Greek culture, history and mythology are quite fascinating and very inspiring. Maybe this inspiration would be a good tattoos idea for you.
In present times, more and more people think about getting a meaningful tattoo design inspired by Greek culture and mythology. In fact Greek gods tell the story of the human condition, representing love, fear, bravery, and beauty. They are very unique: unlike other deities, they embody many deeply human qualities, and they’re prone to human error, making them highly relatable characters.
Greek Gods
Aphrodite – the Greek goddess is the daughter of Zeus. Artists depict her as a naked or partially naked woman with roses and shells. Aphrodite is a symbol of beauty, love, desire, and pleasure.
Apollo – also one of Zeus’ sons. Apollo is a young, handsome, athletic man with a laurel wreath and a bow and arrow. He represents the arts, prophecy, and knowledge.
Ares – known as one of the least popular gods, Ares represents the chaos of war. As a tattoo design, he symbolizes consequently war, bloodshed, and violence.
Athena – one of the most revered Greek goddesses, Athena is a symbol of reason, wisdom, battle strategy, and peace. She often has a crown and holds a shield and a spear.
Demeter – is the goddess of the harvest and agriculture. Her Roman equivalent is Ceres and she presides over the cycles of life and death.
Dionysus – is the god of wine, insanity, festivity and theater. His Roman equivalent is Bacchus and his cult followers celebrate him by consuming copious amounts of wine.
Hades – is the god of the underworld and the dead. His Roman equivalent is Pluto. A three-headed dog named Cerberus is often his companion.
Hera – the wife and sister of Zeus, Hera is the Ancient Greek Queen of the gods. As a tattoo design, she symbolizes marriage, childbirth, and femininity.
Poseidon – the king of the sea and waters, Poseidon control rivers, seas, floods, and earthquakes. He’s often shown holding a trident and with a dolphin.
Zeus – the king of the gods and the ruler of Mount Olympus. Zeus has the power over the weather and universal law and order. He’s often depicted as a regal man with a royal scepter.
Mythology and culture
In short, for hundreds of years, Greek mythology has inspired art, from literature to paintings. Along with Gods, you will find angels, monsters, mortals, and many other enchanting creatures in many of these lores.
There is no end to the list of mythical creatures in Greek culture. Importantly each one of these heroes has a different story and meaning attached to themselves. And for the most part it remains relevant even today. Moreover there are lessons and learning that we can acquire from these creatures which makes these tattoos even more profound.
For example there’s Medusa, a greek monster with snakes for her hair. Atlas, who is so strong that he can lift the whole world on his shoulders. There’s Poseidon who is the god of the sea and has a lot of fo power. The phoenix is a pretty famous symbol and represents a bird that could live multiple lifetimes and consequently rise from its own ashes. There’s Achilles who is the hero of the greek culture. Also there’s Sisyphus, who push a large rock up a hill in order to obtain immortality somewhere in Hades.
Symbols
Usually, some verses from the Greek bible or a few words from mythology people picked and inscribed as tattoos. In fact each letter or verse has a unique symbolism or meaning behind it. The Greek font looks very stunning when inscribed on your body. You could get Greek letter tattoos on your wrist, arm, or even shoulder.
Really popular is a meander motif. Namely it is a decorative geometric border constructed from a continuous line that forms a right angle pattern and keeps turning into a repetitive border. This Greek key tattoo symbolizes infinity and the eternal flow of things.
If you are a fan of Greek heritage and culture, you may want to tattoo an example of greek art known all over the world such as sculptures such as: The Winged Victory of Samothrace (Nike of Samothrace), The Venus de Milo, Discus Thrower (Discobolus), Laocoon and His Sons.
For more information about Greek tattoos klick here and here or here.
If you want see more our design inspirations klick here and here or here.