Catalogue

Characters of Greek myth, catalogued

Each row is one figure: Greek spelling, class, domain, parentage and the key source to read first. Parentage follows Hesiod where he gives it; when other authors disagree, the row says so in brief. Select a column heading to sort, or type in the search box. Rows with a link open the full card in the index.

Select a column heading to re-sort the table.

		Greek		Domain	Parentage
No. 001	Chaos	Χάος	Primordial	The first gap, before anything else existed	None; came into being first	Hesiod, Theogony
No. 002	Gaia	Γαῖα	Primordial	Earth; mother of Titans, Cyclopes and monsters	None; arose after Chaos	Hesiod, Theogony
No. 003	Tartarus	Τάρταρος	Primordial	The pit beneath the Underworld; prison of the Titans	None; arose after Chaos	Hesiod, Theogony
No. 004	Nyx	Νύξ	Primordial	Night	Chaos	Hesiod, Theogony
No. 005	Uranus	Οὐρανός	Primordial	The starry sky	Gaia, alone	Hesiod, Theogony
No. 006	Pontus	Πόντος	Primordial	The open sea	Gaia, alone	Hesiod, Theogony
No. 007	Cronus	Κρόνος	Titan	Youngest Titan; ruler of the world before Zeus	Uranus and Gaia	Hesiod, Theogony
No. 008	Rhea	Ῥέα	Titan	Mother of the Olympian generation	Uranus and Gaia	Hesiod, Theogony
No. 009	Oceanus	Ὠκεανός	Titan	The river that encircles the earth	Uranus and Gaia	Hesiod, Theogony
No. 010	Themis	Θέμις	Titan	Right order and custom; prophecy	Uranus and Gaia	Hesiod, Theogony
No. 011	Mnemosyne	Μνημοσύνη	Titan	Memory; mother of the Muses	Uranus and Gaia	Hesiod, Theogony
No. 012	Iapetus	Ἰαπετός	Titan	Father of Prometheus, Atlas and Epimetheus	Uranus and Gaia	Hesiod, Theogony
No. 013	Prometheus	Προμηθεύς	Titan	Forethought; thief of fire and champion of humans	Iapetus and Clymene (Hesiod); Themis in Prometheus Bound; Asia in Apollodorus	Hesiod, Theogony
No. 014	Atlas	Ἄτλας	Titan	Holds up the sky at the western edge of the world	Iapetus and Clymene	Hesiod, Theogony
No. 015	Epimetheus	Ἐπιμηθεύς	Titan	Afterthought; accepted Pandora from the gods	Iapetus and Clymene	Hesiod, Works and Days
No. 016	Zeus	Ζεύς	God	Sky, thunder and kingship among the gods	Cronus and Rhea	Homer, Iliad
No. 017	Poseidon	Ποσειδῶν	God	Sea, earthquakes and horses	Cronus and Rhea	Homer, Iliad
No. 018	Hades	ᾍδης	God	King of the dead	Cronus and Rhea	Homeric Hymn to Demeter
No. 019	Demeter	Δημήτηρ	God	Grain and harvest; the Mysteries of Eleusis	Cronus and Rhea	Homeric Hymn to Demeter
No. 020	Persephone	Περσεφόνη	God	Queen of the dead; returns above for part of each year	Zeus and Demeter	Homeric Hymn to Demeter
No. 021	Athena	Ἀθηνᾶ	God	Wisdom, craft and the strategy of war	Zeus and Metis; born from the head of Zeus	Hesiod, Theogony
No. 022	Apollo	Ἀπόλλων	God	Prophecy, music and healing	Zeus and Leto	Homeric Hymn to Apollo
No. 023	Hermes	Ἑρμῆς	God	Messenger of the gods; guide of souls; travellers and thieves	Zeus and Maia	Homeric Hymn to Hermes
No. 024	Hephaestus	Ἥφαιστος	God	Fire and metalwork; maker of Pandora	Hera alone (Hesiod), or Zeus and Hera (Homer)	Homer, Iliad
No. 025	Dionysus	Διόνυσος	God	Wine, ecstasy and theatre; invoked in the gold tablets	Zeus and Semele; Zeus and Persephone in Orphic myth	Euripides, Bacchae
No. 026	Hecate	Ἑκάτη	God	Torches, crossroads and the night	Perses and Asteria	Hesiod, Theogony
No. 027	Helios	Ἥλιος	God	The sun, who sees everything on earth	Hyperion and Theia	Hesiod, Theogony
No. 028	Calliope	Καλλιόπη	God	Muse of epic song; mother of Orpheus	Zeus and Mnemosyne	Hesiod, Theogony
No. 029	Phorcys	Φόρκυς	God	Old sea power; father of the Gorgons and the Graiai	Pontus and Gaia	Hesiod, Theogony
No. 030	Ceto	Κητώ	God	Sea power; mother of the Gorgons and the Graiai	Pontus and Gaia	Hesiod, Theogony
No. 031	Clymene	Κλυμένη	Nymph	Oceanid; mother of Prometheus in Hesiod	Oceanus and Tethys	Hesiod, Theogony
No. 032	Callirhoe	Καλλιρρόη	Nymph	Oceanid; wife of Chrysaor and mother of Geryon	Oceanus and Tethys	Hesiod, Theogony
No. 033	Thetis	Θέτις	Nymph	Nereid fated to bear a son greater than his father	Nereus and Doris	Homer, Iliad
No. 034	Eurydice	Εὐρυδίκη	Nymph	Wife of Orpheus; one of the dryads in Virgil	Not given in the main sources	Virgil, Georgics
No. 035	Perseus	Περσεύς	Hero	Slayer of Medusa	Zeus and Danaë	Apollodorus, Library
No. 036	Heracles	Ἡρακλῆς	Hero	Hero of the Labours; freed Prometheus and killed Geryon	Zeus and Alcmene	Homer, Iliad
No. 037	Theseus	Θησεύς	Hero	Athenian king; killer of the Minotaur	Aegeus or Poseidon, and Aethra	Plutarch, Life of Theseus
No. 038	Jason	Ἰάσων	Hero	Leader of the Argonauts	Aeson and Alcimede (Polymede in some sources)	Apollonius of Rhodes, Argonautica
No. 039	Orpheus	Ὀρφεύς	Hero	Singer and Argonaut; founder of the Orphic rites	Calliope and Oeagrus, or Apollo	Apollonius of Rhodes, Argonautica
No. 040	Bellerophon	Βελλεροφόντης	Hero	Rider of Pegasus; killer of the Chimera	Glaucus of Corinth, or Poseidon	Homer, Iliad
No. 041	Pandora	Πανδώρα	Mortal	The first woman; opened the storage jar	None; shaped by Hephaestus at the order of Zeus	Hesiod, Works and Days
No. 042	Deucalion	Δευκαλίων	Mortal	Survivor of the great flood, with his wife Pyrrha	Prometheus; his mother is named differently by different sources	Apollodorus, Library
No. 043	Minos	Μίνως	Mortal	King of Crete; later a judge of the dead	Zeus and Europa	Homer, Odyssey
No. 044	Pasiphae	Πασιφάη	Mortal	Queen of Crete; mother of the Minotaur	Helios and Perseis	Apollodorus, Library
No. 045	Ariadne	Ἀριάδνη	Mortal	Cretan princess who gave Theseus the thread	Minos and Pasiphae	Homer, Iliad
No. 046	Daedalus	Δαίδαλος	Mortal	Master craftsman; builder of the Labyrinth	Metion or Eupalamus, of the Athenian line of Erechtheus	Apollodorus, Library
No. 047	Icarus	Ἴκαρος	Mortal	Flew too high; gave his name to the Icarian Sea	Daedalus and Naucrate, a slave of Minos	Ovid, Metamorphoses
No. 048	Talos (Perdix)	Τάλως	Mortal	Daedalus’s nephew and rival inventor; credited with the saw	A son of Daedalus’s sister	Apollodorus, Library
No. 049	Medusa	Μέδουσα	Monster	The mortal Gorgon; a gaze that turns onlookers to stone	Phorcys and Ceto	Hesiod, Theogony
No. 050	Stheno	Σθεννώ	Monster	Immortal Gorgon sister	Phorcys and Ceto	Hesiod, Theogony
No. 051	Euryale	Εὐρυάλη	Monster	Immortal Gorgon sister; her lament inspired the aulos	Phorcys and Ceto	Pindar, Pythian 12
No. 052	Pegasus	Πήγασος	Monster	Winged horse; carries the thunder of Zeus	Poseidon and Medusa	Hesiod, Theogony
No. 053	Chrysaor	Χρυσάωρ	Monster	Warrior with a golden sword, born from Medusa’s neck	Poseidon and Medusa	Hesiod, Theogony
No. 054	Echidna	Ἔχιδνα	Monster	Half nymph, half serpent; mother of monsters	Disputed: Phorcys and Ceto, or Chrysaor and Callirhoe (Hesiod); Tartarus and Gaia (Apollodorus)	Hesiod, Theogony
No. 055	Minotaur	Μινώταυρος	Monster	Bull-headed son of Pasiphae, shut in the Labyrinth	Pasiphae and the bull from the sea	Apollodorus, Library
No. 056	Cerberus	Κέρβερος	Monster	Hound at the gate of Hades	Typhon and Echidna	Hesiod, Theogony
No. 057	Kallikantzaroi	Καλικάντζαροι	Monster	Goblins of the Twelve Days in Greek folk belief	None recorded; they rise from under the earth	Leo Allatius (1645); N. G. Politis