Classical Mythology: The A Team: Olympians All

The A Team: Olympians All

The children of Rhea and Cronus did not remain the only Olympians for long. Joined by seven others, the Olympians soon became a baker's dozen of great gods. (Since Hades, however, rarely emerged from the Underworld, Olympian affairs were for the most part the province of just 12 deities: 6 gods and 6 goddesses.)

Zeus, of course, continued to rule the roost among this expanded pantheon. And no wonder: He was brother or father to 9 of the other 11 Olympians. Not counting Hades, who did not consider himself an Olympian, Zeus had four siblings on Olympus: Poseidon, Hera, Hestia, and Demeter. But he also fathered Ares (by Hera), Athena (by Metis), Artemis and Apollo (by Leto), and Hermes (by Maia). Zeus would also father Dionysus (by Semele), a god who would later claim his own place among the pantheon.