Greek and Roman Mythology Names

Greek Name Roman Name Description

Zeus Jupiter King of Gods

Hera Juno Goddess of Marriage

Poseidon Neptune God of the Sea

Cronos Saturn Youngest son of Uranus, Father of Zeus

Aphrodite Venus Goddess of Love

Hades Pluto God of the Underworld

Hephaistos Vulcan God of the Forge

Demeter Ceres Goddess of the Harvest

Apollo Apollo God of Music and Medicine

Athena Minerva Goddess of Wisdom

Artemis Diana Goddess of the Hunt

Ares Mars God of War

Hermes Mercury Messenger of the Gods

Dionysus Bacchus God of Wine

Persephone Proserpine Goddess of Underworld

Eros Cupid God of Love

Gaia Gaea Goddess of Earth

Besides the gods and goddesses named here there were many
other gods and immortals in Greek mythology.

The Greek mythology names of other gods include the goat-god

Pan; Rhea, Cronos’s sister and the mother of his children; Heracles,
the son of a mortal and Zeus who had to earn his immortality;
Ganymede, a beautiful prince that Zeus brought to Olympus to be
his cup-bearer; and the four winds: Zephyrus, Eurus, Notus, and
Boreas.

Like the Christian god, Jehovah, Zeus/Jupiter was considered the

all-mighty father, but instead of being the father of man, he was
the father of the lesser gods. Zeus actually was a third-generation
god.

So, who were the first- and second-generation gods? Glad you
asked. Gaia was the first goddess, also known as Mother Earth,
and gave birth (with her son Uranus being the father) to the
second-generation Titans. The Titans were led by Cronos or
Saturn, and he seized power from Uranus. Zeus, Poseidon, and
Hades are the sons of Cronos, and Zeus was considered primarily
responsible for overthrowing his father.

The Olympians as teachers

Hera/Juno was his mate, although not the mother of all of his
children. Zeus, Hera, and the other third-generation gods of
Ancient Greece were Olympians; that is, they lived at the top of
Mount Olympus, the highest peak in Ancient Greece, or a heaven
in the skies. Sometimes, these gods intermingled with mortals,
even falling in love and bearing children with mortal men and
women.

Although modern man views these Greek gods and goddesses as

creatures of mythology, remember that to the ancient Greeks,
they were no less real than current beliefs in God or Buddha. With
the passage of time, modern society has come to view the stories
of the gods as metaphors for teaching lessons about behaviors and
actions, although the gods and goddesses in Greek and Roman
mythology exhibited many of the weaknesses and pettiness that
modern man would never associate with deities.

One lesson that the Greek myths loved to teach was the lesson of
hubris, or pride. Whenever a mortal (or god) exhibited hubris,
thinking he or she was better than the gods, they inevitably would
also experience a resulting tragedy. If one of the lesser gods
started thinking he was more powerful than Zeus, then he, too,
would be knocked down a peg or two. This type of metaphorical
lesson continues in the stories of the Bible, Shakespearian
tragedies, and even into modern literature and art.

Of course, the stories of these ancient gods were not just provided
as a way to guide the behavior of men. Many of the myths explain
various aspects of the world. Of course, there’s a story about how
the world was created, but there are also stories to explain things
such as the changing of the seasons. Persephone or Proserpine
(Zeus and Demeter’s daughter in Greek mythology and Jupiter
and Ceres’s daughter in Roman mythology) was stolen by Hades
or Pluto to be his queen in the underworld. Her mother, the earth
goddess, was saddened by her loss and refused to fulfill her duties.
A compromise was reached whereby Persephone would spend 4–
6 months (depending on the version of the myth) with her
mother, and the rest of the year in the underworld. Thus, when
she is with Hades, the earth goddess refuses to fulfill her duties,
resulting in fall and winter, but Persephone returns, resulting in
spring and summer.

Parallels to Christianity and other

modern religions
Every religion has a creation “myth,” although those who
currently practice a religion would argue that it isn’t myth.
Christianity has the story of God created the Heavens and the
Earth, and the story of the first man and woman in the Garden of
Eden. The Greeks actually had several creation myths including
one involving an egg from which all planets, the Earth, and all
creatures hatched.

It is interesting to note some other parallels. For example, Eve, the

first woman in Christianity, was tempted into sin by the serpent
and ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. As a
punishment, Adam and Eve are kicked out of the garden of Eden
where they had everything they desired. In Greek mythology, the
first woman is Pandora. Ring a bell? Pandora is tempted to open
a forbidden box (jar in some versions) and brings chaos by
releasing all the ills of the world.

The first humans were destroyed in a great flood sent by Zeus.

The only survivors were one man, Deucalion, and his wife. Of
course, this parallels the story of Noah and his ark.
Mount Olympus itself is often considered to be the Ancient Greek’s
version of Heaven, and Hades, named for the god who ruled the
underworld, is the equivalent of the Christian’s Hell.

Interested in other culture’s mythologies?