Download The Greek / Roman Gods & Goddesses

The Greek Gods & Goddesses
Zeus / Jupiter
 King of the gods
 God of air
 Uses Thunderbolts as
his weapon
 Womanizer – married
his own sister
 Son of Cronos and
Rhea
 Most powerful
Jupiter is so named because it is so big – it is
the “King of Planets”
Hera / Juno
Queen of the gods
Protector of marriage
Wife/sister of Zeus
The peacock is her symbol
(because of the eye-look)
Cows are sacred to her
(ox-eyed Hera)
Jealous
There is an asteroid
named after her, as well
as a city in Alaska.
Athena / Minerva
 Goddess of wisdom and
defensive war
 Daughter of Zeus and
Metis (titan) – she popped
out of his head after he
swallowed the pregnant
Metis
 She carries a shield with
Medusa’s head on it
Minerva was a tiny
robot designed by the
Japanese to land on
an asteroid, but itgot
lost in space.
Poseidon / Neptune
God of the sea and
earthquakes
Made horses
Trident is weapon
Amphitrite is his wife
Zeus’ brother
Son of Cronos and Rhea
2nd most powerful
Neptune is so
named
because the
blue looks
like water.
Hades / Pluto
 God of the Underworld and
Wealth
 King of the dead but he is not
Death
 Zeus’ brother
 Son of Cronos and Rhea
 Has a helmet that makes the
wearer invisible
 Persephone is his wife
 NOT EVIL! (but he is unpitying)
 3rd most powerful
Demeter / Ceres
 Daughter of Cronos and
Rhea
 Goddess of vegetation
 Had powers of growth and
resurrection
 Her daughter is Persephone
The asteroid Ceres was the first asteroid
ever discovered and is one of the largest
(about the size of Texas). It almost
became designated as a planet
Artemis / Diana
 Apollo’s Twin sister
 Goddess of the
hunt, wild things
 She is the moon
goddess sometimes
 Virgin goddess
 As Diana, she is also
a goddess of light
 Stags are sacred
The Artemis
navigation
satellite
Apollo
 God of truth, light, archery,
and healing
 Sun god in some myths
(Helios is the sun god in
other myths)
 Son of Zeus and Leto
 Wolves, dolphins, and
crows are sacred to him
 Has the Oracle of Delphi
Apollo asteroids
are near-earth
asteroids
Hermes / Mercury
The Hermes Asteroid
 Messenger god and
the god of thieves
 Greek Trickster
figure
 Very fast
 Son of Zeus and
Maia
 Loves Aphrodite
 Greeks believed he
guided souls to
Hades
Mercury revolves around the sun so fast, it was named
for the messenger god. One year is faster than one day
on Mercury.
Hephaestus / Vulcan
 God of fire and the forge
 Son of Zeus and Hera
 Ugly
 Lame because he was thrown off Mt.
Olympus for interfering with a fight
between Hera and Zeus
 Husband to Aphrodite
Aphrodite / Venus
 Goddess of beauty
and love
 Mother of
Eros/Cupid
 Wife of
Hephaestus/Vulcan
but lover of
Ares/Mars and
other guys
Born from the foam in the sea caused
by the attack of Cronos/ Saturn on
Ouranus/Uranus
Venus is so named
because it is a beautiful
planet and can be easily
seen with just the eye.
Ares / Mars
 God of War
 Son of Zeus and Hera, but
both hate him
 The Romans glorify him,
but the Greeks make him
out to be a coward
 He has three children with
Aphrodite: Phobos (panic)
and Deimos (fear) are
twins
Mars and its moons,
Phobos and Deimos
Hestia / Vesta
 Zeus’ sister – Oldest of the
original gods
 Goddess of the hearth and home
 Gave up her spot on Mt. Olympus
for Dionysus
 Worshipped daily
 A virgin priestesses served her
for 30 year time periods
 Does pretty much nothing in
mythology
Asteroid Vesta