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The Mexico Middle School and 6th grade social studies teacher Jeff Baum, thank the following sponsors who have made this “Ancient Greek and Roman Gods/Goddesses Museum” a reality. Due to their sponsorship of coins, suggestions and advice in creating this museum our students will be able to obtain valuable hands on experiences from the Ancient World some 2000 years ago.
ZEUSZeuVRoman Name: Jupiter Zeus was the supreme god of the Olympians. He was the father of the heroes Perseus and Heracles, the latter of whom once wrestled him to a draw. Zeus was the youngest son of the Titans Cronus and Rhea. When he was born, his father Cronus intended to swallow him as he had all of Zeus's siblings: Poseidon, Hades, Hestia, Demeter and Hera. But Rhea hid the newborn in a cave on Mount Dicte in Crete. When he had grown up, Zeus caused Cronus to vomit up his sisters and brothers, and these gods joined him in fighting for control of the universe from the Titans and Cronus, their king. Having vanquished his father and the other Titans, Zeus imprisoned most of them in the underworld of Tartarus. Then he and his brothers Poseidon and Hades divided up creation. Poseidon received the sea as his domain, Hades got the Underworld and Zeus took the sky. Zeus also was accorded supreme authority on earth and on Mount Olympus.
HERAHraRoman Name: Juno Hera was the goddess of marriage. She was the wife of Zeus and Queen of the Olympians. Hera hated the great hero Heracles since he was the son of her husband Zeus and a mortal woman. When he was still an infant, she sent snakes to attack him in his crib. Later she stirred up the Amazons against him when he was on one of his quests. On the other hand, Hera aided the hero Jason, who would never have retrieved the Golden Fleece without her sponsorship. In Greek mythology, Hera was the reigning female goddess of Olympus because she was Zeus's wife.
POSEIDONPoseidwnRoman Name: Neptune Poseidon was the god of the sea, earthquakes and horses. Although he was officially one of the supreme gods of Mount Olympus, he spent most of his time in his watery domain. Poseidon was brother to Zeus and Hades. These three gods divided up creation. Zeus was ruler of the sky, Hades had dominion of the Underworld and Poseidon was given all water, both fresh and salt. Poseidon was known to drive his chariot through the waves in unquestioned dominance. Poseidon had married a sea-nymph Amphitrite. The Olympians agreed that the earth itself would be ruled jointly, with Zeus as king. This led to a number of territorial disputes among the gods.
HADES `AdhVRoman Name: Pluto The god Hades, son of the Titans Cronus and Rhea, received the Underworld for his realm, when his brother gods, Zeus and Poseidon, received dominion of the sky and sea. The Cyclops gave Hades the helmet of invisibility to help in the gods' battle with the Titans. Perseus later borrowed this helmet to decapitate Medusa. The name Hades means "The Invisible." Hades is the enemy of all life, gods, and men. Hades has a watchdog Cerberus, the key to the Underworld and a two-pronged pick-axe. The most familiar myth about Hades is the story of the abduction of Persephone by Hades.
HESTIA`EstiaRoman Name: Vesta HESTIA was the goddess of the hearth and the home. As the goddess of the family hearth she also presided over the cooking of bread and the preparation of the family meal. In myth Hestia was the first born child of Kronos and Rhea who was swallowed by her father at birth. Zeus later forced the old Titan to disgorge Hestia and her siblings. As the first to be swallowed she was also the last to be disgorged, and so was named as both the eldest and youngest of the six Kronides. When the gods Apollo and Poseidon sought for her hand in marriage, Hestia refused and asked Zeus to let her remain single. He agreed and she took her place at his royal hearth.
DEMETERDhmhthrRoman Name: Ceres Demeter was the goddess of agriculture. She was the sister of Zeus and the mother of Persephone. Persephone was gathering flowers in a meadow one day when a huge crack opened up in the earth and Hades, King of the Dead, emerged from the Underworld. He seized Persephone and carried her off in his chariot, back down to his realm below, where she became his queen. Demeter was heartbroken. She wandered the length and breadth of the earth in search of her daughter, during which time the crops withered and it became perpetual winter. At length Hades was persuaded to surrender Persephone for one half of every year, the spring and summer seasons when flowers bloom and the earth bears fruit once more. The half year that Persephone spends in the Underworld as Hades' queen coincides with the barren season.
PERSEPHONEPersefonhRoman Name: Persipina PERSEPHONE was the goddess queen of the underworld, wife of the god Hades. She was also the goddess of spring growth, who was worshipped alongside her mother Demeter. Once upon a time when she was playing in a flowery meadow, Persephone was seized by Hades and carried off to the underworld as his bride. Her mother Demeter despaired at her disappearance and searched for her throughout the world. When she learned that Zeus had conspired in her daughter's abduction she was furious, and refused to let the earth fruit until Persephone was returned. Zeus consented, but because the girl had tasted of the food of Hades, she was forced to forever spend a part of the year with her husband in the underworld. Her annual return to the earth in spring was marked by the flowering of the meadows and the sudden growth of the new grain. Her return to the underworld in winter, conversely, saw the dying down of plants and the halting of growth.
ATHENAAqhna Roman Name: Minerva Athena is the goddess of crafts, domestic arts and also those of war. She was the patron goddess of Athens. Her symbol was the owl. She had come to be regarded as a goddess of wisdom. Zeus was once married to Metis, a daughter of Ocean who was renowned for her wisdom. When Metis became pregnant, Zeus was warned by Earth that a son born to Metis would overthrow him, just as he had taken his own father's throne. So Zeus swallowed Metis. In time he was overcome with a splitting headache and summoned help from the craftsman god Hephaestus. Hephaestus cleaved Zeus's forehead with an ax, and Athena sprang forth fully armed.
APOLLOApollwnRoman Name: Apollo Apollo was the god of prophesy, music and healing. Like most of his fellow Olympians, Apollo did not hesitate to intervene in human affairs. When someone died suddenly, he was said to have been struck down by one of Apollo's arrows. Homer's epic of the Trojan War begins with the god causing a plague by raining arrows down upon the Greek camp. As god of music, Apollo is often depicted playing the lyre. He did not invent this instrument, however, but was given it by Hermes in compensation for cattle theft. Some say that Apollo did invent the lute, although he was best known for his skill on the lyre.
ARTEMISArtemiVRoman Name: Diana Artemis was the goddess of the hunt. She helped women in childbirth but also brought sudden death with her arrows. Artemis and her brother Apollo were the children of Zeus and Leto. In some versions of their myth, Artemis was born first and helped her mother to deliver Apollo. Artemis is generally depicted as a young woman clad in buckskins, carrying a bow and a quiver of arrows. She is often accompanied by wild creatures such as a stag or she-bear.
HEPHAESTUS`HfaistoVRoman Name: Vulcan Hephaestus was the lame god of fire and crafts. He was a blacksmith. Hephaestus was the son of Zeus and Hera or, in some accounts, of Hera alone. He limped because he was born lame, which caused his mother to throw him off Mount Olympus. Or in other accounts he interceded in a fight between Zeus and Hera, and Zeus took him by the foot and threw him from Olympus to the earth far below. Hephaestus also created the first woman, Pandora, at the command of Zeus, in retaliation for the various tricks by which the Titan Prometheus had benefited mortal men at the expense of the gods.
APHRODITEAfrodithRoman Name: Venus Aphrodite was the goddess of love, beauty and fertility. She was also a protectress of sailors. The poet Hesiod said that Aphrodite was born from sea-foam. Homer, on the other hand, said that she was the daughter of Zeus and Dione. The love goddess was married to the homely craftsman-god Hephaestus. She was unfaithful to him with Ares, and Homer relates in the Odyssey how Hephaestus had his revenge.
EROSErwVRoman Name: Cupid EROS was the mischievous god of love and constant companion of the goddess Aphrodite. It was Eros who lighted the flame of love in the hearts of the gods and men, armed either with a bow and arrows or else a flaming torch. He was also the object of cult. Eros was often portrayed as a child, the disobedient, but the fiercely loyal, son of Aphrodite.
HERMES`ErmhVRoman Name: Mercury Hermes was the messenger of the gods and guide of dead souls to the Underworld. A prankster and inventive genius from birth, Hermes aided the heroes Odysseus and Perseus in their quests. Hermes was the son of Zeus and a mountain nymph. Hermes was known for his helpfulness to mankind. When Perseus set out to face the Gorgon Medusa, Hermes aided him in the quest. According to one version of the myth, he loaned the hero his own magic sandals, which allowed the wearer the ability to fly. Some say that Hermes loaned Perseus a helmet of invisibility as well.
DIONYSOSDionusoVRoman Name: Bacchus The god of wine. Dionysos was the son of Zeus and the mortal heroine Semele. Dionysos rescued Ariadne after she had been abandoned by Theseus. Dionysos also saved his mother from the Underworld, after Zeus showed her his true nature as storm god and consumed her in lightning. It was Dionysos who granted Midas the power to turn whatever he touched into gold, then was kind enough to take the power back when it proved inconvenient.
ARESArhVRoman Name: Mars Ares was the god of war. Though an immortal deity, he was beaten by Heracles in battle and was almost killed when stuffed into a jar by two giants. In appearance, Ares was handsome and cruel. He is often depicted carrying a bloodstained spear. His throne on Mount Olympus was said to be covered in human skin. The Roman god Mars, with whom Ares was identified, was the father of Romulus and Remus, the mythological founders of Rome. Thus he was more important to the Romans than his Greek counterpart. He was also more dignified.
HELIOS`HlioVRoman Name: Sol HELIOS was the Titan god of the sun. He was also the guardian of oaths and the god of gift of sight. Helios was depicted as a handsome, and usually beardless, man clothed in purple robes and crowned with the shining aureole of the sun. His sun-chariot was drawn by four steeds, sometimes winged. Helios was identified with several gods including fiery Hephaestus and light-bringing Apollo.
SATURNRoman Name: Saturn Saturn was a major Roman god of agriculture and harvest. In medieval times he was called the Roman God of Agriculture, Justice & Strength, in his right hand he would hold a sickle & in his left hand he would hold a bunch of wheat stalks. Saturn was the father of Ceres, Jupiter, and Veritas, among others. Saturn had a temple on the Forum Romanum which contained the Royal Treasury. Saturn is the namesake of Saturday (dies Saturni), the only day of the week to retain its Roman name in English.
ASKLEPIOSAsklhpioVRoman Name: Aesculapius Asklepios (or Asclepius) was the god of medicine and reputed ancestor of the Asklepiades, the ancient Greek doctors' guild. He was the son of Apollon and the Trikkaian princess Koronis. His mother died in labour and was laid out on the pyre to be consumed, but his father rescued the child, cutting him from her womb. From this he received the name Asklepios "to cut open." The boy was raised by the kentauros (centaur) Kheiron who instructed him in the art of medicine. Asklepios grew so skilled in the craft that he was able to restore the dead to life. However, because this was a crime against the natural order, Zeus destroyed him with a thunderbolt. Asklepios was depicted as a kindly, bearded man holding a serpent-entwined staff.
HeraklesHraklῆς Roman Name: Hercules Heracles is the son Zeus and Alcmene. His gift was fabulous strength; he strangled two serpents in his cradle, and killed a lion before manhood. Heracles' main opposition was Hera. She drove him mad, so he killed his children and brother's. He exiled himself and consulted the oracle of Apollo. The oracle told him to perform twelve labors. These twelve labors were: Kill the lion of Nemea.Kill the nine-headed Hydra. Two new heads would grow on the Hydra from each fresh wound, and one was immortal. Heracles burned the eight and put the immortal one under a rock. Capture the Ceryneian Hind.Kill the wild boar of Erymanthus.Clean the Augean Stables of King Augeas. He succeeded only by diverting a nearby river to wash the muck away. Kill the carnivorous birds of Stymphalis. Capture the wild bull of Crete.Capture the man-eating mares of Diomedes.Obtain the girdle of Hippolyta, the queen of the Amazons. Capture the oxen of Geryon.Take the golden apples from the garden of the Hesperides, which was guarded by the dragon Ladon. Heracles tricked Atlas into getting he apples by offering to hold the Earth for Atlas. When he returned with the apples, Heracles asked him to take the Earth for a moment so he could go get a pillow for his aching shoulders. Atlas did so, and Heracles left with his apples. Bring Cerberus, the three-headed dog of Hades, to the surface world.
HygeiaUgeiaRoman Name: Salus Hygeia was a daughter of Asclepius and granddaughter of Apollo. She was the goddess of health, cleanliness and sanitation and afterwards, the moon. She also played an important part in her father's cult. While her father was more directly associated with healing, she was associated with the prevention of sickness and the continuation of good health. Her name is the source of the word "hygiene".
TelesphorosTelesforoV Telesphoros was a son of Asclepius. He frequently accompanied his sister, Hygieia. He was a dwarf whose face was always covered with a cowl. He wore a Phrygian cap and sometimes held a scroll or tablet in his hands. He symbolized recovery from illness, as his name means "bringing fulfillment" in Greek. He likely originated circa 100 AD in Pergamon as part of the large Asclepian cult there.
SecuritasRoman Name: Securitas Securitas was a Roman goddess who was the personification of security and stability, especially the security of the Roman Empire. Romans were convinced that the goddess would guarantee the safe continued existence of the empire. Securitas is usually depicted leaning on a column or seated.
PanPan Pan was the god of shepherds and flocks, of mountain wilds, hunting and rustic music. He was depicted as a man with the horns, legs and tail of a goat, and with thick beard, snub nose and pointed ears. He wandered the hills and mountains of Arkadia playing his pan-pipes and chasing Nymphs. His unseen presence aroused feelings of panic in men passing through the remote, lonely places of the wilds.
