Mythological References
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Welcome to the myths section! Here I'll list mythological references in the Sailor Moon series itself or ones used by me.
GREEK REFERENCES
Acheron: River of woe in Underworld
Aphrodite: Daughter of Zeus and Dione 1. Best known for her affair with Ares, despite her marriage to Hephaestus. She was also rumored to have had affairs with Dionysus and Hermes. Aphrodite was the goddess of love and sexuality and often helped young people in love.
Notable Children: Phobos, Deimos, Harmonia 1 (Ares), Hermaphroditus/Atlantius (Hermes), possibly Priapus (Dionysus), possibly Eros (unknown)
Apollo: Son of the Titan Leto and Zeus, twin brother to Asteria. Said to have taken over the Titan Themis' oracle in Delphi, making the Oracle at Delphi one of the most important sources of information and prophecy from the gods. God of light and music.
Notable Children: Asclepius
Ares: Son of Zeus and Hera. Best known for his affair with Aphrodite. God of war and not very popular with the Greeks.
Notable Children: Phobos, Deimos, Harmonia 1 (Aphrodite), Amazons (Harmonia 2), Nike goddess of victory (unknown), Romulus, Remus (Ilia)
Artemis: Daughter of Zeus and Leto, or possibly Demeter. Virgin goddess of the hunt who punished men who saw her naked or tried to bed her. Also watched over young children, streets, and harbors.
Athena: Daughter of Zeus and Metis 1 and was born full-grown after springing from Zeus' head. Goddess of wisdom and carrier of the aegis, Zeus' shield. Athens is named after her.
Astrea: Goddess who represented the four seasons, order/purpose, as well as justice.
Atlas: One of the 12 Titans, best known for carriying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
Notable descendants: The Trojans
Callisto: One of Zeus' many lovers and was turned into a bear by Hera. Zeus placed her in the Ursa Major galaxy as a constellation.
Calypso: Daughter of the Titan Atlas; Best known for finding and falling in love with the shipwrecked Odysseus. She offered to make him immortal, but he refused.
Chaos: The void that came into being before everything else according to Hesiod. Not positive or negative; just a void.
Notable offspring: Gaia, Nyx, Eros, Erebus, Tartaros, Aether
Charon: Ferryman across the river Styx in the Underworld.
Circe: Daughter of Helios, sorceress who turned men into animals. She's known to have purification powers as well.
Cocytus: River of wailing in the Underworld
Cronos: Associated with time and sky. Son of Uranus and Gaia, devoured his offspring in fear of a revolt, but his wife Rhea 1 saved Zeus.
Notable Children: Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, Poseidon, Zeus
Demeter: Goddess of fertility and the grain; daughter of Uranus and Gaia. Best known for the story of Hades' abduction of her daughter Persephone, in which she was so distraught that she did not allow the crops to grow.
Notable children: Persephone, Artemis
Endymion: Sometimes thought to be a shepherd, other times a king. Said to have born 50 daughters with his lover Selene, goddess of the moon, and then entered an ageless, eternal sleep.
Notable children: Narcissus
Erebus: Represents the gloom of Tartaros, or land of the dead.
Europa: Carried off by Zeus, who changed into a white bull to attract her attention.
Notable children: Minos 1 or 2
Gaia: Offspring of Chaos, represents Earth
Notable children: Uranus, Nereus (Pontus), Cyclopes (Uranus), Mountains, Pontus, various giants
Ganymede: Known for his beauty and said to be cupbearer of the gods.
Hades: Son of Cronos and Rhea, God of the Underworld. Best known for his abduction of Persephone. He also has a helmet that will render him invisible.
Hebe: Goddess of youth, daughter of Zeus and Hera. Sometimes called Ganymede.
Hecate: Said to be the dark form of the goddess Artemis and ruled the dark side of the moon. Known for all sorts of evil deeds.
Helios: Sun god, known for driving his chariot across the heavens, explaining sunrise to sunset.
Notable children: Circe, Phaeton, the Heliads
Hephaestus: Deformed god of the forge; sometimes associated with volcanoes. Best known for his failed marriage to Aphrodite.
Hera: Queen of heaven, wife of Zeus. Best known for her jealousy and persecution of Zeus' lovers.
Notable offspring: Ares, Hebe, (Zeus) Hephaestus (alone or with Zeus)
Hermes: Son of Zeus and Maia; Messenger of Zeus, herald of the gods. Also known for theivery, bringing dreams, languages, and watching over travellers. Said to have invented the lyre.
Notable children: Hermaphroditus (Aphrodite), Pan (Penelope), Priapus (unknown)
Hestia: Goddess of the hearth, daughter of Chronos and Rhea. Never leaves home or takes part in the struggles of the gods.
Io: Turned into a cow by Hera after being seduced by Zeus. Rumored to have wandered to Egypt and then becoming the goddess Isis.
Iris: Goddess of the rainbow; also a messenger of the gods. Represented a brief union between earth and sky.
Larissa: A city in Greece.
Leto: Another lover of Zeus.
Notable offspring: Helen of Troy
Maenad: Followers of the god of the vine (Dionysius). They wore snakes on their heads and carried the Thaetos staff crowned with ivy. Their abilities include performing miracles and being cruel to their enemies.
Melpomene: Muse of tragedy.
Midas: Greedy king who wished everything he touched would turn into gold.
Naiad: Nymphs of waters, streams, and fountains.
Nereid: Sea nymphs and attendents to Poseidon.
Nereus: Also thought to be 'The old man of the sea'.
Pallas: One of many names for Athena, goddess of wisdom.
Pan: God of woods, pastures, and landscapes; Son of Zeus and Hybris or Hermes and Penelope. Has the lower body of a goat.
Pandora: Sent to man as a punishment for accepting Prometheus' gift of fire. Carried a box of evils and accidentally opened it.
Phaeton: Son of the god Helios; convinced his father to let him drive his chariot after Helios promised to grant him anything. Phaeton couldn't control the chariot and was struck down by Zeus.
Phlegethon: River of fire in the Underworld
Pontus: Means 'deep sea' ; Son of Mother Earth and father of Nereus.
Poseidon: Known as 'the earth-shaker' and god of the sea. Son of Cronos and Rhea 1.
Notable offspring: Athena, Pegasus, Proteus, Theseus
Prometheus: Best known for stealing fire from Zeus and giving it to man.
Proteus: 'The Old Man of the Sea'. Son of Poseidon.
Rhea: One of the 12 Titans and mother of Zeus; daughter of Uranus and Gaia.
Notable children: Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Zeus, Poseidon
Selene: One of the 12 Titans and associated with the moon. Best known for her love of Endymion.
Notable children: Narcissus (Endymion)
Styx: River of hate in the Underworld.
Tartaros: The land of the dead.
Thanatos: Death, but only for mortals, who both fear and hate him. Son of Nyx and possibly Erebus.
Triton: Demigod of the sea and son of Poseidon; half man and half-fish.
Urania: Muse of astronomy.
Uranus: Son of Gaia; God of sky and heaven, and original ruler of the gods. Was castrated by his son Cronos.
Notable offspring: Titans, Giants, Cyclopes
Zeus: King of the gods and wielder of the thunderbolt; son of Cronos and Rhea. Best known for his many affairs.
Notable Children: Aphrodite, Apollo, Artemis, Ares, Hebe, Endymion, Helen of Troy, Heracles 1, Hermes, Nymphs, Pan, Perseus 1, Persephone
ROMAN
Arachne: Bragged that she could spin better than the goddes Minerva. She lost a contest to Minerva and killed herself, but Minerva changed her into a spider out of pity.
Ceres: Daughter of Cronos and Rhea; Goddess of the grain, plants, and a mother's love for her child.
Notable children: Proserphina (Jupiter)
Janus: Two faced god; one face looked forward and the other back. God of beginnings, doorways, and riverways.
Juno: Queen of the gods, wife of Jupiter: Goddess of women (particularly matrons) and children. Also thought to be the goddess of marriage.
Other names
1. Juno Regina-Another member of the Capitoline Triad.
2. Juno Moneta-Comes from the Latin 'monere' meaning "to warn". The story goes that when the Gauls tried to invade, Juno sent geese, her sacred birds, to warn the Romans. A temple was built there, but later a mint was established and we eventually got the word "money" from it.
3. Juno Sospita-Patron goddess of the state.
4. Juno Curtis/Juno Quiritis-Protector of spearmen and the only deity worshipped by all 30 curiae (military and administrative units introduced by Romulus, 'founder' of Rome).
5. Juno Lucina-Goddess of light and childbirth; sometimes described as 'coming to light'.
Jupiter: King of the gods, married to Juno. God of the sky.
*It has been thought that Jupiter was the only one of the Roman gods who could control fate.
Other names
1. Jupiter Capitolinus/Jupiter Optimus Maximus-supreme leader of the gods and the central deity of the Captoline triad.
2. Jupiter Latiaria-Not much known about this one except for the fact that he was worshipped on the SE Alban Mount of Rome.
3. Jupiter Stator-Aka Jupiter 'The Stayer'. He caused troops to stop fleeing and stand their ground, thus turning defeat into victory. You can see this in Sailor Jupiter as well, because she never backs down from a challenge.
4. Jupiter Tonans-Jupiter "The Thunderer" controlled thunder. The Roman emporer Augustus built a temple to him after almost being struck by lightning. The connection to Sailor Jupiter is obvious here-they both control lightning.
5. Jupiter Feretius-Either means "the maker of agreements", "he who blesses the weapons", or "he who strikes".
6. Jupiter Fulger-Any place struck by lightning was considered sacred to him.
7. Jupiter Pistor-Jupiter "The Baker" protected bakers. Another obvious connection-Sailor Jupiter loves to bake things.
Mars: Son of Juno, originally god of vegetation and fertility but later became associated with war. Very popular among the Romans.
Mercury: Roman messenger god; also watched over trade and commerce.
Minerva: virgin goddess of warriors, poetry, medicine, wisdom, commerce, crafts, and inventor of music; daughter of Jupiter and Juno. She was the third member of the Capitoline Triad.
Neptune: God of the water/sea.
Pluto: Son of Chronos and Rhea; god of the dead and fertility as well as lord of the Underworld.
Saturn: Corn god, known as Cronos in Greek myth.
Venus: Goddess of love, nature, and spring; best known for her affair with Mars.
Vesta: Goddess of the hearth and the ceremonial flame of the city. Attended by 6 Vestal Virgins.
