Download Greek Gods: Gottar Catch Them All Activity Cards

Greek Gods: Gotta’ Catch Them All
Activity Cards
ATHENA
ARES
Goddess of Wisdom and War
God of War
Daughter of Zeus; no mother bore her. She sprang
from Zeus’s head, full-grown and clothed in armor.
Her “likes”: Owls, olive trees, snakes, shield,
armor, helmets, spears
Strengths: courage, wisdom, intelligence, cunning
and chastity.
As a goddess of war, she relied on strategy and
morality rather than bloodshed, and as a goddess of
wisdom she stressed diplomacy, justice, education,
arts and crafts.
Weaknesses: Vengeful, too ruled by her head and
out of touch with her emotions. Unapproachable
and lacking in compassion.
When Arachne boasted that her sewing skills were
better than Athena’s, Athena turned her into a
spider.
Son of Zeus and Hera, both of whom hated him
His “likes”: Spear, helmet, dog, chariot, boar,
vulture, flaming torch
Strengths: Decisive, determined, and fearless.
Weaknesses: Impulsive, bloodthirsty, and raring
for a fight regardless of the consequences
Not very respected for his attitude and his
actions. He was a bloodthirsty fighter and had a
quick temper. This was one of his bad habits, he
did not think before he did things. No matter the
outcome. Some of his strengths were that he was
decisive, determined, and fearless. Ares was
characterized as a murderer, brutal, and would
slaughter the weak. For this reason, no Greek
city wanted to have him as its patron. He often
had conflicts and fights with his half-sisters
Artemis and Athena, especially during the Trojan
War.
ZEUS
HERA
King of the Gods, God of the Sky and Lightening
Queen of the Gods, Goddess of Marriage and
Childbirth
His “likes”: scepter, throne and the thunderbolt,
which was as a gift from the Cyclopes because he
liberated them. Zeus' tree was the oak tree and his
sacred animal was the eagle.
Strengths: Highly powerful, strong, charming,
persuasive.
Weaknesses: Gets in trouble over love affairs, can
be moody.
"Lord of Justice", punishing anyone who lied or
broke an oath, but was fair and always striving to
keep a balance of all things.
Furthermore, Zeus was responsible for the
weather and was shaping it according to his
temper. When in high spirits, Zeus was blessing the
world with fine weather; in case of bad mood,
however, he would throw rain, winds, lightning
and thunderbolts to cause disaster to the mortals.
Zeus' powers had their limits, for, however
powerful as he was, he had neither the right nor
the ability to intervene in the decisions of the
Fates.
Her “likes”: Crown, the scepter, pomegranate, lily,
peacock
Strengths: Leadership and loyalty, passionate
about family and marriage. She showed a lot of
compassion and motherly instinct.
Weaknesses: When Hera felt betrayed or
disrespected, she could be very vindictive. She
was viewed as jealous and vicious toward her
wrongdoers. She was feared and respected. Zeus
was an unfaithful husband to Hera. He went
against the sanctity of marriage and home that
Hera held dear. Hera would unleash her anger on
the “other women” in Zeus’s life and also on the
children that were born from these unions.
When Antigone boasted that her hair was more
beautiful than Hera, the Goddess became so
enraged that she transformed the long locks of
hair into snakes
ARTEMIS
APOLLO
Goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, wild
animals
God of the sun, light, music, intellectual
pursuits
Her “likes”: bow and arrow, moon, nature, animals,
silver
His “likes”: the sun, his golden bow and arrow,
his lute (instrument), griffin, grasshopper, crows,
archery, music, dolphins, his golden chariot which
he drove across the sky
Headstrong and modest woman, powerful hunter
-- Her twin brother is the messenger-god Apollo,
and the two often travel and encounter struggles
together.
Strengths: Independence, courage, confidence and
physical strength. When Artemis was only three
years old, she asked her father, Zeus for her own
bow and arrow. Her independence and free
spirited nature is not appreciated however by all
the goddesses. Aphrodite has no control over her
as she is not interested in love
Weaknesses: Vengeful, impulsive and aloof. Like
many of the Greek Goddesses she does not like to
be beaten. When Agamemnon kills a stag and
boasts that she could not have done it better, she is
swift in seeking her revenge, holding back the
winds and preventing his fleet from sailing.
Strengths: Creative, handsome, supportive of all
the arts of civilization, marksmanship, could give
prophecies, musicianship
He decided that he needed a place where mortals
could come and ask questions to him and he
would use his gift of prophecy to answer them. He
found a perfect place called Pytho. The only bad
part was that a terrible, giant snake called Python
was living there and was terrorizing all the other
living creatures there. He killed the snake and
renamed the place Delphi. He created his temple
and the oracles spoke to the mortals.
Weaknesses: Vengeful and jealous, many
relations with women, cupid’s arrow, quick to
anger Apollo punished Marsyas after his claim to
be more musically gifted than Apollo himself.
DEMETER
Goddess of the harvest and is most notably
linked to the growing, preserving and
harvesting of grain
Her “likes”: cornucopia, sheaves of wheat, nature,
her daughter, pigs, horses
She often carried a torch to guide her in the search
for her daughter. Snakes were also symbols of this
Goddess as her chariot was pulled by two winged
serpents they are also symbols of feminine
wisdom.
Weaknesses: Depression, lived her life through her
daughter. Her daughter, Persephone, was
kidnapped by Hades, god of the Underworld. As a
result, Demeter caused a famine on Earth until an
agreement was met. Persephone would split her
time with Hades and Demeter. The half of the year
Persephone was with Hades, the world would
experience cold/ winter; when she was with
Demeter during the latter half, the world would
have warmth/ summer.
Strengths: Loving mother, persistence and
empathic. She never gave up trying to find
Persephone.
POSEIDON
God of the sea, earthquakes and horses
His “likes”: three- pronged trident, his sea chariot,
horses, the ocean, dolphins
Strengths: Creative - designed all of the Earth’s
sea creatures
Weaknesses: Warlike, petty, moody, competitive ,
unpredictable, and bold -- often plagued those
who angered him with storms and shipwrecks
A contest was held between Poseidon and Athena
to determine who would be the patron of the
Greek capital city. Poseidon struck the ground
with his trident and caused a spring to well up
from the rocks instantly. The spring was salt,
however, and the olive tree that Athena planted
was deemed more useful. The city of Athens still
bears her name today.
Has no power over the air or land (except for
earthquakes)
HERMES
APHRODITE
God of commerce and travel, messenger of the
gods/ Protector of travelers, thieves, athletes
Goddess of love and beauty
His “likes”: his staff (held in his hand), his winged
sandals and shoes, lyre, music
Strengths: Clever, bold, athletic, quick acting and
cunning, he was able to move swiftly between the
world of man and the world of gods, acting as a
messenger of the gods and the link between
mortals and the Olympians. He also invented the
lyre using a tortoise shell.
Weakness: He does have a reputation as a trickster
and thief and has a difficult time staying in one
place.
When Hermes was born, he jumped out of his crib,
stole Apollo's cattle and then went back to his crib
playing innocent. However, Apollo figured it out,
grabbed Hermes and went to Zeus to complain.
The father of gods simply laughed and didn't
punish Hermes. To apologize, Hermes gave Apollo
the lyre which he had just invented.
She was said to have been created from the foam
of the sea.
Her “likes”: mirror, magical girdle (belt)which
caused everyone who saw her to fall in love with
her, doves, dolphins, apples
Strengths: The ability to make men fall in love
with her, her belief in love. Aphrodite brought to
life a marble statue which King Pygmalion of
Kypros had fallen in love with.
Weaknesses: She was vain, bad tempered, jealous
and unfaithful. She married Hephaestus (the
deformed God of the Forge) but had many lovers
including the Ares, the god of war and Adonis. She
has a fearsome and formidable streak. If her
beauty is not given due credit, she is known to
punish both man and God.
HADES
HESTIA
God the Underworld and Dead
Goddess of the hearth domesticity,
hospitality and family life
His “likes”: Cerebus, his three- headed dog; his
bident (two- pronged spear); Persephone, his
wife; his helmet of invisibility
Strengths: Rich with the wealth of the earth,
especially precious metals. Persistent and
determined. When Hades laid eyes on
Persephone, the daughter of Demeter, he
decided that he had to have her. He also lent the
warrior, Perseus, his helmet of invisibility, so
Perseus could defeat Medusa.
Weaknesses: Impulsive, favoring sudden,
decisive actions, deceptive, stubborn. Passionate
over Persephone, the daughter of Demeter,
whom Zeus promised to Hades as his bride.
Hades refused to let anyone leave the
underworld. Once, Orpheus asked Hades to
allow him to retrieve his wife, Eurydice, from
the underworld. Because Hades was enchanted
by the music of Orpheus, he granted the return
of his wife on a condition which Orpheus was
unable to keep. Hades promptly had Eurydice
swallowed back into the underworld.
Her “likes: Fire, flame, family, the home
Never married or had any children, despite
Poseidon's and Apollo's best efforts to woo her.
The decision to accept neither hand in marriage
prevented a war from breaking out amongst her
suitors. Zeus was so pleased by this that at every
banquet the first and last offerings are always
made to her.
Strengths: Modesty, welcoming, pacifying and
dedication to her job. She kept the hearth lit on
Mt. Olympus.
Weaknesses: Self-sacrificing and unsociable. She
gave up her seat as one of the Olympians to
Dionysus so she could tend the sacred fire on
Mount Olympus. Compared to many of her
fellow goddesses, she is a breath of fresh air
since she is not prone to jealously and constant
meddling in other people’s affairs like the other
Olympians.
HEPHAESTUS
God of the Forge , Fire, Volcanoes, Blacksmiths
His “likes”: hammer and anvil, creating weapons
and armor for the gods
Hephaestus was a very kind and loveable god, but
was the only god who was physically ugly and
lame. When his mother Hera saw him for the first
time, she was so frustrated that she took her son
and threw him from Mount Olympus to the depths
of the seas, causing a deformation to his leg.
Hephaestus was finally rescued by Thetis, who
raised him for nine years inside a cave, far away
and hidden from his cruel mother.
Strengths: Creative, cunning, an able metal
worker—He does not allow his physical disability
to hold him back.—created Pandora (of the famous
box) as the first woman of the world, a chariot for
Achilles for battle in the Siege of Troy . Hephaestus
built various pieces of armor and weapons like
Zeus's thunderbolts, Athena's spear, Poseidon's
trident.
Weaknesses: Crafty and vindictive-Hephaestus makes an inescapable chair for Hera in
order to get revenge for her throwing him off of
Mount Olympus.