The following is a list of mortals in Greek mythology, including heroes, mythical kings, and notable women. In Greek mythology, humans are created by Prometheus, who fashions them in the likeness of the gods.Hansen, pp. 32–33. While the Greek gods are immortal and unaffected by aging, the mortality of humans forces them to move through the stages of life, before reaching death.Hansen, p. 35. The group of figures referred to as "heroes" (or "demigods"), unique to Greek religion and mythology, are (after the time of Homer) individuals who have died but continue to exert power in the world,Burkert, p. 203. and who were worshipped in hero cults.Brill's New Pauly, s.v. Hero cult.
Heroes
Abderus (Ἄβδηρος), aided Heracles during his eighth labour and was killed by the Mares of Diomedes Achilles (Αχιλλεύς), hero of the Trojan War and a central character in Homer's Iliad Aeneas (Αἰνείας), a hero of the Trojan War and progenitor of the Roman people Ajax the Great (Αίας ο Μέγας), a hero of the Trojan War and king of Salamis Ajax the Lesser (Αίας ο Μικρός), a hero of the Trojan War and leader of the Locrian army Amphion and Zethus (Ἀμφίων καὶ Ζῆθος), twin sons of Zeus who built the walls of Thebes Amphitryon (Αμφιτρύων), Theban general who rescued Thebes from the Teumessian fox; his wife was Alcmene, mother of Heracles Anagyros (Ἀνάγυρος), local hero of the Anagyrous deme in Attica Antilochus (Ἀντίλοχος), Son of Nestor sacrificed himself to save his father in the Trojan War along with other deeds of valor Atalanta (Αταλάντη), fleet-footed heroine who participated in the Calydonian boar hunt and the quest for the Golden Fleece Bellerophon (Βελλεροφῶν), hero who slew the Chimera Bouzyges (Βουζύγης), a hero credited with inventing agricultural practices such as yoking oxen to a plough Caeneus, formerly Caenis, a woman who was transformed into a man and became a mighty warrior Castor, the mortal Dioscuri twin; after Castor's death, his immortal brother Pollux shared his divinity with him in order that they might remain together Chrysippus (Χρύσιππος), a divine hero of Elis Daedalus (Δαίδαλος), creator of the labyrinth and great inventor, until King Minos trapped him in his own creation Diomedes (Διομήδης), a king of Argos and hero of the Trojan War Eleusis (Ἐλευσίς), eponymous hero of the town of Eleusis Eunostus (Εὔνωστος)), a Boeotian hero Ganymede (Γανυμήδης), Trojan hero and lover of Zeus, who was given immortality and appointed cup-bearer to the gods Hector (Ἕκτωρ), hero of the Trojan War and champion of the Trojan people Icarus (Ἴκαρος), the son of the master craftsman Daedalus Iolaus (Ἰόλαος), nephew of Heracles who aided his uncle in one of his Labors Jason (Ἰάσων), leader of the Argonauts Meleager (Μελέαγρος), a hero who sailed with the Argonauts and killed the Calydonian boar Odysseus (Ὀδυσσεύς or Ὀδυσεύς), a hero and king of Ithaca whose adventures are the subject of Homer's Odyssey; he also played a key role during the Trojan War Oedipus (Οἰδίπους), Theban hero who defeated the Sphinx by solving her riddle Orpheus (Ὀρφεύς), a legendary musician and poet who attempted to retrieve his dead wife from the Underworld Pandion (Πανδίων), the eponymous hero of the Attic tribe Pandionis, usually assumed to be one of the legendary Athenian kings Pandion I or Pandion II Pelops (Πέλοψ), hero of the western Pelopponese who founded the Olympic Games Perseus (Περσεύς), son of Zeus and the founder-king of Mycenae and slayer of the Gorgon Medusa Phaethon, son of Helios who tried and failed to drive his father's sun-chariot for one day Talthybius (Ταλθύβιος), herald and friend to Agamemnon. He was worshipped as a hero at Sparta and Argos, where sacrifices were offered to him.Harry Thurston Peck, Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities (1898), Talthybius Telephus (Τήλεφος), a son of Heracles who fought against the Achaeans early in the Trojan War Theseus (Θησεύς), son of Poseidon and a king of Athens and slayer of the Minotaur Triptolemus (Τριπτόλεμος), a favourite of Demeter who introduced agriculture to mortals
Notable women
Alcestis (Άλκηστις), daughter of Pelias and wife of Admetus, who was known for her devotion to her husband Amymone, the one daughter of Danaus who refused to murder her husband, thus escaping her sisters' punishment Andromache (Ανδρομάχη), wife of Hector Andromeda (Ανδρομέδα), wife of Perseus, who was placed among the constellations after her death Antigone (Αντιγόνη), daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta Apemosyne (Ἀπημοσύνη), a Cretan princess who ran faster than Hermes Arachne (Αράχνη), a skilled weaver, transformed by Athena into a spider for her blasphemy Ariadne (Αριάδνη), daughter of Minos, king of Crete, who aided Theseus in overcoming the Minotaur and became the wife of Dionysus Briseis, a princess of Lyrnessus, taken and given to Achilles as a war prize Cassandra, a princess of Troy cursed to see the future but never to be believed Cassiopeia (Κασσιόπεια), queen of Æthiopia and mother of Andromeda Clytemnestra, sister of Helen and unfaithful wife of Agamemnon Danaë, the mother of Perseus by Zeus Deianeira, the third wife and unwitting killer of Heracles Electra, daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, she aided her brother Orestes in plotting revenge against their mother for the murder of their father Europa, a Phoenician woman, abducted by Zeus Hecuba (Ἑκάβη), wife of Priam, king of Troy, and mother of nineteen of his children Helen, daughter of Zeus and Leda, whose abduction brought about the Trojan War Hermione (Ἑρμιόνη), daughter of Menelaus and Helen; wife of Neoptolemus, and later Orestes Iphigenia, daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra; Agamemnon sacrificed her to Artemis in order to appease the goddess Ismene, sister of Antigone Jocasta, mother and wife of Oedipus Medea, a sorceress and wife of Jason, who killed her own children to punish Jason for his infidelity Medusa, a mortal woman transformed into a hideous gorgon by Athena Niobe, a daughter of Tantalus who declared herself to be superior to Leto, causing Artemis and Apollo to kill her fourteen children Pandora, the first woman Penelope, loyal wife of Odysseus Phaedra, daughter of Minos and wife of Theseus Polyxena, the youngest daughter of Priam, sacrificed to the ghost of Achilles Semele, mortal mother of Dionysus Thrace, the daughter of Oceanus and Parthenope, and sister of Europa
Kings
Abas, a king of Argos Acastus, a king of Iolcus who sailed with the Argonauts and participated in the Calydonian boar hunt Acrisius, a king of Argos Actaeus, first king of Attica Admetus (Άδμητος), a king of Pherae who sailed with the Argonauts and participated in the Calydonian boar hunt Adrastus (Άδραστος), a king of Argos and one of the Seven against Thebes Aeacus (Αιακός), a king of the island of Aegina in the Saronic Gulf; after he died, he became one of the three judges of the dead in the Underworld Aeëtes, a king of Colchis and father of Medea Aegeus (Αιγεύς), a king of Athens and father of Theseus Aegimius, a king of Thessaly and progenitor of the Dorians Aegisthus (Αίγισθος), lover of Clytemnestra, with whom he plotted to murder Agamemnon and seized the kingship of Mycenae Aegyptus (Αίγυπτος), a king of Egypt Aeson, father of Jason and rightful king of Iolcus, whose throne was usurped by his half-brother Pelias Aëthlius, first king of Elis Aetolus (Αιτωλός), a king of Elis Agamemnon (Ἀγαμέμνων), a king of Mycenae and commander of the Greek armies during the Trojan War Agasthenes, a king of Elis Agenor (Αγήνωρ), a king of Phoenicia Alcinous (Αλκίνους or Ἀλκίνοος), a king of Phaeacia Alcmaeon, a king of Argos and one of the Epigoni Aleus, a king of Tegea Amphiaraus (Ἀμφιάραος), a seer and king of Argos who participated in the Calydonian boar hunt and the war of the Seven against Thebes Amphictyon (Ἀμφικτύων), a king of Athens Amphion and Zethus, twin sons of Zeus and kings of Thebes, who constructed the city's walls Amycus, son of Poseidon and king of the Bebryces Anaxagoras (Ἀναξαγόρας), a king of Argos Anchises (Αγχίσης), a king of Dardania and father of Aeneas Arcesius, a king of Ithaca and father of Laertes Argeus, a king of Argos Argus, a son of Zeus and king of Argos after Phoroneus Assaracus, a king of Dardania Asterion, a king of Crete Athamas (Ἀθάμας), a king of Orchomenus Atreus (Ἀτρεύς), a king of Mycenae and father of Agamemnon and Menelaus Augeas (Αυγείας), a king of Elis Autesion, a king of Thebes Bias, a king of Argos Busiris, a king of Egypt Cadmus, founder-king of Thebes Car, a king of Megara Catreus, a king of Crete, prophesied to die at the hands of his own son Cecrops, an autochthonous king of Athens Ceisus, a king of Argos Celeus, a king of Eleusis Cephalus, a king of Phocis who accidentally killed his own wife Cepheus, a king of Ethiopia Cepheus, a king of Tegea and an Argonaut Charnabon, a king of the Getae Cinyras, a king of Cyprus and father of Adonis Codrus, a king of Athens Corinthus, founder-king of Corinth Cranaus, a king of Athens Creon, a king of Thebes, brother of Jocasta and uncle of Oedipus Creon, a king of Corinth who was hospitable towards Jason and Medea Cres, an early Cretan king Cresphontes, a king of Messene and descendant of Heracles Cretheus, founder-king of Iolcus Criasus, a king of Argos Cylarabes, a king of Argos Cynortas, a king of Sparta Cyzicus, king of the Dolionians, mistakenly killed by the Argonauts Danaus, a king of Egypt and father of the Danaides Dardanus, founder-king of Dardania, and son of Zeus and Electra Deiphontes, a king of Argos Demophon of Athens, a king of Athens Diomedes, a king of Argos and hero of the Trojan War Echemus, a king of Arcadia Echetus, a king, probably ruling in mainland Greece Eetion, a king of Cilician Thebe and father of Andromache Electryon, a king of Tiryns and Mycenae; son of Perseus and Andromeda Elephenor, a king of the Abantes of Euboea Eleusis, eponym and king of Eleusis, Attica Epaphus, a king of Egypt and founder of Memphis, Egypt Epopeus, a king of Sicyon Erechtheus, a king of Athens Erginus, a king of Minyean Orchomenus in Boeotia Erichthonius, a king of Athens, born of Hephaestus' attempt to rape Athena Eteocles, a king of Thebes and son of Oedipus; he and his brother Polynices killed each other Eteocles, son of Andreus, a king of Orchomenus Eurotas, a king of Sparta Eurystheus, a king of Tiryns Euxantius, a king of Ceos, son of Minos and Dexithea Gelanor, a king of Argos Haemus, a king of Thrace Helenus, seer and twin brother of Cassandra, who later became king of Epirus Hippothoön, a king of Eleusis Hyrieus, a king of Boeotia Ilus, founder-king of Troy Ixion, a king of the Lapiths who attempted to rape Hera and was bound to a flaming wheel in Tartarus Laërtes, father of Odysseus and king of the Cephallenians; he sailed with the Argonauts and participated in the Calydonian boar hunt Laomedon, a king of Troy and father of Priam Lycaon of Arcadia, a deceitful Arcadian king who was transformed by Zeus into a wolf Lycurgus of Arcadia, a king of Arcadia Lycurgus, a king of Nemea, and/or a priest of Zeus at Nemea Makedon, a king of Macedon Megareus of Onchestus, a king of Onchestus in Boeotia Megareus of Thebes, a king of Thebes Melampus, a legendary soothsayer and healer, and king of Argos Melanthus, a king of Messenia Memnon, a king of Ethiopia who fought on the side of Troy during the Trojan War Menelaus, a king of Sparta and the husband of Helen Menestheus, a king of Athens who fought on the side of the Greeks during the Trojan War Midas, a king of Phrygia granted the power to turn anything to gold with a touch Minos, a king of Crete; after his death, became one of the judges of the dead in the Underworld Myles, a king of Laconia Nestor, a king of Pylos who sailed with the Argonauts, participated in the Calydonian boar hunt and fought with the Greek armies in the Trojan War Nycteus, a king of Thebes