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Greek Goddesses
Gaea
Gaea is the the earth goddess. With Uranus she bore the rest of the Titans. She is
regarded as all-producing and all-nourishing, and one of the dieties of presiding
over marriage.
Mnemosyne
The goddess of Memory, Mnemosyne, mated with Zeus to produce the 9 Muses.
Phoebe
By her brother Coeus she is the mother of Asteria and Leto. Through Leto, she is
the grandmother of Apollo and Artemis.
Rhea
Rhea was the wife of the Titan Cronus, who made it a practice to swallow their children.
When Zeus was about to be born, she bore him in secret and gave Cronus a stone wrapped
as an infant to swallow.
Tethys
Tethys the wife of Oceanus and gave birth to around 3,000 river-gods and the Oceanides.
Hera was raised by Tethys until she was ready to marry Zeus.
Theia
The wife of her brother Hyperion, by him Theia gave birth to Helios (sun), Eos (dawn),
and Selene (moon). She is the goddess from whom light emanates and considered especially
beautiful.
Themis
Themis is the goddess of the order of things established by law, custom and ethics.
By Zeus' command, she convenes the assembly of the gods, and she is invoked when
mortals assemble. She is the mother of the Horae (seasons), the Hesperides and Prometheus.
Olympians
Aphrodite
Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, was born from the foam of the sea. She
is married to Hephaestus, the god of fire and smithy to the gods. Sacred to her are
the myrtle, rose, apple, poppy, sparrow, dove, swan, swallow, tortoise, ram, the
planet Venus, and the month of April. Eros was produced from a liason with Zeus.
Her favorite lover is the god of war, Ares.
Artemis
Artemis is the goddess of the hunt, virginity, the moon, and the natural environment.
She is the daughter of Zeus and Leto and twin sister of Apollo. Even though she is
a virgin goddess, she also presides over childbirth. Sacred to her are the laurel,
fir tree, fish, stag, boar, bear, dog, goat, bee and other animals.
Athena
Athena is the Greek virgin goddess of reason in war and peace, intelligent activity,
arts and literature, and useful arts. She sprang full grown from Zeus' head rather
than being born by a woman. She is Zeus' favorite and is allowed to use his weapons
including his thunderbolt. Sacred to her are the olive, serpent, owl, lance, and
crow. She invented the bridle, the trumpet, the flute, the pot, the rake, the plow,
the yoke, the ship, and the chariot.
Demeter
Demeter is the goddess of the earth, of agriculture, and of fertility in general.
Sacred to her are livestock and agricultural products, poppy, narcissus and the crane.
She is the mother of Persephone by Zeus. During the months Persephone lives with
Hades, Demeter withdraws her gifts from the world, creating winter. Upon Persephone's
return, spring comes into bloom.
Hera
Hera is the supreme goddess of the Greeks and goddess of marriage and childbirth,
and wife to Zeus. Her children are Ares, Hebe, Hephaestus and Eris. Sacred to her
are the peacock, pomegranate, lily and cuckoo. She is extremely jealous of Zeus'
amorous adventures and punishes his mortal lovers.
Hestia
Hestia is the virgin goddess of the hearth and of domestic life, and the inventor
of domestic architecture. Of all the Olympians, she is the mildest, most upright
and most charitable.
Other Goddesses
Alecto
Alecto is one of the three Furies or Erinyes and sometimes known as a Greek goddess
of war and death.
Alectrona
An early Greek goddess, Alectrona is the daughter of the sun. No beast of burden
could enter her sanctuary in Rhodes. Anyone bringing an ass, horse, or mule to her
shrine had to undergo ritual purification.
Ananke
Plato called Ananke the mother of the Moriae or Fates and is the personfication of
necessity or the force of destiny.
Arete
Arete is the Greek goddess of justice and teacher of Heracles.
Ate
Ate is the embodiment of folly, moral blindness, infatuation, and mischief. It was
her Apple of Discord which caused the Trojan War.
The Charities
The Charities are personifications of aspects of grace and beauty. They are called
Aglaia (Splendor), Euphrosyne (Mirth), and Thalia (Good Cheer). While the Muses inspire
artists, the Charities apply the artists' works to the embellishment of life.
Cer
The Greek goddess of violent death, Cer (or Ker) is the daughter of Nyx ("night")
and sister of the Moriae ("fates"). This name was also used of the malevolent
ghost of any dead person.
Cotys
Coyts the goddess of sexuality was revered in Thrace. There her servants, the baptai
("baptized ones"), celebrated secret festivals in her honor.
Dryads
Dryads (Hamadryads) are elemental forces incarnated in a bark-like body. They were
usually female and mortal, dying when the tree died. A dryad will punish mortals
for thoughtlessly breaking her branches or harming her.
Enyo
Enyo is the goddess of war and takes delight in carnage and destruction of towns.
She is usually considered the daughter of Ares whom she accompanies in battles.
Eos
Eos is the goddess of dawn, daughter of the Titans Hyperion and Theia, and sister
of Helios and Selene. She is the mother of the evening star Eosphorus (Hesperus),
other stars, and the winds Boreas, Zephyrus and Notus. When she was caught in a tryst
with
Ares, Aphrodite cursed her with an insatiable desire for handsome young men. She
most often appears winged or in a chariot
drawn by four horses, one of them being Pegasus.
The Erinyes
The Erinyes (Eumenides) names are Alecto, Megaera, and Tisiphone. They are solemn
maidens dressed as huntresses, wear bands
of serpents around their heads, and carry torches. They pursue wrongdoers and torment
them in ways that make the criminals wish
they were dead. Crimes that especially draw their attention are disobedience toward
parents, ill-treatment of the elderly, murder,
violation of the law of hospitality, and improper conduct toward suppliants.
Eris
Eris is the goddess of discord and the daughter of Zeus and Hera. She is obsessed
with bloodshed, havoc, and suffering. She calls
forth war and her brother Ares carries out the action.
Europa
Europa the "wide-eyed one," is the moon goddess after whom the subcontinent
of Europe is named. She was originally the mother goddess of Crete. Europa owned
a magic spear that never missed its target and a monstrous brass warrior that protected
her island
while she rode the night on her servant, the lunar bull. The Greeks who brought their
own gods to Crete, rewrote Europa's legend. The Greek legend says she was only a
Phoenician princess, and the lunar bull was Zeus, who raped her. Abandoned on Crete,
she married well and bore three famous kings of Crete: Minos, Sarpedon, and Rhadamanthus.
Harmonia
The "uniter," Harmonia is the daughter of Aphordite and Ares. Some stories
say the legendary Amazons claimed descent from her. Harmonia also founded the dynasty
of Thebes and bore the famous Dionysian women Semele, Agave, Autonoe, and Ino. At
Harmonia's wedding, all the Olympians bore magical gifts, including a famous necklace
from Aphrodite that gave irresistable sexuality to the wearer.
Hecate
Hecate brings good luck to sailors and hunters or can withhold these blessings
if undeserved, so fear became a motivating factor in
her worship. When Persephone was found with Hades, Hecate remained with her as attendant
and companion and as a result has a
share in the ruling over the souls in the underworld. Because of her unearthly aspect
she is regarded as a kind of queen of witches.
Heliades
The daughters of the sun, these seven sisters were poplar tree goddesses who cried
amber tears at the death of their brother
Phaethon.
Hesperides
Hesperides were the guardians of the golden apples Hera received from Gaea at her
marriage to Zeus. They were said to be the daughters of Nyx, the goddess of night.
Some accounts say their names were Aegle, Erytheia, Hestia and Arethusa. They were
regarded as comely and talented singers. The location of the Hesperides' garden was
a mystery and was the destination of one of Heracles' most difficult tasks, the acquisition
of the golden apples.
The Horae
The Horae are the goddesses of the seasons and the orderly procession of things in
general. They are also the collective personfication of justice. Hesoid, who saw
them as givers of the law, justice and peace gave them the names Eunomia (Discipline),
Dice (Justice) and Eirene (Peace). At Athens two of the Horae, were called Thallo
and Carpo, and to the Athenians, represented the budding and maturity of growing
things. As a result, Thallo became the protectress of youth.
Hygia
Hygia is the Greek goddess of health and the daughter of Asclepius, the god of medicine
and healing.
Iaso
Iaso is a Greek goddess of healing and the sister of Hygia.
Irene
Irene is the Greek goddess of peace and is worshipped with bloodless sacrifices at
Athens. Some legends say she is one of the Horae.
Iris
The winged, rainbow goddess Iris is Hera's messenger. When she is not delivering
messages she is asleep under Hera's bed. She is one of the few who can journey at
will to the underworld where she fetches water for solemn oaths.
Kakia
Kakia is vice personified invented to foil Arete, the goddess of virtue. The two
fought over Hercules. His teacher was Areta and Kakia attempted to seduce him with
promises of love, ease, and riches.
Leto
Leto is the mother of Apollo and Artemis and is mostly worshipped in conjunction
with her children.
Lyssa
Lyssa's name means "canine madness," and she is the Greek underworld goddess
who drove her dogs through the world proding the divine intoxication of the Maenads
to destructive fury.
Malophoros
A Greek goddess of the underworld.
Meliae
In one of the Greek creation myths, Mother Gaea had her son Uranus castrated. Drops
of his blood fell on her and from those spots, Gaea conceived tree spirits called
Maelia. As the world's original women, they were the mothers of humankind.
The Moirae
The Moirae are the Fates, the personfication of the destiny of humans. The three
Moirae are Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos. Clotho("spinner") spins the thread
at the beginning of one's life, Lachesis ("measurer") weaves the thread
into the fabric of one's actions, and Atropos ("inevitable") snips the
thread at the conclusion of one's life. Gods as well as mortals have to submit to
the will of the Moirae.
The Muses
The nine Muses are the goddesses of arts and sciences and inspire those who excell
in these pursuits. They are the daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne. Their names are:
Clio (History), Urania (Astronomy), Melpomene (Tragedy), Thalia (Comedy), Terpsichore
(Dance), Calliope (Epic Poetry), Erato (Love Poetry), Polyhymnia (Songs to the Gods),
and Euterpe (Lyric Poetry). Apollo is the leader of the Muses.
Nemesis
Nemesis is the personification of divine vengeance. Happiness and unhappiness are
measured out by her, determining that happiness was not too frequent or excessive.
If so, she brings about losses and suffering. She is one of the assistants of Zeus.
Nereides
Nereides are marine nymphs of the Mediterranean Sea. They are distinguished from
the Oceanides by being confined to the seas
around Greece.
Nike
Nike, the winged goddess of victory, is the daughter of the fearsome river goddess
Styx and the sister of Zelos ("zeal"). She was honored throughtout Greece,
especially at Athens.
Nyx
Nyx is the night personified. She is among the very oldest of the gods, having been
born from Chaos. She is regarded as the subduer of men and gods alike. She is winged
and rides in a chariot wearing a dark dress with blinking stars surrounding her.
Her residence is Hades.
Oreads
Oreads are sweet-singing nymphs of mountains and rocks. They are slender, pale women
who wear thin robes woven in caves on fine looms only visible to the second-sighted.
To honor these elementals, the Greeks used to anoint rocks with fragrant oils, hang
attractive belts on rocks, and leave offerings in caves.
Peitho
Peitho is the personfication of seduction and persuasion. She is said to be the daughter
of Aphrodite and Hermes.
Persephone
Persephone is the daughter of the Olympian Demeter, and became the goddess of death
and the underworld when Hades abducted her. The mint and pomegranate is sacred to
her. Persephone raised Aphrodite's child Adonis.
The Pleiades
The Pleiades are the daughters of Atlas by Pleione and are called Electra, Maia,
Taygete, Alcyone, Celaena, Sterope, and Merope. They and their mother were pursued
by the giant Orion until the gods intervened and transformed them into a constellation.
Selene
Selene, also called Mene, is the goddess of the moon. She is the daughter of Hyperion
and Theia, and the sister of Eos (dawn) and Helios (sun).
Styx
The goddess of the River Styx that wound beneath the earth in the land of the dead
is called is also called Styx "the hated one," who prevented the living
from crossing into the realm of Persephone without first undergoing death's torments.
Telphassa
Telphassa the "wide-shiner," is an early Greek goddess of light who was
probably imported from Phoenicia. She is the mother of Europa.
Tyche
Tyche is the personification of luck and chance.
