Greek:

Transliteration: Kronos, Cronus

Latin: Saturnus, Saturn Transliteration: Time (khronos)

Greek Name

Transliteration Gaia, Gai, G

Latin Name Gaea, Terra, Tellus

Translation Earth

Greek Name

Transliteration Latin Name Ouranos Uranus, Caelum

Translation Sky, Heaven

Greek Name

Transliteration Rheia, Rhea

Latin Name Translation Ops, Opis Flow, Ease (rhea)

Greek Name

Transliteration keanos Ognos, Ogn

Latin Spelling Translation Oceanus River Ocean Ogenus, Ogen River Ocean

Greek Name

Transliteration Tthys Tethys

Latin Spelling Grandmother, Nurse

Translation

Greek Name

Transliteration Hyperin Hyperion

Latin Spelling Translation He who Goes Above, Watches from Above

Greek Name

Transliteration Mnmosyn

Latin Name Moneta

Translation Memory

Greek Name Themis

Transliteration Themis

Latin Spelling Divine Law, Custom, Oracle, Divine Decree

Translation

Greek Name

Transliteration Iapetos

Latin Spelling Iapetus, Japetus

Translation Wound, Pierce (with spear) (iapt)

Greek Name Transliteration Latin Spelling Translation Koios Coeus Query (poios, koios) Polos Polus Axis of Heaven, Pole

Greek Name

Transliteration Kris Kreios Megamdes

Latin Spelling Translation Ram (krios), Ruler, Crius Master (krein) Great Lord Megamedes (megas, mdos)

Greek Name

Transliteration Phoib Phoebe

Latin Spelling Bright, Prophetic

Translation

Greek Name Theia

Transliteration Theia

Latin Spelling Sight, Prophecy

Translation

Greek Name

Transliteration Promtheus

Latin Spelling Translation Counsel Before, Prometheus Forethought (mtis)

Greek Name

Transliteration Atlas Atlas

Latin Spelling Suffers, Endures, Dares (atla)

Translation

Greek Name

Transliteration Mtis Metis

Latin Spelling Counsel (mtis)

Translation

Greek Name

Transliteration Hestia Vesta

Latin Name Hearth (hestia)

Translation

Greek Name

Transliteration Haids, Hads Aids, Aidneus

Latin Spelling Translation Hades Unseen One Ades, Aidoneus Unseen One

Greek Name

Transliteration Latin Spelling Roman Name Poseidn Poseidon Neptunus, Neptune

Greek Name

Transliteration Zeus Zeus

Latin Spelling Jupiter, Jove

Roman Name

Greek Name Transliteration Athn Athena Greek Name Transliteration Hr

Latin Spelling Latin Spelling Hera

Roman Name Minerva Roman Name Juno

Greek Name

Transliteration Dmtr

Latin Spelling Demeter

Roman Name Ceres

Greek Name Greek Name

Transliteration Persephon Proserpina

Latin Name

Transliteration Ars

Latin Spelling Ares

Translation Destructive-Slayer? (pers, phonos) Roman Name Mars

Greek Name Transliteration Latin Name Hb Hebe, Juventas Greek Name Transliteration Latin Spelling Hphaistos Hephaestus Greek Name Transliteration Latin Name Lt Latona Unobserved ? (lth)

Translation Youth (hb) Roman Name Vulcanos, Vulcan Translation

Greek Name Greek Name

Transliteration Apolln Transliteration Artemis

Latin Spelling

Roman Name Apollo Apollo Latin Spelling Latin Name Artemis Diana

Greek Name

Transliteration Epimtheus

Latin Spelling Translation Afterthought, Epimetheus Counsel Afterwards

Greek Name Din

Transliteration Dione

Latin Spelling Female-Zeus (Dios), Divine One (dios)

Translation

Greek Name Transliteration Aphrodit Greek Name Transliteration Herms Hermes

Latin Spelling Roman Name Aphrodite Venus Latin Spelling Roman Name Mercurius, Mercury

KRONOS (or Cronus) was the Titan god of time and the ages, especially time where regarded as destructive and all-devouring. He ruled the cosmos during the so-called Golden Age, after castrating and deposing his father Ouranos (the Sky). In fear of a prophecy that he would be in turn be overthrown by his own son, Kronos swallowed each of his children as soon as they were born. Rhea managed to save the youngest, Zeus, by hiding him away on the island of Krete, and fed Kronos a stone wrapped in the swaddling clothes of an infant. The god grew up, forced Kronos to disgorge his swallowed offspring, and led the Olympians in a ten year war against the Titanes, before driving them defeated into the pit of Tartaros. Many human generations later, Zeus released Kronos and his brothers from this prison, and made the old Titan king of the Elysian Islands, home of the blessed dead. GAIA (or Gaea) was the Protogenos (primeval divinity) of earth, one of the primal elements who first emerged at the dawn of creation, along with air, sea and sky. She was the great mother of all : the heavenly gods were descended from her union with Ouranos (the sky), the sea-gods from her union with Pontos (the sea), the Gigantes from her mating with

Tartaros (the hell-pit) and mortal creatures were sprung or born from her earthy flesh. In myth Gaia appears as the prime opponent of the heavenly gods. First she rebelled against her husband Ouranos (Sky) who had imprisoned her sons in her womb. Then later, when her son Kronos defied her by imprisoning these same sons, she assisted Zeus in his overthrow of the Titan. Finally she came into conflict with Zeus, angered with him for the binding of her Titan-sons in the pit of Tartaros. In her opposition she first produced the tribe of Gigantes and later the monster Typhoeus to dethrone him, but both failed in both attempts. In the ancient Greek cosmology earth was conceived as a flat disk encirced by the river Okeanos, and topped above by the solid dome of heaven and below by the great pit of Tartaros. She herself supported the sea and moutains upon her breast. Gaia was depicted as a buxom, matronly woman, half risen from the earth. She was portrayed as inseperable from her native element. In mosaic art, Gaia appears as a fullfigured, reclining woman, often clothed in green, and sometimes accompanied by grain spirits-the Karpoi. OURANOS (or Uranus) was the primeval god (protogenos) of the sky. The Greeks imagined the sky as a solid dome of brass, decorated with stars, whose edges descended to rest upon the outermost limits of the flat earth. Ouranos was the literal sky, just as his consort Gaia was the earth. Ouranos and Gaia fathered twelve sons and six daughters. The eldest of these--the giant Kyklopes and Hekatonkheires-he locked away inside the belly of Earth. Gaia suffered immense pain and persuaded her Titan sons to rebel. Four of these were set as sentinels at the four corners of the world, ready to grasp their father as he descended to lie upon the Earth. The fifth took his place in the centre, and armed with an adamantine sickle, castrated Ouranos while his brothers held him firm. The sky-god's blood fell and drenched the earth, producing the avenging Erinyes and the Gigantes. After his downfall, Ouranos prophesied the fall of the Titanes and the punishment they would suffer for their crimes--a prophecy which was later fulfilled by Zeus who deposed

the brothers and cast them into the Tartarean pit. Ouranos does not occur in early Greek art, however Egyptian representations of the skygoddess Nut show how he was imagined--as a gigantic, starspangled man with long arms and legs, who rested on all fours, with his finger-tips in the far east, his toes in the far west, and his arching body raised to form the dome of the sky. In Roman-era art he was often depicted as Aion, god of eternal time, in the guise of a man standing above the reclining form of Gaia (Earth) holding the zodiac wheel in his hand.

be deposed by one of his children, he took to swallowing each of them as soon as they were born. But Rhea bore her youngest, Zeus, in secret and hid him away in a cave in Krete guarded by shield-clashing Kouretes. In his stead she presented Kronos with a stone wrapped in swaddling clothes which he promptly devoured. Rhea was closely identified with the Anatolian mother-goddess Kybele. They were both depicted as matronly women, usually wearing a turret crown, and attended by lions.

participated in the castration of Ouranos nor joined the battle against the younger Olympian gods. He was probably identical to Ophion, an elder Titan in the Orphic myths who ruled heaven briefly before being wrestled and cast into the Ocean stream by Kronos. Okeanos was depicted in ancient Greek vase painting as a bullhorned god with the tail of a serpentine fish in place of legs, similar to his river-god sons. His usual attributes were a fish and serpent. In the Hellenistic era, Okeanos was redefined as the god of the newly accessible Atlantic and Indian Oceans, and the old cosmological idea of a great, earth-encircling, freshwater stream was discarded. In mosaic art he therefore appears simply as a sea-god or the sea personified, with crab-claw horns, and for attributes, a serpent, oar and school of fish. His wife Tethys, shown seated beside him, had wings on her brow, in the role of mother of rain-clouds.

Gree Lati k Transliterati n Translati Nam on Nam on e e Flow, Rheia, Ops, Ease Rhea Opis (rhea) RHEA was the Titanis mother of the gods, and a goddess of female fertility, motherhood, and generation. Her name means "flow" and "ease." As the wife of Kronos (Time), she represented the eternal flow of time and generations ; as the great Mother (Meter Megale), the "flow" was menstrual blood, birth waters, and milk. She was also a goddess of comfort and ease, a blessing reflected in the common Homeric phrase "the gods who live at their ease (rhea)." In myth, Rhea was the wife of the Titan Kronos and Queen of heaven. When her husband heard a prophecy that he would

Gre Latin ek Transliterat Translati Spelli Na ion on ng me River keano Oceanu Ocea s s n Ognos, Ogenus, River Ogn Ogen Ocean

OKEANOS (or Oceanus) was the Titan god or Protogenos (primeval deity) of the great earth-encircling river Okeanos, the font of all the earth's freshwater: including rivers, wells, springs and rain-clouds. Okeanos was also the god who regulated the rising and setting of the heavenly bodies which were believed to emerge and descend into his watery realm at the ends of the earth. Okeanos' wife was Tethys, the nurse, who was probably thought to distribute his water to the earth via subterranean caverns. Their children were the Potamoi or River-Gods and Okeanides, nymphs of springs and fountains. Unlike his brother Titanes, Okeanos neither

Gre Latin ek Transliterat Translati Spelli Na ion on ng me Tthy Tethy Grandmothe s s r, Nurse

TETHYS was the Titan goddess of the sources fresh water which nourished the earth. She was the wife of Okeanos, the earthencircling, fresh-water stream, and the mother of the Potamoi (Rivers), Okeanides (Springs, Streams & Fountains) and Nephelai (Clouds). Tethys was imagined feeding her children's streams by drawing water from

Okeanos through subterranean aquifers. Her name was derived from the Greek word tth, "the nurse" or "grandmother." In Greek vase painting Tethys appears as an attributeless woman in the company of Eileithyia, the goddess of childbirth, and her fish-tailed husband Okeanos. In mosaic art she appears with a small pair of wings decorating her brow, probably in her role as the mother of rain-couds. Tethys was likely identified with the Titanis Eurynome, one-time Queen of Heaven, who was cast into the Ocean-stream along with her husband Ophion by Kronos. She was probably also connected with the Protogenos Thesis (Mother Creation) who appears in the Orphic cosmogony. Tethys was later represented by poets as the sea personified, and so equated with Thalassa.

the sky. Hyperion's name means "watcher from above" or "he who goes above" from the greek words hyper and in. Hyperion was one of the four Titan brothers who conspired with Kronos in the castration of their father Ouranos. When Sky descended to lie with Earth, Hyperion, Krios, Koios and Iapetos--posted at the four corners of the world--seized hold of their father and held him fast while Kronos castrated him with a sickle. In this myth these four Titanes personify the great pillars which appear in NearEastern cosmogonies holding heaven and earth apart, or else the entire cosmos aloft. As the father of the sun and dawn, Hyperion was no doubt regarded as the Titan of the pillar of the east. His brothers Koios, Krios and Iapetos presided respectively over the north, south and west. The Titanes were eventually deposed by Zeus and cast into the pit of Tartaros. Hesiod describes this as a void located beneath the foundations of all, where earth, sea and sky have their roots. Here the Titanes shift in cosmological terms from being holders of heaven to bearers of the entire cosmos. According to Pindar and Aeschylus (in his lost play Prometheus Unbound) the Titanes were eventually released from the pit through the clemency of Zeus.

MNEMOSYNE was Titan goddess of memory and remembrance and the inventress of language and words. As a Titan daughter of Ouranos (Heaven), Mnemosyne was also a goddess of time. She represented the rote memorisation required, before the introduction of writing, to preserve the stories of history and sagas of myth. In this role she was represented as the mother of the Mousai (Muses), originally patron goddesses of the poets of the oral tradition. Finally Mnemosyne was a minor oracular goddess like her sisterTitanes. She presided over the underground oracle of Trophonios in Boiotia. The Titanis Mnemosyne was sometimes described as one of three Elder Titan Mousai (Muses), who preceded the nine daughters of Zeus as goddesses of music.

Gre Latin ek Transliterat Translati Spelli Na ion on ng me He who Goes Hyperi Hyperio Above, n n Watch es from Above

Gre Latin ek Transliterat Translati Spelli Na ion on ng me Divine Law, Custom, Themis Themis Oracle, Divine Decree Themis was the Titan goddess of divine law and order--the traditional rules of conduct first established by the gods. She was also a prophetic goddess who presided over the most ancient oracles, including Delphoi. In this role, she was the divine

HYPERION was the Titan god of light, one of the sons of Ouranos (Heaven) and Gaia (Earth), and the father of the lights of heaven--Eos the Dawn, Helios the Sun, and Selene the Moon. His wife was Theia, lady of the aither--the shining blue of

Gree Lati k Transliterati n Translati Nam on Nam on e e Mnmos Mone Memo yn ta ry

voice (themistes) who first instructed mankind in the primal laws of justice and morality, such as the precepts of piety, the rules of hospitality, good governance, conduct of assembly, and pious offerings to the gods. In Greek, the word themis referred to divine law, those rules of conduct long established by custom. Unlike the word nomos, the term was not usually used to describe laws of human decree. Themis was an early bride of Zeus and his first counsellor. She was often represented seated beside his throne advising him on the precepts of divine law and the rules of fate. Themis was closely identified with Demeter Thesmophoros ("Bringer of Law"). Indeed Themis' six children, the springtime Horai and death-bringing Moirai, reflect the dualfunctions of Demeter's own daughter Persephone. Themis was also identified with Gaia (Earth) especially in the role of the oracular voice of earth.

Hyperion and Iapetos were posted at the four corners of the world where they seized hold of the Sky-god and held him fast, while Kronos, hidden in the centre, castrated him with a sickle. In this myth, Iapetos and the three brothers represent the four cosmic pillars which appear in Near-Eastern cosmogonies holding heaven and earth apart. Iapetos himself was no doubt the pillar of the west, a position which was later and more obviously held by his son Atlas. Iapetos "the piercer" may also have been regarded as the Titan god of the mortal life-span. Indeed, his sons Prometheus and Epimetheus were represented as the creators of mankind and other mortal creatures. The Titanes were eventually deposed by Zeus and cast into the pit of Tartaros. Hesiod describes this as a void lying beneath the foundations of the cosmos, where earth, sea and sky all have their roots. Here the Titanes shift in cosmological terms from being holders of heaven to bearers of the entire cosmos. According to Pindar and Aeschylus (in his lost play Prometheus Unbound) the Titanes were eventually released from the pit through the clemency of Zeus.

KOIOS (or Coeus) was one of the Titan gods, sons of Ouranos (Sky) and Gaia (Earth). He and his brothers conspired against their father, laying an ambush for him as he descended to lie with Earth. Four of the siblings were posted at the corners of the world, where they seized hold of him and held him fast, while Kronos castrated him with a sickle. In this myth the brothers apparently personified the great pillars which occur in nearEastern cosmologies holding heaven and earth apart, or sometimes the whole cosmos aloft. Koios' alternate name, Polos ("of the northern pole"), suggests he was the Titan of the pillar of the north. His brothers Hyperion, Iapetos, and Krios, on the other hand, presided over the west, east, and south respectively. Koios, as god of the axis of heaven around which the constellations revolved, was probably also a god of heavenly oracles, just as his wife Phoibe presided over the oracles of the axis of earth Delphi,--a common inherited by their grandson Apollon. The Titanes were eventually deposed by Zeus and cast into the pit of Tartaros. Hesiod describes this as a void located beneath the foundations of all, where earth, sea and sky have their roots. Here the Titanes shift in cosmological terms from being holders of heaven to bearers of the entire cosmos. According to Pindar and Aeschylus (in his lost play Prometheus Unbound) the Titanes were eventually released from the pit through the clemency of Zeus.

Gre Latin ek Transliterat Translati Spelli Na ion on ng me Wound, Pierce Iapetus, Iapetos (with Japetus spear) (iapt) IAPETOS (or Iapetus) was one of the Titan gods, sons of Ouranos (Heaven) and Gaia (Earth). Led by Kronos, Iapetos and his brothers conspired against their father, preparing an ambush for him as he descended to lie with Earth. Krios, Koios,

Gre Latin ek Translitera Translati Spelli Na tion on ng me Query Koios Coeus (poios, koios) Axis of Polos Polus Heaven, Pole

Astraios, god of the stars; and his wife is Eurybia, a daughter of the sea. Gre Latin ek Transliterat Translati Spelli Na ion on ng me Ram (krios), Kris Crius Ruler, Kreios Master (krein) Great Lord Megam Megame (meg des des as, mdo s) KRIOS (or Crius) was one of the elder Titan gods, sons of Ouranos (the Sky) and Gaia (the Earth). Led by Kronos, the brothers conspired against their father and prepared an ambush for him as he descended to lie with Earth. Krios, Koios, Hyperion and Iapetos were posted at the four corners of the world where they seized hold of the Sky-god and held him firm, while Kronos, hidden in the centre, castrated him with a sickle. In this myth the four brothers probably represent the four cosmic pillars found in nearEastern cosmogonies which separated heaven and earth. In this case, Krios was surely the Titan of the pillar of the south, while his brothers Koios, Iapetos, and Hyperion were gods of the pillars of the north, east and west respectively. Krios' connection with the south is found both in his name and family connections--he is "the Ram," the constellation Aries, whose springtime rising in the south marked the start of the Greek year; his eldest son is The Titanes were eventually deposed by Zeus and cast into the pit of Tartaros. Hesiod describes this as a void lying beneath the foundations of the cosmos, where earth, sea and sky all have their roots. Here the Titanes shift in cosmological terms from being holders of heaven to bearers of the entire cosmos. According to Pindar and Aeschylus (in his lost play Prometheus Unbound) the Titanes were eventually released from the pit through the clemency of Zeus.

Theia Theia

Sight, Prophecy

THEIA was the Titan goddess of sight (thea) and shining light of the clear blue sky (aithre). She was also, by extension, the goddess who endowed gold, silver and gems with their brilliance and intrinsic value. Theia married Hyperion, the Titan-god of light, and bore him three bright children--Helios the Sun, Eos the Dawn, and Selene the Moon. Under the title Ikhnaie, "the tracing goddess," Theia possessed an oracular shrine in the region of Phthiotis in Thessaly. Her sister-Titans were likewise oracular goddesses-Phoibe held Delphoi, Mnemosyne Lebadeia, Dione Dodona, and Themis shared the four.

Gre Latin ek Transliterat Translati Spelli Na ion on ng me Bright, Phoib Phoebe Prophetic

PHOIBE (or Phoebe) was the Titan goddess of the "bright" intellect, wife of Koios, "the inquirer." She was the third goddess to hold the Oracle of Delphoi which she gifted to her grandson Apollon on his birthday. Phoibe's name was associated with the Greek words phoibos, "bright" or "radiant," phoiba "to purify" and phoibaz "to give prophesy."

Gre Latin ek Transliterat Translati Spelli Na ion on ng me Counsel Before, Promt Promet Foretho heus heus ught (mtis)

Gre Latin ek Transliterat Translati Spelli Na ion on ng me

PROMETHEUS was the Titan god of forethought and crafty counsel who was entrusted with the task of moulding mankind out of clay. His attempts to better the lives of his creation brought him into direct conflict with Zeus. Firstly he tricked the gods out of the best portion of the sacrificial feast, acquiring the meat for the feasting of man. Then, when Zeus withheld fire, he stole it from heaven and

delivered it to mortal kind hidden inside a fennel-stalk. As punishment for these rebellious acts, Zeus ordered the creation of Pandora (the first woman) as a means to deliver misfortune into the house of man, or as a way to cheat mankind of the company of the good spirits. Prometheus meanwhile, was arrested and bound to a stake on Mount Kaukasos where an eagle was set to feed upon his everregenerating liver (or, some say, heart). Generations later the great hero Herakles came along and released the old Titan from his torture. Prometheus was loosely identified in cult and myth with the fire-god Hephaistos and the giant Tityos.

Gre Latin ek Transliterat Translati Spelli Na ion on ng me Suffers, Atlas Atlas Endures, Dares (atla)

measuring the seasons. These roles were often combined and Atlas becomes the god who turns the heaven on their axis, causing the stars to revolve. Herakles encountered the Titan during his quest for the Golden Apples of the Hesperides. He agreed to take the heavens upon his shoulders while Atlas fetched the apples. The hero also slew the Hesperian Drakon, which in vase painting appears as the Titan's tormentor, and built two great pillars at the ends of the earth, perhaps to relieve the Titan of his labour. In a late myth, Atlas was transformed into the stony Atlas mountain by Perseus using the Gorgon's head. The Titan was also the constellation Kneeler.

titled Mtieta, "the wise counsellor," in the Homeric poems. It should be noted that most poets and mythographers represent Athena as a "motherless goddess," with no mention made of Metis.

Gree Lati k Transliterati n Translati Nam on Nam on e e Hearth Hestia Vesta (hestia)

ATLAS was one of the secondgeneration Titans. He personified the quality of endurance (atla). In one tradition, Atlas led the Titanes in a rebellion against Zeus and was condemned to bear the heavens upon his shoulders. In another, he was said to have been appointed guardian of the pillars which held earth and sky asunder. He was also the god who instructed mankind in the art of astronomy, a tool which was used by sailors in navigation and farmers in

Gre Latin ek Transliterat Translati Spelli Na ion on ng me Counsel Mtis Metis (mtis)

HESTIA was the virgin goddess of the hearth (both private and municipal) and the home. As the goddess of the family hearth she also presided over the cooking of bread and the preparation of the family meal. Hestia was also the goddess of the sacrificial flame and received a share of every sacrifice to the gods. The cooking of the communal feast of sacrificial meat was naturally a part of her domain. In myth Hestia was the first born child of Kronos and Rhea who was swallowed by her father at birth. Zeus later forced the old Titan to disgorge Hestia and her siblings. As the first to be swallowed she was also the last to be disgorged, and so was named as both the eldest and youngest of the six Kronides. When the gods Apollon and Poseidon sought for her hand in marriage, Hestia refused and asked Zeus to let her remain an eternal virgin. He agreed and she took her place at his royal hearth. Hestia was depicted in Athenian vase painting as a modestly

METIS was one of the Okeanides and the Titan goddess of good counsel, advise, planning, cunning, craftiness and wisdom. She functioned as the counsellor of Zeus during the Titan War, and devised the plan which forced Kronos to regurgitate his children. However, Zeus, in fear of a prophecy that she would bear a son more powerful than himself, swallowed the pregnant Metis whole. Their daughter, Athena, was later born fully grown from the god's head. Zeus is himself

veiled woman sometimes holding a flowered branch (of a chaste tree ?). In classical sculpture she was also veiled, with a kettle as her attribute. Gre Latin ek Transliterat Translati Spelli Na ion on ng me Haids, Hads Aids, Aidne us Hades Unseen One

great dearth to fall upon the earth until her daughter was returned. Zeus was forced to concede lest mankind perish, and the girl was fetched forth from the underworld. However, since she had tasted of the pomegranate seed, she was forced to return to him for a portion of each year. Haides was depicted as a darkbearded, regal god. He was depicted as either Aidoneus, enthroned in the underworld, holding a bird-tipped sceptre, or as Plouton, the giver of wealth, pouring fertility from a cornucopia. The Romans named him Dis, or Pluto, the Latin form of his Greek title Plouton, "the Lord of Riches."

Ades, Unsee Aidone n One us

HAIDES (Aides, Aidoneus, or Hades) was the King of the Underworld, the god of death and the dead. He presided over funeral rites and defended the right of the dead to due burial. Haides was also the god of the hidden wealth of the earth, from the fertile soil with nourished the seed-grain, to the mined wealth of gold, silver and other metals. Hades was devoured by Kronos as soon as he was born, along with four of his siblings. Zeus later caused the Titan to disgorge them, and together they drove the Titan gods from heaven and locked them away in the pit of Tartaros. When the three victorious brothers then drew lots for the division of the cosmos, Hades received the third portion, the dark dismal realm of the underworld, as his domain. Hades desired a bride and petitioned his brother Zeus to grant him one of his daughters. The god offered him Persephone, the daughter of Demeter. However, knowing that the goddess would resist the marriage, he assented to the forceful abduction of the girl. When Demeter learned of this, she was furious and caused a

Gree Latin Roma k Transliterati Spellin n Nam on g Name e Neptun Poseid Poseid us, n on Neptun e

sons of Kronos in which he received dominion over the sea; The burying of Polybotes beneath the island of Kos in the giant war; The sending of a seamonster to punish the Trojans for refusing to pay him for building their walls; The seduction of women such as Tyro, Amymone, Aithra and the Gorgon Medousa; His contest with Athena for dominion of Athens in which he produced the first horse; The persecution of Odysseus for the blinding of his son the Kyklops Polyphemos.

N.B. The collection of Poseidon pages are still largely under construction

POSEIDON was the great Olympian god of the sea, rivers, flood and drought, earthquakes, and horses. He was depicted as a mature man of sturdy build with a dark beard, and holding a trident. Some of the more famous myths featuring the god include:- The War of the Titanes where he fought beside Zeus and Hades to imprison the old gods in Tartaros; The division of the cosmos amongst the

Gree Latin Roma k Transliterati Spellin n Nam on g Name e Zeus Zeus Jupiter, Jove

ZEUS was the king of the gods, the god of sky and weather, law, order and fate. He was depicted as a regal man, mature with sturdy figure and dark beard. His usual attributes were a lightning bolt, royal sceptre and eagle. Some of the more famous myths featuring the god include:--

His birth and upbringing in the Diktaion cave, where he was nursed by Amaltheia and guarded by the shield-clashing Kouretes; The Titan War in which he overthrew the Titanes and imprisoned them in Tartaros; His battle with Typhoeus, a hundred headed, monstrous giant who attempted to capture heaven; The War of the Giants who attempted to storm Olympos but were slain by Zeus and the gods; The Great Deluge in which he flooded the earth to destroy mankind and begin the world anew; His conflict with Prometheus over the theft of benefactions for mankind; The punishment of Salmoneus, Tantalos and Ixion, men who offended the god with their impiety; The birth and life of Herakles, his favoured son, who he had transferred to Olympos at death; His extramarital affairs with women such as Leda, seduced in the form of a swan; Europa, as a bull; Danae, as a golden shower; Kallisto, as Artemis; and Antiope as a satyr; The Trojan War which he orchestrated from start to end, including the casting of the

golden apple of discord.

Gree Latin Roma k Transliterati Spellin n Nam on g Name e Athn Athena Minerva ATHENE (or Athena) was the great Olympian goddess of wise counsel, war, the defence of towns, heroic endeavour, weaving, pottery and other crafts. She was depicted crowned with a crested helm, armed with shield and spear, and wearing the snake-trimmed aigis cloak wrapped around her breast and arm, adorned with the monstrous head of the Gorgon. The more famous myths featuring the goddess Athene include:- Her birth from the head of Zeus, fullygrown and arrayed in arms; Her contest with Poseidon for dominion of Athens in which she produced the first olive tree and he the first horse; The War of the Giants in which she buried Enkelados beneath Mount Etna and made her aigis from the skin of Pallas; The attempted rape of the goddess by Hephaistos, who spilled his seed upon the earth and produced Erikhthonios, who she then adopted as her own;

The assisting of Perseus in his quest to slay the Gorgon and the Argonauts in their quest for the Golden Fleece; The assisting of Herakles with his twelve labours; The weaving contest with Arakhne who was transformed by the goddess into a spider; The blinding of Teiresias for viewing her naked in the bath; The Judgement of Paris in which she competed with Hera and Aphrodite for the prize of the golden apple; The Trojan War where she sided with the Greeks in battle, but attacked their ships with a storm when they failed to punish Oilean Ajax for violating her Trojan shrine.

Gree Latin Roma k Transliterati Spellin n Nam on g Name e Hera Juno Hr HERA was the Olympian queen of the gods and the goddess of women and marriage. She was also a goddess of the sky and starry heavens. She was usually depicted as a beautiful woman wearing a crown and holding a royal, lotus-tipped staff. Sometimes she held a royal lion or had a cuckoo or hawk as her familiar. Some of the more famous myths featuring the goddess include:--

Her marriage to Zeus and her earlier seduction by the god in the guise of a cuckoo bird; The birth of Hephaistos who she produced alone and cast from heaven because he was crippled; Her persecution of the consorts of Zeus, especially Leto, Semele and Alkmene; Her persecution of Herakles and Dionysos, the favourite bastard sons of Zeus; The punishment of Ixion, who was chained to a fiery wheel for attempting to violate the goddess; The assisting of the Argonauts in their quest for the golden fleece, their leader Jason being one of her favourites; The judgement of Paris, in which she competed against Aphrodite and Athene for the prize of the golden apple; The Trojan War, in which she assisted the Greeks.

agriculture, grain, and bread, the prime sustenance of mankind. She also presided over the foremost of the Mystery Cults which promised its intiates the path to a blessed afterlife. Demeter was depicted as a mature woman, often crowned and holding sheafs of wheat and and a torch. Some of the more famous myths featuring the goddess include:- The abduction of her daughter Persephone by Hades, and the great dearth she brought down upon the earth; The nursing of Demophoon, the young son of King Keleus of Eleusis; The journeys of Triptolemos, a hero sent by the goddess to instruct mankind in agriculture; Her assault by Poseidon who forcefully coupled with her in the form of a horse; The punishment of Erysikhthon who was cursed with an unquenchable hunger by the goddess for cutting down her holy grove.

Destruct ive Perseph Proser Slayer? on pina (pers, phonos) PERSEPHONE was the goddess queen of the underworld, wife of the god Haides. She was also the goddess of spring growth, who was worshipped alongside her mother Demeter in the Eleusinian Mysteries. This agricultural-based cult promised its initiates passage to a blessed afterlife. Persephone was titled Kore (the Maiden) as the goddess of spring's bounty. Once upon a time when she was playing in a flowery meadow with her Nymph companions, Kore was seized by Haides and carried off to the underworld as his bride. Her mother Demeter despaired at her dissappearance and searched for her the throughout the world accompanied by the goddess Hekate bearing torches. When she learned that Zeus had conspired in her daughter's abduction she was furious, and refused to let the earth fruit until Persephone was returned. Zeus consented, but because the girl had tasted of the food of Haides-a handful of pomegranate seeds--she was forced to forever spend a part of the year with her husband in the underworld. Her annual return to the earth in spring was marked by the flowering of the meadows and the sudden growth of the new grain. Her return to the underworld in winter, conversely, saw the dying down of plants and the halting of growth. In other myths, Persephone appears exclusively as the queen of the underworld, receiving the

Gree Latin Roma k Transliterati Spellin n Nam on g Name e Dmt Demete Cere r r s

This site contains a total of 15 pages describing the goddess Demeter, including general descriptions of the goddess, and her mythology and religious cult. The content of the pages is outlined in the table below. Gree Lati Transliterati Translati k n on on Nam Nam

DEMETER was the great Olympian goddess of

likes of Herakles and Orpheus at her court. Persephone was usually depicted as a young goddess holding sheafs of grain and a flaming torch. Sometimes she was shown in the company of her mother Demeter, and the hero Triptolemos, the teacher of agriculture. At other times she appears enthroned beside Haides.

Gree Latin Roma k Transliterati Spellin n Nam on g Name e Ars Ares Mars

ARES was the great Olympian god of war, battlelust, civil order and manly courage. In Greek art he was depicted as either a mature, bearded warrior dressed in battle arms, or a nude beardless youth with helm and spear. Because of his lack of distinctive attributes he is often difficult to identify in classical art. Some of the more famous myths featuring the god include:- His adulterous affair with Aphrodite in which the pair were trapped in a net laid by her husband Hephaistos; The slaying of Adonis, his rival for the love of Aphrodite, in the guise of a boar; The transformation of Kadmos of Thebes and his wife Harmonia into serpents;

The murder of Hallirhothios to avenge his daughter's rape and his subsequent trial in the court of the Areiopagos; The arrest of Sisyphos, an impious man who kidnapped the god Death; The battle of Herakles and Kyknos in which the god intervened in support of his son; His support of the Amazones, warrior daughters of the god; His capture by the Aloadai giants who imprisoned him in a bronze jar; The Trojan War in which he was wounded by Diomedes in battle with the help of Athene.

his ascension to Olympos, a wedding which reconciled the hero with Hebe's mother Hera. In Greek vase painting Hebe was depicted either as the bride of Herakles, or the cupbearer of the gods, pouring ambrosia from a pitcher. Sometimes she was represented with wings like the goddesses Iris and Nike. Hebe's male counterpart was the boy Ganymedes and her opposite number was Geras (Old Age). She may have been equated with Selene's daughter Pandeia. Gree Latin Roma k Transliterati Spellin n Nam on g Name e Vulcan Hphais Hephaes os, tos tus Vulcan HEPHAISTOS was the great Olympian god of fire, metalworking, stonemasonry and the art of sculpture. He was usually depicted as a bearded man holding hammer and tongs-the tools of a smith--and riding a donkey. Some of the more famous myths featuring the god include:--

This site contains a total of 13 pages describing the god, including general descriptions, mythology, and cult. The content of the various pages is outlined in the table below. Quotes for these pages are still being compiled.

Gree Lati k Transliterati n Translati Nam on Nam on e e Hebe, Youth Hb Juventas (hb) HEBE was the goddess of youth and the cupbearer of the gods who served ambrosia at the heavenly feast. She was also the patron goddess of the young bride and an attendant of the goddess Aphrodite. Herakles received Hebe in marriage upon

His fall from Olympos in which he was cast away by Hera at birth; The trapping of Hera in a cursed throne and his return to Olympos; The adultery of his wife Aphrodite who was trapped with Ares in a golden net; The crafting of Pandora, the first woman, at the command of Zeus;

The attempted rape of Athena which resulted in the impregnation of Earth and the birth of Erikhthonios; The crafting of the cursed necklace of Harmonia which doomed her descendants to a cycle of tragedy; The Trojan War in which he fought the river-god Skamandros with fire; The crafting of the armour of Akhilleus at the request of the hero's mother Thetis.

Tityos attempted to abduct her, but Apollon intervened and slew him with arrows. In Greek vase painting Leto was usually depicted as a woman lifting her veil in a gesture of modesty. She was usually depicted accompanied by her two children. The exact meaning of her name is obscure, some commentators connect it with the word leth, to move unseen, suggestive of modesty, others derive it from the Lycian word for woman, lada. Hercult is described on a separate page see Cult of Leto

Gree Latin Roma k Transliterati Spellin n Nam on g Name e Apolln Apollo Apollo APOLLON (or Apollo) was the great Olympian god of prophecy and oracles, healing, plague and disease, music, song and poetry, archery, and the protection of the young. He was depicted as a handsome, beardless youth with long hair and various attributes including:--a wreath and branch of laurel; bow and quiver; raven; and lyre. The most famous myths of Apollon include:- His birth on the island of Delos; The slaying of the serpent Python which guarded the oracular shrine of Delphoi; The slaying of the giant Tityos who attempted to carry off the god's mother Leto;

Gree Lati k Transliterati n Translati Nam on Nam on e e Unobserved ? Lt Latona (lth)

LETO was one of the female Titanes , a bride of Zeus, and the mother of the twin gods Apollon and Artemis. She was the goddess of motherhood and with her children, a protectress of the young. Her name and iconography suggest she was also a goddess of modesty and womanly demure. Like her sister Asteria she may also have been a goddess of the night, or alternatively of the light of day. When Leto was pregant with the twins she was pursued relentlessly by the goddess Hera, who drove her from land to land preventing her from finding a place to rest and give birth. The floating island of Delos eventually provided her with refuge. Later when she was later travelling to Delphoi, the giant

The destruction of the Niobides whose mother had offended Leto with her boasts; His music contest with the satyr Marsyas who lost and was flayed alive; His love for the youth Hyakinthos who was killed by a discus throw and transformed into a flower; His love for the nymph Daphne who fled from him and was transformed into a laurel tree; His love for Koronis who was slain by Artemis for her infidelity; The murder of the Kyklopes who had forged the lightning bolt used to destroy his son Asklepios; His service as bondsman to the mortal Admetos; His struggle with Herakles for the Delphic tripod; The Trojan War in which he brought plague to the Greeks and helped Paris slay Akhilleus.

ARTEMIS was the great Olympian goddess of hunting, wilderness and wild animals. She was also a goddess of childbirth, and the protectress of the girl child up to the age of marriage. Her twin brother Apollon was similarly the protector of the boy child. Together the two gods were also bringers of sudden death and disease--Artemis targetted women and girls, and Apollon men and boys.

In ancient art Artemis was usually depicted as a girl dressed in a short knee-length chiton and equipped with a hunting bow and quiver of arrows. Some of the best known myths featuring the goddess include:- Her birth, immediately following which she assisted her mother in the birth of her twin brother Apollon; The Trojan War where she was beaten by Hera in an angry contest of the gods; The hunter Aktaion who encountered the goddess whilst she was bathing and was turned into a stag; The Aloadai giants who attempted to storm Olympos but were tricked by Artemis into killing each other; The sacrifice of Iphigeneia whom King Agamemnon offered to her for the passage of the Greek fleet to Troy; The giant Orion, a close companion of the goddess, who was slain by the goddess or her jealous brother; The Kalydonian boar sent by Artemis to ravage Kaldyon; The nymph Kallisto, a companion of Artemis, who was seduced by Zeus in the guise of the goddess.

excuses. He and his brother Prometheus were given the task of populating the earth with animals and men. was forced to steal fire from heaven to arm them. Zeus was angered by this theft and ordered the creation of Pandora, the first woman, as a means to deliver evil into the house of man. Despite the warnings of his brother, Epimetheus happily received her as his bride, but as soon as she arrived she lifted the lid of a jar entrusted her by the gods, releasing a plague of harmful daimones (spirits) to trouble mankind. Only Hope (Elpis) remained behind to succor the unfortunate race.

kerykeion (Latin caduceus), winged boots, and sometimes a winged travellers cap and chlamys cloak.

DIONE was the Titan godess of the oracle of Dodona in Thesprotia, and the mother of Aphrodite by Zeus. Her name is simply the feminine form of Zeus (Dios). APHRODITE was the great Olympian goddess of beauty, love, pleasure and procreation. She was depicted as a beautiful woman usually accompanied by the winged godling Eros (Love). Her attributes included a dove, apple, scallop shell and mirror. often depicted nude. HERMES was the great Olympian God of animal husbandry, roads, travel, hospitality, heralds, diplomacy, trade, thievery, language, writing, persuasion, cunning wiles, athletic contests, gymnasiums, astronomy, and astrology. He was also the personal agent and herald of Zeus. Hermes was depicted as either a handsome and athletic, beardless youth, or as an older bearded man. His attributes included the herald's wand or

EPIMETHEUS was the Titan god of afterthought, the father of