Greek/Roman Names in Mythology with Characteristics
Greek |
Roman |
Duties and Responsibilities |
Identifying Characteristics |
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Adonis | Spirit of spring; beloved of Aphrodite |
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Aphrodite | Venus | Goddess of love and beauty; son, Cupid | Chariot drawn by doves or swans |
Apollo, Phoebus |
Apollo, Phoebus |
God of music, poetry healing; sun-god | Driving sun chariot; flute lyre |
Ares | Mars | God of war | Full armor, long floating plume |
Artemis | Diana | Sister of Apollo; goddess of the chase and of moon | Huntress with bow quiver, and arrow; chariot drawn by stags with golden horns |
Athena, Pallas | Minerva | Goddess of wisdom, protectress of household art | Helmet on head, staff and breastplate from which hung the Gorgon’s head |
Atlas |
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Titan condemned to uphold the world on his shoulders for fighting against Zeus |
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Cerberus |
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Guarded the gates of Hades | Three heads and tail of a dragon. |
Charon |
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Ferry on the Styx |
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Daedalus |
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Artificer and Architect; designed the labyrinth into which he was cast but escaped by means of artificial wings. |
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Demeter | Ceres | Goddess of the harvest | Garland of corn ears; in hands a scepter or cornucopia. |
Dionysus | Bacchus | God of wine | Chariot draw by leopards; his head crowned with leaves in hand a staff entwined with ivy |
Echo |
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Nymph who pined away for the love of Narcissus until only her voice remained. |
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Epimethus |
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Brother of Prometheus and husband of Pandora |
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Eros | Cupid | Son of Venus, god of love | Bow and arrow |
Gorgons |
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Daughters of a sea deity; snake locks, brazen claws, bodies covered with scales which no weapon could pierce; faces so terrible that beholder was turned to stone; Medusa alone was mortal |
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Hades or Pluto | Dis | God of the underworld and king of shadows |
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Hephaestus | Vulcan | God of fire and smith of the gods | Key to underworld in one hand and magic staff in other |
Hera | Juno | Wife of Zeus, goddess of marriage |
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Heracles | Hercules | Earthly son of Zeus |
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Hermes | Mercury or quicksilver | Messenger of the gods; guardian of travelers |
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Icarus |
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Son of Daedalus; his artificial wings melted when he flew too near the sun and he drowned in the sea; henceforth called the Icarian Sea |
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Olympus |
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Mountain in Thessaly, home of the gods |
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Orpheus |
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Son of Apollo, poetical singer and musician; attempted to rescue his wife, Eurdice from Hades |
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Pan | Faunus | God of things in nature | Bearded man with ears and hoofs, a goat; in his hands, a shepherd’s flute or crook. |
Persephone | Proserpina | Daughter of Ceres and queen of the underworld |
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Perseus |
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Son of Jupiter and Danae; cut out head of Medusa |
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Poseidon | Neptune | God of the sea | Trident, dolphin, hordes |
Prometheus | Son of Trident and brother of Epimethus |
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Zeus | Jupiter or Jove | King of the gods and men | Eagle, thunderbolt and oak |
Dr. Robert Sweetland's Notes ©