"subterranean house of Hades and his predecessors, home of the dead. Influences from other cultures always afforded new themes. According to Classical-era mythology, after the overthrow of the Titans, the new pantheon of gods and goddesses was confirmed. Among the principal Greek gods were the Olympians, residing on Mount Olympus under the eye of Zeus. (The limitation of their number to twelve seems to have been a comparatively modern idea.) Besides the Olympians, the Greeks worshipped various gods of the countryside, the satyr-god Pan, Nymphs (spirits of rivers), Naiads (who dwelled in springs), Dryads (who were spirits of the trees),"
"Carnea Carneia (, or Καρνεῖα ""Karneia"", or Κάρνεα ""Karnea"") was the name of one of the great national festivals of Sparta, held in honor of Apollo Carneus. Whether Carneus (or Carnus) was originally an old Peloponnesian divinity subsequently identified with Apollo, or merely an ""emanation"" from him, is uncertain; but there seems no reason to doubt that Carneus means ""the god of flocks and herds"" (Hesychius, s.v. ), in a wider sense, of the harvest and the vintage. The chief centre of his worship was Sparta, where the Carneia took place every year from the 7th to the 15th of"
"While there were few concepts universal to all the Greek peoples, there were common beliefs shared by many. Ancient Greek theology was polytheistic, based on the assumption that there were many gods and goddesses, as well as a range of lesser supernatural beings of various types. There was a hierarchy of deities, with Zeus, the king of the gods, having a level of control over all the others, although he was not almighty. Some deities had dominion over certain aspects of nature. For instance, Zeus was the sky-god, sending thunder and lightning, Poseidon ruled over the sea and earthquakes, Hades"
"Achelous In Greek mythology, Achelous (; Ancient Greek: Ἀχελώїoς, and later ""Achelṓios"") was originally the god of all water and the rivers of the world were viewed by many as his sinews. Later, in Hellenistic times, he was mostly relegated to the Achelous River, which is the largest river of Greece, and thus the chief of all river deities, every river having its own river spirit. Achelous was also an important deity in Etruscan mythology, intimately related to water as in the Greek tradition but also carrying significant chthonic associations. Man-faced bull iconography was first adapted to represent Achelous by"
"variety of stag, bull, ram and goat gods. Horned gods are not universal however, and in some cultures bear gods, like Arktos might take the role, or even the more anthropomorphic deities who lead the Wild Hunt. Such figures are also often referred to as 'Lord of the forest'* or 'Lord of the mountain'. ""Potnia Theron"", a phrase used by Homer meaning ""Mistress of the Animals"" is used for early Greek depictions of goddesses, usually Artemis, holding animals. The Greek god shown as ""Master of Animals"" is usually Apollo, the god of hunting. Shiva has the epithet Pashupati meaning the"
"Poseidon Poseidon (; , ) was one of the Twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and myth. He was god of the Sea and other waters; of earthquakes; and of horses. In pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece, he was venerated as a chief deity at Pylos and Thebes. His Roman equivalent is Neptune. Poseidon was protector of seafarers, and of many Hellenic cities and colonies. In Homer's ""Iliad"", Poseidon supports the Greeks against the Trojans during the Trojan War. In the ""Odyssey"", during the sea-voyage from Troy back home to Ithaca, the Greek hero Odysseus provokes Poseidon's fury by blinding his"
"Demeter, Dionysus, Hephaestus, and Ares. Other important Greek deities included Hestia, Hades and Heracles. These deities later inspired the ""Dii Consentes"" galaxy of Roman deities. Besides the Olympians, the Greeks also worshipped various local deities. Among these were the goat-legged god Pan (the guardian of shepherds and their flocks), Nymphs (nature spirits associated with particular landforms), Naiads (who dwelled in springs), Dryads (who were spirits of the trees), Nereids (who inhabited the sea), river gods, satyrs (a class of lustful male nature spirits), and others. The dark powers of the underworld were represented by the Erinyes (or Furies), said to"
"of Oceanus and Tethys: Potamoi The Potamoi (, ""Rivers"") are the gods of rivers and streams of the earth in Greek mythology. The river gods were the 3000 sons of the great earth-encircling river Oceanus and his wife Tethys and the brothers of the Oceanids. They were also the fathers of the Naiads. The river gods were depicted in one of three forms: a man-headed bull, a bull-headed man with the body of a serpent-like fish from the waist down, or as a reclining man with an arm resting upon an amphora jug pouring water. Notable river gods include: The"
"Faunus In ancient Roman religion and myth, Faunus was the horned god of the forest, plains and fields; when he made cattle fertile he was called Inuus. He came to be equated in literature with the Greek god Pan. Faunus was one of the oldest Roman deities, known as the ""di indigetes"". According to the epic poet Virgil, he was a legendary king of the Latins. His shade was consulted as a goddess of prophecy under the name of Fatuus, with oracles in the sacred grove of Tibur, around the well Albunea, and on the Aventine Hill in ancient Rome"
"quest for the Golden Fleece and Theseus and the Minotaur. Many species existed in Greek mythology. Chief among these were the gods and humans, though the Titans (who predated the Olympian gods) also frequently appeared in Greek myths. Lesser species included the half-man-half-horse centaurs, the nature based nymphs (tree nymphs were dryads, sea nymphs were Nereids) and the half man, half goat satyrs. Some creatures in Greek mythology were monstrous, such as the one-eyed giant Cyclopes, the sea beast Scylla, whirlpool Charybdis, Gorgons, and the half-man, half-bull Minotaur. There was not a set Greek cosmogony, or creation myth. Different religious"
"Twelve Olympians In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the twelve Olympians are the major deities of the Greek pantheon, commonly considered to be Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Demeter, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Ares, Aphrodite, Hephaestus, Hermes, and either Hestia or Dionysus. They were called 'Olympians' because, according to tradition, they resided on Mount Olympus. Although Hades was a major ancient Greek god, and was the brother of the first generation of Olympians (Zeus, Poseidon, Hera, Demeter, and Hestia), he resided in the underworld, far from Olympus, and thus was not usually considered to be one of the Olympians. Besides the twelve Olympians,"
"myth of an eponymous Mysius who venerated Demeter. Demeter In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Demeter (; Attic: ""Dēmḗtēr"", ; Doric: ""Dāmā́tēr"") is the goddess of the grain, agriculture, harvest, growth, and nourishment, who presided over grains and the fertility of the earth. Her cult titles include Sito (), ""she of the Grain"", as the giver of food or grain, and Thesmophoros (, ""thesmos"": divine order, unwritten law; , ""phoros"": bringer, bearer), ""Law-Bringer"", as a mark of the civilized existence of agricultural society. Though Demeter is often described simply as the goddess of the harvest, she presided also over the"
"Agonius Agonius (Ancient Greek: Ἀγώνιος) or Enagonius was an epithet of several gods in Greek mythology (or a distinct deity). Aeschylus and Sophocles use it of Apollo and Zeus, and apparently in the sense of helpers in struggles and contests, or possibly as the protectors of soldiers. But Agonius is more especially used as an epithet of Hermes, who presides over all kinds of solemn contests (), such as the Agonalia. Classical scholar William Warde Fowler thought it likely the deity or the epithets were merely inventions of the pontifices. According to a 19th-century catalog of Greek and Roman art"
"Potamoi The Potamoi (, ""Rivers"") are the gods of rivers and streams of the earth in Greek mythology. The river gods were the 3000 sons of the great earth-encircling river Oceanus and his wife Tethys and the brothers of the Oceanids. They were also the fathers of the Naiads. The river gods were depicted in one of three forms: a man-headed bull, a bull-headed man with the body of a serpent-like fish from the waist down, or as a reclining man with an arm resting upon an amphora jug pouring water. Notable river gods include: The following are the sons"
"Greek sea gods The ancient Greeks had a large number of sea deities. The philosopher Plato once remarked that the Greek people were like frogs sitting around a pond—their many cities hugging close to the Mediterranean coastline from the Hellenic homeland to Asia Minor, Libya, Sicily and Southern Italy. Thus, they venerated a rich variety of aquatic divinities. The range of Greek sea gods of the classical era range from primordial powers and an Olympian on the one hand, to heroized mortals, chthonic nymphs, trickster-figures, and monsters on the other. Oceanus and Tethys are the father and mother of the"
"of marriage; Athena, goddess of wisdom; Poseidon, god of the sea; Demeter, goddess of the harvest; Apollo, god of the sun, law, healing, plague, reason, music and poetry; Artemis, goddess of the moon, the hunt and the wilderness; Aphrodite, goddess of love; Ares, God of war; Hermes, god of commerce and travelers, Hephaestus, god of fire and metalwork, and Dionysus, god of wine and fruit-bearing plants. Worship, like many other activities, was done in community, in the open. However, by 600 BC, the gods were often represented by large statues and it was necessary to provide a building in which"
"Apollo Apollo (Attic, Ionic, and Homeric Greek: , ""Apollōn"" ( ) is one of the most important and complex of the Olympian deities in classical Greek and Roman religion and Greek and Roman mythology. The national divinity of the Greeks, Apollo has been variously recognized as a god of music, truth and prophecy, healing, the sun and light, plague, poetry, and more. Apollo is the son of Zeus and Leto, and has a twin sister, the chaste huntress Artemis. Seen as the most beautiful god and the ideal of the ""kouros"" (a beardless, athletic youth), Apollo is considered to be"
"Odyssean gods The Odyssean gods are the ancient Greek gods referenced in Homer's ""Odyssey"". The story's major gods include Athena, Poseidon, Calypso and Circe; minor gods include Ino, Hermes, Zeus, and Heracles. The Odyssey's major gods include Athena, Poseidon, Calypso, and Circe. Athena is the Greek goddess of wisdom and battle strategy, and was also the patron goddess of heroes. Odysseus was a great hero among the Greeks, and so had Athena’s favor and aid in many of his exploits. She was also a key goddess in the story of ""The Odyssey"" as a divine assistant to Odysseus on his"
"Agoraea ""Agoraea"" and ""Agoraeus"" (Ancient Greek: Ἀγοραία, ""Agoraia"" and , ""Agoraios"") were epithets given to several divinities of Greek mythology who were considered to be the protectors of the assemblies of the people in the ""agora"" (), particularly in Athens, Sparta, and Thebes. The gods so named were Zeus, Athena, Artemis, and Hermes. As Hermes was the god of commerce, this epithet seems to have reference to the ""agora"" as the marketplace; a bronze statue of Hermes Agoraeus is mentioned as standing near the ""agora"" in Athens by both Aristophanes and Demosthenes. The ""Agoraios Kolonos"", or ""Market Hill"", was a"
"Demeter In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Demeter (; Attic: ""Dēmḗtēr"", ; Doric: ""Dāmā́tēr"") is the goddess of the grain, agriculture, harvest, growth, and nourishment, who presided over grains and the fertility of the earth. Her cult titles include Sito (), ""she of the Grain"", as the giver of food or grain, and Thesmophoros (, ""thesmos"": divine order, unwritten law; , ""phoros"": bringer, bearer), ""Law-Bringer"", as a mark of the civilized existence of agricultural society. Though Demeter is often described simply as the goddess of the harvest, she presided also over the sacred law, and the cycle of life and"
"mythology to the still poorly understood pre-Hellenic societies of Greece, such as the Minoans and so-called Pelasgians. This is especially true in the case of chthonic deities and mother goddesses. Historians of religion were fascinated by a number of apparently ancient configurations of myth connencted with Crete: the god as bull — Zeus and Europa; Pasiphaë who yields to the bull and gives birth to the Minotaur; agrarian mysteries with a sacred marriage (Demeter's union with Iasion) etc. Crete, Mycenae, Pylos, Thebes and Orchomenus figure so large in later Greek mythology. For some, the three main generations of gods in"
"Zeus Zeus (; , ""Zeús"" ) is the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion, who rules as king of the gods of Mount Olympus. His name is cognate with the first element of his Roman equivalent Jupiter. His mythologies and powers are similar, though not identical, to those of Indo-European deities such as Indra, Jupiter, Perkūnas, Perun, Thor, and Odin. Zeus is the child of Cronus and Rhea, the youngest of his siblings to be born, though sometimes reckoned the eldest as the others required disgorging from Cronus's stomach. In most traditions, he is married to Hera, by"
"and goddesses found in distant cultures are mythologically comparable and are cognates. Eos, the Greek goddess of the dawn, for instance, is cognate to Indic ""Ushas"", Roman ""Aurora"" and Latvian ""Auseklis"". Zeus, the Greek king of gods, is cognate to Latin ""Iūpiter"", Old German ""Ziu"", and Indic ""Dyaus"", with whom he shares similar mythologies. Other deities, such as Aphrodite, originated from the Near East. Greek deities varied locally, but many shared panhellenic themes, celebrated similar festivals, rites, and ritual grammar. The most important deities in the Greek pantheon were the Twelve Olympians: Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Aphrodite, Hermes,"
"Artemis Artemis (; Artemis, ), in the ancient Greek religion and myth, is the goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, wild animals and chastity. Artemis is the daughter of Zeus and Leto, and the twin sister of Apollo. She was the patron and protector of young girls, and was believed to bring disease upon women and relieve them of it. In later Hellenistic times, she even assumed the role of Eileithyia in aiding women during childbirth. Much like Athena and Hestia, Artemis preferred to remain a maiden and is sworn never to marry. Artemis was one of the most widely"
"Greek myths. According to some sources, Ophion (""serpent"", a.k.a. Ophioneus), ruled the world with Eurynome before the two of them were cast down by Cronus and Rhea. The oracles of the Ancient Greeks were said to have been the continuation of the tradition begun with the worship of the Egyptian cobra goddess, Wadjet. Typhon the enemy of the Olympian gods is described as a vast grisly monster with a hundred heads and a hundred serpents issuing from his thighs, who was conquered and cast into Tartarus by Zeus, or confined beneath volcanic regions, where he is the cause of eruptions."
"Cattle of Helios In Greek mythology, the Cattle of Helios (, ""Ēelíoio bóes""), also called the Oxen of the Sun, are cattle pastured on the island of Thrinacia (believed to be modern Sicily). Helios, also known as the sun god, is said to have had seven herds of oxen and seven flocks of sheep, each numbering fifty head. In the ""Odyssey"", Homer describes these immortal cattle as handsome (), wide-browed, fat () and curved-horned (). The cattle were guarded by Helios’ daughters, Phaëthusa and Lampetië, and it was known by all that any harm to any single animal was sure"
"goddesses most commonly considered to be one of the twelve Olympians are listed below. Most listings include either one or the other of the following deities as one of the twelve Olympians. Twelve Olympians In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the twelve Olympians are the major deities of the Greek pantheon, commonly considered to be Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Demeter, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Ares, Aphrodite, Hephaestus, Hermes, and either Hestia or Dionysus. They were called 'Olympians' because, according to tradition, they resided on Mount Olympus. Although Hades was a major ancient Greek god, and was the brother of the first generation"
"Sabazios Sabazios (, ""Savázios"") is the horseman and sky father god of the Phrygians and Thracians. In Indo-European languages, such as Phrygian, the element in his name derives from ""dyeus"", the common precursor of Latin ""deus"" ('god') and Greek ""Zeus"". Though the Greeks interpreted Phrygian Sabazios as both Zeus and Dionysus, representations of him, even into Roman times, show him always on horseback, as a nomadic horseman god, wielding his characteristic staff of power. It seems likely that the migrating Phrygians brought Sabazios with them when they settled in Anatolia in the early first millennium BCE, and that the god's"
"and Hera returns to the battlefield where the gods begin to fight amongst themselves. Echo Semele and Dionysus Lamia Gerana Cydippe Tiresias Chelone The Golden Fleece The Metamorphoses Ixion Hera Hera (; , ""Hērā""; , ""Hērē"" in Ionic and Homeric Greek) is the goddess of women, marriage, family, and childbirth in ancient Greek religion and myth, one of the Twelve Olympians and the sister-wife of Zeus. She is the daughter of the Titans Cronus and Rhea. Hera rules over Mount Olympus as queen of the gods. A matronly figure, Hera served as both the patroness and protectress of married women,"
"precinct on the westernmost boundary of the ""agora"" in Athens. Agoraea ""Agoraea"" and ""Agoraeus"" (Ancient Greek: Ἀγοραία, ""Agoraia"" and , ""Agoraios"") were epithets given to several divinities of Greek mythology who were considered to be the protectors of the assemblies of the people in the ""agora"" (), particularly in Athens, Sparta, and Thebes. The gods so named were Zeus, Athena, Artemis, and Hermes. As Hermes was the god of commerce, this epithet seems to have reference to the ""agora"" as the marketplace; a bronze statue of Hermes Agoraeus is mentioned as standing near the ""agora"" in Athens by both Aristophanes"
"the giver and interpreter of laws. He presides over the divine law and custom along with Zeus, Demeter and Themis. As the protector of young, Apollo (""kourotrophos"") is concerned with the health of children. He presides over their education and brings them out of their adolescence. Due to this belief, boys in Ancient Greece, upon reaching their adulthood, cut their hair and dedicated it to Apollo. He is the patron of herdsmen and protector of herds and flocks. He is believed to cause abundance in the milk produced by cattle, and is also connected with their fertility. Apollo is the"
"ancient Greek world also served a cosmological role as it was meant to try to explain how the world was formed and operated. The principal gods of the ancient Greek religion were the Dodekatheon, or the ""Twelve Gods"", who lived on the top of Mount Olympus. The most important of all ancient Greek gods was Zeus, the king of the gods, who was married to Hera, who was also Zeus's sister. The other Greek gods that made up the Twelve Olympians were Ares, Poseidon, Athena, Demeter, Dionysus, Apollo, Artemis, Aphrodite, Hephaestus and Hermes. Apart from these twelve gods, Greeks also"
"depending on the given culture. For example, Pan is a deity in Greek mythology that rules over and symbolizes the untamed wild, being worshiped by hunters, fishermen, and shepherds in particular. The mischievous yet cheerful character is a Satyr who has the hindquarters, legs, and horns of a goat while otherwise being essentially human in appearance, with stories of his encounters with different gods, humans, and others being retold for centuries on after the days of early Greece by groups such as the Delphian Society. Specifically, the human-animal hybrid has appeared in acclaimed works of art by figures such as"