Many ancient Greek gods lived on Mount Olympus, hence they were called "Olympic". These included the children of Kronos and Rhea: Zeus, Hera, Hestia and Demeter. And also the generations of the gods, born of the first Olympians.
The first gods of Olympus
The gods of the third generation and their children lived on Olympus. The first of the Olympians was Zeus. In ancient Greek mythology, this is the supreme god, he was subject to control the weather. Zeus defeated his enemies with fiery lightning, sent terror to the traitors with thunder. It was he who settled all the gods on Olympus. His wife and at the same time his sister was Hera - the goddess, the patroness of the family, marriage, love. In the Olympic palace, together with Hero and Zeus, were their sisters Demeter and Hestia. Demeter was the goddess of the earth and fertility. She influenced the growth of the crop, most often through her mood. When Hades kidnapped her beloved daughter Persephone, Demeter fell into despair, and any growth on earth stopped. Hestia - the eldest of the children of Kronos, like Hera, patronized domestic life.
Hades and Poseidon were blood brothers of Zeus, however, their place of residence was not Olympus. The place of dominion of Hades is the underworld. Poseidon had a palace in the depths of the sea.
Children of the first Olympian gods
The children of Zeus, both from Hera and from many nymphs, also lived with their father in the Olympic palace. Among the strongest ancient Greek gods were the twins Apollo and Artemis. Their mother was the nymph Leto. Apollo was known for his dazzling beauty, he is the god of light, arts, predictions. Apollo, like many gods, had a dual nature. Therefore, his sacred animals were the wolf and the dolphin. Demeter is the female counterpart of her brother, the goddess of the hunt. She became famous for the fact that she decided to be chaste and spent all the time among the nymphs on the hunt.
The most beloved daughter of Zeus was Athena. She acted as the opposite of another god - Ares. Both Athena and Ares were gods of war, but Athena patronized a just and meaningless war. Ares loved deceit and treachery, for him war is a way of entertainment. Despite the cruelty, Ares lived with all the gods on Olympus. The most beautiful goddess living in the Olympic palace was Aphrodite. Hesiod wrote that Aphrodite herself was born from sea foam, and was later adopted by Zeus and taken to Olympus. Her husband was the most hardworking god - Hephaestus. Several myths are associated with Hephaestus, why he did not originally live on Olympus.
The first myth says that Hera gave birth to him on her own without the participation of Zeus. Thus, she wanted to take revenge on her husband for the birth of Athena. Zeus got angry and kicked his son out of the palace. According to another myth, when Hephaestus was born, he was ugly and in poor health, and Hera was angry with the baby. As a result, she threw him off Olympus. However, many years later he was adopted into the family on Olympus. Hephaestus is the god of blacksmithing and fire. In contrast to his appearance, he was very kind-hearted. Hermes was considered the messenger among the Olympian gods. He patronized merchants, travelers, messengers, as well as theft, trickery, dexterity and deceit.
