Zeus
The king of the Olympian gods. He is a powerful god of sovereignty, mastery, government and victory in warfare. As a god on high he is associated with storms, rain, tempests and with thunder and lightning. He watches over the affairs of the Greeks from on high. He is supreme judge and his realm is the Heavens (Earth belongs to his brother Poseidon, the Underworld to his other brother Hades).
Symbol: The eagle and the thunderbolt.
Main Temples: He has a shrine at Dodonna in Epirus, but his greatest sanctuary is the magnificent temple of Zeus at Olympia in Elis, home of the Olympic Games.
Domains: Law, War, Strength, Air
Worshippers: Nobles, leaders, soldiers
Hera
The matronly wife of Zeus, Hera is associated with the sky and with the moon. God of women and of childbirth and marriage, she is rarely invoked by adventurers. Hera punished many of Zeus' lovers, and could be said to have also embodied jealousy.
Symbol: The peacock is her cult animal, her other symbol is the pomegranate.
Main Temples: At Argos Hera has five or six temples! The greatest of her temples is on Samos and was built by the Argonauts.
Domains: Destruction, Law, Protection
Worshippers: House-keepers, stewards, defenders, seekers of vengeance
Ares
A brash god of warfare, Ares is popular with adventurers. Ares is invoked also for revenge. He is not a subtle god of grand strategy but an up-front believer in raw combat.
Symbol: Blazing torch and the spear.
Main Temples: He has a temple at Athens, Sparta and Olympia. He has a spring and a shrine at Thebes.
Domains: Destruction, Evil
Worshippers: Mercenaries
Hestia
The goddess of the home and hearth. The family and community are associated with her gentle cult. Bakers also sacrifice to her.
Symbol: A fire
Main Temples: Delphi houses the common hearth of Greece, Hestia's great shrine.
Domains: Fire, Protection
Worshippers: Housewives, magistrates, city officials, stewards
Hephaestus
The god of fire, smiths and craftsmen in general, Hephaestus is a brawny, lame god. He is also associated with volcanoes. In myth he built many fantastic devices, some of which are hidden about the world in labyrinths and on remote islands. His wife is the adulterous Aphrodite.
Symbol: Hammer and tongs
Main Temples: Lemnos, various sites on Sicily (his forge is within Mt. Etna)
Domains: Fire, Strength
Worshippers: Blacksmiths, bronzeworkers, armourers, jewellers
Hermes
The winged messenger of the gods, Hermes is also the god of thieves, travellers and merchants. Hermes guides the spirits of the dead to the underworld, and wayside marker stones are dedicated to him. The great cults to Hermes are run by the merchant brotherhoods to which they owe their good fortune. Gamblers too, pray to him.
Symbol: Hermae, phallic pillars on street corners, cross-roads and gateways, winged sandals, caduceus (winged staff entwined with serpents)
Main Temples: Strong in Arcadia, but there are no temples, only statues and images - most temple priests of Hermes are permanent travellers, much like their god.
Domains: Luck, Travel, Trickery
Worshippers: Traders, thieves, travellers
Apollo
A god of sunlight, musicians, fortune-tellers and medicine. This bold and potent god is also the protector of herdsmen, but it is his association with the sun that is most strong. His deadly and unerring skill with the bow is symbolic of rays of light. But his typical symbol is the lyre. Many famous seers and soothsayers claim to have been given their powers by Apollo. So pivotal is the cult of Apollo at Delphi, a complete section is devoted to the god, his cult and his origins (see Apollo and His Shrines).
Symbol: His symbols are the bow and lyre.
Main Temples: The greatest cult centre is Delphi, home of the oracle. The island of Delos is also sacred to Apollo and houses an extensive sanctuary.
Domains: Healing, Sun, Knowledge
Worshippers: Shepherds, soothsayers, hunters, physicians
Demeter
This gentle goddess presides over agriculture, fertility and the earth. Her sister Persephone spends six months of the year with Hades, symbolising the changing seasons. Her cult is accompanied by orgies, and her temples, often found in forests, are called megara.
Symbol: The sheaf of corn.
Main Temples: Eleusis, where a great mystery festival is held each year for initiates, other centres include Arcadia, Argos and Attica.
Domains: Earth, Plant, Good
Worshippers: Farmers
Poseidon
The brother of Zeus, Poseidon is the god of the oceans and seas, as well as earthquakes and horses. A harsh and unrelenting god, Poseidon shows his anger with floods, storms and earthquakes. Sailors fear him.
Symbol: The symbol of Poseidon is the trident and horse.
Main Temples: Corinth is the site of his greatest cult, but he is also revered at Rhodes and Taenarus.
Domains: Luck, Water, Strength
Worshippers: Sailors, cavalry-men, horse-breeders
Aphrodite
The amorous goddess of love, beauty and sex, married (in the myths) to Hephaestus. She is fickle and passionate, and prone to initiating liaisons and romances. Young lovers pray to her.
Symbol: A seashell
Main Temples: Her cult centre is on the island of Cythera and Paphos on Cyprus. The Spartans worship her as Aphrodite the Warrior.
Domains: Luck, Trickery, Protection
Worshippers: Courtesans, sailors
Dionysus
A god of wine, pleasure and revelry often invoked at bars, banquets and orgies. Since he is associated with wine cultivation he represents both the pleasures of wine and its darker side of mad passions and abuse. His favourite method of punishing wrong-doers is through madness. His cult throw wild orgies at which respectable women dance wildly in the countryside to the sound of raucous music.
Symbol: Pine-cone staff
Main Temples: Orchomenus, Athens, Lesbos, Naxos.
Domains: Plant, Trickery
Worshippers: Actors, playwrights, entertainers, vintners
Artemis
Artemis is the virgin sister of Apollo, and she is the goddess of hunting and of wildlife. As a fertility goddess she is invoked by mothers as well as more typically hunters. She has a lunar aspect and is well known as a great and deadly archer. She is revered especially in Arcadia.
Symbol: A burning torch, the she-bear or a faithful hound.
Main Temples: Sparta, Delos, Aegina and Caryae in Laconia. Artemis also has a fabulous sanctuary at Ephesus in Ionia.
Domains: Animal, Earth, Protection
Worshippers: Hunters, women
Athena
Athena is the goddess of wisdom and inventiveness, of women and the arts and crafts. Other professions looked to her, including doctors, teachers, actors, poets and students. Athena is the armour-clad virgin daughter of Zeus and burst, fully armed from his head. She is a warrior who fights for order, peace and righteous causes. After her birth she dispensed advice to her father.
Symbol: The owl is her main symbol, but she is also famous for the aegis, a shield emblazoned with the terrifying face of Medusa.
Main Temples: Her cult centre is the city of Athens, and she has a splendid temple, the Parthenon, atop the Acropolis there.
Domains: Knowledge, War, Protection
Worshippers: Soldiers, nobles, defenders, craftsmen.
Hades
The grim and dark god of the Underworld who rules with his wife Persephone. He has no temples and no organised cult. Those who wish to call upon him must dig pits to throw down their sacrifices. He is an aspect of death.
Symbol: Cypress tree, narcissus
Main Temples: His centres of worship are mysterious entrances to the Underworld. He has no temples and no common public shrines.
Domains: Death, Magic, Law
Worshippers: Female sorcerers (witches)
Asclepius
The son of Apollo, the god of medicine and doctors. Asclepius was in trouble with Hades because he was preventing the new intake of the dead from arriving, as they should have.
Symbol: Caduceus, the winged staff with a snake coiled around it, snakes.
Main Temples: Asclepius has a healing temple at Epidauris in the Argolid, a sanctuary incorporating a holy dormitory where the sick can rest overnight and pray that the god welcomes their sacrifice and heals them.
Domains: Healing, Good
Worshippers: Physicians
Dioscurii
The Twins of ancient myth, Castor and Pollux, great heroes of Sparta and brothers of Helen of Troy. They are the patrons of sailors and other travellers and are associated with hospitality as well as warfare and the legions.
Symbol: The Dioscurii are associated with an egg-shaped cap crowned with a star, horses and St Elmo's Fire.
Main Temples: Sparta
Domains: Travel, War
Worshippers: Sailors, soldiers, travellers
Hercules
This hero from ancient myth became a god long ago and his fabulous feats of daring and strength are known to every living soul, for Hercules travelled far and wide. All know of his Twelve Labours. Today, Hercules embodies endurance, fortitude, courage and stamina. The god is popular amongst mercenaries and other fighters, as well as travellers of many kinds. He is associated with lions, archery, and the club. Many towns and villages in Greece have shrines to this cult.
Symbol: The club.
Main Temples: Thebes, Argos
Domains: Strength, War, Good
Worshippers: Soldiers
The Muses
Nine daughters of Zeus, goddesses of music, the arts, science, dance, theatre and history. Apollo leads the Muses.
Nike
Specifically a goddess of the armies, an embodiment of victory and conquest.
The Furies
Female demons serving the gods. Daughters of Gaea, they are monstrous hags with canine faces and black wings, serpent-haired and wielding long whips. They hunt down offenders and send them mad. The three Furies are not vindictive, but impartial.
Morpheus & Somnus
Two gods of sleep, often mistaken for one another. Somnus rules sleep in general, and Morpheus is the god of dreams.