Download Gods

Greek Mythology:
An Introduction
What is Greek Mythology?
 The people in ancient Greece shared stories
called MYTHS about the gods, goddesses,
and heroes in which they believed.
 Each god or goddess was worshipped. The
Greeks believed they ruled over different
parts of Greek life.
 These stories explained natural phenomena
that happened in the world.
Why should we study Greek
Mythology?
 The ancient Greek culture originally was
passed down by people telling stories and
was later written down for thousands of
years.
 Modern plays, novels, television programs,
movies, and even companies refer to Greek
gods, goddesses, heroes and their stories.
 Adventure stories are interesting and
entertaining and can teach us lessons.
Zeus
 Leader of the gods
 God of the sky,
lightning, and
thunder
 Symbol: lightning
bolt
 Wife: Hera
 Olympian
 Children:
– Ares
– Hebe
– Hephaestus
– Hercules
– Apollo
– Artemis
– Athena
– The Fates
– Persephone
 Other facts: had many affairs with other
goddesses and mortal women
Athena
 Goddess of wisdom
 Also over justice, war,
civilization, and peace
 Described as “brighteyed”
 Symbols: olive tree,
owl
 Never married
 Olympian
 No children
 Other Facts:
– She is Zeus’ favorite daughter
– Supposedly came from Zeus’ forehead fully
grown
Poseidon
 God of the sea,
earthquakes, and
horses
 Symbol: threepointed trident
 Wife: Amphitrite
 Olympian
 Children
– Triton: half human, half fish
– Pegasus: flying horse
– Theseus
– Cyclops
 Other Facts:
– Often worked together with Athena (together
they made the first chariot and the first ship)
– Brother to Zeus and Hades
Aphrodite
 Goddess of love
and beauty
 Most beautiful of the
goddesses
 Symbol: dove
 Husband:
Hephaestus
 Olympian
 Children:
– Aeneas
– Eros
 Other Facts:
– Was married off to Hephaestus by Zeus (who
was not attractive), so she had an affair with
Ares
– Was born out of the sea
Hades
 God of the
underworld,
rules over the dead;
god of wealth
 Dark-bearded
 Symbol: Helmet,
metal, jewels
 Wife: Persephone
 Olympian
 Children: none
 Other facts: brother to Zeus
– Stole his wife from her mother
– His magic helmet makes him invisible
Artemis
 Goddess of the moon,
wilderness, the hunt, wild
animals, and childbirth
 Protects young women
until marriage
 Very beautiful, has the
crescent moon above
her forehead
 Symbols: bow/arrow,
deer
 Refused to marry
 Olympian
 Children: none
 Other facts:
– Twin sister of Apollo
– Asked for eternal chastity from her father, Zeus
Hestia
 Goddess of the hearth,
home, and cooking
 Watched over the
sacrificial flame
 Symbol: kettle
 Olympian
 Children: none
 Other facts:
– Oldest sister of Zeus
– Swore to be a chaste goddess
– Some of every food sacrifice goes to her
– Looked after the cooking of every meal on
Mount Olympus
Hephaestus
 God of fire and the
patron of craftsmen,
god of volcanoes
 Crippled since birth,
bearded
 Symbol: fire, hammer
 Wife: Aphrodite
 Olympian
 Children: none with his wife
 Other Facts:
– Devised clever traps to catch his wife in
affairs
– Made armor for gods and heroes
Ares
 God of war, manly
courage, civil order
 Either mature man with
beard in battle armor or
bare-chested youth with
a spear
 Symbol: shield, spear
 Wife: n/a, lover of
Aphrodite
 Olympian
 Children:
– Eros (god of love)
– Deimos (god of fear)
– Harmonia (goddess of harmony)
– Nike (goddess of victory)
– Phobos (goddess of panic)
 Other Facts:
– He was cruel and mean, all the gods disliked
him (even his father)
– Loves war for its own sake
Apollo
 God of music, medicine,
archery, poetry, dance,
thinking, light, truth
 Handsome, young man, no
beard
 Symbol: bow/arrow, laurel
wreath, lyre
 No wife, but had many affairs
 Olympian
 Children:
– Asclepius (god of healing)
– Aristaeus (half-god, protector of cattle)
 Other Facts:
– Twin brother to Artemis
– When angered, would kill with disease or
arrows
Hermes
 God of merchants,
thieves, travelers,
literature, athletics, and
shepherds
 Messenger of the gods
 Symbol: winged sandals,
caduceus
 Wife: none, lovers:
Penelopia, Aphrodite
 Olympian
 Children:
– Pan (god of goat-herding)
– Hermaphroditos (child with Aphrodite)
 Other Facts:
– Zeus had him with a nymph
– Known for being a prankster
– Guided dead souls to the Underworld
Hera
 Protector of
wives and
marriage
 Considered
beautiful
 Symbol: the
peacock
 Husband: Zeus
 Olympian
 Children: Ares
 Other facts:
– Always was fighting with Zeus because of his
many affairs
– Always tried to do bad things to the women
Zeus was having affairs with
– Was considered very jealous
Prometheus
 God of forethought
and crafty counsel
 Symbol: none
 Wife: Asia or
Clymene
 Children: mankind
 Other Facts:
– He created mankind out of clay and stole fire
from the gods to help stop their suffering.
– He was punished by being chained to a rock
and having an eagle eat out his liver every day.
– The skin would heal every night and the cycle
would start over.
Cronus
 God of time and the
ages
 Symbol: none
 Wife: Rhea
 Titan
 Children:
– Zeus, Hades, Poseidon, Hestia, Demeter
 Other Facts:
– He didn’t want his kids to overthrow him, so
he ate them as babies.
– Rhea tricked him and gave him a rock
instead of Zeus to eat.
– Zeus grew up and then made him throw up
the others, and then they sliced him to bits
and threw him in the Underworld.
Dionysus
 God of wine,
agriculture, festivity,
and drama
 Older, bearded god
 Symbols: grapes,
winecups
 Wife: Ariadne
 Olympian
 Children:
– 3 Graces (goddesses of charm and grace)
 Other Facts:
– His mother died before he was born; Zeus
rescued him and put him in his thigh, where he
was born
The Furies
 3 goddesses of revenge or
vengeance
 Usually avenged murder,
crimes against the gods, or
parents cursing their
children
 Clothed in black with snakes
in their hair and arms
 Winged
 Servants of Hades and
Persephone
 Punishments included:
– Madness
– Disease
– Hunger
– Death
 It could only stop with some task for
atonement and some kind of purification
Iris
 Goddess of the rainbow
 Messenger of the gods
(personal messenger to
Hera)
 Beautiful young woman
with wings, carries a staff
 Symbol: rainbow
 Husband: Zephyrus (god
of the west wind)
 Olympian
 Children:
– Porthos
 Other Facts:
– Minor goddess of the sea and sky
Gaea
 Earth mother, or
goddess of the earth
 Husbands: Ouranos
(original Titan sky
god), then Pontus
(original Titan sea god)
 Symbol: none
 Titan
 Children:
– Cronus
– Rhea
– The other main Titan gods
– Typhon
– Nereus (and more)
 Other Facts:
– She helped her son Cronus castrate her first
husband to protect her children
Pan
 God of shepherds, flocks,
mountain wilds, rustic music
 Man from waist up, but legs,
horns, and tail of a goat
 Symbol: pan pipes
 Wife: none, but loved many
nymphs
 Sided with Olympians (but
didn’t live on Olympus)
 Children: none (accounts differ)
 Other Facts:
– Nymphs ran from him because they thought he
was ugly
The Fates
 Goddesses who
controlled the destiny
of everyone from birth
to death
 Clotho: spun the
thread of life
 Lachesis: decided how
much time each
person had
 Atropos: decided when
to cut the thread of life
 Usually shown
as ugly old
hags
 Everyone
feared them
Medusa
 Originally a beautiful
maiden who
desecrated Athena’s
temple by lying there
with Poseidon
 Angry, Athena turned
her into that!
 (That’s one story, at
least)
 If you look directly at Medusa, you will turn
to stone.
 Her hair is made of live snakes.
 The hero Perseus killed her by cutting off
her head.
Chiron
 Half horse, half human
 Eldest and wisest of all
the centaurs
 Immortal god: son of
Cronus and half-brother to
Zeus
 Considered a great
teacher who mentored
many of the heroes of
mythology