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Greek Goddesses Information Site
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| Abarbarea | One of the Naiades, daughter of Oceanus and Tethys. She was married to Bucolion and had several sons, two of them are Asespus and Pedasus. | , |
| Acantha | A Nymph, which Apollo loved so much, that when she died he changed her into the Acanthus flower. | k |
| Acaste/Acasta/Akaste | One of the Oceanides, daughter of Tethys and Oceanus. | k |
| Achlys | "Eternal Night". Goddess of the Moon and night. Of her it is told that she existed before chaos. Some say she is the personification of misery and sadness. | k |
| Admete | "The Untamable" Nymph, whose task it was to help young boys achieve manhood. | k |
| Alala | "Battle Cry" Goddess of war. | k |
| Alethia/Aletheia | "Truth", Daughter of Zeus. Veritas in Roman times. | k |
Amaltheia |
Either a Nymph or the Goat of a nymph, which nursed the hidden Zeus one the Island of Crete (Ida-Mountain) and gave him ambrosia to drink from her horns. |
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Other names and titles:
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Artemis is the goddess of the hunt, virginity, 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 animals: goat, bee, bear, lion, greif, bull Sacred plants: fir tree, laurel and Artemesia Vulgaris (mugwort). Other sacred symbols include: Silver, bow, moon. Other names/titles:
Aeginaea ("Goat Goddess")
at her sacred site at Taenarus. The Amnisiades are her attendants, who care for her sacred deer. The pictures on the left show the Artemis Ephesia, which was a special mother and fertility goddess of her own right, later fused by the Greek with Artemis. The Artemesion in Ephesus (today Turkey) was her temple and one of the world wonders. Her festival was held on the 6th of May, called the Artemesia and every four years was an even bigger one called Ephesia. The festival included a movement of the goddess statue, which was made of wood, through town on a special path (from the Artemesion to the State Agora, the Kuretstreet, to the theater and back to the Artemesion), as well as a feeding of the goddess (theoxenie) with salt and herbs. There may have been included a bath in the near sea. |
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Asteria |
A Titaness (after Hesiod), daughter of Koios and Phoibe, Mother of the Goddess Hecate, which is also sometimes referred to as daughter of Demeter. | k |
Athena/
Pallas Athene
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Athena
is the Greek virgin goddess of reason in war and peace, intelligent activity,
arts and literature, and useful arts. She sprung 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. She invented the bridle, the trumpet, the flute, the pot, the
rake, the plow, the yoke, the ship and the chariot.
The herb Herba Agrimoniae (german: Odermenning) was sacred to Pallas Athene. Other names and titles:
Aethyia: Name of Athena
at Megaris. This might refer to her as goddess of the art of shipbuilding
or navigation.
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| Charities | The Charities are personification 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. | k |
| Daphne | Beautiful Nymph, daughter of the Rivergod Peneios. Apollo fell in love with her and went after her. Zeus transformed her into a bay-tree for protection. The bay-tree is therefore holy to Apollo. | k |
Demeter
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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.
Other names and titles:
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| Dione | First wife of Zeus. She probably was an earthgoddess. Homer states that she is the mother of Demeter, but this is not so according to her cult. | k |
| Echidna | 'Monster',
half-women, half-snake. She dwelt under the earth. She is either the daughter
of Phorkys and Keto or of Tartaros and Gaia. She had several 'horrible' children
with Typhon: Kerberos, the three-headed dog, the Hydra, the Chimaira, and
the Sphinx. In my opinion she could be seen as an archetype of a dark earthgoddess or underworld mistress. |
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| Eileithyia | Goddess of birth, daughter of Zeus and Hera. She helped the childbearing women. Her name is not greek, but Cretan, where she was worshiped. Sometimes she was identified with Hera. Also Artemis carried the name Eileithyia, which makes it possible in my view that it is a title of the goddess rather more than a incarnation. | k |
| Eirene | One of the three Hores. Goddess of peace, daughter of Zeus and Thetis. Her cult manifested manly after the peace with Sparta in 371 BC. | k |
Enyo |
Enyo is another 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. | k |
| Eos | The 'Rosy
Dawn', daughter of the Titans Hyperion and Theia, sister of Helios and Selene.
Each morning she entered her chariot and drove across the sky.
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. |
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| Eumenides/Erinyes
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Goddesses
or demons of revenge.
The Erinyes (Eumenides) names are Alecto/Allekto ("Vengeance", "Never-ending") , Megaera, and Tisiphone. They are solemn maidens dressed as huntresses, wear bands of serpents around their heads, and carry torches and whip. 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 supplicants. They pursue lawbreakers until their punishment is deemed satisfactory. If the punishment has not been adequate in life, they follow them into death. |
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| Eris | Goddess
of discord, sister of the war-god Ares (Homer), after Hesiod two daughters
of the night. She was the one, which seeks revenge for not being invited
to the marriage of Peleus and Thetis by throwing an apple between the guests
with the writing: for the most beautiful on it. The judgment of Paris as
you probably know caused the Trojan War (he gave it to Aphrodite).
She is obsessed with bloodshed, havoc, and suffering. She callsforth war and her brother Ares carries out the action. |
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| Euterpe | Muse of the art of music, especially the lyrical singing. She is most of the time shown with a double-flute.. | k |
| Gaia
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Gaea or Ge, in Greek mythology, the personification of Mother Earth, and the daughter of Chaos. She was the mother and wife of Father Heaven, who was personified as Uranus. They were the parents of the earliest living creatures: the Titans; the Cyclops; and the Giants, or Hecatoncheires (Hundred-Handed Ones). Fearing and hating the Giants, despite the fact that they were his sons, Uranus imprisoned them in a secret place on earth, leaving the Cyclops and Titans at large. Gaea, enraged at this favoritism, persuaded her son, the Titan Kronos, to overthrow his father. He emasculated Uranus, and from his blood Gaea brought forth the Giants and the three avenging goddesses the Erinyes. Her last and most terrifying offspring was Typhon, a 100-headed monster, who, although conquered by the god Zeus, was believed to spew forth the molten lava flows of Mount Etna. For Gaia-Shrine (Mother Earth) see Stoneage or read this article. |
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| Harmonia | The "uniter,"
Harmonia is the daughter of Aphrodite 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 irresistible sexuality to the wearer. |
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| Hebe | Daughter of Zeus and Hera, cupbearer of the Olympian gods before Ganymede. later she became the wife of Herakles. | k |
| Hekate
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Hera
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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.
Other names and titles:
Aegophagos: "Goat
Eater" Name for hera at Sparta. |
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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. | k |
| Horai/Horae | Goddesses of the seasons. After Hesiod they are daughters of Zeus and Themis; Acme (Time, Order), Dike (Law), Eunomia (Justice) and Eirene (Peace). Later they turned into Goddesses of the seasons and nature and got other names: Auxo (Goddess of growth), Thallo (Blooming) and Karpo (Ripeness). | k |
| Hygeia
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('Health'
Hygieía Ὑγιεία oder
Ὑγεία).
She is a symbol for health and was the daughter of the healing-god
Asklepios.
She was the goddess of health, cleanliness and sanitation and therefore the keeper of health rather than the restorer. Her symbol is a snake and she is most of the time holding a bowl whith a snake /the so called Bowl of Hygeia.
Email from Dharmaboy21@webtv.net: Goddess of health and prevention. Invoked to guard your home and it's occupants from disease and sickness. She is a kind Goddess, strong, and responsive to those who seek Her aid. Hygeia should be invoked in and before any ritual body purification or cleansing. |
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| Iris | Goddess
of the Rainbow, daughter of Thaumas and Elektra. She was also the messenger
of Hera. 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.
Other names and titles: Aellopos "Swift-footed Like a Storm Wind" Email from Dharmaboy21@webtv.net:
Many have heard of Iris as the Goddess of
Rainbows.....but this is as vague as to say that Hecate is simply a Moon
Deity... This is some of what I have read or discovered myself: Iris is the
conveyer of divine will to humankind, by whom She is regarded as advisor
and guide. She is Goddess of messages, emotions, and hope. She is Patroness
of Gay witches and also the deity who separates souls from the bodies of
women after death. In many ways She shares a close association with Hecate
and many believe Iris is but a form or aspect of the Dark Goddess... As Wife
of Zephyrus, Her place is the western shore which glows with the setting
sun and She is Mother of Eros. |
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| Kallisto | Nymph in the following of Artemis. Zeus fell in love with her and she gave birth to Arkas. Zeus turned her into a bearess for protection from Hera's anger. She represented also the starsign great bear. It is very likely that she was a beargoddess of her own right in Arcadia. | k |
| Kirke | Daughter
of the Sun-god Helios and Perseis. She was a witch living on the island Aia.
(see myths of Odysseus and Argos) "It is no great matter to make a goddess into a witch or a virgin into a harlot; but to achieve the contrary, to give the humiliated dignity, to make the fallen worth coveting, for that either art or character is needed." [J. W. Goethe, 1749-1832] |
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| Klio/Kleio | Muse of historical writing. | k |
| Klotho | One of the Moirai | k |
| Kore | 'Maiden', name of Demeter in the Eleusian Rites. Also daughter of Demeter. | k |
| Lachesis | One of the Moirai | k |
| Leto is the mother of Apollo and Artemis and is mostly worshipped in conjunction with her children. | k | |
| Megaira | One of the Erinyen. | k |
| Metis | Goddess of intelligence, daughter of Okeanos and Thetys. Zeus married her, but ate her, when Gaia foresaw that Metis would give birth to the former ruler of heaven. Nine months later Athena jumped out of his head (sic!) | k |
Mnemosyne |
The goddess of Memory, Mnemosyne, mated with Zeus to give birth ot the 9 Muses. |
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| Moirai/Moirae | Goddesses of destiny. In the myths of Homer she is only one, but later in the writings of Hesiod she appears to be three-bodied. Daughters of Zeus and Themis. They are old spinners: Klotho creates the string of life, while Lachesis holds and preserves it and Atropos cuts it. They also sing the past, Presence and Future of humans or write the destiny into a book. | k |
| Muses | Daughters
of Zeus and Mnemosyne.
The nine Muses are the goddesses of arts and sciences and inspire those who excel in these pursuits. 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. |
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| Naiades | Springnymphs, water-goddesses. | k |
| Nemesis
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Goddess
of the right measure. She was the giver of earthly luck as well as the punisher
of sacrilege. She had cults in Attika and in Smyrna. In the writings of Hesiod
she appears as a daughter of the night.
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. |
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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 throughout Greece, especially at Athens. | k |
| Nymphs | Daughters of Zeus, local Nature-goddesses or spirits. | k |
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.
Email from
vampyrclaudia@hotmail.com: |
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| Peitho | Goddess of persuasion, especially in matters of love. She was part of the following of Aphrodite. She is also said to be the daughter of Aphrodite and Hermes. | k |
Persephone
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Daughter
of Zeus and Demeter.
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. |
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| Phoibe | "The Bright-one", daughter of Uranos and Gaia, a Titaness, mother of Asteria. By her brother Coeus she is the mother of Asteria and Leto. Through Leto, she is the grandmother of Apollo and Artemis. | k |
| Rhea | Rhea, in Greek theology, mother of the gods, a Titan,
the daughter of Uranus and Gaia, Heaven and Earth,
and the sister and wife of the Titan Kronos. For many ages, Kronos and Rhea
ruled the universe. Kronos, having been warned that one of their children
was destined to seize his throne, tried to avert this fate by swallowing
his offspring as soon as they were born. After the birth of her sixth child,
the god Zeus, Rhea outwitted her husband by giving him a stone wrapped in
swaddling clothes, which he swallowed, thinking it was the baby. In the meantime,
she had hidden the child in Crete (Kríti). Later, when Zeus was grown,
he forced his father to disgorge the stone, along with the five other children
who had been born to Rhea: Poseidon, god of the sea; Hades, god of the dead;
Demeter, goddess of the earth; Hestia, goddess of the hearth; and Hera, goddess
of marriage, who became the wife of Zeus. In Roman mythology, Rhea was identified
with Cybele, the great mother of the gods.
Other names and titles: |
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| Selene | Moongoddess, daughter of the Titans Hyperion and Theia. She travelled with a chariot through the night-sky. Selene, also called Mene, is the sister of Eos (dawn) and Helios (sun). | k |
| Tethys | Titaness, daughter of Uranos and Gaia. She bore all rivers on earth. | k |
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. | k |
| 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. Daughter of Uranos and Gaia, mother of the Moirai and the Horai. She became ruler of the delphi oracle after Gaia, gave it to her sister Phoibe, who later lost it and Apollon gained it. | k |
| Tyche
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Goddess of luck and misfortune. Also the personification of luck and chance. | k |
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