Kit's Guide to Greek Mythology

Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Hades, Demeter, Aphrodite, Ares, Athena, Hephaestus, Apollo, Artemis, Hermes, Dionysus

When people think of the Greek gods, they think of the Olympians - the Big Names that get top billing in the majority of myths. Most of the time, there are said to be twelve Olympians. Who those twelve are vary from source to source, but the ones listed here are considered the "classical" twelve: Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Demeter, Hephaestus, Ares, Athena, Aphrodite, Apollo, Artemis, Hermes, and Dionysus.

You'll also find Hades on this page. While Hades was almost never considered one of the Twelve - mostly due to him spending almost all his time tending to the Underworld - no introduction to Greek mythology would be complete without him.

These folks were the last in a long line of gods and goddesses, starting with Kaos and going on through the Titans (the generation that came before the Olympians). Each of them has their own distinct personality, which is one reason why they've been capturing imaginations for years. Read on to learn more.

Zeus, king of the gods, was actually the youngest of his generation. Yep, that's right - Hades, Poseidon, Demeter and Hera all had to listen to their baby brother. And you wonder why they all squabbled so much...

When he and his siblings overthrew their father, Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades drew lots for which part of the world they would rule. Zeus lucked out and drew the sky, becoming a storm god. He married his sister, Hera (don't be too hard on the guy - there weren't a whole lot of choices), then set about populating Mount Olympus with his children.

Unfortunately, most of those kids weren't Hera's, who was none too happy about the ever-increasing number of step-kids. Zeus had a wandering eye for pretty women, and his numerous affairs - and his attempts to keep his wife in the dark - kept the ancient Greeks entertained for centuries.


God of: Storms, the sky, law, order, and justice.

Spouse: Hera

Children: Way too many to list, but most of the younger Olympians, and several notable heroes, including Hercules.

Symbols: Lightning bolt, eagle

Hobbies: Seducing women, throwing lightning bolts

Roman Name: Jupiter

Hera was the queen of the gods and both the sister and wife of Zeus. She was more or less tricked into the marriage, but being the goddess OF marriage, she didn't have much choice but to stick it out through all her husband's philandering. She was the mother of Hephaestus, Hebe and Ares, and spent much of her free time trying to annihilate her husband's love interests and illegitimate children. The majority of her roles in Greek myths involved her attempts to preserve her marriage over the best efforts of Zeus - setting the many-eyed Argus to watch over Io, tricking Semele into asking to see Zeus's full godly glory, and so on.

She did have her good moments, though. She was crucial to helping Jason and the Argonauts in their quest for the Golden Fleece. When the Clashing Rocks were set to squash their entire ship like a particularly pesky mosquito, she kept the cliffs apart long enough for them to escape. Later, she sent Thetis and the Nereides to guide Jason and his crew through the perils of Charybdis, Scylla, and the Drifting Rocks.

So, certain 90's television shows aside, she wasn't all bad. She was just a very proud woman whose husband never quite learned to keep his chiton on.



Goddess of: Marriage and childbirth

Spouse: Zeus

Children: Hephaestus, Hebe, Ares

Symbols: Peacock, diadem and veil

Hobbies: Hunting down and punishing her husband's mistresses and children

Roman Name: Juno

When the three brothers drew lots for which part of the world they would rule, Poseidon drew the sea. He took to his new kingdom well enough, and he became well-known as a temperamental god whose moods could change as swiftly as the realm he ruled. He is also credited with creating the horse.

A lot of the myths around Poseidon, like most of the male Olympians, involve women. For example, his tryst with Medusa in Athena's temple is what led to her becoming the snake-haired creature that could turn a person to stone with a well-placed glare. In another pivotal myth, he and Athena competed for Athens by presenting the people with gifts. His gift of a bitter spring didn't exactly beat Athena's olive tree.

As god of the sea, he was very important to the Greeks, whose peninsula was, of course, surrounded by water on three sides. He provided a rather stern and moody explanation for the temperamental seas and the occasional shaking of the earth. He was, in fact, known as the great Earth-Shaker.


God of: The sea, earthquakes, horses

Spouse: Amphitrite

Children: Aeolus, Triton, the Cyclops, Pegasus, Bellerophon, and Theseus, among others

Symbols: Trident

Hobbies: Looking for romance and building fantastic palaces on the bottom of the sea

Roman Name: Neptune

The third brother and the one who kinda got shafted in the domains department. Yep, Hades drew the short straw and got stuck with the Underworld, the Greek realm of the dead. His were the spirits of the dearly departed, and his duties included making sure the bad folks went to Tartarus and the VIPs ended up in the Elysian Fields.

The most well-known myth in which he played a major role told how he met his wife. As one of the most feared and unpopular of the gods, his dating prospects were frightfully grim, so when he saw Persephone prancing about in a field of flowers, he decided to skip the awkward small talk and go straight to kidnapping. Despite all his hard work, he only gets to see his wife part of the year, thanks to a compromise to make his mother-in-law/sister Demeter happy.

Thanks to being god of the dead, people kind of feared Hades to the point where they avoided saying his name and even averted their eyes when making sacrifices to him. No wonder he was so sulky all the time!

God of: The Underworld and the riches of the earth

Spouse: Persephone

Children: The Erinyes

Symbols: Sceptor, helmet of invisibility

Hobbies: Devising punishments and lounging in his ebony throne

Roman Name: Pluto

Demeter, Zeus's older sister, was the goddess of the earth and grain. She taught humanity how to settle down and plant crops so they could stop wandering the earth.

Her most important myth comes from when Hades kidnapped her daughter, Persephone. For months, Demeter wandered around, looking for her lost daughter. Understandably distressed, she refused to let any crops grow until finally, Zeus demanded that Hades let Persephone go. However, Persephone had eaten part of a pomegranite (poor girl wasn't too bright), and Hades declared that Persephone would have to return to the Underworld for a third of the year. We call that third of the year "winter."

Other than that, Demeter tends to play bit parts here and there. Not much of a stagehog, our Demeter.

Goddess of: Grain, the harvest

Spouse: Far as I know, this dour lady never married.

Children: Persephone

Symbols: Sheaths of grains and a torch

Hobbies: Moping, watching the grain grow

Roman Name: Ceres

Ah, the lovely lady Aphrodite... As the goddess of love, beauty, pleasure, and *ahem* procreation, she was pretty darn popular among the mortals. She was also extremely popular among the male Olympians, which is why Hera decided she needed to be married off the second she stepped ashore. As soon as word went out that this beautiful new love goddess was in the market for a husband, all the younger gods signed up for consideration. Unfortunately, it wasn't up to Aphrodite... and Hera decided the best match for her was the down-to-earth smith god, Hephaestus.

Now, the Olympian lads weren't known for respecting the sacrament of marriage, and darned if Aphrodite was going to. She hooked up with most of the gods and a good number of mortals, but her favorite was the god of war, Ares. Since Aphrodite and Ares weren't even considerate enough to take their affair out of the house, Hephaestus trapped them in a golden net and called all of Olympus to come and see. The goddesses politely declined, but it was definitely the show of the century for all the gods!

While there's a little disagreement about Aphrodite's parents, she was often accompanied by Eros and known for her various clashes with the other goddesses. She was also notable for her role in starting the Trojan War.

Goddess of: love, beauty, pleasure, and sex

Spouse: Hephaestus

Children: Hermaphroditus, Eros (in some cases), Deimos, Phobos, and lots of others.

Symbols: Dove, apple, sea shell, and, of course, the mirror.

Hobbies: Pampering herself and scoping out the gentlemen

Roman Name: Venus

Meet the loud-mouth of Mount Olympus! As the son of Zeus and Hera, he should have had a pretty prestigious place in mythology. Instead, everyone hoped this violent god of war wasn't bright enough to find his way to the party. About the only person who did like him, besides his own offspring, was Aphrodite... and they didn't exactly do a lot of talking.

Despite all his big talk, physical prowess, and position as god of war, Ares had the reputation as the consummate coward who set new speed records in running back to Daddy as soon as he got nicked by a sword, spear, arrow, or stray piece of paper. Besides his renowned affair with Aphrodite, Ares is best known for getting trapped in jar by a group of giants. The gods enjoyed his absence for months before someone finally convinced Hermes that the poor god had to be let out for air... eventually.


God of: War

Spouse: Ahaha.. ha... yeah, moving on.

Children: Deimos (Terror), Phobos (Fear), Harmonia

Symbols: Helmet and spear

Hobbies: Talking big, annoying his siblings, killing Aphrodite's other loves

Roman Name: Mars

Athena was the daughter of Zeus and his first wife, Metis, the wisest of the gods. Someone went and told Zeus that if Metis gave him a son, he'd be more powerful than the king of the gods, so Zeus decided the best way to deal with the threat was to swallow the pregnant Metis whole.

Zeus obviously hadn't thought the whole thing through, because in due time, he ran into a little problem: a headache an entire truckload of Tylenol couldn't touch. He called Hephaestus and demanded he do something about it. Apparently thinking that the king of the gods could use a little shut-eye, the smith god whacked him over the head. Imagine their surprise when a fully-grown (and clothed) Athena sprang forth!

Besides the rather odd circumstances of her birth, Athena was known for combining her mother's brains and her father's brawn together as a wise warrior goddess, specializing in defensive strategies. She took part in the war of the giants, and had a hand in the Trojan War. She also had a tendency to get rather touchy, as the likes of Tiresias, Arachne, and even Aphrodite soon found out.

Goddess of: Wisdom, war, arts and crafts, heroic endeavors, industry and justice.

Spouse: None. She was a virgin goddess.

Children: She adopted Erechtheus.

Symbols: Owl, Aegis, spear, shield, and a lovely helmet.

Hobbies: Strategizing, weaving, entering contests.

Roman Name: Minerva

On a mountain full of divinely beautiful deities, Hephaestus was the ugly duckling. Some sources say he was born crippled, but if he wasn't, the bumpy ride down the side of the mountain when his mother Hera tossed him off for being ugly did the trick. Because of this, Hephaestus was known as the lame god, and usually showed up in art on the back of a donkey or leaning on a walking stick. Fortunately for him, he was rescued after his downfall by nymphs who took him to Lemnos to be raised by the kindly folk there.

He applied himself to blacksmithing and became quite the craftsman, creating objects of great beauty. However, he never forgot what Hera did to him, and decided to send her a little present: a fantastic throne. Hera was delighted, of course... until she sat down and found herself strapped in. None of the other gods could get her loose, and despite their best attempts, no one could get Hephaestus out of his workshop and back to Olympus.

Things were looking rather grim for Hera when Dionysus, back from his mad wanderings and not yet recognized as an Olympian, paid his step-brother a visit. With a liberal application of wine, Dionysus got Hephaestus drunk, loaded him onto the back of a donkey, and took him up to Olympus, where he convinced him to free the queen.

Afterward, Hera thanked Hephaestus with the worst present since Pandora's box: Aphrodite, as his wife. And we all know how well that went.

Other than that bit of drama, Hephaestus mostly stayed in his forge beneath Mount Etna in Sicily, crafting everything from Achilles' armor to Eros's arrows with the aid of his handy Cyclops assistants.

God of: fire, blacksmiths, craftsmen

Spouse: Aphrodite, and later, Aglaea

Children: Erechtheus, Eucleia (goddess of good reputation and glory), Eupheme (goddess of being well-spoken), Euthenia (goddess of prosperity and plenty), and a whole lot more.

Symbols: Hammer and tongs

Hobbies: Working... a lot.

Roman Name: Vulcan

Apollo, son of Zeus and Leto and twin brother of Artemis, would have been a great guy during the Romantic period. He was the patron of music and poetry, endorsed archery as a sport, and had more tragic love stories than Lord Byron, Shelly, and Keats put together.

When he wasn't plucking the lyre, conducting the Muse Choir, or chasing after ladies (and the occasional lad), Apollo spent his time reminding humanity that he was, indeed, a god not to be messed with. In one of his best known acts, he slayed the dread Python, which was terrorizing the rural folk at Delphos. This act won him his very own oracle and the love of the farming community, but unfortunately, the Python was the beloved child of Gaia, and as a god who was supposed to stand for good and right, he had to make amends... which turned out to be entering the service of King Admetus. The king decided to set him to the task of guarding his cattle for nine years, giving Apollo plenty of time to work on his poetry.

One thing Apollo simply couldn't abide was anyone dissing his mama... which Niobe was dumb enough to do. She claimed to be superior to Leto because she had born a whole slew of kids while Leto could claim only two. Not the best idea. In a fit of rage, Apollo and his sister set about slaying all of Niobe's brood with a hail of arrows. Remember, kids: don't go insulting the gods!

God of: Music, poetry, archery as a sport, healing, disease, and prophecy.

Spouse: None, but he did have plenty of loves!

Children: Aristaeus (demi-god of cattle and fruit trees), Asclepius (god of healing), Troilius (a prince of Troy)

Symbols: Laurel wreath, bow and arrows, lyre, raven.

Hobbies: Penning poetry, chasing nymphs, archery.

Roman Name: Apollo

Artemis was the daughter of Zeus and Leto and the older twin sister of Apollo. At a pretty young age, she swore of men and took to the hills, determined to remain a virgin for all eternity. Out in the woods, she spent her time hunting the lions, bears, stags, and what have you with her contingent of celibate nymphs. And, of course, you have to have a healthy supply of beasties if you're going to hunt, so Artemis was also in charge of taking care of big game.

Artemis was very determined to remain an undefiled virgin, and woe to any man who threatened that. Poor Actaeon, for example, happened to stumble upon her favorite bathing pool and didn't stumble away fast enough. An irritated Artemis turned him into a stag and let his own hounds have at him.

Despite swearing off men, Artemis did become rather close to the giant hunter, Orion, who became her hunting companion and bodyguard. While in some versions of the myth, Artemis herself killed him, other versions say that Gaia or Apollo slew him. Either way, Artemis scattered his spirit among the stars to become the constellation Orion.

Goddess of: the hunt, wild animals, death and disease, healing, young girls, childbirth.

Spouse: None.

Children: None.

Symbols: Hunting bow and arrows

Hobbies: Hunting, animal rescue, fending off peeping toms.

Roman Name: Diana

Arguable no god had more responsibilities and areas of influence than Hermes, son of Zeus and Maia. Hermes was the ultimate nightmare child, the kind who would have had all his grade school teachers tearing out their hair. Not long after being born, little Hermes snuck off and stole the herd of cattle his brother Apollo was supposed to be watching. He managed to get all the cows to walk backwards to make them harder to track. Apollo eventually figured out the trick, but not before Hermes had slaughtered one of the bovines and constructed the lyre out of various cow parts and a tortoise shell.

Apollo, of course, was a wee bit miffed, and hauled his little brother off the Zeus. Unfortunately for Apollo, Zeus thought this was all hilarious. While Apollo argued his case, Hermes started playing the lyre, and Apollo offered to forget the whole thing if Hermes handed over the instrument.

Zeus, meanwhile, realized that Hermes had a bit too much energy and a little too much mischief to be left alone, so he dubbed him his personal messenger and gave him the oh so envious job of guiding the souls of the dearly departed to the Underworld.

Because of his role as messenger, Hermes spent quite a bit of time with his old man, and as his trusted envoy, ended up with the task of trying to protect his father's lovers and kids from Hera's detection. Most notably, he freed Io, who Zeus had turned into a cow, from Hera's servant Argus by telling him so many boring tales and playing such soothing lullabies that the giant went to sleep.

Hermes dealt with mortals quite often and liked helping them out whenever possible, whether it was giving Odysseus a few hints or helping Orpheus find his dead wife. Instances of his wrath are fairly few, so if you were going to run into an Olympian god, Hermes was probably the best you could hope for.

God of: Shepherds, fertility, travel, marketplaces, weights and measures, good luck, oratory, language, writing, athletes, thieves.

Spouse: None.

Children: Pan, Hermaphroditus, Abderus, and others.

Symbols: herald's staff, winged boots, winged hat.

Hobbies: Helping out, stealing things, dallying with nymphs.

Roman Name: Mercury

Dionysus is the youngest of the Olympians, and the one with the most mixed reactions. Women loved him because he encouraged them to have a little fun and be free, while men though that was the worst thing ever, but greatly enjoyed his gifts of wine and theater.

His mother, Semele, was a mortal, which caused him no end of trouble. As such, she was at the top of Hera's hit list, and skeptical people loved to deny that Dionysus could ever be a god. He usually managed to convince them otherwise... even if it killed them.

His youth was... rough, to say the least. Despite his aunt and uncle raising him as a girl, Hera still managed to find him and wreak havoc. He then spent a stint on Mount Nysa in the care of Silenus as a goat, but tragedy continued to follow him. After the death of his first love, Ampelus, Dionysus went mad himself, and took to wandering the world until either a spring of Zeus or the goddess Rhea cured him. He eventually took his place on Olympus after convincing Hephaestus into freeing Hera from the golden throne.

As an incredibly bi-polar god, he could be sweet as wine or vengeful as a hangover, as his cousin Penthus found out when he declared that Semele had just shacked up with some local boy rather than Zeus. A group of pirates who kidnapped him also ran afoul of his bad side. He killed the captain and turned the rest of the crew (save the one who recognized him as a god) into dolphins.

Dionysus did have a softer side. When Theseus deserted Ariadne on an island, Dionysus took her as his wife and treated her as a queen. And don't let the Roman Bacchus fool you - Dionysus was more often seen as a beautiful, effeminate youth than the drunken butterball of Disney's Fantasia.

God of: Wine, vegitation, theater, pleasure, madness.

Spouse: Ariadne.

Children: Deianaira (Hercules' wife), lots of others.

Symbols: Thrysos, drinking cup, grape vine, and leopards.

Hobbies: Partying, hanging out with the ladies, watching the show.

Roman Name: Bacchus

Alright, you've read through all the Olympians. Time to see how much you know!

All the answers can be found on this page, so give it a shot and see how you do!

Take the Quiz

You may have noticed that each of the gods above has a "Roman name" listed. You may also have read a version of your favorite myth where Aphrodite was called "Venus" or Dionysus went by "Bacchus," as they do in Mary Pope Osborne's Favorite Greek Myths. Why is that?

Well, it's because of the Romans. The Romans are best known for turning a tiny little town of seven hills in the middle of Italy into the center of arguably the greatest empire in history. However, they're well known for one other thing: their religious policies. As they expanded, they ran into religions and gods other than their own. Rather than saying, "Hey, we rule now - forget your gods and come worship ours!," they figured that it couldn't hurt to just adopt the new gods into their own pantheon. After all, who wants to tick off a god?

When it came to the Greeks, though, something different happened. The Romans looked at all those fine Greek myths and how each and every deity came fully fleshed-out as if they were real people. Until then, the Roman religion didn't have a whole lot of myths - they focused more on rituals than backstory. Many of their deities were more ideas than someone they could almost see walking down the street. So they looked at their pantheon and said, "Hey, we have a god of war... and the Greeks have a god of war... why can't we just say they're the same god of war?"

By identifying their gods with the Greek ones, their gods gained a whole world of mythology and personality, while the Greeks gained a new name. Often times, authors choose to use the Greek or Roman names almost interchangeably, which can make reading mythology a little confusing if you're not aware of who's who.

Note: Not all of the Roman gods were exactly the same as their Greek counterparts. Mars and Ares are a good example. To the Greeks, Ares was an almost comical coward, a big talker who went running to Daddy as soon as he so much as got a paper cut. To the Romans, however, Mars was a noble warrior, the father of the founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus. He was the symbol of their people, and represented both war and agriculture to them. Which means that when it came to the parts where the Greeks and Romans disagreed, the Romans were really good at using a little artistic license to tweak the Greek myths and make them suit the Roman ideal.

If you're studying mythology, take some time to get familiar with the Roman version of things. You might learn something new!

Greek mythology is just full of deities, and the Olympians were just scratching the surface. There was a myriad of minor gods and goddesses that showed up in myths. Here's a list of some of the better known ones.

• Eris
  The goddess of discord and strife. No wonder she follows Ares around! Her prized possession was a golden apple so beautiful that everyone wanted it. That little apple led to the Trojan War.



• Eros
  Later associated with Cupid in the Roman pantheon, Eros was the Greek god love and desire. You'd recognize him by his arrows of love. His most well-known myth tells how he met his wife, Psyche.



• The Fates
  Also known as the Moirae, these three little old ladies were in charge of each person's destiny in the form of strings, from the time they were born until ol' Atropos snipped their life thread.



• Hecate
  Another important, but lesser-known, goddess, Hecate hung out around crossroads late at night and was known for her ties to the Underworld and her magic. A lot of authors like making obscure references to her, often in reference to witchcraft.



• Hestia
  This little lady was Zeus's oldest sister and goddess of the hearth. Originally, she was one of the 12 Olympians, but somewhere along the line, the story got around that she'd given up her seat to make room for Dionysus. Fortunately, giving up her seat didn't mean being evicted, so she got to stay on Olympus, where she tended the sacred flame. Rather than choose between Poseidon and Apollo when they took a liking to her, she vowed to remain a virgin forever.



• Morpheus
  Ah yes, this is a name you should recognize, whether it's from the Matrix movies or the Sandman graphic novels. Morpheus is the Greek god of dreams, son of Hypnos (sleep) and nephew of Thanatos (death). He doesn't actually feature in any myths of his own, but modern people seem to love him, anyways!



• Nemesis
  Not every deity can claim to have become a part of the English language, but Nemesis sure can! While the modern word "nemesis" means an adversary or opponent, the Greek Nemesis is goddess of divine justice and vengeance. Watch out for that whip!



• Nike
  Here's another name you probably recognize, thanks to a certain shoe brand. She was the Greek goddess of victory, and usually shown with wings. Good choice for a sports shoe!



• Persephone
  Ever wonder why we have winter? Well, the Ancient Greeks explained it with the story of Persephone, daughter of Demeter. This pretty young lady caught the eye of Hades, and her mother's attempts to get her back are why we have the seasons.



• Pan
  Pan was the son of Hermes and a good friend of Dionysus. He also had a fascination with Aphrodite (but c'mon, what guy didn't?), and is the source of our word, "panic." You'd probably recognize him as the god with the goat legs and horns.



• Thanatos
  Thanatos was the Greek personification of Death and the twin brother of Hypnos ("Sleep"). Nice relation there, huh? Whereas the modern world tends to picture death as the Grim Reaper, skull and all, Thanatos was usually portrayed in art and sculpture as a young fella, perhaps in his teens, with a lovely pair of wings. He was also typically shown with a torch - usually upside-down and snuffed - in one hand and either a wreath or a butterfly in the other.