Greek Names

• The Gods of the Greeks
• Names in the Iliad
• Important people in the literature we read (in progress)
• Important people in Greek history (in progress)

The Gods of the Greeks

1st Generation of Olympian Gods:

• Zeus: King of the gods, cloud gatherer and sky god of thunder and lightening (shown carrying thunderbolt)
• Poseidon: brother of Zeus, god of the sea, horses, and earthquakes (shown carrying trident)
• Hades: brother of Zeus, god of the underworld
• Hera: sister/wife of Zeus, goddess of family, marriage, institutionalized love
• Demeter: sister of Zeus, goddess of grain and the fruits of the earth, mother of Persephone (Korê)
• Hestia: sister of Zeus, goddess of the hearth

2nd Generation of Olympian Gods:

• Ares: god of war, son of Zeus and Hera
• Hephaistos: lame god of craftsmen and metalworkers, son of Hera
• Apollo: god of law, civilization and music, illegitimate son of Zeus from Leto
• Artemis: twin sister of Apollo, goddess of the hunt, woodlands, and fertility, illegitimate daughter of Zeus from Leto
• Hermes: god of businessmen and thieves, guide to the underworld, messenger of the Gods, illegitimate son of Zeus from Maia
• Dionysos: god of wine, god in whose honor tragedy developed, illegitimate son of Zeus from Semele
• Athena: born from the head of Zeus (fully grown), the warrior goddess, goddess of wisdom, crafts, patron of cities (often shown fully armed), illegitimate daughter of Zeus

Other Olympian deities:

• Aphrodite: born from the foam of castrated Ouranos (grandfather of Zeus), goddess of sexual love

Names in the Iliad

Gods and mortals in the Iliad are often referred to by several different names or by their patronymics (names formed from their father's name.) Therefore, Achilleus is also called Pelaides or Pelion because his father's name is Peleus. Alternate names and patronymics are listed here in parentheses after an individual's most common name. The spelling is that used by Lattimore. Other translators may employ spellings that vary somewhat from those listed here: for example, Aias is often called Ajax.

The Greeks (who are called Achaians, Danaans, or Argives):

• Agamemnon (Atreides): son of Atreus, chief leader of the Greeks, hails from Mykenai (Mycenae)
• Menelaos: brother of Agamemnon, king of Lakedaimon (from Sparta and vicinity), original husband of Helen
• Achilleus (Pelides, Pelion): son of Peleus and Thetis, the Greeks' greatest warrior
• Patroklos (Menoitiades): son of Menoitios, close friend of Achilleus
• Nestor (Neliades, Nelian horseman): son of Neleus, leader of Pylos, an old warrior and advisor to Agamemnon
• Odysseus (Laertides): son of Laertes, a great warrior and advisor from the land of Ithaka
• Diomedes (Tydides): son of Tydeus, king of Argos and a great warrior
• Aias (Telamonian): son of Telamon, a great warrior from Salamis
• Aias (Oleian, the lesser Aias): son of Oleus, a lesser warrior than Telamonian Aias

The Trojans (who are called Teukrians) and their allies:

• Priam: king of Troy, father of many Trojan warriors
• Hekabe: wife of Priam, queen of Troy
• Hektor: son of Priam and Hekabe, greatest Trojan warrior
• Alexandros (Paris): son of Priam and Hekabe, abductor of Helen
• Andromache: wife of Hektor
• Aineias: son of Anchises and Aphrodite, a Trojan general and leader of the Dardanians, subsequent founder of Rome
• Astyanax (Skamandrios): son of Hektor and Andromache. When the Greeks capture Troy, he is thrown over the walls and killed so as not to refound the city.
• Sarpedon: son of Zeus, lord of Lykians, a great warrior

Others:

• Meleagros: a prince of Kalydonia in Greece (referred to as an illustrative example in Book IX)

Also note that Troy is sometimes called Ilion or Ilium. The major gods favoring the Greeks were Hera, Athena and Poseidon. The major gods favoring the Trojans were Apollo, Aphrodite and Ares.

Important people in the literature we read (in progress)

Important people in Greek history (in progress)

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