Greek and Roman Mythology

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Greek and Roman Mythology

• A Review
• of
• Heroes, Monsters, and Adventures

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Heroes

• Perseus
• Theseus
• Hercules
• Atalanta

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Perseus

• Son of Zeus and Danae (a mortal)
• Aided by Hermes and Athena
• Tricked the Gray Women
• Slew Medusa
• Married Andromeda
• Accidentally killed his grandfather (fulfilling
  an oracles prophecy)

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Theseus

• Son of Athenian King Aegeus
• Slew Sciron and Procrustes
• Slew the Minotaur (Ariadne and Daedalus helped)
• Ruled Athens well
• Married Phaedra (drew Aphrodites wrath)
• Killed by his friend King Lycomedes

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Hercules (Heracles)

• Greatest Greek Hero
• Son of Zeus and Alcamena (a mortal)
• Not too bright often impulsive
• Cursed by Hera kills wife and sons
• Completed Twelve Labors
• Taken to Olympus after he died
• Married Hebe

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Atalanta

• Her dad wanted a boy, left her to die
• Raised by bears, later hunters
• Helped slay the Calydonian Boar
• May have sailed with Argonauts
• Would only marry the man who beat her in a race
• Melanion tricked her, won the race
• They were turned into lions.

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Other Significant Stories, Adventures, and
Monsters

• Pandora
• Prometheus
• Europa
• Polyphemus
• Narcissus
• Psyche
• Jason
• Phaeton
• Bellerophon

• Pegasus
• Chimera
• Daedalus
• Minotaur
• Chiron
• Sisyphus
• Procrustes
• Griffin

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Pandora

• First woman on earth
• Hephaestus made her of water and earth, and all
  the gods gave her a gift or talent (Pandora
  all gifted).
• Her curiosity caused her to open the jar (or box)
  containing all the evils, but she closed the lid
  before Hope could escape.

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Prometheus

• A Titan who stole fire from the sun to give to
  mortals
• Angered Zeus, who chained him to a rock where an
  eagle would eat his liver out daily for all of
  eternity.
• Hercules later killed the eagle and freed
  Prometheus.

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Europa

• A mortal girl that Zeus fell for
• He tricked her by taking the form of a beautiful
  white bull.
• Zeus swept her away to Crete, where she bore him
  three children.
• She later married the king of Crete.

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Polyphemus

• The most well-known cyclops due to his roll in
  The Odyssey
• Son of Poseidon
• Tricked and blinded by Odysseus

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Narcissus

• Many young women were in love with him, but he
  rejected them all.
• One young woman, Echo, went to a lonely place and
  faded away until her sad cries were all that was
  left of her.
• The goddess Nemesis, in anger, made Narcissus
  fall in love with his own reflection in the pool.

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Psyche and Cupid

• Aphrodite, jealous of Psyches beauty, sent her
  son Eros (Cupid) to make Psyche fall in love with
  an ugly man.
• But Eros fell in love with her himself.
• He visited her nightly, but never allowed her to
  see his face.
• At the instigation of her sisters, Psyche sneaks
  in to look at him one night when he is asleep.
  He awakes and leaves her.
• She wandered the earth in search of a lover for
  many years but was later reunited with Eros.

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Jason

• King Pelias sent Jason on a seemingly impossible
  quest to bring back the Golden Fleece.
• Argo ship / Argonauts crew
• With help from Medea, Jason gets the fleece.
• When he abandons Medea, she kills their children,
  and Jason is ruined.

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Phaeton

• Mortal son of Helios (the sun god)
• Phaeton convinces Helios to let him drive the
  chariot that pulls the sun across the sky.
• The horses get out of control, threatening to
  scorch the earth.
• Zeus destroys Phaeton before the earth can be
  burned up.

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Bellerophon and Pegasus

• Sent by a king to slay the Chimera (as task that
  is supposed to be impossible)
• With Athenas help, Bellerophon captures Pegasus,
  the winged horse.
• They slay the Chimera.
• Later, in pride, Bellerophon tries to ride
  Pegasus to Mt. Olympus.
• Zeus knocks him back to earth, and he wanders
  lonely for the rest of his days.

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Chimaera

• Hideous monster with the head of a lion, the body
  of a goat, and the tail of a dragon.
• Terrorized Lycia until Bellerophon and Pegasus
  killed it.
• Any multi-faced or confusing problem is now
  referred to as a chimera.

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Daedalus

• Famous architect and inventor
• Built the labyrinth for the Minotaur
• He and his son Icarus are later trapped in the
  labyrinth, so he crafts wings for them to fly
  out.
• Icarus flies too close to the sun, melts his
  wings, and drowns in the sea.

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Minotaur

• Monster with the body of a man, but the head and
  tail of a bull.
• Kept in the labyrinth in Crete, where every year
  14 young people were sacrificed to this monster.
• Theseus volunteered to be one of the sacrifices
  and slew the Minotaur.

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Chiron

• The only good centaur
• He was very wise and had great knowledge of the
  healing arts.
• Tutor of many heroes (Achilles, Theseus, etc.)
• Hercules accidentally shot him with a poison
  arrow.
• To escape the pain, he relinquished his
  immortality.
• He is now the constellation of Sagittarius.

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Sisyphus

• He betrayed the secrets of the gods, cheated
  Death, and was then punished by Hades.
• In the underworld, he his doomed to forever roll
  a huge boulder up a hill, where it then rolls
  back to the bottom, and he starts all over again.

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Procrustes

• Legendary robber
• He captured travelers and forced them to stay in
  one of his beds.
• Short people were stretched on a rack until they
  were the right length.
• Tall people had the parts that were too long
  chopped off.
• Theseus killed him.

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Pan

• God of shepherds and flocks as well as of male
  fertility.
• A satyr
• Son of Hermes
• Chased nymphs through the forests in the shape of
  a goat
• Not well-liked by other gods

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Griffin

• Legendary creature with the head, beak, and wings
  of an eagle, and the body of a lion.

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Sources

• Graphics in this presentation were taken from the
  following web sites
• http//www.bulfinch.org/fables/search.html
• http//www.pantheon.org/
• http//www.messagenet.com/myths/
• http//mythman.com/
• http//web.uvic.ca/grs/bowman/myth/index.html
• http//www.paleothea.com/
• http//www.entrenet.com/7Egroedmed/greekm/myth.ht
  ml
• This presentation is for educational purposes
  only it has not been and should not be sold or
  used as a vehicle to make money.

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The End