Twelve Olympians. In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the twelve Olympians are the major deities of the Greek pantheon, commonly considered to be Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Demeter, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Ares, Aphrodite, Hephaestus, Hermes, and either Hestia or Dionysus.
   They were called Olympians because, according to tradition, they resided on Mount Olympus. Although Hades was a major ancient Greek god, and was the brother of the first generation of Olympians, his realm was the underworld, far from Olympus, and thus was not usually considered to be one of the Olympians.
   Besides the twelve Olympians, there were many other cultic groupings of twelve gods. The Olympians were a race of deities, primarily consisting of a third and fourth generation of immortal beings, worshipped as the principal gods of the Greek pantheon and so named because of their residency atop Mount Olympus.
   They gained their supremacy in a ten-year-long war of gods, in which Zeus led his siblings to victory over the previous generation of ruling gods, the Titans. They were a family of gods, the most important consisting of the first generation of Olympians, offspring of the Titans Cronus and Rhea: Zeus, Poseidon, Hera, Demeter and Hestia, along with the principal offspring of Zeus: Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Ares, Aphrodite, Hephaestus, Hermes, and Dionysus.
   Although Hades was a major deity in the Greek pantheon, and was th
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