Greek mythology is incredibly influential and vital to modern stories.  The Greeks passed down a great deal of their stories to us, and the average person likely knows  some important gods, heroes, and monsters.  You might be surprised by which stories have their origins in Greek myths.  While there are many interesting stories to tell, here are just a few of them.  These are the most powerful characters in Greek mythology. 

1) Typhon

• Let’s start out with the monstrous giant Typhon, who is famous for battling Zeus in order to decide which of them would rule the world.
• He has appeared many different ways, but most descriptions include the fact that he is the largest being in Greek mythology.  He also has snake-like features, including over fifty fire-breathing serpents growing around his shoulders. 
• Typhon is also known for being the father of all monsters.
• His fight with Zeus only ended when Zeus crushed him beneath a mountain.  He was buried under Mount Etna, and believed to be the cause of Etna’s volcanic eruptions.

2) Zeus

• The King of the Gods of Olympus, Zeus has taken part in many wars for control over the cosmos.
• He is classically known for hurling lightning bolts at his enemies, as well as conjuring mighty storms.
• Another famous trait of Zeus’ is his temper— he is known for sentencing others to harsh punishments.  These victims include his enemies, former lovers, and anyone who would betray him. 
• Zeus is also famous for sleeping with many people while disguised in different forms.  His wife, Queen Hera, is frequently furious at him for his infidelity.

3) Heracles

• Heracles, also commonly known by his Roman name Hercules, is likely the most famous hero from Greek mythology.
• His claim to fame was his godly strength, which allowed him to crush the invincible Nemean lion, change the course of rivers, and even wrestle with giants
• He is well-known for his 12 Labors, a series of quests given to him by a king in order for him to atone for his sins.
• Heracles was so mighty in life that he was one of the few mortals who was granted godhood.  As he died, he was allowed to join the gods on Mount Olympus.

4) Poseidon

• Much like his brother Zeus, the ocean god Poseidon was well-known for his power and fury.
• He controlled the ocean, causing storms, tidal waves, and even earthquakes.
• Many mortals feared his raw power, leading them to sacrifice animals to Poseidon before sea voyages.
• While never truly stepping out of his brother’s shadow, Poseidon is one of the strongest and most feared gods of Olympus.

5) Achilles

• Another famous mortal hero, Achilles was the most important person during the epic Trojan War.
• When he was a baby, his mother held him by the ankle and dipped him into the river Styx.  This magical river made Achilles invincible in battle, except for that weak ankle.
• Although personal feuds kept him from fighting in the Trojan War for a long time, once he joined the battle, he flew into a rage and destroyed the enemy.
• His fury was so strong that even the gods needed to step in to dampen his destructive might.

6) Hades

• While not quite as famous as his brothers Zeus and Poseidon, Hades is still one of the most powerful gods.
• He rules over the Underworld, the realm of the dead, with an iron fist.  Many souls try to escape, but Hades and his servants always capture them in the end.
• Hades is responsible for punishing all evildoers in fitting ways, sending them to the pit Tartarus.
• He is best known for kidnapping Persephone and transporting her to the Underworld, where he married her and kept her for half the year.  Persephone’s mother, Demeter, mourns the absence of her daughter during that time, causing the winter and autumn seasons.

7) Cronus

• The father of Zeus and other elder Olympians, Cronus is the King of the Titans and the ruler of the world prior to his children.
• Just as Zeus would eventually overthrow him, Cronus overthrew his father Uranus, the sky, using his stone sickle to critically wound Uranus.
• He ruled harshly over the world, and even ate his own children, the Olypian gods, in order to prevent them from rising to power. He was only defeated after Zeus raged a decade-long war against Cronus and his fellow Titans.

8) Aphrodite

• Aphrodite is the goddess of love, beauty, and romance.  While her domain does not sound dangerous, Aphrodite is responsible for some of the most bloody moments in Greek mythology.
• Her influence over Paris and Helen led to the beginning of the Trojan War, which would lead to many deaths among mortals and division amongst the gods.
• She directed many heroes into paths of destruction for the sake of love.
• One of her children, Aeneas, escapes the Trojan War with his mother’s help, and leads to the creation of the Roman empire.

9) Lernean Hydra

• The Hydra, a multi-headed serpent, is one of the most famous monsters in Greek mythology, known for its battle against Heracles.
• Its horrible power lies in the fact that it cannot be easily killed; whenever Heracles cuts off one of its heads, two new ones grow in its place.
• Additionally, both its breath and blood were so poisonous that even their scent was deadly.

10) Atlas

• Atlas is another Titan, the race of powerful immortal beings that ruled before the Olypian gods.
• Although Atlas is commonly depicted as holding the Earth on his shoulders, his mythological origin is slightly different.
• Atlas, as punishment for fighting the gods, is forced to hold up the sky itself on the western edge of the world.  He will never be able to drop this enormous burden. He became the celestial axis, where the heavens all revolve around.
• One of his famous moments in myth was when Heracles momentarily took the sky for him, in exchange for Atlas retrieving golden apples for Heracles.  Atlas attempted to leave Heracles there, but Heracles tricked Atlas into holding the sky again and escaping.

11) Ares

• Ares is the Olympian god of war.  While the Greeks respected war in general, Ares embodied the worst aspects of war: bloodlust, savagery, and physical strength.
• His mere presence is said to inspire violence in the hearts of men
• While Ares was not beloved, everyone understood his importance and the need to honor him.

12) Campe

• Campe is a monster from the era of the Titans, tasked with guarding their prisoners in Tartarus.
• She is described as having the upper half of a woman and the bottom half a monstrous composition of snake-like appendages.  Additionally, she has the heads of many beasts growing from her.
• Campe’s duty was to guard the Cyclopes and Hecatoncheires, six beings of immense strength that Uranus and Cronus both feared.   One of Zeus’ first strategies when fighting Cronus was to free those prisoners by fighting Campe.

13) Circe

• While not many mortals make this list, Circe has certainly earned a spot here with her powerful magic.
• Circe was a witch who was able to turn others into animals and beasts.  She famously turned many of Odysseus’ men into pigs.  She also turned an enemy into a monster.
• Her deceptive abilities are another strength; Circe lures others in with her beauty and hospitality, appearing to them as a goddess.  Once they have lowered their guard, then Circe can strike.

14) Uranus

• Uranus is the ancient, primordial god who embodies the sky itself.
• While there is not a lot of mythology about Uranus, his position in history cannot be denied, as he was the first true ruler of the cosmos.
• During his reign, he ruled as a tyrant, sending many of his children to be prisoners in Tartarus.

15) Hecatoncheries

• The Hecatoncheries are three of Uranus’ eldest children; they are giants with one hundred arms and fifty heads.
• The three, Briareus, Cottus, and Gyges, were imprisoned in Tartarus due to their father’s fear and disgust for them.
• Upon being freed by Zeus, the three giants were vitally important in defeating the Titans.
• They were said to have thrown three hundred enormous boulders that cast shadows over the Titans.

16) Gaea

• Gaea is another primordial goddess who embodies the earth itself.
• She gave birth to many, many important beings, including Uranus, the sky, Pontus, the sea, the Oureas, the mountains, the Hecatoncheries, the elder Cyclopes, the Gigantes, the Furies, the Titans, and many more.
• She was even responsible for Cronus killing Uranus; she despised Uranus for imprisoning her children and therefore gave Cronus his sickle in order to kill Uranus.

17) Hecate

• Hecate is a goddess with many facets; she is a goddess of boundaries, crossroads, the Underworld, the moon, and various forms of magic and witchcraft.
• While she isn’t in many stories, her large realms of influence show how strong she was.
• She also had strong associations with ghosts, poisonous plants, necromancy, light, and night.

18) Gigantes

• The Gigantes were an enormously strong race of giants, birthed by Gaea and known for fighting a war with the Olympian gods.
• They share many similarities to Typhon, including snake-like features and being buried under mountains, resulting in volcanic activity.
• According to a prophecy, the Gigantes were unable to be killed by the gods alone.  The only way to defeat them was with the combined power of a god and a mortal.
• Two of the strongest giants were Porphyrion and Alcyoneus. The former kidnapped the Queen of the Gods Hera, while the latter was unable to be killed outside of his homeland.

19) Nemesis

• Nemesis is the goddess of vengeance, retribution, and fortune.
• Often interpreted as the goddess of justice, she is known to be a force like karma: Nemesis brings you what you truly deserve, especially if your favors have been unbalanced.
• She is frequently responsible for the downfall of arrogant people and known to be the driving force behind the Greek tragedy, where a hero’s hubris leads to his failure.

20) Polyphemus

• Polyphemus is a giant man-eating Cyclops, and a child of Poseidon.
• He is most famous for fighting Odysseus and his men after the humans appeared on his island.
• Despite Odysseus’ attempts at incapacitating him, including being stabbed in the eye and being intoxicated, the Cyclops still manages to nearly destroy Odysseus by hurling boulders at his ships and praying to his father for vengeance.

21) Dionysus

• Dionysus is perhaps the most important god who started out as a mortal man.
• As a reward for his various accomplishments in life, Dionysus was given godhood and became the god of wine and festivities.
• Dionysus is known for his fierce treatment of those who offend him, such as driving men insane or turning them into dolphins.

22) Charybdis

• Charybdis is a powerful sea monster known for sending many sailors to their deaths.
• She is known to inhale giant amounts of water, creating whirlpools that cannot be escaped.
• She then belches out the water in powerful blasts.

23) Athena

• Athena, the goddess of wisdom, strategy, and the arts, is an Olympian often known for helping heroes in their quests.
• However, like many of the gods, her fury is dangerous and without mercy.
• She is responsible for turning Medusa into a monster after the woman disrespected one of Athena’s temples.
• She also punished a mortal weaver, Arachne, for claiming her weaving skills were better than Athena’s.  After the two entered a sewing contest, Athena was declared the winner, and transformed Arachne into a spider as punishment.

24) Medusa

• Medusa is a woman transformed into a monster by the goddess Athena and one of the more tragic monsters in Greek mythology.
• She was assaulted by Poseidon in one of Athena’s temples, and Athena punished her instead of Poseidon for disrespecting her temple.
• Medusa is famous for her terrifying ability to turn anything that makes eye contact with her into stone.

25) Chimera

• The Chimera is one of the more notable children of Typhon and Echidna, known for fighting the hero Bellerophon.
• The creature has the upper body of a lion, the back of a goat, and a snake for a tail.  It has the heads of all three creatures, and can breathe fire.
• The word ‘chimera’ is now commonly used to describe any fictional creature that is a combination of two or more animals.

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