Olympians

## The Olympians

All Olympians except Hermes are shown; Hades and Persephone are also shown, despite not being Olympians.

### Members

* Zeus
* Hera
* Demeter
* Poseidon
* Artemis
* Apollo
* Athena
* Ares
* Hephaestus
* Aphrodite
* Hermes
* Hestia (sometimes)
* Dionysus (sometimes)

### Purpose

Ruling the world

**The Olympians** are the major deities of the Greco-Roman pantheon after overthrowing the Titans and reside atop of the Mount Olympus.

## Overview

While the number was fixed at twelve, there was considerable variation as to which deities were included. They were a family of gods, the most important consisting of the first generation of Olympians, offspring of the Titans Cronus and Rhea: Zeus, Poseidon, Hera, Demeter and Hestia, along with the principal offspring of Zeus: Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Ares, Aphrodite, Hephaestus, Hermes, Dionysus, and sometimes, Hestia. Although there is some speculation that Hestia gave up her spot for Dionysus, this is never stated in the mythology.

When it comes to Hades (Pluto) and Persephone (Proserpina), even though both were major deities in the Greek pantheon, and he was the brother of Zeus and the other first generation of Olympians, while she as Zeus' daughter, their realm was far away from Olympus in the Underworld, and thus they were not considered to be one of the Olympians, as they did not live on Olympus. Olympic gods can be contrasted to Chthonic gods including Hades, by mode of sacrifice, the latter receiving sacrifices in a bothros ("pit") or megaron ("sunken chamber") rather than at an altar.

## Notable Olympians

### Main thirteen

* Zeus - Jupiter, god of the sky.
* Poseidon - Neptune, god of the sea.
* Hera - Juno, goddess of marriage.
* Demeter - Ceres, goddess of the harvest.
* Hestia - Vesta, goddess of the hearth.
* Athena - Minerva, goddess of wisdom.
* Apollo - Apollo, god of the prophecy.
* Artemis - Diana, goddess of the hunt.
* Hermes - Mercury, god of messengers.
* Hephaestus - Vulcan, god of the forge.
* Ares - Mars, god of war.
* Aphrodite - Venus, goddess of love.
* Dionysus - Bacchus, god of madness.

### Other gods who live on Olympus

* Themis, goddess of divine law.
* Hebe - Juventas, goddess of youth.
* Eileithyia - Lucina, goddess of childbirth.
* Asclepius - Aescalapius, god of medicine.
* Heracles - Hercules, deified mortal, husband to Hebe.
* Ganymide, deified mortal, lover to Zeus.
* Castor and Pollux, who alternate between Olympus and the Underworld.

## Powers & Abilities

The Olympian Gods and Goddesses are incredibly powerful beings that possess abilities such as: near omnipotence, immortality, superhuman strength, shape-shifting, teleportation, and omnipresence. The gods also possess energy- based abilities, such as magic abilities and energy projection. They can grant powers to non-godly thing, since some are capable of life-giving to objects or giving supernatural powers to those who don't possess it with ease.

Each god has specific powers based on what they force represent, but they all share certain powers and even abilities specific to their individual domains can sometimes overlap. Each of the Big Three, after overthrowing the Titans, took one of the three physical domains on earth (the heavens, ocean, and the underworld). This is why the Big Three are the most powerful and influential gods on Olympus.