List of mythological pairs
Encyclopedia
This is a list of famous pairs in mythology
. For a complete listing of pairs see Lists of pairs.
Mythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
. For a complete listing of pairs see Lists of pairs.
- Altair and VegaVegaVega is the brightest star in the constellation Lyra, the fifth brightest star in the night sky and the second brightest star in the northern celestial hemisphere, after Arcturus...
(couple from Chinese mythology) - Amphion and ZethusAmphion and ZethusAmphion and Zethus , in ancient Greek mythology, were the twin sons of Zeus by Antiope. They are important characters in one of the two founding myths of the city of Thebes, because they constructed the city's walls....
(twins) - ApolloApolloApollo is one of the most important and complex of the Olympian deities in Greek and Roman mythology...
and ArtemisArtemisArtemis was one of the most widely venerated of the Ancient Greek deities. Her Roman equivalent is Diana. Some scholars believe that the name and indeed the goddess herself was originally pre-Greek. Homer refers to her as Artemis Agrotera, Potnia Theron: "Artemis of the wildland, Mistress of Animals"...
(twins) - BalinSir BalinSir Balin le Savage , also known as the Knight with the Two Swords, is a character in the Arthurian legend. Merlin told King Arthur he would have been his best and bravest knight. A knight before the Round Table was formed, Sir Balin hails from Northumberland, and is associated with Sir Balan, his...
and BalanSir BalanSir Balan le Savage, brother of Sir Balin from Northumberland, is a minor character mentioned in various Arthurian legends. His story is retold, along with his brother's, in The Ballad of Balin and Balan, Book II in Malory's Le Morté d' Arthur and by Alfred, Lord Tennyson in Idylls of the...
(siblings) - Castor & PolluxCastor and PolluxIn Greek and Roman mythology, Castor and Pollux or Polydeuces were twin brothers, together known as the Dioscuri . Their mother was Leda, but Castor was the mortal son of Tyndareus, king of Sparta, and Pollux the divine son of Zeus, who visited Leda in the guise of a swan...
(astronomical; juxtapositions); also (twins) The twin stars in GeminiGemini (constellation)Gemini is one of the constellations of the zodiac. It was one of the 48 constellations described by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations today. Its name is Latin for "twins", and it is associated with the twins Castor and Pollux in Greek mythology...
; see also Dioscuri; see also Leda and the SwanLeda and the SwanLeda and the Swan is a motif from Greek mythology in which Zeus came to Leda in the form of a swan. According to later Greek mythology, Leda bore Helen and Polydeuces, children of Zeus, while at the same time bearing Castor and Clytemnestra, children of her husband Tyndareus, the King of Sparta. In... - Damon & PythiasDamon and PythiasIn Greek mythology, the legend of Damon and Pythias symbolizes trust and loyalty in a true friendship.- Greek legend :As told by Aristoxenus, and after him Cicero , Diodorus Siculus , and others, around the 4th century BC, Pythias and his friend Damon, both followers of the philosopher...
(companions) - DavidDavidDavid was the second king of the united Kingdom of Israel according to the Hebrew Bible and, according to the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, an ancestor of Jesus Christ through both Saint Joseph and Mary...
and GoliathGoliath (Bible)Goliath , جليات Ǧulyāt ) known also as Goliath of Gath is a figure in the Hebrew Bible . Described as a giant Philistine warrior, he is famous for his combat with the young David, the future king of Israel...
(opponents) - DeucalionDeucalionIn Greek mythology Deucalion was a son of Prometheus and Pronoia. The anger of Zeus was ignited by the hubris of the Pelasgians, and he decided to put an end to the Bronze Age. Lycaon, the king of Arcadia, had sacrificed a boy to Zeus, who was appalled by this savage offering...
and PyrrhaPyrrhaIn Greek mythology, Pyrrha was the daughter of Epimetheus and Pandora and wife of Deucalion.When Zeus decided to end the Bronze Age with the great deluge, Deucalion and his wife, Pyrrha, were the only survivors...
(couple) - Diarmuid and GráinneGráinneGráinne is the daughter of Cormac mac Airt in the Fenian Cycle of Irish mythology. She is one of the central figures in the Middle Irish text Finn and Gráinne and most famously, in the 17th-century tale The Pursuit of Diarmuid and Gráinne, which tells of her betrothal to Fionn mac Cumhaill, leader...
(couple) - Hagbard and SignyHagbard and SignyHagbard and Signe or Habor and Sign'ild were a pair of lovers in Scandinavian mythology and folklore whose legend was widely popular. The heroes' connections with other legendary characters place the events in the 5th century AD...
(the Romeo and Juliet of the Vikings) - The Dioscuri (twins; rivals/opponents)
- Hero and LeanderHero and LeanderHero and Leander is a Byzantine myth, relating the story of Hērō and like "hero" in English), a priestess of Aphrodite who dwelt in a tower in Sestos on the European side of the Dardanelles, and Leander , a young man from Abydos on the opposite side of the strait. Leander fell in love with Hero...
(couple) - Hansel & GretelHansel and Gretel"Hansel and Gretel" is a well-known fairy tale of German origin, recorded by the Brothers Grimm and published in 1812. Hansel and Gretel are a young brother and sister threatened by a cannibalistic hag living deep in the forest in a house constructed of cake and confectionery. The two children...
(siblings) - Hun-apu and IxbalanqueMaya Hero TwinsThe Maya Hero Twins are the central figures of a narrative included within the colonial Quiché document called Popol Vuh, and constituting the oldest Maya myth to have been preserved in its entirety. Called Hunahpu and Xbalanque in Quiché, the Twins have also been identified in the art of the...
(twins) - Izanami and IzanagiIzanamiIn Japanese mythology, is a goddess of both creation and death, as well as the former wife of the god Izanagi-no-Mikoto. She is also referred to as Izanami-no-kami.-Goddess of Creation:...
(couple) - Ixchel and ItzamnaIxchelIxchel or Ix Chel is the 16th-century name of the aged jaguar goddess of midwifery and medicine in the ancient Maya culture. She corresponds, more or less, to Toci Yoalticitl ‘Our Grandmother the Nocturnal Physician’, an Aztec earth goddess inhabiting the sweatbath, and is related to another...
(lovers) - KaliyanKaliyanKali was the sixth fragment of the primordial manifestation of Kroni according to Akilam, the source of Ayyavazhi mythology and the holy book of Ayyavazhi religion. Unlike other previous manifestations, Kali spread in this yugam as maya...
& KalicchiKalicchiKalicchi is the wife of Kaliyan according to Akilattirattu Ammanai, the holy book of the Ayyavazhi religion. She is similar to Eve in the Christian tradition.- Kaliyan :...
(First couple in Kali Yukam, as per AkilamAkilattirattu AmmanaiAkilathirattu Ammanai , also called Thiru Edu , is the main religious text of the Tamil belief system Ayyavazhi...
) - SampooranathevanSampooranathevanSampooranathevan is a mythical figure found in Ayyavazhi mythology. He was considered a powerful Deva of Deiva Loga.- Love with Para Devathai :...
& Paradevathai (couple as per AkilamAkilattirattu AmmanaiAkilathirattu Ammanai , also called Thiru Edu , is the main religious text of the Tamil belief system Ayyavazhi...
) - LancelotLancelotSir Lancelot du Lac is one of the Knights of the Round Table in the Arthurian legend. He is the most trusted of King Arthur's knights and plays a part in many of Arthur's victories...
& GuinevereGuinevereGuinevere was the legendary queen consort of King Arthur. In tales and folklore, she was said to have had a love affair with Arthur's chief knight Sir Lancelot...
(couple) - LuciferLuciferTraditionally, Lucifer is a name that in English generally refers to the devil or Satan before being cast from Heaven, although this is not the original meaning of the term. In Latin, from which the English word is derived, Lucifer means "light-bearer"...
& Diana (Stregheria; couple) - Leda & the SwanLeda and the SwanLeda and the Swan is a motif from Greek mythology in which Zeus came to Leda in the form of a swan. According to later Greek mythology, Leda bore Helen and Polydeuces, children of Zeus, while at the same time bearing Castor and Clytemnestra, children of her husband Tyndareus, the King of Sparta. In...
(couple) - MainyuAngra MainyuAngra Mainyu is the Avestan-language name of Zoroastrianism's hypostasis of the "destructive spirit". The Middle Persian equivalent is Ahriman.-In Zoroaster's revelation:...
& MazdaAhura MazdaAhura Mazdā is the Avestan name for a divinity of the Old Iranian religion who was proclaimed the uncreated God by Zoroaster, the founder of Zoroastrianism...
(conceptual; rivals/opponents) - OrpheusOrpheusOrpheus was a legendary musician, poet, and prophet in ancient Greek religion and myth. The major stories about him are centered on his ability to charm all living things and even stones with his music; his attempt to retrieve his wife from the underworld; and his death at the hands of those who...
& EurydiceEurydiceEurydice in Greek mythology, was an oak nymph or one of the daughters of Apollo . She was the wife of Orpheus, who loved her dearly; on their wedding day, he played joyful songs as his bride danced through the meadow. One day, a satyr saw and pursued Eurydice, who stepped on a venomous snake,...
(Greek; couple) - ParisParis (mythology)Paris , the son of Priam, king of Troy, appears in a number of Greek legends. Probably the best-known was his elopement with Helen, queen of Sparta, this being one of the immediate causes of the Trojan War...
& Helen (Greek; couple) - Pelléas et Mélisande (couple)
- PersephonePersephoneIn Greek mythology, Persephone , also called Kore , is the daughter of Zeus and the harvest-goddess Demeter, and queen of the underworld; she was abducted by Hades, the god-king of the underworld....
& HadesHadesHades , Hadēs, originally , Haidēs or , Aidēs , meaning "the unseen") was the ancient Greek god of the underworld. The genitive , Haidou, was an elision to denote locality: "[the house/dominion] of Hades". Eventually, the nominative came to designate the abode of the dead.In Greek mythology, Hades...
(Greek; couple) - Philemon & Baucis (couple)
- Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl (Aztec;couple)
- Pyramus and ThisbePyramus and ThisbePyramus and Thisbe are two characters of Roman mythology, whose love story of ill-fated lovers is also a sentimental romance.The tale is told by Ovid in his Metamorphoses.-Plot:...
(couple) - RamaRamaRama or full name Ramachandra is considered to be the seventh avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism, and a king of Ayodhya in ancient Indian...
& SitaSITASITA is a multinational information technology company specialising in providing IT and telecommunication services to the air transport industry...
(Hindu; couple) - Romulus & RemusRomulus and RemusRomulus and Remus are Rome's twin founders in its traditional foundation myth, although the former is sometimes said to be the sole founder...
(siblings) - SamsonSamsonSamson, Shimshon ; Shamshoun or Sampson is the third to last of the Judges of the ancient Israelites mentioned in the Tanakh ....
& DelilahDelilahDelilah appears only in the Hebrew bible Book of Judges 16, where she is the "woman in the valley of Sorek" whom Samson loved, and who was his downfall...
(Biblical; couple) - ScyllaScyllaIn Greek mythology, Scylla was a monster that lived on one side of a narrow channel of water, opposite its counterpart Charybdis. The two sides of the strait were within an arrow's range of each other—so close that sailors attempting to avoid Charybdis would pass too close to Scylla and vice...
& CharybdisCharybdisCharybdis or Kharybdis was a sea monster, later rationalised as a whirlpool and considered a shipping hazard in the Strait of Messina.-The mythological background:...
(See also Scylla & Charybdis) - TristanTristanTristan is one of the main characters of the Tristan and Iseult story, a Cornish hero and one of the Knights of the Round Table featuring in the Matter of Britain...
& IseultIseultIseult is the name of several characters in the Arthurian story of Tristan and Iseult. The most prominent is Iseult of Ireland, wife of Mark of Cornwall and adulterous lover of Sir Tristan. Her mother, the Queen of Ireland, is also named Iseult...
(couple) - TroilusTroilusTroilus is a legendary character associated with the story of the Trojan War...
& CressidaCressidaCressida is a character who appears in many Medieval and Renaissance retellings of the story of the Trojan War. She is a Trojan woman, the daughter of Calchas a priestly defector to the Greeks...
(couple) - ZeusZeusIn the ancient Greek religion, Zeus was the "Father of Gods and men" who ruled the Olympians of Mount Olympus as a father ruled the family. He was the god of sky and thunder in Greek mythology. His Roman counterpart is Jupiter and his Etruscan counterpart is Tinia.Zeus was the child of Cronus...
& GanymedeGanymede (mythology)In Greek mythology, Ganymede is a divine hero whose homeland was Troy. Homer describes Ganymede as the most beautiful of mortals. In the best-known myth, he is abducted by Zeus, in the form of an eagle, to serve as cup-bearer in Olympus. Some interpretations of the myth treat it as an allegory of...
(couple) - ErosErosEros , in Greek mythology, was the Greek god of love. His Roman counterpart was Cupid . Some myths make him a primordial god, while in other myths, he is the son of Aphrodite....
& Psyche (couple) - SeleneSeleneIn Greek mythology, Selene was an archaic lunar deity and the daughter of the Titans Hyperion and Theia. In Roman mythology, the moon goddess is called Luna, Latin for "moon"....
& EndymionEndymion (mythology)In Greek mythology, Endymion , was variously a handsome Aeolian shepherd or hunter or a king who ruled and was said to reside at Olympia in Elis, but he was also said to reside and was venerated on Mount Latmus in Caria, on the west coast of Asia Minor....
(couple)