Can You Name These Greek Gods and Goddesses From Just One Image?
By: Narra Jackson
2 min
Image: Shutterstock
About This Quiz
The stories of love, revenge, conceit and power are why Greek mythology has held our fascination throughout the ages. And talk about plot twists! From shape-shifting to curses and never-ending tortures, the Greek myths were spellbinding. For instance, Hades had a cap or helmet that made its wearer invisible. Poseidon possessed a palace made of gems and coral, located on the ocean floor. Dionysus was the god of wine but also of ritual madness, religious ecstasy, and theater. Absolutely fascinating. So how well-versed are you in Greek mythology? This is your chance to prove it. Take the quiz now.Â
One of the captivating features of Greek mythology was the cast of characters. There were heroes like Prometheus who was the protector and benefactor of mankind and monsters who were also gods. For instance, Typhon was a giant who was as tall as the stars. His hands stretched east and west and, instead of a human head, he had a hundred dragon heads that erupted from his neck and shoulders. The quiz will open your eyes to these mythical gods and an even larger cast of demi-god characters. Take the quiz now and see if you can do better than the 85% of people who can't name these Greek gods.Â
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Which Greek god corresponds to this image?
Zeus
Zeus was arguably the most important and powerful Greek god. He lived on Mount Olympus and ruled both the gods of Olympus and mortal men. Zeus was able to shapeshift and he had the ability to mimic people's voices. When angered, Zeus could turn a person into an animal.
Pan was the god of the wild, and hunting; he was also the companion of the nymphs. He was half human, with the legs and horns of a goat. His Roman counterpart was Faunus. There were no temples attributed to Pan, but he was worshiped in natural settings, such as caves.
Hermes was the god of trade, thieves, travelers, sports, athletes, and border crossings, and guide to the Underworld. As the god of boundaries and transitions, Hermes was known to be quick and cunning. He had the ability to freely move between the mortal and divine worlds.
Aphrodite is the goddess of love, fertility, and beauty. Aphrodite, Hera, and Athena were the top three contenders for a gold apple marked “For the Fairest.†Aphrodite owned a girdle that contained her enchantments. Early Greek art depicted this goddess as nude.
Ares was most notably referred to as the god of war; he represented the unpleasant aspects of battle. He came from Thrace, home of a fierce people in the northeast of Greece. His bird was the vulture.
The story of Orion has many different versions. He is considered to be Boeotian by birth, born of the earth. Some legends have him as the son of Poseidon. He is associated with the island of Chios, from which he is said to have driven the wild beasts.
Helios was one of the Titans. He was the personification of the sun and his sisters were the goddesses Selene (the moon) and Eos (the dawn). In later times, Helios was considered to be the god of light. Helios did not play a major part in Greek mythology, as he was replaced by Apollo.
Hades was the god of the Underworld and the name eventually came to also describe the home of the dead. He was also the god of wealth or “the rich one,†because he possessed the precious metals of the earth. Hades had a cap or helmet that made its wearer invisible.
Athena, also called Athene, was a very important goddess. She was goddess of wisdom, courage, inspiration, civilization, law and justice, strategic warfare, mathematics, strength, strategy, the arts, crafts, and skill. She was Zeus’ favorite child.
Poseidon was the god of the sea, earthquakes, storms, and horses. He was one of the most bad-tempered, moody and greedy of the Olympian gods. Poseidon possessed a palace, made of gems and coral, located on the ocean floor.
Artemis was the Greek goddess of the hunt, wilderness, moon, and archery. She was the twin sister of Apollo and one of the twelve Olympian gods who lived on Mount Olympus. She spent her time in the forest with animals like hunting dogs, bears, and deer.
Hephaestus was the god of fire, metalworking, stone masonry, forges, and the art of sculpture. Hephaestus’ ugly appearance was the reason Zeus chose him to marry Aphrodite, but, despite this, she still had multiple affairs with both gods and men.
Dionysus was the god of the grape harvest, winemaking and wine, of ritual madness, religious ecstasy, and theater. He was also referred to as Bacchus. Unlike the immortal gods, who were hostile toward humans, Dionysus and Demeter were benevolent towards men and women.
Persephone was the queen of the Underworld. She was abducted by Hades and taken to the Underworld. Zeus tried to bring her back; however, Persephone ate the seeds of a pomegranate that Hades had given to her, binding her to him for one third of the year.
Nyx was a primordial deity in Greek mythology that preceded the Titans and the Olympians, and was the personification of the night. Nyx's home was in Tartarus, along with her children, Hypnos and Thanatos. Nyx Is also called Nox.
Uranus was a primal Greek god, symbolizing the sky. Uranus would wrap himself around Gaea, goddess of earth, and mate with her. As a result, Gaea gave birth to many children. First, there were the six boys and six girls who were called the Titans. Uranus hated them all, so he imprisoned them in Tartarus, a prison deep in the Earth.
In Greek mythology, the goddess Gaia represented the earth. She is also called Gaea or Ge by the Greeks and Terra or Tellus by the Romans. She was a maternal figure who gave birth to many other creatures and deities. She was widely worshiped at temples in Greece.
Cronus was the youngest of the Titans, the Greek deities who ruled the world before the arrival of Zeus. Cronus seized power from his father, Uranus, and was later ousted by his children. The Romans adopted Cronus, renamed him Saturn, and worshiped him as a god of agriculture.
Rhea is sometimes confused with Gaia; both are strong mother goddesses believed to rule over heaven and earth. The names of the goddesses Rhea and Hera are anagrams of each other... by rearranging the letters you can spell both names. Hera is a daughter of Rhea.
Prometheus was the protector and benefactor of mankind. During the Titanomachy, the war between the Titans and the Olympian gods, Prometheus sided with Zeus, who overthrew the old gods. He avoided punishment with the Titans and was not sent to Tartarus, the Underworld.
Selene was a Titan goddess in Greek mythology. She had two siblings, Helios and Eos. She was the goddess of the moon, which she drove every night across the skies. Selene was linked to Artemis, as well as Hecate; all three were considered lunar goddesses.
Eos was a Titan goddess in Greek mythology, daughter of the Titans Hyperion and Theia. She was the goddess of the dawn. She was the consort of the god Ares, causing the jealousy of Aphrodite, who cursed her with an insatiable sexual urge.
Apollo was the god of the sun, light, knowledge, music, art, poetry, oracles, medicine, archery, and prophecy. Symbols intertwined with Apollo are the golden chariot, bows and arrows, the raven, the lyre, the wolf, deer, and the laurel tree. Apollo was born on the Greek island of Delos.
Hyperion is the Titan god of light. Hyperion is very important in Greek mythology because he is viewed as the primal god who ordered cycles of the sun, moon, and dawn (who were his sons), creating the days and the months.
Atlas was one of the Titans, son of Iapetus and Clymene, and brother of Prometheus, Epimetheus, and Menoetius. He was the Titan god of astronomy and navigation, and he was married to his sister, Phoebe. He was associated with the Atlas mountains in northwest Africa.
It is very rare for a god to also be a monster, but that is what Typhon was. He was by far the largest of all mythological creatures. Typhon was a giant who was as tall as the stars. His hands stretched east and west and, instead of a human head, he had a hundred dragon heads that erupted from his neck and shoulders.
Eros was the Greek god of love, lust, and sexual desire. He was the oldest god, according to some legends. Eros carried two kinds of arrows. The golden arrow had dove feathers and caused love in a person’s heart. The lead arrow had feathers of the owl and was known to cause indifference.
Hebe was the Greek goddess of Youth. Although Hebe was a distinguished member of the Olympian family of gods, she was happy to serve them. Her role reflected the ancient Greek custom, in which the daughters of the house personally assisted in serving the guests.
Thanatos was the daemonic representation of death in ancient Greek mythology (daemonic here is used with its classical meaning, which refers to benevolent or benign nature spirits). He was believed to be merciless and indiscriminate, and both mortals and gods hated him.
Hestia was the goddess of the hearth, home, architecture, domesticity, family, and the state. She was one of only three virgin goddesses. She represented communal security and personal happiness. Both Apollo and Poseidon proposed marriage, but she preferred to be a maiden forever.
The name Aeolus was given to three mythical characters; their myths are so intertwined that the characters are difficult to tell apart. The most famous of them was the son of Hippotes, mentioned in Homer's Odyssey as the keeper of the winds.
Pontus was one of the Greek primordial deities that ruled on the earth before the arrival of the Olympians. His name means sea, he was a sea god, son of Gaea alone. He and Gaea had Nereus, "the old man of the sea," and Thaumas, "the wonder of the sea".
Nike was the ancient Greek winged goddess of victory, strength, and speed who flew around battlefields rewarding the victors with glory and fame. She was a patron of games and competitions and was often pictured rewarding athletes and heroes with a wreath of laurel leaves.
Demeter was the goddess of the harvest. She presided over grains and the fertility of the earth. She was also goddess of sacred law and the cycle of life and death. She revealed to man the art of growing and using corn.
Nemesis was the goddess of divine retribution and revenge, who would show her wrath to any human being that would commit hubris, or arrogance before the gods. She was considered a remorseless goddess.
Hypnos was a primordial deity in Greek mythology, the personification of sleep. He lived in a cave next to his twin brother, Thanatos, in the Underworld, where no light was cast by the sun or the moon. Hypnos managed to put Zeus to sleep twice.
Morpheus was the son of Hypnos, the god of sleep who specialized in dreams focusing on people, especially those relaying prophecies. Hypnos, Morpheus, and his brothers resided in the land of dreams, located in the Underworld.
Phobos was the god of fear. Some of his siblings were his brother Deimos, god of terror, Harmonia, goddess of harmony, and Eros, god of love. Phobos was depicted in the shields of heroes who worshiped him, like Heracles, with his mouth open showing fearful and menacing teeth
Hemera was the primordial goddess of the day. She was a daughter of Erebos (Darkness) and Nyx (Night) and the sister and wife of Aether (Heavenly Light). Hemera was closely identified with Hera, the queen of heavens, and Eos, the goddess of the dawn.
Hera was the queen of the gods. She was the wife and sister of Zeus in the Olympian pantheon, and also the goddess of marriage and birth. She was known to be jealous and vengeful toward the many lovers and offspring of her husband Zeus.
The Muses were nine very intelligent, beautiful, careless divinities. Each Muse was responsible for a different literary or poetic genre. They were the goddesses of art and science. The home of the Muses was Mount Helicon, where they had sanctuaries and a dancing area near the top.
Aether was also was of the primordial deities in Greek mythology. He was the personification of the upper air that only gods breathe, as opposed to the normal air breathed by mortals. Aether Is also called Aither or Ether.