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.
Greek mythology
Heroes & mortals — Greek mythology
The Greek hero is no model of virtue: Heracles slaughters his own family, Theseus abandons Ariadne on Naxos, Agamemnon sacrifices his daughter to buy a favourable wind. Each entry follows the figure from an often irregular birth to death or apotheosis, drawing on the Iliad, the Odyssey, the Argonautica and Athenian tragedy. You will find the famous names — Achilles, Perseus, Odysseus — alongside the secondary figures the plots depend on: Patroclus, Paris, Laertes, Oeagrus.
Hector, prince of Troy and champion of the Trojans in Greek mythology
Hector, son of Priam, defender of Troy, his fatal duel with Achilles, and why Homer's most human hero embodies duty, love, and tragic fate.
Heracles, the hero of the Twelve Labors
Heracles, demigod son of Zeus and Alcmene: birth, Twelve Labors, major exploits, and the apotheosis of the greatest hero in Greek mythology.
Jason and the Argonauts: the hero who won the Golden Fleece
Jason, leader of the Argonauts, the quest for the Golden Fleece in Colchis, Medea's magic, and the tragic fall of a hero who betrayed his saviour.
Odysseus, the hero of the Odyssey in Greek mythology
Odysseus, king of Ithaca: cunning, endurance, and the ten-year journey home from Troy — Polyphemus, Circe, the Underworld, the Sirens, and the return.
Orpheus, the divine poet of the Underworld in Greek mythology
Orpheus, son of Oeagrus and the Muse Calliope: the lyre that moved all nature, the descent for Eurydice, the fatal glance, and the Orphic mysteries.
Aeneas, the Trojan son of Aphrodite who became Rome's ancestor
Aeneas in Greek myth: son of Anchises and Aphrodite, rescued by gods in the Iliad, carrier of his father out of burning Troy, and legendary forefather of Rome.
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.
Agamemnon, king of Mycenae and commander of the Greeks at Troy
Agamemnon, leader of the Achaean host: the quarrel with Achilles, Iphigenia at Aulis, the curse of the Atreidae and the murder that met his homecoming.
Ajax the Great: the bulwark of the Achaeans at Troy
Ajax son of Telamon: the Iliad's great defender, his duel with Hector, losing Achilles' armour to Odysseus, and the suicide Sophocles put on stage.
Alcestis, the wife who died in place of her husband
Alcestis in Greek myth: Apollo's bargain with the Fates, her choice to die for Admetus, Heracles' fight with Death at her tomb, and Euripides' Alcestis explained.
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.
Andromache, wife of Hector in Greek mythology
Andromache: the farewell at the Scaean Gate, the family Achilles destroyed in one day, and the miniature Troy she rebuilds in exile.
Andromeda, the chained princess rescued by Perseus
Andromeda in Greek myth: why she was chained to a rock, how Perseus saved her from the sea monster, the fight with Phineus, her children, and her constellation.
Antigone, heroine who defies Creon in Greek mythology
Antigone, daughter of Oedipus: the unwritten laws against Creon's decree, a disputed speech about her brother, and a lost play where she lives.
Ariadne, the Cretan princess who guided Theseus out of the Labyrinth
Ariadne in Greek myth: the thread that saves Theseus, the abandonment on Naxos, her marriage to Dionysus, and the crown that became a constellation.
Astyanax, son of Hector in Greek mythology
Astyanax: the child frightened by his father's helmet, the two names he carried, and the disputed account of who threw him from the walls of Troy.
Atalanta: the huntress, the Calydonian Boar and the golden apples
Atalanta, the huntress of Greek mythology: the baby nursed by a bear, the Calydonian Boar hunt, and the footrace lost to Hippomenes and his golden apples.
Bellerophon, tamer of Pegasus and slayer of the Chimera
Bellerophon, Greek hero of Corinth: false accusation, capture of Pegasus, victory over the Chimera, exploits in Lycia, and the fall that punishes his hubris against the gods.
Cadmus, founder of Thebes and slayer of the dragon of Ares
Cadmus in Greek mythology: the search for Europa, the cow from Delphi, the dragon's teeth and the Sown Men, his wedding to Harmonia, and the couple's end as serpents.
Cassandra: the Trojan prophetess cursed never to be believed
Cassandra, daughter of Priam: Apollo's gift of prophecy and his curse, her warning about the Wooden Horse, the crime of Ajax, and her death at Mycenae.
Clytemnestra, the queen of Mycenae who killed Agamemnon
Clytemnestra, sister of Helen and wife of Agamemnon: the sacrifice of Iphigenia, the murder in the bath, Aegisthus, and her death at the hands of Orestes.
Daedalus, inventor and architect of the Labyrinth of Crete
Daedalus in Greek mythology: Athenian craftsman, builder of the Labyrinth, father of Icarus and inventor of waxen wings, caught between genius and hubris.
Danae, mother of Perseus and prisoner of the bronze chamber
Danae, princess of Argos: Acrisius's oracle, Zeus's shower of gold, the chest cast into the sea, and the survival of Perseus.
Diomedes: the Greek hero who wounded Ares and Aphrodite
Diomedes, Athena's favourite at Troy: the Book 5 rampage that wounds Aphrodite and Ares, the armour swap with Glaucus, the Palladium and exile in Italy.
Electra, the daughter of Agamemnon who drives the revenge
Electra, sister of Orestes: the forbidden mourning, the recognition at the tomb, the urn scene in Sophocles, and her share in Clytemnestra's murder.
Eteocles, king of Thebes and brother of Polynices in Greek mythology
Eteocles, son of Oedipus: the year of rule he refused to surrender, the seven gates of Aeschylus, and a fatal duel with his own brother.
Europa, the Phoenician princess carried off by Zeus as a bull
Europa in Greek mythology: Zeus' white bull, the swim to Crete, her sons Minos and Rhadamanthys, the brothers who searched for her, and the continent named after her.
Eurydice, wife of Orpheus in Greek mythology
Eurydice: the snakebite, the backward glance, and the awkward possibility that in the oldest versions Orpheus brought her back successfully.
Glaucus of Corinth, father of Bellerophon in Greek mythology
Glaucus son of Sisyphus: the Corinthian horse-breeder killed by his own mares, and the ghost that terrified chariot teams at the Isthmus.
Hecuba, queen of Troy in Greek mythology
Hecuba of Troy: mother of Hector, the two children she loses after the city falls, the revenge she takes, and the headland named after her.
Helen of Troy, Sparta's queen at the heart of the war
Helen of Troy: daughter of Zeus and Leda, the oath of Tyndareus, the abduction by Paris, and the ancient version in which only her phantom reached Troy.
Hippolytus, son of Theseus and devotee of Artemis
Hippolytus, son of Theseus and devotee of Artemis: Phaedra's false accusation, Poseidon's bull, his cult at Troezen and his revival in a later tradition.
Icarus, son of Daedalus in Greek mythology
Icarus, son of Daedalus: the wings of feather and wax, the middle course he was told to hold, and the ploughman who barely looked up.
Iphigenia, the daughter Agamemnon sacrificed at Aulis
Iphigenia, daughter of Agamemnon: the false marriage to Achilles, the sacrifice at Aulis, the deer Artemis put in her place, and her priesthood among the Taurians.
Ismene, sister of Antigone and daughter of Oedipus in Greek mythology
Ismene, daughter of Oedipus: the sister who refuses, then asks to die anyway — and a lost archaic version in which she dies very differently.
Ixion, ancestor of the Centaurs in Greek mythology
Ixion: the first kinsman-killer in Greek myth, the first man Zeus purified, the father of the Centaurs by a cloud, and the wheel that never stops.
Jocasta, mother and wife of Oedipus in Greek mythology
Jocasta, queen of Thebes: the character who works out the truth first, the speech Freud quoted, and three incompatible deaths in three sources.
Laertes, father of Odysseus and old king of Ithaca
Laertes in the Odyssey: the king who withdrew to a farm, the orchard trees that prove his son's identity, and a disputed paternity.
Laius, king of Thebes and father of Oedipus in Greek mythology
Laius of Thebes: the crime against Chrysippus, an oracle he was warned to obey, the exposure of Oedipus, and death at the Phocian crossroads.
Medea, sorceress of Colchis in Greek mythology
Medea: the princess who wins Jason the Fleece, the children's deaths Euripides may have invented, and the Corinthian rite that remembered them.
Menelaus: King of Sparta, Helen's husband and the Trojan War
Menelaus in Greek mythology: the son of Atreus betrayed by Paris, his duel in the Iliad, eight years of wandering to Egypt, and the promise of Elysium.
Minos, king of Crete, master of the Labyrinth and judge of the dead
King Minos of Crete, son of Zeus and Europa: the bull he kept from Poseidon, the Labyrinth, the Athenian tribute, his death in Sicily, and his seat among the dead.
Oeagrus, father of Orpheus in Greek mythology
Oeagrus, Thracian king or river god: partner of Calliope, best-attested father of Orpheus and of Linus, and why the Apollo version competes with him.
Oedipus, king of Thebes and Greek tragic hero
Oedipus, the Greek hero who unknowingly kills his father and marries his mother: the Delphic oracle, the riddle of the Sphinx, his tragic downfall, and ancient sources.
Orestes, the son of Agamemnon who killed his mother
Orestes, avenger of Agamemnon: Apollo's command, the matricide, the pursuit of the Furies, and the Areopagus trial that acquits him by a single vote.
Paris of Troy, the exposed prince who lost his own city
Paris, son of Priam: Hecuba's dream, the herdsman on Ida, the archer Homer despises, the arrow that kills Achilles and Oenone's final refusal.
Patroclus, the companion of Achilles whose death turns the Iliad
Patroclus in the Iliad: the exile raised at Phthia, the borrowed armour, his death below the walls of Troy, and the long-argued bond with Achilles.
Peleus, king of Phthia and father of Achilles
Peleus: two exiles for killing kinsmen, betrayal on Mount Pelion, the goddess he had to wrestle, and a wedding that started the Trojan War.
Pelops, cursed ancestor of the Atreidae and hero of Olympia
Pelops, son of Tantalus: the ivory shoulder, the chariot race against Oenomaus, the curse of Myrtilus, and his cult at the heart of the sanctuary of Olympia.
Penelope, wife of Odysseus and queen of Ithaca in Greek mythology
Penelope in the Odyssey: the shroud that bought three years, the dream of the geese, and the bed test by which she interrogates her own husband.
Perseus, slayer of Medusa and founder of Mycenae
Perseus, heroic son of Zeus and Danaë: miraculous birth, quest for Medusa's head, rescue of Andromeda, and the founding of Mycenae.
Phaedra, daughter of Minos and wife of Theseus
Phaedra, daughter of Minos and wife of Theseus: her love for her stepson Hippolytus, the false accusation, her death, and her afterlife from Euripides to Racine.
Phaethon, son of Helios in Greek mythology
Phaethon, son of Helios: a taunt about his paternity, an oath by the Styx his father could not break, and the day the chariot of the Sun burned the earth.
Polynices, son of Oedipus and attacker of Thebes in Greek mythology
Polynices, exiled son of Oedipus: exile at Argos, the necklace that bought him an army, his father's curse, and the body Creon left unburied.
Priam, last king of Troy in Greek mythology
Priam of Troy: the boy ransomed by his sister, the father of fifty sons, and the night he kissed the hands of the man who killed Hector.
Semele, mortal mother of Dionysus in Greek mythology
Semele, princess of Thebes and mother of Dionysus: Zeus's binding promise, the fatal sight of lightning, and her return as a goddess.
Sisyphus, the cunning king condemned to the boulder
Sisyphus in Greek mythology: founding king of Corinth, master of trickery, twice conqueror of death, and eternally condemned to roll his boulder in Tartarus.
Tantalus, the king punished with eternal hunger and thirst
Tantalus in Greek mythology: son of Zeus, guest of the gods, and the sinner who can never reach food or water. His punishment, his crimes, and why sources disagree.
Telemachus, son of Odysseus and prince of Ithaca in Greek mythology
Telemachus in the Odyssey: the four-book education that opens the poem, the ambush he escapes, and the strange marriage the Telegony gives him.
Theseus, hero of Athens and slayer of the Minotaur
Theseus, Athenian hero and son of Poseidon and Aegeus: the road of exploits, victory over the Minotaur in the Labyrinth, and the founding of Athenian identity.
Tiresias, the blind prophet of Thebes
Tiresias, the blind seer of Greek myth: why he lost his sight, his seven years as a woman, his prophecies to Oedipus, Creon and Odysseus, and how he died.