The Greek / Roman
Gods & Goddesses
Zeus / Jupiter
• King of the gods
• God of air
• Uses Thunderbolts as
his weapon
• Womanizer – married
his own sister
• Son of Cronos and
Rhea
• Most powerful
Jupiter is so named
Music is Gustav Holst’s “Jupiter,
Bringer of Jollity”
because it is so big –
it is the “King of
Planets”
Poseidon / Neptune
• God of the sea and
earthquakes
• Made horses
• Trident is weapon
• Amphitrite is his wife
• Zeus’ brother
• Son of Cronos and
Neptune is so
Rhea
named
nd
• 2 most powerful
Music is Gustav Holst’s “Neptune, the Mystic”
because the
blue looks like
water
Hades / Pluto / Dis
• God of the Underworld and
Wealth
• King of the dead but he is
not Death
• Zeus’ brother
• Son of Cronos and Rhea
• Has a helmet that makes the
wearer invisible
• Persephone (Spring) is his
wife
• NOT EVIL! (but he is
unpitying)
• 3rd most powerful
Hera / Juno
•
•
•
•
Queen of the gods
Protector of marriage
Wife/sister of Zeus
The peacock is her
symbol (because of the
eye-look)
• Cows are sacred to her
(ox-eyed Hera)
• Jealous
No planet, but there is an
asteroid named after her
plus a city in Alaska
Phoebus Apollo
• God of truth, light,
archery, and healing
• Sun god in some
myths (Helios is the
sun god in other
myths)
• Son of Zeus and Leto
• Wolves, dolphins, and
crows are sacred to
him
• Has the Oracle of
Delphi
Apollo asteroids
are near-earth
asteroids
Artemis / Diana
• Apollo’s Twin sister
• Goddess of the
hunt, wild things,
and crossways
• She is the moon
goddess sometimes
• Virgin goddess
• As Diana, she is
also a goddess of
light
• Stags are sacred
The Artemis
navigation
satellite
Aphrodite / Venus
• Goddess of
beauty and love
• Mother of
Eros/Cupid
• Wife of
Hephaestus/Vul
can but lover of
Ares/Mars and
other guys
•Born from the foam in the sea
caused by the attack of Cronos/
Saturn on Ouranus/Uranus
Venus is so named
because it is a beautiful
planet and can be
easily seen with just
the eye
Gustav Holst’s “Venus, Bringer of Peace”
Ares / Mars
• God of War
• Son of Zeus and Hera,
but both hate him
• The Romans glorify
him, but the Greeks
make him out to be a
coward
• He has three children
with Aphrodite:
Phobos (panic) and
Deimos (fear) are twins
Gustav Holst’s “Mars, Bringer of War”
Mars and
its moons,
Phobos
and
Deimos
Pallas Athena / Minerva
• Goddess of wisdom
and defensive war
• Daughter of Zeus and
Metis (titan) – she
popped out of his head
after he swallowed the
pregnant Metis
• She carries a shield
with Medusa’s head on
it
Minerva was a tiny
robot designed by the
Japanese to land on an
asteroid, but got lost in
space.
Hephaestus / Vulcan
•
•
•
•
God of fire and the forge
Son of Zeus and Hera
Ugly
Lame because he was thrown off Mt. Olympus for
interfering with a fight between Hera and Zeus
• Husband to Aphrodite
Hermes / Mercury
The Hermes Asteroid
• Messenger god and
the god of thieves
• Greek Trickster
figure
• Very fast
• Son of Zeus and
Maia
• Loves Aphrodite
• Greeks believed he
guided souls to
Hades
Mercury revolves around the sun so fast, it was named for the
messenger god. One year is faster than one day on Mercury
Hestia / Vesta
• Zeus’ sister – Oldest of the
original gods
• Goddess of the hearth and
home
• Gave up her spot on Mt.
Olympus for Dionysus
• Worshipped daily
• A virgin priestesses served
her for 30 year time periods
• Does pretty much nothing in
mythology
Asteroid Vesta
Eros / Cupid
• God of love
• Son of Ares and
Aphrodite
• Often portrayed as a
child, but not always.
• He has wings
• Uses a bow and arrow –
arrows cause one to fall
in love
• Momma’s boy
Eros is a near earth asteroid
Demeter / Ceres
• Daughter of Cronos and
Rhea
• Goddess of vegetation
• Had powers of growth
and resurrection
• Her daughter is
Persephone
The asteroid Ceres was the first asteroid
ever discovered and is one of the largest
(about the size of Texas). It almost became
a designated as a planet
Dionysus / Bacchus
• Son of Zeus and
Semele
• God of wine and
happiness
• In some areas of
Greece, his
worship was
outlawed (too
dirty)
The Bacchus
asteroid