MINOR CLASSICAL GODS
Some of the less important Greek and Roman gods. For more classical deities, see Titans.
Acheron -- Dirae -- Furiae -- Nemesis -- Silenus -- Thanatos -- Vulcan
A Greek river god who served the Titans when they were at war with Zeus. As punishment, Zeus banished him to the udnerworld; the river which he personified became one of the five rivers of Hades.
Two Roman names for the trio of goddesses (furiae and dirae are actually plural) referred to as the Erinyes by the Greeks. The Erinyes - consisting of Alecto, Megaera and Tisiphone - punished sinners, both living and dead.
They had snakes tangled up in their hair, but otherwise, they looked like normal humans. FF3, however, makes them part bird, a reference to the harpuiai, who also punish wrongdoers.
A Greek goddess personifying retributive justice, who would punish sinners and reward good deeds with luck. Her name has come to mean simply "enemy" or "downfall", so I can't be sure whether the FF3 monster was named after her or not. If it is, the tentacled, "creature from the black lagoon" monster doesn't fit the description given by the Greeks - a beautiful woman holding symbols of justice, such as scales, a measuring rod and a whip.
The sileni were minor Greek woodland gods, resembling ugly, gnomish men with the ears and tails of horses. They were also noted drunkards and so were associated with Dionysus, god of wine. In later myths, there was just one Silenus, Dionysus' teacher.
FF3's sileni - sword-wielding lizard men - don't match up with either version.
IMAGE: Greek statue depicting Silenus holding the baby Dionysus
While Hades rules over the land of the dead in Greek mythology, he isn't truly the death god; that title belongs to Thanatos, although Hades later became better known and eventually overshadowed him. Thanatos is the actual personification of death, the grim reaper of Greek mythology, looking like a man with wings - a far cry from more grusome depictions of death. Not even death itself is untoppable, though - Sisyphus managed to chain him up, making everyone immortal until he was freed by Ares, the god of war.
FF3's Thanatos is a female version of the dullahan of Irish folklore. The connection between the two is that the dullahan is a death omen, and Thanatos the bringer of death.
IMAGE: Greek statue depicting Thanatos
The Roman equivalent of the Greek god Hephaestos. Both versions of the god are divine blacksmiths, although they work in differenet places - Hephaestos being one of the gods of Mt. Olympus, Vulcan working in a smithy beneath Mt. Etna. Because of this, the latter's name survives in the word "volcano".
FF3's Vulcan is a fire-breathing dragon, a reference to his namesake's connection with volcanoes.
ACHERON
DIRAE, FURIAE
NEMESIS
SILENUS
THANATOS
VULCAN
