Sacred lineage

Greek and Roman gods family tree

From primordial powers to Titans, Olympians and their offspring: explore the relationships behind the classical pantheon.

This tree follows selected Greek literary traditions, especially Hesiod’s Theogony. Roman poets adopted and adapted Greek genealogies, but Roman religion also had its own myths, local traditions and divine relationships. Corresponding names do not make two cult identities identical. Ancient sources often disagree.

Generations of the divine family

Chaos and the primordial powers
Hesiod begins with Chaos, then Gaia, Tartarus and Eros. This sequence is not a simple parent–child chain.
- Gaia / Terra bears Uranus / Caelus. Their union produces the Titans.
  - Titans: Cronus / Saturn and Rhea / Ops
    - Their six children: Hestia / Vesta, Demeter / Ceres, Hera / Juno, Hades / Pluto, Poseidon / Neptune, Zeus / Jupiter
      - Zeus / Jupiter and Hera / Juno: Ares / Mars, Hebe and Eileithyia. The parentage of Hephaestus / Vulcan varies.
      - Zeus / Jupiter and Leto / Latona: the twins Apollo / Apollo and Artemis / Diana.
      - Zeus / Jupiter and Metis: Athena / Minerva. Zeus and Maia: Hermes / Mercury.
      - Zeus / Jupiter and Demeter / Ceres: Persephone / Proserpina, wife of Hades / Pluto.
      - Zeus / Jupiter and Semele: Dionysus / Bacchus. Zeus and Alcmene: Heracles / Hercules.
      - Poseidon / Neptune and Amphitrite / Salacia: Triton / Triton.
  - Other Titan families include Hyperion and Theia, parents of Helios / Sol, Selene / Luna and Eos / Aurora; Iapetus and Clymene are parents of Atlas / Atlas and Prometheus / Prometheus.
- Nyx / Nox belongs to another primordial branch. Her children include Hypnos / Somnus and Thanatos / Mors.

Important alternatives

Aphrodite arises from the sea in Hesiod but is the daughter of Zeus and Dione in Homer. Eros can be a primordial power or, in later accounts, a child of Aphrodite. The Fates may be children of Night or of Zeus and Themis. Read each entry for its variants rather than treating one diagram as universal.

Roman gods beyond the Greek family tree

Janus / Janus, Pomona / Pomona, Terminus / Terminus, Quirinus / Quirinus have Roman identities that cannot be reduced to slots in a Greek genealogy.

Ancient sources

Explore all family relationships

Names with archive entries link directly to their profiles. Figures without an entry, such as Metis and Perseus, remain plain text.

Zeus / Jupiter

Parents: Cronus and Rhea. Siblings: Poseidon, Hades, Hera, Demeter, Hestia. Consort: Hera. Offspring include Ares, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Hermes, Dionysus, Heracles, Perseus, Helen.

Hera / Juno

In Greek genealogy, parents: Cronus and Rhea. Husband and brother: Zeus. Children include Ares, Hebe and Eileithyia. Hesiod makes Hera the mother of Hephaestus without a father; other accounts give Zeus as his father. Roman Juno has her own civic and religious identities.

Poseidon / Neptune

Parents: Cronus and Rhea. Siblings: Zeus, Hades, Hera, Demeter, Hestia. Consort: Amphitrite. Offspring: Triton, Polyphemus, Pegasus, Chrysaor, Theseus, Orion.

Hades / Pluto

Parents: Cronus and Rhea. Siblings: Zeus, Poseidon, Hera, Demeter, Hestia. Consort: Persephone. Generally childless.

Athena / Minerva

Father: Zeus alone; mother Metis was swallowed while pregnant, and Athena sprang fully armed from his head. A virgin goddess, foster-mother of Erichthonius; no consort or biological children.

Ares / Mars

In Greek genealogy, parents: Zeus and Hera. With Aphrodite, children include Phobos, Deimos and Harmonia; the parentage of Eros varies. In Roman tradition, Mars is father of Romulus and Remus by Rhea Silvia. The Roman story is distinct from the Greek family of Ares.

Aphrodite / Venus

Two Greek traditions coexist: in Hesiod, Aphrodite arises from the sea after the mutilation of Uranus; in Homer, she is the daughter of Zeus and Dione. Hephaestus is her husband in the Odyssey; other unions include Ares, Adonis and Anchises. Through Anchises she is mother of Aeneas, central to the Roman reception of Venus.

Apollo / Apollo

Parents: Zeus and Leto. Twin sister: Artemis. Unmarried. Offspring: Asclepius (medicine), Orpheus, Aristaeus, Troilus.

Artemis / Diana

Parents: Zeus and Leto. Twin brother: Apollo. A sworn virgin; no consort and no children.

Hephaestus / Vulcan

Parents: Hera alone, in revenge for Athena's birth, or Zeus and Hera. Consort: Aphrodite, or the Grace Aglaia. Lame from birth.

Hermes / Mercury

Parents: Zeus and Maia. Lovers: Aphrodite and various nymphs. Offspring: Pan, Hermaphroditus, Autolycus, Daphnis.

Hestia / Vesta

Parents: Cronus and Rhea. The eldest of the six. A sworn virgin who rejected Apollo and Poseidon; childless.

Demeter / Ceres

Parents: Cronus and Rhea. Offspring: Persephone by Zeus; Arion; Plutus (Wealth) by Iasion.

Dionysus / Bacchus

Parents: Zeus and the mortal Semele (or Persephone). Carried to term in Zeus's thigh. Consort: Ariadne. Offspring: Oenopion, Thoas, Priapus (sometimes).

Persephone / Proserpina

In the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, Persephone is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter and becomes the wife of Hades. Other, especially Orphic, traditions give her children and different roles. Roman poets identify her with Proserpina.

Cronus / Saturn

Parents: Uranus and Gaia. Consort and sister: Rhea. Offspring: Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Hera, Demeter, Hestia.

Rhea / Ops

In Greek genealogy, parents: Uranus and Gaia. Brother and consort: Cronus. Children: Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, Poseidon and Zeus. Rhea saves Zeus from Cronus. Her later identification with Roman Ops connects distinct religious traditions.

Uranus / Caelus

Son and then consort of Gaia, the Earth. With her, father of the twelve Titans, the three Cyclopes and the hundred-handed Hecatoncheires.

Gaia / Terra

In Hesiod, Gaia appears after Chaos; the poem does not explicitly call Chaos her parent. She bears Uranus, the Mountains and Pontus. With Uranus she becomes mother of the Titans, including Cronus and Rhea, as well as the Cyclopes and Hundred-Handers. Other unions and descendants vary by source.

Dionysus and Ariadne / Bacchus's older self: Liber and Libera

Liber ('the free one') and Libera, treated as consort or brother-and-sister; grouped with Demeter as their 'mother'. After identification: Liber = Dionysus, Libera = Ariadne or Persephone.

Eros / Cupid

In Hesiod, Eros is among the first cosmic powers, without a stated genealogy. Later traditions make him a child of Aphrodite, with varying fathers. The story of Cupid and Psyche belongs to a later literary tradition; their daughter is Pleasure (Voluptas).

Nike / Victoria

Parents: the Titan Pallas and the river Styx. Siblings: Kratos (Strength), Bia (Force), Zelus (Zeal). No consort or children.

Eris / Discordia

Daughter of Nyx, sometimes with no father; companion of Ares / Ares. Sister of the Fates, Nemesis and the other children of Night.

Tyche / Fortuna

Daughter of Hermes and Aphrodite, or of Oceanus and Tethys, or (Roman) the firstborn daughter of Zeus.

Janus / Janus

Purely Roman / Italic. Consort: Juturna (or Camasene). Son: Tiberinus (or Fontus), god of the Tiber.

Hypnos / Somnus

Parents: Nyx and Erebus (Darkness). Twin brother: Thanatos. Consort: Pasithea, one of the Graces. Offspring: Morpheus, Phobetor and Phantasos (the shapers of dreams).

Thanatos / Mors

Parents: Nyx and Erebus (Darkness). Twin brother: Hypnos. Brother of the Fates and Nemesis.

Eos / Aurora

Parents: the Titans Hyperion and Theia. Siblings: Helios and Selene. Husband: Tithonus; also loved Cephalus and Orion. Children: the Winds and the Stars (by Astraeus); Memnon (by Tithonus).

Helios / Sol

Parents: the Titans Hyperion and Theia. Siblings: Eos (Dawn) and Selene (Moon). Consorts: Perse, Clymene. Children: Phaethon, Circe, Pasiphae, the Heliades.

Selene / Luna

Parents: the Titans Hyperion and Theia. Siblings: Helios (Sun) and Eos (Dawn). Lover: Endymion. Children: fifty daughters (the Menae, the months) and, by Zeus, Pandia.

Pan / Faunus

Greek: son of Hermes (usually) and a nymph. Roman: grandson of Saturn, son of Picus; his female counterpart is Fauna or Bona Dea.

Heracles / Hercules

Father: Zeus. Mother: the mortal Alcmene. Mortal wives: Megara, Deianira. Divine wife after apotheosis: Hebe. Many children (the Heraclidae).

Asclepius / Aesculapius

Father: Apollo. Mother: the mortal Coronis. Wife: Epione. Children: Hygieia (Health), Panacea (Cure-all), and the physicians Machaon and Podalirius.

Rhea / Magna Mater

Consort: the youth Attis. Identified by the Greeks with Rhea, mother of the gods, and sometimes with Gaia or Demeter.

Leto / Latona

Parents: the Titans Coeus and Phoebe. Sister: Asteria. By Zeus, mother of the twins Apollo and Artemis.

Nyx / Nox

One of the first beings, born from Chaos. Consort: Erebus (Darkness). Children include Aether, Hemera (Day), Hypnos, Thanatos, the Moirai (Fates), Nemesis, the Hesperides, Eris, Charon and the Oneiroi (Dreams).

Moirai / Parcae

Daughters of Nyx, or of Zeus and Themis (Divine Law). The three: Nona / Clotho ('the Spinner'), Decuma / Lachesis ('the Allotter'), Morta / Atropos ('the Inflexible').

Erinyes / Furiae

Born from the blood of the castrated Uranus falling on Gaia, or children of Nyx. Usually three: Alecto ('unceasing anger'), Tisiphone ('avenger of murder'), Megaera ('the grudging').

Mousai / Camenae

Parents: Zeus and Mnemosyne (Memory), over nine nights. The nine: Calliope, Clio, Erato, Euterpe, Melpomene, Polyhymnia, Terpsichore, Thalia, Urania.

Prometheus / Prometheus

Parents: the Titan Iapetus and the Oceanid Clymene (or Themis). Brothers: Atlas, Menoetius, Epimetheus ('Afterthought'). Son: Deucalion, survivor of the Flood.

Atlas / Atlas

Parents: the Titan Iapetus and the Oceanid Clymene. Brothers: Prometheus, Epimetheus, Menoetius. Children: the Pleiades, the Hyades, the Hesperides, and Calypso.

Boreas / Aquilo

Parents: the Titan Astraeus (Stars) and Eos. Brothers: the other Winds - Zephyrus (west), Notus (south), Eurus (east). Wife: Orithyia. Sons: the winged Boreads Calais and Zetes.

Zephyrus / Favonius

Parents: the Titan Astraeus and Eos. Brothers: Boreas, Notus, Eurus. Wife: the flower-nymph Chloris / Flora. Sons: the immortal horses Xanthus and Balius.

Aeolus / Aeolus

A son of Poseidon, or of Hippotes; father of six sons and six daughters who married one another. Not to be confused with two other mythological Aeoluses.

Amphitrite / Salacia

Greek: a Nereid (or Oceanid), daughter of Nereus and Doris. Husband: Poseidon. Son: Triton; daughters including Rhode and Benthesikyme.

Triton / Triton

In Greek genealogy, Triton is the son of Poseidon and Amphitrite. He is father of Pallas, the companion of Athena, in a later account. Roman identifications of Poseidon with Neptune and Amphitrite with Salacia do not establish an independent early Roman genealogy for Triton.