“ …And the spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me the sound of a great tumult, saying, Blessed be the glory of Jehovah from his place and the sound of the wings of the living creatures touching each other to the other and the sound of the wheels along with them and the sound of a great tumult…” (Ezekiel 3:12). And it’s smoke went up like the smoke of a furnace and the mountain quaked exceedingly…” (Exodus 19:16-18). There were thunders and lightnings, and a heavy cloud upon the mountain, and the sound of a ram’s horn, very strong! And all the people of the camp trembled…And mountain of Sinai was smoking, all of it because Jehovah came down on it in fire. “ …And on the third day, it being morning, it happened. The show took a closer look at the infamous emperor and let you decide whether he was a young, inexperienced ruler trying his best in a divided society, or the merciless, matricidal megalomaniac history has painted him to be.Yahweh lands on Mt Sinai. If ancient Rome is your thing, you can still view highlights from our special exhibition Nero: the man behind the myth which ran from to.

You can find replicas of some of these objects, and other products inspired by the Greek and Roman gods, in our online shop. Read more sensational stories of gods and goddesses, mortals and monsters in the book Greek mythology. This Pompeiian wall painting shows the god accompanied by a panther, holding a wine cup with vines and grapes in his hair. For Romans he was known as Bacchus, and the Bacchanalia – or Dionysia – were raucous festivals celebrating the god. He is most often shown with grapes and vines, as well as big cats like panthers, leopards and tigers. In some versions, Hestia (one of the children of Cronos and Rhea) is counted as the twelfth Olympian, instead of Dionysos.ĭionysos was the god of wine, vines, fertility, and festivity. Zeus also gave his son a golden chariot pulled by swans as a gift.įinally, we come to Dionysos, the youngest of the Olympian gods and son of Zeus and the mortal woman Semele. When the twins were born, swans are said to have circled the island seven times – hence their association with Apollo – and the island later became sacred to him. Leto found the island of Delos (in the Cyclades archipelago of Greece), which was a 'floating' island and wasn't anchored to the mainland, and gave birth to Apollo and Artemis safely there.

On hearing of Leto's pregnancy, Hera – Zeus' wife – banned Leto from giving birth on land. He is shown on this 4th-century BC Paestan bell-krater, or large wine-mixing bowl, with a white sun shining brightly above his head.Īpollo and Artemis were the children of Zeus and Leto. His symbols include (naturally enough) the sun, a bow and arrow, a lyre, and a swan. The twin brother of Artemis – or Diana – Apollo has many associations including the sun, music, archery, prophecy and healing. According to Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War, the ruler Pisistratus established an altar of the 12 gods in Athens around 522 BC.īut how can you tell Ares from Apollo? Do you know the difference between Athena, Artemis and Aphrodite?Īpollo is the only god in the classical pantheon to share the same name in both Greek and Roman traditions. In the Homeric Hymn to Hermes, from around 500 BC, Hermes stands at Olympia on the bank of the river Alpheius and divides a sacrifice into 12 portions for the gods. There is evidence for Greek religious practice involving 12 gods from the late 6th century BC. The Titans rebelled against their father Ouranos, overthrew him, and Cronos became the ruler of the gods until Zeus deposed him to rule over the Olympic gods – more on that shortly. Together, Gaia and Ouranos had 12 children – known as the Titans – including Cronos and Rhea, Zeus' parents. She then gave birth to Ouranos (the Sky) and other primordial deities like Pontos (the Sea) and Ourea (the Mountains). You may also know this group as the 'Twelve Olympians'.Īccording to Greek mythology, the world began when Gaia (the Earth) emerged from Chaos – an empty nothingness. Although any polytheistic religion (religion with multiple deities) can have a pantheon – and they existed in Norse, Aztec and Sumerian cultures to name a few – we're taking a look at the classical pantheon, and the 12 major deities included in it. Derived from the Greek words ‘πᾶν’ pan – all, and ‘θεός’ theos – god, pantheon literally means 'of all gods'.

Ancient glyphs of sky chariots of fire