These were the earthbound gods, or gods whom did not make their homes in Mt. Olympus. They were allowed to visit with the god of Olympus but their dwellings were primarily somewhere on the earth itself. The lesser gods consist of:
God of the winds. He controlled the north wind (Boreas), the south (Notus), the east (Eureus), and the west wind- (Zephyr).
God of the vine. He was the son of
Zeus and Semele. The only god with a mortal parent. He was a handsome god some said even more so than Apollo, his half brother. He was a happy soul and loved to eat, drink and be merry. He was also said to be a very lustful god. He was the inventor of wine and as the god of the vine he was multi-faceted, one minute he would be peaceful and happy and the next in an intoxicated rage.
Goddess of war often seen at the side
of Ares as well as in the company of Terror, Trembling and Panic.
God of Love and son to
Aphrodite. It was often said that Eros was blind or blind folded. He carried a bow and arrow and, as recounted in several myths, whoever got shot with Eros' arrow would fall in love with the first person he/she met eyes with. The accounts of his appearance is varied the Romans described him as a cherubic angel type child with wings. In Greek myth he is winged but he is seen as a tall, slender, youth with delicate almost feminine features and a beauty as striking as his mothers. He is married to Psyche.
Daughter to
Cronus and Rhea and mother of Persephone. Goddess of the corn, grain and harvest, she was responsible for insuring that the crops grow.
Daughter of
Zeus and Hera and wife to Hercules. She was the goddess of youth.
One of the messengers to the gods and goddess of the rainbow.
Son of
Hermes and chief amongst the gods of the earth. He was a satyr, part human part goat. He was a very merry god and lived amongst the wild things in the forests. He was the God of sheperds and herders. Pan is most often depicted as dancing and playing the lyre with the forest nymphs.
She was the daughter of
Demeter and the wife of Hades. Persephone was on of the goddesses of the earth as her mother was. Hades came upon Persephone and falling in love with her instantly stole her away from the earth to live with him in the underworld. She was given permission to spend half of the year on the earth with her mother and the land she loved but the other half she was obligated to spend in the underworld. When she visited with her mother the earth rejoiced and blossomed but when in the underworld the earth died and was only reborn upon her arrival. She was attributed to the change of seasons.
The titans were the sons and daughters of Gaia (Earth) and Ouranos (Heaven). They were the rulers of the Universe before the Olympians. After a long and grueling battle that almost destroyed the earth they were overthrown by Zeus and the gods of Olympus. Most of them were exiled to the island of Tartarus never to be seen again and many were given torturous sentences that were to be carried out for all eternity. They were enormous and powerful creatures that were not as humanlike as the gods that followed them were. The main Titans were:
Ruler of the Universe. He was the son of Gaea, Earth and her son and husband Ouranos, Heaven. He overthrew his father by castrating him, with the help of Gaea. It was prophesized to Cronus that one of his children would one day overthrow him and therefore he ate each one of them as they were born. He was overthrown by his son
Zeus.
Queen of the Universe and wife and sister to
Cronus. She was in part responsible for the downfall of the Titans when she, angered with the treatment of her children, deceived Cronus by wrapping a rock in swaddling clothes and allowing him to eat it believing it was, his son Zeus.
Ocean was the ruler of the seas and, after the defeat of the Titans he was given rule of the vast river that stretched around the earth.
Atlas led the Titans in the battle against the Olympians. After the war and the Titans defeat Atlas was sentenced to hold the earth, steady on his shoulders, for eternity
.
Prometheus was one of the few Titans not to be banished to Tartarus.
Zeus spared him because he had refused to fight with the Titans, thus Zeus gave him and his brother Epimetheus the task of creating man. Prometheus was the wisest of all the Titans (his name means forethought) and he had the ability to see the future. Prometheus was later chained to a rock as punishment for wrongs to Zeus. (This story will be featured in the coming weeks)
He was the brother of
Atlas and Prometheus and assisted him in the creation of man. Epimetheus was the dumbest of all the Titans. His name means afterthought. He was chosen by Zeus to husband the first woman, Pandora.
Mother of the Muses, she was the Titan goddess of memory
.
She was the Titan goddess of the moon and the mother of Leto.
He was the sole father to the sun, moon and the dawn. He was the Titan god of light.
The Titan god of intelligence, he was the husband of
Phoebe.
Psyche was the wife of
Eros and considered at one time the most beautiful mortal alive.
The Furies or Erinyes were the punishers of crime. They tormented the sinners until they died or killed themselves. They were Tisephone, Magaiea and Alecto. They were born from the blood of Ouranos after
Cronus castrated him.
The monsters were the first children of Heaven and Earth. They were of enormous size and strength and it was said that they were bent on pure destruction. Many of them were deformed displaying bodies with several heads and arms. Most of them were enslaved underground by Father Heaven whom, disgusted with his children, could no longer watch their destruction of the earth.
Zeus freed them to assist him in defeating the Titans. They then tried to overthrow the Olympians and when they failed they too were sent to Tartarrus.
The Gorgons were three sisters who had the bodies of dragons and their hair was a mass of writhing snakes. It was said that if any man were to look at one of them he would immediately turn to stone.
The Sirens were sisters who brought death to thousands of sailors. They lived beyond reefs that were unpassable by any boat. Their song was irresistable and when the sailors tried to reach them they would meet their end in the reefs. There is no accurate description of the Sirens no one ever saw them and lived.
Please keep in mind that these pages are still in their beginning stages and some of the edges still need to be refined. If there is anything you would like to see added to this or any other section send comments to
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