Of all the ancient cultures that have existed throughout history, Greek culture is perhaps the most remarkable since it has always permeated all of Western life. Today’s philosophical cultural capital is intrinsically based on the ideas of the great Greek thinkers such as Plato and Aristotle. But in addition, their great pantheon of gods has also influenced many issues of the present. Just think that the days of the week are called this way thanks to the influence of the Greeks and even the planets themselves, which took names from Roman gods, who in turn were inspired by the Greeks. Therefore, to understand Greek culture we must first understand its worldview and its main deities.
As in all ancient cultures, Ancient Greece based its beliefs on a series of main gods. The complexity of the involvement of all these Greek gods and their interaction with the world of the living helped them to understand reality. Everything from the way the world had been constructed, to the way they reconstructed themselves as cultural individuals, was based on their pantheon of gods and their stories got immortalized in iconic myths.
Greek Worldview
The religion professed in Ancient Greece was based on the existence of twelve main gods and goddesses who ruled from Mount Olympus, where they resided, and which is the highest mountain in Greece. From this region, they ruled everything that resided in the world of the living and the non-living as well. They were of utmost importance to the citizens of Ancient Greece, which is reflected in a large number of temples and festivities that were erected in honor of their gods.
The main sources of knowledge about the disposition of the twelve main Greek gods are known thanks to the writings of Homer, author of the main epic poems, as well as Hesiod who is considered by some researchers as the first Greek philosopher. According to his writings, the twelve gods won their position as main rulers on Olympus thanks to the fact that Zeus together with his brothers Poseidon and Hades, and the rest of his sons who complete the list of main gods, achieved victory in the war against the Titans.
What are the main Greek gods?
As with most of the mythologies of ancient cultures, there are many inaccuracies regarding the number and identity of the main gods. However, we have an approximation according to ancient writings, of which were the most important gods of the Greek pantheon also called Olympian gods. Probably the original list (and ranking) was the following:
Story originally published in Spanish in Ecoosfera
