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"Despite
Artemis'
bloodthirstiness
she protected
pregnant women
and small children."
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Aphrodite
Goddess of: Love
Strengths: Born naked from the sea foam; also has a magic love-inducing
girdle
Flaws: Addicted to adultery
Roman name: Venus
Symbols: Rose, apple, swan, Cupid (her son)
Apollo
God of: Light
Strengths: Bestowed enlightenment, governed music, medicine, oracles and
crops
Flaws: Cheated in a musical contest, then flayed his rival Marsyas alive
Roman name: Apollo
Symbols: Lyre, bow, tripod, laurel wreath
Ares
God of: War
Strengths: This natural born killer fathered Eros (Cupid) and Harmonia
(Harmony)
Flaws: Lost twice to Athena, the martial Goddess of Wisdom
Roman name: Mars
Symbols: Spear, torch, armour
Artemis
Goddess of: the Hunt
Strengths: Despite her bloodthirstiness, she protected pregnant women
and small children
Flaws: This eternal virgin turned a peeping tom, Actaeon, into a stag
and hunted him
Roman name: Diana
Symbols: Bow and quiver, new moon, hind
Athena
Goddess of: Wisdom
Strengths: Born, fully-grown and armed, from Zeus’ brain
Flaws: Accidentally killed her childhood playmate Pallas (assuming her
name as penance)
Roman name: Minerva
Symbols: Helmet, shield, spear, olive tree, owl
Demeter
Goddess of: the Earth and Fertility
Strengths: Taught people about agriculture, civic order and wedlock
Flaws: Starved humans, when Hades stole her daughter, then created winter
Roman name: Ceres
Symbols: Ear of corn, fruit basket, poppy, torch, serpent
Dionysus
God of: Wine
Strengths: Roamed the globe with drunken nymphs, satyrs and wild women
Flaws: The portable party often spun out of control. Limbs were torn.
Lives were lost.
Roman name: Bacchus (aka Liber)
Symbols: Ivy crown, grapes, cup, wand, fawn, panther, crazed revellers
Hades
God of: the Underworld and the Dead
Strengths: In milder moods, he bestowed wealth or an invisibility helmet
Flaws: Kidnapped his bride Persephone, whose enraged mother invented winter
Roman name: Pluto
Symbols: Three-headed dog Cerberus, pick axe, cypress tree
Hephaestus
God of: Fire and Metalworking
Strengths: His fabulous jewellery earned him Aphrodite, the love goddess,
as his wife
Flaws: She cheated on him constantly and blatantly.
Roman name: Vulcan
Symbols: Hammer, tongs, lame leg
Hera
Goddess of: Marriage, Queen of Heaven
Strengths: Routinely renewed her virginity bathing in a special spring
Flaws: This jealous wife chased one rival with a python, kept another
as a pet cow
Roman name: Juno
Symbols: Peacock, cuckoo, cow, pomegranate
Hermes
God of: Thieves, Traders and Messengers
Strengths: Invented the lyre mere days after his birth (with gut from
Apollo’s stolen cows)
Flaws: Guided souls to the Underworld
Roman name: Mercury
Symbols: Herald’s staff, winged golden sandals, winged helmet
Hestia
Goddess of: the Hearth and Civic Harmony
Strengths: Kept the home fires burning and avoided sexual intrigue on
Olympus
Flaws: Too dull to have one, really.
Roman name: Vesta
Symbols: Sceptre, hearth
Poseidon
God of: the Ocean and Flowing Waters
Strengths: Invented horses (or so he boasted)
Flaws: Caused storms and earthquakes
Roman name: Neptune
Symbols: Trident, chariot drawn by foam horses, dolphin
Zeus
God of: the Sky, King of the Gods
Strengths: Saved his siblings by poisoning their cannibal father, the
Titan Cronus
Flaws: Raped his mother (who advised him not to marry his sister, Hera)
Roman name: Jupiter
Symbols: Lightening bolt, clouds, eagle, oak
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