Eastern Mediterranean, the ancient Greek world

Greek mythology

Introduction to Greek mythology: the Olympian pantheon, ancient sources, heroes and major narrative cycles.

Bellini and Titian's Feast of the Gods, an assembly of deities in a landscape — Giovanni Bellini and Titian / National Gallery of Art — via Wikimedia Commons · CC0 · Image adapted: resized, composited on a blurred background, desaturated, color-tinted, and converted to WebP · Source

Period

8th century BCE – 4th century CE

Original languages

Ancient Greek

Main sources

Homer, Iliad and Odyssey
Hesiod, Theogony and Works and Days
Attic tragedians (Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides)
Apollodorus, Bibliotheca
Ovid, Metamorphoses (Latin relay)

Family tree Explore the pantheon’s bloodlines and unions Browse the A–Z index Find any entry by name, from A to Z

Gods & goddesses

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The Venus de Milo, emblematic representation of Aphrodite goddess of beauty

Aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty in Greek mythology

Aphrodite, Greek goddess of love, desire and beauty: birth from seafoam, attributes, major myths and ancient cult.

The Apollo Belvedere, ancient statue of the god of light and arts

Apollo, god of light, arts and prophecy in Greek mythology

Apollo, Greek god of light, music, poetry and prophecy: attributes, birth, the Oracle of Delphi and his major myths.

Ancient statue of Ares god of war, armed with spear and shield

Ares, god of war in Greek mythology

Ares, Greek god of war and battle fury: attributes, genealogy, major myths, his opposition to Athena and his cult in antiquity.

Ancient statue of Artemis hunting, bow in hand, a deer at her side

Artemis, goddess of the hunt and the wilderness

Artemis, virgin goddess of the hunt, the moon, and wild animals: attributes, birth, key myths and cult in Greek mythology.

Heroes & mortals

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Achilles in armor during the siege of Troy, ancient Greek vase painting

Achilles, hero of the Trojan War in Greek mythology

Achilles, son of Peleus and Thetis: near-invulnerability, the quarrel with Agamemnon, the death of Patroclus and the fatal heel. Central figure of the Iliad.

Aeolus, ancestor of Sisyphus in Greek mythology

Aeolus son of Hellen: the Thessalian king whose descendants map the Greek dialect groups, and how to tell him from the keeper of the winds.

Aeson, father of Jason and rightful king of Iolcus

Aeson: the king deposed by Pelias, the child smuggled to Chiron, and the rejuvenation by Medea that Ovid turns into a manual of magic.

Alcmene, mother of Heracles in Greek mythology

Alcmene, princess of Perseus's line: the night Zeus impersonates Amphitryon, Heracles's delayed birth, and her revenge on Eurystheus.

Creatures

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Calypso, nymph who detains Odysseus on the island of Ogygia

Calypso in the Odyssey: seven years on Ogygia, an offer of immortality that Odysseus turns down, and her protest against the gods' double standard.

Parthenon frieze depicting the Centauromachy, battle between Lapiths and Centaurs

Centaurs, half-man half-horse creatures of Greek mythology

Greek Centaurs: half-man half-horse, their origin, the Centauromachy against the Lapiths, wise Chiron as teacher to heroes, and their place between nature and civilization.

Cerberus, the three-headed dog guarding the gates of the Underworld, ancient Greek sculpture

Cerberus, guardian of the Underworld in Greek mythology

Cerberus, the three-headed dog guarding the realm of Hades: origin, role in the underworld, the twelfth labor of Heracles, and other mortal intrusions.

The Chimera, hybrid monster of Greek mythology, with its lion's head, goat's body, and serpent's tail

The Chimera, fire-breathing hybrid monster of Greek mythology

The Chimera, Greek hybrid monster with a lion's head, goat's body, and serpent's tail: divine origin, devastation of Lycia, and death at the hands of Bellerophon riding Pegasus.

Mythical places

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Ruins of the temple of Apollo at Delphi, with the valley of Phocis in the background

Delphi: Apollo's Oracle and the Navel of the Ancient World

Delphi in Greek mythology: sanctuary of Apollo, seat of the Pythia, and the most influential oracle of antiquity. Mythological role, cult, and enduring legacy.

Aeneas meets his father Anchises in a crowded, seventeenth-century vision of Elysium

Elysium: the paradise of heroes in Greek mythology

Elysium in Greek mythology: a blessed realm promised to certain heroes, then a reward for just souls in later traditions.

Circular plan of the Labyrinth of Crete with the Minotaur at its center, ancient mosaic

The Labyrinth of Crete, prison of the Minotaur

The Labyrinth in Greek mythology: the maze built by Daedalus for King Minos to hold the Minotaur, escaped by Theseus thanks to Ariadne's thread.

Mount Olympus shrouded in clouds, sacred mountain of the Greek gods

Mount Olympus: home of the gods in Greek mythology

Mount Olympus in Greek mythology: the sacred mountain of the twelve Olympian gods, its cosmic role in Homer and Hesiod, and its place at the heart of the Greek universe.

Mythical objects

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Jason seizing the Golden Fleece in a sacred grove, ancient painted scene

The Golden Fleece: royal symbol and prize of the Argonauts' quest

The Golden Fleece in Greek mythology: the hide of the divine ram Chrysomallus, treasure of Colchis guarded by a dragon, and the legendary prize of Jason and the Argonauts.

Zeus wielding the thunderbolt on a red-figure Greek vase

The Thunderbolt of Zeus: divine weapon and symbol of supreme power

The Thunderbolt of Zeus in Greek mythology: forged by the Cyclopes, weapon of the Titanomachy, and the ultimate symbol of Zeus's supreme sovereignty over gods and mortals.

Poseidon-Neptune raising his trident on a chariot drawn by two hippocamps — Roman mosaic from Hadrumetum, mid-3rd century AD

The Trident of Poseidon: weapon of the seas and symbol of oceanic power

The Trident of Poseidon in Greek mythology: forged by the Cyclopes, weapon and sceptre of the god of the seas, symbol of his dominion over waters, earthquakes, and horses.

Stories

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Hades abducting Persephone on his chariot as the earth opens in the plain of Nysa

Origins

The Abduction of Persephone: the Greek myth of the seasons

The abduction of Persephone by Hades: Demeter's grief-stricken search, the pomegranate seeds, and the bargain with Zeus that explains the origin of the seasons.

Creation myths

The Greek Creation Myth: from Chaos to the Olympians

The Greek creation myth in Hesiod's Theogony: from primordial Chaos to Gaia, from the Titans to the Olympians, the ordered birth of the cosmos.

Jason holding the Golden Fleece in a sacred grove in Colchis, ancient illustration

Journeys & quests

Jason and the Golden Fleece: the quest of the Argonauts in Greek mythology

Jason assembles the Argonauts to seize the Golden Fleece from Colchis: the Clashing Rocks, Medea's magic, fire-breathing bulls, and the sleepless dragon.

The Judgement of Paris: the Trojan prince facing the three goddesses Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite

Mythical wars

The Judgement of Paris: the apple of discord and the Trojan War

The Judgement of Paris: the apple of discord, the three goddesses' rival offers, Paris's fatal choice of Aphrodite, and the abduction of Helen that triggers the Trojan War.

Comparisons

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Creation Myths Compared: 4 ways to bring a world into being

Creation myths compared: Greek Chaos, Egyptian Nun, Norse Ginnungagap and Mesopotamian combat. How each tradition wrests an ordered world from chaos.

Symbolic representations of death deities from several world mythological traditions

Gods of death across 8 world mythologies

A comparison of death deities and underworld rulers in Greek, Egyptian, Norse, Roman, Japanese, Hindu, Aztec, and Celtic mythologies.

Aphrodite of Cnidus, Greek sculpture representing the goddess of love

Gods of Love in World Mythologies

A comparison of love deities in Greek, Roman, Norse and Egyptian mythology: Aphrodite, Venus, Freya, Hathor, Eros and Cupid compared across traditions.