Download Mythology Notes Continued

Mythology Notes Continued
IV. The Belief System of Ancient Greece
In Greek mythology gods “did not create the universe…the universe created gods”
(Hamilton 24)
In the beginning…there was only Chaos (empty)
From Chaos emerged…
Gaea: Mother earth married Ouranos: Father Heaven
They had three sons
One Titan, Cronus, rebelled against Ouranos as a result of Ouranos’s treatment of
some of his children.
For some time, Cronus (Saturn) and his wife/sister Rhea ruled the universe until
their son, Zeus, overthrew his father and conquered the Titans, becoming supreme
rules of the universe.
The 12 Great gods who succeeded the Titans, who lived on Mt. Olympus, which
could have either been the physical mountain in Thessaly or a mountain in a
mysterious region above the Earth.
Olympus was NOT HEAVEN.
The 12 Olympians
Zeus (Jupiter) - The God of the Sky, thunder, and justice (King of Gods and ruler of
Mt. Olympus
Poseidon (Neptune) - Brother of Zeus -God of the sea
Hades (Pluto) – God of the Underworld – Zeus and Poseidon’s brother
Hestia (Vesta) - Goddess of Home and Hearth (fire pit where they cooked food)
Hera (Juno) Zeus sister and wife – Goddess of marriage – she is extremely beautiful
Ares (Mars) - God of War
Athena (Minerva) – Goddess of wisdom, arts, war and peach – Zeus favorite
daughter
Apollo (Apollo) - God of archery, poetry, music, medicine, and prophecy
Aphrodite (Venus) – Goddess of Love and Beauty
Hermes (Mercury) – Messenger god, god of commerce speed, and trade
Artemis (Diana) – Goddess of the Wild Things, the moon, and crossways
Hephaestus (Vulcan) – God of fire an the forges – Blacksmith to the gods
Death in Ancient Greece
According to the Greeks, all departed souls went to the Underworld
Two Main Divisions of the Underworld
Erebus – where the dead pass when they die
Tartarus – the main division
The dead are ferried across the point where the River Acheron (river of woe) –
needed to pay a fee
Cerberus – three headed do who permits all the dead to enter, but not to exit
The Underworld is ruled by the god Hades an his queen Persephone