Hesperos is the Greek personification of the evening star. He is “the most splendid star that shines in the environment.” This is from the Greek accounts. Phospheros is sometimes confused with him because he is the morning star. Eos, the goddess of dawn, is Hesperos’ mother. Some people considered Atlas his father, but no one [...]
In Greek mythology, Aphrodite is the goddess of love, beauty and sexual rapture. According to Hesiod, 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, [...]
Odysseus (called Ulysses in Latin) was the son of Laertes and was the ruler of the island kingdom of Ithaca. He was one of the most prominent Greek leaders in the Trojan War, and was the hero of Homer’s Odyssey. He was known for his cleverness and cunning, and for his eloquence as a speaker. [...]
Hecate is the Greek goddess of the crossroads. She is most often depicted as having three heads; one of a dog, one of a snake and one of a horse. She is usually seen with two ghost hounds that were said to serve her. Hecate is most often mispercepted as the goddess of witchcraft or [...]
Gaia or Gaea, known as Earth or Mother Earth (the Greek common noun for “land” is ge or ga). She was an early earth goddess and it is written that Gaia was born from Chaos, the great void of emptiness within the universe, and with her came Eros. She gave birth to Pontus (the Sea) [...]
Semele was the daughter of Cadmus and Harmonia, and the mother, by Zeus, of the god Dionysus. Because Zeus slept with Semele secretly, Hera only found out about the affair after the girl was pregnant. Bent on revenge, Hera disguised herself and persuaded Semele to demand that Zeus come to her in all the splendor [...]
Hypnos is the personification of sleep in Greek mythology. He is the son of Nyx and Erebus, and the twin of Thanatos (”death”). Both he and his brother live in the underworld. He gave Endymion the power of sleeping with open eyes so he could see his beloved, the moon goddess Selene.
Hypnos is portrayed as [...]
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 Aeëtes, 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 [...]
Originally plural (Sileni), but later mentioned as one Silenus, the teacher and faithful companion of the wine-god Dionysus. A notorious consumer of wine, he is usually totally drunk and is supported by satyrs or carried by a donkey. When the Phrygian king Midas took the drunk Silenus in his house, Dionysus handsomely reward Midas for [...]
Cronus, the son of Uranus and Gaia and 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.
It is written that Uranus, who in one version, hid his children away in the bowels of [...]
