where Leto could have given birth. Although Leto wandered all over, she could not find a good environment to give birth.

Moreover, Hera allowed Leto’s enemy, Python, to kill her. Python was a coiling snake and dangerous. Python hated Leto because a prophecy was told Python. According to prophecy one of Leto’s child would kill Python. While this was happening, Zeus asked his brother Poseidon for help. While Leto was flying around to give birth, Poseidon calmed the waves and helped Leto fly.

After that, Leto found someone to help her in Delos Island and allowed her to give birth. The firstborn was a girl, Artemis. After Artemis was born, she help her mother for other child. The other one was a boy, Apollo. Leto’s sister Themis offered nectar and ambrosia to drink and eat. Then baby Apollo jumped and said “I’ll prophesy to mortal humans and help my father Zeus”.

A few days after the birth of Apollo and Artemis, they both went to Mount Parnassus to kill Python and killed it. Apollo took Python's sickle himself and renamed the mountain Delphi. Apollo would prophesy to human the will of his father, Zeus.

Aphrodite (Venus)

According to Hesiod, Aphrodite born from Uranus’ severed sexual member. On the other hand, according to Homer, her parents are Zeus and Dione. Her dominion love and beauty. Her favorite places are Cyprus, Corinth, Cythera. Her symbols rose and dove. Her characteristic features are emotionally open, appreciative of beauty and luxury, can be vain.

According to Homer's hymn, Aphrodite aroused a sweet desire in the gods and could tame all humans and animals. Homer speaks of her as “bright” and with a “golden crown”. She just couldn't get close to 3 goddesses. They were Hestia, Artemis and Athena. Even Zeus couldn’t oppose Aphrodite's power and would fall in love with mortal women. Another name for Aphrodite was “born of foam”.

In some sources, it is said that Aphrodite was the child of Dione, one of the daughters of Oceanus. In some sources, she was the daughter of Uranus, as you read in the previous article.

Aphrodite played a very important role in the outbreak of the Trojan War. Aphrodite gave Paris the golden apple and intervened where necessary to save both Paris and Aeneas.

Aphrodite had many lovers. The most well-known of these was Ares. Their child Eros, or Cupid, was one of the most well-known of the Greek gods.

Hermes (Mercury)

His parents are Zeus and Maia. His dominions are liars, thieves, travellers, dogs, guiding dead souls in trantsit to the Underworld. His favorite places are roads. His symbols are Caduceus (wand), winged sandals, winged traveler’s helmet (petasus), syrinx (sheperd’s pipes). His characteristic features are fun-loving, mischievous and trickster.

According to Hesiod, noble Hermes was the herald of the gods. The Homeric hymns to Hermes is one of the longest Homeric hymns. The anonymous author tells a charming story:

The beautiful-haired Maia lived on Mount Cyllene. After Zeus saw Maia, he fell in love and they had a clever, talented and deceitful son named Hermes. Hermes used to go around with a lyre he made himself.

Bored in his crib, Hermes went out to have some fun. He saw a turtle at the entrance of the mountain and took the turtle's shell and made a lyre using sheep's wool and began to sing baby songs.

Tired of inventing the lyre, Hermes was very hungry and came to Mount Pieria to smuggle 50 immortal cattle of his step-brother Apollo. But knowing it would be understood, Hermes thought of a plan. Hermes made himself an invisible and unmarked sandal and began to drag cattle.

No one saw Hermes and the cattle, except the man who was trying to pick his grapes in his vineyard. Hermes told the man he was going to pick the grapes so he wouldn't say anything to anyone. Arriving on Mount Cyllene, Hermes fed the hungry cattle at night. Hermes was the first to invent the method of making a fire while the cows were eating. When the cows were fed, Hermes, who was hungry, took the two cattle, cut them into 12 pieces, cooked and ate them, dedicated to the 12 Olympians. After he had done what he had to do, he threw the sandals into the river, hid the ashes and bones of the cows in the ground, and laid two cattle hides on the rock.

Tired after all this, Hermes went to his crib to sleep and took his lyric. But his mother, Maia, was suspicious of something. She asked him what he was up to again, but Hermes said in a childish language that he had done nothing and told his mother that he wanted to be rich on Olympus like the other gods. He also stated that he would steal otherwise.

It didn't take long for Apollo to realize that his cattle were missing, and he set out in search of Hermes. He saw an old man on the road and asked him. The man said he saw a young man with a stick.

Apollo continued his journey and found the mountain where Maia and Hermes lived. When Hermes sensed Apollo's arrival, he immediately got into his cradle and took his lyric. When Apollo saw Hermes, he was enraged and said, "Tell me, boy in the cradle. Did you steal my cattle? If you stole it, I will send you to Tartarus and you will never leave it again. You will keep watch over the dead." Hermes straightened up immediately and said: "Child of Leto, I swear on my father's head that I didn't steal it. Why don't you believe me? I'm just a child in my cradle. What can I do?" Then Hermes began to whistle.

Apollo suddenly became kind with this voice and gave Hermes the title of "prince of thieves". But when Apollo thought of the cattle, he got angry again and they both went to their father Zeus. When Zeus heard that his son Hermes was stealing cattle, he laughed and ended the fight between Apollo and Hermes. Later, they both went out to look for lost cattle. When Apollo saw the skins of his dead cattle, he became even more angry. At that time, Hermes began to play his lyric. Apollo relented again and begged Hermes to teach him the lyric. Hermes agreed, and Apollo asked Hermes to shepherd his cattle in return. Also, Apollo gave Hermes his shiny whip. Hermes, the shepherd, made a syrinx, or shepherd's pipes.

Ares (Mars)

His parents are Zeus and Hera. His dominion is war. His favorite places are Thebes and Thrace. His symbols are helmet, sword, shield and spear. His characteristic features are angry, violent and competitive.

The god of war, Ares, was the least beloved of the Greek Gods. The Greeks saw it as a stupid symbol of war and destruction. If Athena represented the wisdom of war, Ares was the opposite. He was an uncontrolled chaos and nature's worst. Ares was also the one who broke up his brother's marriage. He was in love with his brother's wife, Aphrodite. Most Ancient writers didn't write much about Ares. Homer showed Ares at his worst, as the representative of death and destruction. In Iliad 5, Homer calls him "the maniac, the hypocrite, the butcher". Although Zeus forbade the gods to be involved in wars, Ares supported the Trojans in the Trojan war.

When the war started, one of the Greek heroes, Diomedes, injured Ares with the help of Athena. Seeing that he was wounded, Ares screamed as much as ten thousand warriors and went to show his father Zeus that he was wounded. Zeus did not even react to this cowardly son's state.

In another story, Ares and Athena came face to face. Athena overthrew and defeated Ares with a stone. Learning of this, the Greeks celebrated the defeat of Ares with laughter and festivity.

Homer also tells another story in which Ares is ridiculed. In Iliad 8, the poet Demodocus is related to Ares' brother Hephaestus, who was married to Aphrodite. The sun god Helius told Hephaestus that he had seen Aphrodite and Ares together. Hephaestus wanted to trap them both. He placed an invisible net on the bed. When Ares and Aphrodite got into bed, they got tangled in the net. Hephaestus summoned Zeus and all the other gods to see these states of Ares and Aphrodite. The gods laughed when they saw the two gods in the net.

Hephaestus (Vulcan)

His parents are Zeus and Hera or only Hera. His dominions are smithing, metalworkers and artisans. His favorite places are Lemnos, Mount Etna in Sicily, other volcanoes in the Mediterranean region. His symbols are hammer and anvil. His characteristic features are gentle, creative, kindly, even when mocked or wounded.

According to Hesiod's Theogony, Hephaestus was a child made by Hera alone. When Hera saw that Zeus gave birth to Athena from her head, she became jealous and wanted to have a child herself. Realizing that he was lame when Hephaestus was born, Hera freaked out and threw Hephaestus from Olympus. Soaring for a day, Hephaestus finally fell into the arms of Thetis, the goddess of the sea. There they raised Hephaestus for 9 years.

When Hephaestus had another disagreement with his mother Hera, this time Zeus threw Hephaestus from Olympus. Then he was forgiven by Zeus and came back to Olympus.

In ancient societies, disabled people became various craftsmen. Hephaestus became a goldsmith. Even the armor Achilles wore at Troy was made by Hephaestus.

Dionysus (Bacchus, Liber)

His parents are Zeus and Semele. His dominions are the vine and wine. His favorite places are Asia Minor and Thebes. His smybols are wine cup, thyrsus (a staff with a pine cone on top), many wild animals. His characteristic features are moody, mystical, friendly to women, passionet.

Zeus fell in love with Semele, but Hera was jealous. Hera disguised as an old woman and said to Zeus, "Show Semele your powers." said. As Zeus showed Semele his powers, Semele died and aborted her baby. Zeus saved the fallen baby and hid it in his leg. Later, the god Dionysus was born from the leg of Zeus. But Hera again devised a plan and told the Titans to smash Dionysus into pieces. Rhea, Dionysus' grandmother, took pity on her grandson and saved him, along with Athena. Then Dionysus disguised as a girl to hide from Hera and went to Semele's sister and her husband. Hearing this, Hera drove Semele's sister mad and had her son and husband killed. Zeus, on the other hand, barely saved Dionysus from the jealous Hera and turned him into a goat and sent him among the nymphs.

At that time, Dionysus invented wine and began to travel the world. His entire regiment was arrested in Thrace by a king who hated wine. Dionysus took refuge in Thetis, who lived in the sea. Learning of what had been done to Dionysus, the saints made the King go mad as revenge and had his son killed.

The God of Wine Dionysus went to the Islands. There was a legend about it. While Dionysus was on an island, he was kidnapped by pirates and wanted to be taken to Egypt as a slave. But every time a rope was tied to Dionysus, it untied itself. The pirates on the ship thought Dionysus was God and wanted to leave. But the captain of the ship refused. Meanwhile, red grapes covered the whole ship and wines were formed. Dionysus turned into a lion and threw those on board into the sea. The pirates who fell into the sea turned into dolphins. Only the sea captain survived this disaster.

My 4th article, “The Olympian Gods and Goddesses, Part II: Children of Zeus” ends here. I haven't been able to write an article for a week because I was too busy. I had a little trouble writing this article. I hope you like it.

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