Transcript Greek Mythology, Epic Poetry, And The Odyssey

Greek Mythology, Epic Poetry,
and The Odyssey
Greek Mythology
• Mythology is the study of myths
• Myths are stories involving gods, goddesses,
and heroes
• Why did myths begin?
– To entertain
– To explain natural phenomena
– To explain the relationship of god to man
– To teach lessons and morals
Ancient Gods of Greek Mythology
It All Started with Chaos
• The world was formed from a great mass called Chaos
• Out from Chaos came Gaea, the earth Goddess
• She gave birth to a son, Uranus, and together they had six children
Three 50 headed & 100-handed giants and three one-eyed Cyclopes
• Uranus hated these children and sent them to the underworld
• On their second try, Uranus and Gaea produced seven Titans:
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CLYMENE
HYPERION
CRONUS
PHALLA
PHOEBE
RHEA
TETHYS
The Betrayals Continue
• Gaea, however, was still upset that Uranus banished their other
children
• She told the Titans what Uranus had done and asked them to seek
revenge
• Cronus (their son) did seek revenge by castrating Uranus, and
becoming the new ruler
• But, when he saw the other children, he agreed they were too ugly
to allow out of the underworld
• Cronus married Rhea
• They had five children, but since Gaea had warned him that one of
his kids would overthrow him, Cronus swallowed his own children
• Rhea was tired of this, so she hid the sixth child, Zeus, in Crete
• When Cronus asked for the child, Rhea wrapped a rock in clothes
and Cronus swallowed it
Zeus Takes Vengeance
• Zeus grows up, Rhea tells him the story about his
siblings, and he plots revenge against Cronus
• He poisons Cronus, and his siblings pop out of
Cronus’s belly (after the rock, of course)
• After this, Zeus tries to take over, but the other
Titans wont recognize him, so they start a war
• Gaea tells Zeus about her first six children, and
with their help he wins against the Titans. Then
he takes the whole family to Mt. Olympus (Thus
the name Olympian Gods)
Zeus (Jupiter)
• After overthrowing his father Cronus, Zeus drew
straws with his brothers Poseidon and Hades.
Zeus won the draw and became the supreme
ruler of the gods
• He is lord of the sky, the rain god
• His symbol is a thunderbolt which he hurls at
those who anger him
• He is married to Hera, but is famous for his many
affairs with goddesses and mortals
• He is also known to punish those that lie or break
oaths
Zeus’ Wives, Lovers, and Offspring
Hera (Juno)
• She is queen of the gods, the goddess of
marriage, and the protector of married
women
• She is the sister and wife of the god Zeus
• She was a jealous wife, who often persecuted
Zeus’s mistresses and children
• Her symbol is a golden crown
Ares (Mars)
• He is the god of war
• He was regarded as the father of the Roman
people
• His symbols are a sword, spear, and vulture
Hestia (Vesta)
• She is the first child of Cronus and Rhea
• She is the goddess of home, hearth, and
hospitality
• She is often referred to as “the forgotten
goddess” because very few of her adventures
were recorded
• Her symbol is sacred fire
Poseidon (Neptune)
• Brother of Zeus and Hades
• Lord of the sea
• To impress Demeter, Poseidon created the first horse.
In some accounts, his first attempts were unsuccessful
and he created a variety of other animals in his quest
• His symbol is a trident, which can shake the earth and
shatter any object
• He is second only to Zeus in power among the gods
• He has a difficult, quarrelsome personality, is greedy,
and has many disputes with other gods
Hades (Pluto)
• Brother of Zeus and Poseidon
• He had the worst draw and was made lord of the
underworld, ruling over the dead
• He is a greedy god who is greatly concerned with increasing
his subjects and doesn’t want any of them to leave
• God of wealth, due to the precious metals mined from the
earth
• He has a helmet that makes him invisible
• He rarely leaves the underworld. He has no pity and is
mean
• His symbol is a scepter—a two pronged staff
Demeter (Ceres)
• She is the goddess of grain and harvest; she is
also Persephone’s mother
• She was unwilling to give consent to Hades,
god of the underworld to marry her daughter
Persephone
• Hades seized Persephone and had her mother
wander and search for her lost daughter
(vegetation died and famine prevailed)
• She is associated with the four seasons
• Her symbol is a rake
Athena (Minerva)
• Daughter of Zeus, she sprang from his forehead—full grown
and in armor
• The goddess of wisdom, war, the arts, justice and skill
• She is fierce and brave in battle
• She invented the bridle, which permitted man to tame
horses, the trumpet, the flute, the pot, the rake, the plow,
the yoke, the ship, and the chariot
• She represents wisdom, reason, and purity. She was Zeus's
favorite child and was allowed to use his weapons,
including his thunderbolt
• Her symbols are the olive tree and the owl
• She is a virgin goddess
Hephaestus (Vulcan)
• He is the god of fire and metalwork; he is also
Aphrodite’s husband
• As an artisan among the gods, Hephaestus
made their armor, weapons, and jewelry
• In contrast to other gods, he is crippled
• He was removed from Olympus, the heavens
• He was the only Olympian to return to
Olympus
• His symbol is a hammer
Apollo & Artemis (Diana)
• Apollo “protector of young men”
– He is the god of sun, music, and prophecy
– He is Artemis’ twin
– He was the first victor in the ancient Olympic
Games
– His symbols are a golden chariot and bow
• Artemis “guardian of young women”
– She is the goddess of hunting and the moon
– She is Apollo’s twin
– Her symbols are a silver bow & arrow and deer
Hermes (Mercury)
• Hermes is the son of Zeus and Maia
• He is the god of messengers, safe travel, good fortune,
trickery, and truth
• While Hermes can never tell a lie, he may not always tell
the whole truth
• He is the fastest of the gods
• He wears winged sandals, a winged hat, and carries a magic
wand
• He guides the dead to the underworld
• He invented the lyre, the pipes, the musical scale,
astronomy, weights and measures, boxing, gymnastics, and
the care of olive trees
Aphrodite (Venus)
• She is the goddess of love and beauty
• She is described as having sprung from the
foam of the sea
• She is the wife of Hephaestus, the god of fire
and metalwork
• She was the rival of Persephone, queen of the
underworld
• Her symbol is a dove
Circe
• Circe, daughter of the sun god Helios, was a
sorceress best known for her ability to turn
men into animals with her magic wand
• She was jealous of Scylla, a beautiful young
woman, and turned Scylla into a sea monster
Scylla
• Circe, jealous of Scylla, poisoned the water
where Scylla bathed
• Scylla became a monster with twelve feet and
six heads, each with three rows of teeth.
Below the waist her body was made up of
hideous dog-like monsters
• She threatened passing ships, and in the
Odyssey she ate six of Odysseus’s companions
The Sirens
• The Sirens are creatures with the head of a
female and the body of a bird
• They lived on three small rocky islands, and
with the irresistible charm of their song, they
lured sailors to their death on the rocks
surrounding the island
Helios
• The god of the sun
• His chariot rises in the East and descends in
the West (like the sun)
• Warm, friendly and compassionate, Helios
respects truth and honesty
• Helios was keeper of the sacred cattle
• His symbol is the chariot
Calypso
• Calypso was a nymph, the daughter of the Titan
Atlas
• She lived on the island of Ogygia
• Calypso fell in love with Odysseus, taking him as
her lover and promising him immortality if he
would stay with her
• In Greek mythology, nymphs are spirits of nature
They are minor female goddesses and the
protectors of springs, mountains, and rivers
The Muses
• These are the 9 daughters of Mnemosyne and Zeus
• Each is in charge of a different art or science and
inspires those who excel at these pursuits
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Clio = history
Urania = astronomy
Melpomene = tragedy
Thalia = comedy
Terpsichore = dance
Calliope = epic poetry
Erato = love poetry
Polyhymnia = songs
Euterpe = lyric poetry
Greek Mythology, Epic Poetry,
and The Odyssey
Homer’s The Odyssey
• The Odyssey is an epic poem based on Greek
mythology
• What is an Epic Poem?
– A long narrative poem about a national or
legendary hero
Who is Homer?
• Author of The Iliad and The Odyssey
• The Iliad tells the story of the Trojan War
• The Odyssey tells the story of Odysseus’s long
trip home after the war
• Scholars think Homer lived between 1500 B.C.
and 700 B.C.
• Most scholars believe he was blind, but there
is no evidence to verify this
Characteristics of an Epic Poem
• Incorporate myth, legend, folk tale, and
history
• Have a grand tone
• Heroes and their adventures appear larger
than life (Epic Hero)
• Many were drawn from oral tradition
Homer Continued
• Homer used the legendary material of the
Trojan war as the basis for his poems – adding
original plot structure, realistic characters,
dialogue and detail, and tales of fabulous
monsters
• The study of Homer’s epics became the basis
of Greek education
• Homer made his characters believable by
giving them both good and bad traits
The Trojan War
• Due to a promise they had made to King
Menelaus to help him defend Helen’s honor,
all the kings of Greece went to Troy to fight to
get Helen back
• The Greeks fought the Trojans for 10 years
• Odysseus came to the rescue with a strategy
to win the war that involved a huge wooden
horse
Fighting Over a Girl?
• Helen, a mortal daughter of Zeus, was the most
beautiful girl in the world
• Only there was a huge problem—she was already
married to King Menelaus
• Paris went to Sparta, met and fell in love with
Helen, and they ran away together to Troy (Paris’s
home)
• Menelaus demanded that his wife be returned,
and when Paris refused The Trojan War began
The Trojan Horse
• To gain entrance into Troy, clever Odysseus ordered a
large wooden horse to be built
• Its insides were hollow so that soldiers could hide
within it
• All the Greek ships sailed away and left the Trojan
horse behind (To make it look like they had given up)
• The Spartans thought they had won the war, brought
the horse into the city, and had a drunken celebration
• While the Spartans slept, Odysseus and his men
climbed out of the horse’s belly, let their comrades into
the city, and slaughtered the Spartans
Greek Mythology, Epic Poetry,
and The Odyssey
The Odyssey
• It’s an 11,300 line epic poem divided into 24
books (chapters)
• It was passed down orally between the
generations
Three Parts to the Story
• Odysseus’s wanderings for 10 years after the
Trojan War
• What happens in Ithaca to his wife, Penelope,
and his son, Telemachus, while he is gone?
• What happens when Odysseus returns home
to reclaim his throne and family?
• How long has Odysseus been away from
home?
Themes in The Odyssey
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loyalty & devotion
wandering hero
triumph of good over evil
obedience to the laws of the gods
Greek ideal of a strong body & strong mind
Odysseus
• The son of Laertes and the ruler of the island
kingdom of Ithaca
• He was one of the most prominent Greek
leaders in the Trojan War, and is the epic hero
of The Odyssey
• He was known for his cleverness and cunning,
and for his eloquence as a speaker
• Favored by Athena
Penelope
• Penelope was the daughter of Icarius and a
first cousin of Helen of Troy
• She was the wife of Odysseus
• She was famous for her cleverness and for her
faithfulness to her husband for 20 years
Telemachus
• Odysseus and Penelope’s son
• Favored by Athena
• She helped him gain self-confidence and
assertiveness when his father was gone for so
many years (He grew up without a father)
Timeline of Odysseus’ Adventures
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Fights in the Trojan War
Island of Cicones
Land of the Lotus Eaters
Land of the Cyclopes
Island of Aeolus
Circe’s Island (1 year)
Lured by Sirens
Trouble at sea against Scylla and Charybdis
Island of Helios (Stranded about 1 month-crew ate cattle) HOME!
Calypso keeps Odysseus for 7 years
Odysseus washes ashore at Phaeacia - Land of the Laestrygones
(cannibals)
12. Zeus destroys ship
13. Odysseus returns home to Ithaca