| Greek Pantheon | Roman Pantheon |
| Zeus | Jupiter/Jove |
| Hera | Juno |
| Poseidon | Neptune |
| Demeter | Ceres |
| Hades | Pluto |
| Hestia | Vesta |
| Hermes | Mercury |
| Athena | Minerva |
| Apollo | Apollo |
| Aphrodite | Venus |
| Ares | Mars |
| Hephaestus | Vulcan |
| Cupid | |
| Bacchus |
Artemis is the daughter of Zeus and Leto. Her twin brother is Apollo. She is the lady of wild things. She is the huntsman of the gods. She is the protector of the young. Like Apollo she hunts with silver arrows. She became associated with the moon. She a virgin goddess, the goddess of chastity. She also presides over childbirth, which may seem odd for a virgin goddess, but goes back to causing Leto no pain when she was born. She became associated with Hecate. The cyprus is her tree. All wild animals are sacred to her, especially deer.
A god of healing. His symbol is a snake. His parents are Apollo and Coronis. His birth was accompanied by scandal. While carrying him Coronis slept with Ischys. This was considered an insult. The act was reported to Apollo by a crow. Apollo the turned all crows, until then white, to black to show that they were untrustworthy. Apollo then felt to slay Coronis with his arrows. He rescued Aclepius from her funeral pyre. Asclepius was raised by Chiron. Chiron taught him healing, which he went on to perfect. Athena gave him two vials of gorgon's blood. Blood from the right side revived life. Blood from the left killed. Asclepius started using the blood to raise dead mortals. For this overstepping of bounds, Zeus killed him with a thunderbolt. Apollo could not kill Zeus himself. So he killed the Cyclops that forged the thunderbolt.
Atlas was the son of Iapetus. Unlike his brothers, Prometheus and Epimetheus, Atlas fought with the other Titans supporting Cronus against Zeus. Due to Cronus' advanced age, Atlas led the Titans in battle. As a result he was singled out by Zeus for special punishment and was made to hold up the world on his back.
Cronus was the ruling Titan who came to power by castrating his father Uranus. His wife was Rhea. Their offspring were the first of the Olympians. To insure his safety, Cronus ate each of his children as they were born. This worked until Rhea; unhappy at the loss of her children tricked Cronus into swallowing a rock instead of Zeus. When he grew up Zeus would revolt against Cronus and the other Titans, defeat them, and banish them to Tartarus in the Underworld.
Epimethius was a stupid Titan, whose name means "afterthought". He was the son of Iapetus. In some accounts he is delegated, along with his brother Prometheus, by Zeus to create mankind. He also accepted the gift of Pandora from Zeus, which lead to the introduction of evil into the world.
Eris is the daughter of Zeus and Hera. She is the goddess of discord. In addition to her main activity of showing discord, she frequently rides with her brother Ares into battles. On these occasions she rides in his chariot and brings her son Strife. Eris is frequently unpopular and is snubbed as a guest by the other gods and mankind. This was not always a safe thing to do. The most dramatic example being the Trojan War, which was an indirect result of not inviting Eris to a wedding.
The Fates have the subtle, but awesome power to decide a man's fate. They assign a man to good or evil. Their most obvious task is choosing how long a man lives. There are three Fates. Clotho, the spinner, who spins the thread of life. Lachesis, the measurer, who chooses the lot in life and measures off how long it is to be. Atropos, she who cannot be turn, who at death with her shears cuts the thread of life. The Fates are old and predate the gods. It is not entirely clear how far their power extends. It is possible that they choose the fate of the gods as well. In any case, not even the most powerful is willing to trifle with them.
Gaea is the Earth goddess. She mated with her son Uranus to produce the remaining Titans. Gaea seems to have started as a neolithic earth mother worshipped before the Indo-European invasion that eventually lead to the Hellenistic civilization.
They are the daughters of Zeus and Eurynome. There are three Graces: Algaia (Splendor), Euphrosyne (Mirth), and Thalia (Good Cheer). They are known for singing and dancing for the gods.
Hebe is the daughter of Zeus and Hera. She is the goddess of youth. She, along with Ganymede, are the cupbearers to the gods. Hebe is Heracles wife.
Hyperion is the Titan of light, and an early sun god. He is the son of Gaea and Uranus. He married his sister Theia. Their children are Helius (Sun), Selene (Moon), and Eos (Dawn).
Iapetus was the father of Epimetheus, Prometheus, Menoetius, and Atlas by Clemene.
Mnemosyne was the Titan of memory and the mother of the Muses. It is from her name that we get the word mnemonic.
They are the daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne. They are known for their song, which brings joy to any that hear it. There are nine Muses, each with their own specialty: Clio (History), Urania (Astronomy), Melpomene (Tragedy), Thalia (Comedy), Terpsichore (Dance), Calliope (Epic Poetry), Erato (Love Poetry), Polyhymnia (Song to the Gods), Euterpe (Lyric Poetry).
Nemesis means righteous anger, due enactment, or divine vengeance. This god helped to avenge those who were wronged.
Oceanus is the unending stream of water encircling the world. Together with his wife Tethys, they produced the rivers and three thousand ocean nymphs.
Rhea was the wife of Cronus. Cronus made it a practice to swallow their children. To avoid this, Rhea tricked Cronus into swallowing a rock, saving her son Zeus.
Tethys is the wife of Oceanus. Together they produced the rivers and three thousand ocean nymphs.
Thanatos was the Greek god of death. He may be thought of as a personification of death. He plays little roles in myths. He became rather overshadowed by Hades, the lord of the underworld.
Themis was the Titan of justice and order. She was the mother of the Fates and Horea (Seasons).
Uranus is the sky god and first ruler. He is the son of Gaea who created him without help. Then he became the husband of Gaea and together they had many offspring, including twelve of the Titans. His rule ended when Cronus, encouraged by Gaea, castrated him. He either died from the wound or withdrew from earth.
 Home |
 Creatures |
 Links | |
 |
Copyright MMI (2001) Cesar S. Perez |