important myths

Athene's mother

Metis

Hephaistos mother

Hera

Apollo and Artemis mother

Leto

Dionysus mother

Semele

Hermes mother

Maia

Ares mother

Hera

Athene born from

Zeus' head

Hephaistos born from

Hera alone (parthenogeneis)

Apollo and Artemis born from

Hera and Zeus conceiving

Dionysus born from

Zeus’ thigh

Hermes born from

Maia and Zeus conceiving

Ares born from

Union of Zeus and Hera

Athene born at

Mount Olympus

Hephaistos born at

Mount Olympus

Apollo and Artemis born at

Island of Delos

Dionysus born at

Thrace

Hermes born at

Mount Cyllene in hidden cave

Ares born at

Thrace (not a definite location)

Athene's special circumstances

Athena was born from Zeus' forehead after he swallowed Athena's mother, Metis who was pregnant at the time. This is because Zeus had been warned that the child Metis was carrying would be more powerful than him. And so after swallowing Metis, Zeus began to have a severe headache in such Athena split from his head in full armour.

Hephaistos special circumstances

Hephaistos was born from Hera alone, without any male involvement. The reason why Hephaistos was born was because Hera was jealous that Zeus gave birth to Athena from his own head. So with determination she decided to give birth as well. In some versions, Hera was impregnated by touching a special herb or plant or praying to the gods. Therefore, Hephaistos was born however he was born lame. In some versions Hera was so horrified she threw him off Mount Olympus

Apollo and Artemis special circumstances

Leto faced a lot of hardships while being pregnant because Hera was jealous. This then caused Hera to kidnap Elieithyia (goddess of childbirth) to prevent her from helping Leto during labour. Hera then prevented Leto from giving birth anywhere on solid land and so this caused Leto to wander place to place. She finally came across a small, rocky island called Delos, this was a floating island so it was not considered land. Some other goddesses felt sorry and found a way to sneak Eileithyra to Delos, this was when the birth began. After nine long days, Leto gave birth to Artemis, in some myths Artemis immediately helped deliver her twin brother Apollo.

Dionysos special circumstances

When Hera discovered that Zeus had an affair with Semele, she disguised herself as an old woman and visited Semele. When visiting, Hera planted doubt in Semele’s mind, which made her believe her lover wasn’t Zeus. Semele desired proof and so she asked Zeus to show himself in his true godly form. In which doing so when Zeus appeared in his divine glory, Semele was burnt instantly to ashes while being pregnant. So Zeus acted quickly to save their child, by which he sewed the baby into his own thigh to allow Dionysos to keep growing. When the time came, Dionysos then came out of Zeus’ thigh therefore, Dionysos was twice born.

Hermes special circumstances

Hermes was born in a cave on Mount Cyllene in Arcadia. His mother was Maia, a shy nymph and one of the Pleiades, and his father was Zeus, the king of the gods. Maia gave birth to Hermes at dawn and wrapped him in blankets. Despite being only a newborn, Hermes was no ordinary baby. By midday, he had already left the cave and begun his first adventure. His quick growth and intelligence amazed even the gods. This miraculous and rapid birth showed early signs of Hermes’ clever, mischievous nature and his future as the swift messenger of the gods.

Ares special circumstances

According to Greek mythology, he was born naturally to both parents, although in some versions, Hera gave birth to him alone out of jealousy after Zeus gave birth to Athena from his head.