| ATHENA
(G) |
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One
of the most important goddesses. Athena sprang full grown
and armored from the forehead of the god Zeus and was his
favorite child. He entrusted her with his shield. She was
the primarily the goddess of the Greek cities, of industry
and the arts, wisdom and war. Athena was a patron of the
agricultural arts and of the crafts of women, especially
spinning and weaving. Among her gifts to man were the inventions
of the plow and the flute and the art of taming animals,
building ships, and making shoes. She was often associated
with birds, especially the owl.
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| MINERVA
(R) |
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Goddess
of handicrafts, patron of the arts and trades along with
wisdom and war.
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| ARTEMIS
(G) |
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One
of the principal goddesses. Daughter of Zeus and the twin
sister of the god Apollo. She was the chief hunter to the
gods and goddess of hunting and of wild animals, especially
bears. She was also the goddess of childbirth. Like Apollo,
Artemis was armed with a bow and arrows.
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| DIANA
(R) |
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Goddess
of the moon and the hunt. Diana was the guardian of springs
and streams and the protector of wild animals. She was revered
by women, and was believed to grant an easy childbirth to
her favorites. She is typically shown as a young hunter,
often carrying bow and arrows.
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| APHRODITE
(G) |
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The
goddess of love and beauty. In theology she is described
as having sprung from the foam of the sea and her name may
mean "foam-risen".
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| VENUS
(R) |
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Originally
a goddess of gardens and fields but later the goddess of
love and beauty. In imperial times she was worshiped under
several aspects, the mother of hero Aeneas, the founder
of Roman people, the bringer of good fortune, the bringer
of victory and the protector of feminine chastity. She also
was the mother of Cupid, god of love.
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| ARES
(G) |
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God
of war. Son of Zeus. He personified the brutal nature of
war. He was unpopular with both gods and humans. Although
fierce and warlike, Ares was not invincible, even against
mortals.
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| MARS
(R) |
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God
of war. One of the most important Roman deities, Mars was
regarded as the father of the Roman people because he was
the father of Romulus, the legendary founder of Rome. The
month of March was named for Mars. To commemorate his victory
over the assassins of Julius Caesar in 42 BC. Augustus honored
Mars with the cult title Ultor (Avenger) and a new temple.
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| HERMES
(G) |
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Messenger
of the gods, the son of Zeus. Hermes was the special servant
and courier of Zeus, he had winged sandals and a winged
hat and bore a golden Caduceus, or magic wand. He conducted
the souls of the dead to the underworld and was believed
to possess magical powers over sleep and dreams. He was
also the deity of athletes, protected gymnasiums and stadiums
and was believed to be responsible for both good luck and
wealth. His presentation of the lyre to Apollo was the reconciliation
of brothers from Hermes theft of Apollo's cattle. In art
as a mature bearded man, in classical art he is an athletic
youth, nude and beardless.
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| MERCURY
(R) |
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Messenger
of the gods, the son of Jupiter. Mercury was also the god
of merchants and of trading and shared many attributes of
the Greek god Hermes.
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| ZEUS
(G) |
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The
god of the sky and ruler of the Olympian gods. Zeus was
considered the father of the gods and of mortals. He did
not create either gods or mortals; he was their father in
the sense of being the protector and ruler both of the Olympian
family and the human race. He was lord of the sky, the rain
god, and the cloud gatherer, who wielded the terrible thunderbolt.
His breastplate was the aegis, his bird the eagle, his tree
the oak. Zeus is pictured in two very different ways. He
is represented as the god of justice and mercy, the protector
of the weak, and the punisher of the wicked.
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| JUPITER
(R) |
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The
ruler of the gods, originally the god of the sky and king
of heaven. Jupiter was worshiped as god of rain, thunder,
and lightning. He was the protector of Rome. He was the
guardian of law, defender of truth, and protector of justice
and virtue. The Romans assigned the attributes and myths
of the Greek divinity Zeus.
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| POSEIDON
(G) |
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God
of the sea and brother to Zeus. Poseidon plays a prominent
part in numerous ancient myths and legends. He contended
unsuccessfully with Athena for the control of Athens. When
he and Apollo were cheated of their promised wages after
having helped Laomedon, king of Troy, build the walls of
that city. Poseidon's revenge against Troy knew no bounds.
He sent a terrible sea monster to ravage the land, and during
the Trojan war he helped the Greeks.
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| NEPTUNE
(R) |
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God
of the sea, son of the god Saturn, and brother of Jupiter.
Originally a god of springs and streams.
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| APOLLO
(G) |
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God
of prophecy and son of Zeus. He sometimes gave the gift
of prophecy to mortals whom he loved. He was also gifted
musician who delighted the gods with his performance on
the lyre. He was a master archer and a fleet-footed athlete,
credited with having been the first victor in the Olympian
Games. He is the twin to Artemis and was the special protector
of young men. As the god of agriculture and cattle and of
light and truth. He taught humans the art of healing. Because
of his beauty he was represented in ancient art more frequently
than other deities.
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| APOLLO
(R) |
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The
Roman sun god and the god of music and arts. He usually
has the title Conservator, or Palatinus (protector of the
imperial residence on the Palatine ) or Moneta (deity of
the mint).
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| DIONYSUS
(G) |
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God
of wine and vegetation, who showed mortals how to cultivate
grapevines and make wine. A son of Zeus. He is usually characterized
as the god of vegetation-specifically of the fruit of the
trees-he is often represented drinking horn and vine branches.
He eventually became the popular Greek god of wine and cheer.
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| BACCHUS
(R) |
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God
of wine. Usually holds a wine cup and a staff surmounted
by a pine cone or a bunch of grapes and accompanied by a
panther.
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| NIKE
(G) |
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Goddess
of victory. Nike fought with the god Zeus in his battle
against the Titans. Nike is represented as winged and carrying
a wreath or palm of victory.
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| VICTORIA
(R) |
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Victory,
winged. Holds wreath and palm. May be bearing a shield or
may be writing upon a shield or erecting a trophy. (The
process of erecting a trophy was an ancient one and symbolized
victory over the enemy in the field.)
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| JANUS
(R) |
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The
god of doors and gateways, and also of beginnings, which
the Romans believed ensured good endings. His principal
temple in the Forum had doors facing east and west for the
beginning and ending of the day, and between them stood
his statue with two faces, gazing in opposite directions.
In every home the morning prayer was addressed to him, and
in every domestic undertaking his assistance was sought.
He was publicly invoked on the first day of January, the
month that was named for him because it began the new year.
The doors of his temple in the Forum was always open during
war and closed during peace.
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| HERACLES
(G) |
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Hero
noted for his strength and courage and for his many legendary
exploits. Hercules if the Roman name for the Greek hero.
He was the son of Zeus. As a young man Heracles killed a
lion with his bare hands. As a trophy of his adventure,
he wore the skin of the lion as a cloak and its head as
a helmet. He became the servant of his cousin and devised
the 12 difficult tasks, the labors of Heracles. Heracles
was worshiped by the Greeks as both a god and as a mortal
hero. He is usually represented as strong and muscular,
clad in a lion skin and carrying a club. After death he
was brought by the gods to Olympus and married to Hebe,
goddess of youth.
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| HELIOS
(G) |
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The
ancient Greek sun god. Helios was believed to ride his golden
chariot across the heavens daily, giving light to gods and
mortals. At evening he sank into the western ocean from
which he was carried in a golden cup back to his palace
in the east. Helios alone could control the fierce horses
that drew his fiery chariot.
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| PAN
(G) |
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God
of shepherds and flocks. He was believed to be responsible
for their fertility. Pan was depicted with human arms and
a human torso but with the ears, horns and legs of a goat.
A famous tale relates how he invented the panpipes, or syrinx,
when a nymph he was chasing was transformed into a stand
of reeds to escape his advances. Pan fashioned the instrument
from one of the reeds and named it after the nymph.
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| GORGON
(G) |
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In
Greek mythology, one of the monstrous daughters of the sea
god PHORCYS and his wife, Ceto. The Gorgons were terrifying,
dragonlike creatures, covered with golden scales and having
snakes for hair. They had huge wings and round, ugly faces;
their tongues were always hanging out, and they had large,
tusklike teeth. They lived on the farthest side of the western
ocean, shunned because their glance turned persons to stone.
Two of the Gorgons, Stheno and Euryale, were immortal; Medusa
alone could be killed.
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| MEDUSA
(G) |
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She
was the most famous Gorgon. She began life as a beautiful
young girl until she upset one of the most powerful Greek
goddess, Athena, who exacted her revenge by turning Medusa's
lovely hair into a nest of poisonous snakes. The hero Perseus,
a gallant but foolish young man, volunteered to kill Medusa
and bring back her head. With the help of the deities Hermes
and Athena, Perseus cut off Medusa's head. From her blood
sprang the winged horse Pegasus, her son by the god Poseidon.
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| PEGASUS
(G) |
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In
Greek mythology, winged horse, son of Poseidon, god of the
sea, and the Gorgon Medusa. Shortly after its birth, the
magic steed struck the ground on Mount Helicon, and on the
spot a spring began to flow. All longed in vain to catch
and tame the creature. As Bellerophon spent a night in the
temple of the goddess Athena and while he slept a golden
bridle was given to him by Athena in his dream. When he
awoke the bridle was beside him, with it he easily caught
Pegasus and aided the hero in his adventures against the
Amazons and the Chimaera. When Bellerophon attempted to
fly to the top of Olympus to join the gods, the wise horse
threw him. Pegasus found shelter in the Olympian stalls
and was entrusted by Zeus with bringing him his lightning
and thunderbolts.
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| CHIMAERA
(G) |
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Common
name for members of any of three families of deep-water
cartilaginous fishes related to sharks. Reaching more than
6 ft .in length, they feed on smaller animals in temperate
oceans. The color of their scaleless skin ranges from black
to brownish gray, sometimes with markings, and the eyes
are large. In several species, such as the ratfishes, the
tail is long. Ratfishes also bear a poisonous spine directly
in front of the dorsal fin. The eggs of chimaeras are laid
in capsules of hornlike material. The Chimaera was a monster
in the form of a lion with the additional heads of a dragon
and a goat on its back, and that of a snake head at the
end of its tail. The fire-breathing Chimaera was slain by
Bellerophon with the help of Pegasus.
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| GRIFFIN
(G) |
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Legendary
creature, usually represented in literature and art as having
the head, beak, and wings of an eagle, the body and legs
of a lion, and occasionally a serpent's tail. The griffin
seems to have originated in the Middle East, as it is found
in the paintings and sculptures of the ancient Babylonians,
Assyrians, and Persians. The Romans used the griffin merely
for decorative purposes in friezes and on table legs, altars
and candelabra. The griffin motif appeared in early Christian
times in the bestiaries, or beast allegories. The griffin
is still a familiar device in heraldry and is thought to
represent strength and vigilance.
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| ROMA
(R) |
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One
goddess which was uniquely Roman was Roma, who personified
the glory that was the Republic and later the Empire. Roma
is idealized as a protective goddess wearing a winged helmet,
indicating the might of the Romans, who were expanding their
territories at this time and beginning to threaten the ancient
and wealthy Greek kingdoms in Asia.
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| TARAS
(G) |
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Most
Greek cities had foundation mythologies, which tell of the
circumstances under which a city was founded. The South
Italian city of Taras, which was originally populated by
people from the Greek city of Sparta, but was founded with
the help of the Gods. Legend has it that a youth named Taras,
who was a son of Poseidon, the Greek god of the oceans,
was shipwrecked and then saved by a friendly dolphin, who
took him to shore upon his back. In honor of his rescue,
he founded a city at the place where they landed.
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