Transcript Mythology - Duplin County Schools

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What is a myth?
Myths are traditional stories
about gods, goddesses and
mortals with special powers.
Myths were passed down by
oral tradition to explain the
natural world, and became an
important part of the religious
beliefs of ancient peoples.
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What is a myth?
Myths are still an important part of our culture,
because they often describe timeless ideas such
as the creation of the world, the forces of nature,
the battle between good and evil, and universal
human characteristics and emotions.
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Where do myths come from?
Every culture has some form of myths. The Incas,
the Mayas, the Aztecs, and Native Americans all had
myths that were passed down through their history.
The North Germans, Scandinavians, and Vikings
created myths as well. (You may have hear of Thor)
The Egyptians created large temples and pyramids
in honor of their gods, and told stories about them.
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Where do myths come from?
However, when someone
mentions mythology, or the
study of myths, the stories we
usually think of first are those
of classical mythology, which
come from the ancient Greek
and Roman civilizations.
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Greek or Roman?
In classical mythology, many of the gods and
goddesses have two names: a Greek name
and a Roman name. When the Greek
civilization declined, Romans conquered much
of Europe and parts of Asia. They took over
many of the Greek myths and gave the gods
and goddesses new names in their own
language, Latin.
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Greek or Roman?
In the next slides, you will learn about
some of the most famous characters from
classic mythology. When two names are
given, the Greek name will be given first,
and the Roman name will follow in
parentheses. Once you are introduced to
the characters, you will have a better
understanding of the myths that you read.
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Achilles
Achilles a great Greek warrior in the Trojan
War. He was a main character in Homer’s The
Iliad. Plato called him the most handsome of
the heroes gathered in Troy. The only way to
defeat him was to attack his one weak spot,
his heel. When Achilles died because of a
small injury to his heel, the term is now used
to describe weakness in a person’s character.
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Adonis
Adonis was a Greek young man who was so
good-looking, even Aphrodite, the goddess of
love, fell in love with him. Today, any young
man who is extremely handsome may be
referred to as an Adonis.
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Agamemnon
Agamemnon was the
Greek king who led
his forces against
Troy in the Trojan
War.
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Amazons
The Amazons, in
Greek mythology,
were a race of
female warriors
who were known
for their great
size, strength,
and fierceness.
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Aphrodite (Venus)
Aphrodite was the beautiful goddess of love
and beauty. She was said to have been born
from the sea foam. Some artists portray her
rising out of the sea on a sea shell.
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Apollo
Apollo was the god of prophecy, music,
poetry, medicine and light. He was very
important for both the Greeks and the
Romans. He controlled many of the activities
of civilization. People often went to his oracle,
or shrine, in the city of Delphi, to ask for
guidance.
Head of Apollo –
Vatican Museum
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Ares (Mars)
Ares was the god of war. He was the son of Zeus
and Hera.
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Artemis (Diana)
Artemis was the goddess of the hunt. She is
often pictured with a bow and arrow and a deer.
Statue of Diana –
Louvre Museum
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Athena (Minerva)
Athena was the goddess of wisdom. She was
also the warrior and protector of Athens and
other Greek cities. She had an unusual birth.
She was born full grown and fully in armor
from the head of Zeus.
Statue of
Athena Athens
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Atlas
Atlas was a Titan who rebelled against the gods, and
so he was punished by being forced to hold the
earth and sky on his shoulders for all eternity.
Today, a person who is very strong, is sometimes
called an atlas. An atlas is also a book of maps of
the earth.
Atlas supports a globe,
on Collins Street,
Melbourne, Australia
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Cerberus
Cerberus was a three-headed dog that guarded
the gates of the underworld, Hades. He allowed
the dead to enter, but not to leave.
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Cyclops
The Cyclopes were giants that only had one
eye, set in the middle of their foreheads. The
best known Cyclops imprisoned the Greek
hero Odysseus and his men, but was tricked
and they escaped when they put out his eye.
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Daphne
Daphne was a nymph that Apollo fell in love
with. However, she was not in love with him
and tried to escape from him. She asked the
gods to help by turning her into a laurel, or
bay tree. Apollo adopted the bay leaf as his
symbol.
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Daedalus
Daedalus was a famous Greek inventor who
built the Labyrinth, a great maze from which
no one could escape. His son, Icarus, fell into
the sea and died when he failed to follow his
father’s advice and flew too close to the sun.
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Delphic Oracle
The Delphic Oracle was a temple in the city of
Delphi, where people would go to try to find advice
and guidance about their future. A priestess, also
called an oracle, gave puzzling messages (also
called oracles) to people from the god Apollo.
Priests heard the oracles and explained and
interpreted them for people.
Ruins of
the temple
in Delphi
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Demeter (Ceres)
Demeter was the goddess of grain and farming. Her
daughter, Persephone, was kidnapped by Hades, god of
the underworld. Demeter made all the crops wither
and die while she looked for her. Zeus then allowed
Persephone to return, but she had to go back to the
underworld for four months every year because she
tasted four pomegranate seeds when she was there.
Every year, when Demeter finds her daughter, her
happiness brings spring, but when she loses her again,
winter begins.
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Echo
Echo was a nymph who loved Narcissus. When
he rejected her, she wasted away until nothing
was left of her except her voice.
Our word echo comes from this story.
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Eros (Cupid)
Eros was the god of love and is often identified
as the son of Aphrodite. When he shot arrows
into people’s hearts, they would fall in love.
Eros, or Cupid, is often portrayed on Valentine’s
Day cards as a baby dressed in pink or red
carrying a bow and arrows.
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Eurydice
Eurydice was the wife of Orpheus. When she
died, Orpheus followed her to the
underworld. He charmed Hades with his music
to secure her release. However, on his way
out, Orpheus disobeyed Hades and turned
back to see if Eurydice was following, and
ended up losing her forever.
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Fates
The Fates were three old women who decided how
long every one would live, and what would happen
in their lifetime. Everyone’s life was represented by
a thread. One Fate spun the thread, one Fate
measured it, and one Fate cut it resulting in death.
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Furies
The Furies were ugly goddesses of revenge
who had snakes for hair. They would chase
people who were guilty of terrible crimes and
drive them insane.
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Golden Fleece
The golden fleece was a gold woolen coat that
had been taken from a magical winged ram. It
was a prize sought by Jason, a Greek hero, on
one of his quests.
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Gordian Knot
The Gordian knot was a very complicated knot
tied by a Greek king. Whoever untied the knot
was supposed to be able to rule all of Asia.
There was a story that Alexander the Great
undid the knot by cutting through it with his
sword.
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Hades (Pluto)
Hades was god of the underworld, the gloomy
place where the dead lived. Hades was also the
name of the underworld.
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Hector
Hector was a noble warrior and a leader of the
Trojan army during the Trojan War. He was
slain by Achilles, who dragged his body
around the city of Troy.
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Helen of Troy
Helen, thought to be the most beautiful
woman in the world, was born in Greece.
However, she became Helen of Troy
because she was kidnapped by Paris of
Troy and he made her his princess. The
Trojan War started when the Greeks sent a
fleet of ships to attack Troy and win her
back.
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Hephaestus (Vulcan)
Hephaestus was the god of fire, and was also
the blacksmith of the gods. He used his fire to
make their tools and weapons.
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Hera (Juno)
Hera was the wife of Zeus and the queen of all
the Greek gods and goddesses. She was also
the goddess of marriage. She sometimes
would take the shape of a bird.
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Hercules
Hercules was the strongest man in the world,
and a great Greek hero. He proved his might
by performing a series of supposedly
impossible tasks known as the Twelve Labors
of Hercules.
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Hermes (Mercury)
Hermes was the winged messenger of the
gods. He wore winged sandals and a winged
cap which allowed him to fly very fast. He also
carried a magic wand.
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Icarus
Icarus, the son of the inventor Daedalus, who
failed to follow his father’s instructions.
Daedalus had made wings of wax that he and
his son used to escape from an island where
they were imprisoned. Icarus was told not to
fly too close to the sun, but he ignored the
warning, and the wings melted and he fell into
the sea and was drowned.
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Jason and the Golden Fleece
Jason had to set sail to search for the Golden Fleece
in order to claim his rightful throne. The task was
thought to be impossible because the Fleece was so
far away and guarded by a terrible snake. Jason,
sailed his ship the Argo, with some other Greek
heroes called the Argonauts. They had many
perilous adventures, but were able to recover the
Fleece.
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Labyrinth
A great maze invented by Daedalus. It had many
passages and dead ends. Those who entered
would get lost and never come out. A great
monster, the Minotaur, was kept at the center.
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Medusa
Medusa was a Gorgon, which was a terrible
monster with snakes for hair. Whoever looked at
her directly turned into stone. Perseus, a Greek
hero, was able to kill her by looking at her
reflection in a polished shield as he swung his
sword.
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Midas
Midas was a greedy king who wished
everything he touched would turn to gold. The
gods granted him his wish, and found out he
could not even eat, because his food turned to
gold before he could eat it. He begged the
gods to take away his power so he would not
starve to death.
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Minotaur
The Minotaur was a monster that was half
man and half bull, and was kept in the
Labyrinth to destroy those who entered. He
was finally destroyed by the Greek hero
Theseus.
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Narcissus
Narcissus was a handsome young man who
gazed into a pond and fell in love with his own
reflection. He wasted away staring at himself,
and the gods turned him into the flower now
called the narcissus.
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Nymph
A nymph was a female spirit who lived in
forests, bodies of water, and other places of
natural beauty.
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Odysseus (Ulysses)
Odysseus was another Greek
hero who fought in the
Trojan War. He encountered
many adventures, and his
journey, or odyssey, lasted
ten years. He was finally
reunited with his wife
Penelope and his son. His
story is told in The Odyssey
by the epic poet Homer.
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Oedipus
Oedipus was a great king, but a tragic
one. He solved the riddle of the Sphinx
and saved the city of Thebes. However,
the Delphic Oracle predicted he would
kill his father and marry his mother.
Since he had been abandoned in
childhood, he did not know his parents.
He ended up arguing with an old man
on the road to Thebes and killed him,
not knowing it was his father. After he
save the city of Thebes, he married the
queen, his mother. When he found out
the prophecy had come true, Oedipus
blinded himself.
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Olympus
Mount Olympus is an actual mountain in
Greece, the highest in the country, and the
legendary home of all the Greek gods. The
Olympic games were held every four years on
the plain of Olympus in honor of Zeus. Our
modern Olympic games originated from these.
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Orpheus
The husband of Eurydice and a great musician,
who could play and sing almost as well as the
gods themselves.
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Pan
Pan was the god
of shepherds and
their flocks. He
was half man and
half goat and
played tunes on
musical pipes.
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Pandora’s Box
Pandora’s Box was a box
Zeus gave to Pandora, the
first woman. He warned
her never to open it.
However, her curiosity got
the better of her and she
opened it. When she did,
she let out all the evils,
sorrows, and miseries that
have plagued the world
ever since. However, there
was one good thing in the
bottom of the box…hope.
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Paris
Paris was the prince of Troy who kidnapped
Helen, which started the Trojan War. He was
also the warrior who killed Achilles by
shooting an arrow into his heel.
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Pegasus
Pegasus was a winged horse that could fly above
the earth.
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Penelope
Penelope was the wife of Odysseus and many
men tried to woo her while Odysseus was
away for ten years. However, Penelope had
faith in her husband and believed he would
return, so she remained true.
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Persephone (Proserpina)
The goddess of spring and the daughter of
Demeter who was kidnapped by Hades and
became the queen of the underworld.
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Phoenix
The phoenix is
a mythical bird
that burns
itself to death,
and arises out
of the ashes as
a new phoenix.
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Poseidon (Neptune)
Poseidon was god of the sea, and one of the
most powerful gods, after Zeus, his brother.
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Prometheus
Prometheus was a Titan who stole fire from the
gods and gave it to humans. He was punished by
Zeus, who had him chained to a rock while a
great eagle gnawed at his liver. He was rescued
by Hercules.
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Psyche
Psyche was a beautiful
girl who fell in love
with Cupid. After a long
series of tests given by
Cupid’s mother, Venus,
Psyche was given
immortality and
allowed to marry
Cupid.
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Pygmalion
Pygmalion was a sculptor and a king of the
ancient island of Cyprus. He feel in love with a
statue he carved, and begged Aphrodite to
find him the perfect woman. Aphrodite
brought the statue to life so Pygmalion could
be with his best beloved.
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Romulus and Remus
Romulus and Remus
were twin brothers.
They had been taken
from their mother and
abandoned when they
were just babies. A
female wolf found them
and cared for them
until they were taken in
by a shepherd. Romulus
later founded the city of
Rome.
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Saturn
Saturn is the Roman name for the king of the
Titans. He was the father of Jupiter.
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Sphinx
The Sphinx was a terrible
monster that had the
body of a winged lion
and the head of a
woman. She devoured
anyone who could not
solve her riddle. When
Oedipus did, the Sphinx
killed herself. The most
famous statue of a sphinx
is the huge one near the
Great Pyramids in Egypt.
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Styx
Styx was a river that the dead would have to
cross on their way to the underworld.
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Titans
The Titans were a
race of incredibly
strong giants who
ruled the universe
until Zeus and the
gods overthrew
them.
Zeus in battle with the Titans
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Trojan Horse
The Trojan Horse was a gigantic wooden horse left
outside the city of Troy by the Greek army. Inside it
hid some of Greece’s best soldiers. Another Greek
soldier, who pretended to have deserted, tricked
the Trojans into bringing it inside their walls. At
night, the Greek soldiers crawled out and
conquered the city.
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Trojan War
The Trojan War began when Paris kidnapped
Helen and the Greeks sent a fleet to the city of
Troy to get her back. The war went on for ten
years. Then finally, the Greeks came up with a
plan, and placed the Trojan Horse outside the
walls of the city. When the city brought it
inside its walls, the city of Troy was conquered
and destroyed.
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Troy
Troy was a powerful ancient city in Turkey. It
sat on a hill overlooking the sea, and it was
well protected by high walls. Its people were
called the Trojans, and it was destroyed at the
end of the Trojan War.
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Ruins of the walls of Troy
Zeus (Jupiter)
Zeus was the youngest son of the Titans Cronus and Rhea. He
and his siblings fought to gain control of the universe from
the Titans and his father. Zeus and his brothers Poseidon and
Hades divided up creation between them. Zeus became the
absolute ruler of all the gods and goddesses of ancient
Greece. He controlled thunder and lightning, and used
thunderbolts as weapons. He was more powerful than all the
other gods and goddesses.
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