＜prologue＞
I started a blog called “The Baby Boomer Generation’s Miscellaneous Blog”（Dankai-sedai no garakutatyou:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳） in July 2018, about a year before I fully retired. More than six years have passed since then, and the number of articles has increased considerably.
So, in order to make them accessible to people who don’t understand Japanese, I decided to translate my past articles into English and publish them.
It may sound a bit exaggerated, but I would like to make this my life’s work.
It should be noted that haiku and waka （Japanese short fixed form poems） are quite difficult to translate into English, so some parts are written in Japanese.
If you are interested in haiku or waka and would like to know more, please read introductory or specialized books on haiku or waka written in English.
I also write many articles about the Japanese language. I would be happy if these inspire more people to want to learn Japanese.
my blog’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳 | 団塊世代が雑学や面白い話を発信しています
my X’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多帳（@historia49) on X
(Reference) Original article in Japanese
・ギリシャ神話の「オリュンポス１２神」以外の男神たち（その２）
Previously, I introduced the “Twelve Olympians” of Greek mythology, but there are many other gods and goddesses as well.
Therefore, this is the second installment of our series introducing the male gods of Greek mythology in alphabetical order.
1. Gods beginning with the letter “Ka”
① Kairos: Deification of “Opportunity”
Kairos is a male god who personifies the Greek word καιρός, meaning “opportunity” or “chance.” It is said to originate from a verb meaning “to engrave” or “to carve.”
According to Ion, the tragedian of Chios, he is the youngest son of Zeus.
A distinctive feature of Kairos’s appearance is his hair. Later statues of him depict him as a beautiful young man with long hair at the front but bald at the back of his head.
The proverb, “The god of opportunity has only hair at the front,” means “Opportunities must be seized immediately, or they cannot be seized later,” and this proverb originates from Kairos.
He is also said to have wings on both feet. There was an altar to Kairos in Olympia.
Incidentally, in Greek, there are two words for “time”: “kairos (καιρός)” and “chronos (χρόνος)”. The former refers to “a specific time,” while the latter refers to “duration.”
② Chaos: Meaning “void” or “chaos.” The primordial god.
The primordial god in the Greek mythology system, including the chief god Zeus, and the ancestor of all gods and heroes.
According to Orpheus, the minstrel in Greek mythology, Chaos symbolizes infinity, transcending all finite existence.
Chaos is a word meaning “open-mouthed” or “empty space.”
He has no consort, and gave birth to Tartarus (the abyss), Gaia (the earth), Eros (love and desire), Erebus (darkness), and Nyx (night).
③ Caveiros (plural: Caveiroi): Gods of blacksmithing and fertility
Sons of Hephaestus and Caveiro, their name derives from the Phoenician word “quabilim” (powerful).
In primitive times, they were spirits of the underworld, and later, in volcanic archipelagos, they were considered guardians of fire.
The number of gods associated with them varies from two to seven depending on the region. For example, on the island of Samothrace, the Cabeiros—including the great mother goddess Axieros, Cadmilus, Axiocelsus, and Axiocelsa—were worshipped together as the “Great Gods,” along with Cadmus, the founder of Thebes, and his wife Harmonia.
The Samothracian Cabeiros were worshipped as gods of fertility and safe voyages, and the existence of the mystery rituals performed during initiation was as famous as the “Eleusinian Mysteries.”
④ Charon: Ferryman of the River of the Underworld
Charon is a being almost godlike, the ferryman of the River Styx (hatred) or its tributary, the Acheron (grief), in the underworld. He is the son of Erebus (darkness) and Nyx (night).
He is a gruff old man with a long beard, glowing eyes, and rags, carrying the spirits of the dead to the other side in a small boat made of animal hides.
The fare for crossing was said to be one obol, and in ancient Greece, it was customary to place an obol coin in the mouth of the deceased as part of their funeral rites. The deceased who did not possess an obol coin were put on hold and were allowed to wander around for 200 years before finally being able to cross.
⑤ Cyclops: One-eyed giants. Possessing exceptional blacksmithing skills.
The name Cyclops comes from the Greek words “κύκλος” (circle, round) and “ωψ” (eye), meaning “round eye,” referring to the single round eye located in the center of their forehead.
They are the sons of the sky god Uranus and the earth goddess Gaia, and consist of three brothers: Arges (lightning), Steropes (lightning), and Brontes (thunder).
They were disliked by their father and, along with their brothers, the Hecatoncheires, were cast into the abyss of Tartarus. Even after Cronus, one of the Titan gods, seized power, they remained imprisoned for a long time.
However, during the Titanomachy, a great war that shook the entire universe, they were freed by Zeus and others. In return, the Cyclopes crafted thunderbolts for Zeus, a trident for Poseidon, and a helmet of invisibility for Hades.
It is said that they continued their blacksmithing work under Hephaestus afterward. However, there is also a tragic alternative version in which they were massacred in the enrage of Apollo, who had lost his son Asclepius to Zeus’s lightning.
⑥ Glaucus: Originally a fisherman, he became a prophetic sea god.
Glaucus means “blue-green man” or “gray man.”
He was the son of Antedonius and originally a fisherman in Antedon, Boeotia. He is said to have become a prophetic sea god after eating medicinal herbs.
He is depicted with a blue-green beard and long hair, light blue arms, and a fish’s tail. However, it is also said that his body has been damaged by the waves, and that seashells, seaweed, and rocks have accumulated, obscuring his original form.
⑦ Kratos: Deification of Strength and Power
Kratos is the son of Styx and Pallas (a Titan god), and his siblings are Nike (victory), Bia (violence), and Zelos (inspiration).
In Latin, his name is written as “Cratus,” and it is sometimes pronounced “Kleitos” following the English pronunciation.
At Zeus’s command, he collaborated with Bia to capture Prometheus and crucify him on a mountaintop.
⑧ Clius (or Clius): A Titan god.
The name Clius means “heavenly ram.” He is the son of Uranus and Gaia, and his siblings are Oceanus, Coeus, Hyperion, Iapetus, Cronus, Theia, Rhea, Themis, Mnemosyne, Phoebe, and Tethys.
He fathered Astraeus Perses Pallas with Eurybia (daughter of Pontus and Gaia).
⑨ Cronus: King of the Titans. God of the earth and agriculture.
He was the leader of the Titans, a race of giants larger than mountains, and the second king of the gods to rule the entire universe after Uranus. He wielded an adamantine sickle that could cut through anything.
He is also well known as the father of Zeus, and led the Titans in the Titanomachy, a great war that shook the entire universe against the Olympian gods.
⑩ Chronos: God of Time
This Chronos is a god created by the Pelecydes of Syloss and is not found in typical Greek mythology. There is a theory that he is a primordial god who arose from Chaos.
He is often confused with the Titanes’ (colossal) god of agriculture, Kronos, because their names are written the same in Japanese, pronounced the same in English, and are almost identical in Greek. However, they are fundamentally different gods.
Incidentally, there are two words for “time” in Greek: “kairos (καιρός)” and “chronos (χρόνος)”. The former refers to “a specific time,” while the latter refers to “duration.”
Kairos is the god of “opportunity (chance)” and “time,” while Chronos is the god of “duration.”
Words like “chronometer,” “chronology,” “chronicle,” “synchronize,” “anachronism,” and “chronic disease” all originate from Chronos.
A “chronometer” (see image below) is a high-precision, portable, spring-driven clock used for astronomical observations, latitude and longitude measurements, and navigation.
⑪ Geras: Meaning “old age.” The primordial god.
Geras also means “plunder” or “reward for battle” in Greek.
According to Hesiod’s Theogony, he is the only son born to Nyx, the goddess of night, and is the brother of Moros, Keres, Thanatos, Hypnos, Oneiros, Momos, Oesius, Hesperides, Moirai, Nemesis, Aphate, Philotes, and Eris.
Geras is depicted as a thin, powerless old man, the complete opposite of Hebe, the goddess of youth.
⑫ Coeus (Polus): One of the Titan gods.
The name Coeus means “celestial sphere,” hence his alternative name, Polus (god of the celestial pole).
He is the son of Uranus and Gaia, and the brother of Oceanus, Clius, Hyperion, Iapetus, Cronus, Theia, Rhea, Themis, Mnemosyne, Phoebe, and Tethys.
He also had a wife, Phoebe, and fathered the sisters Leto and Asteria.
Therefore, Coeus is the grandfather of Apollo, Artemis, and Hecate.
2. Gods beginning with the letter S
① Zagreus: A boy god of Orphism
Zagreus is a boy god who appears in the mystery religion of Orphism. He is the son of Zeus and Persephone (or Demeter, according to one theory).
Primarily worshipped by Orphists, Zagreus is also considered a form of the god Dionysus.
Zeus, king of the gods, transformed into a serpent to approach Persephone and fathered Zagreus. Zagreus followed Zeus in the form of a serpent, and Zeus favored him as the one who should inherit the entire universe.
Hera, jealous of this, sent the Titans (or, according to one theory, the Giants) to Zagreus and ordered them to be brutally murdered.
Zagreus fought by transforming into various animals, but was captured in the form of a bull, bound, and killed.
② Zelos (Zeros): Deification of zeal, competitiveness, etc.
Zeros is a deification of zeal, passion, competitiveness, and rivalry, and is the origin of the English word “zeal” and the French word “zèle,” both meaning “zeal.”
He is the son of Styx and Pallas, and his siblings are Nike (victory), Kratos (strength), and Bia (power). He is also one of Zeus’s close advisors.
3. Gods beginning with the letter “Ta”
① Thaumas (Taumas): Son of Gaia and Pontus
Thaumas was the son of Gaia and Pontus, and the brother of Nereus, Phorcys, Ceto, and Eurybia.
He fathered Iris (goddess of the rainbow) and two female-faced, bird-bodied Harpies (Aloe and Ocypete) with Electra (daughter of Oceanus and Tethys).
② Thanatos: God of Death. The personification of “death.”
He is the son born to Nyx, the goddess of night (or the son of Erebus, the god of the underworld, and Nyx, the goddess of night). He is the twin brother of Hypnos, the god of sleep.
He is identified with Mors and Retum, the Roman gods of death. Thanatos is sometimes called the “King of the Dead” or “Hades (as an identification).”
③ Tartarus: The primordial god. The personification of the “Abyss.”
He is one of the primordial gods born from the primordial god Chaos.
He took Gaia, the goddess of the earth, as his consort, and together they fathered the monsters Typhon and Echidna.
④ Deimos: The personification of “Terror.”
He is the son of Ares, the god of war, and Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty. His brothers are Phobos (falsehood) and Harmonia (harmony). He is also a brother of Eros.
Along with Phobos, Enyo (goddess of war), and Eris (goddess of strife and discord), he was always subordinate to Ares and roamed the battlefield.
⑤ Typhon (Typhon, Typhon, Typoeus, Typhon, Typhon): A giant. Also considered a monster. Typhon fathered many monsters with Echidna.
Typhon is a giant, sometimes described as both a god and a monster. He is the largest and most powerful monster in Greek mythology, possessing power comparable to Zeus, the king of the gods, and is the only being to have defeated Zeus.
⑥ Triton: God of the Sea
Triton is the son of the sea god Poseidon and Amphitrite. Considered a messenger from the abyss, he is typically depicted as a mermaid-like figure with a human upper body and a fish’s tail.
In ancient Greece, he later came to be depicted as part of multiple races. Furthermore, the image of the so-called “Centaur Triton” with horse forelegs became common in sculptures and was used in mosaics and frescoes until the Roman era.
