THE Immortals of the Ancient Greek

THE IMMORTALS of the Ancient Greek pantheon can be divided into roughly eight classes.

THE GODS

THE FIRST of these were the PROTOGENOI or First Born gods. These were the primeval beings who emerged at creation to form the very fabric of universe: Earth, Sea, Sky, Night, Day, etc. Although they were divinites they were purely elemental in form: Gaia was the literal Earth, Pontos the Sea, and Ouranos the Dome of Heaven. However they were sometimes represented assuming anthroporphic shape, albeit ones that were indivisible from their native element. Gaia the earth, for example, might manifest herself as a matronly woman half-risen from the ground ; and Thalassa the sea might lift her head above the waves in the shape of a sea-formed woman.

THE SECOND were the nature DAIMONES (Spirits) and NYMPHAI who nurtured life in the four elements. E.g. fresh-water Naiades, forest Dryades, beast-loving Satyroi, marine Tritones, etc.

THE THIRD were the body- and mind-affecting DAIMONES (Spirits). E.g. Sleep (Hypnos), Love (Eros), Joy (Euphrosyne), Hate (Eris), Fear (Phobos), Death (Thanatos), Old Age (Geras), etc.

THE FOURTH class consisted of the THEOI (Gods) who controlled the forces of nature and bestowed civilised arts upon mankind.

THE GODS

THEOI OURANIOI (Sky Gods). E.g. Helios (Sun), Anemoi (Winds), etc.
THEOI HALIOI (Sea Gods). E.g. The Nereides, Triton, Glaukos, etc.
THEOI KHTHONIOI (Underworld Gods). E.g. Persephone, Hekate, etc.
THEOI GEORGIKOI (Agricultural Earth Gods). E.g. Ploutos, etc.
THEOI NOMIOI (Pastoral Earth Gods). E.g. Pan, Aristaios, etc.
THEOI POLIKOI (City Gods). E.g. Hestia, Eunomia, etc.
THEOI OLYMPIOI (Olympian Gods). E.g. The Mousai, Hebe, etc.
THEOI TITANES (Titan Gods). E.g. Themis, Kronos, Prometheus, etc.
APOTHEOTHENAI (Deified Mortals). E.g. Herakles, Asklepios, etc.

THE FIFTH were the 12 OLYMPIAN GODS who governed the universe and commanded the legions of lesser gods and spirits. They were, namely, Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Demeter, Artemis, Apollon, Ares, Athene, Aphrodite, Hephaistos, Hermes, Dionysos, and Hestia.

THE SIXTH of the immortals were the spirits of the CONSTELLATIONS which circed the heavenly night sky. Every constellation, including the twelve signs of the Zodiac, was possessed of one or more spirits EG Saggitarius was the centaur Kheiron, Gemini the Dioskouroi Twins, etc.

THE GODS

THE SEVENTH class consisted of the fabulous MONSTERS, BEASTS, GIANTS of myth. They were semi-divine creatures, closely related to the gods.E.g.GIGANTES (Giants), DRAKONES (Dragons), Kentauroi (Centaurs), Kerberos (Cerberus), Sphinx, Sirens, etc.

THE EIGHTH were the HEROI HEMITHEOI (Semi-Divine Heroes) who were worshipped after death as minor divinities. They included great heroes like Akhilleus, Theseus and Perseus; heroines such as Alkmene, Helene and Baubo; and founding kings like Erikhthonios, Kadmos and Pelops.
There were many divinities in the Greek pantheon who fell into more than one of these categories. Tykhe (Lady Fortune), for example, can easily be classified under category Two as an Okeanis Nymphe, Three as fortune personified, and Four as a popularly worshipped goddess.

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KEY TO THE DEITY-SUMMARIES BELOW

GODS vs GIANTS

NAME Transliterated Greek spelling of the god's name.
Modern Spellings: Spellings of the name in modern languages : En = English; Fr = French; Es = Spanish; It = Italian
Roman Name: The Roman name of the god
God of: The god's general spheres of influence
Parents: The usual parentage of the god in myth
Spouse: The wife or husband of the god
Offspring: The significant divine offspring of the god
Animals: The god's sacred animals (beasts, birds and/or fish)
Plants: Trees, shrubs, flowers and herbs held sacred to the god
Iconography: Usual attributes of the god in Greek vase painting, relief and sculpture
Images: Location of images of the deity on the Theoi site
Theoi Pages: Links to pages on this site containing more detailed descriptions of the god, his/her mythology, and cult. The linked to pages contain quotes from a wide range of classical literature, as well as images of the deity in classical art. Click on the numbers 1 - 2 - 3 ...
Thumbnail Image: The majority of these images come from C5th - C4th BC Greek vase paintings. The mosaics and frescoes are from the Imperial Roman era. Click on the thumbs to view the full size image.