The Most Powerful Greek Gods, Ranked By Their Mythical Might

Duties: Zeus rules as a king of the gods from Mount Olympus, the tallest mountain in Greece. Zeus can brew storms, and he wields lightning bolts as his weapon of choice.

Pros: Zeus may be king of the gods but that doesn't mean he is disinterested in humans. In fact he is very invested and wants to see civilization succeed. He is committed to the idea of justice, truth, and is a stickler for hospitality etiquette. Many see him as a protector of some of society's most vulnerable members, including beggars.

Cons: In many myths, Zeus is always falling in and out of love or scheming to hook up with whomever strikes his fancy. He often uses disguise and trickery to accomplish this. Zeus doggedly pursues his extramarital affairs without any regard to the feelings of his wife Hera. Furthermore, his interest in human affairs means that he sometimes intervenes, robbing people of their agency.

Most Memorable Myth: Zeus was born to the deities Rhea and Cronus, king of the titans. The couple already had numerous children - but none of them were alive. That's because Cronus insisted on gobbling down every single one of his newly born children. He had heard a prophecy that his children would overthrow him, and he certainly didn't want that to happen. So, he ate them.

Rhea didn't want baby Zeus to share the same fate as his older siblings. So she swaddled a rock and handed it to Cronus, who gulped it down. Rhea then spirited Zeus away to safety, far from his father. Kind nymphs raised the young god. 

Zeus eventually returned and had a showdown with Cronus by making him vomit up the children he had consumed. One after another, all of Zeus's older siblings sprang from their father. They joined forces against Cronus, ultimately defeating him.

Duties: Poseidon rules the sea. He makes full use of his kingdom by stirring up storms or fair weather. He is the protector of sailors, who eagerly pray to him in the hopes that he will grant them smooth sailing.

Pros: Though Poseidon is king of the ocean, he is associated with horses - he fathered Pegasus, the flying horse - and he uses a chariot to travel around the sea. He carries a trident, which adds a hint of majesty to his figure. He can also be generous, such as the time he created a constellation in honor of the dolphin Delphinus in thanks for his help in convincing his wife to come home.

Cons: Poseidon can be fickle and turn the sea on a dime. He is also fond of using his resplendent trident to create earthquakes. 

Most Memorable Myth: Poseidon and his nephew Apollo teamed up to create walls for the city of Troy. But the Trojans never settled the bill for the construction project. Furious, Poseidon sent a sea monster to attack the city.

Duties: Hades rules over the underworld and his subjects are the souls of the dead. 

Pros: Everyone will come to Hades eventually. One of the objects associated with Hades is a helmet that renders the wearer invisible, underlining his role as ruler of an unseen spirit world. He sometimes bends his rules if he thinks he has just cause.

Cons: Hades is far from the most popular god. In fact, he doesn't even reside on Mount Olympus. Instead, he lives in the underworld. His kingdom is not generally a happy place and is guarded by a three-headed dog named Cerberus. He gives deceased people no opportunity to return to Earth once they enter his realm. 

Most Memorable Myth: The musician Orpheus fell in love with Eurydice. Tragically, a snakebite prematurely took her life, and she traveled to Hades. Consumed with grief, Orpheus followed her into the underworld, hoping that he could bring her back to the land of the living. Orpheus used his gift for music to win over Hades. The god agreed that Eurydice could leave with her husband.

But there was a catch: Eurydice would have to walk behind Orpheus the whole way, and he could not turn around to look at her. Orpheus would just have to trust she was behind him. He agreed, and the couple began their journey home. 

Unfortunately, Orpheus couldn't help himself and, at the last minute, turned to look at Eurydice only to see her vanish back into the underworld.

Duties: Athena was a deeply respected goddess in ancient Greece, likely because she personifies something high on their list of values: wisdom. She serves as the protector of Athens and is also the goddess of craftsmen and warfare, possessing a brilliant military mind capable of out-strategizing the god of war himself.  

Pros: Make no mistake: Athena's biggest strength is her fierce intelligence. She can also be loyal by protecting and supporting those whom she believes in, like Odysseus, Hercules, and Perseus. She's also well-rounded and enjoys sewing and farming as much as she enjoys the battlefield.

Cons: Zeus favors Athena above all his other (many) children, and there is nothing more annoying than the favored child. She's also seen as the personification of civilization, so it isn't a stretch to imagine her as a bit arrogant or holier-than-thou. Though known for keeping a cool head, she exhibits her stone-cold deceptiveness during the Trojan War. She disguised herself as the Trojan hero Hector's beloved brother, and fooled him into thinking that he could fight Achilles one-on-one. Hector died due to Athena's deception. 

Most Memorable Myth: How did Athena give the city of Athens its name? She won the naming rights. Both Athena and Poseidon wanted to claim the city as their own. So they entered into a friendly competition: present the city with a gift. The deity who presented the most useful gift would win and earn the right to protect the city.

Poseidon gave the city a spring. But it was a saltwater spring, so they couldn't do much with it. Athena gave them an olive tree, which would continue to nourish them. It was a gift that kept on giving. 

And so Athena won and named the city “Athens.”

Duties: Like so many of the gods of Mount Olympus, Apollo performs a whole host of functions: god of light, music, dancing, and archery, just to name a few. He is Artemis's twin brother.

Pros: Apollo was an incredibly popular god in ancient Greece. So many of Apollo's associations require skill, so he comes across as an extremely cultured and refined god. Indeed, Apollo is known for playing the lyre, and one of his many children is Orpheus, mythology's most famous musician. As the god of medicine and healing, he is also an incredibly useful deity to mortals.

Cons: Not everything is light with Apollo. Like his father Zeus, Apollo is a bit of a playboy. He can also be incredibly vengeful in his relationships. When one of his lovers - Coronis, the mother of one of his many children - was having a side affair, he had her killed. Though the god of healers, he also is known to bring death and disease, like the time he brought a plague on an entire army because its king disobeyed the gods. 

Most Memorable Myth: During the Trojan war, Apollo pledged his support to the Trojans. One Trojan hero was his favorite: Hector, the king's son, who was equal parts brave and moral. Apollo went out of his way to protect Hector during the war. Eventually, however, the legendary warrior Achilles bested Hector in battle. But Apollo protected him until the end: he magically shielded Hector's corpse so that Achilles couldn't rob its dignity by mutilating it. 

Duties: As goddess of the hunt, Artemis loves being where the wild things are and often carries a bow and arrows. But even though she embodies hunting, she also protects animals. A virgin goddess, Artemis also serves as the protector of young girls. She is Apollo's twin sister.

Pros: Artemis likes being outdoors and always appreciates the value of the natural world. She also defends women in a world that is often cruel to them. She deeply values her freedom and independence and won't conform to what others expect of her.

Cons: She isn't someone who would enjoy a day in the city. Like so many of the deities of Mount Olympus, Artemis has a vengeful streak and often demands recompense when she feels she has been wronged; she isn't one to turn the other cheek. Her pack of hunting dogs accompany her (though some would consider this a pro).

Most Memorable Myth: King Agamemnon of Mycenae hunted a deer one day in a part of the forest that was considered holy. Enraged, Artemis demanded that he sacrifice his daughter Iphigenia. To underline her point, she calmed the winds that were supposed to take his fleet to Troy for war. Agamemnon relented and made ready to sacrifice his daughter. But before he could go through with it, Artemis swapped in a deer for Iphigenia and deposited the princess safely at a temple, far away from her father.