Greek God Names
Complete List with Meanings
The definitive list of every Greek god — from the twelve Olympians to the primordial deities, with meanings and origins.
The Complete Guide
Greek mythology features hundreds of named figures — each with their own stories, symbols, and significance. This comprehensive guide organizes every major figure for quick reference, whether you're studying for a class, writing a paper, or simply exploring the myths.
The Major Figures
At the top of the mythological hierarchy sit the twelve Olympian gods, who ruled from Mount Olympus after overthrowing the Titans. Below them are the minor gods, primordial deities, Titans, heroes, and the countless nymphs, spirits, and monsters that populated the ancient Greek imagination.
Origins and Genealogy
Nearly every figure in Greek mythology can trace their lineage back to the primordial beings — Chaos, Gaia, and Uranus. Understanding these family connections is essential to understanding why certain gods allied with or against each other, and why specific heroes were destined for greatness or tragedy.
Symbols and Domains
Each deity and mythological figure is associated with specific symbols, animals, plants, and domains of influence. These symbols were not merely decorative — they represented the fundamental powers and responsibilities of each figure, and were used in worship, art, and storytelling throughout the ancient world.
Cultural Significance
These figures were not merely characters in stories — they were the foundation of ancient Greek religion, philosophy, and identity. Temples were built in their honor, festivals celebrated their deeds, and their names were invoked in everything from marriage ceremonies to battle cries. Understanding these figures means understanding the civilization that gave birth to Western culture.
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The Olympians: Names and What They Mean
The meanings of most Olympian names are less certain than popular lists suggest. Here is what scholars can say with reasonable confidence.
- Zeus: the most secure etymology in the pantheon. It comes from an Indo-European word for the bright daytime sky and is related to the Latin Iu-piter ("Sky Father") and the Vedic Dyaus Pita.
- Poseidon: often explained as "lord" or "husband" (posis) of the earth (da), which suits his title Earth-shaker. The analysis is disputed.
- Hades: ancient writers read it as "the Unseen" (a-ides). Many Greeks avoided the name entirely and called him Plouton, "the Wealthy", after the riches of the earth.
- Hermes: possibly linked to herma, the cairns or stone markers set along roads, which fits a god of travellers and boundaries.
- Dionysus: the first part seems to contain the name of Zeus (Dio-). The second part remains unexplained, though ancient writers connected it with Nysa, the mountain where he was raised.
- Hestia: simply "hearth", which is what she was.
- Athena: inseparable from the city of Athens. Whether the goddess was named after the city or the other way round is debated.
- Aphrodite: the Greeks connected it with aphros ("foam") because of her birth from the sea. That is almost certainly folk etymology, and the name may be borrowed from a Near Eastern language.
- Apollo, Ares, Artemis, Hera, Hephaestus and Demeter: no agreed etymology. Hephaestus is probably pre-Greek. Demeter may contain a word for "mother".
The Oldest Written Names
Several of these names appear in writing centuries before Homer, on the Linear B clay tablets of Mycenaean palaces at Pylos, Knossos and Thebes (c. 1400–1200 BC). Zeus (di-wo), Hera (e-ra), Poseidon (po-se-da-o), Hermes (e-ma-a) and Dionysus (di-wo-nu-so) are all attested. So is a-ta-na-po-ti-ni-ja, "Mistress of Atana", usually understood as an early Athena. Also attested are Enyalios (later a title of Ares), Paiawon (later Paean, linked with Apollo) and Eleuthia (Eileithyia, goddess of childbirth). Poseidon appears more prominently than Zeus at Pylos. Apollo has not been found, and Dionysus, once thought to be a late newcomer, turns out to have been worshipped in the Bronze Age.
Gods Who Are Their Own Names
Many Greek deities are simply personified words, and their names mean exactly what the thing is called in Greek:
- Nyx (Night), Hemera (Day), Erebus (Darkness), Aether (the bright upper air), Pontus (Sea), Uranus (Sky), Gaia (Earth)
- Thanatos (Death), Hypnos (Sleep), Eros (Desire), Eris (Strife), Nike (Victory), Tyche (Chance, Fortune), Plutus (Wealth)
- Nemesis (from a verb meaning "to distribute", so "what is due"), Phobos (Fear, Rout) and Deimos (Terror)
- The winds: Boreas (North), Zephyrus (West), Notus (South) and Eurus (East)
When a Greek said "helios", he was saying "sun" and naming a god at the same time. The two meanings were not fully separate. Hypnos and Thanatos, for example, are both gods in Homer and ordinary words for sleep and death.
Epithets: The Names Worshippers Actually Used
In prayer and cult, a god was rarely addressed by name alone. Epithets specified which aspect was being invoked, and they often mattered more than the bare name. Zeus could be Olympios, Xenios (protector of guests and strangers), Herkeios (of the household courtyard), Soter (Saviour) or Ktesios (guardian of property). Apollo was Phoibos ("bright"), Pythios (of Delphi), Loxias ("the oblique", for his ambiguous oracles) and Smintheus (a title Homer uses, often explained as "mouse god"). Hermes was Psychopompos (guide of souls) and Argeiphontes, traditionally "slayer of Argus". Poseidon was Enosichthon (Earth-shaker) and Hippios (of horses). Roman names were not translations. They were separate Italian gods identified with Greek ones: Jupiter, Neptune, Mercury, Mars, Venus, Minerva, Diana, Vulcan, Ceres, Vesta, Juno and Bacchus. Apollo alone kept his Greek name. A side-by-side table is on the Greek vs Roman gods page, and the twelve major deities are profiled in the Olympian gods list. For female deities, see Greek goddess names.
Ancient sources
- Hesiod, Theogony: the fullest early catalogue of divine names, from primordial beings and Titans to the children of Night and the Olympians.
- Herodotus, Histories 2.50–53: argues that most Greek god-names came from Egypt and that Homer and Hesiod gave the gods their names, epithets and forms.
- Plato, Cratylus: Socrates offers etymologies, some playful, of Zeus, Poseidon, Hades (Plouton), Hermes, Apollo and other gods.
- Homeric Hymns: hymns to individual gods that preserve many of their earliest epithets and birth stories.
- Linear B tablets from Pylos and Knossos: Bronze Age offering lists recording the earliest written forms of several Greek god names.
Frequently asked questions
How many Greek gods are there?
There is no fixed number. Hesiod alone names hundreds of divine beings, including three thousand Oceanids and three thousand river gods, and local cults added many more. The twelve Olympians are the core.
What does "Zeus" mean?
It derives from an Indo-European word for the bright sky or day, the same root behind the Latin Jupiter and the Sanskrit Dyaus.
Why do Greek gods have Roman names too?
The Romans identified their own deities with Greek ones as they absorbed Greek literature and art. Jupiter was equated with Zeus, Venus with Aphrodite and so on, and the myths were transferred to the Roman names.
What is the Greek god of death called?
Thanatos is death personified. Hades rules the underworld but is not himself death. Hermes guides souls down, and Charon ferries them across.