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"There is nothing new, from Greek mythology to Shakespeare to every romcom ever made, we're just reimagining the same twelve story plots over and over again —so what makes people keep watching and listening? It's all about the character." ~Jeremy Renner
More than likely, a lot of you have read the thrilling, staying-up-and-reading-under-the-covers worthy, humorous, New York Times #1 Best-Selling book, Percy Jackson and the Olympians.
I have been a fan of Rick Riordan's books for quite some time now. His books are both action and god-packed. Slaying monsters, battling gods, going on quests, sword fights, retelling Greek myths in a modern and edgy way. Sounds like the perfect recipe for anY Middle Grade or YA book. And Rick Riordan isn't the only one to use mythology and gods into his books. There are also authors such as K.L Armstrong and M.A Maar, Sayantani Dasgupta, and Rashani Chokshi. With myths, you never run out of ideas. You can twist just about any one of them into a unique, modern story with an edge.
Whether you are writing a mythology-fiction novel, or if you are just looking for a cool Greek-mythology-inspired name to use for one of your characters, Greek mythology always has a piece of inspiration to offer. But let's steer away from popular major gods like Athena, Poseidon, Zeus, and Hades—let's take a look at some of the lesser-known, less-common Greek deities, like minor gods who hardly ever get any credit, vengeful Titans and Titaness, and some of the best, forgotten myths.
For the sake of added ease, I've separated our charming, overlooked deities into
two categories: Primordial (Existing from the very beginning/ before time itself) and Titans and Titanesses.
So, without further ado, I hope you enjoy the list, and I am wishing you god-sized amounts of inspiration!
PRIMORDIAL (EXISTING FROM THE VERY BEGINNING/BEFORE TIME ITSELF) DEITIES
1. ACHLYS
There's one very important thing to preface about Achlys: she wasn't an Olympic goddess, though she may have been a lot cooler.
She was a primordial spirit (sometimes called a daimona). She existed before the Olympians and Titan went to war with each other.
She is the personification of misery and sadness, though she is also considered by some to be the goddess of poisons.
There are two theories about her origin. The first (and most popular) says that Achlys was the "Eternal Night", which existed before Chaos (or the "void" that existed before the creation of the universe). The other is that she is the daughter of Nyx, the goddess of night. This makes sense as Nyx birthed several dark spirits, including Eris (Strife), Moros (Doom), Nemesis (Retribution), and the Keres (the Hounds of Hades). However, her connection to Nyx has never been proven.
Interestingly, in one myth written by ancient writer, Nonnus, hera (Olympic queen of the gods) sought out Achlys and for poisonous flowers, which she used to turn the young, nymph nurses of Dionysus (the greek god of wine) into centaurs. The nymphs (also called the Pheres Lamioi in this particular story) were set by Zeus to guard infant Dionysus from his enraged step-mother, Hera. When Hera learned that the nymphs were assisting in barricading her from her step-son, she turned them into man-shaped creatures with ox horns and tails.
In myths, Achlys is depicted as having pale skin, rigid teeth, swollen knees, long fingernails, shoulders covered in thick dust, and blood trickling down her cheeks. Sometimes called "the Death Mist", she is often thought to be the thing people see before preceding death.
2. AETHER
Aether is another primordial being. He was in charge of all the air the gods breathed, not that polluted stuff all the mortals breath. The gods breathed pure air, known as "blue ether", as opposed to mortal air (or aer, as it was called).
In the times of ancient Greece, it was thought that the Earth was covered in a transparent mist (aer), while the heavens were a solid dome; the air of the Underworld (also known as "the mist of darkness") was Erebos. Chaos ruled over the mist on Earth and governed air, while all of the air above the Earth was Aether's "kingdom", so to speak. Aether ruled over not only the mist, but was also thought to rule over the moon, sun, stars, clouds, and peaks of mountains ( a pretty decent-sized kingdom, all in all).
He and Achlys share of similarity: While it has never been confirmed within mythology if Achlys is a true child of Nyx, Aether actually is a child of the goddess of night as well as Erebus, the personification of darkness. He was the brother and husband of Hemera (day), and he is believed to be the father of Gaea (earth), Thalassa (sea), and Uranus (heavens).
Every day, Hemera (Aether's sister and wife) would disperse the "mist of the night" and reveal her husband/brother's aether once again. (Per tradition in ancient Greece, day and night gods and goddesses were separated from gods/goddesses of the moon and sun. Meaning Hemera was the goddess of the day, but not the sun.) At night, Aether's mother, Nyx, would drag her black veil across the dome of Earth, created night obscuring the light, creating stars.
Aether, being a primordial god, wasn't regarded as a "personification of an element", but rather the element itself. All of the air between the Earth and the heavens was figuratively and literally Aether.
3. ANANKE
Ananke would definitely beat out carnival fortune-tellers, arcade Zoltar machine, cootie catcher, or elementary school M*A*S*H game. She's the primordial personification of necessity and fate.
She emerged at the dawn of creation, and wasn't formed, conceived, or created by any other higher being.
She's described as incorporeal, having no real physical form. However, she is also depicted as a winged, serpentine creature, and she often holds either a spindle or a torch. Her arms are often said to be outstretched over the cosmos.
At the beginning of time, her and consort, Chronos (time), another serpentine being, intertwined, crushing the primal egg of creation, splitting the earth, heaven, and sea in the process.
After their act of creation, Ananke and Chronos spent the rest of their days encircling the cosmos, controlling the rotation of the heavens and the flow of time. They were seemingly distant and "above" the younger and smaller gods, whose fates they were said to control.
4. CHAOS
Sometimes spelt Khaos, Chaos is an interesting being. They appear as both a god and a goddess.
They were the beginning of the beginning. The origin of everything. The beginning and the end.
Chaos was the personification of the gaping, dark void said to exist before the universe, and the empty nothingness from which Earth sprang. There is much debate about whether Chaos is a god, goddess, a concept, or an actual place. In some myths, Chaos is said to be the endless gap between Earth and Tartarus (the place where, according to Plato's Gorgia, souls are judged after death, the evil receive divine and deserved punishment, and the place where the Titans were imprisoned by Zeus).
However, many debate that Chaos is a goddess and the the oldest "being", existing before anything else was created, and thus being the one who birthed the first three primordial gods: Gaea (earth), Tartarus (the Underworld), and Eros (love). While Gaea would go on to become the Mother of Everything Beautiful in the World, Chaos would become the eroding polar-opposite. She would go on to birth Erebus (darkness) and Nyx (night). As we know, Nyx would later bring forth several devilish and foredoomed offspring.
Whether male, female, void, or harbinger of primordial and very important gods, Chaos is definitely an interesting mythological being to research.
5. CHRONOS
Chronos is the original Father Time. Basically if you're Greek and need to wake up when your alarm goes off, you would turn to this guy.
Chronos, not to be confused with the Titan lord and Zeus' father, Kronos, was the god of empirical and man-made time as well as the personification of time. As we know, he holds and rotates the cosmos alongside his consort (sometimes/also,daughter), Ananke, and controls the passage of time.
He is often depicted as having a long, grey beard, sometimes depicted as having a serpentine form with the heads of a man, a bull, and a lion.
According to the legends, Chronos is the father of Chaos and Aether. According to the Orphic cult (a set of religious beliefs surrounding the works of mythical poet, Orpheus), Chronos created a silver egg in Aether. When this egg hatched, Phanes (deity of procreation) and Hydrus (protogenos of the primordial waters) were born. They would later go on to conceive the first gods of the universe.
In the Greco-Roman mosaic, Chronos appears as a man holding a wheel inscribed with the zodiac with Gaea reclining at his feet.
6. GAEA
Basically, your supreme mother nature.
The goddess and personification of the Earth, sometimes called the "mother of everything" or "Gaia". She sprang from Chaos, creating the world itself, and is the mother of Pontus, the sea, and Uranus, the sky, and several other minor sea deities, and other gods.
She later married Uranus (though some believe she married Poseidon), and became the unfortunate mother of the races known as cyclops, titans, and hecatonchires, a type of giant.
She is also the mother of Cronus, a titan lord who overthrew his father, Uranus, and became the father of the first Olympians, including Zeus. Due to the nature of his fathers cruelty, Zeus imprisoned Cronus in Tartarus, a part of the underworld.
Gaea is mostly depicted as an earthy giantess covered in plants and flowers holding up, or cradling, the earth.
7. HEMERA
A goddess with a golden hour advantage.
Goddess of the day. She was the daughter of Erebos (darkness) and Nyx (night), and was also the sister and wife of Aether (the god's air). Each morning, after her mother had veiled the earth in her father's mist, she would come out and disperse it, reveal the sun and light of the aether again. Hemera is closely identified with Hera, the goddess of the heavens, and Eos, the goddess of the dawn.
She is often depicted as wearing a robe and being shrouded in light, sometimes carrying a torch or wearing a crown that looks like sun rays.
Honestly, one of my favorite characters from mythology.
10. HYPNOS
You're getting sleepy....
The god and very personification of sleep. His name is easy to remember, since it's in relation to the word hypnotics. Too bad he doesn't seem to visit college students that often. He could also be considered the god of comas and dangerous addictions, because he works closely with his brother, Thanatos, the god of death, for Hades, the god of the underworld.
He is the father of three sleep-related sons, the most famous being Morpheus, the god of dreams.
He is often depicted as wearing Greek robes with wings on the sides of his head or shoulders, and carrying either a poppy stem, a horn with sleep-inducing opium, a branch dripping water from the river Lethe (Forgetfulness), or a torch.
11. NEMESIS
A goddess that is not to be toyed with.
Sounds like a name given to a god, or what you would call your enemy, but actually this mythological character is female. She was the goddess of divine retribution. She was responsible for handing out punishments for transgressions, humbled good fortune, and hubris (excessive pride or self-confidence) to mortals and gods.
She is described as hating arrogance, and offense on the natural order of the universe. She is depicted often as a winged woman carrying a versatile combinations of a whip, a pair of scales, an hourglass, or a sword.
As if Nemesis wasn't cool and fear-invoking enough, she is also called "Adrasteia", which means "the inescapable" as well as "Goddess of Rhamnous", because —surprise! She gets even cooler! She has a temple in Rhamnous!
While her parentage is uncertain, one this is for sure: you do not want to cross her.
12. THE NESOI
How cool would it be to rule over your own tropical paradise? You could OWN Hawaii. Seriously, how cool would that be?!
The Nesoi are rarely talked about in Greek mythology, and their origin is heavily-debated, however that doesn't make these shrouded-in-mystery minor goddesses any less cool.
The minor goddesses, the Nesoi were free-flowing, almost mermaid-like women with wreaths of flowers around their necks and in their hair with flowing skirts. Each one represented an island, and they were often considered the water sources of their islands.
They are considered Protogenoi (primordial goddesses) of the Greek pantheon (a particular set of gods), and there are several theories and myths surrounding their origins.
The first is that they are the daughters of Gaea, the earth goddess. This would make them the female counterparts of the Ourea (the mountains). However, there are only ten Ourea in Greek mythology, whereas if the Nesoi are truly personifications and representations of islands, there would be hundreds of them.
The next theory still accepts that the Nesoi are primordial goddesses, however the theory itself conflicts with the idea. Callimachus, a Greek poet and scholar from Cyene, Libya, wrote that the Nesoi were created when Poseidon struck down the Ourea (mountains) with his trident, casting the Nesoi into the sea, thus creating islands. However, Poseidon was born several generations after the Protogenoi. Additionally, the Ourea were gods, while the Nesoi were goddesses. That doesn't necessarily disqualify this theory, but many choose to just overlook it.
The third theory is presented by ancient, surviving texts, and it suggests that the Nesoi are naiads, or water nymphs. According to this theory, they are the daughters of Potamoi (the gods of the rivers and streams of the earth). In this theory, the Nesoi would sometimes give their names to the islands they resided on. Such was the case with Aegina (who gave her name to the island Zeus carried her to) and Salamis (who was likely abducted by Poseidon). There are also examples of other goddesses (who were not one of the Nesoi) giving their names to islands, such as Rhode (the daughter of Poseidon and Amphitrite) and Delos, who was thought to be a metamorphosed-version of Asteria (who fled to an island to escape Zeus' unwelcome advances).
It's clear that the Nesoi have a very complex story, which makes them that more interesting. If you plan on drawing inspiration from them, I would recommend doing some heavy research, but also remember that myths change just like any other story, so no one theory about the Nesoi is the "correct story".
13. NYX
No, not the makeup line.
The primordial goddess of night and the ultimate night owl, Nyx is the daughter of Chaos, wife and brother of Erebus (god of darkness and also a region of the Underworld), and mother of several ominous as well as praised gods and goddesses, including Aether (the god's air), Hemera (day), Geras (old-age), Moros (doom), Hypnos (sleep), Nemesis, and Thanatos (death).
Every night, she spreads her husband, the personification of darkness', mist and covers the Earth, making night. It is up to her daughter, Hemera to scatter the darkness, bringing dawn each morning, and revealing Nyx's son and son-in-law, Aether's light once again. In other myths, she wears a veil which she uses a black veil to cover the heavens.
She is often depicted as a woman with long, dark hair wearing a long, black cloak, with a ring of black mist, and either winged, riding a chariot.
Despite her threatening appearance, she never exactly partook in any 'evildoing' (at least, no more than Zeus), however she still had a very fearsome demeanor. In fact, she was the only goddess that Zeus feared. In one story, Hera (Zeus' wife and the goddess of marriage and childbirth) asked Hypnos to use his powers and put her husband to sleep, planning to plot behind his back. The plan failed, and Zeus went searching for him. However, Hypnos had fled to his mother's cave, and she provided him refuge. Zeus, terrified by Nyx, turned back, defeated.
Nyx is also said to live in Tartarus, further shrouding this arcane goddess in wonder and mystery.
14. THE OUREA
Remember the Nesoi?
Godesses, gods,and spirits of the mountains. In ancient times, each mountain was believed to have its own nymph (called an oread), and each one was believed to be a child of Gaea. Some Ourea include: Aitna, the volcano of Sicily; Athos, a mountain of Thrace; Helikon, a mountain of Boiotia (believe it or not, he entered a singing competition with the neighboring Cithaeron); Cithaeron, a mountain of Boiotia,; Nysos, a mythical mountain and the nurse of the god Dionysos; Olympos, a mountain in Thessalia and the home of the gods; Oreios, the mountain god of Mout Othrys; and Tmolos, a mountain of Lydia (He judged a singing contest between Apollon and Pan).
As I mentioned before, Ourea were also thought by some to have been transformed into the Nesoi (or islands) by Poseidon, but it is not widely accepted.
The Ourea are definitely a mountain-sized mystery, but they are equally a colossal intrigue.
15. Phanes
The king of life itself
Known as the primordial god of procreation and the generation of new life. He is largely depicted as a man with golden wings and a serpent's tail intertwined around a staff.
Phanes is rarely commented on, because he is in little surviving Greek text, however, in most myths he is Nyx's father.
He was hatched from the world-egg. He was the generator of life, responsible for reproduction. In the myths, he was the first king of the universe until he gave the throne and his scepter to his daughter, Nyx (night). Nyx later gave the scepter to her son, Uranus (heaven). Kronos (the titan god) seized the scepter from Uranus. Zeus stole it back, which in torn made him the ultimate ruler of the cosmos.
Ah, Phanes. The first butterfly effect, eh?
16. TARTARUS
Allow me to introduce you to literal Hell.
Tartarus is perhaps one of the most complex gods in mythology. For starters, he wasn't just a god. He was a primordial god said to have existed before the other Olympians (coming after Chaos, Gaea, and Eros), but his name was also used to describe the smoldering, fiery chasm beneath the Earth and the deepest, most-inescapable part of the Underworld.
While Hades was the god of death and the king of the Underworld, Tartarus ruled the deepest and most merciless part of it which he shared a name with. Tartarus was the one to hand on the most excruciating punishments. Usually, the people to wander to his depths of the Underworld were either prisoners or considered "the worst of the worst".
Tartarus as a place was described as being the opposite of the sky, existing below the Earth in an inverted dome consisting of nothing but fire, stone, and crackling magma, which would encase any unfortunate souls that found themselves in the unforgiving abyss.
As a deity, Tartarus was never exactly depicted as humanoid, much like the other gods are. He wasn't exactly as popular on Greek pottery and murals as his victims were. Most people living in ancient Greek (and most modern scholars) regarded Tartarus as having no tangible form, rather he was the Tartarean pit itself. However, since the days of ancient folklore, many people have created art of Tartarus as a physical being (on the covers of books, in movies. Even digital art of the deity has started circulated on platforms such as Tumblr and DeviantArt). In modern artistic eyes, Tartarus is seen usually as a monsterous being, sometimes with horns; usually, a giant with crackling, sudge-like skin rising up from a pit of fire or lava with smoke erupting around him (much like Te Kā in the award-winning Disney movie, Moana). In the acclaimed book series, Percy Jackson by Rick Riordan, Tartarus is described as very vain when he takes his physical form, even saying to the two protagonists (Annabeth and Percy), "Be honored, little demigods. Even the Olympians were never worthy of my personal attention. But you will be destroyed by Tartarus himself!" In the book, the protagonists and demigods cite Tartarus' enrapture with his physical form as their only reason for living when they come face-to-face with him.
It is also worth noting that in some retellings, the reason for Tartarus avoiding taking on a physical form is because it would infringe on his ability to exist everywhere in his domain at once.
Some of his famous victims include King Sisyphus and many titans and cyclops.
Interestingly, the three judges of the Underworld (Rhadamanthus, Aeacus, andMinos) were the ones to decide who went to the regular Underworld and who went to the torturous Tartarus.
Tartarus was also known to have a romantic relationship with Gaea (who also sprang from Chaos). They are credited with being the parents of Typhon, a giant serpentine creature who later challenged Zeus for the throne and lost after a raging war, and was banished to the depths of his father's domain as punishment.
Again, probably one of the most intense and complex gods in Greek mythology...
17. THANATOS
Hey, at least he's....non-violent?
Thanatos stands out from the other gods right of the bad in that while he has an ominous demeanor, he actually represents something quite peaceful. He is the god of non-violent deaths. You could consider him the "original grim reaper". While Hades is the god of death, Thanatos job was to bring those who died peacefully to the Underworld.
Interestingly, Thanatos also had a unique parentage (if you can even call it that). He didn't have a father, though his mother was thought to be Nyx. Rather than being born of two parents, Thanatos was seen as a "broken-off piece" of Nyx's very essence.
Thanatos sole purpose was to deliver human souls from suffering, and as such, his touch is as gentle as his twin brother, Hypno (sleep)'s touch.
In Greek art and literature, Thanatos is most often depicted as a winged and bearded man with a sword at his side, however, sometimes, he is depicted as a younger, non-bearded deity. Another interesting fact to consider is the comparatively poetic depiction of Thanatos in Rome. In Roman mythology, Thanatos receives a different name (going by either Mors or Letum) and can be seen holding an upside-down torch and sometimes a wreath or a butterfly, symbolizing the life of a departed soul. In modern culture, Thanatos is often drawn grim-reaper-esque with a black cloak and scythe.
There are many interesting myths surrounding Thanatos. Remember Sisyphus? He once tried to trap Thanatos in a sack, so that he could live forever. Thanatos and his twin brother, Hypnos often appeared together, both being spirits meant to deliver humans from suffering and pain through touch.
Quite honestly, he is probably my favorite of all the deities!
TITANS AND TITANESSES
(preceding before Olympians)
1. COEUS
A very intellectual Titan.
Son of Gaea and Uranus, Coeus was the Titan god of the North, resolve, and intelligence. Due to Coeus' Roman counterpart, Polus (who was the personification of the celestial axis and whose name means "of the northern pole"), it is also believed that he was also the embodiment of the celestial axis. After examining the etymology of Coeus' name, many scholars agree that the Titan may have also been the god of inquisitive minds and intellect as well as foresight.
Coeus was responsible for holding up one of the four pillars that held the heavens apart from the earth. Obviously, he held up the north one. The other three were held by his brothers, Hyperion (Titan god of heavenly light), Ipaetus (Titan god of mortality), and Crius (Titan god of constellations).
Coeus, like many primordial gods, married his sister, Phoebe (assumed to be the Titan goddess of prophecy and oracular intellect) . The couple produced two imperative beings in mythology: Leto (motherhood) and Asteria (falling stars). Both were Titanesses (or Titanides). Leto was famous for becoming a wife of Zeus and later the mother of Apollo and Artemis. Asteria married Perses (Titan god of destruction) and later gave birth to Hecate (goddess of magic, witchcraft, the night, moon, ghosts and necromancy), though she was also known for once trying to pursue Zeus in the form of an eagle. Notably, Asteria also overtook the responsibility of the Oracle of Delphi.
Coeus and Phoebe were also believed by many philosophers to be the "primal front of all the knowledge in the cosmos.
Coeus is was not widely-worshipped in Ancient Greece, and therefore, he received recognition through his successful children. However, despite his inconspicuous role in religion and history, there is one semi-popular myth that people love to retell: Coeus and his brothers played an imperative role in overthrowing their father, Uranus (god of the heavens) as they stand at the four corners of the Earth and could easily surround him. Coeus and his brother corral their father, and their other brother, Cronus (the leader and youngest of the Titans) attacked him with the diamond sickle that their mother, Gaea gave them.
While Coeus is largely disregarded in favor of his illustrious children, he is known as the most intelligent of the Titans.
2. CRONUS
A destructive Titan god with a very convoluted role in mythology
Cronus (also spelt Kronos) was the youngest of the twelve Titans. His parents were Uranus and Gaea, but he and and his father didn't exactly have the ideal relationship. In the myths, Cronus overthrew his father with the help of his brothers, (who we have already discussed) Hyperion, Ipaetus, Crius, Coeus. He used a diamond sickle given to him by his mother to attack Uranus, thereby separating the Heavens from the Earth and becoming King of the Titans, becoming the leader of the first generation of Titans. At one point, for a brief period, he was even the ruler of all gods and men. The period of Cronus' rule was called a "golden age" for the mortal world.
Cronus married his sister (shocker!), Rhea (Titan goddess of female fertility, motherhood, and generation), and she later became known as the "mother of the gods". Appropriately so, as she birthed Hestia (hearth), Demeter (harvest), Hades (Underworld), Poseidon (sea), and Zeus.
It is a common myth (you may have even heard it in school) that Cronus ate his own children because his parents told him he would be overthrown by one of his own children. While he was gorging on his children, Rhea secretly hid Zeus in Crete and tricked her husband into eating a rock instead. Zeus grew and later came back to challenge his father. Zeus tricked Cronus into drinking an emetic, which caused him to regurgitate his children, who had all lived in his stomach, growing normally over the years. ......Hey, I said that the myth was common, not that it wasn't gross.
Zeus expelled his father to Tartarus, though in other retellings of the story, Cronus became the king of Elysium (a place for the blessed dead, which one can be granted entrance to by living a righteous life.....how?).
Cronus was obviously a bit tyrannical and calamitous, which is appropriate because he is considered to be the god of time (specifically, when time is viewed as destructive and all-devouring, much like Cronus himself was).
Cronus, the Latinized form of Kronos, comes from the Indo-European root ker, which means "to cut". The name becomes significant if you know the full story of Uranus' downfall, which I will let you dwell into on your own.
He is often depicted in Greek art as a giant. bearded, older man with a sickle in hand, sometimes devouring children.
Like I said, a very destructive god with a convoluted role in mythology....
3. HYPERION
A bright light in Greek mythology
Another son of Uranus and Gaea and one of the four pillars of the earth in mythology, Hyperion was the Titan god of heavenly light and the representation of light, wisdom, and watchfulness. Intrinsically, Hyperion's name means "watcher from above", or "he who goes above", derived from the Greek words hyper (over) and ion (action or process).
As we know, he was one Cronus' four brothers that helped to overthrow Uranus, and he was known as the pillar of the east.
He was said by some to be the first to understand the movements of the Sun and moon as well as the stars, and orbits' connection to the changing of the seasons. As such, he was believed to order the cycle of the Sun and preside over the transition from night to day. He later bore children with his wife and sister, Theia (Titan goddess of sight and the bright, blue aether), all of whom came to serve primal roles in these cycles: Helios (the Sun), Selene (the moon), and Eos (dawn).
There are not many myths involving Hyperion other than the one in which he helped his brothers overthrow his father, however, we do know that he sided with Cronus and the other Titans in Titanomachy, a ten-year war in which the Titans fought against the Olympians. He was thrown into Tartarus along with the rest of the Titans, but was later released by Zeus according to Aeschylus' lost play.
While Hyperion does not have many myths in which he is the central character, his children played a pivotal role in mythology, and his wife's name has some correlation with a very interesting theory.....
4. MNEMOSYNE
Mother of the lingual and archival world.
Another child of Gaea and Uranus, Mnemosyne was the Titan goddess of memory, remembrance, as well as the inventor of language.
Being the daughter of Uranus, Mnemosyne was also a goddess of time. She represented the memorization and repetition needed to help legends survive before modern writing became an available skill.
Mnemosyne was apparently a goddess of many titles. Just like her sister-Titans, she represented a minor oracle. She presided over the oracle of Trophonius in Boeotia . Ironically, the name Trophonius means "nourisher of the mind". While Mnemosyne may have held several titles, there is one thing you could not call her for fear of confusion: Mneme—that would be the muse of memory (Ironic, considering MnemOSYNE was the Titan GODDESS of memory).
But Mnemosyne didn't just have a long string of titles—she also shared her name with a river located in the Underworld. Satisfyingly, according to some myths, Lethe (which means forgetfulness) was another river that flowed through Hade's kingdom. The souls of the departed were told to drink from this river to forget their past lives, while the postulates (candidate, especially one seeking admission into a religious order) were told to drink from Mnemosyne (memory).
It is hard to trace any myths to Mnemosyne, however there is one very popular one about her. For nine days, Zeus slept with her, and from these days, the ever-popular nine muses were born.
Personally, I have an odd appreciation for Mnemosyne. There's just something mystical and intriguing about her. Definitely a goddess worth researching.
5. THEIA
I told you Theia would be interesting
Theia, also called Euryphaessa (which means "wide-shining"), another one of the twelve children of Gaea and Uranus, represented pretty much all things glimmering: she was the Titan goddess of light and the deity responsible for endowing gold and other precious metals and gems with their gilt and shimmer. She was also, as I mentioned, goddess of the shining of aether.
Interestingly, and quite counter-factually, the Greeks believed that eyes emitted beams of light which allowed them to see the things and people they observed. This of course, by association, made Theia the goddess of sight as well.
Theia's whole life, not just her religious role, seemed to be revolved around radiance. She herself was considered a great beauty in mythology, and she also married her brother, Hyperion, the Titan god of heavenly light. She also bore possibly the three most important children in directing the day and night: Helios (the sun), Selene (the moon), and Eos (dawn).
Theia, like her five sisters, was also an oracular goddess. She was a prophetic deity for a shrine in Thessaly. A figure of Theia has also been found on the Necropolis of Cyrene (a cemetery with intricate tombs located between Cyrene, Libya Apollonia)
Theia is a hard figure to trace throughout mythology aside from her offspring and progenitors. However, remember how I said Theia shared her name with part of a very interesting scientific theory?
The "giant impact theory" was a hypothesis presented by researchers shortly after the Apollo 11 moon landing. It is a very complex theory, but basically, some scientists believe that something forced the Moon to spiral outward over time, which resulted in the Earth spinning more slowly. This idea would suggest that at some point or another, the Moon was much closer to Earth than it is now. The Apollo program further confirmed this. Now what formed the moon, and what adjusted it's distance from the Earth? The "giant impact theory" suggests that another Mars-sized planet, named Theia, collided with early-Earth. This planet shattered, creating a ring of debris, that, through coalesces, created the moon. Of course, there are a few inconsistencies and unresolved questions surround Theia and the "giant impact theory", and it is already a very complex hypothesis, so I would recommend doing your own individual research on it.
Theia, a goddess of many names and titles, is certainly a very character in mythology still wrapped in mystery, which means she requires vigilant research if anyone wants to use her as inspiration....
6. THEMIS
Your ultimate Law and Order and Judge Judy fan
Themis is the Titaness goddess of divine law and order. She was also a prophetic goddess (meaning she made a lot of predictions) and prescribed over the most ancient oracles. As the goddess of divine law and order, she is believed to be the one that first introduced mankind to morals like hospitality, morality, good governance, conduct, and behavior. She was an early wife of Zeus and his first counselor. In that time, she was often represented as sitting behind his throne, whispering advice into his ear.
Her most popular description is a blind-folded woman wearing Greek robes and carrying a sword and a pair of scales. In some drawings, she has wings.
Sound familiar? She can be seen today as "Lady Justice", a statue in front of or a engravement on the wall of several government buildings.
7. ASTERIA
The ultimate stargazer .
Asteria was the Titan goddess of falling stars, astronomy, and nocturnal oracles. She was the mother of Hekate (Hecate), goddess of witchcraft, and she wife of Perses, the Titan god of destruction.
After the fall of the Titans, Zeus chased her across the sky, but she escaped by turning herself into a quail and jumping into the ocean, where she became the island Delos.
In modern drawings, Asteria is often shown as a woman with purple or blue skin and stars all over her body with silvey hair, sometimes carrying an orb of light.
8. ASTRAEUS
A Titan god who played a pivotal role in astronomy.
Much like Asteria, except that Astraeus is the Titan god of dusk, stars, planets, astrology, and the winds. He was the son of Eos (the dawn), and the father of several divine children, including Astraia (the lesser known goddess of the constellation Virgo, the four Anemoi (winds), and the five Astra Planeta (wandering stars or planets) .
He is listed in the myths as one of the Titans who declared war on the gods in the Titan and Giant Wars.
There are many depictions of him, some of him as an older man shrouded in brilliant rays, sitting on planets and wearing robes, and others of him as a middle-aged man with snow in his hair and a breeze spiraling around him.
9. AURA
Easy? Breezy. Aura.
The Titan goddess of breeze, fresh air, and cool morning air. She just goes with the flow, and learns to love her body. Seriously. She compared her beauty to that of Artemis, the goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, and the animals, which was a huge no-no because Artemis was depicted as being drop-dead gorgeous, so much so that she was stalked by other gods, which didn't usually end well on their part, her being the goddess of the kill, and also because Artemis was the hunting goddess, which was a pastime of Aura's.
Jealous, Aura shamed Artemis for the way she looked. She sought out the goddess Nemesis to kill her, and she was severely punished for it. The punishment drove her insane, and in her fury she tried to swallow her twin sons when they were born. She managed to swallow one whole, but the other one was snatched safely away by Artemis.
So I guess the goddess life for her wasn't a breeze.....
11. CLYMENE
You would find her name on the Greek Walk of Fame, mainly because if there were a Greek Walk of Fame, she would be the reason for its existence.
Clymene is the Titan goddess of fame and infamy. Along with being a Titan, she was also part Oceanid-nymph, a group of three thousand goddess-nymphs who presided over all the Earth's sources of water—from rain clouds to spring waters. Naturally, the celebrity married another star. Literally. She bore seven daughters to the sun-god Helios, making the Heliad-nymphs. They also had one son, Phaethon.
Phaethon was killed when he tried to ride his father's chariot across the sky, and his sisters were all turned into poplar trees.
Being the goddess of fame, Clymene is often depicted as a radiant young woman with elegant hair and clothes.
12. SELENE
One of three lunar goddesses, but very special in her own right.
Selene, daughter of Hyperion (Titan god of heavenly light) and Theia (Titan goddess of light), was one of three siblings that controlled the night and daylight cycles. She was the Titan goddess of the moon, and her siblings were Helios (the sun) and Eos (the dawn).
In ancient Greece, the people regarded Hecate and Artemis as lunar goddesses, but only Selene was the personification of the moon itself. Every night, she would drive a heavenly chariot driven by white horses, providing the night sky with light. Sometimes, she is depicted as riding a chariot pulled by oxen rather than horses, and in this case, the oxens' horses form a crescent moon.
Selene's counterpart in Roman mythology is Luna, who is thought to be a fusion of Hecate and Artemis, though she was thought to be the most influential of this amalgamation. When she was adapted into this religion, she became one of the most important deities in agriculture. Luna/Selene's vital role may be the reason that several believe they were involved in daily shamanistic rituals of the religion.
It's worth noting that Selene sometimes merges with Artemis or Diana (in Roman mythology), making her a goddess of the hunt. However, even in this form, she is wholly and truly a goddess of the moon as well as the moon itself.
There are some interesting myths surrounding Selene, however, one of the most interesting and most retold ones is the myth of her and her lover, Endymion.
Endymion was a mortal, whom Zeus granted the ability to choose when he died (so basically, Endymion could be immortal if he so chose) . After each chariot ride, Selene would go visit her love, who was also said to be a shepherd prince, in a cave near the peak of Lydian Mountain. Zeus put him in a state of eternal sleep, leaving him ageless and deathless, only the awake for his beautiful and enchanting consort, Selene.
Another myth involving Selene states that Selene's reflection can be snatched out of water, thus snatched her (the moon) out of the sky. While this myth is widely-accepted, there is another story that tells of Selene having an affair with Zeus himself.
In ancient Greek art, Selene was depicted as a a woman, often riding sidesaddle on a chariot pulled by winged steeds (either horse or oxen). She often wears a crescent on her body; when she is depicted being pulled by oxen, the creatures' horns form the crescent, though other times it is a fold of rippling cloth. She is often cloaked with a crescent crown or clip in her hair, and sometimes, she carries a torch. In modern art, she is often depicted as pale, usually wearing a silver dress or robes with raven-black or snow-white hair and a crescent crown perched on her head.
She certainly is a lustre goddess with a gleaming backstory. It is safe to say that she represents the moon well. Just like it, her story is riddled with romance and shimmering spectacle.
13. EPIMETHEUS
Teachers definitely think this god is following around students.
Epimetheus is the god of afterthought and excuses. Which makes sense due to the most popular myth about him : "the theft of fire". Epimetheus was tasked with the job of filling the world with animals and humans, but he quickly used up the tools and resources given to him to create animals, leaving his masterpiece, mankind completely helpless. To solve this problem, Epimetheus would have to give the humans fire, which at the time was one of Zeus' trademark items. When Zeus found out Epimetheus gave the secret of fire to the humans, he was furious. As punishment, Zeus made him create the first woman, Pandora. While warned by his brother not to do it, Epimetheus married Pandora, who soon afterward lifted the lid from a jar entrusted to her by the gods, releasing powerful and evil demon's into the world, a legend known as "Pandora's box".
14. METIS
A goddess that demands respect.
The Titan goddess of good counsel, planning, wisdom, and cunning, all of which makes sense because she is the mother of the more-popular Greek goddess Athena (goddess of wisdom, courage, inspiration, civilization, law and justice, strategic warfare, mathematics, strength, strategy, the arts, crafts, and skill. I know—quite a long list. She's a very important goddess, but we'll discuss her another day).
Metis was the counselor of Zeus during the ten-year-long Titan War (also called Titanomachy) , and was the one to devise the plan to get Chronos to regurgitate the rest of his children (all of which he swallowed whole to avoid being overthrown). Seriously, you GO G(ODESS)IRL!
In most depictions, Metis is shown with braided hair, wearing gold-and-white robes, and sometimes wearing a gold helmet and carrying a gold spear, ready for battle whether intellectual or physical.
15. PALLAS
Notice that his name sounds like palace. That's very fitting for him.
The Titan god of Warcraft, which is appropriate since he is also the father of Nike (Victory), Zelos (Rivalry), Kratos (Strength), Bia (power), and Styx (Hatred), all of whom sided with Zeus during the Titan-God War (Titanomachy) , unlike their father. He was vanquished in that very same war by Athena (goddess of pretty much all things strategical) , who used his skin to make her arm guard. Not to be confused with the unknown goddess Pallas who was friends with Athena.
16. ZELUS
Let's end this list on a zealous (or should I say ZELUS) note.
Zelus was a minor Greek deity born of Titans Pallas (warcraft) and Styx (one of the Oceanid sister and the goddess of the River of Styx in the Underworld. This, pairing with Zelus' name, which sounds like the word zealous, is strikingly appropriate as Zelus was the god and personification of zeal, emulation, jealousy, and rivalry.
He was the brother of Kratos (strength), Bia (force), and Nike (victory). He, along with his siblings, were protectors of Zeus and stood around his throne as guards. They were all winged, and Zelus in particular is depicted as a younger-looked man with curly hair in robes with a set of wings (sometimes multiple sets).
He and his angel-like siblings would surround Zeus' throne, enforcing the god's will and protecting him on Mount Olympus. In the myths, it said that Styx brought Zelus and his siblings to Zeus at the time when he was gathering allies for the Titan-Olympian war (Titanomachy). For their services in the war, Zeus honored them with eternal companionship.
While there are more myths surrounding Zelus' siblings (Nike especially) than Zelus himself, he is still a noteworthy god due to his role in guarding Zeus and the fact that many argue he better matches the description of a child of Nyx.
Well, that's all...
I hope you found the Greek deities on this list inspiring. Ancient Greece certainly did produce a plethora of versatile characters. The important thing to remember is that Greek myths have been retold both verbally and through ancient writing passed down through centuries. There is no "wrong" way of interpreting a myth or retelling it. If draw inspiration from a god or goddess, you could put them in almost any modern circumstance, change their appearance, demeanor, outlook, even personality.
I do encourage you, though, that if you are planning to write a book that draws inspiration from any religion or mythology, that you DO YOUR RESEARCH! This can do benefit you and your story as you write! You can find some sources that I used to create this list below. Most come from websites dedicated to recording Greek mythology.
As always, keep your mind as sharp as your pencils, your thoughts as flowing as your ink, and I will see you next time!
Sources:
(Listed chronologically by god/titan)
. Achlys:
. Aether
. Ananke
. Chaos
.Chronos
. Gaea
. Hemera
. Hypnos
. Nemesis
. The Nesoi
. Nyx
. The Ourea
.Phanes
.Tartarus
. Thanatos
TITANS AND TITANESSES
. Coeus
. Cronus
.Hyperion
.Mnemosyne
. Theia
. Themis
.Asteria
. Astraeus
. Aura
.Clymene
. Selene
. Epimetheus
. Metis
. Pallas
. Zelus
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