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Copyright by Mark de la Hey, 1994, 1995.
See Okeanides.
See Okeanos.
Minor Greek sea goddesses, or sea nymphs. Daughters of Okeanos and Tethys. Also the name given to the river gods said to be the offspring of Okeanos.
Greek god who personified the waters surrounding the earth. In Hesiod's Theogony, he is the son of Ouranos (heaven) and Gaia (earth). Consort of Tethys. Father of the Okeanides. His name later came to be associated with the Atlantic Ocean.
"Dreams". Minor Greek deities considered to be the source or active agents of dreams. Children of Hypnos or Nyx. Their names were Ikelos (Phobetor), Morpheus and Phantasos.
Greek nymphs of mountains and caves.
"Heaven" or "Sky". Greek god of the heavens or of the sky. According to Hesiod's Theogony, Ouranos was one of the first 'children' of Gaia, along with the Mountains and the Sea. He then became Gaia's consort, which union produced the Titans, the Cyclopes, and the Hekatoncheiroi. Ouranos hurled his offspring into the underworld (Tartaros) and kept them imprisoned there, either out of hatred or of fear. At the urging of Gaia, Kronos castrated Ouranos with a sickle (thus separating heaven and earth) and overthrew him. The blood of Ouranos fell to earth (Gaia), giving rise to the Giants, the Erinyes and the Meliai (ash-tree nymphs). Kronos threw his severed testicles fell the sea, where, according to some versions, they gave rise to the goddess Aphrodite.
Greek god of healing and physician to the other gods. This may originally have been merely an epithet of Apollo, however he did emerge as an independent deity in later Greek literature.
Minor Greek sea god. The deified form of Melicertes after his death. Melicertes was the son of Athamas and Ino. Both were driven mad, and Ino leapt to her death in the sea carrying Melicertes with her.
Greek shepherd god. Depicted in human form with the legs, horns and ears of a goat. Son of Hermes and the nymph Penelope. He was said to have been born on Mt. Cyllene in Arcadia. He originated as an Arcadian deity and that region remained the most important centre of his cult. Although Hermes took him to Olympus, his haunts were generally the forests and fields of the country, and he was believed to live in caves. Pan was the patron deity of fishermen and hunters as well as of shepherds. On the other hand, he was believed to take delight in frightening unsuspecting travellers. A god of fertility and unbridled male sexuality, he was known for pursuing nymphs in the form of a goat. One of the nymphs he pursued, Syrinx, changed herself into a reed to escape him. Pan then cut several reeds and devised what are known as the pan-pipes (syrinx). He later used these pipes to defeat Apollo in a music contest. In addition to having goat's horns, legs and ears, he was depicted as being coarse in appearance, bearded, and bearing the syrinx pipes or a shepherd's crook. The Romans equated him with their Faunus.
"All-Healing". Minor Greek goddess of health.
One of the Greek Muses in some versions. Daughter of Zeus and Eurynome. May simply be another name for Aegle (Aeglaia).
"Persuasion". Greek goddess of persuasion. Daughter of Hermes and Aphrodite, although Hesiod makes her the daughter of Okeanos. An attendant of Aphrodite.
Thessalian river god. Possibly the father of Daphne and the nymphs of Thessaly.
One of the Graiae in Greek mythology. Daughter of Phorkys and Ceto. Sister of the other Graiae, Deino and Enyo.
Greek underworld goddess. Conosrt of the sun god Helios. Mother of Circe and Pasiphae. Perse embodied the underworld aspects of the moon. She was also known as Neaira, "the new one", or the new moon.
Greek goddess of the underworld. Daughter of Zeus and Demeter. Once, while picking flowers in the Vale of Nysa (reputedly in Sicily), she was abducted by Hades, who forced her to become his wife in the underworld. The gods, concerned that her mother's grief was causing the earth's vegetation to shrivel and die, sent Hermes to negotiate for her return. He succeeded in gaining Hades permission but, because Persephone had eaten a single pomegranate seed while in the underworld, she was only allowed to return to her mother for two thirds of the year. The earth's vegetation was believed to prosper during the two thirds of the year that Persephone was with her mother and waste away during the third spent in the underworld. This paralleled the cycle of the seasons in the Mediterranean, where late summer is a period of drought. This celebration of this story became the central part of the Eleusinian mysteries. She was referred to as Kore ("girl" or "maiden") in her association with Demeter, and some scholars believe she was only an aspect of Demeter and not a deity in her own right. Certainly the story of Persephone was inseparable from that of Demeter, as was her worship. In Orphism, a mystery religion centering around the similar legend of Orpheus and Eurydice, Persephone was the mother of Zagreus by Zeus.
"Light". Primordial Greek sun god. In Orphism, he was the first god to emerge from the primeval egg engendered by Kronos. In another tradition, he was the father of Nyx (night).
Greek goddess of popular rumour. She had an altar at Athens.
"Panic". Greek god of fear and terror. Son of Ares and Aphrodite. He accompanied Ares into battle.
Greek sea god. According to Hesiod, the son of Pontos (Okeanos) and Gaia. Consort of the sea-monster Ceto (Keto). Father of the Gorgons and the Graii.
Greek god of the morning star. Son of Eos (dawn) and either Astraios or Cephalus. He was depicted as a naked youth running ahead of his mother, bearing a torch.
An epithet of the Greek god of the underworld, Hades (qv).
"Riches". Greek god of wealth and abundance. Primarily a god of agricultural wealth. According to Hesiod, he was the son of Demeter and the Titan Iasion, and was born in Crete. Plutos was said to have been blinded by Zeus so that he might dispense his riches indiscriminately, although this seems to have been derived from a comedy by Aristophanes. He had a temple at Eleusis, and was worshipped in the Eleusinian Mysteries along with Demeter and Persephone. Depicted as a boy with a cornucopia.
Minor Greek god of healing. Son of Asklepios. He was a doctor in the Greek army which besieged Troy. He was known as the "Great Healer" in Greek Anatolia and Thessaly.
See Polyhymnia.
Greek Muse of song. Daughter of Zeus and Mnemosyne. According to some traditions, she was the mother of Orpheus by Oeagrus.
"Sea". Greek sea god. Son of Ouranos (heaven) and Gaia (earth). He may be identical with Okeanos (qv). His mother Gaia became his consort for a time, producing the sea gods Nereus and Phorkys.
Greek god of the sea. Son of Kronos and Rhea. He and his siblings were swallowed by Kronos, but they were later rescued by their brother Zeus. The brothers Zeus, Poseidon and Hades later divided the world among themselves, with Poseidon receiving dominion over the sea. His chief consort was Amphitrite. Father of Antaios, Orion and Polyphemos. Poseidon was secondarily a god of mariners (to whom he may send storms or a fair voyage), of waters in general, and of earthquakes. In the latter capacity he was known as Enosigaios or Enosichthon, meaning "earth-shaker". Athena defeated Poseidon in their famous contest for the allegiance of Athens. While Poseidon offered humanity the boon of the horse, Athena offered the olive. Elsewhere, he helped Apollo build the walls of Troy. However, he became an implacable enemy of Troy after Laomedon refused to pay him, and he sided with the Greeks in the Trojan War. Poseidon was closely associated with horses as Hippios ("of horses"), and the horse was sacred to him. He fathered many famous horses, including the winged Pegasus by the Gorgon Medusa, and another winged horse, Areon, by Erinys. In Corinth, horse-races were held in his honour. On Argos horses were sacrificed to him by drowning in a whirlpool. Poseidon was generally depicted as an older, bearded man carrying a trident (the three-pronged fisherman's spear). There were temples at Cape Sunium, the southern-most tip of Greece, at Pylos in Crete, and Mount Mykale in Greek Anatolia. Freshwater springs were often consecrated to Poseidon as well. As an oracular deity, he had an oracle at Cape Tainairon and, according to one tradition, he was the first keeper of the oracle at Delphi. Regattas were held in his honour off Cape Sunium. Poseidon's chief festival was the Isthmia, scene of the Isthmian Games, celebrated near the Isthmus of Corinth.
Greek god of fertility. Son of Dionysos and Aphrodite. His cult originated in Phrygia and did not enter Greece proper until the rise of Macedonia under Phillip and Alexander. The cult remained most popular in Greek Anatolia, particularly at Lampsacus on the Hellespont, which was said to have been his birthplace. He was more popular in the country than in the cities. Priapos was depicted as an ugly, satyr-like man with an enormous phallus. His fertility aspect evidenced itself in an indiscriminate sexual appetite, as well as in his role as a god of fruitfulness, notably of gardens, flocks of sheep and goats, and of vines. Ithyphallic statues of Priapos were often placed in gardens. The donkey was his sacred animal, from its presumed sexual appetite. He was also a patron of seafarers and fishermen.
"Forethought". Greek god and culture hero. Son of the Titan Iapetos and Klymene. Prometheus is best known for the story of his conflict with Zeus. This began when Prometheus tricked Zeus into accepting the bones and fat of a sacrifice instead of the meat. Zeus retaliated by hiding fire from humanity, but Prometheus stole the fire and gave it to mankind. As punishment for this rebellion, Zeus had Prometheus chained to a rock in the Caucasus Mountains, where an eagle fed on his liver, which continually restored itself. Zeus also sent Pandora and her jar of evils to even the score with humanity. As for Prometheus, Herakles eventually killed the eagle and released him. As a culture hero, Prometheus was also given credit for teaching humanity various handicrafts and arts, and he was considered a patron of craftsmen and artisans. According to another tradition, Prometheus actually created humanity, shaping the first man and woman out of clay and water.
Greek sea god. Commonly known as the "Old Man of the Sea". Son of Okeanos and Tethys. He was a shepherd of sea creatures , which were his particular concern as a god of the sea. Proteus had the ability to change shape at will, a common trait of Greek sea deities. He was also known for his oracular powers and vast knowledge, but had to be forced to divulge any of his knowledge. In such circumstances, he would use all his skills as a shape- shifter to escape. Proteus was said to live either on the island of Pharos near the mouth of the Nile, or on the island of Carpathus between Crete and Rhodes.
Greek underworld god. Son of Zeus and Europa. Ruler of Crete who was succeeded as king by his brother Minos. After death he became one of the three judges of the dead in the underworld, along with Aiakos and Minos.
Greek mother of the gods. Daughter of Ouranos (heaven) and Gaia (earth). Consort of Kronos. Mother of Demeter, Hades, Hera, Hestia, Poseidon and Zeus. When Kronos swallowed his children, Rhea spirited Zeus away to a cave on the island of Crete, substituting a stone wrapped in swaddling cloths for the infant. Rhea was later equated with the Anatolian mother goddess Kybele.