The 12 Olympians: The 12 Supreme Gods in Greek Mythology

Hey everyone, welcome to Mythology Explained. In Today’s video, we’re going to discuss the 12 Olympians gods, the 12 greatest gods who lived in Olympus, the abode of the gods, which was located in Thessaly atop Mount Olympus, the highest mountain in all of Greece. (There’s also some information that suggests Olympus was suspended in the sky high above the earth and its mountains.) The entrance of Olympus was a gate made of clouds that was watched over by the seasons, and beyond were the magnificent palaces of the gods, made by Hephaestus himself - a place of paradise where its divine denizens feasted on nectar and ambrosia, where the winds never blew, rain never poured, and snow never fell.

A couple of comments before we get going: first, though he was among the most powerful gods in Greek mythology, Hades wasn’t counted among the 12 Olympians because his residence was in the underworld; second, though the 12 Olympians were the greatest of the gods who lived atop Olympus, they weren’t the only gods who called Olympus home; others included: Hebe, the goddess of youth, Iris, the goddess of rainbows, the three graces, the nine muses, and many others. Third, while 11 of the 12 Olypians (Zeus, Poseidon, Hera, Demeter, Athena, Ares, Apollo, Artemis, Aphrodite, and Hermes) are chiselled in stone, Dionysus and Hestia sort of shared that 12th spot, different listings featuring one or the other. I’ve decided to honour both, meaning our list of Olympians actually comprises 13 gods.

Let’s get into it.

1- Zeus

Also called Ombrios (“Rainmaker”), Keraunios (“Thunderer”), Nephelgeretes (“Cloud-Gatherer”), and Agoraios (“of Mount Olympus”), and known as Jupiter to the Romans, Zeus was the supreme deity of Greek mythology. He was the god of the sky and its various atmospheric phenomena, including: lighting, thunder, rain, and cloud cover. Beyond the celestial domain where he held absolute mastery, matters of state and gouvernance also fell within his purview. Furthermore, as the highest authority in all of creation, maintaining the rule of law was also of paramount importance to him, with the keeping of oaths, honouring the rules of hospitality, and the protecting of supplicants chief among his concerns.

Watch the video for the rest!

[Cuban]

Olympus was a heavenly realm. But Greek worshippers also called the highest mountain close to them "Olympus" because Gods of the Skies/Heavens are worshipped in high places close to Heaven.

[heavenlywarning]

Thank you brother for taking time and energy into making these videos.

[jamth]

Great video I really enjoy Greek mythology keep up the good work my friend

[BlackWingedSeraphX]

Hades was part of the Big 3 (Sky, Sea and Underworld) so people confuse him for an Olympian. But he wasn't. Kudos for touching on that btw. A lot of Greek Mythology scholars don't state this.

[zackerylamb]

Personally, I believe that Hestia is a permanent member of the 12 as she is goddess of the hearth and Zeus allowed her to have the best of offerings to the 12.

[thelearicist]

3:03 hey it’s the correct use of “myriad”!! So rare!!

[thelearicist]

What determines which narrator we get?

[EnlightenedTurtle]

Troy is a complex subject, one I am in the process of studying.. it is a bigger undertaking than I first thought, but it is a fun topic.

[kjo]

There is a theory that Athena, in some sorely misguided attempt at protecting Medusa, didn't actually "curse" Medusa as much as (again, in Athena's point of view) protect Medusa from ever being touched/hurt by a man again. Hence why only men were allowed in Medusa's domain and thus the only ones turned to stone by her sight. From this perspective, Athena would see herself as giving Medusa power to protect herself from both gods and men. Not that Athena isn't capable of acting out of cruelty or envy but it could potentially be a display of Athena naively trying to do the right thing and not understanding.

[matheuslanerre]

Can you do a video about the 10 most important non Olympian gods?

[miggypeso]

Hades taking the underworld means he’s basically the god of the earth right? He controls all that comes with the earth like minerals, gems, and the earth itself correct? I mean it makes sense. The first earthbender too if u think about it.

[xxianmoon]

Out of the 12 Olympian Gods, Hestia is my most favorite, for she was the kindest god in Olympus

[talulahjonesx]

Aphestos being an unsung hero! Good husband… hard worker.. doesn’t cheat… makes shiny things…? He sounds amazing.

[harveywabbit]

Hades/Pluto became the winter son/sun of Noah (Earth). The five sons/suns of Shem aka Hashem are Scorpio (Lud), Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces. Lud overlaps Canaan in Scorpio, the bibles have the remaining sons/suns in correct order.

[TheFireflycam]

I suppose one could argue that Athena didn’t so much punish Medusa, but equips her with power to protect herself from further assaults,

[deniseherud]

Poor Hades…got the gig as jailer in the underworld and kinda shunned by the other Olympians. On the positive, he was pretty much monogamous (despite the whole kidnapping thing)🤷🏼‍♀️

[jebediahoflannerty]

Were the ancient Greeks living at the same time myths of the Olympians were happening, or were the myths already in past-tense? So like, was there a time when they believed Hercules was actually among them? Or did the myths of him not exist until he was already "dead"?

Like, was there ever any time they'd be like "Hey, guys! Did you hear what Hercules did yesterday? Yeah, murdered all his kids. Hera's pretty pissed about it."

Or had everything already happened, and even when new myths were added, they were said to have happened in the past?

[uncleray-ray]

I'm sorry to do this, but, you did make one extremely small, yet, important error. Hercules was the Roman version of Hercules. Other than this tiny mistake, great explanation of the Pantheon.

[jaeho]

I've always wondered why Demeter (who is among the children of Chronos and Rhea) was never part of the Twelve -- considering that she has more myths than Hestia. If I had anything to do with the roster, I'd do quite a revision: Hestia never got to be vomited by Chronos (she stayed in her cannibal father Titan's stomach, got digested and pooped out), so Demeter becomes part of the Twelve.

[SataPataKiouta]

Zeus was also called "Ξένιος" (ksénios) which comes from "kseh-NEE-ah" (the female version) which is the ancient way of saying "philoksenia" in modern Greek which is hospitality. Hence "Ksenios Zeus" was the "Hospitable Zeus" and that is why as you mention in your video hospitality fell under his domain. To disrespect your guest(s) by not being hospitable as a Greek fellow was a disrespect in the face of the King of the Gods.

The Greek mythology is also full of stories of major or minor Gods taking mortal form and seeking hospitality from mortal men (Kings and regular as well). Those that offered good hospitality were generally rewarded graciously whereas those that didn't ... well you get it.