Name origin: Greek – either a Nereid, or a mortal formed from a statue. Galateia was one of the fifty Nereides and the goddess of calm seas, wooed by Polyphemos with music, milk and cheese.
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Name origin: Greek goddess of motherhood. Leto was one of the Titanides, a bride of Zeus, and the mother of the twins Artemis and Apollo. Alongside her children, she was a protectress of the young. Her name and iconography suggest she also represented modesty and demure womanhood.
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Zeus ordered Ekho to protect him when he was dallying with her fellow nymphs. She did this by engaging his wife Hera in chat when about to discover her husband’s infidelity. As punishment, Hera cursed Ekho by only allowing her to repeat another’s words. Afterwards, Ekho fell in love with the mortal Narcissus, who spurned her. He wasted away pining for his own reflection, and she eventually did the same in mourning for him.
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Name origin: Greek Goddess of memory. In the Greek tradition, Mnemosyne is one of the Titans, the twelve divine children of the earth-goddess Gaia and the sky-god Uranus. She is also the mother of the nine Muses by her nephew Zeus.
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Name origin: In ancient Greek myth, the first human woman. Zeus had Hephaistos and others create Pandora in order to punish Prometheus for stealing fire from the gods, as a bride for his brother Epimetheus.
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Greek nymph and minor goddess. Kalypso is most famed for detaining Odysseus on her island for seven years, before the gods intervened to get him released. She then aids him to leave.
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Name origin: Greek goddess of the hearth (both private and municipal) and the home. Hestia presides over the cooking of bread and the preparation of the family meal. She was also the goddess of the sacrificial flame and received a share of every sacrifice to the gods.
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Name origin: Greek Naiad who was transformed into a laurel tree. Daphne was loved by the god Apollo, who pursued her until she grew exhausted and cried out to Gaia for help. The goddess transformed her into a laurel tree which Apollo then adopted as his sacred plant.
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Name origin: Roman goddess of trust and good faith (bona fides). One of the original virtues to be considered an actual religious divinity. She is everything that is required for “honour and credibility, from fidelity in marriage, to contractual arrangements, and the obligation soldiers owed to Rome.”
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Name origin: Roman goddess of fruit trees, gardens, and orchards. She watches over and protects fruit trees and cares for their cultivation. She was not actually associated with the harvest of fruits itself, but with the flourishing of the fruit trees.
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