Greek mythology

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Bust of Zeus, found in Otricoli, Italy (now in Sala Rotonda, Museo Pio-Clementino, Vatican).

Greek mythology is the body of myths and teachings that

belong to the ancient Greeks, concerning
their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins
and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. It was a
part of the religion in ancient Greece. Modern scholars refer to
and study the myths in an attempt to shed light on the religious
and political institutions of ancient Greece and its civilization, and
to gain understanding of the nature of myth-making itself. [1]
Greek mythology has had an extensive influence on the culture,
arts, and literature of Western civilization and remains part of
Western heritage and language. Poets and artists from ancient
times to the present have derived inspiration from Greek mythology and have discovered
contemporary significance and relevance in the themes. [2]

Greek mythology is explicitly embodied in a large collection of

narratives, and implicitly in Greek representational arts, such
as ancient vase-paintings and votive gifts. Greek myth
attempts to explain the origins of the world, and details the
lives and adventures of a wide variety of gods, goddesses,
heroes, heroines and mythological creatures. These accounts
initially were disseminated in an oral-poetic tradition; today the
Greek myths are known primarily from ancient Greek literature.
The oldest known Greek literary sources, Homer's epic
poems Iliad and Odyssey, focus on the Trojan War and its
aftermath. Two poems by Homer's near contemporary Hesiod,
the Theogony and the Works and Days, contain accounts of
the genesis of the world, the succession of divine rulers, the succession of human ages, the origin of
human woes, and the origin of sacrificial practices. Myths are also preserved in the Homeric Hymns,
in fragments of epic poems of the Epic Cycle, in lyric poems, in the works of
the tragedians and comedians of the fifth century BC, in writings of scholars and poets of
the Hellenistic Age, and in texts from the time of the Roman Empire by writers such
as Plutarch and Pausanias.
Archaeological findings provide a principal source of detail about Greek mythology, with gods and
heroes featured prominently in the decoration of many artifacts. Geometric designs on pottery of the
eighth century BC depict scenes from the Trojan cycle as well as the adventures of Heracles. In the
succeeding Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic periods, Homeric and various other mythological
scenes appear, supplementing the existing literary evidence. [3]

Sources
Greek mythology is known today primarily from Greek literature and representations on visual media
dating from the Geometric period from c. 900–800 BC onward.[4] In fact, literary and archaeological
sources integrate, sometimes mutually supportive and sometimes in conflict; however, in many
cases, the existence of this corpus of data is a strong indication that many elements of Greek
mythology have strong factual and historical roots.[5]
Literary sources
Mythical narration plays an important role in nearly every genre of Greek literature. Nevertheless, the
only general mythographical handbook to survive from Greek antiquity was the Library of Pseudo-
Apollodorus. This work attempts to reconcile the contradictory tales of the poets and provides a
grand summary of traditional Greek mythology and heroic legends. [6] Apollodorus of Athens lived
from c. 180–125 BC and wrote on many of these topics. His writings may have formed the basis for
the collection; however the "Library" discusses events that occurred long after his death, hence the
name Pseudo-Apollodorus.

Prometheus (1868 by Gustave Moreau). The myth of Prometheus first was attested by Hesiod and then
constituted the basis for a tragic trilogy of plays, possibly by Aeschylus, consisting of Prometheus
Bound, Prometheus Unbound, and Prometheus Pyrphoros.

Among the earliest literary sources are Homer's two epic poems, the Iliad and the Odyssey. Other
poets completed the "epic cycle", but these later and lesser poems now are lost almost entirely.
Despite their traditional name, the "Homeric Hymns" have no direct connection with Homer. They
are choral hymns from the earlier part of the so-called Lyric age.[7] Hesiod, a possible contemporary
with Homer, offers in his Theogony (Origin of the Gods) the fullest account of the earliest Greek
myths, dealing with the creation of the world; the origin of the gods, Titans, and Giants; as well as
elaborate genealogies, folktales, and etiological myths. Hesiod's Works and Days, a didactic poem
about farming life, also includes the myths of Prometheus, Pandora, and the Five Ages. The poet
gives advice on the best way to succeed in a dangerous world, rendered yet more dangerous by its
gods.[3]
Lyrical poets often took their subjects from myth, but their treatment became gradually less narrative
and more allusive. Greek lyric poets, including Pindar, Bacchylides and Simonides, and bucolic
poets such as Theocritus and Bion, relate individual mythological incidents.[8] Additionally, myth was
central to classical Athenian drama. The tragic playwrights Aeschylus, Sophocles,
and Euripides took most of their plots from myths of the age of heroes and the Trojan War. Many of
the great tragic stories (e.g. Agamemnon and his children, Oedipus, Jason, Medea, etc.) took on
their classic form in these tragedies. The comic playwright Aristophanes also used myths, in The
Birds and The Frogs.[9]
Historians Herodotus and Diodorus Siculus, and geographers Pausanias and Strabo, who traveled
throughout the Greek world and noted the stories they heard, supplied numerous local myths and
legends, often giving little-known alternative versions.[8] Herodotus in particular, searched the various
traditions presented him and found the historical or mythological roots in the confrontation between
Greece and the East.[10] Herodotus attempted to reconcile origins and the blending of differing
cultural concepts.
The poetry of the Hellenistic and Roman ages was primarily composed as a literary rather than cultic
exercise. Nevertheless, it contains many important details that would otherwise be lost. This
category includes the works of:

1. The Roman poets Ovid, Statius, Valerius Flaccus, Seneca and Virgil with Servius's

commentary.
2. The Greek poets of the Late Antique period: Nonnus, Antoninus Liberalis, and Quintus
Smyrnaeus.
3. The Greek poets of the Hellenistic period: Apollonius of Rhodes, Callimachus, Pseudo-
Eratosthenes, and Parthenius.
Prose writers from the same periods who make reference to myths
include Apuleius, Petronius, Lollianus, and Heliodorus. Two other important non-poetical sources are
the Fabulae and Astronomica of the Roman writer styled as Pseudo-Hyginus,
the Imagines of Philostratus the Elder and Philostratus the Younger, and
the Descriptions of Callistratus.
Finally, a number of Byzantine Greek writers provide important details of myth, much derived from
earlier now lost Greek works. These preservers of myth include Arnobius, Hesychius, the author of
the Suda, John Tzetzes, and Eustathius. They often treat mythology from a Christian moralizing
perspective.[11]
Archaeological sources

The Roman poet Virgil, here depicted in the fifth-century manuscript, the Vergilius Romanus, preserved details
of Greek mythology in many of his writings.

The discovery of the Mycenaean civilization by the German amateur archaeologist Heinrich

Schliemann in the nineteenth century, and the discovery of the Minoan civilization in Crete by the
British archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans in the twentieth century, helped to explain many existing
questions about Homer's epics and provided archaeological evidence for many of the mythological
details about gods and heroes. Unfortunately, the evidence about myths and rituals at Mycenaean
and Minoan sites is entirely monumental, as the Linear B script (an ancient form of Greek found in
both Crete and mainland Greece) was used mainly to record inventories, although certain names of
gods and heroes have been tentatively identified. [3]
Geometric designs on pottery of the eighth century BC depict scenes from the Trojan cycle, as well
as the adventures of Heracles.[3] These visual representations of myths are important for two
reasons. Firstly, many Greek myths are attested on vases earlier than in literary sources: of the
twelve labors of Heracles, for example, only the Cerberus adventure occurs in a contemporary
literary text.[12] Secondly, visual sources sometimes represent myths or mythical scenes that are not
attested in any extant literary source. In some cases, the first known representation of a myth in
geometric art predates its first known representation in late archaic poetry, by several centuries. [4] In
the Archaic (c. 750–c. 500 BC), Classical (c. 480–323 BC), and Hellenistic (323–146 BC) periods,
Homeric and various other mythological scenes appear, supplementing the existing literary
evidence.[3]

Survey of mythic history

Phaedra with an attendant, probably her nurse, a fresco from Pompeii, 60-20 BC

Greek mythology has changed over time to accommodate the evolution of their culture, of which
mythology, both overtly and in its unspoken assumptions, is an index of the changes. In Greek
mythology's surviving literary forms, as found mostly at the end of the progressive changes, it is
inherently political, as Gilbert Cuthbertson has argued. [13]
The earlier inhabitants of the Balkan Peninsula were an agricultural people who, using Animism,
assigned a spirit to every aspect of nature. Eventually, these vague spirits assumed human forms
and entered the local mythology as gods.[14] When tribes from the north of the Balkan Peninsula
invaded, they brought with them a new pantheon of gods, based on conquest, force, prowess in
battle, and violent heroism. Other older gods of the agricultural world fused with those of the more
powerful invaders or else faded into insignificance. [15]
After the middle of the Archaic period, myths about relationships between male gods and male
heroes became more and more frequent, indicating the parallel development of pedagogic
pederasty (eros paidikos, παιδικὸς ἔρως), thought to have been introduced around 630 BC. By the
end of the fifth century BC, poets had assigned at least one eromenos, an adolescent boy who was
their sexual companion, to every important god except Ares and to many legendary figures.
[16]
 Previously existing myths, such as those of Achilles and Patroclus, also then were cast in
a pederastic light.[17] Alexandrian poets at first, then more generally literary mythographers in the
early Roman Empire, often re-adapted stories of Greek mythological characters in this fashion.
The achievement of epic poetry was to create story-cycles and, as a result, to develop a new sense
of mythological chronology. Thus Greek mythology unfolds as a phase in the development of the
world and of humans.[18] While self-contradictions in these stories make an absolute timeline
impossible, an approximate chronology may be discerned. The resulting mythological "history of the
world" may be divided into three or four broader periods:

1. The myths of origin or age of gods (Theogonies, "births of gods"): myths about the origins of
the world, the gods, and the human race.
2. The age when gods and mortals mingled freely: stories of the early interactions between
gods, demigods, and mortals.
3. The age of heroes (heroic age), where divine activity was more limited. The last and greatest
of the heroic legends is the story of the Trojan War and after (which is regarded by some
researchers as a separate, fourth period). [19]
While the age of gods often has been of more interest to contemporary students of myth, the Greek
authors of the archaic and classical eras had a clear preference for the age of heroes, establishing a
chronology and record of human accomplishments after the questions of how the world came into
being were explained. For example, the heroic Iliad and Odyssey dwarfed the divine-
focused Theogony and Homeric Hymns in both size and popularity. Under the influence of Homer
the "hero cult" leads to a restructuring in spiritual life, expressed in the separation of the realm of the
gods from the realm of the dead (heroes), of the Chthonic from the Olympian.[20] In the Works and
Days, Hesiod makes use of a scheme of Four Ages of Man (or Races): Golden, Silver, Bronze, and
Iron. These races or ages are separate creations of the gods, the Golden Age belonging to the reign
of Cronos, the subsequent races to the creation of Zeus. The presence of evil was explained by the
myth of Pandora, when all of the best of human capabilities, save hope, had been spilled out of her
overturned jar.[21] In Metamorphoses, Ovid follows Hesiod's concept of the four ages. [22]
Origins of the world and the gods
Further information: Greek primordial gods and Family tree of the Greek gods
Amor Vincit Omnia (Love Conquers All), a depiction of the god of love, Eros. By Michelangelo Merisi da
Caravaggio, circa 1601–1602.

"Myths of origin" or "creation myths" represent an attempt to explain the beginnings of the universe
in human language.[23] The most widely accepted version at the time, although a philosophical
account of the beginning of things, is reported by Hesiod, in his Theogony. He begins with Chaos, a
yawning nothingness. Out of the void emerged Gaia (the Earth) and some other primary divine
beings: Eros (Love), the Abyss (the Tartarus), and the Erebus.[24]Without male assistance, Gaia gave
birth to Uranus (the Sky) who then fertilized her. From that union were born first the Titans—six
males: Coeus, Crius, Cronus, Hyperion, Iapetus, and Oceanus; and six
females: Mnemosyne, Phoebe, Rhea, Theia, Themis, and Tethys. After Cronus was born, Gaia and
Uranus decreed no more Titans were to be born. They were followed by the one-eyed Cyclopes and
the Hecatonchires or Hundred-Handed Ones, who were both thrown into Tartarus by Uranus. This
made Gaia furious. Cronus ("the wily, youngest and most terrible of Gaia's children"[24]), was
convinced by Gaia to castrate his father. He did this, and became the ruler of the Titans with his
sister-wife Rhea as his consort, and the other Titans became his court.
A motif of father-against-son conflict was repeated when Cronus was confronted by his son, Zeus.
Because Cronus had betrayed his father, he feared that his offspring would do the same, and so
each time Rhea gave birth, he snatched up the child and ate it. Rhea hated this and tricked him by
hiding Zeus and wrapping a stone in a baby's blanket, which Cronus ate. When Zeus was full grown,
he fed Cronus a drugged drink which caused him to vomit, throwing up Rhea's other children and the
stone, which had been sitting in Cronus's stomach all along. Zeus then challenged Cronus to war for
the kingship of the gods. At last, with the help of the Cyclopes (whom Zeus freed from Tartarus),
Zeus and his siblings were victorious, while Cronus and the Titans were hurled down to
imprisonment in Tartarus.[25]

Attic black-figured amphoradepicting Athena being "reborn" from the head of Zeus, who had swallowed her
mother Metis, on the right, Eileithyia, the goddess of childbirth, assists, circa 550–525 BC (Musée du Louvre,
Paris).

Zeus was plagued by the same concern, and after a prophecy that the offspring of his first
wife, Metis, would give birth to a god "greater than he", Zeus swallowed her. [26] She was already
pregnant with Athena, however, and she burst forth from his head—fully-grown and dressed for war.
[27]

The earliest Greek thought about poetry considered the theogonies to be the prototypical poetic
genre—the prototypical mythos—and imputed almost magical powers to it. Orpheus,
the archetypalpoet, also was the archetypal singer of theogonies, which he uses to calm seas and
storms in Apollonius' Argonautica, and to move the stony hearts of the underworld gods in his
descent to Hades. When Hermes invents the lyre in the Homeric Hymn to Hermes, the first thing he
does is sing about the birth of the gods.[28] Hesiod's Theogony is not only the fullest surviving account
of the gods, but also the fullest surviving account of the archaic poet's function, with its long
preliminary invocation to the Muses. Theogony also was the subject of many lost poems, including
those attributed to Orpheus, Musaeus, Epimenides, Abaris, and other legendary seers, which were
used in private ritual purifications and mystery-rites. There are indications that Plato was familiar with
some version of the Orphic theogony.[29] A silence would have been expected about religious rites
and beliefs, however, and that nature of the culture would not have been reported by members of
the society while the beliefs were held. After they ceased to become religious beliefs, few would
have known the rites and rituals. Allusions often existed, however, to aspects that were quite public.
Images existed on pottery and religious artwork that were interpreted and more likely, misinterpreted
in many diverse myths and tales. A few fragments of these works survive in quotations
by Neoplatonist philosophers and recently unearthed papyrus scraps. One of these scraps,
the Derveni Papyrus now proves that at least in the fifth century BC a theogonic-cosmogonic poem
of Orpheus was in existence.[30]
The first philosophical cosmologists reacted against, or sometimes built upon, popular mythical
conceptions that had existed in the Greek world for some time. Some of these popular conceptions
can be gleaned from the poetry of Homer and Hesiod. In Homer, the Earth was viewed as a flat disk
afloat on the river of Oceanus and overlooked by a hemispherical sky with sun, moon, and stars.
The Sun (Helios) traversed the heavens as a charioteer and sailed around the Earth in a golden
bowl at night. Sun, earth, heaven, rivers, and winds could be addressed in prayers and called to
witness oaths. Natural fissures were popularly regarded as entrances to the subterranean house of
Hades and his predecessors, home of the dead.[31] Influences from other cultures always afforded
new themes.
Greek pantheon
Further information: Ancient Greek religion, Twelve Olympians, Family Tree of the Greek Gods,
and List of Mycenaean gods

Zeus, disguised as a swan, seduces Leda, the Queen of Sparta. A sixteenth-century copy of the lost original by
Michelangelo.

According to Classical-era mythology, after the overthrow of the Titans, the

new pantheon of gods and goddesses was confirmed. Among the principal Greek gods were the
Olympians, residing on Mount Olympus under the eye of Zeus. (The limitation of their number to
twelve seems to have been a comparatively modern idea.) [32] Besides the Olympians, the Greeks
worshipped various gods of the countryside, the satyr-god Pan, Nymphs (spirits of
rivers), Naiads (who dwelled in springs), Dryads (who were spirits of the trees), Nereids (who
inhabited the sea), river gods, Satyrs, and others. In addition, there were the dark powers of the
underworld, such as the Erinyes (or Furies), said to pursue those guilty of crimes against blood-
relatives.[33] In order to honor the Ancient Greek pantheon, poets composed the Homeric Hymns (a
group of thirty-three songs).[34] Gregory Nagy regards "the larger Homeric Hymns as simple preludes
(compared with Theogony), each of which invokes one god".[35]
The gods of Greek mythology are described as having essentially corporeal but ideal bodies.
According to Walter Burkert, the defining characteristic of Greek anthropomorphism is that "the
Greek gods are persons, not abstractions, ideas or concepts". [36] Regardless of their underlying
forms, the Ancient Greek gods have many fantastic abilities; most significantly, the gods are not
affected by disease, and can be wounded only under highly unusual circumstances. The Greeks
considered immortality as the distinctive characteristic of their gods; this immortality, as well as
unfading youth, was insured by the constant use of nectar and ambrosia, by which the divine blood
was renewed in their veins.[37]
Each god descends from his or her own genealogy, pursues differing interests, has a certain area of
expertise, and is governed by a unique personality; however, these descriptions arise from a
multiplicity of archaic local variants, which do not always agree with one another. When these gods
are called upon in poetry, prayer or cult, they are referred to by a combination of their name
and epithets, that identify them by these distinctions from other manifestations of themselves
(e.g., Apollo Musagetes is "Apollo, [as] leader of the Muses"). Alternatively the epithet may identify a
particular and localized aspect of the god, sometimes thought to be already ancient during the
classical epoch of Greece.
Most gods were associated with specific aspects of life. For example, Aphrodite was the goddess of
love and beauty, Ares was the god of war, Hades the ruler of the underworld, and Athena the
goddess of wisdom and courage. [38] Some gods, such as Apollo and Dionysus, revealed complex
personalities and mixtures of functions, while others, such as Hestia (literally "hearth")
and Helios (literally "sun"), were little more than personifications. The most
impressive temples tended to be dedicated to a limited number of gods, who were the focus of large
pan-Hellenic cults. It was, however, common for individual regions and villages to devote their own
cults to minor gods. Many cities also honored the more well-known gods with unusual local rites and
associated strange myths with them that were unknown elsewhere. During the heroic age, the cult of
heroes (or demi-gods) supplemented that of the gods.
Age of gods and mortals
Bridging the age when gods lived alone and the age when divine interference in human affairs was
limited was a transitional age in which gods and mortals moved together. These were the early days
of the world when the groups mingled more freely than they did later. Most of these tales were later
told by Ovid's Metamorphoses and they are often divided into two thematic groups: tales of love, and
tales of punishment.[39]

Dionysus with satyrs. Interior of a cup painted by the Brygos Painter, Cabinet des Médailles.

Tales of love often involve incest, or the seduction or rape of a mortal woman by a male god,
resulting in heroic offspring. The stories generally suggest that relationships between gods and
mortals are something to avoid; even consenting relationships rarely have happy endings. [40] In a few
cases, a female divinity mates with a mortal man, as in the Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite, where the
goddess lies with Anchises to produce Aeneas.[41]
The second type (tales of punishment) involves the appropriation or invention of some important
cultural artifact, as when Prometheus steals fire from the gods, when Tantalus steals nectar
and ambrosia from Zeus' table and gives it to his own subjects—revealing to them the secrets of the
gods, when Prometheus or Lycaon invents sacrifice, when Demeter teaches agriculture and
the Mysteries to Triptolemus, or when Marsyas invents the aulos and enters into a musical contest
with Apollo. Ian Morris considers Prometheus' adventures as "a place between the history of the
gods and that of man".[42] An anonymous papyrus fragment, dated to the third century, vividly
portrays Dionysus' punishment of the king of Thrace, Lycurgus, whose recognition of the new god
came too late, resulting in horrific penalties that extended into the afterlife. [43] The story of the arrival
of Dionysus to establish his cult in Thrace was also the subject of an Aeschylean trilogy. [44] In another
tragedy, Euripides' The Bacchae, the king of Thebes, Pentheus, is punished by Dionysus, because
he disrespected the god and spied on his Maenads, the female worshippers of the god.[45]
Demeter and Metanira in a detail on an Apulian red-figure hydria, circa 340 BC (Altes Museum, Berlin).

In another story, based on an old folktale-motif, [46] and echoing a similar theme, Demeter was

searching for her daughter, Persephone, having taken the form of an old woman called Doso, and
received a hospitable welcome from Celeus, the King of Eleusis in Attica. As a gift to Celeus,
because of his hospitality, Demeter planned to make his son Demophon a god, but she was unable
to complete the ritual because his mother Metanira walked in and saw her son in the fire and
screamed in fright, which angered Demeter, who lamented that foolish mortals do not understand
the concept and ritual.[47]
Heroic age
The age in which the heroes lived is known as the heroic age.[48] The epic and genealogical poetry
created cycles of stories clustered around particular heroes or events and established the family
relationships between the heroes of different stories; they thus arranged the stories in sequence.
According to Ken Dowden, "There is even a saga effect: We can follow the fates of some families in
successive generations".[18]
After the rise of the hero cult, gods and heroes constitute the sacral sphere and are invoked together
in oaths and prayers which are addressed to them. [20] Burkert notes that "the roster of heroes, again
in contrast to the gods, is never given fixed and final form. Great gods are no longer born, but new
heroes can always be raised up from the army of the dead." Another important difference between
the hero cult and the cult of gods is that the hero becomes the centre of local group identity. [49]
The monumental events of Heracles are regarded as the dawn of the age of heroes. To the Heroic
Age are also ascribed three great events: the Argonautic expedition, the Theban Cycle, and
the Trojan War.[50]
Heracles and the Heracleidae
Further information: Heracles, Heracleidae, and Hercules

Heracles with his baby Telephus (Louvre Museum, Paris).

Some scholars believe[51] that behind Heracles' complicated mythology there was probably a real
man, perhaps a chieftain-vassal of the kingdom of Argos. Some scholars suggest the story of
Heracles is an allegory for the sun's yearly passage through the twelve constellations of the zodiac.
  Others point to earlier myths from other cultures, showing the story of Heracles as a local
[52]

adaptation of hero myths already well established. Traditionally, Heracles was the son of Zeus
and Alcmene, granddaughter of Perseus.[53] His fantastic solitary exploits, with their many folk-
tale themes, provided much material for popular legend. According to Burkert, "He is portrayed as a
sacrificer, mentioned as a founder of altars, and imagined as a voracious eater himself; it is in this
role that he appears in comedy, while his tragic end provided much material for tragedy
— Heracles is regarded by Thalia Papadopoulou as "a play of great significance in examination of
other Euripidean dramas".[54] In art and literature Heracles was represented as an enormously strong
man of moderate height; his characteristic weapon was the bow but frequently also the club. Vase
paintings demonstrate the unparalleled popularity of Heracles, his fight with the lion being depicted
many hundreds of times.[55]
Heracles also entered Etruscan and Roman mythology and cult, and the exclamation "mehercule"
became as familiar to the Romans as "Herakleis" was to the Greeks.[55] In Italy he was worshipped as
a god of merchants and traders, although others also prayed to him for his characteristic gifts of
good luck or rescue from danger. [53]
Heracles attained the highest social prestige through his appointment as official ancestor of
the Dorian kings. This probably served as a legitimation for the Dorian migrations into
the Peloponnese. Hyllus, the eponymous hero of one Dorian phyle, became the son of Heracles and
one of the Heracleidae or Heraclids (the numerous descendants of Heracles, especially the
descendants of Hyllus — other Heracleidae included Macaria, Lamos, Manto, Bianor, Tlepolemus,
and Telephus). These Heraclids conquered the Peloponnesian kingdoms
of Mycenae, Sparta and Argos, claiming, according to legend, a right to rule them through their
ancestor. Their rise to dominance is frequently called the "Dorian invasion". The Lydian and later the
Macedonian kings, as rulers of the same rank, also became Heracleidae. [56]
Other members of this earliest generation of heroes such as
Perseus, Deucalion, Theseus and Bellerophon, have many traits in common with Heracles. Like him,
their exploits are solitary, fantastic and border on fairy tale, as they slay monsters such as
the Chimera and Medusa. Bellerophon's adventures are commonplace types, similar to the
adventures of Heracles and Theseus. Sending a hero to his presumed death is also a recurrent
theme of this early heroic tradition, used in the cases of Perseus and Bellerophon. [57]
Argonauts
For more details on this topic, see Argonauts.
The only surviving Hellenistic epic, the Argonautica of Apollonius of Rhodes (epic poet, scholar, and
director of the Library of Alexandria) tells the myth of the voyage of Jason and the Argonauts to
retrieve the Golden Fleece from the mythical land of Colchis. In the Argonautica, Jason is impelled
on his quest by king Pelias, who receives a prophecy that a man with one sandal would be
his nemesis. Jason loses a sandal in a river, arrives at the court of Pelias, and the epic is set in
motion. Nearly every member of the next generation of heroes, as well as Heracles, went with Jason
in the ship Argo to fetch the Golden Fleece. This generation also included Theseus, who went
to Crete to slay the Minotaur; Atalanta, the female heroine, and Meleager, who once had an epic
cycle of his own to rival the Iliad and Odyssey. Pindar, Apollonius and the Bibliotheca endeavor to
give full lists of the Argonauts.[58]
Although Apollonius wrote his poem in the 3rd century BC, the composition of the story of the
Argonauts is earlier than Odyssey, which shows familiarity with the exploits of Jason (the wandering
of Odysseus may have been partly founded on it). [59] In ancient times the expedition was regarded as
a historical fact, an incident in the opening up of the Black Sea to Greek commerce and colonization.
[60]
 It was also extremely popular, forming a cycle to which a number of local legends became
attached. The story of Medea, in particular, caught the imagination of the tragic poets. [61]
House of Atreus and Theban Cycle
Further information: Theban Cycle and Seven Against Thebes
In between the Argo and the Trojan War, there was a generation known chiefly for its horrific crimes.
This includes the doings of Atreus and Thyestes at Argos. Behind the myth of the house of Atreus
(one of the two principal heroic dynasties with the house of Labdacus) lies the problem of the
devolution of power and of the mode of accession to sovereignty. The twins Atreus and Thyestes
with their descendants played the leading role in the tragedy of the devolution of power in Mycenae.
[62]

The Theban Cycle deals with events associated especially with Cadmus, the city's founder, and later
with the doings of Laius and Oedipus at Thebes; a series of stories that lead to the eventual pillage
of that city at the hands of the Seven Against Thebes and Epigoni.[63](It is not known whether the
Seven Against Thebes figured in early epic.) As far as Oedipus is concerned, early epic accounts
seem to have him continuing to rule at Thebes after the revelation that Iokaste was his mother, and
subsequently marrying a second wife who becomes the mother of his children — markedly different
from the tale known to us through tragedy (e.g. Sophocles' Oedipus Rex) and later mythological
accounts.[64]
Trojan War and aftermath

El Juicio de Paris by Enrique Simonet, 1904. Paris is holding the golden apple on his right hand while surveying
the goddesses in a calculative manner.

In The Rage of Achilles by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo(1757, Fresco, 300 x 300 cm, Villa

Valmarana, Vicenza) Achilles is outraged that Agamemnon would threaten to seize his warprize, Briseis, and
he draws his sword to kill Agamemnon. The sudden appearance of the goddess Athena, who, in this fresco,
has grabbed Achilles by the hair, prevents the act of violence.

Further information: Trojan War and Epic Cycle

Greek mythology culminates in the Trojan War, fought between Greece and Troy, and its aftermath.
In Homer's works, such as the Iliad, the chief stories have already taken shape and substance, and
individual themes were elaborated later, especially in Greek drama. The Trojan War also elicited
great interest in the Roman culture because of the story of Aeneas, a Trojan hero whose journey
from Troy led to the founding of the city that would one day become Rome, as recounted in
Virgil's Aeneid (Book II of Virgil's Aeneid contains the best-known account of the sack of Troy).
[65]
 Finally there are two pseudo-chronicles written in Latin that passed under the names of Dictys
Cretensis and Dares Phrygius.[66]
The Trojan War cycle, a collection of epic poems, starts with the events leading up to the
war: Eris and the golden apple of Kallisti, the Judgement of Paris, the abduction of Helen, the
sacrifice of Iphigenia at Aulis. To recover Helen, the Greeks launched a great expedition under the
overall command of Menelaus's brother, Agamemnon, king of Argos or Mycenae, but the Trojans
refused to return Helen. The Iliad, which is set in the tenth year of the war, tells of the quarrel
between Agamemnon and Achilles, who was the finest Greek warrior, and the consequent deaths in
battle of Achilles' beloved comrade Patroclus and Priam's eldest son, Hector. After Hector's death
the Trojans were joined by two exotic allies, Penthesilea, queen of the Amazons, and Memnon, king
of the Ethiopians and son of the dawn-goddess Eos.[67]Achilles killed both of these, but Paris then
managed to kill Achilles with an arrow in the heel. Achilles' heel was the only part of his body which
was not invulnerable to damage by human weaponry. Before they could take Troy, the Greeks had
to steal from the citadel the wooden image of Pallas Athena (the Palladium). Finally, with Athena's
help, they built the Trojan Horse. Despite the warnings of Priam's daughter Cassandra, the Trojans
were persuaded by Sinon, a Greek who feigned desertion, to take the horse inside the walls of Troy
as an offering to Athena; the priest Laocoon, who tried to have the horse destroyed, was killed by
sea-serpents. At night the Greek fleet returned, and the Greeks from the horse opened the gates of
Troy. In the total sack that followed, Priam and his remaining sons were slaughtered; the Trojan
women passed into slavery in various cities of Greece. The adventurous homeward voyages of the
Greek leaders (including the wanderings of Odysseus and Aeneas (the Aeneid), and the murder of
Agamemnon) were told in two epics, the Returns (the lost Nostoi) and Homer's Odyssey.[68] The
Trojan cycle also includes the adventures of the children of the Trojan generation
(e.g., Orestes and Telemachus).[67]
The Trojan War provided a variety of themes and became a main source of inspiration for Ancient
Greek artists (e.g. metopes on the Parthenon depicting the sack of Troy); this artistic preference for
themes deriving from the Trojan Cycle indicates its importance to the Ancient Greek civilization.
[68]
 The same mythological cycle also inspired a series of posterior European literary writings. For
instance, Trojan Medieval European writers, unacquainted with Homer at first hand, found in the
Troy legend a rich source of heroic and romantic storytelling and a convenient framework into which
to fit their own courtly and chivalric ideals. Twelfth-century authors, such as Benoît de Sainte-
Maure (Roman de Troie[Romance of Troy, 1154–60]) and Joseph of Exeter (De Bello Troiano [On
the Trojan War, 1183]) describe the war while rewriting the standard version they found
in Dictys and Dares. They thus follow Horace's advice and Virgil's example: they rewrite a poem of
Troy instead of telling something completely new.[69]
Some of the more famous heroes noted for their inclusion in the Trojan War were:
On the Trojan side:

 Aeneas
 Hector
 Paris
On the Greek side:

 Ajax (there were two Ajaxes)

 Achilles
 King Agamemnon
 Menelaus
 Odysseus

Greek and Roman conceptions of myth

Mythology was at the heart of everyday life in Ancient Greece. [70] Greeks regarded mythology as a
part of their history. They used myth to explain natural phenomena, cultural variations, traditional
enmities and friendships. It was a source of pride to be able to trace the descent of one's leaders
from a mythological hero or a god. Few ever doubted that there was truth behind the account of the
Trojan War in the Iliad and Odyssey. According to Victor Davis Hanson, a military historian,
columnist, political essayist and former classics professor, and John Heath, a classics professor, the
profound knowledge of the Homeric epos was deemed by the Greeks the basis of their acculturation.
Homer was the "education of Greece" (Ἑλλάδος παίδευσις), and his poetry "the Book". [71]
Philosophy and myth
Raphael's Plato in The School of Athens fresco (probably in the likeness of Leonardo da Vinci). The
philosopher expelled the study of Homer, of the tragedies and of the related mythological traditions from his
utopian Republic.

After the rise of philosophy, history, prose and rationalism in the late 5th century BC, the fate of myth
became uncertain, and mythological genealogies gave place to a conception of history which tried to
exclude the supernatural (such as the Thucydidean history).[72] While poets and dramatists were
reworking the myths, Greek historians and philosophers were beginning to criticize them. [7]
A few radical philosophers like Xenophanes of Colophon were already beginning to label the poets'
tales as blasphemous lies in the 6th century BC; Xenophanes had complained that Homer and
Hesiod attributed to the gods "all that is shameful and disgraceful among men; they steal, commit
adultery, and deceive one another". [73] This line of thought found its most sweeping expression
in Plato's Republic and Laws. Plato created his own allegorical myths (such as the vision of Er in
the Republic), attacked the traditional tales of the gods' tricks, thefts and adulteries as immoral, and
objected to their central role in literature.[7] Plato's criticism was the first serious challenge to the
Homeric mythological tradition,[71] referring to the myths as "old wives' chatter".[74] For his part Aristotle
criticized the Pre-socratic quasi-mythical philosophical approach and underscored that "Hesiod and
the theological writers were concerned only with what seemed plausible to themselves, and had no
respect for us ... But it is not worth taking seriously writers who show off in the mythical style; as for
those who do proceed by proving their assertions, we must cross-examine them". [72]
Nevertheless, even Plato did not manage to wean himself and his society from the influence of myth;
his own characterization for Socrates is based on the traditional Homeric and tragic patterns, used
by the philosopher to praise the righteous life of his teacher: [75]
But perhaps someone might say: "Are you then not ashamed, Socrates, of having followed such a
pursuit, that you are now in danger of being put to death as a result?" But I should make to him a just
reply: "You do not speak well, Sir, if you think a man in whom there is even a little merit ought to
consider danger of life or death, and not rather regard this only, when he does things, whether the
things he does are right or wrong and the acts of a good or a bad man. For according to your
argument all the demigods would be bad who died at Troy, including the son of Thetis, who so
despised danger, in comparison with enduring any disgrace, that when his mother (and she was a
goddess) said to him, as he was eager to slay Hector, something like this, I believe,
My son, if you avenge the death of your friend Patroclus and kill Hector, you yourself shall
die; for straightway, after Hector, is death appointed unto you. (Hom. Il. 18.96)
he, when he heard this, made light of death and danger, and feared much more to live as a
coward and not to avenge his friends, and said,
Straightway may I die, after doing vengeance upon the wrongdoer, that I may not stay here,
jeered at beside the curved ships, a burden of the earth.

Hanson and Heath estimate that Plato's rejection of the Homeric tradition was not favorably
received by the grassroots Greek civilization.[71] The old myths were kept alive in local cults;
they continued to influence poetry and to form the main subject of painting and sculpture. [72]
More sportingly, the 5th century BC tragedian Euripides often played with the old traditions,
mocking them, and through the voice of his characters injecting notes of doubt. Yet the
subjects of his plays were taken, without exception, from myth. Many of these plays were
written in answer to a predecessor's version of the same or similar myth. Euripides mainly
impugns the myths about the gods and begins his critique with an objection similar to the
one previously expressed by Xenocrates: the gods, as traditionally represented, are far too
crassly anthropomorphic.[73]
Hellenistic and Roman rationalism
Cicero saw himself as the defender of the established order, despite his personal skepticism with
regard to myth and his inclination towards more philosophical conceptions of divinity.

During the Hellenistic period, mythology took on the prestige of elite knowledge that marks
its possessors as belonging to a certain class. At the same time, the skeptical turn of the
Classical age became even more pronounced.[76] Greek
mythographer Euhemerus established the tradition of seeking an actual historical basis for
mythical beings and events.[77] Although his original work (Sacred Scriptures) is lost, much is
known about it from what is recorded by Diodorus and Lactantius.[78]
Rationalizing hermeneutics of myth became even more popular under the Roman Empire,
thanks to the physicalist theories of Stoic and Epicurean philosophy. Stoics presented
explanations of the gods and heroes as physical phenomena, while the Euhemerists
rationalized them as historical figures. At the same time, the Stoics and
the Neoplatonists promoted the moral significations of the mythological tradition, often
based on Greek etymologies.[79] Through his Epicurean message, Lucretius had sought to
expel superstitious fears from the minds of his fellow-citizens. [80] Livy, too, is skeptical about
the mythological tradition and claims that he does not intend to pass judgement on such
legends (fabulae).[81]The challenge for Romans with a strong and apologetic sense
of religious tradition was to defend that tradition while conceding that it was often a
breeding-ground for superstition. The antiquarian Varro, who regarded religion as a human
institution with great importance for the preservation of good in society, devoted rigorous
study to the origins of religious cults. In his Antiquitates Rerum Divinarum (which has not
survived, but Augustine's City of God indicates its general approach) Varro argues that
whereas the superstitious man fears the gods, the truly religious person venerates them as
parents.[80] According to Varro, there have been three accounts of deities in the Roman
society: the mythical account created by poets for theatre and entertainment, the civil
account used by people for veneration as well as by the city, and the natural account
created by the philosophers.[82] The best state is, adds Varro, where the civil theology
combines the poetic mythical account with the philosopher's. [82]
Roman Academic Cotta ridicules both literal and allegorical acceptance of myth, declaring
roundly that myths have no place in philosophy.[83] Cicero is also generally disdainful of myth,
but, like Varro, he is emphatic in his support for the state religion and its institutions. It is
difficult to know how far down the social scale this rationalism extended. [81] Cicero asserts
that no one (not even old women and boys) is so foolish as to believe in the terrors of Hades
or the existence of Scyllas, centaurs or other composite creatures,[84] but, on the other hand,
the orator elsewhere complains of the superstitious and credulous character of the people.
[85]
 De Natura Deorum is the most comprehensive summary of Cicero's line of thought. [86]
Syncretizing trends
 Apollo (early Imperial Roman copy of a fourth-century Greek original, LouvreMuseum).

See also: Roman mythology

In Ancient Roman times, a new Roman mythology was born through syncretization of
numerous Greek and other foreign gods. This occurred because the Romans had
little mythology of their own, and inheritance of the Greek mythological tradition caused the
major Roman gods to adopt characteristics of their Greek equivalents. [81] The
gods Zeus and Jupiter are an example of this mythological overlap. In addition to the
combination of the two mythological traditions, the association of the Romans with eastern
religions led to further syncretizations.[87] For instance, the cult of Sun was introduced in
Rome after Aurelian's successful campaigns in Syria. The Asiatic divinities Mithras (that is to
say, the Sun) and Ba'al were combined with Apollo and Helios into one Sol Invictus, with
conglomerated rites and compound attributes.[88] Apollo might be increasingly identified in
religion with Helios or even Dionysus, but texts retelling his myths seldom reflected such
developments. The traditional literary mythology was increasingly dissociated from actual
religious practice. The worship of Sol as special protector of the emperors and of the empire
remained the chief imperial religion until it was replaced by Christianity.
The surviving 2nd-century collection of Orphic Hymns (second century AD) and
the Saturnalia of Macrobius Ambrosius Theodosius (fifth century) are influenced by the
theories of rationalism and the syncretizing trends as well. The Orphic Hymns are a set of
pre-classical poetic compositions, attributed to Orpheus, himself the subject of a renowned
myth. In reality, these poems were probably composed by several different poets, and
contain a rich set of clues about prehistoric European mythology. [89] The stated purpose of
the Saturnalia is to transmit the Hellenic culture Macrobius has derived from his reading,
even though much of his treatment of gods is colored by Egyptian and North African
mythology and theology (which also affect the interpretation of Virgil). In Saturnalia reappear
mythographical comments influenced by the Euhemerists, the Stoics and the Neoplatonists.
[79]

Modern interpretations
For more details on this topic, see Modern understanding of Greek mythology.
The genesis of modern understanding of Greek mythology is regarded by some scholars as
a double reaction at the end of the eighteenth century against "the traditional attitude of
Christian animosity", in which the Christian reinterpretation of myth as a "lie" or fable had
been retained.[90] In Germany, by about 1795, there was a growing interest in Homer and
Greek mythology. In Göttingen, Johann Matthias Gesner began to revive Greek studies,
while his successor, Christian Gottlob Heyne, worked with Johann Joachim Winckelmann,
and laid the foundations for mythological research both in Germany and elsewhere. [91]
Comparative and psychoanalytic approaches

Max Müller is regarded as one of the founders of comparative mythology. In his Comparative

Mythology(1867) Müller analysed the "disturbing" similarity between the mythologies of "savage
races" with those of the early Europeans.

See also: Comparative mythology

The development of comparative philology in the 19th century, together with ethnological
discoveries in the 20th century, established the science of myth. Since the Romantics, all
study of myth has been comparative. Wilhelm Mannhardt, James Frazer, and Stith
Thompson employed the comparative approach to collect and classify the themes of folklore
and mythology.[92] In 1871 Edward Burnett Tylor published his Primitive Culture, in which he
applied the comparative method and tried to explain the origin and evolution of religion.
[93]
 Tylor's procedure of drawing together material culture, ritual and myth of widely separated
cultures influenced both Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell. Max Müller applied the new
science of comparative mythology to the study of myth, in which he detected the distorted
remains of Aryan nature worship. Bronisław Malinowski emphasized the ways myth fulfills
common social functions. Claude Lévi-Strauss and other structuralists have compared the
formal relations and patterns in myths throughout the world. [92]
Sigmund Freud introduced a transhistorical and biological conception of man and a view of
myth as an expression of repressed ideas. Dream interpretation is the basis of Freudian
myth interpretation and Freud's concept of dreamwork recognizes the importance of
contextual relationships for the interpretation of any individual element in a dream. This
suggestion would find an important point of rapprochment between the structuralist and
psychoanalytic approaches to myth in Freud's thought. [94] Carl Jung extended the
transhistorical, psychological approach with his theory of the "collective unconscious" and
the archetypes (inherited "archaic" patterns), often encoded in myth, that arise out of it.
[3]
According to Jung, "myth-forming structural elements must be present in the unconscious
psyche".[95] Comparing Jung's methodology with Joseph Campbell's theory, Robert A. Segal
concludes that "to interpret a myth Campbell simply identifies the archetypes in it. An
interpretation of the Odyssey, for example, would show how Odysseus's life conforms to a
heroic pattern. Jung, by contrast, considers the identification of archetypes merely the first
step in the interpretation of a myth".[96] Karl Kerényi, one of the founders of modern studies in
Greek mythology, gave up his early views of myth, in order to apply Jung's theories of
archetypes to Greek myth.[97]
Origin theories
See also: Similarities between Roman, Greek and Etruscan mythologies
For Karl Kerényimythology is "a body of material contained in tales about gods and god-like beings,
heroic battles and journeys to the Underworld—mythologem is the best Greek word for them—tales
already well-known but not amenable to further re-shaping". [98]

Max Müller attempted to understand an Indo-European religious form by tracing it back to its

Indo-European (or, in Müller's time, "Aryan") "original" manifestation. In 1891, he claimed
that "the most important discovery which has been made during the nineteenth century with
respect to the ancient history of mankind ... was this sample equation: Sanskrit Dyaus-
pitar = Greek Zeus = Latin Jupiter = Old Norse Tyr".[99] The question of Greek mythology's
place in Indo-European studies has generated much scholarship since Müller's time. For
example, philologist Georges Dumézil draws a comparison between the Greek Uranus and
the Sanskrit Varuna, although there is no hint that he believes them to be originally
connected.[100] In other cases, close parallels in character and function suggest a common
heritage, yet lack of linguistic evidence makes it difficult to prove, as in the case of the
Greek Moirai and the Norns of Norse mythology.[101]
Archaeology and mythography, on the other hand, have revealed that the Greeks were also
inspired by some of the civilizations of Asia Minor and the Near East. Adonis seems to be
the Greek counterpart — more clearly in cult than in myth — of a Near Eastern "dying
god". Cybele is rooted in Anatolian culture while much of Aphrodite's iconography may
spring from Semitic goddesses. There are also possible parallels between the earliest divine
generations (Chaos and its children) and Tiamat in the Enuma Elish.[102] According to Meyer
Reinhold, "near Eastern theogonic concepts, involving divine succession through violence
and generational conflicts for power, found their way ... into Greek mythology". [103] In addition
to Indo-European and Near Eastern origins, some scholars have speculated on the debts of
Greek mythology to the pre-Hellenic societies: Crete,
Mycenae, Pylos, Thebes and Orchomenus.[104] Historians of religion were fascinated by a
number of apparently ancient configurations of myth connected with Crete (the god as bull,
Zeus and Europa, Pasiphaë who yields to the bull and gives birth to the Minotaur, etc.).
Martin P. Nilsson concluded that all great classical Greek myths were tied to Mycenaen
centres and anchored in prehistoric times.[105] Nevertheless, according to Burkert, the
iconography of the Cretan Palace Period has provided almost no confirmation for these
theories.[106]

Motifs in Western art and literature

For more details on this topic, see Greek mythology in western art and literature.
See also: List of films based on Greco-Roman mythology
 Botticelli's The Birth of Venus (c. 1485–1486, oil on canvas, Uffizi, Florence) — a revived Venus
Pudicafor a new view of pagan Antiquity—is often said to epitomize for modern viewers the spirit
of the Renaissance.[3]

The widespread adoption of Christianity did not curb the popularity of the myths. With the
rediscovery of classical antiquity in the Renaissance, the poetry of Ovid became a major
influence on the imagination of poets, dramatists, musicians and artists. [107] From the early
years of Renaissance, artists such as Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Raphael,
portrayed the Pagan subjects of Greek mythology alongside more conventional Christian
themes.[107] Through the medium of Latin and the works of Ovid, Greek myth influenced
medieval and Renaissance poets such as Petrarch, Boccaccio and Dante in Italy.[3]

The Lament for Icarus (1898) by Herbert James Draper

In Northern Europe, Greek mythology never took the same hold of the visual arts, but its
effect was very obvious on literature. The English imagination was fired by Greek mythology
starting with Chaucer and John Milton and continuing through Shakespeare to Robert
Bridges in the 20th century. Racine in France and Goethe in Germany revived Greek drama,
reworking the ancient myths.[107] Although during the Enlightenment of the 18th century
reaction against Greek myth spread throughout Europe, the myths continued to provide an
important source of raw material for dramatists, including those who wrote the libretti for
many of Handel's and Mozart's operas.[108]
By the end of the 18th century, Romanticism initiated a surge of enthusiasm for all things
Greek, including Greek mythology. In Britain, new translations of Greek tragedies and
Homer inspired contemporary poets (such as Alfred Lord
Tennyson, Keats, Byron and Shelley) and painters (such as Lord Leighton and Lawrence
Alma-Tadema).[109] Christoph Gluck, Richard Strauss, Jacques Offenbach and many others
set Greek mythological themes to music.[3] American authors of the 19th century, such
as Thomas Bulfinch and Nathaniel Hawthorne, held that the study of the classical myths
was essential to the understanding of English and American literature. [110] In more recent
times, classical themes have been reinterpreted by dramatists Jean Anouilh, Jean Cocteau,
and Jean Giraudoux in France, Eugene O'Neill in America, and T. S. Eliot in Britain and by
novelists such as James Joyce and André Gide.[3]
List of Greek mythological figures
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Immortals[edit]
The Greeks created images of their deities for many purposes. A temple would house the statue of a
god or goddess, or multiple deities, and might be decorated with relief scenes depicting myths.
Divine images were common on coins. Drinking cups and other vesselswere painted with scenes
from Greek myths.
Major gods and goddesses[edit]

Deity Description

Aphrodite (Ἀφροδίτη, Aphroditē)

Goddess of beauty, love, desire, and pleasure. In Hesiod's Theogony (188–

206), she was born from sea-foam and Uranus's severed genitals;
in Homer's Illiad (5.370–417), she is daughter of Zeus and Dione. She was
married to Hephaestus, but bore him no children. She had many lovers, most
notably Ares, to whom she bore Harmonia, Phobos, and Deimos. She was
also a lover to Adonis and Anchises, to whom she bore Aeneas. She is usually
depicted as a naked or semi-nude beautiful woman. Her symbols
include myrtle, roses, and the scallop shell. Her sacred animals include doves
and sparrows. Her Roman counterpart is Venus.[1]

Apollo (Ἀπόλλων, Apóllōn)
God of music, arts, knowledge, healing, plague, prophecy, poetry, manly
beauty, and archery. He is the son of Zeus and Leto, and the twin brother
of Artemis. Both Apollo and Artemis use a bow and arrow. Apollo is depicted
as young, beardless, handsome and athletic. In myth, he can be cruel and
destructive, and his love affairs are rarely happy. He is often accompanied by
the Muses. His most famous temple is in Delphi, where he established his
oracular shrine. His signs and symbols include the laurel wreath, bow and
arrow, and lyre. His sacred animals include roe deer, swans, and pythons.
Some late Roman and Greek poetry and mythography identifies him as a sun-
god, equivalent to Roman Sol and Greek Helios.[2]
Ares (Ἄρης, Árēs)
God of war, bloodshed, and violence. The son of Zeus and Hera, he was
depicted as a beardless youth, either nude with a helmet and spear or sword,
or as an armed warrior. Homer portrays him as moody and unreliable, and as
being the most unpopular god on earth and Olympus (Iliad 5.890–1). He
generally represents the chaos of war in contrast to Athena, a goddess of
military strategy and skill. Ares is known for cuckolding his
brother Hephaestus, conducting an affair with his wife Aphrodite. His sacred
animals include vultures, venomous snakes, dogs, and boars. His Roman
counterpart Mars by contrast was regarded as the dignified ancestor of the
Roman people.[3]

Artemis (Ἄρτεμις, Ártemis)
Virgin goddess of the hunt, wilderness, animals, young girls, childbirth, and
plague. In later times, Artemis became associated with bows and arrows. She
is the daughter of Zeus and Leto, and twin sister of Apollo. In art she is often
depicted as a young woman dressed in a short knee-length chiton and
equipped with a hunting bow and a quiver of arrows. Her attributes include
hunting spears, animal pelts, deer and other wild animals. Her sacred animals
include deer, bears, and wild boars. Her Roman counterpart is Diana.[4]

Athena (Ἀθηνᾶ, Athēnâ)
Goddess of reason, wisdom, intelligence, skill, peace, warfare, battle strategy,
and handicrafts. According to most traditions, she was born from Zeus's
forehead, fully formed and armored. She is depicted as being crowned with a
crested helm, armed with shield and spear, and wearing the aegis over a long
dress. Poets describe her as "grey-eyed" or having especially bright, keen
eyes. She is a special patron of heroes such as Odysseus. She is the patron of
the city Athens (which was named after her) and is attributed to various
inventions in arts and literature. Her symbol is the olive tree. She is
commonly shown as being accompanied by her sacred animal, the owl. Her
Roman counterpart is Minerva.[5]
Demeter (Δημήτηρ, Dēmētēr)
Goddess of grain, agriculture, harvest, growth, and nourishment. Demeter is a
daughter of Cronus and Rhea, and a sister of Zeus, by whom she
bore Persephone. Demeter is one of the main deities of the Eleusinian
Mysteries, in which her power over the life cycle of plants symbolizes the
passage of the human soul through life and into the afterlife. She is depicted
as a mature woman, often crowned and holding sheafs of wheat and a torch.
Her symbols are the cornucopia, wheat-ears, the winged serpent, and the lotus
staff. Her sacred animals include pigs and snakes. Her Roman counterpart
is Ceres.

Dionysus (Διόνυσος, Diónysos)/Bacchus (Βάκχος, Bákkhos)
God of wine, fruitfulness, parties, festivals, madness, chaos, drunkenness,
vegetation, and ecstasy. In art he is depicted as either an older bearded god or
an effeminate, long-haired youth. His attributes include the thyrsus, a drinking
cup, the grape vine, and a crown of ivy. He is often in the company of
his thiasos, a group of attendants including satyrs, maenads, and his old
tutor Silenus. The consort of Dionysus was Ariadne. His sacred animals
include dolphins, serpents, tigers, and donkeys. A later addition to the
Olympians, in some accounts he replaced Hestia. Bacchus was another name
for him in Greek, and came into common usage among the Romans.

Hades (ᾍδης, Hádēs)/Pluto (Πλούτων, Ploutōn)
God of the underworld and the dead. His consort is Persephone. His attributes
are the drinking horn or cornucopia, key, sceptre, and the three-headed
dog Cerberus. His sacred animals include the screech owl. He was one of
three sons of Cronus and Rhea, and thus sovereign over one of the three
realms of the universe, the underworld. As a chthonic god, however, his place
among the Olympians is ambiguous. In the mystery religions and Athenian
literature, Pluto ("the Rich") was his preferred name, with Hades referring to
the underworld itself. The Romans translated Plouton as Dis Pater ("the Rich
Father") or Pluto.
Hephaestus (Ἥφαιστος, Hḗphaistos)
God of fire, metalworking, and crafts. Either the son of Zeus and Hera or Hera
alone, he is the smith of the gods and the husband of the
adulterous Aphrodite. He was usually depicted as a bearded, crippled man
with hammer, tongs, and anvil, and sometimes riding a donkey. His sacred
animals include the donkey, the guard dog, and the crane. Among his
creations was the armor of Achilles. Hephaestus used the fire of the forge as a
creative force, but his Roman counterpart Vulcan was feared for his
destructive potential and associated with the volcanic power of the earth.

Hera (Ἥρα, Hḗra)
Queen of the gods, and goddess of marriage, women, childbirth, heirs, kings,
and empires. She is the wife and sister of Zeus, and the daughter
of Cronus and Rhea. She was usually depicted as a regal woman in the prime
of her life, wearing a diadem and veil and holding a lotus-tipped staff.
Although she is the goddess of marriage, Zeus's many infidelities drive her to
jealousy and vengefulness. Her sacred animals include the heifer, the peacock,
and the cuckoo. Her Roman counterpart is Juno.

Hermes (Ἑρμῆς, Hērmēs)
God of boundaries, travel, communication, trade, language, and writing.
Hermes was also responsible for protecting livestock and presided over the
spheres associated with fertility, music, luck, and deception. [6] The son
of Zeus and Maia, Hermes is the messenger of the gods, and
a psychopomp who leads the souls of the dead into the afterlife. He was
depicted either as a handsome and athletic beardless youth, or as an older
bearded man. His attributes include the herald's wand or caduceus, winged
sandals, and a traveler's cap. His sacred animals include the tortoise. His
Roman counterpart is Mercury.
Hestia (Ἑστία, Hestía)
Virgin goddess of the hearth, home, and chastity. She is a daughter
of Rhea and Cronus, and a sister of Zeus. Not often identifiable in Greek art,
she appeared as a modestly veiled woman. Her symbols are the hearth and
kettle. In some accounts, she gave up her seat as one of the Twelve
Olympians in favor of Dionysus, and she plays little role in Greek myths. Her
Roman counterpart Vesta, however, was a major deity of the Roman state.

Poseidon (Ποσειδῶν, Poseidōn)
God of the sea, rivers, floods, droughts, and earthquakes. He is a son
of Cronus and Rhea, and the brother of Zeus and Hades. He rules one of the
three realms of the universe, as king of the sea and the waters. In art he is
depicted as a mature man of sturdy build, often with a luxuriant beard, and
holding a trident. His sacred animals include the horse and the dolphin. His
wedding with Amphitrite is often presented as a triumphal procession. In
some stories he rapes Medusa, leading to her transformation into a hideous
Gorgon and also to the birth of their two children, Pegasus and Chrysaor. His
Roman counterpart is Neptune.

Zeus (Ζεύς, Zeus)
King of the gods, ruler of Mount Olympus, and god of the sky, weather,
thunder, lightning, law, order, and justice. He is the youngest son
of Cronus and Rhea. He overthrew Cronus and gained the sovereignty of
heaven for himself. In art he is depicted as a regal, mature man with a sturdy
figure and dark beard. His usual attributes are the royal scepter and the
lightning bolt. His sacred animals include the eagle and the bull. His Roman
counterpart is Jupiter, also known as Jove.
Primordial deities

Ancient Greek English

Description
name name

The goddess of poisons and the "Death-Mist", and personification of

Ἀχλύς (Akhlýs) Achlys
misery and sadness. Said to have existed before Chaos itself.

The god of eternity, personifying cyclical and unbounded time.

Αἰών (Aiôn) Aion
Sometimes equated with Chronos.

Αἰθήρ (Aithḗr) Aether The god of light and the upper atmosphere.

Ἀνάγκη (Anánkē) Ananke The goddess of inevitability, compulsion, and necessity.

The personification of nothingness from which all of existence sprang.

Χάος (Cháos) Chaos
Depicted as a void. Initially genderless, later on described as female.

The god of empirical time, sometimes equated with Aion. Not to be

Χρόνος (Chrónos) Chronos
confused with the Titan Cronus (Kronos), the father of Zeus.

Ἔρεβος (Érebos) Erebus The god of darkness and shadow.

Ἔρως (Eros) Eros The god of love and attraction.

Ἡμέρα (Hēméra) Hemera The goddess of day.

Ὕπνος (Hypnos) Hypnos The personification of sleep.

Γαῖα (Gaîa) Gaia (Gaea) Personification of the Earth (Mother Earth); mother of the Titans.

Νέμεσις (Némesis) Nemesis The goddess of retribution.

Nῆσοι (Nē̂soi) The Nesoi The goddesses of the islands and sea.

Νύξ (Nýx) Nyx The goddess of night.

Οὐρανός (Ouranós) Uranus The god of the heavens (Father Sky); father of the Titans.

Οὔρεα (Oúrea) The Ourea The gods of mountains.

 Ancient Greek English
Description
name name

Φάνης (Phánēs) Phanes The god of procreation in the Orphic tradition.

Πόντος (Póntos) Pontus The god of the sea, father of the fish and other sea creatures.

The god of the deepest, darkest part of the underworld, the Tartarean pit
Τάρταρος (Tártaros) Tartarus
(which is also referred to as Tartarus itself).

Θάλασσα (Thálassa) Thalassa Personification of the sea and consort of Pontus.

God of Death. Brother to Hypnos (Sleep) and in some cases Moros

Θάνατος (Thánatos) Thanatos
(Doom)

Titans and Titanesses[edit]

The Titans and Titanesses are depicted in Greek art less commonly than the Olympians.

Eos (Dawn) and the hero Memnon (490–480 BC)

 

Helios in his four-horse chariot (3rd century BC)

 

Themis, from the Temple of Nemesis (ca. 300 BC)

 
 

Oceanus wearing crab-claw horns, with Tethys (Roman-era mosaic)

 

Athena watches Prometheus create humans (3rd century AD)

English
Greek name Description
name

The Twelve Titans

Titan of intellect and the axis of heaven around which the

Κοῖος (Koîos) Coeus
constellations revolved.

The least individualized of the Twelve Titans, he is the father

Κρεῖος (Kreîos) Crius of Astraeus, Pallas, and Perses. Implied to be the Titan of
constellations.

Titan of harvests and personification of destructive time. The

leader of the Titans, who overthrew his father Uranus only to be
Κρόνος (Kronos) Cronus
overthrown in turn by his son, Zeus. Not to be confused
with Chronos.

Titan of light. With Theia, he is the father of Helios (the

Ὑπερίων (Hyperíōn) Hyperion
sun), Selene (the moon), and Eos (the dawn).

Titan of mortality and father

Ἰαπετός (Iapetós) Iapetus
of Prometheus, Epimetheus, Menoetius, and Atlas.

Mνημοσύνη (Mnēmosýnē Titaness of memory and remembrance, and mother of the Nine

Mnemosyne
) Muses.

Titan of the all-encircling river Oceans around the earth, the fount
Ὠκεανός (Ōceanós) Oceanus
of all the Earth's fresh-water.

Φοίβη (Phoíbē) Phoebe Titaness of the "bright" intellect and prophecy, and consort of
 Koios.

Titaness of fertility, motherhood and the mountain wilds. She is

Ῥέα (Rhéa) Rhea the sister and consort of Cronus, and mother
of Zeus, Hades, Poseidon, Hera, Demeter, and Hestia.

Titaness of fresh-water, and the mother of the rivers, springs,

Τηθύς (Tēthýs) Tethys
streams, fountains, and clouds.

Titaness of sight and the shining light of the clear blue sky. She is
Θεία (Theía) Theia
the consort of Hyperion, and mother of Helios, Selene, and Eos.

Θέμις (Thémis) Themis Titaness of divine law and order.

Other Titans

Ἀστερία (Astería) Asteria Titaness of nocturnal oracles and falling stars.

Ἀστραῖος (Astraîos) Astraeus Titan of dusk, stars, and planets, and the art of astrology.

Titan forced to carry the heavens upon his shoulders by Zeus. Also
Ἄτλας (Átlas) Atlas
Son of Iapetus.

Αὔρα (Aúra) Aura Titaness of the breeze and the fresh, cool air of early morning.

Κλυμένη (Clyménē) Clymene Titaness of renown, fame, and infamy, and wife of Iapetus.

Διώνη (Diṓnē) Dione Titaness of the oracle of Dodona.

Ἥλιος (Hḗlios) Helios Titan of the sun and guardian of oaths.

Σελήνη (Selḗnē) Selene Titaness of the moon.

Ἠώς (Ēṓs) Eos Titaness of the dawn.

Ἐπιμηθεύς (Epimētheús) Epimetheus Titan of afterthought and the father of excuses.

Εὐρυβία (Eurybía) Eurybia Titaness of the mastery of the seas and consort of Krios.
 Titaness of water-meadows and pasturelands, and mother of the
Εὐρυνόμη (Eurynómē) Eurynome
three Charites by Zeus.

Titan of air and the hunter's skill of stalking prey. He is the male
Λήλαντος (Lēlantos) Lelantos
counterpart of Leto.

Titaness of motherhood and mother of the twin Olympians,

Λητώ (Lētṓ) Leto
Artemis and Apollo.

Titan of violent anger, rash action, and human mortality. Killed by

Μενοίτιος (Menoítios) Menoetius
Zeus.

Titaness of good counsel, advice, planning, cunning, craftiness,

Μῆτις (Mē̂tis) Metis
and wisdom. Mother of Athena.

An elder Titan, in some versions of the myth he ruled the Earth

Ὀφίων (Ophíōn) Ophion with his consort Eurynome before Cronus overthrew him. Another
account describes him as a snake, born from the "World Egg"

Titan of warcraft. He was killed by Athena during the

Πάλλας (Pállas) Pallas
Titanomachy.

Πέρσης (Pérsēs) Perses Titan of destruction.

Προμηθεύς (Promētheús) Prometheus Titan of forethought and crafty counsel, and creator of mankind.

Titaness of the Underworld river Styx and personification of

Στύξ (Stýx) Styx
hatred.

Gigantes and other "giants"[edit]

Gigantes[edit]

Athena (left) fighting Enceladus (inscribed retrograde) on an Attic red-figure dish, c. 550–500 BC

(LouvreCA3662).[7]
The Gigantes were the offspring of Gaia (Earth), born from the blood that fell when Uranus (Sky)
was castrated by their Titan son Cronus, who fought the Gigantomachy, their war with the Olympian
gods for supremecy of the cosmos, they include:

 Agrius (Ἄγριος), he was killed by the Moirai.

 Alcyoneus (Ἀλκυονεύς), a giant usually considered to be one of the Gigantes, slain by
Heracles.
 Chthonius (Χθονιος).
 Clytius (Κλυτίος), killed by Hecate with her torches.
 Enceladus (Ἐγκέλαδος), typically slain by Athena, said to be buried under Mount
Etna in Sicily.
 Ephialtes (Ἐφιάλτης), according to Apollodorus, he was blinded by arrows from Apollo and
Heracles.
 Eurymedon (Ευρυμέδων), he was a king of the Giants and father of Periboea.
 Eurytus (Εὔρυτος), he was killed by Dionysus with his thyrsus.
 Gration (Γρατίων), he was killed by Artemis.
 Hippolytus (Ἱππόλυτος), he was killed by Hermes, who was wearing Hades' helmet, which
made its wearer invisible.
 Leon (Λεων), possibly one of the Gigantes, killed by Heracles.
 Mimas (Μίμας), according to Apollodorus, he was killed by Hephaestus, or by
others Zeus or Ares.
 Pallas (Πάλλας), according to Apollodorus, he was flayed by Athena, who used his skin as a
shield.
 Polybotes (Πολυβώτης), typically slain by Poseidon.
 Porphyrion (Πορφυρίων), one of the leaders of the Gigantes, typically slain by Zeus.
 Thoas/Thoon (Θοων), he was killed by the Moirai.
Other "giants"[edit]

 Aloadae (Ἀλῳάδαι), twin giants who attempted to climb to Olympus by piling mountains on

top of each other.
 Otus or Otos (Ότος)
 Ephialtes (Εφιάλτης)
 Anax (Αναξ) was a giant of the island of Lade near Miletos in Lydia, Anatolia.
 Antaeus (Ἀνταῖος), a Libyan giant who wrestled all visitors to the death until he was slain by
Heracles
 Antiphates (Ἀντιφάτης), the king of the man-eating giants known as Laestrygones which
were encountered by Odysseus on his travels.
 Argus Panoptes (Ἄργος Πανόπτης), a hundred-eyed giant tasked with guarding over Io
 Asterius (Αστεριος), a Lydian giant.
 Cacus (Κακος), a fire-breathing Latin giant slain by Heracles.
 Cyclopes (Elder), three one-eyed giants who forged the lightning-bolts of Zeus, Trident of
Poseidon and Helmet of Hades
 Arges (Ἄργης)
 Brontes (Βρόντης)
 Steropes (Στερόπης)
 Cyclopes (Younger), a tribe of one-eyed, man-eating giants who herded flocks of sheep on
the island of Sicily
 Polyphemus (Πολύφημος), a cyclops who briefly captured Odysseus and his men,
only to be overcome and blinded by the hero
 The Gegenees (Γηγενέες), a tribe of six-armed giants fought by the Argonauts on Bear
Mountain in Mysia
 Geryon (Γηρυων), a three-bodied giant who dwelt on the sunset isle at the ends of the earth.
He was slain by Heracles when the hero arrived to fetch the giant's cattle as one of his twelve
labours.
 The Hekatonkheires (Ἑκατόγχειρες), or Centimanes (Latin), the Hundred-Handed Ones,
giant gods of violent storms and hurricanes. Three sons of Uranus and Gaia, each with their own
distinct characters.[8]
 Briareus (Βριάρεως) or Aigaion (Αἰγαίων), The Vigorous
 Cottus (Κόττος), The Furious
  Gyges (Γύγης), The Big-Limbed
 The Laestrygonians (Λαιστρυγόνες), a tribe of man-eating giants encountered by Odysseus
on his travels
 Orion (Ὠρίων), a giant huntsman whom Zeus placed among the stars as the constellation of
Orion
 Talos (Τάλως), a giant forged from bronze by Hephaestus, and given by Zeus to his lover
Europa as her personal protector
 Tityos (Τίτυος), a giant slain by Apollo and Artemis when he attempted to violate their mother
Leto.
 Typhon (Τυφῶν), a monstrous immortal storm-giant who attempted to launch an attack on
Mt. Olympus but was defeated by the Olympians and imprisoned in the pits of Tartarus
Personified concepts[edit]

 Achlys (Ἀχλύς), spirit of the death-mist, personification of sadness, misery and poison

 Adephagia (Ἀδηφαγία), spirit of satiety and gluttony
 Adikia (Ἀδικία), spirit of injustice and wrongdoing
 Aergia (Ἀεργία), spirit of idleness, laziness, indolence and sloth
 Agathodaemon (Ἀγαθοδαίμων), spirit of the vineyards and grainfields. Ensuring
good luck, health, and wisdom.
 Agon (Ἀγών), spirit of contest, who possessed an altar at Olympia, site of the Olympic
Games.
 Aidos (Αἰδώς), spirit of modesty, reverence and respect
 Aisa (Αἴσα), personification of lot and fate
 Alala (Ἀλαλά), spirit of the war cry
 Alastor (Ἀλάστωρ), spirit of blood feuds and vengeance
 Aletheia (Ἀλήθεια), spirit of truth, truthfulness and sincerity
 The Algea (Ἄλγεα), spirits of pain and suffering
 Achos (Ἄχος) "trouble, distress"
 Ania (Ἀνία) "ache, anguish"
 Lupe (Λύπη) "pain, grief, sadness"
 Alke (Ἀλκή), spirit of prowess and courage
 Amechania (Ἀμηχανία), spirit of helplessness and want of means
 The Amphilogiai (Ἀμφιλογίαι), spirits of disputes, debate, and contention
 Anaideia (Ἀναίδεια), spirit of ruthlessness, shamelessness, and unforgivingness
 The Androktasiai (Ἀνδροκτασίαι), spirits of battlefield slaughter
 Angelia (Ἀγγελία), spirit of messages, tidings and proclamations
 Apate (Ἀπάτη), spirit of deceit, guile, fraud and deception
 Apheleia (Ἀφέλεια), spirit of simplicity
 Aporia (Ἀπορία), spirit of difficulty, perplexity, powerlessness, and want of means
 The Arae (Ἀραί), spirits of curses
 Arete (Ἀρετή), spirit of virtue, excellence, goodness, and valour
 Atë (Ἄτη), spirit of delusion, infatuation, blind folly, recklessness, and ruin
 Bia (Βία "Violence"), the personification of force and raw energy
 Caerus (Καιρός), spirit of opportunity
 Corus (Κόρος), spirit of surfeit
 Deimos (Δεῖμος), spirit of fear, dread, and terror
 Dikaiosyne (Δικαιοσύνη), spirit of justice and righteousness
 Dike (Δίκη), spirit of justice, fair judgement, and the rights established by custom and law
 Dolos (Δόλος), spirit of trickery, cunning deception, craftiness, treachery, and guile
 Dysnomia (Δυσνομία), spirit of lawlessness and poor civil constitution
 Dyssebeia (Δυσσέβεια), spirit of impiety
 Eirene (Εἰρήνη), goddess of peace
 Ekecheiria (Ἐκεχειρία), spirit of truce, armistice, and the cessation of all hostilities; honoured
at the Olympic Games
 Eleos (Ἔλεος), spirit of mercy, pity, and compassion
 Elpis (Ἐλπίς), spirit of hope and expectation
 Epiphron (Ἐπίφρων), spirit of prudence, shrewdness, thoughtfulness, carefulness, and
sagacity
 Eris (Ἔρις), spirit of strife, discord, contention, and rivalry

Eros

 The Erotes (ἔρωτες)
 Anteros (Ἀντέρως), god of requited love
 Eros (Ἔρως), god of love and sexual intercourse
 Hedylogos (Ἡδύλογος), god of sweet talk and flattery
 Hermaphroditus (Ἑρμαφρόδιτος), god of hermaphrodites, effeminate men
and androgyny
 Himeros (Ἵμερος), god of sexual desire
 Hymen (Ὑμήν) or Hymenaeus (Ὑμεναιος), god of marriage ceremonies, inspiring
feasts and song
 Pothos (Πόθος), god of sexual longing, yearning, and desire
 Eucleia (Εὔκλεια), spirit of good repute and glory
 Eulabeia (Εὐλάβεια), spirit of discretion, caution, and circumspection
 Eunomia (Εὐνομία), goddess of good order and lawful conduct
 Eupheme (Εὐφήμη), spirit of words of good omen, acclamation, praise, applause, and shouts
of triumph
 Eupraxia (Eὐπραξία), spirit of well-being
 Eusebeia (Eὐσέβεια), spirit of piety, loyalty, duty, and filial respect
 Euthenia (Εὐθενία), spirit of prosperity, abundance, and plenty
 Gelos (Γέλως), spirit of laughter
 Geras (Γῆρας), spirit of old age
 Harmonia (Ἁρμονία), goddess of harmony and concord
 Hebe (Ήβη), goddess of youth
 Hedone (Ἡδονή), spirit of pleasure, enjoyment, and delight
 Heimarmene (Εἵμαρμένη), personification of share destined by fate
 Homados (Ὅμαδος), spirit of the din of battle
 Homonoia (Ὁμόνοια), spirit of concord, unanimity, and oneness of mind
 Horkos (Ὅρκος), spirit of oaths
 Horme (Ὁρμή), spirit of impulse or effort (to do a thing), eagerness, setting oneself in motion,
and starting an action
 Hybris (Ὕβρις), spirit of outrageous behaviour
 Hypnos (Ὕπνος), god of sleep
Hermes watches Hypnos and Thanatos carry the dead Sarpedon from the battlefield at Troy(Euphronios
krater)

 The Hysminai (Ὑσμῖναι), spirits of fighting and combat

 Ioke (Ἰωκή), spirit of pursuit in battle
 Kakia (Kακία), spirit of vice and moral badness
 Kalokagathia (Καλοκαγαθία), spirit of nobility
 The Keres (Κῆρες), spirit of violent or cruel death
 Koalemos (Κοάλεμος), spirit of stupidity and foolishness
 Kratos (Κράτος), spirit of strength, might, power, and sovereign rule
 Kydoimos (Κυδοιμός), spirit of the din of battle, confusion, uproar, and hubbub
 Lethe (Λήθη), spirit of forgetfulness and oblivion, and of the river of the same name
 Limos (Λιμός), spirit of hunger and starvation
 The Litae (Λιταί), spirits of prayer
 Lyssa (Λύσσα), spirit of rage, fury and rabies in animals
 The Machai (Μάχαι), spirits of fighting and combat
 Mania (Μανία), spirit or spirits of madness, insanity, and frenzy
 The Moirai, or "Fates" (Μοίραι)
 Clotho (Κλωθώ), the spinner of the life thread
 Lachesis (Λάχεσις), the measurer of the life thread
 Atropos (Άτροπος), the severer of the life thread
 Momus (Μῶμος), spirit of mockery, blame, censure and stinging criticism
 Moros (Μόρος), spirit of doom
 The Neikea (τὰ Νείκη), spirits of quarrels, feuds and grievances
 Nemesis (Νέμεσις), goddess of revenge, balance, righteous indignation, and retribution
 Nike (Νίκη), goddess of victory
 Nomos (Νόμος), spirit of law
 Oizys (Ὀϊζύς), spirit of woe and misery
 The Oneiroi (Ὄνειροι), spirits of dreams
 Epiales (Ἐπιάλης), spirit of nightmares
 Morpheus (Μορφεύς), god of dreams, who takes shape of humans
 Phantasos (Φάντασος) spirit of dreams of fantasy, who takes shape of inanimate
objects
 Phobetor (Φοβήτωρ) or Icelos (Ἴκελος), spirit of nightmares, who takes shape of
animals
 Palioxis (Παλίωξις), spirit of backrush, flight and retreat from battle
 Peitharchia (Πειθαρχία), spirit of obedience
 Peitho (Πειθώ), spirit of persuasion and seduction
 Penia (Πενία), spirit of poverty and need
 Penthus (Πένθος), spirit of grief, mourning, and lamentation
 Pepromene (Πεπρωμένη), personification of the destined share, similar to Heimarmene
 Pheme (Φήμη), spirit of rumour, report, and gossip
 Philophrosyne (Φιλοφροσύνη), spirit of friendliness, kindness, and welcome
 Philotes (Φιλότης), spirit of friendship, affection, and sexual intercourse
 Phobos (Φόβος), spirit of panic fear, flight, and battlefield rout
 The Phonoi (Φόνοι), spirits of murder, killing, and slaughter
 Phrike (Φρίκη), spirit of horror and trembling fear
 Phthonus (Φθόνος), spirit of envy and jealousy
 Pistis (Πίστις), spirit of trust, honesty, and good faith
 Poine (Ποίνη), spirit of retribution, vengeance, recompense, punishment, and penalty for the
crime of murder and manslaughter
 Polemos (Πόλεμος), personification of war
 Ponos (Πόνος), spirit of hard labour and toil
 Poros (Πόρος), spirit of expediency, the means of accomplishing or providing, contrivance
and device
 Praxidike (Πραξιδίκη), spirit of exacting justice
 Proioxis (Προίωξις), spirit of onrush and battlefield pursuit
 Prophasis (Πρόφασις), spirit of excuses and pleas
 Ptocheia (Πτωχεία), spirit of beggary
 Roma, a female deity who personified the city of Rome
 Soter (Σωτήρ), male spirit of safety, preservation, and deliverance from harm
 Soteria (Σωτηρία), female personification of safety, preservation, and deliverance from harm
 Sophrosyne (Σωφροσύνη), spirit of moderation, self-control, temperance, restraint, and
discretion
 Techne (Τέχνη), personification of art and skill
 Thanatos (Θάνατος), spirit of death and mortality
 Thrasos (Θράσος), spirit of boldness
 Tyche (Τύχη), goddess of fortune, chance, providence, and fate
 Zelos ( Ζῆλος), spirit of eager rivalry, emulation, envy, jealousy, and zeal
Chthonic deities[edit]

 Amphiaraus (Ἀμφιάραος), a hero of the war of the Seven Against Thebes who became an
oracular spirit of the Underworld after his death
 Angelos (Ἄγγελος), a daughter of Zeus and Hera who became an underworld goddess
 Askalaphos (Ἀσκάλαφος), the son of Acheron and Orphne who tended the Underworld
orchards before being transformed into a screech owl by Demeter
 Cerberus (Κέρβερος), the three-headed hound who guarded the gates of Hades
 Charon (Χάρων), ferryman of Hades
 Empusa (Ἔμπουσα), a monstrous underworld spirit or spirits with flaming hair, the leg of a
goat and a leg of bronze. They are also servants of Hecate.
 Erebos (Ἔρεβος), the primeval god of darkness, his mists encircled the underworld and filled
the hollows of the earth
 The Erinyes (Ἐρινύες), the Furies, goddesses of retribution, known as "The Kindly Ones"
 Alecto (Ἀληκτώ), the unceasing one
 Tisiphone (Τισιφόνη), avenger of murder
 Megaera (Μέγαιρα), the jealous one
 Hecate (Ἑκάτη), goddess of magic, witchcraft, the night, moon, ghosts, and necromancy
 Judges of the Dead
 Aiakos (Αἰακός), former mortal king of Aegina, guardian of the keys of Hades and
judge of the men of Europe
 Minos (Μίνως), former mortal king of Crete and judge of the final vote
 Rhadamanthys (Ῥαδάμανθυς), former mortal lawmaker and judge of the men of Asia
 Keuthonymos (Κευθόνυμος), an Underworld spirit and father of Menoetes
 Cronus (Κρόνος), deposed king of the Titans; after his release from Tartarus he was
appointed king of the Island of the Blessed
 Lamia (Λάμια), a vampiric Underworld spirit or spirits in the train of Hecate
 Lampades (Λαμπάδες), torch-bearing Underworld nymphs
 Gorgyra (Γοργύρα)
 Orphne (Ορφνη), a Lampad nymph of Hades, mother of Askalaphos
 Macaria (Μακαρία), daughter of Hades and goddess of blessed death (not to be confused
with the daughter of Heracles)
 Melinoe (Μελινόη), daughter of Persephone and Zeus who presided over the propitiations
offered to the ghosts of the dead
 Menoetes (Μενοίτης), an Underworld spirit who herded the cattle of Hades
 Mormo (Μορμώ), a fearsome Underworld spirit or spirits in the train of Hecate
 Nyx (Νύξ), the primeval goddess of night
 Hades (¨Αδης) God of underworld and all things beneath the earth
 Persephone (Περσεφόνη), queen of the underworld, wife of Hades and goddess of spring
growth
 Rivers of the Underworld
 Acheron (Αχέρων), the river of woe
 Kokytos (Kωκυτός), the river of wailing
 Lethe (Λήθη), the river of forgetfulness
 Phlegethon (Φλεγέθων), the river of fire
 Styx (Στύξ), the river of hatred and oaths
 Tartarus (Τάρταρος), the primeval god of the dark, stormy pit of Hades
 Thanatos (Θάνατος), spirit of death and minister of Hades
Sea deities[edit]

 Aegaeon (Αιγαίων), god of violent sea storms and ally of the Titans

 Achelous (Αχελώος), shark-shaped sea spirit[citation needed]
 Amphitrite (Αμφιτρίτη), sea goddess and consort of Poseidon
 Benthesikyme (Βενθεσικύμη), daughter of Poseidon, who resided in Ethiopia
 Brizo (Βριζώ), patron goddess of sailors, who sent prophetic dreams
 Ceto (Κῆτώ), goddess of the dangers of the ocean and of sea monsters
 Charybdis (Χάρυβδις), a sea monster and spirit of whirlpools and the tide
 Cymopoleia (Κυμοπόλεια), a daughter of Poseidon married to the Giant Briareus
 Delphin (Δέλφιν), the leader of the dolphins, Poseidon placed him in the sky as the
constellation Delphin
 Eidothea (Ειδοθέα), prophetic sea nymph and daughter of Proteus
 Glaucus (Γλαῦκος), the fisherman's sea god and oracle
 Gorgons (Γοργόνες), three monstrous sea spirits
 Stheno (Σθεννώ)
 Euryale (Εὐρυάλη)
 Medusa (Μέδουσα), the only mortal of the three
 The Graeae (Γραῖαι), three ancient sea spirits who personified the white foam of the sea;
they shared one eye and one tooth between them
 Deino (Δεινώ)
 Enyo (Ενυώ)
 Pemphredo (Πεμφρεδώ)
 The Harpies (Ηάρπυιαι), winged spirits of sudden, sharp gusts of wind
 Aello (Αελλώ) or Aellope (Αελλώπη) or Aellopous (Αελλόπους)
 Ocypete (Ωκυπέτη) or Ocypode (Ωκυπόδη) or Ocythoe (Ωκυθόη)
 Podarge (Ποδάργη) or Podarke (Ποδάρκη)
 Celaeno (Κελαινώ)
 Nicothoe (Νικοθόη)
 Hippocampi (´Ιππόκαμπος), horses of the sea that have the upper-body of a horse and the
lower-body of a fish
 The Ichthyocentaurs (Ιχθυοκένταυροι), a race of centaurine sea-gods with the upper bodies
of men, the lower fore-parts of horses, ending in the serpentine tails of fish
 Bythos (Βύθος) "sea depth"
 Aphros (Άφρος) "sea foam"
 Karkinos (Καρκίνος), a giant crab who allied itself with the Hydra against Heracles. When it
died, Hera placed it in the sky as the constellation Cancer.
 Ladon (Λάδων), a hundred-headed sea serpent who guarded the western reaches of the
sea, and the island and golden apples of the Hesperides
 Leucothea (Λευκοθέα), a sea goddess who aided sailors in distress
 Nereides (Νηρηίδες), sea nymphs
 Thetis (Θέτις), leader of the Nereids who presided over the spawning of marine life in
the sea
  Arethusa (Αρετούσα), a daughter of Nereus who was transformed into a fountain
 Galene (Γαλήνη), goddess of calm seas
 Psamathe (Πσαμάθη), goddess of sand beaches
 Nereus (Νηρέας), the old man of the sea, and the god of the sea's rich bounty of fish
 Nerites (Νερίτης), a sea spirit who was transformed into a shell-fish by Aphrodite
 Nilus (Νείλος), the god of the Nile river
 Oceanides (Ωκεανίδες), sea nymphs, and patronesses of bodies of fresh water
Some notable Oceanides include:

 Idyia (Ίδυια), wife of the Colchian king Aeetes, mother of Medea

 Metis, Zeus' first wife, whom Zeus impregnated with Athena and then swallowed.
 Styx, goddess of the river Styx
For a more complete list, see List of Oceanids

 Oceanus (Ὠκεανός), Titan god of the Earth-encircling river Oceanus (the ocean), the
fountain of all the Earth's fresh water
 Palaemon (Παλαίμων), a young sea god who aided sailors in distress
 Phorcys (Φόρκυς), god of the hidden dangers of the deep
 Pontos (Πόντος), primeval god of the sea, father of the fish and other sea creatures

Poseidon and Amphitrite framed by erotes and riding in a chariot drawn by hippocamps; below them
are fishermen at work, with nymphs and creatures of the sea in the waters (color-enhanced Roman-
era mosaic)

 Proteus (Πρωτεύς), a shape-shifting, prophetic old sea god, and the herdsman of Poseidon's
seals
 Poseidon (Ποσειδῶν), king of the sea and lord of the sea gods; also god of rivers, flood and
drought, earthquakes, and horses
 Sangarius (Σαγγάριος), a river-god
 Scylla (Σκύλλα), monstrous sea goddess
 The Sirens (Σειρῆνες), sea nymphs who lured sailors to their death with their song
 Aglaope (Αγλαόπη) or Aglaophonos (Αγλαόφωνος) or Aglaopheme (Αγλαοφήμη)
 Himerope (Ίμερόπη)
 Leucosia (Λευκοσία)
 Ligeia (Λιγεία)
 Molpe (Μολπή)
 Parthenope (Παρθενόπη)
 Peisinoe (Πεισινόη) or Peisithoe (Πεισιθόη)
  Raidne (Ραίδνη)
 Teles (Τέλης)
 Thelchtereia (Θελχτήρεια)
 Thelxiope (Θελξιόπη) or Thelxiepeia (Θελξιέπεια)
 The Telchines (Τελχινες), sea spirits native to the island of Rhodes; the gods killed them
when they turned to evil magic
 Actaeus (Ακταίος)
 Argyron (Αργυρών)
 Atabyrius (Αταβύριος)
 Chalcon (Χαλκών)
 Chryson (Χρυσών)
 Damon (Δαμων) or Demonax (Δημώναξ)
 Damnameneus (Δαμναμενεύς)
 Dexithea (Δεξιθέα), mother of Euxanthios by Minos
 Lycos (Λύκος) or Lyktos (Λύκτος)
 Lysagora (Λυσαγόρα)?
 Makelo (Μακελώ)
 Megalesius (Μεγαλήσιος)
 Mylas (Μύλας)
 Nikon (Νίκων)
 Ormenos (Ορμενος)
 Simon (Σίμων)
 Skelmis (Σκελμις)
 Tethys (Τηθύς), Titan goddess of the sources of fresh water, and the mother of the rivers,
springs, streams, fountains, and clouds
 Thalassa (Θάλασσα), primeval goddess of the sea and consort of Pontos
 Thaumas (Θαῦμας), god of the wonders of the sea
 Thoosa (Θόοσα), goddess of swift currents
 Triteia (Τριτεια), daughter of Triton and companion of Ares
 Triton (Τρίτων), fish-tailed son and herald of Poseidon
 Tritones (Τρίτωνες), fish-tailed spirits in Poseidon's retinue
Sky deities[edit]

 Achelois (Ἀχελωΐς), "she who washes pain away", a minor moon goddess

 Aeolus (Aiolos) (Αίολος), god of the winds.
 Aether (Αιθήρ), primeval god of the upper air
 Alectrona (Αλεκτρονα), solar goddess of the morning or waking up
 Aparctias (Απαρκτίας), another name for the north wind (not identified with Boreas)
 Apheliotes (Αφηλιώτης), god of the east wind (when Eurus is considered southeast)
 Argestes (Αργέστης), another name for the west or northwest wind
 Caicias (Καικίας), god of the northeast wind
 Circios (Κίρκιος) or Thraskias (Θρασκίας), god of the north-northwest wind
 Euronotus (Ευρονότος), god of the southeast wind
 Lips (Λίψ), god of the southwest wind
 Skeiron (Σκείρων), god of the northwest wind
 Zeus (Ζεύς), King of Heaven and god of the sky, clouds, thunder, and lightning
 Hera (Ήρα), Queen of Heaven and goddess of the air and starry constellations
 Apollo, (Απόλλων), Olympian God of the sun, light, knowledge, music, healing, and the arts
 Artemis, (´Αρτεμις), Olympian Goddess of virgins and young women, of the moon, nature,
hunt and the wild animals
 Arke (Άρκη), messenger of the Titans and twin sister of Iris
 Astraios (Ἀστραῖος), Titan god of stars and planets, and the art of astrology
 The Astra Planeti (Αστρα Πλανετοι), gods of the five wandering stars or planets
 Stilbon (Στιλβών), god of Hermaon, the planet Mercury
 Eosphorus (Ηωσφόρος), god of Venus the morning star
 Hesperus (Ἓσπερος), god of Venus the evening star
  Pyroeis (Πυρόεις), god of Areios, the planet Mars
 Phaethon (Φαέθων), god of Dios, the planet Jupiter
 Phaenon (Φαίνων), god of Kronion, the planet Saturn
 Aurai (Αὖραι), nymphs of the cooling breeze
 Aura (Αὖρα), goddess of the breeze and the fresh, cool air of early morning
 Chaos (Χάος), the nothingness from which all else sprang, she also represented the lower
atmosphere which surrounded the earth
 Chione (Χιόνη), goddess of snow and daughter of Boreas
 Uranus (Ουρανός), primeval god of the heavens
 Helios (Ἥλιος), Titan god of the sun and guardian of oaths
 Sabazios (Σαβάζιος), the nomadic horseman and sky father god of
the Phrygians and Thracians
 Selene (Σελήνη), Titan goddess of the moon
 Eos (Ἠώς), Titan goddess of the dawn
 Hemera (Ημέρα), primeval goddess of the day
 Men (Μήν), a lunar deity worshiped in the western interior parts of Anatolia.
 Nyx, (Νύξ), goddess of the night
 The Hesperides, (´Εσπερίδες), nymphs that represented a star cluster in the constellation
Taurus (Pleiades) and were associated with rain
 Iris (Ίρις), goddess of the rainbow and divine messenger
 Nephelai (Νεφέλαι), cloud nymphs
 Pandia (Πανδία), daughter of Selene and Zeus
 Ersa (Ἕρση), goddess of the morning dew
 Anemoi, (Άνεμοι), gods of the winds
 Boreas (Βορέας), god of the north wind and of winter
 Eurus (Εύρος), god of the unlucky east or southeast wind
 Notus (Νότος) god of the south wind
 Zephyrus (Ζέφυρος), god of the west wind
 The Pleiades (Πλειάδες), goddesses of the constellation Pleiades and were associated with
rain
 Alcyone (Αλκυόνη)
 Sterope (Στερόπη)
 Celaeno (Κελαινώ)
 Electra (Ηλέκτρα)
 Maia (Μαία)
 Merope (Μερώπη)
 Taygete (Ταϋγέτη)
Rustic deities[edit]

 Aetna (Αἴτνη), goddess of the volcanic Mount Etna in Sicily

 Amphictyonis (Αμφικτυονίς), goddess of wine and friendship between nations, a local form of
Demeter
 Anthousai (Ανθούσαι), flower nymphs
 Aristaeus (Ἀρισταῖος), god of bee-keeping, cheese-making, herding, olive-growing, and
hunting
 Attis (Άττις), vegetation god and consort of Cybele
 Britomartis (Βριτόμαρτις), Cretan goddess of hunting and nets used for fishing, fowling and
the hunting of small game
 Cabeiri (Κάβειροι), gods or spirits who presided over the Mysteries of the islands of Lemnos
and Samothrace
 Aitnaios (Αιτναιος)
 Alkon (Αλκων)
 Eurymedon (Ευρυμεδών)
 Onnes (Όννης)
 Tonnes (Τόννης)
 Centaurs (Κένταυροι), a race of half-man, half-horse beings
 Asbolus (Άσβολος)
  Chariclo (Χαρικλώ), wife of the centaur Chiron
 Chiron (Χείρων), the eldest and wisest of the Centaurs
 Eurytion (Ευρυτιων)
 Nessus (Νέσσος), a ferryman at the river Euenus
 Pholus (Φώλος)
 The Cercopes (Κέρκοπες), a pair of monkey-like thieves who plagued the land of Lydia in
western Anatolia
 Akmon (Ακμών)
 Passalos (Πάσσαλος)
 Chloris (Χλωρίς), goddess of flowers and wife of Zephyrus
 Comus (Κόμος), god of revelry, merrymaking, and festivity
 Corymbus (Κόρυμβος), god of the fruit of the ivy
 The Curetes (Κουρέτες), guardians of infant Zeus on Mount Ida, barely distinguished from
the Dactyls and the Corybantes
 Cybele (Κυβέλη), a Phrygian mountain goddess associated with Rhea
 Dindymene, is one of the names of Cybele
 The Dactyls (Δάκτυλοι) "fingers", minor deities originally representing fingers of a hand
 Acmon (Ακμών)
 Damnameneus (Δαμναμενεύς)
 Delas (Δήλας)
 Epimedes (Επιμήδης)
 Heracles (not to be confused with the hero Heracles)
 Iasios (Ιάσιος)
 Kelmis (Κελμις)
 Skythes (Σκύθης)
 companions of Cybele
 Titias (Τιτίας)
 Cyllenus (Κύλληνος)
 Dionysus (Διόνυσος), god of wine, drunken orgies, and wild vegetation
 Dryades (Δρυάδες), tree and forest nymphs
 Gaia (Γαία), primeval goddess of the earth
 Epimeliades (Επιμελίδες), nymphs of highland pastures and protectors of sheep flocks
 Hamadryades (Αμαδρυάδες), oak tree dryades
 Hecaterus (Ηεκατερος), minor god of the hekateris — a rustic dance of quickly moving hands
— and perhaps of the skill of hands in general
 Hephaestus (Ήφαιστος), god of metalworking
 Hermes (Ερμής), god of herds and flocks, of roads and boundary stones, and the god of
thieves.
 The Horae (Ώρες), The Hours, the goddesses of natural order
 Eunomia (Ευνομία), spirit of good order, and springtime goddess of green pastures
 Dike (Δίκη), spirit of justice, may have represented springtime growth
 Eirene (Ειρήνη), spirit of peace and goddess of the springtime
 The goddesses of springtime growth
 Thallo (Θαλλώ), goddess of spring buds and shoots, identified with Eirene
 Auxo (Αυξώ), goddess of spring growth
 Karpo (Καρπώ), goddess of the fruits of the earth
 The goddesses of welfare
 Pherousa (Φέρουσα) "the bringer"
 Euporie (Ευπορίη) "abundance"
 Orthosie (Ορθοσίη) "prosperity"
 The goddesses of the natural portions of time and the times of day
 Auge (Αυγή), first light of the morning
 Anatole (Ανατολή) or Anatolia (Ανατολία), sunrise
 Mousika or Musica (Μουσική), the morning hour of music and study
 Gymnastika, Gymnastica (Γυμναστίκή) or Gymnasia (Γυμνασία), the morning
hour of gymnastics/exercise
 Nymphe (Νυμφή), the morning hour of ablutions (bathing, washing)
  Mesembria (Μεσημβρία), noon
 Sponde (Σπονδή), libations poured after lunch
 Elete, prayer, the first of the afternoon work hours
 Akte, Acte (Ακτή) or Cypris (Κυπρίς), eating and pleasure, the second of the
afternoon work hours
 Hesperis (Έσπερίς), evening
 Dysis (Δύσις), sunset
 Arktos (Άρκτος), night sky, constellation
 The goddesses of seasons of the year
 Eiar (Είαρ), spring
 Theros (Θέρος), summer
 Pthinoporon (Φθινόπωρον), autumn
 Cheimon (Χειμών), winter
 Korybantes (Κορύβαντες), the crested dancers who worshipped Cybele
 Damneus (Δαμνεύς) "the one who tames(?)"
 Idaios (Ιδαίος) "of Mount Ida"
 Kyrbas (Κύρβας), whose name is probably a variant of Korybas, singular for
"Korybantes"
 Okythoos (Ωκύθοος) "the one running swiftly"
 Prymneus (Πρυμνεύς) "of lower areas(?)"
 Pyrrhichos (Πυρῥιχος), god of the rustic dance
 Ma, a local goddess at Comana in Cappadocia
 Maenades (μαινάδες), crazed nymphs in the retinue of Dionysus
 Methe (Μέθη), nymph of drunkenness
 Meliae (Μελίαι), nymphs of honey and the ash tree
 Naiades (Ναιάδες), fresh water nymphs
 Daphne (Δάφνη)
 Metope (Μετώπη)
 Minthe (Μίνθη)
 The Nymphai Hyperboreioi (Νύμφαι Υπερβόρειοι), who presided over aspects of archery
 Hekaerge (Εκαέργη), represented distancing
 Loxo (Λοξώ), represented trajectory
 Oupis (Ουπις), represented aim
 Oreades (Ὀρεάδες), mountain nymphs
 Adrasteia (Αδράστεια), a nursemaid of the infant Zeus
 Echo (Ηχώ), a nymph cursed never to speak except to repeat the words of others
 The Ourea (Ούρος), primeval gods of mountains
 The Palici (Παλικοί), a pair of rustic gods who presided over the geysers and thermal springs
in Sicily
 Pan (Πάν), god of shepherds, pastures, and fertility
 Potamoi (Ποταμοί), river gods
 Achelous (Αχέλους)
 Acis (Άκις)
 Acheron (Αχέρων)
 Alpheus (Αλφειός)
 Asopus (Ασωπός)
 Cladeus (Κλάδεος)
 Eurotas (Ευρώτας)
 Cocytus (Kωκυτός)
 Lethe (λήθη)
 Peneus (Πηνειός)
 Phlegethon (Φλεγέθων)
 Styx (Στύξ)
 Scamander (Σκάμανδρος)
 Priapus (Πρίαπος), god of garden fertility
 Rhea (Ῥέα), the great mother and queen of the mountain wilds
 Satyrs (Σάτυροι) / Satyress, rustic fertility spirits
 Krotos (Κρότος), a great hunter and musician who kept the company of the Muses on
Mount Helicon
 Silenus (Σειληνός), an old rustic god of the dance of the wine-press
 Telete (Τελέτη), goddess of initiation into the Bacchic orgies
 Zagreus (Ζαγρεύς), in the Orphic mysteries, the first incarnation of Dionysus
Agricultural deities[edit]

 Adonis (Άδωνις), a life-death-rebirth deity

 Aphaea (Αφαία), minor goddess of agriculture and fertility
 Carme (Κάρμη), a Cretan spirit who presided over the harvest festival
 Carmanor (Καρμάνωρ), a Cretan harvest god
 Chrysothemis (Χρυσόθεμις), goddess of the "Golden Custom", a harvest festival, daughter of
Demeter and Carmanor
 Cyamites (Κυαμίτης), demi-god of the bean
 Demeter (Δημήτηρ), goddess of fertility, agriculture, grain, and harvest
 Despoina (Δέσποινη), daughter of Poseidon and Demeter, goddess of mysteries in Arcadia
 Dionysus (Διόνυσος), god of viticulture and wine
 Eunostus (Εύνοστος), goddess of the flour mill
 Hestia (Ἑστία), maiden goddess of the hearth who presided over the baking of bread,
mankind's staple food
 Persephone (Περσεφόνη), queen of the underworld, wife of Hades and goddess of spring
growth
 Philomelus (Φιλόμελος), agricultural demi-god inventor of the wagon and the plough
 Plutus (Πλοῦτος), god of wealth, including agricultural wealth, son of Demeter
 Triptolemus (Τριπτόλεμος), god of farming and agriculture, he brought agriculture to Greece
Health deities[edit]

 Apollo, god of healing and medicine

 Asclepius (Ασκληπιός), god of medicine
 Aceso (Ἀκεσώ), goddess of the healing of wounds and the curing of illnesses
 Aegle (Αἴγλη), goddess of radiant good health
 Epione (Ἠπιόνη), goddess of the soothing of pain
 Hygieia (Ὑγεία), goddess of cleanliness and good health
 Iaso (Ἰασώ), goddess of cures, remedies, and modes of healing
 Panacea (Πανάκεια), goddess of healing
 Telesphorus (Τελεσφόρος), demi-god of convalescence, who "brought to fulfillment"
recuperation from illness or injury
Other deities[edit]

 Acratopotes (Ἀκρατοπότης), god of unmixed wine

 Adrastea (Αδράστεια), a daughter of Ares and Aphrodite, or an epithet of Nemesis
 Agdistis (Ἄγδιστις), Phrygian hermaphroditic deity
 Alexiares and Anicetus (Αλεξιαρης and Ανικητος), twin sons of Heracles who presided over
the defence of fortified towns and citadels
 Aphroditus (Ἀφρόδιτος), Cyprian hermaphroditic Aphrodite
 Astraea (Αστραία), virgin goddess of justice
 Auxesia (Αυξησία) and Damia (Δαμία), two local fertility goddesses
 Charites (Χάριτες), goddesses of charm, beauty, nature, human creativity, and fertility
 Aglaea (Αγλαΐα), goddess of beauty, adornment, splendor and glory
 Euphrosyne (Εὐφροσύνη), goddess of good cheer, joy, mirth, and merriment
 Thalia (Θάλεια), goddess of festive celebrations and rich and luxurious banquets
 Hegemone (Ηγεμόνη) "mastery"
 Antheia (Άνθεια), goddess of flowers and flowery wreaths
 Pasithea (Πασιθέα), goddess of rest and relaxation
 Cleta (Κλήτα) "the glorious"
  Phaenna (Φαέννα) "the shining"
 Eudaimonia (Ευδαιμονία) "happiness"
 Euthymia (Ευθυμία) "good mood"
 Calleis (Καλλείς) "beauty"
 Paidia (Παιδία) "play, amusement"
 Pandaisia (Πανδαισία) "banquet for everyone"
 Pannychis (Παννυχίς) "all-night (festivity)"
 Ceraon (Κεραων), demi-god of the meal, specifically the mixing of wine
 Chrysus (Χρύσος), spirit of gold
 Circe (Κίρκη), goddess-witch of Aeaea
 Daemones Ceramici (Δαίμονες Κεραμικοί), five malevolent spirits who plagued the craftsman
potter
 Syntribos (Σύντριβος), the shatterer
 Smaragos (Σμάραγος), the smasher
 Asbetos (Ασβετος), the charrer
 Sabaktes (Σαβάκτης), the destroyer
 Omodamos (Ωμόδαμος), crudebake
 Deipneus (Δειπνεύς), demi-god of the preparation of meals, specifically the making of bread
 Eiresione (Ειρεσιώνη), personification of the olive branch
 Eileithyia (Εἰλείθυια), goddess of childbirth
 Enyalius (Ενυάλιος), minor god of war
 Enyo (Ἐνυώ), goddess of destructive war
 Glycon (Γλύκων), a snake god
 Harpocrates (Ἁρποκράτης), god of silence
 Hermaphroditus (Ἑρμάφρόδιτός), god of hermaphrodites and effeminate men
 Hymenaios (Ὑμέναιος), god of marriage and marriage feasts
 Ichnaea (Ιχναία), goddess of tracking
 Iynx (Ιύνξ), goddess of the love charm
 Matton (Μάττων), demi-god of the meal, specifically the kneading of dough
 Muses (Μούσαι), goddesses of music, song and dance, and the source of inspiration to
poets
 Titan Muses, daughters of Uranus and Gaia
 Aoide (Ἀοιδή), muse of song
 Arche (Αρχή), muse of origins
 Melete (Μελέτη), muse of meditation and practice
 Mneme (Μνήμη), muse of memory
 Thelxinoe (Θελξινόη), muse "charmer of minds"
 Olympian Muses, daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne
 Calliope (Καλλιόπη), muse of epic poetry
 Clio (Κλειώ), muse of history
 Euterpe (Ευτέρπη), muse of musical poetry
 Erato (Ερατώ), muse of lyric poetry
 Melpomene (Μελπομένη), muse of tragedy
 Polyhymnia (Πολυμνία) or (Πολύμνια), muse of sacred poetry
 Terpsichore (Τερψιχόρη), muse of dance and choral poetry
 Thalia (Θάλεια), muse of comedy and bucolic poetry
 Urania (Ουρανία), muse of astronomy
 Muses worshiped at Delphi, daughters of Apollo
 Cephisso (Κεφισσώ)
 Apollonis (Απολλωνίς)
 Borysthenis (Βορυσθενίς)
 Hypate (Υπάτη) "the upper (chord of the lyre)"
 Mese (Μέση) "the middle (chord of the lyre)"
 Nete (Νήτη) "the lowest (chord of the lyre)"
 Muses worshiped at Sicyon
 Polymatheia (Πολυμάθεια), muse of knowledge
 Palaestra (Παλαίστρα), goddess of wrestling
 Rhapso (Ραψώ), minor goddess or nymph whose name apparently refers to sewing
 Taraxippus (Ταράξιππος), ghost that frightened horses

Mortals[edit]
Deified mortals[edit]

 Achilles (Ἀχιλλεύς), hero of the Trojan War

 Aiakos (Αἰακός), a king of Aegina, appointed as a Judge of the Dead in the Underworld after
his death
 Aeolus (Αἴολος), a king of Thessaly, made the immortal king of the winds by Zeus
 Alabandus (Ἀλάβανδος), he was the founder of the town of Alabanda
 Amphiaraus (Ἀμφιάραος), a hero of the war of the Seven Against Thebes who became an
oracular spirit of the Underworld after his death
 Ariadne (Αριάδνη), a Cretan princess who became the immortal wife of Dionysus
 Aristaeus (Ἀρισταῖος), a Thessalian hero, his inventions saw him immortalised as the god of
bee-keeping, cheese-making, herding, olive-growing, and hunting
 Asclepius (Ἀσκληπιός), a Thessalian physician who was struck down by Zeus, to be later
recovered by his father Apollo
 Attis (Ἄττις), a consort of Cybele, granted immortality as one of her attendants
 Bolina (Βολίνα), a mortal woman transformed into an immortal nymph by Apollo
 The Dioscuri (Διόσκουροι), divine twins
 Castor (Κάστωρ)
 Pollux (Πολυδεύκης)
 Endymion (Ἐνδυμίων), lover of Selene, granted eternal sleep so as never to age or die
 Ganymede (Γανυμήδης), a handsome Trojan prince, abducted by Zeus and made cup-
bearer of the gods
 Glaucus (Γλαῦκος), the fisherman's sea god, made immortal after eating a magical herb
 Hemithea (Ἡμιθέα) and Parthenos (Παρθένος), princesses of the Island of Naxos who leapt
into the sea to escape their father's wrath; Apollo transformed them into demi-goddesses
 Heracles (Ἡρακλῆς), ascended hero

Athena pouring a drink for Heracles, who wears the skin of the Nemean Lion

 Lampsace (Λαμψάκη), a semi-historical Bebrycian princess honored as goddess for her

assistance to the Greeks
 Minos (Μίνως), a king of Crete, appointed as a Judge of the Dead in the Underworld after his
death
 Ino (Ἰνώ), a Theban princess who became the sea goddess Leucothea
 Tenes (Τέννης), was a hero of the island of Tenedos
 The Leucippides (Λευκιππίδες), wives of the Dioscuri
 Phoebe (Φοίβη), wife of Pollux
 Hilaera (Ἱλάειρα), wife of Castor
 Orithyia (Ὠρείθυια), an Athenian princess abducted by Boreas and made the goddess of
cold, gusty mountain winds
 Palaemon (Παλαίμων), a Theban prince, made into a sea god along with his mother, Ino
 Phylonoe (Φυλονόη), daughter of Tyndareus and Leda, made immortal by Artemis
 Psyche (Ψυχή), goddess of the soul
 Semele (Σεμελη), mortal mother of Dionysus, who later was made the goddess Thyone
(Θυωνη)
Heroes[edit]

 Abderus, aided Heracles during his eighth labour and was killed by the Mares of Diomedes
 Achilles (Αχιλλεύς or Αχιλλέας), hero of the Trojan War and a central character
in Homer's Iliad
 Aeneas (Αινείας), a hero of the Trojan War and progenitor of the Roman people
 Ajax the Great (Αίας ο Μέγας), a hero of the Trojan War and king of Salamis
 Ajax the Lesser (Αίας ο Μικρός), a hero of the Trojan War and leader of the Locrian army
 Amphitryon (Αμφιτρύων), Theban general who rescued Thebes from the Teumessian fox;
his wife was Alcmene, mother of Heracles
 Antilochus (Ἀντίλοχος), Son of Nestor sacrificed himself to save his father in the Trojan War
along with other deeds of valor
 Bellerophon, hero who slew the Chimera
 Bouzyges
 Castor, the mortal Dioscuri twin; after Castor's death, his immortal brother Pollux shared his
divinity with him in order that they might remain together
 Chrysippus, a divine hero of Elis
 Daedalus, creator of the labyrinth and great inventor, until King Minos trapped him in his own
creation.
 Diomedes, a king of Argos and hero of the Trojan War
 Eleusis, eponymous hero of the town of Eleusis
 Eunostus, a Boeotian hero
 Ganymede, Trojan hero and lover of Zeus, who was given immortality and appointed cup-
bearer to the gods
 Hector, hero of the Trojan War and champion of the Trojan people
 Icarus, the son of the master craftsman Daedalus
 Iolaus, nephew of Heracles who aided his uncle in one of his Labors
 Jason, leader of the Argonauts
 Meleager, a hero who sailed with the Argonauts and killed the Calydonian Boar
 Odysseus, a hero and king of Ithaca whose adventures are the subject of Homer's Odyssey;
he also played a key role during the Trojan War
 Orpheus, a legendary musician and poet who attempted to retrieve his dead wife from the
Underworld
 Pandion, the eponymous hero of the Attic tribe Pandionis, usually assumed to be one of the
legendary Athenian kings Pandion I or Pandion II.
 Perseus (Περσεύς), son of Zeus and the founder-king of Mycenae and slayer of the Gorgon
Medusa
 Theseus, son of Poseidon and a king of Athens and slayer of the Minotaur
Notable women[edit]

 Alcestis (Άλκηστις), daughter of Pelias and wife of Admetus, who was known for her devotion
to her husband
 Amymone, the one daughter of Danaus who refused to murder her husband, thus escaping
her sisters' punishment
 Andromache (Ανδρομάχη), wife of Hector
 Andromeda (Ανδρομέδα), wife of Perseus, who was placed among the constellations after
her death
 Antigone (Αντιγόνη), daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta
 Arachne (Αράχνη), a skilled weaver, transformed by Athena into a spider for her blasphemy
 Ariadne (Αριάδνη), daughter of Minos, king of Crete, who aided Theseus in overcoming the
Minotaur and became the wife of Dionysus
 Atalanta (Αταλάντη), fleet-footed heroine who participated in the Calydonian Boar hunt
 Briseis, a princess of Lyrnessus, taken by Achilles as a war prize
 Caeneus, formerly Caenis, a woman who was transformed into a man and became a mighty
warrior
 Cassandra, a princess of Troy cursed to see the future but never to be believed
 Cassiopeia (Κασσιόπεια), queen of Æthiopia and mother of Andromeda
 Clytemnestra, sister of Helen and unfaithful wife of Agamemnon
 Danaë, the mother of Perseus by Zeus
 Deianeira, the third wife and unwitting killer of Heracles
 Electra, daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, she aided her brother Orestes in
plotting revenge against their mother for the murder of their father
 Europa, a Phoenician woman, abducted by Zeus
 Hecuba (Ἑκάβη), wife of Priam, king of Troy, and mother of nineteen of his children
 Helen, daughter of Zeus and Leda, whose abduction brought about the Trojan War
 Hermione (Ἑρμιόνη), daughter of Menelaus and Helen; wife of Neoptolemus, and later
Orestes
 Iphigenia, daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra; Agamemnon sacrificed her to Artemis
in order to appease the goddess
 Ismene, sister of Antigone
 Jocasta, mother and wife of Oedipus
 Medea, a sorceress and wife of Jason, who killed her own children to punish Jason for his
infidelity
 Medusa, a mortal woman transformed into a hideous gorgon by Athena
 Niobe, a daughter of Tantalus who declared herself to be superior to Leto, causing Artemis
and Apollo to kill her fourteen children
 Pandora, the first woman
 Penelope, loyal wife of Odysseus
 Phaedra, daughter of Minos and wife of Theseus
 Polyxena, the youngest daughter of Priam, sacrificed to the ghost of Achilles
 Semele, mortal mother of Dionysus
 Thrace, the daughter of Oceanus and Parthenope, and sister of Europa
Kings[edit]

 Abas, a king of Argos

 Acastus, a king of Iolcus who sailed with the Argonauts and participated in the Calydonian
Boar hunt
 Acrisius, a king of Argos
 Actaeus, first king of Attica
 Admetus (Άδμητος), a king of Pherae who sailed with the Argonauts and participated in the
Calydonian Boar hunt
 Adrastus (Άδραστος), a king of Argos and one of the Seven Against Thebes
 Aeacus (Αιακός), a king of the island of Aegina in the Saronic Gulf; after he died, he became
one of the three judges of the dead in the Underworld
 Aeëtes, a king of Colchis and father of Medea
 Aegeus (Αιγεύς), a king of Athens and father of Theseus
 Aegimius, a king of Thessaly and progenitor of the Dorians
 Aegisthus (Αίγισθος), lover of Clytemnestra, with whom he plotted to murder Agamemnon
and seized the kingship of Mycenae
 Aegyptus (Αίγυπτος), a king of Egypt
 Aeson, father of Jason and rightful king of Iolcus, whose throne was usurped by his half-
brother Pelias
 Aëthlius, first king of Elis
 Aetolus (Αιτωλός), a king of Elis
 Agamemnon (Ἀγαμέμνων), a king of Mycenae and commander of the Greek armies during
the Trojan War
 Agasthenes, a king of Elis
 Agenor (Αγήνωρ), a king of Phoenicia
 Alcinous (Αλκίνους or Ἀλκίνοος), a king of Phaeacia
 Alcmaeon, a king of Argos and one of the Epigoni
 Aleus, a king of Tegea
 Amphiaraus (Ἀμφιάραος), a seer and king of Argos who participated in the Calydonian Boar
hunt and the war of the Seven Against Thebes
 Amphictyon (Ἀμφικτύων), a king of Athens
 Amphion and Zethus, twin sons of Zeus and kings of Thebes, who constructed the city's
walls
 Amycus, son of Poseidon and king of the Bebryces
 Anaxagoras (Ἀναξαγόρας), a king of Argos
 Anchises (Αγχίσης), a king of Dardania and father of Aeneas
 Arcesius, a king of Ithaca and father of Laertes
 Argeus, a king of Argos
 Argus, a son of Zeus and king of Argos after Phoroneus
 Assaracus, a king of Dardania
 Asterion, a king of Crete
 Athamas (Ἀθάμας), a king of Orchomenus
 Atreus (Ἀτρεύς), a king of Mycenae and father of Agamemnon and Menelaus
 Augeas (Αυγείας), a king of Elis
 Autesion, a king of Thebes
 Bias, a king of Argos
 Busiris, a king of Egypt
 Cadmus, founder-king of Thebes
 Car, a king of Megara
 Catreus, a king of Crete, prophesied to die at the hands of his own son
 Cecrops, an autochthonous king of Athens
 Ceisus, a king of Argos
 Celeus, a king of Eleusis
 Cephalus, a king of Phocis who accidentally killed his own wife
 Cepheus, a king of Ethiopia
 Cepheus, a king of Tegea and an Argonaut
 Charnabon, a king of the Getae
 Cinyras, a king of Cyprus and father of Adonis
 Codrus, a king of Athens
 Corinthus, founder-king of Corinth
 Cranaus, a king of Athens
 Creon, a king of Thebes, brother of Jocasta and uncle of Oedipus
 Creon, a king of Corinth who was hospitable towards Jason and Medea
 Cres, an early Cretan king
 Cresphontes, a king of Messene and descendent of Heracles
 Cretheus, founder-king of Iolcus
 Criasus, a king of Argos
 Cylarabes, a king of Argos
 Cynortas, a king of Sparta
 Cyzicus, king of the Dolionians, mistakenly killed by the Argonauts
 Danaus, a king of Egypt and father of the Danaides
 Dardanus, founder-king of Dardania, and son of Zeus and Electra
 Deiphontes, a king of Argos
 Demophon of Athens, a king of Athens
 Diomedes, a king of Argos and hero of the Trojan War
 Echemus, a king of Arcadia
 Echetus, a king of Epirus
 Eetion, a king of Cilician Thebe and father of Andromache
 Electryon, a king of Tiryns and Mycenae; son of Perseus and Andromeda
 Elephenor, a king of the Abantes of Euboea
 Eleusis, eponym and king of Eleusis, Attica
 Epaphus, a king of Egypt and founder of Memphis, Egypt
 Epopeus, a king of Sicyon
 Erechtheus, a king of Athens
 Erginus, a king of Minyean Orchomenus in Boeotia
 Erichthonius, a king of Athens, born of Hephaestus' attempt to rape Athena
 Eteocles, a king of Thebes and son of Oedipus; he and his brother Polynices killed each
other
 Eteocles, son of Andreus, a king of Orchomenus
 Eurotas, a king of Sparta
 Eurystheus, a king of Tiryns
 Euxantius, a king of Ceos, son of Minos and Dexithea
 Gelanor, a king of Argos
 Haemus, a king of Thrace
 Helenus, seer and twin brother of Cassandra, who later became king of Epirus
 Hippothoön, a king of Eleusis
 Hyrieus, a king of Boeotia
 Ilus, founder-king of Troy
 Ixion, a king of the Lapiths who attempted to rape Hera and was bound to a flaming wheel in
Tartarus
 Laërtes, father of Odysseus and king of the Cephallenians; he sailed with the Argonauts and
participated in the Calydonian Boar hunt
 Laomedon, a king of Troy and father of Priam
 Lycaon of Arcadia, a deceitful Arcadian king who was transformed by Zeus into a wolf
 Lycurgus of Arcadia, a king of Arcadia
 Lycurgus of Nemea, a king of Nemea
 Makedon, a king of Macedon
 Megareus of Onchestus, a king of Onchestus in Boeotia
 Megareus of Thebes, a king of Thebes
 Melampus, a legendary soothsayer and healer, and king of Argos
 Melanthus, a king of Messenia
 Memnon, a king of Ethiopia who fought on the side of Troy during the Trojan War
 Menelaus, a king of Sparta and the husband of Helen
 Menestheus, a king of Athens who fought on the side of the Greeks during the Trojan War
 Midas, a king of Phrygia granted the power to turn anything to gold with a touch
 Minos, a king of Crete; after his death, became one of the judges of the dead in the
Underworld
 Myles, a king of Laconia
 Nestor, a king of Pylos who sailed with the Argonauts, participated in the Calydonian Boar
hunt and fought with the Greek armies in the Trojan War
 Nycteus, a king of Thebes
 Odysseus, a hero and king of Ithaca whose adventures are the subject of Homer's Odyssey;
he also played a key role during the Trojan War
 Oebalus, a king of Sparta
 Oedipus, a king of Thebes fated to kill his father and marry his mother
 Oeneus, a king of Calydon
 Oenomaus, a king of Pisa
 Oenopion, a king of Chios
 Ogygus, a king of Thebes
 Oicles, a king of Argos
 Oileus, a king of Locris
 Orestes, a king of Argos and a son of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon; he killed his mother in
revenge for her murder of his father
 Oxyntes, a king of Athens
 Pandion I, a king of Athens
 Pandion II, a king of Athens
 Peleus, king of the Myrmidons and father of Achilles; he sailed with the Argonauts and
participated in the Calydonian Boar hunt
 Pelias, a king of Iolcus and usurper of Aeson's rightful throne
 Pelops, a king of Pisa and founder of the House of Atreus
 Pentheus, a king of Thebes who banned the worship of Dionysus and was torn apart by
Maenads
 Periphas, legendary king of Attica who Zeus turned into an eagle.
 Perseus (Περσεύς), founder-king of Mycenae and slayer of the Gorgon Medusa
 Phineus, a king of Thrace
 Phlegyas, a king of the Lapiths
 Phoenix, son of Agenor, founder-king of Phoenicia
 Phoroneus, a king of Argos
 Phyleus, a king of Elis
 Pirithoös, king of the Lapiths and husband of Hippodamia, at whose wedding the Battle of
Lapiths and Centaurs occurred
 Pittheus, a king of Troezen and grandfather of Theseus
 Polybus of Corinth, a king of Corinth
 Polybus of Sicyon, a king of Sicyon and son of Hermes
 Polybus of Thebes, a king of Thebes
 Polynices, a king of Thebes and son of Oedipus; he and his brother Eteocles killed each
other
 Priam, king of Troy during the Trojan War
 Proetus, a king of Argos and Tiryns
 Pylades, a king of Phocis and friend of Orestes
 Rhadamanthys, a king of Crete; after his death, he became a judge of the dead in the
Underworld
 Rhesus, a king of Thrace who sided with Troy in the Trojan War
 Sarpedon, a king of Lycia and son of Zeus who fought on the side of the Greeks during the
Trojan War
 Sisyphus, a king of Thessaly who attempted to cheat death and was sentenced to an eternity
of rolling a boulder up a hill, only to watch it roll back down
 Sithon, a king of Thrace
 Talaus, a king of Argos who sailed with the Argonauts
 Tegyrios, a king of Thrace
 Telamon, a king of Salamis and father of Ajax; he sailed with the Argonauts and participated
in the Calydonian Boar hunt
 Telephus, a king of Mysia and son of Heracles
 Temenus, a king of Argos and descendent of Heracles
 Teucer, founder-king of Salamis who fought alongside the Greeks in the Trojan War
 Teutamides, a king of Larissa
 Teuthras, a king of Mysia
 Thersander, a king of Thebes and one of the Epigoni
 Theseus, a king of Athens and slayer of the Minotaur
 Thyestes, a king of Mycenae and brother of Atreus
 Tisamenus, a king of Argos, Mycenae, and Sparta
 Tyndareus, a king of Sparta
Seers/oracles[edit]

 Amphilochus (Ἀμφίλοχος), a seer and brother of Alcmaeon who died in the war of the Seven
Against Thebes
 Anius, son of Apollo who prophesied that the Trojan War would be won in its tenth year
 Asbolus, a seer Centaur
 Bakis
 Branchus, a seer and son of Apollo
 Calchas, an Argive seer who aided the Greeks during the Trojan War
 Carnus, an Acarnanian seer and lover of Apollo
 Carya, a seer and lover of Dionysus
 Cassandra, a princess of Troy cursed to see the future but never to be believed
 Ennomus, a Mysian seer, killed by Achilles during the Trojan War
 Halitherses, an Ithacan seer who warned Penelope's suitors of Odysseus' return
 Helenus, seer and twin brother of Cassandra, who later became king of Epirus
 Iamus, a son of Apollo possessing the gift of prophecy, he founded the Iamidai
 Idmon, a seer who sailed with the Argonauts
 Manto, seer and daughter of Tiresias
 Melampus, a legendary soothsayer and healer, and king of Argos
 Mopsus, the name of two legendary seers
 Polyeidos, a Corinthian seer who saved the life of Glaucus
 Pythia, the oracle of Delphi
 Telemus, a seer who foresaw that the Cyclops Polyphemus would be blinded by Odysseus
 Theoclymenus, an Argive seer
 Tiresias, blind prophet of Thebes
Amazons[edit]

Achilles and Penthesileia (Lucanian red-figure bell-krater, late 5th century BC)

 Aegea, a queen of the Amazons

 Aella (Ἄελλα), an Amazon who was killed by Heracles
 Alcibie (Ἀλκιβίη), an Amazonian warrior, killed by Diomedes at Troy
 Antandre (Ἀντάνδρη), an Amazonian warrior, killed by Achilles at Troy
 Antiope (Ἀντιόπη), a daughter of Ares and sister of Hippolyta
 Areto (Ἀρετώ), an Amazon
 Asteria (Ἀστερία), an Amazon who was killed by Heracles
 Bremusa (Βρέμουσα), an Amazonian warrior, killed by Idomeneus at Troy
 Celaeno (Κελαινώ), an Amazonian warrior, killed by Heracles
 Eurypyle (Εὐρυπύλη), an Amazon leader who invaded Ninus and Babylonia
 Hippolyta (Ἱππολύτη), a queen of Amazons and daughter of Ares
 Hippothoe (Ἱπποθόη), an Amazonian warrior, killed by Achilles at Troy
 Iphito (Ἰφιτώ), an Amazon who served under Hippolyta
 Lampedo (Λαμπεδώ), an Amazon queen who ruled with her sister Marpesia
 Marpesia (Μαρπεσία), an Amazon queen who ruled with her sister Lampedo
 Melanippe (Μελανίππη), a daughter of Ares and sister of Hippolyta and Antiope
 Molpadia (Μολπαδία), an Amazon who killed Antiope
 Myrina (Μύρινα), a queen of the Amazons
 Orithyia (Ὠρείθυια), an Amazon queen
 Otrera (Ὀτρήρα), an Amazon queen, consort of Ares and mother of Hippolyta
 Pantariste (Πανταρίστη), an Amazon who fought with Hippolyta against Heracles
 Penthesilea (Πενθεσίλεια), an Amazon queen who fought in the Trojan War on the side of
Troy
 Thalestris (Θάληστρις), a queen of the Amazons
Inmates of Tartarus[edit]

 The Danaides, forty-nine daughters of Danaus who murdered their husbands and were
condemned to an eternity of carrying water in leaky jugs
 Ixion, a king of the Lapiths who attempted to rape Hera and was bound to a flaming wheel in
Tartarus
 Sisyphus, a king of Thessaly who attempted to cheat death and was sentenced to an eternity
of rolling a boulder up a hill, only to watch it roll back down
 Tantalus, a king of Anatolia who butchered his son Pelops and served him as a meal to the
gods; he was punished with the torment of starvation, food and drink eternally dangling just
out of reach