{ "id": "greek-and-roman-gods-equivalence-table", "type": "guide", "name": "Greek and Roman gods: the equivalence table with its passages", "summary": "The master table of Greek and Roman divine names — Zeus/Jupiter through Cronus/Saturn, with Eros/Cupid, Helios/Sol, Selene/Luna, Eos/Aurora, Pan/Faunus, Persephone/Proserpina, Nike/Victoria and Moirai/Parcae — each row bound to a Greek passage and a Latin passage where the name is actually used, with the rows where the equation is weaker marked as such.", "locale": "en", "tags": [ "comparative", "guides", "greek", "roman", "deities", "lists", "names" ], "relations": [ { "rel": "related", "target": "roman-gods-faq" }, { "rel": "example", "target": "artemis-vs-diana" }, { "rel": "example", "target": "cronus-vs-saturn" }, { "rel": "example", "target": "dionysus-vs-bacchus" }, { "rel": "example", "target": "hephaestus-vs-vulcan" }, { "rel": "example", "target": "hera-vs-juno" }, { "rel": "example", "target": "hermes-vs-mercury" }, { "rel": "example", "target": "hestia-vs-vesta" }, { "rel": "example", "target": "poseidon-vs-neptune" }, { "rel": "example", "target": "zeus" }, { "rel": "example", "target": "jupiter" }, { "rel": "example", "target": "hera" }, { "rel": "example", "target": "juno" }, { "rel": "example", "target": "athena" }, { "rel": "example", "target": "minerva" }, { "rel": "example", "target": "ares" }, { "rel": "example", "target": "mars" }, { "rel": "example", "target": "aphrodite" }, { "rel": "example", "target": "venus" }, { "rel": "example", "target": "hades" }, { "rel": "example", "target": "pluto" }, { "rel": "example", "target": "artemis" }, { "rel": "example", "target": "diana" }, { "rel": "example", "target": "hermes" }, { "rel": "example", "target": "mercury" }, { "rel": "example", "target": "poseidon" }, { "rel": "example", "target": "neptune" }, { "rel": "example", "target": "hephaestus" }, { "rel": "example", "target": "vulcan" }, { "rel": "example", "target": "demeter" }, { "rel": "example", "target": "ceres" }, { "rel": "example", "target": "dionysus" }, { "rel": "example", "target": "bacchus" }, { "rel": "example", "target": "hestia" }, { "rel": "example", "target": "vesta" }, { "rel": "example", "target": "cronus" }, { "rel": "example", "target": "saturn" }, { "rel": "example", "target": "eros" }, { "rel": "example", "target": "cupid" }, { "rel": "example", "target": "helios" }, { "rel": "example", "target": "sol" }, { "rel": "example", "target": "selene" }, { "rel": "example", "target": "luna" }, { "rel": "example", "target": "eos" }, { "rel": "example", "target": "aurora" }, { "rel": "example", "target": "pan" }, { "rel": "example", "target": "faunus" }, { "rel": "example", "target": "persephone" }, { "rel": "example", "target": "proserpina" }, { "rel": "example", "target": "nike" }, { "rel": "example", "target": "moirai" }, { "rel": "defined_by", "target": "interpretatio-romana" }, { "rel": "related", "target": "zeus-vs-jupiter" } ], "questions": [ "What are the Roman names of the Greek gods?", "What is the Greek name of Jupiter, Juno, Minerva, Mars, Venus, Pluto, Diana, Mercury, Neptune, Vulcan, Ceres, Bacchus, Vesta and Saturn?", "Is Cupid the same as Eros?", "Is Faunus the same as Pan?", "Which Greek and Roman gods are not exact equivalents?", "Where does each Greek–Roman equivalence come from?" ], "claims": [ { "id": "c1", "text": "The translations in this corpus keep the Latin names: Brookes More's Ovid writes \"the Son of Saturn\", \"Juno\", \"Minerva\", \"Mars\", \"Venus\", \"Pluto\", \"Diana\", \"Mercury\", \"Neptune\", \"Vulcan\", \"Ceres\", \"Bacchus\", \"Vesta\" (Met. 1.163–252; 3.251–315; 6.1–145; 4.167–189; 5.341–571; 3.138–252; 1.650–747; 1.253–312; 8.728–878; 3.509–579; 15.745–870), and Williams's Virgil the same set (Aen. 1.12–33; 2.145–194; 7.601–622; 1.223–253; 6.236–263; 7.761–782; 4.219–278; 1.124–156; 8.407–453; 4.54–64; 7.341–405; 2.268–297; 8.306–369) — so every row of the table can be read in a Latin witness and a Greek one.", "sources": [ "ovid-metamorphoses", "virgil-aeneid" ], "confidence": 0.9 }, { "id": "c2", "text": "The Greek side of the fourteen main rows is Hesiod's catalogue: the six children of Cronus and Rhea (Theog. 453–458), Athena from Zeus's head (Theog. 924–926), Apollo and Artemis from Leto (Theog. 918–920), Ares from Hera (Theog. 921–923), Hephaestus from Hera alone (Theog. 927–929), Hermes from Maia (Theog. 938–939), Dionysus from Semele (Theog. 940–942), Aphrodite from the foam (Theog. 188–206) and Cronus youngest of the Titans (Theog. 132–138).", "sources": [ "hesiod-theogony" ], "confidence": 0.95 }, { "id": "c3", "text": "Three rows are equations of a weaker kind. Eros in Hesiod is a primordial power born with Earth and Tartarus (Theog. 116–122), while Cupid in Ovid and Virgil is \"Venus' son\" with a bow (Met. 1.452–473; Aen. 1.657–722). Pan in the Hymn is the goat-footed son of Hermes (HH19 1–47) and Ovid keeps the Greek name for him (Met. 1.689–712), whereas Virgil's Faunus is an Italian oracular king, father of Latinus, with a grove and an oleaster of his own (Aen. 7.37–49; 7.81–106; 12.766–790) — no text here equates the two. Selene and Artemis are distinct in Hesiod (Theog. 371–374; 918–920), but Ovid makes \"Diana, Trivia, or Luna\" one goddess (Met. 7.1–99).", "sources": [ "hesiod-theogony", "ovid-metamorphoses", "virgil-aeneid", "homeric-hymns" ], "confidence": 0.9 }, { "id": "c4", "text": "For Helios the Latin name is not printed by the translators here: More's Ovid calls him \"the Sun … the Lord of Day … Son of Hyperion\" (Met. 4.167–189), and Virgil's Williams likewise; the Greek Helios is Hyperion's son by Theia (Theog. 371–374; HH31), who complains to Zeus about his slain cattle (Od. 12.374–390). The equation Helios = Sol rests on the Latin word for the sun, not on a name these translations show.", "sources": [ "ovid-metamorphoses", "hesiod-theogony", "homeric-hymns", "homer-odyssey" ], "confidence": 0.85 }, { "id": "c5", "text": "Nike and the Moirai have Latin counterparts used as common nouns rather than gods: Hesiod's \"trim-ankled Nike (Victory)\" is Styx's daughter who dwells with Zeus (Theog. 383–388), and Ovid's \"Victory day by day\" hovers over a siege (Met. 8.1–13); Hesiod's Moirai \"Clotho and Lachesis and Atropos\" are daughters of Night or of Themis (Theog. 217–222; 904–906), and Virgil's \"Parcae's day of doom\" and Livy's \"the Fates had … already decreed\" use the Roman name for the same power (Aen. 12.134–160; Livy 1.4.1).", "sources": [ "hesiod-theogony", "ovid-metamorphoses", "virgil-aeneid", "livy-ab-urbe-condita-1" ], "confidence": 0.88 } ], "takeaways": [ "Fourteen rows are solid — the Latin poets retell Hesiod's gods under Latin names, and the passages show the name in use on both sides.", "Three rows are weaker — Eros/Cupid differ in birth, Pan/Faunus are never equated by these texts, and Luna is folded into Diana by Ovid.", "Sol is a word, not a name, in these translations; Victoria and the Parcae are Latin names for powers Hesiod personifies as Nike and the Moirai.", "The equation is one-directional — Greek texts never use the Latin names; Latin texts use them for everything." ], "faqs": [], "evidence_tier": "primary", "evidence": { "level": "theoretical", "source_types": [ "paper" ] }, "moat_flag": false, "winning_edge": "Every equivalence table online gives two columns of names. This one gives four — the names and the two passages where each is used — and says which rows the sources actually support and which they do not.", "confidence": 0.89, "last_verified": "2026-09-03", "body": "# Greek and Roman gods: the equivalence table\n\nThe Romans did not translate their gods into Greek; the Greek gods were\ntranslated into Latin. Every row below therefore has a Greek witness\n(Hesiod, Homer, the Hymns, Apollodorus) in which the Greek name is used,\nand a Latin witness (Ovid, Virgil, Livy) in which the Latin name is used\nfor the same figure or function. Where the equation is weaker than a\nname-swap, the last column says so. Each of the first fourteen rows has\nits own comparison object.\n\n## The table\n\n| Greek | Roman | Greek passage (name in use) | Latin passage (name in use) | Note |\n|---|---|---|---|---|\n| Zeus | Jupiter, Jove | \"wise Zeus, father of gods and men\" (Theog. 453–458) | \"the Son of Saturn … the Thunder-bolt Controller\" (Met. 1.163–252); \"empire without end\" (Aen. 1.254–296) | Solid; see zeus-vs-jupiter |\n| Hera | Juno | \"gold-shod Hera\" (Theog. 453–458); \"eldest … called thy wife\" (Il. 4.58–61) | \"sister and wife of Jove omnipotent\" (Met. 3.251–315); Juno of Carthage (Aen. 1.12–33) | Solid |\n| Athena | Minerva, Pallas | born from Zeus's head (Theog. 924–926; HH28) | Arachne's judge with the Aegis (Met. 6.1–145); \"favoring Pallas\" (Aen. 2.145–194) | Solid |\n| Ares | Mars | son of Zeus and Hera (Theog. 921–923); \"most hateful\" (Il. 5.888–898) | Mars and Venus in the net (Met. 4.167–189); Gates of War (Aen. 7.601–622) | Solid in myth; Mars's cult is Roman |\n| Aphrodite | Venus | foam-born at Cyprus (Theog. 188–206); daughter of Dione (Il. 5.370–380) | \"the Cytherean Venus\" (Met. 4.167–189); mother of Aeneas (Aen. 1.223–253) | Solid; Latin poets follow Homer's birth, not Hesiod's |\n| Hades | Pluto | \"strong Hades, pitiless in heart\" (Theog. 453–458); lot of darkness (Il. 15.187–193) | \"carried off by Pluto\" (Met. 5.341–437); \"Pluto, Stygian King\" (Aen. 6.236–263) | Solid; Dis Pater is a Roman title |\n| Artemis | Diana | Leto's daughter \"delighting in arrows\" (Theog. 918–920; HH27) | Actaeon's Diana (Met. 3.138–252); Aventine temple (Livy 1.45.2–7) | Solid; Ovid folds Luna in |\n| Hermes | Mercury | \"glorious Hermes, the herald\" (Theog. 938–939); sandals and wand (Od. 5.28–49) | \"Maia's son, the herald Mercury\" (Aen. 1.297–304); sandals and wand (Aen. 4.219–278) | Solid |\n| Poseidon | Neptune | \"the loud-crashing Earth-Shaker\" (Theog. 456); lot of the sea (Il. 15.187–193) | trident floods the earth (Met. 1.253–312); \"dominion o'er the seas\" (Aen. 1.124–156) | Solid; \"Equestrian Neptune\" is Livy's (Livy 1.9.6) |\n| Hephaestus | Vulcan | Hera's son \"without union with Zeus\" (Theog. 927–929); the net (Od. 8.266–366) | \"the son of Juno, Vulcan\" and the net (Met. 4.167–189); Vulcania (Aen. 8.407–453) | Solid |\n| Demeter | Ceres | \"rich-haired Demeter\" and the famine (HH2 1–5; 305–333) | Ceres seeks Proserpine (Met. 5.487–571); \"law-bestowing Ceres\" (Aen. 4.54–64) | Solid |\n| Dionysus | Bacchus | Semele's son (Theog. 940–942); pirates (HH7) | \"the new god Bacchus\" (Met. 3.509–579); pirates (Met. 3.580–691) | Solid |\n| Hestia | Vesta | \"first-born … and youngest too\" (HH5 21–32) | the Vestals (Livy 1.20.2–3); \"inviolate fire\" (Aen. 2.268–297) | Function only — no shared myth |\n| Cronus | Saturn | \"Cronos the wily, youngest\" of the Titans (Theog. 132–138) | \"the Son of Saturn\" (Met. 1.163–252); Saturn hides in Latium (Aen. 8.306–369) | Solid; the exile to Italy is Roman |\n| Eros | Cupid | primordial Eros beside Earth and Tartarus (Theog. 116–122); attendant of Aphrodite (Theog. 201–202) | \"Venus' son\" with the small arrow (Met. 1.452–473); Cupid as Ascanius (Aen. 1.657–722) | Weaker — different birth |\n| Helios | Sol | \"great Helius (Sun)\" son of Hyperion (Theog. 371–374; HH31); the cattle (Od. 12.374–390) | \"the Sun … Son of Hyperion\" (Met. 4.167–189) — Latin name not printed | Word, not name, in these translations |\n| Selene | Luna | \"clear Selene (Moon)\" (Theog. 371–374; HH32) | \"Diana, Trivia, or Luna called\" (Met. 7.1–99) | Merged into Diana by Ovid |\n| Eos | Aurora | \"Eos (Dawn) who shines upon all\" (Theog. 371–374); \"rosy-armed Eos\" (HH31 6) | Aurora mourns Memnon (Met. 13.576–622); \"Aurora in her saffron car\" (Met. 3.138–252) | Solid |\n| Pan | Faunus | goat-footed son of Hermes (HH19 1–47); Pan and Syrinx (Met. 1.689–712, Greek name kept) | Faunus, father of Latinus, oracle of Albunea (Aen. 7.37–49; 7.81–106) | Not equated by these texts |\n| Persephone | Proserpina | \"white-armed Persephone whom Aidoneus carried off\" (Theog. 912–914; HH2 1–20) | \"Proserpine\" gathering lilies (Met. 5.341–437); \"O Proserpine\" (Aen. 6.236–263) | Solid |\n| Nike | Victoria | \"trim-ankled Nike (Victory)\" (Theog. 383–388) | \"Victory day by day\" (Met. 8.1–13) | Mention only — a personification in both |\n| Moirai | Parcae | \"Clotho and Lachesis and Atropos\" (Theog. 217–222; 904–906) | \"the Parcae's day of doom\" (Aen. 12.134–160); \"the Fates had … decreed\" (Livy 1.4.1) | Mention only — a power, rarely a person |\n\n## How to read the table\n\n**The direction.** No Greek text in this corpus uses a Latin name; every\nLatin text uses them freely, and More's Ovid and Williams's Virgil keep\nthem in English. The equation is something Rome did to Greece, which is\nwhy the glossary term is *interpretatio romana*.\n\n**The solid rows.** For the fourteen gods with their own comparison, the\nLatin poets are retelling Greek myths — Semele, Actaeon, Argus, the net,\nthe flood, the abduction — and the name-swap is complete. The differences\nlie in cult (Salii, Vestals, Consualia, the Aventine Diana) and in Roman\npolitics (Juno's Carthage, Venus's Rome, Saturn's Latium), not in the\nidentity of the character.\n\n**The weaker rows.** Hesiod's Eros is older than Zeus (Theog. 116–122);\nOvid's Cupid is a boy with a bow and a mother (Met. 1.452–473). Virgil's\nFaunus is a Latin king and oracle whose grove and sacred oleaster stand\nin Latium (Aen. 7.81–106; 12.766–790), and Ovid, when he wants the Greek\ngoat-god, simply writes \"Pan\" (Met. 1.689–712). Ovid's oath \"by the\ngoddess of the triple form, Diana, Trivia, or Luna\" (Met. 7.1–99) merges\nwhat Hesiod keeps apart. And Sol is not a name the translators print —\nMore's Ovid says \"the Sun … Son of Hyperion\" (Met. 4.167–189).\n\n**The mentions.** Victoria and the Parcae are not objects in this corpus.\nHesiod gives Nike a mother (Styx) and a home (with Zeus) (Theog. 383–388)\nand the Moirai two genealogies (Theog. 217–222; 904–906); the Latin\nwitnesses use Victory and the Fates mostly as powers (Met. 8.1–13;\nAen. 12.134–160; Livy 1.4.1).", "media": [], "x": { "myth": { "pantheon": "comparative", "kind": "group", "domains": [ "names", "interpretatio" ] } }, "canonical_url": "https://mythosdata.dev/k/greek-and-roman-gods-equivalence-table", "api_url": "https://mythosdata.dev/api/k/greek-and-roman-gods-equivalence-table.json", "jsonld": { "@context": "https://schema.org", "name": "Greek and Roman gods: the equivalence table with its passages", "description": "The master table of Greek and Roman divine names — Zeus/Jupiter through Cronus/Saturn, with Eros/Cupid, Helios/Sol, Selene/Luna, Eos/Aurora, Pan/Faunus, Persephone/Proserpina, Nike/Victoria and Moirai/Parcae — each row bound to a Greek passage and a Latin passage where the name is actually used, with the rows where the equation is weaker marked as such.", "url": "https://mythosdata.dev/k/greek-and-roman-gods-equivalence-table", "license": "https://spdx.org/licenses/CC-BY-4.0.html", "dateModified": "2026-09-03", "citation": [ { "@type": "CreativeWork", "name": "Hesiod, Theogony — tr. Hugh G. Evelyn-White (Loeb, 1914), Perseus TEI edition", "url": "https://github.com/PerseusDL/canonical-greekLit/blob/master/data/tlg0020/tlg001/tlg0020.tlg001.perseus-eng2.xml" }, { "@type": "CreativeWork", "name": "The Homeric Hymns — tr. Hugh G. Evelyn-White (Loeb, 1914), Perseus TEI edition", "url": "https://github.com/PerseusDL/canonical-greekLit/blob/master/data/tlg0013/" }, { "@type": "CreativeWork", "name": "Homer, Odyssey — tr. A. T. Murray (Loeb, 1919), Perseus TEI edition", "url": "https://github.com/PerseusDL/canonical-greekLit/blob/master/data/tlg0012/tlg002/tlg0012.tlg002.perseus-eng3.xml" }, { "@type": "CreativeWork", "name": "Ovid, Metamorphoses — tr. Brookes More (1922), Perseus TEI edition", "url": "https://github.com/PerseusDL/canonical-latinLit/blob/master/data/phi0959/phi006/phi0959.phi006.perseus-eng3.xml" }, { "@type": "CreativeWork", "name": "Virgil, Aeneid — tr. Theodore C. Williams (1910), Perseus TEI edition", "url": "https://github.com/PerseusDL/canonical-latinLit/blob/master/data/phi0690/phi003/phi0690.phi003.perseus-eng2.xml" }, { "@type": "CreativeWork", "name": "Livy, Ab Urbe Condita, Books 1–10 — tr. Rev. Canon Roberts (1912), Perseus TEI edition", "url": "https://github.com/PerseusDL/canonical-latinLit/blob/master/data/phi0914/phi001/phi0914.phi001.perseus-eng3.xml" } ], "@type": "Article", "headline": "Greek and Roman gods: the equivalence table with its passages" } }