The Twelve Olympians (οι Δώδεκα Θεοί του Ολύμπου) form the divine council that governs the Greek world from the summit of Mount Olympus. Learning their names in Greek is a double investment: it is living vocabulary — Greeks today still call Zeus «Δίας», Αθηνά gave the capital its name, and Άρης, Αφροδίτη and Ερμής name the planets as well as the gods — and it is the key that unlocks the whole of mythology. Here is the canonical pantheon, with the names in Modern Greek exactly as you will meet them in our readings.
The table of the Twelve
| Greek name | Transliteration | Domain | Attributes | Roman equivalent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Δίας (anc. Ζεύς) | Días | Sky, thunder, king of the gods | Thunderbolt, eagle, oak | Jupiter |
| Ήρα | Íra | Marriage, queen of the gods | Peacock, diadem, sceptre | Juno |
| Ποσειδώνας | Posidónas | Sea, earthquakes, horses | Trident, dolphin, horse | Neptune |
| Δήμητρα | Dímitra | Agriculture, the harvest | Ear of wheat, torch | Ceres |
| Αθηνά | Athiná | Wisdom, strategic war, craft | Owl, aegis, olive tree | Minerva |
| Απόλλωνας | Apóllonas | Music, prophecy, light, medicine | Lyre, bow, laurel | Apollo |
| Άρτεμη (anc. Ἄρτεμις) | Ártemi | The hunt, wilderness, young girls | Bow, deer, crescent moon | Diana |
| Άρης | Áris | Brutal war | Spear, helmet, dog | Mars |
| Αφροδίτη | Afrodíti | Love, beauty | Dove, myrtle, shell | Venus |
| Ήφαιστος | Ífaistos | Fire, the forge, metalwork | Hammer, anvil, tongs | Vulcan |
| Ερμής | Ermís | Messenger of the gods, travellers, trade, cunning | Winged sandals, caduceus, petasos | Mercury |
| Εστία or Διόνυσος | Estía / Diónysos | The hearth / wine, theatre, ecstasy | Hearth flame / thyrsus, vine, panther | Vesta / Bacchus |
The twelfth seat varies by source: ancient lists most often include Hestia (Εστία), goddess of the hearth, but a late tradition holds that she gave up her place to Dionysus (Διόνυσος) — and it is he whom most modern lists keep. Both answers are therefore correct; what matters is knowing that the first eleven do not change. Note too that Hades (Άδης), though brother to Zeus and Poseidon, is not an Olympian: he reigns below the earth over the realm of the dead — a realm of shades where all the departed go, not a place of punishment.
The three great brothers
Zeus (Δίας) is the youngest son of Cronus who became king of the gods: saved by his mother Rhea from a father who devoured his children, he freed his brothers and sisters and led the victorious war against the Titans. His thunderbolt is the supreme weapon, the sky his domain, and his authority — frequently contested by Hera — structures the entire pantheon. Read his story in Cronus and Zeus.
Poseidon (Ποσειδώνας) received the sea as his share. A god of stormy temper, "earth-shaker", he unleashes tempests and earthquakes; it is his anger, after the blinding of his son Polyphemus, that pursues Odysseus for ten years — see Odysseus and the Cyclops.
Hades (Άδης) received the underworld. Husband of Persephone, whom he carried off from her mother Demeter — an abduction that explains the cycle of the seasons in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter — he is an implacable but just sovereign who rarely leaves his kingdom. His founding myth is in Persephone.
The gods in the myths you can read in Greek
- Athena punishes a weaver's pride in Arachne.
- Apollo pursues a nymph who becomes a laurel in Apollo and Daphne.
- Artemis punishes an indiscreet hunter in Actaeon.
- Hermes shows his cunning from the cradle in Hermes the thief.
- Hera reduces a nymph to silence in Hera and Echo.
- Aphrodite brings a statue to life in Pygmalion.
- Dionysus turns pirates into dolphins in Dionysus and the pirates.
10 words to keep: the gods' names in Modern Greek
These names are used as they stand in the Greek of today — in museums, newspapers, street names and on the sterns of boats:
- ο Δίας (o Días) — Zeus; also the Greek name of the planet Jupiter.
- η Ήρα (i Íra) — Hera.
- ο Ποσειδώνας (o Posidónas) — Poseidon.
- η Αθηνά (i Athiná) — Athena; do not confuse it with η Αθήνα, the city of Athens: only the stress moves!
- ο Απόλλωνας (o Apóllonas) — Apollo.
- η Άρτεμη (i Ártemi) — Artemis.
- η Αφροδίτη (i Afrodíti) — Aphrodite; also the planet Venus.
- ο Ερμής (o Ermís) — Hermes; also the planet Mercury.
- ο Άρης (o Áris) — Ares; also the planet Mars, and a common first name.
- ο Διόνυσος (o Diónysos) — Dionysus; the first name Διονύσης (Dionysis) derives from it.
Notice the article: ο for the gods, η for the goddesses — a first grammar lesson offered by Olympus itself. To meet all these names in context, browse our myths in easy Greek sorted by level: every god appears in the stories that made him immortal.