Who are the 12 Greek gods and goddesses?

The twelve Gods of Olympus are the main gods of Greek mythology who lived on the summit of Mount Olympus.

The Olympian gods gained their power by defeating the Titans in the Battle of the Titans. In fact, the ancient Greeks did not have specific twelve gods, but there were major gods, minor gods, and others that were worshipped locally, for example Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades were the major gods, while Dionysus was the minor god. The twelve gods are a concept coined by Western scholars in the 16th- 17th centuries.

Zeus

Zeus, according to ancient Greek theogony, is the "father of gods and men" who rules over the gods of Olympus. In Greek mythology, he is the god of the sky and lightning. He is the youngest child of Kronos and Rhea. In most lore he is married to Hera, although in the Oracle of Dodoni, Dioni is mentioned as his wife. He is known for his love affairs. This led to many pious and heroic offspring, including Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Hermes, Persephone (by Demeter), Dionysus, Perseus, Hercules, the Beautiful Helen, Minos and the Muses. From Hera he had Ares, Ivi and Hephaestus, while from Dioni he had Aphrodite. Zeus was from time immemorial a weather god who ruled lightning, thunder and rain. He was the strongest and most important of all mythological beings and gods. Theocritus wrote around 265 BC, "sometimes Zeus is clean, sometimes it rains". In the Homeric epic of the Iliad, he sent lightning bolts at his enemies. His other emblems were the eagle and the goat.

Hera

In Greek mythology, Hera was the wife of Zeus, the daughter of Kronos and Rhea. She was the goddess of marriage. She was jealous of her husband, Zeus, because of his unfaithfulness to her and often took revenge on the women Zeus cheated on her with. In Roman mythology she was identified with the deity Juno, and in Etruscan with the deity Uni. The birth of the queen of the gods is placed in various places. Some of them are Samos, Stymfalia or Evia. Kronos devoured her and tried to fight his fate, for Gaia and Uranus had prophesied that one of his descendants would usurp power. Only when Rhea succeeded in deceiving Kronos did Hera see the light again. After Kronos was dethroned, Zeus proposed marriage to her. Mad with love for his sister, Zeus did not give up his intentions.

One day, while the goddess was walking in the forest, Zeus turned into a cuckoo and fell at the feet of the unsuspecting Hera. Then the king of the gods took his true form. Imposing and powerful, he neutralized the last resistances of the goddess. Hera was defeated, subdued, and became his forever, having previously secured a "marriage vow". According to one version, the myth of the union of Zeus and Hera symbolized the union of the purity of Uranus (expressed by Zeus) with air, an element of vital importance to man, of which Hera was the representative. From the marriage of Hera and Zeus were born Mars, Ivi, and Eilithia. According to Homer, Hephaestus was also born, while according to Hesiod, Hera gave birth to Hephaestus alone, without the participation of Zeus. Hera was often described or depicted holding a scepter as a symbol of rulership or a pomegranate (symbol of fertility). Other well-known symbols of Hera were the peacock, the cuckoo symbolizing the coming of spring, and various flowers and plants symbolizing the blessings of nature.

Poseidon

In Greek mythology, Poseidon is the god of land and sea (for this reason he was also called Pelagaios), rivers, springs and drinking water. Son of Kronos and Rhea and brother of Zeus, he sometimes lived on Mount Olympus and sometimes in his palace in the depths of the sea, where his wife, the Nereid Amphitrite, also lived. According to one version, he grew up on Rhodes, where, after his union with Alia, sister of the Telchins, six sons and a daughter, Rhodi, were born, who gave her name to the island. He was also the father of Theseus, but also of Procrustes and Skiron and giants: the twins Otos and Ephialtes (from his union with Ifimedia, daughter of the king of Thessaly), Titios (from Elara, daughter of Orchomenus and Orion (from Evryali, daughter of Minos. He was still considered the taming of the first horse, but also the father of the mythical horse Pegasus. The name of the god Nethuns is Etruscan and was adopted in Latin for Poseidon in Roman mythology(Neptunus). Both were gods of the sea like Poseidon. According to surviving inscriptions, Poseidon was worshipped at Pylos and Thebes, and was incorporated into the Olympian gods as the brother of Zeus and Hades. Poseidon had many children.

There is a Homeric hymn to Poseidon, who was the patron of many Greek cities, though he lost the contest for Athens to Athena. As the god of the sea, Poseidon traveled in his golden chariot on the waves, which opened merrily as he passed, while dolphins played around him. With his trident, he could both create storms and calm the waters. He was considered the protector of sailors and fishermen and, being responsible for geological phenomena such as earthquakes, was even given offerings and invocations for the stability of the land and the safety of buildings, while he was honored with horse races. His symbols were the trident, the fish (usually tuna) and more rarely the horse or the bull.

Demeter

Dimitra (Greek) was in Greek mythology the ideal anthropomorphic deity of agriculture, i.e. farming, but also of free vegetation, the soil and its fertility, with the result that she was considered the protector of marriage and motherhood. He was an Olympian (main) deity. Dimitra was the daughter of Kronos and Rhea. She was the sister of Hera, Hestia, Zeus, and Poseidon. At her birth, she met the same fate as her siblings. Kronos swallowed his children as soon as they were born for fear of taking over his throne. Rhea could no longer bear to lose her children, so she helped the youngest, Zeus, use a ruse to dethrone Kronos and free his brothers from their father's stomach.

Demeter and her daughter Persephone were major figures in the Eleusinian Mysteries and were probably deities worshipped before the Twelve. In many cases, the two deities are confused or considered one goddess with two faces. The abduction of Persephone by Hades or god Pluto resulted in the withering of Demeter. She left Olympus and began to wander in black and silent among men in search of Persephone. Her youth and beauty were replaced by gray hair and sorrow.

Ares

Ares is the Greek god of war. He is one of the Twelve Olympians and the son of Zeus and Hera. Because of his particularly warlike nature, some 19th century writers wrongly claimed that he was an alien god, believing that the Greek imagination could not have created such a fierce god. In the myths, Ares appears warlike and provocative, representing the impulsive nature of war. The Greeks were ambivalent about Ares: Although he combined the natural abilities necessary for success in war, he was a dangerous force. Overpowering, insatiable in battle, destructive and man-devouring.

In the Iliad, his father Zeus tells him that he is the most hated god to him. His value as a god of war is dubious: during the Trojan War, Ares sided with the losers, while Athena, often depicted in Greek art as holding victory in her hand, favored the triumphant Greeks. Ares plays a relatively limited role in Greek mythology as portrayed in the literary tradition, although his many love affairs and abundant offspring are mentioned. When Ares does not appear in the myths, he is usually humiliated. He is known as the lover of Aphrodite, the goddess of love, who was married to Hephaestus, the god of crafts.

The most famous story related to Ares and Aphrodite seems to be revealed by a clever device of her aggrieved husband. Thanks to his son Oenomaus from Steropus, Ares became the ancestor of famous people, such as Atreus, Thiestes, Agamemnon, Menelaus, Aegisthus, Orestes, Electra, Pyladis, Pittheus, Theseus, Hippolitus, Iphigenia, Dimofontas, Akamantas, Eurystheus, Amphitryon, Alcmene, Iolaus, Hercules, Admitis, Kopreas, Alcathos and Aias Telamonius. From his daughter Armonia he became the ancestor of the descendants of Cadmus, who are the god Dionysus, the monster Sphinx and famous people, such as Semeli-Thioni, Ino-Lefkothea, Pentheus, Aktaionas, Melikertis-Palaimonas, Laios , Oedipus, Oenopion, Staphylos, Thoas and Anios. From Thestios, Ares was the ancestor of Althea, Leda, Meleagros, Dianeira, Tydeus, Diomedes, the beautiful Helen of Troy, Clytemnestra, Dioscuri, and Amphiaraus. Of Flegias he was the ancestor of the god Asclepius.

Hephaestus

According to Greek Mythology, Hephaestus was one of the main Olympian gods of ancient twelve. He was the god of the fire, of sky and earth and of any process or art with it, such as coppersmithing and especially metallurgy. According to Homer's Iliad, he was the son of Zeus and Hera. This refers to the Homeric verses that were adopted by later writers. Hesiod in his Theogony, however, portrays him as the fruit not of love but of strife and contention between Zeus and Hera, supposedly born of Hera by parthenogenesis. Hephaestus, together with Hestia, was the chief deity of fire. It is pointed out that Greek Mythology as a whole is a culmination of long-term observations of the forces of nature and the relationships between them as the Greeks of that time could perceive them, along with the moral values they recognized in their relationships.

The narrative and justification-emphasis of the above was rendered in a marvelous allegorical manner of anthropomorphizing concepts, both by Homer and Hesiod, that still impresses today. The main purpose was generally that these concepts should be accepted, sanctified and honored. What undoubtedly contributed to the Greeks' long-term observation of nature were the great geological disturbances that occurred in Greece in the distant past. Hepheastus was the anthropomorphic, flourishing deity of the natural power of fire in all its forms and uses, from lightning and sparks in the sky to volcanoes on earth, but also as the inner human flame of inspiration and creation. The descriptions and behaviors of Hephaestus, which are always attributed to him with allegorical significance, reveal at their core precisely all those elements related to the above. Thus, on the basis of the above and with the dominant representations of fire evoking the greatest awe (lightning, lightning bolts and earthly volcanoes), Hephaestus was "born" of Zeus and Hera, also became an Olympian and thus brother of Athena, Aphrodite, Apollo, Artemis, Ares, Aphrodite and Dionysus, as well as the Muses and the Charites, as well as many demigods e.g. the Dioscuri and Dionysus, Dioscuri, Beautiful Helen, Hercules, Perseus, Minos, etc.

Hephaestus as the god of fire is the youngest of the gods, but he remains the "youngest" because he never loses his power. According to common descriptions, he is ugly and deformed, so much so that his own mother, Hera, threw him from Olympus out of shame. The child fell into the sea, where he was caught by Thetis (deity of child protection and maternal affection) and Evrynomi (deity of the sea), who raised him for nine years. As soon as he was grown up, the god immediately set up his first forge at the bottom of the Aegean Sea and forged beautiful objects for these two deities.

Dionysus

Son of Zeus and Semele, daughter of Cadmus, Dionysus is saved from the flames that set fire to his father's palace - after the appearance of Zeus in all his glory - thanks to the intervention of Gaia, which left the ivy to envelop on the columns of the palace and save the child. Zeus placed the baby on his thigh, unnoticed by Hera, and brought it to light at the right time, when the pregnancy was over. The god wanders Egypt and Syria, mad by the hatred of Hera. In Phrygia he is cured by Rhea. It is Rhea who teaches him ritual worship and determines the garb of the god and his Mainad followers. The succession of the god is completed with the Satyrs and the Selenians. The civilizing god Dionysus continued his wanderings, teaching throughout the world his special ceremonies and the cultivation of the vine. Elsewhere he was accepted as a god, elsewhere as an adventurous man, which, according to legend, provoked similar reactions on his part, favoring friends and punishing enemies, as the example of Proetus, king of Tiryns and the three daughters of King Minya at Orchomenos shows.

He is one of the lesser but important deities of the ancient Greek pantheon, as his worship had a major influence on religious events in the Greek area. Although he is not an Olympian god and Homer seems to ignore him, he is depicted along with the Olympians as early as the 6th century BC. He is sometimes depicted sitting to the right of his father on the Olympic tops. Dionysus as a mythological entity "is neither a child nor a man, but an eternal youth occupying a position between the two". In this form, he represents the spirit of energy, full of cunning, deception, and strategies that point to either divine wisdom or the archetype of the chthonius, who appears in almost all mythologies of the world.

In ancient Greece, this close relationship between drama and mythology was summed up in the mask. The mask symbolized Dionysus himself and through which participants gained insight into the wild paradoxes associated with myths that were instituted as sacraments or rituals. Such mysterious traditions were widespread in antiquity, and some are known to have endured for millennia. Gnostic Christianity is a relatively recent example of the sacraments of initiation, and even today Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches retain certain ritual elements and continue the line of tradition of mystical religions with events such as the denaturing of the body and blood of Christ. To the ancient Greeks, the face or persona was a symbol of unity in duality. The one who wore it was both himself and someone else, or he temporarily became persona (which in Greek means "echo through" that is, I speak through the mask), one of the characters in the drama (dramatis personae). The mask "held" the two identities together and, of course, played the role of gateway between different realms or worlds of experience. This passage into the dangerous, shadowy realm of the underworld, chaos, and death is a key theme in Dionysian worship.

As Godwin notes, it is characteristic of the gods who descend into the underworld to redeem wandering souls. Dionysus is also strongly associated with fulfilled love, and Anacreon's epigram to the god begins with the words "O Lord, that your companions in play are mighty Eros, black-eyed nymphs, and Aphrodite!".

Apollo

Apollo was one of the 12 gods of Olympus, the most important after Zeus. We have no clear evidence of his origin. According to the prevailing opinion, his cult came to Greece from the East. Other theories cite the Dorians as the bearers of his cult, but also his place of appearance Crete, through which his cult was transferred to Asia Minor. He had about 350 invocations, epithets and local cults, therapist, seer and solar("Phoebus”). Probably an inspiration for the god Aplou in Etruscan mythology. The most common myth about his birth states that it took place on the island of Ortygia (modern Delos) by Leto, the predecessor of Hera, wife of Zeus. Because of Hera's great jealousy of Leto, she accepted no other place than Ortygia to give birth. It was an island that sailed freely in the waves until then, so it was difficult for Hera to recognize the place where Leto had taken refuge. Later Zeus stabilized the island so that Apollo could be born. The birth pangs lasted nine days and nine nights and then Eileithyia, the mother whom Hera purposely kept close, was able to escape to help Leto. First Artemis was born, and then Apollo. Ortygia was called Delos because it was there that the god Apollo revealed himself. According to other views, Diodorus of Sicily argues that the birthplace of Apollo is not Delos, but Crete.

However, the Greekness of Apollo is disputed by modern scholars. Some claim he came from the north, others from the east. Ancient sources say that Apollo went to the land of the far north, Yperboreia, every year. The fact that the god's melodic swan is a northern bird also helps support this version, as does the fact that the amber associated with him is a northern product. Others see Apollo as the point of origin of the island of the singing swans, Heligoland. However, it seems to be the prevailing version that Apollo originated from Asia Minor and specifically Lycia. It is significant that he is called Letoidis, that is, the son of Leto, which was very common in Lycia, while Greeks were very rarely named after their mothers. Leto probably came from Lycia, where a word similar to her name meant "woman". Apollo himself was called Lycius, and the Delians believed that he spent the winter months of the year in Lycia. His celebrations were set on the seventh day of the month according to Babylonian custom.

The pre-Homeric poet Olin, who was also a native of Lycia, was the founder of the Delphic oracle, the inventor of hexameter, and the praiser of the deities of Delos. Finally, it is significant that although Homer describes the god Apollo as equal to the Olympians, he appears in the Iliad with his sister Artemis to fight on the side of the Trojans and against the Greeks, while all the other gods are on their side, with the exception of Ares and Aphrodite, who are considered gods of foreign origin. According to pre-Homeric tradition, it was Apollo and Paris who killed Achilles, the greatest and most famous hero of the Achaeans. It is very probable, then, that the Greeks first came in contact with the religion of Apollo on the coast of Asia Minor somewhere between 1100 and 800 B.C. In the Iliad the great god of war is the protector and ally of the Trojans and chief defender and helper of Hector. He raises his shield against the Achaeans and with his warlike shouting "melts the courage in their heart and they forget their warlike spirit". Elsewhere in the Iliad we see Apollo, with his divine powers, robbing Patroclus of his chariot and stripping Achilles piece of his glorious, invincible armor to make it easier for Hector to kill Achaeus by deceit.

Elsewhere, Achilles seems to realize that the invisible arrows that kill his comrades are from a divine hand, but he ignores why the god is angry at them. Nevertheless, Apollo is a god of prophecy and divination. Calchas, the seer of the Greeks, turns to him for oracles concerning the plague that is afflicting the Achaean camp. He learns the cause of the god's wrath, and clears up that the god who can bring darkness and death is "swift as night", bright as light. From there he derives his other epithet, Phoebus. Other well-known invocations are Agraios, Agretis, Aktios, Amyklaios, Gennitor, Deiradiotis, Dionysodotis, Enagonios, Epakios, Ilios, Karnios, Kitharodos, Kourotrofos, Mousagetis or Mousigetis. Nomios, Ogaios, Ogeatas, Ptoos, Pythios, Spondios, Tmos, Tyritis, Yperboreios, etc.

Artemis

Artemis (Latin Diana) is one of the oldest, most complex and interesting figures in the Greek pantheon. Daughter of Zeus and Leto, twin sister of Apollo, queen of mountains and forests, goddess of the hunt, protector of small children and animals. Hestia, Athena and Artemis, were the only goddesses over whom Aphrodite had no power (who had subdued all gods and men). To Artemis in Roman mythology corresponds Diana, and in Etruscan mythology the deity Artoumes. The birth of the goddess is placed on the island of Ortygia. The pregnant Leto, after terrible sufferings and wanderings, had fled to this barren island to hide and protect herself from the persecution of Zeus' rightful wife, Hera. There, with the help of all the female deities (except Hera), Artemis and, a little later, her brother, Apollo, came to light. In the very first hours after her birth, Artemis takes the initiative. Although she is a newborn, she helps her exhausted mother give birth to her second child, Apollo. In this way she is identified with Eileithyia, meaning mother, and thus the goddess of childbirth.

Beautiful and radiant, Artemis had won the esteem of the other gods at a very early age. Even at the age of three, she had certain requirements for her clothing, her equipment, and her allegiance to her favorite pastime, hunting. She was a child who knew what she wanted and was very firm and rigid in her decisions. Zeus admired her for her perseverance and because of her resourcefulness, he had a great love for her and granted her every wish. One of the first things Artemis wished for as a gift from her father was eternal purity and virginity. Faithful and steadfast in all she asked and pledged herself to, the virgin goddess never tarnished her morals or character. Earnest and proud, she preserved her chastity, disdaining sexual sieges and assaults. Devoted to hunting and nature, she was indifferent to the pleasures of marriage and the pleasures of love. With imposition and severity she demanded innocence and virginity not only of herself, but also of the nymphs who surrounded her, and also of those who honored her with their services.

Artemis was a ruthless goddess who almost never forgave. Any irregularity against her, any deviation from her beliefs and principles, deserved her punishment. Her relentless fury was ready to erupt at any moment against the one who violated her strict rules. Her deadly arrows were constantly aimed at mortals, gods, and heroes who overlooked her existence or neglected her principles and worship. Once upon a time Aktaionas, the son of Aphtonoe and Aristeus, happened to see Artemis naked while she was taking a bath. The goddess, fearing that the incident would spread, turned him into a stag and set the fifty dogs that accompanied him to eat him. In another instance, Callisto, the daughter of Lycaon (and one of Artemis' companions on the hunt), nearly lost her life to the goddess' arrows because, seduced by Zeus, she lost her chastity and became pregnant. Artemis also killed Ariadne because, according to legend, she had been abducted and seduced by Theseus in Naxos.

Finally, Orion, the son of Poseidon, also died tragically by Artemis' arrows because, according to one tradition, he had mingled with Eos, the goddess of the dawn, or because, according to another tradition, he had boasted of being better than her in the art of the bow. Artemis had a particular soft spot for children and adolescents. Young men and women who retained their innocence and lived by her principles were always in her favor and under her protection. Hippolytus, who was devoted to her and her worship, is a living example of this tactic and weakness of the goddess. Hippolytus, then, an industrious hunter and horseman, had devoted his life to the beautiful Artemis and the ideal she represented. No challenge, no woman was ever able to seduce him. Not even Phaedra, Theseus' wife, could seduce him with her charm. His exemplary behavior caused the goddess to give him honor, glory, and-after his death, eternal remembrance of his name. Artemis was one of the most beautiful and elegant goddesses of Olympus. The ancient Greeks admired her greatly. She was imagined tall, with noble beauty, arrogant physique and proud gait.

One of Artemis' main attributes was her universal dominion over nature. Domestic and wild animals, fish in the water and birds in the air were all under her protection. Finally, Aeneas, wounded by Diomedes, had accepted the help of Artemis and Leto during the war, and thanks to them had managed to regain his strength and return to battle. The symbols of Artemis were numerous and varied. They began with animals and plants and ended in weapons: Goat, deer, bear, dog, snake, laurel, palm, cypress, sword, quiver, spear and more.

Aphrodite

Aphrodite is the goddess of love, beauty, sexuality, lust and procreation in ancient Greek mythology and religion. The corresponding deity of the Ancient Romans was Venus, while she shares many similarities with the Egyptian goddess Athor. The planet Venus owes its name to her. As with many ancient Greek deities, there is more than one myth about her origin. According to Hesiod's Theogony, she was born when Kronos cut off the genitals of his father Uranus and threw them into the sea. From the foam the goddess was born, hence her name. According to Homer Iliad, she is the daughter of Zeus and Dioni. Plato argues in the "Symposium" that both narratives are valid, but refer to the birth of different beings: Urania and the Pandemos Aphrodite, patrons of Platonic spiritual-idealized and carnal-hedonistic love, respectively. Although the prostitute women regarded Aphrodite as their patron goddess, her public worship was serious and solemn.

Because of her beauty, the other gods feared that a contest for her favor would lead to war. Zeus therefore arranged her marriage to Hephaestus, who was not seen as a threat because of his ugliness and deformities. However, Aphrodite had many lovers, both gods like Ares and humans like Aghisis. She played an important role in the myth of Eros and Psyche, while causing the birth of Adonis, who later became her lover. She is considered the mother of many even lesser deities and entities. In the Trojan War, in which she largely participated by helping Paris kidnap the Beautiful Helen, the goddess sided with the Trojans. Sacred beings to the goddess were myrtles, doves, sparrows, horses, and swans. Aphrodite is also known as Kythera and Kyprida, after her two main places of worship, Kythera and Cyprus, which are said to have been her birthplace.

Thanks to the myth of her birth from the sea, Aphrodite was widely worshipped as the protector of sailors, with the adjectives Pelagia, Euploia and Thalassia. Because of her association with the god Ares, she was paradoxically worshipped in Sparta as a war deity with the epithet Areia, while the armed Aphrodite was also depicted armed in Kythira. Many local cults attributed different names and traditions to her, but the ancient Greeks recognized that these beliefs referred to a common goddess, Aphrodite. According to the Homeric myth, she was born at Petra tou Romiou, on the coast of Paphos in Cyprus. Thrust into the sea by Zephyrus, the goddess was beautified by her sacred servants and taken to Olympus, where she appeared to Zeus and the other gods. According to Hesiod's version, Aphrodite was born off the coast of Cythera from the foam created when Uranus' genitals fell into the sea after being mutilated by Kronos. Again with the help of Zephyrus, she traveled to Paphos. She passed Kythira and then made her way to Cyprus. Kythira is considered the island of Celestial Aphrodite, where there was her first sanctuary in Greece. "Paphia'' was known as Aphrodite, while Homer in the Iliad mentions her as "Kythera, goddess of love and nurturer".

Athena

Athena was the goddess of wisdom, strategy and war in Greek mythology. She is associated by the Etruscans with their goddess Menrva and later by the Romans as Minerva, symbolized by an owl. She carried a shield of goatskin called Aegis, given to her by her father, and was accompanied by the goddess Nike(meaning victory). Athena often helped heroes. She is depicted armed, sometimes as a child and sometimes as a virgin. The Parthenon in Athens is the most famous temple dedicated to her. Never had a partner or lover, though Hephaestus once tried unsuccessfully.

Athena was the beloved daughter of Zeus. Her mother was Metis, the first wife of Zeus. Zeus learned after a prophecy that Metis would bear a child who would topple his father from power, so he devoured her while she was pregnant with Athena. Later, Zeus began to suffer from a headache and called Hephaestus for help. Then Hephaestus struck Zeus' head with a large hammer and Athena was thrown out of his head, wearing armor, a helmet and holding a shield. When she saw Zeus, she threw them at his feet, a sign of his recognition as supreme god. According to one version, Athena made her shield from the skin of the chimera, or, according to another version, from the skin of the monster Aegis or Aegidos, which destroyed everything in Libya, Egypt, Phrygia, and Phenicia, and which Athena exterminated. Also on the shield of Athena was the head of Medusa. Medusa was originally a very beautiful mortal mermaid and was loved by Poseidon for this reason, but they offended Athena by entering in one of her temples and flirting within it. Athena then turned her into a monster so that no man would love her again, while her gaze turned anyone who looked at her to stone. When Perseus killed Medusa, he offered her head to the goddess as a gift of gratitude, for thanks to the shining shield the goddess had given him, he was able to defeat Medusa just by looking through it at her idol.

Athena and Poseidon claimed the same city. So they climbed the rock of the Acropolis and decided in front of the Athenians that whoever gave the most beautiful gift to the inhabitants would get it. Poseidon struck one side of the hill with his trident and immediately a spring of water gushed forth. The people were amazed, but the water was as salty as the water of the sea, which was the realm of Poseidon, and therefore not very useful. Athena's gift was an olive tree, which was better because it provided the city with food, oil, and wood. So Athena won the duel and named the city Athens.

Hermes

Hermes is the messenger of the gods in Greek mythology. He also acts as the bearer of souls(Psychopompos), meaning he leads the souls of the dead to Hades (as we learn in the Odyssey), but he is also a protector of thieves, gambling, and commerce. According to the prevailing myth, Ermes' father was Zeus and his mother was Maya, one of the Pleiades, the daughters of Atlas, the giant who carried the sky on his back. It is the daughters of Pleiades that Zeus later turned into a constellation, along with the hunter Orion, when he pursued them. He is perhaps the most sympathetic deity of the Greek Twelve Gods, first because he very much combines the human with the divine, but also because he is essentially considered the first teacher of mankind. He is the one who introduced the letters and sciences to mankind, taught the use of the intellect, and in fact there are myths that credit him with transferring the knowledge of fire to mankind.

At the same time he is the protector of trade, sacrificial ceremonies and magic. He expresses in an almost archetypal way the speed, the flexibility, the variability, but also the treacherous paths that the mind sometimes takes, being easily deceived and making mistakes. He also has a shady and more human face, as he cheats, lies and steals.

British academic RF Wilets writes the following about this, "Hermes is the most sympathetic, the most volatile, the most convoluted, the most complex, and thus the most Greek of all the Olympian gods". His main characteristics, however, are that he acts as a messenger of the gods, that is, as an intermediary between them and humans, while he also performs the function of Psychopompos, leading the souls of the dead to Hades. He is also one of the deities who use the dark night for their activities, and therefore he is said to have a very good relationship with Selene(moon). In fact, it is reported that on the night he stole the sacred oxen of Apollo, on the very fourth day after his birth, Selene came out twice to facilitate his movement from Pieria to the mountains of Kyllini. Its symbols are the caduceus, the emblem of the swift-moving messengers, and the winged sandals. In the Inner Tradition Hermes symbolizes the Logos, that is, the sum of all the intellects in the universe.