Groups of Divinities

The Muses

Zeus lay with his aunt, the Titan Mnemosyne, daughter of Uranos and Gaia, for nine nights. From this union Mnemosyne gave birth to nine daughters, they were called the Muses and were named Kleio, Euterpe, Thaleia, Melpomene, Terpsichore, Erato, Polymnia Urainia and Kalliope. At first they only had music song and dance in their minds but later they were associated with writing and the arts. Each one was the embodiment of a particular sphere of art or literature.

The Graces

With his cousin the Okeanida Eurynome, daughter of Okeanos and Tethys, Zeus produced three daughters who were called the Graces. They were very beautiful and were represented in the nude, two of them looking towards the onlooker and the one in the middle with her back turned. They spread joy and were connected with ferility and verdant growth. Named Aglaia. Euphrosyne and Thaleia, they spent their lives on Olympos in the company of Aphrodite.

The Nymphs

Daughters of Zeus, The water nymphs were called Naiads and the nymphs of the mountains were called Oreiads. Spirits of the woods, the rivers and streams the girls kept company with Aretimes in the wilds of the mountains and were venerated in caves and on alters beside springs. Mothers of gods and heroes. They were closely connected with verdant growth and it was believed that when a nymph was born a tree sprouted at the same time and withered at the hour of her death.The Dryads and the Amadryads were both woman and trees at the same time. Their association with water as an essential element for growth derives from their connection to trees.

The Nereids

The fifty daughters of Nereus, son of Pontos and Gaia, and Okeanida Doris were called Nereids. They lived near their father in the depths of the sea. Amusing themselves by6 dancing and singing with their nephew Triton, son of Amphitrite and Poseidon. They constantly intervened in the development of weather phenomena and when there were storms, they helped sailors, heros and even gods. The most well known of the sisters was Thetis, wife of the mortal Peleus and mother of Achilles and Amphitrite, wife of Poseidon.

The Okeanides

The three thousand Okeanides were the daughters of Okeanos and Tethys and sisters of the three thousand rivers. They greatly resembled the Nymphs and the Nereids and were said to be generous and nuturing.

The Hours

Fathered by Zeus and his aunt Titan Themis their collective name signifies maturity and ripeness. It was they who, as the seasons of the year, brought the fruits of the earth. Living on Olympos alongside Zeus, they danced, sang and robed Aphrodite. Named Eunomia, Dike and Irene they protected the works of men and represented social and poltical order.

The Fates.

Also daughters of Zeus and Titan Themis, they embodied all that was designated as the fate of man.

The Furies

These were wild spirits who avenged wrongs by causing confusion in the brain. Monsters, with snakes comming out of their hair and blood streaming from their eyes, they screamed and moved as a group, clothed in grey.Born from the blood that fell on the earth when Kronos cut off his fathers genitals they were named Megaira, Alykto and Tisiphone. They pursued Orestes who in anger and retribution for the murder of his fatherkilled his own mother Clytemnestra. When he was found onnocent by the Areopagos, they recieved an assurance from Athena that he would secure their worship in Athens. >From that time they were called Eumenides.

The Sirens

Daughters of Phorkys, these malicious beings were half- woman and half -bird. Bewitching all who heard their enchanting songs and made them forget everything. Hapless passers- by forgot not only their homeland and family but also forgot to eat thus perishing on the island where the sirens lived.

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