Greek God Names

Greek God Names

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?