The Goddess Girls

The Goddess Girls
Author Joan Holub, Suzanne Williams
Cover artist Glen Hanson
Country United States
Language English
Genre Fantasy, Mythology
Publisher Simon & Schuster
Published 2010-present
Media type Print (paperback), E-book

The Goddess Girls is a series of children's books written by Joan Holub and Suzanne Williams, published by Simon & Schuster under the Aladdin imprint. The books are based on Greek mythology and depict the younger generation of the Olympian pantheon as privileged tween students attending Mount Olympus Academy (MOA) to develop their divine skills.

The series focuses on four primary characters – Athena, Persephone, Aphrodite, and Artemis — as a diverse group of loyal friends. Athena is noted for her intelligence, Persephone is mysterious and kind, Artemis is bold and strong, and Aphrodite is "effortlessly beautiful". Joan Holub writes about Athena and Artemis, Suzanne Williams about Persephone and Aphrodite.

Zeus is represented as the Principal of the Academy, and many other gods, including Hades, Poseidon, and Ares, appear in the series. Pandora, Medusa and Heracles appear as mortal characters in the series.

The series includes deities and characters from other mythological traditions as visitors to the Academy.

Titles

Number Title ISBN Date of publication
1 Athena the Brain 978-1-4169-8271-5 April 6, 2010
2 Persephone the Phony 978-1-4169-8272-2 April 12, 2010
3 Aphrodite the Beauty 978-1-4169-8273-9 April 12, 2010
4 Artemis the Brave 978-1-4169-8274-6 December 7, 2010
5 Athena the Wise 978-1-4424-2097-7 April 5, 2011
6 Aphrodite the Diva 978-1-4424-2100-4 August 12, 2011
7 Artemis the Loyal 978-1-4424-3377-9 December 6, 2011
8 Medusa the Mean 978-1-4424-3379-3 April 3, 2012
Special The Girl Games 978-1-4424-4933-6 July 10, 2012
9 Pandora the Curious 978-1-4424-4935-0 December 4, 2012
10 Pheme the Gossip 978-1-4424-4937-4 April 12, 2013
11 Persephone the Daring 978-1-4424-4939-8 August 6, 2013
12 Cassandra the Lucky 978-1-4424-8817-5 December 3, 2013
13 Athena the Proud 978-1-4424-8820-5 April 5, 2014
14 Iris the Colorful 978-1-4424-8823-6 August 5, 2014
15 Aphrodite the Fair 978-0-6063-6101-9 December 2, 2014
16 Medusa the Rich 978-1-4424-8830-4 April 28, 2015
17 Amphitrite the Bubbly 978-1-4424-8832-8 August 18, 2015
18 Hestia the Invisible 978-1-4814-4998-4 December 1, 2015
19 Echo the Copycat 978-1-4814-5001-0 April 26, 2016
20 Calliope the Muse 978-1-4814-5004-1 August 9, 2016
21 Pallas the Pal 978-1-4814-5007-2 December 6, 2016
22 Nyx the Mysterious 978-1-4814-7014-8 April 4, 2017
23 Medea the Enchantress 978-1-4814-7017-9 December 5, 2017

Characters

The Goddess Girls

  • Athena is a brainy girl who never quite fit in at her junior high school. She finally discovers her father is Zeus, King of the Gods and Ruler of the Heavens, and her mother is a fly. In Aphrodite the Diva her mother leaves and Aphrodite finds Zeus a new wife, Hera. She has a step sister, Pallas, who is Athena's best friend back on earth before she is summoned to Mount Olympus Academy. Athena has wavy brown hair and gray eyes, and she usually wears a blue chiton. Athena makes friends with the most popular girls at school—Persephone, Aphrodite, and Artemis. She is the youngest of the Goddess Girls but is the smartest girl in the Academy and always makes "A"s. She can shapeshift and she usually shapeshifts into an owl, her favorite animal. Athena becomes the goddess girl of wisdom due to her intelligence and good judgment. In Athena the Wise she develops a crush on Heracles, a strong mortal who transfers to the Academy.
  • Persephone, the daughter of Demeter, the goddess of fertility, flowers, and spring, loves flowers and can make them grow with a single touch of her finger. Persephone is described as being extremely kind, having pale skin and frizzy red hair, and she always wears a yellow chiton. Her mother encourages her to "go along to get along", but when she meets a boy named Hades, she begins to live by her own opinions, instead of just following others. Persephone helps sort things out and is very calm. Persephone becomes a dog-lover because of Cerberus, a three-headed dog in the Underworld, the dog is owned by her boyfriend Hades. In Persephone the Daring, she has her first kiss with Hades. In The Girl Games she realizes she also loves cats, when Aphrodite finds a stray cat in the girls' local mall, the "Immortal Marketplace".
  • Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty and one of the most popular girls at school, is obsessed with her looks. She has long, curly blond hair, blue eyes, a slender, graceful figure, usually wears make-up, and wears many different colors of chitons, but often wears a pink one. She loves matchmaking mortals and helping mortals in love. In Aphrodite the Diva she made a Lonely Hearts Club, a club to help mortals in love, to raise her grades. Not surprisingly, her beauty attracts a lot of attention, especially from god boys. She has an on-and-off relationship with Ares. Aphrodite has no parents.
  • Artemis loves animals and sports. She is the best archer at Mount Olympus Academy, along with her twin brother, Apollo. She is best friends with Aphrodite, Persephone, and Athena. Artemis cares nothing for fashion. Artemis is the goddess girl of the moon and the hunt. She wears a short red chiton, is dark skinned, and always carries her bow and her silver arrows. She has three dogs, Amby, Nectar, and Suez, and four white deer who pull her chariot. In Artemis the Brave, Artemis has her first crush, on Orion, but later realizes that he only cares about himself. In The Girl Games, Actaeon kisses her on the cheek.

Recurring characters

Godboys

  • Apollo is the god boy of truth and prophecies. He is Artemis's twin brother. He is part of a band called Heavens Above. He appears in Artemis the Brave and Artemis the Loyal, where he argues with Artemis. In Cassandra the Lucky, Apollo develops a crush on Cassandra after cursing her.
  • Ares is the god boy of war and is the Academy's fastest runner. He is tall, particularly muscular, and the cutest god boy in MOA according to Aphrodite. In Aphrodite The Beauty, Aphrodite becomes jealous because he pays attention to Athena. In Aphrodite the Diva he writes a song for Aphrodite. He is in the band Heavens Above with Dionysus, Poseidon, and Apollo. He and Aphrodite sometimes argue, however they are deeply in love and hope one day to get married
  • Dionysus is the god boy of wine. Dionysus appears in the eighth book Medusa the Mean where he has a small major role. Medusa is Dionysus's crush and they start to like each other after that even though they are different from each other.
  • Poseidon is the god boy of the sea. He always carries a trident around and is always dripping wet, like he just got done from swimming. He is one of the popular god boys. Medusa use to like Poseidon in the beginning, but found out he is mean and selfess. Pandora likes him too, but in Pandora the Curious, she likes Epimetheus, the Titan boy. In "Amphitrite the Bubbly," it is revealed that Poseidon just wants to make great achievements like his friends. Poseidon has a crush on Amphitrite.
  • Hades is the god boy of death and first appears in Persephone the Phony. He is dark, gloomy, handsome, and he did not like to talk a lot until he met Persephone. She is the first one to judge by his character and not the fact that he is from the Underworld. In The Girl Games, he coaches Persephone for the long jump. Hades has a three-headed dog named Cerberus in the Underworld. Also in Persephone the Daring he stands in for Poseidon on the drums in Heavens Above, and he also had his very first kiss with Persephone.
  • Hephaestus is the god boy of metalworking. He first appears in Aphrodite the Beauty. He is scrawny, clumsy, and lame in both legs. Aphrodite doesn't like his looks but she thinks that he has "inner beauty". He had a crush on Aphrodite at first and gave her beautiful roses, but later in the series he wins the heart of another beautiful goddess girl named Aglaia, who is deeply in love with Hephaestus.

Mortals

  • Orion is a mortal that was self-centered and acted nice to make Artemis like him. He never learns his lesson, though.
  • Medusa is the "mean girl" at Mount Olympus Academy. In the first seven books, she is the archenemy of the four most popular goddess girls at the Academy. She is famous for her stoneifying gaze, which was accidentally caused by one of Athena's inventions. Snarkypoo, or as Athena misspelled it, Snakeypoo, dripped in Medusa's eyes when she was showering and ended up making her gaze able to turn mortals into stone. Snarkypoo was originally made to turn snarky words into stone.
Medusa has two twin immortal sisters, Stheno and Euryale. They are the only goddess girls in her family, but Medusa is mortal. In Medusa the Mean, the real part of Medusa is exposed—what she actually wants is immortality and popularity. One of her big secrets is that she actually has to study extremely hard to keep up. In Medusa the Mean she gets to be immortal for one day because of her "present" to Principal Zeus's wedding. Not many mortals get to go to MOA but her sisters sneaked her in, and when Zeus found out he let her stay.
In the early book, Medusa has a crush on the selfish Poseidon, but she later realizes that another god boy, Dionysus, really likes her.
In Greek mythology, the three Gorgon sisters—Medusa, Stheno, and Euryale—were all children of the ancient marine deities Phorcys (or Phorkys) and his sister Ceto (or Keto), chthonic monsters from an archaic world. In the Goddess Girls series, Ceto and Phorcys are mentioned as a sea monster and sea hog.
  • Pandora is a mortal girl who is very curious. She use to have a crush on Poseidon, but then crushes on Epimetheus in Pandora the Curious. Her friends are Athena, Medusa and Pheme. As a symbol of her great curiosity, her blue-and-gold streaked bangs are in the shape of a question mark, they are also the school colors which shows that she has school spirit. She is very nice, but it is very hard for the other goddess girls to actually have a conversation with her because of her lack of attention. When she talks to them she just keeps on asking questions without giving them a chance to answer.
  • Heracles first appears in the fifth book of the series, Athena the Wise. He is described as a mortal boy with dark, curly hair, wears a lion-skin cape, and carries a big club with him. Aphrodite made cutting comments about the cape, but Heracles's friends think it is cool. In the book Athena the Wise, Heracles must complete 12 labors in one week or else he is expelled . The principal secretly asks his daughter Athena to watch over Heracles, and they develop a crush on each other.
  • Actaeon is mentioned at the end of the book Artemis the Brave and in Artemis the Loyal, where he plays a minor role. He is friends with Apollo, who thinks that Actaeon likes Artemis. In The Girl Games he shows interest in Penthe, a mortal Amazon girl competing against Artemis in the games. Artemis becomes jealous but in the end, Penthe and Artemis become friends. He later kisses Artemis which proves that he has a crush on Artemis.
  • Cassandra first appears as a bridesmaid at Hera's and Zeus's wedding. She used to be a princess in Troy. In Cassandra the Lucky, she is angry with Athena, Aphrodite and Apollo for starting the Trojan War. Like Apollo, she can tell fortunes—but no one believes her predictions. She later developes a crush on Apollo.
  • Ariadne is the princess of Crete and daughter of King Minos. She first appears in Medusa the Mean" as Diyonysus' first bridesmaid.

Supporting Characters

  • Zeus is the principal of Mount Olympus Academy, aside from being king of the gods and ruler of the heavens. Athena is his daughter by his first wife Metis. In the eighth book,Medusa the Mean", Zeus marries Hera. He is seven feet tall, and has a red beard and red hair. He has an electric touch.
  • Demeter is Persephone's mother and goddess of fertility. Demeter does not like her daughter's crush Hades at first, but changes her mind when Persephone says that Principal Zeus likes him. She owns a shop in the Immortal Marketplace called Demeter's Daffodils and Floral Delights.
  • Hera is first introduced in Aphrodite the Diva. She is Zeus's new wife, Athena's stepmother, goddess of marriage, and owner of a shop called Hera's Happy Endings.
  • Pheme talks fast, spreading the latest news and gossip, and while she talks, small clouds form and words fill the air. She has spiky short orange hair, brown eyes and orange glossy lips. Although Pheme is not a "popular girl" like the Goddess Girls, she is on-and-off friends with them. Pheme's crush is Eros, the god boy of love.
In Pheme the Gossip, Pheme earns orange wings from Zeus after she saves the world from burning in fire.
  • Iris is the goddess of the rainbow. She has wings and hair that changes colors based on her mood, and rainbow earrings. Zephyrus is Iris's crush.
  • Amphitrite is goddess of the seas. She is a beautiful mermaid with coral mermaid fins and blue hair decorated with seashells.She later transfers to MOA as an exchange student, upon learning to transform her tail into legs to walk on land. Poseidon is Amphitrite's crush.
  • Hestia is the goddess of the hearth. She wears a long red cape and has freckles. She has the power to set things on fire with a simple wave of her hands. In Hestia the Invisible, she feels unseen to everyone at first, but she loves to cook. In the end, Hestia made a new recipe for the MOA's dessert, flambrosia, which is made with chocolate cake, meringue, nectar flavored frosting, ambrosia ice cream, and for a special effect, flames. And Pheme placed it in the cooking column of Teen Scrollzine.
  • Echo is a forest nymph who copies all of the students in Mount Olympus Academy, just to make friends and to fit in. She has dark skin, green hair and green eyes, a green chiton, and is decorated with pink flowers all over hair and her dress. In Echo the Copycat, she is a new girl at Mount Olympus Academy, and she is really anxious to make new friends and become popular with the rest of the godboys and goddess girls. So she mimics their words, their movements, and their phrases, but everyone finds her copying everything annoying. In the end, the Goddess Girls help her to be herself in her own way.

Plot summaries

Athena the Brain

Athena has always been smart but never knew she was a goddess. Mount Olympus Academy promises to be a new start, but she has to deal with the meanest girl in history—Medusa.

Persephone the Phony

Persephone often "goes along to get along" instead of doing what she really wants. But when she meets Mount Olympus Academy bad-boy Hades, she finally feels she has found someone with whom she can be herself.

Aphrodite the Beauty

Aphrodite delights in helping mortals in love but finds the constant attention from the god boys at Mount Olympus Academy annoying. However, when she gives Athena a makeover, she is surprised to find she is jealous of all the interest Athena's new look gets. When the hottest god boys at school start ignoring Aphrodite, she learns that some boys are nicer and more sensitive than others—including a mortal youth who has requested her help in winning the heart of a young maiden.

Artemis the Brave

Artemis's friends and classmates see her as the most courageous goddess girl at school, but she is secretly afraid of the smelly Geryon, the ring-nosed Minotaurs, and the scorpions in Beastology class. She is also scared to speak to her crush Orion.

Athena the Wise

When a mortal named Heracles transfers to the Academy, Athena understands his problems as she was new a few months ago herself. Not only does Heracles need help in fitting in, he also has to complete 12 "labors" or leave the Academy. Athena and Heracles work together to complete the tasks.

Aphrodite the Diva

Aphrodite is failing Hero-ology. To raise up her grade, she concocts a brilliant plan—an extra credit project for matchmaking mortals called the Lonely Hearts Club. This takes her to Egypt and face-to-face with fierce competition—a goddess named Isis. Now a race is on to see who can find the perfect match for the most annoying mortal boy ever.

Artemis the Loyal

It is time for the annual Olympic Games at Mount Olympus Academy and the four goddess girls are not happy-especially Artemis, because the Games are for boys only. Artemis fails to persuade Zeus to allow girls to enter the Olympic Games, but concocts a brilliant plan—a girls-only Olympics. Zeus decides to name the games after his new wife, Hera.

Medusa the Mean

All Medusa wants is to be more like her two sisters and the other kids in her class: immortal. As the one of the only mortals at Mount Olympus Academy, Medusa is sick and tired of being surrounded by beautiful, powerful, immortal classmates. It isn’t easy making friends, especially when you have snakes for hair and a reputation for being mean.

Immortality, she thinks, will solve everything. So when Medusa finds out about a necklace that promises just that, she’s sure it will help her get the two things she covets most: to be as popular as the four Goddess Girls, and to have her supercrush, Poseidon, finally notice her...

The Girl Games

Artemis, Persephone, Aphrodite, and Athena—the four most popular goddess girls at MOA—are finally getting a chance to hold a girls-only Olympic Games. But organizing visiting athletes like those crush-stealing Amazons is not easy. Artemis is trying too hard to do everything herself, Athena is in trouble over a winged horse named Pegasus, and Aphrodite and Persephone are fighting over a lost kitten named Adonis. Will these Olympics be memorable for all the wrong reasons?

Pandora the Curious

One of the few mortals at Mount Olympus Academy, Pandora is famous for her curiosity, which is aroused when a Titan god boy named Epimetheus brings a mysterious box to school. He is the nephew of an MOA teacher in whose class Pandora once opened another box that sent a few weather disasters down to Earth. Still, Pandora cannot resist taking a look inside this new box when it unexpectedly lands in her lap.

Pheme the Gossip

Pheme prides herself on knowing all the gossip at MOA. But when she is caught snooping, she is challenged to go a whole day without gossiping—and is put under a unique spell to make sure she doesn't. But when a mysterious stowaway hints that he is about to do something that could threaten the safety of the entire world, Pheme has to find a way to warn Principal Zeus.

Persephone the Daring

Orpheus is a mortal rock god and charms all the girls at Mount Olympus Academy, especially with his latest song about the girl he loved and lost, Eurydice. He asks Persephone to help get her back from the Underworld.

Cassandra the Lucky

Cassandra is determined to help people make their own luck—but no one believes her prophecies. She is not even allowed to write the fortunes that go into the cookies her family sells at their Oracle-O Bakery. Determined to prove herself, Cassandra sends some special fortunes along to MOA. Her fortunes reverse, and the goddess girls are determined to find an answer.

Athena the Proud

Athena plans to improve the Labyrinth for King Minos, but her efforts have unexpected results.

Iris the Colorful

When Principal Zeus asks Iris to fetch some magic water from the Underworld's River Styx, she discovers a new ability to travel by rainbow. Soon everyone wants her to deliver their messages. Also, she wonders if her crush Zephyrus prefers her best friend, Antheia.

Aphrodite the Fair

When Ares's sister Eris, the goddess of discord and strife, visits on his birthday, she brings a shiny golden apple trophy that reads, "For the fairest." The contest for the trophy threatens Athena and Aphrodite's friendship.

Medusa the Rich

Medusa develops the Midas touch, suddenly becoming able to turn objects into gold just by touching them. Gold, gold, everywhere! But when it is not just objects but food and even people that become golden, she realizes the dangers.

Amphitrite the Bubbly

Amphitrite, a mergirl in the Aegean Sea, has only one wish: to see the world. Unfortunately, unlike her sisters and other merpeople she cannot shapeshift her tail into legs to walk on land. When her twin sister Thetis is invited to join Poseidon in the Temple Games, Amphitrite takes her place. She has fun and adventure during the Games, until Gaia, the goddess of the earth, and her sons the giants crash the party.

Hestia the Invisible

Hestia, feeling unseen at Mount Olympus Academy, decides to become more noticeable. With help from Pheme, the goddess of gossip, and a godboy named Asca, she decides to step further.

Echo the Copycat

Echo, a forest-mountain nymph, is new at the Academy and tries to fit in by imitating the cool girls.

Calliope the Muse

Calliope is full of clever ideas for enlivening the Academy.

Pallas the Pal

Pallas, the daughter of Triton, enrolls at the Academy. She is excited to see her old best friend of Athena, until she learns that Athena has made some new best friends at MOA.

Nyx the Mysterious

The Goddess of the Night visits the Academy.

Medea the Enchantress

Medea uses her magic to help her friend Jason obtain the Golden Fleece.

Eos the Lighthearted

Forthcoming

This book will introduce Eos, the Goddess of Dawn.

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