2. Zeus ϟ Jupiter
• He is the “father of gods and men.”
• Rules the Olympians of Mount Olympus.
• God of the sky, law, order, justice, and
thunder.
• His symbols are the thunderbolt, eagle, bull,
and oak.
• Son of Cronus and Rhea.
• Is married to Hera, but is famous for his many
affairs.
3. Aphrodite Venus
• Goddess of love, pleasure, beauty, and procreation.
• She was born when Cronus cut off Uranus’ genitals
then threw them into the sea and she arose from the
sea foam.
• Because of her beauty, other gods were scared that
their rivalry over her would interrupt the peace among
them and lead to war, so Zeus married her
to Hephaestus.
• Her symbols include the dolphin, rose, scallop shell,
myrtle, dove, sparrow, girdle, mirror, and swan.
4. Poseidon ♆ Neptune
• One of the twelve Olympian deities of the
pantheon.
• God of the sea, earthquakes, storms, and
horses.
• His symbols are the dolphin, trident, fish,
horse, and bull.
• Brother of Hades, Demeter, Hestia, Hera, and
Zeus.
5. Demeter Ceres
• Goddess of the harvest of earth.
• Her cult titles include Sito (wheat) as the giver of food
or corn/grain and Thesmophoros (divine order,
unwritten law) as a mark of the civilized existence of
agricultural society.
• She was also in charge of the sanctity of marriage,
the sacred law, and the cycle of life and death. She and
her daughter, Persephone, were the main figures of
the Eleusinian Mysteries that predated the Olympian
Pantheon.
• Her symbols include the ear of wheat and the grains.
6. Demeter at
Eleusis
• Demeter’s search for her daughter, Persephone, took her to
the palace of Celeus, the King of Eleusis in Attica. She
assumed the form of an old woman, and asked him for
shelter. He took her in, to nurse Demophon and Triptolemus,
his sons by Metanira. To reward his kindness, she planned to
make Demophon immortal; she secretly anointed the boy
with ambrosia and laid him in the flames of the hearth, to
gradually burn away his mortal self. But Metanira walked in,
saw her son in the fire and screamed in fright. Demeter
abandoned the attempt. Instead, she taught Triptolemus the
secrets of agriculture, and he in turn taught them to any who
wished to learn them. Which is how, humanity learned how
to plant, grow and harvest grain.
7. Ares Mars
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God of war.
He is one of the Twelve Olympians.
He is the son of Zeus and Hera.
He often represents the physical or violent and
untamed aspect of war.
• His symbols are the spear, helmet, dog, boar, and
chariot.
• He was the lover of Aphrodite, who was married
to Hephaestus.
• Brother of Athena.
8. Athena
Minerva
• She is the goddess of wisdom, courage,
inspiration, civilization, law and justice, just
warfare, mathematics, strength, strategy, the
arts, crafts, and skill.
• Her symbols include owls, olive trees, snakes,
aegis, armor, helmets, spears, and gorgoneion.
• Sister of Ares.
• Daughter of Zeus and Metis.
9. Hades ☠ Pluto
• King of the underworld.
• God of the dead and riches.
• His symbols include the cerberus, drinking
horn, scepter, cypresa, narcissus, and the key.
• Oldest male child of Cronus and Rhea.
• Brother of Zeus and Poseidon.
• Is the husband of Persephone.
10. Hades / Persephone
• 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 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 the pomegranate seed, she was
forced to return to him for a portion of each year.
11. Hera ♦ Juno
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Queen of the gods.
Goddess of women, birth, and marriage.
Wife and one of three sisters of Zeus.
Her symbols are the peacock feather, cow, lily,
diadem, pomegranate.
• The Lion, Cow, and Peacock were sacred
animals to her.
• Daughter of Cronus and Rhea.
12. Hermes ✉ Mercury
• Messenger of the gods.
• God of transitions, boundaries, commerce,
thieves, travelers, sports, athletes, border
crossings, and fish.
• He is the guide to the Underworld.
• His symbols are the caduceus, talaria, tortoise,
lyre, rooster, and snake.
• Son of Zeus and Maia.
13. Artemis ➳ Diana
• Goddess of the hunt, the moon, forests, and hills,
wild animals, wilderness, childbirth, virginity, and
protector of young girls (bringing and relieving
disease in women).
• Her symbols are the bow, arrows, stags, the
hunting dog, and the moon.
• Daughter of Zeus and Leto.
• The deer and cypress were sacred animals to her.
• She is the twin of Apollo.
14. Dionysus Bacchus
• God of the grape harvest, winemaking, wine,
madness, theatre, and ecstasy. His symbols
include thyrsus, the grapevine, leopard skin,
the panther, the tiger, and the leopard.
• Son of Zeus and Semele.
• He was the last god to be accepted into
Mount Olympus.
• He was the youngest and the only one to have
a mortal mother.
15. Pandora
• She was the first woman human created by
the deities.
• She was created by receiving unique gifts from
each of the deities.
16. Pandora’s Box
• The Titan, Prometheus, had originally been assigned with
the task of creating man. But because he was displeased
with their lot, stole fire from heaven. Zeus was angered,
and commanded Hephaistos and the other gods to create
a woman, Pandora, and endow her with the beauty and
cunning. He then delivered her to Epimetheus, the foolish
younger brother of Pemetheus, for a bride. When he had
received her into his house, Pandora opened the box
which Zeus had given her as a wedding present, and
released the swarm of evil spirits trapped within. They
would ever afterwards plague mankind. Only Elpis (Hope)
remained behind, a single blessing to succor mandkind in
their suffering.
17. Hephaestus Vulcan
• God of fire, volcanoes, blacksmiths, craftsmen,
artisans, sculptors, metals, metallurgy,
metalworking, stone masonry, and the art of
sculpture.
• His symbols are the hammer, anvil, tongs, and
quail.
• Son of Hera and Zeus.
• He made all the weapons of the gods from
Olympus.
18. Hestia Vesta
• Virgin goddess of hearth, architecture, and the
right ordering of domesticity, the family and
the state, and fireside.
• Her symbol is the hearth and its fireside.
• Daughter of Cronus and Rhea.
• She received the first offering at every
sacrifice of the household.
19. Apollo ☤
• God of music, poetry, plague, oracles, sun,
medicine, light, and knowledge.
• He is one of the most important and complex
deities.
• His symbols include the lyre, laurel wreath,
python, raven, and bow and arrows.
• Twin of Artemis.
• Son of Zeus and Leto.
20. Echo
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Was an Oread (a mountain nymph).
Loved her own voice.
Was visited by Zeus on earth very often.
Loved Narcissus (the son of the Nymph
Liriope of Thespiae).
21. Echo / Narcissus
• The young and beautiful nymph Echo would distract and amuse Zeus’
wife, Hera, with long and entertaining stories while Zeus took advantage
of the moment to ravish the other mountain nymphs. When Hera
discovered the trickery, she was so annoyed she punished the talkative
Echo by taking away her voice, except in foolish repetition of another’s
shouted words. So, all Echo could do was repeat the voice of another.
One day when Narcissus was out hunting stags, Echo stealthily followed
the man through the woods longing to address him, but unable to speak
first. When Narcissus finally heard footsteps and shouted, “Who’s
there?” Echo answered, “who’s there?” Confused, narcissus looked
around and upon seeing no one around, asked, “Why do you run from
me?” which Echo in turn repeats to the young hunger. Finally he said,
“Let us meet together.” Echo, never being more eager to reply to anyone,
repeats, “Let’s meet.” To emphasize her words, she exits the woods in
order to wrap her hands around Narcissus in longing. He runs away from
her embrace and says, while running, “May I die before what’s mine is
yours.” She repeats only, “What’s mine is yours.” Heartbroken by
Narcissus, Echo spent the rest of her life in lonely glens pining away for
the love she never knew, crying until all that was left was her voice.
22. Hercules Heracles
• Son of Zeus and Alcmene.
• Famous for his strength and far-ranging
adventures.
• His symbols are either twin pillars or a club.
• He is also famous for killing the Hydra.
• His favorite weapon was the club.
23. Persephone Kore Proserpina
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Daughter of Zeus and Demeter.
Queen of the underworld.
Wife of Hades.
Her symbols include a wreath of flowers worn
in hair, torch, reeds, waterfalls, rivers, and
springs.
24. Rape of Persephone
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Persephone used to live far away from the other deities. In the Olympian
telling, the gods Hermes and Apollo had wooed Persephone, but Demeter
rejected all their gifts and hid her daughter away. Zeus permitted Hades, who
was in love with Persephone, to carry her off because her mother, Demeter,
was not likely to allow her daughter to go down to Hades. Persephone was
gathering flowers with the Oceanids along the Artemis and Athena in a field
when Hades came and abduct her, bursting through a cleft in the earth.
Demeter searched for her all over the earth with torches. She forbid the earth
to produce and she neglected the earth and causes nothing to grow. Helios,
the sun, who sees everything, told Demeter what had happened. Finally, Zeus,
pressured by the cries of the hungry people and by the other deities forced
Hades to return Persephone. Hades complied, but first he tricked her by giving
her some pomegranate seeds to eat. Persephone was released by Hermes,
who had been sent to get her, but because she tasted food in the underworld,
she had to spend a third of each year (the winter months) there, and the
remaining part of the year with the gods above. Which is why during that
time nothing grows because Demeter is upset that she is not with her
daughter during that time.
25. Eros Cupid
• God of love, desire, and attraction.
• His symbols are the bow, arrows, candles,
heart, cupids, wings, and kisses.
• Son of Chaos, or Aphrodite and Ares, or
Aphrodite and Hermes, or Iris and Zephyrus.
26. Orpheus
• Legendary musician, poet, and prophet .
• He had an ability to charm all living things
with his music.
• He is known as “the father of songs.”
• Son of Apollo and the Muse Calliope.
• The symbol for him is his bow-in-lyre (half
harp and half bow).
27. Pan Faunus
• Son of either Hermes and Driope (nymph) or
Hermes and Penelope.
• His symbol is the Pan Pipes.
• God of Nature, the Wild, Shepherds, Flocks,
Goats, Mountain Wilds, Hunting, Rustic Music,
Sexuality, Fields, Groves, Wooded Glens, and
Theatrical Criticism.
• The companion of the nymphs.
28. Pegasus
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His parents are Poseidon and Medusa.
He is related to Chrysaor.
Is obedient to Zeus.
Is the creator of Hippocrene, the fountain on
Mount Helicon.
• He is a symbol of knowledge, glory, power,
speed, imagination, and inspiration.
29. Kerberos Ceberus
• Guards the gates of the underworld.
• Offspring of Echidna and Typhon.
• The three heads each see and represent the
past, present, and future.
