Greek Gods, Godesses, and Creatures
Menu
The Greek gods are probably the ones you are most familiar with. There is Zues, Ares, and Athena, but there are many, many others. Click on the names below to find out about each of the gods and goddesses.
Aphrodite
Apollo
Ares
Artemis
Athena
Demeter
Hephaestus
Hera
Hermes
Poseidon
Zeus
Pegasus
APHRODITE ( Roman
name Venus) was the goddess of love, beauty and fertility.
She was the daughter of Zeus and Dione.
The Trojan prince Paris chose Aphrodite as the most beatutiful over Hera and Athena. The other two was going to bribe him with power and victory in battle, but Aphrodite offered the love of the most beautiful woman in the world.
Aphrodite was married to the craftsman god Hephaestus. She was unfaithful to him with Ares, and in the book Odyssey, Hephaestus had his revenge.
APOLLO ( Roman
name Apollo) was the god of prophesy, music and healing.
Like most of his fellow Olympians, Apollo did not hesitate to intervene
in human affairs. Apollo was the one who helped defeat Achilles. Achilles
was the best fighter of all the heroes who fought the Trojans. He had
easily defeated the Trojan captain Hector in single combat. Apollo helped
Hector's brother Paris get revenge and kill Achilles with an arrow shot
at his heel.
Apollo is often depicted playing the lyre since he is the god of music. He did not invent the instrument, but Hermes gave it to him as a reward. He won many musical contests playing the lyre.
ARES ( Roman name
Mars) was the god of war, but he himself was not to great a warrior. He
was bested by Hercules in battle and was almost killed when stuffed into
a jar by two giants. When another person wounded him during the Trojan
War, he received little sympathy from Zeus.
In appearance, Ares was handsome and cruel. He is often depicted carrying
a bloodstained spear. His throne on Mount Olympus was said to be covered
in human skin.
The Roman god Mars, with whom Ares was identified, was the father of Romulus and Remus, the mythological founders of Rome. Thus he was more important to the Romans than his Greek counterpart. He was also more dignified.
Back to top
Artemis
ARTEMIS ( Roman
name Diana) was the virgin goddess of the hunt. She helped women in childbirth
but also brought sudden death with her arrows.
Artemis and her brother Apollo were the children of Zeus and Leto.
When Apollo noticed that Artemis was spending a great deal of time hunting with the giant Orion, he put an end to the relationship with a challenge Artemis couldn't refuse. He challenged Artemis to prove her skill at archery by shooting at an object floating far out at sea. Her shot was perfect and the target was the head of Orion.
Artemis is usually thought of as a young woman clad in buckskins, carrying a bow and a quiver of arrows. She is often accompanied by wild creatures such as a stag or a female bear.
ATHENA ( Roman name Minerva)
was the goddess of crafts and the domestic arts and also those of war.
Her symbol was the owl.
Zeus was once married to Metis. When Metis became pregnant, Zeus was warned
by Earth that a son born to Metis would overthrow him, just as he had
usurped his own father's throne.
So Zeus swallowed Metis. In time he was overcome with a splitting headache and summoned help from the craftsman god Hephaestus. Hephaestus cut open Zeus's forehead with an ax, and Athena came out fully armed.
Athena also helped Perseus
in his quest to kill Medusa because she wanted the Gorgon's head to decorate
her shield.
Back to top
DEMETER ( Roman name Ceres)
was the goddess of farming. Demeter was the sister of Zeus and the mother
of Persephone.
Persephone was gathering flowers in a meadow one day when a huge crack
opened up in the earth and Hades, King of the Dead, emerged from the Underworld.
He seized Persephone and carried her off in his chariot, back down to
his his realm below, where she became his queen. Demeter was heartbroken.
She wandered the length and breadth of the earth in search of her daughter,
during which time the crops withered and it became perpetual winter.
At length Hades was persuaded to surrender Persephone for one half of every year, the spring and summer seasons when flowers bloom and the earth bears fruit once more. The half year that Persephone spends in the Underworld as Hades' queen coincides with the barren season.
When seen in art, Demeter is often shown carrying a sheaf of grain.
HEPHAESTUS ( Roman name Vulcan)
was the lame god of fire and crafts. Hephaestus was the son of Zeus and
Hera. He limped because he was born lame, which caused his mother to throw
him off Mount Olympus.
Hephaestus made many masterpieces show his superb craftsmanship, such
as the marvelous palaces that he built for the gods atop Mount Olympus,
or the armor that he made for Achilles during the siege of Troy.
Hephaestus also created the
first woman, Pandora, at the command of Zeus, in retaliation for the various
tricks by which the Titan Prometheus had benefited mortal men at the expense
of the gods. Pandora was given to the Titan's brother, Epimetheus, as
his wife. For her dowry she brought a jar filled with evils from which
she removed the lid, thereby afflicting men for the first time with hard
work and sickness. Only hope remained inside the jar.
Back to top
Hera
HERA ( Roman name
Juno) was the goddess of marriage. Hera was the wife of Zeus and Queen
of the Olympians.
Hera hated the great hero Hercules since he was the son of her husband
Zeus and a mortal woman. When he was still an infant, she sent snakes
to attack him in his crib, but Hercules strangled them.
In Greek mythology, Hera was the reigning female goddess of Olympus because
she was Zeus's wife. But her worship is actually far older than that of
her husband. It goes back to a time when the creative force we call "God"
was conceived of as a woman. The Goddess took many forms, among them that
of a bird.
Hera was worshipped throughout Greece, and the oldest and most important
temples were consecrated to her. Her subjugation to Zeus and depiction
as a jealous shrew are mythological reflections of one of the most profound
changes ever in human spirituality.
HERMES ( Roman
name Mercury) was the messenger of the gods and guide of dead souls to
the Underworld. He was a prankster and was a genius at inventing things.
His symbol was a crooked
staff.
Hermes was the son Zeus and a mountain nymph. On his very first day of
life, he found the empty shell of a turtle and saw its use as a sounding
chamber. Stringing sinews across it, he created the first lyre.
Hermes was known for his helpfulness to mankind. When Perseus set out to face the Gorgon Medusa, Hermes aided him in the quest. He loaned the hero his own magic sandals, which gave the wearer the ability to fly. He also let Perseus use his helmet to make him invisible.
It was Hermes' job to convey dead souls to the Underworld. Hermes was known to the Romans as Mercury. His most famous depiction, a statue by Bellini, shows him alight on one foot, wings at his heels, the staff in hand and, on his head, a rather stylized combination helmet-of-darkness and sun hat.
POSEIDON ( Roman name Neptune) was the god of the sea, earthquakes and horses. Although he was officially one of the supreme gods of Mount Olympus, he spent most of his time in his watery domain. Poseidon was brother to Zeus and Hades.
Although there were various rivers personified as gods, these would have been technically under Poseidon's rule. Similarly, Nereus, the Old Man of the Sea, wasn't really considered on a par with Poseidon, who was known to drive his chariot through the waves in unquestioned dominance. Poseidon married Nereus's daughter, the sea-nymph Amphitrite.
ZEUS ( Roman
name Jupiter) was the ruler of all the gods of Olympia. He was the father
of the heroes Perseus and Hercules, and Hercules once wrestled him to
a draw.
Zeus was the youngest son of the Titans Cronus and Rhea. When he was born,
his father Cronus was going to swallow him as he had all of Zeus's siblings:
Poseidon, Hades, Hestia, Demeter and Hera. But Rhea hid the newborn in
a cave in Crete and gave Zeus a rock to swallow instead.
Once grown up, Zeus caused Cronus to vomit up his sisters and brothers,
and these gods joined him in fighting to take control of the universe
from the Titans and Cronus, their king. Having vanquished his father and
the other Titans, Zeus imprisoned most of them in the underworld of Tartarus.
H e and his brothers, Poseidon and Hades, divided up creation. Poseidon
received the sea as his domain, Hades got the Underworld and Zeus took
the sky. Zeus also was accorded supreme authority on earth and on Mount
Olympus.
Back to top
Pegasus was Bellerophon's winged horse. Pegasus came into being when Perseus cut of Medusa's head. Bellerophon was able to capture and tame Pegasus with a golden bridle given to him by Athena. One time Bellerophon killed the chimera while riding on Pegasus.
