important people and places

Aphrodite

goddess of love and beauty, born from the sea when Uranus's genitals were thrown into the sea, loved Adonis, was caught in golden net

Ares

god of war, son of Hera and Zeus

Artemis

goddess of the moon and the hunt, daughter of Zeus and Leto, twin of Apollo

Athena

goddess of wisdom and war, born from Zeus's head as an adult clad in armor. Zeus swallowed her mother, Metis, prophesied that Athena would overthrow Zeus

Demeter

goddess of the grain and harvest, seasons, daughter of Cronus and Rhea, brought harsh winters because of loss of daughter

Dionysus

"twice born," God of wine and drama, son of Zeus and Semele, brought back Semele from the underworld, sewn into Zeus's thigh when Semele died, worshipped by the Maenads

Hephaestus

god of fire, wife of Aphrodite, caught Aphrodite in golden net

Hera

goddess of marriage, wife of Zeus and also his sister, Queen of the Gods, daughter of Cronus and Rhea

Hermes

messenger of the gods, god of trade, thieves, and travel, inventor of the lyre, symbol is caduceus, stole Apollo's cattle

Poseidon

god of the sea, son of Cronus and Rhea, one of the big three

Zeus

god of the sky and king of the gods, one of the big three

Achilles

greatest Greek warrior, only vulnerable place is his heel after being placed in River Styx, prophecy that he would die in the Trojan war, which he does at the hand of Paris

Adonis

Aphrodite was in love with him, killed by Ares as a boar, turned into a flower (anemone)

Actaeon

mortal hunter who looked at Artemis while she was bathing, transformed into a deer, killed by his own hounds

Aegeas

father of Theseus, tells Theseus to change the sail on his ship from black to white so he would know he was alive, throws himself into the ocean (named Aegean Sea after him)

Aeneas

founder of Rome, escaped Troy, married Dido, left Dido, visited the Underworld and returned

Andromeda

daughter of Cassiopeia, tied to a shore as a sacrifice to Poseidon's kraken, saved by and married to Perseus, made into constellation

Arachne

mortal, skilled weaver, challenged Athena to a weaving contest, turned into a spider

Apollo

god of archery, music, poetry, the sun, medicine, born to Zeus and Leto, symbol is lyre, loved Daphne and Hyacinth

Argus

hundred-eyed giant of Hera, guarded over Io the cow (Zeus's lover), killed by Hermes

Ariadne

daughter of Minos, fell in love with Theseus, helped him escape from the Labyrinth, abandoned by Theseus; married Dionysus, turned into a constellation

Atalanta

mortal raised by wildlife, foot race for her hand, distracted by golden apples tossed on the ground, married Hippomenes, turned into lion for having sex in Rhea's temple

Atlas

titan who tried to take over the heavens, punished by being forced to hold them up on his back

Bellerophon

human who is allowed to tame Pegasus

Cassiopeia

arrogant and vain queen of Ethiopia who bragged about her daughter, Andromeda's beauty

Centaur

mythical figure, half man and half horse

Cerberus

three-headed dog that guards the gate to the Underworld

Charon

the ferryman that carries the newly deceased souls to the Underworld

Charybdis

whirlpool in the Odyssey, deep place

Circe

witch/goddess of magic, transforms Odysseus's crew into swine when he lands on her island, eventually helps Odysseus

Cronus

strongest Titan, castrates and overthrows Uranus, symbol is sickle, frees monster siblings from Tartarus, swallows each baby, defeated by Zeus

Cupid/Eros

god of love, son of Aphrodite, symbol is bow and arrow, falls in love with Psyche (his victim)

Cyclops

one of a race of giants having a single eye in the middle of their forehead, children of Uranus and Gaia, blacksmiths of the gods

Daedalus

mortal architect who built the Labyrinth, was imprisoned by Minos for helping Theseus, Icarus is son, built wings of feathers and wax to escape Crete

Danae

mortal mother of Perseus, imprisoned in tower, Zeus impregnated her through golden shower

Daphne

nymph, struck by arrow to hate Apollo, runs from Apollo, becomes Laurel tree

Dido

Queen of Carthage, fell in love with Aeneas, throws herself on a burning pyre when he leaves her

Echo

nymph, falls in love with Narcissus, punished by Hera, withered away in a cave until only voice was left

Elysian Fields

paradise of the underworld, where the heroic go after death

Epimetheus

titan brother of prometheus, wife of Pandora, "afterthought," gave all animals gifts but not humans

Eris

goddess of discord, wasn't invited to wedding, throws golden apple into wedding ceremony, making Athena, Aphrodite, and Hera fight (Judgment of Paris)

Eurydice

wood nymph, lover of Orpheus, was left in the underworld because Orpheus looked back, bitten by snake

Fates

Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos, spun, measured, and cut the threads of life.

Furies

Tisiphone, Megaera, and Alecto, punished mankind for wrongdoings, created from drops of blood from Uranus's castration

Muses

goddesses of the arts (history, lyrics, music, tragedy, comedy, astronomy, dance, hymns)

Gaea

earth, lover of Uranus

Galatea

statue of Pygmalion that he falls in love with, is granted life by Aphrodite

Gorgon

Medusa and her sisters, had snakes for hair, could turn anyone who looked them in the eye to stone

Hades

god of the underworld, symbols are Biton and serpent, kidnaps Persephone

Harpies

half-human, half-bird personification of storm winds, attacked the Argonauts

Hector

greatest Trojan warrior who was killed by Achilles during the Trojan War

Helen

"the face that launched a thousand ships," queen of Sparta, fell in love and was kidnapped by Paris, daughter of swan-Zeus

Hercules

kills his entire family, immortalized, goes to the underworld and back, death by fire, completed twelve labors

Hestia

goddess of the hearth and home, virgin goddess, has the vestal virgins

Hippolyta

Queen of the Amazons, gives golden belt to Hercules, is killed by Hercules

Hyacinth

love of Apollo, killed by a discus thrown by Apollo, turned into a flower

Hyperion

titan of heavenly light, symbol is the sun, married to Theia

Icarus

son of Daedalus, flew too close to the sun, death by drowning

Io

one of Zeus's lovers, turned into a cow to protect her from Hera, guarded by Argus, wandered the earth

Jacosta

mother and wife of Oedipus, queen of Thebes, hangs herself

Jason

leader of the Argonauts in the quest for the Golden Fleece, married to the sorceress Medea

Leda

mother of Helen, was seduced and impregnated by swan-Zeus

Lethe

the river in the Underworld from which the souls of the Asphodel Meadows would drink to forget their past lives

Maenads

the crazed drunken women, worshippers of Dionysus, their babies were killed, tore into people

Medea

wife of Jason, sorceress, helped him retrieve the Golden Fleece

Medusa

the gorgon with snake's hair whose head was cut off by Perseus and whose gaze could turn anyone to stone, depicted on aegis

Midas

king with ability to turn everything he touched into gold

Minos

King of Crete who imprisoned the Minotaur, father of Ariadne, imprisoned Daedalus and Icarus

Narcissus

nymph with whom Echo was in love, prophesied to live to a ripe old age as long as he never knew himself, fell in love with his own reflection, turned into a flower

Niobe

bragged about her twelve children to Leto, Artemis killed all of her daughter and Apollo her sons, turned into a rock

Odysseus

King of Ithaca; hero of the Trojan war and the Odyssey; favorite of Athena, goes on a really long journey; brainy, not brawny; blinds Polyphemus, sails past Charybdis and Sirens

Oedipus

tragic hero, king of Thebes, killed his father and married his mother, solved the sphinx's riddle, gouged his eyes out

Orion

friend of Artemis, mortal hunter, Apollo was jealous of him and tricked Artemis into shooting him, became a constellation

Orpheus

child of Apollo and Calliope, played the lyre, lover of Eurydice, went to the underworld and back for her, punished for looking back at her

Pan

god of the wild, shepherds, and flocks; symbols are pan pipes and goat

Pandora

"all gift," wife of Epimetheus, opened the beautiful container that she was not supposed to open, released all evils into the world

Paris

shepherd known for fair judgment, chose Aphrodite to be winner in Judgment of Paris, was in love with Helen, kidnapped her and started Trojan War

Pegasus

winged stallion tamed by Bellerophon, becomes the companion of Zeus, becomes a constellation

Penelope

wife of Odysseus, pursued by over one hundred suitors while he was gone, Queen of Ithaca

Persephone

wife of Hades, queen of the Underworld, daughter of Demeter, kidnapped by Hades, resides in Underworld for part of the year because she eats pomegranate seeds from there

Perseus

slew Medusa, daughter of Danae and Zeus, rescues and marries Andromeda, is given winged sandals and helm of Hades

Polyhymnia

muse of hymns

Polyphemus

cyclops, imprisons Odysseus and his men, is blinded by Odysseus, prays to Poseidon to curse Odysseus's journey

Prometheus

"forethought," the Titan who stole fire for man from Olympus, tricks gods into taking a bad sacrifice from man, brother of Epimetheus, has his liver eaten by an eagle every day

Psyche

mortal who falls in love with Eros, has to complete tasks from Aphrodite, goes to underworld and back, becomes an immortal, marries Eros

Pygmalion

artist who hated women, fell in love with Galatea, his statue, marries human Galatea

Pyramus

in love with Thisbe, kills himself when he thinks she was killed by a lioness, blood from death makes mulberry tree red

Satyr

a creature that is half-man, half-beast, with the horns and legs of a goat

Semele

mother of Dionysus, looked at Zeus's true form and spontaneously combusted, death by fire

Sirens

creatures in the Odyssey that lure sailors to their deaths

Sphinx

creature that is part lion, part woman, and part bird who Oedipus defeats by solving her riddle, throws herself off a cliff

Styx

river that circles the underworld, river of unbreakable oath, Achilles is dipped in it so he only has heel as weakness, boundary

Syrinx

nymph who rejected Pan, was turned into marsh reeds, turned into pan pipes by Pan

Tantalus

the king who attempted to serve his own son at a feast with the gods and was condemned to forever go thirsty and hungry in the underworld

Tartarus

deep dark pit in the Underworld where Uranus threw his undesirable children, Zeus put the titans there

Theseus

hero who slew the Cretan Bull and the Minotaur, volunteers to be tribute to the Minotaur, forgot to change his ship sail from black to white

Triton

son of Poseidon and Amphitrite, trumpeter of the sea

Uranus

the sky god, lover of Gaea, threw his ugly children into Tartarus, castrated by Cronus, unwittingly allows Aphrodite to be born