Greek God Names
Posted in Greek Names Info
The Greek Mythology is vast and seems almost endless; so do the Greek God Names.
When referring to Gods, most of us think of the 12 Gods of the Olympus, but the truth is that the Greek Mythology is full of deities, semi-gods and other figures that supported the 12 Gods and have some kind of divine status or nuance.
Some of these Greek God Names and, thus, ancient names are still in use today, some others are pretty much forgotten or uncommon.
Greeks believed in many Gods, as they were polytheists, and they created numerous personas in their myths and legends, attributing to each one of them some particular characteristics.
In some cases, the name chosen for each God was associated with his mentality or characteristics, although this is something mostly known to those who speak ancient Greek very well and are willing to dig into Greek God names’ etymology and origins.
Greek God Names
Starting with the 12 Gods of Mt Olympus, the Greek God names are mostly still in use – especially the female ones.
- The father of Greek Gods was Zeus, Dias for the Greeks.
- Hera was Zeus’ wife.
- Athena (Athina in Greek) is the goddess of wisdom.
- Aphrodite is the goddess of beauty.
- Hermes ( Ermis in Greek ) was the messenger of the Gods.
- Apollo (Apollon or Apollonas for the Greeks) was the God of Music and the arts. Apollo was also known as Foivos (sounds like Fevos), which is a popular male name in modern Greece as well – in fact you will meet more Greek men named Foivos than Apollonas.
- Apollo’s sister was Artemis ( or Diana in Latin), the goddess of hunting.
- Goddess Demeter, or Demetra for the Greeks, was the Goddess of land and fertility.
- Hephaestus (Ifaistos) was the God of fire.
- Ares (Aris) was the God of War.
- Hades or Pluto (Adis or Ploutonas) the God of the Underworld.
- Hestia (or Estia for the Greeks) was the Goddess of family and house.
- Poseidon (Poseidonas) was the God of the seas.
These Greek God names are the most common ones today, used in several different ways: naming children, or even boats and companies.
Except for the most important and influential Gods, there were many semi-gods and heroes: Dionysus (Dionysos or Bacchos) was the semi-god associated with fun and wine, while Aeolus (Aiolos in Greek) was the semi-god of the winds.
Persephone, Thanatos (Death), Hypnos (Sleep), Uranos (Sky), Eros (Love –Desire), Prometheus, Gaea (Gi or Earth in English), Thetis, Themis (the semi-goddess of Justice), Iris, Helios and Hercules ( Iraklis in Greek) are some of the Greek semi gods and Greek God names known and used till today.
List of Roman Names for Greek Gods
The Romans changed the Greek God names in order to fit their language. Since the Greek Gods and the Roman Gods are the same, it is worth mentioning who is who:
- Jupiter – Zeus (Dias)
- Juno - Hera
- Neptune – Poseidon
- Minerva – Athena
- Mars – Ares
- Venus – Aphrodite
- Vulcan – Hephaestus
- Ceres – Demeter
- Vesta - Hestia
- Apollo – Apollo
- Diana – Artemis
- Mercury – Hermes
- Pluto – Hades
- Porsephine – Persephone
- Bacchus – Dionysus
- Saturn – Cronus
- Cupid or Amor – Eros
- Discordia - Eris
- Faunus - Pan
- Camenae – Muses
- Parcae – Moires (Destiny and Fate Goddesses)
If planning to have a child, why not consider one of these Greek God names?
Giulia
14. Jan, 2010
The Greek culture and history were always fascinating to me. Good article
kevin
08. Mar, 2010
very intresting,well done
abbey
27. Jul, 2010
awsome i know all the gods on mt.Olympus
e3t
13. Sep, 2010
interesting
welldone guys
emily
25. Oct, 2010
noss a hitoria dos deuses são mt interessantes td de bom pra quem naum temm nadapra fazer e a jente aprende sobre o passado dos deuses q eram especiais mt daora mano eu mi interecei por um filme e assim começei a estudar sobre os deuzes gregos os poderorozos deuzes o q eu gosto mais é poseidon
Melvin
02. Nov, 2010
Nice job but you guys skipped one … Helios (not sure what god he is for) but I know he is one of Greek Mythology’s god’s.
yannis
05. Nov, 2010
Helios is the Greek god of the Sun. We mentioned the most important Greek gods only, that’s why Helios is not mentioned in this article.
ethael
05. Nov, 2010
That is very good guys
Roxana Sorto
08. Dec, 2010
Let’s hope that plenty of persons leave remark on this website After reading the article?
Zeus
09. Dec, 2010
Greek gods and the greek culture has always fascinated me. Hope i meet them one day lol
Ange
13. Dec, 2010
This was a nice article, but it didn’t have a lot of detail. It would be nice if there was more for those who already know the basics.
micheal
14. Jan, 2011
great page.. well i was wondering are there like minor gods too? well because i’m trying to learn more but most these websites dont help with like minors gods or gods in greek and roman form…………..
jordan delara
17. Jan, 2011
well i know that all of this is the greek gods, but is true that Zeus is the brother of Hades and Poseidon?
mimiguiot
05. Feb, 2011
avez vous un nom de dieux commançant par la lettre f
Katia
10. Feb, 2011
Salut Mimiguiot!
Il y a quelques noms de deites qui commencent par la lettre -F. Dieux Apollon s’appelle aussi Foivos. Il y a Fovos, le dieux du peur, Filotis la deuesse du sex, and Fimi, la deesse de la reputation. Seulement Appollon – Foivos est un de dieux Olympiens.
Katia
10. Feb, 2011
Jordan hi, yes Zeus was indeed the brother of Hades and Poseidon! Check this article here too: http://www.greekmyths-greekmythology.com/hades-greek-god-underworld/
Gfcujjkjh
12. Mar, 2011
What about Hypnos?!?!?!
liam
13. Sep, 2011
Hypnos is the god of sleep
Abigail
05. Jun, 2011
Apollo is the sun god in Ancient Greece, but Helios is the Roman name. By the way, you guys didn’t put Apollo on this page.
liam
13. Sep, 2011
But the information above states that Apollo is still Apollo even in Roman form
caleb smith
20. Jun, 2011
artemis is the god of the moon and the hunt