Greek Goddesses: Artemis, Aphrodite and More

Greek goddesses are known from literary and archaeological evidence, above all early Greek poetry such as Homer, Hesiod and the Homeric Hymns, and the statues and temples made for them. This article introduces selected goddesses, the texts that name them, selected ancient statues, and the sculptures by Silvia Steiger.

Where the Greek goddesses come from

Hesiod's Theogony tells the origin of the gods: "Verily at the first Chaos came to be, but next wide-bosomed Earth". The Titaness Rhea bears Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, Poseidon and Zeus, and Zeus becomes king of the gods. Many of the goddesses below belong to this family.

Artemis

Artemis is the daughter of Zeus and Leto and the twin sister of Apollo, a goddess of hunting and the wild who chose never to marry. Explore Artemis and her sculpture.

Aphrodite

Aphrodite is the goddess of love and desire. The Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite names three goddesses whose hearts she cannot bend: Athena, Artemis and Hestia. Explore Aphrodite and her sculpture.

The Minoan Snake Goddess

The Minoan snake figures from Crete predate classical Greece; their identification as goddesses remains debated. Explore the Snake Goddess and the homage sculpture.

Other Greek goddesses

Hera

Hesiod writes that Zeus "made Hera his blooming wife", and that she bore Hebe, Ares and Eileithyia.

Athena

According to Hesiod, Zeus gave birth to Athena "from his own head". She is one of the three goddesses Aphrodite cannot sway.

Demeter

Demeter is one of Rhea's children. The Homeric Hymn to Demeter tells how her daughter was carried off by Aidoneus, the lord of the underworld.

Hestia

Hestia, the goddess of the hearth and the home, is another child of Rhea, and the third goddess Aphrodite cannot sway.

Goddesses in Greek sculpture

Ancient statues also depict these goddesses. The Aphrodite of Knidos by Praxiteles, made in the fourth century BCE, was one of the first life-sized representations of the nude female form in Greek art; the original is lost, but many Roman copies survive. The Venus de Milo, an Aphrodite of the second century BCE, was discovered on Milos in 1820 and has been in the Louvre since 1821. The Artemis of Versailles in the Louvre is a Roman statue after a Greek model tentatively attributed to Leochares.

Greek goddesses in clay

Silvia Steiger has created monumental ceramic sculptures of Artemis and Aphrodite, and a homage to the Minoan Snake Goddess. You can see all the goddesses in the overview. If a goddess who is not yet among them speaks to you, a commission is possible.