Greek Gods

Amanda's Gods and Myths of the Ancient Civilizations

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Greek Gods

All The Gods

Achelous

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God of Rivers. Often shape-changed into a bull. He is pictured as a bull with the torso of a man and a beard, or as an old, grey man with horns.

Aeolus

Custodian of the Winds. When directed by the Gods, he loosed the captured winds as breezes, gales, or other forces decreed by the gods.

Aether

God of the Pure Air which the Gods breathe, as opposed to the Aer breathed by mortals. One of the fundamental deities of the cosmos; also called the soul from which all life emanates.

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Anteros

The God of Mutual Love. Said to punish those who did not return the love of others.

Apollo	One of the Olympian Gods. God of Light, Poetry, Truth, the Arts, Healing and Music. Son of Zeus and Leto. He was an exceptional archer and the God of Oracles. He drives a chariot bearing the sun across the sky each day. Twin brother of the Goddess Artemis. His tree is the laurel, his animal the dolphin, and his bird the crow.
Ares	One of the Olympian Gods. God of War and Bloodshed. He was handsome, cruel and vain, as well as cowardly. Often accompanied by Eris, the Goddess of Discord. Ares was not a god of honorable battle, but a bloodthirsty lover of violence and strife. Worshipped primarily in Thracia. His animals were the vulture and the dog.

Asclepius

A God of Healing, who perfected the art learned from Chiron. Son of Apollo. His symbol is the snake.

Atlas	One of the Titans. Brother of Prometheus and Epimetheus. He led the battle against Zeus. For his part, he was sentenced by Zeus to carry the world upon his back.
Boreas	God of the Northern Wind.

Chaos

The great void or emptiness from which all things emerged.

Coeus

One of the Titans. God of Intelligence. He was the father of the goddess Leto.

Comus

God of banquets.

Cronus

One of the Titans. Ruler of the Titans and God of the Sky and Time. He was removed from power by his son, Zeus. Cronus was the father of the first Olympians.

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Dionysus

God of Wine, Agriculture and Plays. He was a son of Zeus and the mortal woman Semele. When Semele asked to see Zeus in his full glory she was burned to ashes, however Zeus managed to save their unborn child and stitch him into his thigh until ready to be born. Thus Dionysus is known as the 'twice-born god'. He has a dual nature: fun-loving and carefree on the one hand, yet violent and destructive on the other - much as those affected by alcohol tend to act. His symbol is a bunch of grapes.

Epimethus

One of the Titans. Brother of Promethus, his name means 'afterthought'. He is a dull and stupid Titan. Accepted the gift of Pandora's Box from Zeus, allowing evil to enter the world.

Erebus

The God of the Primordial Darkness. He was the father of many gods, including Charon, Thanatos, and Hypnos.

Eros	God of Love and Romance and the son of Aphrodite. He is often pictured blindfolded (love is blind) and uses darts or arrows to inspire either insurmountable disinterest or uncontrolable love in his mortal victims for the first person they see after being darted.
Eurus	God of the East Wind.

Hades

One of the Olympian Gods. God of the Dead and the Underworld, and brother of Zeus. Hades rules the realm of the dead, and also is considered the God of Wealth. He is jealous and uncaring, constantly trying to increase the number of subjects under his rule and disinclined to allow any of them to leave. His wife is Persephone, whom he abducted.

Helios

God of the Sun and brother of Selene and Eos. The personification of the sun. He later came to be overshadowed by Apollo, Lord of the Sun.

Hephaestus

One of the Olympic Gods. God of Fire and the Forge, he is the Patron of smiths and weavers. He is the smith to the Gods of Olympus. He is physically ugly as well as lame, but exhibits a gentle and loving nature. Married to Aphrodite, Goddess of Love. Son of Zeus and Hera.

Hermes

One of the Olympic Gods. God of Commerce, Thieves and Messengers. Son of Zeus with Maia, one of the The Pleiades. He is the swiftest and cleverest of the Gods. Messenger of Zeus, it is also Hermes job to escort the newly dead to the gates of the Underworld. Often pictured as a youth wearing winged sandals, a winged helm, and carrying a rod.

Hesperos

God of the Evening Star.

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Hyperion	One of the Titans. God of Light. Married Theira, and produced Helius (the sun), Selene (the moon) and Eos (the dawn).
Hypnos	God of sleep. Twin brother of Thanatos God of Death. Seen as a youth with wings at his temples or a bearded man with wings on his back.

Notus

God of the South Wind.

Oceanus

One of the Titans. God of the Waters, and ruler of the unending stream of water encircling the world. With his wife Tethys, he fathered the rivers and the ocean nymphs.

Pan

God of Herds and Flocks, Sex and Debauchery. He is the son of Hermes. Pan is seen as a man with the horns, legs and midriff of a goat. He plays the pipes which bear his name beautifully. He is the god of carnality, sexuality and desire, as he constantly chases nymphs through the forest with little success due to his unattractive appearance. He was often pictured carrying a pine branch or with a crown of pine cones and often carries his pipes.

Phospheros

God of the Morning Star.

Poseidon

One of the Olympic Gods. God of the Sea. Brother of Zeus. After the overthrough of their father Cronus he, Zeus and Hades drew lots to see who would rule which realm. Poseidon became Lord of the Seas. He married Amphitirite, Goddess of the Sea and granddaughter of Oceanus. Poseidon is second only to Zeus among the Olympic Gods. His weapon is the trident and he is often pictured with a flowing beard and hair, and a crown of sea creatures.

Prometheus

One of the Titans. He could fortell the future. In the battle between Zeus and Cronus, Promethus deserted the other Titans and fought on Zeus' side. He is the protector and benefactor of mankind, giving us the gifts of farming and fire.

Thanatos

God of Death. His twin brother Hypnos is God of Sleep. He was death personified and brought about the actual death of mortals, who then went to the Underworld.

Uranus	The Sky God and original ruler. He is both the son and husband of Gaea-The Earth, and together they produced the Titans. Cronus, one of his sons, defeated him and became ruler.
Zephyrus	God of the West Wind.
Zeus	One of the Olympian Gods. God of the sky, rain, lightning and thunder, and the supreme ruler of the Olympian Gods. Zeus is shown as a mature, robust, man with thick, dark, wavy hair and a beard. He wears a long robe which bares his chest and left arm. Zeus generally holds or is seen with his thunderbolt and an eagle. His color is imperial purple and his planet is Jupiter. He is the father of a number of deities with Goddesses and mortals. He was previously married to Metis, Goddess of Wisdom, whom he swallowed while pregnant with their first child. He then married Themis, Goddess of the law with whom he had a number of children, including: the Horae or Seasons; Eirene-Peace; Eunomia-Wise Legislation; Dike-Justice; and the Fates or Moerae. He and Themis separated, but she remains one of his advisors. Then he married Hera, Goddess of Marriage. Zeus had a number of liasons in addition to his marriages as well.

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