Greek mythology does not just tell the stories of gods and goddesses, however. Eros (Cupid): god of sex and minion to Aphrodite.Hestia (Vesta): goddess of home and family.Other gods and goddesses sometimes included in the roster of Olympians are: Hermes (Mercury): god of travel, hospitality and trade and Zeus’s personal messenger.Hephaestus (Vulcan): god of fire, metalworking and sculpture.Dionysus (Bacchus): god of wine, pleasure and festivity.Demeter (Ceres): goddess of agriculture and grain.Athena (Minerva): goddess of wisdom and defense.
“Myth has two main functions,” the poet and scholar Robert Graves wrote in 1955.