Greek Mythology – body of myths and teachings that belong to the Ancient Greeks, concerning their Gods and

heroes,
nature of the world and the origins and significance of their own ritual practices.
 The oldest known literary Greek sources are Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey.
Iliad – story of the Greek struggle to rescue Helen from her captors.
Odyssey – fall of the city of Troy; the ten-period journey of Odysseus on his way home to Ithaca.

Major Characters of Greek Mythology

The Olympians – ancient Greek deities dwelling on Mount Olympus

Zeus -  Roman name: Jupiter or Jove. The sky-god Zeus rules Mount Olympus. His weapon is the thunderbolt, and his bird is
the eagle. The central figure of the myths.
Hera -  Roman name: Juno. Zeus’ sister and wife. The Goddess of marriage and family. Hera is a very powerful goddess
known mostly for her jealousy.
Poseidon -  Roman name: Neptune. The god of the sea, Poseidon is Zeus’s brother and second only to him in power.
Hades -  Roman name: Pluto.; the God of War. The brother of Zeus and Poseidon.
Pallas Athena -  Roman name: Minerva. Usually just called Athena, this goddess emerges from Zeus’s head fully-grown and
armed.
Phoebus Apollo -  Usually just called Apollo. A son of Zeus and Leto and Artemis’ twin. He is the god of Light and Truth, the
master of Poetry and Music, and the god of Archery.
 The Olympians
Artemis -  Roman name: Diana. Apollo’s twin sister, Artemis is the beautiful huntress goddess and, like Athena, is somewhat
masculine.
Aphrodite -  Roman name: Venus. Aphrodite is the sweet and delicate goddess of Love, Beauty, and Romance.
Hermes -  Roman name: Mercury. Hermes is the son of Zeus and the Titan Atlas’s daughter Maia. The messenger of the
gods, he is fast and cunning.
Ares -  Roman name: Mars. A vicious god, Ares is hated by both his father, Zeus, and mother, Hera. The god of War.
Hephaestus -  Roman name: Vulcan or Mulciber. Hephaestus is either the son of Zeus and Hera, or simply of Hera alone.

Other Gods, Deities & Supernatural Beings

Earth -  Also known as Gaea or Mother Earth. She is the first being to emerge in the universe, born somehow out of the
forces of Love, Light, and Day. She gives birth to Heaven, who then becomes her husband.
Heaven -  Also known as Ouranos or Father Heaven. Born out of Earth, he becomes Earth’s husband and proceeds to father
all the original creatures of the earth.
 Other Gods, Deities & Supernatural Beings
The Titans -  The original gods, children of Heaven and Earth.
Cronus -  Roman name: Saturn. Cronus becomes the ruler of the Titans by overthrowing his father Ouranos.
Prometheus -  One of the most enduring figures in Greek myth, Prometheus is the only Titan to side with Zeus against
Cronus.
 Other Gods, Deities & Supernatural Beings
Demeter -  Roman name: Ceres. A sister of Zeus.
Persephone -  Roman name: Proserpine. The beautiful daughter of Demeter whom Hades kidnaps to be his wife.
Eros -  Roman name: Cupid. The son of Aphrodite. Eros uses his bow to fire magic arrows that cause people to fall in love.
The Furies -  Also known as the Erinyes, the Furies are three horrible sisters—Tisiphone, Megaera, and Alecto.
 Other Gods, Deities & Supernatural Beings
The Fates  -  Three mysterious sisters who affect the paths of all in the universe. Clotho spins the thread of life, Lachesis
assigns each person’s thread, and Atropos snips the thread of life at its end.

Famous Heroes & Heroines
 Odysseus -  Roman name: Ulysses. Odysseus is the protagonist of Homer's Odyssey (is the ten-period journey of
Odysseus on his way home). He is the king of Ithaca and a great warrior in the Trojan War but is best known for his
decade-long trip home from the war. Odysseus survives the challenges he encounters by using his wits. A fine talker
and brilliant strategist, he is perhaps the most modern and human of the classical heroes.
 Hercules -  Another famous Greek hero, a son of Zeus who rises to Olympus at his death. Hercules is renowned for
his incredible strength and bravery, but he lacks intelligence and self-control. Most of his adventures begin with a
 horrible mistake that he makes and then attempts to fix. His most famous feats, the Twelve Labors of Hercules, are
the punishment he receives for murdering his family in a fit of madness.
Famous Heroes & Heroines
 Theseus -  The son of King Aegeus of Athens and a quintessential Athenian hero. Theseus is the model citizen: a kind
leader, good to his friends and countrymen. Theseus does have his shortcomings, however: he abandons Ariadne,
and later doubts his own son, which leads to his tragic demise.
 Jason -  One of the least impressive of the Greek heroes. Jason’s most notable feat is his assembly of a cast of
heroes to travel on a long fraudulent quest—the recovery of the Golden Fleece. When Jason arrives in Colchis to
retrieve the Fleece, the daughter of the king, Medea, falls in love with him. Jason abandons her and marries a
princess later for political gain. In revenge, Medea kills Jason’s new wife and her own children, whom Medea had by
Jason. Though he lives on, he bears the burden of this tragedy, in some ways a fate worse than death.
 Perseus -  Zeus’s son by the beautiful princess Danaë. Danaë’s father, forewarned that Perseus will someday kill
him, locks the infant and his mother in a trunk and casts it into the sea. Perseus survives, comes of age, and sets out
to kill the monster Medusa and bring back her head. As prophesied, he kills his grandfather, though unwittingly, by
hitting him with a stray discus.
 Oedipus -  The son of the king of Thebes. Oedipus frees Thebes from the menace of the Sphinx and marries the
widowed queen, Jocasta, unaware that she is his mother. Learning the truth later, he faces fate and blinds himself
as penance.