Download Greek & Roman Gods & Goddesses

Greek & Roman
Gods & Goddesses
Mount Olympus
-“King” of gods
Jupiter
Zeus
- God of sky &
weather
- Name related to
“deus” and “dies”
-“Jupiter Optimus
Maximus;” “Jove”
- Many love affairs
- Thunderbolt &
scepter
Bronze “ZeusPoseidon” 5th c.
-Wife & sister
of Zeus
Hera
Juno
- Goddess of
women &
childbirth
- Jealousy
-Seen with
scepter
Athena
Minerva
-Goddess of
civilization:
wisdom, weaving,
crafts
- Born out of Zeus’
head
-Seen with helmet,
aegis (breastplate)
& owl
Roman copy of Greek
original
Venus
Aphrodite
Born from sea-foam
Goddess of beauty &
love
Married to
Hephaestos/Vulcan
but unfaithful
Mother of Aeneas
Seen with seashells,
dolphins
Roman fresco from
Pompeii, 1st c. AD
Ares
Mars
-God of (savage)
war / bloodlust
- Originally god of
agriculture
-Protected city of
Rome
-Father of
Romulus & Remus
-Seen with armor
Ludovisi Ares
Roman copy of
Greek original
Hephaestus
Vulcan
-God of fire, volcanoes,
blacksmiths/craftsmen
-Crippled (clubfoot)
- Patron of alchemists in
Renaissance
Roman bronze,
1st c.
Apollo
-God of medicine, music, sun
-Spoke through oracle at Delphi
-Leader of the Muses
-Son of Leto and Jupiter
-Seen with lyre, bow, tripod,
laurel
4th c. BC
Apollo
Belvedere
Artemis
Diana
-Goddess of hunt
-Virgin
-Sister of Apollo
-Worshipped at Ephesus
most of all
-Seen with deer
Artemis of the
Ephesians
Poseidon
Neptune
-God of sea, horses and
earthquakes
-Seen with trident
Dionysus
Bacchus
Liber
-God of wine, theater,
agriculture, peace
-Shown with leopard skin
& thyrsus (pinecone on
stick)
-Female followers
(maenads/bacchantes)
Michelangelo’s
Bacchus, 1497
Hermes
Mercury
-God of boundaries,
travellers, shepherds,
athletics, commerce,
trade, thieves & liars
- Messenger of gods,
escorts dead to
underworld
- Seen with hat, winged
shoes, herald’s staff
(caduceus)
Hermes of
Praxiteles, 4th c. BC
Giambologna,
15th c. Italian
17th c. Flemish
Demeter
Ceres
-Goddess of grain,
harvest, fertility
-Mother of Persephone
(who had to marry Hades
and spend ½ of each year
in Underworld)
-Honored by Eleusinian
Mysteries
Hestia
Vesta
-Goddess of hearth &
home
-Much more important to
Romans that to Greeks
-Served by Vestal
Virgins in Rome
-Underworld
Hades
Pluto
-Not
important
for Romans
Lararium – the Lares