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A comprehensive and beautifully illustrated introduction to Greek mythology, perfect for 6th graders. Helps with CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.2 by exploring central themes in myths.

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Treasury of Greek Mythology: Classic Stories of Gods, Goddesses, Heroes & Monsters

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Treasury of Greek Mythology: Classic Stories of Gods, Goddesses, Heroes & Monsters

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Beautifully illustrated collection of Greek myths. Helps with CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.1 by providing rich text for citing evidence and making inferences.

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The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1)

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The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1)

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A modern take on Greek mythology, perfect for engaging 6th graders. Excellent for CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.3, as it shows character development throughout the plot.

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A fun, relatable series that introduces Greek mythology to young readers. Great for CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.2, exploring themes in a modern context.

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A visually engaging series that brings Greek gods to life. Excellent for CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.1, allowing students to cite both textual and visual evidence.

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George O'Connor is a geeky Greek Myth-ophile and a classic comics connoisseur. In this series of graphic novels, he combines these two passions into dynamic and faithful retellings of humankind's original pantheon of superheroes: the Olympians.

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George O'Connor's 12-book NYT bestselling graphic novel series inspired by Greek mythology.

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Greek Myths: A Wonder Book for Girls and Boys

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Greek Myths: A Wonder Book for Girls and Boys

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Classic retellings of Greek myths, perfect for developing reading comprehension. Supports CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.2 by exploring central themes and ideas.

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Greek Myths: A Wonder Book for Girls & Boys (Barnes & Noble Collectible Editions)|Hardcover

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Tales of Greek mythology have entertained countless generations of young readers with their accounts of brave heroes and heroines and the marvels and monsters that they encounter. This edition of Greek Myths: A Wonder Book for Girls and Boys features six classic tales…

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A humorous retelling of Greek myths from Hades' perspective. Great for CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.3, showing how characters respond to events in mythological stories.

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Greek Mythology Activities: 75 Fun Activities to Help Kids Learn About Greek Myths

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A resource book with activities to reinforce understanding of Greek mythology. Supports all three CCSS standards by providing varied exercises for analysis and comprehension.

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Greek Gods >> Olympian Gods >> Artemis

Artemis, Athenian red-figure bell krater C5th B.C., Museum of Fine Arts Boston

ARTEMIS was the Olympian goddess of hunting, the wilderness and wild animals. She was also a goddess of childbirth, and the protectress of the girl child up to the age of marriage--her twin brother Apollon was similarly the protector of the boy child. Together the two gods were also bringers of sudden death and disease--Artemis targetted women and girls, Apollon men and boys.

In ancient art Artemis was usually depicted as a girl or young maiden with a hunting bow and quiver of arrows.

MYTHS

Artemis' mother Leto was hounded throughout her pregnancy by the jealous goddess Hera but eventually found refuge on the floating island of Delos. There she gave birth to Artemis who assisted her mother as midwife with the birth of her younger twin-brother Apollon.<< More>>

Kallisto (Callisto) was a handmaiden of the goddess who Zeus seduced by assuming her form. When Artemis discovered the girl was pregnant she transformed her into a bear and exiled her to the wilds. << More>>

The handsome giant Orion was a companion of the goddess but her jealous brother Apollon tricked her into killing him with a distant bow-shot. In her grief Artemis placed him amongst the stars as the constellation Orion.<< More>>

When the Aloadai (Aloadae) giants tried to storm Olympos, Artemis assumed the form of a doe and raced between them causing the pair to cast their spears, miss, and strike each other dead.<< More>>

The hunter Aktaion (Actaeon) spied upon the goddess as she was bathing with her nymphs at a spring. Angered, she transformed him into a stag and had him torn apart by his own hounds.<< More>>

The giant Kalydonian (Calydonian) Boar was sent by Artemis to ravage the lands of King Oineus as punishment for neglecting her in his sacrifices to the gods.<< More>>

As the Greek fleet was preparing to sail for Troy, King Agamamnon offended Artemis and she becalmed the waters preventing their departure. To appease the goddess the king was forced to sacrifice his own daughter Iphigeneia, but she snatched the girl safely away from the altar and replaced her with a doe.<< More>>

Artemis was a divine ally of the Trojans during the Trojan War. In a clash between the rival factions of gods she confronted Hera, but the Queen of the Gods tore the bow from her hands, beat her about the head, and sent her fleeing back to Olympos in tears. << More>>

Many other myths are detailed over the following pages.

SYMBOLS & ATTRIBUTES

Artemis' most distinctive attributes were her bow and arrows but she was also sometimes equipped with a quiver, pair of hunting spears, torch, lyre, and/or water-jug.
The goddess was clothed in a knee-length girl's dress or a full-length woman's robe ( chiton), with a cloak ( chlamys, himation), headgear (a crown, tiara, headband, bonnet or animal-pelt cap), and occasionally the pelt of a deer draped across her shoulders. << More>>

Below are some examples of her attributes as depicted in ancient Greek art:-

1. Bow & arrows; 2. Quiver; 3. Hunting spears; 4. Torch; 5. Lyre;

6. Crown; 7. Head-band; 8. Bonnet; 9. Animal-pelt cap; 10. Deer-skin cape.

SACRED ANIMALS & PLANTS

Artemis' sacred animal was the deer. She drove a chariot drawn by a pair of the beasts and was often depicted holding or hunting a deer or with a deer-skin cape draped over her shoulders. << More>>
In myth the most celebrated of her sacred animals was the golden-horned Cerynitian Hind which Herakles was sent to fetch as one of his Twelve Labours. << More>>
The bear was also sacred to Artemis as well as a variety of water- and ground-birds such as partridges, quails and guinea-fowl.
Her sacred plants were the cypress-tree and the palm-tree. << More>>

Below are examples of the goddess' animal companions as depicted in ancient Greek art:-

1. Stag; 2. Heron; 3. Doe-drawn chariot.

ARTEMIS PAGES ON THEOI.COM

This site contains a total of 15 pages describing the goddess, including general descriptions, mythology, and cult. The content is outlined in the Index of Artemis Pages (left column or below).

FAMILY OF ARTEMIS

PARENTS

[1] ZEUS & LETO (Hesiod Theogony 918, Hesiod Works & Days 770, Homer Iliad 1.9 & 21.495, Homer Odyssey 6.100 & 11.318, Homeric Hymn 27 to Artemis, Orphic Hymn 35, Pindar Nemean Ode 6 & 8, Pindar Processional Song on Delos, Callimachus Hymn to Artemis & Hymn to Delos, Apollodorus 1.21 & 3.46, Pausanias 8.9.1 & 8.53.1. Hyginus Fabulae 9 & 140, et al)
[2] DEMETER (Aeschylus, Pausanias 8.37.3)

OFFSPRING

NONE (she was a virgin goddess)

Artemis was a daughter of Zeus, King of the Gods, and the Titaness Leto and the twin-sister of the god Apollon (Apollo). Her mother was hounded by Zeus' jealous wife Hera throughout her pregnancy and was forced to wander the world in search of safe refuge. She was the first of the twins born and, being a precocious divine child, assisted her mother with the birth of her younger twin brother. << More>>
Artemis was a granddaughter of four of the elder Titans: Kronos (Cronus), Rheia, Koios (Coeus) and Phoibe (Phoebe). She was a half-sister of many of the other Olympian gods including Athena, Ares, Hermes, Dionysos and Persephone.
Artemis was a virgin goddess but unlike her sister Athena she was often portrayed as a girl child rather than as an adult woman.

Below are two graphics depicting Artemis' family tree, the first with names transliterated from the Greek and the second with the common English spellings:-

ENCYCLOPEDIA

Artemis-Diana, Greco-Roman marble statue C1st A.D., Musée du Louvre

ARTEMIS, one of the great divinities of the Greeks. Her name is usually derived from artemês, uninjured, healthy, vigorous; according to which she would be the goddess who is herself inviolate and vigorous, and also grants strength and health to others. (Plat. Cratyl. p. 406, b. ; Strab. xiv. p. 635; Eustath. ad Hom. pp. 32, 577, 1732.) According to the Homeric account and Hesiod (Theog. 918) she was the daughter of Zeus and Leto, whence Aeschylus (Sept. 148) calls her lêtôgeneia. She was the sister of Apollo, and born with him at the same time in the island of Delos. According to a tradition which Pausanias (viii. 37. § 3) found in Aeschylus, Artemis was a daughter of Demeter, and not of Leto, while according to an Egyptian story (Herod. ii. 156) she was the daughter of Dionysus and Isis, and Leto was only her nurse. But these and some other legends are only the results of the identification of the Greek Artemis with other local or foreign divinities. The place of her birth is for the same reason not the same in all traditions : some say that it was the grove of Ortygia near Ephesus (Tacit. Annal. iii. 61; Schol. ad Pind. Nem. i. 1), others that it was Crete (Diod. v. 72), and others again, that she was the sister of Apollo, but born somewhat earlier, so that she was able to assist Leto in giving birth to Apollo. (Orph Hymn. 34. 5; Spanheim, ad Callim. p. 476, &c.)

In the description of the nature and character of this goddess, it is necessary to distinguish between the different points of view from which the Greeks regarded her, and also between the really Greek Artemis and certain foreign divinities, who for some resemblance or another were identified by the Greeks with their own Artemis.

1. Artemis as the sister of Apollo, is a kind of female Apollo, that is, she as a female divinity represented the same idea that Apollo did as a male divinity. This relation between the two is in many other cases described as the relation of husband and wife, and there seems to have been a tradition which actually described Artemis as the wife of Apollo. (Eustath. ad Hom. p. 1197.) In the character of sister of Apollo, Artemis is like her brother armed with a bow, quiver, and arrows, and sends plague and death among men and animals : she is a thea apollousa. Sudden deaths, but more especially those of women, are described as the effect of her arrows. (Hom. Il. vi. 205, 427, &c., xix. 59, xxi. 483, &c.; Od. xi. 172, &c., 324, xv. 478, xviii. 202, xx. 61, &c., v. 124, &c.) She also acts sometimes in conjunction with her brother. ( Od. xv. 410; Il. xxiv. 606.)

As Apollo was not only a destructive god, but also averted the evils which it was in his power to inflict, so Artemis was at the same time a thea sôteira; that is, she cured and alleviated the sufferings of mortals. Thus, for instance, she healed Aeneas, when he was wounded and carried into the temple of Apollo. ( Il. v. 447.) In the Trojan war she sided, like Apollo, with the Trojans. The man whom she looked graciously upon was prosperous in his fields and flocks, his household was thriving, and he died in old age. (Callim. Hymn. in Dian. 129, &c.)

She was more especially the protectress of the young, whence the epithets paidotrophos, kourotrophos, and philomeirax (comp. Diod. v. 73); and Aeschylus ( Agam. 142) calls her the protectress of young sucking-animals, and of the game ranging through the forests of the mountains. Artemis thus also came to be regarded as the goddess of the flocks and the chase: she is the huntress among the immortals ; she is called the stag-killer (elaphêbolos), the lover of the tumult connected with the chase (keladeinê), and agrotera. ( Il. xxi. 511, 485, &c.; Hom. Hymn. in Dian. 10.)

Artemis is moreover, like Apollo, unmarried; she is a maiden divinity never conquered by love. (Soph. Elect. 1220.) The priests and priestesses devoted to her service were bound to live pure and chaste, and trangressions of their vows of chastity were severely punished. (Paus. vii. 19. § 1. viii. 13. § 1.) She was worshipped in several places together with her brother; and the worship of both divinities was believed to have come from the Hyperboreans, and Hyperborean maidens brought sacrifices to Delos. (Herod. ii. 32, 35.) The laurel was sacred to both divinities, and both were regarded as the founders and protectors of towns and streets. (Paus. i. 38. § 6, iii. 24. § 6, viii. 36, in fin. ; Aeschyl. Sept. 450; Callim. Hymn. in Dian. 34.)

There are, however, some points also, in which there is no resemblance between Artemis and Apollo : she has nothing to do with music or poetry, nor is there any trace of her having been regarded as an oracular divinity like Apollo. Respecting the real and original character of Artemis as the sister of Apollo, we encounter the same difficulties as those mentioned in the article Apollo, viz. as to whether she was a purely spiritual and ethical divinity, as Müller thinks, or whether she was the representative of some power in physical nature; and the question must be decided here in the same manner as in the case of Apollo.

When Apollo was regarded as identical with the sun or Helios, nothing was more natural than that his sister should be regarded as Selene or the moon, and accordingly the Greek Artemis is, at least in later times, the goddess of the moon. Buttmann and Hermann consider this idea of Artemis being the moon as the fundamental one from which all the others are derived. But, at any rate, the idea of Artemis being the goddess of the moon, must be confined to Artemis the sister of Apollo, and is not applicable to the Arcadian, Taurian, or Ephesian Artemis.

2. The Arcadian Artemis is a goddess of the nymphs, and was worshipped as such in Arcadia in very early times. Her sanctuaries and temples were more numerous in this country than in any other part of Greece. There was no connexion between the Arcadian Artemis and Apollo, nor are there any traces here of the ethical character which is so prominent in Artemis, the sister of Apollo. These circumstances, together with the fact, that her surnames and epithets in Arcadia are nearly all derived from the mountains, rivers, and lakes, shew that here she was the representative of some part or power of nature. In Arcadia she hunted with her nymphs on Taygetus, Erymanthus, and Maenalus; twenty nymphs accompanied her during the chase, and with sixty others, daughters of Oceanus, she held her dances in the forests of the mountains. Her bow, quiver, and arrows, were made by Hephaestus, and Pan provided her with dogs. Her chariot was drawn by four stags with golden antlers. (Callim. Hymn. in Dian. 13, 81, 90, &c.; Apollod. ii. 5. § 3; Pind. Ol. iii. 51.) Her temples and sanctuaries in Arcadia were usually near lakes or rivers, whence she was called limnêtis or limnaia. (Paus. ii. 7. § 6, iii. 23. § 6, iv. 4. § 2, 31. § 3, viii. 53. § 5.) In the precincts of her sanctuaries there were often sacred wells, as at Corinth. (Paus. ii. 3. § 5, iii. 20. § 7.) As a nymph, Artemis also appears in connexion with river gods, as with Alpheius, and thus it is intelligible why fish were sacred to her. (Diod. v. 3.)

3. The Taurian Artemis. The legends of this goddess are mystical, and her worship was orgiastic and connected, at least in early times, with human sacrifices. According to the Greek legend there was in Tauris a goddess, whom the Greeks for some reason identified with their own Artemis. and to whom all strangers that were thrown on the coast of Tauris, were sacrificed. (Eurip. Iph. Taur. 36.) Iphigeneia and Orestes brought her image from thence, and landed at Brauron in Attica, whence the goddess derived the name of Brauronia. (Paus. i. 23. § 9, 33. § 1, iii. 16, in fin.) The Brauronian Artemis was worshipped at Athens and Sparta, and in the latter place the boys were scourged at her altar in such a manner that it became sprinkled with their blood. This cruel ceremony was believed to have been introduced by Lycurgus, instead of the human sacrifices which had until then been offered to her. ( Dict. of Ant. s. v. Braurônia and Diamastigôsis.)

Her name at Sparta was Orthia, with reference to the phallus, or because her statue stood erect. According to another tradition, Orestes and Iphigeneia concealed the image of the Taurian goddess in a bundle of brushwood, and carried it to Aricia in Latium. Iphigeneia, who was at first to have been sacrificed to Artemis, and then became her priestess, was afterwards identified with the goddess (Herod. iv. 103; Paus. i. 43. § 1), who was worshipped in some parts of Greece, as at Hermione, under the name of Iphigeneia. (Paus. ii. 35. § 1.) Some traditions stated, that Artemis made Iphigeneia immortal, in the character of Hecate, the goddess of the moon.

A kindred divinity, if not the same as the Taurian Artemis, is Artemis tauropolos, whose worship was connected with bloody sacrifices, and who produced madness in the minds of men, at least the chorus in the Ajax of Sophocles, describes the madness of Ajax as the work of this divinity. In the legends about the Taurian Artemis, it seems that separate local traditions of Greece are mixed up with the legends of some Asiatic divinity, whose symbol in the heaven was the moon, and on the earth the cow.

4. The Ephesian Artemis was a divinity totally distinct from the Greek goddess of the same name. She seems to have been the personification of the fructifying and all-nourishing powers of nature. It is an opinion almost universally adopted, that she was an ancient Asiatic divinity whose worship the Greeks found established in Ionia, when they settled there, and that, for some resemblance they discovered, they applied to her the name of Artemis. As soon as this identity of the Asiatic goddess with the Greek Artemis was recognised, other features, also originally peculiar to the Greek Artemis, were transferred to her; and thus she is called a daughter of Leto, who gave birth to her in the neighbourhood of Ephesus. Her original character is sufficiently clear from the fact, that her priests were eunuchs, and that her image in the magnificent temple of Ephesus represented her with many breasts (polumastos). The whole figure of the goddess resembled a mummy : her head was surmounted with a mural crown ( corona muralis), and the lower part of her body, which ended in a point, like a pyramid upside down, was covered with figures of mystical animals. (Strab. xiv. p. 641; Paus. iv. 31. § 6, vii. 5. § 2., The symbol of this divinity was a bee, and her highpriest bore the name of king (essên). Her worship was said to have been established at Ephesus by the Amazons. (Paus. ii. 7. § 4, viii. 12. § 1; Hesych. and Suid. s. v. essên.)

Respecting some other divinities, or attributes of divinities, which were likewise regarded as identical with Artemis in Greece, see Britomartis, Dictynna, and EileithyiaI. The Romans identified their goddess Diana with the Greek Artemis, and at a comparatively early time they transferred to their own goddess all the peculiar features of the Greek Artemis. The worship of Artemis was universal in all Greece, in Delos, Crete, Sicily, and southern Italy, but more especially in Arcadia and the whole of the Peloponnesus. The sacrifices offered to the Brauronian Artemis consisted of stags and goats; in Thrace dogs were offered to Artemis. Among the animals sacred to the Greek Artemis we may mention the stag, boar, dog, and others; the fir-tree was likewise sacred to her.

It is impossible to trace the various relations in which Artemis appears to us to one common source, or to one fundamental idea : the very manner in which such a complicated mythus was formed renders the attempt futile, or, to say the least, forced. In the case of Artemis, it is evident, that new elements and features were added in various places to the ancient local mythus; the worship of one divinity is identified with that of another, and the legends of the two are mixed up into one, or those of the one are transferred to the other, whose legends then sink into oblivion.

The representations of the Greek Artemis in works of art are different accordingly as she is represented either as a huntress, or as the goddess of the moon; yet in either case she appears as a youthful and vigorous divinity, as becomes the sister of Apollo. As the huntress, she is tall, nimble, and has small hips; her forehead is high, her eyes glancing freely about, and her hair tied up behind in such a manner, that some locks float down her neck; her breast is covered, and the legs up to the knees are naked, the rest being covered by the chlamys. Her attributes are the bow, quiver, and arrows, or a spear, stags, and dogs. As the goddess of the moon, she wears a long robe which reaches down to her feet, a veil covers her head, and above her forehead rises the crescent of the moon. In her hand she often appears holding a torch.
Source: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.
CLASSICAL LITERATURE QUOTES

HYMNS TO ARTEMIS

Artemis, Athenian-red figure lekythos C5th B.C., State Hermitage Museum

I) THE HOMERIC HYMNS

Homeric Hymn 9 to Artemis (trans. Evelyn-White) (Greek epic C7th to 4th B.C.) :
"Mousa (Muse), sing of Artemis, sister of the far-shooter ( hekatos), Parthenos the virgin who delights in arrows ( iokheaira), who was fostered with Apollon. She waters her horses from Meles deep in reeds [a river in Lydia], and swifty drives her all-golden chariot through Smyrna to vine-clad Klaros (Claros) where Apollon god of the silver bow ( argyrotoxos), sits waiting for far-shooting delighter in arrows ( hekatebolon iokheaira).
And so hail to you, Artemis, in my song and to all goddesses as well. Of you first I sing and with you I begin; now that I have begun with you, I will turn to another song."

Homeric Hymn 27 to Artemis :
"I sing of Artemis with shafts are of gold ( khryselakatos), strong-voiced ( keladeine), the revered virgin ( parthenon aidoin), dear-shooting ( elaphebolos), delighter in arrows ( iokheaira), own sister to Apollon of the golden sword ( khrysaor). Over the shadowy hills and windy peaks she draws her golden bow, rejoicing in the chase, and sends out grievous shafts. The tops of the high mountains tremble and the tangled wood echoes awesomely with the outcry of beasts: earth quakes and the sea also where fishes shoal. But the goddess with a bold heart turns every way destroying the race of wild beasts: and when she is satisfied and has cheered her heart, then the huntress who delights in arrows ( theroskopos iokheaira) slackens her supple bow and goes to the great house of her dear brother Phoibos Apollon, to the rich land of Delphoi, there to order the lovely dance of the Mousai (Muses) and Kharites (Charites, Graces). There she hangs up her curved bow and her arrows, and heads and leads the dances, gracefully arrayed, while all they utter their heavenly voice, singing how neat-ankled Leto bare children supreme among the immortals both in thought and deed.
Hail to you, children of Zeus and rich-haired Leto! And now I will remember you and another song also."

Homeric Hymn 5 to Aphrodite 18 ff :
"Artemis with shafts of gold ( khryselakatos) loves archery and the slaying of wild beasts in the mountains, the lyre also and dancing and strong-voiced song and shady woods and the cities of upright men."

II) HELLENISTIC HYMNS

Callimachus, Hymn 3 to Artemis (trans. Mair) (Greek poet C3rd B.C.) :
"Of Artemis we hymn--no light thing is it for singers to forget her - whose study is the bow and the shooting of hares and the spacious dance and sport upon the mountains.
[The story of her birth and childhood follow, see The Childhood of Artemis for this part of the hymn.] . . .
The fourth time [Artemis shot her bow]--not long was it ere thou didst shoot at the city of unjust me, those who to one another and those who towards strangers wrought many deeds of sin, forward men, on whom thou wilt impress thy grievous wrath. On their cattle plague feeds, on their tilth feeds frost, and the old men cut their hair in mourning over their sons, and their wives either are smitten or die in childbirth, or, if they escape, bear birds whereof none stands on upright ankle.
But on whomsoever thou lookest smiling and gracious, for them the tilth bears the corn-ear abundantly, and abundantly prospers the four-footed breed, and abundant waxes their prosperity: neither do they go to the tomb, save when they carry thither the aged. Nor does faction wound their race--faction which ravages even the well-established houses: but brother's wife and husband's sister set their chairs around one board . . .
Lady, of that number be whosoever is a true friend of mine, and of that number may I be myself, O Queen. And may song be my study forever. In that song shall be the Marriage of Leto; therein thy name shall often-times be sung; therein shall Apollon be and therein all thy labours, and therein thy hounds and thy bow and thy chariot, which lightly carry thee in thy splendour, when thou drivest to the house of Zeus . . .
But when the Nymphai (Nymphs) encircle thee in the dance, near the springs of Aigyptian (Egyptian) Inopos [on the island of Delos] or Pitane [in Aiolia or Lakonia]--for Pitane too is thine--or in Limnai [in Lakonia] or where, goddess, thou camest from Skythia (Scythia) to dwell, in Alai Araphenides [i.e. Brauron in Attika], renouncing the rites of the Tauroi [of Skythia], then may not my kine cleave a four-acred fallow field for a wage at the hand of an alien ploughman; else surely lame and weary of neck would they come to the byre, yea even were they of Stymphaian breed, nine years of age, drawing by the horns; which kine are far the best for cleaving a deep furrow; for the god Helios never passes by that beauteous dance, but stays his car to gaze upon the sight, and the lights of day are lengthened.
Which now of islands, what hill finds most favour with thee? What haven? What city? Which of the Nymphai (Nymphs) dost thou love above the rest, and what heroines hast thou taken for thy companions? Say, goddess, thou to me, and I will sing thy saying to others. Of islands, Dolikhe [Ikaria] hath found favour with thee, of cities Perge [in Pamphylia], of hills Taygetos [in Lakedaimonia], the havens of Euripos [in Euboia].
And beyond others thou lovest the Nymphe of Gortyn, Britomartis, slayer of stags, the goodly archer . . . Yea and Kyrene (Cyrene) thou madest thy comrade, to whom on a time thyself didst give two hunting dogs, with whom the maiden daughter of Hypseus beside the Iolkian tomb won the prize.And the fair-haired [Prokris (Procris)] wife of Kephalos (Cephalus), son of Deioneus, O Lady, thou madest thy fellow in the chase and fair Antikleia [mother of Odysseus], they say, thou dist love even as thine own eyes. These were the first who wore the gallant bow and arrow-holding quivers on their shoulders; their right shoulders bore the quiver strap, and always the right breast showed bare. Further thou dist greatly commend swift-footed Atalanta, the slayer of boards, daughter of Arkadian Iasios (Arcadian Iasius), and taught her hunting with dogs and good archery . . .
Lady of many shrines, of many cities, hail! Khitone (Goddess of the Tunic), sojourner in Miletos; for thee did Neleus [i.e. the founder of Miletos] make his Guide, when he put off with his ships from the land of Kekrops (Cecrops) [i.e. Attika].
Khesias (Chesias) (Lady of Khesion) and Imbrasia (Lady of Imbrasos), throned in the highest, to thee in thy shrine did Agamemnon dedicate the rudder of his ship, a charm against ill weather, when thou didst bind the winds for him, what time the Akhaian (Achaean) ships sailed to vex the cities of the Teukroi [i.e. the Trojans], wroth for Rhamnusian Helene.
For thee surely Proitos (Proetus) established two shrines, one of Artemis Kore (Core) (Maidenhood) for that thou dist gather for him his maiden daughters, when they were wandering over the Azanian hills; the other he founded in Lousa to Artemis Hemere (the Gentle), because thou tookest from his daughters the spirit of wildness.
For thee, too, the Amazones (Amazons), whose mind is set on war, in Ephesos (Ephesus) beside the sea established an image beneath an oak trunk, and Hippo [an Amazon queen] performed a holy rite for thee, and they themselves, O Oupis (Opis) Queen, around the image danced a war-dance--first in shields and armour, and again in a circle arraying a spacious choir. And the loud pipes thereto piped shrill accompaniment, that they might foot the dance together (for not yet did they pierce the bones of the fawn [to create flutes], Athene's handiwork, a bane to the deer). And the echo reached unto Sardis and to the Berekynthian range [in Phrygia]. And they with their feet geat loudly and therewith their quivers rattled. And afterwards around that image was raised a shrine of broad foundations. That it shall dawn behold nothing more divine, naught richer. Easily would it outdo Pytho [Delphoi].
Wherefore in this madness insolent Lygdamis threatened that he would lay it waste, and brought against it a host of Kimmerians (Cimmerians) which milk mares, in number as the sand; who have their homes hard by the Straights of the cow, daughter of Inakhos (Inachus). Ah! Foolish among kings, how greatly he sinned! For not destined to return again to Skythia was either he or any other of those whose wagons stood in the Kaytrian plain [of Lydia]; for thy shafts are ever more set as a defense before Ephesos. O Mounikhia (Munichia) (Lady of Mounykhia), Limenoskope (Watcher of Harbours), hail, Pheraia (Pheraea) (Lady of Pherai)!
Let none disparage Artemis. For Oineus (Oeneus) dishonoured her altar and no pleasant struggles came upon his city.
Nor let any contend with her in shooting of stags or in archery. For the son of Atreus [Agamemnon] vaunted him not that he suffered small requital. Neither let any woo the Maiden; for not Otos (Otus), nor Orion wooed her to their own good. Nor let any shun the yearly dance; for not tearless to Hippo [an Amazon queen] was her refusal to dance around the altar. Hail, great queen, and graciously greet my song."

III) THE ORPHIC HYMNS

Orphic Hymn 2 to Prothhyraea (trans. Taylor) (Greek hymns C3rd B.C. to 2nd A.D.) :
"To Prothyraia [Artemis], Fumigation from Storax. O venerable Goddess, hear my prayer, for labour pains are thy peculiar care. In thee, when stretched upon the bed of grief, the sex, as in a mirror, view relief. Guard of the race, endued with gentle mind, to helpless youth benevolent and kind; benignant nourisher; great nature's key belongs to no divinity but thee. Thou dwellest with all immanifest to sight, and solemn festivals are thy delight. Thine is the task to loose the virgin's zone and thou in every work art seen and known. With births you sympathise, though pleased to see the numerous offspring of fertility. When racked with labour pangs, and sore distressed the sex invoke thee, as the soul's sure rest; for thou Eileithyia alone canst give relief to pain, which art attempts to ease, but tries in vain. Artemis Eileithyia, venerable power, who bringest relief in labour's dreadful hour; hear, Prothyraia and make the infant race thy constant care."

Orphic Hymn 36 to Artemis :
"To Artemis, Fumigation from Manna. Hear me, Zeus' daughter, celebrated queen, Bromia and Titanis, of a noble mien: in darts rejoicing, and on all to shine, torch-bearing Goddess, Diktynna (Dictynna) divine. Over births presiding, and thyself a maid, to labour pangs imparting ready aid: dissolver of the zone, and wrinkled care, fierce huntress, glorying in the sylvan war: swift in the course, in dreadful arrows skilled, wandering by night, rejoicing in the field: of manly form, erect, of bounteous mind, illustrious Daimon, nurse of humankind: immortal, earthly, bane of monsters fell, 'tis thine, blest maid, on woody mounts to dwell: foe of the stag, whom woods and dogs delight, in endless youth you flourish fair and bright. O universal queen, august, divine, a various form, Kydonian power, is thine. Dread guardian Goddess, with benignant mind, auspicious come, to mystic rites inclined; give earth a store of beauteous fruits to bear, send gentle peace, and health with lovely hair, and to the mountains drive disease and care."

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTIONS OF ARTEMIS

Artemis hunting deer, Greco-Roman mosaic from Utica C3rd A.D., Bardo National Museum

Classical literature provides only a few, brief descriptions of the physical characteristics of the gods.

Homer, Odyssey 6. 102 ff (trans. Shewring) (Greek epic C8th B.C.) :
"With head and forehead Artemis overtops the rest [of her companion Nymphai], and though all are lovely, there is no mistaking which is she."

Homer, Odyssey 6. 151 ff :
"[Odysseus addresses Nausikaa (Nausicaa):] 'You are most like Artemis, daughter of sovereign Zeus; you are tall as she is, lovely as she is, you have her air.'"

Homer, Odyssey 17. 37 & 19. 54 :
"Penelope came from her room, looking like Artemis [i.e. in chastity] or like golden Aphrodite [i.e. in beauty]."

Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica 3. 879 ff (trans. Rieu) (Greek epic C3rd B.C.) :
"Artemis, standing in her golden chariot after she has bathed in the gently water of Parthenios or the streams of Amnisos, and driving off with her fast-trotting deer over the hills and far away to some rich-scented sacrifice. Attendant Nymphai (Nymphs) have gathered at the source of Amnisos or flocked in from the glens and upland springs to follow her; and fawning beasts whimper in homage and tremble as she passes by."

Callimachus, Hymn 3 to Artemis 10 ff (trans. Mair) (Greek poet C3rd B.C.) :
"Give me [Artemis] arrows and a bow . . . and give me to gird me in a tunic with embroidered border reaching to the knee, that I may slay wild beasts."

Pausanias, Description of Greece 5. 19. 5 (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd A.D.) :
"[Amongst the figures depicted on the chest of Kypselos (Cypselus) dedicated at Olympia:] Artemis has wings on her shoulders . . . in her right hand she grips a leopard, in her left a lion."

Pausanias, Description of Greece 8. 37. 1 :
"[From a description of a cult statue:] Artemis wrapped in the skin of a deer, and carrying a quiver on her shoulders, while in one hand she holds a torch, in the other two serpents; by her side a bitch, of a breed suitable for hunting, is lying down."

Ovid, Metamorphoses 3. 138 ff (trans. Melville) (Roman epic C1st B.C. to C1st A.D.) :
"She [Artemis] stood taller, a head taller than them all [her attendant Nymphai (Nymphs)]."

Nonnus, Dionysiaca 48. 302 ff (trans. Rouse) (Greek epic C5th A.D.) :
"[Artemis] and maiden Aura mounted the car [Artemis' chariot], took reins and whip and drove the horned team [of deer] like a tempest. The unveiled daughters of everflowing Okeanos (Oceanus) her servants made haste to accompany the Archeress: one moved her swift knees as her queen's forerunner, another tucked up her tunic and ran level not far off, a third laid a hand on the basket of the swiftmoving car and ran alongside. Archeress diffusing radiance from her face stood shining above her attendants . . . The goddess [Artemis] leapt out of her car [of her chariot]; Oupis (Opis) took the bow from her shoulders, and Hekaerge the quiver; the daughters of Okeanos took off the well-strung hunting nets, and another took charge of the dogs; Loxo loosed the boots from her feet."

ANCIENT GREEK & ROMAN ART

SOURCES (ALL ARTEMIS PAGES)

GREEK

Homer, The Iliad - Greek Epic C8th B.C.

Homer, The Odyssey - Greek Epic C8th B.C.

Hesiod, Theogony - Greek Epic C8th - 7th B.C.

Hesiod, Catalogues of Women Fragments - Greek Epic C8th - 7th B.C.

Hesiod, Astronomy Fragments - Greek Epic C8th - 7th B.C.

The Homeric Hymns - Greek Epic C8th - 4th B.C.

Epic Cycle, The Cypria Fragments - Greek Epic C7th - 6th B.C.

Epic Cycle, The Aethiopis Fragments - Greek Epic C8th B.C.

Pindar, Odes - Greek Lyric C5th B.C.

Pindar, Fragments - Greek Lyric C5th B.C.

Greek Lyric I Alcaeus, Fragments - Greek Lyric C6th B.C.

Greek Lyric I Sappho, Fragments - Greek Lyric C6th B.C.

Greek Lyric III Stesichorus, Fragments - Greek Lyric C7th - 6th B.C.

Greek Lyric IV Bacchylides, Fragments - Greek Lyric C5th B.C.

Greek Lyric V Cinesias, Fragments - Greek Lyric C5th B.C.

Greek Elegaic Theognis, Fragments - Greek Elegaic C6th B.C.

Aeschylus, Agamemnon - Greek Tragedy C5th B.C.

Aeschylus, Seven Against Thebes - Greek Tragedy C5th B.C.

Aeschylus, Suppliant Women - Greek Tragedy C5th B.C.

Aeschylus, Fragments - Greek Tragedy C5th B.C.

Aristophanes, Frogs - Greek Comedy C5th - 4th B.C.

Aristophanes, Thesmophoriazusae - Greek Comedy C5th - 4th B.C.

Herodotus, Histories - Greek History C5th B.C.

Plato, Cratylus - Greek Philosophy C4th B.C.

Plato, Theaetetus - Greek Philosophy C4th B.C.

Apollodorus, The Library - Greek Mythography C2nd A.D.

Apollonius Rhodius, The Argonautica - Greek Epic C3rd B.C.

Callimachus, Hymns - Greek Poetry C3rd B.C.

Callimachus, Fragments - Greek Poetry C3rd B.C.

Parthenius, Love Romances - Greek Mythography C1st B.C.

Diodorus Siculus, The Library of History - Greek History C1st B.C.

Strabo, Geography - Greek Geography C1st B.C. - C1st A.D.

Pausanias, Description of Greece - Greek Travelogue C2nd A.D.

Plutarch, Lives - Greek Historian C1st - 2nd A.D.

Plutarch, Parallel Stories - Greek Historian C1st - 2nd A.D.

The Orphic Hymns - Greek Hymns C3rd B.C. - C2nd A.D.

Antoninus Liberalis, Metamorphoses - Greek Mythography C2nd A.D.

Aelian, On Animals - Greek Natural History C2nd - 3rd A.D.

Aelian, Historical Miscellany - Greek Rhetoric C2nd - 3rd A.D.

Philostratus the Elder, Imagines - Greek Rhetoric C3rd A.D.

Philostratus the Younger, Imagines - Greek Rhetoric C3rd A.D.

Philostratus, Life of Apollonius of Tyana - Greek Biography C2nd A.D.

Ptolemy Hephaestion, New History - Greek Mythography C1st - 2nd A.D.

Quintus Smyrnaeus, Fall of Troy - Greek Epic C4th A.D.

Nonnus, Dionysiaca - Greek Epic C5th A.D.

Colluthus, The Rape of Helen - Greek Epic C5th - 6th A.D.

ROMAN

Hyginus, Fabulae - Latin Mythography C2nd A.D.

Hyginus, Astronomica - Latin Mythography C2nd A.D.

Ovid, Metamorphoses - Latin Epic C1st B.C. - C1st A.D.

Ovid, Fasti - Latin Poetry C1st B.C. - C1st A.D.

Ovid, Heroides - Latin Poetry C1st B.C. - C1st A.D.

Virgil, Aeneid - Latin Epic C1st B.C.

Cicero, De Natura Deorum - Latin Rhetoric C1st B.C.

Pliny the Elder, Natural History - Latin Encyclopedia C1st A.D.

Seneca, Hercules Furens - Latin Tragedy C1st A.D.

Seneca, Oedipus - Latin Tragedy C1st A.D.

Seneca, Phaedra - Latin Tragedy C1st A.D.

Seneca, Troades - Latin Tragedy C1st A.D.

Valerius Flaccus, The Argonautica - Latin Epic C1st A.D.

Statius, Thebaid - Latin Epic C1st A.D.

Statius, Achilleid - Latin Epic C1st A.D.

Statius, Silvae - Latin Poetry C1st A.D.

BYZANTINE

Photius, Myriobiblon - Byzantine Greek Scholar C9th A.D.

Suidas, The Suda - Byzantine Greek Lexicon C10th A.D.

OTHER SOURCES
Source status of Artemis pages:-
Fully quoted: Homer (Iliad & Odyssey), Hesiod; Homeric Hymns, Homerica, Apollodorus, Pausanias, Strabo, Herodotus, Orphic Hymns, Quintus Smyrnaeus, Callimachus, Aelian (On Animals), Ovid (Metamorphoses), Hyginus (Fabulae & Astronomica), Apuleius, Aesop;
Partially or not quoted (Greek): Pindar, Greek Lyric (Fragments), Greek Elegaic (Fragments), Apollonius Rhodius, Diodorus Siculus, Antoninus Liberalis, Euripides, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Aristophanes, Plato, Theocritus, Lycophron, Plutarch, Philostratus & Callistratus, Nonnus, Oppian, Tryphiodorus, et. al.;
Partially or not quoted (Latin): Ovid (Fasti), Cicero, Statius, Colluthus, Propertius, Valerius Flaccus, et. al.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
A complete bibliography of the translations quoted on this page.

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ARTEMIS - Greek Goddess of Hunting & Wild Animals

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Artemis was the ancient Greek goddess of hunting, the wilderness and wild animals. She was also a goddess of childbirth, and the protectress of the girl child. She was usually depicted as a girl dressed in a knee-length dress with a hunting bow and a quiver of arrows.

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POSEIDON - Greek God of the Sea & Earthquakes

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Poseidon was the ancient Greek god of the sea, rivers, floods and drought, earthquakes, and horses. He was depicted as a mature man with a sturdy build and dark beard holding a trident (a three-pronged fisherman’s spear). His Roman name was Neptune.

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Greek Gods >> Underworld Gods >> Persephone

Transliteration

Persephonê

PERSEPHONE was the goddess queen of the underworld, wife of the god Haides (Hades). She was also the goddess of spring growth, who was worshipped alongside her mother Demeter in the Eleusinian Mysteries. This agricultural-based cult promised its initiates passage to a blessed afterlife.

Persephone was titled Kore (Core) (the Maiden) as the goddess of spring's bounty. Once upon a time when she was playing in a flowery meadow with her Nymph companions, Kore was seized by Haides and carried off to the underworld as his bride. Her mother Demeter despaired at her dissappearance and searched for her the throughout the world accompanied by the goddess Hekate (Hecate) bearing torches. When she learned that Zeus had conspired in her daughter's abduction she was furious, and refused to let the earth fruit until Persephone was returned. Zeus consented, but because the girl had tasted of the food of Haides--a handful of pomegranate seeds--she was forced to forever spend a part of the year with her husband in the underworld. Her annual return to the earth in spring was marked by the flowering of the meadows and the sudden growth of the new grain. Her return to the underworld in winter, conversely, saw the dying down of plants and the halting of growth.

In other myths, Persephone appears exclusively as the queen of the underworld, receiving the likes of Herakles and Orpheus at her court.

Persephone was usually depicted as a young goddess holding sheafs of grain and a flaming torch. Sometimes she was shown in the company of her mother Demeter, and the hero Triptolemos, the teacher of agriculture. At other times she appears enthroned beside Haides.

PERSEPHONE FAMILY

PARENTS

[1] ZEUS & DEMETER (Hesiod Theogony 912, Homeric Hymn 2 to Demeter, Apollodorus 1.29, Pausanias, Ovid Metamorphoses 5.501, Ovid Fasti 4.575, Nonnus Dionysiaca 5.562, et al)
[2] ZEUS & STYX (Apollodorus 1.13)

OFFSPRING

[1] ZAGREUS (by Zeus) (Orphic Hymn 29, Hyginus Fabulae 155, Diodorus Siculus 4.4.1, Nonnus Dionysiaca 6.155, Suidas s.v. Zagreus)
[2] MELINOE (by Zeus) (Orphic Hymn 71)
[3] THE ERINYES (by Haides) (Orphic Hymns 29 & 70)

ENCYCLOPEDIA

PERSE′PHONE (Persephonê), in Latin Proserpina, the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. (Hom. Il. xiv. 326, Od. xi. 216; Hes. Theog. 912, &c. ; Apollod. i. 5. § 1.) Her name is commonly derived from pherein phonon, "to bring" or "cause death," and the form Persephone occurs first in Hesiod ( Theog. 913; comp. Hom. Hymm. in Cer. 56), the Homeric form being Persephoneia. But besides these forms of the name, we also find Persephassa, Phersephassa, Persephatta, Phersephatta. Pherrephassa, Pherephatta, and Phersephoneia, for which various etymologies have been proposed. The Latin Proserpina, which is probably only a corruption of the Greek, was erroneously derived by the Romans from proserpere, "to shoot forth." (Cic. de Nat. Deor. ii. 26.) Being the infernal goddess of death, she is also called a daughter of Zeus and Styx (Apollod. i. 3. § 1 ); in Arcadia she was worshipped under the name of Despoena, and was called a daughter of Poseidon Hippius and Demeter, and said to have been brought up by the Titan Anytus. (Paus. viii. 37. § 3, 6, 25. § 5.) Homer describes her as the wife of Hades, and the formidable, venerable, and majestic queen of the Shades, who exercises her power, and carries into effect the curses of men upon the souls of the dead, along with her husband. (Hom. Od. x. 494, xi. 226, 385, 634, Il. ix. 457, 569; comp. Apollod. i. 9. § 15.) Hence she is called by later writers Juno Inferna, Auerna, and Stygia (Virg. Aen. vi. 138; Ov. Met. xiv. 114), and the Erinnyes are said to have been daughters of her by Pluto. (Orph. Hymn. 29. 6, 6, 70. 3.) Groves sacred to her are said by Homer to be in the western extremity of the earth, on the frontiers of the lower world, which is itself called the house of Persephone. ( Od. x. 491, 509.)

The story of her being carried off by Pluto, against her will, is not mentioned by Homer, who simply describes her as his wife and queen; and her abduction is first mentioned by Hesiod ( Theog. 914). Zeus, it is said, advised Pluto, who was in love with the beautiful Persephone, to carry her off, as her mother, Demeter, was not likely to allow her daughter to go down to Hades. (Comp. Hygin. Fab. 146.) Pluto accordingly carried her off while she was gathering flowers with Artemis and Athena. (Comp. Diod. v. 3.) Demeter, when she found her daughter had disappeared, searched for her all over the earth with torches, until at length she discovered the place of her abode. Her anger at the abduction obliged Zeus to request Pluto to send Persephone (or Cora, i. e. the maiden or daughter) back. Pluto indeed complied with the request, but first gave her a kernel of a pomegranate to eat, whereby she became doomed to the lower world, and an agreement was made that Persephone should spend one third (later writers say one half) of every year in Hades with Pluto, and the remaining two thirds with the gods above. (Apollod. i. 5. 1, &c,; Or. Met. v. 565; comp. Demeter.) The place where Persephone was said to have been carried off, is different in the various local traditions. The Sicilians, among whom her worship was probably introduced by the Corinthian and Megarian colonists, believed that Pluto found her in the meadows near Enna, and that the well Cyane arose on the spot where he descended with her into the lower world. (Diod. v. 3, &c.; comp. Lydus, De Mens. p. 286; Ov. Fast. iv. 422.) The Cretans thought that their own island had been the scene of the rape (Schol. ad Hes. Theog. 913), and the Eleusinians mentioned the Nysaean plain in Boeotia, and said that Persephone had descended with Pluto into the lower world at the entrance of the western Oceanus. Later accounts place the rape in Attica, near Athens (Schol. ad Soph. Oed. Col. 1590) or at Erineos near Eleusis (Paus. i. 38. § 5), or in the neighbourhood of Lerna (ii. 36. § 7 ; respecting other localities see Conon, Narr. 15 ; Orph. Argon. 1192; Spanheim, ad Callim. Hymn. in Cer. 9).

The story according to which Persephone spent one part of the year in the lower world, and another with the gods above, made her, even with the ancients, the symbol of vegetation which shoots forth in spring, and the power of which withdraws into the earth at other seasons of the year. (Schol. ad Theocrit. iii. 48.) Hence Plutarch identifies her with spring, and Cicero De Nat. Deor. ii. 26) calls her the seed of the fruits of the field. (Comp. Lydus, De Mes. pp. 90, 284; Porphyr. De Ant. Nymph. p. 118. ed. Barnes.) In the mysteries of Eleusis, the return of Cora from the lower world was regarded as the symbol of immortality, and hence she was frequently represented on sarcophagi. In the mystical theories of the Orphics, and what are called the Platonists, Cora is described as the all-pervading goddess of nature, who both produces and destroys every thing (Orph. Hymn. 29. 16), and she is therefore mentioned along, or identified with, other mystic divinities, such as Isis, Rhea, Ge, Hestia, Pandora, Artemis, Hecate. (Tzetz. ad Lyc. 708, 1176; Schol. ad Apollon. Rlod. iii. 467; Schol. ad Theocrit. ii. 12 ; Serv. ad Aen. iv. 609.) This mystic Persephone is further said to have become by Zeus the mother of Dionysus, Iacchus, Zagreus or Sabazius. (Hesych. s. v. Zagreus; Schol. ad Eurip. Or. 952 ; Aristoph. Ran. 326; Diod. iv. 4; Arrian. Exped. Al. ii. 16; Lydus De Mens. p. 198; Cic. de Nat. Deor. iii. 23.) The surnames which are given to her by the poets, refer to her character as queen of the lower world and of the dead, or to her symbolic meaning which we have pointed out above. She was commonly worshipped along with Demeter, and with the same mysteries, as for example, with Demeter Cabeiria in Boeotia. (Paus. ix. 25. § 5.) Her worship further is mentioned at Thebes, which Zeus is said to have given to her as an acknowledgment for a favour she had bestowed on him (Schol. ad Eurip. Phoen. 687): in like manner Sicily was said to have been given to her at her wedding (Pind. Nem. i. 17; Diod. v.2; Schol. ad Theocrit. xv. 14), and two festivals were celebrated in her honour in the island, the one at the time of sowing, and the other at the time of harvest. (Diod. v. 4; Athen. iv. p. 647.) The Eleusinian mysteries belonged to Demeter and Cora in common, and to her alone were dedicated the mysteries celebrated at Athens in the month of Anthesterion. (Comp. Paus. i. 31. § 1, &c.) Temples of Persephone are mentioned at Corinth, Megara, Sparta, and at Locri in the south of Italy. (Paus. iii. 13. § 2; Liv. xxix. 8, 18; Appian, iii. 12.) In works of art Persephone is seen very frequently: she bears the grave and severe character of an infernal Juno, or she appears as a mystical divinity with a sceptre and a little box, but she was mostly represented in the act of being carried off by Pluto. (Paus. viii. 37. § 2.)
Source: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.
ALTERNATE NAME SPELLINGS

Greek Name

Περσεφονη

Περσεφονεια

Περσεφονειη

Περσεφασσα

Φερσεφασσα

Φερσεφαττα

Φερρεφαττα

Transliteration

Persephonê

Persephoneia

Persephoneiê

Persephassa

Phersephassa

Phersephatta

Pherrephatta

Latin Spelling

Persephone

Persephoneia

Persephoneia

Persephassa

Phersephassa

Phersephatta

Pherrephatta

Translation

Destructive-Slayer?
( persô, phonos)

CLASSICAL LITERATURE QUOTES

PARENTAGE OF PERSEPHONE

I. ZEUS & DEMETER

Hesiod, Theogony 912 ff (trans. Evelyn-White) (Greek epic C8th or C7th B.C.) :
"He [Zeus] came to the bed of all-nourishing Demeter, and she bare white-armed Persephone whom Aidoneus [Haides] carried off from her mother; but wise Zeus gave her to him."

Homeric Hymn 2 to Demeter 1 ff (trans. Evelyn-White) (Greek epic C7th or 6th B.C.) :
"[Demeter's] trim-ankled daughter whom Aidoneus [Haides] rapt away, given to him by all-seeing Zeus the loud-thunderer."

Greek Lyric V Anonymous, Fragments 931L (Oxyrhynchus papyrus) (trans. Campbell) :
"King Zeus' own sister [Demeter] and his daughter [Persephone] are happy, both, and dear to the blessed gods."

There are innumerable other sources which describe Persephone as the daughter of Zeus and Demeter.

II. ZEUS & STYX

Apollodorus, in his list of Zeus' divine children, curiously calls Persephone a daughter of Zeus and Styx,. Elsewhere he gives the usual account where her mother is Demeter.

Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca 1. 13 (trans. Aldrich) (Greek mythographer C2nd A.D.) :
"Styx bore him [Zeus] Persephone"

PERSEPHONE & THE CREATION OF MANKIND

In one obscure myth Persephone was accredited with creation of mankind from clay (in place of the usual Prometheus). A divine dispute ensued over which god should possess him, with the result that he was awarded to Zeus and Gaia in life, and to Persephone in death.

Pseudo-Hyginus, Fabulae 220 (trans. Grant) (Roman mythographer C2nd A.D.) :
"When Cura (Core) [Persephone] was crossing a certain river, she saw some clayey mud. She took it up thoughtfully and began to fashion a man. While she was pondering on what she had done, Jove [Zeus] came up; Cura asked him to give the image life, and Jove readily grant this. When Cura wanted to give it her name, Jove forbade, and said that his name should be given it. But while they were disputing about the name, Tellus [Gaia] (Earth) arose and said that it should have her name, since she had given her own body. They took Saturnus [Kronos (Cronus)] for judge; he seems to have decided for them : Jove, since you gave him life [text missing, presumably he was given control of the fate of men] let her [Persephone] receive his body [after death]; since Cura fashioned him; let her [Gaia] posses him as long as he lives, but since there is controversy about his name, let him be called homo, since he seems to be made from humus."

OFFSPRING OF PERSEPHONE

I. ZAGREUS

Orphic Hymn 30 to Dionysus (trans. Taylor) (Greek hymns C3rd B.C. to 2nd A.D.) :
"Thrice begotten ( trigonon), Bakkheion (Bacchian) king [Dionysos] . . . Eubouleos [Dionysos-Zagreos], whom the leaves of vines adorn, of Zeus and Persephoneia occultly born in beds ineffable."

Orphic Hymn 46 to Licnitus :
"[Dionysos-Zagreos] from Zeus' high counsels nursed by Persephoneia, and born the dread of all the powers divine."

For the MYTH of the birth of Zagreus see Persephone seduced by Zeus (below)

II. MELINOE

Melinoe was an underworld goddess identified with Hekate.

Orphic Hymn 71 to Melinoe :
"Melinoe, saffron-veiled, terrene, who from Phersephone dread venerable queen, mixt with Zeus Kronion, arose, near where Kokytos' (Cocytus') mournful river flows; when, under Plouton's (Pluton's) [Haides] semblance, Zeus divine deceived with guileful arts dark Phersephone. Hence, partly black thy limbs and partly white, from Plouton dark, from Zeus ethereal bright."

III. ERINYES

Orphic Hymn 70 to the Eumenides :
"[Erinyes] from Zeus Khthonios (Chthonius) [Haides] born, and Phersephone, whom lovely locks adorn."

Orphic Hymn 29 to Persephone :
"Praxidike (Exacter of Justice) [Persephone], subterranean queen. The Eumenides' [Erinyes'] source [mother], fair-haired, whose frame proceeds from Zeus' [Zeus Khthonios or Haides] ineffable and secret seeds."

SEDUCTION OF PERSEPHONE BY ZEUS

In the Orphic myths, the maiden goddess Persephone was seduced by Zeus in the guise of a serpent. She bore him a son, the godling Zagreus, who, when Zeus placed him upon the throne of heaven, was attacked and dismembered by the Titanes. His heart was recovered and he was reborn through Semele as the god Dionysos. An infernal goddess named Melinoe (probably Hekate) was also said to have been born from their union.

Orphic Hymn 30 to Dionysus (trans. Taylor) (Greek hymns C3rd B.C. to 2nd A.D.) :
"Thrice begotten ( trigonon), Bakkheion (Bacchian) king [Dionysos] . . . Eubouleos [Dionysos-Zagreos], whom the leaves of vines adorn, of Zeus and Persephoneia occultly born in beds ineffable."

Orphic Hymn 46 to Licnitus :
"[Dionysos-Zagreus] from Zeus' high counsels nursed by Persephoneia, and born the dread of all the powers divine."

Diodorus Siculus, Library of History 4. 4. 1 (trans. Oldfather) (Greek historian C1st B.C.) :
"Some writers of myth, however, relate that there was a second Dionysos [Zagreus] who was much earlier in time than the one we have just mentioned. For according to them there was born of Zeus and Persephone a Dionysos who is called by some Sabazios (Sabazius) and whose birth and sacrifices and honours are celebrated at night and in secret, because of the disgraceful conduct which is a consequence of the gatherings."

Diodorus Siculus, Library of History 5. 75. 4 :
"This god [Dionysos-Zagreus] was born in Krete (Crete), men say, of Zeus and Persephone, and Orpheus has handed down the tradition in the initiatory rites that he was torn in pieces by the Titanes (Titans)."

Pseudo-Hyginus, Fabulae 155 (trans. Grant) (Roman mythographer C2nd A.D.) :
"Sons of Jove [Zeus]. Liber [Dionysos-Zagreus] by Proserpina [Persephone], whom the Titanes (Titans) dismembered."

Pseudo-Hyginus, Fabulae 167 :
"Liber [Zagreus-Dionysos], son of Jove [Zeus] and Proserpina [Persephone], was dismembered by the Titanes (Titans), and Jove gave his heart, torn to bits, to Semele in a drink. When she was made pregnant by this [with the god Dionysos] . . . For this reason he is called Dionysus, and also 'the one with two mothers.'"

Ovid, Metamorphoses 6. 114 (trans. Melville) (Roman epic C1st B.C. to C1st A.D.) :
"As a spotted serpent [Zeus seduced] Deois [Persephone]."

Nonnus, Dionysiaca 5. 562 - 6. 168 (trans. Rouse) (Greek epic C5th A.D.) :
"Semele was kept for a more brilliant union, for already Zeus ruling on high intended to make a new Dionysos grow up, a bullshaped copy of the older Dionysos [Zagreus]; since he thought with regret of the ill-fated Zagreus. This was a son born to Zeus in dragonbed by Persephoneia, the consort of the blackrobed king of the underworld [Haides]; when Zeus put on a deceiving shape of many coils, as a gentle drakon twining around her in lovely curves, and ravished the maidenhood of unwedded Persephoneia; though she was hidden when all that dwelt in Olympos were bewitched by this one girl, rivals in love for the marriageable maid, and offered their dowers for an unsmirched bridal. Hermes had not yet gone to the bed of Peitho, and he offered his rod as gift to adorn her chamber. Apollon produced his melodious harp as a marriage-gift. Ares brought spear and cuirass for the wedding, and shield as bride-gift. Lemnian Hephaistos (Hephaestus) held out a curious necklace of many colours, new made and breathing still of the furnace, poor hobbler! For he had already, though unwilling, rejected his former bride Aphrodite, when he spied her rioting with Ares . . .
And father Zeus was much more bewitched by Persephoneia. When Zeus spied the virgin beauty of her shape, his eye ran ahead of him to guide all the Erotes (Loves), and could not have enough of Persephone; in his heart storms of unsleeping passion raged without ceasing, and gradually a greater furnace of the Paphian [Aphrodite] was kindled from a small spark; the gaze of lovemaddened Zeus was enslaved by the lovely breast of the goddess. Once she was amusing herself with a resplendent bronze plate, which reflected her face like a judge of beauty; and she confirmed the image of her shape by this free voiceless herald, testing the unreal form in the shadow of the mirror, and smiling at the mimic likeness. Thus Persephone gazed in the selfgraved portrait of her face, and beheld the self-impressed aspect of a false Persephoneia. Once in the scorching steam of thirsty heat, the girl would cease the loomtoilling labours of her shuttle at midday to shun the tread of the parching season, and wipe the running sweat from her face; she loosed the modest bodice which held her breast so tight, and moistened her skin with a refreshing bath, floating in the cool running stream, and left behind her threads fixt on the loom of Pallas [Athena]. But she could not escape the allseeing eye of Zeus. He gazed at the whole body of Persephoneia, uncovered in her bath . . .
He--so mighty! The ruler of the universe, the charioteer of heaven, bowed his neck to desire--for all his greatness no thunderbolts, no lightnings helped him against Aphrodite in arms: he left the house of Hera, he refused the bed of Dione, he threw away the love of Deo, he fled from Themis, he deserted Leto - no charm was left for him but only union with Persephoneia.
Not the Father alone felt desire; but all that dwelt in Olympos had the same, struck by one bolt, and wooed for a union with Deo's divine daughter. Then Deo lost the brightness of her rosy face, her swelling heart was lashed by sorrows. She untied the fruitful frontlet [a wreath of corn-ears] from her head, and shook loose the long locks of hair over her neck, trembling for her girl; the cheeks of the goddess were moistened with self-running tears, in her sorrow that so many wooers had been stung with one fiery shot for a struggle of rival wooing, by maddening Eros (Love), all contending together for their loves. From all the bounteous mother shrank, but specially she feared Hephaistos to be her daughter's lame bedfellow . . . All that dwelt in Olympos had the same, struck by one bolt [of desire], and wooed for a union with Deo's divine daughter [Persephone] . . .
Then Deo [Demeter] lost the brightness of her rosy face, her swelling heart was lashed by sorrows . . . She hastened with quick foot to the house of Astraios (Astraeus) the god of prophecy [or more specifically astrology] . . . She laid her left hand on the knees of the kindly ancient, and with her right touched his deepflowing beard in supplication. She recounted all her daughter's wooers and craved a comfortable oracle; for divinations can steal away anxieties by means of hopes to come. Nor did old Astraios refuse. He learnt the details of the day when her only child was new born, and the exact time and veritable course of the season which gave her birth; then he bent the turning fingers of his hands and measured the moving circle of the ever-recurring number counting from hand to hand in double exchange [reckoning the number of days in the years of her life on his fingers]. He called to a servant, and Asterion lifted a round revolving sphere, the shape of the sky, the image of the universe, and laid it upon the lid of a chest. Here the ancient got to work. He turned it upon its pivot, and directed this gaze round the circle of the Zodiac, scanning in this place and that the planets and fixt stars . . . When he had noticed everything and reckoned the circuit of the stars, he put away the ever-revolving sphere in its roomy box, the sphere with its curious surface; and in answer to the goddess he mouthed out a triple oracle of prophetic sound : 'Fond mother Demeter, when the rays of the Moon are stolen under a shady cone and her light is gone, guard against a robber-bridegroom for Perephoneia, a secret ravisher of your unsmirched girl, if the threads of the Moirai (Fates) can be persuaded. You will see before marriage a false and secret bedfellow come unforeseen, a half-monster cunning-minded: since I perceive the western point Ares the wife-stealer [the planet Mars] walking with the Paphian [the planet Venus], and I notice the Drakon (Draco) is rising beside them both . . . '
This said, he let the oracular voice sleep in his mouth. But when Demeter Sicklebearer heard the hope of coming fruits, and how one uninvited and unbetrothed was to ravish her beloved maiden girl, she groaned and smiled at once, and hastening by the paths of high heaven with despondent step. Then beside the drakon-manger she balanced the curved yoke over the two necks of the monsters, and fastened the untamed crawlers with the yokestrap, pressing their jaws about the crooktooth bit. So goldenbrown Deo in that grim car conveyed her girl hidden in a black veil of cloud. Boreas (the North-Wind) roared like thunder against the passage of the wagon, but she whistled him down with her monster-driving whip, guiding the light wings of the quick drakons as they sped horselike along the course of the wind, through the sky and round the back-reaching cape of the Libyan Ocean . . .
Looking for a stony harbourage, she alighted among the Pelorian cliffs of Threepeak Sikelia (Sicily) near the Adriatic shores, where the restless briny flood is driven towards the west and bends round like a sickle, bringing the current in a curve to southwest from the north. And in the place where that River [Anapos] had often bathed the maiden Kyane (Cyane) . . . she saw a neighbouring grotto like a lofty hall crowned and concealed by a roof of stone, which nature had completed with a rocky gateway and a loom of stone [stalactites] tended by the neighbouring Nymphai (Nymphs).
The goddess passed through the dark hall, and concealed her daughter well-secured in this hollow rock. Then she loosed the drakones (dragons) from the winged car; one she placed by the jutting rock on the right of the door, one on the left beside the stone-pointed barrier of the entry, to protect Persephoneia unseen. There also she left Kalligeneia, her own fond nurse, with her baskets, and all that cleverhand Pallas [Athena] gives to make womankind sweat over their wool-spinning. Then she left her rounded chariot for the Nymphai to watch, in their lonely home among the rocks, and cut the air with her feet.
The girl busied herself in carding fleeces of wool under the sharp teeth of the iron comb. She packed the wool on the distaff, and twirling spindle with many a twist and jerk ran round and around in dancing step, as the threads were spun and drawn through the fingers. She fixed the first threads of the warp which begins the cloth, and gave them a turn round the beam, moving from end to end to and fro with unresting feet. She wove away, plying the rod and pulling the bobbin along through the threads, while she sang over the cloth to her cousin Athena the clever webster.
Ah, maiden Persephoneia! You could not find how to escape your mating! No, a drakon was your mate, when Zeus changed his face and came, rolling in many a loving coil through the dark to the corner of the maiden's chamber, and shaking his hairy chaps : he lulled to sleep as he crept the eyes of those creatures of his own shape who guarded the door. He licked the girl's form gently with wooing lips. By this marriage with the heavenly drakon, the womb of Persephone swelled with living fruit, and she bore Zagreus the horned baby, who by himself climbed upon the heavenly throne of Zeus and brandished lightning in his little hand, and newly born, lifted and carried thunderbolts in his tender fingers."

Nonnus, Dionysiaca 31. 28 ff :
"[Hera manipulates Persephone into sending an Erinys to plague Dionysos with madness :] 'He [Zeus] rescued Semele's son [Dionysos] from the flaming fire, he saved Bakkhos (Bacchus) from the thunderbolt, while still a baby brat . . . But Zagreus the heavenly Dionysos [Persephone's son] he would not defend, when he was cut up with knives! What made me angrier still, was that Kronides (Cronides) gave the starry heaven to Semele for a bridegift,--and Tartaros (Tartarus) to Persephoneia! Heaven is reserved for Apollon, Hermes lives in heaven--and you have this abode full of gloom! What good was it that he put on the deceiving shape of a serpent, and ravished the girdle of your inviolate maidenhood, if after bed he was to destroy your babe?'"

Suidas s.v. Zagreus (trans. Suda On Line) (Byzantine Greek Lexicon C10th A.D.) :
"Zagreus : Dionysos in poets. For Zeus, it seems, had intercourse with Persephone, and she gave birth to Dionysos Khthonios (Chthonius)."

For MORE information on the god Zagreus see ZAGREUS
For a RELATED myth, see the story of the birth of Melinoe: Offspring of Persephone

PERSEPHONE LOVES : ADONIS

The popular Phoenician myth of the love of the goddess Ashtarte for Adon was adopted by the Greeks, who identified the goddesses of the tale with Aphrodite and Persepone.

Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca 1. 184 - 185 (trans. Aldrich) (Greek mythographer C2nd A.D.) :
"Because of his [the infant Adonis] beauty, Aphrodite secreted him away in a chest, keeping it from the gods, and left him with Persephone. But when Persephone got a glimpse of Adonis, she refused to return him. When the matter was brought to Zeus for arbitration, he divided the year into three parts and decreed that Adonis would spend one third of the year by himself, one third with Persephone, and the rest with Aphrodite. But Adonis added his own portion to Aphrodite's."

Orphic Hymn 56 to Adonis (trans. Taylor) (Greek hymns C3rd B.C. to 2nd A.D.) :
"[Adonis] sweet plant of Aphrodite, Eros' (Love's) delightful flower : descended from the secret bed divine of fair-haired Persephone, 'tis thine to sink in Tartaros profound, and shine again through heavens illustrious round."

Pseudo-Hyginus, Astronomica 2. 7 (trans. Grant) (Roman mythographer C2nd A.D.) :
"Some also have said that Venus [Aphrodite] and Proserpina [Persephone] came to Jove [Zeus] for his decision, asking him to which of them he would grant Adonis. Calliope, the judge appointed by Jove, decided that each should posses him half of the year."

For MORE information on Adonis see APHRODITE LOVES: ADONIS

PERSEPHONE WRATH : MINTHE

Strabo, Geography 8. 3. 14 (trans. Jones) (Greek geographer C1st B.C. to C1st A.D.) :
"Minthe, who, according to myth, became the concubine of Haides, was trampled under foot by Kore (Core) [Persephone], and was transformed into garden-mint, the plant which some call Hedyosmos."

Ovid, Metamorphoses 10. 728 (trans. Melville) (Roman epic C1st B.C. to C1st A.D.) :
"Persephone of old was given grace to change a woman's [Minthe's] form to fragrant mint."

Oppian, Halieutica 3. 485 (trans. Mair) (Greek poet C3rd A.D.) :
"Mint, men say, was once a maid beneath the earth, a Nymphe of Kokytos (Cocytus), and she lay in the bed of Aidoneus [Haides]; but when he raped the maid Persephone from the Aitnaian hill [Mount Etna in Sicily], then she complained loudly with overweening words and raved foolishly for jealousy, and Demeter in anger trampled upon her with her feet and destroyed her. For she had said that she was nobler of form and more excellent in beauty than dark-eyed Persephone and she boasted that Aidoneus would return to her and banish the other from his halls : such infatuation leapt upon her tongue. And from the earth spray the weak herb that bears her name."

For MORE information on this Nymphe see MINTHE

PERSEPHONE FAVOUR : SISYPHUS

Theognis, Fragment 1.703 (trans. Gerber, Vol. Greek Elegiac) (Greek elegy C6th B.C.) :
"Sisyphos (Sisyphus), son of Aiolos (Aeolus), who by his wits came up even from Aides [Haides], after persuading with wily words Persephone who impairs the mind of mortals and brings them forgetfulness. No one else has ever contrived this, once Thanatos' (Death's) dark cloud has enveloped him and he has come to the shadowy place of the dead and passed the black gates which hold back the souls of the dead, for all their protestations. But even from there the hero Sisyphos returned to the light of the sun by his cleverness."

In another VERSION of this myth it is Haides who releases Sisyphos from the Underworld see Hades Favour: Sisyphus

PERSEPHONE FAVOUR : ORPHEUS

When Orpheus came to the underworld seeking the return of his dead love Eurydike (Eurydice), Persephone was moved by his tears and agreed to let her return.

Diodorus Siculus, Library of History 4. 25. 4 (trans. Oldfather) (Greek historian C1st B.C.) :
"Because of the love he [Orpheus] held for his wife he dared the amazing deed of descending into Haides, where he entrances Persephone by his melodious song and persuaded her to assist him in his desires and to allow him to bring up his dead wife from Haides."

Ovid, Metamorphoses 10. 8 ff (trans. Melville) (Roman epic C1st B.C. to C1st A.D.) :
"The new-wed bride [Eurydike (Eurydice) wife of Orpheus] . . . fell dying when a serpent struck her heel. And when at last the bard Rhodopeius [Orpheus] had mourned his fill in the wide world above, he dared descend through Taenaria's dark gate to Styx to make trial of the Umbrae (Shades); and through the thronging wraiths and grave-spent ghosts he came to pale Persephone and him, Dominus Umbrarum (Lord of the Shades) [Haides], who rules the unlovely realm, and as he struck his lyre's sad chords he said : 'Ye deities who rule the world below, whither we mortal creatures all return, if simple truth, direct and genuine, may by your leave be told . . . for my dear wife's sake, in whom a trodden viper poured his venom and stole her budding years. My heart has sought strength to endure; the attempt I'll not deny; but love has won, a god whose fame is fair in the world above; but here I doubt, though here too, I surmise; and if that ancient tale of ravishment is true, you too were joined in love. Now by these regions filled with fear, by this huge Chaos, these vast silent realms, reweave, I implore, the fate unwound too fast of my Eurydice. To you are owed ourselves and all creation; a brief while we linger; then we hasten, late or soon to one abode; here on road leads us all; here in the end is home; over humankind your kingdom keeps the longest sovereignty. She too, when ripening years reach their due term, shall own your rule. The favour that I ask is but to enjoy her love; and, if fate will not reprieve her, my resolve is clear not to return: may two deaths give you cheer.'
So to the music of his strings he [Orpheus] sang, and all the bloodless spirits wept to hear . . . by that sad ringing overwhelmed, the Eumenides' [Erinyes'] cheeks, it's said, were wet with tears; and the queen [Persephone] and he whose sceptre rules the underworld could not deny the prayer, and called Eurydice. She was among the recent ghosts and, limping from her wound, came slowly forth; and Rhodopeius [Orpheus] took his bride and with her this compact that, till he reach the world above and leave Valles Avernae [Valleys of Hell], he look not back or else the gift would fail. The track climbed upwards, steep and indistinct, through the hushed silence and the murky gloom; and now they neared the edge of the bright world, and, fearing lest she faint, longing to look, he turned his eyes--and straight she slipped away. He stretched his arms to hold her--to be held--and clasped, poor soul, naught but the yielding air. And she, dying again, made no complaint (for what complaint had she save she was loved?) and breathed a faint farewell, and turned again back to the land of spirits whence she came. The double death of his Eurydice stole Orpheus' wits away . . . He longed, he begged, in vain to be allowed to cross the stream of Styx a second time. The ferryman [Kharon (Charon)] repulsed him. Even so for seven days he sat upon the bank, unkempt and fasting, anguish, grief and tears his nourishment, and cursed Erebus' cruelty."

PERSEPHONE FAVOUR : ALCESTIS

Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca 1. 106 (trans. Aldrich) (Greek mythographer C2nd A.D.) :
"[Apollon] obtained from the Moirai (Fates) a privilege for [King] Admetos, whereby, when it was time for him to die, he would be released from death if someone should volunteer to die in his place. When his day to die came . . . [his wife] Alkestis (Alcestis) died for him. Kore (Core) [Persephone], however sent her back, or, according to some, Herakles battled Haides and brought her back up to Admetos."

PERSEPHONE WRATH : PIRITHOUS

King Peirithoos (Pirithous) of the Lapithai (Lapiths) sought to kidnap the goddess Persephone from the underworld for his bride. He was, however, captured by the infernal gods and subjected to eternal torment.

Plato, Republic 391c-d (trans. Shorey) (Greek philosopher C4th B.C.) :
"[From Plato's critique of the portrayal of gods by the poets :] Neither, then, must we believe this or suffer it to be said, that Theseus, the son of Poseidon, and Peirithous (Pirithous), the son of Zeus, attempted such dreadful rapes [i.e. Helene and Persephone], nor that any other child of a god and hero would have brought himself to accomplish the terrible and impious deeds that they now falsely relate of him."

Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca E1. 23 - 24 (trans. Aldrich) (Greek mythographer C2nd A.D.) :
"Theseus and Peirithoos (Pirithous) agreed with each other to marry daughters of Zeus, so Theseus with the other's help kidnapped twelve-year-old Helene (Helen) from Sparta, and went down to Haides' realm to court Persephone for Peirithoos . . . Theseus, arriving in Haides' realm with Peirithoos, was thoroughly deceived, for Haides on the pretense of hospitality had them sit first upon the throne of Lethe (Forgetfulness). Their bodies grew onto it, and were held down by the serpent's coils. Now Peirithoos remained fast there for all time, but Herakles led Theseus back up."

Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca 2. 124 :
"As he [Herakles] approached the gates of Haides' realm [in his quest to fetch Kerberos (Cerberus)], he came across Theseus along with Peirithoos (Pirithous), who had courted Persephone with matrimonial intentions and for this reason was held fast as was Theseus. When they saw Herakles they stretched forth their hands as if to rise up with the help of his strength. He did in fact pull Theseus up by the hand, but when he wanted to raise Peirithoos, the earth shook and he let go."

Diodorus Siculus, Library of History 4. 63. 4 (trans. Oldfather) (Greek historian C1st B.C.) :
"Peirithoos (Pirithous) [after helping Theseus abduct Helene] now decided to seek the hand of Persephone in marriage, and when he asked Theseus to make the journey with him Theseus at first endeavoured to dissuade him and to turn him away from such a deed as being impious; but since Peirithoos firmly insisted upon it Theseus was bound by the oaths to join with him in the deed. And when they had at last made their way below to the regions of Haides, it came to pass that because of the impiety of their act they were both put in chains, and although Theseus was later let go by reason of the favour with which Herakles regarded him, Peirithoos because of the impiety remained in Haides, enduring everlasting punishment; but some writers of myths say that both of them never returned."

Diodorus Siculus, Library of History 4 .26. 1 :
"Herakles then, according to the myths which have come down to us, descended into the realm of Haides, and being welcomed like a brother by Persephone brought Theseus and Peirithous (Pirithous) back to the upper world after freeing them from their bonds. This he accomplished by the favour of Persephone."

Plutarch, Life of Theseus 31. 2 & 35. 1 (trans. Perrin) (Greek historian C1st to C2nd A.D.) :
"[Plutarch as an historian rationalises the myth :] [Theseus] to return the service of Peirithoos (Pirithous), [who had helped him abduct Helene] journeyed with him to Epiros, in quest of the daughter of Aidoneus the king of the Molossians. This man called his wife Phersephone, his daughter Kora (Core), and his dog Kerberos (Cerberus), with which beast he ordered that all suitors of his daughter should fight, promising her to him that should overcome it. However, when he learned that Peirithoos and his friend were come not to woo, but to steal away his daughter, he seized them both. Peirithoos he put out of the way at once by means of the dog, but Theseus he kept in close confinement . . .
Now while Herakles was the guest of Aidoneus the Molossian, the king incidentally spoke of the adventure of Theseus and Peirithoos, telling what they had come there to do, and what they had suffered when they were found out. Herakles was greatly distressed by the inglorious death of the one, and by the impending death of the other. As for Peirithoos, he thought it useless to complain, but he begged for the release of Theseus, and demanded that this favour be granted him. Aidoneus yielded to his prayers, Theseus was set free, and returned to Athens, where his friends were not yet altogether overwhelmed."

Aelian, Historical Miscellany 4. 5 (trans. Wilson) (Greek rhetorician C2nd to 3rd A.D.) :
"Benefits were remembered, and thanks for them given, by Theseus to Herakles. Aïdoneus king of the Molossians put Theseus in chains when he came with Pirithous to kidnap the king's wife [i.e. Persephone]. Theseus did not want to marry the woman himself but did this as a favour to Pirithous. Herakles came to the country of the Molossians and rescued Theseus, in return for which the latter set up an altar to him."

Pseudo-Hyginus, Fabulae 79 (trans. Grant) (Roman mythographer C2nd A.D.) :
"When Jove [Zeus] saw that they [Theseus and Peirithoos (Pirithous)] had such audacity [kidnapping Helene] as to expose themselves to danger, he bade them in a dream both go and ask Pluto [Haides] on Pirithous' part for Proserpina [Persephone] in marriage. When they had descended to the Land of the Dead through the peninsula Taenarus, and had informed Pluto why they had come, they were stretched out and tortured for a long time by the Furiae [Erinyes]. When Hercules came to lead out the three-headed dog, they begged his promise of protection. He obtained the favor from Pluto, and brought them out unharmed."

Seneca, Phaedra 93 ff (trans. Miller) (Roman tragedy C1st A.D.) :
"Through the deep shades of the pool which none recrosses is he [Theseus] faring, this brave recruit of a madcap suitor [Peirithoos], that from the very throne of the infernal king [Haides] he may rob and bear away his wife [Persephone]. He hurries on, a partner in mad folly; him nor fear nor shame held back. And there in the depths of Acherontis [i.e. the underworld] he seeks adultery and an unlawful bed."

Statius, Thebaid 8. 53 ff (trans. Mozley) (Roman epic C1st A.D.) :
"The rash ardour of Pirithous provoked me [Haides], and Theseus, sworn comrade of his daring friend [the pair attempted to abduct Persephone]."

Suidas s.v. Kore (trans. Suda On Line) (Byzantine Greek Lexicon C10th A.D.) :
"[The Suda follows Plutarch's rationalisation of the myth :] Kore (Core) (Maiden) : A virgin. From koro (I sweep out), I cleanse . . . Haides who ruled the Molossians at the time of the judges of the Jews, had a daughter who was called Kore; for the Molossians called their good-looking women 'maidens'. Peirithous (Pirithous) loved her and wished to carry her off by night. Knowing this her father tied her up by the watch dog he had, which because of its size he called Tri-Kerberos (Cerberus), and it dealt with Peirithous coming according to the arrangement; then he ravished the maiden coming out to his aid. About her they say 'Plouton (Pluton) ravished her.'"

Suidas s.v. Lispoi :
"When Theseus went down to the House of Haides to look for Pirithous and was placed by Persephone to sit on a rock with Pirithous, the part of his buttocks attached to it was left on it when Herakles came down for Kerberos (Cerberus) and, after asking the goddess for him, snatched him off the rock."

PERSEPHONE FAVOUR : HERACLES

When Herakles came to the underworld on his quest to fetch Kerberos (Cerberus), the Hound of Haides, Persephone received him like a brother, and allowed him to carry off the dog, as well as free Theseus from his bonds.

Bacchylides, Fragment 5 (trans. Campbell, Vol. Greek Lyric IV) (Greek lyric C5th B.C.) :
"[Herakles went] down to the house of slender-ankled Persephone to fetch up to the light from Haides the jagged-toothed dog [Kerberos (Cerberus)]."

Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca 2. 124 (trans. Aldrich) (Greek mythographer C2nd A.D.) :
"[Herakles] approached the gates of Haides' realm [in his quest to fetch Kerberos (Cerberus)] . . .
Then, desiring to supply the souls with blood, he slaughtered one of Haides' cattle. Their keeper Menoites (Menoetes), son of Keuthonymos (Ceuthonymos), challenged Herakles to a wrestling match. Herakles hugged his torso and broke his ribs, but set him down at the request of Persephone.
Herakles asked Plouton (Pluton) [Haides] for Kerberos (Cerberus), and was told to take the hound if he could overpower it without using any of the weapons he had brought with him."

Diodorus Siculus, Library of History 4. 26. 1 (trans. Oldfather) (Greek historian C1st B.C.) :
"Herakles then, according to the myths which have come down to us, descended into the realm of Haides, and being welcomed like a brother by Persephone brought Theseus and Peirithous (Pirithous) back to the upper world after freeing them from their bonds. This he accomplished by the favour of Persephone, and receiving the dog Kerberos (Cerberus) in chains he carried him away to the amazement of all and exhibited him to men."

Pseudo-Hyginus, Fabulae 79 (trans. Grant) (Roman mythographer C2nd A.D.) :
"When Hercules came to lead out the three-headed dog, they [Peirithoos and Theseus, trapped in the underworld] begged his promise of protection. He obtained the favor from Pluto [Haides], and brought them out unharmed."

Seneca, Hercules Furens 760 ff (trans. Miller) (Roman tragedy C1st A.D.) :
"Now tell my son's [Herakles] famous struggle. Is it [the hound Kerberos] his willing uncle's [Haides'] gift, or his spoil, he brings? . . . There appears the palace of greedy Dis [Haides]. Here the savage Stygian dog frightens the shades . . . At last the dog, vanquished [by the club of Herakles] ceases his threatenings and, spent with struggle, lowers all his heads and yields all wardship of his cavern. Both rulers [Haides and Persephone] shiver on their throne, and bid lead the dog away. Me [Theseus] also they give as boon to Alcides' [Herakles'] prayer."

For MORE information on Herakles and the Hound of Haides see KERBEROS

PERSEPHONE WRATH : THEBANS, & FAVOUR : CORONIDES

Haides and Persephone inflicted Thebes with a deadly plague, probably as punishment for King Kreon's (Creon's) refusal to allow the burial of the dead warriors of the army of the Seven Against Thebes. When the maiden Koronides (Coronides) sacrificed themselves to appease the gods, they were pitied and transformed into a pair of comets.

Antoninus Liberalis, Metamorphoses 25 (trans. Celoria) (Greek mythographer C2nd A.D.) :
"When plague seized Aonia [the land of Thebes in Boiotia] and many died, there were sent officers to consult Apollon's oracle at Gortyne. The god replied that they should make an appeal to the two gods of the underworld [Haides and Persephone]. He said that they would cease from their anger if two willing maidens were sacrificed to the two. Of course not one of the maidens in the city complied with the oracle until a servant-woman reported the answer to the daughters of Orion [the two Koronides]. They were at work at their loom and, as soon as they heard about this, they willingly accepted death on behalf of their fellow citizens before the plague epidemic had smitten them too. They cries out three times to the gods of the underworld saying that they were willing sacrifices. They thrust their bodkins into themselves at their shoulders and gashed open their throats. And they both fell down into the earth. Persephone and Hades took pity on the maidens and made their bodies disappear, sending them instead up out of the earth as heavenly bodies. When they appeared, they were borne up into the sky. And men called them comets."

For MORE information on these maidens see THE KORONIDES

PERSEPHONE WRATH : EUPHEMEA

Pseudo-Hyginus, Astronomica 2. 16 (trans. Grant) (Roman mythographer C2nd A.D.) :
"[Meropes of Cos] had a wife, Ethemea, of the race of Nymphae, who was stuck with the arrows of Diana [Artemis] when she ceased worshipping her. At last she was snatched away alive by Proserpina [Persephone] to the Land of the Dead."

PERSEPHONE FAVOUR : PSYCHE

The Rape of Persephone, Greek fresco from Macedonia Tomb C4th B.C., Museum of the Royal Tombs of Aigai

Aphrodite sent Psykhe (Psyche) on a quest to the underworld to fetch the beauty-cream of Persephone, as one of her many harsh trials.

Apuleius, The Golden Ass 6. 16 ff (trans. Walsh) (Roman novel C2nd A.D.) :
"[Aphrodite commands Psykhe (Psyche) to perform a labour :] 'You will have to undertake one further task for me, my girl. Take this box' (she handled it over) 'and make straight for Hades, for the funereal dwelling of Orcus [Haides] himself. Give the box to Proserpina [Persephone], and say : "Venus [Aphrodite] asks you to send her a small supply of your beauty-preparation, enough for just one day, because she has been tending her sick son, and has used hers all up by rubbing it on him." Make your way back with it as early as you can, because I need it to doll myself up so as to attend the Deities' Theatre.' . . .
[A talking tower advises Psykhe on how to reach Persephone in the Underworld :] 'He [Kerberos (Cerberus)] keeps constant guard before the very threshold and the dark hall of Proserpina [Persephone], protecting that deserted abode of Dis [Haides]. You must disarm him by offering him a cake as his spoils. Then you can easily pass him, and gain immediate access to Proserpina herself. She will welcome you in genial and kindly fashion, and she will try to induce you to sit on a cushioned seat beside her and enjoy a rich repast. But you must settle on the ground, ask for course bread, and eat it. Then you must tell her why you have come. When you have obtained what she gives you, you must make your way back, using the remaining cake to neutralize the dog's savagery. Then you must give the greedy mariner the one coin which you have held back, and once again across the river you must retrace your earlier steps and return to the harmony of heaven's stars. Of all these injunctions I urge you particularly to observe this: do not seek to open or to pry into the box that you will carry, nor be in any way inquisitive about the treasure of divine beauty hidden within it.' . . .
[She followed the tower's instructions and] fed the cake to the dog to quell his fearsome rage, and gained access to the house of Proserpina [Persephone]. Psyche declined the soft cushion and the rich food offered by her hostess; she perched on the ground at her feet, and was content with plain bread. She then reported her mission from Venus [Aphrodite]. The box was at once filled and closed out of her sight, and Psyche took it. She quietened the dog's barking by disarming it with the second cake, offered her remaining coin to the ferryman, and quite animatedly hastened out of Hades. But once she was back in the light of this world and had reverently hailed it, her mind was dominated by rash curiosity, in spite of her eagerness to see the end of her service. She said : 'How stupid I am to be carrying this beauty-lotion fit for deities, and not take a single drop of it for myself, for with this at any rate I can be pleasing to my beautiful lover.'
The words were scarcely out of her mouth when she opened the box. But inside there was no beauty-lotion or anything other than the sleep of Hades, a truly Stygian sleep. As soon as the lid was removed and it was laid bare, it attacked her and pervaded all her limbs in a thick cloud. It laid hold of her, so that she fell prostrate on the path where she had stood. She lay there motionless, no more animate than a corpse at rest . . . [Eros found her and] carefully wiping the sleep from her, he restored it to its former lodging in the box."

For MORE information on this maiden see PSYKHE

ANCIENT GREEK & ROMAN ART

SOURCES (ALL PERSEPHONE PAGES)

GREEK

Homer, The Iliad - Greek Epic C8th B.C.

Homer, The Odyssey - Greek Epic C8th B.C.

Hesiod, Theogony - Greek Epic C8th - 7th B.C.

The Homeric Hymns - Greek Epic C8th-4th B.C.

Aesop, Fables - Greek Fables C6th B.C.

Pindar, Odes - Greek Lyric C5th B.C.

Pindar, Fragments - Greek Lyric C5th B.C.

Greek Lyric I Sappho, Fragments - Greek Lyric C6th B.C.

Greek Lyric III Lasus, Fragments - Greek Lyric C6th B.C.

Greek Lyric IV Bacchylides, Fragments - Greek Lyric C5th B.C.

Greek Lyric V Scolia, Fragments - Greek Lyric B.C.

Greek Elegaic Theognis, Fragments - Greek Elegaic C6th B.C.

Aeschylus, Libation Bearers - Greek Tragedy C5th B.C.

Herodotus, Histories - Greek History C5th B.C.

Plato, Cratylus - Greek Philosophy C4th B.C.

Plato, Meno - Greek Philosophy C4th B.C.

Plato, Republic - Greek Philosophy C4th B.C.

Apollodorus, The Library - Greek Mythography C2nd A.D.

Apollonius Rhodius, The Argonautica - Greek Epic C3rd B.C.

Callimachus, Fragments - Greek Poetry C3rd B.C.

Lycophron, Alexandra - Greek Poetry C3rd B.C.

Greek Papyri III Euphorion, Fragments - Greek Epic C3rd B.C.

Diodorus Siculus, The Library of History - Greek History C1st B.C.

Strabo, Geography - Greek Geography C1st B.C. - C1st A.D.

Pausanias, Description of Greece - Greek Travelogue C2nd A.D.

The Orphic Hymns - Greek Hymns C3rd B.C. - C2nd A.D.

Antoninus Liberalis, Metamorphoses - Greek Mythography C2nd A.D.

Aelian, Historical Miscellany - Greek Rhetoric C2nd - 3rd A.D.

Oppian, Halieutica - Greek Poetry C3rd A.D.

Nonnus, Dionysiaca - Greek Epic C5th A.D.

ROMAN

Hyginus, Fabulae - Latin Mythography C2nd A.D.

Hyginus, Astronomica - Latin Mythography C2nd A.D.

Ovid, Metamorphoses - Latin Epic C1st B.C. - C1st A.D.

Ovid, Fasti - Latin Poetry C1st B.C. - C1st A.D.

Ovid, Heroides - Latin Poetry C1st B.C. - C1st A.D.

Virgil, Aeneid - Latin Epic C1st B.C.

Virgil, Georgics - Latin Bucolic C1st B.C.

Propertius, Elegies - Latin Elegy C1st B.C.

Cicero, De Natura Deorum - Latin Rhetoric C1st B.C.

Seneca, Hercules Furens - Latin Tragedy C1st A.D.

Seneca, Phaedra - Latin Tragedy C1st A.D.

Statius, Thebaid - Latin Epic C1st A.D.

Statius, Achilleid - Latin Epic C1st A.D.

Statius, Silvae - Latin Poetry C1st A.D.

Apuleius, The Golden Ass - Latin Novel C2nd A.D.

BYZANTINE

Suidas, The Suda - Byzantine Greek Lexicon C10th A.D.

OTHER SOURCES
Other references not currently quoted here: Argonautica Orphica 1192, Lydus De Mens 90 & &198 & 284 & 286, Scholiast on Hesiod's Theogony 913, Scholiast on Sophocles Oedipus at Colonus 1590, Orphica Argonautica 1192, Scholiast on Theocritus 2.12 & 3.48 & 15.14, Hesychius 'Zagreus', Tzetzes on Lycophron 708 & 1176, Scholiast on Apollonius Rhodius 3.467, Servius on Aeneid 4.609, Scoliast on Euripides Orestes 952, Arrian Exped. Al 2.16, Scholiast on Euripides' Phoenicians, Athenaeus 4.647, Livy 8 & 18, Appian 3.12.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
A complete bibliography of the translations quoted on this page.

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Greek Gods >> Underworld Gods >> Persephone Transliteration Persephonê PERSEPHONE was the goddess queen of the underworld, wife of the god Haides (Hades). She was also the goddess of spring growth, who was worshipped alongside her mother Demeter in the Eleusinian Mysteries. This agricultural-based cult promised its initiates passage to a blessed afterlife.

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Demeter | Characteristics, Family, & Myth

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Demeter, in Greek religion, daughter of the deities Cronus and Rhea, sister and consort of Zeus (the king of the gods), and goddess of agriculture. Her name indicates that she is a mother. Demeter is rarely mentioned by Homer, nor is she included among the Olympian gods, but the roots of her legend…

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The amazing story of achilles

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Achilles | Myth, Meaning, Significance, & Trojan War

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Achilles, in Greek legend, was the son of the mortal Peleus, king of the Myrmidons, and the Nereid, or sea nymph, Thetis. Homer’s Iliad describes Achilles as the greatest warrior in the army of Agamemnon in the Trojan War and recounts how his rage affects the outcomes of the epic conflict.

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The narrative of the Greek gods, goddesses, and related mythology, unlike the Bible, was not available to the ancient Greeks through a singular compilation of texts. Instead many of the characters and their backstories were borne by the oral traditions developed during the Mycenaean Bronze Age. Now, of course, the greatest example of Classical Greeks being inspired by their 'ancestors' comes from the epic poetry of Homer in the Iliad and Odyssey.

To that end, rather than a historical exposition of how Mycenaeans fought and behaved, these epic literary works (and Homeric hymns) should be viewed more like a compilation of folkloric traditions that were passed down through generations from around 9th-8th century BC (three centuries after the passing of the Mycenaeans).

In any case, the mythical Greek gods, heroes, and (a few of whom make their way into the Iliad and Odyssey) epitomized various scopes, ranging from religious rites to weather. Simply put, the array of entities provided the ancient folks of Greecefolks with the meaning of worldly and natural cycles, which rather justified their existence within the of mythology.

And historically, it was probably the poet Hesiod's Theogony that compiled the first known origin story of Greek mythology, circa 700 BC. He was followed by various other Greek playwrights and poets (like Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides) who played their part in expanding and even refashioning some elements of the vast Greek .

Considering these historical factors, let us take a gander at 20 major Greek gods and goddesses, including both Titans and Twelve Olympian Gods, you should know about.

The Primordial Greek Gods -

Gaia - The Earth Goddess

Previously, we talked about the primeval entities of both Mesopotamian and Egyptian mythologies, in the form of Tiamat and Nun respectively. Well, in the case of Greek mythology, the role of a primordial deity ( protogenoi) at the beginning of creation is played by Gaia (or Gaea).

And like other ancient mythologies, this primordial Greek goddess was initially depicted on a positive note. But ultimately she took the form of an antagonist. The positive narrative is alluded to by her heroic actions against her husband (and later her son), when Ouranos imprisoned many of their offspring - comprising giants, inside her womb.

Interestingly enough, in spite of such abstract aspects and narratives, Gaia was often visually depicted in a simple manner, as a buxom, matronly woman rising from the ground, sometimes garbed in green - thus signifying her association with Earth.

Ouranos - The Sky God

Ouranos (or Uranus), the male counterpart to 'earthly' Gaia, was the protogenoi of the sky. To that end, ancient Greek mythology perceived the sky as a solid dome of brass, embellished with shiny stars, whose edges literally rested upon the flat ends of the Earth - thus symbolically uniting both Gaia and Ouranos, the Greek gods.

This union created the first batch of giants - the one-eyed Cyclopes and the hundred-limbed Hecatoncheires. In the mythical narrative, unfortunately for the giants, their father became wary of their power and thus ordered Gaia to imprison them in her womb. However, Gaia, unable to bear the pain, struck an alliance with her next 'set' of offspring - the Titans, and together they managed to overpower Ouranos.

The crucial blow was struck by Kronos (or Cronus - the youngest among the Titans). His well-timed slash with an adamantine sickle managed to castrate Ouranos. But as the sky god lost his power, and Kronos gained supremacy among the Greek gods, Ouranos prophesied how his Titan son would be deposed in a similar manner by the next generation. This later proved to be true with the mythical lore of Zeus and his brothers.

As for the historical side of affairs, there are no known depictions of Ouranos in early Greek art, though he may have been imagined as a literal gargantuan man who arched his back to replicate the (perceived) domed nature of the sky.

The Titans -

Kronos - The Titan of Time

Kronos (or Cronus), the youngest son of Ouranos and Gaia, was also the father of the 'first generation' of Olympian Gods (like Zeus, Hades, Hera, etc). In mythology, he embodied the 'all-devouring' aspect of time, along with fate, justice, and even evil.

During his reign, corresponding to the proverbial Golden Age, Kronos was regarded as the head of the Titans, after playing the crucial role in overpowering and castrating his tyrant father Ouranos.

Quite intriguingly, in some compositions of Greek mythology, Zeus later had a change of heart (after generations of men) which allowed Kronos to come back and rule over Elysian Islands, home of the blessed dead.

In any case, when it comes to portrayals, Kronos was often depicted as a well-proportioned man with a black or grey beard, wearing a simple robe. This is what 1st century BC Stoic philosopher Quintus Lucilius Balbus (as noted by Cicero in his book De Natura Deorum or 'On the Nature of the Gods') had to say about Kronos and his equivalent Saturn -

By Saturn, they seek to represent that power that maintains the cyclic course of times and seasons. This is the sense that the Greek name of that god bears, for he is called Kronos, which is the same as Chronos or Time. Saturn for his part got his name because he was "sated" with years; the story that he regularly devoured his own children is explained by the fact that time devours the courses of the seasons and gorges itself "insatiably" on the years that are past. Saturn was enchained by Jupiter (Zeus) to ensure that his circuits did not get out of control and to constrain him with the bonds of the stars.

Hyperion - The Titan of Light

Hyperion was one of the Titan ( Titán) sons of Ouranos and Gaia and thus belonged to the first generation of Greek gods. He signified the very essence and scope of heavenly light. Concurrently, his sister/wife Theia (meaning 'divine') was the manifestation of the brightness of the blue sky.

The etymology of the very name Hyperion also alludes to his association with the light and the sky, as it literally means "he who looks from above", thus being related to the term hyper meaning "over, above, or beyond".

As one of the Titans ( Titanes), Hyperion took part in the coup to overthrow their father Ouranos from the figurative position as the head of the pantheon of the 'older' Greek gods.

During the feat, Hyperion along with his three other brothers Krios (Crius), Koios (Coeus), and Iapetos (Iapetus) held Ouranos in a position while Kronos fatefully wielded his sickle. And in spite of being a relatively obscure figure in Greek mythology, given his relation to the dawn and light of the sun, Hyperion was considered the Titan of the pillar of the East.

Oceanus - The Titan of Water

Interestingly enough, when maritime activities increased during the Hellenistic era, Okeanos possibly represented some aspects of the vast water bodies of what we know as the Indian and Atlantic Oceans - thus providing the etymological root of the word 'ocean'. As for his depiction, the river god was often portrayed as a hybrid bull-horned god with the tail of a serpentine fish and sometimes just as a serpent (especially in his sea-god aspect).

Atlas - The Titan of 'Burden'

was the son of the Titans Iapetos and Clymene (or Asia), and the brother of Prometheus. He led the Titans in their war against the 'next generation' Olympian gods (the descendants of Kronos) for control of the heavens. As while most of the Titans were banished to Tartaros by the victorious Olympians, Atlas was destined for a special punishment chosen by Zeus, the leader of the Olympian gods.

And interestingly enough, 5th century BC traditions associated the Atlas mountains of North Africa with the physical remnants of Atlas himself, after he was turned to stone by Perseus using the head of Medusa. In any case, the most famous episode of Atlas in Greek mythology arguably relates to the golden apple episode of the Twelve Labors of Heracles (or Hercules).

Prometheus - The Creator of Mankind

Prometheus, the brother of Atlas, embodied the aspects of forethought and crafty machinations. And like Atlas, he was one of the early ringleaders of the Titans in their battle against the next-generation Olympian gods

Although afterward, he changed sides because the Titans didn't take too kindly to his 'tricky' counsel. Anyhow, Prometheus' 'claim to fame' in some narratives of Greek mythology comes from his status as the creator of mankind.

To that end, according to one version, he was the one to create the very first man from clay. Another version suggests that the Greek gods already created their living creatures on Earth, and Prometheus (along with his brother Epimetheus or Afterthought) was tasked with endowing these species with gifts for survival and eventual prosperity.

However, on reaching men, all the impressive gifts, like flight and fur, were already expended. So Prometheus took pity on the vulnerability of mankind and snatched away the choicest meat portions from Zeus' meal to nourish the first men. He also stole fire from the heavens and delivered it to the mortals hidden in a fennel stalk.

Unfortunately, for the Titan, Zeus was angered by these seemingly rebellious acts, and thus Prometheus was arrested and bound to a stake on Mount Kaukasos (Caucasus) where an eagle was set to voraciously feed upon his ever-regenerating liver (or heart) - thus resulting in a perpetual state of torture.

Furthermore, in the mythical narrative, Zeus, along with Hephaistos, also created the first woman Pandora, who was to become the cause of woe and suffering for mortal mankind. But the old Prometheus was fortuitously saved from his daily ordeal by Heracles after the latter successfully shot the eagle. As for the historical side of affairs, interestingly enough, Prometheus was worshipped by potters (especially in ancient Athens), given his association with fire and kilns.

The Olympian Gods -

Zeus - The King of Greek Gods

We have talked about Zeus and how he was one of the founders of the Olympian family of Greek gods - named so because of their mythical abode atop Mount Olympus (or Olympos). In the narrative of mythology, the ascendancy of these twelve Olympians was marked by the defeat of the Titans, the previous class of the ruling Greek gods.

This 'rise to power' provided its fair share of accolades for Zeus, as he was regarded as the King of the Gods, who embodied the various aspects of the sky, weather, law and order, destiny and fate, and kingship. In that regard, it was believed that his temper affected the very pattern of weather and thunderstorms.

In essence, Father Zeus was the supreme deity of the ancient pantheon, with his very name being derived from the Proto-Indo-European root * dyeu- ('to shine'), thus bearing similarity to Dyaus/Dyaus Pita, the sky god mentioned in Sanskrit Rigveda. Reverting to the ancient Greek scope, some of the later-mentioned aspects were directly usurped from Kronos.

In any case, in the continuation of the mythical narrative, after the defeat of the Titans and their banishment, Zeus drew lots with his brothers over the division of the cosmos and ended up with guardianship of the heavens and Mount Olympus. And while he was lawfully wedded to the Greek goddess Hera, the queen of the heavens, their union was not exactly a peaceful one, in spite of producing a number of minor gods and goddesses.

The domestic 'incompatibility' perhaps had to do with Zeus' numerous amorous adventures with other goddesses, nymphs, and even mortal women. Zeus even used Echo, a beautiful yet old mountain nymph, who distracted Hera with fascinating tales, while Zeus sneakily used the opportunity to 'make the acquaintance' of other alluring nymphs.

As expected, the arrangement didn't work for long. Hera in her wrath cursed Echo which took away her enticing voice-only leaving her to dully repeat words that other people have shouted.

Suffice it to say, in Greek mythology, Zeus, through his affairs, sired a number of Greek gods, demigods, Greek heroes, and even monsters; ranging from Persephone, Apollo, and Dionysus to Perseus, Heracles, and the Nemean Lion.

As for his portrayal, Zeus, whose name first cropped up in Mycenaean Linear B, was historically depicted as a robust man dressed in regal attire, sporting his dark beard, royal scepter, and an eagle. And since we brought up history, the Temple of Olympian Zeus in Athens was originally envisaged by its builders, the Athenian tyrants of the 6th century BC, to be the greatest of all Greek temples.

It was planned to surpass even the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus - considered one of the ancient Seven Wonders of the World. Consequently, the initial work on the massive complex suggested such an ambitious scope, with the core platform alone boasting an area of 354 ft by 135 ft, almost equivalent to the size of an American football field.

However, the construction was stopped when the Athenian tyranny was overthrown, with Hippias being expelled in 510 BC (which in turn started a chain of events leading up to the Battle of Marathon).

Poseidon - The God of Seas

Poseidon, the second son of Kronos and brother of Zeus, together with his brethren and other Olympian Greek gods, successfully defeated the Titans - partially aided by the renowned trident crafted by the Cyclopes. And after drawing lots with his brothers Zeus and Hades, he ended up with the rule over the realm of seas.

And since we are talking about ancient myths, Poseidon and his rather quarrelsome personality are featured in many of them. One of the notable ones pertains to how he competed with Athena for dominion over Athens and produced the very first horse as a gift. However, his prize was denied, and in, anger Poseidon afflicted the city-state with drought.

Another story talks about how he ended up scattering up the hero Odysseus' fleet after the latter blinded Poseidon's cyclopean son Polyphemus. Plato even mentioned how the legendary Atlantis was the domain of Poseidon - where the sea god resided in his underwater beautiful palace.

Interestingly enough, taking the historical route, Poseidon possibly started out as Poseidon-Wanax, a Chthonic figure who was regarded as the god of the underworld and may have been associated with the earthquakes in regions of Crete and Mycenae.

Hades - The God of the Underworld

Hades (or Aïdes - meaning 'the Unseen') was the oldest son of Kronos and thus the eldest among the Twelve Olympians. He was perceived as a mysterious figure who was held in awe and fear by the common folks- so much so that even speaking his name was superstitiously avoided.

As for the mythical side of affairs, after the defeat of the Titans, Hades gained rulership over the underworld, a dark and brooding place that also bore the name of its king - Hades. This 'hidden' world was possibly also the source of wealth, like precious metals that the deity greatly coveted.

Unsurprisingly, Hades didn't feature much as a protagonist in myths involving the Twelve Olympians. However, he does play a part in the relationship between the Greek goddess Demeter and her own daughter Persephone - discussed later in the article.

Furthermore, in spite of his seemingly sinister characterization in mythology, the underworld of Hades shouldn't be viewed as being completely analogous to hell. Instead, it was originally regarded as the final resting place for the souls of ordinary mortals (while the souls of the heroes and the righteous went to the 'paradisiacal' Elysian Fields).

But over time, the dark realm was perceived as an abstruse series of ill-boding zones, guarded by the monstrous three-headed (or fifty-headed, as mentioned by Hesiod) dog Kerberos (or Cerberus), whose 'distant' lower depths were reserved for the sinners for an eternity of labor and torment.

Hera - The Goddess of Domestic Affairs

Hera, the queen of the Twelve ruling gods, embodied the aspects of marriage, women, childbirth, and even the stars in heaven. And considering her lineage as possibly the eldest daughter of the Titan Kronos (in some myths, goddess Hestia is the eldest daughter), she was also the sister to Zeus, the king of the Olympians.

Pertaining to the latter, there is a famous myth of how the shapeshifting Zeus transformed himself into a cuckoo to secure the affection of Hera and ultimately seduce her. Unfortunately, as we mentioned earlier, their union was not exactly a happy one, partly due to the nature of Zeus' string of affairs with other women - gods and mortals alike.

In fact, one particular episode from Greek mythology also relates to how Hera stirred up a full-fledged rebellion among the Greek gods against Zeus, which resulted in the King of the Olympians being tied up on his own couch. Fortuitously for Zeus, he was saved by one of his hundred-limbed Hecatoncheires guards.

In any case, as for the historical side of affairs, the cult of Hera was closely associated with the island of Samos. To that end, the Heraion of Samos, dating from the Late Archaic period circa 8th century BC), was one of the first free-standing Ionic temples.

It was a massive sanctuary solely dedicated to the Greek goddess. And befitting her title as the queen of the ancient Greek gods, she was depicted as a beautiful woman wearing a crown and holding a royal, lotus-tipped scepter.

Demeter - The Goddess of Harvest

Demeter was the daughter of Kronos and Rhea and hence belonged to the first generation of Olympians. She was the goddess of agriculture, harvest, grain, and bread. In essence, she embodied the sustaining force of earth and thus was often depicted as a matronly woman bearing sheaves of wheat or a cornucopia (the 'horn of plenty' symbolizing abundance and nourishment).

Essentially, this translated to a tragic story in which Demeter, the deity of growth and harvest, lost her daughter when she was kidnapped by Hades (as he fell in love with her).

And even after the intervention of other Greek gods, Persephone was only allowed to return to earth and spend time with her mother from spring to autumn, thus essentially symbolizing how her parting caused the leaves to fall and stunted nature's growth - until the cyclic arrival of next spring.

Historically, the role of Demeter and her 'periodic' daughter Persephone may have been re-enacted in the Eleusinian Mysteries, the enigmatic annual initiation ceremonies held in ancient Greece that possibly predated the pantheon of the Olympian Greek gods.

The cult in itself was based at Eleusis and its rituals and beliefs (that had their ancient versions being performed in other realms, including Crete, Near East, and later Rome) were mostly kept secret on a consistent basis for around two millennia.

Aphrodite - The Goddess of Beauty and Love

Aphroditewasan ancient female deity representing beauty, sexual love, and pleasure. She was unique among the ancient Greek gods and goddesses because she was counted among both the first generation of divine beings and the subsequent twelve gods of Mount Olympus.

The first categorization relates to her birth, which according to Hesiod, resulted from the 'foamy' seed of the Ouranos (represented by the sea foam) - as mentioned before in the article (see Ouranos entry). The second categorization comes from Homer's Iliad, where she is mentioned to be born from the union of Zeus and Dione (an oracular female Titan).

Interestingly enough, Plato went on to differentiate between these two entities by describing how the goddess had variant aspects, with the first one being accorded the epithet of Aphrodite Ourania (the 'Heavenly Aphrodite') and the second being called Aphrodite Pandemos (Aphrodite 'common to all the people').

Now given her embodiment of love and pleasure in Greek mythology, it doesn't come as a surprise that Aphrodite took many lovers - both Greek gods and mortals, including Ares, Adonis, and Anchises; and produced a lot of children, including Harmonia, Phobos, Eros, Hermaphroditus, and even Aeneas (the mythical ancestor of the legendary Remus and Romulus - founders of Rome).

But beyond her seemingly simple characterization in the mythical narrative, it is the historical scope of Aphrodite that demands more attention. In that regard, the cult of the deity is believed to have been derived from the Phoenician goddess Astarte.

The latter was probably a cognate of the East Semitic/Assyrian goddess Ishtar, whose cult was based on the originally Mesopotamian ( Sumerian) cult of Inanna. Quite intriguingly, like in the case of Ishtar, Aphrodite, in spite of her association with love and desire, was also revered as a warrior goddess, especially in Laconia (Sparta).

Athena - The Protector Goddess

Hence it is said that Athena was birthed from Zeus' forehead, and she sprang forth in her fully mature form draped in armor. Her physical maturity matched her steadfast personality, with the deity being counted among the wisest, courageous, and resourceful of the twelve gods.

Unsurprisingly, she was regarded as the ancient Greek goddess of both endurance and strategic warfare, while she also embodied the aspects of wisdom, strength, and reason. Athena was often called by her various honorable epithets, like Parthenos which simply meant 'virgin' - a title she lived up to given her distaste for illicit affairs.

Even more fascinatingly, she was also called Promachos, meaning 'of war', which alludes to her aspect of defensive warfare and strategy. The title and its symbolism hinted at a more patriotic sense of conducting war, as opposed to unwanted battle frenzy and warmongering. In fact, the olive tree and the owl were considered symbols of the protector goddess.

The goddess also plays a crucial role in the founding myth of Athens, where she bests Poseidon and emerges as the patron deity of Athens, a legacy of the legend being epitomized by the still-standing Parthenon dedicated to Athena Parthenos. As the daughter of Zeus, she was also the favorite child of her father - so much so that she was even allowed to wield his powerful weapons.

And lastly, when it comes to history, the name Athana Potana was mentioned in one of the Linear B tablets at Knossos, which suggests how the entity possibly started out as the Aegean goddess of the palace, who embodied the aspects of the royal protector and the inspiration behind household crafts.

Ares - The God of War

To that end, one of the myths talked about how Heracles managed to disgrace the ancient Greek god of war by spearing him in the thigh. In yet another episode, the rash Ares was defeated by the Aloadai giants who laid siege to Olympus, and he had to be ultimately rescued by Hermes.

Talking of Greek myths, one of the more risque ones involved his illicit affair with the married Aphrodite (the wife of Hephaistos). Their union, according to Hesiod, was said to have produced Phobos and Deimos, the personifications of fear and terror respectively, who accompanied their grim father in battles.

Now interestingly enough, while many of the legends of the god of war were not exactly appreciative of the deity's actions, the name of Ares was invoked by the Greek hoplites before actual battles.

For example, the Spartans were known to have made sacrifices to Enyalius, possibly a lesser deity who was either regarded as the son of Ares and Enyo (the Greek goddess of destruction) or the embodiment of Ares himself. In terms of imagery, Ares carried a bloody spear, while his symbols included vultures and dogs.

Another one of the second generation of Olympians, Hephaistos (or Hephaestus), and his portrayal was rather antithetical when it came to the assumed physical qualities of a Greek god or goddess.

To that end, he was considered somewhat uncomely by his divine peers - with his mother Hera (in many narratives he was said to have no father, while in some versions his father was Zeus) even casting him away from the heavens, apparently because of his looks and a deformed leg.

Utterly disgraced, the 'lame' god landed on the island of Lemnos. But showcasing his inherent doughtiness, Hephaistos managed to become a master craftsman who constructed his 'secret' workshop on the island's volcano. Thus in Greek mythology, Hephaistos embodied the aspects of fire, metallurgy, and crafts, thus becoming the patron god of smiths and weavers.

Afterward, he became the master blacksmith of the Olympian Gods and is credited with making the scepter and aegis of Zeus, the helmet of Hermes, secret locking doors for the chambers of Hera, and the giant automaton Talos for King Minos. However, his crowning achievement arguably relates to the creation of the first woman Pandora, who was made from clay.

And while he managed to even marry Aphrodite (as a reward for freeing Hera), the most beautiful of all the Olympians, his domestic life wasn't exactly a happy one - with Aphrodite having affairs outside of her marriage. As for history, the first mention of Hephaistos possibly comes from a Bronze Age Linear B inscription at Knossos.

Apollo - The God of Prophecy

Apollo (or Apollon) was hailed as one of the most important Olympians when it came to the pantheons of both ancient Greeks and Romans. He was the archetype of the beardless, youthful being ( kouros), who was also considered the divine entity of light, music, prophecy, poetry, medicine, and archery (symbolized by a silver bow).

The son of Zeus and Leto (daughter of Titan Koios or Coeus and Phoebe), in the mythical narrative, Apollo played a number of seemingly contradictory roles, ranging from that of a monster slayer (who slew the serpent Python and the giant Tityos), music contestant (who defeated the satyr Marsyas) to a murderer (who killed the lesser Cyclopes), and even a plague bearer (with the epidemic being unleashed on the Greek soldiers after the Trojan War).

In this oscillation between benevolence and spite, the aspects of Apollo are also pretty complex, with some primary ones embodying the nature of light and the sun (thus Apollo was associated with or replaced the Titan Helios in Hellenistic times, circa 3rd century BC). Others were associated with places of worship, healing and medicine, prophecy, music, and even wolves. Historically, Apollo was regarded as the oracular Greek god and patron of Delphi.

And since we brought up history, the name Apollo, unlike a number of other Greek gods, doesn't come up in the Linear B script. In essence, even the origins of Apollo in the pantheon of ancient Greece are mired in mystery, with the etymology of the word Apollon ('Apollo' is the Latin form of Greek 'Apollon') possibly harking back to a pre-Greek era.

For example, a Hittite entity Apaliunas is mentioned in the Manapa-Tarhunta letter, which in turn might have been derived from Aplu Enlil - meaning the son of the Mesopotamian god Enlil.

Artemis - The Goddess of Hunt

In the mythical narrative it is said after being born, Artemis helped her mother to deliver her twin brother, Apollo, thus embodying the aspects of labor and childbirth. At the same time, she was eternally chaste and a virgin, thus serving a paradoxical connection to childbirth.

But more importantly, among the Olympian gods and goddesses, she was associated with the hunt, forests (especially cypress tree), and the moon - with the latter embodiment possibly allowing her to supersede Selene, the Titan goddess of the moon.

This is what Ist century BC Stoic philosopher Quintus Lucilius Balbus (noted by Cicero in his book De Natura Deorum or 'On the Nature of the Gods'), had to say about Diana, the ancient Roman equivalent of Artemis -

People regard Diana and the moon as one and the same. ... the moon (luna) is so-called from the verb to shine (lucere). Lucina is identified with it, which is why in our country they invoke Juno Lucina in childbirth, just as the Greeks call on Diana the Light-bearer. Diana also has the name Omnivaga ("wandering everywhere"), not because of her hunting but because she is numbered as one of the seven planets; her name Diana derives from the fact that she turns darkness into daylight (dies). She is invoked at childbirth because children are born occasionally after seven, or usually after nine, lunar revolutions...

Interestingly enough, as was virgin Artemis' paradoxical connection to childbirth, the Greek goddess also embodied other seemingly conflicting aspects, ranging from the purity and serenity of woods and wildlands to the unpredictable and ever-changing nature of the moon.

As for the historical side of affairs, while the origins of Artemis are still debated, with hypotheses ranging from her Phrygian etymology to association with pre-Classical bear cults, there is no doubt that the deity was held in high regard. To that end, the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, possibly dedicated to a local variant of the goddess of the hunt, was counted among one of the ancient seven wonders of the world.

Hermes - The Messenger God

Hermes, the son of Zeus and Maia (one of the daughters of Titan Atlas), was inducted into the exclusive rank of the twelve Olympian Greek gods after he demonstrated his inherent craftiness even as an infant.

According to one particular episode, he was able to steal the cattle of Apollo and also craft a lyre out of a tortoiseshell, when he could barely move out of his crib. Impressed by these clever efforts, Zeus personally made Hermes his herald and messenger.

Mirroring the astute and sometimes shrewd nature of his feats, Hermes was regarded as the Greek god of various aspects, ranging from herds and flocks, travelers and hospitality, roads and trade to diplomacy, language, and writing, athletic contests, and even thievery.

To that end, Hermes, by virtue of his special winged sandals ( talaria), a winged hat ( petasos), and a magic wand (with two snakes), could quickly travel between worlds, thus serving as a messenger of gods for the mortals. He also fulfilled his role as the conductor of the souls into the afterlife.

Hestia - The Goddess of Hearth

Hestia (or Ἑστία in Greek) refers to the 'hearth' or 'fireside', and as such, she was venerated as the virgin goddess of the hearth. In the mythical narrative, she is considered the oldest daughter (or probably the first-born child) of the Titans Kronos and Rhea - and as such, her character was often associated with the concept of pureness and peace.

Consequently, she was perceived as the deity of domesticity, family, and home - with the very nature of primal fire (in hearths) being viewed as the sacred element of every household (for cooking and heat).

Interestingly enough, the polis (city) was seen as the extension of the family (or tribe), and thus Hestia was also venerated as the presiding deity over the civic hearth in the prytaneion (town hall). In the historical context, even settlers who founded their cities and colonies away from the Greek mainland often carried the flame from Hestia's public hearth in the mother city as a symbolic gesture of unity.

Now in spite of Hestia's connection to sacredness and purity, there are few myths associated with the Greek goddess of the hearth - so much so that many later stories replaced Hestia with Dionysus (discussed later) as one of the 12 Olympian Greek gods.

As for her depictions, conforming to her aspect of domesticity, Hestia was often portrayed as a middle-aged woman with modest attire, carrying a staff or flowers with the fire (or hearth) in the background.

Honorable Mention: Dionysus - The God of Wine

That is when Hera, apparently out of jealousy, tricked the pregnant Semele to persuade Zeus to appear in his original god-like form in front of her. But the exuberant power was too great for the mortal as she died from the crackling thunderbolts. But Zeus managed to save their child by sewing him up in his thigh, and thus Dionysus was 'twice-born' as he emerged from Zeus upon reaching maturity.

In Greek mythology, Dionysus was the god of vegetation and winemaking, but his aspects began to take a 'wilder' route, thus being also associated with festivity, revelry, pleasure, and ecstasy.

The undertone of frenzy and its uncontrollable nature is often mirrored in the mythical narrative, with the followers of Dionysus (mainly women), called bacchantes, often portrayed as having the ability to possess occult power (that could charm animals) and extraordinary strength (that could tear ordinary people to pieces), albeit in momentary phases. In essence, Dionysus represented the uncontrollable, potent life force ('sap') of nature.

And when it comes to history, the origins of Dionysus as one of the ancient Greek gods take an interesting turn, with mention of his name in a Linear B tablet, dating from the Late Mycenaean period, circa 13th century BC.

His subsequent cults were possibly foreign in origin, and by the Roman times, the ancient rites of Dionysus (or Bacchus) in some part remained mysterious and were rather scandalous, as was attested by Livy. He talked about how the cults practiced wine-fueled violence and rampant sexual promiscuity, accompanied by cacophonous music - thus giving way to the term 'bacchanalian', meaning a 'drunken feast'.

Summary -

Primordial Greek Gods (First Generation) -

Gaia - The Greek goddess who plays the role of a primordial deity ( protogenos), thereby regarded as the mother of all creation and associated with the Earth.

Ouranos - Also called Uranus, Ouranos was one of the protogenoi associated with the Sky and thus also regarded as the companion to Gaia - symbolized by the Earth.

The Major Titans (Second Generation of Greek Gods) -

Kronos - The leader of the Titans (who were the offsprings of the protogenoi or primordial deities), Kronos or Cronus was associated with time, fate, justice, and sometimes even evil doings.

Hyperion - The Titan embodies the heavenly light, while his sister/wife Theia (meaning 'divine') was the manifestation of the brightness of the blue sky.

Oceanus - The Titan (also called Okeanos) personified the massive river Okeanos that was thought to have encircled Earth itself, thereby being associated with all freshwater.

Atlas - The Titan tasked (or rather punished) with carrying the weight of the heavens on his shoulders.

Prometheus - The Titan is credited with the creation of human life and is associated with fire and kilns.

The Olympian Gods (Third Generation) -

Zeus - The son of Kronos, Zeus was also the King of the Olympians (descendants of Titan Kronos) who overthrew his father and other Titans, and thus became the supreme deity of the Greek pantheon. He was associated with the sky, weather, law and order, destiny and fate, and kingship.

Poseidon - One of the brothers of Zeus, Poseidon was regarded as the lord of the seas, floods, and droughts, while also being associated with earthquakes and horses.

Hades - The eldest of the Olympians and elder brother of Zeus, the ever-mysterious (and often ominous) god was the ruler of the Underworld.

Hera - The queen of the Olympian Greek gods and the sister/wife of Zeus, Hera embodied the aspects of marriage, women, childbirth, and even the stars in heaven.

Demeter - Another daughter of Kronos, Demeter was venerated as the Greek goddess of agriculture, harvest, grain, and bread.

Aphrodite - A unique deity who was (sometimes) considered as one of the direct descendants of the Primordial Greek gods and yet not counted as a Titan (but rather worshipped as an Olympian), Aphrodite was associated with beauty, love, and pleasure.

Athena - The daughter of Zeus (birthed from Zeus' forehead), Athena was regarded as the ancient Greek goddess of both endurance and strategic warfare, while she also embodied the aspects of wisdom, strength, and reason.

Ares - The son of Zeus and Hera, Ares embodied the 'battle lust', thus considered the Greek god of war.

Hephaistos - The son of Hera (and in some narratives - Zeus), the crippled Hephaistos (or Hephaestus) was the master blacksmith of the Olympians, thus representing the aspects of fire, metallurgy, and crafts.

Apollo - The archetype of the beardless, youthful being ( kouros), Apollo, a son of Zeus (and a Titan), was considered the divine entity of light, music, prophecy, poetry, medicine, and archery.

Artemis - The twin sister of Apollo, she was associated with the hunt, forests, and the moon.

Hermes - Another son of Zeus (and a Titan), Hermes, the Messenger God, was regarded as the deity of various aspects, ranging from herds and flocks, travelers and hospitality, roads and trade to diplomacy, language and writing, athletic contests, and even thievery.

Hestia - The eldest daughter of Kronos and Rhea, Hestia was the Greek goddess of the hearth, home, domesticity, and unity.

Dionysus - The son of Zeus and a mortal, Dionysus was the Greek god of vegetation and winemaking, but his aspects began to take a 'wilder' route, thus being also associated with festivity, revelry, pleasure, and ecstasy.

The Family Tree of Greek Gods and Goddesses -

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All-Powerful Olympian Greek Gods and Titans You Should Know About

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Let us take a gander at 20 major Greek gods and goddesses, including both the Titans and the Twelve Olympian Gods.

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A visually stunning adaptation of Homer's epic. Excellent for CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.1, allowing students to cite both textual and visual evidence.

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Poseidon • Facts and Information on Greek God Poseidon

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Poseidon facts, information and stories from ancient Greek mythology. Learn about the Greek god of the sea, Poseidon.

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Artemis • Greek Goddess of the Hunt and Moon - Facts and Information

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Artemis facts, information and stories from ancient Greek mythology. Learn about the Greek goddess of the hunt, the forest, the Moon and archery, Artemis.

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HERA - Greek Goddess of Marriage, Queen of the Gods

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Hera was the ancient Greek Queen of the Gods, and the goddess of marriage, women, the sky and the starry heavens. She was usually depicted as a beautiful woman wearing a crown and holding a royal, lotus-tipped sceptre. Her Roman name was Juno.

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Poseidon, in ancient Greek religion, god of the sea (and of water generally), earthquakes, and horses. He is distinguished from Pontus, the personification of the sea and the oldest Greek divinity of the waters. The name Poseidon means either "husband of the earth" or "lord of the earth." Traditionally, he was a son of Cronus (the youngest of the 12 Titans) and of Cronus's sister and consort Rhea, a fertility goddess. Poseidon was a brother of Zeus, the sky god and chief deity of ancient Greece, and of Hades, god of the underworld. When the three brothers deposed their father, the kingdom of the sea fell by lot to Poseidon. His weapon and main symbol was the trident, perhaps once a fish spear. According to the Greek poet Hesiod, Poseidon's trident, like Zeus's thunderbolt and Hades' helmet, was fashioned by the three Cyclopes.

As the god of earthquakes, Poseidon was also connected to dry land, and many of his oldest places of worship in Greece were inland, though these were sometimes centred on pools and streams or otherwise associated with water. In this aspect, he was known as enosichthon and ennosigaios ("earth-shaker") and was worshipped as asphalios ("stabilizer"). As the god of horses, Poseidon is thought likely to have been introduced to Greece by the earliest Hellenes, who also introduced the first horses to the country about the 2nd century bce. Poseidon himself fathered many horses, best known of which was the winged horse Pegasus by the Gorgon Medusa.

Poseidon came into conflict with a variety of figures in land disputes. Notable among these was a contest for sovereignty over Attica, which he lost to the goddess Athena. Despite losing, Poseidon was also worshipped there, particularly at Colonus (as hippios, "of horses").

Poseidon's offspring were myriad. He was the father of Pelias and Neleus by Tyro, the daughter of Salmoneus, and thus became the divine ancestor of the royal families of Thessaly and Messenia. Many of his sons became rulers in other parts of the ancient Greek world. Otherwise he had many monstrous offspring, including giants and savage creatures, such as Orion, Antaeus, and Polyphemus. Progenitor of many, with several consorts, Poseidon also was married to the Oceanid Amphitrite, with whom he also had multiple offspring, including the sea creature Triton.

The chief festival in Poseidon's honour was the Isthmia, the scene of famous athletic contests (including horse races), celebrated in alternate years near the Isthmus of Corinth. His character as a sea god eventually became his most prominent in art, and he was represented with the attributes of the trident, the dolphin, and the tuna. The Romans, ignoring his other aspects, identified him with Neptune as sea god.

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Poseidon, in ancient Greek religion, god of the sea (and of water generally), earthquakes, and horses. He is distinguished from Pontus, the personification of the sea and the oldest Greek divinity of the waters. The name Poseidon means either "husband of the earth" or "lord of the earth."

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Who led the Argonauts in search of the Golden Fleece? Who is the Roman equivalent of the Greek god Ares? From fruits to winged sandals, test your knowledge in this study of Greek and Roman mythology.

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Hera | Characteristics, Family, & Worship

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Hera, in Greek religion, a daughter of the Titans Cronus and Rhea, sister-wife of Zeus, and queen of the Olympian gods. The Romans identified her with their own Juno. Hera was worshipped as goddess of marriage and of the life of women. She was patron of the cities Argos and Samos.