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What Is a Myth?
Definition: 1) common – a lie; a false belief;
tales/stories
2) specific – a story with a
beginning, middle and end;
includes gods, goddesses and
god-like creatures; believers
considered them fact
Setting
a

timeless past
sometimes we have a place
Purpose
A. model for human behavior
~method of teaching values
~ symbolize characteristics of the human
condition
(King Midas – greed and Icarus – folly of
youth)
B. explain some natural phenomena (things that
happen naturally)
~ earthquakes, volcanic eruption, spiders,
sunsets, etc.
C. recount the incredible trials of great
heroes such as Heracles, Odysseus,
Jason, etc
D. relate historical events
Why study today?
deep influence on literature (Shakespeare,
Milton and modern drama)
 influence on painters and sculptors (Birth
of Venus, Prometheus Bound, Rubens’
‘Saturn Eating His Son’)
 link with the past; understanding how
distant forefathers viewed the world

GREEK MYTHOLOGY
Complete the Family Tree and
write your own personal notes as
this power point progress.
CHAOS
URANUS
Father Sky
GAEA
Mother Earth
URANUS AND GAEA
MONSTERS
CYCLOPS
TITANS
TITANS
Cronos
Rhea
Hades Poseidon Zeus Hestia Demeter Hera
Rubens
Goya

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxoR
WD-RwtU
Zeus
Roman Name:
Jupiter (also Jove)
 Supreme god of the
Olympians.
 Fathered many
characters in
mythology

Zeus ---------------Hera
Dionysus Apollo Artemis Athena Hermes Ares Hephaestus
The Olympians
Zeus
Hera
Roman Name:
Juno
 Zeus’s sister and
wife
 Jealous protector
of marriage
 Punished the
women Zeus fell
in love with

Poseidon
Roman Name:
Neptune
 God of the Seas
and Waters
 “The Earthshaker”

Hades
Roman Name:
Pluto
 God of the
Underworld/
Dead
 Kidnapped
Persephone

Hestia
Roman Name:
Vesta
 Goddess of
Home
 Powerful
Protector

Demeter
Roman Name:
Ceres
 Goddess of
the Harvest
 A Goddess of
the Earth

Athena
Roman Name:
Minerva
 Goddess of
Wisdom and
War
 Sprang from
Zeus’s head

Ares
Roman Name:
Mars
 God of War
 Son of Zeus and
Hera
 Bloodthirsty and
merciless

Hephaestus
Roman Name:
Vulcan
(Mulciber)
 God of
Fire/Forge
 Son of Zeus
and Hera
 Kind, unlike his
brother

Apollo
Roman Name:
Apollo
 God of
Light/Sun and
Music
 Brother of
Artemis

Artemis
Roman Name:
Diana
 Goddess of
the Moon/
Hunt
 Sister to
Apollo

Hermes
Roman Name:
Mercury
 Messenger of
the Gods
 Appears in
more myths
than any other
character

Aphrodite
Roman Name:
Venus
 Goddess of
Love and
Beauty
 Sprang from
the ocean
foam

Dionysus
Roman Name:
Bacchus
 God of Wine
 Patron god of
the Greek stage
 A God of the
Earth

MINOR DEITIES
The Muses


Nine daughters of
Zeus and
Mnemosyne
Inspired artists of all
kinds


Goddesses who
presided over the
arts and sciences
“He is happy whom
the muses love.”
Clio, Urania, Thalia, Melpomene, Erato, Calliope, Euterpe, Terpsichore, Polyhymnia
The Graces
Three Goddesses of
Grace and Beauty
 “They give life its
bloom.”
 Aglaia (Splendor)
 Euphrosyne (Mirth)
 Thalia (Good Cheer)

The Erinnyes (The Furies)
Roman Name: Furiae
or Dirae (The Furies)
 Three Goddesses of
Vengeance

Tisiphone
 Alecto
 Megaera


They punish evildoers.
The Fates
Roman Name: Parcae, Moirae
 Three sisters

Clotho (“The Spinner”)
 Lachesis (“The disposer of lots”)
 Atropos (“The cutter”)


They weave, measure, and cut the thread
of life for humans.