Greek Myths Major Gods and Goddesses Flashcards
King of the underworld and the dead. God of wealth
Hades
Not often identifiable in Greek art, she appeared as a modestly veiled woman
Hestia
She is often depicted as a young woman dressed in a short knee-length chiton and equipped with a bow and a quiver of arrows
Artemis
Her sacred animals include the heifer, the peacock, and the cuckoo
Hera
Goddess of marriage, women, childbirth, heirs, kings, and empires
Hera
Virgin goddess of the hunt, wilderness, animals and young girls
Artemis
Her symbols are the cornucopia, wheat-ears, the winged serpent, and the lotus staff
Demeter
He was depicted as a beardless youth, either nude with a helmet and spear or sword, or as an armed warrior
Ares
She had many lovers, most notably Ares, to whom she bore Harmonia, Phobos, and Deimos
Aphrodite
His Roman counterpart is Mercury
Hermes
Virgin goddess of the hearth, home, and chastity
Hestia
He was depicted either as a handsome and athletic beardless youth, or as an older bearded man
Hermes
He was the lover of Medusa, leading to her transformation into a Gorgon and to the birth of their two children, Pegasus and Chrysaor
Poseidon
His consort is Persephone
Hades
His consort is Amphitrite
Poseidon
Goddess of beauty, love, desire, and pleasure
Aphrodite
She was born from Zeus’s forehead, fully formed and armored
Athena
He is often in the company of his thiasos, a group of attendants including satyrs, maenads, and his old tutor Silenus
Dionysus
His Roman counterpart Vulcan was feared for his destructive potential and associated with the volcanic power of the earth
Hephaestus
Her Roman counterpart is Venus
Aphrodite
Her attributes include hunting spears, animal pelts, deer and other wild animals
Artemis
She is the oldest child of Rhea and Cronus
Hestia
Her symbols are the hearth and kettle
Hestia
Her sacred animal is a deer
Artemis
His sacred animals include the horse and the dolphin
Poseidon
Goddess of grain, agriculture, harvest, growth, and nourishment
Demeter
His Roman counterpart is Jupiter, also known as Jove
Zeus
Her symbols include myrtle, roses, and the scallop shell
Aphrodite
He is is depicted as young, beardless, handsome and athletic
Apollo
God of music, arts, knowledge, healing, plague, prophecy, poetry, manly beauty, and archery
Apollo
Her sacred animals include doves and sparrows
Aphrodite
He is the son of Zeus and Leto
Apollo
God of boundaries, travel, communication, trade, language, thieves and writing
Hermes
Goddess of reason, wisdom, intelligence, skill, peace, warfare, battle strategy, and handicrafts
Athena
Some late Roman and Greek poetry and mythography identifies him as a sun-god, equivalent to Roman Sol and Greek Helios
Apollo
His sacred animals include the eagle and the bull
Zeus
She is usually depicted as a nude or semi-nude beautiful woman
Aphrodite
She is the twin sister of Apollo and both use a bow and arrow
Artemis
His consort is Ariadne
Dionysus
His sacred animals include the screech owl
Hades
Her Roman counterpart Vesta was a major deity of the Roman state
Hestia
He was usually depicted as a bearded, crippled man with hammer, tongs, and anvil
Hephaestus
He is the twin brother of Artemis and both use a bow and arrow
Apollo
His Roman counterpart Mars was considered to be the ancestor of the Roman people
Ares
She is the wife and sister of Zeus
Hera
He is depicted as either an older bearded god or an effeminate, long-haired youth
Dionysus
His sacred animals include roe deer, swans, and pythons
Apollo
His sacred animals include dolphins, serpents, tigers, and donkeys
Dionysus
Her Roman counterpart is Ceres
Demeter
She gave up her seat as one of the Twelve Olympians in favor of Dionysus
Hestia
Her Roman counterpart is Diana
Artemis
Her Roman counterpart is Minerva
Athena
God of the sea, rivers, floods, droughts, and earthquakes
Poseidon
Her sacred animals include pigs and snakes
Demeter
His Roman counterpart was Pluto
Hades
His attributes are the drinking horn or cornucopia, key, sceptre, and the three-headed dog Cerberus
Hades
His sacred animals include vultures, venomous snakes, dogs, and boars
Ares
Poets describe her as grey-eyed or having especially bright, keen eyes
Athena
King of the gods and ruler of Mount Olympus
Zeus
His most famous temple is in Delphi, where he established his oracular shrine
Apollo
His attributes include the thyrsus, a drinking cup, the grape vine, and a crown of ivy
Dionysus
He is the twice-born son of Zeus and Semele
Dionysus
The son of Zeus and Maia
Hermes
His attributes include the herald’s wand or caduceus, winged sandals, and a traveler’s cap
Hermes
God of fire, metalworking, and crafts
Hephaestus
Zeus snatched him from his mother’s womb and stitched him into his own thigh and carried him until he was ready to be born
Dionysus
He is depicted as a mature man of sturdy build, often with a luxuriant beard, and holding a trident
Poseidon
She is commonly shown as being accompanied by her sacred animal, the owl
Athena
Homer portrays him as moody and unreliable, and as being the most unpopular god on earth and Olympus
Ares
In the mystery religions and Athenian literature, Plouton (“the Rich one”) was his preferred name
Hades
She is a sister of Zeus, by whom she bore Persephone
Demeter
The youngest son of Cronus and Rhea
Zeus
She is the daughter of Zeus and Leto
Artemis
He is the husband of the adulterous Aphrodite
Hephaestus
Queen of the gods
Hera
God of wine, fruitfulness, parties, festivals, madness, chaos, drunkenness, vegetation, ecstasy, and the theater
Dionysus
The son of Zeus and Hera and brother to Hephaestus
Ares
Bacchus was another name for him in Greek, and came into common usage among the Romans
Dionysus
She is depicted as being crowned with a crested helm, armed with shield and spear, and wearing the aegis
Athena
His signs and symbols include the laurel wreath, bow and arrow, and lyre
Apollo
His Roman counterpart is Neptune
Poseidon
She was also a lover to Adonis and Anchises, to whom she bore Aeneas
Aphrodite
The son of Zeus and Hera and brother to Ares
Hephaestus
She was usually depicted as a regal woman wearing a diadem and veil and holding a lotus-tipped staff
Hera
Her symbol is the olive tree
Athena
God of the chaos of war, bloodshed, and violence
Ares
His sacred animals include the donkey, the guard dog, and the crane
Hephaestus
In Hesiod’s Theogony, she was born from sea-foam and Uranus’ severed genitals
Aphrodite
He is the messenger of the gods and a guide who leads the souls of the dead into the afterlife
Hermes
Her Roman counterpart is Juno
Hera
His usual attributes are the royal scepter and the lightning bolt
Zeus
In Homer’s Illiad, she is daughter of Zeus and Dione
Aphrodite
God of the sky, weather, thunder, lightning, law, order, and justice
Zeus
She is depicted as a mature woman, often crowned and holding sheafs of wheat and a torch
Demeter
She was married to Hephaestus, but bore him no children
Aphrodite
He is often accompanied by the Muses
Apollo
His sacred animals include the tortoise, from whose shell he invented the lyre for Apollo
Hermes
He is known for having an affair with his brother’s wife Aphrodite
Ares
