ZeusZeus was the father-god of the pantheon; his domain was the sky and thunder, associated with leadership and law . His Roman equivalent is Jupiter, with whom he was identified. *
(or more accurately, Iuppiter, a contraction of older Iou pater (literally "sky father"). The alternative English name Jove is derived from the oblique stem of Jupiter, Iov-.
Jerkass: However, his character in the myths is quite balanced, and this is not true in every story.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Pretty much how his character comes across overall. Of course, wheather you encountered the "Jerk" or the "Heart of Gold" depended on who you were, what you had done, and whether you encounted the big guy on a good day.
HeraZeus' older sister and wife. She was the goddess of marriage and women. Perpetually ticked off at anyone who wronged her, such as insulting her, allowing themselves to be seduced by her husband, or being the love-child of such an assignation. The Romans identified her with their goddess Juno.
Disproportionate Retribution: Somewhat justified, since Hera couldn't act against Zeus. Punishing others was her only method of getting even.
God Save Us from the Queen! / The High Queen: On one side, she's a jealous and vengeful goddess with a fury like Hell has none. On the other side, she's a benevolent and fair queen who protects mothers and wives and is generally well-disposed toward faithful husbands.
Kick the Dog: Inducing Heracles to kill his family.
Lady of War: In some myths she shares Zeus' power to control the weather and beats the crap out of people. As the Roman Juno, she is more consistently so.
Virgin Power: According to a myth from Argos, Hera once every year restored her virginity by bathing in the spring of Kanathos. According to different myths, she birthed Hephaestus without any male involvement.
What Beautiful Eyes: Much is made of her having large, dark eyes. Common epithets are "sloe-eyed" and "cow-eyed".
Woman Scorned: Most myths about her focused on this aspect.
Yandere: To a certain extent; most of her crazy is generally turned against Zeus' paramours, though he felt the lash of her scorn as well. It's just that she couldn't do anything to Zeus besides yell at him.
PoseidonGod of the ocean, earthquakes and (to a lesser extent) horses. The Romans equated him with their god Neptune, related to the Etruscan god "Nethuns".
Casanova: Overshadowed by Zeus' philandering, but he too got around. Though it's not like anyone really remembers him at all anymore for this. Did you know he had a wife named Amphitrite?
Sadly Mythtaken: Poseidon never had a merman's fish tail. This would be absurd, as he wasn't born the god of the seas, but won rule over his watery domain when the three brothers drew lots to divide the world amongst themselves. The fishy lower half actually belonged to Poseidon's son Triton, god of waves and his father's herald.
Victim Falls For Rapist: Averted with Medusa and subverted with Amphitrite. Played straight, however with the occasional male lover.
HadesGod of the Underworld, though not a grim-reaper type figure. Reigned over the dead, wealth hidden in the ground and the earth as an element in general. Despite his association with death, his original depiction and characterization was never as despicable as the usual modern interpretation. In fact, he was a rather ambivalent figure towards mortals. *
The only two times he interects with mortals at all, (Defending Pylops from Heracles and lending Perseus his helmet) he's shown to be helpfull.
Romans called him Pluto, latinizing the Greek epithet Plouton/Ploutos, and also named him Dis.
Badass: He doesn't see a lot of action, but he's the measuring stick the Greeks use for how terrifying something is.
He Who Must Not Be Named: Mortals and even the other gods don't like speaking his name. His temples are always dedicated anonymously because death worship is considered taboo.
I Have Many Names: Since the Greeks didn't like to refer to him by name, they had a whole list of other names to call him instead. The most common was Plouton ("Giver of Wealth"), but according to Sophocles he was also referred to as Clymenus ("notorious"), Polydegmon ("who receives many"), and Eubuleus (which, ironically enough, can be translated as "well-intentioned").
Invisibility Cloak: The "Helm of Darkness" (obviously not actually a cloak).
Manly Tears: Orpheus was able to get Hades to shed "iron tears" by playing his lyre.
May-December Romance: Even though Greek gods don't age, there is still a generational gap between him and Persephone.
Orcus on His Throne: How humans entering the underworld (Hercules, Theseus, Orpheus, etc.) would find him and Persephone.
The Stoic: He and his wife both have the emotional range of a statue.
HestiaGoddess of the hearth, meaning that she was the goddess of home, house and family. An important goddess, but one whose domains did not lend to participation in many stories, which is why most people forget she exists. This, in addition to her modest and discreet nature, would keep her out of trouble. Her Roman equivalent was Vesta (as in "Vestal virgins").
The Chick: In a way. She doesn't especially contribute to the cohesion of her brethren - she mostly stays out of any argument - but she has all the classical traits otherwise.
God of Good: The most benevolent olympian in and out of universe.
Hearth Is An Awesome Power: Although today, Hestia's domains are considered rather insignificant, she was one of the most important gods in the entire Greek Pantheon (though this isn't reflected in the myths).
Proper Lady: You know the whole 'divine dignity' thing? She's the best example with her proper behavior. The other gods are too Jerkass to mortals and each other.
DemeterGoddess of grain, fertility, the "life" parts of the life-and-death cycle, and marriage laws. Her name literally means "Earth Mother" (de + meter). The Romans equated her with their agricultural goddess Ceres, from whom English gets the word cereal.
Fisher Queen: There is a Just So Story about how Demeter's daughter Persephone was kidnapped to be Hades' wife, and Demeter's depression either caused summer, the dry season in Greece when plants cannot grow, or winter, the freezing season when plants cannot grow.
Seasonal Baggage: Persephone leaves to meet Hades during the winter months.
AphroditeThe goddess of love, beauty, and sexuality, who was also associated with looking after children. As Aphrodite Ourania, this was extended to include what literally translates to "heavenly" or "divine love." In Rome, she was called Venus.
All Girls Want Bad Boys: Had an affair with Ares, the Badass god of war, despite being married to the humble Hephaestus.
Multiple Choice Past: She was either born from Ouranos' cut-off genitalia (making her one of the oldest goddesses), or from Zeus and either Dione or Thalassa. Later philosophers would differentiate between the older, heavenly Aphrodite (ourania) and the younger, common Aphrodite (pandemos, of all people).
Spontaneous Generation: Supposedly born when Kronos cut off Ouranos' genitals and threw them into the ocean. This lends to one of her other names Philommedes which translates as "lover of members". Because she was born from them, of course.
Spear Counterpart: Her son Priapus, the extremely well-endowed god of male sexuality and fertility, equally revered and feared but not as important since, back in those times, men weren't supposed to be interested in sexuality that much.
Trickster: She can be underhanded, as seen in the tale of Eros and Psyche.
Unkempt Beauty: Often said to be one of her characteristics.
AthenaGoddess of wisdom, which is a blanket term for things like weaving, strategy, industry, defensive war, justice, and skill. The Romans identified her with their goddess Minerva.
By-the-Book Cop: As a goddess of intelligence, she will help people as long as they are following the rules and/or striving to right injustice. But breaking them means she will allow no mercy.
Chest Burster: More like skull burster, as she was born out of Zeus's head.
Dating Catwoman: Minerva was identified with Nerio, who was the wife of Mars (Ares).
Double Standard: Athena said that she is always for the male before the female because she never had a mother.
Emotionless Girl: Only occasionally did she allow her emotions to get the better of her. The rest of the time, she only punishes people who break the rules.
Flight, Strength, Heart: Besides the above, as patron of Athens she was also the goddess of olives, Athens' greatest export.
Historical Hero Upgrade: Nowadays, Athena often gets depicted as one of the nice gods. Which she was, as long as people followed the rules. If they didn't, she would show no mercy.
Manipulative Bitch: Regardless of Medusa being a slut or a rape victim, she goes from beautiful priestess to monster to an Iconic Item on, where else, Athena's shield.
Whether that specifically means 'never had sex' or 'never married' isn't made entirely clear.
Offing the Offspring: When Metis, Athena's mother, got pregnant, Zeus ate her. However, this trope was somewhat subverted in that the prophecy specified "son."
Other versions merely state that any child Metis bore would be more powerful than its father, and Zeus ate her out of fear of such a child overthrowing him. Sure enough, Athena is more powerful than Zeus, but she's also totally loyal to Olympus.
Other versions state that Athena tried to overthrow Zeus with the help of Hera and Poseidon but failed.
Pet the Dog: In one of the myths of the prophet Tiresias, he was a son of her attendants who accidentally stumbled on her bathing and was blinded when Athena covered his eyes. As she could not restore his sight, she gave him a long life, the ability to understand the language of birds, and his gift of prophecy.
Contrast this with Artemis and Actaeon, below. Same initial transgression, horrifyingly different consequences.
War Is Glorious: Athena represents the elements of war coming together beautifully.
Apollon (Apollo)God of "beardless youth", light, archery, the arts, etc. Associated with the Roman gods, Phoebus and Helios. Later, he also became a solar deity with the assimilation of Helios with Apollo. Romans also associated Phoebus with Helios and the sun itself. However, they also used the name legaced by the Greeks, Apollo.
Light is Not Good: Like most of the other Olympians, he has a bad side.
Momma's Boy: Was really protective of his mother. He killed Python when Hera sent the giant snake to kill Leto and later killed the giant Tityos for trying to rape his mother. When Niobe boasted of her superiority to Leto because she had fourteen children, he killed all her male 7 children
The Medic: Not just Apollo, but some of his children, specifically Asklepios and Hygeia*
as in "hygeine" she taught humans about bathing
. Even today, physicians swear by them.
My Sister Is Off Limits: Apollo disapproved of Orion's relationship with Artemis, so he created a giant scorpion to kill him. Orion went looking for Artemis, who was practising her archery on an island, but Apollo beat him to her and bet she couldn't snipe the distant object bobbing towards the island. She did, and was so furious with Apollo that she killed his scorpion and immortalized Orion as a constellation. Apollo turned the scorpion into stars as well so it could keep chasing Orion across the skies.
Papa Wolf: Less notable than Ares, but he still has his moments. Apollo guided Paris in the killing of Achilles by guiding the arrow of his bow into Achilles' heel revenge for Achilles' sacrilege in murdering Troilus. After Zeus killed Asclepius with a lightning bolt for resurrecting Hippolytus from the dead, a berserk Apollo took revenge on the Cyclops, who had fashioned the bolt for Zeus
Plague Master: Inflicting disease was one of his favorite punishments.
The Power of the Sun: Somewhat averted as he used more often magic arrows (see Helios' take on the same trope).
Pretty Boy: Is generally depicted as one of the most handsome of the male gods, with youthful features and long hair.
The Smart Guy: As reason was in his domain, he was the one who figured out the weakness of Otos and Ephiantes: They could be killed by each other.
ArtemisGoddess of young women, of virginity, childbirth (yes, both at the same time), Women's Mysteries, forests and hills, hunting, and, later, the moon (along with Selene). Essentially a liminal goddess who protected women throughout their lives. The Romans equated her with their goddess Diana.
Hot Amazon: Sorry boys, she's not interested. In fact, run for your life.
Humanoid Abomination: A remarkably surprising example (specially when considering how Olympians are essentially humans with powers), her Ephesian depiction, while humanoid, makes her pretty much Lovecraftian. To the point that some Cthulhu Mythos writers identify such statue as an image of Shub-Niggurath.
AresAnother god of war. While Athena ruled over strategy and wisdom, Ares ruled brute force and courage. His nearest Roman equivalent was Mars, who however was also a god of agriculture. The more martial Romans put Mars in a much higher place in their religion than the Greeks put Ares, and in fact the Romans believed themselves to be Mars's descendants.
Dating Catwoman: Mars was married to Nerio, who was identified with Minerva (Athena).
Good Parent: Ares always supported his children and tried to protect them (namely the Amazons).
Has Two Mommies: According to a Roman myth, Juno became pregnant with Mars by being touched with a herb grown by the goddess Flora.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Yes, he goes on bloodthirsty killing sprees on default, but he is quite devoted to his various children—unlike a lot of the gods.
Murder the Hypotenuse: In Nonnus's peom Dinoysiaca he killed Adonis for being Aphrodite's lover.
Papa Wolf: Athenians explained the name of the Areopagus by saying the first trial there was when Poseidon prosecuted Ares for murder, over the death of his son Alirrothios. Ares was acquitted on the defense that he was protecting his daughter Alkippe from being raped by Alirrothios.
Psychopathic Manchild: Homer's portrayal of Ares in his epic had this element; he'd charge into battle roaring and killing all who got in his way when on a mission, but when seriously injured he would run back to Zeus and complain about it.
Small Name, Big Ego: Ares is a handsome guy, but really kind of a stupid thug and sometimes a Dirty Coward as well, depending on the telling.
War Is Hell: Ares personifies war as bloodshed, violence and destruction
The Worf Effect: Despite being the god of war, the Greeks handed the victory aspect to Athena, and in the myths he doesn't win as many battles as one would expect.
Hephaistos (Hephaestus)The Blacksmith. He was rather hideously crippled: Authors differ whether he had been defenestrated during an argument between Mummy and Daddy, or just born with lame legs. His nearest Roman equivalent was the descructive volcano god Vulcanus (Vulcan).
Beauty Equals Goodness: The inverse assumption, Ugly Is Evil, is played viciously straight by the other gods.
Chained to a Bed: The method Hephaestus uses to prove she's cheating on him with Ares.
Continuity Snarl: In some versions of Hephaestus' birth-myth, he was conceived by Hera without any help from Zeus; supposedly she was jealous over his Mr. Seahorse act in bearing Athena. In some versions of Athena's birth-myth, Hephaestus helps dig her out of Zeus' head.
Double Standard: Had multiple lovers himself but did not take his wife's infidelity well.
Informed Flaw: By Greek standards, being crippled was enough to make a person ugly. Art says otherwise. However, given the the ancient Greeks knew better than to offend their gods, this might be justified.
HermesThe messenger god and a Trickster Archetype, Hermes is a good friend and a bad enemy. He is also the god of travelers, shepherds, cowherds, thieves, wit, literature, commerce, cunning and luck. The Roman god Mercurius (Mercury) was identified with him.
Absurdly Sharp Blade: His sickle, which he loaned to Perseus so he could slay Medusa.
Angel Unaware: He disguised himself as a mortal with Zeus, to assess the state of humanity. The first people they met were awful, and Hermes persuaded his father to give humanity a second chance.
Biggus Dickus: His symbol is his phallus, leading to herms. His son with Aphrodite*
as in "hermaphrodite"
has Aphrodite's body and his penis.
Distaff Counterpart: Iris, the goddess of rainbow, also share the role of messenger with him.
From a Certain Point of View: After stealing Apollo's cows as a toddler, he promised Zeus he would never lie again. As if a god of cunning and wit needs to lie to be dishonest...
Good Parent: Hermes, in comparison to the rest of the gods aside from Ares, was a model parent. One could argue that he was even doting. Just see his reaction to Pan
Loveable Rogue: He lies, cheats, steals, and whatnot, but is generally thought to be and portrayed as one of the nicest gods. Also see Angel Unaware.
Papa Wolf: Pelops killed Myrtilus. Hermes would damn all his descendants, essentially being the responsible for all the tragedies of The House Of Atreus
Pretty Boy: His literary appearances describe him as looking young and very beautiful. Then again, plenty of vase paintings give him a full beard, so it depends on the author.
Psychopomp: One of his duties was guiding souls to the Underworld.
Dionysos (Dionysus)The god of wine, drunken debauchery, agriculture, theatre, and the freeing of self from normal behavior. He is always treated as a late arrival to Olympus, partially because Hestia was voted off the island to make room for him. The Romans called him Bacchus, from one of his many Greek titles, but also identified him with the Roman god Liber.
Chest Burster: Born out of Zeus's thigh. Interestingly, Zeus had actually stitched him up in there after his mother had died, to preserve him before birth.
Mr. Seahorse: His mother died before he was born, so Zeus put him under his thigh.
Mugging the Monster: At one point some sailors who saw him sitting by the shore believed him to be a prince, and could thus be either sold into slavery or held ransom at a great profit. After repeated requests to let him go or drop him off at Naxos, he either turned into a lion (and summoned a bear) and killed them, or turned them into dolphins. Either way, the only survivor was Acoetes, who recognized him as a god and tried to stop the others. Oddly enough, he ended up as his priest.
No One Could Survive That: Somehow survived having his mother being burned to ashes after seeing Zeus's true form... while see was pregnant with him. Or, depending on the myth, having his entire body expect his heart eaten by titans as a child. The Greeks thus gave him the epitaph of dimētōr, which means 'of two mothers', the second being Zeus who transferred him to his thigh until he was born {or regrown}.
Pet the Dog: One of the kinder deities to humans, despite his party animal nature. This is partially due to the amount of time he spent Walking the Earth (see below).
Pretty Boy: Described as being rather feminine-looking. Although he is mostly depicted as an older, fat man with a beard in many vase-paintings, and often in modern works. Perhaps all that wine caught up to him in time.
The Trickster: He fits the archetype, and like examples from other mythologies, can be Fun Personified or an insane sadist depending on the story.
Walking the Earth: For a bit, after Hera curses him with insanity. He gets better eventually, but keeps wandering around learning things, accumulating followers, and punishing people who piss him off.
PersephoneGoddess of spring, rejuvenation and youth (especially young women) and Queen of the Underworld. Daughter of Zeus and Demeter, she was abducted (theoretically) by Hades to be his queen. She spends half of the year with her mother and half of it with him. Though not numbered among the Twelve Olympians, she had more Greek worshippers than Ares, and was a major goddess of the Eleusinian Mysteries, alongside Demeter and Hecate. To Romans, she was known as Proserpina.
Clingy Jealous Girl: When naiad Minthe tried to seduce Hades, Persephone metamorphosed her into a mint plant. It's good that Hades is a pretty faithful husband.
Subverted in the version involving nymph Leuce. Persephone seemed to like her enough that after Leuce died naturally, she turned her into the first white poplar tree, which became her sacred tree.
Emotionless Girl: As the Queen of the Underworld, she is as cold as Hades. Although she does have a case of Not So Stoic once in a while, notably in some versions of Admetus and Alcestis's story not involving Heracles. She's either touched by Alcestis's selfless sacrifice and just tells Thanatos to send her back, or is angry that Admetus let his wife die in his place and tells Thanatos to make it right.
The High Queen: Of the Underworld. A known epithet of her is the Iron Queen, who is dreaded by mortals as much as her husband Hades.
The Ingénue / Innocent Flower Girl (literally): Before her abduction. Her original name "Kore" meant maiden. She most likely leveled up into some kind of Perky Goth after that. Hey, being queen of the underworld isn't all bad...
Kronos (Cronus)The previous king of the gods, he was the leader of the Titans, the generation of gods prior to the Olympians. Typically associated with time (mostly due to the similarity of his name with the Greek word for "time"), he was actually a god associated with agriculture and fertility. In fact, his modern view as a God of Evil is debatable; he ate his offspring sans Zeus, true, but he was sometimes also stated to have brought a golden age to Man, which ended once Zeus was in domain. Unfortunately, here we again see the effects of Continuity Snarl: sometimes, mankind didn't even exist until after the Olympians took over.His Roman counterpart was Saturnus, although frankly because Romans mixed their own mythology with the Greek one, it's unclear if they should truly be considered the same entity. Most likely Saturn was an entirely separate Roman god before being assimilated to Kronos.Do not confuse him with Chronus/Khronos, the protogenos of Time.
Big Bad: If you root for Zeus and his siblings, that is.
Calling the Old Man Out: Castrated and overthrew his dad Ouranos for imprisoning him and the other Titans in Tartaros. Shame he didn't turn out to be much better.
Good Powers, Bad People: An interpretation of his moral alignment, as he was an agricultural god who may have brought a golden age to mankind, and yet ate his offspring and probably raped his wife (how else would she have made more babies to be eaten?), and disrespected Gaia's wish to free his imprisioned sibilings.
Mr. Seahorse: Somehow his children emerged fully grown once Zeus opened his belly many years after they had been swallowed. Most likely because Kronos is extremely huge and his belly is habitable. Or because Greek myth is weird like that and you really shouldn't think about it too hard.
Rouge Angles of Satin: Because of the similar sound of C/Kronos and Chronos, he's become associated with Time - note that Father Time has a scythe (as would fit a harvest god) and has the idea of being succeeded by a child (the New Years baby/Zeus).
Sinister Scythe: His token item, and a very rare example of it being tied to agriculutre then death.
HyperionOf all the Titans, this is probably the most mysterious, since practically nothing about him comes on Greek texts, though it is known he fought against the gods in the Titanomachy, and probably might had helped Kronos kill his father Ouranos, not to mention that he is father of Helios, the god of the Sun. The Lord of light and of the East, the first making him not very unique since there's several other deities in Greek Mythology aligned with light, but should he appear as an enemy of the Olympians in modern media he would be quite the nice contrast to the usual demonic legions (and, in fact, he did appear once).
Meaningful Name: His name means "he who watches from above". Aside from fire, lightning and astronomical objects are the most obvious natural light sources.
Iapetos (Iapetus)Another mysterious titan. The god of the mortal lifespan and Lord of the West. One of the titans who helped subdue Ouranos so Kronos could castrate him.
OceanusOphion was a protogenoi who got demoted to titan, the original ruler of olympus before Kronos cast him into the sea, where he became Oceanus. As Oceanus he ruled over the sea much like Pontus of the Protogenoi and Posiedon/Neptune of the Olympians. Oceanus was also the god who regulated the rising and setting of the heavenly bodies which were believed to emerge and descend into his watery realm at the ends of the earth.
Heroic Neutral: Oceanus never involved himself in things like the overthrowing of Urnaus or the Titanomachy
MnemosyneNo, not that Mnemosyne. The Titan goddess of memory, and the daughter of Gaia and Uranus. She and Zeus had sex for nine consecutive nights, and each copulation led to the birth of one of the nine Muses. It was said that kings and poets receive their great oratorical ability from Mnemosyne and her daughters, the Muses.
ThemisZeus's second wife (after Metis and before Hera) and daughter of Uranus and Gaia, Themis was the goddess of divine law, order, and custom. Themis in many ways represented tradition, mores, customs, and such, especially those said to have been handed down by the gods. Prophetess, with the ability to see into the future, and thus received the Oracle at Delphi, which she passed on to Phoebe. It is sometimes said that she became a goddess of divine justice, but this role is also taken up by Nemesis. She was so respected, even Hera, her successor as Zeus's wife, referred to her as "Lady Themis". With Zeus she gave birth to Astraea, the Moirai (possibly), and both generations of the Hours.PhoebeOne of the original Titans (children of Gaia and Uranus, she is traditionally seen as a moon goddess, possibly the one that predates Selene. her husband was Coeus, with whom she had Leto and Asteria. She later received control of the oracle of Delphi from Themis.
Flat Character: not much is know about Phoebe besides who she birthed and her having the Oracle of Delphi
Titans (second generation)
SeleneThe Titan goddess of the moon, known as Luna in the Roman pantheon. Specifically, she is the goddess who drives the chariot of the moon across the sky. Sister of Helios and Eos (all offspring of Hyperion) and the most well-known of the three, if only because her name makes for an elegant allusion and looks very French (the "e" at the end is not silent).
Helios (Helius)The Titan god of the sun, known as Sol in the Roman pantheon. Sometimes equated with Apollo, he is usually the one driving a chariot of fiery steeds across the sky.
Light is Not Good: Not himself (unless pissed off), but his daughters were often witches who had a power called "evil eye", derived from himself; Circe is the most famous one.
The Power of the Sun: An aversion; because the Greeks were unaware of the Sun's real potential, he was often depicted as weak and incapable of fighting for himself (for instance, when his sacred cattle were slain he had to blackmail Zeus in either killing said people, or having Helios running away to the Underworld).
Too Dumb to Live: His son, Phaeton, asks to drive the chariot of the sun as proof that he is actually Helios' son. No version of the story ends well.
EosThe Titan goddess of the dawn, known as Aurora in the Roman pantheon. She either opens the gates for her brother Helios to ride out, or harnesses his horses to the chariot.
Pietà Plagiarism: Sort of. She had a son called Memnon who was killed in The Trojan War, and in some paintings was depicted as holding him across her knees.
Really Gets Around: After sleeping with Ares, she was cursed by Aphrodite to have an unquenchable lust.
PrometheusOne of the original Titans, who apparently didn't take a side in the war between the Titans and Olympians- instead, his sympathies were with man. One day he stole fire from the gods and gave it to man — for this, he was Chained to a Rock and tortured for centuries... until he was freed by the demigod Hercules.
And I Must Scream: Probably the Ur Example; his punishment was not only being Chained to a Rock; he had an eagle eating out his liver every day and, every night, his liver would regenerate and the process would repeat.
Chained by Fashion: Some stories say that even after Hercules freed him, Zeus declared that his sentence was permanent, thus Prometheus would always wear a wreath and a ring of his chain. Men in turn began to wear rings and wreaths in tribute to him.
Cool and Unusual Punishment: He's chained to the Caucasus, and every day, a bird eats his liver. Bonus points for recognizing the liver's regeneration capability.
Satan Is Good: Obviously pre-dates Satan, but the positive interpretation of Satan comes from him - a rebel against a Selfish God/gods who brings knowledge to humanity.
AsteriaThe titan goddess of nocturnal oracles and falling stars, she was the daughter of the titans Phoebe and Coeus, the sister of Leto, and the mother of Hekate. She flung herself into the Aegean Sea to escape the womanizing Zeus (while transformed as a quail) and thus became the "quail island", Ortygia, which became identified with island of Delos. It was the only piece of Earth that would give refuge to Leto when she was pursued by the always vengeful Hera while pregnant with Zeus's children.PallasA Titan god associated with war, possibly making him Ares predecessor. He was the son of Crius and Eurybia, the brother of Astraeus and Perses, and the husband of Styx. Was actually killed by Athena in a contest to fight for Zeus. Became conflated with Athena in later years, to the point that in Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven, a bust of Athena is identified as "Pallas".StyxNo, not the river in the Underworld; the Titan goddess, mother of Zelus, Nike, Kratos (not that Kratos), and Bia, husband of Pallas, and daughter of Oceanus and Tethys. During the Titanomachy, she sided with and came to Zeus's aide, being one of the first to do so. For this, her name became a binding oath for the gods.
Jumped at the Call: She was the first Titan to switch sides and help overthrow the Titanomachy
MetisA daughter of Oceanus and Tethys, making her a Oceanid. Was actually Zeus's first spouse, and was a goddess of Wisdom and deep thought, though her name actually implies a combination of wisdom and cunning. It was Metis who gave Zeus the poison that forced Cronos to vomit out his children. However, Zeus feared Metis, because she was was prophesied to have extremely powerful children, the second of which would be more powerful than Zeus himself. Zeus promptly tricked Metis into turning herself into a fly, after which he promptly swallowed her. Metis, however, was already pregnant with a powerful child (Athena), and went to work building armor for her inside Zeus, causing him great pain. Eventually, one way or another, Zeus got his head cracked open, and out popped Athena. What became of Metis after that is unknown.
Irony: Two sets of it. Firstly, Metis was swallowed by Zeus the same way that Zeus's siblings (whom she helped rescue) were swallowed by Cronos. Secondly, she is technically a goddess of wisdom, but Zeus didn't have to work to hard to trick into turning into a fly.
LetoThe Titan daughter of Coeus and Phoebe, and sister to Asteria, Leto is quite honestly famous for only one thing: Giving birth to Apollo and Artemis, the children of Zeus. When she got pregnant, she was forced to run for her life from the jealous Queen Hera, who made all the lands of the world shun her. Once her twins are born, she goes back to Olympus and recedes from being prominent. Her Roman equivalent is Latona.
Flat Character: Quite literally, for the Greeks, the only thing of importance she did was birth her children
PotamoiThe sons of Oceanus and Tethys, and the fathers of Naiads, these groups of gods were the river gods of Greek Mythology, depicted in three forms: man-headed bull, a bull-headed man with the body of a serpent-like fish from the waist down, and an arm resting on an amphora jug pouring water.
Khaos (Chaos), ArcheA formless void that preceeded the universe. It translates from Greek as emptiness, vast void, chasm, abyss. In Classical Mythology all things came into existance from Khaos. It/she is the oldest of the Protogenoi, if not older. It is not clear whether she is alive or not, and is only refered to as female poetically as it is older than gender, even hermaphroditic gender. Arche, the other term used to name this being if being it is, translates roughly as; beginning, origin, first cause/power, sovereignty, domination, ultimate underlying substance, and ultimate undemonstrable principle. Thus Khaos is the Arche in Classical Mythology.
Blow You Away: As the first of the Protogenoi and the god of the air
Eldritch Abomination: The closest thing to it in Classical Mythology. Ovid described it as “a rather a crude and indigested mass, a lifeless lump, unfashioned and unframed, of jarring seeds and justly Chaos named”
The Older Immortal: If it even has sentience, which is unknown. It is the oldest being in the Greek Cosmology
Power of the Void: Maybe. It is a bottomless gulf where anything falls endlessly and is a place without any possible orientation, where anything falls in every direction
The Older Immortal: Khaos may be older, but not by any amount of time that matters for a being so old.
Phanes (Appearance), Protognos (the First Born), Himeros/Eros (Procreation), Ericapaeus (Power), Metis (Thought)Literally designated as the first born, amoung other names, implying that the only two beings that are older than him, Khaos and Ophioneus, were not born. Phanes is a hermaphrodite who is addressed with male pronouns rather than neutral ones. He is the Primevial deity and personification of new life and procreation, who created the method of creation by mingling. He is described as having a helmet and broad golden wings. He has a long list of names, including Eros, though he is not the same being as the son of Aphrodite, he is the older repressentation of that concept and the embodyment of male sexual desire.
ThesisThe Primordial Goddess and personification of Creation, female creation that is, counterpart to Phanes. Born at the same time as Hydros. Not to be confused with Thetis, a Nymph who is the mother of Achilles by Peleus.
NyxNyx is the personification of Night and one of the protogenoi (female singular: protogeneia), deities that have existed since the beginning of the universe. Thus somewhat less comprehensible for us. She is the daughter of Khaos, yet a few texts claim she is actually the first protogeneia. Nyx is mother to many deities with her brother Erebus, including fearsome beings like Thanatos (Death), Moros (Doom), and Geras (Old Age), but also Philotes (friendship), Hemera (Day), and Hypnos (Sleep). She's often portrayed as a figure of exceptional power and beauty. Even Zeus fears her, and allowed Hypnos to escape after causing misfortune to Heracles.
The Sacred Darkness: Also a reasonable assumption, not a lot is know about him, but when it comes to the gods of Classical Mythology "no news is good news"
AetherThe son of Erebus and Nyx, personification of light, the upper sky, space, heaven and the bright, glowing, [[pure air that gods breath. Hemera is his sister and mate.
TartarusThe underworld, or that special part of it where the dead suffer, and the personification there of. This makes him different from other gods of the under world in classical mythology in that while they rule, it is named after them only in the form of {ruler's} land(s)/domain/kingdom/what-have-you, a common mistake made all the more difficult to correct by the fear of speaking the name of such deities. He is located below the younger protogenoi; Gaea, Pontus and Ouranus. He is sometimes depicted as the father of Typhon, having had an affair with Gaia.
Almighty Janitor: Powerful enough to hold the titans and several monsters prisoner for eternity, Tartarus is apparently content with his position as jailer/jail of the gods.
Bunny-Ears Lawyer: As mentioned below, loyalty doesn't seem to be big on his list of priorities, yet he's constantly used to contain threats to the gods by whichever one is in power at the time, likely because he's simply the only one powerful enough to do so.
Gaia (Gaea)The everpresent Mother Nature. Sometimes depicted as a titan (which to most people is a loose definition of any non-Olympian ancient deity), she was actually a protogeneia, in the same league as Ouranos and Nyx; with the former she copulated to give birth to the titans, as well as some critters like the cyclops. Because her husband didn't liked the abominations they "created", she had to hide them in her bowels, which caused her imense pain, forcing thus Kronos to castrate his dad. But Kronos still imprisoned the cyclops and hekantonkheires (the non-titan offspring of Gaia and Ouranos, which Ouranos liked the least) in Tartaros (often depicted as a part of Gaia; keep reading), which in turn made her raise Zeus to overthrow his father. And later, Zeus imprisoned the titans in Tartaros, which made Gaia unhappy again, so she had sex with Tartaros (which, mind you, might or might not be part of her, as well being a physical location, not something alive) and gave birth to Typhon, which was thankfully overthrown by Zeus. She seems to have given up on killing the patriarch deity since then.Her Roman name is Terra Mater/Tellus (the first literally means "Mother Earth"). While she was widely acknowledged by the Greeks and Romans alike, she was very inconsistently distinguished from other fertility goddesses such as Rhea or Demeter, much like Apollo and Helios were often considered the same. Confusion ensued when the Romans equated other fertility mother goddesses worshipped by conquered peoples, but the cult of the Mother Earth was more important than petty differenciation between deities. Nowadays, as you might have guessed, Gaia is very much worshipped by Neo-Pagans, being thus perhaps the most well known and loved of all pagan goddesses, being the mother of gods, humanity and the universe alike.
Eldritch Abomination: Much like Ouranos and Nyx, she was more of a force of nature than the typical "human with superpowers" the posterior gods like the Olympians were. If the myths are to go by she has some seriously Bizarre Alien Biology, as well as a barely human way of thinking (but still understandable).
Gaia's Vengeance: Literally, and three times according to mythology. She, however, couldn't care less about how many trees you cut or oceans you polute; in Greek myth, after all, she wasn't responsible for all aspects of nature. To her, what mattered was whereas someone was causing her pain or not, as well as rewarding those who worshipped her.
Goddess Is Evil: Unlike modern interpretations (and very much unlike other contemporary fertility goddesses, like Demeter), Gaia was not as much a pure benevolent figure as a true force of Nature; she cared little for everyone else, so long as they weren't filling her bowels and causing her pain. Thus, she spawned several monsters to kill the ruling gods like Ouranos and Zeus, regardless of the lives at stake. She did cared about her followers, however.
Ouranos (Uranus)Primordial sky-being, husband of Gaia and father of the Gigantes, Cyclopes, Hecatonchires and Titans. A cruel and overbearing ruler who imprisoned his children in Tartaros (or in Gaia's womb) because of their bizarre appearances. Gaia didn't like this, and had one of the Titans, Kronos, castrate and overthrow Ouranos. The drops of his blood from this became the avenging Furies, and his severed genitals mixed with the ocean's foam and created Aphrodite. He spitefully predicted, however, that Kronos would also be destroyed by his own children. He is also Gaia's first child which she had by parthenogenesis, he is grouped with the Protogenoi because Gaia had so many children with him and he doesn't fit aywhere else.
Eldritch Abomination: Ouranos wasn't regarded by the Greeks as very humanoid; while he probably assumed a humanoid form to copulate with Gaia, he was seen as either a shapeless being or as a solid dome or sphere that formed the sky... and that was still alive and screwed Gaia regularly.
Light is Not Good: Sort of. In art he is generally depicted as a Grandpa God much like Zeus and Poseidon, generally wearing light blue or other light colours, but he was an evil tyrant. Of course, the only humanoid depictions made by the Greeks have him as considerably younger looking and naked, as otherwise he appeared as a dome or sphere as mentioned above, always carried by Atlas.
Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: His prediction to Kronos could be considered this, since it was paranoia from this prediction that led Kronos to swallow his kids alive. Guess how happy they were about that.
Taking You with Me: Unwilling to go down without leaving his son paranoid about suffering the same fate.
ThalassaGoddess and personification of the Primordial Sea. Daughter of Aether and Hemera. Mate of Pontus
PontusGod and personification of the Sea, born from Gaea without a mate like Ouranus. Note: though he is a protogenoi, he is not the god of the primordial sea, that is covered by Hydros and his mate Thalassa.
The Hekatonkheires (Hecatoncheires)Three brothers: Briareus (sometimes known as Aegaion), Kottos (Cottus) and Gyges. They are sons of Ouranos and Gaia. Embodiments of natural forces, they each have a hundred arms and fifty heads, which Ouranos thought so ugly that he sealed them away in Tartaros shortly after they were born with their other brothers, the Cyclopes. In some versions, Kronos either freed them and put them back in some time later, or just kept them inside Tartaros, guarded by the Dragon Kampe. In the final year of the Titanomachy, Zeus freed them and they proved a pivotal point in the Olympians' victory. Afterwords, they served as jailers to the Titans in the same way Kampe was to them. They had the same names in Roman myths, but their collective name was Centimani.
Depending on the Writer: The treatment of Briareus and Aegaion. Sometime, they were separate entities (Aegaion was usually on Zeus's side. Briareus was usually either a Titan or a hundred-hander on Kronos's side) or they are the same with men calling him Aegaion the Gods calling him Briareus. Or either of them was a Giant that fought against the Gods.
Red Baron: Briareus was "The Vigorous", Aegaion was the "Sea Goat", Kottos was "The Furious", and Gyges was the "Big Limbed".
Rock Spam: With their hundred hands, the Hekatonkheires were able to launch hundreds of mountain-sized rocks at the Titans continuously until they were too overwhelmed to fight back.
ErosThe god of love, he was dainty and non-threatening, but still managed to best even the greatest of gods (usually by taking potshots from far away with his bow, which had arrows that could inspire both love and hate). Early sources thought of him as a protogenos who emerged self formed from an egg at the beginning of creation, but later ones saw him as the young son and/or servant of Aphrodite. His more famous Roman name is Cupidus (Cupid).
Abusive Parents: Well, Ares was Ares◊, but even Aphrodite had her moments such as leaving him with the Maniae and punishing him for daring to have a beautiful wife.
That painting is actually of their Roman counterparts (Mars and Cupid). Ares in Greek myth was actually very protective of his childern and there is the fact that painting was by italian painter Bartolomeo Manfredi which kinda makes it just fanart.
Momma's Boy: He was his mother's constant companion.
Opposites Attract: Golden-winged, joyful protogenos Eros mated with dark, unsmiling Khaos and created all birds. Also, in some of the myths where he's a protogenos he brought all the elements of Khaos together to create the world.
Parental Favoritism: Aphrodite obviously liked him better than her other children.
Pretty Boy: Pretty much every version of him is described as 'the fairest of the deathless gods'.
Sadly Mythtaken: The whole "love is blind" thing. He was originally considered superior to Ananke (Necessity) because he did value beauty and drove people and gods to do more than just what was necessary.
Beast and Beauty: This tale fits most of the same elements, but acts as a subversion: in a Prophecy Twist, the "wingedmonster” she was to marry ended up being the God of Love.
[Psyche] tells her [jealous sister] what had happened, then tricks her sister into believing that Cupid has chosen [the sister] as [his] wife on the mountaintop. Psyche later meets her other sister and deceives her likewise. Each sister goes to the top of the peak and jumps down eagerly, but Zephyrus [the West Wind] does not bear them and they fall to their deaths at the base of the mountain.
The two jealous sisters tell Psyche, then pregnant with Cupid's child, that rumour is that she had married a great and terrible serpent who would devour her and her unborn child when the time came for it to be fed.
Believing that her husband is quite possibly a winged serpent, what does she do? Collects a lamp with which to see him and a dagger that appears to be◊ no larger than 22 cm [9”] to cut off his head if this is indeed true. Let me repeat that: Psyche fully intends to decapitate a freaking dragon with basically a steak knife.
Blasphemous Boast: According to her suitors, she was "more beautiful than Aphrodite". Needless to say, Aphrodite did not take that well.
I Will Find You: Even if she has to petition every god in the pantheon to do so (Fortunately, it only took three. Unfortunately, number three was Aphrodite).
Forbidden Fruit /Shmuck Bait: She nearly averted this. When her husband Cupid told her never to look upon his true form, she was perfectly fine with it until her sisters convinced her that he might be a horrible monster (despite that she had previously felt his body and had plenty chance to feel his face). At least she only had to deal with a mama bear that was already mad at her instead of the deader than dead fate that usually befalls those who look upon undisguised gods.
And then, when she was sent to bring back the beauty of Persephone in a box, she peeked.
Impossible and (often) Deadly Tasks: Given these to earn back her husband. The tasks are: 1) Sorting huge piles of grains and lentils in a single night, 2) Retrieving some golden wool from vicious sheep, 3) Retrieving water flowing from an elevated cleft that is impossible to achieve on foot and is also guarded by great serpents, and 4) Retrieving a Box of Beauty from the Queen of the Underworld. She succeeds (with some help); Aphrodite/Venus is not pleased.
Pan (Faunus)Son of Hermes. God of nature, mountains, shepherds and sexuality (especially males). A satyr-like Trickster Archetype who is mainly concerned with the preservation of Nature and the enjoyment of earthly pleasures such as music and sex. The panflute is named after him. An overall "free-spirit" who often pals with Dionysus but generally doesn't interact with other gods simply because he doesn't care about political schemes unless it concerns him directly. His name is root of the word "Panic".
Fauns and Satyrs: Shares the appearance associated with them, partially responsible for the trope name and their association with that shape, though satyrs are seperate entities from him in classical mythology.
Friend to All Living Things: Especially supernatural ones but is generally friendly, if mischievous and lecherous with women.
Magical Flutist: He could induce fear and panic with his pipes.
Missing Mom: His nymph mother ran away after his birth. Fortunately, his dad (Hermes) thinks he's awesome and really loves him.
Greek warriors never knew why thousands of men would stand bravely for a long time and then suddenly stampede with no warning. All they knew was it was a great mystery so they attributed it to Pan.
Thanatos (Thanatus)A personification of (peaceful) Death, son of Nyx and Erebos and twin brother of Hypnos. Because he is Death, he was hated by mortals and even the deathless gods - rather moot since he hated them as well. His Roman counterpart is Mors.
Broke Your Arm Punching Out Cthulhu: Sisyphos once managed to cheat death by putting Thanatos in shackles. Eventually Ares rescued him, and Sisyphos died and was compelled to roll a huge rock up a steep hill, the rock would roll back down, forcing him to begin again...for eternity.
Death Takes a Holiday: With Thanatos in chains, death was impossible and war became entirley pointless, which is why Ares rescued him.
Grim Reaper: Although some texts give his role as Psychopomp to Hermes. He also lets his sisters, Keres, take those who died by violent death.
Hates Everyone Equally: In the original depictions, he is despised by mortals for being and bringing death and he hates them back, plus he hates the gods because they're immortal and outside his power (and it doesn't help that most of them are Jerk Asses).
Pretty Boy: Despite the modern depiction of Death, Thanatos was generally shown as a winged, bearded man, or as a handsome, winged youth, depending on the artist and period.
Kharon (Charon)The ferryman of the River Acheron, where he helps the souls of the dead to cross, for a small price. Less powerful than Thanatos, it is he however who inspires the modern image of the Grim Reaper as a cloaked figure. Coins were placed in the mouths of the dead to pay the ferrymans toll. Modern interpretations have changed it to the River Styx instead of Acheron that he ferries souls accross, or perhaps both. The River Acheron is also known as the river of pain and Styx as the river of hate, so you don't want to fall into or try wading through either.
Hekate (Hecate)Goddess of magic, crossroads and ghosts. Had three appearances, or sometimes just three heads. Lived in the Underworld with Hades and Persephone and was a close friend to the latter. Feared and revered by night travelers, but worshiped by about-to-deliver mothers. She was identified with the Roman goddess Trivia.
Sadly Mythtaken: Despite the modern depictions, she was actually never depicted as "maiden, mother, and crone." When she's manifested in three bodies, they're all the same age.
Erinyes (Furies)Alecto, Megaera and Tisiphone, the godesses of vengeance. Born from the blood of the castrated Ouranos. They were depicted as ugly, winged women with hair, arms and waists entwined with poisonous serpents. They wielded whips and were clothed either in the long black robes of mourners, or the short-length skirts and boots of huntress- maidens.
Horkos (Horcus)A rather obscure character. The god or daemon of oaths who inflicted punishment upon perjurers. Most poeple are more familiar with his Roman counterpart: Orcus.
Hypnos (Hypnus)The personification of Sleep, son of Nyx and Erebos and twin brother of Thanatos. Generally not shunned like his twin brother, who is alway at his side in visual art. In Homer he allowed Hera to harass Heracles by putting Zeus to sleep. Zeus was understandably angry when he woke up but found Hypnos already hidden in Nyx's place, so he held the Bolt of Divine Retribution back since it risked an angry Nyx. Apparently, Hypnos disturbed Zeus a few more times, but always ran behind his mom for protection afterward. His Roman counterpart is Somnus.
Homoerotic Subtext: Selene (Moon) once asked Hypnos to put her mortal lover, Endymion, to eternal sleep as an alternative method of immortality. One text said Hypnos was stunned by Endymion's beauty and causes him to sleep with his eyes open, so he could admire Endymion's full face.
EndovelicusA less known deity worshipped by the Romans, he actually came from the Lusitanian Mythology, but after the Romans conquered the Iberian Peninsula he became quite a popular deity, until of course the arrival of Christianity. He was a god of healing and light, and was often referred to as Deus, a title now used when referring to the Christian God in Portugese.
Hijacked By Jesus: Being a god of light was appearently enough for the Christians to identify him as Lucifer after pagan religions were replaced by Christianity.
Inexplicably Awesome: As the result of being an addition from a different religion, he never quite fit into the scheme of the pantheon.
Spell My Name with an S: Aendovelicus and, in Portuguese, Endovaelico are alternative spellings/pronounciations of the name.
FloraRoman goddess of spring, grain and flowers with no Greek equivalent, first worshipped by other Italic tribes. Her feast, the Floralia ran from April 28 to May 3 and was a bit raucous.
Ethical Slut: One of her cognomina was meretrix, "whore".
Victim Falls For Rapist: Ovid depicts her as completely fine with the way the West Wind abducted her, raped her, and forced her to marry him.
The Moirai (Fates)A trio of godesses: Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos. They are the daughters of Nyx and Erebus, or of Zeus and Themis. They determine fate and control the life cycle. Clotho would determine when someone is born by spinning a length of thread on a spinning wheel, Lachesis would allot the length of time a person had to live by measuring the thread, and Atropos would sever the thread with a pair of shears when it was time for them to die. By the Romans, they were known as Nona, Decima and Morta respectively, and collectively called the Parcae.
Sadly Mythtaken: Often they're portrayed as the goddesses of past, present, and future, like Kronos, or as a maiden, mother, crone trio. Neither is true to the original depictions.
Asklepios (Asclepius)In Greek mythology, the patron of medicine and son of Apollo. He not only cured the sick, but recalled the dead to life. This rare authority over Hades may have derived from the circumstances of his own birth. Koronis, a lake nymph, was impregnated by Apollo, yet dared to take in secret a human being as a second lover. So furious was the god on discovering the infidelity that he sent his sister Artemis to slay Koronis. This she did with a pestilence. When the fire was already blazing round the lake nymph on the funeral pyre, Apollo felt compassion for his unborn son, and removed him from the corpse. In this manner Asclepius came into the world and was taught the art of healing by Chiron, the wisest of the Centaurs, beast-like monsters who dwelt in the woodlands. The success of this instruction was so great that Zeus, fearing lest men might contrive to escape death altogether, killed Asclepius with lightning; but at Apollo's request he was revived, according to some authors.
HebeGoddess of youth and the original cupbearer for Olympus. She was a daughter of Zeus and Hera, and later married Heracles, after which she gave up her job as cupbearer; she was succeeded in that role by the Trojan prince Ganymede. Her name comes from a Greek word that means "youth" or "prime of life". She was also worshiped as a goddess of forgiveness and pardonsThe CharitiesAlso know as the The Graces in Roman mythology, these goddesses (Aglaea ("Splendor"), Euphrosyne ("Mirth"), and Thalia ("Good Cheer")) were the patrons of charm, beauty, nature, human creativity and fertility. While Charis is technically the single form of their name and what they could be referred to as individually, in some stories, Charis is the name of a fourth member of their group and not the singular form. There are also sometimes mentioned other members, such as Pasithea, but the first three are always included. Have many possible parents, most notably Zeus and Eurynome, but also Dionysus and Aphrodite, or Helios and a naid named Aegle.The MusesCompletely unlike the gospel singing, Ambiguously Brown character of the Disney Hercules film, the Muses were the Greek goddesses of the inspiration of literature, science and the arts. One of the largest groups in Olympus, their members were: Calliope, Clio, Erato, Euterpe, Melpomene, Polyhymnia, Terpsichore, Thalia, and Urania. Each goddess represented a different domain (for example, Calliope represented Epic Poetry) and the goddesses were said to be the source of knowledge passed through the oral legends and myths.
The Horae (Hours)The goddesses of the seasons and the natural portions of time. Started out as general personifications of nature itself in its different seasonal aspects, but later evolved into being the goddesses of order in general and natural justice in particular. Were noted to guard the gates of Olympus, promote the Earth's fertility, and rally stars and constellations. If all of this sounds a little confusing it is. Lack of unity among the myths has lead to disagreement on some things about these goddesses, including their exact number and even who they are. The most agreed upon number is that there are three of them at any given time, and there are two generations: Thallo, Auxo and Carpo, who were goddesses of the order of nature, and Eunomia, Diké, and Eirene, who were law and order goddesses.Argos had its own duo of Horae, Damia and Auxesia. Hyginus, a Latin author identified yet a third set made up of Pherousa (goddess of substance and farm estates), Euporie or Euporia (goddess of abundance), and Orthosie (goddess of prosperity). Nonnus, a greek epic poet, mentions yet another set of four Horae, Eiar, Theros, Cheimon and Phthinoporon, whose names were the Greek words for spring, summer, winter and autumn.And then, finally, there was a completely different group of Hours, who personified the twelve hours, (originally ten) of the day.PiethoGreek goddess of persuasion and seduction. Was know in Roman mythology as Suadela. Was an attendant and/or companion of Aphrodite and thus is very connected to her. The two were so intertwined, that sometimes they were combined into one character, a reflection of how closely connected the Greeks saw persuasion and love (or lust). Her ancestry is disputed but she maybe the daughter of the titans Tethys and Oceanus.Eileithyia (Ilithyia)As her overly weird name might attest to, this goddess is not a native Greek one, but a transplant from Crete, who became the Greek goddess of childbirth and midwifery. She was the divine helper of women in labor, and, though its agreed upon generally that here mother is Hera, her father's identity is disputed.
Flat Character: was well known among Greeks, but has few stories and little is developed of her character
Canon Immigrant: More than likely did not originate from Greece but with the Minoans of Crete.
PhobosThe son of Ares and Aphrodite, his name means "fear" or "terror". That should tell you all you need to know about him. For those who are a little slower than most, he is a personification of fear for the Greeks, in particular, the fear brought about through war. He notably road into war with his father Ares, the Goddesses Enyo and Eris, and his brother Deimos. His association seems to have made him unpopular with the Greeks, as he doesn't appear in any major Greek myths as a character. His Roman equivalent is Timor. It is from his name that we get the word "phobia".
EnyoA war goddess alongside Ares, she was his companion and counterpart. May have had a son by him named Enyalius in earlier legends, but that name was later conflated with Ares himself (helps that Enyalius was also a war god). Enyo, a daughter of Hera and Zeus, was responsible for orchestrating the destruction of cites, much to her enjoyment, and often accompanied Ares directly into battle. Alongside Eris, Deimos, and Phobos, she instigated the horrors of war. Tied to the Roman goddess Bellona whose name is related to the Latin word for war, bellum. The older form of Bellona's name was "Duellona" and she was sometimes identified as Mars's wife, sometimes as his sister. When Rome declared war on someone, the Fetial priests had to throw a spear from a column in front of her temple. Bellona was later identified with the Cappadocian Earth and Mother goddess Ma.
Blood Knight: Possibly the biggest one in the Greek Pantheon, even beating out Ares! Notably, when Zeus went up against Typhon, a creature that all the Greek gods feared, she refused to take sides, instead delighting in watching the conflict from afar!
Waris Hell: She makes it like this and would have it no other way.
ErisThe goddess of Strife and Discord, she is found in Roman mythology as Discordia and has a dwarf planet named after her. Is widely considered a less than pleasant goddess with even more than unpleasant children. She is the daughter of Nyx, which may explain how she got her job. Homer equated her with Enyo, though they are clearly not the same god. Actually escorted the monster Typhon into his battle with Zeus and had a hand in causing the war between Greece and Troy. Has become a deity in the modern religion of Discordianism.
Always Chaotic Evil: her whole character, however Discordianism makes her much nicer.
DeimosBrother of Phobos (and, like him, had a moon of mars named after him), and the son of Ares, Phobos is the god of fear who commonly accompanied his father, brother, Aunt Enyo, and Eris into war, along with his father's attendants, Trembling, Fear, Dread, and Panic. More of an abstract personification of sheer terror, especially that which is brought on by war, he doesn't really appear in any tales. His Roman equivalent is Formido or Metus.
HarmoniaThe opposite of Eris, she is the goddess of Harmony and Concord, and, fittingly, her Roman counterpart is named, Concordia. Generally thought to be another child of Ares and Aphrodite (or a daughter of Zeus and the Pleiad Electra), she married the Phoenician prince, Cadmus. Most well known for necklace, the Necklace of Harmonia, which, ironically, brought misfortune to all who came in possession of it.
NikeProbably one of the most well known of the minor goddesses, she was the goddess of victory (and strength and speed) and was the daughter of Styx and Pallas. Her siblings were Kratos (not that Kratos), Bia, and Zelus. She and her companions were close to Zeus, and she herself was Zeus's divine charioteer who led him into battle with the Titans. Is noted for having wings, even into classical times and being a friend of Athena. While she doesn't have a planet, moon, or other celestial body named after her, she does have a brand of shoe! Her Roman counterpart was Victoria.
The ErotesA group of little love gods that resembled little boys with wings, they were part of Aphrodite's retinue. Four of them (Eros, Anteros, Himeros, and Pothos) were the sons of Aphrodite and Ares.Anteros was the god of requited love (i.e. returned love or "counter-love') as opposed to just love in general (or unrequited love, or lust) and was a punisher of those who scorn love or other's advances and the avenger of love unrequited. He was given to his brother Eros as a playmate, with the idea that love must be answered if it is to be proper. He physically resembles Eros, except with longer hair, and beautiful plumed butterfly wings. Unlike his brother, he said to be armed either with a Golden Club or arrows of lead.Himeros was the god of sexual desire and unrequited love. Pothos was the god of longing and yearning.
NemesisThis goddess with a hell of a name was the personification of revenge, in particular, that of divine judgement for hubris before the gods, and was the daughter of Nyx. Her Roman equal was Invidia.
TycheThis goddess is a unique one within the pantheon. While every god was usually heavily worshiped only in specific places, like Athena was the patron god of Athens, Tyche had a unique role, in that was the deity that governed the prosperity and fortune of a city state (aka, its destiny or fate). As such, she was a tutelary goddess: a protector of a specific locations, but every city had their own iconic version of her and considered her their protector. She is believed to have controlled the fortunes of humanity.
AstraeaA Greek goddess of justice(similar to the Horae, Dike, who she is sometimes equated with) and also of innocence and purity. She is not to be confused with the goddess Asteria. Called the Celestial Virgin, she is said to be one of the last goddess to come to Earth during man's Golden Age,and, according Ovid, abandoned Earth during the Iron Age. Fleeing humanity's wickedness, she fled to heaven and became the constellation Virgo, her scales of justice becoming the constellation Libra. Like Dike, she is associated with the Roman goddess Justitia (also known as Lady Justice). One day, it is said that she will return to Earth, bringing with her the return to the utopic Golden Age.
The Messiah: Possibly the closest equivalent Greece has
PraxidikeThe goddess of judicial punishment and the exactor of vengeance, she is closely related to Nemesis in that regard, and also related the the Horae Dike, also a goddess of order and justice. Her daughters Homonoia and (especially) Arete, are more well known.AreteAt its basic level, Arete was a concept that was extremely important to the Greeks, commonly thought of as meaning "virtue", its meaning is closer to something like, "being the best you can be," or "reaching your highest human potential." So its natural that there was a goddess that represented the concept. Arete, as a goddess, was the personification of this idea, and was the daughter of Praxidike and the sister of Homonoia. Her contested Roman equivalent is Virtus. The only know tale of her has her and her counterpart Kakia, offering Herakles a Secret Test of Character, which he of course passed.
KakiaThe counterpart to Arete, Kakia was the goddess of vice and, literally, "moral badness" (as in sin or crime). She's generally depicted as a vain, plump, and heavily made up woman who where's revealing clothing. Her job was to try to lead others to fall into evil.
Fan Disservice: if her description sounds appealing, have at it
Satan: though predating the man in red himself, she is obviously meant to be the Greek version of him as an archetype of The Tempter.
ApateThe daughter of Nyx and Erebos, Apate was the Greek personification of deceit and was one of the evil spirits released from Pandora's box. Her Roman equivalent is Fraus, from which we get the word fraud. She had many siblings, including Nemesis and Keres. Her counterpart is Dolos, the god of trickery, who was also a spirit released from pandora's box.
GerasThe god of old age, and the counterpart to Hebe. It was said that the the more geras a man had, the more kleos(fame) and arete (excellence and courage) he had. Generally considered a son of Nyx and Erebus, he was usually portrayed as a shriveled up old man. His Roman equivalent was Senectus. In vases, he's usually portrayed alongside Hercules, but the story that inspired these illustrations has been completely lost.
MorosBrother of the Moirai (Fates) and son of Nyx, whom she conceived without any male help. He is the god of impending doom, and actively drives mortals to horrible, deadly fates.
Momus (Momos)Yet, another child of Nyx, Momus was the god of satire, mockery, censure, writers, and poets. Which basically means he was evil! He was, however, a twisted god of evil-spirited blame and unfair criticism, because apparently the Greeks didn't appreciate satire, or overly critical views. He notably mocked Hephaestus for not having made man with a doorway in his heart so that his thoughts may be seen. He also mocked Aphrodite for being talkative and having creaky sandals, and even mocked Zeus for being a violent bastard and unrepentant womanizer, and for having children as violent as he was. For his constant stream of critiques, he was booted out of Olympus (According the a fable by Aesop, he was actually booted out because he was jealous of the creations of three gods, and criticized them for it). For his wily ways, Momus has become quite popular (unsurprisingly) with writers.
Lampshade Hanging: did this beautifully with Zeus, and the other gods, calling out all their faults in a truly epic fashion
Take That: was probably a take that to people like him, but really ended being a take that to the Greek gods themselves
The KeresThe Keres (singular Ker), were goddesses and sisters, the daughters of Nyx and Erebus (how many kids do these two have?) Their Latin counterpart was the Tenebrae (The Darkness) or Letum (Death). They were dark beings with gnashing teeth and claws, and a thirst for (human) blood. They favored violent death (as opposed to Thanatos who watched over peaceful death) and hovered over battlefields looking for wounded and dying men to devour and send to Hades.
AchlysOne of the goddesses suffering from a Multiple Choice Past due to Continuity Snarl, Achlys is either a primordial god that predates possibly even Khaos, or a daughter of Nyx, in which case she is sometimes portrayed as one of the Keres. Achlys is the goddess of the eternal night, aka the Mist of Death, which clouds the eyes of the dying. She is depicted as a pale, emaciated, and weeping woman, with chattering teeth, swollen knees, long nails on her fingers, bloody cheeks, and her shoulders thickly covered with dust.
Ate (Aite)The daughter of Zeus and Hera, she was the goddess of mischief, delusion, and folly. In Homer's Iliad, she is said to be Zeus's oldest daughter, and her mother is not mentioned. Hera used Ate to make Zeus swear that, on that very day, a mortal son of his would be born who would be a great ruler. Afterward, Hera sought to delay Hercules's birth and to birth prematurely Eurystheus, Hera's hero and direct counterpoint to Hercules. In anger, Zeus punished Ate by throwing her down to Earth and forbidding her from ever returning to Heaven or Mt. Olympus. Ate wanders the Earth now, making hell for everybody who meets her. Supposedly followed by the Litae (Prayers), who act as her healers, but cannot keep up with Ate, who runs too fast.
Walking the Earth: Her punishment, though it is said she walks on the heads of men rather than the ground.
ZelusSon of Pallas and Styx, brother to Nike, Kratos, and Bia. Had wings like his siblings and was an enforcer for Zeus that stood about his throne. He is the personification of dedication, emulation, eager rivalry, envy, jealousy, and zeal, and the word Zeal is derived from his name.
Our Angels Are Different: While he and his siblings are not identified as angels, their description parallels that of angels as described in the Old Testament.
BiaThe goddess and personification of force, Bia, had four other siblings (already mentioned dozens of times now, just see Zelus above) and was the daughter of Pallas and Styx. She and her siblings were Zeus's constant companions, as they, along with their mother, help Zeus fight the Titans. In Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound, she along with Hephaestus and Kratos bound the Titan Prometheus.
KratosNo, not that Kratos. This Kratos (the final child of Pallas and Styx's children) was the god and personification of strength and power, and, along with his siblings, was a winged enforcer of Zeus. Helped to bound Prometheus.
AgonGreek god of competition and competitive games, in particular, the Olympic Games. Among the words we get from his name are agony, antagonism, protagonist, etc.
The OneiroiMore than likely children of Nyx (though Multiple Choice Past strikes again here) these gods were the gods of dreams, and were close siblings to Hypnos. There were three (or just three prominent ones depending on the myth), and they were Morpheus ( a god who appeared in dreams as human figures), Phobetor, also called Icelus, (a goddess who appeared in dreams as various animals and monsters, being the personification of nightmares), and Phantasos (a god who appeared in dreams as inanimate objects). Together, the siblings lived together in the Dream World, a realm located somewhere in the Underworld.
Porus (Poros)The Greek god of plenty and son of Metis, making him the brother of Athena. He was seduced by Penia at Aphrodite's birthday celebration while drunk, and from that sexual escapade, its possible that Eros was born. Porus is also a god in the Roman pantheon, the personification of abundance.
PloutosProbably more well known by his Roman name Plutus. Ploutos was the ancient Greek god of wealth and was the son of Demeter and the Demigod Iasion. Has a complex relationship in the Roman pantheon with the god of the underworld, Plouton (Pluto), who is also a god of riches, leading to conflation. Was blinded by Zeus so that he could dispense of his riches without prejudice. He is also lame, but has wings, so he arrives slowly, but leaves quickly (sounds like there's significance to that). In the play Plutus, his sight is restored, thus raising hell as he is now able to determine who is most deserving of wealth. From the root of his (and Plouton's) name, we get the words like plutocracy, plutonomics, plutolatry, and plutomania.
EutheniaGreek goddess of prosperity, who had three sisters: Eucleia, Philophrosyne, and Eupheme. Sometimes regarded as a younger Charity, along with her sisters. her and here sisters' parents were Hephaestus and Aglaea
Eucleia (Eukleia)The Greek goddess of glory and good repute, sister to Euthenia. Often shown alongside Aphrodite as an attendant, where she represents the good repute of a young bride.
Flat Character: not much really to set her apart from the other goddesses, or even her own sisters
EuphemeGreek goddess of words of good omen, praise, acclaims, shouts of triumph, and applause. Her opposite was Momus. Was the nurse of the Muses and the mother of Krotos with Pan, who became the constellation Sagittarius.
The AnemoiThese beings were Greek wind gods who were each ascribed a Cardinal direction from their particular special winds came, and each of them as ascribed to certain seasons and weather patterns. They were variously represented as gusts of wind, winged men, and as horses kept in the stables of the storm god Aeolus. Astraeus and Eos were their parents. Their Roman equivalent was the Venti.There are four main gods, each representing a cardinal direction, and four secondary gods representing the other directions. They were: Boreas, Greek god of the cold north wind who brought Winter, known in Roman religion as Aquilo or Septentrio; Notus, Greek god of the South wind who brought the storms of late summer and autumn, known to the Romans as Auster, embodiment of the sirocco wind; Zephyrus (Zephyr) who was the Greek god of the West wind, the gentlest wind that brought light spring and early summer breezes, known in Rome as Favonius, who held domain over plants and flowers; and then there was '''Eurus''', god of the unlucky east wind who was not associated with a season and know in Rome as Vulturnus, a tribal river god who became god of the river Tiber.The four minor gods were: Kaikias, Greek god of the northeast wind, represented as a bearded man with a shield of hailstones, known as the "dark wind" whose Roman equal was Caecius; Apeliotes (Latin spelling, Apeliotus) was the Greek god of the southeast wind who brought good rain that helped farmers, and thus is usually depicted in farmers's attire carrying fruit, clean shaven, with curly hair and a pleasant disposition, and his Roman equivalent was Subsolanus, who was sometimes considered the east wind by the Romans; Skiron (Skeiron), Greek god of the Northwest wind, depicted as bearded man tipping over a cauldron, representing the coming of winter, and his Roman equal was Caurus (Corus), the oldest Roman wind deities; Lips was the Greek god of the Southwest wind, usually depicted holding a ship's stern, whose Roman counterpart was Afer ventus (African wind), also called Africus, because Africa is southwest of Italy, natch.
SatyrsRustic fertility spirits, companions of Dionysus/Pan, originally quite different from the goat-like fauns (Or Panes), they were depicted as short, hairy men with assinine ears, snub-noses, horse-like ears and erect members.
NymphesBeautiful female nature spirits, considered desirable mades by mortals and gods alike. Frequently appearing in the company of gods as loyal followers as well. There were many subgroupings of nymphs, but the most famous were the Hesperides (who tend the garden with the golden apples), Dryades (tree spirits), Naiads, Nereids, Oceanids (different kinds of water nymphs), Maenids (or Bacchai/Bacchantes, the one who hang out with Bacchus/Dionysus so they can party all the time), and the Muses.
Herakles (Hercules)Son of Zeus and mortal Queen Alcmene and the most famous classical hero, known as Hercules in Latin. His name means glory of Hera (explanations for this name are varied), but she hated him and tried her best to kill him since his infancy. His real name is Aclides (Aclaeus) but after seeing the priestess at Delphi, he changed his name. Most famous for his Twelve Labors (essentially one Fetch Quest after another), turning up in other people's stories whenever a strongman is needed, and eventually became a full god upon his death.
Accidental Pornomancer: Hercules got a lot of action thrown his way. In particular, there was the matter of the fifty princesses...
Clothes Make the Superman: Heracles is already a tough guy, but the impenetrable Nemean Lion's pelt cloak made him almost invulnerable. He even dons the aegis of Zeus himself when he's in a pinch against Alebion, his brother Bergion and their army; with Zeus's aegis, he manages to come out on top.
Death Glare: The reason Charon give him free ride for the twelfth labor.
Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: So many, but beating up Thanatos (the Greek god of Death) is just one example. He takes it even further when he decides to sack Pylos. Hercules takes on Hera, Ares, Hades and Poseidon with only Artemis to aid him. He spears Ares in the thigh, wounds Hera in her right breast and shoots Hades in the shoulder with his arrows. If that wasn't overkill, he shoots Apollo in the shoulder just for trying to heal Ares.
Genius Bruiser: While more strong than smart, he had a thing for the Indy Ploy. Not for nothing did Athena like Heracles more than any other Olympian except Zeus. The guy wasn't terribly bright, but he was a natural battle strategist.
Hot Blooded: And holy SHIT, how. This guy would go stage a HUGE war for a mere verbal insult one day, and at the other he'd fight Thanatos to bring an old friend's dead wife back to life.
The Juggernaut: If you weren't Zeus or Apollo, you might as well just pack it in if Herc wanted a piece of you. Notably, he conquered Troy with 12 men at his side. A generation later, it would basically take all of Greece throwing their badasses at Troy to take it down — and it still took ten years to do it.
Non-indicative Name: In other versions, his name was an attempt to appease Hera but really didn't work at all to that end.
Our Founder: The Spartans claimed descent from him.
It wasn't just the Spartans. Most Greek Kings claimed descent from him to justify their right to rule. Even Alexander the Great claimed descent from Heracles through his father, and descent from Achilles through his mother.
Parental Favouritism: Zeus liked to brag about Hercules to the extent that it intesified Hera's hatred of Hercules.
Really Gets Around: Like father, like son. His "thirteenth" labour involved sleeping with 50 daughters in a single night. Every single one of them was knocked up.
Shootthe Medic First: Inverted, as he only shoots Apollo after he starts healing Ares, whome Hercules had previously speared in the thigh.
PerseusPerseus was the Greek hero who killed the Gorgon Medusa in order to fulfill the evil king Polydectes's demands and save his mother from the guy. Along the way he married Andromeda, having rescued her from a sea monster sent by Poseidon in retribution for Andromeda's Queen Cassiopeia declaring herself more beautiful than the sea nymphs.
Berserk Button: Do not try anything with his mother, just… don’t.
Big Damn Heroes: He pulls this twice. The first time is the saving of his future wife and lover, Andromeda, from the keto (sea monster) to which she was to be sacrificed. The second one was to his beloved mother, as he manages to arrive just in time to stop her marriage to King Polydectes and in fury he uses Medusa’s head on him.
Calling the Old Man Out: Some myths have him doing this to Andromeda’s parents for their actions, especially her mother. But in other interpretations, Acrisios's death was an accident.
The Chosen One: The Gods themselves chose him to slay Medusa and the Manticore, and the prophets set him on that path by seeing another aspect of his future and telling what they saw.
Guile Hero: Sometime seen as this, as he overcame the two biggest challenges in his trip to kill Medusa; his introduction to the Graeae and the killing of Medusa herself, with quick thinking and rather ingenious planning. Could also be considered to be a Genius Bruiser.
Happily Married: Perseus and Andromeda have this, one of the incredibly few and most memorable in Greek Mythology.
Heroic Bastard: One of the many, many, many offspring of Zeus.
Impossible Task: King Polydectes sending Perseus to bring him the head of Medusa.
It Was a Gift: The other interpretation being that rather than his wits, it was the gifts various gods gave him that made it possible for him to kill Medusa and the Manticore. Maybe it was a combination of the two.
Luckily My Shield Will Protect Me: Perseus using his shield as a mirror in order to kill Medusa without having to look at her is a classic example from Greek mythology.
Nice Guy: By far one if the most heroic characters in Greek Mythology by modern standards, he is a loving and fiercely devoted and protective son, a loving and completely faithful lover and husband to Andromeda, and a fair and just ruler of Mycenae.
Supernatural Aid: The Gods them selves are on his side, especially Athena. Though they can't help him directly.
Taken for Granite: With Medusa’s head, he does this to both the sea monster (saving Andromeda) and Polydectes (saving his mother).
MedeaA powerful demi-goddess, sorceress, and princess of a distant kingdom, who ends up betraying her own father and brother for Jason. Jason proceeds to royally piss her off: see the tragedy named after her for the results.
Evil Chancellor: To Theseus' father. Her plan to kill Theseus was foiled but again she escaped.
Foreshadowing: As she escaped with Jason, she took her brother along and chopped him up and threw his body parts into the sea to slow down their pursuers. You'd think Jason would notice that there's something wrong with her at this point.
Psycho Ex-Girlfriend: Jason should have known what he was getting into; the woman killed and dismembered her own brother to slow down her father's pursuit.
OrpheusSon of Muse Calliope and learned musical skill from Apollo. Even the famous Sirens couldn't beat Orpheus when it come to singing. After his wife Eurydice died, Orpheus travelled to the underworld and got past all obtacles by his music, even softening the hearts of Hades and Persephone. Hades agreed to allow Eurydice to return with him to earth on one condition: he should walk in front of her and not look back until they both had reached the upper world. Orpheus failed, either because he wass careless or just unable to trust Hades wholeheartly. Heartbroken, Orpheus disdained the worship of all gods save for Apollo. One morning, he went to salute Apollo, but was rent to pieces by Maenads for not honoring Dionysus.
Fate Worse than Death: Hades did warn him that Orpheus would never meet Eurydice again if he failed the trial. Some text say he wasn't dead even when vivisected, his head still singing mournful songs. That's until inhabitants of Lesbos Island buried his head and built a shrine in his honour.
Heroic BSOD: Has one since Eurydice's death; he recovered for a while but losing her for second time put him over Despair Event Horizon.
Magic Music: His music and singing can charm birds, fish and wild beasts, coax the trees and rocks into dance, and even divert the course of rivers. His song even beat the song of Sirens; some texts even say the Sirens committed suicide afterward. Then he calmed down Cerberus, got The Heartless Charon to let him ride for free, and made Hades shed Manly Tears.
Non-Action Guy: He is not remembered for killing monsters or slaughtering warriors.
OdysseusKing of Ithaca, husband of Penelope, father of Telemachus, and son of Laërtes and Anticlea, Odysseus is renowned for his guile and resourcefulness, and is hence known by the epithet Odysseus the Cunning (mētis, or "cunning intelligence"). He is most famous for the twenty eventful years he took to return home after the ten-year Trojan War and his famous Trojan Horse trick. The Romans called him Ulysses.
Abdicate The Throne: Odysseus leaves Thesprotia to Polypoites after the queen dies. Admittedly, he just goes right back to being king in Ithaca.
The Alliance: It was his idea in order to stop a battle between the Kings Of Greece for the hand of Helen by creating this. It actually came to bite him in the ass later on. But he tried to escape even this.
The Archer: His skill and strength with a bow was amazing: none of the suitors could even string his bow, much less shoot an arrow through a row of twelve axehandle rings.
Badass Normal: Considered a major Greek hero, alongside Heracles, Achilles, Perseus, Theseus...you get the idea. But unlike most other Greek heroes, Odysseus isn't a demigod.
Badass Boast: Odysseus does this to Polyphemos the cyclops. This, however, bites him in the ass when Polyphemos, having learned Odysseus's name through his boasting, invokes a favor from his father Poseidon to make his journey home a living nightmare. Daddy delivers.
Bluff The Imposter: Invoked when he returned home and revealed himself to his wife. She doesn't quite believe him, and makes an offhand remark that their bed was moved. Odysseus states that his bed's headboard is part of a massive tree (which he himself carved) that the palace is built around, and that it's virtually impossible to move. This removes any lingering doubt.
Double Standard: Odysseus screws a number of women. Penelope waits twenty years for a husband that she believes to be dead and never cracks. But in the Odyssey he is made a love-slave very much against his will by goddesses Circe and Calypso, yet resisted the allure of mortal women such as Nausicaa. There are non-Homeric versions of his story where he cheats on Penelope with mortals and/or where Penelope cheats on him with one or more of her suitors.)
Eye Scream: Eat Odysseus' sailors and reap the consequences!
Guile Hero: His most dangerous weapon by far was his tremendously sharp mind
Happily Married: In The Odyssey, where all he wants to do is get home to his wife. Yes there are stories where he cheats on her and/or she cheats on him, but they're not by Homer, which makes them the ancient Greek equivalent of fanfiction; in the real canon he is faithful to Penelope and she to him.
Unreliable Narrator: Odysseus is hinted to be one of these, talking about stuff that he couldn't possibly know.
Who Wants to Live Forever?: Odysseus could have become immortal living with eternally youthful Circe or Calypso, but chose to return to Ithaca and his aging wife. Ironically, in a common continuation of the myth, his two sons and his widow do become immortal.
Worthy Opponent: Even the Trojans were in awe of this man. He was considered one of the mightiest and most respectable Achaians during the war.
You Can't Fight Fate: Odysseus was fated to die a death from the sea...Telegonus sails in and unknowingly kills him with a sting ray spear.
Anti-Hero: Bordering on Villain Protagonist. Achilles performs many acts of douchebaggery throughout the poem and is one of the biggest jerks in ancient literature. This makes for a good foil between him and Hector, who can be seen as much more heroic than his Greek opponent.
A Real Man Is a Killer: Could be the Ur Example in ancient times and still hold up today. However, Achilles's experience in the battlefield was minimal compared to the rest of the kings taking part in the war, and he was more of a loose cannon at best.
Be Careful What You Wish For: Achilles asks Zeus to help the Trojans punish the Greeks for Agamemnon's unfairness towards him, which ends in his friend Patroclus' death.
It's All My Fault: His belief regarding Patroclus's death. He’s not wrong.
Manly Tears: The most famous example being between Achilles and King Priam when Priam begs Achilles to return the body of his son Hector for burial. Priam's passion moves Achilles who begins thinking about his lost friend Patroclus; and the two men weep together over the respective loss.
Your Days Are Numbered: He was fully aware of it, but preferred a glorious death to an obscure old age.
TheseusPerhaps the most famous son of Poseidon — unless the mortal Aigeus was his real father after all. He is most well known for slaying the Minotaur and ruling the city of Athens. Among his other deeds are killing serial killers, with Heracles inventing the mixed martial art of pankration, and his interactions with other famous mythological people like Heracles, Oedipus, and Medea.
Abduction Is Love: Theseus had a nasty habit of kidnapping women against their will or their husbands'.
Cain and Abel: Many of the serial killers Theseus killed were his half-brothers through Poseidon.
Genius Bruiser: Not very well known, but the way he retrieved his father's sword and shoes in the Secret Test of Character and the way he defeated the three bandits in the road to Athens showcase this.
Hero of Another Story: Guest stars in several stories where he is not the focus, but his other adventures are alluded to.
The Jail Bait Wait: When Theseus kidnapped Helen, she was just a little girl. He intented to marry her when she gets old enough, but her brother (Castor and Pollux) rescued her while Theseus was trapped in Underworld.
Old Man Marrying A Child : Decided to abduct and marry Helen of Troy. She was so young he had to wait till she reached marriageable age compared to himself, who was already fully grown and married once. Subverted as he soon got trapped in the underworld and Helen got rescued by her brothers Castor and Pollux.
Pay Evil unto Evil: Does this to all the Serial Killers (because seriously, that's what they are) that he meets on the road to Athens, killing them all in the same way that they killed their victims.
Pet the Dog: He gladly and without hesitation gave asylum to Oedipus when so many cities had denied him this. In Euripides' and Seneca's plays about Heracles, he does the same for Heracles after he murdered his wife and child.
Super Strength: Some accounts he killed the Minotaur with his bare hands.
Too Dumb to Live: He and his friend Perithoos once swore oaths to help each other get new wives. Theseus wanted Helen, but Perithoos decided to abduct Perspheone, wife of Hades. This was not a good idea, and Theseus knew it, but could not break his oath. Thus, the trope is subverted for Theseus, but played completely straight with Perithoos. Theseus was eventually freed from the underworld by Heracles, but Perithoos was not so lucky.
On Theseus' way back to Athens from Crete, he experienced several idiotic moments. For example, he managed to leave Ariadne, the woman who had helped him to exit the labyrinth by giving him a thread to tie to the entrance, on an island. He just got up and sailed away without her. Later on that same journey, he forgot to change the sails on his ship - he had set out with black sails, and promised to switch them for white if he returned victorious. Seeing the ship with black sails enter the harbour, his father Aegeus was overcome with grief and threw himself into the sea (now called the 'Aegean'). Justified in some version, he didn't just abandon Ariadne, but was forced to leave her by Dionysus so he can seduce her. And he didn't recover from sorrow, completely forgot about the flag, until it's too late.
The Unchosen One: Compared to Perseus he had to do everything all on his own.
Anti-Hero: How he comes off to modern readers depending on which version of his confrontation with Laios you know.
A Tragedy of Impulsiveness: The eponymous character kills his father for basically cutting him off in traffic (and being a complete Jerkass about it). He marries his mother, completing the other half of the famous complex, at leisure though. Having been adopted by another family and kept in the dark about his parentage, he did not recognize either one.
Poor Communication Kills: All of this might have been avoided if Oedipus's adoptive parents had just told him he was adopted. Perhaps they were justified, since in those days being of uncertain descent could cause no end of problems for a person in a prominent position.
Thanatos Gambit: Oedipus makes sure that Thebes will not benefit from his death, and ensures the future success of Athens.
Tragic Hero: In Sophocles's plays, Oedipus is one that has survived from his tragic fall and since gained some measure of dignity back through the blessing his bones will bring to Athens.
You Can't Fight Fate: Despite his best intentions to avoid it, Oedipus ends up fulfilling the prophecy.
SisyphusOne of the worst of Tartarus' residents, Sisyphus was damned to eternally roll a rock up a hill. The rock would inevitably turn and roll back down just as he was achieving anything. This was notDisproportionate Retribution for his crimes.
Cain and Abel: With his brother, Salmoneus, going so far as to consult the oracle at Delphi on how to kill Salmoneus without incurring any penalties, and seducing his neice Tyro just to hurt Salmoneus.
The Casanova: In addition to seducing Odysseus' mother on her wedding night, Sisyphus had numerous other affairs, including one with his neice, Tyro.
Did You Just Scam Cthulhu?: Repeatedly. He persuades Death to put on the handcuffs that were meant for him, talks Persephone into letting him to return to life to haunt his wife, exposes Zeus' secrets...this guy was a a one-man Cthulhu-conning operation.
Tailor-Made Prison: Was forced to roll a rock up a hill every day. It took his mind off of plotting and scheming a way to escape the Underworld a third time.
The Undead: Persuaded Persephone to let him return to life to haunt his wife.
Monsters
Kerberos (Cerberus)An offspring of Echidna and Typhon. A three-headed hound with a tail and mane made of live serpents, although most artists stopped reading after the word "hound". Unlike his siblings, Hades took him as a guard dog of his realm. He prevents mortals from entering the underworld and keeps the dead inside. Although there is no tale where Hades actually pets him, the king of the underworld cared about his pet dog enough, and only allowed Heracles to take him for the twelfth labor if the hero didn't injure him.
Sole Survivor: Only child of Echidna and Typhon that's yet to be slain - obviously because Hades owns him.
Depending on who you count amoung their offspring and which versions of the stories you use.
Sweet Tooth: The Roman tale of Psyche had a girl get past him using cake. She was advised to use it because others had succeeded before with the same ploy.
LadonOne of the oldest monsters in Classical Mythology, Ladon was an offsping of Typhon and Echidna or of some of the Titans or Protogenoi depending on which version you listen to. His form was that of a dragon, but one unlike either traditional European or Asian dragons, and indeed his own form is not even consistant in the different versions of the story. His job was to guard the golden apples of the Garden of Hesperides. Though tasked with retreiving them in his eleventh labour, Ladon was so fearsome an opponent that Hercules had to enlist the help of Atlas who was a relative of the Hesperide Nymphs to complete the task. Ladon was later seen by the passing Argonauts as well.
Our Dragons Are Different: Very diffent, and different in different ways. He could have as many as one hundred heads, or just the one.
Geryon and OrthrusMedusa's grandson Geryon was a giant who lived on the island Erytheia. He had either three heads on one body or three bodies, either way he also had six hands, six feet and wings. Orthus was the two headed herd dog of Geryon and the brother of Cerberus. The guarded red cattle which Hercules was instructed to steal as his tenth labour.
Mares of DiomedesWild horses trained to eat human flesh by the giant Diomedes, King of Thrace, Son of Ares and Cyrene. Some versions of the story tell that they breathed fire as well. Hercules' eighth labour was to steal them.
The Cretan BullFather of the Minotaur by the king of Cete's, King Minos, wife who had angered Aphrodrite and was thus cursed with love for the king's prized but uncontolably angry bull. The bull was a gift from Poseidon, and its anger was the result of Poseidon later becoming displeased with King Minos. Captured by Hercules as his seventh labour, when released in became known as the Marathon Bull after its new home until it was captured by Theseus and sacrificed to the Gods.
The Stymphyalian BirdsMan eating birds with metal feather, bronze beaks and toxic poo that were driven to the Lake Stymphyalia by a pack of Arab wolves where they thrived in great numbers, much to the dismay of the local inhabitants. Hercules' sixth labour was to defeat them.
Ermanthian BoarA boar of immense size and ferocity that lived on Mount Ermanthos and was often sent by various gods in vengeance against villages. It may well have killed Adonis, unless that was Ares in the shape of a boar. Capturing it was Hercules' fourth labour.
The Ceryneian HindA hind is doe (female deer) of a one of the larger species, of which the male would be a hart, buck or stag. This one had antlers like the male, only golden in color and matching fur as well as being sacred to the Goddess Artemis and fast enough to outrun an arrow. Hercules' third labour was to catch it, alive.
The Lernaean HydraAnother child of Typhon and Echidna: A many headed serpent of the swamps of Lerna. For every head you cut off, two more grow in it's place. Oh, and one head is immortal. Killing it was the challenge set forth in Hercules' second labour.
The Nemean LionLived in Nemea. Its fur was impervious to attack by all mortal weapons and its claws could cut through any armour without difficulty. Sometimes counted amoung the children of Typhon and Echidna Killing it was Hercules' first labour.
Crommyonian Sow & Calydonian BoarThe Crommyonian Sow was a wild pig named Phaea or Phaia, daughter of Echidna and Typhon and mother of the Calydonian Boar. It was killed by Theseus. The Calydonian Boar was hunted by a great gathering of heroes, which hurt alot of their pride when the woman Atalanta was the one to kill it.
Laelaps & the Teumessian Fox (Cadmian Vixen)A magical dog that would catch anything that it chased, and a giant fox destined never to be caught. The fox was also one of Echidna and Typhon's children. Zeus turned them into a constellation when Laelaps was set to chase the Cadmian Vixen.
Aitos Kaukasios (Aetus Caucasius)Another of Typhon and Echidna's offspring, this one is one of the less famous. A gigantic eagle, it roamed the Earth until Zeus found use for it and made it the tormenter of Prometheus, flying every day to eat his liver and killing whoever tried to free him, until Hercules/Heracles killed it. Occasionally refered to as Ethon, Aethonem Aquilam or the Griffin-Vulture (also the name of a real life bird of prey). Is the basis for the constellation Aquila.
Animal Stereotypes: Averted; the eagle was a symbol of Zeus and generally honoured as the king of the birds in the classical mythology, but Aethon was one of Typhon's monstrous offspring.
Still fitting, as he was part of Zeus' punishment for Prometheus.
MinotaurHalf-man half-bull, this beast the offspring of the Cretan Bull and King Minos' wife in an odd combination of punishments from different gods. Fearing that it would anger the gods further to kill the beast, King Mino sealed it away in a Labyrinth beneith the city and fed its man-eating appitite with the flesh of slaves taken as tribute from Athens. That is, until an Athenian prince named Theseus took the place of one of the slaves, seduced the kings daughter into helping him find his way out of the labyrinth and killed it with his bare hands.
Medusa and the GorgonsA set of three sisters: Stheno, Euryale and Medusa. Most people only know the story of Medusa, who is most well known for having snakes for hair and a visage that turned mortals to stone. To some authors she and her sisters were born hideous, but another version has it that all three were born beautiful and Medusa, raped by Poseidon in Athena's temple, was turned into a monster as punishment.
Beauty To Beast: Some versions state that Medusa and her sisters were so beautiful that Athena got jealous of them and turned them into gorgons just for that.
Protective Magic: The Gorgons' image was often used this way, in hope that the user's enemies would be turned to stone.
Reluctant Monster: Depending on which myth, Medusa will be played this way, being turned into a monster by Athena.
Taken for Granite: While it was technically the act of looking upon them that turned you to stone, it's popularly remembered as them looking upon you that results in petrification.
Winged Humanoid: A forgotten fact about the Gorgons; they had claws of bronze and wings like eagles.
Wolverine Publicity: Find a description of a lone Gorgon anywhere, and it'll inevitably be Medusa. Her sisters, Euryale and Stheno, are relatively overlooked - or nonexistant - in most depictions.
SphinxOne of the daughters of Typhon and Echidna, the Sphinx had the head of a woman and the body of a winged lioness. She was born in Ethiopia, and tasked by Hera to block the path to Thebes, where she asked travellers a tricky riddle, and when they failed to answer she strangled and ate them. Oedipus managed to figure out the answer, and she was so enraged she threw herself off a cliff.
Smug Snake: Absolutely confident that no-one could guess the answer to her riddle.
ManticoreThis monster had the body of a winged lion, with a scorpion's tail and the head of a man, though this didn't mean it lacked the sharp teeth of any other man-eating predator. It could also shoot poisonous spines from its tail.
ChimeraOne of Typhon and Echidna's children, the chimera was part lion, part goat and part snake, or dragon. Its body was that of a lioness, the snake or dragon head was its tail, and a goat head just popped out of its spine in the middle of its back. It breathed fire too. It lived in Lycia in Asia minor.
Scylla and CharybdisScylla was drakaina with six heads on long necks, attatched to a body with 4-6 more dogs heads around its waist, twelve tenacle like legs, and a cats tail. It lives on one side of a narrow straight with Charybdis on the other. Charybdis was a whirlpool, or in the earlier myths a whirlpool caused by a Nymph transformed into a sea monster that was essentially a giant bladder covered in mouths and flipper that sucked a great deal of water into its many mouths three times a day, and belching it forth the rest of the time. One or both of them may have been offspring of Typhon and Echidna
Cetus (Kētos)Perseus found a princess being sacrificed to this beast to appease Poseidon. So he turned it to stone with the severed head of Medusa and married the princess. Hercules is also credited with killing a creature called cetus. The word has a very loose meaning and includes whales and big fish as well as more traditional sea monsters.
Kraken and Leviathan: The Greek word Ketos is basically the same thing as the Hebrew Leviathan is its broad meaning, though the size of it qualifies it for this trope as well.
Kampê (Campe)A drakaina set to guard the Hecatonchires by Cronus. She is described as having the head and torso of a woman, a scorpionlike tail, and snaky legs.
The Kyklopes (Cyclopes)Three brothers: Steropes, Brontes and Arges. They are sons of Ouranos and Gaia. Embodiments of brute strength and power, they each have one single eye in the middle of the foreheads. Ouranos feared them for their power and violent tempers, and then sealed them away in Tartaros shortly after they were born with their other brothers, the Hekatonkheires. In some versions, Kronos either freed them and put them back in some time later of just kept them inside Tartaros, guarded by the Dragon, Kampe. In the final year of the Titanomachy, Zeus freed them and they forged the Olympians' weapons for them (if Hephaestus didn't do so already). Afterwords, they served as assistants to Hephaestus in his forge. They had the same names in Roman myths, both individually and collectively.They had four mortal sons named Euryales, Elatreus, Trakhios, and Halimedes, and there was also a mortal tribe of them that lived near the island of Sicily, the most famous of them being Polyphemos. One of whom was a son of Posiedon. The original three can be seen to have been the Monster Progenitors of the larger cyclopse population.
Always Chaotic Evil: The mortal ones that lived off Sicily, like Polyphemos.
Shock and Awe: Each of the immortal three represents a part of the nature of lightning that they each put into Zeus' thunderbolt: Steropes is lighting itself, Brontes is thunder, and Arges is its brightness.
With Friends Like These: When Zeus killed Apollo's son Asclepius Apollo wanted revenge but could not directly injure Zeus. Some writers have him kill the cyclopes who forged the lightning bolt while others, noting that the sons of Gaia are immortal, have him kill the four sons instead. In some versions, the three had helped to make Apollo's bow beforehand.
GigantesThe last children of Ouranus, born from his blood fertilizing Gaea when Kronos castrated him, possibly as Aphrodite was born from the sea. The didn't get involved much in the Titans affairs, including when the Olympians took power in the Titanomachy. However, they latter fought the Olympians in the Gigantomachy, which they would have won if not for Hercules' aiding the Olympians. Many individuals are named, though again their are multiple different accounts of just what occured with each of the Gigantes.Eurymedon was their king. The brothers Ephialtes and Otus of Aloadae were either caused to kill each other by accident by Artemis after they captured her in an attempt to take her and Hera for their wives, or else slain by the arrows of Apollo and Hercules. Alcyoneus and Porphyrion where amoung the strongest of them and slain by Hercules in the Gigantomachy, the latter being first wounded by Zeus's lighning bolt before taking Hercules arrow. Athena killed Pallas and Enceladus, burying the latter under Mt. Etna like Typhon. Artemis killed Gration with her arrows. Poseidon crush Polybotes under an island. Hephestus killed Mimas with molten iron. Hermes turned invisible to kill Hippolytus with a sword. Dionysus killed Eurytus with his thyrsus. Hecate immolated Clytius. Even the Moirae joined in, beating Agrios and Thoon to death with bronze clubs.
Typhon/TyphoeusThe biggest, nastiest, deadliest and most terrifying monster in Greek mythology, with arms that reached east and west - with a hundred dragon/serpent heads on each - huge wings that blackened the sky, fire blazing from his eyes and mouth, sometimesa head like a donkey, sometimes with the head of a man, and sometimes with a hundred dragon heads.... yeah, Zeus had a pretty hard time defeating this guy. He also had numerous monster babies with Echidna. Zeus eventually trapped him under Mount Aetna, where he causes volcanic eruptions.
Light is Not Good: Though some esoteric traditions saw him as a type of solar deity (since there are at least three other gods that are solar as well, this doesn't sound very strange).
Eldritch Abomination: Not kidding about that above description. Not to mention he can stand toe-to-toe with Zeus.
Some myths say that he actually defeated Zeus and ripped off his sinews, but then Hermes (the Flash of Greek Mythology) recovered the sinews and gave them back to Zeus, healing him. Zeus won the second match and sealed Typhon.
Ekhidna (Echidna)The "Mother of All Monsters" (no, not that "mother monster"), usually depicted as half nymph and half serpent. She was the mate of Typhon, mother to nearly all the notable monsters in Greek mythology.
Happily Married: Wierdly yes. She and Typhon have a very productive marriage by Greek standards—he never cheats on her, all her children are his, and they support one another in their respective endeavours.
Humanoid Abomination: Her upper body is of a beautiful nymph. So she will play this trope straight until you see her lower snake body.
Incest Is Relative: Depending on the version she is either Typhon's neice, or his full sister.
Karma Houdini: In any version save the one where Argus gets her.
Killed Off for Real: By Argus Panoptes, the hundred-eyes giant (later killed by Hermes). (In one story, at least.)
Mother of a Thousand Young: Cerberus, the Hydra, the Nemean Lion, the Chimera, the Sphinx, Orthrus, and a number of others are all her children by Typhon.
The HarpiesHalf-bird, half-human monstrosities. Jason encountered them on his quest and they were being used to punish a man who spoke out against Zeus.
