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Inancient Greece, deities were regarded asanthropomorphic, immortal, and powerful.[2] They were conceived of as persons rather than abstract concepts,[3] and were described as similar to humans in appearance, albeit larger and more beautiful.[4] The emotions and actions of deities were largely the same as those of humans;[5] they frequently engaged in sexual activity,[6] and were jealous and amoral.[7] Deities were considered far more knowledgeable than humans,[8] and it was believed that they conversed in a language of their own.[9] Their immortality, the defining marker of their godhood,[2] meant that they ceased aging after growing to a certain point.[10] In place of blood, their veins flowed withichor, a substance which was a product of their diet,[11] and conferred upon them their immortality.[10] Divine power allowed the gods to intervene in mortal affairs in various ways: they could cause natural events such as rain, wind, the growing of crops, or epidemics, and were able to dictate the outcomes of complex human events, such as battles or political situations.[12]
Asancient Greek religion waspolytheistic,[13] a multiplicity of gods were venerated by the same groups and individuals.[14] The identity of a deity was demarcated primarily by their name, which could be accompanied by anepithet (a title or surname).[15] Religious epithets could refer to specific functions of a god, to connections with other deities, or to a divinity's local forms.[16] The Greeks honoured the gods by means of worship, as they believed deities were capable of bringing to their lives positive outcomes outside their own control.[17] Greekcult, or religious practice, consisted of activities such as sacrifices, prayers,libations,festivals, and the building oftemples.[18] By the 8th century BC, most deities were honoured in sanctuaries (temenē), sacred areas which could include altars, temples, and dining rooms,[19] and were typically dedicated to a single deity.[20] Aspects of a god's cult such as the kinds of sacrifices made to them and the placement of their sanctuaries contributed to the distinct conception worshippers had of them.[21]
In addition to a god's name and cult, their character was determined by their mythology (the collection of stories told about them) and their iconography (how they were depicted inancient Greek art).[22] A deity's mythology told of their deeds, which played a role in establishing their functions, and genealogically linked them to gods with similar functions.[15] The most important works of mythology were theHomeric epics, including theIliad (c. 750–700 BC), an account of a period of theTrojan War, andHesiod'sTheogony (c. 700 BC), which presented a genealogy of the pantheon.[23] Myths known throughout Greece had different regional versions, which sometimes presented a distinct view of a god according to local concerns.[24] Some myths attempted to explain the origins of certain cult practices,[25] and some may have arisen from rituals.[26] Artistic representations allow us to understand how deities were depicted over time, and works such as vase paintings sometimes substantially predate literary sources.[27] Art contributed to how the Greeks conceived of the gods, and depictions would often assign deities certain symbols, such as the thunderbolt ofZeus or thetrident ofPoseidon.[15]
The principal figures of the pantheon were thetwelve Olympians,[28] thought to live onMount Olympus and to be connected as part of a family.[29] Zeus was considered the chief god of the pantheon, thoughAthena andApollo were honoured in a greater number of sanctuaries in major cities, andDionysus is the deity who has received the most attention in modern scholarship.[30] Beyond the central divinities of the pantheon, the Greek gods were numerous.[31] Some parts of the natural world, such as the earth, sea, or Sun, were held as divine throughout Greece, while other natural deities, such as the variousnymphs andriver gods, were primarily of local significance.[32] Personifications of abstract concepts appeared frequently in Greek art and poetry,[33] though many were also venerated in cult, some as early as the 6th century BC.[34] Groups or societies of deities could be purely mythological in importance, such as theTitans, or they could be the subject of substantial worship, such as theMuses orCharites.[35]
The following section is based uponWalter Burkert'sGreek Religion (1985), particularly his chapter "III: The Gods".[36]
The main deities of the Greek pantheon were thetwelve Olympians.[28] They were believed to reside onMount Olympus,[29] from which they derived their name,[37] and were connected as part of a familial group which hadZeus at its head.[38] This family included two generations: the first consisted of children ofCronus andRhea – Zeus,Poseidon,Hera,Demeter, andHestia – and the second consisted of children of Zeus –Athena,Apollo,Artemis,Ares,Hephaestus,Aphrodite,Hermes, andDionysus (though Aphrodite and Hephaestus were sometimes said to not be children of Zeus).[39] In myth, the Olympians were preceded by another group of gods, theTitans (among them Cronus and Rhea), who were supplanted by Zeus and the Olympian gods in a war known as theTitanomachy, after which Zeus became ruler of the gods.[37]
In cult, the notion of the twelve gods (orDodekatheon) is first attested in the latter half of the 6th century BC, when theAltar of the Twelve Gods was constructed inAthens.[40] Around the same time, theHomeric Hymn to Hermes referred to the division of a sacrifice into twelve pieces,[41] and in 484 BC the poetPindar mentioned the honouring of twelve gods atOlympia.[42] By theClassical period (c. 5th–4th centuries BC), this idea of twelve gods had become established.[43] Although the Olympians were consistently considered twelve in number, the individual gods which comprised this group of twelve could differ by region; in particular, Hestia and Dionysus were sometimes excluded.[44] AlthoughHades is the brother of the first-generation Olympians, he was not included among the twelve Olympians owing to his residency in theunderworld.[45] In addition to the canonical twelve Olympians, there were numerous other gods generally believed to live on Olympus.[46]
| Name | Image | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Aphrodite |  | The goddess of sexual love and beauty.[47] In theIliad she is the child ofZeus andDione, while inHesiod'sTheogony she is born from the castrated genitals ofUranus.[48] She was worshipped throughout the Hellenic world, and her most renowned cults were located on the island ofCyprus.[49] Many scholars believe she wasNear-Eastern in origin, and others argue she was derived from a Cypriot goddess who contained indigenous elements.[50] In theOdyssey she is the wife ofHephaestus, though she fornicates withAres, and the two are caught in sexual embrace by an invisible net crafted by her husband.[51] Elsewhere in myth, she has affairs with mortals such asAdonis andAnchises, and provides help to mortal lovers while punishing those who spurn love.[52] In art, she is portrayed from the 7th century BC as a robed figure, with various nude and semi-nude depictions being produced in theHellenistic period (c. 323–30 BC).[53] Her symbols include various birds, especially doves.[54] Her Roman counterpart isVenus.[55] |
| Apollo |  | The son ofZeus andLeto, and the twin brother ofArtemis.[56] His various functions and associations include healing, music, archery and prophecy,[57] and he has often been characterised as the "most Greek" of the gods.[58] Apollo's cult existed across the Greek world, and was already dispersed by the beginning of the 7th century BC;[59] it seems to have arrived during theGreek Dark Ages (c. 1180–800 BC).[58] In the 5th century BC, his worship was introduced to Rome, where he was revered primarily as a god of healing.[60] In mythology, he slays the dragonPython, who guards an oracle ofThemis atDelphi, before taking over the shrine for himself.[61] He has numerous love affairs withnymphs and women such asDaphne andCyrene, and with men such asHyacinth,[62] though he was often unsuccessful in his amorous pursuits.[63] In art, he is depicted as a youth, usually without a beard,[64] and is commonly portrayed as a lyre player or archer.[65] From the 5th century BC, he was often equated with the Sun.[66] |
| Ares |  | The god of war.[67] He is the son ofZeus andHera,[68] and the lover ofAphrodite,[69] by whom, in theTheogony, he is the father ofDeimos,Phobos andHarmonia.[70] His cult was fairly limited,[71] with his temples located mostly onCrete and in thePeloponnese,[72] and he often appeared alongside Aphrodite in cult.[73] In theIliad, he is depicted in a largely negative manner, as a brash and wild warrior;[72] he supports the Trojan side of the war, and is frequently presented in opposition toAthena.[74] In ancient art, he is depicted early on as a warrior, bearded and generally holding a spear and shield, though in theClassical period (c. 5th–4th centuries BC) he can be found as a beardless and more youthful figure.[75] His Roman counterpart isMars.[76] |
| Artemis |  | The daughter ofZeus andLeto, and the twin sister ofApollo.[77] She presided over transitions (such as coming of age),[78] and was associated with hunting and the wild.[79] Her cult was the most far-reaching of any goddess,[80] and she governed female and male initiation rites.[81] She was among the oldest of the Greek gods, and was closely linked withAnatolia.[82] InHomeric epic, she is described as a talented hunter who traverses theArcadian mountains, accompanied by a retinue ofnymphs.[83] She remains a young maiden and virgin indefinitely,[84] and men who attempt to violate her chastity generally face severe consequences.[85] She swiftly punishes mortals who display arrogance towards her or fail to honour her properly,[86] and she is said to unexpectedly and suddenly kill mortal women.[87] In art, she is often depicted as a hunter carrying a bow and arrow and wearing a dress, though from the 7th century BC there exist depictions of her asPotnia Theron ('Mistress of Animals').[88] Her Roman counterpart isDiana.[85] |
| Athena |  | A daughter ofZeus, who is born from his head after he swallows her mother,Metis.[89] She originated from aMinoan orMycenaean goddess, and it is likely her name derives from that of Athens.[90] Throughout Greece she was the foremostpolis (city-state) deity, and in poleis (pl. of 'polis') her temple was typically located on thecitadel;[91] the nexus of her worship was theAthenian Acropolis, upon which she had a temple by the 8th or 7th century BC.[92] She is both a virgin goddess and a warrior,[93] and is the patroness of all forms of craftsmanship.[94] In mythology, she competes withPoseidon for the patronage of Athens, besting him by offering its inhabitants the olive tree.[95] She provides aid to maleheroes,[96] helping figures such asHeracles,Perseus, andBellerophon in their quests.[97] In her earliest known artistic depictions, she wears a helmet and carries a spear and lance, and from around 600 BC can be found holding a shield adorned with a gorgoneion (aGorgon's head).[98] Her Roman counterpart isMinerva.[99] |
| Demeter |  | The goddess of agriculture.[100] She is the daughter ofCronus andRhea, and the mother ofPersephone byZeus.[101] She and her daughter were intimately connected in cult,[102] and the two were honoured in theThesmophoria festival, which included only women.[103] Demeter presided over the growing of grain, and was responsible for the lives of married women.[104] Her most important myth is that of her daughter's abduction, in which Persephone is stolen byHades and taken into theunderworld.[105] Hearing her daughter's screams as she is taken, Demeter traverses the earth to look for her; local versions of the story tell of her interactions with mortals during the search.[106] This myth, which first survives in theHomeric Hymn to Demeter (7th–6th century BC),[107] was central to theEleusinian Mysteries,[103] the most ancientGreek mystery religion.[108] In art, Demeter is typically depicted as a clothed figure, and her iconographic features include thepolos (a cylindrical headdress), sheaf, and torch.[109] Her Roman counterpart isCeres.[110] |
| Dionysus |  | The son ofZeus and the mortal womanSemele.[111] He is the "most versatile and elusive" Greek deity (according to Albert Henrichs),[112] and is the god who has received the greatest attention in modern scholarship.[113] He is the god of wine, intoxication, and ecstasy,[114] and is associated with theatre, eroticism, masks, and madness.[115] His name is attested inMycenaean Greece (c. 1750–1050 BC),[116] and onKeos there is evidence of him being worshipped continuously from the 15th century BC.[117]His cult was more far-reaching than that of any other Greek god.[118] His festivals, which existed across the Greek world, often featured drunkenness and revelry;[119] they included theAnthesteria, theAgrionia, theRural Dionysia, and theCity Dionysia.[120] In myth, his pregnant mother dies upon seeing Zeus in the form in which he appears toHera, with Zeus stitching the infant into his thigh, from which he is later born.[121] He is accompanied by a retinue ofsatyrs,maenads, andsilenoi, and is said to travel with his followers to locations such as Egypt and India.[122] His artistic depictions are more numerous than those of any other god. Prior to 430 BC, he is portrayed as a bearded and clothed adult, often adorned with an animal skin, while later representations depict him as a beardless, effeminate youth.[119] |
| Hephaestus |  | The god of fire and metalworking.[123] He is the son ofHera, either on her own or byZeus.[124] He is non-Greek in origin,[125] and his cult was probably imported fromAnatolia.[126] He was worshipped on the island ofLemnos, and more famously at Athens, where he was linked withAthena.[127] InHomeric epic he is the smith of the gods, who produces creations such as the shield ofAchilles;[128] he has crippled feet, and is an outcast among the Olympians.[129] He is said to be hurled fromOlympus as an infant, either by Zeus (landing on Lemnos) or by Hera (landing in the sea).[130] His wife is either the unfaithfulAphrodite orAglaea, one of theCharites.[124] In art, he is depicted as wearing apilos (a felt hat) from the 5th century BC, and can be found holding an axe or hammer.[131] His Roman counterpart isVulcan.[132] |
| Hera |  | The wife ofZeus, and the daughter ofCronus andRhea.[133] She is strongly associated with marriage,[134] and is the queen of the gods.[135] She probably descended from a goddess who was worshipped inMycenaean Greece (c. 1750–1050 BC).[136] She had some of the oldest sanctuaries, which often contained immense temples,[137] and her two most important locations of worship were theHeraion of Argos and the island ofSamos.[135] She was venerated in her role as the wife of Zeus, and as a city goddess.[136] By her husband she is the mother ofAres,Hebe, andEileithyia,[138] and in myth she is a jealous wife who torments Zeus's mistresses and other children.[139] In artistic depictions featuring groups, she can sometimes be distinguished as a figure in bride's attire, accompanying Zeus, and in scenes ofhieros gamos ('sacred marriage') she is portrayed as a matronly figure. Features of her depictions include clothing drawn around her head (similarly to a veil), thepatera (a shallow bowl), the sceptre, and the pomegranate.[140] Her Roman counterpart isJuno.[141] |
| Hermes |  | The son ofZeus and the nymphMaia.[142] He is the messenger and herald of the gods,[143] the god of boundaries and their crossing,[144] and atrickster deity.[145] He probably derives from a god ofMycenaean Greece (c. 1750–1050 BC), and the most ancient location of his cult was the region ofArcadia, where his worship was especially prevalent.[146] His cult was spread throughout thePeloponnese, and was very old in Athens.[147] He was closely linked withherms (stone statues which marked various kinds of boundaries), and was the patron of shepherds, especially young men whose job was to protect crops from cattle.[148] In myth, he steals the cattle ofApollo as a new-born, eventually receiving the herd from the god by gifting him the lyre, which he creates from a tortoise's shell.[149] In art, his symbols include thecaduceus andwinged sandals; he usually has a beard prior to the 4th century BC, with beardless depictions later becoming more common.[150] His Roman counterpart isMercury.[151] |
| Hestia |  | The goddess of the hearth.[152] She is the daughter ofCronus andRhea.[153] Her role in mythology is minimal,[154] and she is never fully anthropomorphic.[31] In cultic activity, she is always the deity who receives the first offering or prayer, and she was venerated in each city's communal hearth, orprytaneion.[155] She is a virgin goddess who forever retains her chastity, and rejects the advances of male deities such asApollo andPoseidon.[156] Her Roman counterpart isVesta.[157] |
| Poseidon |  | The god of the sea, earthquakes, and horses.[158] He is the son ofCronus andRhea, and the brother ofZeus andHades.[159] He was an important deity inMycenaean Greece (c. 1750–1050 BC), but through thearchaic period (c. 800–480 BC) his position receded.[160] He had sanctuaries in many coastal locations, though he was also worshipped in inland areas, where he was associated with bodies of water such as pools and streams.[161] Hisepithets includeHippios (relating to horses), 'Earth-Shaker', and 'Embracer of Earth'.[162] In theIliad, he and his brothers split the cosmos between themselves, with Poseidon receiving the sea.[163] His wife isAmphitrite, with whom he lives beneath the sea, though he has affairs with numerous women, producing sometimes dangerous or monstrous children.[164] From the 7th century BC, Corinthianvotive tablets depict him withhis trident and a diadem.[165] In art, it can be difficult to tell him apart fromZeus, and only from theHellenistic period (c. 323–30 BC) is he found accompanied by marine life, in a chariot pulled byhippocampi.[166] His Roman counterpart isNeptune.[167] |
| Zeus |  | The chief god of the Greek pantheon.[168] He is the king of the gods,[169] and the most powerful deity.[170] He is the son of theTitansCronus andRhea, and the husband ofHera.[171] He is the only Greek god who is unquestionablyIndo-European in origin,[168] and he is attested inMycenaean Greece (c. 1750–1050 BC).[172] His cult existed from theBronze Age, and was spread across the Greek world, with major temples inOlympia, Athens, andAcragas.[173] His functions and domains are more varied than those of any other Greek god, and over 1000 of hisepithets survive.[174] According toHesiod'sTheogony, he attains his power by overthrowing his father and the other Titans in a ten-year war known as theTitanomachy.[175] Through his many amorous encounters with mortal women, he is the father ofheroes and progenitors of well-known family lines.[176] Among his symbols are thethunderbolt, the sceptre, and the eagle.[177] In art, from the 6th century BC onwards he is often shown sitting on a throne, or as an upright figure wielding a lightning bolt. His lusting after women is also frequently found on vase paintings of the 5th century BC.[178] His Roman counterpart isJupiter, also referred to as Jove.[179] |
The word "chthonic" is applied to deities who were believed to inhabit theunderworld or to be otherwise subterranean in nature, and who were associated with fertility or the dead.[180]Hades andPersephone, the rulers of the underworld, were the principal chthonic deities.[181] They were not the only gods held as chthonic, though such figures were typically only referenced through allusion and with apprehension.[182]
| Name | Image | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Hades |  | The ruler of theunderworld and of the dead.[183] He is the child ofCronus andRhea, and the consort ofPersephone.[184] In theIliad, Hades and his brothers,Poseidon andZeus, split the world between themselves, with Hades receiving the underworld.[185] He is mentioned under names such asPlouton and "chthonian Zeus", and hisepithets includeKlymenos ('Renowned') andEubouleus ('Good Counsellor').[186] In myth, he kidnaps Persephone with Zeus's assent, and takes her into the underworld. While there, she consumes some of his food, forcing her to henceforth spend part of each year in the underworld.[187] He had virtually no role in cult, and was instead worshipped in the form of Plouton (whose cult existed across the Greek world).[188] In artistic depictions, he often holds a sceptre or key, and his appearance is similar to that of Zeus.[189] His name can also denote the underworld itself.[190] |
| Persephone |  | The daughter ofZeus andDemeter.[191] She is the wife ofHades, and queen of theunderworld.[192] In her central myth, first narrated in theHomeric Hymn to Demeter (7th–6th century BC), she is seized byHades while frolicking in a meadow, and carried into the underworld.[193] Zeus asks for her return, but she consumes pomegranate seeds during her stay, and so is forced to spend a part of each year from then on in the underworld.[194] She was frequently found alongside her mother in cult, and the two were honoured in theThesmophoria festival,[195] as well as theEleusinian Mysteries.[196] In some places, she was worshipped in conjunction with her husband.[197] In myth, she can also be found in the role of queen of the underworld, a domain over which she has substantial control; she is described as helping certain mortals, such asHeracles andSisyphus, when they are in the underworld.[198] |
| Plouton |  | A name for the ruler of the underworld, who is also known asHades.[199] Plouton is attested from around the beginning of the 5th century BC,[200] before which he is a distinct deity from Hades.[188] The namePlouton is a euphemistic title, which alludes to the riches that exist beneath the earth.[199] He appears in cult linked with Persephone and Demeter, and prior to theHellenistic period (c. 323–30 BC) his worship is attested almost exclusively inAttica, particularly in relation to theEleusinian Mysteries.[201] In art, he is depicted with a beard (which is sometimes white), carrying acornucopia or sceptre.[202] |
While many of the major Greek gods were associated with aspects of nature, various lesser deities are classed as nature gods because they personify particular parts of the natural world.[203] Some such deities stood for parts of nature that played a role in the lives of all people – such as the earth, sea, Sun, Moon, and winds – and so were held as divine throughout Greece (though these gods did not experience the same development in myth and cult as figures such as the Olympians).[32] Other nature deities – theriver gods andnymphs,[204] who represented features of the landscape such as rivers, springs, or mountains – were each worshipped only in a specific town or area.[205] They were numerous, and their cults were found throughout the Greek world.[206]
| Name | Image | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Achelous |  | One of theriver gods, sons ofOceanus andTethys.[207] He was the god of theAchelous River,[208] the largest river inGreece.[209] The oracle ofZeus atDodona helped to spread his worship,[210] which began to recede in the 4th century BC.[210] He was often venerated alongside thenymphs.[211] In myth, he fights the heroHeracles for the hand ofDeianeira, assuming multiple forms in the battle, including that of a bull; he is beaten when Heracles snaps one of his horns from his head.[212] |
| Anemoi |  | The personifications of the winds.[213] They are typically four in number –Zephyrus (West Wind),Boreas (North Wind),Notus (South Wind), andEurus (East Wind)[214] – thoughHesiod, who describes them as children ofEos andAstraeus, omits Eurus.[215] There survives a reference to a "Priestess of the Winds" from theMycenaean period (c. 1750–1050 BC), and, of the four winds, Boreas and Zephyrus were worshipped in antiquity.[216] In myth, Boreas is said to kidnap the Athenian princessOrithyia.[217] |
| Gaia |  | The personification and goddess of the earth.[218] InHesiod'sTheogony, she is one of the earliest beings in existence, and the progenitor of an extensive genealogy,[219] producing figures such asUranus andPontus on her own, and theTitans,Cyclopes, andHecatoncheires by Uranus.[220] She is capable of prophecy, and is said to precedeApollo as the owner of theoracle of Delphi.[221] In cult, she was more commonly referred to as Ge, and was often venerated alongsideZeus.[222] Her worship existed primarily outside of thepolis (city-state),[223] though she was venerated in Athens under theepithetKourotrophos ('Nurturer of Youths').[224] |
| Helios |  | The Sun and its god.[225] He is the son of theTitansHyperion andTheia.[226] He is said to travel through the sky each day in a horse-pulled chariot, making his way from east to west. Each night he drifts back to the east in a bowl, throughOceanus (the river thought to wrap around the earth).[227] Although the Sun was universally viewed as divine in Greece, in theClassical period (c. 5th–4th centuries BC) it received limited worship.[228] The most important location of Helios's cult was the island ofRhodes, where he was the subject of theColossus of Rhodes.[229] He was commonly called upon in oaths, as he was believed to witness everything across the earth.[230] He was assimilated with Apollo by the 5th century BC, though their equation was not established until later on.[231] |
| River gods |  | The 3000 male offspring ofOceanus andTethys, and brothers of theOceanids.[232] River gods were often locally worshipped in Greek cities, and seen as a representation of a city's identity.[233] Their worship was developed by the time ofHomer (c. 750–700 BC);[234] a river god was given a sanctuary in his city, and was honoured with sacrifices of youths' hair.[35] The only river god worshipped throughout Greece wasAchelous.[211] Their iconography includes the melding of the human form with bull-like features.[235] Other river gods includeEridanos,Alpheus, andScamander.[236] |
| Name | Image | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Asclepius | _Bust_of_Asclepius_in_Correr_Museum.jpg) | The god of healing and medicine.[237] In mythology, he is described as a mortalhero,[238] a son ofApollo andCoronis in the usual tradition.[237] While pregnant, Coronis weds the mortalIschys, leading Apollo to kill her and rescue the infant in the process.[239] Asclepius grows up to become a skilled healer, capable even of bringing the deceased back to life, an activity which leadsZeus to strike him down with lightning.[240] During thearchaic era (c. 800–480 BC), his worship was probably centred inTricca andMessenia, spreading further abroad towards the end of the period.[241] His cult atEpidauros emerged around 500 BC, and in the late 5th century BC he had two sanctuaries in Athens.[242] He was worshipped alongside family members, such asHygieia,Machaon, andPodalirius.[243] Artistic depictions of Asclepius often portray him sitting on a throne, or as an upright figure holding a staff laden with a snake.[244] |
| Cabeiri |  | A group of divinities venerated inmysteries.[245] Evidence of their worship comes primarily from the island ofLemnos and fromThebes,[246] and they are also attested through the northernAegean, inThrace, and atAnthedon.[247] They originated outside of Greece, though there is evidence of their worship in Thebes as early as the 7th century BC.[248] The gods of the mysteries onSamothrace are called Cabeiri by some sources, though onlyMegaloi Theoi ('Great Gods') andTheoi ('Gods') are mentioned in epigraphic evidence from the island.[249] The Cabeiri are commonly associated with other groups of divinities – such as theKouretes,Corybantes, andIdaean Dactyls[250] – and their number varies by source.[251] Some authors call them the offspring ofHephaestus.[252] |
| Charites |  | Goddesses who embody beauty, charm, and grace.[253] In theTheogony there are three Charites –Aglaea,Euphrosyne, andThalia – who are offspring ofZeus andEurynome.[254] They are associated withAphrodite, and are said to be her attendants.[255] The most famous location of their worship wasOrchomenus,[256] where they were venerated in the form of three stones.[257] They were also worshipped in Athens and on the island ofParos.[258] In theIliad, the CharisPasithea is the wife ofHypnos, while in theTheogony, Aglaea is married toHephaestus.[259] |
| Dioscuri |  | A pair of divine twins named Castor and Polydeuces.[260] TheIliad callsHelen of Troy their sister andTyndareus their father, though in later sources Polydeuces is the son ofZeus.[261] They are generally consideredIndo-European in origin.[262] They were venerated across Greece, withSparta regarded in antiquity as their primary location of worship.[261] In myth, they are often involved in disputes with other pairs of figures, such asLynceus andIdas, whose wives they steal, causing a battle (though in an earlier version the dispute arises over cattle).[263] They are also said to retrieve a kidnapped Helen fromAttica.[264] In art, their symbols include horses,piloi, and stars.[265] |
| Eileithyia |  | A goddess associated with birth.[31] In theTheogony, she is the daughter ofZeus andHera.[266] She is attested in theBronze Age,[258] and was worshipped at a cave inAmnisos onCrete as early as theMiddle Minoan period (c. 2100–1700 BC).[267] She was venerated mostly by women,[268] and in thearchaic period (c. 800–480 BC) her worship was found most prominently on Crete, in thePeloponnese, and in theCyclades.[269] She was also worshipped in numerous locations as an aspect ofArtemis.[270] |
| Enyalius | A war god.[271] He is associated in particular with close-quarters fighting, though the degree to which he is a separate deity fromAres has been debated since antiquity.[272] He is mentioned as early as theMycenaean period (c. 1750–1050 BC),[273] and his worship is most clearly attested in thePeloponnese. There was a cult dedicated to him inSparta, where there sat a statue of him bound in chains.[222] In literature, he is little more than anepithet or byname for Ares.[274] | |
| Hecate |  | A goddess associated with ghosts and magic.[275] In theTheogony, she is the daughter ofPerses andAsteria.[276] She emerged inCaria inAnatolia, and her worship seems to have been taken up by the Greeks during thearchaic period (c. 800–480 BC).[277] She is attested in Athens in the 6th century BC, and statues of her stood guard throughout the city by theClassical period (c. 5th–4th centuries BC).[278]Hesiod celebrates her in a section of hisTheogony, treating her as a mighty goddess who helps various members of society.[279] She was believed to be accompanied by the ghosts of maidens and women who died childless, and was linked with dogs and their sacrifice.[280] Beginning in the 5th century BC, she was assimilated withArtemis.[268] In art, she is depicted with either one or three faces (and sometimes three bodies), and is frequently found wearing apolos (a cylindrical headdress) and carrying torches.[281] |
| Heracles |  | The mightiest of the Greekheroes.[282] He is the son ofZeus andAlcmene,[283] and was considered both a hero and a god.[284] He was worshipped throughout the Greek world (though to a limited extent inCrete), and his cults resembled those of the gods.[285] His cult on the island ofThasos was among his oldest, and he was worshipped in numerous locations inAttica.[286] InThebes, his cult existed as early as the time ofHomer (c. 750–700 BC).[287] In myth, he is said to completetwelve labours on the command ofEurystheus;[288] the canonical set of labours is established by around the end of thearchaic era (c. 800–480 BC). His myths often involve him fighting monstrous beasts or humanoid creatures.[289] In art, scenes from his labours survive from the 8th century BC onwards,[290] and his attributes include his cape (made from theNemean lion's fur), a club, and a bow.[291] |
| Leto |  | The mother ofApollo andArtemis byZeus.[292] She is the daughter of theTitansCoeus andPhoebe.[293] When pregnant with her twins, she travels to find somewhere she can give birth, but is rebuffed in each location (in some accounts because of the efforts of a jealousHera), before arriving onDelos, where she eventually delivers both children (though in an early version Artemis is born instead onOrtygia).[294] In cult, she was frequently linked with her children,[295] though inAnatolia she had more importance as an individual, and from the 6th century BC she was worshipped at theLetoon inLycia.[296] |
| Leucothea |  | A sea goddess.[297] In myth, she is originally a mortal women namedIno, who flees from her frenzied husband with her young son,Melicertes, in her arms. She jumps into the sea, taking her son with her, and the two are deified, becoming Leucothea and Palaemon, respectively.[298] Leucothea was venerated across the Mediterranean world,[299] and was linked with initiation rites, a connection which is probably responsible for her identification with Ino.[300] |
| Muses | %2c_National_Archaeological_Museum_of_Athens_(21_June_2018).jpg) | Goddesses responsible for inspiring poets and others engaged in creative and intellectual pursuits.[301] In theTheogony, they are the nine daughters ofZeus and theTitanMnemosyne.[302] Their earliest site of worship was onMount Olympus,[303] and there was a sanctuary to them at the foot ofMount Helicon.[304] There are different sets of Muses mentioned in relation to different locations,[305] and particular areas of creative activity are said to be governed by individual Muses.[306] As a group, they are commonly associated withApollo.[307] |
| Pan |  | The god of shepherds and goatherds.[308] He originated from the region ofArcadia, and was conceived of as partly human and partly goat.[309] During the 5th century BC, his worship spread from Arcadia to Athens, before being dispersed across the Greek world.[310] He was venerated in caves, sometimes in conjunction withHermes and thenymphs.[309] There are numerous conflicting versions of his parentage,[311] and in myth he roams the mountains and plays thesyrinx.[312] He is a lecherous figure who lusts after both nymphs and young men,[313] though he typically has little success in his amorous pursuits.[314] In art, he is commonly portrayed asithyphallic.[315] |
| Prometheus |  | The son of theTitanIapetus.[316] He is credited with the creation of mankind, producing the first human from a lump of clay.[317] He is said to bring fire to humanity, after covertly stealing it from Olympus. This action earns him the punishment ofZeus, who has him attached to a rock face in theCaucasus Mountains, where each day an eagle tears apart his liver, which regenerates over the following night.[318] He is later set free from his punishment byHeracles.[319] The image of his punishment is found in art as early as the 7th century BC, and he is typically portrayed as a bearded figure with an unclothed body and arms bound, while the eagle hovers overhead.[320] |
| Thetis |  | The mother of Achilles.[321] She is one of theNereids, the daughters ofNereus andDoris.[322] She is courted byPoseidon andZeus until they hear of a prophecy that any son she bears will overthrow his father, prompting Zeus to wed Thetis to the heroPeleus.[323] Prior to their marriage, Peleus pursues her, with her transforming into different shapes as she flees.[324] After the birth of Achilles, she burns her son in an attempt to make him immortal, an action which leads to the end of her marriage.[325] Her cult existed inThessaly andSparta,[299] and she was a popular subject in vase paintings, particularly in the 6th and 5th centuries BC.[326] |
Greekpoleis (city-states,sg.: polis) were able to adopt new gods fairly easily, a process which involved starting a cult in their honour.[327] Some deities were introduced from abroad (such asCybele), experiencing some amount of alteration in the process, and others were original creations (such asSerapis) that pulled from existing divinities of different origins.[328] The choice to adopt a new deity was largely pragmatic, and seems to have been decided through the regular political systems of the polis.[329] Which gods were considered "foreign" (a designation that could include gods from elsewhere in Greece) was also determined by the authority of the polis.[330]
The Greeks thought that different cultures all revered the same set of deities, who were simply known under varying names.[331] Because of this, when the Greeks encountered gods of other cultures, they identified them with their own deities (in a process known asinterpretatio).[331]
| Name | Image | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Adonis |  | A figure ofLevantine origin.[332] He is born of an incestuous union between aPhoenician king and his daughter,Myrrha.[333] Though this genealogy places him as a mortal, in cult he was considered a god.[334] He was worshipped onLesbos by the beginning of the 6th century BC,[335] and in Athens by the 5th century BC.[334] He was revered primarily by women, who were the participants in theAdonia festival.[336] In myth, he is a young man of great beauty who enchants bothAphrodite andPersephone; it is decided that he spends a part of the year with each goddess.[337] |
| Ammon | .jpg) | The principal deity of theEgyptian pantheon.[338] Because of this position, he was equated by the Greeks withZeus.[339] He was worshipped at theSiwa Oasis from at least the 6th century BC,[340] and during that century his oracle there came to be widely known.[341] Greek attention towards Ammon was primarily due to the Greek colony ofCyrene in Libya,[341] and by the 4th century BC he was worshipped in Athens.[342] |
| Cybele |  | A mother goddess fromAnatolia.[343] She is the Anatolian form of a Great Mother goddess, and in Greece she was usually referred to asMeter.[344] During the 6th century BC, her worship proliferated through the Greek world, and in the same century she was introduced in Athens.[345] Upon the spread of her cult, she was identified withRhea (the mother of the first generation ofOlympians), and other goddesses such asGaia andDemeter;[346] she may also have been identified with an indigenous mother goddess.[347] In artistic depictions, she is found seated on a throne, accompanied by lions and holding a tambourine.[347] Her cult was officially introduced in Rome around the end of the 3rd century AD.[343] |
| Isis | .jpg) | AnEgyptian goddess.[348] InEgyptian mythology, she is the wife ofOsiris and the mother ofHorus.[349] She was known to the Greeks as early as thearchaic period (c. 800–480 BC), and possessed a temple in Athens by the 4th century BC.[350] In the Graeco-Roman world, she presided over the family,[349] and was a healer and protective figure.[351]Herodotus equates her withDemeter.[352] |
| Men | .jpg) | A deity from westernAnatolia.[353] He is a moon god, and his worship is most clearly documented inLydia andPhrygia.[354] He is attested from the 4th century BC, with the earliest evidence of theHellenistic period (c. 323–30 BC) originating from Greece, particularlyAttica.[355] In art, he is found with crescent moons extending up from his shoulders; he typically wears aPhrygian cap and sleeved clothes, and sometimes holds a sceptre or rod.[356] |
| Sabazios |  | A god fromPhrygia inAnatolia.[357] The earliest literary references to him are from the 5th century BC,[358] and his worship inAttica is mentioned in the 4th century BC.[359] He was identified withDionysus, and anOrphic myth of Dionysus's birth toZeus and his daughter,Persephone, was linked with themysteries of Sabazios.[360] In art, he is portrayed either with a beard and Phrygian garb, or in the image of Zeus-Jupiter. There also survivevotive hands dedicated to him, which hold objects such as snakes or pine cones.[361] |
| Serapis |  | A god derived from the syncretic Egyptian figureOsiris-Apis.[362] This Egyptian antecedent had a cult inMemphis, where he was a sacred bull figure.[363] This cult was adapted by the Greeks into that of Serapis;[364] the first threePtolemies had aSerapeum constructed inAlexandria,[365] andPtolemy I Soter (c. 367–282 BC) is said to have brought to the city a statue ofPluto, which was given the name of Serapis.[366] The god was identified with Greek deities such asDionysus, Pluto, andZeus,[367] and in art he was depicted wearing acalathus (a basket) atop his head.[368] His worship was propagated, with temples built in places such as Athens andCorinth.[369] |
The following section is structured after the chapter "1. The Early Gods" inTimothy Gantz'sEarly Greek Myth: A Guide to Literary and Artistic Sources (1993).[370]
In antiquity, theTheogony (c. 700 BC), a work by theBoeotian poetHesiod, was considered the standard mythological telling of the world's earliest ages.[371] The poem details an extensive genealogy of the gods, and describes the events which led to the current state of the cosmos, under the rule ofZeus.[372] Thecosmogonic part of the work, which is fairly brief,[373] begins the account of this mythical history.[374]
Though Hesiod's poem is the onlytheogony which is extant in its entirety, during thearchaic era (c. 800–480 BC) there existed similar works, ascribed to various legendary or historical writers such asOrpheus,Musaeus,Pherecydes, andEpimenides.[375] Of works outside the theogonic genre,Homeric epic only briefly references the world prior to Zeus's rule, and the 1st–2nd-century ADBibliotheca of Apollodorus provides an account similar to Hesiod's.[376]
Hesiod's cosmogony begins withChaos, who is followed by several other primal beings.[377] The poet then details two generations of descendants of Chaos.[378] Later in the poem, he continues his enumeration of her descendants, listing various dismal abstractions who descend from her daughter,Nyx (these figures are listed under§ Abstract personifications).[379] Of these primordial figures in Hesiod's poem, deities such as Nyx,Aether, andEros feature in a number of other early cosmogonies.[380]
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| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Aether | The personification of the brightness present in the upper sky.[381] In theTheogony, he is the offspring ofNyx andErebus, and the brother ofHemera.[382] He appears in a number of other early cosmogonies,[380] and in anOrphic theogony he is produced byChronos, alongsideChaos and Erebus.[383] |
| Chaos | The first being to exist in Hesiod'sTheogony.[384] The word means'yawning' or'gap', though the location of Chaos, or what it sits between, is not specified.[385] After Chaos there comesGaia,Tartarus, andEros, and from Chaos herself is bornErebus andNyx.[386] |
| Erebus | The personification of darkness.[387] In theTheogony, he is the offspring ofChaos and the brother ofNyx, with whom he producesAether andHemera.[388] In anOrphic theogony, he is produced byChronos.[389] The wordErebus is also used to refer to theunderworld.[390] |
| Eros | The god of love.[391] He is typically considered the son ofAphrodite,[392] though in theTheogony he is among the earliest beings to exist.[393] In other cosmogonies, including some that areOrphic, he is similarly a primordial figure.[394] Although absent fromHomeric epic,lyric poets of thearchaic era (c. 800–480 BC) present him as a representation of the subjective experience of love.[395] He appears in Aphrodite's retinue alongside figures such asHimeros andPothos.[396] InThespiai, he was venerated in the form of a stone,[397] and in cult he typically appears alongside Aphrodite.[398] The Romans referred to him asCupid or Amor.[399] |
| Gaia | See§ Nature deities. |
| Hemera | The personification and goddess of the day.[400] In theTheogony, she is the offspring ofNyx andErebus, and the sister ofAether.[401] Hemera andEos are frequently identified in later works.[402] |
| Nyx | The goddess and personification of the night.[403] In theTheogony, she is the offspring ofChaos and the sister ofErebus, by whom she becomes the mother ofAether andHemera.[404] Without the help of a father, she gives rise to a brood of dismal personifications.[405] She is said to live at the extremes of the earth or in theunderworld, and to drive a horse-pulled chariot.[406] In theIliad, evenZeus fears to upset her.[407] She figures prominently in early cosmogonies,[380] and appears to have been the first deity in the oldest knownOrphic theogonies.[408] In theOrphic Rhapsodies, she is a ruler who supplantsPhanes.[409] |
| Tartarus | A region which sat far below theunderworld,[410] and its personification.[411] In theTheogony, he is one of the first beings to come into existence, appearing afterGaia and prior toEros.[412] By Gaia, he becomes the father of the monstrousTyphon and (in later sources) ofEchidna.[413] |
Aside from the descendants of Chaos, all the remaining deities of Hesiod's poem genealogically originate fromGaia (or Earth).[414] On her own, she produces several figures who represent parts of the physical world, includingUranus (or Sky) andPontus (or Sea), both of whom subsequently mate with her.[381] Together with Uranus, she sits at the head of the family which eventually produces the Olympians;[415] the couple's children include the twelveTitans (listed under§ The Titans and their descendants), the youngest of whom,Cronus, castrates his father.[416] The resulting spilt blood and detached genitals lead in time to further offspring.[417]
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Aphrodite | See§ Twelve Olympians. |
| Erinyes | Figures who punish those who commit serious offences, particularly against family members.[418] Their names areAlecto,Megaera, andTisiphone.[419] In theTheogony, they are produced from blood spilt onto the earth whenUranus is castrated by his son,Cronus.[420] Elsewhere, they are the offspring ofNyx.[421] They are inhabitants of theunderworld, and are capable of cursing mortals or driving them mad.[422] Erinys (sg. of 'Erinyes') was assimilated toDemeter inArcadia, and was considered the mother ofArion byPoseidon.[423] The Roman counterparts of the Erinyes are the Furies.[424] |
| Meliae | Considered by most scholars to benymphs ofash trees.[425] According to Hesiod, they are born from drops of blood spilt whenUranus's genitals are severed.[426] |
| Ourea | The mountains.[427] In theTheogony, they are produced byGaia without the aid of a father.[428] |
| Pontus | The personification of the sea.[429] In theTheogony he is the offspring ofGaia, who produces him without a father.[430] By Gaia, he fathersEurybia,Nereus,Thaumas,Phorcys, andCeto.[431] |
| Uranus | The personification of the sky.[432] He is the offspring ofGaia, who produces him without the help of a partner.[433] By Gaia, he fathers theTitans, theCyclopes, and theHecatoncheires.[434] He imprisons his offspring within the earth, leading his Titan son Cronus to castrate him.[435] He hurls the severed genitals into the ocean, and the blood spilt onto the earth in time produces theErinyes,Giants, andMeliae.[436] |
The other lineage arising from Gaia is the family she produces with Pontus, which includes figures associated with the sea and an assortment of monsters.[437]
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Anemoi | See§ Nature deities. |
| Astraeus | The son ofCrius andEurybia.[438] He is the husband ofEos, by whom he becomes the father of thewinds –Boreas,Zephyrus, andNotus – as well as the stars, includingEosphorus.[439] |
| Ceto | The daughter ofGaia andPontus.[431] She is the wife of the sea godPhorcys, by whom she produces a brood of monstrous creatures, including theGorgons, theGraeae, andEchidna.[440] |
| Eosphorus | The morning star.[441] He is one of the children ofEos andAstraeus,[442] and his offspring (in different sources) includeStilbe,Philonis, andLeuconoe.[443] His Roman counterpart isLucifer.[444] |
| Eurybia | The daughter ofGaia andPontus.[445] She is the wife of theTitanCrius, by whom she becomes the mother ofAstraeus,Pallas, andPerses.[446] |
| Hecate | See§ Other major deities. |
| Iris | The messenger of the gods and personification of the rainbow.[447] She is considered the daughter ofThaumas andElectra, and at times the wife ofZephyrus.[448] In theIliad, she is mostly dispatched as divine messenger byZeus, though she also acts independently in some instances.[449] In later works, she servesHera.[450] She sometimes transforms into another figure during a task, and herepithets in theIliad emphasise her swiftness.[447] In art, she commonly has wings and a staff, and often accompanies more important deities.[451] |
| Nereus | A sea god, son ofGaia andPontus.[452] He is the husband ofDoris, by whom he becomes the father of the fiftyNereids, who live with him beneath the sea.[453] He is one of the deities referred to as an "Old Man of the Sea", and is described as having prophetic and shapeshifting abilities.[454] He is said to battle the heroHeracles, changing himself into numerous forms during the struggle. This myth is represented in vase paintings; Nereus has the tail of a fish in the earliest depictions, and legs in later works.[455] |
| Nereids | Sea nymphs, who are the fifty daughters ofNereus andDoris.[456] Ancient authors give varying lists of Nereids,[457] and only a handful – such asThetis,Galatea,Amphitrite, andPsamathe – have any meaningful role in myth.[453] They live with their father at the bottom of the sea, and were said to partake in song and dance.[458] In art, they are often shown riding marine animals, accompanying a sea deity such asPoseidon. From the 4th century BC, they can be found partially or fully nude, and occasionally with fishtails.[458] |
| Pallas | ATitan.[459] In theTheogony, he is the husband ofStyx and the father ofZelus,Nike,Kratos, andBia.[460] Elsewhere,Eos is given as his daughter.[461] |
| Perses | The son ofCrius andEurybia.[462] WithAsteria, he produces the goddessHecate.[463] Hesiod states that he is exceptionally wise.[464] |
| Phorcys | An early sea god.[465] He is most often considered the offspring ofGaia andPontus.[466] His wife isCeto, with whom he produces a series of monsters, including theGorgons, theGraeae, andEchidna.[467] In theOdyssey, he is the father ofThoosa and is referred to as an "Old Man of the Sea".[468] TheSirens, theHesperides, andScylla are elsewhere given as his offspring.[469] |
| Thaumas | The son ofGaia andPontus.[470] His wife isElectra, by whom he becomes the father of the goddessIris and theHarpies.[379] |
The Titans, the twelve offspring of Uranus and Gaia, are the generation who come before the Olympians.[471] The group consists of six members of each sex:[437] four male-female pairs are married couples,[472] with the remaining two male Titans marrying other goddesses, and the remaining two female Titans later coupling with Zeus.[473] Many of the Titans' descendants relate to the physical world and its organisation.[473] In sources after Hesiod, there is some disagreement as to the names of the twelve Titans,[474] and there are several figures described as Titans beyond the original group of twelve.[475]
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| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Asteria | The daughter ofCoeus andPhoebe.[476] In theTheogony, she marriesPerses and the two produceHecate.[477]Zeus is said to chase her lustfully, resulting in her falling into the sea and being transformed into a quail. In the place where she lands rises an island, sometimes called Asteria, on which her sisterLeto later gives birth.[478] |
| Atlas | The offspring of the TitanIapetus and anOceanid, eitherClymene orAsia.[479] He is said to stand at the edge of the earth (in the far west or north) and hold up the sky.[480] Early sources give no explicit reason as to why he has this burden,[481] though later authors state it is because of his role in theTitanomachy.[464] A story from theMetamorphoses tells thatPerseus encounters Atlas and causes him to become a mountain using the severed head ofMedusa. He is also said to be approached byHeracles, who tricks him and steals the golden apples from the nearby garden of theHesperides.[482] |
| Coeus | One of the Titans, the children ofUranus andGaia.[483] He marriesPhoebe, with whom he producesLeto (the mother ofArtemis andApollo) andAsteria.[484] |
| Crius | One of the Titans, the offspring ofUranus andGaia.[485] His wife isEurybia, by whom he becomes the father ofAstraeus,Pallas, andPerses.[486] |
| Cronus | The youngest of the Titans, the offspring ofUranus andGaia.[487] He is chief among the Titans, and is ruler prior toZeus.[488] He is said to castrate his father with a sickle, overthrowing him, before becoming a tyrant. He swallows each child he has by his sisterRhea, until she hands him a stone to swallow in place of their final child, Zeus.[489] Once grown, Zeus forces Cronus to disgorge his other children, who side with Zeus in a battle against the Titans, with Cronus and his siblings being defeated and banished toTartarus.[490] In Hesiod'sWorks and Days, Cronus's reign is contrastingly described as an idyllic age in which there lives a golden race of humans.[491] He was honoured in theKronia festival, which may have been associated with the harvest, and he possessed a temple inOlympia.[492] His Roman counterpart isSaturn.[493] |
| Dione | A consort ofZeus in some sources.[236] In theBibliotheca of Apollodorus, she is one of the Titans.[494]Homer calls her the mother ofAphrodite (presumably by Zeus), and in theTheogony she is one of theOceanids.[495] She was possibly considered the wife of Zeus prior toHera, who already occupied this role at some point in theMycenaean era (c. 1750–1050 BC).[496] Dione was venerated as his consort at the oracular site ofDodona,[497] and the nameDione is a feminine version ofZeus (genitive:Dios).[495] |
| Eos | The goddess of the dawn,[498] and the daughter ofHyperion andTheia.[499] WithAstraeus, she produces thewinds –Boreas,Zephyrus, andNotus – and the stars, includingEosphorus.[500] She is said to drive a chariot up from the horizon at the beginning of each day.[501] In myth, she steals away young mortal men with amorous intent, as in the stories ofTithonus,Orion, andCleitus. In the first of these, she lives with Tithonus, who Zeus grants immortality (but not eternal youth), and the couple produce two children,Emathion andMemnon, before Tithonus slowly begins to deteriorate.[502] She is found in art from the 6th century BC onwards, and is typically portrayed with wings.[503] |
| Epimetheus | The son ofIapetus and eitherClymene orAsia.[504] His brother,Prometheus, cautions him to refuse all gifts fromZeus, but when the gods createPandora, the first woman, and Zeus has her sent to the half-witted Epimetheus, he accepts her. The two are married, and as a result she is brought among humans, allowing her to unleash upon them evils fromher jar.[505] |
| Helios | See§ Nature deities. |
| Hyperion | One of the Titans, the offspring ofUranus andGaia.[506] His consort isTheia, by whom he becomes the father ofHelios,Selene, andEos.[507] He is frequently equated with Helios, andHomer uses "Hyperion" as anepithet of that god.[508] |
| Iapetus | One of the Titan offspring ofUranus andGaia.[509] In theIliad, he is mentioned as one of the TitansZeus banishes toTartarus.[510] In Hesiod'sTheogony, he is the father ofPrometheus,Epimetheus,Atlas, andMenoetius, and the husband ofClymene, though other sources give his consort asAsia.[511] |
| Leto | See§ Other major deities. |
| Menoetius | The son ofIapetus and eitherClymene orAsia.[512]Zeus punishes his hubris by hitting him with lightning and hurling him down toTartarus.[513] |
| Metis | One of theOceanids, offspring ofOceanus andTethys.[514] In theTheogony, she is the first goddessZeus marries.[515] When he hears that she is destined to bear a child who will overthrow him, he swallows her.[516] Metis, pregnant withAthena, births her daughter inside Zeus, and Athena emerges from his head. Metis exists within him permanently, a position from which she provides him counsel.[517] InApollodorus's account, she aids Zeus against his father,Cronus, by delivering the latter an emetic, which frees Zeus's siblings from his father's stomach.[518] |
| Mnemosyne | The personification of memory.[519] She is the one of the Titan daughters ofUranus andGaia.[520] In theTheogony she lies withZeus for nine consecutive nights, resulting in the birth of the nineMuses.[521] She had some existence in cult, often appearing alongside the Muses.[522] |
| Oceanids | Oceannymphs, the 3000 female offspring ofOceanus andTethys.[523] The forty-one oldest Oceanids are enumerated in theTheogony, and other lists are given in later works.[524] They are said to be protectors of the young.[525] Some of them feature in the retinue ofArtemis, and others are mentioned as companions ofPersephone before her abduction.[526] Individual Oceanids includeStyx,Doris,Metis, andPeitho.[527] |
| Oceanus | The god of the river believed to encompass the earth and give rise to all other water bodies.[528] He is one of the Titans, the offspring ofGaia andUranus.[529] His wife isTethys, by whom he is the father of the 3000Oceanids and the 3000river gods.[530] TheIliad possibly refers to him as the forefather of the gods.[531] Various monsters and peoples are said to reside next to the river Oceanus, at the far extent of the world.[532] Artistic depictions portray him as part human and part marine creature.[533] |
| Phoebe | A female Titan, one of the offspring ofUranus andGaia.[534] Her husband is her brotherCoeus, by whom she becomes the mother ofLeto andAsteria,[535] and thereby the grandparent ofApollo andArtemis.[536] In some accounts, she is credited as the founder of theDelphic oracle, which she passes to Apollo.[534] |
| Prometheus | See§ Other major deities. |
| Rhea | One of the female Titans, daughters ofUranus andGaia.[537] She is the wife ofCronus and the mother ofHestia,Demeter,Hera,Hades,Poseidon, andZeus.[538] Her husband swallows each child upon their birth, until Rhea hides away their final child, Zeus, instead delivering Cronus a stone to consume. Once grown, Zeus wages war against Cronus, during which Rhea hasOceanus andTethys look afterHera.[539] As early as the 5th century BC, Rhea was identified withCybele.[540] |
| River gods | See§ Nature deities. |
| Selene | The goddess and personification of the Moon.[541] In theTheogony, she is the offspring ofHyperion andTheia.[542] She is said to fall for the beautifulEndymion, to whom she grants eternal sleep and with whom she produces fifty daughters.[543] She also has an affair withPan, and birthsPandia andErsa toZeus.[544] She is found in art as early as the 5th century BC, depicted with wings, flying her horse-pulled (or later oxen-pulled) chariot through the sky.[545] |
| Styx | The goddess of the riverStyx, the main river of theunderworld.[546] She is the oldest of theOceanids, the daughters ofOceanus andTethys,[547] and is the wife ofPallas, with whom she producesZelus,Nike,Kratos, andBia.[548] She aidsZeus and the younger gods in theTitanomachy, for which Zeus makes swearing upon her waters the highest oath of the gods.[549] She is said to reside in the underworld.[550] |
| Tethys | One of the Titans, the offspring ofUranus andGaia.[551] She is the wife of her brotherOceanus, by whom she becomes the mother of the 3000river gods and 3000Oceanids.[535] In theIliad, she and her husband may be referred to as the progenitors of the gods.[531] DuringZeus's battle against the Titans,Hera is sent to stay with Oceanus and Tethys at the far extremes of the earth. The couple, who have become alienated, are brought together again by Hera.[552] |
| Theia | One of the female Titans, offspring ofUranus andGaia.[553] She is the wife ofHyperion, by whom she becomes the mother ofHelios,Selene, andEos.[554] |
| Themis | One of the Titans, a daughter ofUranus andGaia.[555] Hesiod names her as the second goddess married byZeus, with their union producing the threeHorae and threeMoirai.[556] She is the goddess who presides over "sacred ancient law",[557] and she provides counsel to Zeus.[558]Aeschylus names her as the mother ofPrometheus and equates her withGaia.[559] She possesses the power of prophecy, and delivers oracles (including that which stops Zeus from wedding Thetis). She is also said to be an owner of theDelphic oracle prior toApollo.[560] She was worshipped in a number of locations, including atRhamnous, where she was venerated in conjunction withNemesis.[561] |
The following section is based upon the chapter "6. Lesser deities and nature-spirits" in Robin Hard'sRoutledge Handbook of Greek Mythology (2004), and the section "Minor Divinities" in Timothy Gantz'sEarly Greek Myth: A Guide to Literary and Artistic Sources (1993).[562]
Among the various minor deities are divine groups such as theMuses and theHorae.[563] These sorts of divinities are referred to under a collective name, and appear in one another's company.[564] The members of these groups, who are sometimes individually named, are consistently of one sex and are around the same age,[564] though their number often differs by source, as do their names.[565] These divinities often feature in the retinues of major gods, or are otherwise said to accompany such deities; thesatyrs andmaenads, for example, are among the companions ofDionysus, and the dancingKouretes surround the infantZeus.[566] In some cases, these divine groups reflect the existence of real-world religious associations.[566]
Nature spirits, such as thenymphs and satyrs, are inhabitants of different parts of the landscape, and fall somewhere between gods and humans.[563] In antiquity, for example, there was disagreement as to the mortality of nymphs (who were sometimes described as goddesses), though it was seen as evident that they lived long enough to be virtually immortal by human standards.[567] Similarly, whether or not satyrs were immortal seems to have been uncertain in ancient times.[568]
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Cabeiri | See§ Other major deities. |
| Charites | See§ Other major deities. |
| Dactyls | Figures described as companions ofRhea (or at timesCybele). Their name translates as'fingers'.[569] In thePhoronis they are threefold, are companions ofAdrasteia, and originate fromIda.[252] Elsewhere they are more numerous, with some sources giving them as ten or one hundred in number.[570] They are sometimes described as metalworkers or magicians,[571] and can be found, equated with theKouretes, as protectors of the youngZeus.[572] |
| Horae | The Seasons,[573] daughters ofZeus andThemis.[574] They are three or four in number,[575] andHesiod names them asEunomia,Dike, andEirene.[576] In Athens, they are called Thallo, Auxo, and Carpo.[577] They are connected with plant life and with order,[578] andHomer states that they stand guard outside the entrance toOlympus.[579] They had a sanctuary inAttica, and there is evidence of their worship elsewhere. In art, they often cannot be told apart from thenymphs andCharites.[580] |
| Korybantes | Figures who accompanyCybele.[581] They were commonly equated with theKouretes, and are similarly described as dancers who clang their spears upon their shields.[582] They are ascribed numerous parentages in different sources, withApollo orRhea frequently being named as one of their parents.[583] |
| Kouretes | Figures who protect the youngZeus by producing a din with their spears and shields, so that the child's crying cannot be heard by his father,Cronus.[584] Some writers give their number as two or nine.[585] The location in which they protect Zeus is usually given asMount Dicte onCrete, though sometimes it isMount Ida.[586] Afragment ofHesiod calls them offspring of the daughters ofDorus.[587] Their cult was spread across Crete, and existed in locations such asOlympia,Ephesus,Messenia, and the island ofThera (an early location of worship).[588] They were often conflated with the Korybantes.[589] |
| Maenads | Female figures in the retinue ofDionysus who follow him in his travels.[590] Artistic depictions portray them as nude or thinly clothed women, holdingthyrsi (staffs topped with ivy),kantharoi (a type of drinking vessel), or musical instruments such as flutes or tambourines.[591] The nymphs who nurse the young Dionsyus are said to be the first Maenads.[592] The term also refers to the historical women who took inspiration from the mythical Maenads.[593] |
| Muses | See§ Other major deities. |
| Nymphs | Female divinities connected with nature, conceived of as human women.[594] There are types of nymphs: some are connected to certain habitats – such as thedryads (tree nymphs),Oreads (mountain nymphs), orMeliae (ash tree nymphs) – and others are of a specific parentage, such as theNereids (daughters ofNereus) orOceanids (daughters ofOceanus).[595] In theHomeric epics, they are called daughters ofZeus.[596] They are typically found in groups, and are frequently included as part of a nature-dwelling god's retinue.[597] Their cult is attested by the time ofHomer (c. 750–700 BC), and their worship was linked with caves and with theriver gods.[598] The term was sometimes used more generally to refer to young women.[599] |
| Satyrs | Male figures who live in the wilderness.[600] They are first attested around the start of the 6th century BC, and are among the figures inDionysus's retinue.[601] They are depicted as part human and part animal,ithyphallic, and tailed.[602] Although early representations depict them with horse-like features, they gradually come closer to humans, before developing more goat-like traits in theHellenistic era (c. 323–30 BC).[603] They are generally shown as nude, bald, and snub-nosed, with their equine features extending to their ears, their tail, and (less often) their feet.[604] Their first literary mention is afragment ofHesiod, which calls them offspring of the daughters ofDorus, as well as "worthless" and "good-for-nothing".[605] In myth, they are often found lusting afternymphs.[606] Their Roman counterparts are thefauns.[607] |
| Silenoi | Companions ofDionysus who live in the wild.[608] They are first mentioned in theHomeric Hymn toAphrodite, where they are said to be sexual partners of the mountainnymphs.[609] In art, they seem to be identical in appearance to thesatyrs;[601] they are perhaps the same figures as the satyrs, though they may have initially been separate.[610] |
| Telchines | Magical figures from the island ofRhodes.[611] They are said to be the original inhabitants of a number of islands in theAegean Sea.[612] They are magicians and shapeshifters, and in art are portrayed as amphibious creatures who are part fish or part snake.[613] They are sometimes said to invent metalworking, and different authors credit them with the creation of objects such as thetrident of Poseidon or the sickle ofCronus.[614] |
| Thriae | Three prophetesses who are the offspring ofZeus.[615] They are nymphs belonging toMount Parnassus, and are said to be among the first to practicedivination, doing so through the use of pebbles.[616] |
Note that personifications of abstract concepts listed in previous sections (such asNyx,Erebus, andHemera) are excluded here.
The Greeks often personified abstract concepts and represented them as deities; these concepts ranged from emotions such as love and fear, to forces such as persuasion, luck, and longing, to states such as night, victory, and death.[617] The sex of the resulting deity was dictated by thegender of the personified noun.[617] Such personifications are first attested in Greece in the 8th century BC, with the emergence ofepic poetry.[618] They sometimes appear in the retinues of major gods – for example,Eros andHimeros are companions ofAphrodite – and they commonly feature in cosmogonies, where these concepts are genealogically linked to one another – for example, in theTheogony, the progeny ofNyx (Night) includes figures such asThanatos (Death),Hypnos (Sleep), andEris (Strife).[619]
Although personifications originated in poetry,[397] some who were more developed in literature were also represented in art.[620] The earliest known artistic depiction of personifications is the Chest ofCypselus (c. 600 BC), which was followed in the late 6th century BC by vase paintings.[620] Various personifications from epic poetry later developed cults, the earliest of which are attested in the 6th century BC; by the 4th century BC, there was worship of personifications who had no connection to the epic tradition.[621] Only two personifications,Nemesis andThemis, are known to have been the dedicatees of a sanctuary, which was located inRhamnous.[622]
| Name | Personified concept | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Achlys | Misery, sadness[623] | In theShield of Heracles, she is one of the figures pictured onHeracles' shield. Her Latin counterpart, Caligo, is said to be the parent ofChaos andNox in theFabulae.[624] |
| Adikia | Injustice[625] | Her earliest attestation is a depiction on theChest of Cypselus (c. 600 BC), which shows her being pummeled byDike.[626] The two are also depicted on a pair of 6th-century BCAttic vases. In art, Adikia is portrayed as ugly, bearing spots in one instance.[627] |
| Agon | Athletic contests[628] | There existed a statue of him atOlympia.[629] |
| Aidos | Shame or modesty[630] | She appears in theWorks and Days alongsideNemesis, andSophocles states that she sits besideZeus and witnesses all actions that are taken.[631] InPlato's story ofProtagoras, Aidos approaches humankind alongsideDike.[632] |
| Aion | Eternal time[633] | Euripides callsChronos his father, and he is mentioned in theproem of theOrphic Hymns, though he is otherwise absent fromOrphic literature. InNonnus'sDionysiaca, he is an old man who advisesZeus.[633] |
| Alala | The war cry[634] | According toPindar, she is the daughter ofPolemos.[635] |
| Alastor | The curse of generational guilt[636] | He features intragic literature, and is described as the figure who enacts vengeance for wicked actions. InAeschylus, he is adaimon who is pernicious in nature but unassociated with vengeance.[637] |
| Aletheia | Truth[638] | She is said to be the offspring ofZeus, and to nurtureApollo during his childhood.[639] |
| Algea | Pains[433] | They are daughters ofEris.[640] |
| Alke | Battle strength[641] | In theIliad, she is depicted on theaegis.[642] |
| Amechania | Impossibility[643] | One of the gods of the people ofAndros, according toHerodotus.[644] |
| Amphilogiai | Verbal exchanges[645] | They are offspring ofEris.[646] |
| Anaideia | Shamelessness[647] | Authors mention an altar or sanctuary dedicated to Anaideia in Athens.[647] |
| Ananke | Necessity or compulsion[648] | She is first attested as a cosmic goddess in the 5th century BC, appearing in the works ofParmenides,Simonides, andEmpedocles.[649] In theHieronyman Theogony, attributed toOrpheus, she producesAether,Chaos, andErebus byChronos.[650] In theHellenistic period (c. 323–30 BC), she is identified withAdrasteia.[651] InPlato'sRepublic, she is the mother of theMoirai.[652] |
| Androktasiai | Slaughter of men during war[653] | They are offspring ofEris in theTheogony.[654] |
| Angelia | Report[655] | According toPindar, she is the daughter ofHermes.[656] |
| Anteros | Requited love[657] | He is said to punish those who do not reciprocate love.[657] He had an altar in Athens close to theAcropolis, and was depicted alongsideEros in a relief that was displayed inElis.[658] |
| Apate | Deceit[659] | InHesiod'sTheogony, she is an offspring ofNyx.[660] In afragment ofOrphic literature, she andZelus receiveAphrodite after her birth from the sea. In theDionysiaca, she possesses a girdle that contains all forms of deceit.[661] |
| Apheleia | Simplicity, "the good old days"[662] | Eustathius calls her the nurse ofAthena.[662] |
| Ara | The curse[663] | Aeschylus identifies her with Erinys (sg. of 'Erinyes').[663] |
| Arete | Goodness[664] | She appears in a 5th-century BC allegory byProdicus, in whichHeracles must choose either Arete orKakia (the personification of vice).[665] A giant statue of her was produced byEuphranor, according toPliny the Elder. In a late genealogy, she is the offspring ofPraxidike and ZeusSoter.[666] |
| Astrape | The lightning bolt[667] | She was present in several lost works of art, including a painting byApelles and a depiction ofSemele's death. She is connected withBronte.[668] |
| Ate | Delusion[669] | She is said to deceiveZeus, who then hurls her down fromOlympus as punishment. She lands on a hill inPhrygia, in the location in whichTroy will later be founded.[670] In theIliad she is the daughter of Zeus, while in theTheogony she is one of the offspring ofEris.[671] |
| Bia | Violence[672] | She is the offspring ofPallas andStyx, and alongside her siblings –Kratos,Nike, andZelus – she is said to live onMount Olympus, where she servesZeus.[673] According toAeschylus, she helpsHephaestus attachPrometheus to a rock after his deception of Zeus.[674] |
| Bronte | Thunder[675] | She appears in the proem of theOrphic Hymns, and is at times found alongsideSterope andAstrape.[676] She was represented in several works of Greek and Roman art, including a painting byApelles.[677] |
| Caerus | The "opportune moment"[678] | He is attested from the 5th century BC, and is called the son ofZeus. He was worshipped atOlympia. In art, he is depicted as a winged figure with a tuffet of hair on the front of his head.[679] |
| Chronos | Time[680] | He is a primeval being in the cosmogony ofPherecydes of Syros, and is an important figure intheogonies attributed toOrpheus.[681] In theHieronyman Theogony, one such work, he is a winged, serpentine figure with the heads of a lion and bull,[682] and producesAether,Chaos, andErebus withAnanke.[650] Later sources sometimes conflate him with theTitanCronus.[683] |
| Comus | Revelry[684] | According toPhilostratus the Elder, there was an artwork which depicted him as a young, winged boy, drunk and with his head sitting on his chest.[685] |
| Corus | Surfeit[686] | He is the offspring ofHybris.[687] |
| Deimos | Fear[688] | Hesiod calls him the son ofAres andAphrodite, and in theIliad he is a companion of Ares alongside his brother,Phobos.[689] According to theAspis, the two are his charioteers.[690] |
| Dike | Justice[691] | In theTheogony, she is one of the threeHorae, offspring ofZeus andThemis.[692] She is intimately connected with Zeus, and is sometimes said to sit next to his throne, acting as his delegate and keeping a record of sinful actions for him.[693] She was depicted on the Chest ofCypselus as a beautiful figure, who strangles the uglyAdikia.[694] Hesychia is said to be her daughter, andPoena her assistant.[695] |
| Dysnomia | Lawlessness[696] | In theTheogony, she is one of the offspring ofEris.[697] |
| Eirene | Peace[698] | Hesiod lists her among the threeHorae, offspring ofZeus andThemis.[699] There existed a cult to her in Athens from the 4th century BC, and she is depicted on vases fromAttica. Several of her cults are attested during theHellenistic period (c. 323–30 BC).[700] |
| Eleos | Compassion[701] | There was an altar honouring him in Athens.[701] |
| Eleutheria | Freedom[702] | She is called the daughter ofZeus, and elsewhere an attendant ofAletheia. She appears on coins.[702] |
| Elpis | Hope[703] | InHesiod'sWorks and Days, whenPandora opensher jar, releasing the evils contained therein, Elpis is the only personification who does not leave.[704] |
| Eris | Strife[705] | In theTheogony she is among the gloomy offspring ofNyx, and in theIliad she is calledAres' sister.[706] In theWorks and Days, there are two figures named Eris, one the daughter of Nyx and the other less negative in nature.[707] She is said to indirectly bring about the start of theTrojan War by tossing a golden apple into the wedding ofPeleus andThetis, causing theJudgement of Paris.[708] |
| Ersa | Dew[709] | According toAlcman, she is the daughter ofZeus andSelene.[710] |
| Eucleia | Glory from a day of fighting[711] | There was a sanctuary in Athens in honour of both her andEunomia.[712] According toPlutarch, some consideredHeracles andMyrto her parents, while others conflated her withArtemis.[711] She is found alongside Eunomia on vases from the 5th century BC.[713] |
| Eulabeia | Caution[714] | InEuripides'Phoenician Women,Eteocles asks her to saveThebes.[715] |
| Eunomia | Good order[716] | InHesiod'sTheogony she is one of the threeHorae, daughters ofZeus andThemis.[717] She was considered a protector of peace, and during the 5th century BC her name was used in politics.[718] She was represented in 5th-century BC vase paintings alongsideEucleia, and she had a cult in Athens.[719] |
| Eupraxia | Success[720] | According toAeschylus'sSeven Against Thebes, she is the daughter ofPeitharchia.[627] |
| Eusebeia | Piety[721] | She is the mother ofDike inOrphic literature, and is mentioned in the proem of theOrphic Hymns. A figure with this name is depicted onAlexandrian coins.[721] |
| Gelos | Laughter[722] | Plutarch mentions aSpartan sanctuary in his honour, andApuleius states that he was worshipped in the city ofHypata.[722] |
| Geras | Old age[723] | In theTheogony, he is among the offspring ofNyx. In a late tale, he helpsSisyphus escape theunderworld.[724] He is also said to lose in a fight withHeracles, and to live onOlympus.[725] |
| Hedone | Desire, joy, pleasure[726] | She appears as an allegorical personification in works ofGreek philosophy.Apuleius gives her parents asCupid (the Latin name forEros) andPsyche.[727] |
| Heimarmene | Fate[728] | She is depicted on a 5th-century BC vase by the Heimarmene Painter.[729] |
| Himeros | Affectionate longing[730] | In theTheogony, he andEros accompanyAphrodite after she is born from the sea. He is said to reside onOlympus,[731] and in art is identical to Eros.[732] |
| Homados | Tumult[733] | InHesiod'sShield of Heracles, he is depicted onHeracles' shield.[734] |
| Homonoia | Concord, unanimity, oneness of mind[735] | She is known from the 4th century BC onwards, and there is early evidence of her cult inOlympia, Athens, and elsewhere.[736] According toMnaseas, her parents are ZeusSoter andPraxidike.[735] She is represented on several Greek coins and a vase.[737] |
| Horkos | Curse resulting from swearing afalse oath[738] | In theTheogonyHesiod places him among the offspring ofEris, and in theWorks and Days he writes that theErinyes help with his birth.[669] According toSophocles, he isZeus's son.[739] |
| Horme | Energetic activity[740] | Pausanias mentions an altar to her in theagora of Athens.[741] |
| Hybris | Lack of restraint, insolence[742] | In one version ofPan's parentage, she is his mother byZeus.[312] |
| Hygieia | Health[743] | She was considered the child ofAsclepius.[744] From the beginning of the 4th century BC, she became the most prominent family member in her father's cult, and was present in sanctuaries dedicated to him. She was sometimes considered to be Asclepius's wife instead.[745] |
| Hypnos | Sleep[746] | According toHesiod he is among the offspring ofNyx, and lives beside his brotherThanatos at the furthest reaches of the earth.[747] In theIliad he and Thanatos carry the deceasedSarpedon toLycia, an episode that appears on vase paintings.[748] Elsewhere in the work,Hera requests he lullZeus to sleep, and Hypnos protests that after a previous attempt to do so he had to escape Zeus's wrath; she persuades him by offeringPasithea in marriage.[749] In art, he is typically a young, winged figure, and alongside Thanatos he is depicted on theChest of Cypselus.[750] |
| Hysminai | Combat[751] | In theTheogony, they are offspring ofEris.Quintus Smyrnaeus names them among the personifications found onAchilles' shield.[752] |
| Ioke | Pursuit[753] | In theIliad, she is among the personifications depicted on theaegis.[753] |
| Kakia | Vice[754] | In an allegory by the philosopherProdicus,Heracles must choose eitherArete (the personification of goodness) or Kakia, the latter of whom tells the hero she is also called Eudaimonia. She is also found in works by Athenian orators.[755] |
| Keres | Inevitability of death[756] | Female figures who according toHesiod are daughters ofNyx that wear blood-covered clothing. In theIliad they are said to cause disaster, and to steal human bodies and take them into theunderworld before consuming them.[757] In sources of theClassical period (c. 5th–4th centuries BC), they are sometimes conflated with similar figures such as theMoirai.[758] |
| Kratos | Power[759] | In theTheogony, he is among the offspring ofPallas andStyx, and is the brother ofBia.[760] Alongside his siblings, he accompaniesZeus. InAeschylus'Prometheus Bound, he and Bia urgeHephaestus to fastenPrometheus to a rock.[761] |
| Kydoimos | Tumult of battle[762] | In theIliad, he is found on the shield ofAchilles.[763] |
| Lethe | Oblivion[764] | She is among the offspring ofEris, and is sometimes said to be the mother ofDionysus or theCharites.[765]Lethe, the underworld river, received its name from her.[766] |
| Limos | Hunger[767] | She is an offspring ofEris.[767] |
| Litae | Prayers of contrition[768] | In theIliad, they are daughters ofZeus and are said to answer prayers which display sufficient respect.[769] |
| Lyssa | Rage, frenzy, and madness[770] | She is first attested in 5th-century BCtragedy, appearing inEuripides as a daughter ofNyx who drivesHeracles to insanity, causing him to murder his family.[771] Euripides also describes her as a huntress who drives a chariot and has snakes surrounding her face. InAeschylus, she brings madness upon theMinyades, who dismember someone as a result.[772] |
| Machai | Wars[773] | In theTheogony, they are daughters ofEris.[751] |
| Maniae | Madness[774] | They were worshipped in Maniae, close toMegalopolis. Mania (sg. of 'Maniae') is depicted on an Italian vase.[774] |
| Methe | Drunkenness[775] | She is a companion ofDionysus, represented in art. According toNonnus, she is the mother of Botrys byStaphylus, the king ofAssyria.[775] |
| Momus | Fault-finding[776] | In theCypria,Zeus intends to kill off humans with flooding and lightning until Momus instead suggests starting a devastating war; this leads to the beginning of theTrojan War.[777]Hesiod includes him among the children ofNyx.[778] |
| Moros | Destiny[779] | In theTheogony, he is one ofNyx's offspring.[780] |
| Neikea | Quarrels[781] | According toHesiod, Neikea is one ofNyx's children.[781] |
| Nemesis | Retribution[782] | She is said to be the daughter ofNyx and the mother ofHelen byZeus.[783] In theCypria, Zeus violates Nemesis while disguised as a swan, after a chase in which she attempts to escape by transforming herself multiple times.[784] She is said to punish those who display hubris or engage in misconduct, and is often equated withAdrasteia.[785] In the 5th century BC, there was a temple to her inRhamnous, where hercult image was said to have been created.[786] |
| Nike | Victory[787] | In theTheogony, she is the child ofPallas andStyx, and is said to always accompanyZeus.[788] There is evidence of her worship inMagna Graecia, and inElis from the 6th century BC. She also had an altar inOlympia.[789] In Athens, she was intimately linked withAthena, who was sometimes called Nike.[790] In art, she is depicted as a winged figure in mid-flight, wearing draped clothing; one of her best-known representations is theWinged Victory of Samothrace.[791] |
| Nomos | Law[792] | He is first mentioned byPindar (5th century BC), and is found in works by philosophers. He appears inOrphic literature as the father ofDike orDikaiosyne, and is addressed in theOrphic Hymns.[793] |
| Oizys | Pain or distress[748] | According toHesiod, she is one of the offspring ofNyx.[794] |
| Oneiroi | Dreams[795] | Hesiod lists them among the offspring ofNyx, and in theOdyssey they live at the western extremes of the earth. In theIliad, an individual Oneiros is used byZeus in his deception ofAgamemnon.[796] |
| Palaestra | Wrestling[797] | She is a lover ofHermes, and her father is sometimes named Choricus or Pandocus.[797] |
| Palioxis | Rally[798] | InHesiod'sShield of Heracles, she is depicted onHeracles' shield.[799] |
| Peitharchia | Obedience[800] | According toAeschylus, her daughter isEupraxia and her husband isSoter.[627] |
| Peitho | Persuasion[801] | She is typically found as part ofAphrodite's retinue,[802] and is sometimes called the daughter of that goddess.[803] InHesiod'sWorks and Days, she outfitsPandora with gold jewellery. There is evidence of her cult in Athens, and onThasos as early as the 5th century BC.[804] |
| Penia | Poverty[805] | InPlato'sSymposium, she is the wife ofPorus, by whom she becomes the mother ofEros.[806] |
| Penthus | Grief[807] | According toPseudo-Plutarch, he is not present whenZeus confers spheres of influence upon the gods, and so is given dominion over honours for (and the mourning of) the dead, the only area which is untaken.[807] |
| Pheme | Rumour or report[808] | According toPausanias, there was an altar to her in Athens.[809] |
| Philotes | Affection[810] | In theTheogony, she is one ofNyx's offspring.[810] |
| Phobos | Fear[811] | According toHesiod, he is the son ofAres andAphrodite, and the brother ofDeimos.[812] Alongside his brother, he is said to accompany his father and enter into battle in his chariot.[813] He was worshipped inSparta.[814] |
| Phonoi | Killings[617] | In theTheogony, they are offspring ofEris.[815] |
| Phthonus | Envy[816] | According toCallimachus, he tries to elicit envy withinApollo. InNonnus'sDionysiaca, he concocts a plan to makeHera envious ofSemele, leading eventually to the latter's deception. He also appears on a vase from the 4th century BC.[817] |
| Plutus | Wealth[818] | According toHesiod, he is born toDemeter andIasion (a mortal), who lie with one another inCrete.[819] He was of importance in theEleusinian Mysteries, and he appears alongside Demeter andPersephone in works of art.[820] He initially personifies agricultural wealth, while in later times his domain broadens to wealth in general.Aristophanes portrays him as blind and elderly.[818] |
| Poine | Vengeance or punishment[821] | She is found alongside theErinyes, with whom she is assimilated at times.[821] |
| Polemos | War[822] | Pindar calls him the father ofAlala, while other sources make him the brother ofEnyo or a companion ofAres. He also features in a story fromAristophanes'Peace, where he detainsEirene in a cave.[822] |
| Ponos | Toil and stress[823] | Hesiod lists him among the children ofEris, though elsewhere he is the son ofNyx andErebus.[823] |
| Porus | Expediency[824] | He is said to be the father ofEros, the husband ofPenia, and the son ofMetis.[824] |
| Pothos | Erotic desire[825] | He is part ofAphrodite's retinue, and is sometimes said to be her son or the son ofEros.[825] On vases, he is depicted as a young, winged boy, identical to other figures in Aphrodite's retinue such as Eros andHimeros.[826] |
| Proioxis | Pursuit[798] | InHesiod'sShield of Heracles, she is one of the figures represented on the shield ofHeracles.[827] |
| Prophasis | Excuse[828] | According toPindar, she is the daughter ofEpimetheus.[829] |
| Soteria | Physical well-being[830] | There is evidence of her worship in thePeloponnese.[830] |
| Sophrosyne | Prudence and moderation[831] | She is first mentioned byTheognis of Megara (c. 6th century BC). She had a cult inAnatolia.[831] |
| Telete | Dionysiac rites, especially choral dances[832] | InNonnus'sDionysiaca, she is the daughter ofDionysus andNicaea, anymph.[833] |
| Thalassa | Sea[834] | Ion of Chios calls her the mother of Briareus, one of theHecatoncheires.[835] She is addressed in one of theOrphic Hymns, where she is identified withTethys.[836] |
| Thanatos | Death[837] | TheIliad calls him the brother ofHypnos, and in theTheogony the two are children ofNyx.[838] He and his brother are said to carrySarpedon's corpse toLycia, a subject found inAttic vase painting as early as the 6th century BC. He is a winged boy in early artistic depictions, later acquiring a beard and hooked nose.[839] InEuripides'Alcestis, there is a fight between him andHeracles.[840] |
| Tyche | Luck or fortune[841] | In theTheogony she is one of theOceanids, while forPindar she is the child ofZeus.[842] She is absent from mythological stories, and is not a clearly definable figure.[841] Her cult is attested from the 4th century BC, and she was identified with other goddesses such asIsis andCybele.[843] Her iconographic attributes include thecornucopia and the rudder.[844] |
| Zelus | Envy[845] | InHesiod'sTheogony, he is one of the children ofPallas andStyx.[846] |
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| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Aceso | The daughter ofAsclepius andEpione.[847] She received some worship.[848] |
| Acheron | The offspring ofGaia, and the father ofAscalaphus byOrphne or Gorgyra.Shades journey across the Acheron river when entering the underworld. It is said that Acheron is forced to live underground after permitting theGiants to drink from his stream.[849] |
| Agathos Daimon | A figure whose name translates as'good deity'. He was worshipped particularly in a private context,[850] and was the recipient of the first offering when wine was drunk.[851] He was sometimes depicted in the guise ofZeus.[850] He is absent from mythological stories.[851] |
| Agdistis | A hermaphroditic deity.[852] In a tale fromPessinus, she is born from the earth in the location where some ofZeus's semen falls. Her male genitals are severed and an almond tree grows in the place they land; a woman namedNana becomes pregnant by this tree and gives birth to a boy,Attis. Attis grows into a beautiful young man, and Agdistis (here equated withCybele) becomes enamoured with him, eventually causing Attis to castrate himself and die in the process.[853] |
| Amphitrite | A sea goddess.[854] She is aNereid, and the consort ofPoseidon, with whom she lives in a palace under the sea.[855] Before their marriage, Poseidon is sometimes said to kidnap her, or search for her after she rejects his advances and escapes.[856] The couple are the parents ofTriton according toHesiod, and later sources add further children.[857] She was worshipped alongside her husband in theCyclades, and the two had a sanctuary onTenos.[858] |
| Angelos | A daughter ofZeus andHera.Sophron relates that she is raised bynymphs; she is later sanctified by theCabeiri, and takes on a role relating to theunderworld.[859] |
| Anytos | ATitan. He was thought to raiseDespoina, and there was a statue of him in her temple inArcadia.[860] |
| Aphaia | A goddess to whoma temple on the island ofAegina was dedicated. Evidence from the temple implies she was associated with pregnancy and newly born children.[861] |
| Aristaeus | A god associated with a number of rustic activities.[862] He is born toApollo and the princessCyrene, after the god kidnaps her and transports her to Libya.[863] Different sources provide him different teachers or nurturers, from whom he learns skills such as prophecy, healing, and agrarian pursuits such as beekeeping and olive-growing.[862] He marriesAutonoe, by whom he fathers the hunterActaeon.[864] In one story, he accidentally causes the death ofEurydice, and his bees are killed as punishment.[865] |
| Arke | The daughter ofThaumas and sister ofIris. In theTitanomachy she supports theTitans, and once the Olympian gods are victorious she is imprisoned inTartarus and stripped of her wings.[866] |
| Astraea | The child ofZeus andThemis.[867] She dwells among mortals during theGolden Age, though she leaves when this era comes to an end, as humanity grows more immoral.[868] |
| Auxesia | A goddess worshipped alongsideDamia [fr]. The pair were venerated atEpidaurus andTroezen, as well as on the island ofAegina (where Auxesia was known asAzesia).[869] |
| Britomartis | ACretan goddess.[870] She is born toZeus andCarme, and is a maiden who accompaniesArtemis.[871] She is usually said to attain immortality after jumping into the ocean while trying to escape the lustful advances ofMinos. As a goddess, she is referred to as Dictynna.[872] In addition to Crete, she was worshipped inAegina,Sparta, Athens, andGythium, among other locations. In artistic depictions, her appearance is identical to that of Artemis.[873] |
| Brizo | A goddess venerated by the women ofDelos, honoured primarily as a protector of ships. She was believed to be capable of perceiving the prophetic meaning behind dreams.[874] |
| Charon | The ferryman of theunderworld.[875] Though sources do not provide him with a divine parentage, he is treated as though he is a deity.[876] He transportsshades across theAcheron river in a boat, taking payment in the form of anobol. He is portrayed as a hideous and dishevelled old man, dressed in tattered clothing.[877] In one story, he transports the livingHeracles across the river, and is chained for a year as punishment.[878] |
| Circe | An enchantress. She is the offspring ofHelios andPerse, and is considered either a goddess or anymph.[879] She is said to inhabit the mythical island ofAeaea, which is visited byOdysseus and his companions, half of whom she transforms into animals. She only returns them to their usual form when Odysseus is able to resist her spell using the herbmoly.[880] He extends his stay on the island, and the pair have two children,Telegonus andCassiphone (though some sources add further offspring).[881] |
| Damia [fr] | A goddess venerated in conjunction withAuxesia. The two were worshipped inEpidaurus andTroezen, and on the island ofAegina (where Damia was referred to as Mnia).[869] |
| Despoina | A goddess venerated inArcadia. She is said to be born from a union ofPoseidon andDemeter (both in the form of horses), and to be raised byAnytus, aTitan.[882] She was honoured at a temple inLycosura, where fragments of 2nd-century BC cult statues survive.[883] Despoina ('Mistress') was a cult title of the goddess, rather than her true name, which was only uttered during ritual performance and does not survive.[884] |
| Enodia | A goddess fromThessaly. She presides over roads and haschthonic qualities, being associated with horses, dogs, and torches.[885] By the 5th century BC, she was identified withHecate.[278] Her worship seemingly originated inPherae and spread toMacedonia. There is also evidence of her cult inEpidaurus,Oreus, andLindos.[885] |
| Enyo | A war goddess.[886] She is a companion ofAres, to whom she is often genealogically related,[887] and with him she produces a son,Enyalius.[888] She was among the deities honoured in a festival which took place inThebes andOrchomenus.[888] In Rome, she was equated withBellona.[889] |
| Epione | The wife ofAsclepius. Her children by her husband includeHygieia,Iaso, andPanacea,[890] and she was involved in his cult inEpidaurus, in Athens, and onKos.[891]Merops is sometimes given as her father.[892] |
| Eubuleus | An important figure in theEleusinian Mysteries. In the Eleusinian myth ofPersephone's abduction, he returns her from theunderworld. In artistic depictions, he carries a torch and is typically found beside Persephone. In another version of the myth, he tends to a group of pigs, who fall into the ground when she is kidnapped.[893] He is also mentioned in theOrphic gold tablets, and is sometimes assimilated withZeus orDionysus.[894] |
| Eunostus | A goddess associated with mills. An idol of her was placed in mills.[895] |
| Glaucus | A sea god.[896] He is born a mortal, and lives as a fisherman inAnthedon before one day consuming grass which turns him into a deity, giving him a green body and the tail of a fish;[897] he also attains prophetic abilities. He amorously pursuesScylla, a beautiful maiden, to no avail, and rejects the advances of the enchantressCirce, prompting the latter to turn Scylla into a monstrous creature. In other myths, he is a deliverer of news to theArgonauts or toMenelaus.[898] |
| Harmonia | The wife ofCadmus.[899] Her parents are typically said to beAres andAphrodite, though in some sources they areZeus andElectra.[900] She is either divine or semi-divine.[901] The gods are present at her marriage to Cadmus, and offer the couple gifts, including a necklace and robe. By her husband, she becomes the mother ofPolydorus,Ino,Autonoë,Semele, andAgave.[900] |
| Hebe | The goddess of youth.[902] She is born toZeus andHera, and becomes the wife ofHeracles after hisapotheosis.[903] She carries out minor duties for the gods, including acting as their cupbearer. In one story, she restores the youth ofIolaus.[904] She was worshipped inArgos, inMantinea, and onKos.[905] |
| Hermaphroditus | A figure with both male and female genitalia. He is first attested in the 4th century BC, and in the 1st century BCHermes andAphrodite are assigned as his parents.[906] InOvid's telling, he is born a boy, and during his youth he attracts the unappreciated advances of anymph,Salmacis, who on one occasion clings to him and begs the gods to ensure they never part. They oblige, causing the pair to fuse into a dual-sexed being.[907] He is represented in art from the 4th century BC onwards.[908] |
| Hymen | The god of marriage.[909] He is said to be born toApollo and one of theMuses, or toDionysus andAphrodite, among other parentages. There exist varying stories designed to explain his connection to marriage, and he is sometimes described as an Athenian, a musician, or a lover ofHesperus.[910] |
| Iacchus | A god of theEleusinian Mysteries. He was connected with the procession in which initiates marched toEleusis, and it is likely he originally personified the exclamationíakch', ô íakche, chanted during this procession. In later sources, he is sometimes called the child ofDemeter,Dionysus, orPersephone.[911] As Persephone's son, he isDionysus Zagreus in his reborn form, following that god's dismemberment as a child by theTitans.[912] |
| Iaso | A goddess associated with healing.[913] She is one ofAsclepius's children, and was worshipped inOropus.[914] |
| Lelantos | ATitan. He is the father ofAura byPeriboea.[915] |
| Moirai | Goddesses, known in Latin as the Fates, who allot humans their destinies at the beginning of life.[916]Hesiod makes them three in number – naming themClotho,Lachesis, andAtropos – and calls them children ofNyx and ofZeus andThemis at different points.[917] In theIliad, there is mention of both the collective term and the singularMoira, who is said to spinHector's fate with thread.[918] They had a sanctuary inSparta and an altar inSicyon, and were given wineless sacrifices.[919] Artistic depictions typically represent them as a trio of goddesses taking part in a mythological scene.[920] |
| Opora | A goddess associated with harvests, particularly those of wine. She appears as a companion ofEirene inAristophanes'Peace. In one myth, she attracts the amorous attention ofSirius, though he fails to win her hand andBoreas tasks his sons with retrieving her.[921] |
| Orthanes | A fertility deity. He was a phallic god, and his cult existed inAttica and onImbros, where there was a festival in his honour as late as the 2nd century BC.[922] |
| Paean | A healing god inHomeric epic.[923] He heals the wounds ofHades andAres, and is said to live onOlympus.[924] |
| Palaemon | A sea deity, who is originally a human namedMelicertes,[925] born toAthamas andIno. His mother one day jumps from a cliff with him in her arms, after which the pair are deified, becoming Palaemon andLeucothea.[926] He was worshipped at the sanctuary ofPoseidon atIsthmia.[927] |
| Panacea | A daughter ofAsclepius in his cult, who was herself worshipped in certain locations.[928] |
| Pandia | A daughter ofSelene andZeus, according to theHomeric Hymn to Selene.[929] |
| Paregoros | A goddess fromMegara. A statue of her sat in the Megarian temple ofAphrodite.[930] |
| Pasikrate | A goddess with a sanctuary nearDemetrias. She was honoured primarily by women, and is attested in inscriptions from the end of the 4th century BC onwards.[931] |
| Phanes | A primeval deity inOrphic theogonies. In different Orphic sources, he is described as hermaphroditic, as part-animal, and as having golden wings. He is sometimes called the offspring ofAether and the father ofNyx.[932] In theOrphic Rhapsodies, he emerges from an egg created byChronos, and is later swallowed byZeus.[933] He is sometimes called Protogonos, Pan, Priapus, or Antuages, and is at times the same asEros,Dionysus, orMetis.[934] |
| Praxidike | An oath goddess. She is said to mate with ZeusSoter, producingHomonoia,Arete, andCtesius. There was a sanctuary to the Praxidikai (pl. of 'Praxidike') inHaliartus where oaths were sworn. In artistic depictions, it is likely she was represented solely by a head.[935] |
| Priapus | A fertility god. His mother isAphrodite, and his father is sometimes given asDionysus orHermes.[936] He is depicted as having an erect, oversized phallus, and he was thought to guard livestock or bees, and aid herdsmen and fishermen. His cult originated in theHellespoint region, spreading abroad after the 4th century BC.[937] It is said thatHera gives him his physical deformity while he is in the womb, causing his mother to abandon him. In one story, he attempts to rapeLotis, but is revealed by the braying of a donkey.[938] |
| Promylaia | A goddess of mills. Representations of her sat in mills.[939] |
| Proteus | A sea god.[940] He is one of the deities referred to as the "Old Man of the Sea", and is said to possess prophetic and shapeshifting abilities. He looks afterPoseidon's herd of seals and other marine animals, and resides onPharos, an island near Egypt.[941] In theOdyssey, whenMenelaus is marooned on Pharos, he binds Proteus, resisting the god's attempts to transform, and seeks advice from him.Virgil tells a similar story, in which it isAristaeus who traps Proteus.[942] |
| Rhapso | A goddess mentioned in an inscription from Athens. She is seemingly related to sewing.[943] |
| Silenus | An elderlysatyr. He is described as a severely drunken figure, hideous and overweight in appearance, with a donkey for a mount. He is sometimes called the child ofPan, or ofHermes by anymph, and is said to fatherPholus upon a Melie (sg. of 'Meliae').[944] Some sources make him a teacher ofDionysus during that god's youth. In his most famous myth, he is captured for his sage advice byMidas, who detains him by adding wine to his favourite spring.[945] |
| Sosipolis | A divine child. AtOlympia, he was worshipped alongsideEileithyia, who was seemingly considered his mother.[904] |
| Syceus | ATitan, according toAndrotion. His mother,Gaia, is said to rescue him fromZeus by creating a lightning-resistant fig tree in which he can hide.[946] |
| Telesphorus | A healing god, conceived of as a child. There is evidence of his cult from the 2nd century BC onwards, andPausanias describes his worship inPergamon. He was often venerated alongsideAsclepius andHygieia.[947] |
| Thyone | The name of the mortalSemele, after her deification.[948] Semele is a child ofCadmus andHarmonia, and attracts the attention ofZeus, becoming his lover.[949]Hera tricks the girl into asking Zeus to come to her in the form he comes to his wife. Upon doing so, Zeus reduces her to ashes, though he manages to extract her unborn child,Dionysus. Semele is later deified when her son brings her up from theunderworld to live onOlympus.[121] |
| Triteia | The daughter ofTriton. ByAres, she becomes the mother ofMelanippus, who names the city ofTritaia after her.[950] |
| Triton | A sea god, and the child ofPoseidon andAmphitrite.[951] In art, he is portrayed with a human upper half and a fish's tail, and he often appears sounding a conch-shell horn.[952] He is said to help guide theArgonauts back out to sea when they find themselves atLake Tritonis inLibya.[951] The pluralTritons is used to refer to a species of marine figures with fishtails, who are companions ofPoseidon and common subjects inHellenistic art.[953] |
| Tychon | A god of success. He isithyphallic, and there is evidence of his worship inBoeotia around the beginning of the 3rd century BC.[954] |
| Zagreus | A deity sometimes equated withDionysus.[955] His original nature is unclear;Aeschylus represents him as a god of theunderworld, and he may have been assimilated withHades.[956] He is seemingly later fused with anOrphic Dionysus, the child ofZeus andPersephone, who is dismembered by theTitans and reincarnated.[957] This tale of dismemberment, sometimes called the "Zagreus myth", has been viewed as the principal myth of Orphism,[958] though the name "Zagreus" is not mentioned in any extant Orphic source.[959] |
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