The Olympians

The Olympians are a group of 12 gods who ruled after the overthow of the Titans. All
the Olympians are related in some way. They are named after their dwelling place
Mount Olympus.

Zeus
Zeus overthew his Father Cronus. He then drew lots with his brothers Poseidon and
Hades. Zeus won the draw and became the supreme ruler of the gods. He is lord of
the sky, the rain god. His weapon is a thunderbolt which he hurls at those who
displease him. He is married to Hera but, is famous for his many affairs. He is also
known to punish those that lie or break oaths.

Zeus’ Children
 Ares
 Eris
 Athena
 Apollo
 Aphrodite (maybe)
 Hermes
 Artemis
 Hephaestus (maybe)
 Persephone
 Hebe
 Muses
 Dionysus
 Epaphus
 Minos I
 Rhadamanthus

Poseidon

Poseidon is the brother of Zeus. After the overthow of their Father Cronus he drew
lots with Zeus and Hades, another brother, for shares of the world. His prize was to
become lord of the sea. He was widely worshiped by seamen. He married Amphitrite,
a granddaughter of the Titon Oceanus.

At one point he desired Demeter. To put him off Demeter asked him to make the
most beautiful animal that the world had ever seen. So to impress her Poseidon
created the first horse. In some accounts his first attempts were unsucessful and
created a varity of other animals in his quest. By the time the horse was created his
passion for Demeter had cooled.

His weapon is a trident, which can shake the earth, and shatter any object. He is
second only to Zeus in power amongst the gods. He has a difficult quarrelsome
personality. He was greedy. He had a series of disputes with other gods when he
tried to take over their cities.
Hades
Hades is the brother of Zeus. After the overthow of their Father Cronus he drew lots
with Zeus and Poseidon, another brother, for shares of the world. He had the worst
draw and was made lord of the underworld, ruling over the dead. He is a greedy god
who is greatly concerned with increasing his subjects. Those whose calling increase
the number of dead are seen favorably. The Erinnyes are welcomed guests. He is
exceedingly disinclined to allow any of his subjects leave.

He is also the god of wealth, due to the precious metals mined from the earth. He has
a helmet that makes him invisable. He rarely leaves the underworld. He is unpitying
and terrible, but not capricious. His wife is Persephone whom Hades abducted. He is
the King of the dead but, death itself is another god, Thanatos.

Hestia
Hestia is Zeus sister. She is a virgin goddess. She does not have a distinct
personality. She plays no part in myths. She is the Goddess of the Hearth, the symbol
of the house around which a new born child is carried before it is received into the
family. Each city had a public hearth sacred to Hestia, where the fire was never
allowed to go out.

Hera
Hera is Zeus wife and sister. She was raised by the Titans Ocean and Tethys. She is
the protector of marrage and takes special care of married women.

Hera's marriage was founded in strife with Zeus and continued in strife. Zeus courted
her unsuccesfully. He then turned to trickery, changing himself into disheveled
cuckoo. Hera feeling sorry for the bird held it to her breast to warm it. Zues then
resumed his normal form and taking advantage of the suprise he gained, raped her.
She then married him to cover her shame.

Once when Zeus was being partcularly overbearing to the other gods, Hera
convinced them to join in a revolt. Her part in the revolt was to drug Zeus, and in this
she was successful. The gods then bound the sleeping Zeus to a couch taking care to
tie many knots. This done they began to quarrel over the next step. Briareus
overheard the arguements. Still full of gratitude to Zeus, Briareus slipped in and was
able to quickly untie the many knots. Zeus sprang from the couch and grapped up his
thuderbolt. The gods fell to their knees begging and pleading for mercy. He seized
Hera and hung her from the sky with gold chains. She wept in pain all night but, none
of the others dared to interfere. Her weeping kept Zeus up and the next morning he
agreed to release her if she would swear never to rebel again. She had little choice
but, to agree. While she never again rebeled, she often intrigued against Zeus's plans
and she was often able to outwit him.

Most stories concerning Hera have to do with her jealous revenge for Zeus's
infidelities. Her sacred animals are the cow and the peacock. Her favorite city is
Argos.

Hera’s Children

 Ares
 Eris
 Hephaestus
 Hebe

Ares
Ares is the son of Zeus and Hera. He was disliked by both parents. He is the god of
war. He is considered murderous and bloodstained but, also a coward. When caught
in an act of adultery with Aphrodite her husband Hephaestus is able publically
ridicule him. His bird is the vulture. His animal is the dog.

Athena
Athena is the daughter of Zeus. She sprang full grown in armour from his forehead,
thus has no mother. She is fierce and brave in battle but, only wars to defined the
state and home from outside enemies. She is the goddess of the city, handicrafts,
and agriculture. She invented the bridle, which permitted man to tame horses, the
trumpet, the flute, the pot, the rake, the plow, the yoke, the ship, and the chariot.
She is the embodiment of wisdom, reason, and purity. She was Zeus's favorite child
and was allowed to use his weapons including his thunderbolt. Her favorite city is
Athens. Her tree is the olive. The owl is her bird. She is a virgin goddess.

Athena’s Child
• Aeneas

Apollo
Apollo is the son of Zeus and Leto. His twin sister is Artemis. He is the god of music,
playing a golden lyre. The Archer, far shooting with a silver bow. The god of healing
who taught man medicine. The god of light. The god of truth, who can not speak a lie.

One of Apollo's more importaint daily tasks is to harness his chariot with four horses
an drive the Sun across the sky.

He is famous for his oracle at Delphi. People travled to it from all over the greek
world to devine the future.

His tree was the laurel. The crow his bird. The dolphin his animal.

Aphrodite
Aphrodite is the goddess of love, desire and beauty. In addition to her natural gifts
she has a magical girdle that compels anyone she wishes to desire her. There are two
accounts of her birth.

One says she is the daughter of Zeus and Dione.

The other goes back to when Cronus castrated Uranus and tossed his severed
genitles into the sea. Aphrodite then arose from the sea foam on a giant scallop and
walked to shore in Cyprus.

She is the wife of Hephaestus. The myrtle is her tree. The dove, the swann, and the
sparrow her birds.

Hermes
Hermes is the son of Zeus and Maia. He is Zeus messenger. He is the fastest of the
gods. He wears winged sandals, a winged hat, and carries a magic wand. He is the
god of thieves and god of commerce. He is the guide for the dead to go to the
underworld. He invented the lyre, the pipes, the musical scale, astronomy , weights
and measures, boxing, gymnastics, and the care of olive trees.

Hermes’ Child

• Pan

Artemis
Artemis is the daughter of Zeus and Leto. Her twin brother is Apollo. She is the lady
of the wild things. She is the huntsman of the gods. She is the protector of the young.
Like Apollo she hunts with silver arrows. She became associated with the moon. She
is a virgin goddess, and the goddess of chastity. She also presides over childbirth,
which may seem odd for a virgin, but goes back to causing Leto no pain when she
was born. She became associated with Hecate. The cypress is her tree. All wild
animals are scared to her, especially the deer.

Hephaestus

Hephaestus is the son of Zeus and Hera. Sometimes it is said that Hera alone
produced him and that he has no father. He is the only god to be physically ugly. He
is also lame. Accounts as to how he became lame vary. Some say that Hera, upset by
having an ugly child, flung him from Mount Olympus into the sea, breaking his legs.
Others that he took Hera's side in an arguement with Zeus and Zeus flung him off
Mount Olympus. He is the god of fire and the forge. He is the smith and armorer of
the gods. He uses a volcano as his forge. He is the patron god of both smiths and
weavers. He is kind and peace loving. His wife is Aphrodite. Sometimes his wife is
identified as Aglaia.

Creation of the World

In the begining there was only chaos. Then out of the void appeared Erebus, the
unknowable place where death dwells, and Night. All else was empty, silent, endless,
darkness. Then somehow Love was born bringing a start of order. From Love came
Light and Day. Once there was Light and Day, Gaea, the earth appeared.

Then Erebus slept with Night, who gave birth to Ether, the heavenly light, and to Day
the earthly light. Then Night alone produced Doom, Fate, Death, Sleep, Dreams,
Nemesis, and others that come to man out of darkness.

Meanwhile Gaea alone gave birth to Uranus, the heavens. Uranus became Gaea's
mate covering her on all sides. Together they produced the three Cyclopes, the three
Hecatoncheires, and twelve Titans.

However, Uranus was a bad father and husband. He hated the Hecatoncheires. He
imprisoned them by pushing them into the hidden places of the earth, Gaea's womb.
This angered Gaea and she ploted against Uranus. She made a flint sickle and tried
to get her children to attack Uranus. All were too afraid except, the youngest Titan,
Cronus.
Gaea and Cronus set up an ambush of Uranus as he lay with Gaea at night. Cronus
grabed his father and castrated him, with the stone sickle, throwing the severed
genitales into the ocean. The fate of Uranus is not clear. He either died, withdrew
from the earth, or exiled himself to Italy. As he departed he promised that Cronus
and the Titans would be punished. From his spilt blood came the Giants, the Ash Tree
Nymphs, and the Erinnyes. From the sea foam where his genitales fell came
Aphrodite.

Cronus became the next ruler. He imprisoned the Cyclopes and the Hecatoncheires in
Tartarus. He married his sister Rhea, under his rule the Titans had many offspring. He
ruled for many ages. However, Gaea and Uranus both had prophesied that he would
be overthrown by a son. To avoid this Cronus swallowed each of his children as they
were born. Rhea was angry at the treatment of the children and ploted against
Cronus. When it came time to give birth to her sixth child, Rhea hid herself, then she
left the child to be raised by nymphs. To concel her act she wrapped a stone in
swaddling cloths and passed it off as the baby to Cronus, who swallowed it.

This child was Zeus. He grew into a handsome youth on Crete. He consulted Metis on
how to defeat Cronus. She prepaired a drink for Cronus design to make him vomit up
the other children. Rhea convinced Cronus to accept his son and Zeus was allowed to
return to Mount Olympus as Cronus's cupbearer. This gave Zeus the opertunity to slip
Cronus the specially prepaired drink. This worked as planned and the other five
children were vomitted up. Being gods they were unharmed. They were thankful to
Zeus and made him their leader.

Cronus was yet to be defeated. He and the Titans, except Prometheus, Epimetheus,
and Oceanus, fought to retain their power. Atlas became their leader in battle and it
looked for some time as though they would win and put the young gods down.
However, Zeus was cunning. He went down to Tartarus and freed the Cyclopes and
the Hecatoncheires. Prometheus joined Zeus as well. He returned to battle with his
new allies. The Cyclopes provided Zeus with lighting bolts for weapons. The
Hecatoncheires he set in ambush armed with boulders. With the time right, Zeus
retreated drawing the Titans into the Hecatoncheires's ambush. The Hecatoncheires
rained down hundreds of boulders with such a fury the Titans thought the mountains
were falling on them. They broke and ran giving Zeus victory.

Zeus exiled the Titans who had fought against him into Tartarus. Except for Atlas,
who was singled out for the special punishment of holding the world on his shoulders.

However, even after this victory Zeus was not safe. Gaea angry that her children had
been imprisoned gave birth to a last offspring, Typhoeus. Typhoeus was so fearsome
that most of the gods fled. However, Zeus faced the monster and flinging his lighting
bolts was able to kill it. Typhoeus was burried under Mount Etna in Sicily.

Much later a final challenge to Zeus rule was made by the Giants. They went so far as
to attempt to invade Mount Olympus, piling mountain upon mountain in an effort to
reach the top. But, the gods had grown strong and with the help of Heracles the
Giants were subdued or killed.

The Creation of Man by Prometheus

Prometheus and Epimetheus were spared imprisonment in Tatarus because they had
not fought with their fellow Titans during the war with the Olympians. They were
given the task of creating man. Prometheus shaped man out of mud, and Athena
breathed life into his clay figure.

Prometheus had assigned Epimetheus the task of giving the creatures of the earth
thier various qualities, such as swiftness, cunning, strength, fur, wings. Unfortunately,
by the time he got to man Epimetheus had given all the good qualities out and there
were none left for man. So Prometheus decided to make man stand upright as the
gods did and to give them fire.

Prometheus loved man more then the Olympians, who had banished most of his
family to Tartarus. So when Zeus decreed that man must present a portion of each
animal they scarified to the gods Prometheus decided to trick Zeus. He created two
piles, one with the bones wrapped in juicy fat, the other with the good meat hidden in
the hide. He then bade Zeus to pick. Zeus picked the bones. Since he had given his
word Zeus had to accept that as his share for future sacrafices. In his anger over the
trick he took fire away from man. However, Prometheus lit a torch from the sun and
brought it back again to man. Zeus was enraged that man again had fire. He decided
to inflict a terrable punishment on both man and Prometheus.

To punish man, Zeus had Hephaestus create a mortal of stunning beauty. The gods
gave the mortal many gifts of wealth. He then had Hermes give the mortal a
deceptive heart and a lying tongue. This creation was Pandora, the first women. A
final gift was a jar which Pandora was forbidden to open. Thus, completed Zeus sent
Pandora down to Epimetheus who was staying amongst the men.

Prometheus had warned Epimetheus not to accept gifts from Zeus but, Pandora's
beauty was too great and he allowed her to stay. Eventually, Pandora's curiosity
about the jar she was forbidden to open became to great. She opened the jar and out
flew all manor of evils, sorrows, plagues, and misfortunes. However, the bottom of
the jar held one good thing - hope.

Zeus was angry at Prometheus for three things: being tricked on scarifices, stealing
fire for man, and for refusing to tell Zeus which of Zeus's children would dethrone
him. Zeus had his servants, Force and Violence, seize Prometheus, take him to the
Caucasus Mountains, and chain him to a rock with unbreakable adamanite chains.
Here he was tormented day and night by a giant eagle tearing at his liver. Zeus gave
Prometheus two ways out of this torment. He could tell Zeus who the mother of the
child that would dethrone him was. Or meet two conditions: First, that an immortal
must volunteer to die for Prometheus. Second, that a mortal must kill the eagle and
unchain him. Eventually, Chiron the Centaur agreed to die for him and Heracles killed
the eagle and unbound him.

Zeus Lovers

As the sky god Zeus had easy access to the women of the world and took full
advantage of it. Also, his power as a supreme god made him difficult to resist. Prior to
his marrage to Hera he was married first to Metis, then Themis. He was interested in
Demeter but she resisted him. His third wife was Mnemosyne. The list of lovers after
his final marrage, to Hera, is considerable:

• Europa
• Io
• Semele
Europa
Europa was the daughter of the King Agenor of Sidon. She had the continent of
Europe named for her. Somewhat miraculesly Hera was distracted during her affair
with Zeus and never punished her for it.

One night Europa had a dream. In this dream two continents, which were in the forms
of women were arguing over Europa. Asia maintained that since Europa had been
born in Asia she belonged to it. The other continent, which was nameless, said that
her birth was not important, that Zeus would give her to it.

It was early morning, disturbed by the dream Europa did not go back to sleep. She
summoned her companions, who were all daughters of nobility and of her age. It was
a beautiful day and they went off gathering flowers by the sea. Zeus noticed this
charming group, particularly Europa, who was the prettest of the maidens. Some say
that Eros, induced him into action with one of his darts. Although, Zeus often made
due with self motivation. In any case, Zeus appeared to the group as a white bull. A
white bull more beautiful then any other. A bull that smelled of flowers, and lowed
musically. A bull so obviously gentle that all the maidens rushed to stroke and pet it.

The bull laid down in front of Europa. She slid on to its back. Instantly, the bull
charged off, plunging into the sea, and began to swim rapidly from the shore. Europa
saw that a procesion had joined them, Nereids riding dolphins, Triton blowing his
horn, even Poseidon. From this she realized that the bull must be a god. She pleaded
with him to pity her. Zeus spoke to her and explained his love. He took her to Create,
where he had been raised. He promised that she would bear him many famous sons.

Her sons included Minos I and Rhadamanthus.

Io
Zeus fell in love with Io and seduced her. To try to keep Hera from noticing he
covered the world with a thick blanket of clouds. This backfired, arousing Hera's
suspicions. She came down from Mount Olympus and begain dispersing the clouds.
Zeus did some quick thinking and changed Io's form from being a lovely maiden. So
as the clouds dispersed Hera found Zeus standing next to a white heifer. He then
swore that he had never seen the cow before, it had just sprang right out of the
earth. Seeing right through this Hera complimented the cow and asked to have it as
a present. As turning such a reasonable request down would have given the whole
thing away, Zeus presented her with the cow.

She sent the cow away and arranged Arges to watch over it. Since Arges had a
hundred eyes and could have some of them sleep while others were awake he made
a fine watchman. Desperate, Zeus sent Hermes to fetch Io. Disgused as a shepard,
Hermes had to employ all his skill as a musician and story teller to gain Arges
confidence and lull him to sleep. Once asleep Hermes killed Arges. As a memorial,
Hera took his eyes and set them into the tail of her favorite bird, the peacock.

While Io was now free Hera sent the mother of all gad-flys to sting the still bovine Io.
This pushed her near madness, trying to escape she wandered the world. During her
wanders she came across Prometheus while chained. He gave her hope. He predicted
that she would have to wander for many years. But, she would eventually be
changed back into human form and would bear a child. He predicted that a
decendent of this child would be a great hero and set him free.
His predictions came true. During her wanderings many geographical features where
named after her including the Ionian Sea, and the Bosphorus (which means ford of
the cow). She eventually reached the Nile where Zeus did restore her to human form.
She bore Epaphus and eleven generations later her descendant Hercules would set
Prometheus free.

Semele

Semele was a Thebian princess. She is the only mortal to be the parent of a god. She
was one of Zeus many lovers and like most came to an unfortunate end due to Hera's
jealous hatred. She is best known as the mother of Dionysus. While she was killed
shortly before giving birth the child was resuced by Zeus. Eventually Dionysus, who
had never seen her, managed to rescue her from the underworld. and arrange for her
to live on Mount Olympus.

Athena's Birth

Zeus came to lust after Metis, and chased her in his direct way. Metis tried to escape,
going so far as to change her form many times. Turning into various creatures such
as hawks, fish, and serpents. However, Zeus was both determined and equally
proficient at changing form. He continued his persuit until she relented.

An Oracle of Gaea then prophesied that Metis first child would be a girl but, her
second child would be a boy that would overthrow Zeus as had happened to his
father and grandfather. Zeus took this warning to heart. When he next saw Metis he
flattered her and put her at her ease. Then with Metis off gaurd Zeus suddenly
opened his mouth and swallowed her. This was the end of Metis but, possibly the
beginning of Zeus's wisdom.

After a time Zeus developed the mother of all headaches. He howled so loudly it
could be heard throughout the earth. The other gods came to see what the problem
was. Hermes realized what needed to be done and directed Hephaestus to take a
wedge and split open Zeus's skull. Out of the skull sprang Athena, full grown and in a
full set of armour. Due to her manor of birth she has dominion over all things of the
intellect.

The Wanderings of Dionysus

Once he had grown to manhood Dionysus decied to wander far and wide, including
areas outside of greece. Where ever he went he taught men how to cultivate vines,
and the mysteries of his cult. He was accepted until he returned to his own country of
Thebes.

As he journeyed back to greece he was spotted by pirates. He appeared to them as a

rich young man. He might even be the son of a king. He certainly looked like his
parents would pay a rich ransom for his safe return. Happy at their good luck the
pirates siezed him and brought him aboard their ship. They then attempted to tie him
to the ship but, the ropes refused to hold. Anyplace a rope touched him it just fell
apart. Dionysus watched calmly, smiling.

After some time the helmsman realized that only a god could be responsible. He
called out that the crew should free Dionysus and beg his forgiveness. But, the
captain mocked the helmsman as a fool and called for the crew to set sail. The crew
raised the sail and caught the wind but, the ship did not move. Looking around they
saw the ship quickly becoming overgrown with vines that held it fast. Dionysus then
changed himself into a lion and began to chase the crewmen. To escape they leaped
overboard but, as they did they were changed to dolphins. Only on the helmsman did
Dionysus have mercy.

As he passed through Thrance he was insulted by King Lycurgus, who bitterly

opposed his new religion. Initialy Dionysus retreated into the sea but, he returned,
overpowered Lycurgus and imprisoned him in a rocky cave. Dionysus planned to let
him reflect and learn from his mistakes. However, Zeus did not care to have the gods
insulted, so he blinded then killed Lycurgus.

He pressed on to Thebes, ruled by his cousin Pentheus. However, Pentheus did not
know of Dionysus. Dionysus was with a group of his followers, who were naturally
singing and dancing loudly, flushed with wine. Pentheus disliked the loud, strangers,
and ordered his guards to imprison them all. He refered to their leader as a cheating
sorcerer from Lydia. When he said this the blind old phophet Teiresias, who had
already dressed as one of Dionysus's followers gave Pentheus a warning: "The man
you reject is a new god. He is Semele's child, whom Zeus rescued. He, along with
Demeter, are the greatest upon earth for men." Pentheus, seeing the strange garb
Teiresias had on, laughed at him and ordered his guards to continue.

The guards soon found that ropes fell apart, latches fell open, and there they could
not imprison Dionysus's followers. The took Dionysus to Pentheus. Dionysus tried to
explain at length his worship but, Pentheus listened only to his own anger and
insulted Dionysus. Finally, Dionysus gave up and left Pentheus to his doom.

Pentheus persued Dionysus followers up into the hills where they had gone after
walking away from his prison. Many of the local women including Pentheus's mother
and sister had joined them there. Then Dionysus appeared to his followers in his most
terrible aspect and drove them mad. To them Pentheus appeared to be a moutain
lion. In a berserk rage they attacked him. Now Pentheus realized he had fought with
a god and would die for it. His mother was the first to reach him, and ripped his head
off, while the others tore off his limbs.

Roman Gods
Major Gods of the Roman Pantheon (Dii Consentes)
Deity Origin Description
Apollo Greek (Apollo) Apollo is the son of Jupiter and Leto, and
the twin brother of Diana . He is the god of
music, playing a golden lyre. The Archer,
far shooting with a silver bow. The god of
healing who taught man medicine. The god
of light. The god of truth, who can not
speak a lie. One of Apollo's more important
daily tasks is to harness his chariot with
four horses an drive the Sun across the
 sky. He is famous for his oracle at Delphi.
People traveled to it from all over the
Greek world to divine the future. His tree
was the laurel. The crow his bird. The
dolphin his animal.
Ceres Greek (Demeter) Corn Goddess. Eternal Mother. the
Sorrowing Mother. Grain Mother. Goddess
of agriculture, grain, crops, initiation,
civilization, lawgiver and the love a mother
bears for her child. Protectress of women,
motherhood, marriage. Daughter of Saturn
and Ops. She and her daughter Proserpine
were the counterparts of the Greek
goddesses Demeter and Persephone. Her
worship involved fertility rites and rites for
the dead, and her chief festival was the
Cerealia.
Diana Greek (Artemis) Fertility Goddess. Moon Goddess. Huntress
Goddess. Triple Goddess- Lunar Virgin,
Mother of Creatures, the Huntress or
Destroyer. Goddess of nature, fertility,
childbirth, wildwood, moon, forests,
animals, mountains, woods, and women.
Goddess of the hunt. In Roman art Diana
usually appears as a huntress with bow and
arrow, along with a hunting dog or a stag.
Both a virgin goddess and an earth
goddess, she was identified with the Greek
Artemis. She is praised for her strength,
athletic grace, beauty and her hunting
skills. With two other deities she made up a
trinity: Egeria the water nymph (her
servant and assistant midwife), and Virbius
(the woodland god).
Juno Greek (Hera) Queen of the Gods. Jupiters wife and sister,
sister to Neptune and Pluto, daughter of
Saturn, mother of Juventas, Mars, and
Vulcan. Protectress of the Roman state.
She was the guardian of the Empire's
finances and considered the Matron
Goddess of all Rome. The Matronalia, her
major festival is March 1-2. Her other
festival, on July 7-8, was called Nonae
Caprotinae ("The Nones of the Wild Fig").
The month of June was named after her.
Jupiter Greek (Zeus) Ruler of the Gods. He is the god of Sky,
Lightning and Thunder. He is the son of
Saturn and brother of Neptune, Pluto and
Juno, who is also his wife. His attribute is
the lightning bolt and his symbol the eagle,
who is also his messenger. He was also
considered the Patron god of Rome, and his
temple was the official place of state
business and sacrifices.
Mars Greek (Ares) God of war, spring, growth in nature,
 agriculture, terror, anger, revenge, courage
and fertility. Protector of cattle. The son of
Jupiter and Juno, he was the god of war.
Mars was regarded as the father of the
Roman people because he was the father
of Romulus, the legendary founder of
Rome, and husband to Bellona. He was the
most prominent of the military gods that
were worshipped by the Roman legions.
The martial Romans considered him
second in importance only to Jupiter. His
festivals were held in March (named for
him) and October.
Mercury Greek (Hermes) God of Trade, Profit, Merchants and
Travellers. His main festival, the
Mercuralia, was celebrated on May 15 and
on this day the merchants sprinkled their
heads and their merchandise with water
from his well near the Porta Capena. The
symbols of Mercury are the caduceus (a
staff with two intertwined snakes) and a
purse (a symbol of his connection with
commerce).
Minerva Greek (Athena) Goddess of Wisdom, Learning, the Arts,
Sciences, Medicine, Dyeing, Trade, and of
Etruscan (Menrva) War. Daughter of Jupiter, protectress of
commerce, industry and education.
Honored at the spring equinox with her
main festival, March 19 - 23, called the
Quinquatria. On June 13 the minor
Quinquatrus was observed.
Neptune Greek (Poseidon) God of the Sea. Brother of Jupiter, Pluto
and Juno. The God and patron of Horses
and Horse Racing as Neptune Equester.
Neptunalia was celebrated on July 23. The
trident is Neptune's attribute.
Venus Greek (Aphrodite) Originally a Goddess of Gardens and
Vinyards, Venus became the major deity of
love and beauty after the influx of Greek
deities. On August 18 the Vinalia Rustica
was observed. A second festival, that of the
Veneralia, was celebrated on April 1 in
honor of Venus Verticordia, who later
became the protector against vice. On April
23 a festival, the Vinalia Priora, celebrated
the opening of one of her temples.
Vesta Greek (Hestia) Goddess of the Fire (both sacred and
domestic) and the Hearth. Daughter of
Saturn and Ops. Her sacred animal was the
ass. Patroness of bakers. Her chief festival
was the Vestalia on June 7. One of the most
worshipped of the Roman deities
Vulcan Greek (Hephaestus) God of Fire, Blacksmiths and
Craftsmanship. His forge is located beneath
Mount Etna. It is here that he, together
with his helpers, forges weapons for Gods
and heroes. Closely associated with Bona
Dea with whom he shared the Volcanalia,
observed on August 23.