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- ZeusAlso 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.