Classical Mythology/Characters

Here is a list of the Loads and Loads of Characters in Classical Mythology. These are the gods that the Hellenes (which is what the Ancient Greeks called themselves) and Romans worshiped.

Many of these are Archetypal Characters and iconic of the tropes they display, not to mention very famous in their own right.

If they seem inconsistent, consistency was not the myths' strong point.

Olympians
Zeus

Zeus was the father-god of the pantheon; his domain was the sky and thunder, associated with leadership and law. His Roman equivalent is Jupiter, with whom he was identified.


 * Abusive Parent
 * Authority Equals Asskicking
 * Badass: You betcha.
 * Badass Beard
 * Badass Grandpa
 * Bolt of Divine Retribution: Trope Codifier
 * The Cape (trope): His most admirable qualities are his hate for liars, oath breakers and the unjust.
 * Casanova
 * Improbable Species Compatibility
 * Incest Is Relative
 * Cool Horse: He kept Pegasus after Bellerophon's fall.
 * Depraved Bisexual: Usually goes for beautiful women but on occasion, extremely good-looking young men are included to his "diet". Just ask Ganymedes.
 * Double Standard Rape (Divine on Mortal): He's the trope image, and around a third of the examples are devoted to his exploits.
 * Grandpa God: Was portrayed as this sometimes.
 * Jerkass: However, his character in the myths is quite balanced, and this is not true in every story.
 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Pretty much how his character comes across overall. Of course, wheather you encountered the "Jerk" or the "Heart of Gold" depended on who you were, what you had done, and whether you encounted the big guy on a good day.
 * King of the Gods: Trope Codifier.
 * Mister Seahorse: To Athena and Dionysus.
 * Nice Job Breaking It, Herod
 * Offing the Offspring: Has both been the victim of and perpetrated this.
 * The Patriarch
 * Physical God
 * Really Gets Around: No kidding.
 * Anything That Moves
 * Sacred Hospitality: Or Xenia. One of the domains he protected.
 * Shapeshifting Lover
 * Shock and Awe
 * Youngest Child Wins
 * Your Cheating Heart: Not a model of conjugal fidelity... at all!

Hera

Zeus' older sister and wife. She was the goddess of marriage and women. Perpetually ticked off at anyone who wronged her, such as insulting her, allowing themselves to be seduced by her husband, or being the love-child of such an assignation. The Romans identified her with their goddess Juno.


 * Big Bad: Towards Heracles.
 * Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Big time.
 * Clingy Jealous Girl: Up to Eleven, but for justifiable reasons.
 * Disproportionate Retribution: Somewhat justified, since Hera couldn't act against Zeus. Punishing others was her only method of getting even.
 * God Save Us From the Queen / The High Queen: On one side, she's a jealous and vengeful goddess with a fury like Hell has none. On the other side, she's a benevolent and fair queen who protects mothers and wives and is generally well-disposed toward faithful husbands.
 * Hair-Trigger Temper
 * Kick the Dog: Inducing Heracles to kill his family.
 * Lady of War: In some myths she shares Zeus' power to control the weather and beats the crap out of people. As the Roman Juno, she is more consistently so.
 * In the Iliad she beats the stuffing out of Artemis, sending her off crying to her daddy Zeus.
 * Physical God
 * Virgin Power: According to a myth from Argos, Hera once every year restored her virginity by bathing in the spring of Kanathos. According to different myths, she birthed Hephaestus without any male involvement.
 * According to a Roman myth, Juno gave birth to Mars (Ares) without any male involvement, but Vulcan (Hephaestus) was fathered by Jupiter.
 * What Beautiful Eyes!: Much is made of her having large, dark eyes. Common epithets are "sloe-eyed" and "cow-eyed".
 * Woman Scorned: Most myths about her focused on this aspect.
 * Yandere: To a certain extent; most of her crazy is generally turned against Zeus' paramours, though he felt the lash of her scorn as well. It's just that she couldn't do anything to Zeus besides yell at him.

Poseidon

God of the ocean, earthquakes and (to a lesser extent) horses. The Romans equated him with their god Neptune, related to the Etruscan god "Nethuns".


 * Big Bad: Of the Odyssey
 * Casanova: Overshadowed by Zeus' philandering, but he too got around. Though it's not like anyone really remembers him at all anymore for this. Did you know he had a wife named Amphitrite?
 * Father Neptune: Certainly the Trope Namer, maybe the Trope Codifier.
 * Hair-Trigger Temper
 * Making a Splash
 * Giant Wall of Watery Doom
 * Kill It with Water: Well, of course!
 * Papa Wolf: Odysseus messed with one of his kids and lived to regret it.
 * Physical God
 * Prongs of Poseidon: The Trope Namer, for his Weapon of Choice.
 * Sadly Mythtaken: Poseidon never had a merman's fish tail. This would be absurd, as he wasn't born the god of the seas, but won rule over his watery domain when the three brothers drew lots to divide the world amongst themselves. The fishy lower half actually belonged to Poseidon's son Triton, god of waves and his father's herald.
 * Shapeshifting Lover
 * Victim Falls For Rapist: Averted with Medusa and subverted with Amphitrite. Played straight, however with the occasional male lover.

Hades

God of the Underworld, though not a grim-reaper type figure. Reigned over the dead, wealth hidden in the ground and the earth as an element in general. Despite his association with death, his original depiction and characterization was never as despicable as the usual modern interpretation. In fact, he was a rather ambivalent figure towards mortals. Romans called him Pluto, latinizing the Greek epithet Plouton/Ploutos, and also named him Dis.


 * Badass: He doesn't see a lot of action, but he's the measuring stick the Greeks use for how terrifying something is.
 * Dark Is Not Evil: At least, the way he was portrayed by the Hellenes: he was one of a very few gods who was never a Jerkass to mortals. Modern audiences think of him very differently.
 * The Dreaded: The Greeks were terrified of Death, and by default, of Hades as well.
 * Fluffy Tamer
 * God Couple: With Persephone.
 * Happily Married: Honestly seems to love Persephone.
 * He Who Must Not Be Named: Mortals and even the other gods don't like speaking his name. His temples are always dedicated anonymously because death worship is considered taboo.
 * I Have Many Names: Since the Greeks didn't like to refer to him by name, they had a whole list of other names to call him instead. The most common was Plouton ("Giver of Wealth"), but according to Sophocles he was also referred to as Clymenus ("notorious"), Polydegmon ("who receives many"), and Eubuleus (which, ironically enough, can be translated as "well-intentioned").
 * Invisibility Cloak: The "Helm of Darkness" (obviously not actually a cloak).
 * Manly Tears: Orpheus was able to get Hades to shed "iron tears" by playing his lyre.
 * May–December Romance: Even though Greek gods don't age, there is still a generational gap between him and Persephone.
 * Orcus on His Throne: How humans entering the underworld (Hercules, Theseus, Orpheus, etc.) would find him and Persephone.
 * Physical God
 * Prongs of Poseidon: When he has to take action, sometimes he is depicted with a bident.
 * Right-Hand Attack Dog: Kerberos (Cerberus).
 * The Sacred Darkness: Of the "does an unpopular, but important job" variety.
 * Sadly Mythtaken: Hence Everybody Hates Hades.
 * The hilarious irony is that the Ancient Greeks hated him as well. Thanks to Values Dissonance, he's become Unintentionally Sympathetic to modern audiences.
 * The Stoic: He and his wife both have the emotional range of a statue. The one time he is driven to Tender Tears, they are tears of iron.

Hestia

Goddess of the hearth, meaning that she was the goddess of home, house and family. An important goddess, but one whose domains did not lend to participation in many stories, which is why most people forget she exists. This, in addition to her modest and discreet nature, would keep her out of trouble. Her Roman equivalent was Vesta (as in "Vestal virgins").


 * Actual Pacifist
 * The Chick: In a way. She doesn't especially contribute to the cohesion of her brethren - she mostly stays out of any argument - but she has all the classical traits otherwise.
 * Fire of Comfort: Hestia's domain.
 * God of Good: The most benevolent olympian in and out of universe.
 * Hearth Is An Awesome Power: Although today, Hestia's domains are considered rather insignificant, she was one of the most important gods in the entire Greek Pantheon (though this isn't reflected in the myths).
 * Maiden Aunt
 * Overshadowed by Awesome: Subverted in that she never gave a shit about being awesome.
 * Physical God
 * Proper Lady: You know the whole 'divine dignity' thing? She's the best example with her proper behavior. The other gods are too Jerkass to mortals and each other.
 * Reasonable Authority Figure
 * Static Character

Demeter

Goddess of grain, fertility, the "life" parts of the life-and-death cycle, and marriage laws. Her name literally means "Earth Mother" (de + meter). The Romans equated her with their agricultural goddess Ceres, from whom English gets the word cereal.


 * Fertile Feet
 * Fisher Queen: There is a Just-So Story about how Demeter's daughter Persephone was kidnapped to be Hades' wife, and Demeter's depression either caused summer, the dry season in Greece when plants cannot grow, or winter, the freezing season when plants cannot grow.
 * Gaia's Vengeance: Not very smart to anger her...
 * Green Thumb: Obviously.
 * Mama Bear
 * My Beloved Smother: To Persephone.
 * Physical God
 * Seasonal Baggage: Persephone leaves to meet Hades during the winter months.

Aphrodite

The goddess of love, beauty, and sexuality, who was also associated with looking after children. As Aphrodite Ourania, this was extended to include what literally translates to "heavenly" or "divine love." In Rome, she was called Venus.


 * All Girls Want Bad Boys: Had an affair with Ares, the Badass god of war, despite being married to the humble Hephaestus.
 * According to the prevalent myths, Aphrodite gave birth to Ares' children Eros (love), Harmony, Phobos (fear) and Deimos (terror). She also had two sons by crafty Hermes, god of thieves: Priapos and Hermaphroditos, although according to another version Priapos was fathered by Dionysos.
 * All Women Are Lustful: What the Greek society believed.
 * Canon Immigrant: She originated as the main deity of Cyprus.
 * Clingy Jealous Girl: Toward her daughter in law Psyche.
 * My Beloved Smother
 * Femme Fatale
 * The Glorious War of Sisterly Rivalry: The Trojan War, against Athena (as well as Hera).
 * Heart Is an Awesome Power: She doesn't get angry often, but when she does you do not want to be on the one who angered her.
 * Hot Mom: To Eros.
 * Living Aphrodisiac: Trope Namer.
 * Love Goddess
 * Multiple Choice Past: She was either born from Ouranos' cut-off genitalia (making her one of the oldest goddesses), or from Zeus and either Dione or Thalassa. Later philosophers would differentiate between the older, heavenly Aphrodite (ourania) and the younger, common Aphrodite (pandemos, of all people).
 * My Girl Is a Slut
 * Obnoxious In-Laws: Pity poor, poor Psyche.
 * Physical God
 * The Power of Love
 * Really Gets Around
 * Sleeps with Everyone but You: Her relationship with her husband.
 * Spontaneous Generation: Supposedly born when Kronos cut off Ouranos' genitals and threw them into the ocean. This lends to one of her other names Philommedes which translates as "lover of members". Because she was born from them, of course.
 * Spear Counterpart: Her son Priapus, the extremely well-endowed god of male sexuality and fertility, equally revered and feared but not as important since, back in those times, men weren't supposed to be interested in sexuality that much.
 * Trickster: She can be underhanded, as seen in the tale of Eros and Psyche.
 * Unkempt Beauty: Often said to be one of her characteristics.

Athena

Goddess of wisdom, which is a blanket term for things like weaving, strategy, industry, defensive war, justice, and skill. The Romans identified her with their goddess Minerva.


 * Action Girl
 * Badass Bookworm
 * Berserk Button: She really did not take kindly to being disrespected.
 * Blood Knight: One of Hymns describes her as such.
 * By-The-Book Cop: As a goddess of intelligence, she will help people as long as they are following the rules and/or striving to right injustice. But breaking them means she will allow no mercy.
 * Chest Burster: More like skull burster, as she was born out of Zeus's head.
 * Daddy's Girl
 * Dating Catwoman: Minerva was identified with Nerio, who was the wife of Mars (Ares).
 * Double Standard: Athena said that she is always for the male before the female because she never had a mother.
 * Emotionless Girl: Only occasionally did she allow her emotions to get the better of her. The rest of the time, she only punishes people who break the rules.
 * Flight, Strength, Heart: Besides the above, as patron of Athens she was also the goddess of olives, Athens' greatest export.
 * The Glorious War of Sisterly Rivalry: Herself as the smart one and Aphrodite as the beautiful one; unfortunately for the humans involved, they played out this rivalry through The Trojan War, and at one point deliberately sabotaged attempts to make peace.
 * Gray Eyes
 * Historical Hero Upgrade: Nowadays, Athena often gets depicted as one of the nice gods. Which she was, as long as people followed the rules. If they didn't, she would show no mercy.
 * Hot Librarian
 * Hot Amazon
 * Lady of War
 * Manipulative Bitch: Regardless of Medusa being a slut or a rape victim, she goes from beautiful priestess to monster to an Iconic Item on, where else, Athena's shield.
 * The Mentor: Trope Namer from The Odyssey, in which she played this role to Telemachus in the form of Mentor, an elderly man.
 * My Girl Is Not a Slut: One of three virgin goddesses.
 * Whether that specifically means 'never had sex' or 'never married' isn't made entirely clear.
 * Offing the Offspring: When Metis, Athena's mother, got pregnant, Zeus ate her. However, this trope was somewhat subverted in that the prophecy specified "son."
 * Other versions merely state that any child Metis bore would be more powerful than its father, and Zeus ate her out of fear of such a child overthrowing him. Sure enough, Athena is more powerful than Zeus, but she's also totally loyal to Olympus.
 * Other versions state that Athena tried to overthrow Zeus with the help of Hera and Poseidon but failed.
 * Pet the Dog: In one of the myths of the prophet Tiresias, he was a son of her attendants who accidentally stumbled on her bathing and was blinded when Athena covered his eyes. As she could not restore his sight, she gave him a long life, the ability to understand the language of birds, and his gift of prophecy.
 * Contrast this with Artemis and Actaeon, below. Same initial transgression, horrifyingly different consequences.
 * Physical God
 * War Is Glorious: Athena represents the elements of war coming together beautifully.

Apollon (Apollo)

God of "beardless youth", light, archery, the arts, etc. Associated with the Roman gods, Phoebus and Helios. Later, he also became a solar deity with the assimilation of Helios with Apollo. Romans also associated Phoebus with Helios and the sun itself. However, they also used the name legaced by the Greeks, Apollo.


 * The Archer
 * Bi the Way
 * Casanova
 * Disproportionate Retribution: He skins the satyr Marsyas alive for daring to challenge him in music.
 * He also cursed King Midas to have donkey ears for being the only guy who voted Marsyas the winner.
 * He cursed Cassandra into having everyone believe whatever she said to be a lie just because she wouldn't sleep with him.
 * Let's not forget how he dealt with that Orion, who tried to hook up with Artemis.
 * See Momma's Boy below.
 * Half Identical Twin: His sister Artemis.
 * Insufferable Genius: He's the god of reason.
 * Light'Em Up
 * Light Is Not Good: Like most of the other Olympians, he has a bad side.
 * Momma's Boy: Was really protective of his mother. He killed Python when Hera sent the giant snake to kill Leto and later killed the giant Tityos for trying to rape his mother. When Niobe boasted of her superiority to Leto because she had fourteen children, he killed all her male 7 children
 * The Medic: Not just Apollo, but some of his children, specifically Asklepios and Hygeia. Even today, physicians swear by them.
 * My Sister Is Off-Limits: Apollo disapproved of Orion's relationship with Artemis, so he created a giant scorpion to kill him. Orion went looking for Artemis, who was practising her archery on an island, but Apollo beat him to her and bet she couldn't snipe the distant object bobbing towards the island. She did, and was so furious with Apollo that she killed his scorpion and immortalized Orion as a constellation. Apollo turned the scorpion into stars as well so it could keep chasing Orion across the skies.
 * Papa Wolf: Less notable than Ares, but he still has his moments. Apollo guided Paris in the killing of Achilles by guiding the arrow of his bow into Achilles' heel revenge for Achilles' sacrilege in murdering Troilus. After Zeus killed Asclepius with a lightning bolt for resurrecting Hippolytus from the dead, a berserk Apollo took revenge on the Cyclops, who had fashioned the bolt for Zeus
 * Physical God
 * Plaguemaster: Inflicting disease was one of his favorite punishments.
 * The Power of the Sun: Somewhat averted as he used more often magic arrows (see Helios' take on the same trope).
 * Pretty Boy: Is generally depicted as one of the most handsome of the male gods, with youthful features and long hair.
 * The Smart Guy: As reason was in his domain, he was the one who figured out the weakness of Otos and Ephiantes: They could be killed by each other.

Artemis

Goddess of young women, of virginity, childbirth (yes, both at the same time), Women's Mysteries, forests and hills, hunting, and, later, the moon (along with Selene). Essentially a liminal goddess who protected women throughout their lives. The Romans equated her with their goddess Diana.


 * Amazon Brigade: Had one.
 * On that note, don't be surprised if her Roman name sounds familiar.
 * The Archer
 * Disproportionate Retribution: Actaeon, Callisto, and Niobe are the most famous victims.
 * Does Not Like Men
 * All Amazons Want Hercules: The only man she may be interested in, depending on your myth, is the great hunter Orion. Unfortunately...
 * Half Identical Twin: Her brother Apollo.
 * Hot Amazon: Sorry boys, she's not interested. In fact, run for your life.
 * Humanoid Abomination: A remarkably surprising example (specially when considering how Olympians are essentially humans with powers), her Ephesian depiction, while humanoid, makes her pretty much Lovecraftian. To the point that some Cthulhu Mythos writers identify such statue as an image of Shub-Niggurath.
 * Lunacy
 * My Girl Is Not a Slut
 * Naked First Impression: This happened with Actaeon. It didn't end well.
 * Physical God

Ares

Another god of war. While Athena ruled over strategy and wisdom, Ares ruled brute force and courage. His nearest Roman equivalent was Mars, who however was also a god of agriculture. The more martial Romans put Mars in a much higher place in their religion than the Greeks put Ares, and in fact the Romans believed themselves to be Mars's descendants.


 * All Girls Want Bad Boys: He and Aphrodite got along really well.
 * Amazon Brigade: He was the father of the Amazons.
 * Berserk Button: Attacking his children isn't a very good idea.
 * Blood Knight
 * The Brute
 * Dating Catwoman: Mars was married to Nerio, who was identified with Minerva (Athena).
 * Good Parent: Ares always supported his children and tried to protect them (namely the Amazons).
 * Has Two Mommies: According to a Roman myth, Juno became pregnant with Mars by being touched with a herb grown by the goddess Flora.
 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Yes, he goes on bloodthirsty killing sprees on default, but he is quite devoted to his various children—unlike a lot of the gods.
 * Light'Em Up / The Power of the Sun: Hesiod and Homer described him more or less as this.
 * Light Is Not Good: Perhaps the best embodiment of this trope in the whole mythology.
 * Momma's Boy
 * Murder the Hypotenuse: In Nonnus's peom Dinoysiaca he killed Adonis for being Aphrodite's lover.
 * Papa Wolf: Athenians explained the name of the Areopagus by saying the first trial there was when Poseidon prosecuted Ares for murder, over the death of his son Alirrothios. Ares was acquitted on the defense that he was protecting his daughter Alkippe from being raped by Alirrothios.
 * Physical God
 * Psychopathic Manchild: Homer's portrayal of Ares in his epic had this element; he'd charge into battle roaring and killing all who got in his way when on a mission, but when seriously injured he would run back to Zeus and complain about it.
 * Really Gets Around
 * Sibling Rivalry: With Athena in a few epic poems.
 * Small Name, Big Ego: Ares is a handsome guy, but really kind of a stupid thug and sometimes a Dirty Coward as well, depending on the telling.
 * War Is Hell: Ares personifies war as bloodshed, violence and destruction
 * The Worf Effect: Despite being the god of war, the Greeks handed the victory aspect to Athena, and in the myths he doesn't win as many battles as one would expect.

Hephaistos (Hephaestus)

The Blacksmith. He was rather hideously crippled: Authors differ whether he had been defenestrated during an argument between Mummy and Daddy, or just born with lame legs. His nearest Roman equivalent was the descructive volcano god Vulcanus (Vulcan).


 * Beast and Beauty: With his wife, Aphrodite.
 * Beauty Equals Goodness: The inverse assumption, Ugly Is Evil, is played viciously straight by the other gods.
 * Chained to a Bed: The method Hephaestus uses to prove she's cheating on him with Ares.
 * Continuity Snarl: In some versions of Hephaestus' birth-myth, he was conceived by Hera without any help from Zeus; supposedly she was jealous over his Mister Seahorse act in bearing Athena. In some versions of Athena's birth-myth, Hephaestus helps dig her out of Zeus' head.
 * Double Standard: Had multiple lovers himself but did not take his wife's infidelity well.
 * Drop the Hammer
 * Forged by the Gods: Everything he made; he endowed most of the Olympians with their Iconic Items.
 * God Couple: Zeus put him together with Aphrodite in an Arranged Marriage.
 * Genius Cripple
 * The Grotesque
 * Informed Flaw: By Greek standards, being crippled was enough to make a person ugly. Art says otherwise. However, given the the ancient Greeks knew better than to offend their gods, this might be justified.
 * Physical God
 * Playing with Fire
 * Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: Again, with Aphrodite.
 * Ultimate Blacksmith

Hermes

The messenger god and a Trickster Archetype, Hermes is a good friend and a bad enemy. He is also the god of travelers, shepherds, cowherds, thieves, wit, literature, commerce, cunning and luck. The Roman god Mercurius (Mercury) was identified with him.


 * Absurdly Sharp Blade: His sickle, which he loaned to Perseus so he could slay Medusa.
 * Angel Unaware: He disguised himself as a mortal with Zeus, to assess the state of humanity. The first people they met were awful, and Hermes persuaded his father to give humanity a second chance.
 * Biggus Dickus: His symbol is his phallus, leading to herms. His son with Aphrodite has Aphrodite's body and his penis.
 * Distaff Counterpart: Iris, the goddess of rainbow, also share the role of messenger with him.
 * From a Certain Point of View: After stealing Apollo's cows as a toddler, he promised Zeus he would never lie again. As if a god of cunning and wit needs to lie to be dishonest...
 * Good Parent: Hermes, in comparison to the rest of the gods aside from Ares, was a model parent. One could argue that he was even doting. Just see his reaction to Pan
 * I Believe I Can Fly: His Iconic Item is his winged sandals.
 * Loveable Rogue: He lies, cheats, steals, and whatnot, but is generally thought to be and portrayed as one of the nicest gods. Also see Angel Unaware.
 * Papa Wolf: Pelops killed Myrtilus. Hermes would damn all his descendants, essentially being the responsible for all the tragedies of The House Of Atreus
 * Physical God
 * Pretty Boy: His literary appearances describe him as looking young and very beautiful. Then again, plenty of vase paintings give him a full beard, so it depends on the author.
 * Psychopomp: One of his duties was guiding souls to the Underworld.
 * Staff of Authority: His winged staff
 * Super Speed
 * The Trickster

Dionysos (Dionysus)

The god of wine, drunken debauchery, agriculture, theatre, and the freeing of self from normal behavior. He is always treated as a late arrival to Olympus, partially because Hestia was voted off the island to make room for him. The Romans called him Bacchus, from one of his many Greek titles, but also identified him with the Roman god Liber.


 * Bi the Way
 * Canon Immigrant
 * Chest Burster: Born out of Zeus's thigh. Interestingly, Zeus had actually stitched him up in there after his mother had died, to preserve him before birth.
 * Chivalrous Pervert
 * Fun Personified: His definition of 'fun' varies from time to time. It isn't always pretty.
 * The Hedonist
 * King Incognito: He seems to spend half his time going around in disguise.
 * Letting Her Hair Down: Basically the main reason he exists, and for both sexes too.
 * Mister Seahorse: His mother died before he was born, so Zeus put him under his thigh.
 * Mugging the Monster: At one point some sailors who saw him sitting by the shore believed him to be a prince, and could thus be either sold into slavery or held ransom at a great profit. After repeated requests to let him go or drop him off at Naxos, he either turned into a lion (and summoned a bear) and killed them, or turned them into dolphins. Either way, the only survivor was Acoetes, who recognized him as a god and tried to stop the others. Oddly enough, he ended up as his priest.
 * No One Could Survive That: Somehow survived having his mother being burned to ashes after seeing Zeus's true form... while see was pregnant with him. Or, depending on the myth, having his entire body expect his heart eaten by titans as a child. The Greeks thus gave him the epitaph of dimētōr, which means 'of two mothers', the second being Zeus who transferred him to his thigh until he was born {or regrown}.
 * Pet the Dog: One of the kinder deities to humans, despite his party animal nature. This is partially due to the amount of time he spent Walking the Earth (see below).
 * Physical God
 * Pretty Boy: Described as being rather feminine-looking. Although he is mostly depicted as an older, fat man with a beard in many vase-paintings, and often in modern works. Perhaps all that wine caught up to him in time.
 * The Trickster: He fits the archetype, and like examples from other mythologies, can be Fun Personified or an insane sadist depending on the story.
 * Wacky Fratboy Hijinx: Played much straighter than Ares' version.
 * Walking the Earth: For a bit, after Hera curses him with insanity. He gets better eventually, but keeps wandering around learning things, accumulating followers, and punishing people who piss him off.

Persephone

Goddess of spring, rejuvenation and youth (especially young women) and Queen of the Underworld. Daughter of Zeus and Demeter, she was abducted (theoretically) by Hades to be his queen. She spends half of the year with her mother and half of it with him. Though not numbered among the Twelve Olympians, she had more Greek worshippers than Ares, and was a major goddess of the Eleusinian Mysteries, alongside Demeter and Hecate. To Romans, she was known as Proserpina.


 * A Match Made in Stockholm: An interpretation of her marriage to Hades.
 * Abduction Is Love/Victim Falls For Rapist: As noted, she was brought to the Underworld by force but isn't presented as all that unhappy in the myths.
 * Broken Bird: Some interpretations take her early life in Underworld as Break the Cutie process.
 * Clingy Jealous Girl: When naiad Minthe tried to seduce Hades, Persephone metamorphosed her into a mint plant. It's good that Hades is a pretty faithful husband.
 * Subverted in the version involving nymph Leuce. Persephone seemed to like her enough that after Leuce died naturally, she turned her into the first white poplar tree, which became her sacred tree.
 * Emotionless Girl: As the Queen of the Underworld, she is as cold as Hades. Although she does have a case of Not So Stoic once in a while, notably in some versions of Admetus and Alcestis's story not involving Heracles. She's either touched by Alcestis's selfless sacrifice and just tells Thanatos to send her back, or is angry that Admetus let his wife die in his place and tells Thanatos to make it right.
 * God Couple: With Hades
 * Happily Married: By Greek standards she absolutely is.
 * The High Queen: Of the Underworld. A known epithet of her is the Iron Queen, who is dreaded by mortals as much as her husband Hades.
 * The Ingenue / Innocent Flower Girl (literally): Before her abduction. Her original name "Kore" meant maiden. She most likely leveled up into some kind of Perky Goth after that. Hey, being queen of the underworld isn't all bad...
 * May–December Romance: Allegory of this trope. See Hades above.
 * Orcus on His Throne
 * Physical God
 * The Stoic: She and Hades both.
 * Trapped in Another World: Beneath the Earth

Titans (first generation)
Kronos (Cronus)

The previous king of the gods, he was the leader of the Titans, the generation of gods prior to the Olympians. Typically associated with time (mostly due to the similarity of his name with the Greek word for "time"), he was actually a god associated with agriculture and fertility. In fact, his modern view as a God of Evil is debatable; he ate his offspring sans Zeus, true, but he was sometimes also stated to have brought a golden age to Man, which ended once Zeus was in domain. Unfortunately, here we again see the effects of Continuity Snarl: sometimes, mankind didn't even exist until after the Olympians took over.

His Roman counterpart was Saturnus, although frankly because Romans mixed their own mythology with the Greek one, it's unclear if they should truly be considered the same entity. Most likely Saturn was an entirely separate Roman god before being assimilated to Kronos.

Do not confuse him with Chronus/Khronos, the protogenos of Time.


 * Archnemesis Dad
 * Big Bad: If you root for Zeus and his siblings, that is.
 * Calling the Old Man Out: Castrated and overthrew his dad Ouranos for imprisoning him and the other Titans in Tartaros. Shame he didn't turn out to be much better.
 * Child Eater / Eats Babies: Each kid he had with Rhea was eaten, except Zeus.
 * Failed a Spot Check: He mistook a stone for the newborn Zeus.
 * Good Powers, Bad People: An interpretation of his moral alignment, as he was an agricultural god who may have brought a golden age to mankind, and yet ate his offspring and probably raped his wife (how else would she have made more babies to be eaten?), and disrespected Gaia's wish to free his imprisioned sibilings.
 * Green Thumb
 * I'm a Humanitarian
 * Mister Seahorse: Somehow his children emerged fully grown once Zeus opened his belly many years after they had been swallowed. Most likely because Kronos is extremely huge and his belly is habitable. Or because Greek myth is weird like that and you really shouldn't think about it too hard.
 * Physical God
 * Rouge Angles of Satin: Because of the similar sound of C/Kronos and Chronos, he's become associated with Time - note that Father Time has a scythe (as would fit a harvest god) and has the idea of being succeeded by a child (the New Years baby/Zeus).
 * Sinister Scythe: His token item, and a very rare example of it being tied to agriculutre then death.

Hyperion

Of all the Titans, this is probably the most mysterious, since practically nothing about him comes on Greek texts, though it is known he fought against the gods in the Titanomachy, and probably might had helped Kronos kill his father Ouranos, not to mention that he is father of Helios, the god of the Sun. The Lord of light and of the East, the first making him not very unique since there's several other deities in Greek Mythology aligned with light, but should he appear as an enemy of the Olympians in modern media he would be quite the nice contrast to the usual demonic legions (and, in fact, he did appear once).


 * Cast Speciation
 * Light'Em Up
 * Light Is Not Good: If depicted negatively.
 * Meaningful Name: His name means "he who watches from above". Aside from fire, lightning and astronomical objects are the most obvious natural light sources.
 * Physical God
 * We Hardly Knew Ye

Iapetos (Iapetus)

Another mysterious titan. The god of the mortal lifespan and Lord of the West. One of the titans who helped subdue Ouranos so Kronos could castrate him.


 * Names to Run Away From Really Fast: His name means Piercer.
 * Physical God

Koios (Coeus)

Titan god of heavenly oracles, and Lord of the North. Another accomplice of Kronos. His alternate name was Polos (Of the North Pole).


 * Flat Character: Very, very little is known about him.
 * Physical God

Krios (Crius)

The Titan lord of the South, who helped Kronos to depose Ouranos. Associated with the constellation Aries (The Ram).


 * Animal Motifs: His name means Ram.
 * Physical God

Oceanus

Ophion was a protogenoi who got demoted to titan, the original ruler of olympus before Kronos cast him into the sea, where he became Oceanus. As Oceanus he ruled over the sea much like Pontus of the Protogenoi and Posiedon/Neptune of the Olympians. Oceanus was also the god who regulated the rising and setting of the heavenly bodies which were believed to emerge and descend into his watery realm at the ends of the earth.


 * Heroic Neutral: Oceanus never involved himself in things like the overthrowing of Urnaus or the Titanomachy
 * Making a Splash
 * Physical God
 * Snake People: He has the lower body of a serpent.

Mnemosyne

No, not that Mnemosyne. The Titan goddess of memory, and the daughter of Gaia and Uranus. She and Zeus had sex for nine consecutive nights, and each copulation led to the birth of one of the nine Muses. It was said that kings and poets receive their great oratorical ability from Mnemosyne and her daughters, the Muses.


 * Anthropomorphic Personification

Themis

Zeus's second wife (after Metis and before Hera) and daughter of Uranus and Gaia, Themis was the goddess of divine law, order, and custom. Themis in many ways represented tradition, mores, customs, and such, especially those said to have been handed down by the gods. Prophetess, with the ability to see into the future, and thus received the Oracle at Delphi, which she passed on to Phoebe. It is sometimes said that she became a goddess of divine justice, but this role is also taken up by Nemesis. She was so respected, even Hera, her successor as Zeus's wife, referred to her as "Lady Themis". With Zeus she gave birth to Astraea, the Moirai (possibly), and both generations of the Hours.

Phoebe

One of the original Titans (children of Gaia and Uranus, she is traditionally seen as a moon goddess, possibly the one that predates Selene. her husband was Coeus, with whom she had Leto and Asteria. She later received control of the oracle of Delphi from Themis.


 * Flat Character: not much is know about Phoebe besides who she birthed and her having the Oracle of Delphi

Tethys

Wife of Oceanus and a sea goddess, she was the mother of the chief rivers of the world (know to the Greeks at the time) such as the Nile. She is also probably most well know for a having a lot of children. In fact, other than being everybody's mother, she really plays no other major role in Greek literary tradition, other than raising Hera as her step child during the war with the Titans. Is supposedly the reason Ursa Major and Ursa Minor are circumpolar (at Hera's request).


 * Brother-Sister Incest
 * Physical God

Theia

Theia was a Titan goddess and wife of Hyperion. Her name simply means goddess, which should tell you that there is not very much to her character. She, however, may have been a Titan glory.


 * Flat Character: Even compared to other members of her generation, there is not much special about her
 * Physical God

Rhea

Titan goddess and "Mother of the Gods", Rhea was the wife of Cronus, identified in Rome with the goddess Ops. She would give birth to all the original Olympic gods. However, Cronos learned from Gaia and Uranus that he was destined to be overthrown by one of his children. Thus, Cronus swallowed all of his children as soon as they were born, with the exception of Zeus, because Rhea gave him a rock to eat instead. She hid Zeus in a cave where someone else raised him.


 * Physical God

Titans (second generation)
Selene

The Titan goddess of the moon, known as Luna in the Roman pantheon. Specifically, she is the goddess who drives the chariot of the moon across the sky. Sister of Helios and Eos (all offspring of Hyperion) and the most well-known of the three, if only because her name makes for an elegant allusion and looks very French (the "e" at the end is not silent).


 * Different As Night and Day: Compare Selene's obsession with a single man to Eos' many husbands and children. Bonus points for actually being Night and Day.
 * Dude He's Like In A Coma: She had fifty daughters with Endymion after he was put into an eternal slumber.
 * Mayfly-December Romance: Attempted to avert this with Endymion.
 * Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette: Often depicted as such.
 * Physical God
 * Single-Target Sexuality: Apart from Endymion, she doesn't seem to have many other lovers.
 * Winged Humanoid: Sometimes depicted with wings.

Helios (Helius)

The Titan god of the sun, known as Sol in the Roman pantheon. Sometimes equated with Apollo, he is usually the one driving a chariot of fiery steeds across the sky.


 * Light'Em Up
 * Light Is Not Good: Not himself (unless pissed off), but his daughters were often witches who had a power called "evil eye", derived from himself; Circe is the most famous one.
 * Physical God
 * The Power of the Sun: An aversion; because the Greeks were unaware of the Sun's real potential, he was often depicted as weak and incapable of fighting for himself (for instance, when his sacred cattle were slain he had to blackmail Zeus in either killing said people, or having Helios running away to the Underworld).
 * Too Dumb to Live: His son, Phaeton, asks to drive the chariot of the sun as proof that he is actually Helios' son. No version of the story ends well.

Eos

The Titan goddess of the dawn, known as Aurora in the Roman pantheon. She either opens the gates for her brother Helios to ride out, or harnesses his horses to the chariot.


 * Fiery Redhead: Often depicted with red hair.
 * Mayfly-December Romance: Attempted to avert this by asking Zeus to grant Tithonos immortality, but forgot to ask for eternal youth.
 * Physical God
 * Pietà Plagiarism: Sort of. She had a son called Memnon who was killed in The Trojan War, and in some paintings was depicted as holding him across her knees.
 * Really Gets Around: After sleeping with Ares, she was cursed by Aphrodite to have an unquenchable lust.
 * Winged Humanoid: Also depicted as having wings.

Prometheus

One of the original Titans, who apparently didn't take a side in the war between the Titans and Olympians- instead, his sympathies were with man. One day he stole fire from the gods and gave it to man—for this, he was Chained to a Rock and tortured for centuries... until he was freed by the demigod Hercules.


 * And I Must Scream: Probably the Ur Example; his punishment was not only being Chained to a Rock; he had an eagle eating out his liver every day and, every night, his liver would regenerate and the process would repeat.
 * Chained by Fashion: Some stories say that even after Hercules freed him, Zeus declared that his sentence was permanent, thus Prometheus would always wear a wreath and a ring of his chain. Men in turn began to wear rings and wreaths in tribute to him.
 * Chained to a Rock: Of course.
 * Cool and Unusual Punishment: He's chained to the Caucasus, and every day, a bird eats his liver. Bonus points for recognizing the liver's regeneration capability.
 * Crucified Hero Shot
 * Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Several ancient authors included this in his torment.
 * My Species Doth Protest Too Much: Apparently, about the only god who'd put humanity before himself.
 * Meaningful Name: His name means "Forethought".
 * Physical God
 * Satan Is Good: Obviously pre-dates Satan, but the positive interpretation of Satan comes from him - a rebel against a Selfish God/gods who brings knowledge to humanity.

Asteria

The titan goddess of nocturnal oracles and falling stars, she was the daughter of the titans Phoebe and Coeus, the sister of Leto, and the mother of Hekate. She flung herself into the Aegean Sea to escape the womanizing Zeus (while transformed as a quail) and thus became the "quail island", Ortygia, which became later identified with island of Delos. It was the only piece of Earth that would give refuge to Leto when she was pursued by the always vengeful Hera while pregnant with Zeus's children.

Pallas

A Titan god associated with war, possibly making him Ares predecessor. He was the son of Crius and Eurybia, the brother of Astraeus and Perses, and the husband of Styx. Was actually killed by Athena in a contest to fight for Zeus. Became conflated with Athena in later years, to the point that in Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven, a bust of Athena is identified as "Pallas".

Styx

No, not the river in the Underworld; the Titan goddess, mother of Zelus, Nike, Kratos (not that Kratos), and Bia, husband of Pallas, and daughter of Oceanus and Tethys. During the Titanomachy, she sided with and came to Zeus's aide, being one of the first to do so. For this, her name became a binding oath for the gods.


 * Heel Face Turn: Joined Zeus to overthrow the Titans
 * Jumped At the Call: She was the first Titan to switch sides and help overthrow the Titanomachy

Metis

A daughter of Oceanus and Tethys, making her a Oceanid. Was actually Zeus's first spouse, and was a goddess of Wisdom and deep thought, though her name actually implies a combination of wisdom and cunning. It was Metis who gave Zeus the poison that forced Cronos to vomit out his children. However, Zeus feared Metis, because she was was prophesied to have extremely powerful children, the second of which would be more powerful than Zeus himself. Zeus promptly tricked Metis into turning herself into a fly, after which he promptly swallowed her. Metis, however, was already pregnant with a powerful child (Athena), and went to work building armor for her inside Zeus, causing him great pain. Eventually, one way or another, Zeus got his head cracked open, and out popped Athena. What became of Metis after that is unknown.


 * Irony: Two sets of it. Firstly, Metis was swallowed by Zeus the same way that Zeus's siblings (whom she helped rescue) were swallowed by Cronos. Secondly, she is technically a goddess of wisdom, but Zeus didn't have to work to hard to trick into turning into a fly.

Leto

The Titan daughter of Coeus and Phoebe, and sister to Asteria, Leto is quite honestly famous for only one thing: Giving birth to Apollo and Artemis, the children of Zeus. When she got pregnant, she was forced to run for her life from the jealous Queen Hera, who made all the lands of the world shun her. Once her twins are born, she goes back to Olympus and recedes from being prominent. Her Roman equivalent is Latona.


 * Physical God
 * Flat Character: Quite literally, for the Greeks, the only thing of importance she did was birth her children

Potamoi

The sons of Oceanus and Tethys, and the fathers of Naiads, these groups of gods were the river gods of Greek Mythology, depicted in three forms: a man-headed bull, a bull-headed man with the body of a serpent-like fish from the waist down, and an arm resting on an amphora jug pouring water.


 * Physical God

Astraeus

The Titan god of the dusk, and son of Crius and Eurybia (however, Hyginas identifies him as a Gigantes and son of Tartarus and Gaia). Was the husband of Eos (goddess of the dawn), and together, they were daybreak and nightfall. They are the parents of the Anemoi and Astra Planeta (Wandering Planets).


 * Continuity Snarl
 * Multiple Choice Past

Perses

Son of the Titans Kreios and Eurybia, and the titan god of destruction. Was wed to Asteria and had the their child Hecate together.


 * Flat Character: His daughter has entire books on herself and even his wife is more notable in mythology. His one claim to fame is having Hecate.

Menoetius

Brother to Prometheus and Atlas, and son of Iapetus. His one claim to fame is that Zeus kicked his butt during the war with the Titans and banished him down to Tartarus.


 * Physical God

Epimetheus

Brother to Prometheus and Atlas, and son of Iapetus. Epimetheus was the direct brother to Prometheus, and together, they "acted as representatives to mankind". While Prometheus was smart and krafty, Epimetheus was foolish and unwise. Epimetheus was initially tasked with giving positive traits to every animal, but when he got to man, he found he had nothing left to give, lacking his brother's foresight. His brother then decided to give man fire and civilization. Later married Pandora (yes, the one who opened the box).


 * Physical God

Atlas

Probably one of the more well known Titans, his task, as punishment for fighting against Zeus during his war against the Titans, is to hold up Uranus (the sky) away from Gaia (the Earth) to prevent the two from "embracing". Generally considered the son of Iapetus and Asia. Later Hercules came to Atlas to ask him to retrieve the Golden Apples for him, one of his Twelve Labors. When Atlas returned, he attempted to trick Hercules into holding up the permanently, as anyone who wants to take Atlas away from his task had to do it voluntarily. Hercules, however, tricked Atlas into retaking his load. Depending on the myth, Hercules either ran away with the apples, or built the two Pillars of Hercules to hold up the sky, thus freeing Atlas from his task forever and liberating him, much like how Hercules also liberated Prometheus.


 * Physical God
 * Sadly Mythtaken: Today, many people mistakenly believe that Atlas's task was to hold up the Earth, not the Heavens.

Asia

Asia is interesting: she is the daughter of Oceanus and Tethys, making her a second generation Titan (and Oceanid), but is the wife of Iapetus, a first generation and her uncle. Together, she and her husband had Atlas, Prometheus, Epimetheus and Menoetius. It is from her that we get Asia, as in the continent.

Nereus

Eldest son of Pontus and Gaia, Nereus, (called the "Old Man of the Sea") is the father of the sea nymphs, the Nereids, with his lover Doris and a Titan god of the sea. He is a shapeshifter, with the power of prophecy, and is very similar to the god, Proteus. Well known for being truthful and virtuous, he commonly helped heroes like Hercules on their quests.


 * Physical God

Prôtogenoi
Khaos (Chaos), Arche

A formless void that preceeded the universe. It translates from Greek as emptiness, vast void, chasm, abyss. In Classical Mythology all things came into existance from Khaos. It/she is the oldest of the Protogenoi, if not older. It is not clear whether she is alive or not, and is only refered to as female poetically as it is older than gender, even hermaphroditic gender. Arche, the other term used to name this being if being it is, translates roughly as; beginning, origin, first cause/power, sovereignty, domination, ultimate underlying substance, and ultimate undemonstrable principle. Thus Khaos is the Arche in Classical Mythology.


 * Ambiguous Gender: It’s quite possible Khaos has none at all.
 * Anthropomorphic Personification
 * Blow You Away: As the first of the Protogenoi and the god of the air
 * Eldritch Abomination: The closest thing to it in Classical Mythology. Ovid described it as “a rather a crude and indigested mass, a lifeless lump, unfashioned and unframed, of jarring seeds and justly Chaos named”
 * The Older Immortal: If it even has sentience, which is unknown. It is the oldest being in the Greek Cosmology
 * One-Scene Wonder: In Theogony where it birthed Gaia, Tartaros, Nyx and Eurebos.
 * Power of the Void: Maybe. It is a bottomless gulf where anything falls endlessly and is a place without any possible orientation, where anything falls in every direction
 * Primordial Chaos: Trope Namer
 * Pronoun Trouble: For a "creature" that lacks Tertiary Sexual Characteristics, and perhaps even gender, female pronouns are used a lot, though gender neutral one are common too.
 * Truly Single Parent

Ophion(eus)

Serpent who rule Mt. Olympus before the titans and Incubated the Orphic Egg from which all the other Protogenoi were born.


 * Animals Not to Scale
 * Eldritch Abomination: All Protogenoi are on some level
 * The Older Immortal: Khaos may be older, but not by any amount of time that matters for a being so old.

Phanes (Appearance), Protognos (the First Born), Himeros/Eros (Procreation), Ericapaeus (Power), Metis (Thought)

Literally designated as the first born, amoung other names, implying that the only two beings that are older than him, Khaos and Ophioneus, were not born. Phanes is a hermaphrodite who is addressed with male pronouns rather than neutral ones. He is the Primevial deity and personification of new life and procreation, who created the method of creation by mingling. He is described as having a helmet and broad golden wings. He has a long list of names, including Eros, though he is not the same being as the son of Aphrodite, he is the older repressentation of that concept and the embodyment of male sexual desire.


 * Anthropomorphic Personification
 * Eldritch Abomination
 * Hermaphrodite
 * I Have Many Names
 * Pronoun Trouble: As noted above, he is a hermaphrodite.

Thesis

The Primordial Goddess and personification of Creation, female creation that is, counterpart to Phanes. Born at the same time as Hydros. Not to be confused with Thetis, a Nymph who is the mother of Achilles by Peleus.


 * Anthropomorphic Personification
 * Eldritch Abomination
 * Elemental Embodiment: Of Creation.
 * Non-Identical Twins

Hydros

God and personification of Primordial Waters, born at the same time as Thesis.


 * Anthropomorphic Personification
 * Eldritch Abomination
 * Elemental Embodiment: Of Water
 * Non-Identical Twins

Nyx

Nyx is the personification of Night and one of the protogenoi (female singular: protogeneia), deities that have existed since the beginning of the universe. Thus somewhat less comprehensible for us. She is the daughter of Khaos, yet a few texts claim she is actually the first protogeneia. Nyx is mother to many deities with her brother Erebus, including fearsome beings like Thanatos (Death), Moros (Doom), and Geras (Old Age), but also Philotes (friendship), Hemera (Day), and Hypnos (Sleep). She's often portrayed as a figure of exceptional power and beauty. Even Zeus fears her, and allowed Hypnos to escape after causing misfortune to Heracles.


 * Dark Is Evil / Dark Is Not Evil: Depending on the mood.
 * Different As Night and Day: With her daughter, Hemera. Literally.
 * Elemental Embodiment: Of the Night.
 * Gorn: She gave birth to Lyssa (Madness) with Ouranos' blood following his castration by Kronos.
 * Humanoid Abomination: She is usually represented as a female human, but has some eldritch vibes herself.
 * Mama Bear: Maybe, even Zeus doesn't dare to risk it.
 * Mother of a Thousand Young

Erebus (Erebos)

The personification of darkness, son of Khaos, brother and mate of Nyx.


 * Anthropomorphic Personification
 * Casting a Shadow: Presumably amoung his powers
 * Eldritch Abomination: Of Darkness.
 * The Sacred Darkness: Also a reasonable assumption, not a lot is know about him, but when it comes to the gods of Classical Mythology "no news is good news"

Aether

The son of Erebus and Nyx, personification of light, the upper sky, space, heaven and the bright, glowing, [[pure air that gods breath. Hemera is his sister and mate.


 * Anthropomorphic Personification
 * Blow You Away: Possible power
 * Eldritch Abomination
 * Elemental Embodiment: Of Light and Air.
 * Light'Em Up: Reasonable power assumption

Hemera

Personification of Day, daughter of Erebus and Nyx, mated to her brother Aether.


 * Anthropomorphic Personification
 * Different As Night and Day: With her mother, Nyx. Literally.
 * Eldritch Abomination
 * Elemental Embodiment: Of the Day.
 * Light'Em Up: If her mate doesn't have this power, she does (and vice versa), or they both could.
 * The Power of the Sun: Another possible power.

Tartarus

The underworld, or that special part of it where the dead suffer, and the personification there of. This makes him different from other gods of the under world in classical mythology in that while they rule, it is named after them only in the form of {ruler's} land(s)/domain/kingdom/what-have-you, a common mistake made all the more difficult to correct by the fear of speaking the name of such deities. He is located below the younger protogenoi; Gaea, Pontus and Ouranus. He is sometimes depicted as the father of Typhon, having had an affair with Gaia.


 * Almighty Janitor: Powerful enough to hold the titans and several monsters prisoner for eternity, Tartarus is apparently content with his position as jailer/jail of the gods.
 * Anthropomorphic Personification
 * Bunny Ears Lawyer: As mentioned below, loyalty doesn't seem to be big on his list of priorities, yet he's constantly used to contain threats to the gods by whichever one is in power at the time, likely because he's simply the only one powerful enough to do so.
 * Eldritch Abomination
 * Hell
 * I Fight for the Strongest Side: Was the divine prison under the reign of Uranus, Cronos, and Zeus.
 * Sealed Evil in a Can: He is the can the gods used to seal evil in.
 * True Neutral: Doesn't seem to have a preference as to what he's holding prisoner or who he's holding them prisoner for.
 * The Underworld

Gaia (Gaea)

The everpresent Mother Nature. Sometimes depicted as a titan (which to most people is a loose definition of any non-Olympian ancient deity), she was actually a protogeneia, in the same league as Ouranos and Nyx; with the former she copulated to give birth to the titans, as well as some critters like the cyclops. Because her husband didn't liked the abominations they "created", she had to hide them in her bowels, which caused her imense pain, forcing thus Kronos to castrate his dad. But Kronos still imprisoned the cyclops and hekantonkheires (the non-titan offspring of Gaia and Ouranos, which Ouranos liked the least) in Tartaros (often depicted as a part of Gaia; keep reading), which in turn made her raise Zeus to overthrow his father. And later, Zeus imprisoned the titans in Tartaros, which made Gaia unhappy again, so she had sex with Tartaros (which, mind you, might or might not be part of her, as well being a physical location, not something alive) and gave birth to Typhon, which was thankfully overthrown by Zeus. She seems to have given up on killing the patriarch deity since then.

Her Roman name is Terra Mater/Tellus (the first literally means "Mother Earth"). While she was widely acknowledged by the Greeks and Romans alike, she was very inconsistently distinguished from other fertility goddesses such as Rhea or Demeter, much like Apollo and Helios were often considered the same. Confusion ensued when the Romans equated other fertility mother goddesses worshipped by conquered peoples, but the cult of the Mother Earth was more important than petty differenciation between deities. Nowadays, as you might have guessed, Gaia is very much worshipped by Neo-Pagans, being thus perhaps the most well known and loved of all pagan goddesses, being the mother of gods, humanity and the universe alike.


 * Anthropomorphic Personification
 * Eldritch Abomination: Much like Ouranos and Nyx, she was more of a force of nature than the typical "human with superpowers" the posterior gods like the Olympians were. If the myths are to go by she has some seriously Bizarre Alien Biology, as well as a barely human way of thinking (but still understandable).
 * Elemental Embodiment: Of the Earth.
 * Gaia's Vengeance: Literally, and three times according to mythology. She, however, couldn't care less about how many trees you cut or oceans you polute; in Greek myth, after all, she wasn't responsible for all aspects of nature. To her, what mattered was whereas someone was causing her pain or not, as well as rewarding those who worshipped her.
 * Goddess Is Evil: Unlike modern interpretations (and very much unlike other contemporary fertility goddesses, like Demeter), Gaia was not as much a pure benevolent figure as a true force of Nature; she cared little for everyone else, so long as they weren't filling her bowels and causing her pain. Thus, she spawned several monsters to kill the ruling gods like Ouranos and Zeus, regardless of the lives at stake. She did cared about her followers, however.
 * Green Thumb / Dishing Out Dirt: Within her capacities, but by no means the only powers she had.
 * Lazy Bum: She is depicted in mythology as extremely powerful, but prefers to spawn minor eldritch abominations to do her dirty work.
 * Mama Bear: Sort of. It is unknown if she actually cared for her offspring or if she just wanted to have them out of her.
 * Mother of a Thousand Young: Just like her sister Nyx.
 * Sadly Mythtaken: She would like to have a word with Captain Planet and the Planeteers.

Ouranos (Uranus)

Primordial sky-being, husband of Gaia and father of the Gigantes, Cyclopes, Hecatonchires and Titans. A cruel and overbearing ruler who imprisoned his children in Tartaros (or in Gaia's womb) because of their bizarre appearances. Gaia didn't like this, and had one of the Titans, Kronos, castrate and overthrow Ouranos. The drops of his blood from this became the avenging Furies, and his severed genitals mixed with the ocean's foam and created Aphrodite. He spitefully predicted, however, that Kronos would also be destroyed by his own children. He is also Gaia's first child which she had by parthenogenesis, he is grouped with the Protogenoi because Gaia had so many children with him and he doesn't fit aywhere else.


 * Abusive Father
 * Anthropomorphic Personification
 * Asshole Victim
 * Eldritch Abomination: Ouranos wasn't regarded by the Greeks as very humanoid; while he probably assumed a humanoid form to copulate with Gaia, he was seen as either a shapeless being or as a solid dome or sphere that formed the sky... and that was still alive and screwed Gaia regularly.
 * Elemental Embodiment: Of the Sky.
 * Evil Overlord
 * Groin Attack
 * Light Is Not Good: Sort of. In art he is generally depicted as a Grandpa God much like Zeus and Poseidon, generally wearing light blue or other light colours, but he was an evil tyrant. Of course, the only humanoid depictions made by the Greeks have him as considerably younger looking and naked, as otherwise he appeared as a dome or sphere as mentioned above, always carried by Atlas.
 * Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: His prediction to Kronos could be considered this, since it was paranoia from this prediction that led Kronos to swallow his kids alive. Guess how happy they were about that.
 * Taking You with Me: Unwilling to go down without leaving his son paranoid about suffering the same fate.

Thalassa

Goddess and personification of the Primordial Sea. Daughter of Aether and Hemera. Mate of Pontus


 * Anthropomorphic Personification
 * Eldritch Abomination
 * Elemental Embodiment: Of the Seas.

Pontus

God and personification of the Sea, born from Gaea without a mate like Ouranus. Note: though he is a protogenoi, he is not the god of the primordial sea, that is covered by Hydros and his mate Thalassa.


 * Anthropomorphic Personification
 * Eldritch Abomination

The Hekatonkheires (Hecatoncheires)

Three brothers: Briareus (sometimes known as Aegaion), Kottos (Cottus) and Gyges. They are sons of Ouranos and Gaia. Embodiments of natural forces, they each have a hundred arms and fifty heads, which Ouranos thought so ugly that he sealed them away in Tartaros shortly after they were born with their other brothers, the Cyclopes. In some versions, Kronos either freed them and put them back in some time later, or just kept them inside Tartaros, guarded by the Dragon Kampe. In the final year of the Titanomachy, Zeus freed them and they proved a pivotal point in the Olympians' victory. Afterwords, they served as jailers to the Titans in the same way Kampe was to them. They had the same names in Roman myths, but their collective name was Centimani.


 * Depending on the Writer: The treatment of Briareus and Aegaion. Sometime, they were separate entities (Aegaion was usually on Zeus's side. Briareus was usually either a Titan or a hundred-hander on Kronos's side) or they are the same with men calling him Aegaion the Gods calling him Briareus. Or either of them was a Giant that fought against the Gods.
 * Eldritch Abomination
 * Elemental Embodiment: Of Natural Disasters.
 * Flat Character: Gyges and Kottos never recieved a fraction of attention as Briareus/Aegaion did.
 * The Grotesque: They were very ugly, but are most definitely loyal to Zeus.
 * The Lancer: Briareus/Aegaion has been described as Zeus' champion, and has come to his aid before when some of the Olympians rebelled.
 * Multi-Armed and Dangerous
 * Red Baron: Briareus was "The Vigorous", Aegaion was the "Sea Goat", Kottos was "The Furious", and Gyges was the "Big Limbed".
 * Rock Spam: With their hundred hands, the Hekatonkheires were able to launch hundreds of mountain-sized rocks at the Titans continuously until they were too overwhelmed to fight back.
 * Person of Mass Destruction
 * Sealed Good in a Can

Minor deities
Eros

The god of love, he was dainty and non-threatening, but still managed to best even the greatest of gods (usually by taking potshots from far away with his bow, which had arrows that could inspire both love and hate). Early sources thought of him as a protogenos who emerged self formed from an egg at the beginning of creation, but later ones saw him as the young son and/or servant of Aphrodite. His more famous Roman name is Cupidus (Cupid).


 * Abusive Parents: Well, Ares was Ares, but even Aphrodite had her moments such as leaving him with the Maniae and punishing him for daring to have a beautiful wife.
 * That painting is actually of their Roman counterparts (Mars and Cupid). Ares in Greek myth was actually very protective of his childern and there is the fact that painting was by italian painter Bartolomeo Manfredi which kinda makes it just fanart.
 * Anthropomorphic Personification: Of love.
 * That is the minor god version, Eros as a Protogenoi is seen as procreation and desire more than the feeling of love.
 * Happily Married: With Psyche, even though Aphrodite is a real bitch to her daughter-in-law.
 * Kids Are Cruel/Teens Are Monsters: These are the ages he's most likely to be shown as cruel rather than playful.
 * Love At First Sight: Inspires this. Also ends up a victim of this: see Psyche's entry directly below.
 * Love Potion: His arrows.
 * Momma's Boy: He was his mother's constant companion.
 * Opposites Attract: Golden-winged, joyful protogenos Eros mated with dark, unsmiling Khaos and created all birds. Also, in some of the myths where he's a protogenos he brought all the elements of Khaos together to create the world.
 * Parental Favoritism: Aphrodite obviously liked him better than her other children.
 * Pretty Boy: Pretty much every version of him is described as 'the fairest of the deathless gods'.
 * Sadly Mythtaken: The whole "love is blind" thing. He was originally considered superior to Ananke (Necessity) because he did value beauty and drove people and gods to do more than just what was necessary.
 * Physical God
 * Spoiled Brat: Even his mother knew he was this.
 * The Power of Love: Not even the king of the gods himself is immune to love. Ironically, not even Eros himself is immune to it. Cue Psyche's myth.
 * Heart Beat-Down: If he has anything to say about it (and he does) you will feel the love tonight, no ifs, ands, or buts.
 * Theme Twin Naming: With Himeros, and sometimes Anteros.
 * Thicker Than Water: Despite Aphrodite being shallow, unreliable, and all around bitchy, he still served her faithfully.
 * What Kind of Lame Power Is Heart, Anyway?: Apollo thought this, but he quickly found out that Heart Is an Awesome Power and Love Hurts.
 * Winged Humanoid

Psyche

Former mortal princess of Sicily, and now wife of the God of Love and personification of the Soul. Very beautiful and insatiably curious, both traits tend to get her into (and occasionally out of) trouble. Gained her immortality through completing several tasks on behalf of her mother-in-law after giving into her curiosity and betraying her husband’s trust. Longer synopsis here.

"[Psyche] tells her [jealous sister] what had happened, then tricks her sister into believing that Cupid has chosen [the sister] as [his] wife on the mountaintop. Psyche later meets her other sister and deceives her likewise. Each sister goes to the top of the peak and jumps down eagerly, but Zephyrus [the West Wind] does not bear them and they fall to their deaths at the base of the mountain."
 * Anthropomorphic Personification: Of the Soul.
 * Attractiveness Isolation: Thought she was the victim of this. Her lack of luck was actually because of a spiteful Goddess of Love.
 * Beautiful Dreamer: Why Eros/Cupid falls in love with her and cannot go through with his mother's plan.
 * Beast and Beauty: This tale fits most of the same elements, but acts as a subversion: in a Prophecy Twist, the "winged monster” she was to marry ended up being the God of Love.
 * Becoming a Goddess
 * Winged Humanoid: Shown with butterfly wings.
 * Beware the Nice Ones:

"The two jealous sisters tell Psyche, then pregnant with Cupid's child, that rumour is that she had married a great and terrible serpent who would devour her and her unborn child when the time came for it to be fed."
 * Mama Bear / Pregnant Badass: During her Redemption Quest, she was in the family way. Not to mention that much of her reasoning to look upon her husband was to protect her unborn child:


 * Believing that her husband is quite possibly a winged serpent, what does she do? Collects a lamp with which to see him and a dagger that appears to be no larger than 22 cm [9”] to cut off his head if this is indeed true. Let me repeat that: Psyche fully intends to decapitate a freaking dragon with basically a steak knife.
 * Blasphemous Boast: According to her suitors, she was "more beautiful than Aphrodite". Needless to say, Aphrodite did not take that well.
 * Misplaced Retribution
 * Conflicting Loyalty: Trust her husband or trust her sisters; either way it came down to the protection of her unborn child.
 * My God, What Have I Done?
 * Tears of Remorse: As Eros flew off, Psyche was “prostrate on the ground, filling the place with mournful lamentations.”
 * Curious as a Monkey: Grownup version.
 * Curiosity Is a Crapshoot: She’s the page image.
 * Didn't Think This Through: Even after all that has happened, she still takes a peek into the Box of Beauty.
 * Determinator
 * I Will Find You: Even if she has to petition every god in the pantheon to do so (Fortunately, it only took three. Unfortunately, number three was Aphrodite).
 * Love Will Lead You Back: And it does. Eventually.
 * To Hell and Back: One of only seven to succeed, as well as being the only woman and completely mortal (no Divine Ancestry whatsoever) to do so.
 * Disproportionate Retribution: Frequent victim of this.
 * Divine Marriage
 * Love Before First Sight: She was forbidden to look upon her husband and still managed to fall for him.
 * Eternal Love
 * God Couple: By the end.
 * Happily Ever After
 * Happily Married
 * Earn Your Happy Ending: On one hand, she went through a Redemption Quest to get him back. On the other, her curiosity had her fall into eternal sleep when she opened the box of beauty. On a third hand, technically they both needed to earn their happy endings so even if Psyche had finally gained Aphrodite’s forgiveness and approval it would not change a thing if Eros had not forgiven her (he too had to earn his by coming to terms that his wife is fallible and standing up to his mother).
 * Babies Ever After: Their daughter Hedone / Volupta (means either Delight or Pleasure).
 * Every Thing Is Better With Princesses: Third daughter of a king of Sicily.
 * Princess in Rags: While completing Aphrodite/Venus’s tasks.
 * Faux Death: After opening the Box of Beauty.
 * True Love's Kiss: How she is awakened afterwards.
 * Forbidden Fruit /ShmuckBait: She nearly averted this. When her husband Cupid told her never to look upon his true form, she was perfectly fine with it until her sisters convinced her that he might be a horrible monster (despite that she had previously felt his body and had plenty chance to feel his face). At least she only had to deal with a Mama Bear that was already mad at her instead of the Deader Than Dead fate that usually befalls those who look upon undisguised gods.
 * And then, when she was sent to bring back the beauty of Persephone in a box, she peeked.
 * Horrible Judge of Character: At least when it comes to her sisters (at first).
 * Impossible and (often) Deadly Tasks: Given these to earn back her husband. The tasks are: 1) Sorting huge piles of grains and lentils in a single night, 2) Retrieving some golden wool from vicious sheep, 3) Retrieving water flowing from an elevated cleft that is impossible to achieve on foot and is also guarded by great serpents, and 4) Retrieving a Box of Beauty from the Queen of the Underworld. She succeeds (with some help); Aphrodite/Venus is not pleased.
 * Left for Dead on the Mountainside
 * Human Sacrifice / Virgin Sacrifice: She and her family thought she was going to be this.
 * Love Hurts
 * Mayfly-December Romance: Pre-Immortality.
 * Nonhuman Lover Reveal
 * Obnoxious In-Laws
 * Proper Lady
 * Silk Hiding Steel
 * Prophecy Twist: Psyche is destined to “marry a winged monster that neither god nor mortal can resist”. Sound familiar?
 * Redemption Quest
 * World's Most Beautiful Woman: So much so that the God of Love himself fell for her.
 * So Beautiful It's a Curse: Especially after the Goddess of Love and Beauty takes it personally.
 * Youngest Child Wins

Pan (Faunus)

Son of Hermes. God of nature, mountains, shepherds and sexuality (especially males). A satyr-like Trickster Archetype who is mainly concerned with the preservation of Nature and the enjoyment of earthly pleasures such as music and sex. The panflute is named after him. An overall "free-spirit" who often pals with Dionysus but generally doesn't interact with other gods simply because he doesn't care about political schemes unless it concerns him directly. His name is root of the word "Panic".


 * Beast Man
 * Beauty Equals Goodness: Invert, see Hephaestus's. Pan actually has worse reputation.
 * Bigger Is Better in Bed: According to the many nymphs he chased.
 * Carpet of Virility: Always represented as shaggy.
 * Depraved Bisexual: Went for both nymphs and shepherders.
 * Fauns and Satyrs: Shares the appearance associated with them, partially responsible for the trope name and their association with that shape, though satyrs are seperate entities from him in classical mythology.
 * Friend to All Living Things: Especially supernatural ones but is generally friendly, if mischievous and lecherous with women.
 * Magical Flutist: He could induce fear and panic with his pipes.
 * Missing Mom: His nymph mother ran away after his birth. Fortunately, his dad (Hermes) thinks he's awesome and really loves him.
 * Musical Assassin: His primary weapon is his flute.
 * Names to Run Away From Really Fast : In a rather literal sense as he is the one that spreads Panic.
 * Greek warriors never knew why thousands of men would stand bravely for a long time and then suddenly stampede with no warning. All they knew was it was a great mystery so they attributed it to Pan.
 * Physical God
 * Really Gets Around: At least as much as Zeus himself.
 * Speaks Fluent Animal

Thanatos (Thanatus)

A personification of (peaceful) Death, son of Nyx and Erebos and twin brother of Hypnos. Because he is Death, he was hated by mortals and even the deathless gods - rather moot since he hated them as well. His Roman counterpart is Mors.


 * Broke Your Arm Punching Out Cthulhu: Sisyphos once managed to cheat death by putting Thanatos in shackles. Eventually Ares rescued him, and Sisyphos died and was compelled to roll a huge rock up a steep hill, the rock would roll back down, forcing him to begin again...for eternity.
 * Death Takes a Holiday: With Thanatos in chains, death was impossible and war became entirley pointless, which is why Ares rescued him.
 * Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: Got beaten by Herakles once.
 * Grim Reaper: Although some texts give his role as Psychopomp to Hermes. He also lets his sisters, Keres, take those who died by violent death.
 * Hates Everyone Equally: In the original depictions, he is despised by mortals for being and bringing death and he hates them back, plus he hates the gods because they're immortal and outside his power (and it doesn't help that most of them are Jerk Asses).
 * The Heartless
 * Physical God
 * Pretty Boy: Despite the modern depiction of Death, Thanatos was generally shown as a winged, bearded man, or as a handsome, winged youth, depending on the artist and period.

Kharon (Charon)

The ferryman of the River Acheron, where he helps the souls of the dead to cross, for a small price. Less powerful than Thanatos, it is he however who inspires the modern image of the Grim Reaper as a cloaked figure. Coins were placed in the mouths of the dead to pay the ferrymans toll. Modern interpretations have changed it to the River Styx instead of Acheron that he ferries souls accross, or perhaps both. The River Acheron is also known as the river of pain and Styx as the river of hate, so you don't want to fall into or try wading through either.


 * The Ferry Man
 * Psychopomp

Hekate (Hecate)

Goddess of magic, crossroads and ghosts. Had three appearances, or sometimes just three heads. Lived in the Underworld with Hades and Persephone and was a close friend to the latter. Feared and revered by night travelers, but worshiped by about-to-deliver mothers. She was identified with the Roman goddess Trivia.


 * Dark Is Not Evil
 * The Hecate Sisters: Trope Namer but not Trope Codifier; see below.
 * Hot Witch: Her usual representation.
 * Nature Adores a Virgin: Another virgin goddess.
 * That is, until she lost her virginity to Hermes.
 * Overshadowed by Awesome: Extremely powerful according to many stories but somehow was mostly left out from the big names.
 * Physical God
 * Poisoned Weapons
 * Romantic Two-Girl Friendship: Some interpretations of her relationship with Persephone.
 * Sadly Mythtaken: Despite the modern depictions, she was actually never depicted as "maiden, mother, and crone." When she's manifested in three bodies, they're all the same age.

Erinyes (Furies)

Alecto, Megaera and Tisiphone, the godesses of vengeance. Born from the blood of the castrated Ouranos. They were depicted as ugly, winged women with hair, arms and waists entwined with poisonous serpents. They wielded whips and were clothed either in the long black robes of mourners, or the short-length skirts and boots of huntress- maidens.


 * And I Must Scream: They whipped the damned for all eternity.
 * He Who Must Not Be Named: Alecto translates as "Unnameable".
 * Knight Templar: Their name translates as "avengers".
 * Names to Run Away From Really Fast: "The Furies" is an obvious one. Tisiphone means "Vengeful destruction".
 * Nightmare Face: And how!
 * Speak of the Devil: They were sometimes reffered to as "The Kindly Ones".
 * Tears of Blood: In response to Orpheus.
 * Whip It Good: Their standard form of punishment.
 * Winged Humanoid: Greek Mythology is big on this.

Horkos (Horcus)

A rather obscure character. The god or daemon of oaths who inflicted punishment upon perjurers. Most poeple are more familiar with his Roman counterpart: Orcus.


 * Handicapped Badass: In one Aesop fable, he appears as a lame man.
 * Knight Templar: The aforementioned Aesop fable describes how he drags an oath-braker off a cliff!
 * Orcus on His Throne: Averted, despite being (Sort of) the Trope Namer. He was actually quite active, and wandered the earth searching for evil-doers.
 * Physical God

Hypnos (Hypnus)

The personification of Sleep, son of Nyx and Erebos and twin brother of Thanatos. Generally not shunned like his twin brother, who is alway at his side in visual art. In Homer he allowed Hera to harass Heracles by putting Zeus to sleep. Zeus was understandably angry when he woke up but found Hypnos already hidden in Nyx's place, so he held the Bolt of Divine Retribution back since it risked an angry Nyx. Apparently, Hypnos disturbed Zeus a few more times, but always ran behind his mom for protection afterward. His Roman counterpart is Somnus.


 * Homoerotic Subtext: Selene (Moon) once asked Hypnos to put her mortal lover, Endymion, to eternal sleep as an alternative method of immortality. One text said Hypnos was stunned by Endymion's beauty and causes him to sleep with his eyes open, so he could admire Endymion's full face.
 * Karma Houdini: While most gods are, he deserves special mention for avoiding Zeus's Bolt of Divine Retribution.
 * Physical God

Endovelicus

A less known deity worshipped by the Romans, he actually came from the Lusitanian Mythology, but after the Romans conquered the Iberian Peninsula he became quite a popular deity, until of course the arrival of Christianity. He was a god of healing and light, and was often referred to as Deus, a title now used when referring to the Christian God in Portugese.


 * Canon Immigrant
 * Healing Hands
 * Hijacked by Jesus: Being a god of light was appearently enough for the Christians to identify him as Lucifer after pagan religions were replaced by Christianity.
 * Inexplicably Awesome: As the result of being an addition from a different religion, he never quite fit into the scheme of the pantheon.
 * Light'Em Up / Light Is Good
 * Physical God
 * Spell My Name with an "S": Aendovelicus and, in Portuguese, Endovaelico are alternative spellings/pronounciations of the name.

Flora

Roman goddess of spring, grain and flowers with no Greek equivalent, first worshipped by other Italic tribes. Her feast, the Floralia ran from April 28 to May 3 and was a bit raucous.


 * Ethical Slut: One of her cognomina was meretrix, "whore".
 * Green Thumb
 * Physical God
 * Victim Falls For Rapist: Ovid depicts her as completely fine with the way the West Wind abducted her, raped her, and forced her to marry him.

The Moirai (Fates)

A trio of godesses: Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos. They are the daughters of Nyx and Erebus, or of Zeus and Themis. They determine fate and control the life cycle. Clotho would determine when someone is born by spinning a length of thread on a spinning wheel, Lachesis would allot the length of time a person had to live by measuring the thread, and Atropos would sever the thread with a pair of shears when it was time for them to die. By the Romans, they were known as Nona, Decima and Morta respectively, and collectively called the Parcae.


 * Physical God
 * Sadly Mythtaken: Often they're portrayed as the goddesses of past, present, and future, like Kronos, or as a maiden, mother, crone trio. Neither is true to the original depictions.

Asklepios (Asclepius)

In Greek mythology, the patron of medicine and son of Apollo. He not only cured the sick, but recalled the dead to life. This rare authority over Hades may have derived from the circumstances of his own birth. Koronis, a lake nymph, was impregnated by Apollo, yet dared to take in secret a human being as a second lover. So furious was the god on discovering the infidelity that he sent his sister Artemis to slay Koronis. This she did with a pestilence. When the fire was already blazing round the lake nymph on the funeral pyre, Apollo felt compassion for his unborn son, and removed him from the corpse. In this manner Asclepius came into the world and was taught the art of healing by Chiron, the wisest of the Centaurs, beast-like monsters who dwelt in the woodlands. The success of this instruction was so great that Zeus, fearing lest men might contrive to escape death altogether, killed Asclepius with lightning; but at Apollo's request he was revived, according to some authors. Was associated with the Roman god Vejovis and his staff, The Rod of Asclepius, remains a symbol of medicine to this day.


 * The Medic
 * Physical God

Hebe

Goddess of youth and the original cupbearer for Olympus. She was a daughter of Zeus and Hera, and later married Heracles, after which she gave up her job as cupbearer; she was succeeded in that role by the Trojan prince Ganymede. Her name comes from a Greek word that means "youth" or "prime of life". She was also worshiped as a goddess of forgiveness and pardons

The Charities

Also know as the The Graces in Roman mythology, these goddesses (Aglaea ("Splendor"), Euphrosyne ("Mirth"), and Thalia ("Good Cheer")) were the patrons of charm, beauty, nature, human creativity and fertility. While Charis is technically the single form of their name and what they could be referred to as individually, in some stories, Charis is the name of a fourth member of their group and not the singular form. There are also sometimes mentioned other members, such as Pasithea, but the first three are always included. Have many possible parents, most notably Zeus and Eurynome, but also Dionysus and Aphrodite, or Helios and a naid named Aegle.

The Muses

Completely unlike the gospel singing, Ambiguously Brown character of the Disney Hercules film, the Muses were the Greek goddesses of the inspiration of literature, science and the arts. One of the largest groups in Olympus, their members were: Calliope, Clio, Erato, Euterpe, Melpomene, Polyhymnia, Terpsichore, Thalia, and Urania. Each goddess represented a different domain (for example, Calliope represented Epic Poetry) and the goddesses were said to be the source of knowledge passed through the oral legends and myths.


 * Anthropomorphic Personification: Each Muse represents something different:
 * Calliope: Epic Poetry
 * Clio: History
 * Erato: Love Poetry
 * Euterpe: Music
 * Melpomene: Tragedy
 * Polyhymnia: Hymns
 * Terpsichore: Dance
 * Thalia: Comedy
 * Urania: Astronomy
 * The Muse: Ur Example, Trope Namer, and Trope Codifier

The Horae (Hours)

The goddesses of the seasons and the natural portions of time. Started out as general personifications of nature itself in its different seasonal aspects, but later evolved into being the goddesses of order in general and natural justice in particular. Were noted to guard the gates of Olympus, promote the Earth's fertility, and rally stars and constellations. If all of this sounds a little confusing it is. Lack of unity among the myths has lead to disagreement on some things about these goddesses, including their exact number and even who they are. The most agreed upon number is that there are three of them at any given time, and there are two generations: Thallo, Auxo and Carpo, who were goddesses of the order of nature, and Eunomia, Diké, and Eirene, who were law and order goddesses.

Argos had its own duo of Horae, Damia and Auxesia. Hyginus, a Latin author identified yet a third set made up of Pherousa (goddess of substance and farm estates), Euporie or Euporia (goddess of abundance), and Orthosie (goddess of prosperity). Nonnus, a greek epic poet, mentions yet another set of four Horae, Eiar, Theros, Cheimon and Phthinoporon, whose names were the Greek words for spring, summer, winter and autumn.

And then, finally, there was a completely different group of Hours, who personified the twelve hours, (originally ten) of the day.

Pietho

Greek goddess of persuasion and seduction. Was know in Roman mythology as Suadela. Was an attendant and/or companion of Aphrodite and thus is very connected to her. The two were so intertwined, that sometimes they were combined into one character, a reflection of how closely connected the Greeks saw persuasion and love (or lust). Her ancestry is disputed but she maybe the daughter of the titans Tethys and Oceanus.

Eileithyia (Ilithyia)

As her overly weird name might attest to, this goddess is not a native Greek one, but a transplant from Crete, who became the Greek goddess of childbirth and midwifery. She was the divine helper of women in labor, and, though its agreed upon generally that here mother is Hera, her father's identity is disputed.


 * Flat Character: was well known among Greeks, but has few stories and little is developed of her character
 * Canon Immigrant: More than likely did not originate from Greece but with the Minoans of Crete.

Phobos

The son of Ares and Aphrodite, his name means "fear" or "terror". That should tell you all you need to know about him. For those who are a little slower than most, he is a personification of fear for the Greeks, in particular, the fear brought about through war. He notably road into war with his father Ares, the Goddesses Enyo and Eris, and his brother Deimos. His association seems to have made him unpopular with the Greeks, as he doesn't appear in any major Greek myths as a character. His Roman equivalent is Timor. It is from his name that we get the word "phobia".


 * Anthropomorphic Personification

Enyo

A war goddess alongside Ares, she was his companion and counterpart. May have had a son by him named Enyalius in earlier legends, but that name was later conflated with Ares himself (helps that Enyalius was also a war god). Enyo, a daughter of Hera and Zeus, was responsible for orchestrating the destruction of cites, much to her enjoyment, and often accompanied Ares directly into battle. Alongside Eris, Deimos, and Phobos, she instigated the horrors of war. Tied to the Roman goddess Bellona whose name is related to the Latin word for war, bellum. The older form of Bellona's name was "Duellona" and she was sometimes identified as Mars's wife, sometimes as his sister. When Rome declared war on someone, the Fetial priests had to throw a spear from a column in front of her temple. Bellona was later identified with the Cappadocian Earth and Mother goddess Ma.


 * Anthropomorphic Personification
 * Blood Knight: Possibly the biggest one in the Greek Pantheon, even beating out Ares! Notably, when Zeus went up against Typhon, a creature that all the Greek gods feared, she refused to take sides, instead delighting in watching the conflict from afar!
 * Brother-Sister Incest: With Ares, but you should be used to this by now.
 * Obligatory War Crime Scene: Her MO was to cause these.
 * Physical God
 * Rape, Pillage and Burn: Also part of her MO
 * War Goddess
 * War Is Hell: She makes it like this and would have it no other way.

Eris

The goddess of Strife and Discord, she is found in Roman mythology as Discordia and has a dwarf planet named after her. Is widely considered a less than pleasant goddess with even more than unpleasant children. She is the daughter of Nyx, which may explain how she got her job. Homer equated her with Enyo, though they are clearly not the same god. Actually escorted the monster Typhon into his battle with Zeus and had a hand in causing the war between Greece and Troy. Has become a deity in the modern religion of Discordianism.


 * Exclusively Evil: her whole character, however Discordianism makes her much nicer.
 * Anthropomorphic Personification
 * Disproportionate Retribution: started the Trojan War over not being invited to a wedding

Deimos

Brother of Phobos (and, like him, had a moon of mars named after him), and the son of Ares, Phobos is the god of fear who commonly accompanied his father, brother, Aunt Enyo, and Eris into war, along with his father's attendants, Trembling, Fear, Dread, and Panic. More of an abstract personification of sheer terror, especially that which is brought on by war, he doesn't really appear in any tales. His Roman equivalent is Formido or Metus.


 * Anthropomorphic Personification

Harmonia

The opposite of Eris, she is the goddess of Harmony and Concord, and, fittingly, her Roman counterpart is named, Concordia. Generally thought to be another child of Ares and Aphrodite (or a daughter of Zeus and the Pleiad Electra), she married the Phoenician prince, Cadmus. Most well known for necklace, the Necklace of Harmonia, which, ironically, brought misfortune to all who came in possession of it.


 * Anthropomorphic Personification

Homonoia

A minor goddess of concord, unanimity, and oneness of mind. Was so similar to Harmonia as to sometimes be equated with her.


 * Anthropomorphic Personification

Nike

Probably one of the most well known of the minor goddesses, she was the goddess of victory (and strength and speed) and was the daughter of Styx and Pallas. Her siblings were Kratos (not that Kratos), Bia, and Zelus. She and her companions were close to Zeus, and she herself was Zeus's divine charioteer who led him into battle with the Titans. Is noted for having wings, even into classical times and being a friend of Athena. While she doesn't have a planet, moon, or other celestial body named after her, she does have a brand of shoe! Her Roman counterpart was Victoria.


 * Anthropomorphic Personification

The Erotes

A group of little love gods that resembled little boys with wings, they were part of Aphrodite's retinue. Four of them (Eros, Anteros, Himeros, and Pothos) were the sons of Aphrodite and Ares.

Anteros was the god of requited love (i.e. returned love or "counter-love') as opposed to just love in general (or unrequited love, or lust) and was a punisher of those who scorn love or other's advances and the avenger of love unrequited. He was given to his brother Eros as a playmate, with the idea that love must be answered if it is to be proper. He physically resembles Eros, except with longer hair, and beautiful plumed butterfly wings. Unlike his brother, he said to be armed either with a Golden Club or arrows of lead.

Himeros was the god of sexual desire and unrequited love. Pothos was the god of longing and yearning.


 * Anthropomorphic Personification

Nemesis

This goddess with a hell of a name was the personification of revenge, in particular, that of divine judgement for hubris before the gods, and was the daughter of Nyx. Her Roman equal was Invidia.


 * Anthropomorphic Personification

Adrestia

Another goddess of revenge, she was also a goddess of balance and appears to have been tied with war, like her father Ares.


 * Anthropomorphic Personification

Tyche

This goddess is a unique one within the pantheon. While every god was usually heavily worshiped only in specific places, like Athena was the patron god of Athens, Tyche had a unique role, in that was the deity that governed the prosperity and fortune of a city state (aka, its destiny or fate). As such, she was a tutelary goddess: a protector of a specific locations, but every city had their own iconic version of her and considered her their protector. She is believed to have controlled the fortunes of humanity.


 * Anthropomorphic Personification

Astraea

A Greek goddess of justice(similar to the Horae, Dike, who she is sometimes equated with) and also of innocence and purity. She is not to be confused with the goddess Asteria. Called the Celestial Virgin, she is said to be one of the last goddess to come to Earth during man's Golden Age,and, according Ovid, abandoned Earth during the Iron Age. Fleeing humanity's wickedness, she fled to heaven and became the constellation Virgo, her scales of justice becoming the constellation Libra. Like Dike, she is associated with the Roman goddess Justitia (also known as Lady Justice). One day, it is said that she will return to Earth, bringing with her the return to the utopic Golden Age.


 * Anthropomorphic Personification
 * God of Good: possibly the nicest god in the whole pantheon
 * Too Good for This Sinful Earth: why she left
 * The Messiah: Possibly the closest equivalent Greece has

Praxidike

The goddess of judicial punishment and the exactor of vengeance, she is closely related to Nemesis in that regard, and also related the the Horae Dike, also a goddess of order and justice. Her daughters Homonoia and (especially) Arete, are more well known.

Arete

At its basic level, Arete was a concept that was extremely important to the Greeks, commonly thought of as meaning "virtue", its meaning is closer to something like, "being the best you can be," or "reaching your highest human potential." So its natural that there was a goddess that represented the concept. Arete, as a goddess, was the personification of this idea, and was the daughter of Praxidike and the sister of Homonoia. Her contested Roman equivalent is Virtus. The only know tale of her has her and her counterpart Kakia, offering Herakles a Secret Test of Character, which he of course passed.


 * Anthropomorphic Personification

Kakia

The counterpart to Arete, Kakia was the goddess of vice and, literally, "moral badness" (as in sin or crime). She's generally depicted as a vain, plump, and heavily made up woman who where's revealing clothing. Her job was to try to lead others to fall into evil.


 * Anthropomorphic Personification
 * Fan Disservice: if her description sounds appealing, have at it
 * God of Evil: The god of vice and sin.
 * Satan: Though predating the man in red himself, she is obviously meant to be the Greek version of him as an archetype of The Tempter.

Apate

The daughter of Nyx and Erebos, Apate was the Greek personification of deceit and was one of the evil spirits released from Pandora's box. Her Roman equivalent is Fraus, from which we get the word fraud. She had many siblings, including Nemesis and Keres. Her counterpart is Dolos, the god of trickery, who was also a spirit released from pandora's box.


 * Anthropomorphic Personification

Geras

The god of old age, and the counterpart to Hebe. It was said that the the more geras a man had, the more kleos(fame) and arete (excellence and courage) he had. Generally considered a son of Nyx and Erebus, he was usually portrayed as a shriveled up old man. His Roman equivalent was Senectus. In vases, he's usually portrayed alongside Hercules, but the story that inspired these illustrations has been completely lost.


 * Anthropomorphic Personification

Oizys

Goddess of Misery, daughter of Nyx, and twin of the god Momos. Her Latin Counterpart is Miseria, from which the word miseryis derived.


 * Anthropomorphic Personification

Moros

Brother of the Moirai (Fates) and son of Nyx, whom she conceived without any male help. He is the god of impending doom, and actively drives mortals to horrible, deadly fates.


 * Anthropomorphic Personification

Momus (Momos)

Yet, another child of Nyx, Momus was the god of satire, mockery, censure, writers, and poets. Which basically means he was evil! He was, however, a twisted god of evil-spirited blame and unfair criticism, because apparently the Greeks didn't appreciate satire, or overly critical views. He notably mocked Hephaestus for not having made man with a doorway in his heart so that his thoughts may be seen. He also mocked Aphrodite for being talkative and having creaky sandals, and even mocked Zeus for being a violent bastard and unrepentant womanizer, and for having children as violent as he was. For his constant stream of critiques, he was booted out of Olympus (According the a fable by Aesop, he was actually booted out because he was jealous of the creations of three gods, and criticized them for it). For his wily ways, Momus has become quite popular (unsurprisingly) with writers.


 * Anthropomorphic Personification
 * Lampshade Hanging: did this beautifully with Zeus, and the other gods, calling out all their faults in a truly epic fashion
 * Take That: was probably a take that to people like him, but really ended being a take that to the Greek gods themselves

The Keres

The Keres (singular Ker), were goddesses and sisters, the daughters of Nyx and Erebus (how many kids do these two have?) Their Latin counterpart was the Tenebrae (The Darkness) or Letum (Death). They were dark beings with gnashing teeth and claws, and a thirst for (human) blood. They favored violent death (as opposed to Thanatos who watched over peaceful death) and hovered over battlefields looking for wounded and dying men to devour and send to Hades.


 * Anthropomorphic Personification
 * Psychopomp: One of the scariest out there

Achlys

One of the goddesses suffering from a Multiple Choice Past due to Continuity Snarl, Achlys is either a primordial god that predates possibly even Khaos, or a daughter of Nyx, in which case she is sometimes portrayed as one of the Keres. Achlys is the goddess of the eternal night, aka the Mist of Death, which clouds the eyes of the dying. She is depicted as a pale, emaciated, and weeping woman, with chattering teeth, swollen knees, long nails on her fingers, bloody cheeks, and her shoulders thickly covered with dust.


 * Anthropomorphic Personification
 * Nightmare Face: Just read the description!

Ate (Aite)

The daughter of Zeus and Hera, she was the goddess of mischief, delusion, and folly. In Homer's Iliad, she is said to be Zeus's oldest daughter, and her mother is not mentioned. Hera used Ate to make Zeus swear that, on that very day, a mortal son of his would be born who would be a great ruler. Afterward, Hera sought to delay Hercules's birth and to birth prematurely Eurystheus, Hera's hero and direct counterpoint to Hercules. In anger, Zeus punished Ate by throwing her down to Earth and forbidding her from ever returning to Heaven or Mt. Olympus. Ate wanders the Earth now, making hell for everybody who meets her. Supposedly followed by the Litae (Prayers), who act as her healers, but cannot keep up with Ate, who runs too fast.


 * Anthropomorphic Personification
 * Walking the Earth: Her punishment, though it is said she walks on the heads of men rather than the ground.

Zelus

Son of Pallas and Styx, brother to Nike, Kratos, and Bia. Had wings like his siblings and was an enforcer for Zeus that stood about his throne. He is the personification of dedication, emulation, eager rivalry, envy, jealousy, and zeal, and the word Zeal is derived from his name.


 * Anthropomorphic Personification
 * Our Angels Are Different: While he and his siblings are not identified as angels, their description parallels that of angels as described in the Old Testament.

Bia

The goddess and personification of force, Bia, had four other siblings (already mentioned dozens of times now, just see Zelus above) and was the daughter of Pallas and Styx. She and her siblings were Zeus's constant companions, as they, along with their mother, help Zeus fight the Titans. In Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound, she along with Hephaestus and Kratos bound the Titan Prometheus.


 * Anthropomorphic Personification
 * Our Angels Are Different: Same as Zelus above

Kratos

No, not that Kratos. This Kratos (the final child of Pallas and Styx's children) was the god and personification of strength and power, and, along with his siblings, was a winged enforcer of Zeus. Helped to bound Prometheus.


 * Anthropomorphic Personification
 * Our Angels Are Different: Same as his two preceding siblings

Agon

Greek god of competition and competitive games, in particular, the Olympic Games. Among the words we get from his name are agony, antagonism, protagonist, etc.


 * Anthropomorphic Personification: Interestingly, he was one of Competitive games, not some abstract concept
 * Satellite Character: Even more so than most Greek gods.

The Oneiroi

More than likely children of Nyx (though Multiple Choice Past strikes again here) these gods were the gods of dreams, and were close siblings to Hypnos. There were three (or just three prominent ones depending on the myth), and they were Morpheus ( a god who appeared in dreams as human figures), Phobetor, also called Icelus, (a goddess who appeared in dreams as various animals and monsters, being the personification of nightmares), and Phantasos (a god who appeared in dreams as inanimate objects). Together, the siblings lived together in the Dream World, a realm located somewhere in the Underworld.


 * Anthropomorphic Personification

Penia

Called Penae in Latin, Penia was the Greek goddess of poverty and need, sometimes considered the mother of Eros.


 * Anthropomorphic Personification

Porus (Poros)

The Greek god of plenty and son of Metis, making him the brother of Athena. He was seduced by Penia at Aphrodite's birthday celebration while drunk, and from that sexual escapade, its possible that Eros was born. Porus is also a god in the Roman pantheon, the personification of abundance.


 * Anthropomorphic Personification

Amechania (Amekhania)

Sister of Penia and Greek goddess of helplessness. Often traveled around with her sisters.


 * Anthropomorphic Personification

Ptocheia (Ptokheia)

Greek goddess of beggary, who was a sister of Amechania and Ptocheia. She ofter traveled around with her sisters


 * Anthropomorphic Personification

Ploutos

Probably more well known by his Roman name Plutus. Ploutos was the ancient Greek god of wealth and was the son of Demeter and the Demigod Iasion. Has a complex relationship in the Roman pantheon with the god of the underworld, Plouton (Pluto), who is also a god of riches, leading to conflation. Was blinded by Zeus so that he could dispense of his riches without prejudice. He is also lame, but has wings, so he arrives slowly, but leaves quickly (sounds like there's significance to that). In the play Plutus, his sight is restored, thus raising hell as he is now able to determine who is most deserving of wealth. From the root of his (and Plouton's) name, we get the words like plutocracy, plutonomics, plutolatry, and plutomania.


 * Anthropomorphic Personification

Euthenia

Greek goddess of prosperity, who had three sisters: Eucleia, Philophrosyne, and Eupheme. Sometimes regarded as a younger Charity, along with her sisters. her and here sisters' parents were Hephaestus and Aglaea


 * Anthropomorphic Personification

Eucleia (Eukleia)

The Greek goddess of glory and good repute, sister to Euthenia. Often shown alongside Aphrodite as an attendant, where she represents the good repute of a young bride.


 * Anthropomorphic Personification

Philophrosyne

The Greek goddess of welcome, friendliness, and kindness.


 * Anthropomorphic Personification
 * Flat Character: not much really to set her apart from the other goddesses, or even her own sisters

Eupheme

Greek goddess of words of good omen, praise, acclaims, shouts of triumph, and applause. Her opposite was Momus. Was the nurse of the Muses and the mother of Krotos with Pan, who became the constellation Sagittarius.


 * Anthropomorphic Personification

The Anemoi

These beings were Greek wind gods who were each ascribed a Cardinal direction from their particular special winds came, and each of them as ascribed to certain seasons and weather patterns. They were variously represented as gusts of wind, winged men, and as horses kept in the stables of the storm god Aeolus. Astraeus and Eos were their parents. Their Roman equivalent was the Venti.

There are four main gods, each representing a cardinal direction, and four secondary gods representing the other directions. They were: Boreas, Greek god of the cold north wind who brought Winter, known in Roman religion as Aquilo or Septentrio; Notus, Greek god of the South wind who brought the storms of late summer and autumn, known to the Romans as Auster, embodiment of the sirocco wind; Zephyrus (Zephyr) who was the Greek god of the West wind, the gentlest wind that brought light spring and early summer breezes, known in Rome as Favonius, who held domain over plants and flowers; and then there was Eurus, god of the unlucky east wind who was not associated with a season and know in Rome as Vulturnus, a tribal river god who became god of the river Tiber.

The four minor gods were: Kaikias, Greek god of the northeast wind, represented as a bearded man with a shield of hailstones, known as the "dark wind" whose Roman equal was Caecius; Apeliotes (Latin spelling, Apeliotus) was the Greek god of the southeast wind who brought good rain that helped farmers, and thus is usually depicted in farmers's attire carrying fruit, clean shaven, with curly hair and a pleasant disposition, and his Roman equivalent was Subsolanus, who was sometimes considered the east wind by the Romans; Skiron (Skeiron), Greek god of the Northwest wind, depicted as bearded man tipping over a cauldron, representing the coming of winter, and his Roman equal was Caurus (Corus), the oldest Roman wind deities; Lips was the Greek god of the Southwest wind, usually depicted holding a ship's stern, whose Roman counterpart was Afer ventus (African wind), also called Africus, because Africa is southwest of Italy, natch.


 * Anthropomorphic Personification

Epione

The Greek goddess of the soothing of pain, the wife of Asklepios, and the mother of some of his children.


 * Anthropomorphic Personification

Hygieia (Hygiea, Hygeia)

As her name more than amply implies, Hygieia is the goddess and personification of health, cleanliness, and sanitation, the daughter of Asclepius and Epione. Of course, her name is obviously the root for hygiene and its associated words. While Asclepius was associated in healing illness and injury, Hygieia was associated with prevention of disease. in Rome, she was initially identified with the goddess of personal health Valetudo, but she was eventually identified with the goddess of social welfare, Salus.


 * Anthropomorphic Personification

Iaso (Ieso)

Daughter of Asclepius and the goddess of recuperation from illness.


 * Anthropomorphic Personification
 * Flat Character: Very little is know about Iaso in the grand scheme of things.

Aceso

The daughter of Asclepius and Epione, and goddess of the healing process.


 * Anthropomorphic Personification
 * Flat Character: Even less is said about Aceso than Iaso.

Panacea (Panakeia)

Greek goddess of the Universal Remedy, daughter of Asclepius and Epione. Always carried a potion around with her that could heal the sick, and this idea was the beginning of the idea of the panacea in medicine (i.e. a substance that could cure all disease)


 * Anthropomorphic Personification

Thetis

An ancient sea goddess within the Greek pantheon, she is most well known for being the mother of the Greek hero, Achilles, whom she had with a mortal, Peleus. Is generally thought to have been a powerful goddess at one time, and it is even mentioned that she helped stop a rebellion against Zeus on Olympus, but is not mentioned much in Classical Greek works.


 * Physical God

Proteus

An early Greek sea god, sometimes called the god of "elusive sea change", reflecting the sea's constant changes. Like many gods and goddesses, he suffers from Multiple Choice Past, but he is a herdsman of Poseidon's seals. He has the ability to predict the future, but constantly changes his shape, so that only those who can catch him will get the prediction. From this we get the word protean. He lives on the island of Pharos off the coast of the Nile River Delta and his primary purpose was to be caught by other heroes and used to help them solve their problems.


 * Physical God

Amphitrite

Sea goddess most well known for being Poseidon's wife, in Rome she was conflated with Neptune's wife, Salacia, goddess of saltwater. Multiple Choice Past strikes again: Some call her a daughter of Oceanus and Tethys, thus making her an Oceanid and possibly a Titan, while other tales identify her as the daughter of Nereus and Doris, making her a Nereid, and still others say she is a personification of the sea itself. She and Poseidon had a son, named Triton, and at least one daughter, named Rhode and possibly another, named Benthesikyme. Though originally a very powerful, important goddess, she lost her importance to the Olympic pantheon.


 * Multiple Choice Past
 * Anthropomorphic Personification: What some see her as
 * Physical God: what she is if an Oceanid

Rhode

Sometimes considered a sea nymph, Rhode was the goddess of the island of Rhodes and daughter of Poseidon. Consort of Helios, she considered the little island under her own protection.


 * Physical God

Triton

No, not that Triton. This Triton is the most famous son of Poseidon. A Greek god, he was a messenger of the sea, similar to how Hermes was a messenger of Olympus. One thing the Disney film got right is that Triton is usually represented as a merman, having a human's upper body and the tail-end of a fish, and he, like his father, carried a trident. He also carried a conch shell, which he blew like a horn to control the waves. had a daughter named Pallas (not the same Pallas mentioned farther up) and raised Athena as his own daughter. Athena would later accidentally kill Pallas. Triton would be the progenitor of an entire race similar to himself, called Tritons.


 * Physical God

Ceto (Crataeis, Trienus)

An early, powerful sea goddess, sometimes conflated with Hecate. Mother of a race of monsters with Phorcys, called the Phorcydes, which include Echidna, and (sometimes) The Gorgons (including Medusa), Ladon, Scylla, and The Graeae.


 * Physical God

The Graeae

Also called the Grey Witches, the Graeae were three sisters who shared one eye and one tooth amongst themselves. Though usually depicted as old, grey haired women, sometimes, storytellers would portray them as beautiful, and in some legends they were portrayed as being half-swan. They were apparently so old that they couldn't grasp the concept of human childhood. Their names were Deino (dread), Enyo (horror, not the same Enyo as the goddess of war), and Pemphredo (alarm). There is sometimes also a fourth named Persis (destroyer, slayer) or Perso. Perseus was able to get the women to tell him how to kill Medusa by stealing their one eye.


 * Physical God
 * Sadly Mythtaken: The Disney Hercules film gave their defining trait, sharing one eye, to the Moirai (Fates), causing confusion.

Phorcys (Phorkys)

God of the mysterious dangers of the deep, identified as a son of Gaia and Pontus or a son of Tethys and Oceanus. Married Ceto and had many "nice" children. Is depicted as a fish-taled merman, with crab claws for fore-legs and red-spiked skin.


 * Physical God
 * Multiple Choice Past

Circe

A minor goddess of magic, sometimes called a witch, sorceress, enchantress, or nymph. Multiple Choice Past again, however, she is usually seen as a daughter of Helios and Perse, though some see her as the daughter of Hecate. Called "The loveliest of all immortals", she was known for turning people she didn't like into animals and having a truly massive knowledge of drugs and herbs. She lives in a large mansion, which she surrounded with feral predators she culled with her magic. She is most well know for her run in with Odysseus: She turned some of his crew into pigs and Odysseus set out to rescue them from her, using advice given by Athena as an aid. Following Athena's advice, Odysseus succeeded in freeing his men and gaining Circe's trust, and she helped him on his journey.


 * Physical God

Glaucus

A god of the sea, Glaucus was one of the very few mortals who attained immortality and godhood. It is believed that he comes to the rescue of fishermen and sailors caught in storms; this is because he was one himself. One day, when Glaucus was still mortal, he came across a weird herb that could resurrect dead fish, an tried eating it himself. The herb made him immortal, but at a steep cost: in place of his arms, he had fins, and his legs were replaced with a fish's tail (though there are versions of the story that say he just became a merman), forcing him to live in the sea forever. Though initially saddened by these turn of events, Oceanus and Tethys took Glaucus in as one of their own, teaching him the gift of prophecy and making him a god of the sea. Glaucus later fell in love with Scylla (who was a beautiful sea nymph at the time), and tried to marry her, but Scylla was repulsed by his physical appearance and ran away from him. Glaucus went to Circe for help in getting Scylla to fall for him, but Circe fell in love with him instead. Though Circe tried her best to win his heart, Glaucus was too in love with Scylla to go with her. Circe, in rage, poisoned the water where Scylla bathed, and turned her into the horrible monster we all know.


 * Physical God

Eurynome

Ancient Greek sea goddess, worshiped in the form of a mermaid, she was a daughter of Oceanus and Tethys, and was the third wife of Zeus, with whom she had her daughters, the Charities. When Hephaestus was cast from Olympus by Hera, it was Eurynome and Thetis who caught him and nursed him back to health. This Eurynome is closely associated with the Titan Eurynome, wife of Ophion, the first ruler of Olympus.


 * Physical God

Eleutheria/Libertas

Goddess of Liberty, shown carrying the rod magistrates would tap slaves with upon their manumission. Still used in allegorical images of liberty to this day including the Statue of Liberty.


 * Anthropomorphic Personification
 * God of Good
 * Slave Liberation

Mortals and Demigods
Satyrs

Rustic fertility spirits, companions of Dionysus/Pan, originally quite different from the goat-like fauns (Or Panes), they were depicted as short, hairy men with assinine ears, snub-noses, horse-like ears and erect members.


 * Exclusively Evil: Notorious for raping nymphs.
 * Beast Man
 * Fauns and Satyrs: Trope Namer
 * Magical Flutist: With panpipes, like Pan himself.

Nymphes

Beautiful female nature spirits, considered desirable mades by mortals and gods alike. Frequently appearing in the company of gods as loyal followers as well. There were many subgroupings of nymphs, but the most famous were the Hesperides (who tend the garden with the golden apples), Dryades (tree spirits), Naiads, Nereids, Oceanids (different kinds of water nymphs), Maenids (or Bacchai/Bacchantes, the one who hang out with Bacchus/Dionysus so they can party all the time), and the Muses.


 * The Ageless
 * Fairy Sexy
 * Inhumanly Beautiful Race
 * Nature Spirit
 * Our Elves Are Better
 * Our Fairies Are Different

Herakles (Hercules)

Son of Zeus and mortal Queen Alcmene and the most famous classical hero, known as Hercules in Latin. His name means glory of Hera (explanations for this name are varied), but she hated him and tried her best to kill him since his infancy. His real name is Aclides (Aclaeus) but after seeing the priestess at Delphi, he changed his name. Most famous for his Twelve Labors (essentially one Fetch Quest after another), turning up in other people's stories whenever a strongman is needed, and eventually became a full god upon his death.


 * Accidental Pornomancer: Hercules got a lot of action thrown his way. In particular, there was the matter of the fifty princesses...
 * All Amazons Want Hercules: Trope Namer. Hot Amazon Queen Hippolyta was so impressed by his muscular frame that she gave up her belt freely.
 * Ascended to A Higher Plane of Existence: After his death, it's said he became a full god himself.
 * Arch Enemy: Hera.
 * The Atoner: His twelve labors were to atone for killing his family in a Hera-induced rage.
 * The Big Guy
 * Bi the Way: This being Greek Mythology, hardly surprising.
 * Boisterous Bruiser
 * Book Dumb: He wasn't as clever as the likes of Nestor or Odysseus, but Heracles had a remarkable talent for thinking on his feet in situations when his strength alone wouldn't cut it. Examples include his defeating Antaeus, tricking Atlas to take back possession of the sky and his escaping from a sacrificial altar by using the claws of his lion cloak to cut through the bindings. Not for nothing did Athena like Heracles more than any other Olympian except Zeus. The guy wasn't terribly bright, but he was a natural battle strategist.
 * Clothes Make the Superman: Heracles is already a tough guy, but the impenetrable Nemean Lion's pelt cloak made him almost invulnerable. He even dons the aegis of Zeus himself when he's in a pinch against Alebion, his brother Bergion and their army; with Zeus's aegis, he manages to come out on top.
 * Death Glare: The reason Charon give him free ride for the twelfth labor.
 * Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: So many, but beating up Thanatos (the Greek god of Death) is just one example. He takes it even further when he decides to sack Pylos. Hercules takes on Hera, Ares, Hades and Poseidon with only Artemis to aid him. He spears Ares in the thigh, wounds Hera in her right breast and shoots Hades in the shoulder with his arrows. If that wasn't overkill, he shoots Apollo in the shoulder just for trying to heal Ares.
 * The Hero
 * Hot-Blooded: And holy SHIT, how. This guy would go stage a HUGE war for a mere verbal insult one day, and at the other he'd fight Thanatos to bring an old friend's dead wife back to life.
 * The Juggernaut: If you weren't Zeus or Apollo, you might as well just pack it in if Herc wanted a piece of you. Notably, he conquered Troy with 12 men at his side. A generation later, it would basically take all of Greece throwing their badasses at Troy to take it down—and it still took ten years to do it.
 * The Lancer: To Jason on the Argo.
 * Meaningful Name: According to some authors, the name came from the glory he gained overcoming all the obstacles Hera threw his way.
 * Later on, anyone named Hercules was or a derivative of Hercules or Heracles was usually either very powerful or a hero.
 * Non-Indicative Name: In other versions, his name was an attempt to appease Hera but really didn't work at all to that end.
 * Our Founder: The Spartans claimed descent from him.
 * It wasn't just the Spartans. Most Greek Kings claimed descent from him to justify their right to rule. Even Alexander the Great claimed descent from Heracles through his father, and descent from Achilles through his mother.
 * Parental Favouritism: Zeus liked to brag about Hercules to the extent that it intesified Hera's hatred of Hercules.
 * Really Gets Around: Like father, like son. His "thirteenth" labour involved sleeping with 50 daughters in a single night. Every single one of them was knocked up.
 * Shoot the Medic First: Inverted, as he only shoots Apollo after he starts healing Ares, whome Hercules had previously speared in the thigh.
 * Super Strength: He's stronger than most gods, let alone mere mortals, but you probably already knew that. It's even in the dictionary after all.
 * "Well Done, Son" Guy: Some interpretations of his character.
 * Wholesome Crossdresser: Omphale, Queen of Lydia, forced him to dress in woman's clothing and do women's work. To add insult to injury, she wore his Nemean Lion skin during this. It turn out to be beneficial for Heracles though - a couple of peaceful years of crossdressing and housework made him much more calm.
 * World's Strongest Man: Well, duh.

Perseus

Perseus was the Greek hero who killed the Gorgon Medusa in order to fulfill the evil king Polydectes's demands and save his mother from the guy. Along the way he married Andromeda, having rescued her from a sea monster sent by Poseidon in retribution for Andromeda's Queen Cassiopeia declaring herself more beautiful than the sea nymphs.


 * Absurdly Sharp Blade: What Perseus uses to kill Medusa.
 * Berserk Button: Do not try anything with his mother, just… don’t.
 * Big Damn Heroes: He pulls this twice. The first time is the saving of his future wife and lover, Andromeda, from the keto (sea monster) to which she was to be sacrificed. The second one was to his beloved mother, as he manages to arrive just in time to stop her marriage to King Polydectes and in fury he uses Medusa’s head on him.
 * Calling the Old Man Out: Some myths have him doing this to Andromeda’s parents for their actions, especially her mother. But in other interpretations, Acrisios's death was an accident.
 * The Chosen One: The Gods themselves chose him to slay Medusa and the Manticore, and the prophets set him on that path by seeing another aspect of his future and telling what they saw.
 * Genius Bruiser
 * Guile Hero: Sometime seen as this, as he overcame the two biggest challenges in his trip to kill Medusa; his introduction to the Graeae and the killing of Medusa herself, with quick thinking and rather ingenious planning. Could also be considered to be a Genius Bruiser.
 * Happily Married: Perseus and Andromeda have this, one of the incredibly few and most memorable in Greek Mythology.
 * Heroic Bastard: One of the many, many, many offspring of Zeus.
 * Impossible Task: King Polydectes sending Perseus to bring him the head of Medusa.
 * It Was a Gift: The other interpretation being that rather than his wits, it was the gifts various gods gave him that made it possible for him to kill Medusa and the Manticore. Maybe it was a combination of the two.
 * Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: Perseus using his shield as a mirror in order to kill Medusa without having to look at her is a classic example from Greek mythology.
 * Momma's Boy: An incredibly Badass version of one.
 * Nice Guy: By far one if the most heroic characters in Greek Mythology by modern standards, he is a loving and fiercely devoted and protective son, a loving and completely faithful lover and husband to Andromeda, and a fair and just ruler of Mycenae.
 * Our Founder: The first demigod hero and the mythical founder of Mycenae, kicking off the Mycenaen age of Ancient Greece.
 * Rescue Romance: With Andromeda.
 * Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: His killing of Acrisios.
 * Supernatural Aid: The Gods them selves are on his side, especially Athena. Though they can't help him directly.
 * Taken for Granite: With Medusa’s head, he does this to both the sea monster (saving Andromeda) and Polydectes (saving his mother).

Medea

A powerful demi-goddess, sorceress, and princess of a distant kingdom, who ends up betraying her own father and brother for Jason. Jason proceeds to royally piss her off: see the tragedy named after her for the results.


 * Axe Crazy
 * Evil Chancellor: To Theseus' father. Her plan to kill Theseus was foiled but again she escaped.
 * Foreshadowing: As she escaped with Jason, she took her brother along and chopped him up and threw his body parts into the sea to slow down their pursuers. You'd think Jason would notice that there's something wrong with her at this point.
 * Hot Witch
 * Karma Houdini: Ascended to godhood after death.
 * Magical Girlfriend: Unfortunately for Jason, a Dark Magical Girlfriend: which eventually turned her into a...
 * Psycho Ex-Girlfriend: Jason should have known what he was getting into; the woman killed and dismembered her own brother to slow down her father's pursuit.
 * Woman Scorned: The phrase comes from Euripides' play entitled, well, Medea, making her the Trope Namer.
 * Yandere

Orpheus

Son of Muse Calliope and learned musical skill from Apollo. Even the famous Sirens couldn't beat Orpheus when it come to singing. After his wife Eurydice died, Orpheus travelled to the underworld and got past all obtacles by his music, even softening the hearts of Hades and Persephone. Hades agreed to allow Eurydice to return with him to earth on one condition: he should walk in front of her and not look back until they both had reached the upper world. Orpheus failed, either because he wass careless or just unable to trust Hades wholeheartly. Heartbroken, Orpheus disdained the worship of all gods save for Apollo. One morning, he went to salute Apollo, but was rent to pieces by Maenads for not honoring Dionysus.


 * Bi the Way
 * Determinator
 * Disproportionate Retribution: On the receiving end: The Maenads, Ax Crazy followers of Dionysus, tore him apart for not singing happy songs.
 * Fate Worse Than Death: Hades did warn him that Orpheus would never meet Eurydice again if he failed the trial. Some text say he wasn't dead even when vivisected, his head still singing mournful songs. That's until inhabitants of Lesbos Island buried his head and built a shrine in his honour.
 * Heroic BSOD: Has one since Eurydice's death; he recovered for a while but losing her for second time put him over the Despair Event Horizon.
 * Magic Music: His music and singing can charm birds, fish and wild beasts, coax the trees and rocks into dance, and even divert the course of rivers. His song even beat the song of Sirens; some texts even say the Sirens committed suicide afterward. Then he calmed down Cerberus, got The Heartless Charon to let him ride for free, and made Hades shed Manly Tears.
 * Non-Action Guy: He is not remembered for killing monsters or slaughtering warriors.
 * Orphean Rescue: The Trope Namer.

Odysseus

King of Ithaca, husband of Penelope, father of Telemachus, and son of Laërtes and Anticlea, Odysseus is renowned for his guile and resourcefulness, and is hence known by the epithet Odysseus the Cunning (mētis, or "cunning intelligence"). He is most famous for the twenty eventful years he took to return home after the ten-year Trojan War and his famous Trojan Horse trick. The Romans called him Ulysses.


 * Abdicate the Throne: Odysseus leaves Thesprotia to Polypoites after the queen dies. Admittedly, he just goes right back to being king in Ithaca.
 * Adaptational Villainy: Odysseus (Ulysses) is treated as a pure villain in Roman mythology, such as in The Aeneid, and later works influenced by it, like The Divine Comedy.
 * The Alliance: It was his idea in order to stop a battle between the Kings Of Greece for the hand of Helen by creating this. It actually came to bite him in the ass later on. But he tried to escape even this.
 * The Archer: His skill and strength with a bow was amazing: none of the suitors could even string his bow, much less shoot an arrow through a row of twelve axehandle rings.
 * A Man Is Not a Virgin: Odysseus is generally depicted as unwilling, though.
 * Authority Equals Asskicking
 * Badass
 * Badass Normal: Considered a major Greek hero, alongside Heracles, Achilles, Perseus, Theseus...you get the idea. But unlike most other Greek heroes, Odysseus isn't a demigod.
 * Bash Brothers: With Diomedes. It also has a Brains and Brawn dynamic, especially in the 10th book
 * Badass Boast: Odysseus does this to Polyphemos the cyclops. This, however, bites him in the ass when Polyphemos, having learned Odysseus's name through his boasting, invokes a favor from his father Poseidon to make his journey home a living nightmare. Daddy delivers.
 * Bluff the Imposter: Invoked when he returned home and revealed himself to his wife. She doesn't quite believe him, and makes an offhand remark that their bed was moved. Odysseus states that his bed's headboard is part of a massive tree (which he himself carved) that the palace is built around, and that it's virtually impossible to move. This removes any lingering doubt.
 * Call to Agriculture: Odysseus' goal after going home.
 * Double Standard: Odysseus screws a number of women. Penelope waits twenty years for a husband that she believes to be dead and never cracks. But in the Odyssey he is made a love-slave very much against his will by goddesses Circe and Calypso, yet resisted the allure of mortal women such as Nausicaa. There are non-Homeric versions of his story where he cheats on Penelope with mortals and/or where Penelope cheats on him with one or more of her suitors.)
 * Eye Scream: Eat Odysseus' sailors and reap the consequences!
 * Genius Bruiser
 * Guile Hero: His most dangerous weapon by far was his tremendously sharp mind.
 * Happily Married: In The Odyssey, where all he wants to do is get home to his wife. Yes there are stories where he cheats on her and/or she cheats on him, but they're not by Homer, which makes them the ancient Greek equivalent of fanfiction; in the real canon he is faithful to Penelope and she to him.
 * Homoerotic Subtext: With Eurymachus.
 * The Infiltration: Odysseus's recon of Troy
 * Insane Troll Logic: Scylla and Charybdis. One will eat some of his men, the other will eat all his men.
 * King Incognito: Before taking his final revenge on the suitors.
 * Papa Wolf
 * Rightful King Returns: He successfully got home and regained his throne.
 * Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Odysseus slaughters every suitor and twelve maids in his home once he returns.
 * Royals Who Actually Do Something: He is king and warrior.
 * Schmuck Bait: He thinks and plans the greatest one in recorded legend, the Trojan Horse.
 * The Smart Guy
 * Supernatural Aid: Athena took a shine to him during the Trojan War and continued to help him on his journey home.
 * The Trickster: Which makes sense when you remember that he is the grandson of Autolycus, the world's greatest thief, which makes Hermes, the Trickster Archetype himself, his great-grandfather. He may also be the son of Sisyphus, the god-swindling SOB who seduced his mother on her wedding night, so no matter how you look at it, guile is In the Blood.
 * Unreliable Narrator: Odysseus is hinted to be one of these, talking about stuff that he couldn't possibly know.
 * Who Wants to Live Forever?: Odysseus could have become immortal living with eternally youthful Circe or Calypso, but chose to return to Ithaca and his aging wife. Ironically, in a common continuation of the myth, his two sons and his widow do become immortal.
 * Worthy Opponent: Even the Trojans were in awe of this man. He was considered one of the mightiest and most respectable Achaians during the war.
 * You Can't Fight Fate: Odysseus was fated to die a death from the sea...Telegonus sails in and unknowingly kills him with a sting ray spear.

Achilles


 * Achilles' Heel: Trope Namer
 * Achilles in His Tent: Once again, the Trope Namer.
 * Anti-Hero: Bordering on Villain Protagonist. Achilles performs many acts of douchebaggery throughout the poem and is one of the biggest jerks in ancient literature. This makes for a good foil between him and Hector, who can be seen as much more heroic than his Greek opponent.
 * A Real Man Is a Killer: Could be the Ur Example in ancient times and still hold up today. However, Achilles's experience in the battlefield was minimal compared to the rest of the kings taking part in the war, and he was more of a loose cannon at best.
 * Badass: One of the biggest ones in literature.
 * Be Careful What You Wish For: Achilles asks Zeus to help the Trojans punish the Greeks for Agamemnon's unfairness towards him, which ends in his friend Patroclus' death.
 * Bi the Way: Had a relationship with Patroclus.
 * Blood Knight: He's not fighting in the Trojan War for honor, or for gain. He's fighting because he likes it...and because he's very, very good at it.
 * Boring Invincible Hero:
 * The Berserker: One of the most widely known in literature.
 * Break the Haughty
 * Byronic Hero
 * Death Is Dramatic: Chasing the entire Trojan army into the city, taken down by Paris with the help of Apollo? Achilles is just that Badass.
 * Divine Parentage
 * Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: During his Roaring Rampage of Revenge he beats down the local river god... while crossing his river.
 * Doomed by Canon
 * Fatal Flaw: Both pride and wrath.
 * Glory Hound
 * Heroic BSOD: After Patroclus's death. His Roaring Rampage of Revenge happens shortly after he breaks out of it.
 * It's All My Fault: His belief regarding Patroclus's death. He’s not wrong.
 * Manly Tears: The most famous example being between Achilles and King Priam when Priam begs Achilles to return the body of his son Hector for burial. Priam's passion moves Achilles who begins thinking about his lost friend Patroclus; and the two men weep together over the respective loss.
 * Momma's Boy
 * Nietzsche Wannabe
 * Not So Invincible After All
 * One-Man Army
 * Psychopathic Manchild: He has his moments.
 * Psycho for Hire: Some interpretations of the Illiad depict Achilles and his Myrmidons as a tribe of Blood Knight mercenary nutjobs.
 * Redheaded Hero
 * Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Easily the most legendary one in literature.
 * Too Powerful to Live
 * What a Drag: Achilles drags Hector's body with his chariot after killing him.
 * Worthy Opponent: Memnon and Hector were this to him.
 * Your Days Are Numbered: He was fully aware of it, but preferred a glorious death to an obscure old age.

Theseus

Perhaps the most famous son of Poseidon—unless the mortal Aigeus was his real father after all. He is most well known for slaying the Minotaur and ruling the city of Athens. Among his other deeds are killing serial killers, with Heracles inventing the mixed martial art of pankration, and his interactions with other famous mythological people like Heracles, Oedipus, and Medea.


 * Abduction Is Love: Theseus had a nasty habit of kidnapping women against their will or their husbands'.
 * All Amazons Want Hercules: Averted: Theseus kidnaps the Amazon queen, starting a war.
 * Cain and Abel: Many of the serial killers Theseus killed were his half-brothers through Poseidon.
 * Genius Bruiser: Not very well known, but the way he retrieved his father's sword and shoes in the Secret Test of Character and the way he defeated the three bandits in the road to Athens showcase this.
 * Hero of Another Story: Guest stars in several stories where he is not the focus, but his other adventures are alluded to.
 * The Jailbait Wait: When Theseus kidnapped Helen, she was just a little girl. He intented to marry her when she gets old enough, but her brother (Castor and Pollux) rescued her while Theseus was trapped in Underworld.
 * Old Man Marrying a Child : Decided to abduct and marry Helen of Troy. She was so young he had to wait till she reached marriageable age compared to himself, who was already fully grown and married once. Subverted as he soon got trapped in the underworld and Helen got rescued by her brothers Castor and Pollux.
 * Pay Evil Unto Evil: Does this to all the Serial Killers (because seriously, that's what they are) that he meets on the road to Athens, killing them all in the same way that they killed their victims.
 * Pet the Dog: He gladly and without hesitation gave asylum to Oedipus when so many cities had denied him this. In Euripides' and Seneca's plays about Heracles, he does the same for Heracles after he murdered his wife and child.
 * Super Strength: Some accounts he killed the Minotaur with his bare hands.
 * Too Dumb to Live: He and his friend Perithoos once swore oaths to help each other get new wives. Theseus wanted Helen, but Perithoos decided to abduct Perspheone, wife of Hades. This was not a good idea, and Theseus knew it, but could not break his oath. Thus, the trope is subverted for Theseus, but played completely straight with Perithoos. Theseus was eventually freed from the underworld by Heracles, but Perithoos was not so lucky.
 * On Theseus' way back to Athens from Crete, he experienced several idiotic moments. For example, he managed to leave Ariadne, the woman who had helped him to exit the labyrinth by giving him a thread to tie to the entrance, on an island. He just got up and sailed away without her. Later on that same journey, he forgot to change the sails on his ship - he had set out with black sails, and promised to switch them for white if he returned victorious. Seeing the ship with black sails enter the harbour, his father Aegeus was overcome with grief and threw himself into the sea (now called the 'Aegean'). Justified in some version, he didn't just abandon Ariadne, but was forced to leave her by Dionysus so he can seduce her. And he didn't recover from sorrow, completely forgot about the flag, until it's too late.
 * The Unchosen One: Compared to Perseus he had to do everything all on his own.

Oidipous (Oedipus)


 * Abdicate the Throne: In Sophocles's play Oedipus Rex he exiled himself from Thebes, although Homer had him continue ruling until his death.
 * Anti-Hero: How he comes off to modern readers depending on which version of his confrontation with Laios you know.
 * A Tragedy of Impulsiveness: The eponymous character kills his father for basically cutting him off in traffic (and being a complete Jerkass about it). He marries his mother, completing the other half of the famous complex, at leisure though. Having been adopted by another family and kept in the dark about his parentage, he did not recognize either one.
 * Awful Truth: Guess. By modern times it has become It Was His Sled.
 * Blind Seer: He becomes this in Sophocles's Oedipus at Colonus.
 * Break the Haughty: In spades. Oedipus goes from a strong and beloved king to a shell of his former self in the course of a single day.
 * Determinator: He had to find out who killed the king.
 * Eye Scream: A broach pin to the eye cannot feel good. That is one painful version of Brain Bleach.
 * Guile Hero: His defeat of the Sphinx makes him the epitome of this.
 * Hired to Hunt Yourself: His crusade to find out who killed the king. The issue being he was unaware that this was the case.
 * I Have No Son: Although Antigone is so great she's almost a substitute for one.
 * Irony: He's its bitch.
 * Oedipus Complex: Trope Namer, though he himself did none of that deliberately or knowingly.
 * Older and Wiser: In Oedipus at Colonus.
 * Parental Incest: Oedipus's wife is his mother and all his children are also his half-siblings.
 * Patricide: The killing of King Laios.
 * Poor Communication Kills: All of this might have been avoided if Oedipus's adoptive parents had just told him he was adopted. Perhaps they were justified, since in those days being of uncertain descent could cause no end of problems for a person in a prominent position.
 * Prophecies Are Always Right: Unfortunately for Oedipus.
 * Reasonable Authority Figure: Part of the great tragedy of his life was the fact that he was this as a king.
 * Thanatos Gambit: Oedipus makes sure that Thebes will not benefit from his death, and ensures the future success of Athens.
 * Tragic Hero: In Sophocles's plays, Oedipus is one that has survived from his tragic fall and since gained some measure of dignity back through the blessing his bones will bring to Athens.
 * Walking the Earth: In Sophocles's plays, after leaving Thebes, until he found assylum at Athens.
 * You Can't Fight Fate: Despite his best intentions to avoid it, Oedipus ends up fulfilling the prophecy.

Sisyphus

One of the worst of Tartarus' residents, Sisyphus was damned to eternally roll a rock up a hill. The rock would inevitably turn and roll back down just as he was achieving anything. This was not Disproportionate Retribution for his crimes.


 * Cain and Abel: With his brother, Salmoneus, going so far as to consult the oracle at Delphi on how to kill Salmoneus without incurring any penalties, and seducing his neice Tyro just to hurt Salmoneus.
 * The Casanova: In addition to seducing Odysseus' mother on her wedding night, Sisyphus had numerous other affairs, including one with his neice, Tyro.
 * The Charmer
 * The Chessmaster: Planned for almost everything, including his own death.
 * Con Man
 * Did You Just Scam Cthulhu?: Repeatedly. He persuades Death to put on the handcuffs that were meant for him, talks Persephone into letting him to return to life to haunt his wife, exposes Zeus' secrets...this guy was a a one-man Cthulhu-conning operation.
 * Evil Genius
 * Greed: Killed travellers and took their stuff.
 * Like a Badass Out of Hell: Twice.
 * Luke, I Am Your Father: He may be Odysseus' real father.
 * Manipulative Bastard
 * Pride: Believed himself to be smarter than Zeus. Then again...
 * Sisyphus vs. Rock: Original Trope Namer.
 * Tailor-Made Prison: Was forced to roll a rock up a hill every day. It took his mind off of plotting and scheming a way to escape the Underworld a third time.
 * Talking Your Way Out: Repeatedly.
 * The Undead: Persuaded Persephone to let him return to life to haunt his wife.

Monsters
Kerberos (Cerberus)

An offspring of Echidna and Typhon. A three-headed hound with a tail and mane made of live serpents, although most artists stopped reading after the word "hound". Unlike his siblings, Hades took him as a guard dog of his realm. He prevents mortals from entering the underworld and keeps the dead inside. Although there is no tale where Hades actually pets him, the king of the underworld cared about his pet dog enough, and only allowed Heracles to take him for the twelfth labor if the hero didn't injure him.


 * Angry Guard Dog
 * Hell Hound: The trope codifier.
 * Sole Survivor: Only child of Echidna and Typhon that's yet to be slain - obviously because Hades owns him.
 * Depending on who you count amoung their offspring and which versions of the stories you use.
 * Sweet Tooth: The Roman tale of Psyche had a girl get past him using cake. She was advised to use it because others had succeeded before with the same ploy.

Ladon

One of the oldest monsters in Classical Mythology, Ladon was an offsping of Typhon and Echidna or of some of the Titans or Protogenoi depending on which version you listen to. His form was that of a dragon, but one unlike either traditional European or Asian dragons, and indeed his own form is not even consistant in the different versions of the story. His job was to guard the golden apples of the Garden of Hesperides. Though tasked with retreiving them in his eleventh labour, Ladon was so fearsome an opponent that Hercules had to enlist the help of Atlas who was a relative of the Hesperide Nymphs to complete the task. Ladon was later seen by the passing Argonauts as well.


 * How Do You Like Them Apples?
 * Instant Awesome, Just Add Dragons
 * Our Dragons Are Different: Very diffent, and different in different ways. He could have as many as one hundred heads, or just the one.

Geryon and Orthrus

Medusa's grandson Geryon was a giant who lived on the island Erytheia. He had either three heads on one body or three bodies, either way he also had six hands, six feet and wings. Orthus was the two headed herd dog of Geryon and the brother of Cerberus. The guarded red cattle which Hercules was instructed to steal as his tenth labour.


 * Angry Guard Dog
 * Everything's Better with Cows
 * Hell Hound
 * Our Giants Are Bigger

Mares of Diomedes

Wild horses trained to eat human flesh by the giant Diomedes, King of Thrace, Son of Ares and Cyrene. Some versions of the story tell that they breathed fire as well. Hercules' eighth labour was to steal them.


 * Hellish Horse
 * Incendiary Exponent: If that is the version being told.

The Cretan Bull

Father of the Minotaur by the king of Cete's, King Minos, wife who had angered Aphrodrite and was thus cursed with love for the king's prized but uncontolably angry bull. The bull was a gift from Poseidon, and its anger was the result of Poseidon later becoming displeased with King Minos. Captured by Hercules as his seventh labour, when released in became known as the Marathon Bull after its new home until it was captured by Theseus and sacrificed to the Gods.


 * A Load of Bull: Ur Example
 * Gypsy Curse: Aphrodite's used it as part of one.
 * Revenge Through Corruption: This is why you don't claim to be more beautiful than the Goddess of Love. Ever.
 * Roaring Rampage of Revenge: It rampages for Posiedon's revenge.
 * Sacrificial Bull

The Stymphyalian Birds

Man eating birds with metal feather, bronze beaks and toxic poo that were driven to the Lake Stymphyalia by a pack of Arab wolves where they thrived in great numbers, much to the dismay of the local inhabitants. Hercules' sixth labour was to defeat them.


 * Big Badass Bird of Prey
 * Death From Above
 * Feather Flechettes: Their feathers are weaponized metal razor blades, flying at your face!
 * Giant Flyer: Though less giant than some, they can take some pretty big prey.
 * Razor Wings
 * Zerg Rush

Ermanthian Boar

A boar of immense size and ferocity that lived on Mount Ermanthos and was often sent by various gods in vengeance against villages. It may well have killed Adonis, unless that was Ares in the shape of a boar. Capturing it was Hercules' fourth labour.


 * Full Boar Action: One of the oldest examples in the book.
 * Roaring Rampage of Revenge: It does the rampaging, the gods get the revenge.

The Ceryneian Hind

A hind is doe (female deer) of a one of the larger species, of which the male would be a hart, buck or stag. This one had antlers like the male, only golden in color and matching fur as well as being sacred to the Goddess Artemis and fast enough to outrun an arrow. Hercules' third labour was to catch it, alive.


 * Badass

The Lernaean Hydra

Another child of Typhon and Echidna: A many headed serpent of the swamps of Lerna. For every head you cut off, two more grow in it's place. Oh, and one head is immortal. Killing it was the challenge set forth in Hercules' second labour.


 * Bloody Murder: The poisonous kind.
 * Evil Evolves
 * Healing Factor
 * Hydra Problem: Trope Namer
 * Kill It with Fire: Can't grow heads from a cauterized stump.
 * Multiple Head Case: Usually depicted as starting off with nine heads.
 * Our Dragons Are Different

The Nemean Lion

Lived in Nemea. Its fur was impervious to attack by all mortal weapons and its claws could cut through any armour without difficulty. Sometimes counted amoung the children of Typhon and Echidna Killing it was Hercules' first labour.


 * Nemean Skinning: Trope Namer.
 * Nigh Invulnerability

Crommyonian Sow & Calydonian Boar

The Crommyonian Sow was a wild pig named Phaea or Phaia, daughter of Echidna and Typhon and mother of the Calydonian Boar. It was killed by Theseus. The Calydonian Boar was hunted by a great gathering of heroes, which hurt alot of their pride when the woman Atalanta was the one to kill it.


 * Full Boar Action

Laelaps & the Teumessian Fox (Cadmian Vixen)

A magical dog that would catch anything that it chased, and a giant fox destined never to be caught. The fox was also one of Echidna and Typhon's children. Zeus turned them into a constellation when Laelaps was set to chase the Cadmian Vixen.


 * Unstoppable Force Meets Immovable Object

Aitos Kaukasios (Aetus Caucasius)

Another of Typhon and Echidna's offspring, this one is one of the less famous. A gigantic eagle, it roamed the Earth until Zeus found use for it and made it the tormenter of Prometheus, flying every day to eat his liver and killing whoever tried to free him, until Hercules/Heracles killed it. Occasionally refered to as Ethon, Aethonem Aquilam or the Griffin-Vulture (also the name of a real life bird of prey). Is the basis for the constellation Aquila.


 * Animal Stereotypes: Averted; the eagle was a symbol of Zeus and generally honoured as the king of the birds in the classical mythology, but Aethon was one of Typhon's monstrous offspring.
 * Still fitting, as he was part of Zeus' punishment for Prometheus.
 * He was the father of the harpies.
 * Big Badass Bird of Prey: Only Hercules managed to kill him.
 * Feathered Fiend
 * Giant Flyer

Minotaur

Half-man half-bull, this beast the offspring of the Cretan Bull and King Minos' wife in an odd combination of punishments from different gods. Fearing that it would anger the gods further to kill the beast, King Mino sealed it away in a Labyrinth beneith the city and fed its man-eating appitite with the flesh of slaves taken as tribute from Athens. That is, until an Athenian prince named Theseus took the place of one of the slaves, seduced the kings daughter into helping him find his way out of the labyrinth and killed it with his bare hands.


 * Half-Human Hybrid
 * A Load of Bull: Trope Maker.
 * I Am a Humanitarian
 * The Maze: It's home, the Labrinth; possible Ur Example.

Medusa and the Gorgons

A set of three sisters: Stheno, Euryale and Medusa. Most people only know the story of Medusa, who is most well known for having snakes for hair and a visage that turned mortals to stone. To some authors she and her sisters were born hideous, but another version has it that all three were born beautiful and Medusa, raped by Poseidon in Athena's temple, was turned into a monster as punishment.


 * Beauty to Beast: Some versions state that Medusa and her sisters were so beautiful that Athena got jealous of them and turned them into gorgons just for that.
 * Protective Magic: The Gorgons' image was often used this way, in hope that the user's enemies would be turned to stone.
 * Rape as Backstory: Poor Medusa
 * Reluctant Monster: Depending on which myth, Medusa will be played this way, being turned into a monster by Athena.
 * Taken for Granite: While it was technically the act of looking upon them that turned you to stone, it's popularly remembered as them looking upon you that results in petrification.
 * Winged Humanoid: A forgotten fact about the Gorgons; they had claws of bronze and wings like eagles.
 * Wolverine Publicity: Find a description of a lone Gorgon anywhere, and it'll inevitably be Medusa. Her sisters, Euryale and Stheno, are relatively overlooked - or nonexistant - in most depictions.
 * Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: So very much.

Sphinx

One of the daughters of Typhon and Echidna, the Sphinx had the head of a woman and the body of a winged lioness. She was born in Ethiopia, and tasked by Hera to block the path to Thebes, where she asked travellers a tricky riddle, and when they failed to answer she strangled and ate them. Oedipus managed to figure out the answer, and she was so enraged she threw herself off a cliff.


 * Driven to Suicide: Jumped off a cliff.
 * I Am a Humanitarian
 * Oedipus Rex: One of the antagonists.
 * Riddle of the Sphinx: "Which creature walks on four legs in the morning, two legs in the afternoon, and three legs in the evening?" The answer:
 * Riddling Sphinx: Trope Namer and Trope Maker
 * Smug Snake: Absolutely confident that no-one could guess the answer to her riddle.

Manticore

This monster had the body of a winged lion, with a scorpion's tail and the head of a man, though this didn't mean it lacked the sharp teeth of any other man-eating predator. It could also shoot poisonous spines from its tail.


 * Canon Immigrant: Adopted into Classical Mythology from Persian Myths.
 * Flechette Storm
 * Giant Flyer: Some versions have wings, though this was added later.
 * Hybrid Monster
 * Mix-and-Match Critters
 * Poisoned Weapon
 * Spike Shooter

Chimera

One of Typhon and Echidna's children, the chimera was part lion, part goat and part snake, or dragon. Its body was that of a lioness, the snake or dragon head was its tail, and a goat head just popped out of its spine in the middle of its back. It breathed fire too. It lived in Lycia in Asia minor.


 * Hybrid Monster:
 * Incendiary Exponent
 * Mix-and-Match Critters
 * Multiple Head Case: Frequently depicted as having three heads.
 * Our Dragons Are Different

The Colchian Wyrm

This Dragon was a child of Typhon and Echidna and the guardian of the Golden Fleece sought by Jason and the Argonauts.


 * Instant Awesome, Just Add Dragons
 * Our Dragons Are Different

Scylla and Charybdis

Scylla was drakaina with six heads on long necks, attatched to a body with 4-6 more dogs heads around its waist, twelve tenacle like legs, and a cats tail. It lives on one side of a narrow straight with Charybdis on the other. Charybdis was a whirlpool, or in the earlier myths a whirlpool caused by a Nymph transformed into a sea monster that was essentially a giant bladder covered in mouths and flipper that sucked a great deal of water into its many mouths three times a day, and belching it forth the rest of the time. One or both of them may have been offspring of Typhon and Echidna


 * Multiple Choice Past
 * Baleful Polymorph: Charybdis
 * Our Dragons Are Different: Scylla
 * Scylla and Charybdis: Trope Namers.
 * Sea Monster: Both
 * Spell My Name with an "S": Charybdis is also spelt Kharybdis.

Cetus (Kētos)

Perseus found a princess being sacrificed to this beast to appease Poseidon. So he turned it to stone with the severed head of Medusa and married the princess. Hercules is also credited with killing a creature called cetus. The word has a very loose meaning and includes whales and big fish as well as more traditional sea monsters.


 * Kraken and Leviathan: The Greek word Ketos is basically the same thing as the Hebrew Leviathan is its broad meaning, though the size of it qualifies it for this trope as well.
 * Sea Monster

Kampê (Campe)

A drakaina set to guard the Hecatonchires by Cronus. She is described as having the head and torso of a woman, a scorpionlike tail, and snaky legs.


 * Our Dragons Are Different

The Kyklopes (Cyclopes)

Three brothers: Steropes, Brontes and Arges. They are sons of Ouranos and Gaia. Embodiments of brute strength and power, they each have one single eye in the middle of the foreheads. Ouranos feared them for their power and violent tempers, and then sealed them away in Tartaros shortly after they were born with their other brothers, the Hekatonkheires. In some versions, Kronos either freed them and put them back in some time later of just kept them inside Tartaros, guarded by the Dragon, Kampe. In the final year of the Titanomachy, Zeus freed them and they forged the Olympians' weapons for them (if Hephaestus didn't do so already). Afterwords, they served as assistants to Hephaestus in his forge. They had the same names in Roman myths, both individually and collectively.

They had four mortal sons named Euryales, Elatreus, Trakhios, and Halimedes, and there was also a mortal tribe of them that lived near the island of Sicily, the most famous of them being Polyphemos. One of whom was a son of Posiedon. The original three can be seen to have been the Monster Progenitors of the larger cyclopse population.


 * Exclusively Evil: The mortal ones that lived off Sicily, like Polyphemos.
 * The Blacksmith: The original immortal trio.
 * Hair-Trigger Temper: They were described as being very foul-mooded.
 * I'm a Humanitarian: The mortal ones that lived off Sicily, like Polyphemos.
 * Monster Progenitors: Starts with three, the rest of the race came latter.
 * Sealed Good in a Can: The original immortal trio.
 * Shock and Awe: Each of the immortal three represents a part of the nature of lightning that they each put into Zeus' thunderbolt: Steropes is lighting itself, Brontes is thunder, and Arges is its brightness.
 * With Friends Like These...: When Zeus killed Apollo's son Asclepius Apollo wanted revenge but could not directly injure Zeus. Some writers have him kill the cyclopes who forged the lightning bolt while others, noting that the sons of Gaia are immortal, have him kill the four sons instead. In some versions, the three had helped to make Apollo's bow beforehand.

Gigantes

The last children of Ouranus, born from his blood fertilizing Gaea when Kronos castrated him, possibly as Aphrodite was born from the sea. The didn't get involved much in the Titans affairs, including when the Olympians took power in the Titanomachy. However, they latter fought the Olympians in the Gigantomachy, which they would have won if not for Hercules' aiding the Olympians. Many individuals are named, though again their are multiple different accounts of just what occured with each of the Gigantes.

Eurymedon was their king. The brothers Ephialtes and Otus of Aloadae were either caused to kill each other by accident by Artemis after they captured her in an attempt to take her and Hera for their wives, or else slain by the arrows of Apollo and Hercules. Alcyoneus and Porphyrion where amoung the strongest of them and slain by Hercules in the Gigantomachy, the latter being first wounded by Zeus's lighning bolt before taking Hercules arrow. Athena killed Pallas and Enceladus, burying the latter under Mt. Etna like Typhon. Artemis killed Gration with her arrows. Poseidon crush Polybotes under an island. Hephestus killed Mimas with molten iron. Hermes turned invisible to kill Hippolytus with a sword. Dionysus killed Eurytus with his thyrsus. Hecate immolated Clytius. Even the Moirae joined in, beating Agrios and Thoon to death with bronze clubs.


 * Avenging the Villain: The Gigantomachy was to rescue the Titans from Tartarus.
 * Barbarian Tribe: Thought to represent those kinds of people from the North.
 * Depending on the Writer: Quite a few Titans (Coeus, Kris, etc.) and even a Hundred-Hander (Briares) are sometimes confused to be Gigants.
 * Our Giants Are Bigger: While a few others get called giants, these guys were the giants propper of classical mythology.
 * Sealed Evil in a Can: After the Gigantomachy.
 * War Arc: The Gigantomachy.

Typhon/Typhoeus

The biggest, nastiest, deadliest and most terrifying monster in Greek mythology, with arms that reached east and west - with a hundred dragon/serpent heads on each - huge wings that blackened the sky, fire blazing from his eyes and mouth, sometimes a head like a donkey, sometimes with the head of a man, and sometimes with a hundred dragon heads.... yeah, Zeus had a pretty hard time defeating this guy. He also had numerous monster babies with Echidna. Zeus eventually trapped him under Mount Aetna, where he causes volcanic eruptions.


 * Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever
 * Avenging the Villain: Birthed by Gaia to take revenge for Kronos.
 * Badass
 * Badass Beard: In artwork depicting him with a human head.
 * Combat Tentacles: In some versions he has snake coils below his legs that he can catch Zeus with.
 * Dark Is Evil
 * Light Is Not Good: Though some esoteric traditions saw him as a type of solar deity (since there are at least three other gods that are solar as well, this doesn't sound very strange).
 * The Dreaded: The gods were terrified of this guy.
 * Eldritch Abomination: Not kidding about that above description. Not to mention he can stand toe-to-toe with Zeus.
 * Some myths say that he actually defeated Zeus and ripped off his sinews, but then Hermes (the Flash of Greek Mythology) recovered the sinews and gave them back to Zeus, healing him. Zeus won the second match and sealed Typhon.
 * Father Of A Thousand Young
 * God Couple: With Echidna
 * Happily Married: None of the myths portray he and Echidna as anything other than this.
 * Hero-Killer: Without a doubt the baddest monster in Greek myth. And depending on the version, whupped Zeus' ass in round one.
 * Humanoid Abomination: Half humanoid anyway.
 * Incest Is Relative: Echnidna is his niece or sister, though at this point in the page you probably stopped caring.
 * The Juggernaut
 * Multiple Head Case: Sometimes depicted as having a hundred dragon heads.
 * Our Dragons Are Different: Makes Tiamat look like a gecko.
 * Our Giants Are Bigger: Emphasis on big. When he raises his hands above his head they can nearly touch the stars.
 * Our Monsters Are Weird: Even by Greek monster standards, his appearance was bizarre.
 * Sealed Evil in a Can: Sealed beneath Mount Aetna (no relation).
 * Snake People
 * Ultimate Evil: As close as Greek myth gets to having one, what with being the offspring of Mother Nature and Hell.
 * Unholy Matrimony: With Echidna

Ekhidna (Echidna)

The "Mother of All Monsters" (no, not that "mother monster"), usually depicted as half nymph and half serpent. She was the mate of Typhon, mother to nearly all the notable monsters in Greek mythology.


 * Cute Monster Girl: Half nymph, half dragon.
 * God Couple: With Typhon
 * Happily Married: Wierdly yes. She and Typhon have a very productive marriage by Greek standards—he never cheats on her, all her children are his, and they support one another in their respective endeavours.
 * Humanoid Abomination: Her upper body is of a beautiful nymph. So she will play this trope straight until you see her lower snake body.
 * I'm a Humanitarian: In some versions she carries off passers-by.
 * Incest Is Relative: Depending on the version she is either Typhon's neice, or his full sister.
 * Karma Houdini: In any version save the one where Argus gets her.
 * Killed Off for Real: By Argus Panoptes, the hundred-eyes giant (later killed by Hermes). (In one story, at least.)
 * Mother of a Thousand Young: Cerberus, the Hydra, the Nemean Lion, the Chimera, the Sphinx, Orthrus, and a number of others are all her children by Typhon.
 * Snake People
 * Unholy Matrimony: With Typhon

The Harpies

Half-bird, half-human monstrosities. Jason encountered them on his quest and they were being used to punish a man who spoke out against Zeus.


 * Big Badass Bird of Prey
 * Death From Above
 * Nausea Fuel: Literally. They were starving the man by vomiting on his food.