Greek Goddesses

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

Tabliope: A Goddess of Gambling. I didn't make this one up, but I've lost the source, so I wouldn't use it in any job applications without checking your evidence. Or something.
Techne: Techne is Greek for skill, and thus would, as a goddess, personify that skill, probably particularly useful for artisans.
Telete: The daughter of Nicaea and Dionysus. Her daddy drove her mama to suicide, and Telete became the personification of Consecration.
Tethys: Tethys was a Titan, both original and classical. She and Oceanus ruled the planet Venus and the sixth day. From their planet they received the power of love. Some say that the Gods and everything populating Earth was born from Oceanus' stream, and that Tethys was their mother. To Homer, Tethys was very like what Eurynome was to the Pelasgians. In more classical mythology the Titaness Tethys was the wife of her brother Oceanus and by him the mother of the 3000 Oceanids and of all the river gods. She was a Goddess of the Ocean, but eventually ceded to Doris, who ceded to Amphitrite. Tethys was the Godmother of Rhea (see above), and raised her during the civil war between the Gods and the Titans. Her name means Disposer and is very similar, in root, to Thetis.n
Thalassa: She was the personification of the Mediterranean Sea, and the daughter of Hemera (Day) and Aether (the Upper Air) - two of the first beings created. Many sea deities seem very social in their chaos, always creating new and changing life, but Thalassa was much more isolated and more referred to in metaphor; she was a goddess of lonely shores. She didn't totally escape the life-giving aspect of her sea-nature, she was the mother of all fish by Poseidon, but even there, she is a much more primitive and inhuman power than others we are accustomed to seeing (Amphitrite, Thetis, etc).
Thaleia: Thaleia was apparently (in addition to a different Thaleia being one of the Charites) the daughter of Hephaestus and some unknown mother. She had a fling with Zeus, and, no surprise, got pregnant - but she knew about Hera's vengeance and asked Zeus to let the Earth swallow her. He granted her request, and her children, the twin Palici, were the protectors of solemn oaths - and in the old days, some people say they were offered human sacrifices. The mama stayed in the Earth, I guess - they don't mention what happened to her.
Theia: One of the original seven Titanesses, Theia was the mate of Hyperion. They were connected in the 'planetary power' of the Sun and the first day of the week. The Sun's power was, surprise, Illumination. She was associated with light and the sky, she was an early Goddess of Light. She was the mother of Helios, Selene (see above), and Eos. The name Theia means Divine, and she was also referred to as 'the cow-eyed Euryphaessa'. Euryphaessa means Wide Shining.
Themis: Themis was one of the origninal Titans, and shared dominion of Jupiter with Eurymedon (fifth day). Their power was that of Law and her name means Order. The Titaness Themis was the mother of the the Seasons (and some say the three Fates) with Zeus. The Goddess of Divine Justice and Law, Themis was the constant companion of the god Zeus and sat beside him on Olympus. In ancient art she is represented holding aloft a pair of scales on which she weighs the claims of opposing parties. Before and during this, however, she was also the Great Goddess who ordered the 13 month year, divided into two seasons. She was the prophet who declared that Thetis's son would be greater than his father (ever heard of Achilles?). It was Themis who appeared before Deucalion and Pyrrha (see above) and told them how to keep their race from dying out after the flood (click here for more). There was a altar dedicated to her by Pittheus in Troezen. She was very important and with Zeus plotted to create the Trojan War. That's all about her for now.
Thetis: Thetis was the chief of the Nereids. She was such a hot number that Poseidon, while he was looking for a wife, courted her. Zeus too, courted her, but she rejected him for the sake of Hera, her foster-mother. Then Themis prophesied that Thetis was to bear a son stronger than its father, so Zeus decreed that she must marry a mortal. Hera, remembering Thetis' rejection of Zeus, set her up with 'the best of mortals.' Thetis married Peleus and bore Achilles. But there was more to it than that. She saved her father once; when all the other Gods got pissed and tied him up she went and got the Hundred-Handed Briareus. She also played a large part in the birth of Hephaestus. Like Tethys (see above) the name Thetis means Disposer.
Thoosa: Thoosa was the personification of swiftness.
Thyone: Remember Semele, the mother of Dionysus? Well, after she got all crispy and died, Dionysus went down and got her back from Hades realm. What a nice son taking his mom up to Olympus and making her immortal ... anyway, upon becoming immortal she received a new name, and Thyone was it!n
The Titanides: The Titanides were the six daughters of Gaia and Uranus, the sisters to the Titans. There was one assigned to each of the seven planetary powers and to each day of the week, they shared each position with a brother. In order of their day of the week they were: Theia and the Sun (illumination), Phoebe and the Moon (enchantment), Dione and Mars (growth), Metis and Mercury (wisdom), Themis (see above) and Jupiter (justice), Tethys (see above) and Venus (love), and Rhea (see above) and Jupiter (peace). They existed before the Olympian Gods (like Zeus, Hera, Athena, etc.), and were co-opted into that culture as mothers of minor deities with their Titan brothers and husbands. The breakdown of power is as given by Robert Graves, who is not necessarily worth believing n
Tyche: Tyche was the Goddess of Fortune. It is widely accepted that she was the daughter of Zeus, though some reports give her to be the daughter of Oceanus and Tethys (see above). It was in her temple that the first dice was reportedly made. If however, she ends up bestowing wealth upon someone, and they do not sacrifice appropriately to the Gods, then Nemesis steps in and takes care of business. Tyche was very widely worshipped, despite her hard-to-guess nature.n

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

Contact me at ailiathena@yahoo.com

Last Updated July 16, 2011