Greek God Symbols, Sacred Animals And Plants: The Full List

In today’s post, we will be delving into Greek gods and goddesses, the symbols that represent them and the animals and plants that were sacred to them and their believers. Without further ado, here is our full list of Greek god symbols, sacred animals and plants.

The First Generation of Olympian Gods: Zeus, Hera, Demeter Hestia, Poseidon, Hades And Their Symbols

Let us start with the six children of Titans Kronos and Rhea, the first generation of Olympian gods. And let “the main couple”, Zeus and Hera be the first two we delve into.

Zeus Symbols

Zeus is the the most important deity in Greek mythology and accordingly is known as the King of Gods.

He is the Greek god of fate, weather, thunder, sky and kings. He is one of the six children of Kronos and Rhea along with Hera, Demeter, Hestia, Poseidon and Hades. He also had a half-brother, a centaur named Chiron.

Zeus had eight wives, Hera, Metis, Themys, Eurynome, Demeter, Mnemosyne, Leto and Maia, although only Hera was known to be his legal wife. 

But what were Zeus’ symbols?

He was the god of the thunder and skies, as such, his main symbol was a lightning bolt. He is depicted in many ancient Greek artworks as holding the lightning bolt in his hand like a spear.

Other Zeus symbols include royal scepters and thrones, befitting to the god of Kings, bulls, eagles, oak and olive trees.

Zeus Sacred Animals and Plants

Bulls and eagles were the sacred animals of Zeus while his sacred plants were oak and olive trees. He is sometimes depicted with a crown/wreath made of olive branches in artworks.

Hera Symbols

Hera, the wife of Zeus, is the other half of the archetypal divine couple in the Greek mythology. She is known as the Queen of Gods, and the goddess of women, marriage, skies, stars and childbirth. She was believed to be the protector of women and their marriages.

Hera’s symbols were royal scepters and thrones, just like Zeus, the ornamented headbands/crowns known as ‘diadems’, pomegranates (as they represented fertility), lotus flowers, lilies, peacock feathers, cows, lions and panthers.

Hera’s Sacred Animals and Plants

Cuckoo birds, peacocks (her mount was a chariot drawn by peacocks), cows and lions were sacred to Hera.

Her sacred plants were lotus flowers, water lilies, willow trees and pomegranates.

Demeter Symbols

Demeter is the goddess of fertility, harvest, agriculture, grains, bread and sacred law in Greek mythology. She was of special importance to peasants and farmers of ancient Greece as she had the power to influence the yield of their crops according to their belief.

Demeter being the Greek goddess of agriculture and fertility, most of her symbols are related to harvest and abundance.

Her symbols include cornucopia, also known as the horn of plenty, sheaves of grain, bread, wheat and torches.

Demeter Sacred Animals and Plants

Snakes/serpents and pigs are sacred animals of Demeter while her sacred plants are wheat, barley, mint and poppy.

Hestia Symbols

Hestia is the virgin goddess of fire, hearth, home, domestic life, cooking, architecture and state in Greek mythology.

Her main symbol is the hearth (the fireplace in a house) and its fire. Her name Hestia actually is literally the Greek word for “fireplace”.

Other Hestia symbols are wine, oil, kettles, veils, chaste trees and architecture.

Hestia’s Sacred Animals And Plants

Pigs, cows and donkeys were her sacred animals while yarrow flowers and chaste trees were her sacred plants.

Poseidon Symbols

One of the most significant and popular deities in ancient Greece, Poseidon is the god of the seas, storms, flood, earthquakes, droughts and horses in Greek mythology.

Being a country surrounded by the sea, a part of which was also made of islands, life in ancient Greece heavily depended on the sea and the bounties it provided. Not to mention, the ancient Greeks dominated the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas for a long time.

That is why Poseidon was a very important god to whom they regularly prayed for protection at sea and bounties.

The main Poseidon symbol is his trident, his iconic weapon. He is depicted holding the trident in most of the artworks created throughout history. His other symbols are identical with his sacred animals and plants.

Poseidon’s Sacred Animals And Plants

Fish, dolphins, horses and bulls are his sacred animals. In fact, it was believed that his mount was a chariot drawn by hippocampi, horses with fish tails that can ride on the sea.

Wild celeries and pine trees were the sacred plants of Poseidon.

Hades Symbols

Hades (Haides) also known as the King of the Underworld, is the Greek god of the dead and the underworld.

He is also the god of the hidden wealth of the earth such as the precious metals that could be mined and the seeds of grain planted in the ground which would grow and provide sustenance for people.

Royal scepters and cornucopia are his main symbols. His mythical three-headed dog, Cerberus guarding the gates of the underworld and preventing the dead from leaving is a unique symbol of his. Other symbols representing Hades are mostly his sacred animals and plants.

Hades’s Sacred Animals And Plants

Screech owls are known to be his main sacred animals with serpents, sheep, cattle and horses being others. Hades’s sacred plants are mint, white poplars, pomegranates, cypress trees and narcissus flowers.

The Second Generation of Olympian Gods And Their Symbols

Now that we are finished with the six children of Kronos and Rhea, let us continue with the second generation of Olympian gods and their symbols.

Athena Symbols

The daughter of Zeus and Metis, the Titan goddess of wise counsel, Athena is the goddess of was, handicraft, weaving and wisdom in Greek mythology.

Athena was a very important figure who took part in many important Greek myths. She helped Greeks win the legendary Trojan War, aided Oddyseus on his journey back home and Heracles while he tried to fulfill his twelve labors and warned Perseus about the magical powers Medusa possessed.

Gorgoneions, amulets with Medusa heads on them,  and aegis, the magical item only carried by Zeus and Athena, which is suggested to be either a piece of clothing made of animal skin or a shield, are the two main symbols of Athena.

Other Athena symbols include spears, helmets, armor, snakes, owls and olive trees.

Athena Sacred Animals and Plants

Befitting to the goddess of wisdom, owls, the birds closely associated with wisdom, are the sacred animals of Athena. Her sacred plant is the olive tree.

Ares Symbols

The son of Zeus and Hera, Ares is the god of courage, war, civil order and battlelust in Greek mythology. Ares represented the violent aspects of war and the bloodthirst unlike his sister, Athena who represented the strategy and intelligence aspects of it.

Helmets, swords, shields, spears, chariots, flaming torches, vultures, dogs and boars were his symbols.

Ares Sacred Animal And Plants

Ares’s sacred animals were dogs and serpents while there is no clear information as to what was considered his sacred plant.

Hermes Symbols

Hermes is the son of Zeus and Maia the Plead and the god of speed, messengers, trade, athletics, herds, shepherds, boundaries, roads, travellers and thieves in Greek mythology.

He is also known as the herald of gods and the personal messenger of his father, Zeus.

Hermes’s symbols were caduceus, also known as the herald’s wand, the winged sandals known as the Talaria, the winged helmet known as petasos/petasus, lyres, roosters and tortoises.

Hermes’s Sacred Animals And Plants

Hares, hawks, rams and tortoises were the sacred animals of Hermes while strawberry trees and croci were his sacred plants.

Dionysus Symbols

Dionysus, the son of Zeus and Semele (although some sources suggest his mother was Demeter or Persephone), is the god of wine, wild frenzy, pleasure, fertility, vegetation, festivity, theatre, religious ecstasy and ritual madness in Greek mythology.

Grapevines, panthers, cheetahs, leopard skin and the pine-cone staff known as thyrsus were the symbols of Dionysus.

Dionysus’s Sacred Animals And Plants

Bulls, panthers and serpents were the sacred animals of Dionysus while grapevine, bindweed and ivy were the plants sacred to him and his worshippers.

Apollo Symbols

Apollo/Apollon, the son of Zeus and Leto, is the Greek god of sun, music, poetry, healing, medicine, light, prophecy, oracles, knowledge and archery.

He was one of the most important figures in Greek religion as he was believed to get in contact with his believers and followers through his oracles. One of his oracles was the Oracle of Delphi, the most famous oracle of all times.

Apollo had many symbols as he was the god of many different things. The lyre, which he played so skillfully to create magical tunes, was one of those symbols. The others include bows and arrows, pythons, ravens, swans and laurel wreaths.

Apollo’s Sacred Animals And Plants

Ravens, wolves, dolphins and swans were known as his sacred animals while larkspurs, cypress trees and laurels were Apollo’s sacred plants.

Artemis Symbols

Artemis, the sister of Apollo and daughter of Zeus and Leto, is the goddess of the hunt, wild animals, forests, hills, the wilderness, the Moon, chastity, children and archery in Greek mythology.

Artemis’s symbols were bows and arrows, quivers, the Moon, deers/stags, cypress trees and hunting dogs.

Artemis’s Sacred Animals And Plants

Her sacred animals were bears, wild boars and deers while her sacred plants were cypress and walnut trees and amaranth flowers.

Hephaestus Symbols

Hephaestus/Hephaistos is the son of Zeus and Hera while some sources suggest that is the parthenogenous child of Hera, meaning Hera gave birth to him by herself.

He is the god of blacksmiths, forges, stone masonry, metalworking, carpenters, craftsmen, fire, volcanoes, metallurgy and sculptors in Greek mythology.

Hephaestus’s symbols were hammers, anvils, tongs and quail birds.

Hephaestus Sacred Animals And Plants

Donkeys, cranes and guard dogs were his sacred animals. Fennels were sacred plants to him as their stalks were used to carry fire from one place to another.

Aphrodite Symbols

Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of beauty, love, pleasure, sexuality, passion, seduction, procreation, happiness and joy.

She is the daughter of Zeus and the Titaness Dione according to Illiad although in Theogony, it is suggested that she was born from the union of Uranus’s severed genitals and sea foam.

Dolphins, pearls, doves, myrtles, scallop shells, roses, sparrows, mirrors, girdles and swans were Aprohdite’s symbols.

Aphrodite’s Sacred Animals And Plants

Hares, doves, turtle-doves, geese, sparrows, swallows, fish, shellfish and swines were Aphrodite’s sacred animals while roses, myrtles, anemones, apple trees, lettuces and pomegranates were her sacred plants.