Goddesses of Greek Mythology

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Updated on August 19, 2019

In Greek mythology, Greek goddesses frequently interact with mankind, sometimes benevolently, but often ruthlessly. The goddesses epitomize certain prized (ancient) female roles, including virgin and mother.

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Aphrodite: Greek Goddess of Love

Venus appearing in a bowl of milk — Miguel Navarro / Stone / Getty Images

Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of beauty, love, and sexuality. She is sometimes known as the Cyprian because there was a cult center of Aphrodite on Cyprus. Aphrodite is the mother of the god of love, Eros. She is the wife of the ugliest of the gods, Hephaestus.

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Artemis: Greek Goddess of the Hunt

Artemis (Diana) of Ephesus, National Archeological Museum. Naples. — Andrey Korchagin / Flickr / Public Domain

Artemis, the sister of Apollo and daughter of Zeus and Leto, is the Greek virgin goddess of the hunt who also assists in childbirth. She comes to be associated with the moon.

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Athena: Greek Goddess of Wisdom

Bronze Athena, Piraeus Museum — Andy Montgomery / Flickr / CC BY-SA 2.0

Athena is the patron goddess of Athens, the Greek goddess of wisdom, a goddess of crafts, and as a war goddess, an active participant in the Trojan War. She gave Athens the gift of the olive tree, providing oil, food, and wood.

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Demeter: Greek Goddess of Grain

Demeter Statue at the Prado Museum in Madrid — Luis García / Flickr / CC BY-SA 2.0

Demeter is a Greek goddess of fertility, grain, and agriculture. She is pictured as a mature motherly figure. Although she is the goddess who taught mankind about agriculture, she is also the goddess responsible for creating winter and a mysterious religious cult.

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Hera: Greek Goddess of Marriage

Hera, The Rotunda, Altes Museum, Berlin, Germany — David Merrett / Flickr / CC BY 2.0

Hera is the queen of the Greek gods and the wife of Zeus. She is the Greek goddess of marriage and is one of the childbirth goddesses.

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Hestia: Greek Goddess of the Hearth

Drawing of Hestia from Greek mythology systematized — Internet Archive Book Images / Wikimedia Commons / No known copyright restrictions

The Greek goddess Hestia has power over altars, hearths, town halls and states. In return for a vow of chastity, Zeus assigned honor to Hestia in human homes.