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Greek Mythology
What is Greek Mythology?
 Collection of myths and legends
 Used to explain their world.
 Although fiction, the Greeks believed them to be true.
The Greeks and Their Beliefs
The Greeks were:
 tough, restless, ambitious, hard-living, imaginative
 Live life to the fullest
 In response to death was to make a mark on the world.
Be a legend…be grandiose. Examples?
Continued: The Greeks & Their Beliefs
 The Greeks had many gods.
 Olympian gods filled the Greeks
need to be grandiose: strong,
beautiful and intelligent.
 But they were quarrelsome,
unforgiving, jealous, vengeful,
spiteful, sinful deities.
 The same applies to the heroes
in their legends and myths.
The World according to the Greeks
In the Beginning…
The bigger you are, the harder you fall
After the battle was over…
The gods and goddesses
of Mt. Olympus
Chief God
Married his
sister Hera
God of thunder and lightening
Portrayed as
extremely jealous and
vindictive
Goddess of
Marriage
Temple of Hera, Sicily
Zeus and Hera
Earth-shaker of
Earthquakes
Lives in a palace
beneath the ocean
Married a sea
nymph
God of the
Sea
Second to
Athena in
Athens
Poseidon is the
brother of Zeus
and Hades and
had many children
God of the
Underworld
and of the
dead
Wore a
cap that
made
him
invisible
Hades is the
misty and
gloomy
abode of the
dead, where
all mortals
go.
Kidnapped his niece and made her his wife
ATLAS
Atlas led the Titans
in a war against the
gods of Mount
Olympus. When the
Titans were
defeated, Zeus
punished him with
the burden of
carrying the
heavens upon his
shoulders.
All of Zeus’ children
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Zeus had eight children on Olympus
The twins: Apollo and Artemis
Athena
Hephaestus
Hermes
Ares
Dionysus
Aphrodite (not really Zeus child, but he took her in)
God of
Light,
Medicine,
Music
Romans
adopted
Apollo from
the Greeks
She decided to
never marry.
Once when she
was bathing
under the
moonlight, a
human was
watching her.
She threw rain
drops on him
and changed him
into a stag. Then
she had him
killed by his own
dogs.
Goddess of
Virginity and
Hunting
Sprang from her Zeus’s
head fully clothed and in
armour. Zeus’ son had to
release Athena by cutting
his head with a doubleheaded Minoan axe.
Goddess of Wisdom
and Just-War
The only
ugly god, but
he was
peaceful,
loving and
popular.
God of Fire and
Volcanoes
Walks with a limp
because Zeus threw
him over the palace
walls one day when he
took his mother’s side
over Zeus.
Guided newly
dead to
underworld
Very
mischievous
and tricky
God of
shepherds
merchants
travellers
and
thieves
Had a son named Pan
(half goat)
Prometheus
Prometheus is the Titan
chiefly honoured for
stealing fire from Zeus and
giving it to mortals for their
use. For that, Zeus ordered
him to be chained on top
of the Caucasus. Every day
an eagle would come and
eat his liver, but since
Prometheus was immortal,
his liver always grew back,
so he was left to bear the
pain every day.
Boastful, cruel
and had no
manners.
God of War
God of wine and
Patron God of
the Stage
Wherever she walked
flowers sprang up
beneath her feet.
Her son was
Eros (Cupid)
Controlled
wedlock and
tender
passions
Themes in Greek Mythology
Fate
Bloodshed for Bloodshed
Beauty
Love
Heroic Quests
Danger of Arrogance
Cruel Gods