Gods of Olympus

Creation Myth

Gaea (Earth) was born from Chaos, the yawning void of nothingness, as well as other primary beings, such as Eros (Love), the Abyss (the Tartarus), and Erebus. By herself, she birthed the sky god, Uranus. Together, they gave birth to the six Titans: Coeus, Crius, Cronus, Hyperion, Iapetus, and Oceanus, Mnemosyne, Phoebe, Rhea, Theia, Themis, and Tethys; Afterwards, the two gods agreed for no more to be born. Instead, the Titans were followed by the one-eyed Cyclops, and Hekatonties: the hundred-armed giants, who were both imprisoned in Tartarus by Uranus due to their monstrous appearance.

Angered by this, after the Titans were born, Gaea encouraged them to overthrow their father (the youngest and most terrible of her children), which the youngest; Cronus, did to fulfil the father-son-conflict. Castrating his father, the youngest of the Titans to rulership, with his sister-wife , Rhea, by his side as his consort.

When Cronus, leader of the Titans, was informed that one of his children would overthrow him, similar to how he did his own father, he become so fearful he decided to imprison them all in his belly, devouring his young children Hades, Poseidon, Hera, Hestia and Demeter, one by one. No longer being able to see another children die, Rhea fled to island to give birth. She hid the youngest Zeus from his father, and used a stone wrapped in cloth to trick her paranoid husband into thinking he swallowed Zeus as well. When he grew up, Zeus become determined to free his brothers from Cronus and started a disproportionate retribution against the Titans for the sins of Cronus. Drugging his father into throwing up his elder siblings, they freed the cyclopes (whom crafted his lightning bolts).

They locked their forefathers away in the Tartarus, after defeating them. After the six children of Cronus and Rhea had overthrown the Titans, the three brothers among them cast lots for three domains: Poseidon drew the sea, Hades the netherworld of the dead, and Zeus the sky. But the Earth and high Olympus were left common to all.

Primary Greco-Roman Gods

• Zeus (Jupiter in Roman) is father of the gods, god of the sky and thunder. The youngest of the six gods born to Cronus and Rhea, Zeus' mother protected him from being eaten by his paranoid father. Because of this, he was given the highest honor of ruling the gods, upon victory in the war against the Titans. Wielding the lightning bolt, he lives on Mt. Olympus, the home of the gods. Father to many of the gods, as well as the bearers of demigods, such as the greek heroes Heracles (Hercules in Roman) and Perseus.
• Hera (Juno in Roman), his sister-wife consort, she is the queen of the gods and patroness of marriage. She is among the goddesses most often invoked by the Amazons. As the youngest daughter of Cronus and Rhea, similar to her husband, Zeus, she is often the wrath to the lovers and outside children of the king; popularly being the driving force of Heracles' madness in slaughtering his family.
• Poseidon (Neptune in Roman) is the sea god, middle son of Cronus and Rhea, and commander of the ocean and its life. According to Plato, his children founded Atlantis, and he is its chief god. While married, he, like his youngest brother, has many lovers.
• Demeter (Ceres in Roman) is the goddess of agriculture, fertility, nature, and the seasons. She presides over the natural laws and the cycle of life. Her daughter is Persephone, who is the wife of Hades, whom she live with every winter. To which, Demeter weeps and causes winter.
• Hestia (Vesta in Roman), most modest of the goddesses, is goddess of home and hearth. Eldest of the six Olympians, she is the right ordering of democracy and the family. While she is often omit from the twelve in favour of Dionysos, she is still of high importance. Modern interpretations believe her to have give her spot to the wine god in order to maintain peace.
• Hades (Pluto in Roman) rules the underworld and wealth. He is the eldest of the Olympian, with Hestia being the only older than him, and permanently lives within the underworld, in solitude with death and his three-headed hell hound; Cerberus. Though he's apart of the first generation of Olympians, he's typically not seen as one of the twelve by many.

*The above are all the first generation of Olympians*

• Aphrodite (Venus in Roman) was born from the sea-foam that sprung from the castration of Cronus. Becoming the goddess of love, she was arranged to marry Hephaestus, though she is the regular lover of the war god, Ares. With him, she birthed Eros (Cupid in Roman myth), god of love.

*The following are all the second generation of Olympians*

• Ares (Mars in Roman myth) is the god of War, similarly to his sister, Athena, and the daughter of Zeus and Hera. He is the regular lover of Aphrodite, who he bared Eros with. While he embodies the valor of victory at battle, he was also a dangerous force, who could overwhelm and become destructive in battler, leading to manslaughter. He rides a chariot into battle, and is mentioned to be the most hated by Zeus, in the Iliad. To which, assisted Athena in defeating in during the war.
• Athena (Minerva in Roman) was born fully grown and fully armed from the brow of Zeus, after he ate her pregnant mother, Metis, because of a prophecy of him falling to a similar fate as his father, at the hand of a child that was stronger than him. She is goddess of wisdom and defensive war, received no pleasure from war, prefers to settle things peacefully, and would only fight if the purpose absolutely required it. Athena is portrayed a calm tempered and slow to anger.
• Hephaestus (Vulcan in Roman) is god of metalworking and fire. He was born to the displeasure of his mother, Hera, who threw him from mount Olympus because of his ugly appearance.
• Hermes (Mercury in Roman) is god of commerce and messenger, patron of herdsmen, and thieves, as well as herald of the gods. Son of Zeus and Maia, and the second youngest of the gods, he is quick and cunning, moving freely between the worlds of the mortal and divine.
• Apollo (Sol in Roman, whom is also Helios in the Greek pantheon) is god of light, poetry, intelligence, and music. Twin brother of Artemis, and child of Zeus and Leto, he is skilled his music, using his lyre, which was given to his by the trickster god, Hermes. Furthermore, he commands the muse choir. Also, he is often intertwined with the Titan sun god Helios, especially in Roman mythos.
• Dionysus (Bacchus was commonly used in Roman) is the god of vineyards and wine. Patron god of art and theatre, he is the son of Zeus and a mortal princess of Thebes, Semele. He is the youngest of all the Olympians and the only one born of a mortal mother.
• Pan (Faunus in Roman), son of Hermes, is god of the countryside and nature. He is also a consummate schemer, god of the wild, shepherds, and flocks. Mountain wilderness and music being within his domain, Pan was the companion of the nymphs. A faun/satyr in appearance, he was a lustful spirit of fertility, who was associated with the season of spring.
• Artemis (Diana in Roman) is the virgin goddess of the hunt. Twin sister to Apollo, she is an expert with the bow and arrow, and the mistress of animals. Though she is the daughter of Zeus and Leto, some thought of her as the child of Demeter instead. Bringing and revealing the diseases in women, Artemis is the protector of young girls.
• Persephone (Proserpina or Proserpine in Roman) is the daughter of Demeter and wife to Hades. Upon the distressful urge of her mother, they agreed that she would live in the underworld with him, around a certain period of the year.
• Heracles (Hercules in Roman) is the demigod son of Zeus and the mortal Alcmene, he was the greatest of the Greek heroes. A paragon of masculinity and strength, order of the Olympians, he famously complete the twelve labours. And, in many myths, he was accepted into full godhood upon his death.
• Eros (Cupid in Roman) is the young god of sexual love and beauty. He was also worshiped as a deity of fertility, son of Aphrodite and Ares.

Other Media

DC Comics

When a God wave spilled forth from the creation of the Fourth World, the Earth was seeded with great power. It first manifested in the form of old gods, then of metahumans. Some of the oldest of these gods were hidden from the universe until the time of ancient Greece by the sorceress, Hecate. Hecate reasoned that the Olympian Gods (as they would eventually be called) were greatly weakened after usurping power from their father Cronus and the Titans of Myth. She feared that other powerful gods in the universe (notably Darkseid of Apokolips) would seize Earth for himself. Because of Hecate's enchantment, Darkseid wrongly believed that he and the other New Gods pre-dated the Olympians.

Marvel Comics

In Marvel the Greek and Roman pantheons are merged.

It is said that Gaea, the elder Earth Goddess, created the Olympian race, but their exact history is a bit cloudy. They could have been born on Earth, or another dimension. It is said that Gaea mated with Uranus and subsequently gave birth to the first generation of the Olympian race which. These beings were called the Titans. The youngest son of Uranus was fated to one day overthrow his father and take his place as ruler of his race. This son, Cronus, the whom had grown to become the most powerful titan, wounded and slew Uranus and took control.

However, right before dying, Uranus prophesied that Cronus would also die by the hand of one of his own children. Desperate to hold onto his power and position, Cronus worried each time his wife, Rhea, bore him a child so he imprisoned each of them, six in all, in Tartarus, the lowest, harshest level of Hades, as they were born. Angry at him for doing this to their children, his wife Rhea hid her sixth child upon his birth so he might be spared this terrible fate. This child was Zeus. Living in ancient Greece, Zeus grew up with humans in Crete and became quite powerful.

After years of training to master his power, Zeus sought out others whom had been wronged by Cronus, including the Cyclopes and Hekatonchieres and even one Titan, Prometheus, all of whom he formed alliances with. Zeus marshalled his forces and then confronted Cronus. War ensued with Zeus and his allies emerging as the victors. During and after this war Zeus found and freed his other siblings Neptune, Pluto, Hera, Demeter and Vesta. The defeat of the Titans and the rise of the Gods, under the rule of Zeus, ushered in a golden age for mortal man.

The rise of the Gods lead to many duties being assigned and roles being filled. Zeus took his grandfather's role and became the Olympian God of the Sky and Thunder and ruler, also called "Sky-father", of the Olympian gods. Hera became his wife and the Olympian Queen. Zeus' brother Neptune became the God of the Sea and his other brother, Pluto, assumed the role of the God of the Dead. Others, born later, grew up to assume their own mantles. Ares is the son of Zeus and Hera and is the Olympian God of War. Athena, daughter of Zeus, is he Olympian Goddess of Wisdom. Zeus's twin children, Apollo and Artemis, are the God of Light & Music and the Goddess of the Chase, respectively.

Hephaestus, son of Zeus and Hera, is the Olympian God of Fire. He serves as the blacksmith and weapons maker of the gods. Aphrodite is the Olympian Goddess of Love and her son Eros is the Olympian God of Love. Hermes, son of Zeus and swiftest of the gods, is the god of commerce and medicine and serves as Zeus's messenger. Dionysus is the Olympian God of Wine.

The champion and strongest of the Olympian Gods is the former demigod Hercules, son of Zeus and Olympian God of Strength, who earned full-godhood through his heroic feats in defense of mankind and even the Olympian Gods, themselves. There are many, many other Olympian Gods and Goddesses of minor importance whom populate the Olympian realm. These includes the former sea nymph Venus, who is a member of the Agents of Atlas and Asterius, a minotaur whom served in the Howling Commandos, Cephalus the Huntsman of Zeus, as well as several others.

Powers and Abilities

The typical attributes of Olympian Gods include superhuman levels of all the usual abilities and senses humans have. These include, but are not limited to strength, speed, durability, sight and hearing. They are also immune to all human diseases and maladies. Though all Olympians have super-human levels of physical abilities, a great number of them have been born with either higher levels than those of even their fellow gods in some of these areas or any of a multitude of altogether different, non-physical, powers which include matter manipulation, weather control, amphibious abilities, power over magic, etc.

The Olympians do not age or die and as such they are true immortals. In some tales, the source of the gods' immortality is their practice of eating ambrosia and drinking nectar made by Hebe, Olympian goddess of youth, from the apples of immortality, and brought to the gods by doves. Furthermore, in some cases of the iliad, Achilles was bathed in ambrosia at birth, which gave him his demigod-like durability and agility.