The ancient Greeks were very religious people. They worshiped many gods whom they believed appeared in human and were endowed with superhuman strength and ageless beauty. Homer a Greek poet believed that each city was protected by a deity, for example, Athens and the goddess Athena. The sole requirement for the Greeks were to believe that gods existed and to perform rituals and sacrifices through which go received their due. In the ancient Greek religion, the twelve Olympians were considered to be the major deities of the Greek pantheon. Commonly considered to be Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Hera, Hestia, Athena, Artemis, Apollo, Aphrodite, Hephaestus, Ares, and Hermes.