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Introduction To Greek
Mythology
Arbor Hills GATE/English
 Greek
history can
be traced
back over
40,000 years
 Land that is
now called
Greece and
Turkey
 At the time
of the myths,
the area was
divided into
many small
states
–States are in all
Caps, cities are in
normal print
What is a Myth?
 A story which is the product of imagination
 Myths were more than just folk tales to the
Ancient Greeks—it was more like a religion
– Closely related to the religious beliefs.
 About supernatural events and gods
 Combines a religious purpose with an
explanatory purpose
– For example a mythmaker tries to interpret
nature through personification (gods and
mortals) through it
What is a Myth?
 Myths were attempts to explain things that
would nowadays be explained scientifically.
 Ancient people had no scientific knowledge
so they used their imagination to fill in the
gaps.
 Explained natural phenomena that could not
be explained otherwise
 Like the daily motion of the sun across the sky
 Explained how people acquired basic things
 (Speech, fire, grain, wine, oil, honey, agriculture,
metal work, and other skills and arts)
Purpose of Greek Myths
 To explain human emotions
 To answer questions people asked about
the world around them and the natural
events that occurred in it
 To teach morals by justifying their social
system and its customs
Forms of Greek Myths
 Motif of the quest
– Jason and the Golden
Fleece
– The Odyssey
 Stories of heroes
– Heracles
– Theseus
 Stories of wars
– Trojan War
 Stories of the
creation of the
world
 Explanations for
natural
phenomena
Combining Gods and Myths
 Myths evolved over many centuries
– During times of war and invasions in Ancient Greece
 Conquerors and settlers brought their own gods
with them
– Took over or merged with similar deity (god) figures that
already existed in Greece
 Most notably Rome
– Different versions of stories about gods
 Conflicting stories of parents, birth place, etc.
 Probably changed less once the myths were
written down
Strange Behavior
 The gods did many strange things in the myths
– Greeks accepted this because the gods were
supernatural beings
– Ordinary people would not have been allowed to do
these strange things
 Examples
– Gods often married very close members of their family
such as siblings or parents
– Grew up instantly
– Able to do miraculous things right away
Religion
 The stories told in the Greek myths formed
part of the religion of Ancient Greece.
– The myths illustrated the nature of the gods
– The myths taught was pleased or angered the
gods
 Teaching morals, values
 The myths did not set out religious rules or
ideals like the Bible or the Koran
What the Gods Were Like
 The Greeks thought of their gods as being
like themselves
– Human shaped
– Got married and had children
– Made friends and enemies
– Had human-like faults
 Jealousy, bad temper, bad behaviors
Religion and Everyday Life
 Religion was a part of everyday life
 Greeks often said a quick prayer to the
particular god before doing something
– In hopes of it bringing success
 Each god was responsible for some aspect
of life
 People worshiped the gods they found
relevant
– Pan was the god of shepherds, for example.
Temples
 Many magnificent temples
were built to the gods.
 Priests or priestesses
looked after the temples
and carried out religious
ceremonies.
 People had shrines in their
homes.
– Daily prayers and private
ceremonies
 Remains of the temple of
Poseidon, the god of the
Ocean, at Cape Sounion.
Festivals and Drama
 The Greeks had
special feast days for
the gods
– Processions and
sacrifices
– Plays were performed
telling the gods’ lives.
 Greek Comic Actor
 Much of what we now
know about Greek
myths comes from
these plays.
The Creation Myth
 The Ancient Greek religion tried to explain
how the world began.
– Again, not based on science but rather based
on imagination
 It all started from Chaos
– Before anything existed, there was a dark
nothingness call Chaos
– Gradually the shape of Mother Earth, Gaea,
emerged from the emptiness and formed the
world.
Mother Earth’s Children
 Gaea (Mother Earth) produced a son,
Uranus, who was the sky
– They had children together
 Rain fell from the sky onto Earth
– Making plants grow and animals appeared from
the rivers and the seas
Mother Earth’s Children
 Many strangely-shaped monsters and giants
were born
– Including the three one-eyed Cyclopes
 Uranus treated them cruelly and banished them to the
Underworld
 Human-shaped giants called Titans were
born who became the first gods and
goddesses.
The Revolt of the Titans
 Gaea, (Mother Earth) could not forgive
Uranus for his treatment of her first children
(cyclops) and encouraged the Titans, led by
Cronos, to rebel.
– Cronos attacked and overcame Uranus with a
sickle and took power.
The Birth of Zeus
 Cronos married his sister, Rhea, and became King
of the Titans.
 They had five children
– Cronos had been warned that one of them would kill him
– He swallowed each one as it was born
 To save her sixth child, Rhea tricked Cronos into
swallowing a stone wrapped in baby’s clothes and
hid the real child among some lesser goddesses
called nymphs.
– This child was Zeus and was raised safely by the
nymphs.
Zeus’s Revenge
 When he grew up, Zeus returned home in
disguise
 Slipped a potion into Cronos’s drink
– Made him choke
 The children Cronos had swallowed were
coughed out, whole and safe
– Daughters—Hestia, Demeter, and Hera
– Sons—Hades and Poseidon
Zeus’s Revenge
 A fierce battle took
place
 Zeus freed the
Cyclopes
– Made thunderbolts for
Zeus to hurl
– Made a forked trident
for Poseidon
– Made a helmet that
made its wearer
invisible for Hades
Zeus’s Revenge
 Most of the Titans and giants sided with Cronos
– Remember the giants and Titans (the first gods and
goddesses) were children of Mother Earth and
Uranus—Brothers/Sisters of Cronos
 After a terrible struggle, the children of Cronos (the
New Gods) were victorious.
 The Titans were banished
– One of them, Atlas, was made to hold
up the heavens as punishment
What the World Was Like
 The victorious gods divided the world
amongst themselves by drawing lots
– Zeus became ruler of the sky and king of all the
gods.
– Poseidon was made king of the Ocean
– Hades was made god of the Underworld.
Olympus
 The home of the gods was the peak of Mount Olympus
 There was a real mountain in the north of Greece called
Mount Olympus
– Seemed very high and remote to most Ancient Greeks
 Seemed a likely place for the gods to live
– Gradually, Olympus was associated less with the actual
mountain and became more an imaginary place high
above the Earth.
 Zeus married his sister, Hera, and they ruled as king and
queen.
 No-one but the gods could visit Olympus, except by special
invitation.
The Underworld
 Ruled by Zeus’s brother, Hades
 Everyone went there when they died
 Three parts
– Asphodel Fields
 Ordinary people wandered here as “shades” where they were
shadowy versions of their earthly selves
– Tartarus
 Place of punishment for really evil people
– Elysian Fields
 Exceptionally good or heroic people
 Golden, blissful place of rest
The Underworld
 You could be sent back to Earth to live another
life, but if you earned a place in the Elysian Fields
three times, you were allowed to go to the Isles of
the Blessed, and never had to leave.
 The Styx
– The Styx was the name of the river you had to cross to
enter the Underworld.
– You had to pay the boatman, Charon, one obol (Ancient
Greek coin) to ferry you across
 People were buried with a coin so they could pay Charon
Ocean
 Poseidon’s Kingdom
– Controlled the winds and waves
– Important to sailors
 Made sacrifices to appease Poseidon
– Poseidon was powerful, but had to obey Zeus
Earth
 Where humans lived
 Many weird and dangerous creatures lived there
too
– Greek heroes had to fight these monsters
 Gods frequently visited the Earth
– Sometimes made friends with humans
– Came in disguise, rewarding or punishing people
according to how they treated the gods
– Sometimes they fell in love with humans and had
children with them
 Heroes of the Greek myths were born in this way—half human,
half god (demi-god)
Family Tree
 http://ludios.org/greekgods/
Why Should We Study Greek
Mythology?
 Ancient Greek culture has been kept alive
by the oral and later written stories handed
down through thousands of years.
 Modern plays, novels, television programs,
movies, and even advertisements refer to
Greek gods, goddesses, and heroes in their
stories.