The Greek Gods & Goddesses

 King of the gods  God of air  Uses Thunderbolts as his weapon  Womanizer – married his own sister  Son of Cronos and Rhea  Most powerful Zeus / Jupiter Jupiter is so named because it is so big – it is the “King of Planets”

 Queen of the gods  Protector of marriage  Wife/sister of Zeus  The peacock is her symbol (because of the eye-look)  Cows are sacred to her (ox-eyed Hera)  Jealous Hera / Juno There is an asteroid named after her, as well as a city in Alaska.

 Goddess of wisdom and defensive war  Daughter of Zeus and Metis (titan) – she popped out of his head after he swallowed the pregnant Metis  She carries a shield with Medusa’s head on it Athena / Minerva Minerva was a tiny robot designed by the Japanese to land on an asteroid, but itgot lost in space.

 God of the sea and earthquakes  Made horses  Trident is weapon  Amphitrite is his wife  Zeus’ brother  Son of Cronos and Rhea  2 nd most powerful Poseidon / Neptune Neptune is so named because the blue looks like water.

 God of the Underworld and Wealth  King of the dead but he is not Death  Zeus’ brother  Son of Cronos and Rhea  Has a helmet that makes the wearer invisible  Persephone is his wife  NOT EVIL! (but he is unpitying)  3 rd most powerful Hades / Pluto

 Daughter of Cronos and Rhea  Goddess of vegetation  Had powers of growth and resurrection  Her daughter is Persephone Demeter / Ceres The asteroid Ceres was the first asteroid ever discovered and is one of the largest (about the size of Texas). It almost became designated as a planet

 Apollo’s Twin sister  Goddess of the hunt, wild things  She is the moon goddess sometimes  Virgin goddess  As Diana, she is also a goddess of light  Stags are sacred Artemis / Diana The Artemis navigation satellite

 God of truth, light, archery, and healing  Sun god in some myths (Helios is the sun god in other myths)  Son of Zeus and Leto  Wolves, dolphins, and crows are sacred to him  Has the Oracle of Delphi Apollo Apollo asteroids are near-earth asteroids

 Messenger god and the god of thieves  Greek Trickster figure  Very fast  Son of Zeus and Maia  Loves Aphrodite  Greeks believed he guided souls to Hades Hermes / Mercury Mercury revolves around the sun so fast, it was named for the messenger god. One year is faster than one day on Mercury. The Hermes Asteroid

 God of fire and the forge  Son of Zeus and Hera  Ugly  Lame because he was thrown off Mt. Olympus for interfering with a fight between Hera and Zeus  Husband to Aphrodite Hephaestus / Vulcan

 Goddess of beauty and love  Mother of Eros/Cupid  Wife of Hephaestus/Vulcan but lover of Ares/Mars and other guys Aphrodite / Venus Born from the foam in the sea caused by the attack of Cronos/ Saturn on Ouranus/Uranus Venus is so named because it is a beautiful planet and can be easily seen with just the eye.

 God of War  Son of Zeus and Hera, but both hate him  The Romans glorify him, but the Greeks make him out to be a coward  He has three children with Aphrodite: Phobos (panic) and Deimos (fear) are twins Ares / Mars Mars and its moons, Phobos and Deimos

 Zeus’ sister – Oldest of the original gods  Goddess of the hearth and home  Gave up her spot on Mt. Olympus for Dionysus  Worshipped daily  A virgin priestesses served her for 30 year time periods  Does pretty much nothing in mythology Hestia / Vesta Asteroid Vesta