From the title you must be wondering what a pantheon is. Well, a group of Gods is referred to as a pantheon. Therefore, the Greek Pantheon means the group of Greek gods. You may ask why I said the group instead of a group. I said so, because, in every pantheon we only talk about a limited amount of gods, who are considered the main gods.
The Greek Pantheon consists of 12 Gods. They are Zeus, Poseidon, Hera, Athena, Artemis, Apollo, Hephaistos, Aphrodite, Ares, Dionysus, Hermes and Demeter. Hestia and Hades are not considered part of the Pantheon but, are still considered to be main gods. They are considered so because, Hestia was part of the original Olympians but she later gave up her seat on Mount Olympus in favour of Dionysus. Hades, on the other hand, one of the big three (Zeus, Poseidon and Hades), is the ruler of the Underworld and, therefore, does not have a seat on Mount Olympus. Hermes and Dionysus came later. Let's talk about these 14 gods in detail.
I have attempted to correlate the Greek Gods with their Roman, Hindu, Norse and Egyptian counterparts. While All the equivalents that I have given for every god may not be exact counterparts in different cultural pantheons, these equivalents are the closest that I have found to their personality and demeanour.
Zeus
He is the King of the Gods. He is the God of rain, thunder, lighting and the sky. He is married to Hera and is the youngest son of the Titan's Cronos and Rhea. He has two elder brothers, Poseidon and Hades, and three elder sisters, Hera (yes, she was his wife and sister), Demeter and Hestia. Zeus and his brothers are known as 'The Big Three' in Greek mythology, since they divide and rule all of creation. His Roman form is known as Jupiter. His equivalent in Hindu mythology would be Indra, Thor in Norse mythology and Horus in Egyptian mythology.
Poseidon
He is the the God of Seas, Earthquakes and Horses. He is the middle son of Cronos and Rhea and is the married to Amphitrite one of the 100 daughters of Nereus and Doris. His Roman form is known as Neptune. His equivalent in Hindu mythology is Varuna, Njord in Norse mythology and Osiris in Egyptian mythology (he is also the Egyptian equivalent of Hades).
Hades He is the God of the Underworld and the Dead. He is the eldest son of Cronos and Rhea and is married to Persephone the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. His Roman form is known as Pluto. His equivalent in Hindu mythology would either be Yama (God of the underworld) or Kali Ma (goddess of the dead), Hel in Norse mythology and as I mentioned above Osiris in Egyptian mythology (it could also be Anubis the God of Death, since Osiris is only the God of the Underworld).
Hera
She is the Queen of the Gods. She is the goddess of marriage and birth. She is the youngest daughter of Cronos and Rhea and is the wife of Zeus. Her Roman form is known as Juno. Her equivalent in Hindu mythology is Parvati, Freya in Norse mythology and Isis in Egyptian mythology.
Demeter
She is the Goddess of Harvest, Sacred Law, and the Cycle of Life and Death. She is the middle daughter of Cronos and Rhea, though she isn't married she has a daughter with Zeus named Persephone. Her Roman form is known as Ceres. Her equivalent in Hindu mythology is Bhu-devi, Frey in Norse mythology and Renenutet in Egyptian mythology.
Hestia
She is the Goddess of the Hearth. She is the eldest daughter of Cronos and Rhea and is and is not married to anyone nor does she have any children. Her Roman form is known as Vesta. Her equivalent in Hindu mythology is Yogini, she does not really have equivalents in other mythological pantheons.
Athena
She is the Goddess of Wisdom, Inspiration, Civilisation, Law and Justice, Strength, Mathematics, Art, Skill and Battle Strategy. She is the daughter of Zeus and Metis, a sea nymph. Her Roman form is known as Minerva. Her equivalent in Hindu mythology is Saraswati, Mimir in Norse mythology and Thoth in Egyptian mythology.
Artemis
She is the Goddess of the Hunt, Wilderness, Wild Animals, Childbirth, Virginty and the Moon. She is the daughter of Zeus and Titaness Leto, she also has a twin brother, Apollo. Her Roman form is Diana. Her equivalent in Hindu mythology is Reventa (even though he is a male, he is the closest equivalent to Artemis), Skadi in Norse mythology and Bast in Egyptian mythology.
Apollo
He is the God of Healing, Medicine, Music, Poetry and the Sun. He is the son of Zeus and the Titaness Leto, he is also the twin brother of Artemis. His Roman name is also Apollo. His equivalent in Hindu mythology would be Suryadev (although, according to Dr Devdutt Pattanaik in his book Olympus : An Indian Retelling of Greek Myths his closest Hindu equivalent would be Vishnu), Baldur in Norse mythology and Ra in Egyptian mythology.
Hephasteus
He is the God of Blacksmiths and Fire. He is the son of Hera (his father is not known though some people say its Zeus), he has a brother named Ares (more on him later), he is married to Aphrodite. His Roman form is known as Vulcan. HIs equivalent in Hindu mythology is Vishwakarma, Thor in Norse mythology and Osiris in Egyptian mythology.
Aphrodite
She is the Goddess of Love, Beauty, Passion and Procreation. She is believed to be the daughter of Ouranos. She is said to be born of the foam formed in the sea which had bubbled near the head of Ouranos when Chronos killed him. Her Roman form is known as Venus. Her equivalent in Hindu mythology is Rati, Freya in Norse mythology and Hathor in Egyptian mythology.
Ares
He is the God of War. He is the son Zeus and Hera, his brother is Hephasteus. He has 7 children with the goddess Aphrodite, they are: Eros, Anteros, Phobos, Deimos, Harmonia, Himerus and Adrestia. Her Roman form is known as Mars. His equivalent in Hindu mythology is Kartikeya, Tyr in Norse mythology and Horus in Egyptian mythology.
Hermes
He is the God of Travellers, Thieves, Messengers, Wealth, Luck and Sleep. He is the son Zeus and Maia (daughter of the Titan Atlas). His Roman form is known as Mercury. His equivalent in Hindu mythology is Budh, Loki in Norse mythology and Thoth in Egyptian mythology.
Dionysus
He is the God Wine, Madness and Religious Ecstasy. He is the son of Zeus and Semele (who was a mortal, so when Dionysus was first born he was a mortal. He became a God later). His Roman form is Bacchus. His equivalent in Hindu mythology is Shiva, he does not really have equivalents in other mythological pantheons.
After this brief introduction to the Greek Pantheon, I am sure that you would understand my future posts better.
Look out for detailed stories of Gods, myths and legends.
Very well written and informative :) I'll have to read it several times!
Elaborate but excellent write up 👍