Download Alqahtani 1 Greek Mythology Student: Abdullah Alqahtani Professor

Alqahtani 1
Greek Mythology
Student: Abdullah Alqahtani
Professor: Dudley
Date: 12/5/2016
Alqahtani 2
Student: Abdullah Alqahtani
Professor: Dudley
Foundations of the Western World
Date: 12/5/2016
Greek Mythology
In the whole of Western culture, the most fertile and rich collection of stories is found in
Greek mythology. This is if the Bible is excluded. These stories are diverse; however, they try to
share a similar outlook on life (Slater, 2014). The Greeks believed in living life to the fullest
since they cherished it. Death was a fact that was inevitable to them. There were small groups
that believed in the idea of resurrection, such as mystery cults. It was dismal to homer death. Life
in its way was glorious, thrilling, and dangerous in certain ways. Perishing of an ordinary person
was believed to be accompanied by that of the mightiest heroes and the great royal dynasties.
However, this idea of death did not make the Greeks be sad because it contained the Babylonian
scribes that were written of Gilgamesh. The response of Greeks was enthusiasm. According to
them, the only answer to death was to make carve of the legend that is imperishable by
magnificent deeds. Throughout the five centuries, that is, from Homer to Alexander the Great,
the Greets directed much of their effort and attention on pursuing fame. The astonishing energy
was used to pursue fame. They were a unique race since they were imaginative, hard-living,
ambitious, restless, and tough. They were very touchy about their honor due to the lust for their
reputation. Most of them were vengeful and feisty. All of these traits in abundance are very clear
in their stories.
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The Greek qualities are mirrored faithfully in the Olympian Gods. Some of these qualities
are fornicating, banqueting, unforgiving deities who liked warring, and quarrelsome. They were
shown in the form of humans with powerful and beautiful bodies. They were very pleasing to the
eye and also humanly intelligible. These people had a strong admiration for intelligence, beauty,
and strength. The man was the measure of all things according to them (Dowden, 2014).
There are a few mythologies that have managed to produce a similar wealth of heroes.
This was because the Greeks had a very strong urge for fame. Their heroes had desirable
characters. They were fighters and adventurers. They were also bold, clever, strong, fierce, and
experienced. The accomplishments of these heroes were far beyond that of ordinary humans.
Irrespective of being perfect, there were some failings. Some of them were ruined by the failings.
Some of these failings are cruelty (that emerged from their success), over-ambitious,
overweening pride, and rashness among others. Ambition was very intense in the Greek heroes.
There those who aspired godlike powers. All these were a model of human excellence because
they gave the youths in the society standards to imitate.
This same ambivalence is evident in the legend of the tragic dynasty. The royal families
of Athens, Thebes, Mycenae, Crete turned out to be badly affected by their faults, which made
them become vulnerable to disasters. The fault that these families had were sexual conflict,
stubbornness when it comes to pursuing some goal, ruthlessness in getting revenge, and pride of
power. The Greeks are the race that has clearly gotten that character is destiny. Also, they also
came to understand that same source of crime can produce achievement.
Looking at the tale of Trojan War, two elements that are blended are the tragic and heroic
element. Out of Greek culture, this turns out to be the finest legend. The main heroes or
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characters in this story were doomed to death that was violent and premature. These were Hector
and Achilles. What emerged from their defiance of fate as well as a code of honor was a measure
of grandeur. In the war, there was no winner since most of their survivors also suffered so much
(Graf, 1996).
Add in how these served as warnings to humans.
The Greek Gods
The Titans
Titans among other beings were produced by Gaea (the earth) as well as Uranus (the heavens).
Uranus was the son of Gaea. Titans were the old gods. They were later replaced by Olympian
gods. The mother of Titans, Gaea was a Neolithic earth-mother. She was forced into the
background during the second millennial B.C. by the patriarchal gods of the Indo-Europeans
(Schedlitzki, Jarvis, & MacInnes, 2014). These patriarchal gods of the Indo-Europeans invaded
Greece during the time. However, the worship of Gaea went on even during classical age.
There was also Cronus who was the chief Titan. Cronus got his power as a result of
castrating his father. The father was Uranus. Cronus married his sister called Rhea. The union of
the two produced the Olympian gods. Cronus Swallowed the Olympian gods at birth to prevent
them from taking the throne. Cronus and the other Titans were later on defeated by Zeus (the son
of Chronus). They were sent to the underworld after the defeat. Saturn is the Latin name for
Chronus.
Rhea was the wife of Chronus. Seeing Chronus swallowing their children, she hid Zeus
and gave Chronus a stone to swallow instead. Another Titan was the Oceanus. “Oceanus was the
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unending stream that encircled the world, a Titan, who with his wife Tethys produced the rivers
and the three thousand ocean nymphs" (Siempos, Ntaidou, & Samonis, 2014, p. 1337)
Other Titans were:
-
Hyperion (Titan of light) – the father of the dawn, the moon, and light
-
Mnemosyne – the Titaness of memory
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Themis – the Titaness of order and justice
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Lapetus – was the father of Atlas, Epimetheus, and Prometheus
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Furies – looked after and punished sinners
-
Giants – produced by the blood of Uranus during the time that he was mutilated by
Cronus
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Hecatoncheires – were monsters produced by Uranus and Gaea
-
Cyclopes – were children of Uranus and Gaea. They were monsters with one eye. They
represented thunderbolt, lightning, and thunder.
-
Eros – was the child of Chaos together with Gaea.
The Olympians
As per the Greeks, he was the supreme god. The Greeks depicted him as a mature and robust
man having flowing beards. Zeus at the beginning was a storm-god who produced thunderbolt.
Later on, he became all-father that populated the earth and heavens. He managed to populate
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both places through his promiscuous liaisons. Eventually, he ended becoming the grand dispense
of justice. Mount Olympus was where the palace of Zeus was found.
Another Olympian god was Hera, who was the sister and wife of Zeus. She was the
protector of childbirth and marriage. Stories say that she was cruel to those fell in love with
Zeus. Jono is her Latin name.
Poseidon was another Olympian god. He was the brother of Zeus, god of horses and lord
of the sea. He was always in the company of monsters of the deep and sea nymphs. Poseidon was
a moody and wrathful god. The Latin name for this god is Neptune.
Demeter was a goddess of fertility and vegetation. She was the sister of Zeus. The earth
becomes fruitful when the daughter of Demeter returns every sixth month of a year. The earth
became barren when she grieved.
The other Olympian gods were:
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Apollo – was son of Zeus and god of the art, healing, intelligence, and light
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Artemis – daughter of Zeus and twin sister of Apollo. She was the goddess of chastity.
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Aphrodite – was the goddess of beauty and love. She was a representation of the power
of attraction, affection, and sex, which blind people.
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Athena – she was the goddess of wisdom
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Hestia – was the goddess of peace, the family, and hearth
-
Ares – was the son of Hera and Zeus and the bullying god of war.
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The lessor Gods
There were other gods. Below are some of these gods:
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Hebe – act as the cup-bearer to the gods. Was also the god of youths. Hebe the daughter
of Hera and Zeus.
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Iris – the messenger of gods and also the goddess of rainbow
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The nine Muses – these were Polyhymnia, Euterpe, Erato, Thalia, Calliope, Terpsichore,
Melpomene, Urania, and Clio. They were the goddesses of inspiration.
-
Persephone – was the goddess of Springtime
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Dionysus – the god of vine and fertility. Also inspired men with joy and liberated their
emotions.
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Pan – was the god of flocks. He was the son of Hermes
-
Centaurs – was half man and half horse. Turned out to be the savage beast.
Greek Heroes
There were a number of Greek heroes according to Greek mythology. The first hero was
Achilles. He was the most fearful and strongest warrior in the war of Greeks against Trojans. He
was invulnerable everywhere apart from the heels since he was dipped in river Styx by his
mother while he was an infant. His heels were not invulnerable since that is where he was held
with while being dipped in river Styx. In the Trojan War, he was the greatest hero for a period of
ten years until the time that he was injured on the heels by the son of Trojan King called Paris.
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Currently, the tendon that links heel bone and muscles of a calf is termed as the Achilles' tendon.
The second hero is Hercules (Herakles). Among all the Greek heroes, he was the most loves.
Hercules was powerful and brave. He was the son of Alcmene and Zeus. Alcmene was the
daughter of Perseus. Hercules grew and became a famed warrior. The jealous wife of Zeus made
Hercules become insane. She also went ahead to kill the wife and children of Hercules. Hercules
was forced to carry out impossible labors as punishment. The punishments, later on, became the
subject of many works of drama and art.
Another Greek hero was Jason. He was the leader of fifty heroes who sailed searching for
the Golden Fleece. These heroes were called Argonauts. The kingdom that was to be held by
Jason was stolen by his uncle who promised to return the throne to him only if Jason brought the
Golden Fleece. The Golden Fleece was wool from the magical winged ram. On their journey,
they met a number of dangers, such as the deadly Sirens. They were successful at the end of their
journey since they succeeded in capturing the fleece through the help of a sorceress called
Madea. Later on, Madea became the wife of Jason.
Odysseus was another Greek hero. He was a celebrated warrior and king of Ithaca. He
helped the Greeks achieve victory during the Trojan War. He went through a journey that took
him ten years so as to return to his wife Penelope and his home Ithaca. He together with his men
encountered man-monsters along the way, but his cleverness and courage helped them. Some of
the monsters they encountered were Scylla and Charybdis, the Sirens, and Cyclops Polyphemus.
At home, he managed to prove his identity to Penelope and ruled his homeland once again.
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There is also the Persues, who was the son of Danae and Zeus. As a warrior, he managed to
complete dangerous accomplishments with his talent and quick thinking. His most famous
achievement was killing of the Gorgon Medusa. No ___ was able to look directly at Medusa
since he or she would turn into stone. Persues was able to kill Medusa by looking at her
reflection in the mirror (Schedlitzki et al., 2014). He took the head of Gorgon Medusa in his
satchel after beheading her. Also, he managed to save princess Andromeda from sea monster that
wanted to eat her. He succeeded in turning Medusa to stone after pulling her head.
The final hero is the Theseus. He was known for his many victories against the monsters.
The monster that is well known is the Mimotaur. Mimotaur resided on the Island of Crete in a
labyrinth. The people of Athens were forced to take fourteen people to Mimotaur each and every
year so as to eaten alive (Slater, 2014). Theseus managed to get his way into the labyrinth where
he killed the monster. This was possible through a ball of magic thread that he received from
princess Ariadne. Theseus is believed to be either the son of Poseidon (the god of the sea) or
Aegeus (the god of Athens).
Greek Creatures
Below are the Greeks creatures:

Cyclopes – were one-eyed monster that were gigantic. They were three in number
representing lightning bolt, lightning, and thunder. They were given the names Arges,
Stropes, and Brontes. They were off spring of Uranus and Gaea.

Hecatoncheires – these were creatures with 100 hands each possessing so much strength as
well as 5 heads.
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
Giants – were produced from the blood of Uranus. They got power and tried to remove Zeus
and the Olympians from their seat. They lost and were imprisoned.

Ash Tree Nymphs – these were also produced from the blood of Uranus during the castration
(Dowden, 2014).

Typhoeus – this was a fire-breathing dragon that had a total of one hundred heads. This
creature never rested. It was produced by Gaea as an effort to prevent Olympians from
getting to her children, the Titans.

Cerberus - it guards the entrance to the underworld. It was a dog that had dragon trail and
three heads. It allowed those who died to enter, but not to leave. The last labor of Hercules
was fetching Cerberus.

Sirens – these were sisters who used songs of the Sirens to lure sailors to their death. The
songs of the Sirens were irresistible (Graf, 1996). They were found beyond reefs that were
impassable. When sailors try to reach the Sirens, there boats are destroyed by the reefs.
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Work cited
Dowden, K. (2014). Death and the Maiden (Routledge Revivals): Girls' Initiation Rites in Greek
Mythology. London, UK: Routledge.
Graf, F. (1996). Greek mythology: An introduction. Baltimore, MA: JHU Press.
Schedlitzki, D., Jarvis, C., & MacInnes, J. (2014). Leadership development: A place for
storytelling and Greek mythology?. Management Learning, 1350507614560303.
Siempos, I. I., Ntaidou, T. K., & Samonis, G. (2014). The Art of Providing Resuscitation in
Greek Mythology. Anesthesia & Analgesia, 119(6), 1336-1341.
Slater, P. E. (2014). The Glory of Hera: Greek Mythology and the Greek family. Princeton, NJ:
Princeton University Press.