Gods

Cyclops: sons of Uranus (sky) and Gaea (earth), imprisoned by their brother Cronus and later freed by Zeus after he defeated Cronus.

Titans (Elder gods): Twelve children of Uranus and Gaea, or children of the twelve.

Greek name Latin name  
Cronus Saturn youngest son of Uranus and Gaea. Ruled the world until dethroned by his son Zeus
Rhea Cybele  
Atlas   condemned to hold the world on his shoulders for fighting against Zeus.
Prometheus   brother of Atlas, name means forethought, gave fire to humanity. Chained to a rock by Zeus where an eagle ate his liver every day, freed by Hercules
Epimetheus   brother of Prometheus, name means afterthought
Oceanus   the river that flows around the earth
Tethys   wife of Oceanus, and by him the mother of the 3000 ocean nymphs and all the river gods.
Mnemosyne   goddess of memory
Themis   goddess of divine justice
Hyperion   father of the Sun, Moon and dawn
Iapetus   father of Prometheus

Only Prometheus and Oceanus sided with Zeus against Cronus, the rest were thrown by Zeus into Tartarus.

Olympian gods -of whom:

Greek name Latin Name  
Zeus Jupiter King of Olympian gods, father of Apollo, Athena, Heracles
Poseidon Neptune god of the sea
Hera Juno Queen of Olympian gods, wife and sister of Zeus
Athena Minerva goddess of handicrafts, cities, war, arts, industry
Ares Mars god of war
Apollo   god of prophecy, also a musician and athlete
Artemis Diana goddess of the moon and the hunt
Hephaestus Vulcan lame god of metal-working and fire, married to Aphrodite, once caught her in bed with Ares. Made all the gods' weapons, armour and jewellery
Hades Pluto god of the Underworld
Aphrodite Venus goddess of love
Demeter Ceres goddess of agriculture
Hermes Mercury messenger of the gods
Tyche Fortuna goddess of fortune and good luck
  Bonus Eventus ??
Persephone Proserpine daughter of Zeus and Demeter
Eros Cupid god of love, son of Aphrodite
Hestia Vesta goddess of the hearth
- Janus god of doors and gateways

The entrance to the palace of the gods on Mount Olympus was through a gate of clouds, guarded by the Seasons. The gods ate ambrosia and nectar and were entertained by the Muses, the nine goddess daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne.

The Muses:

Calliope muse of epic poetry
Clio muse of history
Euterpe muse of lyric poetry
Melpomene muse of tragedy
Terpsichore muse of choral songs and dancing
Erato muse of love poetry
Polyhymnia muse of sacred poetry
Urania muse of astronomy
Thalia muse of comedy

Other charming groups:

The Furies:

The Sirens:

The Fates:

Heroes

Heracles (Latin name Hercules).
The son of Zeus and a mortal woman, he was always very strong and was hated by Hera, who sent a snake to kill him in the crib. But baby Heracles killed the snake with his bare hands.
Later Hera made him go mad so that he killed his wife and children. To make up for this, Heracles' new master King Eurystheus of Mycenae ordered that he perform twelve difficult tasks.
The Twelve Labours of Hercules:

  1. kill the lion of Nemea
  2. kill the hydra that lived in a swamp in Lerna. This thing grew two new heads every time one was cut off and had one immortal head. Hercules used a burning torch to seal each mortal head as he cut it off, and buried the immortal head.
  3. capture the stag of Artemis
  4. capture a great boar
  5. clean the Augean stables. These had been used by thousands of horses and never cleaned. Hercules simply diverted a river through the stables to wash away the filth.
  6. fight a flock of man-eating bronze birds
  7. capture a mad bull sent to Crete by Poseidon
  8. capture the man-eating mares of Diomedes
  9. get the girdle of Hippolyta (Queen of the Amazons)
  10. capture the oxen of the three-headed monster Geryon
  11. fetch the golden apples of the Hesperides. Hercules had to ask Atlas, the father of the Hesperides for help as he did not know where to find the apples. Atlas agreed, and Hercules supported the world on his shoulders while Atlas got them. Atlas then did not want to resume his burden, but Hercules tricked him into doing so.
  12. bring the three headed dog Cerberus from the underworld.

Peracles (Latin name Perseus)

Jason (of Golden Fleece fame)

other characters:

Psyche

Adonis

Elysian Fields, Hades (guarded by Cerberus)

Romulus and Remus: suckled by a she-wolf after being abandoned in infancy. Parents: Rhea Silvia and Mars. Romulus founded Rome on the Palatine Hill in 753 BC. The city later spread to 6 other hills east of the River Tiber. Romulus killed Remus in an argument about the new city.

Ilia (Rhea Silvia)- daughter of Aeneas and Lavinia.

Castor and Pollux:
Twin sons of Leda, Pollux fathered by Zeus, Castor by mortal Tyndareus. After Castor died, Pollux spent half his time in Hades with his half-brother and half with the gods in Olympus.

Classics