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Greek Mythology

Terms in this set (78)

Apollo
God of Light, music, youth
Twin brother to Artemis
Taught the people the art of healing
Ares
God of War
Son of Zeus and Hera
Hades
God of the Underworld
In a relationship with Persephone
Child of Cronus and Rhea
Hephaestus
God of Fire and the forge, blacksmith to the gods
Married to Aphrodite
Hermes
God of shepards, merchants, travelers, and theives
Guided newly dead to the underworld
Messenger of Zeus
Son of Zeus and Maia
Poseidon
God of the sea, rivers, floods, droughts, earthquakes and the creator of horses.
Son of Cronus and Rhea
Holds a trident
Husband to Amphitrite
Zeus
King of the Gods and ruler of Mt Olympus
God of the sky, thunder, and lightning, law and order, and fate
Son of Cronus and Rhea
Overthrew his father Cronus
Aphrodite
Goddess of love
Sprung from the foam of the Sea
Wife of Hephaestus
Had an affair with Ares
Artemis
Goddess of the hunt, wild things, unmarried girls, and the moon
Never maried
Once saw a human watching her bathe so she turned him into a stag and had him killed by his own dogs
Twin sister to Apollo
Athena
Goddess of wisdom,stradegy, art, and handicrafts
Protector of cities and civilizations
Born fully armored out of Zeus's head when he had a bad headache
Hera
Wife and sister of sister of Zeus, queen of the Gods
Hestia
Goddess of hearth and home
Her only job was to keep the fire lit in the hearth on Mt Olympus
Atlas
titan who carried the world of his shoulders
Cronus
ruled the other titans until son, Zeus dethroned him
Hyperion
father of sun, moon and dawn
Iapetus
Father of Atlas and Prometheus
Mnemosyne
Memory; morther of the Muses
Oceanus
river that encircled the world
Prometheus
Titan and son of Iapetus and Themis. He created humans and stole fire from Zeus and gave it to Humans. As punishment, Zeus had him chained to a mountain and every day an eagle would come and eat his liver. After a while, Zeus sent his son Heracles to free him by breaking the chains which held him
Tethys
wife of ocean
themis
titan of justice
aeolus
god of the winds
arisaeus
keeper of bees; son of apollo and water nymph Cyrene
asclepius
god of medicine
castor and pollux
twins and gods of boxing, wrestling, equestrian, sports, sons of Dionysus.
demeter
god of cornfield, mistress of planting, and harvesting, lady of growing things
Mother of Persephone
Dionysus
god of the vine and wine
Youngest son of Zeus with Semele (a mortal)
eos
god of dawn
eros
god of love and friendship
Son of Aphrodite
ganymede
hebe's successor as cupbearer to the gods
hebe
god of youth; cupbearer to the gods
hecate
Goddess of the dark, crossways, dogs, and magic.
pan
god of health
persephone
goddess of death and spring
kidnapped by Hades to live in the uderworld (reason for the seasons)
achilles
strongest and most fearless warrior in the Greek war against the Trojans. His mother dipped him in the river styx as a baby which left him vulnerable everywhere but the heel. For ten years, he was a great Trojan war hero, but in the end Paris, son of the Trojan king, fatally wounded Achilles in the heel. He now has a tendon names after him
Heracles (Herkales)
The sun of Zeus and Alcmene, the hero grew up to become a famed warrior. Zeus's jealous wife's Hera made him temporarily insane and in that time he killed his wife in children. As punishment, he was made to perform twelve labors
Jason
The leader of the Argonauts, the 50 heroes who sailed in the search of the Golden Fleece. They were looking for the fleece because this hero's uncle, Pelias, stole this heroes kingdom and promised to return it to him only if this hero brought home the Golden Fleece. He and his crew were eventually successful because of the help of the sorceress Medea, who eventually became this heroes wife.
Argonauts
the 50 heroes who sailed in search of the Golden Fleece
Pelias
uncle of Jason who stole Jason's kingdom and promised only to return it if Jason brought him the golden fleece
Medea
Sorceress who helped the argonauts capture the golden fleece, wife of Jason
Odysseus (Ulysseus)
This hero is a King of Ithaca and a celebrated warrior, he helped the Greeks triumph in the Trojan war. He then journeyed ten years to return home to Ithaca and his wife Penelope. Along the way this hero's cleverness an courage sacend him and his men from monsters such as the Cyclops, Polyphemus. the Sirens, and Scylla, and Charybids. Also, when he arrived back in Ithaca he had to prove his identity to Penelope. His story is told in Homer's epic poem, the Odyssey.
Penelope
Odysseus's wife that he had to prove his identity to when he returned back to his kingdom in Ithaca
The Odyssey
Homer's epic poem that follows Odysseus's travels back to his Kingdom of Ithaca and his wife Penelope
Perseus
The sun of Zeus and Danae, this hero completed many dangerous feats and quick talents as a warrior. His most famous was the slaying of the Gorgon Medusa by watching her reflection in a mirror and beheading her. He also saved the princess Andromeda from being eaten by a sea monster. He did this by pulling out Medusa's head and turning the creature into stone.
Medusa
Name of the Gorgon slayed by Perseus
Andromeda
name of princess saved by Perseus from being eaten by a sea monster
Theseus
This hero was known for his triumph over numerous monsters, especially the Minotaur, which lived in a labrynth on the island of Crete. Every year the people of Athens had been forced to send fourteen young people to the Minotaur to be eaten alive. This hero used a ball of magic thread from the princess Ariadne to find his way in and out of the labryrinth and killed the beast. It is said that he is either the sun of Aegeus, king of Athens, or the sea god Poseidon. He later in life became king of Athens and a famous Warrior.
Minotaur
monster which lived in a labyrinth on the island of Crete and required the people of Athens to send fourteen young people for it to eat alive. The monster was killed by Theseus
Ariadne
a Cretan princess, daughter of Minos and Pasiphae who loved Theseus and gave him the skein of thread that enabled him to make his way out of the labyrinth after killing the Minotaur. When Theseus left Crete, she went with him, but before they reached Greece he abandoned her at Naxos. There the god Dionysus consoled her and they eventually wed
Paris
the son of the Trojan King who fatally injured Achille's heel
Charon
the boatman who would ferry people/ spirits across the river Styx so they could make it to the Underworld. He wanted to get a tip. so people were buried with coins on their eyes so they could pay him
Tartarus
section of the underworld; a place of pain and suffering
Asphodel Fields
section of the underworld in which spirits go to roam like shadows
Elysian Fields
section of the underworld where heroes go- paradise
Cerberus
three headed dog who gaurds the gate of the underworld
Semele
Mother of Dionysus with Zeus, a mortal who was consumed by fire when she was tricked by Hera (Zeus's jealous Wife)
Chaos
The nothingness from which everything else came from. Described as a void
Gaia
Goddess of the Earth (Mother Earth) ; mother of the Titans
Uranus
The god of the Heavens (Father Sky); father of the Heavens
Hector
hero of the Trojan War and champion of the Trojans
Orpheus
A legendary musician and poet who tried to recover his wife from the under world (an opera called _______ and the Underworld is based on his story and was composed by Jacques Offenbach)
Sisyphus
a King of Thessaly who tried to cheat death. He was sentenced to an eternity of rolling a big round rock up a hill, only to watch it roll back down again
Pandora
the woman whose curiosity brought evil to makind
Arachne
The weaver who was turned into a spider for her arrogance by Athena
Pygmalion
the king who fell in love with an ivory statue, named Galatea.
Midas
king with a golden touch
Narcissus
Man who fell in love with his own reflection
Callisto
One of Zeus's lovers, who he had to transform into a bear to hide her from Hera. When her son, Arcas, accidentally shot her, Zeus put them up in the sky as Ursa Major and Ursa Minor.
Tantalus
He had three children who were marked by terrible fates. He himself stole ambrosia and nectar from the gods, and revealed some of Zeus's secrets, as well as stealing his golden dog. He killed his son, Pelops, and served it to the gods. He was sentenced to stand to water that rose almost to his mouth, but receded when he attempted to drink it, and had a delicious fruit tree over head, whose branches were just out of reach, and he was sentenced with insatiable hunger and thirst.
Niobe
One of tantalus's children. She boasted that her children were more beautiful than Leto's, the mother of Apollo and Artemis. Apollo and Artemis were sent to kill all of her children, and was condemned to eternal weeping.
Broteas
One of Tantalus's children. Insulted Artemis by refusing to honor her, and she cursed him by making him go mad. He perished by eventually throwing himself into fire
Pelops
One of Tantalus's children, he was killed, cooked, and eaten. Demeter gave him an ivory arm, after she accidentally ate his shoulder at the feast of tantalus.
Eris
The goddess of discord, she threw a golden apple between Aphrodite, Athena, and Artemis and said the most fair goddess could have the apple.
Adonis
The god of beauty and desire, he was a love interest of Aphrodite. She entrusted his safekeeping as a baby to persephone, but she refused to give him back to Aphrodite. He ended up spending 2/3 of the year with artemis, and 1/3 of the year with Persephone. he was killed by a boar, sent by Artemis
Pegasus
A creature who sprang forth from the blood of the beheaded Medusa. His care is charged by the 9 muses, as directed by Athena. He was eventually taken by Bellerophontes
Bellerophontes
The famed equestrian who captured pegasus by asking the help of Athena, and caught the pegasus by surprise when it was drinking.
Calypso
A daughter of Atlas and Tethys, she lived on Ogygia. The myth goes that Odysseus found her, and she tried to convince him to stay, but he had to go. She is known for being sent a man that she falls in love with but can never stay.
Psyche
A woman gifted with extreme beauty and grace. She is the deity of the soul. Eros eventually fell in love with her. She was told that she must marry an ugly beast, (actually eros), and could never see his face. When she accidentally ruined the relationship, she was forced to do three impossible tasks. After completing the first two, she failed the third by accidentally opening a box containing Morpheus, god of sleep and dreams, and fell into eternal sleep. Zeus awoke her, and made her immortal after being amazed by her love.
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