Greek Mythology Tattoo Meanings

More designs and what they carry

Pegasus. The winged horse sprang from Medusa's neck when Perseus beheaded her, alongside his brother Chrysaor. Bellerophon tamed him with a golden bridle given by Athena and rode him against the Chimera, then tried to fly to Olympus and was thrown. Pegasus ended as a constellation and carried Zeus's thunderbolts. As a tattoo he works for inspiration and freedom, and also for something beautiful born out of something terrible. In Greek poetry the spring Hippocrene on Mount Helicon, struck open by his hoof, was sacred to the Muses, so he has long been a symbol of poetic inspiration.

The Phoenix. The usual meaning is rebirth after loss. It is worth knowing that the bird was Egyptian before it was Greek: Herodotus describes it as a bird from Arabia seen at Heliopolis once every five hundred years, carrying its father in a ball of myrrh. The fiery death-and-rebirth story was developed later by Roman-era writers.

Sisyphus. In myth he is a trickster king of Corinth who cheated death, in some versions by tying up Thanatos and in others by talking his way out of the Underworld, and was sentenced to roll a stone uphill forever. Most people who get this tattoo mean Albert Camus' reading in The Myth of Sisyphus (1942), which ends with the line that one must imagine Sisyphus happy: meaning found in the struggle itself rather than in finishing.

The Minotaur and the labyrinth. A design about facing the beast at the centre of yourself, or finding a way through confusion. Pairing it with a thread recalls Ariadne, whose thread got Theseus out alive. The Minotaur also had a name, Asterion or Asterius, which some people use to give the design a sympathetic reading.

The Fates. Clotho spins the thread of life, Lachesis measures it, and Atropos cuts it. A thread, spindle, or shears tattoo usually means acceptance of destiny or the shortness of life. In the Iliad, Zeus considers saving his son Sarpedon from his fated death but lets it happen when Hera warns him the other gods would resent it.

Orpheus. A lyre or a figure looking back over the shoulder often marks grief or a lost love, after the moment Orpheus turned to see Eurydice before they reached the upper world.

Prometheus. A torch, a chained figure, or an eagle signals sacrifice for others and defiance of unjust power, after the Titan who stole fire for humanity and was punished for it.

Getting the details right

Several popular designs carry details that are newer than people think, and knowing this helps you choose a version you are happy with.

• The Achilles heel is not in Homer. The Iliad never says Achilles is invulnerable. The story of Thetis dipping the baby in the Styx and missing the heel she held him by is best known from the Roman poet Statius' Achilleid (late first century AD). Earlier sources say Paris' arrow, guided by Apollo, killed him, without the dipping story.
• The sympathetic Medusa rests mainly on Ovid's Metamorphoses, where she was a beautiful girl violated by Neptune (Poseidon) in Minerva's (Athena's) temple and then transformed. In Hesiod she is simply one of three Gorgon sisters, and the only mortal one. Both readings are legitimate; they come from different authors.
• The ouroboros is older in Egypt than in Greece. It appears in Egyptian funerary texts and later in Greek-language alchemical manuscripts from Roman Egypt, such as the Chrysopoeia of Cleopatra, labelled "the all is one".
• Spartan helmet designs usually show the Corinthian helmet, worn widely across Greece, not only at Sparta. The phrase molon labe, "come and take them", is attributed to Leonidas by Plutarch, writing centuries after Thermopylae. The saying about returning "with your shield or on it" also comes from Plutarch's collection of Spartan women's sayings.

Greek lettering and border patterns

If your design includes Greek text, have it checked by someone who reads the language; mixed-up letters such as sigma and the Latin E are common. Popular phrases include γνῶθι σεαυτόν (gnōthi seauton, "know thyself"), inscribed at Apollo's temple at Delphi, and μηδὲν ἄγαν (mēden agan, "nothing in excess"), from the same place. Note that the final form of sigma (ς) is used at the end of a word.

The meander or "Greek key" border is one of the oldest motifs in Greek art, found on Geometric pottery from the ninth and eighth centuries BC. It is often linked with the labyrinth and with eternity, though those readings are later interpretations. It makes a good frame for any of the designs above.

Ancient sources

• Hesiod, Theogony — the three Gorgons, Medusa as the only mortal one, and the birth of Pegasus and Chrysaor from her neck.
• Ovid, Metamorphoses 4 — Perseus tells the story of Medusa's assault and transformation, the version behind the modern survivor reading.
• Statius, Achilleid — the dipping of the infant Achilles in the Styx, the source of the heel story.
• Herodotus, Histories 2.73 — the phoenix as a rare bird associated with Heliopolis in Egypt.
• Plutarch, Sayings of Spartans and Sayings of Spartan Women — "molon labe" and "with your shield or on it".

Frequently asked questions

What does a Medusa tattoo mean?

Traditionally it is protective, like the gorgoneion on ancient shields. Today it often signals survival of sexual violence, drawing on Ovid's version of her story, or more broadly reclaimed power and anger.

Which Greek god tattoo represents strength?

Zeus and his thunderbolt for authority, Heracles with the lion skin and club for physical endurance, and Ares or a Spartan helmet for martial courage. Kratos, the actual personification of strength, is rarely tattooed but is a fitting choice.

What does a Sisyphus tattoo mean?

Usually perseverance and finding purpose in an unending task, following Camus. In the original myth, the stone is a punishment for cheating death and deceiving the gods.

Are Greek mythology tattoos disrespectful?

Generally they are not seen that way, since the ancient religion is mostly approached today as cultural heritage. A small number of modern Hellenic polytheists do worship these gods, so treat the imagery respectfully.

Books to read next

• Edith Hamilton, Mythology
• Stephen Fry, Mythos
• Robert Graves, The Greek Myths

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