Ch 5: The Twelve Olymians: Zeus, Hera and their Kids

- the brackets are the gods stupid roman names

Zeus’s Background (Jupitor)

• Zeus is the lord of gods and men. With his wife Hera, also his sister.

  • He assumes the sky

  •  the cloud-gatherer of epic. The etymological root of his name means “bright”

• His brother poseidon controls the sea

• His other brother hades controls the underworld

• His sisters Hestia and Demeter share in divine power and functions

Hestia (Vesta)

• Goddess of the Hearth and its fire (primarily) also goddess of chasity

  • She rejected the advances of both Poseidon and Apollo and vowed to remain a virgin

• her name means hearth

• Hestia is invoked as the proteress of the hearth in the home

• The hearth was the center first of the family and then of the larger political units: the tribe, the city, and the state.

2 examples of Zeus’ Vulnerability

• Zeus’ authority was not supreme but always subject to the dictates of fate or the feminine fates and the powerful goddess of love, Aphrodite,

  • she is the greatest deity of all,

  • she can bend not only humans but also even the gods (including almighty Zeus) to her amorous will. 

  • Only three goddesses, Athena, Artemis, and Hestia, defy her subjection. 

• A startling revolution against the power of Zeus is alluded to in the Iliad

  • When Hera, Poseidon, and Athena bound Zeus in chains, it was Thetis, the mother of Achilles, who rescued the supreme god. 

  • The most determined critic who constantly challenged the authority of Zeus was his sister and wife Hera.

Hera (Juno)

• Hera consistently appears as the vehement wife and mother who will punish and avenge the sexual escapades of her husband

  • Hera was worshiped less as an earth-goddess than as a goddess of women, marriage, and childbirth, functions she shares with other goddesses

• Iris ( goddess of the rainbow) was hera’s servant

• Hera is depicted as regal and matronly, often with attributes of royalty, such as a crown and a scepter.

  • ox-eyed and white-armed, both epithets presumably denoting her beauty.

  • The peacock is associated with Hera

Sanctuary of Zeus at Olympia

• Location: Olympia, near River Alpheus (Elis, Peloponnese)

• Main deity: Zeus, honored alongside Hera

• Temple of Hera: Older structure

• Temple of Zeus: 5th century BCE, housed a colossal statue by Pheidias

  • Statue was ~42 ft tall, made of ivory and gold

  • Zeus seated, holding Nike in one hand, scepter with eagle in the other

  • Throne decorated with myths: Theban Sphinx, Niobe’s children slain

Whats in the West and East Pediment?

• West pediment: Battle of Lapiths vs Centaurs at Pirithoüs' wedding (Zeus' son)

  • Apollo (another son of Zeus) brings order to chaos

• East pediment: Scene before chariot race between Pelops and Oenomaüs (Pelops wins Hippodamia)

  • Zeus ensures Pelops’ success

Oracles of Zeus – Olympia & Dodona

• Dodona (Northern Greece) and Olympia were both ancient centers for worship and oracles of Zeus

• Oracular responses were given through natural omens:

  • Rustling leaves, wind in sacred oak trees, dove calls, and burnt offerings

• At Olympia, inquiries were usually about athletic competition outcomes

• At Dodona, oracles were interpreted by priestesses (unlike Apollo’s Pythia at Delphi on a tripod)

Trophonius

•  situated at Lebadeia in northern Boeotia.

• Trophonius is a chthonic hero (his name means “he who fosters growth”),

• His legend is similar to the story of the Egyptian pharaoh Rhampsinitus (Rameses)

• Trophonius and his brother Agamedes were skilled builders, sons of Erginus of Orchomenus.

  • built a treasury for the king Augeas of Elias so they could steal

  • his brother got caught and was cut off by him then he escaped w/ his head

  • he went to Lebadeia and was swallowed by earth and then worshiped

Melampus

• a seer with the power of understanding the speech of animals.

  • He had honored a pair of snakes killed by his servants by burning their bodies and rearing their young

  • The Young snake later licked his ears and so enabled him to understand the tongues of animals and birds, and from them know what was going to happen

Eileithyia

• Goddess of Childbirth

  • child of zeus and Hera

• She shares this role with her mother and sometimes they merge identities

• Artemis also becomes a goddess of childbirth

Hebe and Ganymede

• Hebe: Goddess of youthful bloom (her name means “youth”); cupbearer to the gods on Olympus

• Marries Heracles after he gains immortality

• Ganymede (Trojan prince): In some versions, replaces Hebe as cupbearer

• Zeus abducts Ganymede due to his beauty and wisdom, bringing him to Olympus

• Ganymede serves wine to the gods—becomes immortal

• To comfort Tros (Ganymede’s grieving father), Zeus gives him divine horses

• Hermes tells Tros of Ganymede’s fate (hes immortal now); Tros is consoled and proud

HEPHAESTUS (Vulcan) - His role and abilities

• God of creative fire and divine craftsmanship.

• Forge located on Olympus or beneath the earth (linked to volcanic regions like Lemnos and Sicily).

• Assisted by Cyclopes; made items of great beauty and power (e.g., Achilles' shield).

• Created gold, lifelike robots who could speak and move.

• Worked alongside Athena as patrons of civilization and craftsmanship.

Birth and Exile of Hephaestus

• In one version, Hera bore Hephaestus alone, mirroring Zeus’s solo birth of Athena.

• Hephaestus was born deformed; Hera threw him from Olympus.

• In another version, Zeus hurled him down after he defended Hera.

• He landed on Lemnos, became associated with its volcanic activity, and was worshipped there.

Myths of Hephaestus

• In the Iliad, Hephaestus helps Achilles by forging weapons.

• When Scamander river attacks Achilles, Hephaestus sets it aflame at Hera’s request.

• His loyalty to Hera and memory of being thrown from Olympus reveal tension in the Olympian family.

• Reflects divine emotional struggles and Zeus’s stern authority.

Ares

• God of War

• the last child of Zeus and Hera to be considered. 

• His origins probably belong to Thrace, an area with which he is often linked.

• Aphrodite is usually named as his cult partner; several children are attributed to them, the most important being Eros.

• Ares is generally depicted as a kind of divine swashbuckler.

• brutality, waste, and folly of war, all of which are personified in the figure of Ares.

The Nine Muses

• Zeus mates with the Titaness Mnemosyne (whose name means “memory”).

• Their union produces the Muses, goddesses of literature, music, and the arts

• Often associated with locations like:

  • Pieria near Mt. Olympus

  • Mt. Helicon in Boeotia (fountain of Hippocrene)

• May have originally been water spirits connected to inspiration and prophecy.

• Known as “the reminders”, they provide poetic and artistic inspiration.

The Nine Muses Names and what they are connected to

1. Calliope – epic poetry

2. Clio – history (or lyre playing)

3. Euterpe – lyric poetry (or flute playing)

4. Melpomene – tragedy

5. Terpsichore – choral dance

6. Erato – love poetry

7. Polyhymnia – sacred music

8. Urania – astronomy

9. Thalia – comedy

The Fates

• also known as Moirai

• Zeus is sometimes said to have fathered the Fates with Themis (goddess of justice).

• Alternative parentage: Night (Nyx) and Erebus.

• The Fates (Moirai) were originally birth spirits, later depicted as three old women:

  1. Clotho – spins the thread of life

  2. Lachesis – measures it

  3. Atropos – cuts it (ends life)

• They control human destiny, usually irrevocable, but occasionally influenced.

Other children of Zeus and Themis

• The Horae (hours)

  • Eunomia – Good Order
    Dike – Justice

  • Eirene – Peace