The Mediterranean World, 600 BC

1
UNIT 03
2
The Mediterranean World, 600 BC
3
Nature of the Heroic, The

• Bridge between humans and the divine
• Euhemerus gods were first humans and then
  heroes
• Obviously less than divine, but somehow more than
  human
• Still bound by human limitations, such as injury
  and death
• Appeal of the local hero
• Provides community engagement through service
  to city
• Sometimes intervene between the gods and their
  home city
• Goes to far off places, meets weird creatures,
  kills them
• Does things that you and I might never dream of
  (wish fulfillment)
• Still does things wrong but makes up for them in
  a superhuman way
• Makes people proud to be from their home city

4
Famous Greek Local Heroes

• Heroes and their locales
• Heracles Argos (then pan-Hellenic)
• Theseus - Athens
• Perseus - Argos
• Jason - Iolcus
• Bellerophon Corinth
• Peleus - Phthia
• Public Affairs Mission and Heroes
• Hero was considered a leader of his town (often a
  king)
• Hero was a source of civic pride
• Hero killed monsters, fought wars for his town
• Hero interceded with gods for his town
• Hero was someone city could look up to

5
Entertainment Value of the Heroic

• Why do these stories need to be entertaining?
• Remember that Greek civilization was largely
  non-literate
• Who wants to remember a boring old list of facts?
• Exaggeration is fun!
• Soap Opera Theory (Oprah, Brangelina)
• We all wish we could be rich and/or beautiful too
• We also enjoy watching rich and/or beautiful
  people suffer
• Wish Fulfillment Theory (Rambo, Madonna, Chuck
  Norris)
• We all wish we could go crazy and live like rock
  stars or cowboys
• We also want to avoid the risks of illness and
  death
• Who are some modern individual heroes?

6
Random modern heroes

• Military heroes
• George Washington
• George S. Patton
• Dwight D. Eisenhower
• Culture heroes
• Bill Gates and/or Steve Jobs
• Madonna L. Ciccone
• Elvis A. Presley
• Oprah Winfrey
• Sports heroes
• Tiger Woods
• Michael Jordan

7
THE HEROMETER

• Divine birth on one side
• Weird events from birth onward
• Hero faced with opposition (0 or 100 chance of
  success)
• Proves heroic stature by overcoming opposition
  (or not)
• Love interest (sometimes more than one)
• Helper, human or Divine (sometimes more than one)
• Labors (one big labor, several canonical labors,
  or both)
• Confrontation with death (katabasis, immortality)

8
Heracles
9
Young Heracles

• Birth of Heracles
• fathered by Zeus (disguised as Amphitryon) and
  Alcmena.
• Amphitryon gone to avenge Alcmenas brothers
  deaths from war.
• Zeus boasts Hera speeds up Eurystheuss birth
• Alcmena has twins Heracles (Zeuss son) and
  Iphicles (Amphis).
• Heracles's Trials by Hera
• Eurystheus - cousin of Heracles for whom he
  performs his labors, becomes king of Mycenae
  (whomever born first, got to be king)
• Snakes, beast master/demigod,-sent by Hera,
  strangled. Now identities of children are known
• Saves Thebes, king gives him daughter, Megara,
  for wife. Hera strickens him w/ madness and he
  kills family.
• Goes to Oracle and must perform 12 labors for
  Eurystheus.

10
Heracless Personality

• Negative traits
• Homicidal tendences kills his music teacher
  Linus. Kills his first wife Megara.
• Regret and Atonement - exiled to Thebes. On mt.
  w/ shepherds. Kills threatening lion.
• Sexual Promiscuity 50 daughters of Thespius.
  Cheats on Deianeira.
• Positive Traits
• Sense of humor Cercopes, Omphale
• Work ethic does his labors without complaining
• Loyalty Hylas, keeps promise to Meleager

11
Heracless First Six Labors

• Nemean Lion - invincible skin. Taken by beating
  and using own claw. Provides armor.
• Lernaean Hydra - Many headed dragon w/ immortal
  head. Cauterizes others, buries immortal head
  under rock. Dips his arrows in the Hydras blood
  to make them poisonous
• Cerynean Hind - Artemis's sacred (rein)deer with
  gold horns. Has to catch and bring back. (w/
  permission).
• Erymanthian Boar - chases into deep snow,
  catches.
• Augean Stables - dirty for 10 years, clean in
  one day by having 2 rivers run through stables.
  Refused to pay Heracles.
• Stymphalian Birds - dirty, man eating, scared
  them w/ bronze rattle, shoots to get out of
  area.

12
Heracless Second Six-Pack

• Cretan Bull - father of Minotaur.
• Mares of Diomedes -flesh eating horses. Killed
  Diomedes and fed to horses. Change to nice
  ponies.
• Girdle of Hippolyta (Queen of Amazons) to take
  off means to undress for intercourse. Kills after
  Hera intervenes.
• Cattle of Geryon - Go edge of world to take
  cattle from 3 headed monster Geryon. Brings them
  back in the cup of sun god Helios.
• Apples of Hesperides - tree of life guarded by
  dragon "Ladon". Nereus prophet instructs w/ Atlas
  help. Apples immortality
• Cerberus - 3 headed hound of hell-captured w/
  permission from Hades Heracles promises to marry
  Meleagers sister Deianeira.

13
Heracles and Cerberus
14
Heracless Side Labors (parerga)

• Antaeus (son of Gaea, wrestled and choked to
  death)
• Atlas (tricked into taking the world back)
• Busiris (cruel Ancient Egyptian king, killed)
• Centaurs (gets them drunk and kills them)
• Cercopes (beware the man with the black bottom)
• Olympian Games (to honor his daddy Zeus)
• Prometheus (freed from his rock)

15
Centaurs
16
Centaurs

• Definition of Centaurs
• Half-men, half horse
• Reaction of a culture which doesnt ride horses
  to one that does
• Aztecs thought this way about the Spaniards
• Seldom very sweet-tempered
• Ancient Greek Centaurs
• Children of Centaurus (son of Ixion and
  cloud-Hera)
• Chiron tutor of young Jason
• Nessus tried to carry off Deianeira
• Famous battle with the Lapiths (their cousins)

17
Battle of Centaurs and Lapiths
18
Death of Heracles

• Deianeira man killer, sister of Meleager
• Nessus the centaur offers her a honeymoon ride,
  gets killed
• Heracles tires of family life with Deianeira,
  wins Princess Iole in an archery contest in
  Trachis
• Kills Ioles brother, incurring miasma, has to be
  auctioned to Omphale (Lydian Queen) dress up as
  maid for a year.
• Returns to claim Iole, Deianera hears about this,
  sends favorite cloak w/ potion on it..he dies.
• Philoctetes lights funeral pyre and receives bow
  and arrows.
• Mortal part goes to underworld, immortal part
  goes to Mt. Olympus
• He marries Hebe, Goddess of youthful bloom
  (daughter of Zeus and Hera (Hera finds him now
  worthy).

19
Heracles Wrestles Death
20
Heracles through the ages

• Heracles in the Iliad (shoots Hera in the breast
  with a three pronged arrow) and Odyssey (whines
  to Odysseus in the Underworld)
• Heracles at the Crossroads of Vice and Virtue
  picks Virtue (played by Roseanne) over Vice
  (played by Paris Hilton)
• Heracles in the Aeneid one big long Public
  Affairs Mission
• The Emperor Commodus as Heracles Marcus
  Aureliuss son declared that he was Heracles,
  dammit. The cultural elite were aghast but the
  common folk of Rome found it very cool
• TV shows and cartoons beyond belief

21
Hercules the TV show
22
Theseus
23
Legends of Athens

• King Erichthonius -1st king of Athens.
• When Athena born, Heph runs after to claim prize,
  
• his seed spills on Athenas thigh and she wipes
  it on Gaia
• autochthony - a creature w/ body of snake, head
  of human
• Daughters of Cecrops saw it and went crazay
• Cephalus and Procris
• Cephalus dresses in disguise to prove his wife
  Procris.
• Wife unveils herself and Cephalus curses her.
• Artemis gives her dog and spears that always get
  target.
• Cephalus gets spear, lies under tree and asks
  wind (aura) to come.
• Procris hears this and rustles bush behind himhe
  kills her.

24
Legends of Crete

• Queen Pasiphae asks Poseidon to send beautiful
  bull for sacrifice
• Poseidon sends bull as ordered, but Pasiphae does
  not kill it.
• Pasiphae made to fall in love for punishment.
  Daedalus builds wood cow for her to entice the
  bull
• Pasiphae gives birth to Minotaur bull-headed
  baby boy
• Daedalus builds the Labyrinth to keep the
  Minotaur out of sight
• Labyrinth actually the magnificent palace at
  Knossos
• Daedalus gets seriously weirded out in the
  process
• He builds wings for himself and his son Icarus,
  who flew too high and drowned in the Icarian sea.
  Hubris!

25
Palace of Knossos (artists version)
26
Birth of Theseus

• King Aegeus could not impregnate wife. Oracles
  said not to undue hainging ft of wine skin.
• Pittheus knows what this means and gets him to
  bed his daughter Aethra.
• Alternate explanation Aethra raped by Poseidon
  (Aegeus may originally have been a sea god, not a
  king)
• Aegeus buries sandals and sword underneath rock.
• If the child is a son, he should claim the
  sandals and sword and come to Athens
• Theseus becomes a young man and leaves to meet
  dear old dad.

27
The Hero, the sword, and the sandals
28
Theseuss Highly Inventive Early Labors

• Periphetes (clubman) beat upside of head w/ club
  to punish (reversed)
• Sinis (Pine Bender) bend trees, put man in
  middle-thwap (reversed)
• Man Eating Sow -Theseus eats it
• Sciron (hero of Megara) Sits on cliff, tells
  strangers to wash feet and push over edge for
  giant turtle to eat.
• Cercyon (wrestler) lifted off the Earth and
  crushed to death just as Heracles did to
  Antaeus
• Procrustes (the stretcher) stretches/cuts of
  protruding/smaller bodies on bed. (reversed)

29
Theseus vs. Minotaur

• Aegeus is married to Medea (Thinking Woman) and
  does not recognize Theseus.
• Medea recognizes Theseus and tries to poison w/
  wine.
• He recognizes his old sword and hits the cup out
  of Theseuss hand.
• Theseus goes to prove himself in ship with black
  sail. He will sail back with a white sail if he
  makes it.
• Ariadne gives him magic to get thru maze and kill
  her half-brother, the Minotaur
• Theseus leaves her on way back to Athens on
  island of Naxos, where Dionysus picks her up
• Aegeus sees the black sail on the horizon
  (Theseus forgot to change it)
• Aegeus jumps in sea, giving it the name of Aegean
  Sea.

30
Perseus
31
Perseuss Childhood

• King Acrisius of Argos was told by an oracle that
  his grandson would kill him
• He imprisoned his only child, his daughter Danae,
  in a forest
• Zeus enters in shower of gold sunlight-conceives
  baby Perseus.
• Acrisius puts Danae and Perseus into a box which
  he throws in the sea (assuming they will drown)
• Washed up on island of Seriphus, ruled by evil
  king Polydectes, who covets Danae.
• Perseus has to satisfy Poly w/ gift to gain
  admission to party of rich (usually one horse).
• Perseus says he could just as easily bring back
  the head of Medusa the Gorgonette.
• Polydectes said Youre On!
• Perseuss chances are either 0 or 100,
  depending on how you look at it.

32
Medusa
33
Perseuss Excellent Adventure

• Perseus befriends Athena (lends shield) and
  Hermes (gives Cap of Darkness, winged sandals,
  magic bag) to help him conquer.
• Graeae (3 goddesses of Old Age sharing one eye
  and tooth) tell him how to win after he takes
  their eye.
• Walking backwards, using shield as a mirror, cuts
  Medusa's head off (out come Pegasus and
  Chrysaor).
• On his way back, saves and marries Andromeda (her
  mother said she was prettier than Goddesses) from
  a sea monster
• Shows Polydectes the head and turns him to stone
• Gives magical stuff to Hermes and shield to
  Athena-Medusas head on shield).
• Goes back to Argos King Acrisius flees in fear.
• Goes to discus contest, hits Acrisius in foot,
  incurring miasma
• Wanders around, eventually founds Mycenae.

34
Jason
35
Background of the Argonauts

• Jasons early years
• Sent Jason to Mt Pelion, raised by Centaur
  Chiron.
• Went back to Iolcus to claim throne from Uncle
  King PeliAS.
• Lost shoe carrying Hera in disguise thru river
  (fulfilling prophesy of Pelias getting killed by
  man w/ one shoe).
• Goes to town, Pelias tells him he has to go get
  golden fleece.
• Origin of the Golden Fleece
• King Athamas and Queen Nephele had two
  childrenPhrixus and Helle. He tired of her, got
  2nd wife Ino, who bribed an oracle to order
  Athamas to sacrifice Phrixus.
• Gold ram appeared before sacrifice, Phrixus and
  Helle soared away on its back.
• Helle lost grip and fell to Hellespont to death
  over sea.
• Phrixus landed in Colchis, sacrificed ram to
  Zeus, and gave skin to Aeetes (son of the sun god
  Helios) for thanks.

36
Jason cures Phineus of his Harpies
37
Countless Screaming Argonauts

• Jason sails on the Argo, a ship built by Argus
  and Athena.
• Best fighters (B-Movie Heroes) go on trip,
  recruited by Hera.
• Island of lonely Lemnian women who offended
  Aphrodite and made stinky. Argonauts stay and
  heroically beget children.
• Next island they meet King Cyzicus, mistakenly
  killed after being swept back into harbor.
• Stop on Cios after Heracles broke oar, loses
  Hylas (Hercs boyfriend) to sea nymphs. Hercules
  goes away too.
• Island of Phineus- cursed w/ harpies taking food
  for revealing too much of divine plan. Harpies
  (1/2 woman and bird) befoul food. Drive off
  Harpies
• Pass through Symplegades (clashing rocks), and
  send a dove through to confirm passage.

38
Medea, Jason, and the Golden Fleece
39
Adventures in Colchis

• On Colchis, King Aeetes of Aea received the
  Argonauts.
• Hera makes Aeetess daughter Medea fall in love
  with Jason
• Aeetes tells Jason he can have fleece if
• he yokes 2 fire breathing bronzed hooved bulls
  and plows earth
• sowed the dragons teeth left over from Thebes
• destroy warriors springing from their teeth.
• Medea helps Jason accomplish the labors and take
  the fleece.
• Medea chops up her brother for Aeetes to pick up
  en route.kill son.
• Back in Iolcus, Pelias is unwilling to step down.
  
• Jason kills the other menfolk and Medea tricks
  Peliass daughters into chopping him up and
  killing him.
• Town people drove Jason and Medea away to Corinth.

40
Medea Escapes
41
The Medea of Euripides

• Plot
• Medea and Jason have moved to Corinth
• Local king Creon wants Jason to marry his
  daughter Creousa
• Medea offers to go along with the plan does she
  mean it?
• Questions
• Is this a typical midlife crisis story?
• Is Jason heroic or sleazy?
• Is Medea a crusader or a witch?
• Who do the gods blame?
• What is Aegeus doing here?

42
Bellerophon
43
Bellerophon

• While in Corinth he incurs miasma, goes to Argos.
  
• Purified by King Proetus whose wife Sthenoboea
  falls in love with him.
• He refuses, She writes note accusing him of
  trying to rape her.
• King Iobates has him perform labors.
• Labor 1 Solymi
• Labor 2 Amazons
• Labor 3 Chimera
• gets big head, tries to fly to Olympus on Pegasus
  
• Thunderbolt kills him -- HUBRIS!!!!
• Pegasus stays on Mt. Olympus

44
The Amazons
45
The Amazons

• Lineage
• Name comes from amazon Greek for no breast
• Supposedly chopped their right breasts off to
  make them better archers
• Total matriarchy under Queen Hippolyta
• Supposedly male children were exposed at birth
  and only female babies raised
• Purpose of the Amazons in Greek Myth
• Get beat by various Greek heroes
• Heracles
• Theseus
• Bellerophon
• Somebody has to be the bad guys (or girls) in
  these legends
• Also, a possible lesson for uppity females

46
Atalanta
47
Atalanta

• Father abandons Atalanta to be raised by hunters
  and a she-bear.
• Atalanta becomes a famous runner her dad becomes
  proud and holds race for her hand in marriage.
• Hippomenes (aka Milanion) brings 3 golden apples
  to the race
• Every time she gets ahead, he throws an apple and
  she stops to pick it up.
• Atalanta and Hippomenes get married and
  consummate marriage in Artemiss temple.
• Artemis changes them into a lion and a lioness
  (supposedly could not procreate)

48
Calydonian Boar Hunt, The
49
Calydonian Boar Hunt, The

• Sent by Artemis to ravage Calydon after she is
  dissed
• Meleager and men go to hunt it.
• Atalanta (either the famous runner or not) hits
  it first,
• Meleager finishes it off.
• Uncles tease him about giving skin to a
  girrrrrlllll
• He kills his uncles
• Mom takes log from box (when it burns, Meleager
  dies)
• Throws it into the fire, killing Meleager
• In the underworld, Meleager fixes up Heracles
  with his sister Deianeira

50
Peleus
51
Peleus as hero

• Peleus in Phthia. King Eurytion purifies him from
  miasma and joins him in Calydonian boar hunt.
• Peleus misses boar and kills King. Goes to Iolcus
  for purification.
• Queen Astydamia falls in love with young Peleus,
  who rejected her.
• Astydamia writes a note claiming Peleus had
  raped Peleus gets sent on labors
• Peleus is taken out on a snipe hunt and
  abandoned. His sword is hidden in a pile of poop.
• Wakes up surrounded by centaurs. Chiron, nice
  centaur, tells Peleus where sword is.
• Awarded wife Thetis (the nymph destined to bear
  a son who is greater than his father) for his
  display of good behavior.

52
The Judgement of Paris
53
Wedding of Peleus and Thetis

• Thetis the famous nymph destined to bear a son
  who is greater than his father.
• All deities invited to her wedding with Peleus
  except Eris, Goddess of Discord.
• Eris came w/ golden apple "for the fairest."
• Hera, Aphrodite, and Athena each claim it. Zeus
  wisely declines the role of judge
• Paris (a handsome but duuuumb Trojan prince)
  selected judge
• He chooses Aphrodite, and is rewarded with the
  most beautiful woman in the world.
• Paris claims Helen, wife of Menelaus (king of
  Sparta), starting Trojan war.
• Thetis gives birth to Achilles and dips him by
  the heel in the river Styx to make him
  invulnerable.

54
Retellable Heroic Tales

• Pyramus and Thisbe (Ovid) Romeo and Juliet
• Wall separates houses, forbidden to see one
  another.
• Thisbe sees lion w/ bloody teeth and leaves,
  dropping scarf.
• Pyramus sees veil, stabs himself in side. Thisbe
  falls on his sword.
• Hero and Leander
• Hero, a priestess of Aphrodite, lives in tower.
• Hero turns lamp on every night to guide Leander
  on thru water.
• Rainy night it goes out and Leander loses his
  way.
• She sees him on beach dead next morning-jumps
  off.
• Philemon and Baucis
• Zeus and Hermes in disguise. Everyone mean except
  P and B.
• P and B pray to gods before meal, and about to
  kill goose for dinner.
• Gods reveal themselves, spare P and B from flood
• Wind up as Oak and Linden tree w/intertwining
  branches.

55
Dinner with Philemon and Baucis
56
Pyramus and Thisbe
57
Where do we go from here?

• Oct 21 Hour Exam 2
• Oct 23 Introduction Belief and Society
• Oct 28 Blended Day
• Oct 30 Heracles, Athens and Crete (L 22-26)
• Nov 04 Blended Day
• Nov 06 Blended Day
• Nov 11 B-Movie and Other Heroes (L 27-30)
• Nov 13 Hour Exam 3