GREEK GODDESSES
Titans
Gaea
Gaea is the earth goddess. With Uranus she bore the
rest of the Titans. She is
regarded as all-producing and all-nourishing, and one of the deities of
presiding over marriage.
Mnemosyne
The goddess of Memory, Mnemosyne, mated with Zeus to produce the 9 Muses.
Phoebe
By her brother Coeus she is the mother of Asteria and
Leto. Through Leto, she
is the grandmother of Apollo and Artemis.
Rhea
Rhea was the wife of the Titan Cronus, who made it a
practice to swallow their
children. When Zeus was about to be born, she bore him in secret and gave
Cronus a stone wrapped as an infant to swallow.
Tethys
Tethys the wife of Oceanus and gave birth to around
3,000 river-gods and the
Oceanides. Hera was raised by Tethys until she was ready to marry Zeus.
Theia
The wife of her brother Hyperion, by him Theia gave
birth to Helios (sun), Eos
(dawn), and Selene (moon). She is the goddess from whom light emanates and
considered especially beautiful.
Themis
Themis is the goddess of the order of things established
by law, custom and
ethics. By Zeus' command, she convenes the assembly of the gods, and she
is
invoked when mortals assemble. She is the mother of the Horae (seasons),
the
Hesperides and Prometheus.
Olympians
Aphrodite
Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, was born
from the foam of the sea.
She is married to Hephaestus, the god of fire and smithy to the gods. Sacred
to
her are the myrtle, rose, apple, poppy, sparrow, dove, swan, swallow, tortoise,
ram, the planet Venus, and the month of April. Eros was produced from a
liaison
with Zeus. Her favorite lover is the god of war, Ares.
Artemis
Artemis is the goddess of the hunt, virginity, the moon,
and the natural
environment. She is the daughter of Zeus and Leto and twin sister of Apollo.
Even though she is a virgin goddess, she also presides over childbirth.
Sacred
to her are the laurel, fir tree, fish, stag, boar, bear, dog, goat, bee
and
other animals.
Athena
Athena is the Greek virgin goddess of reason in war
and peace, intelligent
activity, arts and literature, and useful arts. She sprang full grown from
Zeus' head rather than being born by a woman. She is Zeus' favorite and
is
allowed to use his weapons including his thunderbolt. Sacred to her are
the
olive, serpent, owl, lance, and crow. She invented the bridle, the trumpet,
the
flute, the pot, the rake, the plow, the yoke, the ship, and the chariot.
Demeter
Demeter is the goddess of the earth, of agriculture,
and of fertility in
general. Sacred to her are livestock and agricultural products, poppy, narcissus
and the crane. She is the mother of Persephone by Zeus. During the months
Persephone lives with Hades, Demeter withdraws her gifts from the world,
creating winter. Upon Persephone's return, spring comes into bloom.
Hera
Hera is the supreme goddess of the Greeks and goddess
of marriage and
childbirth, and wife to Zeus. Her children are Ares, Hebe, Hephaestus and
Eris.
Sacred to her are the peacock, pomegranate, lily and cuckoo. She is extremely
jealous of Zeus' amorous adventures and punishes his mortal lovers.
Hestia
Hestia is the virgin goddess of the hearth and of domestic
life, and the
inventor of domestic architecture. Of all the Olympians, she is the mildest,
most upright and most charitable.
Other Goddesses
Alecto
Alecto is one of the three Furies or Erinyes and sometimes
known as a Greek
goddess of war and death.
Arete
Arete is the Greek goddess of justice and teacher of
Heracles.
The Charities
The Charities are personifications of aspects of grace
and beauty. They are
called Aglaia (Splendor), Euphrosyne (Mirth), and Thalia (Good Cheer). While
the Muses inspire artists, the Charities apply the artists' works to the
embellishment of life.
Cer
The Greek goddess of violent death, Cer (or Ker) is
the daughter of Nyx
("night") and sister of the Moriae ("fates"). This name
was also used of the
malevolent ghost of any dead person.
Cotys
Coyts the goddess of sexuality was revered in Thrace.
There here servants, the
baptai ("baptized ones"), celebrated secret festivals in her honor.
Dryads
Dryads (Hamadryads) are elemental forces incarnated
in a bark-like body. They
were usually female and mortal, dying when the tree died. A dryad will punish
mortals for thoughtlessly breaking her branches or harming her.
Eos
Eos is the goddess of dawn, daughter of the Titans Hyperion
and Theia, and
sister of Helios and Selene. She is the mother of the evening star Eosphorus
(Hesperus), other stars, and the winds Boreas, Zephyrus and Notus. When
she was
caught in a tryst with Ares, Aphrodite cursed her with an insatiable desire
for
handsome young men. She most often appears winged or in a chariot drawn
by four
horses, one of them being Pegasus.
The Erinyes
The Erinyes (Eumenides) names are Alecto, Megaera, and
Tisiphone. They are
solemn maidens dressed as huntresses, wear bands of serpents around their
heads,
and carry torches. They pursue wrongdoers and torment them in ways that
make
the criminals wish they were dead. Crimes that especially draw their attention
are disobedience toward parents, ill-treatment of the elderly, murder, violation
of the law of hospitality, and improper conduct toward suppliants.
Eris
Eris is the goddess of discord and the daughter of Zeus
and Hera. She is
obsessed with bloodshed, havoc, and suffering. She calls forth war and her
brother Ares carries out the action.
Hecate
Hecate brings good luck to sailors and hunters or can
withhold these blessings
if undeserved, so fear became a motivating factor in her worship. When
Persephone was found with Hades, Hecate remained with her as attendant and
companion and as a result has a share in the ruling over the souls in the
underworld. Because of her unearthly aspect she is regarded as a kind of
queen
of witches.
The Horae
The Horae are the goddesses of the seasons and the orderly
procession of things
in general. They are also the collective personification of justice. Hesoid,
who saw them as givers of the law, justice and peace gave them the names
Eunomia
(Discipline), Dice (Justice) and Eirene (Peace). At Athens two of the Horae,
were called Thallo and Carpo, and to the Athenians, represented the budding
and
maturity of growing things. As a result, Thallo became the protectress of
youth.
Iaso
Iaso is a Greek goddess of healing and the sister of
Hygia.
Irene
Irene is the Greek goddess of peace and is worshipped
with bloodless sacrifices
at Athens. Some legends say she is one of the Horae.
Iris
The winged, rainbow goddess Iris is Hera's messenger.
When she is not
delivering messages she is asleep under Hera's bed. She is one of the few
who
can journey at will to the underworld where she fetches water for solemn
oaths.
Leto
Leto is the mother of Apollo and Artemis and is mostly
worshipped in conjunction
with her children.
Meliae
In one of the Greek creation myths, Mother Gaea had
her son Uranus castrated.
Drops of his blood fell on her and from those spots, Gaea conceived tree
spirits
called Maelia. As the world's original women, they were the mothers of
humankind.
The Moirae
The Moirae are the Fates, the personification of the
destiny of humans. The
three Moirae are Clotho, Atropos, and Lachesis. Clotho spins the thread
at the
beginning of one's life, Atropos weaves the thread into the fabric of one's
actions, and Lachesis snips the thread at the conclusion of one's life.
Gods as
well as mortals have to submit to the will of the Moirae.
The Muses
The nine Muses are the goddesses of arts and sciences
and inspire those who
excel in these pursuits. They are the daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne. Their
names are: Clio (History), Urania (Astronomy), Melpomene (Tragedy), Thalia
(Comedy), Terpsichore (Dance), Calliope (Epic Poetry), Erato (Love Poetry),
Polyhymnia (Songs to the Gods), and Euterpe (Lyric Poetry). Apollo is the
leader of the Muses.
Nemesis
Nemesis is the personification of divine vengeance.
Happiness and unhappiness
are measured out by her, determining that happiness was not too frequent
or
excessive. If so, she brings about losses and suffering. She is one of the
assistants of Zeus.
Nike
Nike, the winged goddess of victory, is the daughter
of the fearsome river
goddess Styx and the sister of Zelos ("zeal"). She was honored
throughtout
Greece, especially at Athens.
Persephone
Persephone is the daughter of the Olympian Demeter,
and became the goddess of
death and the underworld when Hades abducted her. The mint and pomegranate
is
sacred to her. Persephone raised Aphrodite's child Adonis.
The Pleiades
The Pleiades are the daughters of Atlas by Pleione and
are called Electra, Maia,
Taygete, Alcyone, Celaena, Sterope, and Merope. They and their mother were
pursued by the giant Orion until the gods intervened and transformed them
into a
constellation.
Selene
Selene, also called Mene, is the goddess of the moon.
She is the daughter of
Hyperion and Theia, and the sister of Eos (dawn) and Helios (sun).
Styx
The goddess of the River Styx that wound beneath the
earth in the land of the
dead is called is also called Styx "the hated one," who prevented
the living
from crossing into the realm of Persephone without first undergoing death's
torments.