Transcript introduction to greek mythology

Myths: stories that use fantasy to express ideas
about life that cannot easily be expressed in
realistic terms.
 They are, at heart, religious stories. They
deal with and explore the relationship
between human beings and the
unknown/spiritual world.
 They were once believed to be true.
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Scientific: explanations of things in nature
Literary: entertainment; good storytelling
Religious: give meaning to things in life;
explain the role of the gods in everyday life

They depict and reveal behavior and
problems common to all human beings.
 Remind us that human nature is the same across
time and culture.
 Reveal that many social, ethical, and religious
attitudes continue through time.

They reflect the attitudes, priorities, and
values of the cultures that produced them.
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In Greek mythology, gods “did not create the
universe… the universe created the gods”
(Hamilton 24).
In the beginning… there was only Chaos.
From Chaos emerged…
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Gaea: Mother Earth
▪
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In Greek culture, more emphasis was
placed on Gaea then on Ouranos,
reflecting the Greeks’ reliance on the
land and the Earth itself.
Ouranos: Father Heaven
Gaea and Ouranos had three
types of children, all monsters,
the most important of which
were the Titans.
One Titan, Cronus, rebelled against
Ouranos as a result of Ouranos’s
treatment of some of his children.
 For some time, Cronus (Saturn) and
his wife/sister Rhea ruled the
universe until their son, Zeus,
overthrew his father and conquered
the Titans, becoming supreme ruler
of the universe.
 It was only after Zeus took control
and the Olympians and other
immortals took their places that
humans entered the picture.

In Greek mythology, man was not
created in the image of the gods;
rather, the gods were in the
image of man.
 Although Greek religion centered
on a pantheon, separate villages
worshipped separate gods in
many instances.
 In many cases, deities existed
before the patriarchal religion of
Zeus incorporated them.
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The Twelve great gods who
succeeded the Titans
Lived on Mt. Olympus,
which could have either
been
 The physical mountain in
Thessaly OR
 A mountain in a mysterious
region above the Earth.

Olympus was NOT
HEAVEN.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Zeus (Jupiter)
Poseidon
(Neptune)
Hades (Pluto)
Hestia (Vesta)
Hera (Juno)
Ares (Mars)
7. Athena (Minerva)
8. Apollo (Apollo)
9. Aphrodite (Venus)
10. Hermes (Mercury)
11. Artemis (Diana)
12. Hephaestus
(Vulcan)
ZEUS
 God of the sky,
thunder, and justice
 King and most
powerful of the gods;
Ruler of Mount
Olympus
POSEIDON
 God of the sea and
earthquakes
 Brother of Zeus
 Odysseus’s enemy
HADES
 God of the Undeworld
 Zeus and Poseidon’s
brother
HESTIA
 Goddess of the Hearth
HERA
 Goddess of marriage
and married women
 Exceptionally beautiful
 Zeus’s wife
ARES
 God of War
ATHENA
 Goddess of wisdom
and the arts of war and
peace
 Protector of Odysseus
 Zeus’s favorite
daughter
APOLLO
 God of archery, poetry,
music, medicine, and
prophecy
APHRODITE
 Goddess of Love and
Beauty
HERMES
 Messenger god
 God of commerce,
speed, and trade
ARTEMIS
 Goddess of the Wild
Things, the moon, and
crossways
HEPHAESTUS
 God of fire and the
forges – Blacksmith to
the gods
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According to the Greeks,
all departed souls went
to the Underworld.
Two Main Divisions of
the Underworld:
 Erebus: where the dead
pass when they die
 Tartarus: the main
division
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The dead are ferried across
the point where the River
Acheron (river of woe)
pours into the River
Cocytus (river of
lamentation) by an aged
boatman named Charon.
 Charon will ONLY ferry into
the Underworld those who
have been properly buried and
who have had the passage fee
placed on their lips at burial.
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At the gate sits Cerberus,
the three-headed dog
who permits all the dead
to enter, but not to exit.
The Underworld is ruled
by the god Hades and his
queen, Persephone.