Download Greek Mythology PowerPoint Project

Greek Mythology PowerPoint Project
Ancient Greek Art, Architecture, and Writing
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Art: Mostly paintings and sculptures. The buildings/structures contained art.
The designs were unique.
Architecture: Temples of ancient Greece were the biggest and most beautiful.
They also had a political purpose as they were often built to celebrate civic power
and pride. The Parthenon is one of the greatest buildings ever built. It showed
Athenian dominance over the rest of the Greek peninsula and that Athens was its
Greek imperial master.
Writing: Writing began in Greece with the Minoan Culture. It started with
Hieroglyphs and moved on to a syllabic alphabet. The Ancient Greeks recorded
details about aspects of their life using writing and the alphabet. There were
many writers writing in a number of genres during the time of Ancient Greece.
Music: music was vital to ancient Greek culture. Choruses in the Greek plays
were sung, and music was central to religious and state ceremonies and to social
rituals such as weddings, funerals, banquets and more.
Map of Ancient Greece
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Major Greek Gods
 Zeus: King of the gods. Ruler of Mt. Olympus. Last child of the Titans Cronus
and Rhea. Had 5 older brothers and sisters. He was the “Lord of Justice” ,
punishing anyone who lied or broke an oath, but was fair and always striving to
keep a balance of all things.
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Poseidon: Greek god of the seas, responsible for natural and supernatural events
but mainly the ones associated to the sea world. He could cause tempests and
earthquakes, drown lands, shatter rocks and he had the ability to finally bring
back peacefulness. Older brother of Zeus. Born by the major Titians Cronus and
Rhea.
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Hades: Son of the Titans Cronus and Rhea. His wife was Persephone. He
abducted her from her mother and took her with him down to the underworld.
He was the god of the underworld; hell and hatred. He had a beard and dark hair
falling over his brow. His helmet which was his sacred symbol helped him stay
invisible.
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Athena: Zeus’s daughter. Goddess of warfare and wisdom and taught mankind
many skills such as weaving and sewing to the women; and agriculture to men.
Trojan War
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Greatest conflict in Greek mythology. Fought between Greeks and Trojans in
Troy. The Greeks won and destroyed Troy. The Greeks planned a surprise attack
where they would build a giant wooden horse, hide in it, and leave it as a gift for
the Trojans. They would take it into their empire and during the night the Greeks
would attack the Trojans.
Famous Heroes
 Hercules: He was born in Thebes, Greece when Zeus managed to seduce
Alkmene, by transforming himself into her husband Amphitryon. His affair with
Alkmene resulted in the hatred of Zeus’s wife Hera and her will to destroy
Heracles by any means. When he was 8 months old, Hera sent out two snakes to
his cradle meant to kill him but Hercules destroyed it.
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Achilles: Achilles was the most handsome, capable and worthy of all the heroes
that participated in the Trojan War. He was born in Farsala in southern Thessaly
(Central Greece) as the son of Peleus, the King of Pithia in Thessaly, and the
silver footed sea goddess Thetis.
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Theseus: Theseus was the son of king Aegeus of Athens. He was the most
important king of Athens and after Hercules died the most popular hero in ancient
Greece.
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Odysseus: Odysseus was a Greek hero who became famous through his
participation in the Trojan War. He initially didn't want to join, faking madness. He
was a main hero of the Trojan War and the protagonist in Homers epos "the
Odyssey"
Famous Monsters
 Medusa: The Gorgon Medusa was a monstrous, yet mortal creature that had the
power to turn anyone who looked at her into stone. Medusa was the only Gorgon
who was mortal, however she was more powerful than her sisters. Medusa got
finally killed by Perseus, the founder of Mycenae an her head was given to
Athena.
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Kraken: A giant sea creature, looked like an island when motionless and could
reach as high as the top of a sailing ship's main mast with its arms
deployed. When the Kraken attacked a ship, it wrapped its arms around the hull
and capsize it. The crew would drown or be eaten by the monster. Kraken were
mostly noticed in the seas of Scandinavia.
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Cyclops: The Cyclopes were huge monsters with one eye in the middle of their
forehead and other frightening features which liked to eat human beings.
Because of their dreadful features, the Cyclopes were initially locked in the
depths of the Underworld by their father Uranus, but Greek Zeus soon decided to
release them from their prison. They thanked Zeus by giving him the thunder and
the lightning as a gift.
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Cerberu: Cerberus was the hound of Hades’, the god of the Underworld. He was
guarding the entrance to the underworld to prevent the dead from exiting.
Cerberus was usually depicted as huge and monstrous dog with three heads and
snakes on its tail and mane.