The two components of the dodecatheon name are the Greek word dodeka meaning twelve and thios meaning god(s). What the name actually signifies is open to discussion. It might reference the twelve Olympian gods. Eleven of them are Zeus, Poseidon, Hera, Demeter, Aphrodite, Athena, Apollo, Ares, Hephaestus, Artemis and Hermes. There is a debate as to whether the twelfth is Hestia or Dionysus. They are referred to as Olympian because they were believed to live on Mt. Olympus.
I love cyclamens!
Thanks for the info!
I vote for the 12th to be Dionysus, the Greek patron God of wine in the Olympian pantheon, also commonly associated as the God of festivities, fertility, drunkenness and madness. Altho, I’ve recently read that any quantity of alcohol is harmful.