Greek gods and goddesses

1. Greek gods and goddesses

2. Aphrodite The goddess of love, who was born from sea foam ("Afros" is Greek for "foam of the sea") . She is the most beautiful goddess, and very vain. She has a magic girdle (belt) which can cause anyone to fall in love with her. Though married to Hephaestus, her main boyfriend is Ares. Her symbol is the dove.Ares and Aphrodite: Aphrodite was the goddess of love and beauty and with her exquisite features and pleasant smile she attracted many suitors, gods and mortals alike. However, she was married to the graceless and homely Hephaestus, the god of fire. Her true love was Ares, the god of war. Their child was the beautiful goddess Harmonia. One day while Aphrodite and Ares were together they were caught in an invisible, but strong, golden net forged by Hephaestus, and exposed to the ridicule and laughter of theother gods at Mt. Olympus. Aphrodite was always sneaking around with Ares behind her husband’s back, and Hephaestus was always trying to catch them.

3. Apollo The god of archery, divination and the arts. Later, Apollo was also associated with the sun. Handsome and talented, Apollo is the twin brother of Artemis. He is the patron of archers, and created music. He slew the great Python, and became the force behind the Oracle at Delphi, which could tell the future. There were other oracles, but the one at Delphi was the most famous. The Oracle often spoke in riddles which were not clear untilafter events came to pass. Apollo’s symbols are the lyre, the laurel tree, and the mouse (an animal which ran everywhere and overheard many secrets).

4. Ares The god of war, Ares is the proud and cruel son of Zeus and Hera. He loves battle, but despite hi s strength he is not a smart tactician. At heart, he is a coward, like most bullies. His symbol is the wild boar and his favorite weapon is the spear. He is Aphrodite’s lover.Ares and Aphrodite: Aphrodite was the goddess of love and beauty and with her exquisite features and pleasant smile she attracted many suitors, gods and mortals alike. However, she was married to the graceless and homely Hephaestus, the god of fire. Her true love was Ares, the god of war. Their child was the beautiful goddess Harmonia. One day while Aphrodite and Ares were together they were caught in an invisible, but strong, golden net forged by Hephaestus, and exposed to the ridicule and laughter of theother gods at Mt. Olympus. Aphrodite was always sneaking around with Ares behind her husband’s back, and Hephaestus was always trying to catch them.

5. Artemis The goddess of the hunt and the moon. Artemis vowed to always be a maiden. Because of this, her followers tended to be young unmarried girls who shunned men. A great archer and hunter, Artemis roams the wilds of the world with a band of maidens. Her symbols are the deer and the bow.

6. Athena Goddess of war, wisdom and useful crafts. The patron goddess of Athens, from  whom the city got its name. Athena sprang from Zeus’ head, which Hephaestus had to split open to relieve the god’s headache. Athena invented many things, including the chariot and the loom. She granted mankind the olive tree. One of the most populargoddesses, she often helps heroes who use their brains, like Odysseus. She dislikesPoseidon and Ares. Her symbols are the owl, the olive tree, and the aegis, a special shield upon which is mounted the head of Medusa.

7. Demeter The goddess of agriculture, sister of Hera and Zeus. The most famous story about Demeter tells how her daughter Persephone was captured by Hades (read myth below) and taken to the Underworld. Demeter and Hades finally worked out an agreement by which Persephone would spend half the year with her mother and half the year with her new husband Hades. Demeter would only allow crops to grow during the time Persephone was with her. Thus the seasons were created.

8. Dionysus Dionysus was the god of wine and the son of Zeus and Semele, and the rescuer of Ariadne after she had been abandoned by Theseus. Dionysus also rescued his mother from the Underworld, after Zeus showed her his true nature as storm god and consumed her in lightning. It was Dionysus who granted Midas the power to turn whatever he touched into gold, then was kind enough to take the power back when it proved inconvenient

9. Hades (HAY-deez) was the god of the Underworld. He was the brother of Zeus and Poseidon. When the brothers decided to divide up their rule he chose the Underworld. This made him a wealthy god since most of the wealth came from the ground. The Underworld was considered a horrible place to live. It was dark and drab. In one legend Hades kidnapped Persephone causing the earth to turn cold and everything to die.The God of the Underworld. Not technically an Olympian since he has no throne on Olympus, Zeus’ brother Hades was made lord of the Underworld when the gods took over the world. He oversees the Underworld and all the riches under the earth. He also guards the pit of Tartarus, where the titans and monsters were imprisoned after the great war. His servants include the three Furies, Charon the ferryman, and the three-headed dog Cerberus.

10. HephaestusThe god of fire and blacksmiths. As a baby, Hephaestus was thrown from Olympus by his father Zeus, because of this...well, he was sort of homely and let's just say he had a face that only a mother could love. : ) However, he was extremely good at working with his hands. He could make anything out of metal. He was given Aphrodite as his bride, because Hera thought it would help Aphrodite settle down. Unfortunately, Aphrodite was always flirting behind her husband’s back, and Hephaestus isalways trying to catch his wife.

11. Hera Goddess of marriage and motherhood. The wife of Zeus and also his sister, Hera is a jealous goddess who resents her husband’s unfaithfulness. Hera helps some heroes, like Jason, but was the enemy to others, namely Heracles (Hercules). Her symbols are thecow (the most motherly animal) and the colorful peacock.

12. Hermes The god of merchants, travelers, thieves, and medicine. Hermes watches over all who use the roads and are involved in commerce. The son of Zeus, Hermes could talk when he was only a baby and once stole cattle from Apollo. He made up for this by giving Apollo the lyre, which baby Hermes invented. Hermes uses his speedy winged sandals to deliver messages for the gods. He carries a caduceus, a winged staff entwined with serpents, which today is the symbol of medicine. Hermes owned... helmet - Hermes's helmet had the power of invisibility. He wore the helmet in his fight against the giant Hippolytus. Hermes also loaned this helmet to Persus.winged shoes - In one legend he loaned these to Perseus so he could fly as he was fighting against the Gorgon Medusa.

13. PoseidonThe god of the sea, Zeus’ brother. Poseidon is a changeable god, like the ocean itself, sometimes violent, sometimes calm. He created horses from sea foam, and like his brother Zeus he "dated" many goddesses and mortal women. Theseus was his most famous demigod son. Poseidon’s symbol is the trident, which he uses to stir up terrible storms at sea.

14. Zeus Occupation: Lord of the sky & Chief godKnown For (K.F.): Overthrowing Dad, Titan KronosWeapon of Choice (W.O.C.): Lightning BoltSymbol: EagleMarital Status: Married to HeraDemigod Kids: Perseus and Heracles

15. Creatures from Greek Mythology

16. The Nymphs were young goddesses of Nature-the sea, the land and the woods The Nymphs were the daughters of Zeus, the King of the gods. They ranged over beautiful groves and dwelled near springs, in mountains through which rivers flowed and in woods. There were Sea Nymphs, Land Nymphs and Wood Nymphs in Greek Mythology. Because of their close connection to water, a fertilizing element, the nymphs were worshipped as agents of vegetation.The nymphs protected the plants and animals and were also playing the role of nurses who occasionaly raised human beings such as Kronos. The Nymphs joined the Greek gods Artemis and Apollo and also Acheloos, the river god, and played with them. However, most of all, the Nymphs enjoyed playing with Hermes, the messenger of the gods and Hermes' son, the Satyr Pan.

17. Medusa was once a lovely young girl who had a boyfriend she loved very much. One afternoon she and her boyfriend, Poseidon, were looking for a place to secretly meet, and they went inside the temple of the goddess Athena. Seeing that nobody else was there, they sat down. Athena, looking down from the sky, saw them, and she was very angry. She made Medusa grow very ugly, and have snakes instead of hair. Poseidon ran away, frightened.

18. The Minotaur was half-man, half-bull. He caused so much destruction that King Minos had his famous architect Daedalus build a maze called the Labyrinth to imprison the beast. Each year, maidens and young men from Athens were sacrificed to the Minotaur until Theseus killed the monster.

19. Naiads: Water nymphs who lived in wells and caves from which the rivers sprung. They were knowlgeable in medicine and could foretell the future. The Naiads were young and beautiful, but could cause madness and death.

20. The Nemean Lion THE LEON NEMEIOS (or Nemean lion) was a large lion, whose hide was impervious to weapons, which plagued the district of Nemea in the Argolis. King Eurystheus commanded Herakles (or Hercules) to destroy the beast as the first of his twelve Labors. The hero cornered the lion in its cave and seizing it by the neck wrestled it to death.This was no easy feat, for the beast's parentage was supernatural and it was more of a monster than an ordinary lion. Its skin could not be penetrated by spears or arrows. Heracles blocked off the entrances to the lion's cave, crawled into the close confines where it would have to fight face to face and throttled it with his bare hands. Ever afterwards he wore the lion's skin as a cloak and its gaping jaws as a helmet.

21. Pan He was the god of shepherds and flocks, of mountain wilds, hunting and rustic music. He was the son of Hermes. He wandered the hills and mountains of Arkadia playing his pan-pipes and chasing the nymphs. His presence aroused feelings of panic in men passing through the remote, lonely places of the wilds. That's where we got the word, "panic," as in Pan-Ick!!

22. Satyrs (SAY-turz or SAT-urz)Woodland spirits who looked like men with various animal features such as horses' tails or goats' legs.

23. Chimera The Chimera was one monstrous offspring of Echidna. It had the body of a goat, the head of a lion and the tail of a serpent. It terrorized Asia Minor until it was killed by the hero Bellerophon. it belched a long and steady stream of fire from its three mouths, incinerating all around--rather handy at a barbecue, I must admit, but one had to be real careful, for the monster had terrible table manners. Oh. Did I mention that the Chimaera had extreme halitosis? Zeus have mercy and pass the extra-strength Clorets!

24. Chiron A kindly centaur, Chiron was sired by Cronus (Kronos) when in the form of a horse. The other centaurs, who were notoriously uncivilized and prone to violence, were of a different lineage. Chiron was tutor to Jason and Heracles. In the Lightning Thief, it is Mr. Brunner who turns out to be Chiron. Who is his tutee?

25. Cyclopes Strong, One-eyed giants. These were the monster sons of Gaea and Uranus.