Many of the Greek deities are known from as early as Mycenaean (Late Bronze Age) civilization. This is an incomplete list of these deities [n 1] and of the way their names, epithets, or titles are spelled and attested in Mycenaean Greek, written in the Linear B [n 2] syllabary, along with some reconstructions and equivalent forms in later Greek.
Name | Notes | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
English | Linear B | Transliteration | Comments | Footnotes |
Pantes Theoi | ๐๐ฏ๐ณ๐๐ | pa-si-te-o-i | "To All the Gods"; a special invocation, irrespective of sex, etc.; recurrently attested at Knossos [1] [2] [3] [4] | [n 3] [n 4] [n 5] |
Name | Notes | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
English | Linear B | Transliteration | Comments | Footnotes |
Anemoi | ๐๐๐๐๐๐ฉ๐ / ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ฉ๐ | a-ne-mo-i-je-re-ja / a-ne-mo,i-je-re-ja | attested through *Anemohiereia or *Anemon Hiereia, "Priestess of the Winds" [9] [1] [10] [11] | [n 6] [n 7] [n 8] [n 9] |
Apollo(?) | ๐๐ | pe-rjo-, reconstructed a-pe-rjo-ne | perhaps attested through the lacunose perio [13] [14] | [n 10] |
Ares | ๐๐ฉ | a-re | [9] [16] [17] [18] [19] | |
Despotas(?) | ๐๐ก๐ฒ | do-po-ta | unclear, perhaps house deity [19] [20] [21] | [n 11] [n 12] [n 13] |
Dionysus | ๐๐บ๐๐ฐ | di-wo-nu-so | [19] [26] | [n 14] |
Dipsioi | ๐๐ ๐ฏ๐๐ | di-pi-si-jo-i | meaning obscure: perhaps "The Thirsty and hence the Dead Ones"; perhaps related to Thessalian month Dipsos [19] [32] [33] [34] [35] | [n 15] |
Drimios | ๐๐ช๐๐ | di-ri-mi-jo | unknown, in later times, son of Zeus, perhaps a predecessor of Apollo [19] [34] [37] | [n 11] [n 16] [n 17] |
Enesidaon | ๐๐๐ฏ๐ ๐๐ | e-ne-si-da-o-ne | possibly a theonym; possibly an epithet of Poseidon, assumed to mean "Earthshaker" or something similar [1] [37] [40] | [n 13] [n 18] [n 19] |
Enyalius | ๐๐๐ท๐ช๐ | e-nu-wa-ri-jo | a later epithet of Ares [1] [19] [28] [34] | |
Hephaestus | ๐๐๐๐ด๐ | a-pa-i-ti-jo | regarded as indirectly attested by the name *Haphaistios or *Haphaistion, presumed to be a theophoric name [27] [29] [43] | |
Hermes | ๐๐๐ | e-ma-*25 or e-ma-ha | [19] [2] [44] [45] [46] | [n 20] |
Areias | ๐๐ฉ๐ | a-re-ja | epithet (Hermes) [2] [48] | [n 11] |
Hyperion(?) | ๐๐ | pe-rjo-, reconstructed u-pe-rjo-ne | perhaps attested through the lacunose perio [49] | [n 21] |
Marineus(?) | ๐๐ช๐ / ๐๐ช๐๐ธ / ๐๐ช๐๐บ | ma-ri-ne(-u?) / ma-ri-ne-we / ma-ri-ne-wo | unknown deity, perhaps "God of the Woolens", meaning obscure [19] [27] [29] [50] [51] | |
Pade(?) | ๐๐ / ๐๐๐ | pa-de / pa-de-i | possibly unknown god, thought to be Cretan, Minoan in origin [9] [1] [19] [52] | |
Paean | ๐๐๐บ๐ | pa-ja-wo-ne | a precursor of Apollo [1] [19] [53] [54] | [n 22] |
Poseidon | ๐ก๐ฎ๐ ๐ / ๐ก๐ฎ๐ ๐บ๐ | po-se-da-o / po-se-da-wo-ne | chief deity [19] [56] [57] | [n 13] |
Trisheros | ๐ด๐ช๐ฎ๐ซ๐ | ti-ri-se-ro-e | theonym, "Thrice-Hero"; thought to attest, and pertain to, the veneration of the dead [19] [34] [63] [64] [65] | [n 23] [n 24] [n 25] |
Wanax | ๐ท๐๐๐ณ | wa-na-ka-te | "The King"; in this case, it is considered to be a theonym in the dative case, perhaps as an epithet of Poseidon [19] [34] [73] | [n 26] [n 27] |
Zeus | ๐๐ธ / ๐๐บ | di-we / di-wo | God of the sky [19] [76] [77] | |
Diktaios | ๐๐๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ธ | di-ka-ta-jo di-we | local epithet of Zeus on Crete [9] [19] [78] [79] | [n 28] [n 29] |
Name | Notes | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
English | Linear B | Transliteration | Comments | Footnotes |
Artemis | ๐๐ณ๐๐ต / ๐๐ด๐๐ณ | a-te-mi-to / a-ti-mi-te | [19] [81] [82] [83] [84] | |
Diwia | ๐๐๐ / ๐๐น๐ | di-u-ja / di-wi-ja | possibly the female counterpart of Zeus, possibly Dione in later Greek [1] [19] [21] [34] | |
Doqeia(?) | ๐๐ค๐ | do-qe-ja | possibly an unknown goddess but could be only a feminine adjective [85] [86] [87] | [n 30] |
Eileithyia | ๐๐ฉ๐๐ด๐ | e-re-u-ti-ja | attested in the Cretan Eleuthia form; perhaps Minoan in origin [1] [19] [89] [90] [91] | |
Eos | ๐๐บ๐๐ | a-wo-i-jo | perhaps attested through a personal name แผฯohฮนฮฟฯ related to the word for dawn, or dative form ฤwลiลi [92] [93] [94] [95] [96] [97] | [n 31] [n 32] |
Erinyes | ๐๐ช๐ / ๐๐ช๐๐ธ | e-ri-nu / e-ri-nu-we | both forms of the theonym are considered to be in the singular, Erinys [9] [19] [56] [99] [100] | [n 33] |
Hera | ๐๐จ | e-ra | [19] [34] [102] | |
Iphemedeia | ๐๐๐๐๐ | i-pe-me-de-ja | theonym; probably variant form of Iphimedia, name of a mythological person found in Homer's Odyssey [19] [21] [34] [103] | |
Komawenteia(?) | ๐๐๐ธ๐ณ๐ | ko-ma-we-te-ja | possibly unknown deity, possibly meaning "long-haired goddess" [21] [104] | [n 34] |
Leto | ๐จ๐ด๐ / ๐จ๐ต | ra-ti-jo / ra-to | perhaps attested through the forms Latios [107] [108] and Lato [109] | [n 35] |
Manasa | ๐๐๐ญ | ma-na-sa | unknown goddess [19] [34] [85] [111] [112] | [n 11] [n 36] |
Mater Theia | ๐๐ณ๐ฉ๐๐ณ๐๐ | ma-te-re,te-i-ja | possibly "Mother of the Gods" or mother goddess [19] [113] [114] | [n 37] |
Pipituna | ๐ ๐ ๐ถ๐ | pi-pi-tu-na | Reconstructed as *ฮ ฮฏฯฯฯ ฮฝฮฝฮฑ (Pรญptynna); [116] unknown deity, considered to be Pre-Greek or Minoan [9] [1] [19] [35] [37] [117] [118] | [n 38] |
Posidaeia | ๐ก๐ฏ๐ ๐๐ | po-si-da-e-ja | probably the female counterpart to Poseidon [19] [21] | [n 11] |
Potnia | ๐ก๐ด๐๐ | po-ti-ni-ja | "Mistress" or "Lady"; may be used as an epithet for many deities, but also shows up as a single deity [19] [120] [121] [122] | [n 13] |
Potnia Athena | ๐๐ฒ๐๐ก๐ด๐๐ | a-ta-na-po-ti-ni-ja | or Potnia of At(h)ana (Athens(?)); reference of the latter is uncertain [1] [19] [114] | [n 39] |
Potnia Hippeia | ๐ก๐ด๐๐๐๐๐ค๐ | po-ti-ni-ja,i-qe-ja | Mistress of the Horses; later epithet of Demeter and Athena [19] [114] | [n 40] [n 41] |
Potnia of Sitos | ๐ฏ๐ต๐ก๐ด๐๐ | si-to-po-ti-ni-ja | Mistress of Grain; Bronze Age predecessor or epithet of Demeter [19] [85] [114] [124] | [n 42] |
Potnia of the Labyrinth | ๐ ๐๐ช๐ต๐๐๐ก๐ด๐๐ | da-pu2-ri-to-jo,po-ti-ni-ja | [1] [19] [34] [114] | |
Potnia, at Thebes | ๐ก๐ด๐๐๐๐บ๐๐ | po-ti-ni-ja,wo-ko-de | of no attested name or title, other than that offers are made to her house, her premises [19] [27] [34] [126] [127] | [n 43] |
Potnia, of unidentified Pylos sanctuary | ๐ก๐ด๐๐ | po-ti-ni-ja | unknown local(?) goddess of pa-ki-ja-ne (*Sphagianes?) sanctuary at Pylos [114] [129] [130] | [n 11] [n 44] [n 45] |
Potnia, of uncertain A place or epithet | ๐ก๐ด๐๐๐๐๐ฏ๐น๐ | po-ti-ni-ja,a-si-wi-ja | [19] [135] | [n 46] [n 47] |
Potnia, of unknown E place or epithet | ๐๐ฉ๐น๐๐ก๐ด๐๐ | e-re-wi-jo-po-ti-ni-ja | [85] | [n 48] |
Potnia, of unknown N place or epithet | ๐๐บ๐๐๐๐ก๐ด๐๐ | ne-wo-pe-o,po-ti-ni-ja | [19] [85] | |
Potnia, of unknown U place or epithet | ๐๐ก๐๐ก๐ด๐๐ | u-po-jo-po-ti-ni-ja | [19] [85] | [n 49] |
Potnia, of unknown ? place or epithet | ๐๐๐ฏ๐๐ก๐ด๐๐ | (?)-a-ke-si,po-ti-ni-ja | [85] | [n 50] |
Preswa(?) | ๐๐ฉ๐ | pe-re-*82 or pe-re-swa | generally interpreted as a dove goddess or an early form of Persephone [19] [21] [111] [139] | |
Qerasia(?) | ๐ค๐จ๐ฏ๐ | qe-ra-si-ja | unknown goddess, perhaps Minoan in origin or possibly connected with thฤr [9] [1] [19] [34] [85] [140] [141] [142] | [n 51] [n 52] |
Qowia(?) | ๐ฆ๐น๐ | qo-wi-ja | unknown deity, possibly meaning "She of the Cow(s)" [21] [75] [85] | [n 11] [n 53] [n 54] |
Wanasso(?) | ๐ท๐๐ฐ๐ | wa-na-so-i | "The Two Queens", possibly Demeter and Persephone; *wanassojin(?) regarded as a dative dual form [19] [34] [129] [147] | [n 26] [n 27] [n 55] |
Possible goddesses | ||||
(?) | (?) | (?) | A possible sun goddess, predecessor to Helios, and possibly related to Helen. [150] No unambiguous attestations of words for "sun" have yet been found, though the Mycenaean word for "sun" is reconstructed as *hฤwรฉlios. | [n 56] |
Name | Notes | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
English | Linear B | Transliteration | Comments | Footnotes |
Proteus | ๐ก๐ซ๐ณ๐ | po-ro-te-u | could be the theonym of the sea-god Proteus, but probably just the anthroponym of a nobleman [151] [152] [153] |
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: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link)Many of the Greek deities are known from as early as Mycenaean (Late Bronze Age) civilization. This is an incomplete list of these deities [n 1] and of the way their names, epithets, or titles are spelled and attested in Mycenaean Greek, written in the Linear B [n 2] syllabary, along with some reconstructions and equivalent forms in later Greek.
Name | Notes | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
English | Linear B | Transliteration | Comments | Footnotes |
Pantes Theoi | ๐๐ฏ๐ณ๐๐ | pa-si-te-o-i | "To All the Gods"; a special invocation, irrespective of sex, etc.; recurrently attested at Knossos [1] [2] [3] [4] | [n 3] [n 4] [n 5] |
Name | Notes | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
English | Linear B | Transliteration | Comments | Footnotes |
Anemoi | ๐๐๐๐๐๐ฉ๐ / ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ฉ๐ | a-ne-mo-i-je-re-ja / a-ne-mo,i-je-re-ja | attested through *Anemohiereia or *Anemon Hiereia, "Priestess of the Winds" [9] [1] [10] [11] | [n 6] [n 7] [n 8] [n 9] |
Apollo(?) | ๐๐ | pe-rjo-, reconstructed a-pe-rjo-ne | perhaps attested through the lacunose perio [13] [14] | [n 10] |
Ares | ๐๐ฉ | a-re | [9] [16] [17] [18] [19] | |
Despotas(?) | ๐๐ก๐ฒ | do-po-ta | unclear, perhaps house deity [19] [20] [21] | [n 11] [n 12] [n 13] |
Dionysus | ๐๐บ๐๐ฐ | di-wo-nu-so | [19] [26] | [n 14] |
Dipsioi | ๐๐ ๐ฏ๐๐ | di-pi-si-jo-i | meaning obscure: perhaps "The Thirsty and hence the Dead Ones"; perhaps related to Thessalian month Dipsos [19] [32] [33] [34] [35] | [n 15] |
Drimios | ๐๐ช๐๐ | di-ri-mi-jo | unknown, in later times, son of Zeus, perhaps a predecessor of Apollo [19] [34] [37] | [n 11] [n 16] [n 17] |
Enesidaon | ๐๐๐ฏ๐ ๐๐ | e-ne-si-da-o-ne | possibly a theonym; possibly an epithet of Poseidon, assumed to mean "Earthshaker" or something similar [1] [37] [40] | [n 13] [n 18] [n 19] |
Enyalius | ๐๐๐ท๐ช๐ | e-nu-wa-ri-jo | a later epithet of Ares [1] [19] [28] [34] | |
Hephaestus | ๐๐๐๐ด๐ | a-pa-i-ti-jo | regarded as indirectly attested by the name *Haphaistios or *Haphaistion, presumed to be a theophoric name [27] [29] [43] | |
Hermes | ๐๐๐ | e-ma-*25 or e-ma-ha | [19] [2] [44] [45] [46] | [n 20] |
Areias | ๐๐ฉ๐ | a-re-ja | epithet (Hermes) [2] [48] | [n 11] |
Hyperion(?) | ๐๐ | pe-rjo-, reconstructed u-pe-rjo-ne | perhaps attested through the lacunose perio [49] | [n 21] |
Marineus(?) | ๐๐ช๐ / ๐๐ช๐๐ธ / ๐๐ช๐๐บ | ma-ri-ne(-u?) / ma-ri-ne-we / ma-ri-ne-wo | unknown deity, perhaps "God of the Woolens", meaning obscure [19] [27] [29] [50] [51] | |
Pade(?) | ๐๐ / ๐๐๐ | pa-de / pa-de-i | possibly unknown god, thought to be Cretan, Minoan in origin [9] [1] [19] [52] | |
Paean | ๐๐๐บ๐ | pa-ja-wo-ne | a precursor of Apollo [1] [19] [53] [54] | [n 22] |
Poseidon | ๐ก๐ฎ๐ ๐ / ๐ก๐ฎ๐ ๐บ๐ | po-se-da-o / po-se-da-wo-ne | chief deity [19] [56] [57] | [n 13] |
Trisheros | ๐ด๐ช๐ฎ๐ซ๐ | ti-ri-se-ro-e | theonym, "Thrice-Hero"; thought to attest, and pertain to, the veneration of the dead [19] [34] [63] [64] [65] | [n 23] [n 24] [n 25] |
Wanax | ๐ท๐๐๐ณ | wa-na-ka-te | "The King"; in this case, it is considered to be a theonym in the dative case, perhaps as an epithet of Poseidon [19] [34] [73] | [n 26] [n 27] |
Zeus | ๐๐ธ / ๐๐บ | di-we / di-wo | God of the sky [19] [76] [77] | |
Diktaios | ๐๐๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ธ | di-ka-ta-jo di-we | local epithet of Zeus on Crete [9] [19] [78] [79] | [n 28] [n 29] |
Name | Notes | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
English | Linear B | Transliteration | Comments | Footnotes |
Artemis | ๐๐ณ๐๐ต / ๐๐ด๐๐ณ | a-te-mi-to / a-ti-mi-te | [19] [81] [82] [83] [84] | |
Diwia | ๐๐๐ / ๐๐น๐ | di-u-ja / di-wi-ja | possibly the female counterpart of Zeus, possibly Dione in later Greek [1] [19] [21] [34] | |
Doqeia(?) | ๐๐ค๐ | do-qe-ja | possibly an unknown goddess but could be only a feminine adjective [85] [86] [87] | [n 30] |
Eileithyia | ๐๐ฉ๐๐ด๐ | e-re-u-ti-ja | attested in the Cretan Eleuthia form; perhaps Minoan in origin [1] [19] [89] [90] [91] | |
Eos | ๐๐บ๐๐ | a-wo-i-jo | perhaps attested through a personal name แผฯohฮนฮฟฯ related to the word for dawn, or dative form ฤwลiลi [92] [93] [94] [95] [96] [97] | [n 31] [n 32] |
Erinyes | ๐๐ช๐ / ๐๐ช๐๐ธ | e-ri-nu / e-ri-nu-we | both forms of the theonym are considered to be in the singular, Erinys [9] [19] [56] [99] [100] | [n 33] |
Hera | ๐๐จ | e-ra | [19] [34] [102] | |
Iphemedeia | ๐๐๐๐๐ | i-pe-me-de-ja | theonym; probably variant form of Iphimedia, name of a mythological person found in Homer's Odyssey [19] [21] [34] [103] | |
Komawenteia(?) | ๐๐๐ธ๐ณ๐ | ko-ma-we-te-ja | possibly unknown deity, possibly meaning "long-haired goddess" [21] [104] | [n 34] |
Leto | ๐จ๐ด๐ / ๐จ๐ต | ra-ti-jo / ra-to | perhaps attested through the forms Latios [107] [108] and Lato [109] | [n 35] |
Manasa | ๐๐๐ญ | ma-na-sa | unknown goddess [19] [34] [85] [111] [112] | [n 11] [n 36] |
Mater Theia | ๐๐ณ๐ฉ๐๐ณ๐๐ | ma-te-re,te-i-ja | possibly "Mother of the Gods" or mother goddess [19] [113] [114] | [n 37] |
Pipituna | ๐ ๐ ๐ถ๐ | pi-pi-tu-na | Reconstructed as *ฮ ฮฏฯฯฯ ฮฝฮฝฮฑ (Pรญptynna); [116] unknown deity, considered to be Pre-Greek or Minoan [9] [1] [19] [35] [37] [117] [118] | [n 38] |
Posidaeia | ๐ก๐ฏ๐ ๐๐ | po-si-da-e-ja | probably the female counterpart to Poseidon [19] [21] | [n 11] |
Potnia | ๐ก๐ด๐๐ | po-ti-ni-ja | "Mistress" or "Lady"; may be used as an epithet for many deities, but also shows up as a single deity [19] [120] [121] [122] | [n 13] |
Potnia Athena | ๐๐ฒ๐๐ก๐ด๐๐ | a-ta-na-po-ti-ni-ja | or Potnia of At(h)ana (Athens(?)); reference of the latter is uncertain [1] [19] [114] | [n 39] |
Potnia Hippeia | ๐ก๐ด๐๐๐๐๐ค๐ | po-ti-ni-ja,i-qe-ja | Mistress of the Horses; later epithet of Demeter and Athena [19] [114] | [n 40] [n 41] |
Potnia of Sitos | ๐ฏ๐ต๐ก๐ด๐๐ | si-to-po-ti-ni-ja | Mistress of Grain; Bronze Age predecessor or epithet of Demeter [19] [85] [114] [124] | [n 42] |
Potnia of the Labyrinth | ๐ ๐๐ช๐ต๐๐๐ก๐ด๐๐ | da-pu2-ri-to-jo,po-ti-ni-ja | [1] [19] [34] [114] | |
Potnia, at Thebes | ๐ก๐ด๐๐๐๐บ๐๐ | po-ti-ni-ja,wo-ko-de | of no attested name or title, other than that offers are made to her house, her premises [19] [27] [34] [126] [127] | [n 43] |
Potnia, of unidentified Pylos sanctuary | ๐ก๐ด๐๐ | po-ti-ni-ja | unknown local(?) goddess of pa-ki-ja-ne (*Sphagianes?) sanctuary at Pylos [114] [129] [130] | [n 11] [n 44] [n 45] |
Potnia, of uncertain A place or epithet | ๐ก๐ด๐๐๐๐๐ฏ๐น๐ | po-ti-ni-ja,a-si-wi-ja | [19] [135] | [n 46] [n 47] |
Potnia, of unknown E place or epithet | ๐๐ฉ๐น๐๐ก๐ด๐๐ | e-re-wi-jo-po-ti-ni-ja | [85] | [n 48] |
Potnia, of unknown N place or epithet | ๐๐บ๐๐๐๐ก๐ด๐๐ | ne-wo-pe-o,po-ti-ni-ja | [19] [85] | |
Potnia, of unknown U place or epithet | ๐๐ก๐๐ก๐ด๐๐ | u-po-jo-po-ti-ni-ja | [19] [85] | [n 49] |
Potnia, of unknown ? place or epithet | ๐๐๐ฏ๐๐ก๐ด๐๐ | (?)-a-ke-si,po-ti-ni-ja | [85] | [n 50] |
Preswa(?) | ๐๐ฉ๐ | pe-re-*82 or pe-re-swa | generally interpreted as a dove goddess or an early form of Persephone [19] [21] [111] [139] | |
Qerasia(?) | ๐ค๐จ๐ฏ๐ | qe-ra-si-ja | unknown goddess, perhaps Minoan in origin or possibly connected with thฤr [9] [1] [19] [34] [85] [140] [141] [142] | [n 51] [n 52] |
Qowia(?) | ๐ฆ๐น๐ | qo-wi-ja | unknown deity, possibly meaning "She of the Cow(s)" [21] [75] [85] | [n 11] [n 53] [n 54] |
Wanasso(?) | ๐ท๐๐ฐ๐ | wa-na-so-i | "The Two Queens", possibly Demeter and Persephone; *wanassojin(?) regarded as a dative dual form [19] [34] [129] [147] | [n 26] [n 27] [n 55] |
Possible goddesses | ||||
(?) | (?) | (?) | A possible sun goddess, predecessor to Helios, and possibly related to Helen. [150] No unambiguous attestations of words for "sun" have yet been found, though the Mycenaean word for "sun" is reconstructed as *hฤwรฉlios. | [n 56] |
Name | Notes | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
English | Linear B | Transliteration | Comments | Footnotes |
Proteus | ๐ก๐ซ๐ณ๐ | po-ro-te-u | could be the theonym of the sea-god Proteus, but probably just the anthroponym of a nobleman [151] [152] [153] |
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a-te-mi-to- (genitive)
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link){{
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help){{
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link){{
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: CS1 maint: others (
link) At the
Perseus Project, a digital library project of
Tufts University.{{
cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link)