Transcript Other Godsx
GREEK MYTHOLOGY Other Gods and Demi-Gods 1. ASCLEPIUS • His parents are Apollo and Coronis. He is the god of healing and medicine. His birth was accompanied by scandal. While carrying him, his mother had an affair. The act was reported to Apollo by a crow. Apollo turned all crows, until then white, to black to mark them as untrustworthy. Apollo then slayed Coronis with his arrow and rescued Asclepius from the funeral pyre. Asclepius was a successful doctor who went too far by bringing the dead back to life. 2. DEMETER • She is the goddess of grain and the harvest. She is the daughter of the Titans Cronus and Rhea. She makes the crops grow each year. The first loaf of bread from the harvest is sacrificed to her. 3. PERSEPHONE • She is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. She was the goddess of springtime, but was abducted by Hades and made Queen of the Underworld for six months each year. She also raised Aphrodite’s child, Adonis. The mint and pomegranate are sacred to her. She symbolizes the sprouting seeds of spring. 4. DIONYSUS • He is the god of fertility and wine, later considered patron of the arts. He is the son of Zeus and Semele (a mortal). He is the only full god to have a mortal parent. He invented wine and spread the art of tending grapes. He has a dual nature: On one hand bringing joy and divine ecstasy, and on the other, brutal, unthinking rage. This reflects both sides of wine’s nature. Dionysus is one of the few who could travel to the Underworld and bring out a dead person. He became one of the most important gods in everyday life. He became associated with several key concepts, including rebirth after death, and that a person could be possessed by a greater power. This idea is echoed under the influence of wine. 4. DIONYSUS CONTINUED • The festival for Dionysus is in the spring when leaves reappear on the vine. Its focus is the theater. Most Greek plays were initially written to be performed at this festival. All who took part in the play were sacred servants to Dionysus. 5. EROS • He is the son of Aphrodite. He is the god of romantic (not true) love. He is often represented blindfolded, because love is often blind. His “weapon” is darts or arrows. The tips have been magically treated to produce uncontrollable love or complete disinterest in the first person they strike. Eros liked to make people fall in love, especially if they were not suited for each other. 6. HEBE • She is the daughter of Zeus and Hera. She is the goddess of youth. She, along with Ganymede, is a cupbearer to the gods. She is the wife of Heracles. 7. ERIS • She is the daughter of Zeus and Hera. She is Ares’ (god of war) twin, and goddess of discord and spite. She often accompanies Ares into battle, bringing along her son, Strife. She is very unpopular, and is often snubbed by the other gods. She is the direct cause of the Trojan War. 8. PAN • He is the son of Hermes. He is the god of goatherds and shepherds. He is mostly human in appearance, but with goat horns, legs, and feet. He is an excellent musician and plays the pipes. • His name is the basis for the word “panic” because he created the noises in the woods that scared travelers at night. 9. NEMESIS • Her name means “righteous anger, due enactment, or divine revenge.” She helped avenge those who were wronged. She punished those who did wrong, especially presumptuousness towards the gods. 10. THE GRACES • They are the daughters of Zeus and Eurynome. There are three Graces: Aglaia (Splendor), Euphrosyne (Mirth), and Thalia (Good Cheer). They are known for singing and dancing for the gods. 11. THE MUSES • They are the daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne. They are known for the music of their song, which brings joy to anyone who hears it. There are nine Muses, each with her own specialty: Clio (History), Urania (Astronomy), Melpomene (Tragedy), Thalia (Comedy), Terpsichore (Dance), Calliope (Epic Poetry), Erato (Love Poetry), Polyhymnia (Songs to the Gods), and Euterpe (Lyric Poetry). 12. THE FURIES • These three sisters are the punishers of crime. They pursue wrong doers relentlessly, until death, often driving them to suicide. They are particularly concerned with matricide (killing one’s mother). There are three Furies: Tisiphone, Megaera, Alecto. They also came from the blood of Uranus (as did Aphrodite). 13. THE FATES • The Fates have a subtle but awesome power of deciding a man’s destiny. They assign a man to good or evil. Their most obvious choice is choosing how long a man lives. There are three Fates: Clotho, the spinner, who spins the thread of life. Lachesis, the measurer, who chooses the lot in life one will have and measures how long it will be. Atropos, she who cannot be turned, cuts the thread of life with her shears at death. It is not entirely clear how far their power extends. It is possible that they determine the fates of the gods as well. In any case. not even the most powerful is willing to trifle with them.