Transcript Greek and Roman Mythology

Greek and Roman Mythology
A Review
of
Heroes, Monsters, and Adventures
Heroes
Perseus
 Theseus
 Hercules
 Atalanta
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Perseus
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Son of Zeus and
Danae (a mortal)
Aided by Hermes and
Athena
Tricked the Gray
Women
Slew Medusa
Married Andromeda
Accidentally killed his
grandfather (fulfilling
an oracle’s prophecy)
Theseus
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Son of Athenian King
Aegeus
Slew Sciron and
Procrustes
Slew the Minotaur
(Ariadne and
Daedalus helped)
Ruled Athens well
Married Phaedra
(drew Aphrodite’s
wrath)
Killed by his “friend”
King Lycomedes
Hercules
(Heracles)
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Greatest Greek Hero
Son of Zeus and Alcamena (a
mortal)
Not too bright; often
impulsive
Cursed by Hera; kills wife and
sons
Completed “Twelve Labors”
Taken to Olympus after he
died
Married Hebe
Atalanta
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Her dad wanted a boy, left
her to die
Raised by bears, later
hunters
Helped slay the Calydonian
Boar
May have sailed with
Argonauts
Would only marry the man
who beat her in a race
Melanion tricked her, won
the race
They were turned into
lions.
Other Significant Stories,
Adventures, and Monsters
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Pandora
Prometheus
Europa
Polyphemus
Narcissus
Psyche
Jason
Phaeton
Bellerophon
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Pegasus
Chimera
Daedalus
Minotaur
Chiron
Sisyphus
Procrustes
Griffin
Pandora
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First woman on earth
Hephaestus made her of water
and earth, and all the gods gave
her a gift or talent (Pandora =
“all gifted”).
Her curiosity caused her to open
the jar (or box) containing all
the evils, but she closed the lid
before Hope could escape.
Prometheus
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A Titan who stole fire
from the sun to give
to mortals
Angered Zeus, who
chained him to a
rock where an eagle
would eat his liver
out daily for all of
eternity.
Hercules later killed
the eagle and freed
Prometheus.
Europa
A mortal girl that Zeus fell for
 He tricked her by taking the form of a
beautiful white bull.
 Zeus swept her away to Crete, where
she bore him three children.
 She later married the king of Crete.
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Polyphemus
The most well-known
cyclops due to his roll
in The Odyssey
 Son of Poseidon
 Tricked and blinded
by Odysseus
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Narcissus
Many young women were in love with
him, but he rejected them all.
 One young woman, Echo, went to a
lonely place and faded away until her
sad cries were all that was left of her.
 The goddess Nemesis, in anger, made
Narcissus fall in love with his own
reflection in the pool.
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Psyche and Cupid
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Aphrodite, jealous of Psyche’s beauty, sent
her son Eros (Cupid) to make Psyche fall in
love with an ugly man.
But Eros fell in love with her himself.
He visited her nightly, but never allowed her
to see his face.
At the instigation of her sisters, Psyche
sneaks in to look at him one night when he is
asleep. He awakes and leaves her.
She wandered the earth in search of a lover
for many years but was later reunited with
Eros.
Jason
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King Pelias sent Jason on
a seemingly impossible
quest to bring back the
Golden Fleece.
Argo = ship / Argonauts
= crew
With help from Medea,
Jason gets the fleece.
When he abandons
Medea, she kills their
children, and Jason is
ruined.
Phaeton
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Mortal son of Helios (the
sun god)
Phaeton convinces Helios
to let him drive the
chariot that pulls the sun
across the sky.
The horses get out of
control, threatening to
scorch the earth.
Zeus destroys Phaeton
before the earth can be
burned up.
Bellerophon and Pegasus
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Sent by a king to slay the Chimera (as
task that is supposed to be
impossible)
With Athena’s help, Bellerophon
captures Pegasus, the winged horse.
They slay the Chimera.
Later, in pride, Bellerophon tries to
ride Pegasus to Mt. Olympus.
Zeus knocks him back to earth, and he
wanders lonely for the rest of his
days.
Chimaera
Hideous monster with the head of a
lion, the body of a goat, and the tail of
a dragon.
 Terrorized Lycia until Bellerophon and
Pegasus killed it.
 Any multi-faced or confusing problem is
now referred to as a chimera.
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Daedalus
Famous architect and inventor
 Built the labyrinth for the Minotaur
 He and his son Icarus are later trapped
in the labyrinth, so he crafts wings for
them to fly out.
 Icarus flies too close to the sun, melts
his wings, and drowns in the sea.
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Minotaur
Monster with the body of a man, but
the head and tail of a bull.
 Kept in the labyrinth in Crete, where
every year 14 young people were
sacrificed to this monster.
 Theseus volunteered to be one of the
sacrifices and slew the Minotaur.
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Chiron
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The only good centaur
He was very wise and had great knowledge
of the healing arts.
Tutor of many heroes (Achilles, Theseus, etc.)
Hercules accidentally shot him with a poison
arrow.
To escape the pain, he relinquished his
immortality.
He is now the constellation of Sagittarius.
Sisyphus
He betrayed the secrets of the gods,
cheated Death, and was then punished
by Hades.
 In the underworld, he his doomed to
forever roll a huge boulder up a hill,
where it then rolls back to the bottom,
and he starts all over again.
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Procrustes
Legendary robber
 He captured travelers and forced them
to stay in one of his “beds.”
 Short people were stretched on a rack
until they were the right length.
 Tall people had the parts that were too
long chopped off.
 Theseus killed him.
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Pan
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God of shepherds and flocks
as well as of male fertility.
A satyr
Son of Hermes
Chased nymphs through the
forests in the shape of a
goat
Not well-liked by other gods
Griffin
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Legendary creature with the head,
beak, and wings of an eagle, and the
body of a lion.
Sources
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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
This presentation is for educational purposes
only; it has not been and should not be sold
or used as a vehicle to make money.
The End