Transcript Greek and Roman Mythology

Greek and Roman
Mythology
What is the purpose of “myth”?
• Used to explain natural phenomena
to people of preliterate cultures.
• Often a lesson (in story form) that
is symbolic.
• A way to preserve the wisdom of
the society’s elders through oral
traditions.
What is a myth?
• Usually about gods and heroes, its
theme expresses the beliefs of
the culture.
• A myth is neither historically true
or false.
• Myths transmit truth that cannot
be understood apart from the
story.
But…
To understand Grecian
myths, you have to
understand the Greeks
Gifts from Ancient Greece
•Trial by jury
•Greek Myths
•Democracy
•Tragedy and Comedy
•Theater
•The Olympics
TO BE GREEK
The ancient Greeks all
spoke the same language.
They believed in the same
gods. They shared
a common heritage. They
perceived themselves as
Greeks.
Politics
The ancient Greeks did not have
one king or queen. They lived in
city-states. Each city-state was a
separate political unit. Daily life
was somewhat different in the
Greek city-state of Athens, for
example, than it was in the citystate of Sparta.
TO BE A CITIZEN OF A
CITY-STATE
The ancient Greeks referred to
themselves, however, as citizens
of their individual city-states.
Each city-state (polis) had its
own personality, goals, laws and
customs. Ancient Greeks were
very loyal to their city-state.
GREEK MEN:
Men ran the government,
and spent a great deal of their
time away from home. When
not involved in politics, the
men spent time in the fields,
overseeing or working the
crops, sailing, hunting, in
manufacturing or in trade.
GREEK WOMEN:
With the exception of ancient Sparta,
Greek women had very limited
freedom outside the home. They
could attend weddings, funerals,
some religious festivals, and could
visit some friends. In their home,
Greek women were in charge! Their
job was to run the house and to bear
children.
GREEK BABIES:
The ancient Greeks considered their
children to be "youths" until they
reached the age of 30!
GREEK GIRLS:
In Athens, as in most Greek citystates, with the exception of Sparta,
girls stayed at home until they were
married. Like their mother, they
could attend certain festivals,
funerals, and visit neighbors for brief
periods of time. Their job was to help
their mother, and to help in the
fields, if necessary.
GREEK BOYS:
In most Greek city-states, while
young, the boys stayed at home
helping in the fields, sailing,
and fishing. At age 6 or 7, they
went to school.
SLAVES
Slaves were very important to
ancient Greek daily life. Slaves
cleaned and cooked, worked in the
fields, factories, shops, in mines,
and on ships. Even the police force
in ancient Athens was made up of
slaves! Most slaves’ lives were not
that different from a poor Greek
citizen's life.
COURT
• Before democracy in ancient Athens, if
you thought someone had wronged you,
you could try to convince an aristocrat to
beat/kill them. But soon people realized
this wasn’t the best idea. Athens
established democracy and juries had up
to 500 people on them. They sat in a big
theater and listened to the accused and
accuser make speeches. Popular people
tended to win trials.
Used for trials and plays
SACRIFICES
If a person felt they owed something
to a specific god, they would kill an
animal, usually with other family
members present. The fat and bones
of the animal were offered to the
god, but all the meat had to be
eaten at once (for religious reasons
and because there was no
refrigeration).
GREEK ART
A slave nanny
taking the baby.
Greek redfigure vase
from Athens,
about 450 BC
ROMAN BATHS
It was too difficult to heat up water for
baths in apartments, which is what
most Greeks & Romans lived in, so
many bathed at local public baths (like
health clubs). It would have gardens,
pools, libraries, exercise equipment,
and hot tubs. Most were decorated
with elaborate mosaics, frescoes,
marble, and vaulted ceilings.
AQUADUCTS
In larger Roman towns, people often
became sick or died from drinking water
contaminated with sewage. To fix this
problem, they built aquaducts to bring in
fresh water from hills outside the towns.
They also built public latrines and systems
of sewage pipes to carry sewage out of
the streets and into the river.
This was a big improvement on Greek
sewage arrangement, where people just
poured their waste into the street.
Odysseus
and his men
put out the
eye of the
Cyclops,
Polyphemos
Athenian red-figure vase, 430-420 BC