Athena Flying Her owl Greek, ca. 460 B.C. |
"It's Greek to Me" ~William Shakepeare
Greek and RomanIn ancient history the conquors that have interest in becoming civilized will often adopt the conquoreds' philosophies and/or religion. Such is the case with the Roman Pagan Religion before the advent of Christianity. Directly translated, the ancient Greek Deities have been taken into Roman culture. Although this is no great mystery to history, often people misquote or reference, for this reason we have listed the table of major deities from each. |
1st c. B.C.- 1st C. A.D. |
Greek / Roman Deities |
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| GREEK NAME | PURPOSE | ROMAN NAME |
| Zeus | After overthrowing his father Cronos, Zeus drew lots with his brother Poseiden and Hades and won becoming the ruler of the gods. He is lord of the sky and the rain god. Though married to Hera he is known for his many infidelities. He often punishes those who break oaths. His weapon is the thunderbolt. | Jupiter |
| Hera | Hera is the protector of marriage and takes special care of married women. Her own marriage with Zeus is an unhappy one and he tricked her into it. Once she planned a revolt with the other gods to overthrow Zeus. Her plan was foiled but she never stopped trying to interfere with his plans and often outsmarts him. Her sacred animals are the cow and the peacock. Her favorite city is Argos. | Juno |
| Posieden | Poseidon is lord of the sea. He was widely worshiped by seamen. He married Amphitrite, a granddaughter of the Titan Oceanus. His weapon is a trident, which can shake the earth, and shatter any object. He is second only to Zeus in power amongst the gods. He has a difficult quarrelsome personality. He was greedy. He had a series of disputes with other gods when he tried to take over their cities. | Neptune |
| Hades | Hades is lord of the underworld and king of the dead. He favours those whos occupations kill people as they increase the number of his subjects. Hades is also the god of wealth, due to the precious metals mined from the earth. He rarely leaves his domain and can be unpitying and terrible, but not capricious. His wife is Persephone whom he abducted. He has a helmet that makes him invisible. | Pluto |
| Hestia | Hestia is Zeus' sister and a virgin goddess. She is the Goddess of the Hearth, the symbol of the house around which a new born child is carried before it is received into the family. While she play no role n the myths, Hestia was adored by the people. Each city had a public hearth sacred to Hestia, where the fire was never allowed to go out. | - |
| Athena | Athena is the daughter of Zeus. She sprang full grown in armor from his forehead, thus has no mother. She is fierce and brave in battle but, only fights to protect the state and home from outside enemies. She is the goddess of the city, handicrafts, and agriculture. She invented the bridle, which permitted man to tame horses, the trumpet, the flute, the pot, the rake, the plow, the yoke, the ship, and the chariot. She is the embodiment of wisdom, reason, and purity. She was Zeus's favorite child and was allowed to use his weapons including his thunderbolt. Her favorite city is Athens. Her tree is the olive. The owl is her bird. She is a virgin goddess. | Minerva |
| Ares | Ares is the son of Zeus and Hera. He was disliked by both parents. He is the god of war. He is considered murderous and bloodstained but, also a coward. When caught in an act of adultery with Aphrodite her husband Hephaestus is able to publicly ridicule him. His bird is the vulture. His animal is the dog. | Mars |
| Aphrodite | Aphrodite is the goddess of love, desire and beauty. In addition to her natural gifts she has a magical girdle that compels anyone she wishes to desire her. When Cronus castrated Uranus and tossed his severed genitals into the sea. Aphrodite then arose from the sea foam on a giant scallop and walked to shore in Cyprus. She is the wife of Hephaestus. The myrtle is her tree. The dove, the swan, and the sparrow her birds. | Venus |
| Hephestus | Hephaestus is the son of Hera alone and has no father. He is the only god to be physically ugly. He is also lame. Accounts as to how he became lame vary. Some say that Hera, upset by having an ugly child, flung him from Mount Olympus into the sea, breaking his legs. Others that he took Hera's side in an argument with Zeus and Zeus flung him off Mount Olympus. He is the god of fire and the forge. He is the smith and armorer of the gods. He uses a volcano as his forge. He is the patron god of both smiths and weavers. He is kind and peace loving. His wife is Aphrodite. | Vulcan |
| Apollo | Apollo is the son of Zeus and Leto. His twin sister is Artemis . He is the god of music, playing a golden lyre. The Archer, far shooting with a silver bow. The god of healing who taught man medicine. The god of light. The god of truth, who can not speak a lie. One of Apollo's more important daily tasks is to harness his chariot with four horses an drive the Sun across the sky. He is famous for his oracle at Delphi. People traveled to it from all over the Greek world to divine the future. His tree was the laurel. The crow his bird. The dolphin his animal. | Apollo |
| Artemis | Artemis is the daughter of Zeus and Leto. Her twin brother is Apollo . She is the lady of the wild things. She is the huntsman of the gods. She is the protector of the young. Like Apollo she hunts with silver arrows. She became associated with the moon. She is a virgin goddess, and the goddess of chastity. She also presides over childbirth, which may seem odd for a virgin, but goes back to causing Leto no pain when she was born. She became associated with Hecate. The cypress is her tree. All wild animals are scared to her, especially the deer. | Dianna |
| Hermes | Hermes is the son of Zeus and Maia. He is Zeus messenger. He is the fastest of the gods. He wears winged sandals, a winged hat, and carries a magic wand. He is the god of thieves and god of commerce. He is the guide for the dead to go to the underworld. He invented the lyre, the pipes, the musical scale, astronomy , weights and measures, boxing, gymnastics, and the care of olive trees. | Mercury |
