Download Greek and Roman Mythology - Mrs Bauer's Class

Greek and Roman Mythology
A Review
of
The Principal Gods and Goddesses
What is a myth?
A traditional story rooted in primitive
folk beliefs of cultures
 Uses the supernatural to interpret
natural events
 Explains the culture’s view of the
universe and the nature of humanity

In the beginning...
• …was Chaos (shapeless nothingness)
• Chaos had two children:
–
Night (darkness)
– Erebus (death)
All was black, empty,
• silent, endless.”
 When suddenly, mysteriously, Love was
born of darkness and death.
 When
suddenly, 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.
Her name was Gaia.
The Earth bore Heaven to cover
her and be a home for the gods.


He was called Uranus
They Were The First Parents
 They had three kinds of children:
– Three monsters with 100 hands and 50 heads
–
Hecatonchires
Three cyclopes
And 12 Titans- 6 Males and 6
Females
Some of The Titans
(The Elder Gods)




Cronos (Saturn): Ruler of the titans
Rhea: Wife of Cronos
Ocean: River that encircled the world
Iapetus: Father of Prometheus,
Epimetheus, and Atlas (also titans)
These were the first characters that had
the appearance of life, although it was
unlike any life known to man.
For some reason Uranus wasn’t very
fond of his children.
 Especially the
Hecatonchires
and
Cyclopes
Seriously,

Who could blame him
?
So he buried them deep inside of the
Earth.
 Wait, the Earth is a person. Do you think
Gaia was happy to have those big monsters
shoved back inside her?
She wasn’t!
 So she asked her children to help her take
care of their father, but only one of them
agreed to help her- Cronos.
She made him a very special
sickle and asked him to cut off
his father’s . . .
 Well something kind of
important.
After that, for some reason, I
guess Uranus didn’t want to
be with Gaia, and the Sky
separated from the Earth
 Cronos took over and ruled with his wife
(and sister) Rhea.
 I know, gross right?
Under Cronos and Rhea, though,
the world had complete peace.
 T here were no wars
no crime
no injustice!
Even the animals lived in peace!
It was called
But Chronos had been told that one
of his children would depose him:
So,
he ate them!
Except for Zeus

His Grandmother (Gaia) helped Rhea to hide
Zeus and fed Cronos a blanket-wrapped rock
instead.
They hid Zeus in a cave where he
was cared for by a goat until he was
old enough to come back and fix
things.



He came home and made his
father barf up his brothers
and sisters.
The children divided the kingdom
between them.

Zeus (Roman name Jupiter) became the
supreme ruler of Mount Olympus
Poseidon (Roman name Neptune)
became the god of the seas
Hades (Roman name Pluto) is
the god of the Underworld
• With his three-headed dog.
Demeter (Roman name Ceres) is
the goddess of the earth and
fertility.
 She gives us winter every year since her
daughter was
 Kidnapped by . . .,
 But, I guess that
 is a different story
Hera
 Who is the
 jealous (very)
 Protector of
 Marriage
And Hestia
(Roman name Vesta)
 Goddess of
 Home

Other Olympians include
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Athena (Minerva)
Ares (Mars)
Hebe (Juventas)
Hephaestus (Vulcan)
Apollo (Apollo)
Artemis (Diana)
Hermes (Mercury)
Aphrodite (Venus)
Dionysus (Bacchus)
Persephone
The Olympians
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

Persephone




Roman Name:
Proserpina
Goddess of the
Underworld
Daughter of Zeus
and Demeter
Abducted by
Hades
Hebe
Roman Name:
Juventas
 Goddess of
Youth
 Cupbearer to the
Gods
 Restored youth
to the aged

Eros
Roman Name:
Cupid
 Young God of
Love
 Son of
Aphrodite and
Hephaestus

Iris
Goddess of the
Rainbow
 Messenger for
Zeus and Hera
 Daughter of the
titan Thaumus
and the nymph
Electra

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.
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.

The Gorgons
Three snakehaired monsters
 Medusa is most
well-known
 Their look turns
men to stone.

The Centaurs
Half man, half
horse
 Savage
creatures
(except Chiron)
 Followers of
Dionysus

Sources

Graphics in this presentation were taken from
the following web sites:
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http://www.bulfinch.org/fables/search.html
http://www.pantheon.org/
http://www.messagenet.com/myths/
http://mythman.com/
http://web.uvic.ca/grs/bowman/myth/index.html
http://www.paleothea.com/
http://www.entrenet.com/%7Egroedmed/greekm/myth.html
C Golden’s
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only; it has not been and should not be sold
or used as a vehicle to make money.