Other Gods and Goddesses You Need to Know (plus a couple of other mythological creatures)

1
Other Gods and Goddesses You Need to Know(plus
a couple of other mythological creatures)
2
Hera

• Queen of the Olympian gods
• Goddess of marriage and birth
• Married to Zeuschildren Hephaestus, Hebe, and
  Ares
• Jealous of Zeuss other girlfriendshe punished
  her rivals and their children with implacable
  fury
• Roman Name Juno

3
Demeter

• Goddess of corn, grain, and the harvest
• Parents Zeus Rhea
• Children Persephone
• When Persephone was abducted by Hades, Demeter
  would not allow crops to grow. Zeus ordered that
  Persephone be returned to her mother from the
  underworld, but Hades said she had already eaten
  there, so she wasnt allowed to leave. In the
  end, they decided Persephone would have to spend
  4 months a year in the underworld...during that
  time, Demeter would not allow crops to grow
  (winter).
• Roman Name Ceres

4
Artemis

• Goddess of the wilderness, the hunt, and wild
  animals ( fertility) huntsman of the gods
• Parents Zeus and Leto
• Guardian of young children and protectress of
  women in labor (gave them a quick death if they
  were dying)
• Had the power to heal (like her brother, Apollo),
  but she also brought about diseases
• Had a temperkilled Niobes daughters with Apollo
• Roman Name Diana

5
Kronos (Cronus)

• Titan who came to power by mutilating his own
  fathertime began when Cronus took over
• Son of Uranus (Heaven) and Gaea (Earth)
  WifeRhea ChildrenHestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades,
  Poseidon, Zeus
• An oracle told Cronus that one of his children
  would take his throne, so Cronus swallowed each
  of his children when they were born, except Zeus
  (because Rhea gave Cronus a rock in his place and
  then had Gaea raise Zeus). When Zeus grew up, he
  wanted to overtake his fathers thrown, so he
  convinced him to throw up his brothers and
  sisters. After they were back, Zeus and his 5
  siblings went to war with the Titans, overthrew
  them, and sent them away from Mt. Olympus.
• Roman Name Saturnus

6
Hestia

• Goddess of the hearth fire (domestic life)
• Eldest daughter of Cronus and Rhea
• Did not want to marry, so she never did
• Strongly connected to home and family
• Roman Name Vesta

7
Furies

• AKA, the Erinyes
• From these beings we have the words furious and
  infuriated.
• The three furies were responsible for punishing
  all crime including the breaking of rules of ALL
  aspects of society. They even protected beggars,
  strangers, birds, and dogs.
• They would strike offenders with madness and
  never stop following criminals.

8
Fates

• Controlled destiny
• Clothospun the thread of life (originally
  called upon during the 9th month of pregnancy)
• Lachesismeasured the thread of life allotted to
  each person with her measuring rod
• Atroposcutter of the thread of life. She chose
  the manner and timing of each persons death.
  When she cut the thread with her abhorred
  shears, someone on earth died

9
Cerberus

• The three-headed dog who guards the entrance to
  the underworld

10
Charon

• The ferryman of the dead. The souls of the dead
  are brought to him by Hermes, and Charon ferries
  them across the river Styx.
• The living put a coin in the deads mouth to pay
  Charon.

11
Chiron

• Deep-thinking centaur
• Never used weapons against humans
• Had extensive knowledge of the healing arts

12
Medusa

• The only MORTAL gorgonshe was originally a
  beautiful enough human that Poseidon took an
  interest in her and seduced her in one of
  Athenas temples, which was unforgivable.
  Athena, in turn, turned her into a gorgon (snakes
  for hair and a dragon body), but she remained
  mortal since she was originally a normal woman.
• Her gaze could turn whomever she looked upon to
  stone
• Athena helped Perseus kill Medusa later on by
  leading his hand/sword to cut off her head.

13
Minotaur

• Half man, half bull
• It was a terrible monster, so Minos had it
  enclosed in a labyrinth, and each year, he had
  seven young girls and seven young boys from
  Athens sacrificed to it.
• Theseus killed the minotaur by pretending to be a
  sacrifice, but taking a long thread with him from
  the entrance until he found the minotaur and
  killed it. He was then able to find his way out
  the labyrinth by following his thread out.
  Theseus knew to use the thread because of Minoss
  daughter, Ariadne.

14
Satyrs

• Deities of the woods and mountains.
• Half human half beast
• Usually have a goats tail, flanks and hooves
• Upper part of body is human except for horns of a
  goat
• Companions of Dionysus
• AKA fauns

15
Perseus

• Son of Zeus and Danae
• Killed Medusa with the help of Hermes and Athena
  by only looking at her reflection in his shield

16
Prometheus

• Titan
• Stole fire from Zeus and gave it to mortals
• Punished by Zeus by having him chained
  forevereach day an eagle would come and eat his
  liver, but it would grow back, so the torture was
  never-ending

17
Pan

• God of shepherds, flocks, and hunting
• Satyr
• Great musician, played the pipes
• Not well liked by other gods

18
Oracle of Delphi

• Oracle Prophet
• Oracle of Delphi Most famous/well-known in
  Greek Mythology

19
Arachne

• Mortal who was very good at weavingso good that
  she claimed to be better than the goddess of
  weaving, Athena
• Athena was offended, but gave Arachne another
  chanceArachne still challenged her
• Arachnes tapestry came out better than Athenas
  in the end, so Athena gave Arachne guilt
• Arachne hanged her self
• Athena felt guilty, so brought her back to life
  as a spider so she and all ancestors could weave
  for the rest of their lives

20
Argus

• Monster with many eyesvery helpful in making him
  a fantastic guard
• Most well-known for guarding Io at Heras
  command. Zeus was angry and sent Hermes to
  retrieve Io. Hermes was able to lull Argus to
  sleep and Io was rescued.

21
Naiads

• Nymphs who presided over rivers, streams, brooks,
  springs, fountains, lakes, ponds, wells, and
  marshes
• Usually related to cautionary tales

22
Nereids

• The fifty daughters of Nereus and Doris who swell
  in the Mediterranean Sea.
• Always helpful and friendly toward sailors
  fighting perilous storms
• Able to prophesize

23
Dryads

• Female spirits of nature (nymphs) who preside
  over forests and groves
• Each one born with a certain tree over which she
  watches
• Connected to lives of treesif tree dies, so does
  dryadgods punish mortals who kill trees, and
  dryads punish mortals who harm trees

24
Procrustes

• Bandit and torturer
• Captured travelers and made them fit into one
  of his two beds
• He placed tall travelers in his short bed and
  chopped off their limbs to make them fit
• He placed short travelers in his long bed and
  stretched them out until they fit
• Theseus killed Procrustes

25
Echidna

• Monster Half nymph, half serpent
• Lived in a cave and snatched up passers-by to eat
  them
• Had children with TyphonCerberus, Orthrus, the
  Hydra, Chimera, and the Sphinx were offspring

26
Chimera

• Monster head of a lion, body of a goat, tail of
  a dragon

27
Lotus Eaters

• Lived in a state of forgetfulness induced by
  eating the lotus plant
• Odysseus came across the land of the lotus eaters
  with his sailorssailors met the lotus eaters,
  ate their plants, and didnt want to return to
  the shipOdysseus searched out his men and forced
  them to return to the ship

28
Harpies

• Winged monsters with the face of an ugly old
  woman and equipped with crooked, sharp talons
• Carried people off to the underworld, torturing
  them as they went

29
Rhea

• Mother of the godsmarried to Cronus (mother of
  Zeus, Demeter, Hades, Hera, Hestia, and Poseidon)
• Rhea was the one who helped save Zeushid him in
  Crete until he was grown