Oh My Gods, page 38
AEACUS, son of Zeus and Aegina, he ruled over the island of Aegina after Zeus transformed ants into humans to be his subjects.
AEETES, son of the god Helios, king of Colchis, and father of Medea.
AEGEUS, king of Athens and father of Theseus, he aided Medea after she murdered her children and fled Corinth.
AEGINA, mother of Aeacus by Zeus and namesake of a small island near Athens.
AEGISTHUS, son of Thyestes by incest with his daughter Pelopia, he served as regent of Mycenae while Agamemnon fought at Troy and helped Clytemnestra murder him when he returned. He was slain by Agamemnon’s son Orestes.
AENEAS, son of Anchises and the goddess Aphrodite/Venus, he led the surviving Trojans to found a kingdom in Italy that would give birth to the Romans.
AEOLUS, (1) king of Thessaly who is sometimes identified with (2) the ruler of the winds who tried to help Odysseus return home.
AETHER, the upper air, child of Night and Erebus.
AETHRA, mother of Theseus, who became a slave to Helen.
AGAMEMNON, son of Atreus, brother to Menelaus, he was king of Mycenae and led the Greek expedition to Troy. He was murdered by his wife, Clytemnestra, on his return home.
AGAVE, daughter of Cadmus, king of Thebes, and Harmonia, she later was punished with madness by Dionysus and murdered her own son Pentheus.
AGENOR, Phoenician king who was father of Cadmus and Europa.
AJAX, (1) son of Telemon, and a Greek warrior of immense strength in the Trojan War, he killed himself after losing the armor of Achilles to Odysseus. (2) Son of Oileus, also a gifted soldier at Troy, he was overshadowed by the previous warrior and was therefore known as Little or the Lesser Ajax.
ALCESTIS, wife who volunteered to die in place of her husband, Admetus, she was rescued from death by Hercules.
ALCINOUS, Phaeacean king, husband of Arete and father of Nausicaa, he welcomed both Jason and Odysseus to his idyllic island kingdom on their travels.
ALCMENE, mother of Hercules who became pregnant with the boy by Zeus when the god extended a night of lovemaking for three days.
ALCYONE, (1) daughter of Aeolus, she married Ceyx and was transformed into a kingfisher (halcyon) after he drowned. (2) Daughter of Atlas and the Ocean nymph Pleione, she was seduced by Poseidon and bore him several children.
ALECTO, a divine Fury who by the will of Juno stirred up the native Italians against Aeneas and his Trojans.
ALPHEUS, son of Ocean and Tethys, a river god of the Peloponnesus who pursued the nymph Arethusa to Sicily.
ALTHAEA, mother of Meleager who killed her son in anger by burning a magical log.
AMAZONS, women warriors who lived on the eastern edge of the Greek world.
AMPHION, son of Zeus and Antiope along with his brother Zethus, he avenged his mother’s ill treatment at the hands of Lycus and Dirce to become coruler of Thebes.
AMPHITRITE, sea goddess pursued by Poseidon who finally yielded to him and bore him three sons.
AMULIUS, great uncle of Romulus and Remus, he drove his brother Numitor from the throne of Alba Longa and abandoned the twins on the banks of the Tiber River.
ANCHISES, father of Aeneas after he was seduced by the goddess Aphrodite.
ANDROMACHE, wife of the Trojan hero Hector.
ANDROMEDA, daughter of Cepheus and Cassiopeia, she was rescued from a sea monster by Perseus.
ANTAEUS, son of Earth, an African giant who was defeated by Hercules when the hero held him off the ground, cutting him off from the strength his mother gave him.
ANTIGONE, daughter of Oedipus who cared for her father in exile, then defied King Creon of Thebes by giving her brother Polynices a proper burial.
ANTIOPE, raped by Zeus in the form of a satyr, she gave birth to twin sons Amphion and Zethus who later avenged the ill treatment she had received from Lycus and Dirce in Thebes.
APHRODITE (Latin Venus), goddess of love and sex born from the severed genitals of primordial Sky.
APOLLO, son of Zeus and Leto, brother of Artemis, he was god of music, medicine, archery, and prophecy.
ARACHNE, young woman of Lydia who challenged Athena to a weaving contest and was turned into a spider by the goddess.
ARES (Latin Mars), son of Zeus and Hera, he was the god of war.
ARETE, Phaeacian queen and wife of Alcinous, she kindly received both Jason and Odysseus on their travels.
ARETHUSA, nymph who was chased across the sea by the river god Alpheus.
ARGONAUTS, sailors who joined Jason on the Argo to search for the golden fleece.
ARGOS, aged and faithful dog of Odysseus who died when he heard his master’s voice on his return.
ARGUS, guardian of Io with a hundred eyes, he was killed by Hermes.
ARIADNE, daughter of Cretan king Minos who helped Theseus defeat her father and escape the maze of the Minotaur.
ARION, divine horse born from Demeter when she was raped by Poseidon.
ARTEMIS (Latin Diana), daughter of Zeus and Leto, sister of Apollo, virgin goddess of the hunt.
ASCANIUS (see Iulus)
ASCLEPIUS, son of Apollo, god of healing, he was killed by Zeus when he dared to raise mortals from the dead.
ASOPUS, river god and father of the nymph Aegina.
ATALANTA, virgin hunter who raced prospective husbands in a contest for her hand, then killed them if she defeated them.
ATHENA (Latin Minerva), daughter of Metis, swallowed by Zeus, she sprang from the forehead of her father. She was the virgin goddess of war and crafts, as well as patron of the city of Athens.
ATLAS, Titan who held the heavens on his shoulders until, in some stories, he was turned to stony Mount Atlas by Perseus holding Medusa’s severed head before him.
ATREUS, son of Pelops and Hippodamia, brother of Thyestes, father of Agamemnon and Menelaus, he served the sons of Thyestes at a banquet and took over rule of Mycenae.
ATROPOS, one of the three Fates, she cut the thread of life.
ATTIS, beloved by the goddess Cybele; her jealousy drove him to madness so that he castrated himself.
AUGEAS, king and owner of Aegean stables cleaned by Hercules.
AUTOLYCUS, noted thief and grandfather of the hero Odysseus.
BACCHUS (see Dionysus)
BAUCIS, wife of Philemon, elderly peasant woman who welcomed the disguised Zeus and Hermes to her home and was rewarded along with her husband.
BELLEROPHON, son of the king of Corinth who accidentally killed his brother, he was sent to Lydia to be killed, but instead impressed the king with his heroic achievements, aided by the flying horse Pegasus.
BRIAREUS, one of the hundred-handed monsters who helped Zeus defeat the Titans.
BRUTUS, expelled Tarquin the Proud, the last king of Rome, after the suicide of Lucretia.
CACUS, monster inhabiting the future site of Rome who was killed by Hercules.
CADMUS, son of the Phoenician king Agenor, he left his home to search for his missing sister Europa and founded the Greek city of Thebes.
CAENIS, the name of the Lapith warrior Caeneus before his transformation from woman into man after being raped by Poseidon.
CALAIS, brother of Zetes and a son of the North Wind who sailed with the Argonauts.
CALCHAS, a gifted seer who accompanied the Greeks to Troy.
CALLIOPE, muse of epic poetry and mother of Orpheus.
CALLISTO, follower of Artemis and unwilling lover of Zeus turned into a bear by Hera.
CALYDONIAN BOAR, ferocious boar sent by Artemis to punish the people of Calydon for neglecting her worship. The greatest heroes of the age gathered successfully to hunt down the beast.
CALYPSO, divine daughter of Atlas who held Odysseus captive on the island of Ogygia.
CAMILLA, Italian female warrior who fought against Aeneas and his Trojans.
CASSANDRA, daughter of Trojan king Priam, she was punished by Apollo for rejecting him by granting her the gift of prophecy, but determining that no one would ever believe her. She was taken as a war prize by Agamemnon and murdered at Mycenae.
CASSIOPEIA, wife of Cepheus and mother of Andromeda.
CASTOR, brother of Pollux as well as Helen and Clytemnestra, sailed with Jason and the Argonauts.
CECROPS, first king of Athens, born with a man’s body and the tail of a snake.
CENTAURS, creatures with the head and torso of a man, but the body of a horse, often portrayed as uncivilized in Greek myths, though wise centaurs such as Chiron became the tutors of heroes.
CEPHALUS, husband of Procris who tested his wife’s faithfulness, but failed a similar trial when his wife came to him in disguise.
CEPHEUS, king of Ethiopia, husband of Cassiopeia, and father of Andromeda.
CERBERUS, born of the monstrous Typhon and Echidna, he was the three-headed watchdog of Hades.
CEYX, king of Trachis and husband of Alcyone, he drowned but was revived and turned into a kingfisher along with his wife.
CHAOS, the great primordial chasm from which sprang the first divine beings.
CHARON, the ferryman of Hades who transported souls across the river Styx, or Acheron.
CHARYBDIS, deadly whirlpool opposite the monster Scylla in the narrow straits between Sicily and Italy.
CHIMERA, a Lycian monster with the front of a lion, the middle of a goat, and the tail of a serpent who ravaged the land until killed by Bellerophon.
CHIONE, beautiful maiden who was raped by both Hermes and Apollo on the same night, giving birth to a son from each, though she was later killed by Artemis for boasting.
CHIRON, wise centaur who tutored Jason and Achilles.
CHRYSAOR, offspring of Poseidon after he raped Medusa, though not born until Perseus decapitated his mother and he sprang from her severed neck along with Pegasus.
CIRCE, daughter of Helios and a powerful witch who changed Scylla into a monster. She purified Jason and Medea, then entertained Odysseus after changing his men into pigs.
CLOELIA, Roman maiden who was given as a hostage to the Etruscan Lars Porsenna, but escaped back across the Tiber River.
CLOTHO, one of the three Fates, she spun the thread of destiny for each person.
CLYTEMNESTRA, wife of Agamemnon and mother of Orestes who joined with Aegisthus to murder her husband, only to be killed later by her son.
COEUS, son of Earth and Sky, he fathered Leto and Asteria with his sister Phoebe.
COTTUS, one of the hundred-handed monsters who helped Zeus overthrow the Titans.
CREON, brother-in-law of Oedipus and king of Thebes. He condemned Antigone to death.
CREUSA, (1) maiden raped by Apollo who bore Ion. (2) First wife of Aeneas and mother of Iulus, she perished at the fall of Troy.
CRIUS, son of Earth and Sky, fathered several children by his sister and wife, Eurybia.
CRONUS (Latin Saturn), son of Earth and Sky who castrated his own father and took his place as ruler of the universe. He was later tricked and overthrown by his own son, Zeus.
CUPID (Greek Eros), son of Aphrodite, he prompted irresistible desire in others with his arrows, but fell in love himself with the maiden Psyche.
CYBELE, Phrygian mother goddess adapted into Greek mythology, sometimes identified with Rhea.
CYCLOPES (singular Cyclops), sons of Poseidon who lived as brutes in the distant west; one of their number named Polyphemus killed some of Odysseus’ men but was tricked and blinded by the hero to escape from his cave.
CYPARISSUS, handsome boy beloved by Apollo who himself loved a pet deer, which he accidentally killed. Apollo turned him into a cypress tree to mourn the animal forever.
DAEDALUS, master craftsman and father of Icarus, he built the Labyrinth for King Minos in Crete. He escaped on homemade wings with his son, but the boy plunged to his death when he flew too near the sun.
DANAE, daughter of Acrisius, king of Argos, she was the mother of Perseus.
DAPHNE, nymph beloved by Apollo, transformed into a laurel tree by Earth to save her from the god’s unwanted advances.
DARDANUS, Italian-born ancestor of the Romans who migrated to Asia and became king of Troy. The Greeks claimed he was born on Crete or Samothrace.
DEIANIRA, wife of Hercules who unknowingly gave him a poisoned cloak that caused his death.
DEMETER (Latin Ceres), daughter of Cronus and Rhea, goddess of the bountiful earth and mother of Persephone.
DEUCALION, son of Prometheus, husband of Pyrrha, lone male survivor of the great flood sent by Zeus to destroy humanity.
DIANA (see Artemis)
DIDO, Phoenician founder and queen of Carthage, she was loved and abandoned by Aeneas.
DIOMEDES, (1) Greek king of Argos who fought at Troy. (2) Thracian king who was fed to his own flesh-eating mares by Hercules.
DIONYSUS (Latin Liber), son of Zeus and Semele, god of wine and a balanced life.
EARTH (Greek Gaia or Ge), sprung from Chaos, she bore Sky, then mated with him and produced many children, including Cronus, father of Zeus.
ECHIDNA, monster born of Earth and Tartarus who produced many terrible children of her own, including Typhon, the Chimaera, and Cerberus.
ECHO, nymph who loved and was rejected by Narcissus, she faded away into a disembodied voice that could only repeat the last words spoken by another.
EILEITHYIA, daughter of Zeus and Hera, goddess of childbirth.
ELECTRA, (1) daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra who helped her brother Orestes gain revenge on their mother. (2) Daughter of Atlas who was raped by Zeus and bore two sons, Dardanus and Iasion.
ENDYMION, lover of Selene who, given whatever he wished by Zeus, chose to sleep forever, never growing old.
EOS (Latin Aurora), goddess of the dawn, most famous for transforming her lover Tithonus into a cicada.
EPIMETHEUS, son of the Titan Iapetus and brother of Prometheus, he accepted Zeus’ gift of alluring but troublesome Pandora.
ERATO, muse of lyric poetry.
EREBUS, the dark underworld, he was born of Chaos and fathered Aether and Day with his sister Night.
ERIS (see Strife)
EROS (Latin Cupid), the primordial spirit of regeneration, born of Chaos. Later authors depict him as a son of Aphrodite.
ETEOCLES, younger son of Oedipus, killed by his brother Polynices at Thebes.
EUMAEUS, faithful swineherd of Odysseus.
EUROPA, daughter of Agenor, she was kidnapped by Zeus in the form of a bull and raped in Crete, where the god abandoned her.
EURYCLEA, loyal maid of Penelope who kept the secret of Odysseus’ identity when she discovered an old scar on his leg.
EURYDICE, wife of Orpheus, rescued from Hades then lost by her husband when he turned to look at her before they left the underworld.
EURYNOME, (1) mother of Bellerophon. (2) Mother of the Graces by Zeus.
EURYSTHEUS, cowardly cousin of Hercules and king of Mycenae; Hercules was forced to complete twelve labors in his service.
EUTERPE, muse of flute playing.
EVANDER, Greek king, ally of Aeneas, and father of Pallas, who ruled at the future site of Rome before the city was founded by Romulus and Remus.
FATES, the divine rulers of human destiny, they are usually described as three in number (Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos), though there are contradictory stories of their origins.
FURIES (Greek Erinyes), avenging spirits of murder, especially among blood relatives; there are multiple stories of their creation.
GAIA or Ge (see Earth)
GANYMEDE, handsome youth of Trojan royal blood, he was kidnapped by Zeus to be his cupbearer and lover.
GERYON, monstrous creature who lived in the far west, Hercules robbed him of his cattle and then slew him.
GLAUCUS, originally a mortal fisherman, he ate a magical herb and became a sea god who fell in love with the beautiful maiden Scylla.
GOLDEN BOUGH, the magical branch used by Aeneas to gain entrance to the underworld.
GOLDEN FLEECE, the priceless fleece guarded by a dragon in distant Colchis, but stolen by Jason with the help of Medea.
GORGONS, three ferocious, snake-haired creatures (Stheno, Euryale, and Medusa), the first two of which were immortal.
GRACES (Greek Charites), usually three in number, they were kindly divinities of various origins.
