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MYTHS OF THE DAY GREEK MYTHOLOGY EXPLAINED Myth of the Day Family: Son of Iapetus (Titan) and Clymene (nymph) Prometheus sided with Zeus against the other Titans Prometheus was a son of the Titan Iapetus and one of the older Greek gods who sided with Zeus in his fight against his father Cronos. Prometheus’s fame was due to his affection for mankind, for whom he gave fire. Prometheus created the first men out of clay — no women! Prometheus loved his creation! His brother began giving all the creatures gifts—fur, claws, wings, etc. By the time he got to man, he was out of gifts! Zeus, the leader of the new and stronger gods, had hidden fire away, but Prometheus stole it and brought it to Earth with him because he felt sorry for Man. But this drew Prometheus into conflict with Zeus, who chained the rebellious Titan to a rock and sent an eagle to eat his liver. As he was immortal, his liver would grow back at night, and each day the bird would peck it out and consume it again. Prometheus was only released when he gave Zeus the information that the sea nymph, Thetis, whom both Zeus and Poseidon were pursing, would give birth to a son mightier than his father. By making sure Thetis married a mortal ruler, the newly victorious gods protected themselves because her son turned out to be the warrior Achilles. Zeus’ anger with mankind was on occasion explained by poor sacrifices. But Prometheus himself was not a straightforward helper either. He gave fire, an essential of civilized life, but other gifts were perhaps less helpful. Out of the flaming forge came weapons of war, plus all the miseries that follow the disruption of a simple way of life. The Unseeing Seer His Exploits Tiresias was the son of a nymph, Chariclo. Scaling Mount Cithaeron one day, he comes across a couple of snakes who are entwined, entangled, embracing. Frightened by the sight, he seperates them and strikes the female with his staff, killing her. The male escapes. That very moment he is A Big Change transformed into a woman. Surprised not to be bothered by the absence of his male member, he nonetheless finds the pair of breasts he has just sprouted rather cumbersome. He doesn’t mind—at last he is going to discover what a woman feels when making love. But now he is the keeper of a great secret. Seven years later, Tiresias comes across another couple of snakes. He kills the male, chases the female away, and at that very moment, he is transformed back into a man! He doesn’t lose any of his memories as a woman. This sparks a furious quarrel between Hera and Zeus over who feels the most pleasure in love—the man or the woman. Zeus insists it’s the woman, despite what Hera says. They call judges, who don’t have a clue! An Argument Breaks Out Someone loses an Eye (or both) So they call Tiresias, who has lived as both man and woman, and he doesn’t hesitate. Furious that woman’s secret had been revealed, Hera strikes him blind! Gift of Prophecy Zeus generously grants Tiresias the power of prophecy to make up for what Hera had done. Tiresias, the male-female prophet, thus becomes the famous blind soothsayer of Thebes. He will show up in quite a few other myths, warning heroes and others of the tragic fates they will face, including Odysseus, Oedipus, and Narcissus! Do you have an Oedipus Complex? What creature goes on four feet in the morning, on two at noonday, and on three in the evening? A HUMAN BEING! We crawl on all fours as babies. Then we walk on two legs as adults. Then we age and require a cane or third leg. King Laius of Thebes was warned by an Oracle that he would die by the hands of his son. To attempt to act in such a way that the prophecy would be made void was as futile as to set oneself against the decrees of fate. In an attempt to escape his fate, Laius took his child, bound its feet together, and left it to die of exposure on a mountain. He felt sure that he had avoided the Oracle’s prophecy. King Laius happily lived without the fear of being killed by his son. Years later, a band of robbers attacked and killed the King and all his attendants. The matter was not investigated thoroughly, as Thebes was having a rough time. A fearful Sphinx had taken residence outside the city. Anyone who wanted to pass had to answer a riddle correctly, under pain of death. No one could get in or out. So matters stood when there came into the country a stranger, whose name was Oedipus. He had left his home, Corinth, where he was held to be the son of the King, Polybus. The reason for his exile was another Delphic oracle. Apollo had declared that he was fated to kill his father! Horrified, Oedipus resolved never to see his father again. Like his REAL father, Oedipus tried to change his fate. In his lonely wanderings he came into the country around Thebes and he heard what was happening there. He was a homeless, friendless man to whom life meant little and he determined to seek the Sphinx out and try to solve the riddle. After answering correctly, Oedipus was welcomed into the city. The grateful citizens made him their King, and he married the dead king’s wife, Jocosta. For some time, Oedipus reigned over Thebes happily with his wife, and their two sons. By the time their sons had grown, however, disaster struck. Disease was rampant, and famine. Oedipus sought to end his people’s suffering. Apollo announced that their suffering would end only when King Laius’ murderer was punished. Oedipus was enormously relieved. He thought it would be easy to find the villain and bring him to justice! They consulted the blind prophet, Teiresias, who at first refused to answer them. Eventually, he caved and told Oedipus that he had murdered Laius. Oedipus banished him from his sight. Obviously, the prophet was lying or crazy. Oedipus returned home to his wife, and told her what Teiresias had said. She laughed, saying it was ridiculous. After all, her husband had been killed on the road by robbers outside of Thebes. Oedipus froze in his tracks. This sounded familiar. He began to ask for details, and the only witness that was left from Laius’ party. At this point, some divine intervention comes in to help convince Oedipus that he is indeed the son of Laius, not Polybus. Their fates? Jocosta, after learning she had married her son and begot her own grandchildren, kills herself in her chamber. Oedipus, finding Jocosta dead, bore out his own eyes, and blocking out any light and succumbing to darkness. Myth of the Day- Antigone In Greek mythology, Antigone is the daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta, Oedipus' mother. The name has been suggested to mean "opposed to motherhood", "in place of a mother". It may also mean "against men" since men were dominant in the Ancient Greek family structure, and Antigone clearly defied masculine authority, or "anti-generative", from the root gonē, "that which generates" Roots Antigone is a daughter of the accidentally incestuous marriage between King Oedipus of Thebes and his mother Jocasta. She is the subject of a popular story in which she attempts to secure a respectable burial for her brother Polynices, even though he was a traitor to Thebes and the law forbids even mourning for him, on pain of death. How the story goes… After her father, the king, dies, her tthree brothers are supposed to share the throne. The elder brother does not want to share and seizes power. The young brother leaves Thebes and gathers an army. The brothers kill each other. The first power-hungry brother receives a proper burial, but the second brother is denied one by the new man in charge Antigone breaks the law in bringing her brother’s body into the city and giving it a traditional burial herself. Metis The first wife of Zeus was Metis, a titaness and the goddess of wisdom and deviousness. According to a prophecy of that time, Zeus would lose his Kingdom by his first descendant, so he decided to swallow Metis when she became pregnant to Athena. Themis Next, Zeus married the willowy Themis, the Titaness of justice, who bore him: the Horae(the Hours) 1st generation- Auxo (the grower); Carpo (the fruit-bringer) and Thallo (the plant-raiser) 2nd generation- Dike (justice) Eirene (peace); Eunomia (order of law) the Moirae (the Fates) Three babies born old, who spin thread. When they cut the thread, a mortal’s life ends. They control Fate, for both mortals and the gods Clotho (the weaver) Lachesis (the lot-caster) Atropos (the inevitable) Others Eyrynome, Oceanid The Graces- goddesses of joy, charm and beauty Demeter, goddess Persephone Leto, Titaness Apollo Artemis Maea, nymph Hermes Mnemosyne, Titaness The Muses- goddesses of the arts Epic Poetry, History, Music/Song, Lyric poetry, Tragedy, Hymns, Dance, Comedy, and Astronomy Hera Hera and Zeus finally married. Together they had four children: Eilithya, the protector of childbirth Ares, the god of war Hebe, the goddess of youth Hephaestus, the god of Metallurgy. Mortals However, Zeus kept being fixated on affairs even after his marriage, cheating on Hera constantly with several mortals, such as Europa, Semele and Alcmene, the mother of Heracles, outraging this way Hera, who was constantly seeking for revenge. Other mortal lovers include: Leda, Alcmene, Semele, Europa, Callisto, Antiope, and Danae Offspring include: Heracles, Perseus, Dionysus, Minos, Helen (of Sparta), Sarpedon, Arcas The Founding of Athens A Long Time Ago… Once, a long, long time ago first king of Athens, King Cecrops (quite an extraordinary king himself as he was part human and part snake) set out to find a patron deity for his city state; already a prosperous and vibrant city. He called on Athena and Poseidon because both in fact desired to be the patron of this beautiful city. Rivalry Their rivalry was so intense that they almost went to war and just as they were about to attack each other, Athena, with her typical, wise approach suggested that they should hold a contest for the city. With King Cecrops the judge they set up the contest and decided that whoever presented the city with the best gift would be rewarded with the city itself as the grand prize. In the midst of a huge crowd, with King Cecrops presiding over the contest they went up to the Acropolis to present their gifts to the city. Poseidon was to go first, and he lifted his massive trident (three pointed spear) and struck the earth with it. At the point where the spear struck, a frothy spring burst out producing a sea which is now called Erekhtheis. The people loved it but as they went closer to taste the water, to their dismay the water was salty. Don’t forget that Poseidon was ruler of the sea and the water sources he controlled were inevitably salty, just like the seas he ruled. The Gifts When it was Athena's turn her The Gifts act was far less dramatic. She quietly knelt and buried something in the ground which in time grew into an olive tree. This turned out to be a much more useful gift, granting the Athenians, not only the olives themselves as sustenance, but also a source of oil for their lamps and for cooking their food as well as the wood from the olive tree to build their boasts and houses. Athens Clearly Athena's gift was deemed by far the better by Cecrops and he declared her Parthenon: Temple of Athena the winner, and the patron deity of Athens. Athena became the protector of the city (polis), many people throughout the Greek world worshiped her as Athena Polias (Ἀθηνᾶ Πολιάς “Athena of the city"). As patron of Athens she fought in the Trojan War on the side of the Achaeans. A Deformity Pays Off Birth In one last fling, Aphrodite hooked up with Dionysus, the god of wine, and becomes pregnant. But Hera, envious of Aphrodite’s beauty, casts a spell on her by touching her belly…and has her deliver a deformed child with a gigantic male member. This is Priapus. A Curse As a handsome teenager, the god seduces all the ladies of Lampsacus, for whom his deformity is anything but off-putting. But the jealous husbands chase him out of town. And they are punished for it: a cruel disease hits them where it hurts—in the very spot of that divine deformity. They all have “the clap”! Health class should have taught you that this is an STI called gonorrhea Faced with this epidemic, the men of the city consult the Oracle, who delivers judgement: BRING PRIAPUS BACK AND YOU WILL ALL BE CURED! He returns to much acclaim, and the poor husbands find themselves obliged to worship the very god who stole their wives, to bow down before him and pay him homage. He is connected to other gods associated with virility, like Adonis, Dionysus, and Hermes. The Remedy