Once upon a time, a very long time ago, the people of Greece believed that the world was ruled by a family of powerful gods and goddesses. The ancient Greeks shared myths—compelling origin stories—by telling oral stories that were then immortalized by painting such tales on walls, vases, pots, jars, and cups.

The ancient Greeks believed that, at the dawn of time, the universe consisted of nothing but Chaos, a word that, then, in ancient Greek, meant a yawn, an emptiness.

But then, according to Greek myth, from Chaos emerged the Earth, goddess Gaia. Next followed the god Tartarus, who lived below the Earth; then Eros, the god of Desire or Love, and Erebus, the dark light of Tartarus. Gaia gave birth to the sky, Ouranos, and other primordial deities, such as the sea, Pontos, and the mountains, Ourea. Gaia and Ouranos had 12 children, better known as the Twelve Titans.

Thus, this origin story of the first gods, the Titans, is a story that Greeks told to better attempt to understand themselves, the world around them, and the nexus of space and time in our universe.

These Titans made themselves rulers of the universe; they drew lots among themselves to decide upon their dominion.

Originally known as the Dodekatheon, the Olympian Gods, whose numbers increased to 12, are the major deities of the Greek pantheon believed to reside atop Mt. Olympus. The Olympians gained their supremacy in a war of the gods in which Zeus led his siblings to victory over the Titans.

Moreover, each of these divine beings, in both ancient Greek and ancient Roman mythology, was represented by a specific symbol, and, in some cases, a bird or animal, representing the singular and individual power, role, and realm with which each divinity became associated. Indeed, the symbol stood for the "superpower" of each! Students of ancient Greece can easily name the following Greek gods/goddesses: Zeus, Poseidon, Hermes, Hera, Hades, Dionysus, Demeter, Apollo, Ares, Artemis, Athena, and Aphrodite.

Over the centuries, as the Greek and Roman cultures merged, the ancient Romans developed a vast pantheon of many gods. They believed each god and goddess held different powers and duties here on earth. So, what were the names of the 12 Roman gods?

According to legend, Jupiter was the king of the gods in ancient Rome. He was also known as Jove, the God of the sky and thunder.

  • Juno is the ancient Roman goddess of love and marriage.

  • Minerva the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, and victory. She is also known as the goddess of warfare.

  • Venus is the Roman goddess of love, beauty, desire, sex, fertility, prosperity, and victory.

  • Vesta is the virgin goddess of the hearth, home, and family in Roman religion.

  • Ceres is the Roman goddess of agriculture, grain, crops, fertility, and motherly relationships.

  • Mercury was the Roman god of commerce, messengers, travelers, and communication.

  • Diana was the Roman goddess of the hunt, wild animals, childbirth, children, and the moon, and was also associated with fertility.

  • Mars is the Roman god of war.

  • Vulcan is the Roman god of fire, including fire from volcanoes. He is also the divine, mythical inventor of smithing and metalworking.

  • Apollo is the Roman god of archery, music, dance, truth and prophecy, mathematics, healing and illnesses, the sun, and poetry.

  • Neptune is the Roman god of the sea and freshwater.

Symbols of power of the gods and goddesses

Both the Greek and Roman gods and goddesses had an iconography, a visual language, that told the ancients (and us still to this day!) about their powers, their attributes, and more. So what were the weapons, animals, and other tokens and symbols that came to represent each god/goddess of ancient Greece and later Rome?

Who were the major or minor gods and goddesses? What symbols can identify them?

Why did the gods and goddesses have rules about each symbol, much like each god's domain?

Why wasn’t a god/goddess allowed to steal another god's/goddess's symbol of power?

Who were the demigods, and why were they not affected by this rule?

The ancient past seems so distant—and yet, for young minds, powered by an endless imagination, the visceral and contextual realms of ancient Roman and Greek gods/goddesses can be emerging and exciting—and, certainly, never boring!

Are you planning a family visit with kids of adolescent age or younger? Seek out immersive and experiential opportunities, such as scavenger hunts or interactive tours, to spark their interest. You will marvel at how their appreciation for classics and history takes them to new heights of learning, growth, and personal development.

And so, welcome to my tour introducing you to the marvelous and lively stories of the gods and goddesses of ancient Greece and Rome.

Their wonderfully entertaining and thought-provoking stories provide a way to perceive and befriend all of Nature around us and within us—which will always be a beautiful mystery!