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MYTHOLOGY English 10 What is Greek Mythology? • The people of ancient Greece shared stories called myths about the gods, goddesses, and heroes in which they believed. • Each god or goddess was worshipped as a deity and ruled over certain areas of the Greeks’ lives • These exciting stories explained natural phenomena that could not be explained by science in the ancient world. • The Ancient Greek culture has been kept alive Study byWhy the oralShould and, later,We written storiesGreek handed down through thousands of years. Mythology? • Modern plays, novels, television programs, movies and even advertisements refer to Greek gods, goddesses, heroes and their stories. The Unique Greeks • The Greeks were distinctly different from all previous civilizations because they were the first to create gods in their own image. • Unlike religious gods today, the Greek gods looked and acted human. • They married, loved, and quarreled; they had love affairs (and children) with both gods and mortals; they also loved games, challenges and trickery • But the gods were immortal and would never die because ichor, not blood, ran through their veins. The Beginning… • At first, there was only darkness….or Chaos. • Then…Gaea, the Earth, grew out of Chaos. The Beginning… • Gaea gave birth to Uranus, the sky. • When rain fell on Gaea, plants, animals and rivers were created. • Gaea became Mother Earth, mother of all living things and mother of the first gods. The Titans • Gaea and Uranus gave birth to 12 Titans, all powerful giants – 6 boys and 6 girls. • Cronus, Rhea (parents or grandparents of 12 Olympians), Oceanus (river that surrounded the world), Tethys, Hyperion, Mnemosyne, Themis, Iapetus, Coeus, Crius, Phoeba, Thea The Beginning… • Gaea also gave birth to more children – three huge one-eyed giants called Cyclopes • And three Hecatoncheires – each of these monsters had 50 heads and 100 arms. • Uranus hated these ugly children and threw them away into the Underworld. • This greatly angered Gaea and she convinced Cronus, one of the Titans to overthrow Uranus (by castrating him). • Cronus succeeded in overthrowing Uranus and became the new Lord of the Universe and married Rhea (his sister). • But Cronus worried that one of his sons would overthrow him just as he had overthrown his own father…so he swallowed each child as it was born. The Birth of Zeus • Cronus’ actions obviously angered Rhea. • So she hid the youngest child, Zeus, and tricked Cronus with a rock wrapped in a blanket. When Zeus grew up… • He overthrew Cronus and freed his brothers and sisters, Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades and Poseidon by slipping his father a drink which made him disgorge his siblings (who were unharmed because they were gods). • Then TOGETHER they fought the Titans. The war between the old gods and the new gods lasted 10 years… • But finally Cronus and the Titans were defeated and locked in a pit of Tartarus (underworld/prison). • When Mother Earth was finally peaceful, the rule of the Universe was divided between the three brothers: Zeus became the King of Gods and God of Heaven and Earth Poseidon became the God of the Sea Hades became God of the Underworld The Great Olympians • The Cyclops built a palace on Mt. Olympus (tallest mountain in Greece) for Zeus with 12 thrones; one for each of Zeus’ brothers, sisters, his children and Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love. • The 12 great Olympians ruled from the top of Mt. Olympus forever after. • There, they ate ambrosia, a magical food, and drank nectar, a magical drink. Zeus – Leader of the Olympian Gods • Roman name: Jupiter • He ruled the Olympians. • He was the god of the sky, lightning, and thunder; embodied military power • He carried a lightning bolt as his symbol • He married Hera, his sister, which was a family habit • He fathered many children with various goddesses and mortals. Hera – Wife of Zeus • Roman name: Juno • She was the protector of marriage and the home. • She was associated with the peacock because of her great beauty. • She and Zeus (her brother/husband) were always quarreling. • She was called the queen of intriguers, a vindictive and jealous wife, who frequently outwitted her husband, Zeus. • Often persecuted Heracles (Hercules) because he was an illegitimate child of Zeus Poseidon – God of the Sea • Roman name: Neptune • Built an underwater palace with a great pearl and coral throne. • Often pictured with trident • Although he chose Thetis, a beautiful water nymph, as his queen, he, like Zeus, was a great wanderer, fathering hundreds of children. • He was a difficult god, changeful and quarrelsome, but created many curious forms for his sea creatures. • He invented the horse for his sister Demeter, whom he loved. Hades – God of the Underworld and Wealth • Roman name: Pluto • Jealous brother to Zeus and Poseidon • Made Persephone his wife after stealing her from her mother, Demeter, who was his sister. • Because he was a violent god, who was also possessive of every new soul, he rarely left his domain. • Depicted with Cerberus (three-headed dog) • Used his helmet of invisibility to defeat Titans Demeter – Goddess of Corn and the Harvest • Roman name: Ceres • Goddess of agriculture • Mother of Persephone, whose father was Zeus • Her daughter was kidnapped by Hades and taken to the Underworld where she was forced to live six months of every year, causing the change of seasons. • Mostly seen as benevolent, but could also be cruel – gave Erysichton an insatiable hunger after he cut down trees in her grove Hestia – Goddess of the Hearth • Roman name: Vesta • Sister of Zeus • Represented personal and communal security and happiness • Thought of as the kindest and mildest of the goddesses • Of little mythological importance, only appearing in a few stories. Athena – Goddess of wisdom, justice, war, civilization, and peace • Roman name: Minerva • Born full-grown out of the head of Zeus (who swallowed her pregant mother, Metis. Hephaestus took an ax and struck open Zeus to release her – full-grown) • Taught man to use tools and his wife to spin and weave • Best-loved goddess on Olympus • Hated Ares, god of war, often besting him in battle • Greek city of Athens is named after her • Said to have created the spider, flute, ship, plow and chariot Apollo – The sun god, god of music, poetry, wisdom, light and truth • Roman name: Apollo • Son of Zeus and Leto • Twin brother of Artemis and the most handsome of the gods • God of healing arts and of medicine, as well. • Drove his chariot across the sky to pull the sun each day. • His son, Phaethon, drives Apollo’s sun chariot with disastrous results. Artemis – Goddess of the woods, moon, and the hunt • Roman name: Diana • Twin sister of Apollo; mother was Leto and father was Zeus • Respectful huntress who always carried her bow and arrows • Ruled over the untamed places of the earth • Could bring diseases to entire cities, and could also cure them Dionysus – God of revelry (festivity) and the Vine • Roman name: Bacchus • Said to be the only god on Olympus with a mortal parent (Semele) – When Semele saw Zeus in his natural form, she was burnt by lightning, but Zeus stitched Dionysus into his thigh • Creation of wine brings drunkenness and ecstasy to his revelers – he is said to bring both joy and rage (like wine’s nature) • Much of the ancient world’s greatest poetry was created in his honor Ares – Cruel god of war • Roman name: Mars • Ruthless and murderous god, who displayed the worst of humanity’s traits. • He, along with grief, strife, fear (Phobos), and terror (Deimos), roams the earth. Phobos and Deimos are two of Mars’ moons. • Ironically, he was a coward who fled from battle. • Lover of Aphrodite – Hephaestus, Aphrodite’s husband, catches them together and invites other Olympians to look and sneer. Hephaestus – God of fire, volcanoes, and the forge • Roman name: Vulcan • Sometimes depicted of the son of Hera alone, so she could get revenge when Zeus bore Athena • Ugliest of the gods, who was rejected by his mother Hera, when she hurled him off of Mt. Olympus • He made the armor and tools of the gods on a broken mountain near Mt. Olympus • He made beautiful jewelry for the goddesses Aphrodite – Goddess of love and beauty • Roman name: Venus • Goddess of desire born from sea foam (Uranus’ mutilated genitals) • Another myth credits her mother as Dione and her father as Zeus • After all the gods on Mt. Olympus courted her, she married Hephaestus, the ugliest of them all, but she didn’t like him • Because she was judged the most beautiful of the goddesses on Mt. Olympus by Paris, the other goddesses envied her. • Her longest affair was with Ares – together, they had Eros (Cupid) Hermes – God of mischief and messenger of the gods • Roman name: Mercury • Presides over all forms of exchange and communication • He was the precocious son of Zeus and Maia, a Titaness. • Conducted the souls of the dead to Hades and watched over travelers • Carried a snake-entwined rod (caduceus) and wore winged sandals and a hat Other terms to know: • Hours: Apollo’s servants • Medusa: Slept with Poseidon in a forbidden place, so Athena turned the beautiful woman into a serpent-haired monster. Those who looked, turned to stone. • Nymphs: nature goddesses of woods and seas • The Fates: 3 sisters/ goddesses who controlled destiny Other terms to know • Furies: Three deities who punished mortals who killed blood relatives. Old women with claws for hands and snakes for hair • Harpies: Birds with women’s faces with filthy tempers and habits • Pegasus: Perseus’ winged horse • Centaur: half man, half horse • Minotaur: half man, half bull – imprisoned in a labryrinth • Satyr: half man, half goat Other places to know: • Styx: river around Hades where the dead enter by ferry • Tartarus: Cosmic prison for those who insulted gods or challenged them • Elysian Fields: where the good go after death MYTHOLOGICAL ALLUSIONS Arachne > Arachnophobia Atlas > Atlas vertebrae Echo > Echolalia or echpraxia Hermaphroditus > Hermaphrodite Hygeia > Hygiene Hypnos > Hypnosis Morpheus > Morphine Lethe > Lethargic Mentor (in the Odyssey) > Someone’s mentor Pan (half man, half goat) > Panic Typhon > Typhoon Zephyrus > Zephyr