12 Well-Known Gods of Greek Myth

Sincemy adult mystery novel Twenty-Five Years Ago Today features a subplot revolving around Greek Mythology, I was thrilled when talented writer Alexis Bonari offered to write a guest post about the most well-known gods of Greek myth. Many of the below gods are mentioned in my book and I can attest that this article is a wonderful primer about “Who’s Who” on Mount Olympus. Enjoy the article below. Interspersed with the text, you’ll also find some images from the Twenty-Five Years Ago Today book trailer.

Although the worshipping of Greek Gods and Goddesses was more common thousands of years ago, the fascination of Greek Mythology is still popular in today’s culture. In ancient Greek Mythology the Greek Gods were responsible for both creating and ruling the world, and not only did each God and Goddess come with their own name, they also had their own characteristic and purpose as well.

Here is a list of the 12 most well-known Greek Gods and Goddesses in ancient Greek mythology:

1. Zeus (King of the Gods)
Zeus was considered to be the most powerful of all of the Gods in Greek mythology. Although his sole purpose was to control the weather, he was also known to hold power over the sky and was the God to look to as “the arbiter of justice.”

2. Hera (Goddess of love and heaven)
Hera is historically known as being the wife of Zeus, however she was also responsible for not only the heavens and the earth, but also nearly every aspect of existence as well, such as the seasons and the weather.

3. Poseidon (God of the sea)
Poseidon typically had a negative connotation in Greek mythology because he was always associated with raping women or harshly punishing his enemies, however he was also responsible for making the land fertile and helping sailors who were lost at sea.

4. Demeter (Goddess of the bountiful harvest and the nurturing spirit)
Demeter was considered to be the most generous of the Goddesses, and was known for her kind service of giving the gift of harvest and making the soil fertile.

5. Ares (God of war)
Ares is the son of Zeus and Hera, and was commonly associated with civil order and manly courage.

6. Hermes (God of the roads)
Hermes was another son of Zeus and usually served as his personal assistant and even messenger, and was also known for not only being an excellent communicator but also being very persuasive as a negotiator as well.

7. Hephaestus (God of fire)
Hephaestus was another son of Hera and Zeus, but was known as being the “lame God” because he was born a cripple. (Legend has it that Hera threw him from Mount Olympus when he was born and fell for nine days before landing in the ocean).

8. Aphrodite (Goddess of love and beauty)
Aphrodite is often depicted in art as a perfect, eternally young woman, and was also known as being very vain because of her sexual attractiveness.

9. Athena (Goddess of wisdom)
Athena is the daughter of Zeus and Metis, and thanks to her kind and modest character she was loved by nearly everyone. She was also known for being a peacemaker as well as being watchful, intelligent, and rational.

10. Apollo (God of music)
Apollo is the son of Zeus and Leto, and although he was known as being intellectual and prophetic he is also known as representing the sun (even though he is not originally a sun god).

11. Artemis (Goddess of hunting)
Not only was Artemis considered to be the goddess of hunting, wilderness and wild animals, she was also the goddess of childbirth and was known for protecting young girls before they became old enough to marry. (Similarly Apollon, her twin brother, was known to be the protector of young boys)

12. Hestia (Goddess of home and hearth)
Although Hestia is considered to be the first born of the Olympian gods, she is also often called the last born because legend has it that her father swallowed all of his children and then “regurgitated” them in reverse order. Hestia had originally asked Zeus to be the goddess of the hearth, and was known for keeping Mount Olympus hearth lit at all times.

Alexis Bonari is a freelance writer and researcher for College Scholarships, where recently she’s been researching scholarship thank you letters and writing about saving money for college. In her spare time, she enjoys square-foot gardening, swimming, and avoiding her laptop. Alexis hopes you enjoyed this post about the gods of Greek myth!

Stacy Juba

Stacy Juba has written sweet and sassy chick lit novels, mysteries about determined women sleuths, and entertaining books for young adults and children. Her books include the Storybook Valley chick lit series and the Hockey Rivals young adult sports novels.

Stacy is also a freelance developmental editor and online course creator. Sign up for her free masterclass, How to Create Your Editing Game Plan. 

Stop by her other websites and blogs: Shortcuts for Writers and Hockey Rivals.

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