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Ancient Greek Mythology
500 B.C.E.  2009 C.E.
Myth: a story that explains natural and / or
human phenomenon.
The Greek Pantheon
and
Heroes of Legend
Creation Myths
Before the beginning,
there was
CHAOS.
From this void,
GAEA
emerges.
Earth = Gaea or Ge
Related words?
From Chaos,
along with Gaea, came
Tartarus, the Underworld
Pangaea
Geology
Geography
The third and final force born from Chaos is
Eros
Eros is a force of love
Review: Chaos → Gaea, Tartarus, Eros
Anthropomorphism
Eros
Chaos + Gaea
__________
Titans
___________ = the sky
___________ + Gaea
Oceanus, Atlas, Rhea, Tethys, Prometheus, Epimetheus,
Hyperion, Mnemosyne, Themis, Metis, Iapetus, Coeus,
Crius, Phoebe, Thea, and Cronos
(Monsters: Cyclopes and Hundred Handed…)
Warning: This slide contains some
shocking information.
The father of the Titans, ____________,
fears his children will overthrow him.
He tries to destroy them, but Gaea, their mother,
plots with Cronos to prevent this.
In a vicious move, Cronos castrates his father and
flings his testicles into the ocean.
From this, a beautiful goddess, Aphrodite is born.
The Olympians
Cronos + Gaea
Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Hera, Hestia, Ares,
Demeter, Aphrodite
Olympians vs. Titans
Cronos
Atlas
Banished under a mountain
Holds up the world
Prometheus
Chained to a mountain!
An eagle tears out his liver every morning!
He can never die…
How About a Game?
Who’s your daddy?
Or
Are you my mother?
Pantheon of Greek Gods
Zeus + Hera
Ares
Aphrodite
Hephaestus
Zeus + Metis
Athena
Zeus + Semele
Dionysus
Zeus + Leto
Apollo
Artemis
Zeus + Danae
Perseus
Zeus + Leda
Zeus + Alcmene
Heracles
It’s All Greek to Me!
Journal / Discussion
• Is the Greek creation myth a good explanation of how
the universe began? Why or why not?
– Do you think that the four first essences (Chaos, Gaea, Tartarus,
Eros) are necessary at the beginning of every creation myth?
Are there others?
• What do you think of the conflicts between fathers and
sons? How are they similar? How are they different and
complicated?
• What do the qualities of the gods, goddesses and heroes
tell us about the beliefs and ideals of the people who
shared these stories?
Mythography
History?
Religion?
Literature?
Science?
Psychology?
Philosophy?
Which natural phenomenon does the myth of
Persephone
explain?
Persephone is the lovely daughter of Demeter.
Hades kidnaps her to the Underworld.
Demeter searches for Persephone instead of caring for the
earth. The world becomes cold, and the humans suffer.
Greek Writers
• Hesiod: Theogony
• Ovid: Metamorphoses (collection of short stories)
• Homer: The Iliad and The Odyssey (epic poems)
• Sophocles: Oedipus Rex (tragic play)
Ages of Man
•
•
•
•
•
Golden Age
Silver Age
Age of Bronze
Age of Heroes
Iron Age
* Paleolithic (? – 6000 B.C.E.)
* Neolithic / Stone Age ( 6000 – 3000 B.C.E.)
* Bronze Age (3000 – 1100 B.C.E.)
* Iron Age (1100 B.C.E. – today)
Which of these ages would you like to live in? Why?
The Age of Women
Hesiod recounts a famous myth that explains the
creation of women,
Connecting them to both trouble and hope…
Zeus creates Pandora
Epimetheus (afterthought) marries Pandora
Pandora opens the forbidden box
All the troubles of the world fly out of it.
The box also holds a creature called Hope…
Ovid’s Metamorphoses
Creation Myths
Chaos
Gaea
Hera = Wife of Zeus
Aphrodite = Love
Ares = War
Poseidon = Sea
Hephaestus = Forge
Hades = Underworld
Demeter = Harvest
Uranus
Cronos
Zeus
Apollo = Sun, Prophesy, Wisdom
Artemis = Moon, Chastity
Athena = Wisdom
Dionysus = Wine, Theater
Hermes = Messenger of gods
Others…?
Ovid’s Metamorphoses Continued
Apollo and Daphne
Daphne is a water nymph – a daughter of Poseidon
Apollo loves her, but Daphne is frightened of him.
Apollo chases Daphne. She calls her father for help.
She is transformed (metamorphosed) into a laurel tree.
Apollo wears the laurel branches as a crown ever after.
Ovid’s Metamorphoses Continued
Phaethon
Phaethon is son of Apollo by a mortal woman.
He does not believe his mother’s story.
He journeys to see Apollo.
Apollo swears to grant Phaethon’s greatest wish, and he
swears by the River Styx…
Ovid’s Metamorphoses Continued
Narcissus and Echo
Ovid’s Metamorphoses Continued
Narcissus “narcissistic”
Greek root words
phobia = fear
Arachne
Characterization  Themes?
Ovid’s Metamorphoses Continued
Orpheus and Euridyce
Orpheus is one of the most famous musicians in
literature.
Entire forests uproot themselves to follow his
songs.
All his lyrics cannot bring his love, Euridyce, back
from the underworld…
Ovid’s Metamorphoses Continued
Daedalus and Icarus
King Minos of Crete angers Poseidon
Poseidon’s revenge  minotaur
Theseus of Athens + Ariadne of Crete
King Minos banishes Daedalus and Icarus
Ovid’s Metamorphoses Continued
Daedalus and Icarus
Continued
Daedalus creates wings out of seagull
feathers and melted wax so that he and
his son, Icarus, can escape the island…
Theme?
Homer
The Iliad and the Odyssey
composed in the 8th century B.C.E.
?
Epic Poetry
Battles and / or Journeys  Time
Supernatural (Gods and Monsters)
Cultural Heroes
The Iliad
GREEKS
TYNDAREAUS
MENELEAUS
AGAMEMNON
CLYTEMNESTRA
IPHEGENIA
ODYSSEUS
PELEUS
ACHILLES
PATROKLUS
AJAX
HELEN
TROJANS
PARIS
KING PRIAM
QUEEN HECUBA
OENONE
BRISEIS
HEKTOR
CASSANDRA
HELENUS
LACCOON
GODS AND GODDESSES
ZEUS
HEPHAESTUS
THETIS
HERA
ATHENA
POSEIDON
ERIS
ARTEMIS
APOLLO
HERMES
APHRODITE
Apple of Discord
Peleus + Thetis
Eris, the goddess of discord
golden apple
Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite
Zeus sends Hermes to Paris, Prince of Troy
Hera  Power
Athena Wealth
Aphrodite  promised the most beautiful woman in the
world.
Paris chooses Aphrodite (Oenone)
Helen
Helen
Menelaus
Peleus
Odysseus
Agammemnon
Achilles
Ajax
Patroklus
The Trojan War
Troy = Ilium  Iliad
Odysseus asks King Priam to return Helen
Nine years of the war consisted of both war in Troy and war
against the neighboring regions.
Battles  Greek victories
Briseis
The Greeks can not break down the walls of Troy.
Patroklus is killed by Hektor.
Achilles exacts a terrible revenge.
Beware of Greeks Bringing Gifts
Odysseus dreams up the Trojan Horse.
It is a nightmare for Ilium.
When the Greeks have destroyed Troy and
returned Helen to her husband, Menelaus,
they begin their journeys home.
Journey Home
After ten years of war, the Greeks are ready
to return home.
Agammemnon + Clytemnestra
Iphegenia
Odysseus…
Cyclopes
The Odyssey Continued
Laestrygonians  Circe
Circe  Hades
Tiresias  Sirens, Scylla, Charybdis
Island of the Sun
Calypso
Phaecians
Ithaca
Alcinous ensures that Odysseus returns
home to Ithaca safely.
Athena warns Odysseus of danger.
Athena also helps Telemachus and
Odysseus
reunite
after twenty years.
There is one last trial…
The End of the Odyssey
Penelope, Odysseus’s wife, is still beautiful.
And, she is still Queen of Ithaca.
For years, every eligible bachelor has been trying to
win her hand in marriage.
In fact, they have moved in, calling upon the law of
hospitality.
Fortunately, Penelope is as clever as her husband…
Telling stories happily ever after
The Language of Epic Poetry
These were condensed versions of Homer’s
epic poems.
If I had recited them in their full forms, it
would have taken days.
Pneumonic (Memory) Devices:
Epithets
Caesura
Ancient Greek Theater
Dionysus
Playwrights:
Aeschylus (525 – 426 B.C.E)
Sophocles (ca. 496 – 413 B.C.E)
Euripedes (485 – 406 B.C.E.)
Tragedy
Socrates  Plato  Aristotle
Tragedy inspires empathy and fear
Catharsis
Structure of the Plays
Prologue
Parados
Scene / Agon
Ode
Exodos
Oedipus Rex
Before the play begins…
King Laius and Queen Jocasta of Thebes
visit King Pelops
who has a handsome son named Chrysippa…
THE CURSE
Any son born to Laius and Jocasta will kill his father…
Pre-Story Continued
Fate vs. Free Will
Mount Cithaeron
The child survives.
Corinth
Polybus + Merope
Oedipus = swollen foot
Oracle
Thebes
Thebes
Sphinx
Woman + Lion + Eagle
Plague of riddles
What has four legs in the morning,
two legs in the afternoon,
and three legs in the evening?
Rex
The answer to the riddle is: a human
Allegory: a story that has symbols representing the
real world
Morning = early life = crawl on four “legs”
Afternoon = mid-life = walk on two legs
Evening = late life = walk on two legs with a cane
Oedipus solves the riddle.
He is a hero in Thebes.
He becomes king of Thebes by marrying the Queen,
Jocasta
Tragic Hero
Noble character
Knowledge of self
Anagnorisis
Realization of tragic flaw
Tragic flaw = hamartia
Oedipus’s hamartia = hubris
No self-awareness
Death…
Review & Discuss
GODS
Gaea
Uranus
Kronos (Cronos)
Zeus / Jupiter / Jove
Hades / Pluto
Poseidon / Neptune
Athena / Minerva
Apollo
Artemis / Diana
Dionysius / Bacchus
Aphrodite / Venus
Hermes / Mercury
Demeter / Ceres
Hera / Juno
Eros / Cupid
Hephaestus / Vulcan
MORTALS
Paris
Hector
Priam
Achilleus
Menelaus
Agammemnon
Helen of Troy
Ajax
Odysseus
Orpheus
Narcissus
Cast of Oedipus Rex
WRITERS
Hesiod
Homer
Ovid
Sophocles
LITERARY TERMS
Caesura
Epithet
Prologue
Parados
Ode
Scene / Episode / Agon
Tragic Flaw / Hamartia
Hubris
Catharsis
In media res
Irony
Works Cited
Aristotle. Poetics. Trans. Malcolm Heath. Penguin Classics, 1996.
Hesiod. Theogony. Trans. M.L. West. Oxford World Classics, 1999.
-- Works and Days. Trans. M.L. West. Oxford World Classics, 1999.
Homer. The Iliad. Trans. Richmond Lattimore. University of Chicago Press,
1951.
--- The Odyssey. Trans. Richmond Lattimore. Harper Perennial Modern
Classics, 1967.
“Leda and the Swan.” gallerygailbolliger.com/gallery_mythology.html
“Map of Antiquity.” http://www.lordalford.com/9grade/odyssey/odyssey_map.jpg
Ovid. Metamorphoses. Trans. Allen Mandelbaum. Harvest Books, 1995.
Sophocles. Oedipus the King. Trans. Robert Fagles. Penguin Books, 1984.
“The Trojan War.” http://www.stanford.edu/~plomio/history.html
Works Consulted
Goud, T.E. An Introduction to the Divine and Heroic Myths and to the Religion of the
Roman World. 1 June 2009. http://www.unbsj.ca/arts/classics/courses/clas1502/
Stewart, Michael. "Zeus", Greek Mythology: From the Iliad to the Fall of the Last Tyrant.
http://messagenet.com/myths/bios/zeus.html (November 14, 2005)
Webster, Michael. World Mythology. 1 June 2009.
http://faculty.gvsu.edu/websterm/Hesiod2.htm
Westmoreland, Perry L. Ancient Greek Beliefs. 1 June 2009. Google Books. Lee and
Vance Publishing Co. San Ysidro, CA.