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Greek Mythology
In the beginning...
• …was Chaos (shapeless nothingness)
• Chaos had two children:
– Night (darkness)
– Erebus (death)
• “All was black, empty, silent, endless.”
• Mysteriously, Love was born of darkness
and death.
And Then…
• When Love was born, order and beauty
began to flourish.
• Love created Light and Day.
• Earth was created.
– She was the solid ground, but also a
personality (Gaia).
• The Earth bore Heaven to cover her and
be a home for the gods.
The First Parents
• Mother Earth = Gaia
• Father Heaven = Uranus
• They had three kinds of
children:
– Three monsters with 100
hands and 50 heads
(Hecatoncheires)
– Three Cyclopes
– The Titans
• These were the first characters
that had the appearance of life,
although it was unlike any life
known to man.
The Titans
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There were many of them.
Enormous size, incredible strength
Cronus (Saturn): Ruler of the titans
Rhea: Wife of Cronus
Ocean: River that encircled the world
12 Titans in all (6 boys and 6 girls)
A Father’s Love
• Uranus hated his ugly children and threw them
away in the underworld.
• This greatly angered Gaia and she convinced
Cronus, one of the Titans to overthrow Uranus.
• Cronus succeeds in
overthrowing Uranus
and becomes the new
Lord of the Universe.
• But Cronus is worried
that one of his sons
would overthrow him,
so he swallowed each
child as it was born.
• This makes Rhea angry and she hides her
youngest child, Zeus.
• She tricks Cronus by giving him a rock wrapped
in a blanket.
A New Leader
• Zeus was raised in
secret and eventually
came back to
overthrow Cronus.
• He freed his 11
brothers and sisters
from Cronus’ stomach
and together they
fought the Titans.
The Theogony
• A long narrative poem written by Hesiod
• The war lasted 10 years between the
Gods and the Titans.
• Finally, Cronus and the Titans were
defeated.
• The rule of the Universe was divided into 3
kingdoms and the three brothers (Zeus,
Poseidon, and Hades) cast lots to
determine who won what.
What Happened to the Titans
• The Titans that fought
against the Gods
were subjected to
great torture and
torment.
Typhon
• A horrible monster, who
with his mate Echidna,
are said to give birth to
all the monsters of the
world.
• Battles Zeus for
supremacy of the
universe.
• Zeus eventually
succeeds, but only by
dropping a mountain on
Typhon
Offspring of Evil
• The offspring of
Echidna and Typhon
would include:
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Cerberus
The Hydra
The Chimera
The Gorgons
The Sphinx
The Great Olympians
• The Cyclopes built a
palace on Mt.
Olympus for Zeus
with 12 thrones. One
for each of his
brothers and sisters
The Gods and Goddess of
Greece
Zeus (Jove/Jupiter)
• King of the gods
• Ruler of the sky and
weather
• Upholder of oaths
• Hospitality
• Symbol is the
thunderbolt
Poseidon (Neptune)
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Brother of Zeus
Ruler of the sea
Horses
Earthquakes
Married to the seanymph, Amphitrite
• As the god of horses, he
would often adopt the
shape of horse.
• Symbol is the Trident
Hades (Pluto)
• Brother of Zeus
• God of the
Underworld/ Dead
• Kidnapped
Persephone
• His symbol is the
helmet that makes
him invisible
Hera (Juno)
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Sister of Zeus
Wife of Zeus
Queen of the gods
Upholder of marriage
Her Symbol is the
Peacock
Demeter (Ceres)
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Sister of Zeus
Goddess of the earth
Corn
Crops
Mother of
Persephone
• Symbol is a bundle of
grain
Hestia (Vesta)
• Goddess of the Home
• Goddess of the
Hearth
• A Powerful Protector
• Doesn’t really have a
symbol, but her
symbol is the home.
The Next Generation
• The next generation of Gods/Goddesses
are the children of the original Olympians.
• They were still just as powerful as their
fathers and mothers.
Athena (Minerva)
• Daughter of Zeus
• Goddess of wisdom and
war
• guardian of Athens, the
city named for her
• defender of heroes,
• According to legend,
Athena sprang fullygrown and fully-armed
from the head of her
father, Zeus, ruler of the
gods on Mount Olympus.
• Symbol is the Owl
Ares (Mars)
• Son of Zeus and Hera
• god of War
• known for his thirst for
battle and blood
• Symbol: Sword and
Spear
• While Athena was seen
as strategic in war, Ares
was seen as
unpredictable and violent.
Apollo (Apollo)
• Son of Zeus, twin
brother of Artemis
• god of healing and
music
• god of light and the
sun; truth and
prophecy
• god of music
• Symbol: Golden
Chariot and Harp
Artemis (Diana)
• daughter of Zeus
and twin sister of
Apollo
• Virgin goddess of the
hunt and moon
• goddess of
childbirth
• Symbol: Silver bow
and arrow
Aphrodite (Venus)
• Born from sea foam
• Iliad considers her to be a
daughter of Dione
• Some versions call her a
daughter of Zeus
• Married to Hephaestus,
but has affair with Ares
• Love
• Beauty
• Pleasure
• Her symbol is the dove
Hermes (Mercury)
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Son of Zeus
Messenger of the gods
Travelers
Theft
Commerce
Symbol is his Winged
Sandals
• Also responsible for
leading the dead to
Hades
Hephaestus (Vulcan)
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God of fire and forge
Blacksmith
Son of Hera
He was born lame, and
Zeus rejected him,
throwing him off of
Olympus to the earth
• Symbol is the forge
• Built gold palaces for
each of the Gods on
Olympus
Dionysus (Bacchus)
• Son of Zeus (and
Persephone?)
• God of Wine and
Liberation
• Also music, theater,
and fertility
• Symbol is wine
Persephone (Proserpina)
• Daughter of Demeter
• Wife of Hades
(kidnapped by Hades)
• Queen of the
underworld
• Spends three months
in the underworld
(winter) and nine
months with her
mother (summer)
Eros (Cupid)
• Son of Aphrodite
• God of Love
• Symbol is his arrows
he used to make
mortals fall in love
Other Gods and Monsters
The Muses
• Nine daughters of Zeus
• Inspired artists of all kinds
Clio, Urania, Thalia, Melpomene, Erato, Calliope, Euterpe, Terpsichore, Polyhymnia
The Furies
• They punish evildoers
• Goddesses of
vengeance
• Appear from blood
spilled on the ground
The Fates
• Three sisters
• Shared an eye and a
tooth
• They weave,
measure, and cut the
thread of life for
humans.
Charon
• Would ferry the dead across to the Underworld
• Would have to pay
Pegasus
• Flying horse
• Sprang from the
blood of Medusa
• Zeus’ pet, would help
people he favored
The Satyrs
• Gods of the woods
and mountains
• “Shepherd gods”
• Goat men (like Pan)
• Companions of
Dionysus
• They like to drink,
dance, and chase
nymphs.
Centaurs
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Half men, half-horse
Companions of Dionysus
Protector of the woods
Very crude and uncivilized
The Gorgans
• Three snake-haired
monsters
• Medusa is most wellknown (and the only
mortal one of the
three
• Their look turns men
to stone
The Hydra
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A three headed dragon that guarded a sacred spring.
Spewed fire and poison from its many mouths
Every time a head is cut off, two more grow in it’s place
Killed by Hercules
Scylla and Charybdis
• A six-headed dragon
and a whirlpool
monster that guarded
a seaway near
Greece.
• “A Rock and a Hard
Place”
Cyclops
• One-eyed monsters
• Giant creatures
• Uncivilized
Minotaur
• Son of King Minos
(wife and bull)
• Half-man, half-bull
• Built a great maze
called the Labyrinth to
contain the creature
• Ate humans
• Killed by Theseus
Sirens
• Half-woman, half-bird
• Would lull sailors to their doom with their
seductive songs
Cerberus
• The three-headed
Hell hound
• Kept the dead from
leaving the
Underworld
• Didn’t care who came
in
• Hades’ Hound
The Heroes
Heracles (Hercules)
• Son of Zeus, hated by
Hera
• Had great physical
strength
• Had to complete a
series of tasks called
the twelve labors.
• Greatest of the
heroes
Perseus
• Son of Zeus
• Loved by the Gods
• Killed Medusa
Theseus
• Son of Poseidon
• Killed the Minotaur
Odysseus (Ulysses)
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King of Ithaca
Fought in Trojan War
Built the Trojan Horse
Angers gods
Has a long journey
home
• Homer’s The
Odyssey
Jason and the Argonauts
• 1st sailors on the ship the Argo
• Go to find the Golden Fleece
• Battle dragon and army of dead to get it