1. Learn about the Greek gods.

• Draw pictures of the twelve Olympian gods.
• Run off this worksheet from Random Home in which you compare Greek and Roman gods.  http://www.randomhouse.com/teachers/magicth/pdf/GreekRomans.pdf

The Olympian Gods

The Greeks believed that Mount Olympus was the home of the gods. Mount Olympus was the tallest mountain in Greece. The Greeks worshipped twelve major gods and goddesses. Zeus was considered the most powerful of the Greek gods. He was not the creator of the world though. The Greeks thought there had been several generations of gods. Zeus had a mother and father as well as a number of sons and daughters. Some of these gods were mortal and others were immortal.

The Twelve Olympians

Name of God	Title	Parents	Sacred Objects	Roman Name	Additional Information
Zeus	King of the Gods, God of the Heavens	Cronus and Rhea	eagle, thunderbolt, shield, oak tree	Jupiter
Aphrodite	Goddess of Love and Beauty	Zeus and Dione	dove, goose, sparrow, myrtle	Venus	very beautiful - wife of Hephaestus
Poseidon	God of the Sea	Cronus and Rhea	trident, horse, bull	Neptune	lived in a beautiful palace under the sea
Ares	God of War	Zeus and Hera	vulture, dog	Mars	represented the brute side of war
Hades	God of the Underworld	Cronus and Rhea	helmet, metal, jewels	Pluto	wife Persephone
Hephaestus	God of metals and fires who rules over volcanoes	Zeus and Hera	fire, blacksmith's hammer	Vulcan	only ugly god - lame
Athena	Goddess of Wisdom, of the City, of War, of Arts and Crafts	Zeus and Metis	owl, shield, olive tree   - favorite city was Athens	Minerva	proud goddess with blue-green eyes
Artemis	Goddess of the Moon, the Hunt, of Children	Zeus and Leto	stag, crescent moon, cypress - favorite animal was deer	Diana	twin sister of Apollo
Apollo	God of Light and Truth, Healing, Archery, Music Zeus and Leto	Zeus and Leto	crow, dolphin, laurel, lyre	Apollo	twin brother of Artemis - tall and well-built with long dark curls
Demeter	Goddess of the Harvest, of Agriculture	Cronus and Rhea	wheat	Ceres
Hera	Queen of the Gods	Cronus and Rhea	peacock, cow	Juno	Zeus's sister and wife - one of the most beautiful goddesses - mean natured
Hermes	God of Motion, Sleep and Dreams, Travelers, Thieves	Zeus and Maia	wand, winged sandals, winged helmet,	Mercury	master thief

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