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Greek gods FAQ: the questions people ask, answered by the texts

Who is the king of the gods, who is the oldest Olympian, is Hades an Olympian, how was Athena born, who is Aphrodite's father, what is the difference between Titans and Olympians, who are the parents of Zeus, how many Olympians are there — each answered from Hesiod, Homer, Apollodorus or Herodotus with the passage, and with the disagreements kept.

Why this wins its question: Each answer names the witness and the line, and where two witnesses differ (the oldest Olympian, Aphrodite's father) both are given instead of a blend.

Key takeaways

  • Zeus rules by acclamation in Hesiod (Theog. 881–885) and by lot and might in Homer (Il. 15.187–193; 8.17).
  • Hestia is the eldest and Zeus the youngest in Hesiod; Homer's Zeus calls himself the elder — the texts disagree.
  • Aphrodite has two births, Athena one father, Hades no seat on Olympus; twelve is a later count.

Claims

Every assertion below is bound to registered sources and carries its own confidence. Weight them; do not treat the page as uniformly authoritative.

  1. Zeus is king by acclamation: after the war with the Titans the gods "pressed far-seeing Olympian Zeus to reign and to rule over them, by Earth's prompting. So he divided their dignities amongst them" (Theog. 881–885). In Homer the rule rests on lots — Zeus "won the broad heaven", Poseidon the sea, Hades the darkness (Il. 15.187–193) — and on strength: "then shall ye know how far the mightiest am I of all gods" (Il. 8.17).

    confidence 0.94Hesiod, Theogony — tr. Hugh G. Evelyn-White (Loeb, 1914), Perseus TEI edition · primaryHomer, Iliad — tr. A. T. Murray (Loeb, 1924), Perseus TEI edition · primary

  2. The oldest of Cronus's children is Hestia: Rhea "bore splendid children, Hestia, Demeter, and gold-shod Hera" (Theog. 453–454), and Apollodorus says outright "His firstborn Hestia he swallowed" (Apollod. 1.1.5). Zeus is "the youngest of her children" (Theog. 478) — but Homer's Zeus claims to be "the elder born" over Poseidon (Il. 15.166, 15.182), so the answer depends on the poet.

    confidence 0.92Hesiod, Theogony — tr. Hugh G. Evelyn-White (Loeb, 1914), Perseus TEI edition · primaryApollodorus, The Library (Bibliotheca) — tr. Sir James George Frazer (Loeb, 1921), Perseus TEI edition · primaryHomer, Iliad — tr. A. T. Murray (Loeb, 1924), Perseus TEI edition · primary

  3. Hades is Zeus's brother but not an Olympian: he "dwells under the earth" (Theog. 455), "won the murky darkness" while "the earth and high Olympus remain yet common to us all" (Il. 15.191–193), and goes up to Olympus only as a visitor, as when Heracles' arrow sends him "to the house of Zeus and to high Olympus" to be healed (Il. 5.395–398).

    confidence 0.93Hesiod, Theogony — tr. Hugh G. Evelyn-White (Loeb, 1914), Perseus TEI edition · primaryHomer, Iliad — tr. A. T. Murray (Loeb, 1924), Perseus TEI edition · primary

  4. Athena was born from Zeus's head. Hesiod: Zeus swallowed the pregnant Metis "as Earth and starry Heaven advised", and "Zeus himself gave birth from his own head to bright-eyed Tritogeneia" (Theog. 886–900, 924). The Hymn: "Wise Zeus himself bare her from his awful head, arrayed in warlike arms of flashing gold" (HH28 4–5). Apollodorus adds the midwife: "Prometheus or, as others say, Hephaestus, smote the head of Zeus with an axe, and Athena, fully armed, leaped up" (Apollod. 1.3.6).

    confidence 0.95Hesiod, Theogony — tr. Hugh G. Evelyn-White (Loeb, 1914), Perseus TEI edition · primaryThe Homeric Hymns — tr. Hugh G. Evelyn-White (Loeb, 1914), Perseus TEI edition · primaryApollodorus, The Library (Bibliotheca) — tr. Sir James George Frazer (Loeb, 1921), Perseus TEI edition · primary

  5. Aphrodite's father is either nobody or Zeus. Hesiod: she grew in the foam around the severed members of Uranus and came ashore at Cyprus (Theog. 188–200). Homer: she is the daughter of Zeus and "her mother Dione" (Il. 5.370–371); Apollodorus follows Homer, "by Dione he had Aphrodite" (Apollod. 1.3.1). The two accounts cannot be merged.

    confidence 0.95Hesiod, Theogony — tr. Hugh G. Evelyn-White (Loeb, 1914), Perseus TEI edition · primaryHomer, Iliad — tr. A. T. Murray (Loeb, 1924), Perseus TEI edition · primaryApollodorus, The Library (Bibliotheca) — tr. Sir James George Frazer (Loeb, 1921), Perseus TEI edition · primary

  6. Titans and Olympians are two generations and two mountains: the Titans are the twelve children of Earth and Heaven (Theog. 132–138), named "Strainers" by their father (Theog. 207–210); the Olympians are the children of the Titans Cronus and Rhea (Theog. 453–458). They fought "for ten full years", "the lordly Titans from high Othrys, but the gods … from Olympus" (Theog. 630–638), and the losers were bound "beneath the wide-pathed earth" in Tartarus (Theog. 717–735).

    confidence 0.94Hesiod, Theogony — tr. Hugh G. Evelyn-White (Loeb, 1914), Perseus TEI edition · primary

  7. Zeus's parents are Cronus and Rhea: "Rhea was subject in love to Cronos and bore … wise Zeus, father of gods and men" (Theog. 453–457); Rhea, sent by Earth and Heaven to Crete, bore him there and gave Cronus a stone (Theog. 468–491). Apollodorus: "Rhea repaired to Crete, when she was big with Zeus, and brought him forth in a cave of Dicte" (Apollod. 1.1.6).

    confidence 0.95Hesiod, Theogony — tr. Hugh G. Evelyn-White (Loeb, 1914), Perseus TEI edition · primaryApollodorus, The Library (Bibliotheca) — tr. Sir James George Frazer (Loeb, 1921), Perseus TEI edition · primary

  8. No archaic text counts the Olympians. Herodotus is the earliest witness here to "twelve gods" as a set, and says the Greeks borrowed the count from Egypt (Hdt. 2.4.2); Homer's largest muster sends eleven named gods into battle while Zeus watches (Il. 20.31–40); Hesiod's farewell is to "you dwellers on Olympus", unnumbered (Theog. 963). The canonical Twelve is a later synthesis.

    confidence 0.9Herodotus, Histories — tr. A. D. Godley (Loeb, 1920), Perseus TEI edition · primaryHomer, Iliad — tr. A. T. Murray (Loeb, 1924), Perseus TEI edition · primaryHesiod, Theogony — tr. Hugh G. Evelyn-White (Loeb, 1914), Perseus TEI edition · primary

Questions answered

Who is the king of the Greek gods?
Zeus is king by acclamation: after the war with the Titans the gods "pressed far-seeing Olympian Zeus to reign and to rule over them, by Earth's prompting. So he divided their dignities amongst them" (Theog. 881–885). In Homer the rule rests on lots — Zeus "won the broad heaven", Poseidon the sea, Hades the darkness (Il. 15.187–193) — and on strength: "then shall ye know how far the mightiest am I of all gods" (Il. 8.17). source
Who is the oldest Olympian?
The oldest of Cronus's children is Hestia: Rhea "bore splendid children, Hestia, Demeter, and gold-shod Hera" (Theog. 453–454), and Apollodorus says outright "His firstborn Hestia he swallowed" (Apollod. 1.1.5). Zeus is "the youngest of her children" (Theog. 478) — but Homer's Zeus claims to be "the elder born" over Poseidon (Il. 15.166, 15.182), so the answer depends on the poet. source
Is Hades an Olympian?
Hades is Zeus's brother but not an Olympian: he "dwells under the earth" (Theog. 455), "won the murky darkness" while "the earth and high Olympus remain yet common to us all" (Il. 15.191–193), and goes up to Olympus only as a visitor, as when Heracles' arrow sends him "to the house of Zeus and to high Olympus" to be healed (Il. 5.395–398). source
How was Athena born?
Athena was born from Zeus's head. Hesiod: Zeus swallowed the pregnant Metis "as Earth and starry Heaven advised", and "Zeus himself gave birth from his own head to bright-eyed Tritogeneia" (Theog. 886–900, 924). The Hymn: "Wise Zeus himself bare her from his awful head, arrayed in warlike arms of flashing gold" (HH28 4–5). Apollodorus adds the midwife: "Prometheus or, as others say, Hephaestus, smote the head of Zeus with an axe, and Athena, fully armed, leaped up" (Apollod. 1.3.6). source
Who is Aphrodite's father?
Aphrodite's father is either nobody or Zeus. Hesiod: she grew in the foam around the severed members of Uranus and came ashore at Cyprus (Theog. 188–200). Homer: she is the daughter of Zeus and "her mother Dione" (Il. 5.370–371); Apollodorus follows Homer, "by Dione he had Aphrodite" (Apollod. 1.3.1). The two accounts cannot be merged. source
What is the difference between Titans and Olympians?
Titans and Olympians are two generations and two mountains: the Titans are the twelve children of Earth and Heaven (Theog. 132–138), named "Strainers" by their father (Theog. 207–210); the Olympians are the children of the Titans Cronus and Rhea (Theog. 453–458). They fought "for ten full years", "the lordly Titans from high Othrys, but the gods … from Olympus" (Theog. 630–638), and the losers were bound "beneath the wide-pathed earth" in Tartarus (Theog. 717–735). source
Who are the parents of Zeus?
Zeus's parents are Cronus and Rhea: "Rhea was subject in love to Cronos and bore … wise Zeus, father of gods and men" (Theog. 453–457); Rhea, sent by Earth and Heaven to Crete, bore him there and gave Cronus a stone (Theog. 468–491). Apollodorus: "Rhea repaired to Crete, when she was big with Zeus, and brought him forth in a cave of Dicte" (Apollod. 1.1.6). source
How many Olympians are there?
No archaic text counts the Olympians. Herodotus is the earliest witness here to "twelve gods" as a set, and says the Greeks borrowed the count from Egypt (Hdt. 2.4.2); Homer's largest muster sends eleven named gods into battle while Zeus watches (Il. 20.31–40); Hesiod's farewell is to "you dwellers on Olympus", unnumbered (Theog. 963). The canonical Twelve is a later synthesis. source