The Twelve Olympians By Vickie Chao The ancient Greeks worshipped many gods and goddesses. According to 1 their legends, there were twelve major deities. Together, they were called the twelve Olympians. The twelve Olympians did not rule the world from the very beginning. They had a falling-out with the Titans. The two sides went into war that lasted for nearly ten years. When the fight was finally over, the Olympians had won. They threw the Titans to the underworld. Then they moved to live atop Mount Olympus. They ruled the world from there. Of the twelve Olympians, Zeus was the most powerful. He was the leader 2 of the entire band. His word was final. No deity would ever dare to cross him! Zeus had many wives. One of them, Hera, was actually his sister. She was also among the twelve Olympians. Zeus and Hera had several children together. Some of them wound up in this elite group, too. So, besides Zeus and Hera, who else made up the twelve Olympians? 3 The ancient Greeks, apparently, could not answer the question definitively. They had ten specific gods and goddesses that were always on the list. Then, they had four alternate ones for the two remaining spots. Here are the fourteen deities: Later in history, the Romans learned of the Greek deities. They adopted 4 them as their own. They even gave them Roman names. Apollo was the only one in the pack who kept his original name. The ancient Greeks wrote many tales about their deities. In those stories, 5 they would never die, for the gods and goddesses were immortals. But aside from that, they were no different from us, the mortals. Atop Mount Olympus, there were sibling rivalries and family crises all the time. The Greek deities fought among themselves endlessly. Their love and hatred toward each other could surpass the most lurid television show's plot! Copyright © 2014 edHelper Date Name _____________________________ ___________________ The Twelve Olympians
The Twelve Olympians By Vickie Chao 1 The ancient Greeks worshipped many gods and goddesses. According to their legends, there were twelve major deities. Together, they were called the twelve Olympians. The twelve Olympians did not rule the world from the very beginning. They had a falling-out with the Titans. The two sides went into war that lasted for nearly ten years. When the fight was finally over, the Olympians had won. They threw the Titans to the underworld. Then they moved to live atop Mount Olympus. They ruled the world from there. 2 Of the twelve Olympians, Zeus was the most powerful. He was the leader of the entire band. His word was final. No deity would ever dare to cross him! Zeus had many wives. One of them, Hera, was actually his sister. She was also among the twelve Olympians. Zeus and Hera had several children together. Some of them wound up in this elite group, too. 3 So, besides Zeus and Hera, who else made up the twelve Olympians? The ancient Greeks, apparently, could not answer the question definitively. They had ten specific gods and goddesses that were always on the list. Then, they had four alternate ones for the two remaining spots. Here are the fourteen deities: 4 Later in history, the Romans learned of the Greek deities. They adopted them as their own. They even gave them Roman names. Apollo was the only one in the pack who kept his original name. 5 The ancient Greeks wrote many tales about their deities. In those stories, they would never die, for the gods and goddesses were immortals. But aside from that, they were no different from us, the mortals. Atop Mount Olympus, there were sibling rivalries and family crises all the time. The Greek deities fought among themselves endlessly. Their love and hatred toward each other could surpass the most lurid television show's plot! Copyright © 2014 edHelper Name _____________________________ Date ___________________ The Twelve Olympians
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