Editing List of Greek deities (section)

=== Nature deities ===
While many of the major Greek gods were associated with aspects of nature, various lesser deities are classed as nature gods because they personify particular parts of the natural world.{{sfnm|Larson|2007b|1p=56|Larson|2007a|2p=152}} Some such deities stood for parts of nature that played a role in the lives of all people &ndash; such as the earth, sea, sun, moon, and winds &ndash; and so were held as divine throughout Greece (though these gods did not experience the same development in myth and cult as figures such as the Olympians).{{sfn|Larson|2007b|pp=56&ndash;57}} Other nature deities &ndash; the [[river gods (Greek mythology)|river gods]] and [[nymphs]],{{refn|On the nymphs, see their entry under {{section link||Groups of divinities and nature spirits}}.}} who represented features of the landscape such as rivers, springs, or mountains &ndash; were individually worshipped only in a specific town or area.{{sfn|Larson|2007b|p=56}} They were numerous, and their cults were found throughout the Greek world.{{sfn|Larson|2007a|p=152}}

{| class="wikitable"
!scope="col" | Name
!scope="col" | Image
!scope="col" | Description
|-
!scope="row" | [[Achelous]]<br><small>{{lang|grc|Ἀχελῷος}}</small>
| [[File:EB1911 Greek Art - Heracles and Achelous.jpg|center|140px]]
| One of the [[river gods (Greek mythology)|river gods]], sons of [[Oceanus]] and [[Tethys (mythology)|Tethys]].{{sfn|Gantz|p=29}} He was the god of the [[Achelous River]],{{sfn|Tripp|loc=s.v. Acheloüs, p. 5}} the largest river in [[Greece]].{{sfn|W. M. Murray|p=6}} The oracle of [[Zeus]] at [[Dodona]] helped to spread his worship,{{sfn|Isler|2002|loc=para. 1}} and he was often venerated alongside the [[nymph]]s,{{sfn|Larson|2007a|p=153}} though his cult began to recede in the 4th century BC.{{sfn|Isler|2002|loc=para. 1}} In myth, he fights the hero [[Heracles]] for the hand of [[Deianeira]], assuming multiple forms in the battle, including that of a bull; he is beaten when Heracles snaps one of his horns from his head.{{sfn|Isler|1981|p=12}}
|-

!scope="row" | [[Anemoi|Winds]]<br><small>{{lang|grc|ἄνεμοι}}</small>
| [[File:Affreschi romani - pompei - nozze zefiro e clori particolare.JPG|center|120px]]
| Personifications of the winds.{{sfn|Simon|1997|p=186}} They are typically four in number &ndash; [[Zephyrus]] (West Wind), [[Boreas (god)|Boreas]] (North Wind), [[Notus]] (South Wind), and [[Eurus]] (East Wind){{sfn|Hünemörder|Phillips|loc=B. Greece, para. 2}} &ndash; though Hesiod, who describes them as children of [[Eos]] and [[Astraeus]], omits Eurus.{{sfnm|Hansen||1p=321|Griffiths|2003c|2p=1622}} There survives a reference to a "Priestess of the Winds" from the [[Mycenaean Greece|Mycenaean period]], and major deities, especially [[Zeus]], were connected with winds.{{sfn|Hünemörder|Phillips|loc=B. Greece, paras. 1&ndash;2}} In myth, Boreas was said to have kidnapped the Athenian princess [[Orithyia]].{{sfn|Grimal|loc=s.v. Boreas, p. 77}}
|-

!scope="row" | [[Gaia (mythology)|Gaia]]<br><small>{{lang|grc|Γαῖα}}</small>
| [[File:Pergamonmuseum - Antikensammlung - Pergamonaltar 13 detail.jpg|center|140px]]
| Personification and goddess of the earth.{{sfnm|Graf|2004c|1loc=para. 1|Tripp||2loc=s.v. Ge, p. 245}} In [[Hesiod]]'s ''[[Theogony]]'', she is one of the earliest beings in existence, and the progenitor of an extensive genealogy,{{sfn|Hansen|pp=139&ndash;140}} producing figures such as [[Uranus (mythology)|Uranus]] and [[Pontus (mythology)|Pontus]] on her own, and the [[Titans]], [[Cyclopes]], and [[Hecatoncheires]] by Uranus.{{sfn|Grimal|loc=s.v. Gaia, p. 167}} She has the ability of prophecy, and was believed to have preceded [[Apollo]] at the [[Pythia|oracle of Delphi]].{{sfn|March|loc=s.v. Gaia, p. 326}} In cult, she is more commonly referred to as Ge, and is often venerated alongside [[Zeus]];{{sfn|Larson|2007a|p=157}} her worship existed primarily outside of the [[polis]],{{sfn|Graf|2004c|loc=para. 2}} though Gē [[Kourotrophos]] was venerated in Athens.{{sfn|Sourvinou-Inwood|2003a|p=618}}
|-

!scope="row" | [[Helios]]<br><small>{{lang|grc|Ἥλιος}}</small>
| [[File:Ilion---metopa.jpg|center|140px]]
| The sun and its god.{{sfn|Tripp|loc=s.v. Helius, p. 267}} He is the son of the [[Titans]] [[Hyperion (Titan)|Hyperion]] and [[Theia]].{{sfnm|Hard||1p=43|Gantz||2p=30}} It was believed that he travelled through the sky each day in a horse-pulled chariot, making his way from east to west; each night he drifted back to the east in a bowl, through [[Oceanus]] (the river which wrapped around the earth).{{sfn|March|loc=s.v. Helios, p. 366}} Though the sun was universally viewed as divine in [[Classical Greece]], it received relatively little worship;{{sfn|Larson|2007a|p=158}} the most significant location of Helios's cult was the island of [[Rhodes]], where he was the subject of the [[Colossus of Rhodes]].{{sfn|Burkert|1985|p=175}} He was commonly called upon in oaths, as it was believed he could witness everything across the earth.{{sfn|Hard|p=43}} He was assimilated with Apollo by the 5th century BC, though their equation was not established until later on.{{sfn|Parker|2003c|p=677}}
|-

!scope="row" | [[River gods (Greek mythology)|River gods]]<br><small>{{lang|grc|ποταμοί}}</small>
| [[File:Gaziantep Achaeological Museum River God and nymphs mosaic Euphrates in 2005 4068.jpg|center|90px]]
| The 3000 male offspring of [[Oceanus]] and [[Tethys (mythology)|Tethys]], and brothers of the [[Oceanid]]s.{{sfn|Gantz|p=28}} River gods were often locally venerated in Greek cities, and they were seen as representations of a city's identity.{{sfn|Graf|2003i|loc=A. General, para. 1}} Their worship was developed by the time of [[Homer]];{{sfnm|Larson|2007a|1p=152|Graf|2003i|loc=C. Cult, para. 1}} river gods were given a sanctuary in their city, and were given sacrifices of youths' hair.{{sfn|Burkert|1985|p=174}} The only river god worshipped throughout Greece was [[Achelous]].{{sfn|Larson|2007a|p=153}} Their iconography includes the melding of the human form with bull-like features.{{sfn|Graf|2003i|loc=D. Iconography, Anthropomorphism, para. 1}} Other river gods include [[Eridanos (mythological river)|Eridanos]], [[Alpheus (mythology)|Alpheus]], and [[Scamander]].{{sfn|Hard|p=41}}
|}