Set: Major Characters of Greek Mythology

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All 89 Terms

Term Definition
Gaea [G] the earth. Mother of the titans. She was probably a neolithic earth-other who was pushed into the background by the patriarchal gods of the Indo-Europeans.
Uranus [G] son of Gaea and her husband. Together they parented the Titans.
Cronus [G] The chief Titan, a ruling deity who obtained his power by castrating his father Uranus. He married his sister Rhea.
Cronus [G] with Rhea, they produced the Olympian gods, whom he swallowed at birth to prevent them from seizing the throne. Latin name was Saturn.
Rhea [G] the wife of Cronus. She hid her son Zeus from Cronus and gave him a stone to swallow instead.
Oceanus [G] the unending stream that encircled the world. His wife was Tethys.
Tethys [G] She produced the rivers and the three-thousand ocean nymphs. The wife of Oceanus.
Hyperion [G] The titan of light, father of the son, moon, and dawn.
Mnemosyne [G] The titaness of memory and mother of the muses by Zeus.
Themis [G] The titaness of justice and order. She gave birth to the Fates and the seasons.
Iapetus [G] The Titan who fathered Promethus, Epimetheus, and Atlas.
Prometheus [G] the wisest Titan, a benefactor to mankind, whom he created. His name means 'forethought'.
Prometheus [G] This Titan was originally an ally of Zeus, but he later tricked Zeus, and was chained in the Caucasus Mountains, where an eagle fed upon his liver daily.
Epimetheus [G] A stupid titan whose name means "afterthought". He accepted the gift of Pandora from Zeus.
Pandora [G] The first woman. Epimetheus accepted her gift and in turn she released all evils of the world onto mankind.
Atlas [G] This Titan warred against Zeus and was forced to bear the vault of the heavens upon his shoulders at the edge of the world.
Eros [G] along with Gaea, was the child of Chaos in early Greek mythology. He represented the creative principle of attraction that brings beings together. In later myths he was the son of Aphrodite, and represented lust.
Cyclopes [G] one-eyed monsters, the children of Gaea and Uranus. At first there were 3, and they represented thunder, lightning, and the thunderbolt. They helped Zeus against the Titans.
Hecatoncheires [G] three monsters produced by Gaea and Uranus. Each had 50 heads and a hundred arms. They represented the forces of nature
Briareus [G] a Hecatoncheir that was Zeus's bodyguard.
Giants [G] generated from Uranus' blood when Cronus mutilated him. They were powerful enough to attack the whole Olympian order and were vanquished only after an earth-shattering battle.
The Furies [G] they sprang from the blood of Uranus, and pursued and punished sinners, specifically matricides.
Zeus [G] the supreme deity of the Greeks. At first a storm god who wielded the thunderbolt, he became the All-Father.
Zeus [G] had the Latin name of Jupiter or Jove.
Hera [G] the jealous wife and sister of Zeus, she was the protectress of marriage and childbirth.
Hera [G] Her Latin name was Juno.
Poseidon [G] a brother of Zeus, lord of the sea and a god of horses. He was wrathful and moody, carrying the trident.
Poseidon [G] his Latin name was Neptune.
Demeter [G] Her Latin name was Ceres.
Demeter [G] Zeus's full sister, a goddess of vegetation and fertility. She had various lovers, and bore the child Persephone by Zeus.
Apollo [G] the son of Zeus, the god of light, intelligence, healing, and the arts. Had an important shine at Delphi, where an oracle prophesied.
Phoebus Apollo [G] the other name of Apollo.
Artemis [G] Apollo's twin sister, and daughter of Zeus. She was the goddess of chastity, shown with a bow and a quiver of arrows. She also presided over childbirth and was associated with the moon.
Diana [G] the Latin name of Artemis.
Aphrodite [G] the goddess of love and beauty, born of sea-foam. She represented sex, affection, and the power of attraction that binds people together.
Venus [G] Latin counterpart of Aphrodite.
Athena [G] goddess of wisdom, a warrior who sprung fully armed from the head of Zeus after he has swallowed the Titaness Metis. She was also a goddess of the arts and guardian of Athens.
Athena [G] Her latin name was Minerva, and her chief traits were prudence and valor.
Pallas Athena [G] Athena was sometimes called this
Metis [G] Zeus swallowed this Titaness whole just before giving birth to Athena.
Hestia [G] the mild virgin goddess of the hearth, the family, and peace. Zeus's sister.
Vesta [G] Latin name of Hestia.
Ares [G] the god of war, son of Zeus and Hera. He was a brutal deity who delighted in slaughter and looting, but was also a coward. Had an affair with Aphrodite.
Mars [G] the latin name of Ares.
Hephaestus [G] the lame, ugly god of the crafts, a skilled artisan who created many wonderful things. He was injured by his father Zeus for defending Hera in a quarrel.
Vulcan [G] Hephaestus identified with this Latin god, a deity of volcanic fire.
Hermes [G] The cleverest of the Olympian gods. He ruled wealth and good fortune, was the patron of commerce and thievery, promoted fertility, and guided men on journeys.
Hermes [G] He was the herald and messenger of the gods, a conductor of souls to the netherworld, and a god of sleep.He was the son of Zeus.
Hermes [G] Was depicted with a helmet, winged sandals, and the caduceus. He was also known as Mercury.
Hades [G] Lord of the underworld.
Hades [G] the Brother of Zeus, a dark, stern, inexorable god, and his kingdom was gray and lifeless. He abducted Persephone and made her his queen.
Pluto (or Dis) [G] other names for Hades.
Hebe [G] the daughter of Zeus and Hera. the Goddess of youth, she acted as a cupbearer to the gods.
Ganymede [G] another cupbearer to the Gods. Zeus abducted him and made him immortal and his lover.
Iris [G] the goddess of the rainbow and sometimes a messenger of the gods.
Three Graces [G] presided over banquets and festivities. They represented splendor, mirth, and good cheer.
Nine Muses [G] Part of Apollo's retinue, and were the daughters of Mnemosyne, or memory. They were the goddesses of inspiration.
Clio [G] the Muse of history
Melpomene [G] the Muse of tragedy.
Urania [G] the Muse of astronomy.
Thalia [G] the Muse of comedy.
Terpsichore [G] the Muse of dance.
Calliope [G] the Muse of epic poetry.
Erato [G] the Muse of love verse.
Euterpe [G] the muse of lyric poems.
Polyhymnia [G] the muse of sacred songs.
Persephone [G] the daughter of Zeus and Demeter, a goddess of springtime. She became queen of the underworld after Hades abducted her.
Proserpina [G] the latin name of Persephone.
Dionysus [G] a fertility god and a god of the vine. The son of Zeus and Semele. He served to liberate the emotions and to inspire men with joy.
Dionysus [G] Like the grape vine, this god suffered death but was resurrected. His female worshipers were the frenzied Maenads. His Latin name was Liber, a god of drunkenness.
Bacchus [G] The other name of Dionysus.
Pan [G] the son of Hermes, the god of flocks. He had the torso and head of a man, but the hindquarters and horns of a goat. A marvelous musician, he played the pipes and pursued various nymphs, all of whom rejected him for his ugliness.
Satyrs [G] originally men with horses' haunches and tails, two-legged as opposed to the four-legged Centaurs.
Fauns [G] goat-men who roamed the woods, not to be confused with the Satyrs
Centaurs [G] principally savage beasts, half-horse and half-man.
Chiron [G] a Centaur famous for his virtue and wisdom.
Dryads [G] tree-nymphs with beautiful female shapes. There were also mountain nymphs, wood nymphs, stream nymphs, and sea nymphs.
Gorgons [G] three hideous dragonish sisters that could change men to stone at a glance.
Medusa [G] the most famous of the Gorgons.
Sirens [G] sisters who sat on the rocks by the sea and lured sailors to their doom by singing to them.
Helios [G] the sun god, but he did not play a large part in Greek mythology.
Aeolus [G] the custodian of the four winds.
Castor and Pollux [G] famous twins who protected sailors. One's brotherly devotion when the other died made their names a by-word for fraternal affection.
Proteus [G] the son or attendant of Poseidon, had the ability to prophesy, and to change his shape at will.
Triton [G] the trumpeter of the sea and was depicted blowing a large conch shell.
The Fates [G] three powerful goddesses who determined the lives of men.
Clotho [G] the Fate who wove the thread of life
Lachesis [G] the Fate who measured out the thread of life
Atropos [G] the Fate who cut the thread of life with her scissors of death.

Set Information

Terms 89
Creator HHS_Charlie
Created July 31, 2008
Groups None
Subjects None
Access Anyone
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Description

[G] = Greek Mythology

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Most Missed Words

  1. Terpsichore → [G] the Muse of dance. - 4 misses
  2. Themis → [G] The titaness of justice and order. She gave birth to the Fates and the seasons. - 3 misses
  3. Briareus → [G] a Hecatoncheir that was Zeus's bodyguard. - 3 misses
  4. Aeolus → [G] the custodian of the four winds. - 3 misses
  5. Diana → [G] the Latin name of Artemis. - 3 misses
  6. Euterpe → [G] the muse of lyric poems. - 3 misses
  7. Urania → [G] the Muse of astronomy. - 3 misses