Name:

Greek / Roman 

Poseidon / Neptune

brother to Zeus and Hades, wife Amphrotite 

Domain:

    * He ruled the seas and rivers.   His wife was Amphrodite.  God of earthquakes, know  as the "earthshaker".

Icons:

       the horse   

                                                      the bull    

                                                                                                the trident  

Name:

Greek / Roman 

Hades / Pluto 

brother to Zeus and Poseidon.  His wife Persephone.

Domain:

    * He ruled all lands under the  earth's surface.  His wife Persephone.  The god

       of wealth. His son was,  Hypnos and nephew Morpheus the gods of sleep. 

Icons:

   three headed dog "Cerbreus"   

                                           associated with the grim reaper   

   Chiron the ferry man of the dead   

Name:

Greek / Roman 

Hera / Juno

 wife to Zeus, protector of married women 

Domain:

    * protector of the family unit. 

Icons:

       the cow  

                                               the hearth  

                                                                 the peacock   

Name:

Greek / Roman 

Athena / Minerva

daughter of Zeus alone, born in full body armor.

Domain:

    * protector of the city, goddess of wisdom

Icons:

       the owl  

                                   goddess of the city  

Name:

Greek / Roman 

Apollo / Apollo

son of Zeus and Leto, a twin sister is Artemis

Domain:

    * god of the sun.  god of truth,  god of archery

Icons:

       archery   

                                 animal the dolphin   

    the crow 

Name:

Greek / Roman 

Aphrodite / Venus

 Born from sea form off the island of Cythera. 

Married to Hephaestus

Domain:

    * goddess of love and beauty.  

Icons:

                     the swan  

        dove  

Name:

Greek / Roman 

Artemis / Diana

born from a swan egg, twin sister to Apollo 

Domain:

    * goddess of wild animals and the hunt.  goddess of the moon.

Icons:

     the hunting and the bow     

               animal the deer and wild thngs   

Name:

Greek / Roman 

Hephaestus / Vulcan

Son of Hera / Juno alone.   A cripple god hurled by Zeus from Olympus as a youth.  Married to Aphrodite / Venus.

Domain:

    * god of craftsmen who make things.  Blacksmith of the gods.  

Icons:

  The anvil and forge     

                                                           the volcano   

Name:

Greek / Roman 

Demeter / Ceres

One of the original Olympians 

Domain:

    *goddess of grain and growing, and the changing

     of the seasons.

Icons:

     grain   

seasonal change   

Name:

Greek / Roman 

Hermes / Mercury

Messanger for the gods, he appears more often than any other

gods in Greek mythology.

Domain:

    * He escorted the dead to the underworld

Icons:

       the Caduceas   

                  symbol for medicine   

                                                             an icon for speed  

Name:

Greek / Roman 

Dionysus / Bacchus

god of the grape, harvest and the god of hospitality

Icons:

       the grape   

                                   god of the traveler and hospitality     

Name:

Greek / Roman 

Ares / Mars

son of Zeus and Hera.  Their only child. They did not like him

because he was spoiled and tempermental.

Domain:

    * god of war.  Liked by the Romans but hated by the Greeks

                              who liked peace. 

Icons:

  weapons of war      

                                                                    the dog  

          the vulture  

Name:

Greek / Roman 

Fates / The Moirae

Otherwise known as the Moirae, these timeless old hags weave the

threads of destiny that control your life. The original spin doctors.

They are:

CLOTHO who spins the Thread of Life,

LACHESIS who allots the length of the yarn, and 

ATROPOS who does the snip (the final one).

All the good and evil that befalls you is woven into your destiny and cannot

be altered even one jot. You may find this a little unfair, but it's the stuff great Greek tragedies are made of.

As the daughters of primeval night deities EREBUS and NYX (though

some claim that ZEUS and THEMIS should be held responsible),

the FATES control the destinies of all. Even the Gods are subject to their decisions. 

Icons:

      the spinning wheel          

Name:

Greek / Roman 

Muses

In Greek and Roman mythology,

the nine muses were the daughters of Zeus,

the king of the gods, and Mnemosyne, the goddess of memory.

The muses were the patron goddesses of the arts,

and over time each muse became associated with a specific art:

Calliope--the muse of epic poetry

Clio--the muse of history

Erato--the muse of love poetry

Euterpe--the muse of lyric poetry

Melpomene--the muse of tragedy

Polyhymnia--the muse of songs of praise to the gods

Terpsichore--the muse of choral songs and dance

Thalia--the muse of comedy

Urania--the muse of astronomy

Traditionally, a poet--especially an epic poet--would invoke the aid

of the appropriate muse to guide and assist him in his creative endeavor.

In its earliest development, however, the invocation was essentially a prayer,

a request that the goddess being invoked to inspire--literally, "breathe into"--the artist. The idea was that the artist did not himself "create" the work of art, but merely served as a mortal channel through which the divine voice of the muse could speak.

Name:

Greek / Roman 

Medusa / Gorgon 

Gorgons

by Micha F. Lindemans

In Greek mythology a Gorgon is a monstrous feminine creature whose appearance would turn anyone who laid eyes upon it to stone. Later there were three of them: Euryale ("far-roaming"), Sthenno ("forceful"), and Medusa ("ruler"), the only one of them who was mortal. They are the three daughters of Phorcys and Ceto.

The Gorgons are monstrous creatures covered with impenetrable scales, with hair of living snakes, hands made of brass, sharp fangs and a beard. They live in the ultimate west, near the ocean, and guard the entrance to the underworld.

A stone head or picture of a Gorgon was often placed or drawn on temples and graves to avert the dark forces of evil, but also on the shields of soldiers. Such a head (called a gorgoneion) could also be found on the older coins of Athens. Artists portrayed a Gorgon head with snake hair, and occasionally with a protruding tongue and wings.

Icons:

       one of the Gorgons