Zeus, Father of the Gods

Zeus is the god of sky and thunder. He is also known to be the father of gods and men, including some of the 12 Olympian gods. His symbols are the thunderbolt, eagle, bull, and oak. Zeus is frequently depicted by Greek artists in one of two poses: standing, striding forward, with a thunderbolt leveled in his raised right hand, or seated in majesty. Zeus was the child of Cronus and Rhea, and the youngest of his siblings. In most traditions he was married to Hera. He has many children including Athena, Apollo, Aphrodite, Artemis, Hermes, Persephone, Dionysus, Perseus, Heracles, Helen, Minos, and the Muses; by Hera, he is usually said to have fathered Ares, Hebe and Hephaestus.

Cronus and Rhea was Zeus father. Coronus heard from Gaia and Uranus that he destined to be overthrown by his own son. When Coronus heard this, every time he had a child he swallowed them. So Coronus swallowed Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, and Poseidon. Rhea, Zeus mother, didn’t want Cronus swallowing her children anymore so when Zeus was ready about to be born, her and Gaia devised a plan to trick Cronus. When Rhea gave birth to Zeus, Rhea hid Zeus and gave Coronus a rock wrapped in swaddling clothes, which he promptly swallowed. Rhea hid Zeus in a cave on Mount Ida in Crete and rose up to manhood. After reaching manhood, Zeus forced Cronus to disgorge his siblings in reverse order of swallowing. As a token of their appreciation, the Cyclopes gave him thunder and the thunderbolt, which had previously been hidden by Gaia.

Together, Zeus and his brothers and sisters, along with the Gigantes, Hecatonchires and Cyclopes defeated the other Titans, in the combat called the Titanomachy. The defeated Titans were then cast into a shadowy underworld region known as Tartarus. Atlas, one of the titans that fought against Zeus, was punished by having to hold up the sky. After the battle with the Titans, Zeus shared the world with his elder brothers, Poseidon and Hades, and gave them jobs. Zeus got the sky and air, Poseidon got the waters, and Hades got the world of the dead, the underworld.

Aphrodite- god of beauty

Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of love, beauty, and sexuality. Apparently she was born when Cronus cut off Uranus' genitals and threw them into the sea and from the sea foam a rose Aphrodite. Because of her beauty other gods feared that jealousy would interrupt the peace among them and lead to war and so Zeus married her to Hephaestus, who was not viewed as a threat. Aphrodite had many lovers, like Ares and Adonis. Aphrodite was associated with, and often depicted with, the sea, dolphins, doves, swans, pomegranates, scepters, apples, myrtle, rose trees, lime trees, clams, scallop shells, and pearls. She was also called Kypris or Cytherea after her birth-places in Cyprus and Cythera, respectively, both centers of her cult. Some of her sons are Eros, Anteros, Hymenaios and Aeneasand in every sculpture or image she is an adult and apparently was born as an adult. Although she is one of the few gods that is married, she is frequently unfaithful to her husband. She is also so fixed on herself and not others as well as easily offended.

She also had a major part in the cause of the Trojan War. She offered Helen of Troy to Paris and the abduction was accomplished when Paris, seeing Helen for the first time, was inflamed with desire to have her, cause by Aphrodite. She caused the war between Greece and Troy which eventually led to the fall of Troy.

Her festival is the Aphrodisiac which was celebrated in various centers of Greece and especially in Athens and Corinth. Her priestesses were not prostitutes but women who represented the goddess and sexual intercourse with them was considered just one of the methods of worship. Aphrodite was originally an old-Asian goddess, similar to the Mesopotamian Ishtar and the Syro-Palestinian goddess. Aphrodite was one of the most unique of the Greek deities in the freedom of her sexual life. Aphrodite's charms came from her magic cestus, an embroidered girdle that, in both gods and men, aroused passion for the wearer. So great were Aphrodite's seductive abilities that every god, including the great Zeus, desired her as his wife. However, Aphrodite was too proud for any of her suitors and rejected them all. As a punishment, Zeus made her the wife of Hephaestus, the homely and lame smith-god. This union did nothing to curb Aphrodite's actions, and she discouraged Hephaestus from sharing her bed in addition to being unfaithful to him.

Aphrodite was often pictured sitting or riding on a variety of animals, particularly birds such as swans or geese. This association with the sky reinforces the existence of Aphrodite Urania, the heavenly goddess who also portrayed animals. In addition, such images also support Aphrodite as the Queen of Heaven, with an important place in the natural world. This also portrays that Aphrodite is a very powerful and important god.

Ares the god of war

Ares is the god of war, and a member of the Twelve Olympians, a son of Zeus and Hera, in Greek mythology. Though often referred to as the Olympian god of warfare, he is more accurately the god of blood thirst, or slaughter personified. Ares is apparently an ancient abstract noun meaning throng of battle, war. He also presides over the weapons of war, the defense and sacking of cities, rebellion and civil order, banditry, manliness and courage.Ares was the great Olympian god of war, battle lust, civil order and manly courage. In Greek art he was depicted as either a mature, bearded warrior dressed in battle arms, or a nude beardless youth with helm and spear. Because of his lack of distinctive attributes he is often difficult to identify in classical art.