How to pronounce the 15 Olympians' names:
Zues (zoo-s)
Poseidon (pus-eye-dun)
Hades (hade-ees)
Apollo (ah-poll-o)
Artemis (art-ih-mess)
Hera (hair-uh)
Dionysus (die-un-sus)
Demeter (deh-meter)
Hestia (hest-eeh-ah)
Persephone (purse-eh-pheen-ee)
Hermes (herm-ees)
Hephaestus (heph-es-ist)
Ares (air-ees)
Athena (ahthenuh)
Aphrodite (af-row-dite((rhymes with night))-ee)
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| Why is Aphrodite an Olympian not a Titan?
Something that has confused many people is why Aphrodite is an Olympian, not a Titan.
Well, it is said that she was born on the sea foam of Ouranous, which makes it seem like she should be a Titan, but what some people don't know is that there is another version of how the Goddess of Love came into being.
In Homer's Iliad, Aphrodite was born from the union of Zeus with the Titan goddess Dione. But if you only consider the version where Aphrodite is sprung from Uranus (the father of the Titans), you might say that she belongs to the generation of the Titans , though she's not a Titan in a strict sense because, unlike the Titans, she has no mother.
Why was she counted as one of the major gods? Although Aphrodite may seem insignificant in the presence of such deities as the sun-god Apollo or the warlike Athena, her power over love is revealed to be very influential upon closer examination. With a domain that included the innermost feelings of the heart and the source of human passion, Aphrodite had power unlike any other god. Such power is revealed in her actions toward both her faithful followers and those who incited her anger. Perhaps the most famous example of Aphrodite's influence is the Judgment of Paris, an event in which Aphrodite's actions indirectly caused the Trojan War. This incident, the precursor to a decade-long war which gained the attention of all gods and heroes of the day, shows the power of love over human actions. As the owner of such powers, Aphrodite had the ability to influence the most important events in mythological history. |
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