In the
ancient Greek religion and
Greek 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.
Hades and
Persephone were sometimes included as part of the twelve Olympians (primarily due to the influence of the
Eleusinian Mysteries), although in general Hades was excluded, because he resided permanently in the
underworld and never visited
Olympus.