We have a list of popular Greek gods that you should see to lessen your curiosity about Gods of mythology. Every culture has myths that are passed to the new generation, the same goes to Greeks whose Greek mythology is of great interest for people across the world. Here are some of the most popular greek mythology gods who are often presented in literature and also in movies.
Mythical Creatures fantasy | Here are 7 types of Mythical Creatures
1: Hermes:
- Hermes is considered the protector of human travellers and merchants.
- He can move quickly from one part of the world to another.
- He is presented as the son of Zeus and Maia.
- He is often presented as a mature man with a beard and dressed as a traveller but in some cultures (Classical and Hellenistic), he is presented as a young and athletic man without a beard.
- In his book Iliad, the great writer Homer describes him as “Guide and Guardian” and “excellent in all tricks”. (More about him)
2: Aphrodite:
- Aphrodite is considered the Greek goddess of lust, love, pleasure, beauty, passion and procreation.
- In Greek mythology, she was married to Hephaestus who was a god of fire. Aphrodite was not faithful to him and had many affairs including her affair with Ares (the god of war).
- She is mentioned in many writers’ works including William Shakespeare’s Venus and Adonis, Richard Garnett’s short story collection The Twilight of the Gods and Other Tales and the French writer Pierre Louys’s Aphrodite: moeurs antiques.
- Aphrodite is also mentioned by feminist poets Amy Lowell and Alicia Ostriker.
- There is also a church with the name Church of Aphrodite founded by Gleb Botkin. (More about her)
3: Hephaestus:
- Hephaestus is considered the son of Zeus and Hera.
- It is also found in greek mythology that he was abandoned by Hera because of his impairment and fell into the ocean. He was raised by Thetis.
- Hephaestus used to serve as the blacksmith of gods and made weapons for all Greek gods.
- Hephaestus was the husband of Aphrodite who betrayed her behind his back and sleep with Ares. He made a plan and disclose this betrayal in front of all.
- In Grecia art, he is represented as a man with beard and a hammer. (read more about him)
4: Artemis:
- Artemis is considered the Greek goddess of hunt, wilderness, moon, chastity and wild animals.
- She is the daughter of Zeus and Leto.
- She is the protector of young children and women.
- She is worshipped as the goddess of childbirth.
- She preferred to remain a maiden and never married.
- Her temple is considered one of the seven wonders of the Ancient World.
- In Greek classical art, she is portrayed as a maiden huntress. (read more about her)
5: Ares:
- Ares is one of the greek mythology gods who is considered the god of war and courage.
- He is the son of Zeus and Hera.
- He is rarely mentioned in Greek mythology and often humiliated.
- There are few places in Greece and Peloponnese, where his temples are placed.
- In Greek literature, he is represented as violent and personification of brutality and blood lust.
- He is one of the twelve Olympians which means he is one of the major deities of the Greeks. (More)
6: Apollo:
- Apollo is considered the god of archery, music, truth, sun, healing and disease.
- He is one of the Olympian gods of Greece.
- He is the son of Zeus and Leto and twin brother of Artemis.
- Many temples were dedicated to Apollo in Greece.
- He is the favourite son of Zeus and often transfers his knowledge to humans.
- Apollo has appeared in many books, videos games and films.
- He is mentioned by Charles Handy’s Gods of Management and in Rick Riordan’s Trials of Apollo.
- Hercules by Luke Evans and Clash of Titans are the films in which he is mentioned. (More)
7: Hades:
- Hades is one of the most popular Greek gods that people find fascinating until now.
- He is the god of the dead and the underworld.
- Hades was the son of Cronus and Rhea.
- He is often portrayed as passive and not negative and he always treated his subject equally.
- He is often feared by others as he is associated with death. He does not want anyone to leave his world. (More about him)
8: Athena:
- Athena is considered the greek goddess of wisdom.
- She was considered the protector of many cities including the city of Athens.
- She is depicted wearing a helmet and with a spear.
- In Greek mythology, she is born from the forehead of Zeus.
- She has a major role in Greek literature including the lliad, Odyssey and in the writings of poet Ovid.
- Sigmund Freud described Athena “as a woman who is unapproachable and repels all sexual desires”.
- She is also used by feminists sometimes as a symbol of women empowerment and sometimes as the “ultimate patriarchal sell out”. (More)
9: Zeus:
- Zeus is the king of gods of Greece.
- He is the sky and thunder god.
- Zeus is the child of Cronus and Rhea.
- He was infamous for his erotic behaviour that resulted in producing so many offsprings.
- Apart from that, he had seven wives.
- All the other gods who were not his offspring used to address him as a father.
- After the battle with Titans, Zeus shared the world with his brothers (Poseidon and Hades) and ruled over the sky.
- In Homer’s poem Iliad, Zeus played a major part. (More about him)
10: Poseidon:
- Poseidon is one of the twelve Olympians (popular greek gods) of Greek religion.
- He has the title the “earth shaker”.
- Poseidon is originally the god of water. He became the lord of water.
- He was the son of Titans Cronus and Rhea.
- In Greek art, he rides a chariot. He was associated with three dolphins and three-pronged fish spears.
- He is also considered the father of horses.
- He is also mentioned in Odyssey and Iliad. In Odyssey, he has hate for Odysseus.
- He is also mentioned in the epic poem Aeneid.
- He is very popular in God-related movies. Percy Jackson and the Olympians, tv-series Once Upon a Time, Poseidon are some of the movies and series in which he has a major role. (More)
11: Hera:
- Hera is one of the greek goddesses.
- She is the goddess of women, family, marriage and childbirth.
- She is also one of the twelve Olympians.
- Hera is the daughter of Titans Cronus and Rhea.
- She is the sister and wife of Zeus and jealous of his lovers and other wives.
- She is often seen with sacred animals like cows, peacocks and lions.
- She has a major role in the epic Greek poem The Iliad.
12: Demeter:
- Demeter is the goddess of harvest and agriculture.
- She is mentioned in Theogony (a greek poem) by Hesiod as the Corn-Mother who provides grain for bread.
- She is also worshipped as the goddess of the earth.
- She is represented as snake-haired to symbolize her power over the earth and underworld.
- Her daughter Persephone was abducted by the underworld god Hades.
- She has so much grief that the earth stopped harvesting crops and living things started dying.