Greek Mythology
The Principal Gods and
Goddesses
What is a myth?
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Often conflated with religion
A traditional story rooted in folk beliefs of
cultures
Uses the supernatural to interpret natural
events
Explains the culture’s view of the universe
and the nature of humanity
Often illustrates transitions between cultures
Often contradictory
In the beginning...
…was Chaos (shapeless nothingness)
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Chaos had two children:
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Night (darkness)
Erebus (death)
Love = darkness and death.
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Love lead to order and beauty
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And then...
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Order and Beauty lead to Light and Day.
Earth (Gaea) was created.
The Earth bore Heaven (Ouranos) to cover
her and be a home for the gods.
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Here's where weird logical contradictions
creep in...
The First Parents
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Mother Earth = Gaea (Gaia)
Father Heaven = Ouranos (Uranus)
They had three kinds of children:
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Three monsters with 100 hands and 50
heads (Hekatonkheires)
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Three cyclopes
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The titans
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Note... Man is not around yet
The Titans (The Elder Gods)
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There were many of them
− We only know about a few
memorable ones
Cronos (Time): Ruler of the titans (castrates
Ouranos)
Rhea (Fertility): Wife of Cronos
Oceanus: River that encircled the world
Iapetus: Father of Prometheus (Forethought),
Epimetheus (Afterthought), and Atlas
The Principal Gods
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Cronos and Rhea
were parents of
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Zeus (kills Cronus)
Poseidon
Hades
Hera
Hestia
Demeter
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Other Olympians
include
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Athena
Ares
Hebe
Hephaestus
Apollo
Artemis
Hermes
Aphrodite
Dionysus
Persephone
Zeus
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Roman Name: Jupiter
(also Jove)
Sky god/Ruler of the
Olympians.
Fathered many
characters in mythology
Warred against most of
the Titan
Worried about a repeat
he eats all his children
Hera
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Roman Name:
Juno
Zeus’s sister and
wife
Jealous protector
of marriage
Punished the
women Zeus fell
in love with
Poseidon
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Roman Name:
Neptune
God of the Seas
and Waters
“The Earthshaker”
Hades
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Roman Name:
Pluto
God of the
Underworld/
Dead
Kidnapped
Persephone
Hestia
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Roman Name:
Vesta
Goddess of
Home
Powerful
Protector
The most
worshipped of
all the gods
Demeter
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Roman Name:
Ceres
Goddess of
the Harvest
A Goddess of
the Earth
Athena
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Roman Name:
Minerva
Goddess of
Wisdom and
War
Sprang fully
grown from
Zeus’s head
Ares
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Roman Name:
Mars
God of War (really
of battle rage)
Son of Zeus and
Hera
Bloodthirsty and
merciless
Hephaestus
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Roman Name:
Vulcan
God of
Fire/Forge
Son of Zeus
and Hera
Crippled, Kindly,
overly trusting
and married to
Aphrodite
Apollo
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Roman Name:
Apollo
God of
Light/Sun,
Music and
Healing
Brother of
Artemis
Artemis
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Roman Name:
Diana
Goddess of
the Moon/
Hunt
Sister to
Apollo
Hermes
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Roman Name:
Mercury
Messenger of
the Gods (to
man), Patron of
Thieves
Appears in
more myths
than any other
god
Aphrodite
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Roman Name:
Venus
Goddess of
Love and
Beauty
Sprang from
the ocean
foam
Dionysus
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Roman Name:
Bacchus
God of Wine
Patron god of
Theatre and
Actors
Persephone
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Roman Name:
Proserpina
Goddess of the
Underworld
Daughter of
Zeus and
Demeter
Abducted by
Hades
Hebe
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Roman Name:
Juventas
Goddess of Youth
Cupbearer to the
Gods
Restored youth to
the aged
Eros
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Roman Name:
Cupid
Eternally Young
God of Love/Lust
(Sexual)
Son of Aphrodite
and Hephaestus
Iris
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Goddess of the
Rainbow
Messenger for
Zeus and Hera
Daughter of the
titan Thaumus
and the nymph
Electra
The Muses
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Nine daughters of
Zeus and
Mnemosyne
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Goddesses who
presided over the
arts and sciences
Clio (History), Urania (Astronomy), Thalia (Comedy), Melpomene (Tragedy), Erato
(Love Poetry), Calliope (Epic Poetry), Euterpe (Song), Terpsichore (Dance),
Polyhymnia (Hymns)
The Graces
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Three Goddesses of
Grace and Beauty
Aglaia (Splendor)
Euphrosyne (Mirth)
Thalia (Good Cheer)
The Erinnyes (The Furies)
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Roman Name: Furiae
or Dirae (The Furies)
Three Goddesses of
Vengeance
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Tisiphone
Alecto
Megaera
They punish evildoers.
The Fates
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Roman Name: Parcae, Moirae
Three sisters
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Clotho (“The Spinner”)
Lachesis (“The disposer of lots”)
Atropos (“The cutter”)
They weave, measure, and cut the thread
of life for humans.
The Satyrs
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Gods of the woods
and mountains
“Shepherd gods”
Goat men (like Pan)
Companions of
Dionysus
They like to drink,
dance, and chase
nymphs.
The Nymphs
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female nature deity associated with a
particular location
divine spirits who animate nature
beautiful, young nubile maidens who love
to dance and sing
Sources
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Graphics in this presentation were taken from
the following web sites:
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http://www.bulfinch.org/fables/search.html
http://www.pantheon.org/
http://www.messagenet.com/myths/
http://mythman.com/
http://web.uvic.ca/grs/bowman/myth/index.html
http://www.paleothea.com/
http://www.entrenet.com/%7Egroedmed/greekm/myth.html