This is a quick reference for classical Greek and Roman terms. Follow the links for more information. If there is a term I should add please let me know.
Greek and Roman Mythology A-C
Greek and Roman Mythology D-L
Greek and Roman Mythology M-P
Greek and Roman Mythology Q-Z
Acheron: One of several rivers of the Underworld.
Achilles: Greek warrior; slew Hector at Troy; slain by Paris, who wounded him in his vulnerable heel.
Actaeon: Hunter; surprised Artemis bathing; changed by her to stag; and killed by his dogs.
Admetus: King of Thessaly; his wife, Alcestis, offered to die in his place.
Adonis: Beautiful youth loved by Aphrodite.
Aeacus: One of three judges of dead in Hades; son of Zeus.
Aeëtes: King of Colchis; father of Medea; keeper of Golden Fleece.
Aegeus: Father of Theseus; believing Theseus killed in Crete, he drowned himself; Aegean Sea named for him.
Aegis: Shield; Zeus had a goat-skin aegis, while Athena adorned the aegis with the head of Medusa.
Aegisthus: Son of Thyestes; slew Atreus; with Clytemnestra, his paramour, slew Agamemnon; slain by Orestes.
Aegyptus: Brother of Danaus; his sons, except Lynceus, slain by Danaides.
Aeneas: Trojan; son of Anchises and Aphrodite; after fall of Troy, led his followers eventually to Italy; loved and deserted Dido.
Aesculapius: See Asclepius.
Aeson: King of Ioclus; father of Jason; overthrown by his brother Pelias; restored to youth by Medea.
Aether: Personification of sky.
Agamemnon: King of Mycenae; son of Atreus; brother of Menelaus; leader of Greeks against Troy; slain on his return home by Clytemnestra and Aegisthus.
Aglaia: One of several Graces.
Ajax: Greek warrior; killed himself at Troy because Achilles's armor was awarded to Odysseus.
Alcestis: Wife of Admetus; offered to die in his place but saved from death by Hercules.
Alcmene: Wife of Amphitryon; mother by Zeus of Hercules.
Alcyone: One of several Pleiades.
Alecto: One of several Furies.br Alectryon: Youth changed by Ares into cock.
Althaea: Wife of Oeneus; mother of Meleager.
Amazons: Female warriors in Asia Minor; supported Troy against Greeks.
Amazon: A race of warrior women
Ambrosia: Food of the greek gods.
Amphion: Musician; husband of Niobe; charmed stones to build fortifications for Thebes.
Amphitrite: Sea goddess; wife of Poseidon.
Amphitryon: Husband of Alcmene.
Ancile: Sacred shield that fell from heavens; palladium of Rome.
Andromache: Wife of Hector.
Andromeda: Daughter of Cepheus; chained to cliff for monster to devour; rescued by Perseus
Antaeus: Known to some as son of Gaea - to some as the son of Poseidon. He drew his essence and strength from the earth but was killed being held in the air by Heracles.
Anteia: Wife of Proetus; tried to induce Bellerophon to elope with her.
Anteros: God who avenged unrequited love.
Antigone: Daughter of Oedipus; accompanied him to Colonus; performed burial rite for Polynices and hanged herself.
Antinoüs: Leader of suitors of Penelope; slain by Odysseus.
Aphrodite (Venus): Goddess of love and beauty; daughter of Zeus; mother of Eros.
Apollo: God of beauty, poetry, music; later identified with Helios as Phoebus Apollo; son of Zeus and Leto.
Arachne: Maiden who challenged Athena to weaving contest; changed to spider.
Ares (Mars): God of war; son of Zeus and Hera.
Argo: Ship in which Jason and followers sailed to Colchis for Golden Fleece.
Argonaut: a team of adventurers who went on a quest for the Golden Fleece; led by the hero Jason
Argus: Monster with hundred eyes; slain by Hermes; his eyes placed by Hera into peacock's tail.
Ariadne: Daughter of Minos; aided Theseus in slaying Minotaur; deserted by him on island of Naxos and married to Dionysus.
Arion: Musician; thrown overboard by pirates but saved by dolphin.
Artemis (Diana): Goddess of moon; huntress; twin sister of Apollo.
Asclepius (Aesculapius): Mortal son of Apollo; slain by Zeus for raising dead; later deified as god of medicine. Also known as Asklepios.
Astarte: Phoenician goddess of love; variously identified with Aphrodite, Selene, and Artemis.
Astraea: Goddess of Justice; daughter of Zeus and Themis.
Atalanta: Princess who challenged her suitors to a foot race; Hippomenes won race and married her.
Athena (Minerva): Goddess of wisdom; known poetically as Pallas Athene; sprang fully armed from head of Zeus.
Atlas: Titan; held world on his shoulders as punishment for warring against Zeus; son of Iapetus.
Atreus: King of Mycenae; father of Menelaus and Agamemnon; brother of Thyestes, three of whose sons he slew and served to him at banquet; slain by Aegisthus.
Atropos: One of several Fates.
Autochthony: Born from the earth.
Avernus: Infernal regions; name derived from small vaporous lake near Vesuvius which was fabled to kill birds and vegetation.
Bacchante: A female follower of the god Dionysos.
Bellerophon: Corinthian hero; killed Chimera with aid of Pegasus; tried to reach Olympus on Pegasus and was thrown to his death.
Bellona: Roman goddess of war.
Briareus: Monster of hundred hands; son of Uranus and Gaea.
Briseis: Captive maiden given to Achilles; taken by Agamemnon in exchange for loss of Chryseis, which caused Achilles to cease fighting, until death of Patroclus.
Caduceus: staff with two entwined serpents - one of the symbols of the god Hermes
Cadmus: Brother of Europa; planter of dragon seeds from which first Thebans sprang.
Calliope: One of several Muses.
Calypso: Sea nymph; kept Odysseus on her island Ogygia for seven years.
Cassandra: Daughter of Priam; prophetess who was never believed; slain with Agamemnon.
Celaeno: One of several Pleiades.
Centaurs: Beings half man and half horse; lived in mountains of Thessaly.
Cephalus: Hunter; accidentally killed his wife Procris with his spear.
Cepheus: King of Ethiopia; father of Andromeda.
Cerberus: Three-headed dog guarding entrance to Hades.
Chaos: Formless void; personified as first of gods.
Charon: Boatman on Styx who carried souls of dead to Hades; son of Erebus.
Charybdis: Female monster; personification of whirlpool.
Chthonian: Refers to the earth or underworld - see Chthonian Deities / Olympian Deities.
Chimera: Female monster with head of lion, body of goat, tail of serpent; killed by Bellerophon.
Chiron: Most famous of centaurs.
Chronos: Personification of time - often confused with Kronos, Cronus.
Chryseis: Captive maiden given to Agamemnon; his refusal to accept ransom from her father Chryses caused Apollo to send plague on Greeks besieging Troy.
Circe: Sorceress; daughter of Helios; changed Odysseus's men into swine.
Clytemnestra: Wife of Agamemnon, whom she slew with aid of her paramour, Aegisthus; slain by her son Orestes.
Cocytus: One of several Rivers of Underworld.
Creon: Father of Jocasta; forbade burial of Polynices; ordered burial alive of Antigone.
Creüsa: Princess of Corinth, for whom Jason deserted Medea; slain by Medea, who sent her poisoned robe; also known as Glaüke.
Creusa: Wife of Aeneas; died fleeing Troy.
Cronus (Saturn): Titan; god of harvests; son of Uranus and Gaea; dethroned by his son Zeus.
Cybele: Anatolian nature goddess; adopted by Greeks and identified with Rhea.
Cyclopes: Race of one-eyed giants (singular: Cyclops).
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Greek and Roman Mythology