Download A guide to Greek Mythology

A guide to Greek Mythology
Acheron:
A river in the Underworld.
Achilles:
Greek hero in the Trojan War. He
was killed by Paris with an arrow to
the heel, his only mortal spot.
Actaeon:
Punished by Artemia this Hunter was
transformed into a stag and killed by
his own hounds.
Adonis:
A beautiful youth loved by
Aphrodite.
Aeneas:
A Trojan Prince whose wanderings
after the fall of Troy are the basis of
the tales of Virgil’s Aeneid.
Aesculapus:
God of Healing.
Agememnon:
Commander of the greek armies in
the Trojan war. He was killed by his
wife Clytemnestra as prophesied by
Cassandra.
Ajax:
Fellow warrier and good friend of
Achilles.
Amazons:
Mythical race of war-like females.
Andromeda:
Wife of the Trojan Prince, Hector.
Aphrodite (Venus):
Goddess of love and beauty.
Apollo:
Son of Zeus, God of music, medicine, the arts and prophesy and
charriot driver to the Sun.
Ares (Mars):
Son of Zeus and a lover of Aphredite.
Mars was the God of war.
Argonaughts:
As companions of Jason these Greek
heroes sailed in the Argo in search
of the Golden Fleece.
Atalanta:
She would only marry the man who
could beat her in a running race.
Hippomenes succeded with the help
of Aphrodite and golden apples from
the garden of Hesperides.
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Atlas:
After refusing to shelter Perseus he
was turned into Atlas Mountain and
condemned to support the heavens.
Argos:
King of Argos who had one hundred
eyes of which only two slept at any
time.
Ariadne:
The daughter of Minos, the King of
Crete, who helped Theseus escape
from the Minotaur’s labyrinth with
thread.
Artemis (Diana):
Twin sister of Apollo. She was the
Goddess of the hunt, the moon
(Selene) and magic (Hecate).
Bacchantes:
Wild dis he vele d w omen w ho
were devotees of Bacchus.
Bacchus (Dionysus):
God of wine, mirth and revelry.
Bellerophon:
S lew the Chim ae ra a ide d by
P a l la s A t he ne a nd ri di ng
Pegasus.
Calypso:
Nymph on island of Ogygia who
kept Odysseus prisoner for seven
years.
Cassandra:
Prohhetess - maiden daughter of
Priam who was taken as booty by
Agamemnon.
Centaurs:
Half man, half horse that lived
on Mount Pelion.
Cerberus:
Many headed dog that guarded
the gateway to the Underground
.
Charities (Graces):
T he thre e a tt enda nt s of
Aphrodite.
Charon:
Ferried the souls of the dead over
the rivers of Hades.
Chimaera:
M ons t e r w i th a li on’s he ad,
goat’s body and dragon’s tail.
Chiron:
A Centaur and tutor of the Gods.
Cronos (Saturn):
The oldest of the Gods he devoured his sons at birth so as to
retain his throne and was finally
overthrown by Zeus.
Cyclops:
A giant with one eye in the middle of the forehead.
Daedalus:
A craftman who flew with wings
made of wax.
Dementer (Ceres):
Goddess of the produce of the
earth.
Electra:
A daughter of Agamemnon and
sister of Orestes.
Endymion:
A beautiful youth who was loved
by Selene who put him into a
perpetual sleep.
Eos:
Goddess of the Dawn and daughter of Hyperion.
Eris:
Goddess of discord.
Eros (Cupid):
God of Love.
Eumenides (Furies):
Winged maidens, avenging deities.
Europa:
A beautiful Nymph who was carried by Zeus in the guise of a bull
across the sea of Crete.
Fates:
Three sisters who controlled
the destiny of man
A guide to Greek Mythology - 2
Ganymede:
A morta l pri nce w ho bec ame
Zeus’s cup-bearer.
Gorgons:
Three winged sisters with snakes
for hair. They were so ugly that
w hoever look ed at the m w as
turned to stone.
Hades (Pluto):
God of the Underworld who carried off Persephone, the daughter of Dementer. Also the name
of the underworld itself.
Harpies:
Vultures with old women’s heads
who tormented men.
Hector:
Trojan hero and son of Priam
who was killed by Achilles.
Helen:
Wife of Menelaus who was carried off, by Paris, to Troy and
was the cause of the Trojan War.
Hephaestus (Vulcan):
God of fire and blacksmiths.
Hera (Juno):
Queen of Heaven and daughter of
Cronos.
Heracles (Hercules):
A Greek hero who accomplished
twelve labours with the help of
Gods.
Hermes (Mercury):
G od of travel ers , merc hant s ,
shepherds and robbers as well as
.
mes
s en ger an d hera ld of the
Gods
Hydra:
Seven headed monster who was
killed by Hercules.
Hygieia:
Goddess of health.
Hymen:
God of marriage.
Hyperion:
Father of Helios (Sun), Selene
(Moon) and Eos (Dawn).
. Jason:
Sailed with the Argonauts on the
A rgo in ques t of the G olde n
Fleece.
Leander:
A Youth of Abydos who swam
H elle s pont ea ch night to s ee
Hero, priestess of Aphrodite.
Medea:
Daughter of Aeretes who helped
Jason in his quest.
Medusa:
A G orgon that w as kill ed by
Perseus.
Menelaus:
Married to Helen of Troy, He
was the King of Spata.
Mnemnosyne:
Goddess of memory and mother
of the nine Muses.
Muses:
Nine sisters presiding over the
arts.
Narcissus:
He gazed into a stream and fell
in love with his own image,
Nymphs:
Lesser female deities.
Odysseus (Ulysses):
The Greek leader of the Trojan
war who invented the ‘’Trojan
Horse’.
Oedipus:
King of Thebes ans son of Laius
. H e killed his father as w as
prophesied at his birth
Orestes:
S on of A ge m e m non a nd
Clytemnestra
Orpheus:
Tried to reclaim his wife from
Hades with the aid of his lyre
playing without success.
Pallas Athene (Minerva):
Goddess of wisdom and power.
Pan (Faunus):
God of shepherds, Pan was half
man and half goat.
Pandora:
The firs t w oman. Zeus a s ked
Hephaestus to make her of clay.
The ills of the world were released from her box.
Paris:
The son of Priam. He selected
Aphrodite as the most beautiful
Goddess and was rewarded with
Helen.
Parnassus:
A mountain dedicated to Muses
a nd
also
i nha bi t e d
by
Bacchantes.
Pegasus:
The winged horse.
Perseus:
With the assistance of the Gods
he killed Gorgon Medusa.
Poseidon (Neptune):
Brother of Zeus and King of the
sea.
Priam:
The last King of Troy.
Prometheus:
A titan who stole fire from Olympus and gave it to men.
Psyche:
A beautiful Nymph beloved by
Eros.
Satyrs:
Spirits of the woods and fields
and devotees of Baccus.
Sirens:
Nymphs whose beautiful voices
lured people to their deaths.
Styx::
The ma in river of the U nderworld.
Themis:
Goddess of law and justice.
Titans:
Older race of giant Gods.
Zeus (Jupiter):
Replaced his father, Cronos, as
the King of Gods.