I’ve loved Greek mythology ever since I was a little girl. All those handsome men and beautiful women, embroiled in drama after drama of love, passion, and vengeance, from heaven to Earth to hell and back — what’s not to love?
This week, I thought it’d be fun to put together some outfits inspired by three of the classic Greek goddesses of Mount Olympus. As you’ll see, each outfit reflects the goddesses’ different personalities and stories, with one common thread: they’ll all make you look like you walked straight out of heaven.
Table of Contents
Inspired by Aphrodite
Products: Dress – Nordstrom Rack ($30), Headband – Kohl’s ($9), Bangles – Etsy ($25), Highlighter/Blush – ELF ($4), Nail Polish – Essie ($9), Lip Gloss – Bobbi Brown ($28), Sandals – A’gaci ($15)
Outfit Cost: $120
Aphrodite is the goddess of love and beauty. She’s known for being drop-dead gorgeous and a little self-centered, so I thought a regal maxi dress with a killer plunging neckline and would be perfect. Meanwhile, the turquoise accents in this outfit represent the legend that Aphrodite was born from the sea.
The flower headband and gold bangles convey both romance and confidence (Aphrodite did not let people push her around), while a highlighter/blush combo and lip gloss with a little bit of luster will give you a dewy, sun-kissed look, like you just got back from a romantic walk on the beach.
Inspired by Athena
Products: Shirt – Banana Republic ($42), Pants – Express ($50), Ring – Etsy ($19), Oxfords – Saks Off 5th ($35), Headband – Urban Outfitters ($14), Eyeshadow Palette – Charlotte Tilbury ($53), Liquid Eyeliner – Maybelline ($7), Lip Stain – Maybelline ($8)
Outfit Cost: $228
Athena is your no-nonsense goddess; she resides over the realms of wisdom, culture, civilization, and military strategy. This outfit is simple but elegant, with a silhouette that is both tailored and casual. The white tunic button-down and gray plaid cropped pants keep the look down-to-earth and practical, allowing us more flexibility with the accessories.
Lace-up black Oxford flats convey strength, while a top-knot headband adds another goddess-y detail. I chose the owl ring because Athena is frequently portrayed with an owl — a symbol of wisdom — in paintings and statues. Finish off the outfit with a tough-girl vibe using liquid eyeliner, smoky eyeshadow, and red lips.
Inspired by Artemis
Products: Romper – Lulus ($66), Eyeshadow – Pur Cosmetics ($10), Nail Polish – OPI ($11), Headwrap – J.Crew ($19), Belt – Gap ($18), Earrings – Forever 21 ($5), Sandals – JCPenney ($14)
Outfit Cost: $143
Artemis is primarily known as the goddess of the moon and the hunt — the black and brown tones in this outfit represent each domain, respectively. Lay the foundation for the classic goddess look with a boho-chic romper, then throw in hippie accessories like the braided belt and minimalist sandals to show that you’re in touch with nature.
Meanwhile, feather earrings and a leopard-print headwrap reflect Artemis’s frequent association with the animals of the forest. For this look, you’ll want to keep your makeup and nails in neutral, earthy colors to complete the outfit.
Which goddess are you?
If you wanted to feel especially regal and majestic, which goddess look would you pick? Did my interpretations make sense to you? If you were to create your own goddess look, what would you change? Maybe you would even take your inspiration from a different goddess — like Hera, Zeus’ wife and the queen of Mount Olympus? Let us know by leaving a comment!
(By the way, if you this post made you curious about Greek mythology, check out this informative Wikipedia page about the twelve Olympian gods and goddesses.)
Editor’s note: This post was originally published in 2018; it was completely updated and revamped in 2018 by Sharon with new photos, outfit sets, and information.
I really love Artemis and Athena’s looks. Aphrodite’s is pretty but I think the dress should have been short and flirty but that’s just my opinion.
Yeah! I would love to see Hera and Persephone!
I really love this, these are all so cute!! But for the Athena look, I’m not a shorts gal, so is there something you’d recommend me to use instead?
i just cannot get enough of those turban headbands!! who makes them? love the artemis look
Hey,
Just wanted to throw my two cents in here…the accessories in this post, such as Athena’s owl watch and Artemis’ earrings, are particularly creative! I also would like to see future posts drawing inspiration from the Muses, more goddesses from Greek and other cultures, etc. This is one of my favorite CF posts ever…the art/history/mythology series has been so much fun to follow, and I look forward to seeing more of them!
I love love LOVE this post! I am seriously tempted to go shopping for some of these things so I can look like a Greek goddess! I like that you included the owl necklace with the Athena outfit. We did Greek goddess projects in eighth grade where we had to memorize a speech and dress up as whatever goddess we were assigned. I was Athena, I definitely should have done an outfit like this and thrown my lit teacher off a bit haha 🙂 but anyway great post! loved it!
I agree with everyone; this is an amazing post, one of the best. This is creative and your outfits are wonderful. You did a beautiful job of drawing inspiration from Greek mythology. I love this series and find the series to be inspiring in itself because it seeks to draw fashion inspiration from interesting places. We always see celebrities and fashion magazines but we don’t think about things like literature as fashion-related. You proved to us that even Greek mythology (which I always found a little boring, honestly) can provide us with some great ideas!! Way to think outside the box, really! 🙂
Awesome post! I’m often inspired by old mythology and folk tale illustrations, as well as native dress from around the world, so nice to see a post directly rooted in this sort of thing! Got to love a themed outfit.
Hera- Black maxi dress with a peacock headpiece (Hera was supposed to have created a monster called Argus who had 100 eyes, represented in the peacocks tail) and gold-tinted dramatic makeup (Queen of the Gods!)
I LOVE LOVE LOVE this series!!!! Please write for CF forever 😀
I love the Aphrodite outfit.. she is without competition my favorite godess. But one way that I would interpret it is with some red since Aphrodite was notorious for her jealous streak. I would also see the dress to be short and flowing since she was a huge flirt and showed off her body.
I would identify most with Artemis 🙂
But I love ALL the looks, and like everyone else has been saying, this is definitely one of my fave CF posts ever! So creative and inspiring!!! Keep up the great writing, and great outfits and ideas!!!
Beautiful post! Really inspiring, and I LOVE the greek mythology (always have). I think I would most likely put on Athena’s outfit, but I do identify myself mostly with Aphrodite 😉
I loooveeee the Inspired By series! Keep ’em coming!
Love the outfits! Especially since you include what make ups that go with them! I totally agree that you take outfit ideas from all those mythological believes! There are so many of them, the possibilities would be endless! *so hoping that you’d make this into a series* x)
I adore this. I’ve been super into Greek mythology since I was a youngster, too. I’ve always felt a special connection to Athena. She’s my girl. These outfits are amazing. I just really love what you do with the series. It’s my favorite one.
great job! – this has a lot of possibilities since practically every culture has a mythological pantheon – egypt, norway, india, etc. it would be fun to see what you can come up with. i’ll be looking forward to it!