In Greek religion and mythology, the 12 Olympians are the major deities of the Greek pantheon: Zeus, Poseidon, Hera, Demeter, Aphrodite, Athena, Artemis, Apollo, Ares, Hephaestus, Hermes, and either Hestia or Dionysus. It is very common to refer to the Greek pantheon as “the 12 Olympian Gods”.
NOTE – the ancient Greeks did not worship specific twelve gods. Instead, there were many more, major and lesser – but nonetheless important – gods and others that were worshiped locally.
