Who is who in Greek myth

Zeus

Also known as Jupiter

king of the gods, of sky and lightning

Relations son of Cronus · son of Rhea · husband of Hera · husband of Metis · father of Athena · father of Ares · father of Hermes · father of Apollo · father of Artemis · father of Dionysus · father of Persephone · father of Perseus · father of Heracles · father of Callisto · father of Minos · husband of Mnemosyne · father of Calliope · father of Clio · father of Erato · father of Euterpe · father of Melpomene · father of Polyhymnia · father of Terpsichore · father of Thaleia · father of Urania · husband of Themis · husband of Eurynome · husband of Demeter · husband of Leto · father of Eunomia · father of Dike · father of Eirene · father of Clotho · father of Lachesis · father of Atropos · father of Aglaea · father of Euphrosyne · father of Thalia · father of Hebe · father of Eileithyia

Apollo

god of light, song and prophecy

Relations son of Zeus · son of Leto · sibling of Artemis

Athena

Also known as Minerva

goddess of wisdom and craft. She was born from the head of Zeus

Relations daughter of Zeus · daughter of Metis

Aphrodite

Also known as Venus

goddess of love and beauty

Relations wife of Hephaestus · mother of Eros · patron of Paris · born from Uranus · mother of Harmonia · mother of Aeneas

Poseidon

Also known as Neptune

god of the sea

Relations son of Cronus · son of Rhea · father of Polyphemus · husband of Amphitrite · father of Charybdis · father of Pegasus · father of Proteus

Hades

Also known as Pluto

king of the underworld

Relations son of Cronus · son of Rhea · husband of Persephone

Hera

Also known as Juno

goddess of marriage, wife of Zeus

Relations daughter of Cronus · daughter of Rhea · wife of Zeus · mother of Ares · mother of Hephaestus · mother of Hebe · mother of Eileithyia

Hermes

Also known as Mercury

god of messengers, roads and trade

Relations son of Zeus · son of Maia · killed Argus Panoptes · father of Pan

Artemis

Also known as Diana

goddess of the hunt and the moon. Twin sister of Apollo

Relations daughter of Zeus · daughter of Leto · sibling of Apollo · killed Orion

Hephaestus

Also known as Vulcan

god of fire and the forge. He walks with a limp, and no hands are better than his

Relations son of Hera · husband of Aphrodite

Demeter

Also known as Ceres

goddess of grain and harvest

Relations daughter of Cronus · daughter of Rhea · mother of Persephone · wife of Zeus

Persephone

Also known as Proserpina

queen of the underworld. Every year she returns above ground for one season

Relations daughter of Zeus · daughter of Demeter · wife of Hades

Ares

Also known as Mars

god of war

Relations son of Zeus · son of Hera · father of Harmonia

Hestia

Also known as Vesta

goddess of the hearth and the home. She gave up her seat among the twelve and stepped down to the fireside

Relations daughter of Cronus · daughter of Rhea

Dionysus

Also known as Bacchus

god of the vine and the festival. The last of the twelve to win a seat

Relations son of Zeus · disciple of Silenus

Cronus

Also known as Saturn

king of the Titans, father of Zeus

Relations son of Gaia · son of Uranus · husband of Rhea · father of Zeus · father of Hera · father of Poseidon · father of Hades · father of Demeter · father of Hestia

Prometheus

the Titan who gave fire to humans. The name means 'the one who thinks ahead'

Relations sibling of Epimetheus · son of Iapetus · son of Clymene

Helios

Also known as Sol

the god who drives the sun across the sky. He looks down on everything that happens on earth

Relations father of Phaethon · ancestor of Medea · son of Hyperion · son of Theia · father of Circe · father of Pasiphae

Gaia

Also known as Terra

Earth, mother of all things

Relations wife of Uranus · mother of Uranus · mother of Cronus · mother of the Cyclopes · mother of the Hecatoncheires · mother of Rhea · mother of Iapetus · mother of Hyperion · mother of Theia · mother of Coeus · mother of Phoebe · mother of Oceanus · mother of Tethys · born from Chaos · mother of Crius · mother of Themis · mother of Mnemosyne · mother of Pontus · mother of Nereus · mother of Phorcys · mother of Ceto · mother of Thaumas · mother of Eurybia · mother of Charybdis · mother of Typhon · mother of Argus Panoptes

Uranus

Also known as Caelus

the star-filled sky

Relations husband of Gaia · son of Gaia · father of Cronus · father of the Cyclopes · father of the Hecatoncheires · father of Rhea · father of Iapetus · father of Hyperion · father of Theia · father of Coeus · father of Phoebe · father of Oceanus · father of Tethys · father of Crius · father of Themis · father of Mnemosyne

Rhea

Also known as Ops

wife of Cronus, mother goddess

Relations wife of Cronus · mother of Zeus · mother of Hera · mother of Poseidon · mother of Hades · mother of Demeter · mother of Hestia · daughter of Uranus · daughter of Gaia

Chaos

the first empty gap, before anything

Relations parent of Nyx · parent of Erebus

Tartarus

the deepest darkness below the earth. One of the first four, and also the place where the defeated Titans were shut away

Relations born from Chaos · parent of Typhon

Epimetheus

younger brother of Prometheus. The name means 'the one who thinks afterward'

Relations sibling of Prometheus · husband of Pandora · son of Iapetus · son of Clymene

Metis

goddess of wisdom. First wife of Zeus and mother of Athena

Relations wife of Zeus · mother of Athena · daughter of Oceanus · daughter of Tethys

Leto

Also known as Latona

mother of Apollo and Artemis

Relations mother of Apollo · mother of Artemis · daughter of Coeus · daughter of Phoebe · wife of Zeus

Thetis

sea goddess, mother of Achilles. A different goddess from the Titan Tethys, the wife of Oceanus

Relations mother of Achilles · wife of Peleus · daughter of Nereus

Eros

Also known as Cupid

the god who stirs love. His golden arrow makes you fall in love, his leaden one pushes love away

Relations son of Aphrodite · husband of Psyche

Maia

mother of Hermes. One of the seven Pleiad sisters

Relations mother of Hermes · sibling of the Pleiades · daughter of Atlas

Silenus

the old teacher who raised Dionysus

Relations son of Pan · master of Dionysus

Thanatos

Also known as Mors

Death. Night bore him with no mate, and he is brother to Sleep

Relations son of Nyx · sibling of Hypnos

Pan

Also known as Faunus

goat-legged god of fields and herdsmen. He plays a reed pipe, and the word panic comes from his name

Relations son of Hermes · father of Silenus

Daphne

daughter of the river god Peneus. Fleeing Apollo, she became a laurel tree. The name itself means 'laurel'

Relations daughter of Peneus

Echo

a mountain nymph left able only to repeat the ends of other people's words. The word echo comes from her name

Eurydice

wife of Orpheus. She died of a snakebite, and turned back to the underworld with daylight in sight

Relations wife of Orpheus

Calliope

Muse of epic poetry. The mother of Orpheus

Relations daughter of Zeus · daughter of Mnemosyne · mother of Orpheus

Hebe

Also known as Juventas

Youth. She poured for the gods, and later became the wife of Heracles

Relations daughter of Zeus · daughter of Hera · wife of Heracles

Callisto

a hunter who followed Artemis. She was the one deceived and still the one punished, turned into a bear and then into the Great Bear

Relations daughter of Zeus

the Pleiades

the seven daughters of Atlas. They became stars fleeing Orion, and though there are seven only six can be seen

Relations daughter of Atlas · sibling of Maia

Eris

Also known as Discordia

goddess of discord. Her name means 'strife', and one golden apple opened a ten-year war

Relations daughter of Nyx

Inachus

a river god and the father of Io. He stroked the neck of his daughter without knowing the cow was her

Relations father of Io

Harmonia

Also known as Concordia

goddess of accord. Born between war and love, she became the first queen of Thebes

Relations daughter of Ares · daughter of Aphrodite · wife of Cadmus

Medusa

the Gorgon who turned to stone anything that met her eyes. Alone of the three sisters, she could be killed

Relations killed by Perseus · daughter of Phorcys · daughter of Ceto · mother of Pegasus

Pegasus

the winged horse that sprang from the blood of Medusa. In the end he rose to Olympus to carry the thunderbolt of Zeus

Relations child of Poseidon · child of Medusa

the Minotaur

a creature with the body of a man and the head of a bull. The name means 'the bull of Minos'

Relations killed by Theseus · son of Pasiphae

Argus Panoptes

the watchman with a hundred eyes. Hermes lulled him to sleep and killed him, and his eyes became the feathers of the peacock

Relations killed by Hermes · son of Gaia

the Sphinx

the body of a lion, the face of a woman, the wings of a bird. She set a riddle and ate those who could not answer

Relations daughter of Typhon · daughter of Echidna

Achilles

the strongest spear in the Greek army. The Iliad opens with his anger and closes at the end of that anger

Relations son of Thetis · son of Peleus · father of Neoptolemus

Paris

the Trojan prince who chose one of three goddesses. That choice decided the fate of his city

Relations son of Priam · son of Hecuba

Odysseus

Also known as Ulysses

the man who thought of the wooden horse. After the victory it took him ten more years to reach home

Relations husband of Penelope · father of Telemachus · son of Laertes

Heracles

Also known as Hercules

the name means 'the glory of Hera'. He served twelve labors as penance and became a god at the last

Relations son of Zeus · husband of Deianira · husband of Hebe

Hector

eldest prince of Troy. His name means 'the one who holds fast'. He walked out of the gate knowing he would lose

Relations son of Priam · husband of Andromache · son of Hecuba

Cassandra

princess of Troy. She was cursed to see what was coming and to be believed by no one. On the night the city fell she was harmed at the altar of Athena

Relations daughter of Hecuba

Priam

the old king of Troy. He kissed the hand of the man who had killed his son and took his son back

Relations father of Hector · father of Paris · husband of Hecuba

Ajax

son of Telamon, the largest man in the Greek army. He carried a shield like a tower, and after losing the judgment over the armor he broke on his own

Relations sibling of Teucer · husband of Tecmessa

Midas

the Phrygian king who asked that everything he touched turn to gold

Orion

the giant hunter who walked on water. He became the constellation Orion in the winter sky

Relations killed by Artemis

Perseus

the child set adrift at sea in a box. He beat Medusa with borrowed things

Relations son of Zeus · killed Medusa · husband of Andromeda · descendant of Io

Bellerophon

grandson of Sisyphus. He beat the Chimera riding Pegasus, then fell trying to reach the sky

Relations descendant of Sisyphus · ancestor of Glaucus

Minos

son of Europa and Zeus. As king of Crete he had the labyrinth built

Relations son of Europa · son of Zeus · husband of Pasiphae · father of Ariadne

Jason

the man who launched the Argo and won the golden fleece. Most of what he did belonged to the people who sailed with him

Relations husband of Medea

Medea

princess of Colchis and granddaughter of Helios. She used her drugs to help Jason, and he abandoned her

Relations wife of Jason · descendant of Helios

Europa

the Phoenician princess carried to Crete on the back of a white bull. The root of the name of Europe

Relations sibling of Cadmus · mother of Minos

Oedipus

the name means 'swollen foot'. He solved the riddle of the Sphinx, and solved the riddle of himself last of all

Relations son of Laius · son of Jocasta · husband of Jocasta · father of Antigone

Antigone

daughter of Oedipus. She chose the duty of burying her dead brother over the order of the state

Relations daughter of Oedipus · daughter of Jocasta

Agamemnon

commander of the allied Greek army. He took what belonged to another and lost the strongest spear he had

Relations sibling of Menelaus · father of Iphigenia · husband of Clytemnestra

Andromache

wife of Hector. Their farewell on the wall became the scene of the Iliad that is remembered longest

Relations wife of Hector

Neoptolemus

son of Achilles. The man who gave back, of his own will, a bow he had won by a trick

Relations son of Achilles

Pandora

the first woman, made with one gift added by each god. The name means 'all gifts'

Relations wife of Epimetheus

Arachne

the weaver who competed against Athena and became a spider. The name itself means 'spider'

Niobe

the Theban queen who boasted of seven sons and seven daughters and lost all fourteen. Daughter of Tantalus

Relations daughter of Tantalus

Phaethon

son of Helios. He drove his father's sun chariot and fell. The name means 'the shining one'

Relations son of Helios

Daedalus

the craftsman who built the labyrinth and the wings. In Greek myth his name stands for skill itself

Relations father of Icarus

Icarus

son of Daedalus. He flew too high, the wax melted, and he fell into the sea

Relations son of Daedalus

Tantalus

a king who sat at the same table as the gods. He used that welcome as a test and was punished with water and fruit he could never reach

Relations father of Niobe

Sisyphus

the king who founded Corinth. He cheated death twice and was set to push a boulder forever

Relations ancestor of Bellerophon

Narcissus

the beautiful youth who could not look away from his own face in the water. He became the narcissus flower

Psyche

the princess who became the wife of Eros. Her name means both 'soul' and 'butterfly'

Relations wife of Eros

Orpheus

the master singer whom beasts, trees and even stones stopped to hear. He went down to the underworld to find his wife

Relations husband of Eurydice · son of Calliope

Pygmalion

the Cypriot sculptor who fell in love with the ivory figure he had carved

Ceyx

king of Trachis, said to be the son of the morning star. He died at sea calling his wife's name

Relations husband of Alcyone

Alcyone

daughter of Aeolus, king of the winds. She and her husband became kingfishers

Relations wife of Ceyx

Andromeda

the princess chained to a rock because of her mother's boast. Perseus saved her and married her

Relations wife of Perseus

Eurystheus

the king of Tiryns who set Heracles his twelve labors. He hid in a jar every time Heracles came back

Deianira

wife of Heracles. Meaning to keep him, she sent him a poisoned robe

Relations wife of Heracles

Theseus

the Athenian prince who beat the Minotaur in the labyrinth. He forgot to change the sail

Relations killed the Minotaur

Ariadne

the daughter of Minos who handed Theseus the thread. She was left behind on Naxos

Relations daughter of Minos

Io

a girl who kept the temple of Hera. She was turned into a white cow and chased to the ends of the earth, and won her name back in Egypt

Relations ancestor of Perseus · daughter of Inachus

Ganymede

the boy of the Trojan royal house snatched into the sky by an eagle. He was given the cup of the gods and became Aquarius

Relations son of Tros

Tros

the father of Ganymede and the king who ruled Troy. The city takes its name from his

Relations father of Ganymede

Cadmus

the brother who set out to find his sister Europa, never found her, and founded Thebes. He is said to have brought the alphabet to Greece

Relations sibling of Europa · husband of Harmonia

Laius

king of Thebes. He cast out his son to escape his son, and met that son where three roads crossed

Relations husband of Jocasta · father of Oedipus

Jocasta

queen of Thebes. She took the son she had cast out as her new king without knowing him

Relations wife of Laius · mother of Oedipus · wife of Oedipus · mother of Antigone · sibling of Creon

Creon

king of Thebes. One order meant to protect the city cost him his family in a single day

Relations sibling of Jocasta

Tiresias

the blind prophet. Hera took his sight, and Zeus gave him eyes for what was coming instead of eyes for what was there. He is the one shade who kept his mind after death

Briseis

the person set in the middle of a quarrel between two kings under the name of a prize

Patroclus

the closest friend of Achilles. He saved the ships in borrowed armor and died under the wall

Iphigenia

eldest daughter of Agamemnon. She walked to the altar of her own accord to buy a wind, and one version holds that a deer was set there in her place

Relations daughter of Agamemnon · daughter of Clytemnestra

Clytemnestra

wife of Agamemnon and elder sister of Helen. She remembered that day at Aulis for ten years

Relations mother of Iphigenia · wife of Agamemnon · sibling of Helen

Calchas

prophet of the Greek army. The reason the wind died and the reason plague ran through the camp both came out of his mouth

Peleus

king of Phthia, father of Achilles. A mortal who married a goddess

Relations father of Achilles · husband of Thetis

Helen

queen of Sparta. She was the spark of the war, and after the war she is back in that palace

Relations wife of Menelaus · sibling of Clytemnestra

Diomedes

the great fighter of Argos. In the Trojan War he wounded Aphrodite with his spear. Driven out of the home he returned to, he founded new land in Italy

Glaucus

a Lycian captain on the Trojan side, grandson of Bellerophon. On the battlefield he named his ancestors and turned an enemy into a guest

Relations descendant of Bellerophon

Philoctetes

the archer who inherited the bow of Heracles. Left ten years on Lemnos for his wound, he untied the knot of the war with that bow

Memnon

the son of the goddess of the dawn. He was the last reinforcement to come to the aid of Troy and fell to Achilles

Relations son of Eos

Teucer

half-brother of Ajax and the finest archer in the camp. He stood by his brother's body and demanded burial

Relations sibling of Ajax

Tecmessa

wife of Ajax. She was the voice that held on to him to the end

Relations wife of Ajax

Laocoon

priest of Troy. He warned that Greeks bearing gifts were the thing to fear, and was wrapped by serpents out of the sea

Hecuba

wife of Priam. She went from queen to slave and lost the children she had left one by one

Relations wife of Priam · mother of Hector · mother of Paris · mother of Cassandra

Aeneas

son of Aphrodite. He carried his father out of Troy on his back and went west. The Romans took him for their ancestor

Relations son of Aphrodite