 | Term | Definition |
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Gaea |
the earth |
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Cronus |
was the chief Titan, a ruling deity who obtained his power by castrating his father Uranus. Cronus married his sister Rhea, and together they produced the Olympian gods, whom Cronus swallowed at birth to prevent them from seizing power. His son Zeus defeated him and the other Titans, and bound them in the underworld. |
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Rhea |
was Cronus' wife. Vexed at having him swallow their children, she hid Zeus from him and gave him a stone to swallow instead. |
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Oceanus |
was the unending stream that encircled the world, who with Tethys produced the rivers and the three thousand ocean nymphs. |
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Hyperion |
was the Titan of light, the father of the sun, the moon, and the dawn. |
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Mnemosyne |
was the Titaness of memory and the mother of the Muses. Zeus fathered the Muses. |
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Themis |
was the Titaness of justice and order. She gave birth to the Fates and the seasons. |
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Iapetus |
was the Titan who fathered Prometheus, Epimetheus, and Atlas. |
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Prometheus |
was the wisest Titan, a benefactor to mankind, whom he created. His name means "forethought." Originally an ally of Zeus, he later tricked Zeus and was chained in the Caucasus Mountains, where every day, an eagle would feed upon his liver. |
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Epimetheus |
was a stupid Titan whose name means "afterthought." He accepted the gift of Pandora from Zeus; and Pandora, the first woman, unleashed all the evils of the world on mankind. |
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Atlas |
for warring against Zeus, was forced to bear the weight of the heavens upon his shoulders at the edge of the world. |
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The Cyclopes |
were one-eyed monsters, the children of Gaea and Uranus. There were at first three and they represented the thunder, lightning, and thunderbolt. They helped Zeus against the Titans. |
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The Hecatoncheires |
were three more monsters produced by Gaea and Uranus. Each had fifty heads and a hundred arms and amazing strength. These creatures represented the cataclysmic forces of nature. Briareus was distinguished by the fact that he once served as Zeus' bodyguard. Together they helped Zeus defeat the Titans. |
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The Giants |
were generated by Uranus' blood when Cronus mutilated him. They became strong enough to attack the Olympian order and were vanquished after an earth-shattering battle. |
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The Furies |
who pursued and punished sinners, also sprang from the blood of Uranus. Specifically, they punished matricides. |
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Zeus |
was the supreme deity of the Greeks and was depicted as a robust, mature man with a flowing beard. At first a storm-god who wielded the thunderbolt, Zeus became the All-Father who populated the heavens and earth by his promiscuous liaisons, and he finally became the grand dispenser of justice. His palace was on Mount Olympus, together with the homes of the other Olympians. |
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Hera |
was the jealous wife and sister of Zeus, the protector or marriage and childbirth. In several myths she was quite vindictive towards those with whom Zeus fell in love. |
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Poseidon |
a brother of Zeus, as lord of the sea and a god of horses. A wrathful, moody god, he carried a trident and traveled in the company of sea nymphs and monsters of the deep. |
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Demeter |
was Zeus' sister, a goddess of vegetation and fertility. She had various lovers, including Zeus, and a daughter, Persephone, who was taken by Hades. In Demeter's grief the earth grew barren, and only when her daughter returned to her for six months of each year did the earth become fruitful. |
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Apollo |
the son of Zeus, was the god of light, of intelligence, of healing, and of the arts. Apollo has several love affairs and a few rejections that he punished. |
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Artemis |
was Apollo's twin sister. The goddess of chastity, she was a virgin huntress who was shown carrying a bow and a quiver of arrows. By some quirk she presided over childbirth and was associated with the moon. |
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Aphrodite |
the goddess of love and beauty, was either born or sea-foam or was the daughter of Zeus. She represented sex, affection, and the power of attraction. According to some myths Hephaestus was her husband, Ares her lover, and Eros her son. |
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Athena |
was the virgin goddess of wisdom, a warrior who sprang fully armed from Zeus' head after he had swallowed the Titaness Metis. She was also a goddess of the arts and the guardian of Athens. Her chief traits were prudence and valor. |
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Hestia |
was the mild virgin goddess of the hearth, the family, and peace. She was Zeus' sister. |
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Ares |
the bullying god of war, was the son of Zeus and Hera. A brutal deity who delighted in slaughter and looting, he was also a coward. In his adulterous affair with Aphrodite, Ares was caught and exposed to ridicule by her husband, Hephaestus. |
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Hephaestus |
God of fire and the forge (god of fire and smiths)with very weak legs. Makes armor for the gods and other heroes like Achilles. Son of Zeus. |
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Hermes |
the cleverest of the Olympian gods, ruled wealth and good fortune, was the patron of commerce and thievery, promoted fertility, and guided men on journeys. He was herald and messenger of the gods, a conductor of souls to the netherworld, and a god of sleep. Hermes was the son of Zeus and was depicted with a helmet, winged sandals, and the caduceus. |
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Hades |
was lord of the underworld, the region of the dead. Since he was a brother of Zeus, he was sometimes included among the Olympians. He was a stern, dark, inexorable god, and his kingdom was gray and lifeless. He abducted Persephone, the daughter of Demeter, and made her his queen. |
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Hebe |
the daughter of Zeus and Hera, was the goddess of youth and acted as a cupbearer to the gods. |
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Ganymede |
was abducted by Zeus in the form of an eagle that carried the boy to Olympus. There Zeus gave him immortality, made him his lover, and established him as a cupbearer. |
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Iris |
was the goddess of the rainbow and sometimes a messenger or the gods. |
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The Three Graces |
presided over banquets and festivities. They represented splendor, mirth, and good cheer. |
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The Nine Muses |
were part of Apollo's retinue and were the daughters of Mnemosyne, or memory. These were the goddesses of inspiration: Clio of history, Melpomene of tragedy, Urania of astronomy, Thalia of comedy, Terpsichore of dance, Calliope of epic poetry, Erato of love verse, Euterpe of lyric poems, and Polyhymnia of sacred songs. |
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Persephone |
was the lovely daughter of Zeus and Demeter, a goddess of springtime. After Hades abducted her she became the queen of the underworld, but Demeter missed her so much that the earth grew barren. Hades struck a deal with Demeter and allowed Persephone to spend six months each year with him, during which time the land died (autumn and winter) and six months with her mother, during which time the earth flourished (spring and summer). |
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Dionysus |
a fertility god and god of the vine, was the son of Zeus and Semele. He served to liberate the emotions and to inspire men with joy. Like the grape vine, he suffered death but was resurrected. His female worshippers were the frenzied Maenads. Yet out of his celebration grew tragic threatre. |
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Pan |
the son of Hermes, was the god of flocks. He had the torso and head of a man, but the hindquarter and horns of a goat. A marvelous musician, he played the pipes and pursued various nymphs, all of whom rejected him for his ugliness. |
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The Satyrs |
were men with horses' haunches and tails, two legged as opposed to the four-legged Centaurs. |
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The Centaurs |
were principally savage beasts, half-horse and half-man. Chiron was the exception, a Centaur famous for his virtue and wisdom. |
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The Dryads |
were tree-nymphs and had beautiful female shapes. There were also mountain nymphs, wood nymphs, stream nymphs, and sea nymphs, all in female form. |
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The Gorgons |
were three hideous dragonfish sisters that could change men into stone at a glance. Medusa was the most famous one. |
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The Sirens |
were sisters who sat on rocks by the sea and lured sailors to their doom by singing to them. |
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Helios |
was the sun god, but he did not play a large part in Greek mythology. |
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Aeolus |
was the custodian of the four winds. |
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Castor |
and Polydeuces (or Pollux) were famous twins who protected sailors. Polydeuces' brotherly devotion when Castor died made their names a by-word for fraternal twins. |
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Proteus |
the son or attendant of Poseidon, had the ability to prophesy and to change his shape at will. |
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Triton |
was the trumpeter of the sea and was depicted blowing a large conch shell. |
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The Fates |
were three powerful goddesses who determined the lives of men. Clotho wove the thread of life; Lachesis measured it out; and Atropos cut it off with her scissors of death. |
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Alpha |
Α |
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alpha |
α |
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Beta |
Β |
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beta |
β |
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Gamma |
Γ |
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gamma |
γ |
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Delta |
Δ |
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delta |
δ |
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Epsilon |
Ε |
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epsilon |
ε |
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Zeta |
Ζ |
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zeta |
ζ |
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Eta |
Η |
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eta |
η |
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Theta |
Θ |
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theta |
θ |
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Iota |
Ι |
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iota |
ι |
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Kappa |
Κ |
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kappa |
κ |
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Lambda |
Λ |
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lambda |
λ |
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Mu |
Μ |
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mu |
μ |
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Nu |
Ν |
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nu |
ν |
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Xi |
Ξ |
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xi |
ξ |
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Omicron |
Ο |
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omicron |
ο |
| |
Pi |
Π |
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pi |
π |
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Rho |
Ρ |
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rho |
ρ |
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Sigma |
Σ |
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sigma |
σ |
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Tau |
Τ |
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tau |
τ |
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Upsilon |
Υ |
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upsilon |
υ |
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Phi |
Φ |
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phi |
φ |
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Chi |
Χ |
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chi |
χ |
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Psi |
Ψ |
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psi |
ψ |
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Omega |
Ω |
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omega |
ω |
