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Below is a partial list of some of the more important figures and characters, both mythical and real, that played a significant role in the history of Greece (The Roman counterpart is found in parenthesis).

The Olympian Gods and Goddesses:

Aphrodite (Venus) - goddess of love and beauty.
Apollo (Apollo) - god of the arts, archery, and divination; in some myths god of the sun.
Ares (Mars) - god of war.
Artemis (Diana) - goddess of the hunt and protector of children.
Athena (Minerva) - goddess of wisdom, war, and crafts; patron of Athens.
Demeter (Ceres) - goddess of agriculture and fertility.
Dionysos (Bacchus) - god of wine, mysteries, and the theatre.
Hephaistos (Vulcan) - god of smiths and metal-workers.
Hera (Juno) - goddess of marriage; wife of Zeus.
Hermes (Mercury) - god of merchants; messenger of Zeus.
Poseidon (Neptune) - god of the sea and earthquakes.
Zeus (Jupiter) - god of the sky; ruler of Olympus.

Cities, Shrines, and Sacred Sites:

Argos - city sacred to the goddess Hera.
Athens - city sacred to the goddess Athena.
Corinth - city sacred to the god Poseidon and the goddess Aphrodite.
Cythera - sacred to the goddess Aphrodite.
Delos - sacred to the god Apollo.
Delphi - Oracle of ApolloDodona - Oracle of Zeus.
Ephesus - city sacred to the goddess Artemis.
Rhodes - sacred to the god Helios.
Samos - sacred to the goddess Hera.
Sparta - city sacred to the Dioscuri (Castor and Polydeuces).
Mt. Olympus - home of the Olympian gods and goddesses.

Symbols of the Gods and Goddesses:

In ancient Greek art (and myth), the Olympian gods and goddesses were often portrayed with a specific set of symbols and attributes. Here are some of the symbols of the Olympians:

Aphrodite - sceptre, myrtle, dove.
Apollo - bow, lyre, laurel Ares- spear.
Artemis - bow, deer.
Athena - aegis, owl, olive tree.
Demeter - sceptre, torch, corn.
Dionysos - grape vine, ivy, thyrsos.
Hephaistos - axe.
Hera - sceptre, diadem, peacock.
Hermes - caduceus, winged boots.
Poseidon - trident, horse, bull.
Zeus - thunderbolt, eagle, oak.

The Cithonic deities inhabited the opposite realm from the Olympians, the Earth or the Underworld (”cithon” means earth in Greek):

Erinyes (Furiae) - also known as Furies, these were female spirits who exacted vengeance against those who committed specific crimes.
Keres - Keres were female spirits of death and destruction in ancient Greece.
Hades (Pluto) - god of the Underworld and ruler of the dead; husband of Persephone.
Hekate (Trivia) - goddess of magic; an alternate spelling of her name is Hecate.
Persephone (Proserpina) - goddess of the Underworld and wife of Hades, daughter of Demeter; also known as Kore (the maiden).
Thanatos - god of death. “Thanatos” is the Greek word for death.

Greek Heroes and Heroines:

Achilles- Greek hero of the Trojan war; Achilles was son of the sea nymph Thetis and King Peleus.
Agamemnon- King of Mycenae and key participant in the Trojan War.
Ajax- Greek warrior, second only to Achilles during the Trojan war Alcmene- the lovely mother of the hero Herakles.
Andromeda- the beautiful daughter of Queen Cassiopeia; she was rescued by the hero Perseus.
Antigone- daughter of Oedipus who sacrificed herself in the name of justice and honor.
Ariadne- daughter of King Minos; she helped Theseus to escape from the island of Crete.
Atalanta- a huntress who in many respects recalls the goddess Artemis.
Autolycus- this son of Hermes took after his father - he was a legendary thief Briseis- she was a captive of the hero Achilles during the Trojan War.
Cadmus- he founded the city of Thebes by sowing the teeth of a dragon.
Cassandra- she had the gift of prophecy, but her curse was that no one believed her visions of the future.
Cassiopeia- the boastful and vain mother of Andromeda.
Chryseis- the “golden” daughter of a priest of Apollo.
Diomedes- a great Greek warrior who fought against the Trojans.
Electra- daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra.
Hector- Trojan prince who fought against the Greek hero Achilles.
Hecuba- the mother of Trojan princes, including Hector and Paris.
Helen- wife of Menelaus; Helen was abducted by Paris, and this event contributed to the start of the Trojan War.
Herakles (Hercules)- legendary for his strength and famous twelve labors; the son of Zeus and Alcmene.
Hippolyta- an Amazon queen; wife of Theseus.
Hippolytus- son of Theseus and Hippolyta; his fate his the subject of a tragedy by Euripides.
Jason- as leader of the Argonauts, he completed the quest for the Golden Fleece.
Meleager- he is famous for dealing the death blow to the Calydonian Boar.
Menelaus- brother of Agamemnon and ruler of Sparta.
Neoptolemus- the son of Achilles; he participated in the Trojan War.
Odysseus- hero of the eponymous Odyssey, a great adventurer; king of Ithaca.
Oedipus- king of Thebes; his tragic story forms the basis for the Sophoclean trilogy.
Orion- a great hunter; son of Poseidon and Euryale.
Orpheus- son of Apollo whose song was so mellifluous that it charmed inanimate objects.
Pandora- the first woman, created by Zeus; her name means “all gifts”.
Paris- he was the judge in the famous contest between three goddesses (Aphrodite, Athena, and Hera).
Patroclus- friend of Achilles who played a key role in the Trojan War.
Penelope- the circumspect wife of Odysseus, whose intelligence made her an exemplar.
Pentheus- ill-fated king of Thebes, he refused to acknowledge the divinity of Dionysos.
Perseus- hero who destroyed Medusa; he also rescued Andromeda.
Prometheus- he stole fire from Hephestus and gave it to mortal man.
Sarpedon- a son of Zeus; Sarpedon participated in the Trojan War.
Telemachus- the son of Odysseus and Penelope; he plays an important role in the Odyssey.
Theseus- hailed as the hero who conquered the deadly Minotaur.

The Legends:

Arachne- the tale of a mortal woman who challenged a goddess, and the consequences .
Calypso- a sea nymph, known for seducing Odysseus and keeping him for 7 years.
Charon- he transported the dead in the Underworld in his boat.
Circe- enchantress who took pleasure in turning men into animals; she later took pleasure in the company of Odysseus.
Daedalus- a legendary artist and craftsman; he designed many clever things, including the notorious Labyrinth.
Erichthonius- this son of the god Hephaistos became the King of Athens.
Harmonia- this daughter of Aphrodite and Ares married the hero Cadmus.
Hesperides- these nymphs were the guardians of the Golden Apple Tree.
Hylas- a companion of the hero Herakles who was seduced by the deadly lure of water nymphs.
Icarus- son of the inventor Daedalus who flew too close to the sun.
Midas-the king who wished that everything he touched would be turned to gold.
Minos- the legendary King of Crete Myrrha- the unlucky daughter of a king who was overwhelmed by her inappropriate desires.
Pasiphae- Queen of Crete who developed a passion for a white bull.
Phaedra- a daughter of King Minos and Pasiphae.
Psyche- a beautiful mortal woman who made the goddess Aphrodite jealous.
Tantalus- his punishment was to spend eternity grasping for food and drink that was always just beyond his reach.

The Hybrides: 

A hybrid is a composite of or two or more species of animal and/or human. For the Greeks these beings of the imagination must have had great significance, in that they represented the uncivilized forces in nature that opposed mankind:

centaur- the centaur has the torso of a human combined with the body of a horse
cockatrice- this creature was also known as a basilisk (”king of serpents”), and its very glance could kill; the cockatrice was composed of a dragon’s tail and assorted bird parts.
giants (gigantes)- these fierce and frightening beings were the offspring of Gaia (Mother Earth).
griffin- according to myth, the griffin was a creature with a lion’s body attached to the head, wings, and claws of an eagle.
harpy- harpies had female torsos melded with vulture parts; the name harpy is derived from the Greek word that means “snatcher”.
satyr (faun)- satyrs were often the companions of Dionysos, and these creatures were depicted in myth and art with the legs of goats and bestial natures.
sirens- women with bird-like bodies; sirens were legendary for luring sailors by singing their enchanted songs.

The Monsters:

Argus- a creature with many eyes; Argus played a prominent role in one of the myths of the goddess Hera.
Cerberus- Cerberus was the guardian of the Underworld; in myth, he was portrayed as a dog with three heads.
Charybdis- in Greek mythology, Charybdis was a deadly whirlpool personified as a female monster.
Chimera- with a body that was one third lion, one third she-goat, and one third serpent, this creature was definitely one frightening beast.
Cyclops- giant with a single eye in its forehead; the plural form of this word is Cyclopes.
Echidna- this monster was half beautiful woman and half deadly serpent; she was the mother of many mythical monsters.
Geryon- the monster known as Geryon had three heads and three bodies; he was defeated by the hero Herakles.
Gorgons- this trio of terrifying females consists of the sisters Euryale, Medusa, and Stheno.
Graiae- these “old women” were the sisters of the Gorgons.
Hydra- the Hydra had a water-serpent body topped by numerous heads.
Ladon- dragon who guarded the area where the apples of the Hesperides were hidden.
Lamia- she was a frightening bogey-woman in Greek mythology.
Medusa- one of the Gorgons; Medusa is traditionally depicted as a dangerous snake haired woman.
Minotaur- a deadly denizen of the labyrinth; the Minotaur was a man with the head of a bull.
Pegasus- Pegasus was an immortal winged horse who played an exciting role in Greek myth.
Phoenix- the story of the death and rebirth of the mythical creature known as the Phoenix has intrigued audiences for centuries.
Python- an enormous serpent; she was killed by the god Apollo.
Scylla- malevolent monster with six heads and twelve feet; in myth, she is often paired with the creature Charybdis.
Sphinx- in Greek mythology, the Sphinx is a female monster with the head of a woman and the body of a lion.
Typhon- this creature with one hundred heads was the offspring of Gaia and Tartarus.

The real people:

Homer- legendary poet and author of “The Iliad” and “The Odyssey”.
Hippocrates- father of medicine, from the island of Kos.
Sappho- female poet harking from the island of Lesvos.
Perikles- governor of the Athens city-state from 460 BC-429 BC; responsible for the building of the Acropolis.
Socrates- the father of western philosophy and western thinking, said to have taken his life by drinking an elixir made from the branch of a hemlock tree.
Plato- philosopher and author of such great works as “The Republic”. Student of Socrates.
Aristotle- student of Plato; thought to be the greatest philosopher of all times.