Achilles
Achilles was the son of Peleus and Thetis. He was raised by the centaur Chiron. He was hidden by his mother among the daughters of Lycomedes on the island of Scyros so he would not have to fight at Troy. He was found by Odysseus and Diomedes. He is the fiercest fighter for the Greeks at Troy. He was the leader of the Myrmidons. Achilles refused to fight after Briseis was taken from him by Agamemnon, but reentered the war after Hector killed his friend Patroclus. He died when Paris hit him in the ankle, his only weak spot, with an arrow.
Aeneas
Aeneas was the son of Venus and Anchises. He was a noble fighter for Troy during the Trojan War. He escaped from Troy as the Greeks were ransacking the city. He went off in search of a place to establish the new Troy. Aeneas settled in Italy, where his descendants established the city of Rome.
Atalanta
Atalanta was sometimes called the daughter of Schoeneus and sometimes called the daughter of Iasus or Iasius. She participated in the Calydonian boar hunt. She refused to marry anyone who could not beat her in a footrace. Melanion outraced her by throwing golden apples to the side of the course, which she slowed down to pick up. In their haste to consummate the marriage, they made love in a place sacred to Zeus and were turned into lions.
Bellerophon
Bellerophon was the grandson of Sisyphus. Bellerpohon went to Argos to be purified by King Proetus after accidentally killing his own brother. He was falsely accused by Proetus' wife, Stheneboea, of trying to seduce her. Proetus sent Bellerophon to Iobates with a letter asking Iobates to kill Bellerophon. Iobates gave Bellerophon a series of impossible tasks to perform: to kill the Chimaera, subdue the Solymi, fight against the Amazons, and defend himself against the best soldiers of Lycia. With the help of Pegasus, Bellerophon completed these tasks. Bellerophon attempted to fly up to join the gods, but Pegasus hurled Bellerophon from his back and the hero spent the rest of his life as a lonely wanderer.
Daedalus
Daedalus was a skilled craftsmen who learned his art from Athena. He was banished from his hometown of Athens after he murdered Perdix, his nephew. He went to Crete, where he worked for King Minos and his wife, Pasiphae. Minos imprisoned Daedalus for telling Theseus the secret of the Labyrinth. Daedalus fashioned wings out of feathers and wax for himself and his son, Icarus, who had been imprisoned with him. Icarus flew too close to the sun, his wax melted, the feathers fell from his arms, and he plunged into the sea. The place where he fell was named the Icarian Sea after him. Minos searched in many lands for Daedalus but was killed in Sicily by the daughters of Cocalus, who was harboring Daedalus.
Hector
Hector was the son of Priam and Hecuba. He was the Trojan's greatest warrior. He married to Andromache and was the father of Astyanax. He killed Patroclus causing Achilles to reenter the battle, thus causing the death of Hector. Priam ransomed his son's body from Achilles. When the Greeks sacked Troy, Andromache was given to Neoptolemus and Astyanax was thrown to his death from the city walls.
Hercules
Hercules was the son of Zeus and Alcmene. He was plagued by Hera, who beset him with fits of madness. He married Megara, but killed her and their children. He had to perform twelve labors for Eurystheus. His trademarks were a lion skin, a club, and a bow and arrows. He married Deianira later, but pursued Iole. He was sold as a slave to Omphale. Hercules was poisoned with blood from Nessus that was tainted with toxin from the Lernaean hydra. He had Poeas light a funeral pyre on which he died. Hercules became a god, was reconciled with Hera, and married Hebe.
Jason
Jason was the son of Aeson. He was raised by Chiron. Pelias sent him to Colchis to obtain the Golden Fleece. Hera was an ally and protector. With the help of Hera and Medea, Jason obtained the fleece and returned to Ioclus, where Medea caused the death of Pelias. Jason and Medea went to Corinth in exile. Jason fell in love with Glauce, Creon, king of Corinth. Medea killed Glauce, Creon, and the children she had had with Jason. Many years later, a piece of Argo, Jason's ship, fell and killed the hero.
Odysseus
Odysseus was the son of Laertes and Anticlea. His wife was Penelope and was the father of Telemachus. He proposed the Oath of Tyndareus, which obligated the Greeks to fight at Troy for Helen. He tried to avoid going to the war by feigning insanity. Afterwards, he helped discover Achilles on the island of Scyros. Was one of the best and craftiest warriors on the Greek side in the Trojan War. Had a ten-year voyage home from war, involving adventures with the Cicones, the Lotus-eaters, Polyphemus, the Laestrygonians, Circe, Scylla and Charybdis, Calypso, and the Phaeacians. Once he arrived home, he had to kill the suitors who had invaded his household.
Orpheus
Orpheus was the son of Oeagrus, a Thracian river god. His mother was one of the Muses (most accounts say she was Calliope) a skilled musician and singer. He accompanied Jason on the quest for the Golden Fleece. He married Eurydice, but she died from a snakebite on their wedding day. He charmed Hades and Persephone with his singing that they allowed Orpheus to take Eurydice out of the Underworld on the condition that he not look back on his way out. But he feared that she was not following, so he looked back to see her, and she slipped back to the realm of the dead. He wandered through forests and valleys, playing his lyre and singing, until a group of Thracian women stoned him to death and tore his body apart. His head and lyre were washed out to sea and ended up on the island of Lesbos, where Apollo kept a serpent from biting the head turning the snake into stone. The Muses collected the remaining pieces of Orpheus' body and buried them. Orpheus' soul went to the Underworld, where it joined the soul of Eurydice.
Peleus
Peleus was the son of Aeacus and father of Achilles. He left his homeland, Aegina, after killing his half brother Phocus. He journeyed to see King Eurytion of Phthia in Thessaly for purification. He accidentally killed Eurytion during the Calydonian boar hunt. Peleus went to King Acastus of Ioclus, who purified him, but when Astydamia, Acastus' wife, falsely accused him of trying to seduce her, Acastus took him hunting on Mount Pelion, buried his sword in a dung heap, and left him there to sleep. Peleus awoke surrounded by wild beasts and centaurs. Chiron protected him and returned his sword, a gift from Hephaestus that made him invincible. Thetis was given to him as a wife. Eris, who was not invited to the wedding, threw the apple that led to the Judgement of Paris and ultimately the Trojan War. Peleus and Thetis settled in Phtia, where Peleus became the leader of the Myrmdidons, who had left Aegina. Thetis and Peleus became parents of Achilles.
Perseus
Perseus was the son of Zeus and Danae. With the help of Athena, he beheaded Medusa and brought the head to Polydectes. On his journey he had adventures with the Stygian nymphs, the Graeae, and Atlas. He also rescued Andromeda and became father of Perses. He returned to his homeland of Argos and accidentally killed his grandfather, Acrisius, with a discus. He then went to Tiryns, where he exchanged kingdoms with Megapenthes, the king of Tiryns. The city of Mycenae, which Perseus founded near Tiryns, was ruled by his descendants. Perseus and Andromeda were turned into constellations at the end of their lives.
Phaethon
Phaeton was the son of Helios (Apollo in some accounts) and Clymene (Rhode or Prote in some accounts).He drove his father's chariot recklessly until Zeus killed him with a thunderbolt.
Theseus
Theseus was the son of Aegeus. He was sometimes called a "second Hercules". He was the hero of Athens. Theseus journeyed to Athens to meet his father, having adventures along the way with Periphetes, Sinis, Sciron, Cercyon, a man-eating pig, and Procrustes. In Athens, his stepmother, Medea, tried to have him killed, but Aegeus recognized and saved him. He was sent to Crete to be sacrificed to the Minotaur, but with Ariadne's help he killed the beast and escaped from the island. Ariadne accompanied him, but he left her behind on the island of Dia. He unintentinally caused his father's death by forgetting to change his black sail for a white sail to show he was still alive. He became King of Athens. He attacked the Amazons. He went with Pirithous to Sparta to kidnap Helen as his wife. They then went to the Underworld to kidnap Persephone to be the wife of Pirithous. They were imprisoned, but Hercules later freed Theseus. He married Phaedra, who accused his son Hippolytus, of trying to seduce her. Theseus believed the allegations and had Poseidon kill his son. Theseus, while in exile, was killed by Lycomedes, king of Scyros.