Transcript Greek Mythology

Greek
Mythology
Greek Mythology
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Mythology – the telling of stories that
usually explained natural events that could
not be explained through science in ancient
times.
These stories were first told orally and
were later written.
TWO NAMES – POWERS SAME
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The ancient Romans
adopted a great deal
of Greek mythology.
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Often, they changed
the names of the
particular gods and
goddesses.
DO MYTHS REALLY MATTER
TODAY?
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YES!!!
References to Greek mythology are all around
us:
 Ever heard of Nike athletic gear? Nike was
actually a goddess of victory.
 What would Valentine’s Day be without Cupid?
Cupid, or Eros, is the god of love as the Greeks
called him.
 Apollo 13 - The first crewed US space missions
were named for Apollo, the god of light.
The World
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Mount Olympus – towers up from the
center of the Earth (where gods live)
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Earth – where humans lived, gods visited
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Underworld – Kingdom of the dead
Cronus
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King of the Titans, ruled the
heavens and earth before Zeus
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Castrated and killed his father –
Uranus (heaven)
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Swallowed his children
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Children: Zeus, Hera, Hestia,
Demeter, Hades, Poseidon
Zeus – Leader of the Olympian gods
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King of the gods
Ruler of Mount Olympus
He was the god of the
sky, lightning and
thunder.
He married Hera, his
sister.
Hera – Wife of Zeus
She was the protector of
marriage and motherhood.
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Zeus and Hera were always
quarreling.
Known to be a Jealous wife.
Hades – god of
the underworld
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Jealous brother of Zeus
and Poseidon.
Wife is Persephone
Ruler of the dead
Ruler of the underworld
Poseidon
(god of the sea)
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Brother of Zeus
2nd most powerful god
Caused storms and
earthquakes.
He invented the horse
for his sister Demeter,
whom he loved.
Demeter – goddess agriculture
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Sister of Zeus
She cares for the earth and
makes things grow.
Mother of Persephone.
Her daughter, Persephone,
was kidnapped by Hades.
Responsible for the
changing of the seasons.
Hestia – goddess of the home
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Sister of Zeus
Represented security and
happiness.
Thought to be the kindest
of the goddesses.
Mentioned in only a few
stories.
Apollo – god of light, music and knowledge
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He was the twin brother of
Artemis and the most
handsome of the gods.
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He drove his chariot
across the sky to pull the
sun each day.
Artemis – goddess of moon, woods, & hunting
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Twin sister of Apollo
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She was a huntress,
who always carried a
silver bow and arrows.
Athena –goddess of wisdom
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Born full grown out of the head of
Zeus.
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She was the best-loved goddess
on Olympus.
She hated Ares – god of war
She taught man to use tools and
taught woman to spin (yarn) and
weave.(cloth).
Created the spider
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Hermes – god of mischief and the
god of the market (buying and selling)
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Messenger of the gods
Flew between the
heavens and the earth
Guided souls to the
underworld.
Ares – god of war
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Loved Aphrodite
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Provoked conflict
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Disliked by gods and
mortals.
Ironically, he was a
coward, who fled the
field of battle.
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Aphrodite - goddess of love and beauty
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Born in the sea
The other goddesses
envied her.
After all the gods on
Mount Olympus courted
her, she married
Hephaestus, the ugliest of
the gods.
Hephaestus – god of fire
and volcanoes
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Made weapons and jewelry for
the gods and goddesses.
Married to Aphrodite
Born extremely ugly.
Hera, his mother, thought he
was so ugly that she threw his
off Mt. Olympus crippling him.
Achilles
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Mightiest Greek warrior
Son of king and sea
goddess
Known for his Achilles
Heel
Chose glory in war rather
than a long peaceful life
Asclepius
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Mortal who became the god
of healing
Son of Apollo
Brought the dead back to life
Narcissus
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Son of a river god and a
nymph
Handsome but
extremely vain
Fell in love with own
reflection
Heracles (Hercules)
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Greek Hero
Achieved divinity upon
death
Famous for his 12 labors
Favorite son of Zeus
Hera tried to kill him
Medusa
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Once beautiful maiden
turned into a monster
Instead of hair, had live
snakes
People who looked at her
turned to stone
immediately
Cursed by Athena –
envious of beauty
Odysseus
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Hero of Homer’s
Odyssey
Came up with Trojan
Horse
Had to overcome several
obstacles
Prometheus
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Titan who joined forces
with Zeus
Founder of human race
and giver of fire
Chained to a rock,
eagle pecked out liver
Liver always grew back
Iris
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Goddess of the
Rainbow
Messenger of the gods
Often carries
messages for Hera
Some legends, she is
the mother of Eros
Orion
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The Hunter,
Giant mortal son of
Poseidon and Euryale
Killed by Artemis and
then placed among the
stars
Atlas
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Mythological Titan who competed
with the giants against the Gods
in a war
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Zeus punished him by making him
support the heavens with his
shoulders
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After Atlas saw the head of
Medusa, he was turned into a
mountain chain which was
believed to have stretched from
Africa to Spain until Heracles
broke it, thus creating the Pillars
of Hercules, in modern
geography: Gibraltar.
Psyche
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Greek Goddess of the Soul
Psyche started out as a
mortal, but one of exquisite
grace and beauty.
Fervently courted by
numerous mortal men and
gods