OLYMPUS Olympos Home of the Gods of Greek Mythology. Greek Mythology Mythic Realms Olympus OlymposTranslationMount Olympus. Feast of the gods on Olympus, Athenian red figure kylix C6th B. C., National Archaeological Museum of Tarquinia. OLYMPOS Olympus was the home of the gods who dwelt in fabulous palaces of marble and gold. Olympos is clearly described in Homers Iliad. It was essentially an ancient akropolis a fortified hill top and palace complex located just below the peaks of Mount Olympos. The golden gates of the heavenly fortress were guarded by the three Horai Horae and it contained the palace of Zeus, lesser palaces for the other gods, and stables for the immortal horses. The buildings were built of stone with bronze foundations and were surrounded by cloistered courtyards with golden pavements. The main structure was the palace of Zeus. It had a fairly simple layout as was typical of ancient Greek palaces with a central hall, private bedchambers and storage rooms. The golden floored hall served as both a council chamber and feast hall for the Olympian gods and provided them an expansive view of the world below allowing them to observe mankind from the heights. Head Counselor of Cabin 3 Savior of Olympus Hero of Olympus Son of Poseidon Host of Nekhbet Peter Johnson, Perry Johanssan, Pierre Jorgensen by Dionysus. All Digimon Leaders Complete Last Evolutions that appeared on Digimon Xros Wars HD 1080i Duration 730. DigimonPTPT 674,218 views. Poseidon facts, information and stories from ancient Greek mythology. Learn about the Greek god of the sea, Poseidon. Heroes Of Olympus Movie2008 condortraffic. Disclaimer CrazeToons. ILLEGAL pornography All galleriesand links are provided by 3rd parties. Kidsafe site devoted to the heroes, gods and monsters of Greek mythology. The myth of Jason, the Argonauts and the Golden Fleece. The Quest. Index. Illustrated by Mark Fiore. Text by Joel Skidmore. Copyright Mythweb, 1997. The golden tables and tripods of the feast were automatons animated by the divine smith Hephaistos Hephaestus, and trundled in and out of the hall as required. Before the palace of Zeus was a large, cloistered courtyard where the full assembly of the gods would gather including all of the earth, river and sea deities as well as nymphs. The peak of Olympos functioned as the secondary seat or throne of Zeus, apart from the rest of other gods. The Olympian akropolis lay above the clouds and the paths of the stars, near the apex of the solid bronze dome of the sky. It existed in the zone known as the aither the bright upper air of heaven or shining blue of the sky. The gods feasted on ambrosia and nectar, substances collected from the meadows of the earth encircling river Okeanos or the smoke of sacrificial offerings wafting to heaven. N. B. This page is still incomplete and under construction. The quotes from the Iliad are complete. ALTERNATE NAME SPELLINGTranslationMount Olympus. CLASSICAL LITERATURE QUOTESOLYMPUS IN THE ILIADHomer, Iliad 1. Lattimore Greek epic C8th B. C. So he the Trojan priest Khryseus Chryseus spoke in prayer, and Phoibos Phoebus Apollon heard him, and strode down along the pinnacles of Olympos, angered in his heart, carrying across his shoulders the bow and the hooded quiver. Homer, Iliad 1. And she Athena went back again to Olympos to the house of Zeus of the aigis with the other divinities daimones. Homer, Iliad 1. Akhilleus Achilles beseeches his mother Thetis You then, if you have power to, protect your own son, going to Olympos and supplicating Zeus, if ever before now either by word you comforted Zeus heart or by action. Heroes Of Olympus Book 1You said you only among the immortals beat aside shameful destruction from Kronos son the dark misted, that time when all the other Olympians sought to bind him, Hera and Poseidon and Pallas Athene. Then you, goddess, went and set him free from his shackles, summoning in speed the creature of the hundred hands the Hekatonkheir Briareus to tall Olympos. He rejoicing in the glory of it sat down by Kronion Cronion, and the rest of the blessed gods were frightened and gave up binding him. Sit beside him and take his knees and remind him of these things now. Thetis answered him then. I will go to cloud dark Olympos and ask this thing of Zeus who delights in thunder terpikeraunos. Zeus went to the blameless Aithiopes Ethiopians at the Okeanos Oceanus yesterday to feast, and the rest of the gods went with him. On the twelfth day he will be coming back to Olympos, and then I will go for your sake to the house of Zeus, bronze founded, and take him by the knees and I think I can persuade him. Homer, Iliad 1. But when the twelfth dawn after this day appeared, the gods who live forever came back to Olympos all in a body and Zeus led them nor did Thetis forget the entreaties of her son Akhilleus Achilles, but she emerged from the seas waves early in the morning and went up to the tall sky and Olympos. She found Kronos Cronus broad browed son euryopa Kronides apart from the others sitting upon the highest peak of rugged Olympos. She came and sat beside him with her left hand embracing his knees, but took him underneath the chin with her right hand and spoke in supplication to lord Zeus son of Kronos Father Zeus. Zeus of the counsels, lord of Olympos. He Zeus spoke, the son of Kronos, and nodded his head with the dark brows, and the immortally anointed hair of the great god swept from his divine head, and all Olympos was shaken. So these two who had made their plans separated, and Thetis leapt down again from shining Olympos into the seas depth, but Zeus went back to his own house, and all the gods rose up from their chairs to greet the coming of their father, not one had courage to keep his place as the father advanced, but stood up to greet him. Thus he took his place on the throne yet Hera was not ignorant, having seen how he had been plotting counsels with Thetis the silver footed, the daughter of the seas ancient, and at once she spoke revilingly to Zeus the son Kronos. He Zeus spoke reprimanding her, and the goddess the ox eyed lady Hera was frightened and went and sat down in silence wrenching her heart to obedience, and all the Ouranian Heavenly gods in the house of Zeus were troubled. Hephaistos Hephaestus. It is too hard to fight against the Olympian. There was a time once before now I was minded to help you, and he caught me by the foot and threw me from the magic threshold, and all day long I dropped helpless, and about sunset I landed in Lemnos, and there was not much life left in me. After that fall it was the Sintian men who took care of me. He spoke, and the goddess of the white arms Hera smiled at him, and smiling she accepted the goblet out of her sons hand. Heroes Of Olympus' title='Heroes Of Olympus' />Thereafter beginning fro the left he poured drinks for the other gods, dipping up from the mixing bowl the sweet nectar. But among the blessed immortals uncontrollable laughter went up as they saw Hephaistos bustling about the palace. Thus thereafter the whole day long until the sun went under they feasted, nor was anyones hunger denied a fair portion, nor denied the beautifully wrought lyre in the hands of Apollon nor the antiphonal sweet sound of the Mousai Muses singing. Afterwards when the light of the flaming sun went under they went away each one to sleep in his home where for each one the far renowned strong handed Hephaistos had built a house by means of his craftsmanship and cunning. Zeus the Olympian and lord of the lightning went to his own bed, where always he lay when sweet sleep came on him. Going up the bed he slept and Hera of the gold throne khrysothronos beside him. Homer, Iliad 2. Now the rest of the gods, and men who were lords of chariots, slept night long, but the ease of sleep came not upon Zeus who was pondering in his heart how he might bring honour to Akhilleus Achilles. He cried out to the dream and addressed him in winged words Go forth, evil Dream. Olympos arguing the matter, since Hera forced them all over by her supplication. Homer, Iliad 2. Now the goddess Eos Dawn drew close to tall Olympos with her message of light to Zeus and the other immortals. Homer, Iliad 2. Nor did the goddess grey eyed Athene disobey her Hera, but went in speed down the peaks of Olympos, and lightly she arrived beside the fast ships of the Akhaians Achaeans. Homer, Iliad 2. Powerful Agamemnon spoke in prayer Zeus, exalted and mightiest, sky dwelling aither in the dark mist kelainephes. Homer, Iliad 2. 4. From the magnificent bronze the gleam went dazzling all about through the upper air aither to the heaven ouranos. Homer, Iliad 2. Gods, Goddesses, and Heroes ushistory. A family portrait of the 1. Olympians. But wait, whos that crouching by ZeusThe ancients Greeks were polytheistic that is, they worshipped many gods. Their major gods and goddesses lived at the top of Mount Olympus, the highest mountain in Greece, and myths described their lives and actions. In myths, gods often actively intervened in the day to day lives of humans. Myths were used to help explain the unknown and sometimes teach a lesson. For example, Zeus, the king of the gods, carried his favorite weapon, the thunderbolt. When it rained and there was thunder and lightning, the ancient Greeks believed that Zeus was venting his anger. Many stories about how the Greek gods behaved and interacted with humans are found in the works of Homer. He created two epic poems the Iliad, which related the events of the Trojan War, and the Odyssey, which detailed the travels of the hero Odysseus. These two poems were passed down orally over many generations. Painting M. Larrinaga. The Statue of Zeus at Olympia recreated above was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Zeus was the ruler of the gods, the lord of the skies, and the father of countless deities and demigods of the Greek pantheon. Sing, goddess, the anger of Peleus son Achilleus. Achaians. Botticelli. Aphrodite, the goddess of love, sits with the war god, Ares in this painting by the Renaissance artist Botticelli. Aphrodite is one of several Greek goddesses, and is often referred to by her Roman name, Venus. Hades strong souls. Zeus was accomplished. Atreus son the lord of men and brilliant Achilleus. Homer, the Iliad 1. Richard LattimoreA Soap Opera from Hellas. Courtesy NASA and Cislunar Aerospace, Inc. Many Greek myths explained the mysteries of nature. The myth of Apollo, for example, describes how the sun moves across the sky to rise and set each day. The Greeks created gods in the image of humans that is, their gods had many human qualities even though they were gods. The gods constantly fought among themselves, behaved irrationally and unfairly, and were often jealous of each other. Zeus, the king of the gods, was rarely faithful to his wife Hera. Hera plotted against Zeus and punished his mistresses. The Greek gods were highly emotional and behaved inconsistently and sometimes immorally. Greek religion did not have a standard set of morals, there were no Judaic Ten Commandments. The gods, heroes, and humans of Greek mythology were flawed. In addition to Zeus and Hera, there were many other major and minor gods in the Greek religion. At her birth, Athena, the goddess of wisdom, sprang directly from the head of Zeus. Hermes, who had winged feet, was the messenger of the gods and could fly anywhere with great speed. Aphrodite, the goddess of love, was the most beautiful being in the universe. Her brother, Ares, the god of war, was sinister, mean, and disliked. Poseidon, ruled the sea from his underwater place and Apollo rode his chariot across the sky, bringing the sun with him. Hades was in charge of the dead in the underworld. Almost all people went to Hades after they died whether they were good or bad. To get there, the dead had to cross the river Styx. Charon was the name of the boatman who ferried the souls of the dead across the river Styx to Hades. Typically, the gods punished those who were bad. For example, Tantalus who killed his own son and served him to the gods for dinner was sent to Hades and made forever thirsty and hungry. Although there was a pool of clear, fresh drinking water at his feet, whenever Tantalus bent down to drink, the pool would dry up and disappear. Likewise, over his head hung the most delicious fruit. However, whenever Tantalus reached for them, a wind would blow them just out of his reach. The English word tantalize derives from the name Tantalus. Pandoras Box and Hercules Labors. Myths helped explain how the world came to be the way it was. In one myth, Zeus created an incredibly beautiful and nearly perfect woman named Pandora. Her one flaw was that she was very curious and suspicious. Hermes, Zeuss messenger, gave Pandora a golden box. He warned her never to open it because terrible things would occur if she did. But Pandora could hardly contain her curiosity and eventually broke down and opened the special box. Out from the box flew all the evils that plague humanity famine, greed, pain, sorrow, etc. Only one thing remained in the box hope which humans managed to hold on to. This myth explains the origins of human misfortune. At the same time, it teaches a moral lesson by warning of the dangers of curiosity. In addition to myths about gods, the ancient Greeks also told stories about heroes. One of the most famous Greek heroes was Hercules, the worlds strongest man. Hercules was the illegitimate son of a mortal woman and Zeus, who tricked the woman by disguising himself as the womans husband. Hera, Zeuss wife, was angry about Zeus affair and sought to punish Hercules. Hera tricked Hercules into believing that his entire family were dangerous beasts, which Hercules then proceeded to kill. When Hercules realized that he had killed his entire family, he agreed to perform 1. For one of the tasks, Hercules had to slay the nine headed monster called the Hydra. For another task, he had to clean the filth from Augean stable, which had not been attended to in 3. To do this, Hercules diverted the course of a river that washed away the mess. In the end, he completed the so called 1. Labors of Hercules and made up for the murder of his family. GodGoddess. Important Attributes. Zeus. King of the gods, Zeus killed his father Chronos. He is also the god of thunder. Hera. The wife of Zeus, Hera is the goddess of fertility. Poseidon. The god of the sea. Hades. The god of the underworld. Hestia. A little known goddess, she is a sister of Zeus and goddess of the hearth. Chronos. The leader of the Titans and father of the Olympians, Chronos ate all his children except for Zeus, who killed him. Demeter. Goddess of the harvest and mother of Persephone. Apollo. God of the sun, music, and art, one of the most versatile gods. Artemis. Goddess of the hunt, Moon, and childbirth. The sister of Apollo, she is also a very versatile Olympian. Aphrodite. The goddess of love and the mother of Eros, known to the Romans as Cupid. Ares. The god of War. Doom 3 Bfg Linux Install Disk on this page. Athena. Sprang full grown from Zeuss head. She is the Goddess of wisdom. The city of Athens is named for her. Haephestos. The god of the forge. Thrown from the top of Mount Olympus by Zeus, Haephestos is also crippled. The husband of Aphrodite. Hermes. The messenger god wears a winged helmet and winged sandals. Persephone. The daughter of Demeter, Persephone was kidnapped by Hades to be his bride. Because she ate three pomegranate seeds, she is forced to spend three months of the year in Hades. This period of time is known as winter. Dionysos. The god of wine and revelry. Dionysos had an enormous following throughout the Greek world. Eros. The god of love. Often depicted as a young child, Eros used magical arrows could to cause people to fall in love.