Olympians
Olympians: Gods of Ancient Greece
| Character Name | Ideals |
|---|---|
| Aphrodite | Goddess of Love & Beauty |
| Apollo | God of Light & Prophecy |
| Ares | God of War |
| Artemis | Goddess of the Hunt |
| Athena | Goddess of Wisdom & War |
| Cerberus | Guardian of the Gates of Hell |
| Chimaera | Monster |
| Cronus | King of the Titans |
| Dionysus | God of Wine |
| Hades | God of the Underworld |
| Hephaestus | God of Fire & Metallurgy |
| Hera | Goddess of Marriage |
| Hercules | God of Strength |
| Hermes | Messenger of the Gods |
| Poseidon | God of the Sea |
| Vesta | Goddess of the Hearth |
| Zeus | Ruler of the Heavens |
History
The Gods of Olympus are a race of superhumanly powerful humanoid beings who were worshipped by the ancient Greeks and Romans from about 2000 BC to 500 AD. The Olympians dwell in Olympus, a small "pocket" dimension adjacent to Earth; an interdimensional nexus between Olympus and Earth exists somewhere on Mount Olympus in Greece.
The Olympians' human worshippers in ancient Rome called these gods by different names than those by which the gods were known in ancient Greece: for example, the Greeks called the king of the gods Zeus, whereas the Romans called him Jupiter or Jove. The Olympian gods, except for Neptune, patron deity of the Atlanteans, no longer have or actively seek worshippers on Earth. However, certain gods, notably Hercules and Aphrodite, still take active interest in the welfare of humanity.
The Olympian gods all possess certain superhuman physical attributes. They are true immortals, who cease to age upon achieving adulthood, and who are unable to die by conventional means. The Olympians are immune to all terrestrial diseases and are resistant to conventional injury. If an Olympian is wounded, his or her godly life force will enable him or her to recover at a superhuman rate. It would take an injury of such magnitude that it incinerates an Olympian or disperses a major portion of his or her bodily molecules to cause him or her to die. Even then, it may be possible for a god of greater or equal power, or several gods acting together, to revive the deceased Olympian before the god's life essence is beyond resurrection. Olympian flesh and bone are about three times denser than regular human tissue, contributing to the gods' superhuman strength and weight. An average male Olympian god can lift about 30 tons; an average Olympian goddess can lift about 25 tons. The metabolism of the gods gives them superhuman endurance in all physical activities. In addition, many Olympian gods possess additional superhuman powers which may be magical in nature.
The precise origin of the Olympian gods, like that of all of Earth's pantheons of gods, is shrouded in legend. According to ancient myths, the primeval Earth goddess Gaea is the progenitor of the principal Olympian gods. However, it is unclear whether the Olympian race originated on Earth, Olympus, or in another dimension linked to Olympus. According to ancient myths, Gaea gave birth to the sky god Ouranos. Gaea mated with Ouranos and bore him the first generation of the Olympian race, known as the Titans. One of the Titans, Cronus, rose to power when he fatally wounded Ouranos. The dying Ouranos prophesied that Cronus would likewise be overthrown by one of his own children. As a result, upon the birth of each of Cronus's children, Cronus had them imprisoned in Tartarus, the most dismal section of the Olympian underworld known as Hades. Appalled at the mistreatment of their children, Cronus's wife, the Titaness Rhea, concealed her sixth pregnancy from him and secretly gave birth to Zeus in the land now called Greece. Zeus grew to adulthood among the human shepherds of Crete. Zeus set his siblings - Neptune, Pluto, Hera, Demeter, and Vesta, now all grown to adulthood - free from Tartarus. Zeus and his allies fought a ten year war with the Titans which ended with Zeus's victory. He imprisoned most of the male Titans in Tartarus and established himself in Olympus as supreme ruler of the Olympian race.
Zeus married the goddess Hera, but he engaged in many affairs with goddesses and mortal Earthwomen. Some of his children were gods. Zeus Hera, Neptune, Demter, and Vesta, together with Zeus's children Apollo, Ares, Artemis, Athena, Hephaestus, Hermes, and Aphrodite, comprised the membership of the high council of the Olympian gods, known as the Pantheon. Vesta later resigned her seat in the council if favor of Zeus's son Dionysus. Zeus's brother Pluto was not a member of the Pantheon, preferring to spend virtually all of his time within Hades, which he ruled.
After the end of the Hyborian Age, the Olympian gods sought worshippers on Earth. Neptune became the patron god of the water-breathing Atlanteans, Zeus sought that the Olympian gods be worshipped by the people of the land now known as Greece. Mount Olympus lay near Olympia, the principal city of the Eternals. Zeus and his daughter Athena met with Zuras, the leader of the Eternals, and his daughter Azura. Noticing the physical resemblance between Zeus and Zuras and between Azura and herself, Athena suggested that the Olympian gods and the Eternals form an alliance in which the Eternals would act as the gods' representatives on Earth. The other three enthusiastically agreed, and Azura took her current name of Thena to signify the sealing of the pact. However, over the years, many humans came to think of many Eternals not as the gods' representatives but as the gods themselves. This led to a growing resentment by the gods towards the Eternals, which recently erupted into war, but today they are again at peace.
Worship of the Olympian gods spread from Greece to Rome, and throughout the Roman Empire. But when Christianity finally replaced the worship of the Olympian gods in the Roman Empire, Zeus decided that the time had come for the Olympians to break most of their ties with Earth. Neptune, however, was still allowed to watch over his Atlantean worshippers. Nevertheless, Zeus still retains an affection for and interest in the people of Earth. Zeus's children Hercules and Venus have spent periods living among Earth mortals in recent years. An alternate future has been depicted in which Zeus and the other Olympians, except for Hercules, leave their plane of existence in the 23rd century so that Hercules may father a new race of gods. Whether the Olympian gods will come to such an end in what becomes the "mainstream" future has yet to be revealed.
The Gods
The Olympian gods are true immortals; they are immune to the effects of aging and haven't aged since reaching adulthood. Their bodies are also immune to all known Earthly diseases and infection. Olympians must consume Ambrosia (the nectar of the Gods) to remain youthful and eternal.
| Typical Olympian God | |
|---|---|
| Fighting | Good |
| Agility | Excellent |
| Strength | Incredible |
| Endurance | Amazing |
| Reason | Typical |
| Intuition | Typical |
| Psyche | Remarkable |
| Health | 120 |
| Karma | 42 |
| Resources | Not Applicable |
| Popularity | 5 |
Known Powers:
- Body Armor: Good
- Immortality: Shift-X; Olympians are immortal on the Earthly plane, if reduced to 0 Health and Shift-0 Endurance, do not die. Their Karma reserves (including that in pools with others) are reduced to 0 and they automatically began healing. In the dimension of Olympus and in other planes, the immortal Olympians may be slain. If an Olympian is wounded, his or her godly life force will enable him or her to recover at a superhuman rate. It would take an injury of such magnitude that it incinerates an Olympian or disperses a major portion of his or her bodily molecules to cause him or her to die. Even then, it may be possible for a god of greater or equal power, or several gods acting together, to revive the deceased Olympian before the god's life essence is beyond resurrection.
- Invulnerability: CL1000 resistance to Disease and Aging.
- Regeneration: Poor
- Allspeak: Do to the Allspeak (also called All-Tongue), Olympians can communicate in all languages, Earth's dialects, and various alien languages.
The Titans
The Olympian gods were not the first beings in their pantheon. From Gaea (the earth) and Ouranus (the heavens) sprang a giant race called the Titans. The rulers of this race, Cronus and Rhea, were the parents of Zeus and many other Olympian gods. Cronus, fearing his children would overthrow him as he overthrew his father, confined his children to the darkest regions of Hades. Eventually, Zeus and his siblings overthrew Cronus and ended the Titans reign.
| Typical Olympian Titan | |
|---|---|
| Fighting | Monstrous |
| Agility | Remarkable |
| Strength | Unearthly |
| Endurance | Unearthly |
| Reason | Good |
| Intuition | Good |
| Psyche | Remarkable |
| Health | 305 |
| Karma | 50 |
| Resources | Not Applicable |
| Popularity | 0 |
Known Powers:
- Body Armor: Remarkable
- Invulnerabilities: CL1000 resistance to Disease, Toxins, and Aging.
- Immortality: CL1000; Titans are immortal and do not die if reduced to 0 Health and Shift-0 Endurance.
- Regeneration: Good
- Growth: Unearthly
- Up to +2CS on Strength and Endurance for an Elder Titan.
Mount Olympus
Hades
Known Olympian Gods
The Olympians are a group of 12 gods, who are the principal deities of the Greek pantheon, who ruled after the overthow of the Titans. All the Olympians are related in some way. They are named after their dwelling place Mount Olympus.
- Aphrodite (Aphrodite Ourania), (Venus) - Aphrodite is the goddess of love and beauty. As such, she has the additional abilities to produce love in individuals and turn weapons into objects of peace.
- Apollo (Phoebus Apollo) - Apollo is the god of light, music, poetry, prophecy, medicine and science. As the god of light, he can produce heat and light equivalent to a small sun. As the god of prophecy, he can see the future and the possible outcomes of actions.
- Ares - Ares is the god of war.
- Artemis - The goddess of wild animals, the hunt, and moonlight.
- Athena (Athena Parthenos) - Athena is the goddess of wisdom and war. She is killed by Hercules when she sides with the Chaos King and is later restored to life following the Chaos King's defeat.
- Bia - Bia is the god of Might.
- Cupid (Eros) - Cupid is the god of love.
- Deimos - Deimos is the god of terror.
- Demeter - Demeter is the goddess of plants and agriculture.
- Dionysus (Dionysus Acratophorus), (Bacchus) - Dionysus is the god of wine, theater and revelry/entertainment.
- Eris (Discord) - Eris is the goddess of strife.
- Fates (Moirae) - The personification of destiny, inevitability and fortune, determining the span of human life of every mortal from birth to death.
- Clotho ("The Spinner") - The youngest of the three Fates; she spins the thread of destiny with a distaff (a staff holding the bundle of unspun fibers) before being drawn onto her spindle (a shaft used to twist the yarn in spinning), determining the time of birth of an individual.
- Lachesis ("Allotter") - Measures the thread length to determine the length of life.
- Atropos ("Inevitable") - Cuts the thread of life, determining time of death.
- Furies (Erinyes) - The Goddesses of Vengeance.
- Dark Lady (Tisiphone) - Together with her sisters, Dark Lady is one of the Furies.
- Ember (Alecto) - Together with her sisters, Ember is one of the Furies.
- Lady Ash (Magaera) - Together with her sisters, Lady Ash is one of the goddesses of vengeance known as the Furies.
- Hades (Pluto) - Hades is the god of the underworld making him one of the Hell-Lords.
- Hebe - Hebe is the goddess of youth.
- Hecate - Hecate is he goddess of magic, witchcraft, necromancy and crossroads.
- Hephaestus (Hephaestus Aetnaeus) - Hephaestus is the god of fire and metallurgy. He is also the Gods' blacksmith.
- Hera (Hera Argeia) - Hera is the Queen of the Gods. She is the goddess of marriage and fidelity.
- Hercules (Herakles) - Hercules is the god of strength and labor. He is an Avenger.
- Hermes (Hermes Diaktoros) - Hermes is the god of speed and the messenger of the Gods. He is the god of boundaries and transitions, as well as of thieves, wrestling, invention and trade.
- The Huntsman (Cephalus) - The Huntsman is a servant of Zeus and later Hera. He is often used as an enforcer against the other gods.
- Kratos - Kratos is the god of force.
- Poseidon (Poseidon Aegaeus) - Poseidon is the god of the sea. As such, he can breathe both in air and water.
- Neptunia (Rhode) - Neptunia is a Sea Goddess.
- Nox (Nyx) - Nox is the goddess of the night, although she may have degenerated into a demon. She is a member of the Fear Lords.
- Pan (Aegipan) - Pan is the god of shepherds and flocks.
- Persephone - Persephone is the Queen of the Underworld. She is also the goddess of spring.
- Phobos - Phobos is the god of fear.
- Psyche - Psyche is the goddess of fidelity.
- Thanatos - Thanatos is the god of death.
- Tharamus - Tharamus is the god of learning but works as the curator of the Museum of Greek Antiquity. Tharamus is killed by Ares protecting his artifacts.
- Vesta (Hestia) - Vesta is the Goddess of the Home.
- Zeus (Zeus Panhellenios) - Zeus is the god of the sky and thunder. As King of the Olympian Gods, he is a member of the Council of Godheads.
Known Titans
The Titans, also known as the elder gods, ruled the earth from Mount Othrys, before the Olympians overthew them. The ruler of the Titans was Cronus who was de-throned by his son Zeus. Most of the Titans fought with Cronus against Zeus and were punished by being banished to Tartarus.
- Gaea - One of the primordial gods, and goddess of the earth. She mated with her son Uranus to produce the Titans. The first to exist was Chaos, a void of unexplained origin. After Chaos, Gaia appeared, through whom the whole Cosmos came to be; for the world is not created, but procreated. Then Gaia bore Uranus (Heaven), as an equal to herself; for as the gods have in her a sure standing-place, they have, in Uranus, a secure resting place. This is why Heaven and Earth, though being different, are equal. And after Uranus, she brought forth, by herself, the mountains and Pontus, the sea. Together they produced the twelve Titans, three Cyclopes and three Hecatoncheires, hundred handed creatures.
- Uranus - One of the primordial gods, and god of the heavens. Uranus was created by Gaea in order to surround and cover her, but soon he became her mate and together they produced the twelve Titans, three Cyclopes and three Hecatoncheires, hundred handed creatures, which Uranus used to loathe. Fearful of his children overthrowing him, Uranus pushed his children one by one back into the womb of his wife Gaea. Every time this happened, Gaea was suffering over the loss of children and feeling outraged by this injustice. Until one day, she decided to hand an unbreakable adamantine sickle to her son Cronus, the youngest, but boldest of Gaea's children, giving him the order to castrate Uranus. Cronus obeyed and at that night he hid himself in his parents' bed; hence he managed to castrate his father while he was sleeping. The blood of Uranus then started splattering onto the earth, producing Erinyes (Furies), Giants, and Melian Nymphs. Afterwards, Cronus threw his father's genitals into the sea of Paphos in Cyprus, around which foams developed, transforming slowly into Aphrodite, the Olympian Greek goddess of love and beauty.
- Cronus - Titan of Eternal Time and King of the Titans, until overthrown by his own son Zeus. Son of the primordial gods, Uranus (Heaven) and Gaea (Earth). Married to his sister Rhea with whom they represented "eternal flow", as they gave birth to a new generation gods, known as the Olympian Gods: Hestia, Poseidon, Hades, Demeter, Hera and Zeus.
- Oceanus (Okeanos) - Titan of the fresh water rivers that bound the earth; including wells, springs, river and rain. The Oldest of the twelve Titans. Husband of Tethys, she is said to have bore three thousand daughters, known as the Oceanids.
- Iapetus - Titan of mortal life span. Son of Uranus and Gaea. He he married his niece Clymene, daughter of Titans Oceanus and Tethys. Iapetus was the father of the Titans, Atlas, Menoetius, Prometheus and Epimetheus.
- Hyperion - Titan of light, also known as a Pillar of the east. Hyperion's name means "watcher from above" or "he who goes above". Son of Uranus and Gaea. Married to his sister, Theia, and they had three children, Helios ("Sun"), Selene ("Moon") and Eos ("Dawn").
- Crius - Titan god of heavenly constellations and was also known as a Pillar of the south pole. Married his half-sister Eurybia, daughter of Gaea and Pontus, and became father of Perses, Pallas and Astraeus.
- Coeus - Titan of intellect. He married his sister Phoebe, became the father of Leto and Asteria.
- Rhea - Titaness of fertility and motherhood. She married her brother, Cronus and was the mother of Olympians: Hestia, Poseidon, Hades, Demeter, Hera and Zeus. When it was prophesied that her children would overthrow her brother/husband, Cronus, he took steps to prevent it.
- Tethys - Titaness of the sea. She married her brother, Oceanus. She became the mother of all the river gods. She is said to have bore three thousand daughters, known as the Oceanids.
- Theia - Titaness of shining and light, associated with all that glimmers. She was sometimes called, Euryphaessa ("wide-shining"). She married her brother Hyperion, and was the mother of Eos ("Dawn"), Helios ("Sun"), and Selene ("Moon").
- Phoebe - Titaness of the Moon, married her brother Coeus (Coeus). Phoebe became the mother of Leto and Asteria, so Phoebe was the grandmother of Apollo, Artemis and Hecate.
- Themis - Titaness of justice and order. Themis was the second wife of Zeus. Themis became the mother of many children, including the Horae ("Seasons") and the Fates (Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos).
- Mnemosyne - Titaness of memory. Mnemosyne ("Memory") was the daughter of Uranus and Gaea. By Zeus, she was the mother of nine daughters, known as the Muses. Zeus had slept with Mnemosyne for nine nights, and one year later, she gave birth to the nine wondrous daughters. Mnemosyne had named them as Cleio, Euterpe, Thaleia, Melpomene, Terpischore, Erato, Polyhymnia, Urania and Calliope being her eldest daughter.
- Atlas - Titan of strength & endurance. Son of the Titan Iapetus by the Oceanid Clymene. Brother of Menoetius, Prometheus and Epimetheus. When his brother, Prometheus tried to persuade him not to go to war against the Olympians, he did not listen. Zeus punished Atlas, by making the Titan carry the weight of the sky upon his shoulders. Married to the Oceanid nymph Pleione, who gave birth to the Pleiades, the Hyades, and Hyas.
- Prometheus - Titan of forethought. Son of the Titan Iapetus by the Oceanid Clymene. Both were Oceanids. Prometheus was the brother of Atlas, Menoetius and Epimetheus. Prometheus married Pronoea and was the father of Deucalion. During the war between the Titans and Olympians, Prometheus sided with Zeus, knowing that the war would end with the younger gods winning the war. Prometheus unsuccessfully tried to persuade his father Iapetus and his brother Atlas to change side. Iapetus was thrown into Tartarus, while Atlas would be forever burdened with the weight of heaven on his shoulder.
- Epimetheus - Titan of afterthought. Epimetheus ("Afterthought") was the son of the Titan Iapetus by the Oceanid Clymene. Brother of Prometheus, Menoetius and Atlas. Epimetheus married the first mortal woman Pandora and was the father of Pyrrha.
- Menoetius - Titan of violent anger and rash action. Son of the Titan Iapetus by the Oceanid Clymene. Brother of Atlas, Prometheus and Epimetheus.