lesser gods that people also honored and respected. The Greeks often offered sacrifices to request their help or gain their favor and built beautiful temples to honor them. Some honorary mentions are: Hecate: the goddess of magic and necromancy. She was the one that helped the goddess Demeter in search of her daughter. Dogs were closely associated with her. The ancient Greeks believed that when dogs suddenly barked at night, Hecate was passing by.
Aeolus: the god of the winds. He was supervising the eight Wind Gods (each wind direction was personified by ancient Greeks).
Asclepius: the god of medicine. He was the son of god Apollo who taught him the science of medicine.
Eris: the goddess of jealousy and discord. She was the one that threw the golden apple at the wedding of Thetis and Peleus because they did not invite her. Her action was the starting point that would later lead to the epic Trojan war.
Pan: the god of wild, shepherds and rustic music. He is considered to be one of the oldest Greek gods and was especially beloved among the people. But there are so many other Greek gods! There are of course deities who, although great, remained secondary or never exceeded their local character. Eileithyia, goddess of childbirth; the war god Enyalios and his companion Enyos; Lefkothea and Evrynomi, Mothers and Ladies of the Sea Animals, Lords of the Sea Animals by the names Glaucus, Proteus, Nireus, Forkis; and so many more.
Other deities are organized in groups according to their gender and age. The youthful forms are considered more important because they are always in motion, dancing, singing. The Graces, the Muses, the Nereids, the Oceanids are some of the most popular groups of deities.
Many of these lesser Greek gods and goddesses are forces of nature. Cities honor their rivers and springs with a special altar or temple, personifying them. The cult of the winds and the sun were also very popular. The Moon and Eos, the goddess of dawn, also appear in some myths, while the worship of the Earth in the traditional religion never stopped existing.
The existence of such deities has led to the idea that gods are personifications of natural phenomena and nature itself. The Greeks, for example, considered the rivers gods, children of the great gods. The Nymphs could be found in springs and fountains that were considered sacred places; waters from certain springs were considered fertile, therefore they were related to the ritual bath of the groom before the wedding; newborns were thrown into the water of a specific sacred source to be blessed and have a good life.
