Ancient Hellas... A land of myths and legends, a land of fearless heroes and brave sailors. The homeland of the formidable gods sitting on high Olympus. Zeus, Ares, Apollo, Poseidon - these names are familiar to everyone from school history lessons.

Today we will talk about their wives and daughters - the all-powerful ancient goddesses of Greece, who cleverly manipulated their husbands, being the real mistresses of Olympus and mistresses of mortals. These great beings ruled the world, not paying attention to the pitiful people below, because they were producers and spectators in the greatest theater in the world - Earth.

And when the time came to leave, the proud goddesses of Hellas left traces of their presence on Greek soil, albeit not as noticeable as those of the male half of the Pantheon.

Let's remember the myths about the beautiful, sometimes incredibly cruel daughters of Olympus and take a short trip to the places that are associated with them.

Goddess Hera - patroness of the hearth and family life

Hera is the goddess of ancient Greece, the highest among equals and the nominal mother of almost all the other goddesses of Olympus from the fourth generation (the first generation is the creators of the world, the second is the Titans, the third is the first gods).

Why? Because her husband Zeus is very far from the ideal of a faithful man.

However, Hera herself is good - in order to marry then not even the supreme god, but only the killer of Kronos (the strongest of the titans), Hera fell in love with Zeus, and then refused to become his mistress until he did not vow to make her his wife.

Moreover, the oath featured the waters of the Styx (the river that separates the world of the living and the dead, and has enormous power over both gods and people).

In the madness of love, the oath was pronounced and Hera became the main goddess on Olympus. But Zeus soon became fed up with family life and happily made connections on the side, which embittered Hera and forced her to look for ways to take revenge on those whom her unfaithful husband preferred, and at the same time on his side children.

Hera is the guardian goddess of the hearth and family, helps abandoned wives, punishes unfaithful husbands (which often brings her nose to nose with her flighty daughter-in-law, Aphrodite).


Hera's favorite son is Ares, the god of war, despised by his father for his love of battles and constant killing.

But the hatred of the first lady of Olympus is shared by two creatures - the daughter of Zeus Athena and the son of Zeus Hercules, both of whom were not born by his legal wife, but nevertheless ascended to Olympus.

In addition, Hera is hated by her own son Hephaestus, the god of crafts and the husband of Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty, who was thrown by Hera from Olympus as an infant for his physical deformity.

The largest trace of this cruel lady can be considered the Temple of Hera in ancient Olympia.

The religious building was built at the end of the 7th century BC. e. The massive temple fell into ruins long ago, but thanks to the efforts of several generations of archaeologists, the foundations of the temple and its surviving parts have been restored and are now open to tourists.

In addition, in the Olympia Museum, you can see fragments of statues dedicated to Hera and understand exactly how the goddess was portrayed by her admirers.

The cost of a ticket to Olympia is 9 euros, which includes entry to the excavation area and the museum. You can take a ticket only to the excavation area, it will cost 6 euros.

Aphrodite – goddess of love in Ancient Greece

Beautiful Aphrodite, whose beauty could only be matched by her frivolity, is not the daughter of Zeus or Hera, but comes from a much older family.

She is the latest creation of Uranus, the first of the Titans, castrated by Kronos during the first war for Olympus.

The blood of the titan, deprived of a certain part of his body, mixed with sea foam and from it arose an insidious and cruel beauty, who hid in Cyprus from the gaze of Kronos until he was overthrown by Zeus.

Thanks to Hera's cunning plan, Aphrodite married the powerful but ugly Hephaestus. And while he was working in his workshop, the goddess either basked on Olympus, communicating with the gods, or traveled around the world, falling in love with gods and people, and falling in love herself.

The most famous lovers of the windy beauty were Adonis, a beautiful hunter in body and spirit, with whom the goddess fell in love so much that after his tragic death from the tusks of a boar, she threw herself down the Lydian cliff.

And Ares, the god of war and destruction, secretly sent the boar to Adonis.

It was Ares who overflowed the patience of the proud Hephaestus, who set a trap for the lovers - he forged a strong net, so thin that the lovers simply did not notice it when the net was thrown onto the bed. In the midst of the “meeting,” Hephaestus’ trap entangled the lovers and lifted them above the bed.

When the god of crafts returned to Olympus, he laughed for a long time at the unlucky lovers, and the disgraced Aphrodite fled for a while to her temple in Cyprus, where she gave birth to the sons of Ares - Phobos and Deimos.

The god of war himself appreciated the elegance and softness of Hephaestus’s trap and accepted defeat with dignity, leaving the beautiful Aphrodite, who was soon forgiven by her husband.

Aphrodite is the goddess of love and love madness. She, despite her youthful appearance, is the oldest goddess on Olympus, to whom Hera often turns for help (especially in those cases when the hearth of love for her wife begins to fade in Zeus again). Aphrodite is also considered the goddess of fertility, and also one of the sea goddesses.

Aphrodite's favorite son is Eros, also known as Cupid, the god of carnal love, who always accompanies his mother. She has no permanent enemies on Olympus, but her frivolity often leads to quarrels with Hera and Athena.


Aphrodite's greatest legacy is Paphos, a city in Greek Cyprus located in the place where she once emerged from the sea foam.

This place was appreciated not only by women, but also by men - in some parts of ancient Greece there was a belief that a girl who visited the temple of Aphrodite and entered into a relationship with a stranger in the vicinity of the temple received the blessing of the goddess of love for life.

In addition, the temple housed the bath of Aphrodite, into which the goddess sometimes descended in order to restore her beauty and youth. Greek women believed that if you entered the bathhouse, there was every chance of maintaining youth.

Nowadays, only ruins remain of the temple, open to tourists. Not far from the Temple of Aphrodite in Paphos you can always find both newlyweds and single people, because according to legend, those who find a heart-shaped pebble on the coast will find eternal love.

Warrior Goddess Athena

The goddess Athena is the owner of the most abnormal birth myth.

This goddess is the daughter of Zeus and his first wife Metis, the goddess of wisdom, who, according to the prediction of Uranus, was supposed to give birth to a son, who, in turn, would soon overthrow his thunder father.

Having learned about his wife’s pregnancy, Zeus swallowed her whole, but soon felt wild pain in his head.

Fortunately, the god Hephaestus was on Olympus at that time, who, at the request of the royal father, hit him on the sore part of his body with his hammer, splitting his skull.

From the head of Zeus came a woman in full battle garb, who combined the wisdom of her mother and the talents of her father, becoming the first goddess of war in ancient Greece.

Later, another fan of swinging a sword, Ares, was born and tried to claim his rights, but the goddess, in numerous battles, forced her brother to respect herself, proving to him that battle madness was not enough to win.

The city of Athens is dedicated to the goddess, which she won from Poseidon in the legendary dispute over Attica.
It was Athena who gave the Athenians a priceless gift - the olive tree.

Athena is the first general of Olympus. During the war with the giants, the goddess fought alongside Hercules until she realized that the gods could not win.
Then Athena retreated to Olympus and, while the sons of Zeus were holding back the hordes of giants, she brought the head of Medusa to the battlefield, whose gaze turned the surviving warriors into stones, or rather, into mountains.


Athena is the goddess of wisdom, “smart” war and the patroness of crafts. Athena's second name is Pallas, received in honor of her foster sister, who died due to the oversight of the then-girl Athena - the goddess, without meaning to, accidentally killed her friend.

Having matured, Athena became the most perspicacious of the goddesses of Olympus.

She is a perpetual virgin and rarely gets into conflicts (except those involving her father).

Athena is the most faithful of all the Olympians and even during the exodus of the gods she wished to remain in Greece in the hope that one day she could return to her city.

Athena has neither enemies nor friends on Olympus. Her military prowess is respected by Ares, her wisdom is valued by Hera, and her loyalty is valued by Zeus, but Athena keeps her distance even from her father, preferring solitude.

Athena repeatedly showed herself as the guardian of Olympus, punishing mortals who declared themselves equal to the gods.

Her favorite weapon is a bow and arrow, but often she simply sends Greek heroes to her enemies, repaying them with her favor.

Athena's greatest legacy is her city, which she defended many times, including personally entering the battlefield.

The grateful Athenians built the goddess the most incredible sanctuary in Greece - the famous.

An 11-meter statue of her, made of bronze with a large amount of gold by the famous sculptor Phidias, was installed in the temple:

The statue has not survived to this day, as has a significant part of the temple itself, but at the end of the twentieth century, the Greek government restored the legendary ruins and began searching for the removed relics, which are gradually returning to their places.

There were miniature copies of the Parthenon in many Athenian colonies, in particular those on the Black Sea coast.

A long time ago, the all-powerful gods and goddesses of ancient Greece sunk into oblivion. But there are temples dedicated to them, and their great deeds are well remembered by the descendants of those who worshiped them.

And even though Greece no longer honors the mighty Olympians, having become the homeland of the Orthodox Church, even though scientists are trying to prove that these gods never existed... Greece remembers! He remembers the love of Zeus and the treachery of Hera, the rage of Ares and the calm power of Athena, the skill of Hephaestus and the unique beauty of Aphrodite...
And if you come here, she will definitely tell her stories to those who want to listen.

In ancient times, according to the beliefs of the ancient Greeks, 12 Olympian gods lived on Olympus, 6 men and 6 women. The genealogies of all the Olympian gods, demigods and heroes of Greek myths began with them.
These Olympian gods made a strange journey from even more ancient times into the future. The Greek gods turned into Roman gods to remain gods... but with different names. The gods of ancient Greece and Rome, having different names, perform the same functions and come from the same more ancient gods.

Greece, sea, foot of Olympus. Olympus, a beautiful mountain visible from afar. This is the home of the Olympian gods, shrouded in clouds. If you climb the mountain, to its very peak, you will find there only enough space for a few people.

The Greek goddesses are the bearers of eternal feminine qualities and today these goddesses live among us as normal women. The question of our choice is what we want to choose for ourselves. What kind of goddess or god do we want to look like and how will we accept this image of our destiny.

The idea of ​​​​representing the ancient Greek and Roman goddesses passed through love and stretches a laurel branch from the valley of the Pene River where the legend of Daphne was born.

Nymph Daphne was the most beautiful daughter of Peneus - the god of Rivers and the goddess of the Earth - Gaia. The god of love, Eros, struck the heart of the sun god Apollo with one shot of his arrow, and he fell madly in love with Daphne.

Eros either forgot to shoot his second arrow into Daphne’s heart, or regretted it, and as a result, Daphne rejected the advances of Apollo, who was in love with her, and ran as far as possible from the persistent suitor, who didn’t want to know anything about Daphne’s feelings for him, but only and thought about how to take possession of the object of my love.

But it was impossible for Daphne to escape from the all-seeing Sun God and, desperate to hide from Apollo, she asked her mother to turn her into a laurel bush growing on the banks of the Pene River and thus escape forever from the annoying love of the Sun God Apollo. Having found her in the form of a bush, the loving Apollo wove a laurel wreath, put it on his head as a sign of eternal love and vowed to make the laurel an evergreen tree. Among the ancient Greeks, the laurel wreath became a prize given to winners in the Olympic Games.

The legend is very beautiful and tragic... Is this a punishment for unrequited love?

Artemis(in Ancient Rome - the goddess Diana) daughter of Zeus and the goddess Leto (Latona, in another version - Demeter), sister of Apollo. When Leto became pregnant, she hid on the island of Delos. The wife of Zeus, Hera, who was also the goddess of marriage, having learned about this blasphemy, sent the Delphic Python in pursuit of her. Zeus saved his daughter and, under a palm tree on the island of Delos, Leto gave birth to Artemis and Apollo.

Artemis loved her brother Apollo very much and often came to the top of Parnassus, where he lived, to rest and listen to him play the golden cithara and the songs of the muses. At dawn, having slept, she again rushed into the forests to hunt.

The ancient Roman goddess Diana was the goddess of the hunt, the patroness of wild animals and the Moon. Diana is depicted as a hunter with a bow, the arrows of which never miss the target, surrounded by deer and dogs. Artemis's kingdom is wilderness.

Diana of the ancient Romans is also the chaste goddess of femininity, fertility, hunting, the moon and the night. She is depicted accompanied by wild animals with a bow and quiver of arrows, wandering with mountain nymphs through forests and mountains. Diana guards young single women and is the Virgin of purity. Diana in late Roman antiquity was considered the personification of the night and the moon, just as her brother Apollo was identified with the day and the sun.

Diana among the Romans had triple power - on earth, underground and in heaven, and therefore she was given the epithet "goddess of three roads." Her images were often placed at crossroads of major roads. Diana was also known as the patroness of prisoners, plebeians and slaves. Later she began to be considered the patroness of the Latin Union.

Athena(in Ancient Rome - Minerva) was the goddess of wisdom, just war and crafts. Athena is the protector of cities, patroness of the arts, sciences, creativity, crafts and agriculture. She is a stronghold of well-being. Athena is the patroness of the Greek city of Athens, named after her. Athena is the patroness of many heroes. She was often depicted in armor, as she was also known as an excellent strategist.

Being the goddess of war, Athena did not enjoy battles; she preferred to establish the law and resolve disputes peacefully. She was famous for her kindness. The only exception happened in the Trojan War, when, enraged that the apple of discord was not rightfully given to her, Athena, together with Hera, poured out all her rage in battle.

Athena was the daughter of Zeus and the Titanide Metis. Zeus was predicted a terrible future - his future son from Metis was supposed to overthrow him from the throne and then Zeus swallowed his pregnant wife. With the help of the god Hephaestus, he brought the already adult Athena, who was in full battle garb, out of his head. Since then, Athena has been, as it were, a part of Zeus himself, she fulfills his will and carries out the plans of Zeus.

Athena is the desires of Zeus, fulfilled by her in reality. Athena's attributes are the owl, the snake and the aegis. Athena's one touch on a person is enough to give him wisdom and knowledge and make him a wonderful and successful hero. According to mythology, the goddess Athena patronized only ambitious people, making their endeavors successful. Reading the Iliad, we see that Athena patronizes her heroes.

Minerva is the ancient Roman goddess of wisdom, arts and crafts. She is the beloved daughter of Jupiter. According to Roman legend, Minerva was also born without a mother, emerging fully armed from Jupiter, sparkling with her beauty, after Vulcan split his head and removed Minerva from there.

Hestia(in Ancient Rome - Vesta) is the goddess of the hearth and sacrificial fire in Ancient Greece, which burns in its temples and houses. She is the eldest daughter of Kronos and Rhea. Her sisters are Hera, Demeter and Aida, and her brothers are Poseidon and Zeus. Hestia founded the city of Knossos.

Poseidon and Apollo intended to marry her, but she decided to live with her brother Zeus as a virgin. The image of Hestia “owning the Pythian laurel” was in the Athenian Prytaneum, and the altar of Hestia was located in the grove of Zeus Gomoria.

A sacrifice was made to her before the start of any sacred ceremony, no matter whether it was private or public. Thanks to this, the saying “start with Hestia” was preserved in Greece, which served as a synonym for a successful and correct start to a business. As a reward for this, she was given high honors. In the cities, an altar was dedicated to her, on which fire was always maintained, and new colonists took fire from this altar with them to their new homeland.

In ancient Rome, Vesta was the daughter of Saturn and the goddess Rhea. Vesta was also the goddess of the hearth and purity of family life. The Romans maintained a sacred fire in her temple. This fire was a symbol of the prosperity of the Roman state. The Vestal priestesses watched over him, since his disappearance was the worst omen. From this sacred fire the fire was lit in new Roman settlements and colonies.

Temple of Vesta on the Palatine Hill of Rome

Vesta's frame was located in Rome on the slope of the Palatine Hill, in a grove opposite the forum. An eternal fire burned in her temple, supported by the priestesses of the goddess - the Vestals. They could be ten-year-old girls who completely devoted their lives to serving Vesta. They were forbidden to marry, and if a Vestal Virgin became pregnant, she was buried alive in the ground.

In June, the Vestalia was celebrated in Rome - a holiday in honor of Vesta. During this holiday, barefoot Roman women made sacrifices to Vesta in her temple. On this day, it was forbidden to use donkeys for any work, since it was the braying of a donkey that once saved Vesta from the dishonor of Priapus, awakening her from sleep. Her sculptures are very rare and depict Vesta as a girl with a veil thrown over her head.

These virgin goddesses are a symbol of female independence. Unlike other inhabitants of Olympus, they, as a rule, are not intended for permanent family life and love. Emotional attachment cannot distract them from what they consider more important to them. They do not grieve from unrequited love. These goddesses are an expression of women's need for emancipation - to be independent and go towards achieving their goals.

Artemis and Athena represent determination, logical thinking and movement towards achieving a goal. Hestia is the prototype of introversion, her attention is directed to the inner world, she is the spiritual center of the female personality. These three goddesses expand our understanding of the qualities of women such as competence and independence. These qualities are characteristic of women who actively strive to achieve their own goals.

The second group of goddesses is a group of vulnerable goddesses - Hera, Demeter and Persephone.

Hera(in Ancient Rome - Juno) was the goddess of marriage. She was the wife of Zeus, who was the supreme god of Olympus.

Hera is originally an Etruscan deity who later became a Roman goddess, identified with the Greek goddess Hera. Juno was the daughter of Saturn and Rhea, sister of Ceres, Pluto, Vesta, Neptune and Jupiter, who was also her husband. Juno was the Roman goddess of marriage, conjugal love, patroness of married women, helping pregnant wives, patroness of Rome and the Roman state. The Romans were the first (as far as is known from history) to officially introduce monogamy (monogamy). Juno became the patroness of monogamy and was the goddess of protest against polygamy among the Romans.

Traditionally, Juno is depicted wearing a helmet and armor. Together with Jupiter and Minerva, she is part of the Capitoline Triad, in whose honor a temple was erected on Capitol Hill in Rome. In Rome, sacred geese warned the townspeople with their cries about the attack of the Gauls and thereby saved the city.

On March 1, in Ancient Rome, the festival of matronalia was celebrated in her honor. The month of June is named in her honor. Juno consulted with the goddess of wisdom Minerva and the goddess of dark forces Ceres.

Demeter(in Ancient Rome - Ceres) is the goddess of fertility and agriculture. In myths, special attention is paid to the mother of Demeter.

The cult of the goddess who protects all life on earth and protects farmers has its roots in the pre-Indo-European era. In ancient times she bore the name Mother Earth. The “Great Mother,” and later Demeter, gave birth to all living things on Earth and received the dead into herself. Demeter was therefore considered the patroness of sorcerers. It was she who taught humanity agriculture and gave people wheat seeds.

Demeter is the second daughter of Kronos and Rhea and the mother of Persephone, wife of Hades. She is the sister of Zeus, Hera, Hestia, Hades and Poseidon. According to legend, Demeter was devoured by her father Kronos and then taken from his womb. In honor of Hercules, Demeter established the Lesser Mysteries for his purification after his murder of the centaurs.

According to one legend, Demeter was married to the Cretan god of agriculture Iasion. From their union, concluded on a thrice-plowed field, Plutos and Philomel were born. According to Diodorus, Demeter was the mother of Eubouleus.

The ancient Roman goddess Ceres was the daughter of Saturn and Rhea, the sister of Jupiter, the mother of Proserpina, goddess of fruit and agricultural land, lawgiver and patroness of peace and marriage. Her sacred flower was the poppy - a symbol of sleep and death, mourning for her daughter Persephone, who was kidnapped by Pluto and taken to the world of the dead. In Roman mythology, Ceres is also the goddess of fertility. Demeter later became associated with Kybella.

Persephone, daughter of Jupiter and Ceres, wife of Pluto (in Ancient Rome - Proserpina). The ancient Greeks called her "Kora" - girl. Proserpina was the goddess of nature and fertility, but after she was kidnapped by Pluto, she became the queen of the underworld.

The cult of the goddess of the underworld can be traced back to the Mycenaean era. Persephone may have been taken from one of the ancient goddesses who were worshiped by local tribes before the Greek invasion of the Balkan Peninsula. Among the Greeks who conquered these peoples, the cult of Persephone was identified with the cult of the goddess of fertility - Kore. Persephone was the daughter of Demeter and Zeus, or the daughter of Zeus and Styx. She was nursed in a cave by Demeter and the nymphs. Ares and Apollo unsuccessfully wooed her. Cora's flower is the narcissus.

She is the wife of the ruler of the underworld Hades (Pluto), who kidnapped her and took her underground. Demeter searched for her daughter all over the world, being in inconsolable grief. The land was barren all this time. To return her daughter, Demeter turned to Zeus for help. Hades had to let Persephone go. But he gave her pomegranate seeds, which arose from drops of the blood of Dionysus. Persephone swallowed pomegranate seeds and found herself doomed to return to the kingdom of the dead.

To calm the inconsolable Demeter, Zeus decided that Persephone would spend only part of the year in the kingdom of Hades, and live the rest of the time on Olympus.

While she was on Olympus, Persephone rose into the sky early in the morning and became the constellation Virgo there so that her awakened mother Demeter could immediately see her. The myth of Persephone has been associated with the change of seasons since ancient times.

These Greco-Roman goddesses personify the traditional role of women - wife, mother and daughter. They express women's needs for family life and affection for the home. These goddesses do not live only for themselves and are therefore vulnerable. They suffer, are abused, are kidnapped, oppressed and humiliated by the male gods.
Their stories serve to help women understand their own emotional reactions, cope with their own suffering and move on with their lives.

Aphrodite (in Ancient Rome - Venus) goddess of love and beauty. She is the most beautiful and sexy goddess. Aphrodite belongs to the third category of goddesses - the alchemical goddess. Aphrodite enters into many relationships with men and has many heirs. She is the embodiment of primitive voluptuousness and erotic attraction. Her love affairs are only by her choice and Aphrodite is never a victim. She allows fleeting sensual relationships, she has no constancy, and she is open to a new life.

Among the ancient Romans, the role of Aphrodite passed to Venus. She is considered the ancestress of the Romans thanks to her son Aeneas. He was the founder of the Julius family, to which Julius Caesar belonged.

Venus was the goddess of spring among the ancient Romans, and later of beauty, love and life. Born from sea foam, Venus became the wife of the god Vulcan and the mother of Cupid (Cupid).

According to one version, the goddess was conceived with the blood (in Greek - afros) of Uranus, castrated by the titan Kronos. The blood of Uranus that fell into the sea formed foam from which the patroness of love and the goddess of fertility, eternal spring and life, Aphrodite, appeared. Aphrodite is surrounded by nymphs, oras and charites. Aphrodite is the goddess of marriage and childbirth. Her roots lie in the sexy and licentious Phoenician fertility goddess Astarte, the Assyrian Ishtar and the Egyptian Isis. Over time, the beautiful Aphrodite was reborn from them, taking her place of honor on Olympus.

Seeing Aphrodite on Olympus, the gods fell in love with her, but Aphrodite chose Hephaestus for herself - the ugliest of all the gods, but also the most skillful. This did not stop her from giving birth to children from other gods (Dionysus, Ares). She gave birth to Eros (or Eros), Anteros - the god of hatred), Harmony, Phobos - the god of fear, Deimos - the god of horror.

Aphrodite was in love with the beautiful Adonis, who was killed by a wild boar while hunting. Scarlet roses appeared from his drops of blood, and beautiful anemones grew from Aphrodite’s tears. Another legend attributes the death of Adonis to the anger of Ares, who was jealous of Aphrodite.

Aphrodite was one of three goddesses who won the argument about who was the most beautiful. She promised the son of the Trojan king Paris the most beautiful of earthly women - the wife of the Spartan king Menelaus. Elena. The Trojan War began with the abduction of Helen. Aphrodite's belt contained the desire to possess, love and words of seduction.

As is known, they were pagans, i.e. They believed in several gods. There were a great many of the latter. However, there were only twelve main and most revered ones. They were part of the Greek pantheon and lived on the sacred So, what are the Olympian gods of Ancient Greece? This is the question being considered today. All the gods of Ancient Greece obeyed only Zeus.

He is the god of the sky, lightning and thunder. People are also considered. He can see the future. Zeus maintains the balance of good and evil. He is given the power to punish and forgive. He strikes guilty people with lightning, and overthrows the gods from Olympus. In Roman mythology it corresponds to Jupiter.

However, on Olympus near Zeus there is also a throne for his wife. And Hera takes it.

She is the patroness of marriage and mothers during childbirth, the protector of women. On Olympus she is the wife of Zeus. In Roman mythology, her counterpart is Juno.

He is the god of cruel, treacherous and bloody war. He is delighted only by the spectacle of a hot battle. On Olympus, Zeus tolerates him only because he is the son of the Thunderer. Its analogue in the mythology of Ancient Rome is Mars.

Ares will not have long to go on rampage if Pallas Athena appears on the battlefield.

She is the goddess of wise and just war, knowledge and art. It is believed that she came into being from the head of Zeus. Her prototype in the myths of Rome is Minerva.

Has the moon risen in the sky? This means, according to the ancient Greeks, the goddess Artemis went for a walk.

Artemis

She is the patroness of the Moon, hunting, fertility and female chastity. Her name is associated with one of the seven wonders of the world - the temple in Ephesus, which was burned by the ambitious Herostratus. She is also the sister of the god Apollo. Her counterpart in Ancient Rome is Diana.

Apollo

He is the god of sunlight, marksmanship, as well as a healer and leader of the muses. He is the twin brother of Artemis. Their mother was the Titanide Leto. His prototype in Roman mythology is Phoebus.

Love is a wonderful feeling. And, as the inhabitants of Hellas believed, she is patronized by the equally beautiful goddess Aphrodite

Aphrodite

She is the goddess of beauty, love, marriage, spring, fertility and life. According to legend, it appeared from a shell or sea foam. Many gods of Ancient Greece wanted to marry her, but she chose the ugliest of them - the lame Hephaestus. In Roman mythology, she was associated with the goddess Venus.

Hephaestus

Is considered a jack of all trades. He was born with an ugly appearance, and his mother Hera, not wanting to have such a child, threw her son from Olympus. He didn't crash, but since then he's been limping badly. His counterpart in Roman mythology is Vulcan.

There is a big holiday, people are happy, wine flows like a river. The Greeks believe that it is Dionysus who is having fun on Olympus.

Dionysus

Is and fun. Was carried and born... by Zeus. This is true, the Thunderer was both his father and mother. It so happened that Zeus’s beloved, Semele, at the instigation of Hera, asked him to appear in all his power. As soon as he did this, Semele immediately burned in the flames. Zeus barely managed to snatch their premature son from her and sew him into his thigh. When Dionysus, born of Zeus, grew up, his father made him cupbearer of Olympus. In Roman mythology his name is Bacchus.

Where do the souls of dead people go? To the kingdom of Hades, that’s how the ancient Greeks would have answered.

This is the ruler of the underground kingdom of the dead. He is the brother of Zeus.

Is the sea rough? This means that Poseidon is angry about something - this is what the inhabitants of Hellas thought.

Poseidon

This is the oceans, the lord of the waters. He is also the brother of Zeus.

Conclusion

That's all the main gods of Ancient Greece. But you can learn about them not only from myths. Over the centuries, artists have formed a consensus about Ancient Greece (pictures presented above).

We offer a list of the most famous ancient Greek gods with brief descriptions and links to full articles with illustrations.

  • Hades is the god - ruler of the kingdom of the dead, as well as the kingdom itself. One of the elder Olympian gods, brother of Zeus, Hera, Demeter, Poseidon and Hestia, son of Kronos and Rhea. Husband of the fertility goddess Persephone
  • - hero of myths, giant, son of Poseidon and the Earth of Gaia. The earth gave its son strength, thanks to which no one could control him. But Hercules defeated Antaeus, tearing him away from the Earth and depriving him of the help of Gaia.
  • - god of sunlight. The Greeks depicted him as a beautiful young man. Apollo (other epithets - Phoebus, Musaget) - son of Zeus and the goddess Leto, brother of Artemis. He had the gift of foreseeing the future and was considered the patron of all arts. In late antiquity, Apollo was identified with the sun god Helios.
  • - god of treacherous war, son of Zeus and Hera. The Greeks portrayed him as a strong young man.
  • - twin sister of Apollo, goddess of hunting and nature, was believed to facilitate childbirth. She was sometimes considered a moon goddess and identified with Selene. The center of the cult of Artemis was in the city of Ephesus, where a grandiose temple was erected in her honor - one of the seven wonders of the world.
  • - god of medical art, son of Apollo and the nymph Coronis. To the Greeks he was represented as a bearded man with a staff in his hand. The staff was entwined with a snake, which later became one of the symbols of the medical profession. Asclepius was killed by Zeus for trying to resurrect the dead with his art. In the Roman pantheon, Asclepius corresponds to the god Aesculapius.
  • Atropos(“inevitable”) - one of the three moiras, cutting the thread of fate and ending a human life.
  • - the daughter of Zeus and Metis, born from his head in full military armor. Goddess of just war and wisdom, patroness of knowledge. Athena taught people many crafts, established laws on earth, and gave musical instruments to mortals. The center of veneration of Athena was in Athens. The Romans identified Athena with the goddess Minerva.
  • (Kytherea, Urania) - goddess of love and beauty. She was born from the marriage of Zeus and the goddess Dione (according to another legend, she emerged from the sea foam, hence her title Anadyomene, “foam-born”). Aphrodite corresponds to the Sumerian Inanna and the Babylonian Ishtar, the Egyptian Isis and the Great Mother of the Gods, and finally, the Roman Venus.
  • - god of the north wind, son of the Titanides Astraeus (starry sky) and Eos (morning dawn), brother of Zephyr and Note. He was depicted as a winged, long-haired, bearded, powerful deity.
  • - in mythology, sometimes called Dionysus by the Greeks, and Liber by the Romans, was originally a Thracian or Phrygian god, whose cult was adopted by the Greeks very early. Bacchus, according to some legends, is considered the son of the daughter of the Theban king, Semele, and Zeus. According to others, he is the son of Zeus and Demeter or Persephone.
  • (Hebea) - daughter of Zeus and Hera, goddess of youth. Sister of Ares and Ilithyia. She served the Olympian gods at feasts, bringing them nectar and ambrosia. In Roman mythology, Hebe corresponds to the goddess Juventa.
  • - goddess of darkness, night visions and sorcery, patroness of sorcerers. Hecate was often considered the goddess of the moon and was identified with Artemis. Hecate's Greek nickname "Triodita" and her Latin name "Trivia" originate from the legend that this goddess dwells at crossroads.
  • - hundred-armed, fifty-headed giants, the personification of the elements, sons of Uranus (Heaven) and the goddess Gaia (Earth).
  • (Helium) - god of the Sun, brother of Selene (Moon) and Eos (dawn). In late antiquity he was identified with Apollo. According to Greek myths, Helios travels around the sky every day in a chariot drawn by four fiery horses. The main center of the cult was located on the island of Rhodes, where a giant statue was erected in his honor, considered one of the seven wonders of the world (the Colossus of Rhodes).
  • Gemera- goddess of daylight, personification of the day, born of Nikta and Erebus. Often identified with Eos.
  • - the supreme Olympian goddess, sister and third wife of Zeus, daughter of Rhea and Kronos, sister of Hades, Hestia, Demeter and Poseidon. Hera was considered the patroness of marriage. From Zeus she gave birth to Ares, Hebe, Hephaestus and Ilithyia (the goddess of women in childbirth, with whom Hera herself was often identified.
  • - son of Zeus and Maya, one of the most significant Greek gods. Patron of wanderers, crafts, trade, thieves. Possessing the gift of eloquence, Hermes patronized schools and speakers. He played the role of messenger of the gods and guide of the souls of the dead. He was usually depicted as a young man in a simple hat and winged sandals, with a magic staff in his hands. In Roman mythology it was identified with Mercury.
  • - goddess of the hearth and fire, eldest daughter of Kronos and Gaia, sister of Hades, Hera, Demeter, Zeus and Poseidon. In Roman mythology, she corresponded to the goddess Vesta.
  • - son of Zeus and Hera, god of fire and blacksmithing. He was considered the patron saint of artisans (especially blacksmiths). The Greeks portrayed Hephaestus as a broad-shouldered, short and lame man, working in a forge where he forges weapons for the Olympian gods and heroes.
  • - mother earth, foremother of all gods and people. Coming out of Chaos, Gaia gave birth to Uranus-Sky, and from her marriage with him gave birth to titans and monsters. The Roman mother goddess corresponding to Gaia is Tellus.
  • - god of sleep, son of Nyx and Erebus, younger twin brother of the god of death Thanatos, favorite of the muses. Lives in Tartarus.
  • - goddess of fertility and agriculture. The daughter of Kronos and Rhea, she is one of the elder Olympian gods. Mother of the goddess Kore-Persephone and the god of wealth Plutos.
  • (Bacchus) - the god of viticulture and winemaking, the object of a number of cults and mysteries. He was depicted either as an obese elderly man or as a young man with a wreath of grape leaves on his head. In Roman mythology, he corresponded to Liber (Bacchus).
  • - lower deities, nymphs who lived in trees. The dryad's life was closely connected with her tree. If the tree died or was cut down, the dryad also died.
  • - god of fertility, son of Zeus and Persephone. In the Mysteries he was identified with Dionysus.
  • - the supreme Olympian god. Son of Kronos and Rhea, father of many younger gods and people (Hercules, Perseus, Helen of Troy). Lord of thunderstorms and thunder. As the ruler of the world, he had many different functions. In Roman mythology, Zeus corresponded to Jupiter.
  • - god of the west wind, brother of Boreas and Note.
  • - god of fertility, sometimes identified with Dionysus and Zagreus.
  • - patron goddess of women in labor (Roman Lucina).
  • - the god of the river of the same name in Argos and the most ancient Argive king, the son of Tethys and Oceanus.
  • - the deity of the great mysteries, introduced into the Eleusinian cult by the Orphics and associated with Demeter, Persephone, Dionysus.
  • - personification and goddess of the rainbow, winged messenger of Zeus and Hera, daughter of Thaumant and the oceanid Electra, sister of the Harpies and Arches.
  • - demonic creatures, children of the goddess Nikta, bringing troubles and death to people.
  • - Titan, the son of Uranus and Gaia, was thrown into Tartarus by Zeus
  • - Titan, youngest son of Gaia and Uranus, father of Zeus. He ruled the world of gods and people and was dethroned by Zeus. In Roman mythology, it is known as Saturn, a symbol of inexorable time.
  • - daughter of the goddess of discord Eris, mother of the Harites (according to Hesiod). And also the River of Oblivion in the underworld (Virgil).
  • - Titanide, mother of Apollo and Artemis.
  • (Metis) - the goddess of wisdom, the first of the three wives of Zeus, who conceived Athena from him.
  • - mother of nine muses, goddess of memory, daughter of Uranus and Gaia.
  • - daughters of Nikta-Night, goddess of fate Lachesis, Clotho, Atropos.
  • - god of ridicule, slander and stupidity. Son of Nyukta and Erebus, brother of Hypnos.
  • - one of the sons of Hypnos, the winged god of dreams.
  • - patron goddess of the arts and sciences, nine daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne.
  • - nymphs-guardians of waters - deities of rivers, lakes, springs, streams and springs.
  • - daughter of Nikta, a goddess who personified fate and retribution, punishing people in accordance with their sins.
  • - fifty daughters of Nereus and the oceanids Doris, sea deities.
  • - son of Gaia and Pontus, meek sea god.
  • - personification of victory. She was often depicted wearing a wreath, a common symbol of triumph in Greece.
  • - goddess of the Night, product of Chaos. The mother of many gods, including Hypnos, Thanatos, Nemesis, Mom, Kera, Moira, Hesperiad, Eris.
  • - lower deities in the hierarchy of Greek gods. They personified the forces of nature and were closely connected with their habitats. River nymphs were called naiads, tree nymphs were called dryads, mountain nymphs were called orestiads, and sea nymphs were called nereids. Often, nymphs accompanied one of the gods and goddesses as a retinue.
  • Note- the god of the south wind, depicted with a beard and wings.
  • Ocean is a titan, the son of Gaia and Uranus, the forefather of the gods of the sea, rivers, streams and springs.
  • Orion is a deity, the son of Poseidon and the Oceanid Euryale, daughter of Minos. According to another legend, he came from a fertilized bull skin, buried for nine months in the ground by King Girieus.
  • Ora (Mountains) - goddesses of the seasons, peace and order, daughters of Zeus and Themis. There were three of them in total: Dike (or Astraea, goddess of justice), Eunomia (goddess of order and justice), Eirene (goddess of peace).
  • Pan is the god of forests and fields, the son of Hermes and Dryope, a goat-footed man with horns. He was considered the patron saint of shepherds and small livestock. According to myths, Pan invented the pipe. In Roman mythology, Pan corresponds to Faun (the patron of herds) and Silvanus (the demon of the forests).
  • Peyto- goddess of persuasion, companion of Aphrodite, often identified with her patroness.
  • Persephone is the daughter of Demeter and Zeus, the goddess of fertility. The wife of Hades and the queen of the underworld, who knew the secrets of life and death. The Romans revered Persephone under the name Proserpina.
  • Python (Dolphinus) is a monstrous serpent, the offspring of Gaia. Guarded the ancient oracle of Gaia and Themis in Delphi.
  • The Pleiades are the seven daughters of the titan Atlas and the oceanids Pleione. The most striking of them bear the names of Atlantis, friends of Artemis: Alcyone, Keleno, Maya, Merope, Sterope, Taygeta, Electra. All the sisters were combined in a love union with the gods, with the exception of Merope, who became the wife of Sisyphus.
  • Pluto - god of the underworld, until the 5th century BC. named Hades. Later, Hades is mentioned only by Homer, in other later myths - Pluto.
  • Plutos is the son of Demeter, a god who gives wealth to people.
  • Pont- one of the most ancient Greek gods, the son of Gaia (born without a father), god of the Inner Sea. He is the father of Nereus, Thaumantas, Phorcys and his sister-wife Keto (from Gaia or Tethys); Eurybia (from Gaia; Telkhines (from Gaia or Thalassa); genera of fish (from Thalassa.
  • - one of the Olympian gods, brother of Zeus and Hades, who rules over the sea elements. Poseidon also had power over the bowels of the earth; he commanded storms and earthquakes. He was depicted as a man with a trident in his hand, usually accompanied by a retinue of lower sea deities and sea animals.
  • Proteus is a sea deity, son of Poseidon, patron of seals. He had the gift of reincarnation and prophecy.

Hades - God is the ruler of the kingdom of the dead.

Antey- hero of myths, giant, son of Poseidon and the Earth of Gaia. The earth gave its son strength, thanks to which no one could control him.

Apollo- god of sunlight. The Greeks depicted him as a beautiful young man.

Ares- god of treacherous war, son of Zeus and Hera

Asclepius- god of healing arts, son of Apollo and the nymph Coronis

Boreas- god of the north wind, son of the Titanides Astraeus (starry sky) and Eos (morning dawn), brother of Zephyr and Note. He was depicted as a winged, long-haired, bearded, powerful deity.

Bacchus- one of the names of Dionysus.

Helios (Helium ) - god of the Sun, brother of Selene (goddess of the Moon) and Eos (morning dawn). In late antiquity he was identified with Apollo, the god of sunlight.

Hermes- the son of Zeus and Maya, one of the most polysemantic Greek gods. Patron of wanderers, crafts, trade, thieves. Possessing the gift of eloquence.

Hephaestus- son of Zeus and Hera, god of fire and blacksmithing. He was considered the patron of artisans.

Hypnos- deity of sleep, son of Nikta (Night). He was depicted as a winged youth.

Dionysus (Bacchus) - the god of viticulture and winemaking, the object of a number of cults and mysteries. He was depicted either as an obese elderly man or as a young man with a wreath of grape leaves on his head.

Zagreus- god of fertility, son of Zeus and Persephone.

Zeus- supreme god, king of gods and people.

Marshmallow- god of the west wind.

Iacchus- god of fertility.

Kronos - titan , youngest son of Gaia and Uranus, father of Zeus. He ruled the world of gods and people and was overthrown from the throne by Zeus...

Mom- son of the goddess of Night, god of slander.

Morpheus- one of the sons of Hypnos, god of dreams.

Nereus- son of Gaia and Pontus, meek sea god.

Note- the god of the south wind, depicted with a beard and wings.

Ocean is titanium , son of Gaia and Uranus, brother and husband of Tethys and father of all the rivers of the world.

Olympians- the supreme gods of the younger generation of Greek gods, led by Zeus, who lived on the top of Mount Olympus.

Pan- forest god, son of Hermes and Dryope, goat-footed man with horns. He was considered the patron saint of shepherds and small livestock.

Pluto- the god of the underworld, often identified with Hades, but unlike from him, who owned not the souls of the dead, but the riches of the underworld.

Plutos- son of Demeter, god who gives wealth to people.

Pont- one of the senior Greek deities, the offspring of Gaia, the god of the sea, the father of many titans and gods.

Poseidon- one of the Olympian gods, brother of Zeus and Hades, who rules over the sea elements. Poseidon was also subject to the bowels of the earth,
he commanded storms and earthquakes.

Proteus- sea deity, son of Poseidon, patron of seals. He had the gift of reincarnation and prophecy.

Satires- goat-footed creatures, demons of fertility.

Thanatos- personification of death, twin brother of Hypnos.

Titans- generation of Greek gods, ancestors of the Olympians.

Typhon- a hundred-headed dragon born of Gaia or Hera. During the battle of the Olympians and the Titans, he was defeated by Zeus and imprisoned under the volcano Etna in Sicily.

Triton- son of Poseidon, one of the sea deities, a man with a fish tail instead of legs, holding a trident and a twisted shell - a horn.

Chaos- an endless empty space from which at the beginning of time the most ancient gods of the Greek religion - Nyx and Erebus - emerged.

Chthonic gods - deities of the underworld and fertility, relatives of the Olympians. These included Hades, Hecate, Hermes, Gaia, Demeter, Dionysus and Persephone.

Cyclops - giants with one eye in the middle of the forehead, children of Uranus and Gaia.

Eurus (Eur)- god of the southeast wind.

Aeolus- lord of the winds.

Erebus- personification of the darkness of the underworld, son of Chaos and brother of Night.

Eros (Eros)- god of love, son of Aphrodite and Ares. In the most ancient myths - a self-emerging force that contributed to the ordering of the world. He was depicted as a winged youth (in the Hellenistic era - a boy) with arrows, accompanying his mother.

Ether- deity of the sky

Goddesses of ancient Greece

Artemis- goddess of hunting and nature.

Atropos- one of the three moiras, cutting the thread of fate and ending human life.

Athena (Pallada, Parthenos) - daughter of Zeus, born from his head in full military armor. One of the most revered Greek goddesses, the goddess of just war and wisdom, the patroness of knowledge.

Aphrodite (Kytharea, Urania) - goddess of love and beauty. She was born from the marriage of Zeus and the goddess Dione (according to another legend, she came out of the sea foam)

Hebe- daughter of Zeus and Hera, goddess of youth. Sister of Ares and Ilithyia. She served the Olympian gods at feasts.

Hecate- goddess of darkness, night visions and sorcery, patroness of sorcerers.

Gemera- goddess of daylight, personification of the day, born of Nikta and Erebus. Often identified with Eos.

Hera- the supreme Olympian goddess, sister and third wife of Zeus, daughter of Rhea and Kronos, sister of Hades, Hestia, Demeter and Poseidon. Hera was considered the patroness of marriage.

Hestia- goddess of the hearth and fire.

Gaia- mother earth, foremother of all gods and people.

Demitra- goddess of fertility and agriculture.

Dryads- lower deities, nymphs who lived in trees.

Diana-goddess of the hunt

Ilithia- patron goddess of women in labor.

Iris- winged goddess, assistant of Hera, messenger of the gods.

Calliope- muse of epic poetry and science.

Kera- demonic creatures, children of the goddess Nikta, bringing troubles and death to people.

Clio- one of the nine muses, the muse of history.

Clotho ("spinner") - one of the moiras that spin the thread of human life.

Lachesis- one of the three Moira sisters, who determine the fate of every person even before birth.

Summer- Titanide, mother of Apollo and Artemis.

Mayan- a mountain nymph, the eldest of the seven Pleiades - the daughters of Atlas, the beloved of Zeus, from whom Hermes was born to her.

Melpomene- muse of tragedy.

Metis- goddess of wisdom, the first of the three wives of Zeus, who conceived Athena from him.

Mnemosyne- mother of nine muses, goddess of memory.

Moira- goddess of fate, daughter of Zeus and Themis.

Muses- patron goddess of the arts and sciences.

Naiads- nymphs-guardians of waters.

Nemesis- daughter of Nikta, a goddess who personified fate and retribution, punishing people in accordance with their sins.

Nereids- fifty daughters of Nereus and the oceanids Doris, sea deities.

Nika- personification of victory. She was often depicted wearing a wreath, a common symbol of triumph in Greece.

Nymphs- lower deities in the hierarchy of Greek gods. They personified the forces of nature.

Nikta- one of the first Greek deities, the goddess is the personification of the primordial Night

Orestiades- mountain nymphs.

Ory- goddess of the seasons, peace and order, daughter of Zeus and Themis.

Peyto- goddess of persuasion, companion of Aphrodite, often identified with her patroness.

Persephone- daughter of Demeter and Zeus, goddess of fertility. The wife of Hades and the queen of the underworld, who knew the secrets of life and death.

Polyhymnia- the muse of serious hymn poetry.

Tethys- daughter of Gaia and Uranus, wife of Ocean and mother of the Nereids and Oceanids.

Rhea- mother of the Olympian gods.

Sirens- female demons, half-woman, half-bird, capable of changing the weather at sea.

Waist- the muse of comedy.

Terpsichore- muse of dance art.

Tisiphone- one of the Erinyes.

Quiet- goddess of fate and chance among the Greeks, companion of Persephone. She was depicted as a winged woman standing on a wheel and holding a cornucopia and a ship's rudder in her hands.

Urania- one of the nine muses, patroness of astronomy.

Themis- Titanide, goddess of justice and law, second wife of Zeus, mother of mountains and moira.

Charites- goddess of female beauty, the embodiment of a kind, joyful and eternally young beginning of life.

Eumenides- another hypostasis of the Erinyes, revered as goddesses of benevolence, who prevented misfortunes.

Eris- daughter of Nyx, sister of Ares, goddess of discord.

Erinyes- goddesses of vengeance, creatures of the underworld, who punished injustice and crimes.

Erato- Muse of lyrical and erotic poetry.

Eos- goddess of the dawn, sister of Helios and Selene. The Greeks called it “rose-fingered.”

Euterpe- muse of lyrical chant. Depicted with a double flute in her hand.