Friday Art & History Feature - Mount Olympus

Today, on my niece Rebecca's request, I will talk about Mount Olympus.




Highest peak of Mount Olympus in Greece


Mount Olympus is a real mountain in Greece, about 100 miles from the city Thessaloniki. It is the highest mountain in Greece and contains 52 peaks.

The fame of Mount Olympus comes from the Greek mythology, in which the Mount was considered the residence of the 12 major gods. According to mythology it was created after the titans were defeated by gods in the great Titan War. The following gods made it their home:
 

Gods of Mount Olympus

 Zeus (the main "father" god, god of sky and thunder), Hera (Zeus wife, goddess of women, home and marriage), Demeter (goddess of grains and fertility of the earth), Athena (goddess of wisdom, courage, warfare and law and justice, as well as art), Poseidon (god of and earthquakes), Hestia (virgin goddess of hearth, family and architecture), Apollo (sun god of light, truth and prophecy, healing, music and poetry), Artemis (virgin moon goddess of hunt and wild animals and childbirth, as well as patroness of young girls), Ares (god of war), Aphrodite (goddess of love, beauty and procreation), Hephaestus (god of blacksmiths, sculptors, metal workers and fire) and Hermes (god of messengers, literature and writers, orators and thieves).

Zeus

The food and drink on Mount Olympus was called Nectar and Ambrosia - the food of gods. Nectar was a sweet drink made from fermented honey.

Goddess Artemis, goddess of moon, hunt and wild animals - Versailles

Zeus ruled Mount Olympus, calling the gods who did not reside on the Mount Olympus to attend his court when summoned. Goddesses named Seasons kept the gate of clouds that would permit the divine beings to enter and exit Olympus.

Lines from the "Odyssey" describe Mount Olympus
:

"So saying, Minerva, goddess azure-eyed,
Rose to Olympus, the reputed seat
Eternal of the gods, which never storms
Disturb, rains drench, or snow invades, but calm
The expanse and cloudless shines with purest day.
There the inhabitants divine rejoice
For ever." (Thomas Bulfinch)