Greek Pantheon

The Greek pantheon of gods and goddesses, and the many heroes, mythical creatures, and ordinary people they interacted with in Greek myth, are thousands of years old yet still relevant. From appearances in modern pop culture (like Disney’s animated Hercules to Warner Bros. Clash of the Titans) to early modern art (see image) to works of literature (like Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged), figures from Greek mythology can be found everywhere in Western culture despite the fact that the people who believed in them died millennia ago. It is for this very reason that the Greek pantheon is taught as a part of many children’s primary education and the Homeric epics – the Illiad and the Odyssey – are still read by thousands of students every year even though the blind poet who first recited them did so almost three thousand years ago. In short, these ancient gods and goddesses are still relevant and merit study – even for devout practitioners of modern religions like Christianity and Islam.

This section discusses the following primary Greek gods and goddesses:

Aphrodite - goddess of love and sensual pleasure

Ares - god of brutal warfare and violence

Artemis - goddess of the hunt and the moon, an "eternal virgin" and distrustful of men

Athena - goddess of wisdom, justice, courage, and military strategy

Hades - god of the underworld and the certainty of death

Poseidon - god of the sea

Zeus - god of thunder and ruler of the Greek pantheon

Please note that this Greek mythology resource is far from complete. For a more in-depth look, please visit Theoi Greek Mythology.