Let's see... where was I...Oh, yes...I remember now. Remember that Rhea gave Cronus a stone, that he naturally thought to be his youngest child Zeus. Zeus, in the mean time, was being raised on the island of Crete, until the rightful time when he would usurp his father.
Rhea gave Cronus a drug which causes him to vomit up his five other children. He is shocked by this and quickly realizes that his children are against him. (I would be, too, if my father had swallowed me). Anyway, Zeus and his five siblings fight against Cronus and the other Titans. The battle lasts for 10 years, at which time Zeus releases his uncles the 100 handed ones and the cyclopes from the belly of Gaea. At this point they defeat Cronus.
The war ends, and Zeus is given the title of "King of the Gods," due to defeating his father. He and his other siblings take residence on Mt. Olympus, the tallest mountain in Greece. The ancient Greeks could not explain the continual cloud cover surrounding the mountain, so they assumed that the clouds were hiding or protecting something of great importance...namely the gods. The gods are referred to as "Olympians" due to living on Mt. Olympus. Zeus, Poseidon, Demeter, Hera, and Hestia are considered the first Olympians. Are you wondering about Hades? Well, he does not have a throne on Mt. Olympians, not because he is any less important, but because he is so busy with the constant "in-coming of the dead" that he rarely leaves his domain.
This is a photograph of Mt. Olympus.
Zeus/Jupiter King of the Olympians
Poseidon/Neptune, Lord of the Oceans
Hades/Pluto, Lord of the Underworld
Hera/Juno, Queen of the Gods, Marriage
Hesta/Vesta, Goddess of the Home
Demeter/Ceres, Goddess of Growth and Harvest
I hope these images help you to visual the first six Olympians. More to come....
