family tree of the

greek godsThousands of years ago, the ancient Greeks came up with stories about mythical gods that created them and embodied various aspects of the world. They were not like the Judeo-Christian God; they were more like humans, they were fallible, and they were not all-powerful. They also had many relations with each other and with mortals. This family tree attempts to shed some light on the convoluted relationships and origins of some of the most well-known Olympian gods, as well as others.

kHAOS, the primal void

gaia, mother earth

Ouranos, father sky

coeus, cosmic knowledge

leto, goddess of womanhood

Phoebe, cosmic wisdom

maia, the sky nymph

semele, a mortal

hermes the messenger

Aphrodite, goddess of beauty and love rhea, mother of gods

poseidon, king of the sea

hades, lord of the dead

apollo, the sun god artemis, goddess of the hunt

persephone, goddess of spring

athena, goddess of wisdom and warfare

hera, queen of gods

ares, god of bloodshed

hephaestus, master of the forge

dionysus, god of wine and merrymaking

kronos, lord of the titans

atlas, holding the sky

zeus, king of the gods, god of thunder

Born of sea foam

Emerged from Zeus’ skull fully grown

Born without a father

Child

ParentsSiblings

Key

Demeter, the harvest goddess