Perseus
(Perseas)
His father was Zeus (Greek God of lightning, King of the Gods) and his mother was Danaë, a mortal woman).
His siblings were Aphrodite (goddess of love), Apollo (god of the sun, medicine, archery, music, etc), Artemis (goddess of the hunt), Ares (god of war), Hephaestus (god of fire, metalworking, etc), Hermes (messenger god, god of shepherds, poetry, travel, etc), Heracles (famous demigod son of Zeus), Minos (the man who accidentally turned his daughter into gold), Persephone (was the daughter of Zeus but was kidnapped and fell in love with Hades which is insanely creepy and I’ve never realised that before).
He only had one partner, Andromeda ( wife who he rescued from a sea monster). Their children were Perses, Heleus, Gorgophone, Sthenelus, Electryon.
His deeds included decapitating Medusa, rescuing his wife (Andromeda) from a sea monster (Cetus), and vanquished two of “the most ferocious monsters” of his time (Medusa and Cetus).
Perseus was a demigod (son of Greek God and mortal), smart (vanquished Medusa in a clever scheme), brave (aren’t they all?), strong (see Brave), and he had the people’s support, he wasn’t so much as strong (he was…) but he more often used clever and tricky plots to vanquish his foes.
The story/myth of the killing of Medusa. That’s a popular story he’s in as well as the story of Andromeda and him.
Percy Jackson in the Percy Jackson and the Gods of Olympus series where he vanquishes Medusa and is also named after the famous hero is a well-known modern allusion to Perseus.
Aphrodite
She is known as the goddess of love, beauty, eternal youth, and desire. Venus is her Roman alias. Anadyomene (it means rising from the sea as Aphrodite did in the painting called Anadyomene, Venus Rising From The Sea) is also a name in which people referred to her, despite being lesser known.
Her parents in the Iliad, her parents were Zeus and Dione but she supposedly sprung from the sea after the Titan Cronus killed his dad Uranus and threw his ween into the sea.
Her siblings were Perseus (hero), Apollo (god), Artemis (god), Ares (gross),
Husband — Hephaestus (lame smith god) with whom she was “mismatched” after Zeus arranged their marriage
Booty Buddies— Ares (god of war), Anchies (mortal), Adonis (mortal and she his lover and surrogate mom?? I don’t know?), Hermes (messenger god), other mortal men
Children (Through “Faith”) — NA
Children (…Not Through “Faith”) — Harmonia (god of harmony, through Ares), Phobos (god of fear, through Ares), Deimos (god of terror, through Ares), Eros (god love, downright evil, through Ares), Aeneas (through Anchies), and Hermaphroditus (through Hermes). There’s more.
What’d she do? Lots of stuff! Walked out of the sea naked, had a lot of “flings” and children, looked pretty. ….She didn’t really do anything. Aphrodite was mostly famous for being pretty and having a lot of children.
She was clever, vain, could change appearance (swap beauties, like change the way she looked to appeal to different people), controls love, had a magic girdle with enchantments, and was ill-tempered and rash in decisions.
The myth of Aphrodite and Adonis. I won’t go into detail.
Dove soap is inspired by Aphrodite, as one of her symbols of beauty and purity was the dove. Fun modern reference.
Thoth
(Djhuty, Djehuty, Tehuty)
Thoth was self-created in most accounts although some myths say he was born “of the seed of Horus from the forehead of Set”. Best not think too much about it.
He had no siblings but did have a female counterpart named Ma’at who he may or may not have had eight children with. Egyptian myths are a little… foggy.
Said to have created hermetic arts and magic. Played role in many battles and myths. Had shrines of wisdom in the desert, dedicated to him. Overcame the curse of Ra.
God of Moon, Magic, and Writing. Knowledgeable.
Appears in the “Book of Thoth” which granted the reader the ability to become the most powerful magician ever.
Thoth is in Neil Gaiman’s book American Gods as Mr. Ibis. I don’t know this book but I like Neil Gaiman so it works.
