Artemis. I love Artemis. I’ve always wanted to be Artemis. I love everything about her.
Except the viginity.
Given that my second favorite deity is Priapus 
.
I’m with Hey You! on this one. I’m a big Prometheus fan. In the Minneapolis sculpture garden there is a great statue by Jacques Lipchitz called Prometheus Strangling the Vulture II. Kind of a nice twist. You can see it here:
http://www.walkerart.org/resources/res_msg_lipchitz.html
There’s another great statue (this one of Athena) in Athens Square Park which is around the corner from my old apartment in Queens. This is a great seque to my favorite myth which is the story of how Athena turned Arachne into the first spider after Arachne humiliated Athena by beating her in a weaving contest. I told that story to my nephew and he was blown away, especially by the fact that the modern word Arachnid comes from her name. That statue of Athena is here:
http://queenstribune.com/best2000/best2000-images/arts1.gif
I also like the Icarus story quite a bit.
I’ve always been a fan of Ares, God of War. Not the honorable warriorlike qualities of Athena, but the bloodlust and love of killing aspect more associated with the vikings.
Always thought well of the 12 Labors of Hercules. He overcame so much just because he was stubborn and refused to give up. I can relate.
Also really enjoyed The Iliad and The Odyssey.
Athena is with me, always. Despite the fact that I am thoroughly agnostic, it is nevertheless quite pleasant to have an imaginary big sister/patron deity.
Ditto. Gallows Fodder, did you go to Columbia by any chance?
How did you get post Greek characters on the board? Since there weren’t any diacritical marks, I guess there isn’t a real Greek font that this board supports. But is there an ASCII set?
MR
And as for favorite myth, these days I am particularly enamored of the fall of the house of Tantalos.
I like that one too, Maeglin. We’re reading the Oresteia in English class, about Agamemnon, descendent of Tantalus.
Those punishments were always so brutal. Prometheus, getting his liver eaten by the eagle…<shudder> Talk about just retribution, hm?
p.s. My most favorite god of all incarnations? Check my username.
My favorite has always been Hephaestus/Vulcan. Aside from the very cool “blacksmith of the gods” angle, he was the ugliest, most unpopular diety on Mount Olympus. And who does he end up marrying? Aphrodite. Hephaestus rocks.
I gotta join the Athena crowd on this one. Not to snub Prometheus, though, because I always kind of identified with him.
Favorite myth is The Odyssey. Stumbled across a children’s version of it many years ago and have been in love with it ever since.
Favorite mythology figure: Adonis, an incredibly handsome young Greek. The Greek goddess of love and beauty, Aphrodite, fell in love with Adonis.
Favorite Greek god: Poseidon (Roman name: Neptune): God of the Sea
What the hell: Zeus
Tossing thunderbolts and mating with swans…it don’t get no better’n that.
Artemis (and in later legends, she was identified as a triple-lunar goddess, Artemis, Selene & Hecate, and associated with 3 different phases of a woman’s life & with different powers/attributes for each phase or goddess) is first, with Athene running a close second.
Like my choice for the norse gods, I seem to be focusing on hunting, war, witchcraft & wisdom here. Way better than Ceres or Aphrodite.
I work with these guys. I can’t afford to play favorites.
Another vote for Prometheus. Something pretty compelling about his feat, and his fate.
Sysiphus, Cassandra, and Pandora are my favorite mythical characters, outside of the gods. I wonder what that says about me…?
But you want to talk about the short end of the stick? Look what happened to Medusa! Sure, everyone remembers her as the snake-haired monster, but who members how she got that way? Poseiden tried to flirt with her, so Athena blasted her into an ugly beast. Talk about jealous rage!
Miller, doesn’t she cheat on Hephaestus though? I like the whole ugly-blacksmith-of-the-gods-gets-the-girl angle too, but as I recall he gets the major shaft.
Favorite Diety: Pan
Favorite Myth: The Odyssey
She does indeed. But on the upside, if there is one, the lovers (Aphrodite and Ares) were trapped in bed by Hephaistos and all the other gods and goddesses got to come and laugh at them.
Poseidon. He’s cool. Or, as the Greeks would say, [sym]Poseidon[/sym]. Love the Trident. Dunno why.
Yeah, I remember her and Ares getting chained together. I never liked Aphrodite much…I always pictured her as kind of a ditzy blond. The touch, quick to rage, gods/goddesses were the ones I preferred. It does kind of suck for Vulcan…Zeus “gave” Aphrodite to him because he was the ugliest. Poor guy. He gets it rough.
Speaking of rage, I really do love how PO-ed the deities get. Like Artemis turning a voyeur of hers into a stag and watching him get torn open by his own hounds, or Athena turning her rival, Arachidne (sp?) into a spider. Sure, you can say they did it for justice, but deep down I think it’s because they’ve got emotions just like us…on a much much bigger scale. Any takers for Hera/Juno? I always found her rather interesting. Maybe a bit misunderstood even?
Heracles. Okay, so he’s just a demigod. Still, something about his story just strikes a chord in my heart.
So does the story of Perseus, the most noble of the Greco-Roman heroes. Since he’s mortal though, he doesn’t count.