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33 Cards in this Set
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Gaea
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Gaea was a primal Greek goddess, one of the deities that governed the universe before the Titans. She symbolised the Earth, and was the mother of everything. Gaea, along with Chaos and Eros, were born from chaos during the creation of the world.
Gaea and her husband Uranus gave birth to the Giants, the Titans, and the whole world. At that point, Uranus decided to stop Gaea from creating anything else and sent his children inside her; Gaea was infuriated and allied with one of her Titan sons, Cronus, managing to overthrow Uranus.
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Uranus
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Uranus was a primal Greek god, symbolising the sky. He was Gaea's husband.
Uranus and Gaea had many children; the twelve Titans, three Cyclopes, and three Hecatoncheires. Hating his children, Uranusbanished them to Tartarus, inside Gaea. Gaea was infuriated and created a diamond sickle, which she gave to Cronus, one of theTitans. Cronus found his father and castrated him in his sleep. |
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Kronos
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Cronus was the ruling Titan who came to power by castrating his father Uranus. His wife was Rhea, while their offspring were the first of the Olympians. To ensure his safety, Cronus ate each of the children as they were born. This worked until Rhea, unhappy at the loss of her children, tricked Cronus into swallowing a rock, instead of Zeus. When he grew up, Zeus revolted against Cronus and the other Titans, defeating them, and banishing them to Tartarus in the underworld.
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Hundred-Handed Giants
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The Hundred Handed Giants were giant creatures in Greek mythology. Their name means "hundred - handed ones", and apart from a hundred hands of unfathomable strength, they also had fifty heads. They were children of the Titans Uranus and Gaea.
Uranus, their father, threw them into Tartarus, which infuriated her; thus, this started her plotting towards the overthrow of her husband. |
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Cyclops |
The Cyclopes (singular: Cyclops) were gigantic, one-eyed monsters. Probably the most famous of them is Polyphemus, the Cyclops that was blinded by Odysseus.
The Cyclopes were generally considered the sons of Titans Uranus and Gaea. Uranus, their father, threw them into Tartarus, which infuriated her; thus, this started her plotting towards the overthrow of her husband. |
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Rhea
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Rhea was one of the Titans, daughter of Uranus and Gaea. She was the sister and wife of Cronus, also a Titan. She was responsible for the way things flow in the kingdom of Cronus (her name means 'that which flows').
Rhea and Cronus had six children. Cronus, afraid that he would be overthrown by his children just like he had done with his father, decided to swallow all of them. However, he was tricked by Rhea, who managed to save Zeus from his father. When Zeus grew up, he forced his father to disgorge his siblings and eventually overthrew him. |
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Tartarus
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In Greek mythology, Tartarus was both a primordial deity that existed before the Olympians, as well as a name to describe a region of the Underworld. As a god, he was third in rank after Chaos and Gaea, preceding Eros.
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Eros
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Eros was the Greek god of love, son of Aphrodite and either Ares orHermes. In some myths, he was considered a primordial god, a child of Chaos, who blessed the union of Gaia and Uranus after which the universe came into existence.
He was depicted as a blindfolded male, who, carrying his bow and arrow, could target any human being and make them fall in love with the first person they would see. One of the most prevalent myths in ancient Greece was that of Eros and Psyche. |
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Chaos
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Chaos was, according to Greek mythology, the origin of everything, and the first thing that ever existed. It was the primordial void, the source out of which everything was created, including the universe and the gods. The first primordial deities that emerged out of Chaoswere Gaea (earth), Tartarus (underworld) and Eros (love), while laterErebus (darkness) and Nyx (night) also popped out. According to Hesiod, Chaos was also a place, much like Tartarus and the Heavens later, beyond which the Titans lived.
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Titans
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Titan, in Greek religion and mythology, one of 12 primeval deities. The female Titan is also called Titaness. The Titans—six sons and six daughters—were the children of Uranus and Gaea. They were Kronos,Iapetus, Hyperion, Oceanus, Coeus, Creus, Theia, Rhea, Mnemosyne, Phoebe, Tethys, and Themis.
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Zeus
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Zeus, the presiding deity of the universe, ruler of the skies and the earth, was regarded by the Greeks as the god of all natural phenomena on the sky; the personification of the laws of nature; the ruler of the state; and finally, the father of gods and men.
Using his shield, the Aegis, Zeus could create all natural phenomena related to the air and the sky, such as storms, tempests, and intense darkness. At his command, mighty thunders would flash and lightnings would roll. |
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Hera
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Hera was Zeus' wife and sister, and was raised by the TitansOceanus and Tethys. She was the supreme goddess, patron of marriage and childbirth, having a special interest in protecting married women. Her sacred animals were the cow and the peacock, and she favoured the city of Argos.
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Poseidon
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Poseidon is the god of the sea and protector of all aquatic features. Brother of Zeus and Hades, after the overthrow of their father, Cronus, he drew lots with them to share the universe. He ended up becoming lord of the sea. He was widely worshipped by seamen. He married Amphitrite, one of the granddaughters of the Titan Oceanus.
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Hades
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Hades was the brother of Zeus and Poseidon. After the overthrow of their father, Cronus, he drew lots with them to share the universe. He drew poorly, which resulted in becoming lord of the underworld and ruler of the dead. Nevertheless, he was not considered to be death itself, as this was a different god, calledThanatos. Greedy like his brother Poseidon, he was mainly interested in increasing his subjects, and anyone whose deeds resulted in people dying was favoured by him.
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Prometheus
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Prometheus was one of the Titans, son of Iapetus (also a Titan) andClymene, an Oceanid. His brothers were Epimetheus, Atlas andMenoetius. The name derives from the Greek word meaning 'forethought'.
During the Titanomachy, the war between the Titans and the Olympian gods, Prometheus sided with Zeus, helping to overthrow the old gods. Siding with the winning side, Prometheus avoided being punished with the rest of the Titans and was therefore not sent to Tartarus, the Underworld.
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Epimetheus
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Epimetheus was one of the Titans, son of Iapetus and Clymene. He was the brother of Prometheus, Atlas and Menoetius. His name is derived from the Greek word meaning 'afterthought', which is the antonym of his brother's name, Prometheus, meaning 'forethought'. In this context, Epimetheus appeared as a foolish character, while Prometheus was the clever one.
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Pandora
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Pandora was the first human woman in Greek mythology. She was created by the gods Hephaestus and Athena, following the instructions of Zeus, who wanted to punish Prometheus for stealing the fire from the gods to give it to humans.
The gods also offered her a jar that held within numerous evils, diseases and other pains. With the jar in hand, Pandora was given to Epimetheus, Prometheus' brother, who accepted the divine gift despite his brother's warnings. One day, out of curiosity and not of malice, Pandora opened the lid of the jar, releasing all evils into the world. Shocked by what had happened, she quickly tried to put the lid back, only managing to trap Hope in it. This is how the ancient Greeks believed there was evil in the world. |
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Hephaestus
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Hephaestus was the Greek god of blacksmiths, sculptors, metallurgy, fire and volcanoes; thus, he is symbolised with a hammer, an anvil and a pair of tongs.
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Demeter
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Demeter was the goddess of corn, grain, and the harvest. She was the daughter of Cronus and Rhea. It was believed that Demetermade the crops grow each year; thus the first loaf of bread made from the annual harvest was offered to her. She was the goddess of the earth, of agriculture, and of fertility in general. Sacred to her are livestock and agricultural products, poppy, narcissus and the crane
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Persephone
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Persephone was the daughter of Zeus and Demeter, and the queen of the underworld. She was abducted by Hades, the god of the underworld, infuriating her mother who made the crops wither and the earth barren. Zeus intervened and tried to bring Persephoneback to the world of the living; however, Persephone ate the seeds of a pomegranate that Hades had given to her, binding her to him for one third of the year. Thus, it was decided that Persephonespend four months in the underworld and eight months on earth with her mother. The period in the underworld corresponded to the winter season, during which Demeter would make the soils barren due to her grief, while her return marked the start of the spring.
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Psyche
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Psyche was a mortal woman who was turned into the goddess of the soul in Greek mythology. She was the wife of the god Eros, with whom she had a daughter, Hedone. She was always depicted having butterfly wings.
One of the most prevalent myths in ancient Greece was that of Eros and Psyche; according to it, Aphrodite was jealous of the beauty of mortal princess Psyche and told her son to make her fall in love with the ugliest creature on earth. However, Eros fell for her instead and took her to his divine abode. However, Psyche's jealous sisters led Psyche to betray Eros, who abandoned her; Psyche, wandering the Earth for her lost love, approached Aphrodite for help. Aphrodite created a series of tasks for Psyche which she successfully passed, and hence, Aphrodite decided to concede. Since then, Psyche became immortal and united with her husband. |
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Aphrodite
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Aphrodite was the goddess of love, desire and beauty. Apart from her natural beauty, she also had a magical girdle that compelled everyone to desire her.
Aphrodite was married to Hephaestus; however, she had an affair with her brother Ares, god of war. When Hephaestus found out about the affair, he devised a plan and managed to humiliate his wife and her lover to the other Olympians. |
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Zephyrus
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ZEPHYROS (or Zephyrus) was the god of the west wind, one of the four directional Anemoi(Wind-Gods). He was also the god of spring, husband of Khloris (Greenery), and father of Karpos (Fruit).
Zephyrus is usually depicted as a gentle, benevolent force in myth and literature. Indeed, he is often contrasted with his more violent brother, Boreas. But Zephyrus was not always so kind. One tale in particular reveals the darker side of Zephyrus’s nature, and it involves a young man named Hyacinthus. |
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Daedalus
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Daedalus built the labyrinth for King Minos, who needed it to imprison his wife's son the Minotaur. The story is told that Poseidon had given a white bull to Minos so that he might use it as a sacrifice. He managed to make wax wings to fly out of the labyrinth.
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Icarus
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Encyclopedia of Greek Mythology: Icarus. Son of Daedalus who dared to fly too near the sun on wings of feathers and wax. Daedalus had been imprisoned by King Minos of Crete within the walls of his own invention, the Labyrinth.
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Minos
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In Greek mythology, Minos is a king of Crete, son of Zeus and Europa. Every nine years, he made King Aegeus pick seven young boys and seven young girls to be sent to Daedalus' creation, the labyrinth, to be eaten by the Minotaur .
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Minotaur
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In Greek mythology, the Minotaur, was a creature with the head of a bull on the body of a man or, as described by Roman poet Ovid, "part man and part bull". He dwelt at the center of the Labyrinth, which was an elaborate maze-like construction designed by the architect Daedalus and his son Icarus, on the command of King Minos of Crete. The Minotaur was eventually killed by the Athenian hero Theseus.
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Narcissus
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In Greek mythology, Narcissus was a Hunter from Thespiae in Boeotia who was known for his beauty. He was the son of the river god Cephissus and nymph Liriope. He was proud, in that he disdained those who loved him.
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Echo |
In Greek mythology, Echo was an Oread who resided on Mount Kithairon. Zeus loved consorting with beautiful nymphs and visited them on Earth often. Eventually, Zeus's wife, Hera, became suspicious, and came from Mt. Olympus in an attempt to catch Zeus with the nymphs. Echo, by trying to protect Zeus, endured Hera's wrath, and Hera made her only able to speak the last few words spoken to her. So when Echo met Narcissus and fell in love with him, she was unable to tell him how she felt and was forced to watch him as he fell in love with himself.
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Orpheus
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He was a legendary musician, poet, and prophet in ancient Greek religion and myth. The major stories about him are centered on his ability to charm all living things and even stones with his music, his attempt to retrieve his wife, Eurydice, from the underworld, and his death at the hands of those who could not hear his divine music. As an archetype of the inspired singer, Orpheus is one of the most significant figures in the reception of classical mythology in Western culture, portrayed or alluded to in countless forms of art and popular culture including poetry, film, opera, music, and painting.
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Eurydice
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In Greek mythology, Eurydice was an oak nymph or one of the daughters of Apollo (the god of music, who also drove the sun chariot, 'adopting' the power as god of the Sun from the primordial god Helios). She was the wife of Orpheus, who tried to bring her back from the dead with his enchanting music.
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Midas
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Midas is the name of at least three members of the royal house of Phrygia. The most famous King Midas is popularly remembered in Greek mythology for his ability to turn everything he touched into gold.
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Aristeus
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A minor god in Greek mythology, which we read largely through Athenian writers, Aristaeus was the culture hero credited with the discovery of many useful arts, including bee-keeping , he was the son of Apollo and the huntress Cyrene. Aristeus ("the best") was a cult title in many places: Boeotia, Arcadia, Ceos, Sicily, Sardinia, Thessaly, and Macedonia; consequently a set of "travels" was imposed, connecting his epiphanies in order to account for these widespread manifestations.
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