Jennifer Meister

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GREEK MYTHOLOGY

• Jennifer Meister
• EME 4406

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Table of Contents

• Origins of Greek Mythology
• Mount Olympus
• The Major Greek Gods
• Zeus
• Hera
• Poseidon
• Hades
• Aphrodite
• Hestia
• Ares
• Athena
• Apollo
• Artemis
• Hermes
• Hephaestus
• Demeter
• Persephone
• Dionysus
• Eros

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The Origins of Greek Mythology

• Resulted from a common belief of the people of
  ancient Greece and Asia Minor in a group of gods
  known as The Olympians
• The remains of an ancient Greek religion

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Mount Olympus

• Where the major gods live
• Also where they assemble to hold court
• It is unclear whether Mt. Olympus was actually a
  mountain or a part of the heavens

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The Major Greek Gods
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Zeus

• Roman name Jupiter
• God of the sky and ruler of all gods
• After overthrowing his father, Cronus, he drew
  straws with brothers Poseidon and Hades and won,
  becoming the Supreme ruler of gods
• Weapon is a fire-bolt, punishes those who lie
• Hera is his wife, but is famous for his affairs
• Represented as the god of justice and mercy,
  protector of the weak and punisher of the wicked

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Hera

• Roman name Juno
• Zeuss wife and sister
• Supreme goddess, goddess of marriage and
  childbirth
• Zeus courted her unsuccessfully, turned himself
  into a bird, when she held the bird he turned
  back into his natural shape and raped her. She
  married him to cover her shame
• Jealous of Zeuss affairs

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Poseidon

• Roman name Neptune
• Brother of Zeus and Hades
• Drew lots with brothers after defeating father,
  became God of the sea and protector of all waters
• Wife Amphitrite, granddaughter of the Titan
  Oceanus
• Second only to Zeus in power amongst the gods
• Greedy

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Hades

• Roman name Pluto
• Drew the worst lot with brothers Zeus and
  Poseidon
• Lord of the Underworld, ruled over the dead
• Greedy, wanted to increase his subjects
• God of wealth and King of the dead
• Wife is Persephone, he abducted her
• Has a helmet that makes him invisible

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Aphrodite

• Roman name Venus
• Goddess of love, desire and beauty
• Wife to Hephaestus
• Daughter of Zeus and Dione
• Mother of Aineias
• Lover to Ares
• Owner of a magic girdle that makes anyone she
  wishes want her
• Represented sex, affection, and the attraction
  that binds people together

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Hestia

• Roman name Vesta
• Zeuss sister
• Virgin goddess, goddess of the Hearth
• Holds no part in myths
• Of all the gods, she is the mildest, most
  upright, and most charitable

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Ares

• Roman name Mars
• Son of Zeus and Hera, disliked by both
• God of war
• Considered murderous, but a coward as well
• Lover of Aphrodite

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Athena

• Roman name Minerva
• Virgin goddess of reason, intelligent activity,
  arts and literature
• Daughter of Zeus, sprang out of his head fully
  grown in armor
• Invented the bridle which allowed man to tame
  horses, the trumpet, flute, pot, rake, plow,
  ship, and chariot
• The embodiment of wisdom, reason and purity
• Zeuss favorite child, she was allowed to use his
  weapons, including his fire-bolt

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Apollo

• Son of Zeus and Leto
• Twin brother to Artemis
• God of music, healing, light, and truth
• Archer, hunts with arrows
• Most important daily task is to harness his
  chariot with four horses and drive the sun across
  the sky

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Artemis

• Roman name Diana
• Twin sister of Apollo
• Daughter of Zeus and Leto
• Goddess of chastity, virginity, the hunt, the
  moon and the natural environment
• Protector of the young
• Caused her mother no pain when she was born, came
  to preside over childbirth

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Hermes

• Roman name Mercury
• Son of Zeus and Maia
• Cleverest of all gods
• Messenger to the gods, wore winged sandals, a
  winged hat and carried a magic wand
• God of thieves and commerce
• Guided the dead to the underworld
• Invented the pipes, the musical scale, astronomy,
  weights and measures, boxing, and gymnastics

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Hephaestus

• Roman name Vulcan
• Son of Zeus and Hera
• The only god to be physically ugly
• God of fire and forge
• Smith and armorer to the gods
• Wife is Aphrodite
• Kind and peace-loving

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Demeter

• Roman name Ceres
• Goddess of corn, grain and the harvest
• Daughter of Cronus and Rhea
• Makes the crop grow each year
• Daughter Persephone, was abducted by Hades to be
  his wife. She got so angry that she set a curse
  on the world that made the plants wither and die.
  Zeus sought to get Persephone back, but since she
  had eaten while in the underworld, Hades had a
  claim to her. It was ruled that she would spend
  four months each year in the underworld. During
  these months Demeter would grieve and the plants
  would die, creating winter. Her daughters return
  brought about spring

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Persephone

• Roman name Proserpina
• Daughter of Zeus and Demeter
• Goddess of Springtime
• Wife of Hades
• Symbolized the sprouting of the seeds of
  springtime
• Known as Kore, The Maiden

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Dionysus

• Son of Zeus and Semele
• Only god to have a mortal parent
• God of fertility and wine
• Patron of the arts
• Invented wine
• As the ability to drive a man mad
• Hated by Hera

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Eros

• Roman name Cupid
• Son of Aphrodite
• God of love
• Represented blindfolded because love is usually
  blind
• Used arrows that magically produced either
  unmanageable love or incredible indifference in
  the first person seen by the victim after wounding

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Heracles

• Roman name Hercules
• Last mortal son of Zeus
• Only man born of mortal woman to become a god
  upon his death
• Strongest of all mortals, stronger than many gods
• Lack of wisdom
• Many of his great deeds were done while
  performing penance for stupid acts done in anger
  or carelessness
• Sense of justice, was willing to do penance for
  his actions
• Hated by Hera

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The Muses

• Daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne
• Known for the music of their song, brings joy to
  all who hear it
• Nine muses each with their own specialty
• Clio History
• Urania Astronomy
• Melpomene Tragedy
• Thalia Comedy
• Terpsichore Dance
• Calliope Epic Poetry
• Erato Love Poetry
• Polyhymnia Songs to the gods
• Euterpe Lyric Poetry

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Your Assignment

• Using the knowledge you now have of Greek
  mythology, get into groups of four and create
  your own myth. The myth can have a moral but does
  not require one. Include in your myth
  descriptions of gods and heroes. Try to
  incorporate at least four of the gods we have
  talked about into your myth. You can also include
  your own gods. If you choose to do this, describe
  in detail these gods and what their talents are.
  You may want to include pictures (drawn yourself
  or collages from magazines or the Internet) of
  what these gods might look like. We will later
  compile these myths into an anthology of
  mythology.

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For More Information

• All information in this presentation was found
  at
• www.messagenet.com/myths/html
• www.greekmythology.com/
• For more information on this presentation, click
  on the above links