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Notes: Mythology/Percy Jackson
Mythology = the study or collection of myths
Myths usually involve gods, supernatural heroes, and humans
Myths created to help explain things in nature such as day, night, thunder, lightning,
natural disasters/phenomenon, the creation of the world, heaven, hell, birth, death.
Also created to teach people morals, or how to behave. Lessons and warnings.
Myths provide early literature and stories that involve adventure, quests, heroes,
romance, poetry, and magic.
The earliest forms of religion, government, and literature can be found in mythology.
Notes from Percy Jackson:
Percy Jackson is based on Perseus
The three main gods are Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades
A demigod is ½ human and ½ god. They are the children that come from a union
between a human and god.
Some well-known demigods are Achilles, Hercules, and Perseus
The most common/popular mythology is Roman/Greek mythology. The museum exhibit
in the beginning of Percy Jackson was a Roman and Greek exhibit.
Kronus is the father of the three main gods. They gained their power when they killed
him.
Zeus is god of sky/heavens and leader of the gods. Poseidon is god of the seas.
Hades rules the underworld. Aphrodite is goddess of love and beauty. Hermes is the
fastest, known as the messenger of the gods and the god of thieves and commerce.
Athena is goddess of reason, arts and literature, and strategy/intelligence. Hera is
supreme goddess and goddess of marriage and childbirth, Ares is god of war. Demeter
is the goddess of the harvest and the earth. Apollo is the god of truth, light, and music.
He is twin to Artemis, who is the goddess of nature, hunting, the moon, and chastity.
Hephaestus is said to be the only ugly god, he is the god of fire and armor.
Some creatures of Mythology –
Medusa: womanly creature with live snakes for hair. Looking directly into her eyes will
turn you into stone.
Satyr: ½ man, ½ goat, the most famous one is Pan.
Centaur: ½ man, ½ horse
Cyclops: Creature with only one eye in the center of its forehead
Fury: Winged creature representing punishment and conscience
Minotaur: ½ man, 1/ bull
Pegasus: Winged horse
Hydra: Serpent –like water creature/sea monster
Lotus-eaters: Race of people living on an island, main source of food was a narcotic
flower that caused the eater to be peaceful and apathetic (not a care in the world).
Known from the story of Odysseus for slowing down his quest.
Quest – an epic journey by a hero in search of something important and life-changing,
often healing. A quest is a key element in stories of heroism and mythology. The story
of Percy Jackson has him going on a quest to find magic pearls and a lightning bolt in
order to save his mother, and the world.
The anger and dissatisfaction of the Olympian gods often manifests itself as storms and
natural disasters such as earthquakes, hurricanes, tidal waves, volcanic eruptions, etc.
Persephone is the wife of Hades, married against her will. It is said that she gets to
spend part of her time on earth with her friends and family, and the rest of it is spent in
the underworld with Hades. Her emotions during this time cause the seasons. Spring
and summer for her happy times, autumn and winter for her sadness.
Athena and Poseidon hate each other because they were both competing to be the
patron god of the city of Athens (Greece). Athena won.
The name of Athena’s temple is the Parthenon.
The River Styx is the boundary between the earth and the underworld, between the
living and the dead.
It is interesting to note that there are male AND female gods/rulers in Greek and roman
mythology.
We have seen and talked about a few of the gods and goddesses, some of the most
commonly known. However, in Greek and Roman mythology, there are over 400
deities and creatures, and even more myths associated with them.