Greek Mythology Unit - Gods, Titans, and Key Figures

Olympian Gods and Their Roman Equivalents

Zeus — Jupiter: supreme ruler of the gods; god of the sky; symbols: thunderbolt, eagle; husband and brother of Hera; many love affairs; protector of marriage.
Poseidon — Neptune: god of the sea; symbol: trident; Earth-shaker.
Hades — Pluto: god of the underworld; symbol: Cerberus; cannot leave the underworld.
Hera — Juno: Zeus's wife and sister; goddess of marriage; protector of married women; punishes lovers of Zeus.
Demeter — Ceres: goddess of agriculture; mother of Persephone; symbol: stalk of wheat.
Hestia — Vesta: goddess of the hearth; no distinct personality.
Athena — Minerva: goddess of wisdom and war; daughter of Zeus alone (born from Zeus’s head); symbols: helmet, shield, owl.
Artemis — Diana: goddess of the hunt; goddess of the moon; symbols: bow and arrows, deer; maiden.
Apollo — Apollo: god of music and the sun; symbol: lyre; sun.
Aphrodite — Venus: goddess of love and beauty; daughter of Zeus and Dione; very charming, in love with many gods; symbols: dove, sometimes swan.
Ares — Mars: god of war; son of Zeus and Hera; temperamental; symbol: spear and shield.
Hermes — Mercury: messenger god; shrewdest and most cunning; symbols: winged sandals, winged hat, caduceus.
Hephaestus — Vulcan: god of fire and the forge; ugly and lame; symbol: anvil and hammer.
Dionysus — Bacchus: god of wine and revelry; symbol: grapevine.

Gaia (Gaea) — Mother Earth; wife of Uranus; mother of the Titans and Cyclopes; first life.
Uranus — Father Heaven; primal sky; parent of the Titans.
Cronus (Saturn) — Titan; swallowed his children to maintain power; dethroned by Zeus.
Rhea — Cronus’s sister and wife; mother of the Olympians; tricked Cronus by giving him rocks to swallow instead of Zeus.
Atlas — Titan; punished to hold the world on his shoulders.
Prometheus — Titan; gave fire to humans; wise, but challenged Zeus.
Epimetheus — Titan; gave best gifts to animals; left nothing for humans.

Daedalus — legendary craftsman; built the labyrinth; father of Icarus; created wings for his son.
Icarus — Daedalus’s son; flew too close to the sun; wings melted and he died.
Echo — mountain nymph; cursed to only repeat others.
Narcissus — youth who loved his own reflection; content with self-adoration; turned into the Narcissus flower.
Paris — Trojan prince; judged the golden apple (awarded to Aphrodite); helped cause the Trojan War