A Dictionary of Ancient Greek Mythology

By Tim Lambert

The Ancient Greeks were polytheists (they worshipped many gods). The Greeks imagined that gods and goddesses were like human beings.

A

Acamas 

Acamas was the son of the hero Theseus. He fought in the Trojan War.

Achilles 

Achilles was a Greek warrior who fought in the Trojan War. His mother was a nymph named Thetis. When Achilles was a child she dipped him into the River Styx in the underworld to make him immortal but she held him by his heel and that part of his body remained mortal. During the Trojan War, the Trojan Paris fired an arrow at Achille’s heel and killed him.

Actaeon 

Actaeon was a hunter who saw the goddess Artemis bathing. She turned him into a stag and he was killed by his dogs.

Aeneas 

Aeneas was a Trojan and a great warrior. He survived the Trojan War and fled to Italy.

Agamemnon 

Agamemnon was the commander of the Greeks during the Trojan War

Ajax 

Ajax was a great Greek warrior who fought in the Trojan war

Amazons 

The Amazons were a mythical race of women warriors

Ambrosia 

Ambrosia was the food of the Greek gods

Amphitrite 

Amphitrite was the wife of Poseidon the sea god

Andromeda 

Andromeda was a princess. Her parents unwisely boasted that she was lovelier than the Nereids. Poseidon flooded the land and to appease him Andromeda was chained to a rock to be sacrificed to a sea monster. Perseus turned up just in time to kill the monster.

Apollo 

Apollo was the Greek god of music and poetry. He was also the god of prophecy.

Aphrodite 

Aphrodite was the Greek goddess of love

Arachne 

Arachne was a Greek woman who was very good at weaving. The goddess Athene turned her into a spider.

Ares 

Ares was the Greek god of war

Argus 

Argus was a giant with 100 eyes

Ariadne 

Ariadne was the daughter of King Minos of Crete and she helped Theseus to kill the Minotaur

Artemis 

Artemis was the goddess of hunting and wild animals

Asclepius 

Asclepius was the Greek god of medicine and healing

Asphodel Fields 

The Asphodel Fields were a part of the underworld where people who were not particularly good or bad went after their death

Athene 

Athene was the Greek goddess of wisdom and crafts

Atlas 

Atlas was a titan (a human-shaped giant) who held up the sky to prevent it from falling to earth

Augeus 

Augeus owned stables with cattle that had not been cleaned for years. One of the tasks of Hercules was to clean them. he did so by diverting a river through it.

Auster 

Auster was the god of the south wind

B

Bellerophon 

Bellerophon was a Greek hero who killed the chimera. However, he tried to ride Pegasus the winged horse to Mount Olympus (dwelling place of the gods). Zeus sent a gadfly that stung the horse and threw its rider to the ground.

Boreas 

Boreas was the god of the north wind

C

Calliope 

Calliope was the muse of epic poetry

Cassandra 

Cassandra was the daughter of King Priam of Troy. The god Apollo gave her the gift of prophecy but he later added a curse that nobody would ever believe her prophecies.

Centaurs 

Centaurs were mythical beings. They were half human and half horse.

Cerberus 

Cerberus was a dog with 3 heads who guarded the underworld and prevented the dead from escaping

Ceres 

Ceres was the Greek goddess of agriculture and the harvest

Cerynean hind 

The Cerynean hind had golden antlers and bronze hooves. It was caught by Hercules.

Charon 

Charon was the boatman who ferried the dead across the River Styx

Charybdis 

Charybdis was a huge whirlpool that wrecked ships

Chimera 

Chimera had the head of a lion, the body of a goat, and a snake’s tail

Chiron 

Chiron was one of the centaurs

Chloris 

Chloris was the Greek goddess of flowers

Circe 

Circe was a sorceress who met Odysseus

Clio 

Clio was the muse of history

Cronos 

Cronos was the leader of the Titans. He was overthrown by his son Zeus.

Cyclops 

The Cyclops were one-eyed giants. The most famous was Polyphemus who was outwitted by Odysseus. The Cyclops were children of Gaia the earth goddess and Uranus the sky god.

D

Daedalus 

Daedalus was the first man to fly with his son Icarus

Danae 

Danae was the mother of the hero Perseus

Demeter 

Demeter was the Greek goddess of harvests and fertility

Deucalion 

In the Greek version of the flood story Zeus sent a terrible flood. Deucalion built an ark and survived with his wife Pyrrah.

Diomedes 

Diomedes was a Greek hero who fought in the Trojan War

Dionysus 

Dionysus was the Greek god of wine

Dryads 

Dryads were female spirits who lived in woods and groves

E

Echidna 

Echidna was part woman and part snake

Echo 

Echo was a nymph. The goddess Hera cursed her so she could only repeat what other people said. Unable to speak to her lover Echo faded away till only her voice remained.

Elysian Fields 

The Elysian Fields were part of the underworld. They were a paradise for the righteous after death.

Endymion 

Endymion was a handsome man. Zeus put him into an eternal sleep in which he never grew old.

Eos 

Eos was the goddess of the dawn

Erato 

Erato was the muse of love poetry

Eris 

Eris was the goddess of discord

Eros 

Eros was a Greek god who made people fall in love by piercing them with his arrows. He was the son of Aphrodite.

Erymanthian boar 

The Erymanthian boar was a ferocious beast captured by Hercules

Eurydice 

Eurydice was the wife of Orpheus

Euris 

Euris was the god of the East wind

Europa 

Europa was a princess of Tyre. The chief god Zeus appeared to her in the form of a bull and took her to Crete. She was the mother of King Minos.

Euterpe 

Euterpe was the muse of music

F

Fates 

The fates were 3 goddesses who decided each person’s destiny

G

Gaia 

Gaia was the first goddess. She was the earth goddess and she gave birth to Uranus the sky god. Later she gave birth to the Cyclops and the Titans.

Galatea 

Galatea was the statue made by Pygmalion who became a woman

Ganymede 

Ganymede was a boy who was abducted by the gods and became their cupbearer

Gorgon 

A gorgon was a female monster with snakes for hair. Gorgons were so hideous they turned anyone who saw them into stone.

H

Harmonia 

Harmonia was the goddess of harmony

Harpies 

Harpies were evil creatures, part women, part birds

Hector 

Hector was a Trojan warrior. He was killed by Achilles.

Hecuba 

Hecuba was the queen of Troy and the mother of Paris

Helen 

Helen was the wife of Menelaus. A Trojan prince called Paris took her to Troy.

Hephaestus 

Hephaestus was the Greek god of fire and craftsmen

Hera 

Hera was the wife of Zeus and the goddess of marriage

Hercules 

Hercules was a hero. He was the son of Zeus and a mortal woman and he performed a series of heroic tasks known as the labours of Hercules.

Hermes 

Hermes was the messenger of the Greek gods

Hesperides 

Herperides were nymphs who looked after the golden apples that belonged to Hera

Hestia 

Hestia was the Greek goddess of the hearth (the centre of family life)

Hippolyta 

Hippolyta was a queen of the Amazons (women warriors)

Hydra 

The hydra was a snake-like monster with 9 heads. It was eventually killed by Hercules.

Hypnos 

Hypnos was the god of sleep. Our word hypnosis comes from him.

I

Icarus 

Icarus was the son of Daedalus the first man to fly. Unfortunately, Icarus flew too near the sun and the wax holding his feathers melted.

Iphigenia 

Iphigenia was the daughter of Agamemnon. She was sacrificed by her father.

Iris 

Iris was the Greek goddess of the rainbow

Ixion 

Ixion was an evil man who was punished by being tied to a wheel of fire that rolled forever

J

Jason 

Jason was a hero who led a group of heroes in a quest to obtain the golden fleece. They were called the Argonauts after their ship the Argo.

L

Labyrinth 

The Labyrinth was an underground maze in Knossos in Crete. The Minotaur lived there.

Leda 

Leda was the queen of Sparta and the mother of Helen

M

Maenads 

Maenads were female followers of the god Dionysus

Medusa 

Medusa was a gorgon. She was killed by Perseus.

Melpomene 

Melpomene was the muse of tragedy

Menelaus 

Menelaus was a Greek king. His wife was Helen.

Midas 

Midas was king of Phrygia (in what is now Turkey). He foolishly wished that everything he touched would turn to gold.

Minotaur 

The Minotaur was a monster with a human body and a bull’s head. He lived in a labyrinth in Crete. Every 9 years 7 young men and 7 young women from Athens were sent to be devoured by him. He was killed by Theseus.

Morpheus 

Morpheus was the Greek god of dreams

Muses 

The muses were goddesses of the arts and branches of knowledge. They inspired human artists and thinkers.

N

Naiads 

The Naiads were freshwater nymphs who presided over streams, rivers, and lakes

Narcissus 

Narcissus was a young man who fell in love with his reflection

Nectar 

Nectar was the drink of the Greek gods

Nemean Lion 

The Nemean Lion was a ferocious beast with skin so tough no weapon could penetrate it. Hercules managed to strangle it.

Nemesis 

Nemesis was the Greek goddess of vengeance and retribution

Nereids 

Nereids were nymphs of the sea

Nymphs 

Nymphs were minor goddesses

O

Odysseus 

Odysseus was king of Ithaca. He fought in the Trojan War and on his journey home he had many adventures, which are told in the Odyssey.

Mount Olympus 

Olympus was the dwelling place of the main Greek gods

Orpheus 

Orpheus was a musician. He was one of the Argonauts.

Orthus 

Orthus was a two-headed dog

P

Paris 

Paris was a Trojan prince who killed Achilles

Patroclus 

Patroclus was a Greek warrior in the Trojan War. He was killed by the Trojan Hector.

Pelops 

Pelops was the son of Tantalus. His father killed him and served him at a feast for the gods. They brought him back to life. The goddess Demeter had eaten one of his shoulders but they replaced it with ivory.

Penelope 

Penelope was the wife of Odysseus

Pentheus 

Pentheus was king of Thebes. He tried to stop the worship of the god Dionysius and was torn limb from limb.

Pan 

Pan was the Greek god of shepherds. In appearance, he was half man, half goat.

Pandora 

In Greek mythology, Pandora was the first woman

Pegasus 

Pegasus was a winged horse

Persephone 

Persephone was the daughter of the gods Zeus and Demeter. For part of the year she lived in the underworld with Hades and during that time Demeter refused to let anything grow.

Perseus 

Perseus was a hero who killed Medusa and rescued Andromeda from a sea monster

Phyllis 

Phyllis was a woman who was turned into an almond tree

Pirithous 

Pirithous was king of the Lapiths and a friend of Theseus

Plutus 

Plutus was the Greek god of wealth

Polydeuces 

Polydeuces was a Greek hero. He was one of the Argonauts.

Polyhymnia 

Polyhymnia was the muse of sacred poetry

Poseidon 

Poseidon was the Greek god of the sea

Priam 

Priam was king of Troy

Procrustes 

Procustes offered hospitality to travellers. He then made them fit a bed by stretching their limbs if they were too short and cutting off parts if they were too long. Procrustes was killed by the hero Theseus.

Prometheus 

Prometheus was a Titan. He stole fire from Zeus and gave it to mankind. As a punishment Zeus chained him to a rock and an eagle ate his liver each day. (It regrew each time it was eaten).

Pygmalion 

Pygmalion was a sculptor who fell in love with a statue of a woman he had carved. The goddess Aphrodite turned the statue into a real woman.

Psyche 

Psyche was a mortal woman but Zeus made her immortal so she could marry Eros

Pyrrha 

Pyrrha was the wife of Deucalion, the hero who survived the flood

R

Rhea 

Rhea was one of the titans. She married Cronos, ruler of the Titans. She had 6 children, the gods Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades, and the goddesses Hestia, Hera, and Demeter.

S

Satyrs 

Satyrs were creatures who looked like young men but they had horse tails and ears

Semele 

Semele was the human mother of the god Dionysus. (Zeus was his father).

Silenus 

Silenus was a satyr. He was usually drunk!

Sirens 

The Sirens were part birds and part women. They lived on an island with a rocky shore and they sang a song so beautiful that passing sailors would sail towards them and be shipwrecked on the rocks.

Sisyphus 

Sisyphus was a king who, after his death was punished by being made to roll a huge boulder up a hill. Every time he did it rolled back down again.

Sphinx 

In Greek mythology, the sphinx had the body of a lion, the head of a woman, and wings like an eagle

Styx 

In Greek mythology, the River Styx was the boundary between the world of the living and the underworld. The dead had to cross it in a boat.

T

Talos 

Talos was a giant living, bronze statue that guarded Crete.

Tantalus 

Tantalus was an evil man who invited the gods to a feast and served them his son as food! As a punishment, Tantalus was made to stand in a pool of water but whenever he tried to drink the water receded from him. Over his head were the branches of fruit trees but whenever he tried to eat fruit the branches moved out of his reach. This myth gave us the English word tantalise.

Tartarus 

Tartarus was a place where evil people were punished after death

Telemachus 

Telemachus was the son of the hero Odysseus

Terpsichore 

Terpsichore was the muse of dancing

Thalia 

Thalia was the muse of comedy

Thanatos 

Thanatos was the god of death

Theseus 

Theseus was the Ancient Greek hero who killed the Minotaur

Thetis 

Thetis was a nereid or sea nymph. She was the mother of Achilles

Tiresias 

Tiresias was a blind seer (a person who could see the future)

Titans 

The Titans were a race of giants who ruled the Earth until they were overthrown by the gods of Olympus

Triton 

Triton was a sea god. He was the son of Poseidon and he acted as his herald.

Tyche 

Tyche was the Greek goddess of fortune

Typhon 

Typhon was a giant monster. There are different versions of how he looked but he is usually described as having a human upper half and snake coils instead of legs.

U

Urania 

Urania was the muse of astronomy

Uranus 

Uranus was the sky god. He was the son and husband of Gaia the earth goddess. He was the father of the Cyclops and the Titans. Uranus was overthrown by his son Cronos.

Z

Zephyr 

Zephyr was the god of the west wind

Zeus 

Zeus was the ruler of the Greek gods. He also controlled lightning, thunder, and rain.