Transcript Greek Mythology Background Notes

Gods and Goddesses of
Ancient Greece
Psst, you have a quiz on Friday!
What are Myths?



Traditional stories of gods,
kings, and heroes
Show the relations between
gods and people
Mythology was a form of early
science to Greeks because it
helped explain the
unexplainable.
The Creation Myth



First there was Chaos (vast
and unorganized space from
which all other things
originated).
Chaos gave birth to Gaea,
the earth, and Night, which
gave birth to day.
Gaea and Uranus (the sky)
gave birth to Cronus and the
other Titans, the Cyclopes,
one-eyed giants, and the
Hecatonchieres with 50 heads
and 100 arms apiece.
The foundation of Greek
mythology

In general, Greek gods were
divided into three categories:






Heaven
Earth
Sea
The Titans ruled before the
Gods of Olympus.
The Titans were the children
of Uranus (Heaven) and
Gaea (Earth) and the parents
of the Gods of Olympus.
The Titans were overthrown
by Olympians.
Cronos (Saturn)




Head of Titans
Agriculture
Father of Zeus
Consumed his own
children when it was
prophesized that one
would overtake him
Zeus (Jupiter)




King of the gods
Ruler of the sky and
weather
Upholder of oaths
hospitality
Hera (Juno)




Sister of Zeus
Wife of Zeus
Queen of the gods
Upholder of marriage
Poseidon (Neptune)




Brother of Zeus
Ruler of the sea
Horses
earthquakes
Hades (Pluto)


Brother of Zeus
Ruler of the
underworld
Demeter (Ceres)




Sister of Zeus
Goddess of the earth
Corn
Crops
Persephone (Proserpina)




Daughter of Demeter
Wife of Hades
Queen of the
underworld
Spends six months in
the underworld
(winter) and six
months with her
mother (summer)
Ares (Mars)



Son of Zeus and Hera
God of war
While Athena was
seen as strategic in
war, Ares was seen as
unpredictable and
violent.
Apollo (Apollo)









Son of Zeus
Prophecy
Light
Youth
Music
Archery
Healing and plague
The sun
Poetry
Athena (Minerva)





Daughter of Zeus
No mother (?)
Wisdom
Warfare
Crafts
Artemis (Diana)






Daughter of Zeus
Twin sister of Apollo
Hunting
Wild animals
Childbirth
The moon
Hephaestus (Vulcan)





Son of Hera (and
Zeus?)
Fire
Smelting
Crafts
Blacksmith for the
gods
Hermes (Mercury)







Son of Zeus
Messenger of the
gods
Travelers
Trickery
Theft
Commerce
Science
Aphrodite (Venus)







Born from sea foam
Iliad considers her to be a
daughter of Dione
Some versions call her a
daughter of Zeus
Married to Hephaestus
Love
Beauty
Pleasure
Eros (Cupid)


Son of Aphrodite
Love
Dionysus (Bacchus)






Son of Zeus (and
Persephone?)
Liberation
Wine
Music
Theater
Fertility