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Learning centre
| Mythology
Planets and mythology
Sun -
Apollo,
Helios and
Sol
Moon - Artemis,
Diana,
Luna and
Selene
Mercury -
Mercury
and Hermes
Venus -
Aphrodite,
Ishtar and Venus
Earth -
Gaia,
Tellus and
Terra
Mars -
Ares and Mars
Jupiter -
Jupiter and
Zeus
Saturn -
Cronus and
Saturn
Uranus -
Uranus
Neptune -
Neptune and
Poseidon
Pluto -
Hades and
Pluto
Chiron -
Chiron
Apollo
(Greek) - god
Apollo is the son of Zeus and Leto and the twin brother
of Artemis.
He was the god of music, prophecy, colonization, medicine, archery (but not
for war or hunting), poetry and dance. He was the carer of herds and flocks and
a god of light, known as 'Phoebus' (radiant or beaming).
Apollo's attributes are the bow and arrows, a laurel crown on his head, the
lyre and plectrum and sacred to him are the swan, the wolf and the dolphin.
Apollo, like his father Zeus, had many love affairs with
goddesses and mortals and was infatuated by the nymph Daphne (the
beautiful daughter of the river god Ladon). To escape from Apollo's
insistent behaviour, she fled to the mountains. Still pursued by Apollo
she asked the river god Peneus for help, which he did. As soon as Apollo
approached Daphne, he tried to embrace her, but when he stretched out his
arms she transformed into a laurel tree. Distraught by what had happened, Apollo
made the laurel his sacred tree.
Apollo also fell in love with Cassandra, Hyacinthus (a
handsome and athletic Spartan prince) and the young boy Cyparissus (a
descendant of Heracles).
Apollo sons are Aristaeus (from the nymph Cyrene), Troilius (from
Hecuba the mortal wife of Priam, the king of Troy) and
Asclepius (the god of healing from Coronis).
~«~
Helios (Greek) - god
Helios is the young Greek god of the sun. He is the son of Hyperion
and Theia. By the Oceanid Perse he became the father of
Aeėtes, Circe and Pasiphae. His other children are
Phaethusa ('radiant') and Lampetia ('shining') and Phaeton.
Each morning at dawn he rises from the ocean in the east and rides in his
chariot, pulled by four horses - Pyrois, Eos, Aethon and
Phlegon through the sky, to descend at night in the west. Helios once
allowed Phaeton to guide his chariot across the sky, however the
unskilled youth could not control the horses and fell towards his death.
~«~
Sol (Norse) - goddess
In Norse mythology, Sol is the sun goddess, daughter of Mundilfari.
She is married to Glen. Sol rides through the sky in a chariot pulled by
the horses Alsvid ('all swift') and Arvak ('early riser').
She is chased during the daytime by the wolf Skoll who tries to
devour her, just like her brother Mani is chased by the wolf Hati
at night. It was believed that during solar eclipses the sun was in danger of
being eaten by Skoll. Eventually, the wolf will catch her. The goddess
Svalin stands in front of the sun and shields the earth from the full
intensity of its heat.
~«~
Diana (Roman) - goddess
Diana is a moon-goddess and the Roman goddess of nature, fertility and
childbirth. She was originally a goddess of fertility and, just as Bona Dea
and was worshipped mainly by women as the giver of fertility and easy births.
Under Greek influence she was equated with Artemis and assumed many of
her aspects. She is also portrayed as a huntress accompanied by a deer.
~«~
Luna (Roman) - goddess
Luna is the personified goddess of the moon and later became
identified with Diana and Hecate and the Greek goddess Selene.
~«~
Selene (Greek) - goddess
Selene is the daughter of itan Hyperion, (the sun god) and Theia.
Her brother is Helios (the sun) and her sister is Eos (the dawn).
She is the moon goddess and is known for her countless love affairs. The most
famous of her loves is the shepherd Endymion by whom she had fifty
daughters. Other affairs include her involvement with Zeus with whom she
had three daughters, and Pan who gave her a herd of white oxen.
She resembles a young woman with an extremely white face who travels on a
silver chariot drawn by two horses. She is often shown riding a horse or a bull
and is said to wear robes and carry a torch. She wears a half moon on her head
and bathes in the sea before starting her journey across the night sky.
~«~
Artemis (Greek) - goddess
Artemis is the daughter of Leto and Zeus and the twin of
Apollo. She is the goddess of the wilderness, the hunt and wild animals,
fertility and childbirth.
She was often depicted with the crescent of the moon above her forehead and
was sometimes identified with Selene (goddess of the moon). Artemis
was one of the Olympians and a virgin goddess. Her main vocation was to roam
mountain forests and uncultivated land with her nymphs in attendance hunting for
lions, panthers, hinds and stags. In contradiction she also helped protect them
and see to their well-being, safety and reproduction. She was armed with a bow
and arrows which were made by Hephaestus and the Cyclopes.
In one legend, Artemis was born one day before her brother Apollo.
Her mother gave birth to her on the island of Ortygia, then, almost
immediately after her birth, she helped her mother to cross the straits over to
Delos, where she then delivered Apollo. This was the beginning of her role as
guardian of young children and patron of women in childbirth.
~«~
Mercury is god of trade and profit, merchants and travelers, but
originally of the trade in corn. In later times he was equated with the Greek
Hermes and is also known as Alipes ('with the winged feet').
Mercury carries a staff (with two intertwined snakes in a figure of
eight) and a purse (commerce). Similarly to Hermes, Mercury is dressed in
a wide cloak, winged sandals and a winged hat.
During the time of the Roman Empire the cult of Mercury was widely
spread, especially among the Celtic and Germanic peoples. The Celts have their
Gaulish Mercury and the Germans identified him with their Wodan.
~«~
Hermes (Greek) - god
Hermes is the son of Zeus and the nymph Maia (daughter
of Atlas). His children are Pan (half man half goat - from Dryope),
Abderus and Hermaphroditus (androgynous - from Aphrodite).
Hermes is the herald of the Olympian gods, the messenger of the gods
and guides the souls of the dead down to the underworld. He is also the god of
shepherds, dreams, land travel, merchants, weights and measures, oratory,
literature, athletics and thieves. He is also known for his cunning and
shrewdness and is a minor patron of poetry.
Hermes wears a broad-brimmed hat or a winged cap, winged sandals and a
staff (with two intertwined serpents in a figure of eight).
~«~
Venus (Roman) - goddess
Venus is the daughter of Jupiter and the Roman goddess of love and
beauty and Cupid is love's messenger. She was originally a vegetation
goddess and patroness of gardens and vineyards. Later, under Greek
influence, she was equated with Aphrodite and assumed many of her
aspects.
The planet Venus has been known since prehistoric times
and was
thought to be two separate bodies - the morning star
(Eosphorus)
and the evening star (Hesperus).
Some of her lovers include Mars and Vulcan.
Roman statues and portraits of Venus are usually identical to the
Greek representations of Aphrodite.
~«~
Aphrodite is the goddess of love, beauty and sexual rapture. She
was born when Uranus (the father of the gods) was castrated by his
son Cronus. Cronus threw the severed genitals into the ocean
which began to churn and foam about them. From the aphros ('sea foam') arose
Aphrodite and the sea carried her to either Cyprus or
Cythera.
Hence she is often referred to as Kypris and Cytherea. Homer
calls her a daughter of Zeus and Dione. After her birth, Zeus
was afraid that the gods would fight over Aphrodite's hand in marriage so he
married her off to the smith god Hephaestus, the steadiest of the gods.
Aphrodite loved and was loved by many gods and mortals. Among her mortal
lovers, the most famous was perhaps Adonis. Some of her sons are Eros,
Anteros, Hymenaios and Aeneas (with her Trojan lover
Anchises).
Her attributes are the dolphin, the dove, the swan, the pomegranate and the
lime tree.
~«~
Ishtar (Sumero-Babylonian)
goddess
Ishtar is the daughter of Anu,
(the god of the air) and is the ancient Sumero-Babylonian goddess of love
and fertility. She is also one of Aphrodite's counterparts.
She is often described as an evil, heartless,
woman who destroyed her mates and lovers. Her greatest lover was the farm
god Tammuz, who is similar to the Greek Adonis. After he died
she went into the underworld to retrieve him but her efforts were vain and
she returned to the living world alone.
Later, she tried to make Gilgamesh her
husband, but he refused her and reminded her of her former lovers, whom she
mercilessly killed or left injured.
She reported this to her father, Anu,
and he gave her the mystical bull of heaven to avenge herself. Gilgamesh
and his friend Enkidu stopped and killed the mighty creature and
threw its headless body at her feet. They also insulted her, and she
responded by sending disease to kill Gilgamesh's best friend
Enkidu.
~«~
Gaia (Greek) - goddess
Gaia or Gaea was an early goddess known as Earth or Mother
Earth. She was born from Chaos, the great void of emptiness within the universe
and with her came her brother Eros. She gave birth to Pontus (the Sea),
Ourea (Mountains) and Uranus (the Sky) without male intervention.
Some say also say that Gaia had another brother, Tartarus who
resides in the lowest part of the earth (below Hades itself).
Gaia took as her son Uranus, as her husband conceiving the
Titans, six sons and six daughters. She also gave birth to the Cyclopes
and to three monsters that became known as the Hecatonchires, as well as
the spirits of punishment known as the Erinyes. She conceived the
Gigantes, after Uranus had been castrated by his son Cronus
and his blood fell to earth from the open wound.
Gaia saved Zeus from being swallowed by his father Cronus.
Cronus had been informed that one of his children would depose him and so to
get rid of his children he swallowed them. After Zeus had been born,
Gaia helped Rhea to wrap a stone in swaddling clothes, to trick
Cronus into thinking it was Zeus. The trick worked and Zeus
was taken to Crete.
Gaia being the primordial element from which all the gods originated
was worshiped throughout Greece, but later she went into decline and was
supplanted by other gods. In Roman mythology she was known as Tellus or
Terra.
~«~
Tellus (Roman) -
goddess
Tellus is the Roman goddess of the earth. She is equated with the
Greek goddess Gaia (Terra Mater) and the fertility goddess
Ceres. Fama was thought to be her daughter.
Tellus ('earth') had a temple on the Forum Pacis, built in 268 BCE.
Sementivae was held in honour of Tellus and Ceres (Jan 24-26).
During these days they were called upon for protection of the seed and the
sower.
~«~
Terra (Roman) -
goddess
Terra is the personified Roman goddess of the earth. She is also a
fertility goddess, known as Bona Dea.
~«~
Mars (Roman) - god
Mars was the god of war and one of the most prominent and worshipped
gods. In early Roman history he was a god of spring, growth in nature, and
fertility, and the protector of cattle.
Mars is the son of Jupiter and Juno and according to
some sources, the father of Romulus and Remus by the Vestal Ilia
(Rhea Silvia). Because he was the father of these legendary founders of Rome and
thus of the Roman people, the Romans styled themselves 'sons of Mars'.
Mars is portrayed as a warrior in full battle armour, wearing a
crested helmet and bearing a shield. His sacred animals are the wolf and the
woodpecker, and he is accompanied by Fuga and Timor, the
personifications of flight and fear.
The month March (Martius) is named after him (wars were often started
or renewed in spring). His Greek equivalent is the god Ares.
~«~
Ares (GreeK) - god
Ares was the Greek god of war and battle and the son of Zeus
and Hera. Because of his cruel and war-like nature he was despised by all
the gods, even his own father disliked him.
Ares could be bloody, merciless, fearful and cowardly and possessed no
moral attributes. He was, however, unable to withstand the loveliness of
Aphrodite, who subsequently became his consort. Ares was of giant
stature, had a loud voice and surpassed the other gods in speed.
On the battlefield Ares was accompanied by Phobos ('Fear') and
Deimos ('Terror'), two lesser divinities who are sometimes given as his
sons. He was furthermore attended by the goddesses Eris ('Strife') and
Enyo ('Horror'). Ares is also the father of the Harmonia, the
goddess of harmony, and of the Amazons Penthesilea and
Hippolyte.
~«~
Jupiter is a son of Saturn and brother of Neptune and
Juno (who is also his wife). He is a god of light and sky and protector
of the state and its laws. He is also the supreme god of the Roman pantheon,
called the 'shining father'.
The Romans worshipped him especially as Jupiter Optimus Maximus
(all-good, all-powerful). This name refers not only to his rulership over the
universe, but also to his function as the god of the state who distributes laws,
controls the realm and makes his will known through oracles. His English name is
Jove.
Other titles included: Caelestis (heavenly), Lucetius (of the
light), Totans (thunderer) and Fulgurator (of the lightning). As
Jupiter Victor he led the Roman army to victory and is the protector of
the ancient league of Latin cities.
His attribute is the lightning bolt and the eagle is both his symbol and his
messenger.
~«~
Zeus (Greek) - god
Zeus, is the youngest son of Cronus and Rhea, he was the
supreme ruler of Mount Olympus and of the Pantheon of gods who resided there.
Being the supreme ruler he upheld law, justice and morals, and this made him the
spiritual leader of both gods and men.
Zeus was a celestial god and originally worshiped as a weather god by
Greek tribes. These people came southward from the Balkans circa 2100 BCE.
He was saved from Cronus by Gaia and Rhea and as a young
man, returned to his fathers domain and with the help of Gaia. He
compelled Cronus to regurgitate the five children he had previously
swallowed and led a revolt against his father and the dynasty of the Titans.
Once Zeus had control, he and his brothers divided the universe between
them: Zeus gaining the heavens, Poseidon the sea and Hades
the underworld. Zeus had to defend his heavenly kingdom.
Zeus had numerous liaisons with both goddesses and mortals:
- Metis (the goddess of prudence) and Zeus - Athena and
Hera
- Hera (his wife and sister) and Zeus - Ares, Hephaestus,
Hebe and Eileithyia
- Leto (the hidden one) and Zeus - twins Apollo and Artemis
- Leda (Spartan queen) and Zeus (as a beautiful swan) - twins:
Castor and Polydeuces and twins: Clytemnestra and Helen
of Troy
- Danae (princess) and Zeus (as a shower of gold) - the hero
Perseus
- Europa (Phoenician princess) and Zeus (disguised as a bull) - three
sons: Minos, Rhadamanthys and Sarpedon
- Ganymede (Trojan prince) abducted by an eagle sent by Zeus, became
Zeus' cup-bearer
- Semele and Zeus - Dionysus, but she was destroyed
when Zeus appeared as thunder and lightening
- Themis (the goddess of justice) and Zeus - bore the three Horae
(goddesses of the seasons) and also the three Moirae (Fates)
- Mnemosyne and Zeus (coupled with her for nine consecutive
nights) - producing nine daughters (the Muses)
- Eurynome and Zeus - the three Charites or Graces
Gaia warned Zeus that Metis would bear a daughter, whose
son would overthrow him. On hearing this Zeus swallowed Metis so
he could carry the child through to the birth himself.
Hera was outraged and very jealous of her husband's affair, also of
his ability to give birth without female participation. To spite Zeus she gave
birth to Hephaestus parthenogenetically (without being fertilized) and it
was Hephaestus who, when the time came, split open the head of Zeus,
from which Athena emerged fully armed.
He has always been associated as being a weather god, as his main attribute
is the thunderbolt, he controlled thunder, lightning and rain. The name Zeus is
related to the Greek word dios, meaning 'bright'. His attributes are the
lightning bolt, the scepter, the eagle and his aegis (the goat-skin of Amaltheia).
In art, Zeus was usually portrayed as bearded, middle aged but with a
youthful figure. He would look very regal and imposing. Artists always tried to
reproduce the power of Zeus in their work, usually by giving him a pose as he is
about to throw his bolt of lightening. Zeus was also known as Kosmetas
(orderer), Soter (savior), Polieos (overseer of the polis, city)
and Eleutherios (guarantor of political freedoms).
~«~
Saturn (Roman) - god
Saturn was the Roman god of agriculture and was concerned with the
sowing of the seeds. His wife is the goddess Ops and he is the father
of Jupiter, Ceres, Juno and many others.
In contrast to his festival (Saturnalia - observed on December 17), Saturn
himself was never very popular. From the 3rd century on, he was identified with
the Greek Cronus, and his cult became only marginally more popular. That
he ruled over the Golden Age is an extension to the Greek myth. Saturday is
named after him.
~«~
Cronus (Greek) - god
Cronus is the son of Uranus and Gaia and is the
youngest of the twelve Titans. His wife was also one of the Titans,
since he married his sister Rhea. Their offspring were Demeter,
Hestia, Hera, Hades, Poseidon and Zeus.
Once Cronus had castrated Uranus (at the request of Gaia),
he and his wife Rhea took the throne. Under their power a time of harmony
and prosperity began, which became known as the 'Golden Age', where people lived
without greed or violence and without toil or the need for laws.
But not all was well for Cronus for it was fated that he would be
overthrown by one of his own children. To prevent this he began to swallow his
newborn, taking them at birth then swallowing them whole, retaining them inside
his own body where they could do him no harm.
Rhea did not like the thoughts of losing all her children, so with the
help of Gaia she saved Zeus from this fate. Rhea wrapped a stone
in Zeus' swaddling clothes which Cronus took and immediately swallowed thinking
it was the child.
In art, Cronus was depicted carrying a sickle used to gather the harvest, but
this was also the weapon he used to castrate his father.
~«~
Uranus (Greek) - god
Uranus, also known as Ouranos, was the embodiment of the sky
or heavens, and known as the god of the sky. He was the first son of Gaia
(the earth) and also became her husband.
Their children included the
- Titans: six sons - Oceanus, Coeus, Crius, Hyperion, Iapetus and
Cronus
- Titans: six daughters - Theia, Rhea, Themis, Mnemosyne, Phoebe and
Tethys
- The Cyclopes - Brontes, Steropes and Arges
- Three monsters known as the Hecatonchires who each had one hundred
hands and fifty heads - Briareus, Cottus and Gyes
- The Erinyes (Furies) - who were spirits of punishment and goddesses of
vengeance
After Uranus had been castrated, his blood fell to earth (Gaia) and
conceived the Giants. Similiarly, in some versions Aphrodite is believed to have
risen from the foam created by the sex organs of Uranus after they were thrown
into the sea by his son Cronus. After Uranus (the sky) had been
emasculated, the sky separated from Gaia (the earth) and Cronus
became king of the gods.
~«~
Although Neptune is considered the god of the sea among the Romans, he
was not very powerful and little is known of his origin. When he was first
introduced in Rome, he already had all the characteristics of the Greek
Poseidon.
Despite the fact that his cult grew after his equation with Poseidon,
Neptune was far less popular among sailors than Poseidon was
among the Greek mariners. Neptune was held in much higher regard as
Neptune Equester, the god and patron of horse-racing and horses.
~«~
Poseidon is the god of the sea and the son of Cronus and
Rhea. He is one of six siblings who eventually 'divided the power of the
world.' His brothers and sisters include: Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades
(Underworld) and Zeus (sky). The division of the universe involved him
and his brothers, Zeus and Hades.
The other divinities attributed to Poseidon involve the god of earthquakes
and the god of horses. The symbols associated with Poseidon include: dolphins,
tridents and three-pronged fish spears.
Poseidon lived on the ocean floor in a palace made of coral and gems and
drove a chariot pulled by horses. Sailors relied upon Poseidon for a safe voyage
on the sea. When in a good mood, Poseidon created new lands in the water and a
calm sea, however when he was in a bad mood, he would strike the ground with a
trident and cause unruly springs and earthquakes, ship wrecks and drownings.
Poseidon had many love affairs and fathered numerous children. Poseidon once
married Amphitrite and produced Triton who was half-human and
half-fish. He also impregnated the Gorgon Medusa to conceive Chrysaor
and Pegasus, the flying horse. The rape of Aethra by Poseidon
resulted in the birth of Theseus.
Other offspring include: Eumolpus, the Giant Sinis, Polyphemus, Orion,
King Amycus, Proteus, Agenor and Belus from Europa, Pelias and
Busiris (the King of Egypt).
One of the most notorious love affairs of Poseidon involves his
sister, Demeter. Poseidon pursued Demeter and to avoid him
she turned herself into a mare. In his lust for her, Poseidon transformed
himself into a stallion and captured her, resulting in a horse, Arion.
Poseidon competed with Athena (the goddess of war) for the city of
Athens. To win the people of the city over, Poseidon threw a spear at the
ground, producing the spring at the Acropolis. Athena won, however by giving the
people of Athens the olive tree. In his anger, Poseidon flooded the Attic Plain.
Eventually, Athena and Poseidon worked together by combining their powers.
Poseidon also helped the Greeks during the Trojan War.
~«~
Pluto (Roman) - god
Pluto is the Roman god of the underworld and the judge of the dead.
Pluto was the son of Saturn. Pluto's wife was Proserpina
(Greek name, Persephone) whom he had kidnapped and dragged into the
underworld.
His brothers were Jupiter and Neptune. People referred to
Pluto as the rich one because he owned all the wealth in the ground.
People were afraid to say his real name because they were afraid it might
attract his attention. Pluto was known as a pitiless god because if a mortal
entered his Underworld they could never hope to return.
~«~
Hades (Greek) - god
Hades is the lord of the dead and ruler of the nether world and is
the son of Cronus and Rhea. When the three sons of Cronus
divided the world among each other, Hades was given the underworld,
while his brothers Zeus and Poseidon took the upper world and
the sea respectively.
For a while Hades ruled the underworld together with Persephone, whom
he had abducted from the upperworld, but Zeus ordered him to release
Persephone back into the care of her mother Demeter. However, before
she left he gave her a pomegranate and when she ate of it, it bound her to the
underworld forever.
Hades carries a sceptre and sits on a throne made of ebony. He also
has a helmet, given to him by the Cyclopes, which can make him invisible.
Hades rules the dead, assisted by various (demonic) helpers, such as
Thanatos and Hypnos, the ferryman Charon and the hound
Cerberus.
Of all the gods, Hades is the one who is liked the least and even the gods
themselves have an aversion to him. People avoided speaking his name lest they
attracted his unwanted attention. The narcissus and the cypress are sacred to
him.
Other names include Clymenus ('notorious'), Eubuleus
('well-guessing') and Polydegmon ('who receives many').
~«~
Chiron (Greek) - god
Chiron
is the son of Cronus and Philyra.
Originally
Chiron
was a Thessalian god of healing, but in later Greek mythology he
survived as one of the centaurs. Unlike the other centaurs, Chiron
was wise and had been the
teacher of, among others, Achilles,
Asclepius, Jason and
Theseus.
Heracles
(Hercules) unintentionally wounded his teacher in the knee, during
his battle with the centaurs. Thus his wound was in a sense self-inflicted,
for he himself had taught the hero to make the poisoned arrow by dipping it
in the blood of the Hydra.
The last of his
kind, Chiron relinquished immortality so that the titanic rebel
Prometheus (who brought the gift of fire,
stolen from the gods, to the human race)
could be released from his eternal torment. After
his death he became the constellation of Sagittarius.
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