The view of ancient Greeks about God and what the Gods of Olympus symbolize
The first Gods of ancient Greece were created through the exploration of the vast universe.
The search for cosmogony was based on two fundamental and completely logical ideas:
a) The material world: Earth, Heaven, the sky, the universe could not pre-exist. It was not created from scratch, not without a parent.
b) The Creator of Life and the Universe: He must be a Being with a superior and inexhaustible mysterious power, who enforces the harmony of the world and rules with wisdom.
From this higher Βeing all other Gods were created, whο also had specific characteristics:
Zeus: Power, harmony, original cause of creation.
King of the gods and ruler of Mount Olympus; god of the sky, lightning, thunder, law, order and justice. The youngest child of the Titans Cronus and Rhea. Brother and husband of Hera and brother of Poseidon, Hades, Demeter, and Hestia. He had many affairs with goddesses and mortals, such as his sister Demeter, the Titan Leto, mortals Leda and Alcmene, and more. His symbols include the thunderbolt, eagle, oak tree, bull, scepter, and scales.
Poseidon: Balance of the liquid elements, so that there is life.
God of the seas, water, storms, hurricanes, earthquakes and horses. The middle son of Cronus and Rhea. Brother of Zeus and Hades. Married to the Nereid Amphitrite; although, as with many of the male Greek gods, he had many lovers. His symbols include the horse, bull, dolphin, and trident.
Apollo: Warmth for the survival of man and nature ( God of the Sun, God of Light ).
God of light, the Sun, prophecy, philosophy, archery, truth, inspiration, poetry, music, arts, manly beauty, medicine, healing, and plague. The son of Zeus and Leto, and the twin brother of Artemis. His symbols include the Sun, bow and arrow, lyre, swan, and mouse.
Hephaestus: art, creation and refinement of the elements of the world.
Master blacksmith and craftsman of the gods; god of the forge, craftsmanship, invention, fire and volcanoes. The son of Hera, either by Zeus or through parthenogenesis. Married to Aphrodite. His Latin name, Vulcan, gave us the word "volcano." His symbols include fire, anvil, axe, donkey, hammer, tongs, and quail.
Ares: male and patriarchal guardianship. (God of War).
God of war, violence, bloodshed and manly virtues. The son of Zeus and Hera, all the other gods despised him except Aphrodite. His Latin name, Mars, gave us the word "martial." His symbols include the boar, serpent, dog, vulture, spear, and shield.
Ermes: Knowledge and wisdom to complete the human mind. Messenger of the spiritual divine counsels, but also of the wealth of commerce and the God of commerce.
Messenger of the gods; god of travel, commerce, communication, borders, eloquence, diplomacy, thieves and games. He was also the guide of dead souls. The son of Zeus and the nymph Maia. The second-youngest Olympian, just older than Dionysus. His symbols include the caduceus (staff entwined with two snakes), winged sandals and cap, stork, and tortoise (whose shell he used to invent the lyre).
Hera: Subconsciousness, wife of Zeus to maintain harmony and abundance. Goddess of women and family.
Queen of the gods and the goddess of marriage, women, childbirth and family.
The youngest daughter of Cronus and Rhea. Sister and wife of Zeus. Being the goddess of marriage, she frequently tried to get revenge on Zeus' lovers and their children.
Her symbols include the peacock, cuckoo, and cow.
Dimitra: Goddess of agriculture, the eldest mother who embraces her child and cannot leave it.
Goddess of the harvest, fertility, agriculture, nature and the seasons. She presided over grains and the fertility of the earth.
The middle daughter of Cronus and Rhea. Also the lover of Zeus and Poseidon, and the mother of Persephone.
Her symbols include the poppy, wheat, torch, cornucopia, and pig.
Hestia: Goddess of the house, the warm flame that creates the bonds of the family.
Goddess of the hearth, fire and of the right ordering of domesticity and the family; she was born into the first Olympian generation and was one of the original twelve Olympians.
She is the first child of Cronus and Rhea, the elder sister of Hades, Demeter, Poseidon, Hera, and Zeus.
Some lists of the Twelve Olympians omit her in favor of Dionysus, but the speculation that she gave her throne to him in order to keep the peace seems to be modern invention.
Athena: Superconsciousness, Goddess of knowledge and wisdom. Peaceful, very moral, virgin.
Goddess of wisdom, handicraft, and warfare.The daughter of Zeus and the Oceanid Metis, she rose from her father's head fully grown and in full battle armor. Her symbols include the owl and the olive tree.
Artemis: Goddess of dignity. Protector of animals from the intrigues of vengeful people, but also of the hunt.
Goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, virginity, the Moon, archery, childbirth, protection and plague. The daughter of Zeus and Leto, and the twin sister of Apollo. Her symbols include the Moon, horse, deer, hound, she-bear, snake, cypress tree, and bow and arrow.
Aphrodite: Goddess of fertility and beauty. She harmoniously unites the feminine with the masculine and perpetuates the species and nature.
Goddess of beauty, love, desire, and pleasure. In Hesiod's Theogony (188–206), she was born from sea-foam and the severed genitals of Uranus; in Homer's Iliad (5.370–417), she is daughter of Zeus and Dione. She was married to Hephaestus, but bore him no children. She had many lovers, most notably Ares, to whom she bore Harmonia, Phobos, and Deimos. She was also a lover to Adonis and Anchises, to whom she bore Aeneas. She is usually depicted as a naked or semi-nude beautiful woman. Her symbols include myrtle, roses, and the scallop shell. Her sacred animals include doves and sparrows. Her Roman counterpart is Venus.