Greek+Religion

=**__R __**eligion=
 * The Greeks believed that the "12 Olympians were the highest gods i the Greek Pantheon" (World History: Ancient and Medieval Era)
 * supposedly split into three parts and each part was ruled by one of the big three brothers- Zeus ruled the sky, Poseidon ruled the seas, oceans, and Earth, while Hades had control over the Underworld
 * Mount Olympus, the home of the Olympians, was thought to have been located on the highest mountain in Greece, which is located in Thessely
 * The 12 main gods were-
 * Zeus- the ruler of the sky and weathe[[image:12_Olympians.jpg width="359" height="253" align="right"]]r[[image:olympus_.jpg width="224" height="280" align="left"]]
 * Hera- the goddess of marriage and childbirth
 * Apollo- the god of Law, music, poetry
 * Artemis- the goddess of hunting and protector of girls
 * Hephaestus- the god of weaponry and tools
 * Dionysus- the god of wine and vegetation
 * Aphrodite- the goddess of love and fertility
 * Poseidon- the god of the sea, horses, earthquakes
 * Demeter- the goddess of harvest
 * Hermes- the god of merchants, trickery, protector of flocks and guide to the Underworld
 * Ares- the god of wars
 * Athena- the goddess of wisdom, war, chastity
 * In addition there are many minor gods
 * All the Olympians possessed many qualities. they are "immortal though they can be wounded, unaging once they have reached their final developmental stage, knowledgeable but not omniscient, and powerful but not omnipotent" (Relationship of gods and humans)
 * The gods had human-like qualities too, they wanted acknowledgment and feared neglect, they weren't perfect
 * They also kept the humans in check, if there was an evil man or woman present in a city or town they would be visited with some disaster, courtesy of Zeus
 * In addition the gods had offspring with mortals, the offspring would be half- god half- mortal, a demigod
 * The humans offered sacrifices, prayers, and ceremonies to please the gods and to ask for favors
 * The Greeks believed that "many things in the world that are beyond human control lie within the control of the gods, and if the gods are so disposed, they can influence the world in the direction of human wishes, making life enjoyable, or at least endurable, or they can make it miserable" (Relationships of gods and humans)
 * The Family Tree for the Greek gods
 * The Family Tree for the Greek gods



http://greeklegends.wikia.com/wiki/Olympian http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://clio.missouristate.edu/chuchiak/godsft.gif&imgrefurl=http://clio.missouristate.edu/chuchiak/HST%2520101--Lecture%25206--Ancient%2520Greek%2520Gods.htm&h=357&w=638&sz=5&tbnid=MunVbA8cCp_jBM:&tbnh=71&tbnw=127&prev=/search%3Fq%3D12%2Bolympians%2Bfamily%2Btree%26tbm%3Disch%26tbo%3Du&zoom=1&q=12+olympians+family+tree&docid=XCCEDrhGW7461M&hl=en&sa=X&ei=ZJZzTubbNcX00gHuzJmoDQ&ved=0CD0Q9QEwAw&dur=290 Hansen, William. "relationship of gods and humans in Greek mythology." // World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras //.ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. 15 Sept. 2011. "Olympian Gods." // World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras //. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. 15 Sept. 2011. "Mount Olympus." // World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras //. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. 15 Sept. 2011. http://media.photobucket.com/image/depiction+of+mount+olympus+/MercuriusTJ/Greek%20Gods/Olympians/Olympus.jpg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Olympians.jpg