Transcript File

Written by Homer
Written Approximately 1200 B.C.
Translated from Greek by Robert Fitzgerald
Mythology Matters…..
• Literary
allusions
• The
characters represent human qualities, the
virtues and flaws that are innate in all humans
•
Deeper understanding of another culture and
their history
• A Myth is a traditional story from a particular culture.
•“mythos” = meaning word or story
•“logos”= meaning the logical study of
•explains a belief of that culture, a ritual of the culture, an emotion, or a
mysterious natural phenomenon
*Types of myths: Greek, Roman, Norse, Egyptian, Native American
*Topics of Myths include: nature, creation, historical.
*Ancient Greek mythology is the most influential
It has influenced literature, sculptures, and paintings.
*The earliest sources of Greek mythical tales are the works of the
poets Hesiod and Homer.
The Olympians
12 immortals who dwelt in a palace on Mount
Olympus (can you identify them all)
• Title/Duty:
Zeus / Jupiter
King of the
gods/god of air, sky, rain,
heavens, earth, weather,
justice
• Symbols: eagle, oak tree
• Uses Thunderbolts as his
weapon
• Son of Cronos and Rhea
• Most powerful Olympian
• Personality: dislikes liars
or people who break
promises
Jupiter is so
named because
it is so big – it is
the “King of
Planets”
Hera / Juno
• Queen
of the gods
• Title/Duty: protector of
marriage
• Wife/sister of Zeus
• Symbols: cow, peacock
• Personality: Jealous of Zeus’
affairs, motherly
No planet, but there
is an asteroid named
after her plus a city
in Alaska
Pallas Athena / Minerva
• Title/Duty:
Goddess of
wisdom and defensive war,
Odysseus’ protector
• Symbols: owl, olive tree
• Daughter of Zeus and Metis
(Titan) – she popped out of
his head after he swallowed
the pregnant Metis
• She carries a shield with
Medusa’s head on it
• Personality: finds pleasure in
peace rather than battle
Minerva was a tiny
robot designed by
the Japanese to
land on an
asteroid, but got
lost in space.
Poseidon / Neptune
• Title/Duty:
God of the sea
and earthquakes
• Symbols: trident, horse,
dolphins
• Trident is weapon
• Amphitrite is his wife
• Zeus’ brother
• Son of Cronos and Rhea
Neptune is
so named
• 2nd most powerful
because
• Personality: gruff, quick
the blue
to anger, resentful of
looks like
Zeus’ reign
water
Hades / Pluto
• Title/Duty:
God of the
Underworld and Wealth
• King of the dead but he is not
Death, oversees punishments of
the dead
• Symbols: Cerebrus, cypress tree
• Zeus’ brother
• Son of Cronos and Rhea
• Has a helmet that makes the
wearer invisible
• Persephone (Spring) is his wife
• 3rd most powerful
• Personality: Not evil, unpitying,
rarely let anyone who enters the
Underworld leave
Demeter / Ceres
• Daughter
of Cronos and Rhea
• Symbols: wheat, cornucopia
• Title/ Duty: Goddess of
vegetation
• Had powers of growth and
resurrection
• Her daughter is Persephone
• Personality: kind, gentle,
nurturing
The asteroid Ceres was the first
asteroid ever discovered and is
one of the largest (about the size
of Texas). It almost became a
designated as a planet
Artemis / Diana
• Apollo’s
Twin sister
• Title/Duty: Goddess
of the hunt, moon
goddess, goddess of
• Symbols:
crescent
moon, bow and arrow
• Virgin goddess
• Personality:
protective
& defensive, loves
nothing more than
hunting
The
Artemis
navigation
satellite
• Title/
Apollo/ Phoebus
Duty: God of truth,
light, poetry, music, archery,
prophecy, youth, light and
healing
• Symbols: golden lyre, laurel
wreath, crow, dolphin, silver
bow
• Sun god in some myths
(Helios is the sun god in
other myths)
• Son of Zeus and Leto
• Wolves, cattle, dolphins, and
crows are sacred to him
Apollo
asteroids are
near-earth
asteroids
Hermes / Mercury
• Title/Duty:
The Hermes Asteroid
Messenger
god and the god of
thieves & commerce ($)
• Personality: trickster,
impulsive, friendly
• Very fast
• Symbols: winged cap &
sandals, staff (magic
wand), bag of money
• Son of Zeus and Maia
• Loves Aphrodite
• Greeks believed he guided
souls to Hades
Mercury revolves around the sun so fast, it
was named for the messenger god. One year
is faster than one day on Mercury
Hephaestus / Vulcan
• Title/Duty:
God of fire and the forge,
blacksmiths, metalworkers, craftsmen
• Symbols: forge, anvil, quail, volcano
• Son of Zeus and Hera
• Ugly
• Lame because he was thrown off Mt. Olympus for
interfering with a fight between Hera and Zeus
• Husband to Aphrodite
Aphrodite / Venus
• Title/
Duty: Goddess of
beauty and love
• Symbols: dove, sparrow,
rose
• Mother of Eros/Cupid
• Wife of
Hephaestus/Vulcan but
lover of Ares/Mars and
other guys
• Born from the
foam/blood in the sea
caused by the attack of
Cronos/ Saturn on
Uranus
• Personality: Can make
anyone love her
”
Venus is so named
because it is a
beautiful planet
and can be easily
seen with just the
eye
• Son
Ares / Mars
of Zeus and Hera, but both
dislike him
• Title/Duty: God of War
• Symbols: dogs, vultures, spear &
shield
• The Romans glorify him, but the
Greeks make him out to be a
coward
• He has three children with
Aphrodite: Phobos (panic) and
Deimos (fear) are twins
• Personality: Brave and strong
argumentative, impulsive,
bloodthirsty, and destructive
Mars
and its
moons,
Phobos
and
Deimos
Hestia / Vesta
• Zeus’
sister – Oldest of the original
gods
• Title/Duty: Goddess of the hearth
and home
• Symbols: hearth, fire
• Gave up her spot on Mt. Olympus for
Dionysus
• Worshipped daily
• Invented the art of building houses
• A virgin priestesses served her for
30 year time periods
• Not very active in Greek mythology
• Personality: kindest, most virtuous,
and most charitable of the Olympians
Asteroid Vesta
Where was ancient Greece? Greece
is a country in Europe.
Greece
When and where was ancient Greece?
BC AD
0
1000 BC –
323 BC:
Ancient
Greece
3100 BC – 1069 BC:
Ancient Egypt
7901060s:
The Viking
Age
55 BC 400 AD:
Roman
Britain
1666: The
Great Fire
of London
How have the ancient Greeks influenced our buildings?
Look at buildings in your area or in pictures. Can you spot
any of these Ancient Greek features?
capitals
columns
cornices
a pediment
A look inside the Greek Alphabet. Compare and
contrast this to our own English alphabet. What do
you notice?
What similarities are there between ancient Greek schools and our
school?
At school we learn reading, writing and math. We
also learn singing and musical instruments.
Only children from rich families can go to school,
because you have to pay.
Girls don’t usually go to school, they are mostly
educated at home.
We start school at the age of seven and stay
until we are about fourteen.
After school most children learn a job or trade.
The richer ones might go to Athens to study with
a philosopher.
Socrates 470-399 B.C.
•
•
•
Socrates was a philosopher of
Ancient Greece.
A philosopher is someone who
tries to explain the nature of
life
Socrates thought people could
learn best by asking questions.
This method of questioning is
still called the Socratic method.
He also thought that
philosophers could study human
behavior to learn how to
improve society.
The Death of Socrates
•
•
•
The trial of Socrates was based on two
charges: corrupting the youth and impiety
(immorality and sin). More specifically,
Socrates’ accusers cited two ‘impious’
acts: ‘failing to acknowledge the gods
that the city acknowledges’ and
‘introducing new deities.’ 501 chosen
jurors voted to convict him.
Socrates was ultimately sentenced to
death by drinking a hemlock-based liquid.
A well-known account of the trial was
given by one of Socrates’ student, Plato.
The trial is one of the most famous of all
time. Whether Socrates was punished
unjustly is a thought-provoking and
contested issue, which to this day
inspires discussions about the nature and
meaning of justice.
Plato
428-348 B.C.
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Plato was a student of
Socrates.
Plato later teaches Aristotle.
He started a school called
The Academy.
Plato’s writing took the form
of a dialogue between
teacher and student.
Wrote Plato’s Republicproved one of the most
intellectually and historically
influential works of
philosophy and political
theory.
Aristotle
384-322 B.C.
Aristotle taught Alexander
the Great.
 His writings cover many
subjects, including physics,
poetry, theater, music,
logic, rhetoric, politics,
government, ethics,
biology, and zoology.

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He wrote The Poetics-offers
an account of what he calls
poetry, drama and comedies,
tragedy, satires, lyric poetry,
and epic poetry.
An Epic is a long narrative poem on a serious subject.
• Tells about the adventures of a hero and covers a vast amount
of territory.
•embodies the values of the cultures it is written for
•The Iliad and the Odyssey were used in schools to teach Greek
virtues.
•Values: honor, bravery, hospitality, intelligence, respect for
the gods, loyalty to home and family
•Major faults: disrespect for the gods, lack of hospitality,
excessive pride “hubris”
• Iliad is primary model for epic of war
• Odyssey is primary model for epic of the long journey
•Begins in medias res (Latin for “it begins in the
middle of things”), then flashes back to explain
action leading up to that point
•Begins with an invocation (calling upon a god for
inspiration) or prayer to a god or gods
•Always begins with a statement of theme
Characteristics of an Epic
• Involves an epic question
• The opening lines of the poem that state the theme
• A physically impressive hero of national or
historical importance
• A vast setting involving not only of the known
world but also the underworld
• Action such as a quest or journey requiring
superhuman ability and courage
• Evidence of supernatural forces
The Muses
• The Muses preside over the arts and sciences,
inspire all artists, especially poets, philosophers,
and musicians.
• Their name denotes “memory” or “a reminder,”
since in the poets relied on their memories when
telling these stories
• The nine Muses are
the daughters of the
Zeus and of Mnemosyne
(ni-mos-a-nē), the goddess
of memory
The Nine Muses
• Calliope (ka-lī-ō-pē)
• the muse of epic poetry
• Erato (er-e-tō)
• the muse of love poetry
• Clio (kl-ī-ō)
• the muse of history
• Polyhymnia (pol-ē-him-nē-a)
• the muse of sacred poetry
• Euterpe (yoo-tur-pē)
• the muse of music
• Urania (yoo-rā-nē-a)
• the muse of astronomy
• Melpomene (mel-pom-e-nē)
• the muse of tragedy
• Thalia (the-lī-a)
• the muse of comedy
• Terpsichore (turp-sic-u-rē)
• the muse of dancing
• Singer “rapsode” of tales/ from the island Chios
•historians and classicists can only speculate about the life of this
man (details are few)
•thought to be blind, but describes events as a seeing person
. We do not even know the century in which he lived, and it is
difficult to say with absolute certainty that the same poet
composed both works.
•All historians/entertainers of Homer’s time did not write their
stories/facts down.
•The Greeks hailed him as their greatest poet, as well as their
first. Although the Greeks recognized other poets who composed
in Greek before Homer, no texts from these earlier poets
survived.
This
Homer
Not This
Homer…
Rhapsodes
• None of these stories were written
down. Each storyteller would have
had to memorize the entire work
and told it in such a way that it
would be part performance.
• They did not memorize the story
• Homer was a model for a class of
storytellers called rhapsodes
• Known as “singers of tales,” they
were the historians and entertainers
as well as myth-makers
word for word but knew the basic
story and improvised on the spot,
following a basic rhythm of the
words.
• There is a great deal of repetition in
the stories, which makes it a bit
simpler to tell.
Now, close your eyes and envision this as I read the
following to you!
• The
banquet is over and the fire has collapsed to a bed of
embers. Amid bursts of laughter and boisterous conversation,
serving maids clear the remains of bread and meat from the long
wooden table. From his place at the head of the table, the lord of
the hall signals to a man holding a stringed instrument starts to
play while the guests shift their attention and slowly ease their
talk. Then he begins to sing. Chanting rhythmically, occasionally
touching the strings of his lyre, he sings of gods, heroes, and
monsters; of love, war, travel, death, and homecoming. A stillness
upon the hall and the listeners fall under the spell of his words.
The singer of tales is working his magic.
• This is an example of what it would be like to hear the tales of
Homer and other storyteller’s.
•Sequel to the Iliad (900 and 700 BC)
• The Iliad focuses on the days toward the end of the Trojan War (mid
1200s BC)
• The Odyssey focuses on one of the soldiers that fought in the Trojan War
returning home 20 years after the war—Odysseus .
• The Iliad and the Odyssey together were considered sacred to the Greeks—
much like the Bible to many people today.
• Both books were not originally written down but were recited orally
•2 ways they were presented : sung with musical accompaniment
•Both contain Homeric similes & epithets
The Odyssey is comprised of 11,300 lines and divided into 24 books
(It would take 20-25 hours to recite!!!)
•The Judgment of Paris- The Golden Apple Contest
•Spartan King Menelaus’ wife Helen (the face that launched a thousand
ships) left him for the young Prince Paris of Troy.
•Greeks attacked Troy
•Agamemnon, brother of Menelaus, led the siege.
• Odysseus (main character in the Odyssey) was another hero of
the war.
• Odysseus was known not only for being a strong hero, but also
for being a wise/smart hero.
• Another Greek hero, Achilles, died in the final year of the war “Achilles
Heel”
•Trojan Horse & Greek forces were victorious!
How did it start?
• Eris, goddess of discord, was not invited to a
wedding banquet on Mt. Olympus.
• Into the banquet hall, Eris tossed a golden apple
inscribed “For the Fairest.”
• Athena, Hera, and Aphrodite asked Zeus to
decide who deserved the apple.
• Zeus would not choose. (He’s no fool!)
• Zeus says Paris is an excellent judge of beauty,
and refers the goddesses to him.
The Judgment of Paris
• Paris was the son of King Priam of Troy.
• He was rather weak and cowardly.
• Priam had sent him away from Troy because an
oracle prophesied that he would be the ruin of the
city.
• When the goddesses appeared to him, they each
offered him a bribe:
• Athena would make him a great warrior.
• Hera would make him ruler of Europe and Asia.
• Aphrodite would give him the most beautiful woman in the
world.
Whom did he choose?
• Paris gave the apple
to Aphrodite.
• She then took Paris to
Helen, the most
beautiful woman in
the world.
• Hera and Athena,
however, vowed
revenge.
Helen
• Helen was a daughter of Zeus.
• She was the wife of Menelaus.
• Menelaus was the brother of the Greek King, Agamemnon.
• See the problem?
Paris takes Helen
The Greeks Respond
• Menelaus asks all of Greece to help.
• Greek armies set off across the sea to lay siege to Troy and leave it
in ashes.
• And so begins the Trojan War.
• Helen is often referred to as “The Face that Launched a Thousand
Ships.”
The Fall of Troy
• They wait until the Trojans are asleep, and then they come out and
slaughter them.
• The Trojan War is ended.
• The Greeks won.
• The Trojans lost.
• Odysseus is the greatest hero remaining alive…but now he has to
get home…
Where’s Troy?
• Troy is across the
Aegean Sea from
Greece.
• Troy was also called
Ilium, Ilion, and Ilios.
• A well-walled city with
broad streets and
beautiful palaces…until
the Trojan War.
•Wife: Penelope
Son: Telemachus
Kingdom: Ithaca
•Great soldier of the war
• Originally tried to get out of going to the war—pretended he was crazy
• Came up with the wooden-horse trick that lead to Troy’s collapse.
• The Odyssey is the account of Odysseus’ journey home after the war.
• (1)Story in Ithaca about Odysseus’
wife and son as they await his return.
•(2)Tale of Odysseus’ wanderings
during the ten years following the
Trojan War.
•(3)Odysseus returns to Ithaca and
joins forces with his son, Telemachus,
to destroy their enemies.
Motifs in The Odyssey
• Hospitality
• Respect
for the Gods
• The Importance of Lineage (family)
• Loyalty
• Pride and Honor
• Self-discipline in resisting temptation
• The Importance of Leadership
• Revenge, Justice, & Reconciliation
• Fate
2 Film Allusions
• 2001:
A Space Odyssey is a 1968 science
fiction film directed by Stanley Kubrick (A
Clockwork Orange, Doctor Strangeglove). The
movie is about creation by design- computers
and their part in them- computers that can
misfunction and cause destruction.
• O’
Brother Where Art Thou? The film is a
2000 adventure story directed by brothers
Joel and Ethan Cohen (The Big Lebowski, No
Country for Old Men, Fargo,etc).Set in 1934
Mississippi during the Great Depression, the
film's story is a modern satire loosely based on
Homer’s epic poem.