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Mythology Objectives
LEARNING GOALS:
Using Edith Hamilton’s Mythology, the student will
•Know the purpose of myths
•Know the requirements of myths
•Know the types of myths
•Know characteristics of Greek gods
•Know key Greek gods and mythology related terms
•Greek streaming music
Edith Hamilton’s Mythology
Purpose of Myths:
1. Explain origin(s) of world/man
2. Explain nature
3. Explain ways of gods to man
4. Entertainment
Temple of Apollo
Requirements for a myth:
1. Narrative
2. Imaginative, clever, inventive (may explain an event that
wasn’t understood or a “scientific principle)
3.
4.
5.
6.
Involves super-human beings
Usually improbable or absurd
Often has a moral
Part of the past of a group or race of people
Types of myths:
1. Historical: Built around an event that actually
or supposedly happened (ex. Trojan Wars).
2. Religious: Told about a god or goddess to
explain a religious practice
3. Explanatory: Explain things/events that are not
understood; most myths fall into this group
4. Amusing: Told “just for fun;” aesthetic myths.
5. Allegorical: “symbolic;” things may represent
vices and virtues; reader is to put himself in the
place of the person in the myth.
•Gods and Heroes in the Greek World (01:12)
•Discovery Channel School. 2004.
Discovery Education. 4 January 2009
<http://streaming.discoveryeducation.com/>
Title of the
Myth:__________________________________
Summary of the Myth:
Characters:
•Gods/Goddesses?
•Demigods?
•Mortals?
•Mythological Creatures?
Type of Myth:
Explanatory? _____ Amusing? _____Etc?_____
If explanatory, what does it explain?
____________________
Does it have a
moral?_____________________________
Greek myths: Man is at the center of the
universe. However, not as dark a picture as previous religions
(pagan, nature) with horrors—human sacrifices
Greek gods in man’s image, yet mortal with
extra powers—traces of magic witches, demons, ghosts,
astrology as before
•Greek Mythology and the Role of the Gods in Human Destiny (01:46)
Greek Mythology and the Role of the Gods in Human Destiny. Discovery Channel School. 1997.
Discovery Education. 4 January 2009
<http://streaming.discoveryeducation.com/>
Titans are the giant sons and daughters of Uranus
and Gaia (Earth).
Twelve Titan Gods and Goddesses:
Oceanus and Tethys,
Hyperion and Theia,
Coeus and Phoebe,
Cronus and Rhea—parents of Zeus
Mnemosyne, Themis,
Crius, Iapetus
(Heaven)
Children of Hyperion:
Eos, Helios, Selene
Daughters of Coeus:
Leto and Asteria
Sons of Iapetus:
Atlas, Prometheus,
Epimetheus, Menoetius
The 12 Titans gods, also known as the elder gods, who ruled the Earth
before the Olympians overthrew them. The ruler of the Titans was Cronus
who was dethroned by his son Zeus. Most of the Titans fought with
Cronus against Zeus and were punished by being banished to Tartarus.
•Some Common Figures from Greek Mythology (01:03)
Some Common Figures from Greek Mythology. Aims Multimedia. 1990
Discovery Education. 4 January 2009
<http://streaming.discoveryeducation.com/>
Edith Hamilton’s Mythology
The Twelve Olympians
The Twelve Olympians
Greek/Roman Names
Zeus/Jupiter
Poseidon/Neptune
Hera/Juno
Hades/Pluto
Hestia/Vesta
Ares/Mars
Athena/Minerva
Hermes/Mercury
Apollo/Phoebus Apollo
Artemis/Diana
Hephaestus/Vulcan
Aphrodite/Venus
25 Fascinating Things You Probably
Didn't Know About Greek Gods
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZHK_hJmiCg
Zeus/Jupiter…God of Gods
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Roman name: Jupiter
Chief of the Olympians
god of. . .
-. . .the sky
-. . .justice, law and order
-. . .strangers and travelers
Other facts: Symbols - Eagle, thunderbolts
Son of Cronus and Rhea; brother of Hades+Poseidon
Wrathful, lustful, not “all-knowing”
Married to Hera, ungodly marital behavior
Many children mostly out of wedlock
Rhea hid him from Cronus to keep from being eaten; he
overthrew Cronus; constantly unfaithful to Hera
• YOUTUBE Zeus
• The stone itself (which may have
been a copy) has a carving of a
knotted net covering its surface, and
has a hollow centre, which widens
towards its base (illustrated, to the
right).
• The Omphalos at Delphi came to be
identified as the stone which Rhea
wrapped in swaddling clothes,
pretending it was Zeus. This was to
deceive Cronus, his father, who
swallowed his children so they could
not grow up and depose him as he
had deposed his own father, Uranus.
• Omphalos stones were said to allow
direct communication with the gods.
• Christian destroyed the site in the 4th
century at the order of Emperors
Theodosius and Arcadius
Poseidon/Neptune - God of the
Sea
• Roman name: Neptune
• Zeus’s brother of Zeus and
Hades/Son of Cronus & Rhea
• Cranky and ill tempered
• Powerful, secretive
• Vengeful, usually argumentative
with other gods
• god of. . .
• -. . .the sea (trident is symbol)
• -. . .earthquakes
• -. . .represents bulls and horses
• YOUTUBE Poseidon
Hades/Pluto
God of the Underworld
• god of. . .
• -. . .the underworld
• Son of Cronus & Rhea; brother of Zeus+Poseidon
(drew the short straw)
• He is not death. He does not kill anyone. He simply
watches over the dead.
• He carried wife, Persephone, away and made her
queen of the underworld
• dark bearded, crown, scepter, key, helmet of
invisibility, chariot
• Rarely worshipped
Hera/Juno
Goddess of Marriage
Protector of Married Women
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Roman name: Juno
Wife and sister of Zeus
goddess of. . .
-. . .motherhood
-. . .wives
Peacock, cow, pomegranate
Powerful, bold, terribly jealous
Daughter of Cronus & Rhea
Avenged infidelity often
Hestia/Vesta
Goddess of Home and Hearth
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Hearth fire
Good-natured, loving
Does not appear in myths at all…symbolic herself
Daughter of Cronus & Rhea
Seven Vestal Virgins oversee her fire
Ares/Mars
God of War
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Roman name: Mars
•4 horses: Terror,
Son of Zeus and Hera
Fire, Flame, Trouble
Terrorized mortals
Spear, vulture, dog
•Relatives:
Deimos(fear),
Boastful, loud, cruel
Phobos(terror),
god of. . .
Eris(discord)
-. . .mindless war
Not as important to Greeks as the Romans
Athena/Minerva
Goddess of the City, Wisdom, Handicrafts,
War & Agriculture
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Roman name: Minerva
Daughter of Zeus & Metis
Owl (wisdom) is her symbol
Created olive tree
goddess of. . .
-. . .wisdom
-. . .intelligent warfare
Wise, even-tempered, fierce in battle
Zeus’s daughter (but not Hera’s) Sprung from his head fully
armed; his favorite
• Athens is her city
• Parthenon is her temple
Hermes/Mercury
God of Travelers, Thieves & Shepherds
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Roman name: Mercury
Son of Zeus & Maia
Chief messenger, not the most honest god
Tricky and sneaky/cunning
Messenger of the gods
god of. . .
-. . .thieves and deceivers
Winged sandals and hat, caduceus
Witty, happy, clever, friendly, helpful
Apollo
God of Light & Purity
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Roman name: Phoebus Apollo
Son of Zeus and Leto
Twin brother of Artemis
Mouse, sun dial, lyre
Cheerful, sometimes jealous
Perpetually young, handsome, wise
Teaches moderation
god of. . .
-. . .light/truth
-. . .prophecy
-. . .music (lyre)
-. . .medicine
-. . .archery
YOUTUBE Apollo
Artemis/Diana
Goddess of the Hunt & Moon
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Roman name: Diana
Daughter of Zeus & Leto
Twin sister of Apollo
Cypress tree, wild animals, deer
Aloof, majestic, nature-loving, quick
to anger, athletic
Skilled archer, lived among virgin
nymphs
goddess of. . .
-. . .the hunt (deer sacred to her)
-. . .chastity
Hephaestus/Vulcan
God of Fire & Forge
• Roman name: Vulcan
• Son of Zeus & Hera’s crippled son;
only ugly/lame god
• Married to Aphrodite
• Blacksmith of the gods/god of fire
• Vulcan-Birmingham
• Fire, quail
• Modest, helpful, prone to laughter
• Helped by Cyclopes in
underground forges
• Taught men to use fire
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Aphrodite/Venus
Goddess of Love
Roman name: Venus
Married to Hephaestus
goddess of. . .
-. . .love/beauty
-. . .desire
Sprung from foam and sea
Dove, rose, apple
Seductive, irresistible, sometimes treacherous
Hephaestus won her hand, not heart, she’s in
love with Ares
• Led Paris to Helen
The Rock of Aphrodite is a few kilometres to the west
of Pissouri village, Cyprus. Legend has it that
Aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty, rose from the
waves in this spot. Blown by the wind, Aphrodite's first
stop was on the island of Cythera, but this was such a
tiny island that Aphrodite kept moving and eventually
got to Cyprus, where she began living in Paphos.
Hestia
• Roman name: Vesta
• Daughter of Zeus and Hera
• Goddess of the hearth, of the right
ordering of domesticity and the family
• Each city had a public hearth sacred to
her; where the fire never went out
• In Rome, fire cared for by six virgin
priestess called Vestals.
Other gods!
Eros
• Roman name: Cupid
• Son of Aphrodite
• Helps people fall in love with each other
Persephone
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Roman name: Proserpine
Daughter of Zeus and Demeter
Becomes the queen of the underworld
goddess of. . .
-. . .Spring
Pan
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Roman name: Pan
Associated with Dionysus
Has goat ears and legs
god of. . .
-. . .shepherds and flocks
• YouTube Pan Dance
The Myths
God Teachers, Quests, Cycles,
Metamorphoses, Losses of
Innocence, Creation
Prometheus
pro ME thee us
• Kind, clever, longsuffering
• An original Titan
• Benefactor of
Mankind
• stole fire from Zeus
and gave it to the
primitive mortals
• Punished for
thousands of years
Demeter and Persephone
• Demeter goddess of
Agriculture
• Loving but moody
• Daughter Persephone
kidnapped by Hades
• Neglect of the Earth
• Pomegranate seeds
• Spring vs. Winter
Dionysus
dy o NY sis
• God of the Vine
• Grapes, panther, goat,
dolphin
• Joyful, pleasure-loving,
dangerous when
opposed
• Son of Zeus & Semele
• Turned kidnapping sailors
into dolphins
• Bacchantes ecstasy
dancing
Cupid and Psyche
CUE pid and SY key
• Cupid (Eros) Archer of
Love
• Psyche Greek Heroine
• Punished for challenging
Aphrodite (Eros’ mother)
• Accidental love
• Jealous sisters urge
disobedience
• Oil drip wakes Eros
• Vengeful tasks of
Aphrodite
• Forgiveness and
marriage
Athena and Arachne
a THEE nah and a RAK nee
• Athena challenged
Arachne
• Arachne’s weaving
was better
• She hung herself after
being beaten
• Athena turned her
into a spider
Pygmalion and Galatea
pig MAIL yon and gal ah TAY ah
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King of Cyprus
Sculpted a woman
Prayed to Aphrodite
Live statue
Love and marriage
Apollo and Daphne
ah PAWL oh and DAF nee
• Huntress, independent, no
interest in love or marriage
• Apollo taunts her, chasing her
deep into the woods
• Pursuit and plea for help
• Daphne - Laurel tree
transformation
• Vow of fidelity – Apollo tells
her that he will use her laurel
branches “whenever songs
are sung and stories told.”
Orpheus and Eurydice
• Son of a Muse & a Thracian Prince (Thracians
were great musicians)
• Mother gave him the gift of music
• No on “could resist him”
• Sailed with Jason on the Argo
• Saved heroes from the Sirens
• Married Eurydice (referred to as a “bud”)
• Goes to rescue her from Hades
• Wife doesn’t make it out of the cavern (her
last words are “farewell”).
• Maenads come upon him and kill him – limb
by limb
• Buried in a tomb at Mt. Olympus
Phaeton
FAY tohn
• Childish son of Apollo
(Helios)
• Proof of parentage
• Wish granted to fly
the chariot
• Out of control flight
• Zeus puts an end to it
Pyramus and Thisbe
PEER ah muss and THIZ bee
• Fairest and Handsomest
in Babylonia
• Forbidden love
• Plan to meet at Tomb of
Ninus
• Thisbe’s cape soiled with
blood by a lioness
• Pyramus stabbed himself
over her assumed death
• Thisbe returned to him
and stabbed herself also
Icarus and Daedalus
ICK ar uss and DAY dah luss
• Jealous of his nephew
Talus, killed him and
moved to Crete
• King Minos’ wife fell in
love and had a child with
a bull (Minotaur)
• Daedalus built the
labyrinth and a way to
escape
• Warnings of high and low
flying to Icarus
• Melting wax, falling Icarus
Narcissus
nar SISS uss
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Hera’s sentence of silence for Echo the nymph
Narcissus is vain, Echo loved him
“Is anyone here?” “Here, here!”
Echo ignored by Narcissus faded to only a voice
Finally saw himself and died looking at it
Baucis and Philemon
BA kiss and FILL ah min
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Zeus & son Hermes
Test of Hospitality
Ever-full wine bowl
Flood
Hut to Temple
Oak and Linden trees
Pyrrah and Deucalion
PEER ah and doo CAL yon
• The Greek Noah, son of
Prometheus (who warned
him)
• Zeus floods Earth
• Ran aground on
Parnassus
• Loneliness in a cave
(Delphi Oracle)
• “Throw the bones of your
mother over your
shoulders.”
• Rocks turn to people
• Parents of Pandora
Jason
JAY son
• Jason sent away to avoid
death by uncle
• Bargain for thrown with uncle
(golden fleece)
• Argonauts set out
• Bargains with Medea’s father
• Plowed the fields of the fire
breathing bull, attained fleece,
and distracted Medea’s father
with her help.
• Married Medea, later grew
tired of her and she killed their
children
Theseus
THEE see us
• Aegeus buried sandals
and sword under heavy
rock
• Theseus lifted it at 16 yrs.
• Slayed the Minotaur
(labyrinth) for Minos
• Ariadne loved Theseus
and asked Daedalus for
help (thread idea)
• Returning to Aegeus,
wrong sails displayed
Hercules
HER cue leez
• Hearty, good-natured,
prone to rages
• 12 Labors
• Nemean Lion, Hydra,
Thrace’s flesh-eating
horses, Cerebrus, etc
• Made a god upon his
death
Perseus
PER see uss
• King Acresias and Danae
• Polydectes loved Danae,
Perseus protects by offering
Medusa’s head
• Athena’s shield, nymph’s
invisibility helmet, winged
sandals, and magic pouch,
Hermes’ knife
• He succeeds
• Pegasus born
• Saved Andromeda, froze her
family for deceit
• Also froze Polydectes for
hassling Danae
The Parthenon is the most important and characteristic
monument of the ancient Greek civilization and still remains its
international symbol. It was dedicated to Athena Parthenos, the
patron goddess of Athens. It was built between 447 and 438
BC. and its sculptural decoration was completed in 432 BC.
Terms to
know:
Mt.
Olympus:
home of
the gods
•Mount Olympus and the Gods of Greek Mythology (02:20)
Mount Olympus and the Gods of Greek Mythology. Discovery Channel School. 1997.
Discovery Education. 4 January 2009
<http://streaming.discoveryeducation.com/>
Elysian Fields:or sometimes Elysian plains,
were the final resting place of the souls of the
heroic and the virtuous.
Elysium, also known as the Elysian Fields, in Greek
mythology was a pre-Hellenic paradise, a land of perfect
peace and happiness. In the works of Homer, Elysium was a
land at the farthest and westernmost edge of the world to
which the great heroes were carried, body and soul, and
made immortal.
Charon: and boatman ferries souls of dead across
water to gate to Tartarus
He only accepts the dead which are buried or burned with the proper
rites, and if they pay him an obolus (coin) for their passage. For that
reason a corpse had always an obolus 1 placed under the tongue.
• Charon, Athenian red figure
lekythos
C5th B.C., Rhode Island
School of Design
Tartarus—Underworld; lower region of the dead.
Tartarus is the lowest region of the world, as far below earth as earth is
from heaven. According to the Greek poet Hesiod, a bronze anvil falling
from heaven would take nine days and nights to reach earth, and an
object would take the same amount of time to fall from earth into
Tartarus. Tartarus is described as a dank, gloomy pit, surrounded by a
wall of bronze, and beyond that a three-fold layer of night. While Hades
is the main realm of the dead in Greek mythology, Tartarus also
contains a number of characters. In early stories, it is primarily the
prison for defeated gods; the Titans were condemned to Tartarus after
losing their battle against the Olympian gods. However, in later myths
Tartarus becomes a place of punishment for sinners. It resembles Hell
and is the opposite of Elysium, the afterlife for the blessed. When the
hero Aeneas visits the underworld, he looks into Tartarus and sees the
torments inflicted on characters such as the Titans, Tityos, Otus and
Ephialtes, and the Lapiths. Rhadymanthus (and, in some versions, his
brother Minos) judges the dead and assigns punishment.
Cerberus: Three headed dragon tailed dog
who permits all spirits to ENTER but none
to return.
He was overcome several times:
Hercules' final labour was to capture Cerberus, which he
did by wrestling it into submission.
Orpheus used his musical skills to lull Cerberus to sleep.
Hermes put him to sleep with water from the river Lethe.
In Roman mythology, the Sybil of Cumae lulled
Cerberus to sleep with drugged honeycakes in order to
permit Aeneas fuller entry to the underworld.
In a Greek tale, Psyche also lulled Cerberus to sleep with
drugged honeycakes.
In The Inferno, Cerberus punishes the gluttons and is
passed by Virgil and Dante due to Virgil throwing him a
body part of one of Cerberus' victims.
Heracles and threatened Cerberus, Attic black-figure neck-amphora, ca. 540 BC
Styx river: river which separates underworld from the
world above;
Styx it is said winds around Hades (hell or the underworld are other
names) nine times. Its name comes from the Greek word stugein which
means hate. This river was so respected by the gods of Greek
mythology that they would take life binding oaths just by mentioning its
name. If a god gave his oath upon the river Styx and failed to keep his
word, Zeus forced that god to drink from the river itself. The water is
said to be so foul that the god would lose his/her voice for nine years.
It is thought that Charon, the old ferry man who ferries the dead onto
the underworld, crosses the river Styx, but this is a misconception.
Charon crosses the river Acheron where also Cerebus stands his eternal
guard.
Thetis dipping Achilles in the Styx River, Daumier 1842
Where is the REAL river Styx?
• There are five rivers that separate Hades
from the world of the living, they are:
• Acheron - the river of woe;
• Cocytus - the river of lamentation;
• Phlegethon - the river of fire;
• Lethe - the river of forgetfulness;
• Styx - the river of hate.
Delphi: Delphi was the site of the Delphic oracle,
most important oracle in the classical Greek world,
and it was a major site for the worship of the god
Apollo.
People came from all over Greece and beyond to have their questions
about the future answered by the Pythia, the priestess of Apollo. And
her answers, usually cryptic, could determine the course of everything
from when a farmer planted his seedlings, to when an empire declared
war.
Arguments over the correct interpretation of an oracle were common,
but the oracle was always happy to give another prophecy if more
gold was provided. A good example is the famous incident before the
Battle of Salamis when the Pythia first predicted doom and later
predicted that a 'wooden wall' (interpreted by the Athenians to mean
their ships) would save them.
Julian the Apostate (331/332– - 26 June 363), a Roman emperor, tried
to revive classical Greek culture in the mid 4th century AD. He is said
to have consulted the Oracle of Delphi. The Pythia responded with the
following oracle: Tell to the king that the carven hall is fallen in
decay; Apollo has no chapel left, no prophesying bay,
No talking spring. The stream is dry that had so much to say.
This was probably the last advice from the Oracle of Delphi. The
Oracle said that the time to revive classical Greek culture has passed,
Apollo is dead. Some say that the reason for this answer was that there
was no “narcotic” gas coming anymore from the ground in Delphi that
was used to set the Pythia in trance. Today scientists believe that the gas
contained ethylene that in low concentrations produce trancelike states.
Plutarch said that the pneuma smelled like sweet perfume. He also
describes how in his times the emission was weak and irregular, the
cause, in his opinion, of the weakening influence of the Delphic oracle
in world affairs. He suggested that either the vital essence had run out
or that heavy rains had diluted it or a earthquake four centuries earlier
had partially blocked its vent.