Transcript Greek Gods and Goddesses

Greek Gods and Goddesses
An Introduction to Greek Mythology
Essential Question:
• What are some of the myths of the
Sumerians, Egyptians, Greeks, and
Romans? [6.5.17]
• Myth- a legendary story that presents
part of the beliefs of a people or
explains a practice, belief, or aspect of
nature
• Mythology- all of the myths dealing
with gods and heroes of a people
• All gods and goddesses are immortalthey cannot die and can only be killed
by another immortal
• Human beings are mortal. They die
First Beings
Gaea
Uranus
Cronus
Children- The first beings on earth
TitansGiants
Hecatoncheires
- 100-handed
beings
Cyclopesone-eyed
beings
Olympians
• Children of Gaea and Cronus
– Cronus had killed his father Uranus
• After the battle between the Titans,
the Olympians gained control of the
earth and lived on Mount Olympus
Atlas
• General of the Titan army
• Very cruel
• Olympians made him hold the earth
for eternity= earthquakes, but the
earth does not fall back into chaos.
Why are we learning about these
gods?
• Some of the myths of the Sumerians,
Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans. [6.5.17]
When you think Greek mythology,
which god do you first think about?
Zeus
• Youngest Olympian
• Father, Coronus, swallowed other brothers
and sisters so Gaea replaced the baby Zeus
with a stone=Zeus lived
• Zeus later poisoned Coronus and Coronus
barfed up all of the other Olympians!
• Given the lightening/thunder bolt by the
Cyclopes as his special weapon
Zeus
• God of the Sky
• Leader of ALL Olympians
• When Zeus throws his lightening
bolt down to earth, mushrooms are
created
• Married to Hera but does not stay
true to her=has MANY children by
other women!
Poseidon
• Brother of Zeus
• God of the Seas
• Given the trident as his special weapon
by the Cyclopes
• Created the seahorse
Hades
• Gloomy pessimist
• Given a cloak of darkness and
concealment by the Cyclopes
• Does not live on Mount Olympus;
Hades is so gloomy that he prefers to
live in his kingdom of the
Underworld
The Underworld
• Dead person is escorted to the
entrance of the Underworld by
Hermes
• A coin is placed on each eye to pay
Charon to ferry the body across the
River Styx
Creatures of the Underworld
• Cerberus-three-headed dog; makes
sure no living being comes to the
Underworld
• The Furies-winged bats
with razor sharp wings
• Protect Hades and
carry messages
Reward –Heroes Only
• Elysian Fields-heroes were allowed
in this beautiful place where one
would live a life of leisure and
pleasure.
Punishment
Regular people were sent
to a special area to
simply keep on doing
what they did for life
• Tartarus- innermost
earth; reserved for bad
behavior
Pallas Athena
• Has no mother
• Sprang full clothed and fully grown from
Zeus’s head
• Given the areas of intellect as her realm
– Invented geometry, astronomy, and
military strategy
• Hated war but liked the planning of
battles
• Became the patron of Athens
– Athens is noted for valuing
wisdom and justice
– Gave the Athenians the olive
tree=food, oil, and wood
Aphrodite
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Goddess of love and beauty
Magic belt is her symbol
The most enchanting woman of the universe
Said to have assumed human form and was
Helen=her great beauty started the Trojan
War
• Married to the ugliest god,
Hephaestus
Hephaestus
• God of the forge and fire
• Hammer and anvil =symbols
• Ugly, crippled son of Zeus and Hera
– Thrown over the walls of Mt. Olympus by
Zeus at birth because he was so ugly
• Married to Aphrodite because he made
the magic belt (girdle) which made men
fall madly in love with Aphrodite
Ares
• God of war
• Handsome, but cruel son of Zeus
and Hera
• Rides in his war chariot during
battles to cause even more bloodshed
and death.
• The planet Mars is
named for him
Apollo
• God of the Sun
• Son of Zeus and a nymph named Leto
• Drives the Sun Chariot from his palace in
the East to the stables in the West every
day=the sun rises in the east and sets in
the west
• Also the god of music
Pythian Games/Olympic Games
• Apollo killed Python in a sacred
place-the cave of Mother Earth at
Delphi
• To atone for this crime, Apollo
establishes the Python Games which
later were called the Olympic Games
Artemis
• Twin of Apollo
• Goddess of the hunt and unmarried
girls
• Also known as the goddess of the
moon because she often hunted by
night.
Demeter
• Goddess of Agriculture
• Roman name is Ceres=cereal-the wheat
stalk is her symbol
• Sister to Zeus and is an Olympian is her
own right
– Cares very little about the affairs of Mt.
Olympus; loves the earth and her
daughter Persephone
Demeter and Persephone
Persephone is the beautiful
daughter of Demeter.
Captured by Hades while out
on a picnic with her friends
and taken to the Underworld
to become the wife of Hades.
Friends only saw the earth
open up and seemingly
swallow Persephone.
• Demeter thinks the earth swallowed
Persephone and curses the earth so
nothing grows
• Zeus fears that this generation of man
will die from the lack of heat and the
ability to grow food. But he also loves his
brother and wants him to find some joy
with a wife
• Zeus sends Hermes to the
Underworld to free
Persephone IF she has not
eaten ANYTHING while she
has been in the Underworld.
• Minutes before Hermes
arrives Persephone eats 4
pomegranate seeds
Seasons of the Year
• We have seasons because
Persephone must stay with Hades
(her husband) 4 months per year.
Hera
• Long-suffering wife of Zeus and his
sister!
• Queen of the heavens
• Goddess of Married Women
• Choose a peacock as her symbol
to give herself some glamour
• Zeus tricked her into marrying him
Hermes
• Winged messenger of the gods and
goddesses
• Appears in many myths but no known
single myth about him
• Florists adopted his winged helmet as a
symbol of swift delivery
• Running events often show his winged
feet
Hestia
• Goddess of the home and hearth
• Cared deeply for peace and tranquility
• Gave up her throne to a mortal
Bacchus
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Only mortal to become a god
God of wine
Grape bunches = symbol
When the Romans adopt the Greek gods
and goddesses, Bacchus is the most
lasting god.
Why did we learn about the Greek
gods?
• To know some of the myths of the
Sumerians, Egyptians, Greeks, and
Romans? [6.5.17]