Gods & Goddesses Flashcards
Who was Zeus/Jupiter & how was he depicted
Father of the Gods & men
Bearded, often on throne, symbolised by eagle/thunderbolt
Athene/ Minerva
Grey-eyed Athene, Athene of the golden aegis, goddess of wisdom, goddess of war tactics (‘Pallas Athene’) & victory (‘Athene Nike’)
Depicted fully armed with helmet & spear, long robe, shield with gorgon’s head (Medusa), the ‘tasselled aegis’ symbol of war/victory, or with an owl as a sign of her wisdom
who was Hera/Juno & how was she depicted
sister-wife of Zeus/Jupiter, Queen of the gods, ‘ox-eyed Hera’
Often with sceptre and diadem, peacock (pride/jealousy)
Apollo
Brother of Artemis, bringer of plague, player of the lyre, god of sun
Depicted as a youth, naked or robed, with bow or lyre
Ares/Mars
God of war- the deification of war-like spirit
Depicted with armour: spear; helmet, chariot drawn by four fire-breathing horses, sometimes with a serpent, vulture, woodpecker, barn owl, eagle owl, or a firebrand
Artemis/Diana
Sister of Apollo, huntress goddess, god of moon
Often shown wearing a long dress, animal skins, and later a short tunic & bow & arrows, with a stag
Hades/Pluto
God pf the Underworld, punisher of wrong-doers
Bearded male, seated with a sceptre (judging souls in the Underworld), with Cerberus
Dionysus/Bacchus
God of wine, feelings of euphoria, associated with sex & emotion, fertility, god of theatre
Often short, bearded, robed, older- later was shown young and naked, with vines/grapes, wreathed, dressed in fawn-skins, drinking horn, often with satyrs, maenads, or nymphs, or sailing his vine-ship, has a fennel staff tipped with a pinecone
Demeter/Ceres
Mother of the earth (though not literally). Thesmophoros- a mark of the civilized of agricultural society
With an ear of corn, torches, cornucopia
Hephaistos/Vulcan
God of fire, blacksmiths, stone masonry, craftsmen, and the art of sculpture, the crippled god
Bearded, torso naked, holding a hammer, double-headed axe or other tool, often supported by a donkey or artificial support
Hestia/Vesta
Goddess of the hearth, house & family, architecture, and the right ordering of domesticity, the family and the state
Young women, a virgin, modestly veiled, sometimes holding a flowered branch or a kettle
Poseidon/Neptune
Earth shaker, tamer of horses, god of the sea
Bearded, with a trident, on horseback, on/with a horse, dolphin, fish
Hermes/ Mercury
God of travel and trade, and the messenger of all the other gods
depicted with travellers cap, wand of Hermes(caduceus), and winged sandals
