| Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary 1,770,320,755 visitors served. |
|
Dictionary/ thesaurus | Medical dictionary | Legal dictionary | Financial dictionary | Acronyms | Idioms | Encyclopedia | Wikipedia encyclopedia | ? |
Olympian |
Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Wikipedia | 0.02 sec. |
|
Olympian, in Greek religion and mythology, one of the 12 important gods who succeeded the Titans as rulers of the universe. The divine family of the Olympians was headed by Zeus, who ruled the heavens and earth, and his queen, Hera. Zeus' brothers, Poseidon and Hades (also called Pluto), ruled the sea and underworld respectively. The divine children were Ares, Hermes, Apollo, Hephaestus, Athena, Aphrodite, and Artemis. It was said that Zeus' sister Hestia, who was also an Olympian, resigned her place to Dionysus. The Olympians, whose honors and attributes have come down to us almost entirely through Homer and Hesiod, lived in majestic splendor on Mt. Olympus. Similar to human beings in both physical appearance and character traits, the gods feasted on ambrosia and nectar and took special delight in their mortal loves. About the 6th cent. B.C. the Olympian gods began to yield in importance to the mystery cults (see mysteries mysteries, in Greek and Roman religion, some important secret cults. The conventional religions of both Greeks and Romans were alike in consisting principally of propitiation and prayers for the good of the city-state, the tribe, or the family, and only secondarily ..... Click the link for more information. ). Olympian 1. of or relating to Mount Olympus or to the classical Greek gods 2. of or relating to ancient Olympia or its inhabitants 3. a god of Olympus 4. an inhabitant or native of ancient Olympia How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content. |
|
| ? Mentioned in | ? References in classic literature | |
|---|---|---|
But one mark of a writer's greatness is that different minds can find in him different inspirations; and Professor Erlin, who hated the Prussians, gave his enthusiastic admiration to Goethe because his works, Olympian and sedate, offered the only refuge for a sane mind against the onslaughts of the present generation. Honour him then yourself, Olympian lord of counsel, and grant victory to the Trojans, till the Achaeans give my son his due and load him with riches in requital. Thus it threw shadows of these obscure and homely figures every evening with as much care over each contour as if it had been the profile of a court beauty on a palace wall; copied them as diligently as it had copied Olympian shapes on marble FACADES long ago, or the outline of Alexander, Caesar, and the Pharaohs. |
| Encyclopedia |
| Free Tools: |
For surfers:
Free toolbar & extensions |
Word of the Day |
Help
For webmasters: Free content | Linking | Lookup box | Double-click lookup | Partner with us |
|---|