Hera was the queen of all gods and humans. Daughter of titans Cronus and Rhea, married to her brother Zeus, Hera was goddess of marriage and family. Her symbols included the pomegranate, the peacock, cuckoo, and cow.

Apollo was one of the most important gods of the Olympians and he was credited as god of many things. He was god of light, of inspiration, reason, poetry, prophecy, music and arts, medicine and healing. Twin brother of Artemis, he was son of Zeus and Leto. His symbols included the sun, raven, mouse, and lyre. The lyre was a music instrument created by Hermes and gifted to Apollo as a token of his affection.

In Greek mythology, Daedalus (/ˈdɛdələs ˈdiːdələs/; Ancient Greek: Δαίδαλος Daidalos "cunningly wrought", perhaps related to δαιδάλλω "to work artfully";[1] Latin: Daedalus; Etruscan: Taitale) was a skillful craftsman and artist. He is the father of Icarus, the uncle of Perdix, and possibly also the father of Iapyx, although this is unclear.

Polyphemus is the giant son of Poseidon and Thoosa in Greek mythology, one of the Cyclopes described in Homer's Odyssey. His name means "abounding in songs and legends".Polyphemus first appears as a savage man-eating giant in the ninth book of the Odyssey. Some later Classical writers link his name with the nymph Galatea and present him in a different light.

Zeus was the king of all gods and humans. Son of titans Cronus and Rhea, married to his sister Hera, Zeus was god of the sky, lightning, thunder, law, order, justice and fertility. Zeus was the protector of foreigners, guests, the underprivileged, kings and anyone who was giving a vow. His symbols included the thunderbolt, eagle, oak tree, scepter, and scales.

Poseidon was the god of the seas, the rivers, the drinking water and all aquatic features, the earthquakes, floods and drought. Like Zeus and Hera, Poseidon was also son of titans Cronus and Rhea and he was considered to be the protector of sailors and fishermen. His weapon and symbol was his trident and he would strike the ground with it to produce an earthquake. This earned him the nickname “Earth-shaker.” Other symbols of his were the dolphin and the horse.

Daughter of Zeus and the Oceanid Metis, Athena was born from Zeus as she sprang fully grown and in armor from his forehead. She was goddess of wisdom, the arts, crafts, and skill, courage, inspiration, civilization, law and justice, strategic warfare, strength, strategy, and mathematics. The owl was her bird and symbol as well as the olive tree.

Daughter of Zeus and the Oceanid Dione, Aphrodite was the goddess of love, beauty and eternal youth. She was married to Hephaestus and her son was the winged Eros( Cupid). Aphrodite’s symbols were the dove, bee, swan, rose, and myrtle.

Artemis was the daughter of Zeus and Leto and twin sister of Apollo. She was goddess of the hunt, all animals, virginity, wilderness, childbirth, archery, and the moon. Her animals were the deer and bear and her symbols included the moon, hound, deer, she-bear, bow and arrow.

Son of Zeus and the nymph Maia, Hermes was the messenger of gods, god of commerce, thieves, eloquence, travelers, sports, athletes, literature, and border crossings. He was also guide to the Underworld. His symbols include the tortoise, winged sandals and cap, stork, and the caduceus (staff entwined with two snakes).

Ares was the son of Zeus and Hera. He was the god of war and violence and all the other gods (except Aphrodite) despised him. His symbols were the serpent, dog, vulture, spear, and shield.

Ο Διόνυσος είναι ο μοναδικός θεός της αρχαίας ελληνικής μυθολογίας που γεννήθηκε όχι μία, αλλά δύο φορές. Η μητέρα του, Σέμελη, όταν ήταν ακόμη έγκυος, ζήτησε από τον πατέρα του, Δία, να εμφανιστεί μπροστά της με όλη του τη δόξα. Ο Δίας την προειδοποίησε πως κάτι τέτοιο θα ήταν πολύ επικίνδυνο. Αυτή επέμεινε και ο βασιλιάς των θεών έδειξε όλη του τη δύναμη, εκπέμποντας τόσο έντονο φως, που η άτυχη γυναίκα έχασε τη ζωή της. Τότε, ο Δίας πήρε το έξι μηνών βρέφος, το έραψε στον μηρό του και σε εννιά μήνες ο Διόνυσος ξαναγεννήθηκε και έγινε ο αγαπημένος θεών και ανθρώπων. Από τον πατέρα του έμαθε πώς να καλλιεργεί αμπέλια και να παράγει κρασί. Αυτή την τέχνη τη δίδαξε και στους ανθρώπους. Του άρεσε να τριγυρνά από τόπο σε τόπο και να γλεντάει μαζί με τον κόσμο. Λόγω της μεγάλης του φήμης, διοργανώνονταν προς τιμή  του τα Μικρά και τα Μεγάλα Διονύσια, δύο γιορτές που περιελάμβαναν αθλητικούς αγώνες και μουσικοχορευτικά γλέντια με φαγητό και ποτό. Μια μέρα όμως, η ζωή επεφύλασσε στον Διόνυσο μια δυσάρεστη έκπληξη. Στο δρόμο του για τη Νάξο ζήτησε από κάποιους πειρατές να τον μεταφέρουν με το πλοίο τους. Έτσι και έγινε. Καθώς έπλεαν όμως, οι αδίστακτοι άντρες θεώρησαν πως ο νεαρός ήταν αρχοντόπουλο και πως θα μπορούσαν να βγάλουν πολλά χρήματα αν τον πουλούσαν ως σκλάβο. Έτσι, αποφάσισαν να κατευθυνθούν προς την Ασία. Για κακή τους τύχη, ο Διόνυσος αντιλήφθηκε τα σκοτεινά τους σχέδια και, ως θεός που ήταν, σκέπασε όλο το πειρατικό καράβι με ένα τεράστιο κλήμα, ενώ ο ίδιος μεταμορφώθηκε σε λιοντάρι. Την ίδια στιγμή, το καράβι γέμισε από κρασί που έρεε και ζάλιζε τους πειρατές. Όλοι οι άντρες έπεσαν στη θάλασσα για να γλυτώσουν και μόλις τους τύλιξαν τα αλμυρά νερά, μεταμορφώθηκαν σε δελφίνια. Μάλιστα λένε πως τα δελφίνια είναι εκείνοι οι πειρατές που μετάνιωσαν γα την πράξη τους και γι’ αυτό συμπεριφέρονται πάντα πολύ φιλικά στους ανθρώπους που κάνουν θαλάσσια ταξίδια. Από εκείνο το περιστατικό και έπειτα, ο θεός του κρασιού και της διασκέδασης ανέβηκε στον Όλυμπο οριστικά και έζησε μαζί με τους υπόλοιπους θεούς ήρεμος και χαρούμενος.

Hephaestus was the son of Zeus and Hera.  He was married to Aphrodite by Zeus in an attempt to prevent a war of the gods fighting for her hand. He was god of fire and the forge and the art of sculpture. He was Master blacksmith and craftsman of the gods.

In Greek mythology, Atlas was a Titan condemned to hold up the sky for eternity after the Titanomachy. Although associated with various places, he became commonly identified with the Atlas Mountains in northwest Africa (modern-day Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia). Atlas was the son of the Titan Iapetus and the Oceanid Asia or Clymene. He had many children, mostly daughters, the Hesperides, the Hyades, the Pleiades, and the nymph Calypso who lived on the island Ogygia. According to the ancient Greek poet Hesiod, Atlas stood at the ends of the earth towards the west. According to Robert Graves's The Greek Myths, the Pelasgians believed the creator goddess Eurynome assigned Atlas and Phoebe to govern the moon. Hyginus emphasises the primordial nature of Atlas by making him the son of Aether and Gaia. "Atlantic Ocean" means "Sea of Atlas", while "Atlantis" means "island of Atlas".

In Greek mythology, Achilles or Achilleus was a Greek hero of the Trojan War and the central character and greatest warrior of Homer's Iliad. His mother was the immortal Nereid Thetis, and his father, the mortal Peleus, was the king of the Myrmidons. Achilles most notable feat during the Trojan War was the slaying of the Trojan hero Hector outside the gates of Troy. Although the death of Achilles is not presented in the Iliad, other sources concur that he was killed near the end of the Trojan War by Paris, who shot him in the heel with an arrow. Later legends (beginning with a poem by Statius in the 1st century AD) state that Achilles was invulnerable in all of his body except for his heel because, when his mother Thetis dipped him in the river Styx as an infant, she held him by one of his heels. Alluding to these legends, the term "Achilles heel" has come to mean a point of weakness, especially in someone or something with an otherwise strong constitution.

Eros – known as Cupid to the Romans – was the Greek god of sexual attraction, a constant companion of Aphrodite. Variously depicted as either a beautiful youth or a mischievous nude boy, Eros is most commonly represented with a bow and an unlimited number of arrows which he uses to overpower the reason and incite erotic feelings in any mortal or god per Aphrodite’s or his own wish. Once, though, he accidentally scraped himself with an arrow – and that’s how he fell in love with Psyche, who will later become his wife for eternity.

In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Pan is the god of the wild, shepherds and flocks, nature of mountain wilds, rustic music and impromptus, and companion of the nymphs. He has the hindquarters, legs, and horns of a goat, in the same manner as a faun or satyr. With his homeland in rustic Arcadia, he is also recognized as the god of fields, groves, wooded glens and often affiliated with sex; because of this, Pan is connected to fertility and the season of spring. The ancient Greeks also considered Pan to be the god of theatrical criticism. The word panic ultimately derives from the god's name. In Roman religion and myth, Pan's counterpart was Faunus, a nature god who was the father of Bona Dea, sometimes identified as Fauna; he was also closely associated with Sylvanus, due to their similar relationships with woodlands. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Pan became a significant figure in the Romantic movement of western Europe and also in the 20th-century Neopagan movement.

Hercules is a Roman hero and god. He was the equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, who was the son of Zeus (Roman equivalent Jupiter) and the mortal Alcmene. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Greek hero's iconography and myths for their literature and art under the name Hercules. In later Western art and literature and in popular culture, Hercules is more commonly used than Heracles as the name of the hero. Hercules was a multifaceted figure with contradictory characteristics, which enabled later artists and writers to pick and choose how to represent him. This article provides an introduction to representations of Hercules in the later tradition.

In Greek mythology, Prometheus is a Titan, culture hero, and trickster figure who is credited with the creation of man from clay, and who defies the gods by stealing fire and giving it to humanity, an act that enabled progress and civilization. Prometheus is known for his intelligence and as a champion of mankind. The punishment of Prometheus as a consequence of the theft is a major theme of his mythology, and is a popular subject of both ancient and modern art. Zeus, king of the Olympian gods, sentenced the Titan to eternal torment for his transgression. The immortal Prometheus was bound to a rock, where each day an eagle, the emblem of Zeus, was sent to feed on his liver, which would then grow back overnight to be eaten again the next day. (In ancient Greece, the liver was often thought to be the seat of human emotions.) In some stories, Prometheus is freed at last by the hero Heracles (Hercules). In another of his myths, Prometheus establishes the form of animal sacrifice practiced in ancient Greek religion. Evidence of a cult to Prometheus himself is not widespread. He was a focus of religious activity mainly at Athens, where he was linked to Athena and Hephaestus, other Greek deities of creative skills and technology.

Hestia was the eldest child of Cronus and Rhea. She was the protector of hearth and of the right ordering of domesticity and family. She was worshiped in all houses and at any temple, regardless of the god the temple was dedicated to. As the goddess of the hearth she personified the fire burning in the hearth in every home in Greece.

Theseus was the mythical king and founder-hero of Athens. Like Perseus, Cadmus, or Heracles, Theseus battled and overcame foes that were identified with an archaic religious and social order: “This was a major cultural transition, like the making of the new Olympia by Hercules” (Ruck & Staples, p. 204). Theseus was a founding hero for the Athenians in the same way that Heracles was the founding hero for the Dorians. The Athenians regarded Theseus as a great reformer; his name comes from the same root as θεσμός (thesmos), Greek for "The Gathering". The myths surrounding Theseus – his journeys, exploits, and family – have provided material for fiction throughout the ages. Theseus was responsible for the synoikismos ("dwelling together") – the political unification of Attica under Athens – represented emblematically in his journey of labours, subduing ogres and monstrous beasts. Because he was the unifying king, Theseus built and occupied a palace on the fortress of the Acropolis that may have been similar to the palace that was excavated in Mycenae. Pausanias reports that after the synoikismos, Theseus established a cult of Aphrodite Pandemos ("Aphrodite of all the People") and Peitho on the southern slope of the Acropolis.

Perseus is the legendary founder of Mycenae and of the Perseid dynasty, who, alongside Cadmus and Bellerophon, was the greatest Greek hero and slayer of monsters before the days of Heracles. He beheaded the Gorgon Medusa for Polydectes and saved Andromeda from the sea monster Cetus. He was the son of Zeus and the mortal Danaë, as well as the half-brother and great-grandfather of Heracles.

Κάπου στις καταπράσινες πλαγιές του Πηλίου ο Κένταυρος Χείρωνας είχε αναλάβει την εκπαίδευση ενός μικρού αγοριού που είχε βασιλική καταγωγή, του γενναίου Ιάσονα. Πατέρας του Ιάσονα ήταν ο Αίσονας, βασιλιάς της Ιωλκού, ο οποίος όμως έχασε τον θρόνο από τον αδελφό του, Πελία. Από φόβο μήπως o Πελίας κάνει κακό στον Ιάσονα, ο Αίσονας διέδωσε πως ο γιος του πέθανε και έτσι το παιδί μεγάλωσε μακριά από τους γονείς του. Όταν ο μικρός ενηλικιώθηκε, ξεκίνησε για να πάει στην Ιωλκό, ώστε να πάρει τον θρόνο από τον θείο του. Στον δρόμο συνάντησε μια γριά γυναίκα που του ζήτησε να την περάσει στην απέναντι όχθη ενός ποταμού. Ο Ιάσονας το έκανε με προθυμία, χάνοντας όμως το ένα του σανδάλι μέσα στα ορμητικά νερά. Μόλις οι δυο τους έφτασαν στην απέναντι όχθη, η γυναίκα τού αποκάλυψε πως δεν ήταν άλλη από τη θεά Ήρα και από εκείνη τη στιγμή έγινε προστάτιδά του. Στην Ιωλκό, ο Πελίας αναγνώρισε από μακριά τον ανιψιό του και αμέσως τον έπιασε τρόμος ότι θα έβγαινε αληθινή μια προφητεία που έλεγε πως έπρεπε να προσέχει έναν μονοσάνδαλο συγγενή του. Έτσι, με σκοπό να τον εξοντώσει, ανέθεσε στον Ιάσονα έναν δύσκολο άθλο. Έπρεπε να φέρει από την Κολχίδα το χρυσόμαλλο δέρας, δηλαδή το δέρμα ενός κριαριού που το φύλαγε νύχτα μέρα ένας ακοίμητος δράκος. Η εκστρατεία του Ιάσονα προς την Κολχίδα ονομάστηκε Αργοναυτική και σε αυτήν πήραν μέρος πολλοί ήρωες, ανάμεσά τους και ο Ηρακλής. Φτάνοντας στην Κολχίδα, ο βασιλιάς της, ο Αιήτης είπε πως θα έδινε το χρυσόμαλλο δέρας στον Ιάσονα αν ο νέος κατάφερνε να οργώσει ένα χωράφι με τη βοήθεια δύο βοδιών που έβγαζαν φωτιές από τα ρουθούνια τους, να σπείρει δόντια δράκου και να σκοτώσει τους οπλισμένους γίγαντες που θα έβγαιναν από τη γη. Ο Ιάσονας εκτέλεσε τη δοκιμασία με τη βοήθεια της κόρης του Αιήτη, της μάγισσας Μήδειας, που είχε ερωτευτεί τον όμορφο νέο. Στη συνέχεια η Μήδεια με τα μάγια της κοίμησε τον φοβερό δράκο και ο Ιάσονας κατάφερε να κλέψει το χρυσόμαλλο δέρας. Οι δυο τους ταξίδεψαν μαζί πίσω στην Ιωλκό, έδιωξαν τον σκληρόκαρδο Πελία από τον θρόνο και έζησαν ως βασιλικό ζευγάρι με όλες τις τιμές.

Odysseus also known by the Latin variant Ulysses, is a legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's epic poem the Odyssey. Odysseus also plays a key role in Homer's Iliad and other works in that same epic cycle.

Another child of Cronus and Rhea, Demeter was the goddess of fertility, agriculture, nature, and the seasons. She was the protector of farmers and her symbols were the poppy, wheat, torch, cornucopia, and pig.

Hades is the Ancient Greek god of the Underworld, the place where human souls go after death. In time, his name became synonymous with his realm. It has to be said unsurprisingly – since he barely left it. Appropriately, the most significant myth related to Hades concerns one of the very few times he did – to abduct Demeter’s daughter, Persephone.