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Myths
MYTHOLOGY
The study of myths
Myth
Is a traditional story
 usually of unknown authorship
 Not supposed to be silly or superstitiousgives insight into nature of the world
 Are always in some sense religious
 Represent deepest wishes and fears of
human beings

More Myth
Helped ancient people understand the
mysterious & sometimes frightening forces
of the universe
 Originated around Mediterranean Sea
(tribes & traders)
 2 B.C.E. Romans conquered Greeks &
adopted Greek myths / added new

6 purposes of myths



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Explain the creation
of the world
Explain natural
phenomena (rain,
snow, ect.)
Teach a moral lesson
Explain history

Express, as dreams
do, the deepest
fears and hopes of
the human race

Give story form to
ancient religious
practices
Myths about the sky, stars, and
constellations

People around the
world have
associated the
heavens, the stars,
and the patterns they
make in the sky with
their gods and
goddesses
Greek Gods & Goddess
The Olympians: 12 immortals that lived in
Mount Olympus.
 Ares (Mars): god of war
 Aphrodite (Venus): goddess of love,
beauty, and fertility
 Apollo: prophesy, music, and healing /
brother to Artemis / child of Zeus & Leto

More
Hermes (Mercury): Messenger of the gods, god
of commerce, thieves, travelers, sports, and
border crossings
 Poseidon (Neptune): god of sea, earthquakes,
& horses / brother to Zeus & Hades / creator of
all water (salt& fresh)
 Zeus (Jupiter): supreme god / ruler & creator of
the sky
 Hades (Pluto): god of the dead / ruler of the
underworld / brother of Zeus & Poseidon

Example
 Narcissus
pg. 828
Egyptian Gods & Goddess
Amun: King of Gods / Amun-Ra (sun god)
 Anubis: jackal head / god of embalming &
the dead
 Hapy: brought floods
 Horus: head of a hawk / ruler of the world
of the living

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Osiris: god of the dead & ruler of the
underworld / god of resurrection & fertility
 Seth: god of chaos
 Sobek: crocodile head / god of Nile
 Thoth: god of writing & knowledge /
hieroglyphics

Assyrian/Babylonian
Anu: king of the
gods
 Sin: moon god
 Shamash: sun god
 Zaltu: strife
 Ashur: god of
Assyria & war

Irra: plague god
 Nabu: god of
writing & wisdom
 Ea: god of the
waters
 Namtar(a): the
fate-cutter
 Adad: a storm god

Celtic Gods & Goddess

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ANGUS MAC OG:
god of youth, love,
and beauty.
ARAWN: god of the
dead and the
underworld
DYLAN: God of the
Sea

DWYVAN: flood myth.
Together they built an
ark, filled it with
animals, and survived
the great flood
caused by Addanc, a
lake God/dragon/fairy
Japanese
Amatsu Mikaboshi: god of evil
 Amida: god of death
 Benten: goddess of love
 Bimbogami: god of poverty
 Dosojin: god of roads
 Ekibiogami: God of plagues & epidemics
 Wata-tsu-mi: god of the sea

Examples of Asian
 Waters
of Gold pg.812
 Pumpkin Seed & the Snake
pg. 861
Norse / Viking
Odin: Father of all the Gods and men
 Thor: protector of all Midgard / wields A
mighty hammer [Thursday]
 Frigga: Odin's wife / Mother of all &
protectoress of children. [Friday]
 Hel: goddess of the dead & the afterlife
 Forseti: god of Law & Justice

More Viking
Nerthus: Goddess of the Sea & Rivers.
 Heimdall: gold-toothed guardian of Bifrost
(rainbow bridge leading to Asgard, the
home of the Gods)
 Rainbow: connection between the body &
soul
 Tyr: god of War & Lawgiver of the gods

Example
 How
Odin Lost His Eye pg. 858
Sumerians

The Sumerians thought that a great
domed roof contained the sky, the stars,
the moon, and the sun which lighted the
cities beneath it; they also believed that
below the earth swirled the dim
netherworld, a fearsome abode of demons
and the kingdom of the dead.
Sumerian
An: God of the Heavens
 Ki: Goddess of the Earth
 Enlil: God of Air & Storms / supreme ruler
 Utu: sun god
 Enki: Lord of Water & Wisdom
 Inanna: Goddess of Love & War
 Ereshkigal: Goddess of Darkness, Gloom,
& Death

Phoenician
 Anath:
goddess of Love & War
 Baal: Ruler of the Universe
 Eshmun: God of Healing
 Melqart: King of the Underworld
 Mot: God of Death
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 Shahar:
God of Dawn
 Shalim: God of Dusk
 Shapash: Sun Goddess
 Yamm: God of the Sea
 Yarikh: Moon God