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GREEK MYTHOLOGY
JOHN SMITH, POCAHONTAS, AND KAL-EL
PER. 3, CAREY
ENGLISH 2CP
OCTOBER 11, 2016
ANCIENT GREEK CULTURE
• In Greece, especially in Athens, they cradled the idea of Democracy.
• In 594 BC, an outstanding statesman named Solon was elected the first
Archon of Greece.
• The people in Greece were experienced in science and mathematics,
which had a huge influence in medicine, even today.
• They had a religious belief of several Gods. Their names were Aphrodite,
Athena, Apollo, Ares, Artemis, Demeter, Dionysus, Hades, Hephaestus, Hera,
Hermes, Hestia, Poseidon, and Zeus, the leader of the Gods
“CREATION STORY”
• In the beginning there was only chaos. Then out of the void appeared Erebus,
the unknowable place where death dwells. Then, Love was born bringing along
the beginning of order. From Love emerged Light, followed by Gaea, the earth.
• Erebus slept with Night, eventually giving birth to Ether, the heavenly light, and
to Day, the earthly light. Then, Night alone created Doom, Fate, Death, Sleep,
Dreams, Nemesis, and all things that dwell in the darkness.
• Meanwhile, Gaea alone gave birth to Uranus, the sky. Uranus became Gaea's
husband, surrounding her on all sides. Together, they produced the three
Cyclopes, three Hecatoncheires, and twelve Titans.
“CREATION STORY”
• However, Uranus was a cruel father and husband. He hated the Hecatoncheires and
imprisoned them by pushing them into the hidden places of the earth, Gaea's womb. This
angered Gaea and she plotted against Uranus. She made a flint sickle and tried to get her
children to attack Uranus. All were too afraid, except the youngest Titan, Cronus.
• Gaea and Cronus set up an ambush of Uranus as he lay with Gaea at night. Cronus
grabbed his father and castrated him with the sickle, throwing the severed genitals into
the ocean. It is unclear as to what happened to Uranus afterwards; he either died,
withdrew from the earth, or exiled himself to Italy. As he departed, he promised that
Cronus and the Titans would be punished. From the blood that was spilled on the earth
due to his castration, emerged the Giants, the Ash Tree Nymphs, and the Erinnyes. From
the sea foam that was produced when his genitals fell in the ocean, emerged Aphrodite.
“CREATION STORY”
• Cronus became the next ruler. He imprisoned the Cyclopes and the Hecatoncheires in Tartarus.
He married his sister Rhea, and had many children. He ruled for many ages; however, Gaea and
Uranus both had prophesied that Cronus would be eventually overthrown by a son. To avoid
this, Cronus swallowed all of his children as they were born. Rhea was angry at the treatment of
the children and plotted against Cronus. When it was time to give birth to her sixth child, Rhea
hid herself, then she left the child to be raised by nymphs. To conceal her act she wrapped a
stone in swaddling cloths and passed it off as the baby to Cronus, who swallowed it.
• This child was Zeus. He grew into a handsome youth at the island of Crete. He consulted Metis
on how to defeat Cronus. She prepared a drink for Cronus designed to make him vomit the
other children. Rhea convinced Cronus to accept his son and Zeus was allowed to return to
Mount Olympus as Cronus's cupbearer, giving him the opportunity to serve Metis' potion to
Cronus. The plan work perfectly and the other five children emerged out of Cronus. As gods,
they were unharmed and thankful to their youngest brother, they made him their leader.
“CREATION STORY”
• Cronus was yet to be defeated though. He and the Titans, except Prometheus, Epimetheus, and
Oceanus, fought to retain their power; this led to the War between the Titans and the Olympians
called Titanomachy. Atlas became their leader in battle and it looked for some time as though
they would win and put the young gods down. However, Zeus was cunning; he went to Tartarus
and freed the Cyclopes and the Hecatoncheires. Prometheus joined Zeus as well. He returned
to battle; the Cyclopes provided Zeus with lightning bolts for weapons; the Hecatoncheires
were armed with boulders, waiting in an ambush. At the right time, Zeus retreated drawing the
Titans into the Hecatoncheires's ambush, who rained down hundreds of boulders with such a
fury that the Titans thought the mountains were falling on them. They ran away, leaving Zeus
victorious.
• Zeus exiled the Titans who had fought against him into Tartarus, with the exception of Atlas, who
being the leader of the opposing force, was punished to hold the universe on his shoulders.
“CREATION STORY”
• However, even after this victory, Zeus was not safe. Gaea, angry that her children
had been imprisoned, gave birth to her last child, Typhon. Typhon was the
deadliest monster in Greek mythology and was known as the "Father of All
Monsters". He was so fearsome that most of the gods fled; however, Zeus faced
the monster and flinging his lighting bolts was able to kill it. Typhon was buried
under Mount Etna in Sicily.
• Much later, Zeus faced a final challenge set by the Giants. They went so far as to
attempt to invade Mount Olympus, piling mountain upon mountain in an effort to
reach the top. Nevertheless, the gods had already grown strong, and with the
help of Heracles, the Giants were subdued and killed.
GODS AND THEIR DEITIES
• Zeus- God of Heavens and leader of all.
• Athena- Goddess of war.
• Apollo- God of light, healing, music, poetry, plague, and prophecy.
• Ares- God of war and bloodshed.
• Demeter- Goddess of farming, the harvest and fertility.
ZEUS
• Zeus was the god of the sky and ruler of the Olympian gods. He overthrew his
father, Cronus, and then drew lots with his brothers Poseidon and Hades, in
order to decide who would succeed their father on the throne.
• He was married to Hera, but often tested her patience, as he was infamous for
his many affairs.
• Using his shield, the Aegis, Zeus could create all natural phenomena related to
the air and the sky, such as storms, tempests, and intense darkness. At his
command, mighty thunders would flash and lightnings would roll, wreaking
havoc; or the skies would open to rejuvenate the earth with life-giving water.
• Zeus’s other names were Jupiter or Dias.
APOLLO
• Apollo was the son of Zeus and Leto, twin brother of Artemis. He was the god
of music, and he is often depicted playing a golden lyre.
• Apollo’s most important daily rolls was to ride his 4-horse chariot in order to
move the sun across the sky.
• Apollo was also considered as the god of healing and medicine, either
through himself or through his son Asclepius. At the same time, he could
also bring forth disease and plague with his arrows.
• Apollo is also known by the names Phoebus and Apollon.
ATHENA
• Athena was the Greek virgin goddess of reason, intelligent activity, arts and
literature. She was the daughter of Zeus. Her birth is unique in that she did not
have a mother. Instead, she sprang full grown and clad in armor from Zeus‘s
forehead.
• She was fierce and brave in battle. However, she only took part in wars that
defended the state and home from outside enemies.
• She became the patron goddess of Athens after winning a contest against
Poseidon by offering the olive tree to the Athenians.
• Athena’s other known names are Minerva, Athina, and Athene.
HERA
• Hera was married to Zeus and was tested many times by Zeus’s affairs.
• Hera was Zeus' wife and sister, and was raised by the Titans Oceanus and Tethys.
• She was the supreme goddess, patron of marriage and childbirth.
• Zeus initially courted Hera, but after many unsuccessful attempts, he resorted to
trickery. He took the form of an abandoned cuckoo. Hera, feeling sorry for the
bird, held it to her breast to keep it warm.
• After this, Hera was suddenly raped by Zeus. She then married him to hide her
shame and they fought a lot.
• Hera’s other name is Juno.
WORK CITED
History.com Staff. "Greek Mythology." History.com. A&E Television Networks,
2009. Web. 22 Sept. 2016.