There were are 360 Greek gods total. Out of those 360, there are 12 Olympian gods known as the 12 Olympians or the Big 12.
In Ancient Greek times they had shrines and temples for the gods. They mainly built the shrines and temples for the Big 12, but sometimes they built them for minor gods, too.
The gods were believed to live on Mt. Olympus in Greece. They invaded many countries such as Italy and India and some Greek heroes were born in other countries.
Ancient Greeks believed that the gods would kill them if they did certain things. Example 1: One time a king in Greece dressed up as Zeus - the king of gods - and went around telling everybody he was Zeus, then he got blasted by Zeus's mighty lightning bolt. Example 2: One time a woman called Arachne said she was better than Athena - the goddess of wisdom, warfare, weaving, et cetera - then Athena came down and challenged Arachne.
Some shrines were road-side. Travelers could stop at the shrines and pray to the god for safe passage.
The Big 12 contained Zeus, king of gods; Hera, queen of gods; Poseidon, god of the seas; Demeter, goddess of agriculture; Athena, goddess of wisdom and warfare; Apollo, god of the sun and archery; Artemis, goddess of the moon and the Hunt (older twin of Apollo); Ares, god of war; Aphrodite, goddess of love; Hephaestus, god of craftsmanship; Hermes, god of travel and thieves; and Dionysus, god of wine. (Dionysus was made a god and when that happened Hestia, goddess of the hearth, gave up her throne for Dionysus)
There is also the Big 3. The Big 3 are Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades - god of the Underworld.
When the Ancient Greeks prayed to the gods they sometimes prayed to them for help. But the Ancient Greeks were required to pray to them at least once a day and when they ate dinner they were supposed to throw the food in their fire for the gods as a sacrifice.
I hoped you enjoyed my article about the Greek gods.
Until next time!
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