Greek Gods and Their Domains

[crazydude369]

I know that some sources already have the Greek gods listed with domains, but I was never really a fan of how they were defined. So here's my version, complete with brief descriptions of the gods and the domains they grant. For use in any ancient Greek campaign setting. This list is by no means all encompassing (I'm sure there's a bajillion more gods AND a bajillion more domains) so please suggest any additions or ideas you may have.


Aphrodite (CG): Goddess of beauty, lust, and love.
Domains: Chaos, Charm, Envy, Good, Lust, Passion.

Apollo (NG): God of the sun, archery, athleticism, prophecy, the arts, and good health; twin brother to Artemis.
Domains: Celerity, Competition, Destiny, Fate, Good, Healing, Oracle, Sun.

Ares (CN): God of war, combat, and arms.
Domains: Chaos, Courage, Destruction, Glory, Madness, Pride, Strength, War, Wrath.

Artemis (CN): Goddess of the moon, archery, hunting, independence, and virginity; twin sister to Apollo.
Domains: Animal, Chaos, Glory, Liberation, Moon, Passion, Planning, Pride.

Athena (LN): Goddess of wisdom, reason, handiwork, and strategy in battle.
Domains: Artifice, Balance, City, Knowledge, Law, Meditation, Mentalism, Mind, Planning, War.

Dionysus (CG): God of wine, parties, and general good times.
Domains: Chaos, Charm, Community, Gluttony, Good, Sloth.

Demeter (NG): Goddess of agriculture and soil.
Domains: Cavern, Creation, Earth, Feast, Gluttony, Good, Plant.

Hades (LN): God of the underworld, death, the undead, and forbidden riches.
Domains: Darkness, Death, Decay, Greed, Law, Necromancy, Pestilence, Shadow, Undeath.

Hecate (CE): Goddess of witchcraft and evil.
Domains: Chaos, Decay, Domination, Evil, Hatred, Madness, Magic, Pestilence, Spell, Suffering, Wrath.

Hephaestus (N): God of masonry, blacksmithing, and fire.
Domains: Artifice, City, Craft, Creation, Fire, Metal.

Hera (LN): Goddess of family, marriage, and children; queen of the gods.
Domains: Charm, Community, Envy, Family, Healing, Law, Nobility, Protection.

Hermes (CN): God of travel, mischief, thieves, commerce, and language; messenger of the gods.
Domains: Air, Celerity, Chaos, Commerce, Greed, Luck, Rune, Trade, Travel, Trickery, Wealth.

Hestia (NG): Goddess of the hearth and home.
Domains: Community, Feast, Fire, Gluttony, Good, Pact, Protection.

Janus (N): God of doorways, beginnings and ends, and decisions.
Domains: Balance, Destiny, Fate, Portal, Travel.

Morpheus (N): God of sleep and dreams.
Domains: Darkness, Dream, Illusion, Meditation, Shadow.

Pan (CG): God of nature and wild beasts.
Domains: Animal, Chaos, Good, Liberation, Plant, Scalykind, Spider.

Poseidon (N): God of the sea, natural disasters, and horses.
Domains: Destruction, Earth, Ocean, Storm, Water, Windstorm.

Zeus (LN): God of the sky, weather, order, and lightning; king of the gods.
Domains: Air, Balance, Charm, Glory, Law, Nobility, Pride, Sky, Strength, Weather.

[Howler Dagger]

I would argue that Dionysus is more CN than CG, because in most myths he really eoesnt give off the whole "good" vibe. Some goes for aphrodite.

Zeus does a lot of chaotic things (think how how much he raped), so LN is an alignment I dont think fits for him.

[The Underlord]

I would not describe aphrodite or dionysus as good. They are bothe more like CN. I also think that artemis should be Lawful, or at least neutral because she made a vow of chasity and never broke it(Which is way more lawful than most greek gods).

[Morph Bark]

I would not describe aphrodite or dionysus as good. They are bothe more like CN. I also think that artemis should be Lawful, or at least neutral because she made a vow of chasity and never broke it(Which is way more lawful than most greek gods).

This is also why I am surprised Zeus is Lawful.

I am also quite surprised that neither Poseidon nor Hades is some sort of Evil here.

[legomaster00156]

Ares is literally a god of war and bloodshed. He actually revels in slaughter, as shown by the Iliad. He's Chaotic Evil. I would place Hades as LN, leaning on Evil.

[The Tygre]

Boosh. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=192107)

In other words, the Greek Gods were meant to be beyond alignment, and should be played as such. Furthermore, the Greek Gods as character are separate from the theologies of their religions. In other words, Zeus might be CN, but that doesn't mean that his priests and followers don't try to enforce the law, making them LN.

[Hiro Protagonest]

Ares is completely and utterly chaotic evil. Have you read the myths about the guy? He kills people without regard for anything if there's a war, and goes crying to mama if he ever gets wounded. He shouldn't have the Courage domain and Madness is Dionysus' thing.

As for Hecate... I don't know much about her, but her description in Deities and Demigods doesn't match this. Are you getting all your info about her from Percy Jackson and the Olympians? It would explain why the only minor gods you included were Janus, Morpheus, and Hecate. Although Hypnos is in there too... but only in the sequel series.

Artemis is definitely true neutral.

Dionysus is CN or TN.

Poseidon is chaotic neutral. The sea does not like to be restrained.

Zeus is not lawful.

[The Tygre]

For the record, it is perhaps wisest to assume that all of the Dodekatheon are CN by default, with adjustments made per individual. (Ares is and always will be CE, no matter the setting; Athena at least tries to play by the rules and is usually sympathetic, so she should probably take a step towards LG; Hades does his job and only his job, even if he is an ******* at time, so as the grey god of death is probably closer to LN or LE than NE; etc.)

[Howler Dagger]

Janus was a roman god/nitpick

Some sources portray hecate as goddess of necromancy. She was also a protector from evil spirits, at lest in the earlier versions of her. Later, this association caused her to bring in evil spirits if she made you mad.

I dont see how ares could NOT be evil. Basicly, all he did was go around killing people for no reason. His children were Fear(Phobos) and Dread(deimos) for a reason.

[Kenneth]

Just a quick question


WHy does Hades have undeath as a domain?

I mean the guy is supposed to be lord over all who pass into teh underworld.. being undead means he don't get to do that with the particual undead and would be something I would assume be anathema to his teachings.
A Hades' PrC cleric IMo would be a very BAD@$$ undead killer.

[legomaster00156]

Just a quick question


WHy does Hades have undeath as a domain?

I mean the guy is supposed to be lord over all who pass into teh underworld.. being undead means he don't get to do that with the particual undead and would be something I would assume be anathema to his teachings.
A Hades' PrC cleric IMo would be a very BAD@$$ undead killer.

From what it appears, the OP got some of his information about the Greek gods from Percy Jackson and the Olympians, in which Hades and his son summon undead to aid them regularly. In the actual mythological character of Hades, though, I agree with you.

[Hiro Protagonest]

Percy Jackson and the Olympians is accurate for the most part, but you want to balance it with an actual Greek mythology book. Mix and match the two as you see fit.

Ares still gives off a strongly CE vibe in it as well. I guess he could be chaotic neutral if you ignore the fact that he was convinced not to brig the master bolt back to Zeus on the premise that it would start a god war. Never mind that America would think that the apocalypse is happening and that they wouldn't be too far off.

As for Hades having undeath... he would let his clerics use some of his power over the dead, but I think they'd be dedicated hunters of non-cleric of Hades necromancers, as well as liches and other undead that try to cheat death.

[arguskos]

Hecate (CE): Goddess of witchcraft and evil.
Domains: Chaos, Decay, Domination, Evil, Hatred, Madness, Magic, Pestilence, Spell, Suffering, Wrath.
Hecate was goddess of quite a bit more than this, if some sources are to be believed. For instance, in Hesiod's Theogony, she is described as the goddess of fate, the crossroads, and magic. If you're going to represent the Greek gods, please, look at more than a single source.

Further, Morpheus was ONLY the god of dreams. The god of sleep was Hypnos (again, the Theogony is a good source for this) Again, check sources and try to rely on scholarly sources. They're much more accurate to what we believe the Greek gods were like.

When you deal with a real-world faith, you need to take care with what you say or do. Try to get it as accurate as you can. It's only respectful. :smallwink:

[Hiro Protagonest]

Hecate was goddess of quite a bit more than this, if some sources are to be believed. For instance, in Hesiod's Theogony, she is described as the goddess of fate, the crossroads, and magic. If you're going to represent the Greek gods, please, look at more than a single source.

Crossroads is Janus' thing, I think. Fate is The Fates, and they might also deal with crossroads.

His confusion about Morpheus is because he made Grover fall asleep for two months in Percy Jackson.

[Howler Dagger]

Remembber that the mythology changed throughout time, so saying that one ancient source is "wrong" or "right is not neccasarily true.

Once again, Janus is ROMAN, and Hecate is GREEK, so they can overlap on crossroads. Unlike Zeus/Jupiter however, they were not direct counterparts.

To quote wikipedia*

Romans and Greek authors maintained Janus was an exclusively Roman god

*IMO, due to the variability of greek tales and myths, wikipedia is OK as a source

[Trazoi]

Crossroads is Janus' thing, I think. Fate is The Fates, and they might also deal with crossroads.
Janus isn't Greek. :smalltongue: Hecate's Roman name was Trivia, which means "where three roads meet". (I'm not entirely sure how Trivia came to mean what it does in English...)

From what I remember (no expert, but read up about her for a story idea a while back) Hecate was the goddess of crossroads, gateways and the gate to the underworld - which ties into the necromancy and magic side of her. She's also a triple goddess (maiden, mother, crone). Also covers the moon. And childbirth. And dogs for some reason. She's a very old goddess and so she's swallowed up a whole bunch of regional goddesses into her own worship.

I don't particularly remember reading about her being particularly evil, just a goddess who you don't want to cross and is rather particular about how she's worshiped. Which applies to most of the Greek gods. :smallbiggrin:

[Hiro Protagonest]

From what I remember (no expert, but read up about her for a story idea a while back) Hecate was the goddess of crossroads, gateways and the gate to the underworld - which ties into the necromancy and magic side of her. She's also a triple goddess (maiden, mother, crone). Also covers the moon. And childbirth. And dogs for some reason. She's a very old goddess and so she's swallowed up a whole bunch of regional goddesses into her own worship.
AKAIF, at any given time, the moon goddess was either Selune or Artemis/Diana. I think it was Selune in Greek times and Diana in Roman times.

I don't particularly remember reading about her being particularly evil, just a goddess who you don't want to cross and is rather particular about how she's worshiped. Which applies to most of the Greek gods. :smallbiggrin:

In Percy Jackson, she, like some of the other minor gods, sided with the titans.

[AtlanteanTroll]

In Percy Jackson, she, like some of the other minor gods, sided with the titans.

Canon material right there. (Not to knock Percy Jackson, love that series.)

[arguskos]

From what I remember (no expert, but read up about her for a story idea a while back) Hecate was the goddess of crossroads, gateways and the gate to the underworld - which ties into the necromancy and magic side of her. She's also a triple goddess (maiden, mother, crone). Also covers the moon. And childbirth. And dogs for some reason. She's a very old goddess and so she's swallowed up a whole bunch of regional goddesses into her own worship.

I don't particularly remember reading about her being particularly evil, just a goddess who you don't want to cross and is rather particular about how she's worshiped. Which applies to most of the Greek gods. :smallbiggrin:
While I am not an expert by technicality, I could be considered one for reasons I cannot disclose here (board rules, etc). You are mostly on par, but it's worth noting that no single source claims all of the above.

Hecate (more correctly spelled Hekate, at least my studies indicate such, take that for what its worth) was originally a single goddess. Scholars today believe that she does not originate from the Greeks but instead is a satellite goddess from another culture (don't recall which at the moment, sorry, I'm tired), which contributes largely to why she has so much variability in her nature. Some legends indicate she was a dark goddess who abused mortals through evil magic, others say she was a benevolent guardian of portals and the crossroads, and yet others indicate she was the triplicate goddess of a whole bunch of stuff.

There's no single "right" answer. Personally, I lean towards Hesiod's interpretation, simply because it's one of the oldest ones we have (though, it's biased in her favor, compared to other works of the era).

This is why I always recommend you use multiple scholarly sources when discussing real world faiths. :smallsmile:

EDIT: Jade Dragon, on the topic of the moon goddess, you're close but no cigar. Pre-Greek, it was Selene (a Titan to the Greeks). The Greeks believed the moon to be under Artemis, and the Romans called Luna (the Roman Selene) a predecessor to Diana. So, kinda? Classical mythology is so complicated sometimes.

[Eruantion]

Canon material right there. (Not to knock Percy Jackson, love that series.)

I don't think the Greek myths were exactly regulated publications :smallwink: And I think Riordan does a good job of keeping the gods true to their established characters.

[The Witch-King]

Who's perspective determines the deity's alignment? Is their alignment determined by their interactions with other deities and spirits or by their interactions with humanity?

For example--Zeus may not see it as an evil or chaotic act when he takes pleasure with a mortal female. In ancient times, in many cultures, women were subject to men. Mortals were considered to be subject to deities. Even other Greek deities are subject to Zeus, since he's the King of the Gods. From that perspective, everything Zeus does is Lawful because Zeus makes the laws. Literally--he makes cosmic law. So his taking pleasure from a mortal female is just him taking his lawful tribute from his point of view. The Sumerians believed that mortals were created to be made use of by the gods. So from that sort of point of view, there's nothing wrong with what he's doing. Likewise Hera's messing about with his bastard mortal offspring to screw with him; mortals are subject to deities and so she's well within her rights to defend her honor/avenge her honor by making things tough on some mortals.

How do you determine the alignments of deities if they have one code of conduct when dealing with each other but a different code of conduct when dealing with mortals? If you see a child pulling the wings off a butterfly or burning ants with a magnifying lens, you might stop him, but you certainly don't put him on trial for murder, right?

Put it like this: from my point of view, I'm a good person. I believe in the rights and freedoms of my fellow human beings and would never do anything to take them away. On the other hand, I eat beef and see nothing wrong with that. There's some people who see eating meat as being evil but most people don't. But ultimately--I don't eat hamburgers because I HAVE to--I eat hamburgers because I WANT to. And if that sanctions the wholesale raising and slaughter of cattle for my pleasure, that's not evil. Is Ares evil because he feels that way about humans?

[legomaster00156]

Is Ares evil because he feels that way about humans?

Yes. You can't sugarcoat Ares. He's completely Chaotic Evil.

[Hiro Protagonest]

Canon material right there. (Not to knock Percy Jackson, love that series.)

Even that doesn't make her evil. There are definitely moral gray zones. Most of the monsters are evil, but the hyperboreans just live in Alaska and were most likely intimidated into the Titan army, and the minor gods are bitter. It's not like the Olympians are moral paragons, Zeus and Hera are extremely proud and stubborn (don't know why they haven't gotten divorced yet), and Poseidon is also proud, though less stubborn. Ares is downright bad, Hephaestus is reclusive, Aphrodite is all about the love interest side plots, Hermes is basically the definition of neutral, Hades is bitter, etc. etc.

Oh, and Gaia (I hate how Riordan misspells Gaia as Gaea and Chronos as Kronos, I don't think there are any copyrights on myths) is a delusional superpowerful (this is by god standards) goddess who long ago gave up her hope of having all her children free and instead just wants revenge on the gods for imprisoning the titans. And is always asleep because of her size, except when she enters a state where it's just like when you wake up, but don't want to get out of bed. When she gets like that, it's bad.

[arguskos]

Canon material right there. (Not to knock Percy Jackson, love that series.)
Interesting note: there is zero indication of Hekate's actions in the Olympian/Titan war in myth, at least as far as I am aware, making the statement of "canon material" somewhat suspect. If you are instead referring to the fictional characters actions in the Jackson series, well, ok, yeah, you're probably right on that one, I couldn't say. :smalltongue:

As for deities and alignment, arguing the Greek gods alignments is going to come down to personal alignment belief 100% of the time. I could probably come up with a half-decent argument for Ares being LN or something if I cared to, because of the varying myths and whatnot of the time.

[Hiro Protagonest]

Interesting note: there is zero indication of Hekate's actions in the Olympian/Titan war in myth, at least as far as I am aware, making the statement of "canon material" somewhat suspect. If you are instead referring to the fictional characters actions in the Jackson series, well, ok, yeah, you're probably right on that one, I couldn't say. :smalltongue:
Sarcasm detection: fail.

As for deities and alignment, arguing the Greek gods alignments is going to come down to personal alignment belief 100% of the time. I could probably come up with a half-decent argument for Ares being LN or something if I cared to, because of the varying myths and whatnot of the time.

If you use Roman myths, that's cheating. Mars was a lot better than Ares.

[arguskos]

Sarcasm detection: fail.
Like I said, if that was a Percy Jackson reference, then yeah, I didn't get it. I still think it was an interesting factoid though. :smalltongue:


If you use Roman myths, that's cheating. Mars was a lot better than Ares.
Well, yes, that would be cheating and I'd never do such a terrible thing (ok, in less stringent environments I might :smallbiggrin:). Given how flexible Greek myth really is though, I figure you can argue almost anything about any of the Pantheon (which is not all of the Greek gods, but is a select handful only). I'm not going to bother here, just because I'm tired and away from my good reference materials, but it could probably be done.

[legomaster00156]

Oh, and Gaia (I hate how Riordan misspells Gaia as Gaea and Chronos as Kronos, I don't think there are any copyrights on myths)

*buzz* Wrong. Gaea is the original spelling, while Gaia is more Americanized. Chronos (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronos) and Kronos(/Cronos/Cronus/Kronus) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cronus) are two separate beings... which Riordan got mixed up between, accidentally merging the two all-powerful beings into one entity.

[Trazoi]

Given how flexible Greek myth really is though, I figure you can argue almost anything about any of the Pantheon (which is not all of the Greek gods, but is a select handful only)
Challenge: Make Hestia appear CE. :smalltongue:

[legomaster00156]

Make Hestia appear CE.

Hestia is the only Greek god I know of who can undoubtedly be called Good. She is, in my opinion, Neutral Good, straddling Lawful.

[arguskos]

Challenge: Make Hestia appear CE. :smalltongue:
Oh jeez, that'd be hard. Something could be cobbled together out of her desire for demanding the first offering at sacrifice and that the hearth fire not be dimmed for any reason, playing up the "I am first" attitude of CE. Getting an actual act of evil out of her though is pretty hard. Hestia is tough because of her stability. She didn't adventure much and has little mythology for me to work with.

Honestly, I'm not sure how convincing I could be. I could almost certainly knock SOMETHING together, but it wouldn't be that good. Think you may have found the one I can't do much with. The others all had adventures and whatnot (even Hephaestus and Demeter did stuff, if not much).

[legomaster00156]

Something could be cobbled together out of her desire for demanding the first offering at sacrifice and that the hearth fire not be dimmed for any reason, playing up the "I am first" attitude of CE.

In exchange, she blessed and protected the households of the Greeks. And the fire itself was meant to represent, rather than the usual destruction associated with fire, warmth and light.

[artimus261]

this is totally awesome! should maybe think about adding favored weapons to the list :)

[hamishspence]

Even that doesn't make her evil. There are definitely moral gray zones.

And this is really strongly stressed, in The Demigod Diaries (where Hecate's reasons for siding with the Titans are elucidated) in The Heroes of Olympus (where she acts as a mentor to one of the heroes) and in Percy Jackson's Greek Gods - where it's outright stated in the Hades & Persephone story that:

"Although Hecate was a dark goddess of magic, she wasn't evil" - with her being the first to help Demeter after Persephone's disappearance.

Other franchises that use Greek mythology as a basis, have also tended to paint Hecate as much more benevolent than Shakespeare's Macbeth version of her.


Chronos (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronos) and Kronos(/Cronos/Cronus/Kronus) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cronus) are two separate beings... which Riordan got mixed up between, accidentally merging the two all-powerful beings into one entity.

He wasn't the first one to do so. Apparently, even in antiquity, the Greeks (and Romans) were occasionally merging the two into one.

[Caelestion]

*buzz* Wrong. Gaea is the original spelling, while Gaia is more Americanized.

Uh, no. Gaia is the Ancient Greek name, derived from Ge, meaning land or earth. It's also spelt Gaea, but it's nothing whatsoever to do with English of any kind.

[Eldan]

The original spelling is Γαῖα. And I would consider an iota to be closer to an "i" than an "e".

[Caelestion]

Well, yes, because one is iota and the other is epsilon.