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Table of Roman Equivalents of Greek
Gods
Equivalent Roman and Greek Names for the Olympians and Minor
Gods
By
N.S. Gill
Updated November 06, 2019
The Romans had many gods and personifications. When they came into contact with other
people with their own collection of deities, the Romans often found what they considered
equivalents to their gods. The correspondence between the Greek and Roman gods is closer
than that of, say, the Romans and the Britons, because the Romans adopted many of the
myths of the Greeks, but there are cases where Roman and Greek versions are only
approximations.
With that proviso in mind, here are the names of the Greek gods and goddesses, paired with
the Roman equivalent, where there is a difference.
Major Gods of the Greek and Roman Pantheons
Greek Roman Description
Name Name
Aphrodite Venus The famous, beautiful love goddess, the one
awarded the apple of Discord that was instrumental
in the start of the Trojan War and for the Romans,
the mother of the Trojan hero Aeneas.
Apollo Apollo Brother of Artemis/Diana, shared by Romans and
Greeks alike.
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Greek Roman Description
Name Name
Ares Mars The god of war for both Romans and Greeks, but
so destructive he was not much loved by the
Greeks, even though Aphrodite loved him. On the
other hand, he was admired by the Romans, where
he was associated with fertility as well as the
military, and a very important deity.
Artemis Diana The sister of Apollo, she was a hunting goddess.
Like her brother, she is often combined with the
deity in charge of a celestial body. In her case, the
moon; in her brother's, the sun. Although a virgin
goddess, she assisted in childbirth. Although she
hunted, she could also be the animals' protector. In
general, she is full of contradictions.
Athena Minerva She was a virgin goddess of wisdom and crafts,
associated with warfare as her wisdom led to
strategic planning. Athena was the patron goddess
of Athens. She helped many of the great heroes.
Demeter Ceres A fertility and mother goddess associated with
cultivation of grain. Demeter is associated with an
important religious cult, the Eleusian mysteries.
She is also the law-bringer.
Hades Pluto While he was the king of the Underworld, he was
not the god of death. That was left to Thanatos. He
is married to Demeter's daughter, whom he
abducted. Pluto is the conventional Roman name
and you might use it for a trivia question, but really
Pluto, a god of wealth, is the equivalent of a Greek
god of wealth called Dis.
Hephaistos Vulcan The Roman version of this god's name was lent to
a geological phenomenon and he required frequent
pacification. He is a fire and blacksmith god for
both. Stories about Hephaestus show him as the
lame, cuckolded husband of Aphrodite.
Hera Juno A marriage goddess and the wife of the king of the
gods, Zeus.
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Greek Roman Description
Name Name
Hermes Mercury A many-talented messenger of the gods and
sometimes a trickster god and god of commerce.
Hestia Vesta It was important to keep the hearth fires burning
and the hearth was the domain of this stay-at-
home goddess. Her Roman virgin priestesses, the
Vestals, were vital to the fortunes of Rome.
Kronos Saturn A very ancient god, the father of many of the
others. Cronus or Kronos is known for having
swallowed his children, until his youngest child,
Zeus, forced him to regurgitate. The Roman
version is far more benign. The Saturnalia festival
celebrates his pleasant rule. This god is sometimes
conflated with Chronos (time).
Persephone Proserpina The daughter of Demeter, the wife of Hades, and
another goddess important in religious mystery
cults.
Poseidon Neptune The sea and fresh water springs god, brother of
Zeus and Hades. He is also associated with
horses.
Zeus Jupiter Sky and thunder god, the head honcho and one of
the most promiscuous of the gods.
Minor Gods of the Greeks and Romans
Greek Roman Description
Name Name
Erinyes Furiae The Furies were three sisters who at the behest of the
gods, sought vengeance for wrongs.
Eris Discordia The goddess of discord, who caused trouble, especially
if you were foolish enough to ignore her.
Eros Cupid The god of love and desire.
Moirae Parcae The goddesses of fate.
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Greek Roman Description
Name Name
Charites Gratiae The goddesses of charm and beauty.
Helios Sol The sun, titan and great-uncle or cousin of Apollo and
Artemis.
Horai Horae The goddesses of the seasons.
Pan Faunus Pan was the goat-footed shepherd, the bringer of music
and the god of pastures and woods.
Selene Luna The moon, titan and great-aunt or cousin of Apollo and
Artemis.
Tyche Fortuna The goddess of chance and good fortune.
Ancient Sources of Greek and Roman Gods
The great Greek epics, Hesiod's "Theogony" and Homer's "Iliad" and "Odyssey," provide
much of the basic information on the Greek gods and goddesses. The playwrights add to this
and give more substance to the myths alluded to in the epics and other Greek poetry. Greek
pottery gives us visual clues about the myths and their popularity.
The ancient Roman writers Vergil, in his epic Aeneid, and Ovid, in his Metamorphoses and
Fasti, weave the Greek myths into the Roman world.
Sources and Further Reading
Gantz, Timothy. "Early Greek Myth." Baltimore MD: Johns Hopkins University Press. 1996.
"Greek and Roman Materials." Perseus Collection. Medford MA: Tufts University.
Hard, Robin. "The Routledge Handbook of Greek Mythology." London: Routledge, 2003.
Hornblower, Simon, Antony Spawforth, and Esther Eidinow, eds. "The Oxford Classical Dictionary."
4th ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012.
Smith, William, and G.E. Marindon, eds. "A Classical Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography,
Mythology, and Geography." London: John Murray, 1904.
Cite this Article
Watch Now: Greek Gods and Goddesses
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