what happened to the greek gods of olympus

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Aphrodite. Greek mythology. Sculpture. Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of love and beauty. — AdstockRF

Savage and fickle, passionate and vindictive, jealous and insecure, petty and insane: the inhabitants of Mount Olympus represent an endeavour by the ancient Greeks to explain the anarchy of the universe through human nature. Thus, like every deity invented before and since, these gods and goddesses are embodiments of man solipsism. (Of course lightning is caused by a behemothic, angry human in the sky…obvi. I hateful, what else could it be?) The stories of their battles, grouse, and sexual conquests have indelibly influenced the course of Western language and narrative. Here is a selection of some of the A-list names of the Greek pantheon.

Aphrodite

Titian: Venus and Adonis
Venus and Adonis, oil on canvass by Titian, 1554; in the National Gallery, London, England.
© Photos.com/Jupiterimages

Aphrodite was the goddess of dearest, sex, and beauty. Unsurprisingly for a love goddess, she was said to accept emerged from the foam generated when the severed testicles of her father, Uranus, were thrown into the sea by his son, the Titan Cronus. (Or is that surprising?) Kind of makes Botticelli's surreally lovely Birth of Venus—which depicts Aphrodite's Roman counterpart emerging from the waves—a little more visceral, doesn't information technology?
Athena

Athena
Athena.
© Sergey Rusakov/Shutterstock.com

Athena was the goddess of reason, wisdom, and state of war. She famously sprung fully formed from the forehead of Zeus. A major figure in the Odyssey, in which she instructed Odysseus, she also guided Perseus and Heracles through their trials. The Parthenon was her principal temple in Athens, which is named in her honor. Her Roman equivalent was Minerva.
Artemis

Artemis
Artemis as a huntress; in the Louvre, Paris
Alinari/Art Resource, New York

Artemis was the fleet-footed goddess of the hunt. Often depicted in painting and sculpture with a deer or a hunting canis familiaris, she was both huntress and protectress of the living world. Her Roman equivalent was Diana.
Ares

Ares
Ares, classical sculpture; in the National Roman Museum, Rome.
Anderson—Alinari/Art Resource, New York

Ares was the god of bloodlust. (His one-half-sister Athena represented the more "noble" aspects of gainsay and civil conduct during state of war.) Though his boyfriend deities weren't especially fond of him, the Spartans had no problems, er, donating some prisoners of state of war to his worship. And sacrificing dogs…yeah, that'due south right, Ares liked dead puppies. Jerk. His Roman equivalent was Mars.
Apollo

Apollo Belvedere, restored Roman copy of the Greek original attributed to Leochares, 4th century bc; in the Vatican Museum, Rome
Alinari/Fine art Resource, New York

The twin brother of Artemis, Apollo was amid the most of import (read: feared) of the gods. Son of Zeus, he disseminated the will of his divine compatriots through various means, notably oracles. The Oracle at Delphi was his mouthpiece; a 2001 study adamant that the oracle was likely hallucinating due to ethylene gas ascension from the rocks beneath the temple.
Demeter

Demeter
Demeter, statue, mid-4th century bce; in the British Museum, London.
© Magryt/Dreamstime.com

Demeter, an agronomical goddess, was mother to Persephone, who was abducted by the underworld god Hades to be his helpmate. While searching for her stolen girl, she accepted the hospitality of the royal family of Eleusis. The Eleusinian Mysteries, perhaps the most of import religious rites in ancient Greece, are attributed to her teachings. Her Roman equivalent was Ceres.
Dionysus

Dionysus
Dionysus.
© Photos.com/Thinkstock

Dionysus was a son of Zeus born to a mortal mother. When Zeus accidentally killed her, he sewed the immature Dionysus into his thigh and, when the immature god emerged, passed him to the care of the maenads. The cult of Dionysus revolved around intoxication, sex, and cruel ritual sacrifice. He was often symbolized past a bull due to his clan with the sacrificial animal. Elements of his character are seen in the Roman god of wine, Bacchus.
Hades

Gian Lorenzo Bernini: Pluto and Proserpina
Pluto and Proserpina, marble sculpture by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, 1621–22; in the Borghese Gallery, Rome.
Anderson—Alinari/Art Resource, New York

Hades ruled the world of the dead, with which he was sometimes synonymous. The chilly lord of the underworld was amongst the few Greek gods to come up across as dispassionate. He was non the ultimate judge of the souls that wandered his domain nor did he mete out their punishments for sins committed during their mortal lives. He was, all the same, cunning; he tricked Persephone into eating enchanted pomegranate seeds and then that she would take to remain with him for a portion of the twelvemonth.
Hera

the gods on Olympus
The gods on Olympus: Athena, Zeus, Dionysus, Hera, and Aphrodite. Detail of a painting on a Greek cup; in the National Archaeological Museum, Tarquinia, Italy.
Alinari/Art Resource, New York

The queen goddess of Olympus, Hera was both sis and married woman to Zeus. Though she is often depicted every bit reserved and ascetic, she was mercilessly vindictive when it came to her husband'due south [many] extramarital adventures. Unfortunately for the objects of Zeus's godly affections, Hera tended to torment the "other women" (and their offspring, including Heracles) rather than Zeus himself. Her Roman equivalent was Juno.
Hermes

Hermes
Hermes bearing a caduceus, Roman copy, c. 1st century ce, of a Greek sculpture, c. 350 bce; in the British Museum.
Courtesy of the trustees of the British Museum

Like many gods in the Greek pantheon, Hermes presided over multiple spheres. He was a pastoral effigy, responsible for protecting livestock, and was also associated with fertility, music, luck, and deception. In the Odyssey, he is depicted as a messenger god. His Roman equivalent was Mercury.
Poseidon

Poseidon
Poseidon hurling his trident, coin (reverse), 306–282 bce. Bore i.1 inches (28 mm).
WGS Photofile

Poseidon is best known as the Greek sea god, merely he was too the god of horses and of earthquakes. (Thus, many of his temples were inland.) And he had some seriously strange children. Though humanoid, he fathered both the winged horse Pegasus (by Medusa, no less) and the Cyclops Polyphemus, who is blinded by Odysseus and his crew in the Odyssey. His Roman equivalent was Neptune.
Zeus

Ganymede and Zeus in the form of an eagle, antique marble statue; in the Vatican Museum
Anderson—Alinari/Art Resource, New York

With the assistance of Hades and Poseidon, Zeus overthrew his begetter, Cronus, king of the Titans, and became the chief deity in a new pantheon comprising more often than not his siblings and children. In improver to controlling the weather, Zeus was noted for his chronic infidelity to his sis-wife, Hera. Amidst the results of his weakness for comely mortal women was Helen of Troy. His Roman equivalent was Jupiter.