Mythology

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Mythology

• Edith Hamilton

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Chapter 1 - The Gods

• Greeks did not believe that the Gods created the
  universe
• The universe created the gods.
• Heaven and Earth were formed first
• From Heaven and Earth came the Titans
• From the Titans came the Olympian Gods

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The Titans

• The Titans were called the Elder Gods
• Enormous in size and strength
• Supreme rulers for ages
• There were many, but we only have stories of a
  few
• The most important was Cronus

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The Titans - Cronus

• Cronus (Greek) or Saturn (Roman)
• He ruled over the other Titans
• Came into power by dethroning his father Uranus
• Eventually was overthrown by his son Zeus
• Roman mythology say Cronus fled to Italy, where
  he brought in the Golden Age

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Other notable Titans

• Ocean (or Oceanus)
• The river that encircled the earth
• Tethys
• Oceans wife mother of thousands of river Gods
  and sea nymphs
• Hyperion
• Father of the sun, the moon, and the dawn
• Mnemosyne
• Goddess of memory and mother of the Muses

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Other notable Titans

• Themis
• Justice
• Iapetus
• His importance was related to his sons, Atlas and
  Promethus
• Atlas
• Bore the world on his shoulders
• Prometheus
• The savior of mankind

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The Olympian Gods

• Olympus was the home of the gods
• It is where we get Olympian Gods
• Olympus not easy to define
• Generally identified with Greeces highest
  mountain, Mount Olympus in Thessaly
• Less of a mountain and more of a place
• Mysterious region far above the earth
• Not Heaven

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The Olympian Gods

• Gained power by overthrowing Cronus
• Led by Zeus, chief among the rebellion
• His brothers Poseidon and Hades were next in
  importance
• His sisters Hestia and Hera
• His son by Hera, Ares
• His children by others, Athena, Apollo,
  Aphrodite, Hermes, and Artemis
• Heras son Hephaestus

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Zeus (Jupiter)

• Lord of the Sky, Rain-god, Cloud-gatherer
• Wielded the awful thunderbolt
• Power greater than other gods combined
• Not omnipotent (all powerful)
• Could be opposed
• Not omniscient (all knowing)
• Could be deceived

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Zeus (Jupiter)

• Had many failings and misgivings
• Fell in love many times
• Tried to hide affairs from his wife Hera
• He was a blend of many local divine rulers
• As worship of Zeus came to a new village, the old
  ruling god was fused into the new
• The wife of the old ruler thus became a new wife
  of Zeus

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Zeus (Jupiter)

• His breastplate was the aegis awful to behold

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Hera (Juno)

• Zeus wife and sister
• Raised by Ocean and Tethys
• Protector of marriage
• Married women turned to her for help
• Her daughter Ilithia helped women in childbirth
• Was known for her anger

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Hera (Juno)

• Focused on punishing Zeus mistresses
• Unyielding, even when woman was tricked
• Her anger followed their children
• Never forgot an injury
• Trojan war continued because of her
• Rarely considered protector of heroes and
  inspirer of heroic deeds
• Notably in the Quest of the Golden Fleece

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Poseidon (Neptune)

• Ruler of the sea
• Second to Zeus in eminence, or rank
• Very important to Greeks, who lived near the
  Aegean sea
• Had a splendid palace below the sea, but more
  often at Olympus
• Also honored for giving horses to man

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Poseidon (Neptune)

• He controlled both storms and calm at sea
• Known as Earth Shaker
• Carried a trident, a three prong spear, to shake
  and shatter the world

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Hades (Pluto)

• Ruler of the underworld and the dead
• Third to Zeus in eminence, or rank
• Also known as The God of Wealth
• Due to precious metals in the earth
• Sometimes translated to Dis (latin for rich)
• Also known as King of the Dead
• Was not Death himself
• That was Thanatos (Orcus)

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Hades (Pluto)

• Lives in the underworld with his wife Persephone
  (Queen of the Lower World)
• Rare that he left his home to visit Olympus
• Not a welcome visitor
• He was unpitying, inexorable, but just a
  terrible, not an evil god

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Pallas Athena (Minerva)

• Daughter of Zeus Had no mother
• Sprang from Zeus head full-grown and in full
  armor
• Zeus favorite child
• She carried Zeus aegis, his buckler, and his
  thunderbolt
• Often carried out Zeus aggressions for him

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Pallas Athena (Minerva)

• A fierce and ruthless battle-goddess
• Focused on defending the state and the home from
  outside enemies
• Known as the Goddess of the City, and the
  Protector of Civilized Life
• Sometimes referred to as grey-eyed or
  flashing-eyed
• Invented the bridle, and tamed horses for men to
  use

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Phoebus Apollo (same in Roman)

• Son of Zeus and Leto (Latona)
• Called the most Greek of all the gods
• Known as the God of Light
• In him is no darkness at all
• Also known as the God of Truth
• No false word falls from his lips

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Phoebus Apollo (same in Roman)

• Sometimes referred to as the Sun-god
• Phoebus means brilliant or shining
• The real sun-god was Helios, son of the Titan
  Hyperion
• Most stories hold him to be beneficent, or
  charitable
• A few accounts portray him as cruel and pitiless

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Artemis (Diana)

• Daughter of Zeus and Leto (Latona)
• Apollos twin sister
• Sometime called Cynthia
• From birthplace, Cynthus in Delos
• Known as the Lady of Wild Things
• Huntsman in chief
• Odd office for a woman

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Artemis (Diana)

• Sometimes referred to as the Phoebe and Selene
  (Luna)
• Neither name was really hers
• Phoebe and Selene were Titans
• Selene, a moon goddess, was a sister of Helios
• Later paired with Selene and Hecate
• The goddess in three forms
• Selene in the sky
• Artemis on Earth
• Hecate in the lower world, or at night

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Aphrodite (Venus)

• Goddess of Love and Beauty
• Beguiled all, gods and men alike
• Laughed sweetly or mockingly at those she
  conquered
• Stole away even the wits of the wise
• Conflicting stories of origin
• Iliad daughter of Zeus and Dione
• Later Poems sprung from the foam of the sea

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Aphrodite (Venus)

• Has a darker side
• She is a soft, weak creature in the Iliad
• Later poems describe her as treacherous and
  malicious
• She commands a deadly and destructive power over
  men
• Usually identified as the wife of Hephaestus
  (Vulcan)
• A contrast with the lame and ugly god

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Hermes (Mercury)

• Zeus Son and Messenger
• flies as fleet as thought to do his bidding
• Had wings on his sandals, hat, and wand
• Mother was Maia, daughter of Atlas
• Perhaps the most familiar god to us due to a
  popular statue
• The shrewdest and most cunning god
• Known as the Master Thief
• He stole Apollos herd at one day old

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Hermes (Mercury)

• God of Commerce and Market
• Protector of traders
• Tied to his gift of the lyre to appease Apollo
• Also known as the Divine Herald
• The solemn guide of the dead
• Led souls to their final home

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Ares (Mars)

• God of War
• Homer called him murderous and bloodstained.
• His sister Eris, or Discord, is often with him on
  the battlefield along with Strife, her son
• Enyo, the Goddess of War, walks alongside as
  well, followed by Terrot, Trembling, and Panic

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Ares (Mars)

• Romans liked him better than the Greeks did
• They did not see him as the whining deity in the
  Iliad like the Greeks did
• Ares is not much more than the symbol of war
• Had no cities where he was worshipped
• Not a distinct personality

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Hephaestus (Vulcan/Mulciber)

• God of Fire
• Son of Hera, sometimes Zeus
• The only ugly and lame god
• Stories vary Some say mother cast him out,
  others say Zeus did out of anger
• Later, in Homer, he is highly honored
• Responsible for crafting the armor and weapons of
  the gods, as well as their dwelling

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Hephaestus (Vulcan/Mulciber)

• A kindly peace-loving god
• Popular on Earth as in heaven
• Important to the city (as Athena is)
• Together they were the patron of handicrafts
• He is protector of smiths, she of the weavers

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Hestia (Vesta)

• Zeus Sister
• A virgin goddess like Athena and Artemis
• No distinct personality
• Plays no part in the myths
• Goddess of the Hearth
• Symbol of the home
• Each city had a public hearth sacred to Hestia
• In Rome, her fire was cared for by six virgin
  priestesses called Vestals

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Lesser Gods

• There were gods other than the twelve Olympians

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Eros (Cupid)

• Most important of the Lesser Gods
• God of Love
• In early myths, he is a beautiful, serious youth
  who gives good gifts to men
• In later accounts, he was a mischievous, naughty
  boy
• Hesiod calls him the fairest of the deathless
  gods
• Often represented as a blind boy
• Symbolizes that love is often blind

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Eros (Cupid)

• Sometimes he is Aphrodites son
• Other times he is simply her companion
• Accompanied by others
• Anteros
• Sometimes the avenger of slighted love
• Sometimes the one who opposes love
• Himeros (or Longing)
• Hymen God of the Wedding Feast

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Hebe

• Goddess of Youth
• Daughter of Zeus and Hera
• Sometimes appears as the cupbearer to the gods
• Some accounts give that office to Ganymede
• Married to Heracles

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Iris

• Goddess of the Rainbow
• Messenger of the Gods
• The only messenger in The Iliad
• Hermes does not replace her shares duties

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The Graces

• Daughters of Zeus and Eurynome
• Three in number, but considered one
• A triple incarnation of grace and beauty
• Aglaia (Splendor)
• Euphrosyne (Mirth)
• Thalia (Good Cheer)
• Along with the Muses, considered the Queens of
  Song

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The Muses

• Daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne
• Appeared to Hesiod - written in Theogony
• We know how to speak false things that seem
  true, but we know when we will, to utter true
  things.
• Companions of Apollo, the God of Truth
• Owned the lyre in conjunction with him
• Nine in number at first considered one

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The Muses

• Later, each had her own special field
• Clio Muse of history
• Urania Muse of astronomy
• Melpomeme Muse of tragedy
• Thalia Muse of comedy
• Terpsichore Muse of dance
• Caliliope Muse of epic poetry
• Erato Muse of love poetry
• Polyhymnia Muse of songs to the gods
• Euterpe Muse of lyric poetry

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Personified emotions as gods

• There were some emotions that had a god like
  presence but not real personalities
• Two were connected with Zeus
• Themis means Right, or Divine, Justice
• Dike means Human Justice
• Two lived on Earth
• Nemesis means Righteous Anger
• Aidos means reverence and the shame that holds
  men back from wrongdoing

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Gods of the waters

• Poseidon Lord and ruler of the seas and
  underground rivers
• Ocean A Titan Lord of the river Ocean that
  encircles the earth
• Wife is Thetis Daughters are nymphs of Ocean
  sons are gods of all rivers on earth
• Pontus God of the Deep Sea
• Son of mother Earth
• Father of Nereus a more important sea-god

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Gods of the waters

• Nereus The Old Man of the Sea
• Hesiod said a trusty god and gentle, who thinks
  just and kindly thoughts and never lies
• Wife is Doris, a daughter of Ocean
• Has fifty lovely daughters called Nereids
• Nereids Nymphs of the Sea
• Thetis Mother of Achilles
• Amphitrite Wife of Poseidon

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Gods of the waters

• Proteus
• Sometime said to be Poseidons son, sometimes his
  attendant
• Had power both of foretelling the future and
  changing his shape at will
• Naiads also water nymphs
• Dwelt in brooks and springs and fountains

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The Underworld

• Ruled by Hades and Persephone
• Often called Hades, because of his name
• Several entrances are described
• Most are too accessible vague descriptions
• Divided into two main divisions
• Erebus Where the dead pass as soon as they die
• Tartarus Deeper of the two
• Either can refer to the entire lower region

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The Underworld

• Homer describes it as a vague, shadowy place
  inhabited by shadows
• Nothing is real
• It is like a miserable dream
• Later poets define it more clearly as a place of
  punishment or reward
• Virgil describes all the torments of the bad and
  the joys of the good

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The Underworld

• Virgil gives the best account of the path to the
  underworld
• The river of Woe leads to the river of
  Lamentation
• An aged boatman named Charon ferries the dead
  across to the gate of Tartarus
• Charon only takes passengers who had payment
• On guard at the gate is Cerberus a three-headed
  dog who allows entrance, but not exit

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The Underworld

• Three other rivers separate the underworld from
  the world above
• Phlegethon river of fire
• Styx river of unbreakable oath
• Lethe river of forgetfulness
• Plutos Palace
• Thought to be many gated, filled with guests
• No writer describes it

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Erinyes (the Furies)

• Punish evildoers in the underworld
• Greeks viewed them as pursuing sinners on Earth
• They were considered tough, but fair
• Usually represented as three
• Tisiphone
• Megaera
• Alecto

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Other beings of the underworld

• Sleep and his brother Death dwelt there
• Dreams came to men from the underworld
• Two gates for dreams to pass through
• One of horn for dreams of truth
• One of ivory for false dreams

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Lesser Gods of the Earth

• Earth was called all-mother, but was not
  personified into a god
• Two supreme deities of earth
• Demeter Goddess of Corn
• Dionysus God of Wine
• Also known as Bacchus

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Lesser Gods of the Earth

• Pan The chief of the earth gods
• Hermes Son
• Part animal and part man Had goats horns and
  goats feet
• Homer calls him a noisy, merry god
• A wonderful musician
• At home in the woods, thickets, forests, and
  mountains
• Always in love, but always rejected