Greek Names Flashcards
Pantheon
Grand children of the Titans; the main ruling panel of gods and goddesses; also called the Olympians; main leader Zeus; there are 12 of them.
Mount Olympus
Mountain where the Pantheon lives.
Elysian Fields
Place in the Underworld where heros are sent as a reward to fight battles eternally.
River Styx
A river that has to be passed to get to the Underworld.
Underworld
Gloomy place where all Greeks go when they die; punishment is given out based on each persons sins.
Uranus
Father sky; he kept his children inside their mother, Earth.
Gaea
Mother Earth
Kronos
Swallowed his children to keep them from overthrowing him; eventually his son Zeus took power from him; ROMAN NAME: Saturn
Rhea
Wife of Kronos
The Furies
3 ugly goddesses of vengeance; sometimes help determine people’s punishment in the underworld, especially familial crimes
The Fates
3 sisters who determine the destinies of humans by weaving a tapestry of each persons life
Zeus
King of the gods and goddesses; God of Thunder and lightning; ROMAN NAME: Jupiter
Hera
Queen of the gods and goddesses; Zeus’ very jealous wife; ROMAN NAME: June
Hades
God of the Underworld; ROMAN NAME: Pluto
Poseidon
God of the Sea; ROMAN NAME: Neptune
Aphrodite
Goddess of love and beauty. ROMAN NAME: Venus
Ares
God of war and violence; ROMAN NAME: Mars
Hephaestus
Deformed God of fire and blacksmithing; he was married to Aphrodite. ROMAN NAME: Vulcan
Demeter
Goddess of grain and harvest and fertility; ROMAN NAME: Cres
Pandora
First mortal woman created by the gods; her curiosity caused her to open a box that she was not supposed to releasing disease, misery, and corruption into the world
Dionysus
God of wine and merriment; ROMAN NAME: Bacchus
Persephone
Queen of the Underworld; forced to live there for 6 months each year because she ate 6 pomegranate seeds while there; her story explains the seasons; ROMAN NAME: Proserpisa
Echo
Nymph who was punished but Hera for talking too much. She had to repeat the last words a person says.
Narcissus
Vain man who fell in love with his own reflection and was turned into a flower.
Phaethon
Apollo’s son who scorched the earth when he drove the sun too close to it. His story explains the climates.
Daedalus
Great architect who created the maze where the Minotaur lived; was punished for helping a prisoner find his way out.
Icarus
Daedalus’ son; foolish boy who flew too close to the sun and melted his wax wings.
Arachne
Gifted weaver who was turned into a spider by Athena.
Hercules
Strongest man in the universe; completed 12 labors as punishment for killing his family; released Prometheus.
Achilles
Greatest warrior in Greece; his mother dipped all but his heels in the River Styx to protect him. He died from and arrow wound to his unprotected heel.
Phidippide
Faster runner in Greece; died at the city’s gates after saying “Nike!” Which means victory.
Pan
God of the fields and the meadows; a satyr who is greatly feared because he captures women alone in the woods and ravishes them; son of Hermes.
Midas
King who was given a special gift to turn everything he touched into gold; he later regretted it when it made life difficult.
Cerberus
Three headed dog that guards the gates of the Underworld.
Minotaur
Part man, part bull who lived in a maze and ate humans who were forced to enter by the king.
Centaur
Part man, part horse; fierce and likes to fight.
Satyr
Part man, part goat; gentle most of the time; likes music.
Sirens
Part women, part bird; lure sailors with their beautiful voices to crash onto the rocks so they can eat them; also called harpies.
Medusa
Monster who was once a beautiful women; she was changed into a creature with snakes for hair and a stare that will turn you into stone.
Pegasus
White, winged horse; was born from the blood of Medusa.
Artemis
Goddess of the moon and the hunt. ROMAN NAME: Diana
Apollo
God of the sun, light, healing, and poetry; responsible for carrying the sun across the sky. Roman and Greek name are the same.
Athena
Goddess of wisdom, domestic arts, and war strategies; does not like women and is repulsed by the idea of marriage and children. Born from Zeus’ head. ROMAN NAME: Minerva.
Eros
God of love; Aphrodite’s son; ROMAN NAME: Cupid (God of love - cupid )
Hermes
Messenger of the Gods; God of commerce; Patron of liars, gamblers, and dishonest people; ROMAN NAME: Mercury.
Prometheus
Creator of man; punished for giving man fire by being chained to a mountain and getting his liver eaten out by a vulture daily.
Epimetheus
Mentally slow brother of Prometheus; responsible for giving each creature it’s gift/talent that help it survive; married to Pandora.
Charon
The ferryman; he drives the boat to cross the River Styx if they have a gold coin.
Hestia
The goddess of Hearth; ROMAN NAME: Vesta
Titans
The first race of mythological Giants; born to Mother Earth, Gaea; and father sky, Uranus
