Let’s face it, mortals. When you read the Greek myths, you sometimes run into long, unpronounceable names like Ascalaphus and Hephaestus—names so long that just looking at them can give you a great big headache. Not only that, but sometimes you mortals call us by our Greek names and other times by our Roman names. It can get pretty confusing. But never fear! I’m here to set you straight with my quickand-easy guide to who’s who and what’s what in the myths.
Alec (AL-eck)—see Furies.
ambrosia (am-BRO-zha)—food that we gods must eat to stay young and good-looking for eternity.
Aphrodite (af-ruh-DIE-tee)—goddess of love and beauty. The Romans call her Venus.
Apollo (uh-POL-oh)—god of light, music, and poetry; Artemis’s twin brother. The Romans couldn’t come up with anything better, so they call him Apollo too.
Ares (AIR-eez)—god of war. The Romans call him Mars.
Artemis (AR-tuh-miss)—goddess of the hunt and the moon, Apollo’s twin sister. The Romans call her Diana.
Ascalaphus (as-KAL-uh-fuss)—gardener of the Underworld; Cal for short.
Asphodel Fields (AS-fo-del FEELDZ)—the large region of the Underworld where nothing grows except for a weedy gray-green plant; home to the ghosts of those who, in life, were not so good, but not so bad.
Athens (ATH-enz)—a major city located in Greece; sacred to Athena.
Campe (CAM-pee)—giantess and Underworld Jail Keep.
Cerberus (SIR-buh-rus)—my fine, III-headed pooch, guard dog of the Underworld.
Charon (CARE-un)—river-taxi driver; ferries the living and the dead across the River Styx.
Cronus (CROH-nus)—my dad, a truly sneaky Titan, who once ruled the universe. The Romans call him Saturn.
Cupid (KYOO-pid)—god of love; Cupid is his Roman name. The Greeks call him Eros.
Cyclops (SIGH-klops)—a one-eyed giant. Lightninger, Shiner, and Thunderer, children of Gaia and Uranus, and uncles to us gods, are three cyclopes (sigh-KLO-peez).
Demeter (duh-MEE-ter)—Persephone’s mom, goddess of agriculture and total gardening nut. The Romans call her Ceres.
di Minos (dih ME-nus)—better known as King Minos, son of Zeus, who set him up as a judge of the ghosts in the Underworld.
Dionysus (die-uh-NIE-sus)—god of wine and all-around, good-time party guy. The Romans call him Bacchus.
discus (DIS-kus)—a disk thrown in athletic competition; ancestor of the Frisbee.
drosis (DRO-sis)—short for theoxidrosis (thee-oh-ex-ih-DRO-sis); old Greek speak for “violent god sweat.”
Elysium (eh-LIZH-ee-um)—Underworld region of eternal sunshine and endless apple orchards where ghosts of heroes and those who were good in life party on.
Furies (FYOOR-eez)—three winged immortals with red eyes and serpents for hair who pursue and punish wrongdoers, especially children who insult their mothers; their full names are Tisiphone (ti-Z-fun-ee), Megaera (MEG-ah-rah), and Alecto (ah-LEKtoe), but around my palace, they’re known as Tisi, Meg, and Alec.
Gaia (GUY-uh)—Mother Earth, married to Uranus, Father Sky; mom to the Titans, Cyclopes, Hundred-Handed Ones, Typhon, and other giant monsters, and granny to us Olympian gods.
Hades (HEY-deez)—Ruler of the Underworld, Lord of the Dead, King Hades, that’s me. I’m also god of wealth, owner of all the gold, silver, and precious jewels in the earth. The Romans call me Pluto.
Helios (HEE-lee-ohss)—the Titan sun god; drives his fiery chariot from east to west across the sky each day; son of Hyperion.
Hephaestus (huh-FESS-tus)—lame god of the forge, metalworkers, jewelers, and blacksmiths. The Romans call him Vulcan.
Hera (HERE-uh)—my sister, Queen of the Olympians, goddess of marriage. The Romans call her Juno. I call her “The Boss.”
Hermes (HER-meez)—god of shepherds, travelers, inventors, merchants, business executives, gamblers, and thieves; messenger of the gods; escorts the ghosts of dead mortals down to the Underworld. The Romans call him Mercury.
Hestia (HESS-tee-uh)—my sister; goddess of the hearth. The Romans call her Vesta.
Hundred-Handed Ones (HUHN-druhd HAN-did WUNZ)—three oddball brothers (Fingers, Highfive, and Lefty) who each have fifty heads and one hundred hands; brothers of the Cyclopes and the Titans.
Hypnos (HIP-nohss)—god of sleep; brother of Thanatos; son of Nyx, or night. Shhh! He’s napping.
ichor (EYE-ker)—god blood
immortal (i-MOR-tuhl)—a being, such as a god or possibly a monster, who will never die, like me.
Medusa (meh-DOO-suh)—one of three Gorgons; has snakes for hair.
Meg (MEG)—see Furies.
mortal (MOR-tuhl)—a being who one day must die. I hate to be the one to break this to you, but you are a mortal.
Mount Olympus (oh-LIM-pess)—the highest mountain in Greece; it’s home to all major gods, except for my brother Po and me.
nectar (NECK-ter)—what we gods like to drink; has properties that invigorate us and make us look good and feel godly.
Persephone (per-SEF-uh-nee)—goddess of spring and Queen of the Underworld. The Romans call her Proserpina.
pomegranate (POM-uh-gran-it)—a fruit with red rind and juicy red pulp full of seeds.
Pool of Lethe (LEE-thee)—also called the Pool of Forgetfulness. Underworld watering hole for common ghosts; drinking its waters makes the ghosts forget their lives on earth.
Pool of Memory (MEM-uh-ree)—Underworld pool where ghosts-in-the-know meet for drinks and to exchange memories.
Poseidon (po-SIGH-den)—my bro Po; god of the seas, rivers, lakes, and earthquakes; claims to have invented horses as well as the doggie paddle. The Romans call him Neptune.
Rhea (REE-uh)—Titaness, wife of Cronus, and mom to Po, Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Zeus, and me, Hades.
Roman numerals (ROH-muhn NOO-mur uhlz)—what the ancients used instead of counting on their fingers. Makes you glad you live in the age of Arabic numerals and calculators, doesn’t it?
| I | 1 | XI | 11 | XXX | 30 |
| II | 2 | XII | 12 | XL | 40 |
| III | 3 | XIII | 13 | L | 50 |
| IV | 4 | XIV | 14 | LX | 60 |
| V | 5 | XV | 15 | LXX | 70 |
| VI | 6 | XVI | 16 | LXXX | 80 |
| VII | 7 | XVII | 17 | XC | 90 |
| VIII | 8 | XVIII | 18 | C | 100 |
| IX | 9 | XIX | 19 | D | 500 |
| X | 10 | XX | 20 | M | 1000 |
Tartarus (TAR-tar-us)—the deepest pit in the Underworld and home of the Punishment Fields, where burning flames and red-hot lava eternally torment the ghosts of the wicked.
Thanatos (THAN-uh-toss)—god of death; brother of Hypnos.
Tisi (TIZ-ee)—see Furies.
Underworld (UHN-dur-wurld)—my very own kingdom, where the ghosts of the dead mortals come to spend eternity.
Zeus (ZOOSE)—rhymes with goose, which pretty much says it all; last, and definitely least, my little brother, a major myth-o-maniac and a cheater, who managed to set himself up as Ruler of the Universe. The Romans call him Jupiter.