Greek Mythology

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Greek Mythology
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What is Greek Mythology?

• Greek Mythology is a collection of myths and
  legends that Greeks used to explain their world.
• Although we now view these stories as fiction,
  the Greeks believed them to be true.

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The Greeks and Their Beliefs

• The Greeks loved life.
• They believed in living life to the fullest
  because death was going to happen whether you
  wanted it to or not.
• The only response to death was to make a mark on
  the world. Be a legendbe grandiose.

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Continued The Greeks Their Beliefs

• The Greeks had many gods.
• The gods exemplified the need to be grandiose.
• Because the Olympian gods mirrored the Greeks,
  they were heavily flawed.
• They were quarrelsome, unforgiving, jealous,
  vengeful, spiteful, sinful deities.
• The Olympian gods were mostly portrayed as
  physically strong, beautiful and intelligent.
• The same applies to the heroes in their legends
  and myths.

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The World according to the Greeks

• Both good and evil comes from the gods.
• Heroes and monsters came from the gods.
• Many of the conflicts that are portrayed in the
  myths are between family members.
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The World according to the GreeksIn the
Beginning

• In the beginning there was no earth, sky or sea.
  There was only confusion and darkness, called
  Chaos. Chaos gave birth to Mother Earth. She
  eventually gave birth to a son, Uranus, also
  known as Father Heaven. Mother Earth and Father
  Heaven had many children.
• First, they had three monstrous sons. Each had
  fifty heads and one hundred hands.
• Then, they had three more sons. They were just
  as big and just as ugly. They were called
  Cyclops. They had one eye in the middle of their
  foreheads. They were as strong as Earthquakes
  and Tornadoes combined.
• Finally, they had the first gods, six sons and
  six daughters called the Titans.

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Among their children was the greatest Titan,
Cronus (Kronus). Cronus gained power from his
father, Uranus, by castrating him. Then, Cronus
became ruler over heaven and Earth and married
his sister, Rhea. From their union came the
Olympian gods.
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The bigger you are, the harder you fall

• Power changed Cronus and made him evil. He was
  so afraid that one of his sons was going to do to
  him what he did to his father that he swallowed
  all of his children immediately after their
  birth. One by one, Cronus swallowed Hestia,
  Demeter, Hera, Hades, and Poseidon. When Rhea
  was pregnant with her sixth child, she thought of
  a plan. She secretly gave birth to her sixth
  child, Zeus, and gave him to Mother Earth.

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Mother Earth decided that the child would be safe
if she hid him as far away from Cronus as she
could. When Cronus asked to see the sixth child,
Rhea handed him a rock wrapped in a blanket.
Just like her previous children, Cronus swallowed
the rock without hesitation, just as she had
planned. Rhea was happy and could not wait for
the day Zeus would grow up and destroy his
father.
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• Zeus was safely being raised by Nymphs and
  shepherds. Eventually Zeus grew up and Rhea, his
  mother, told him about what Cronus did to his
  siblings. Zeus made a promise to his mother that
  he would make Cronus pay for what he did.

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Rhea and Zeus plan

• When Zeus returned to his mother, she disguised
  him as a servant. Rhea concocted a poisonous
  potion and Zeus, acting as a servant, put it in
  Cronus drink. The concoction caused Cronus to
  get sick and vomit. First, Cronus vomited up the
  rock. Then each of his five children, one by one.
  Zeus was seen as a hero for saving his siblings.
  They were extremely thankful. Once everyone was
  freed, the six children decided to battle against
  Cronus.

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The battle between father and sons

• The war lasted ten years. Neither side could
  get the upper hand because they were equal in
  strength. Mother Earth suggested that Zeus and
  his brothers go free the Cyclops and have them
  fight on their side. Zeus and his brothers did as
  they were advised and freed their uncles, the
  Cyclops. The Cyclops gave them the advantage
  they needed. Finally, the war was over. Zeus
  and his siblings were victorious.

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After the battle was over

• Now that the battle was over, the three
  brothers had to decide who was going to rule the
  universe. They decided the fairest way to choose
  was to draw lots. Hades won the underworld.
  Poseidon won the sea and Zeus won the heaven and
  became ruler of all the gods of Mt. Olympus.

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The gods and goddesses of Mt. Olympus

• Mt. Olympus was the largest mountain in Greece.
  It was the home of the gods and goddesses.
• Gods and goddesses were immortal they could not
  die.
• No humans were allowed on top of Mt. Olympus, but
  the Olympians were allowed on Earth.
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Greek Gods and Goddesses

• English I
• Class notes

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• Chief god
• Lord of sky
• God of thunder lightening
• Married his sister Hera
• Populated the heavens and the Earth
• promiscuous liaisons.

Zeus
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Hera

• Wife and sister of Zeus
• Goddess of marriage, protector of childbirth
  heroes
• Portrayed as extremely jealous and vindictive

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Zeus and Hera
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Poseidon

• God of the sea, horses and earthquakes
• Lives in a palace beneath the ocean
• Carries a three-pronged trident
• Gave people the horse
• Married a sea nymph named Amphitrite
• Like his brother, he fathered many children.
• Very fond of his sister Demeter

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Poseidon
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Hades

• god of the underworld and the dead
• god of wealth
• Owned all of the precious metal on Earth
• Wore a cap that made him invisible
• Kidnapped his niece and made her his wife

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Demeter

• Demeter means Barley-mother
• Another name for her is Ceres, from the word
  cereal
• Goddess of the cornfield, mistress of planting
  and harvesting, lady of growing things
• She had a son and a daughter. Her daughters
  name was Persephone.
• Her daughter was kidnapped by Hades. (reasons for
  the seasons)

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• Zeus third sister
• goddess of hearth family and home
• her only job was to keep the fire lit in the
  hearth on Mt. Olympus

Hestia
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All of Zeus children

• Zeus had eight children on Olympus
• The twins Apollo and Artimis
• Athena
• Hephaestus
• Hermes
• Ares
• Dionysus
• Aphrodite (not really Zeus child, but he took her
  in)

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Apollo

• god of light, music and poetry
• most beautiful god
• also the god of medicine
• taught people the art of healing
• fine marksman
• could predict the future

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Artemis

• goddess of hunting, wild things, unmarried girls
  and the moon
• She decided never to marry
• Once when she was bathing under the moonlight
  a human was watching her. She threw rain drops
  on him and changed him into a stag. Then she
  had him killed by his own dogs.

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• Zeus favorite
• goddess of wisdom, strategy, protector of cities
  and civilizations
• goddess of handicrafts and art
• She sprang from her fathers head fully clothed
  and in armor. Hephaestus, Zeus son, had to
  release Athena by cutting his head open with an
  ax.

Athena
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Hephaestas

• god of fire
• The only ugly god, but he was peaceful, loving
  and popular.
• He walks with a limp because Zeus threw over the
  palace walls one day when he took his mothers
  side over Zeus.
• Made all the Olympians thrones, armor, furniture
  and weapons
• Married Aphrodite

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Hermes

• Zeus graceful, happy son by the goddess, Maia
• God of shepherds, merchants, travelers and
  thieves
• Very mischievous and tricky
• Stole Apollos cows the day he was born
• Guided the newly dead to the underworld
• Invented the alphabet, astronomy, scales, playing
  cards and card games
• Zeus messenger
• Wore winged sandals and a winged cap
• Had a son named Pan. He was half goat.

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Ares

• god of war
• Boastful, cruel and had no manners
• Son of Zeus and Hera
• Loved to fight, but was a coward once he got hurt
• Wherever he went there was violence and bloodshed
• the curse of mortals

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• god of wine
• Zeus youngest son
• His mother, Semele, was a princess and a mortal
  woman
• His mother was consumed by fire when she was
  tricked by Hera
• He was saved by Hermes.
• Taught people the art of wine making the
  consequences of too much wine

Dionysus
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Aphrodite

• Goddess of love and beauty
• Goddess of desire
• Wherever she walked flowers sprang up beneath her
  feet
• she appeared from the foam of the sea
• Her son is Eros (Cupid)

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The OdysseyBackground
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What is an Epic?

• A long narrative poem about the deeds of a hero.

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Characteristics

• The hero is a figure of great national or
  international importance.
• The setting is large in scale.
• Hero often portrays the goals and values of
  society

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Characteristics of an epic

• action involves heroic deeds in battle or on a
  long and arduous (hard) journey.
• Gods, Goddesses and other supernatural beings
  take an interest and active part.

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Characteristics of epic poetry

• The poet begins by asking the Muses to help him
  with his story telling.
• The muses were the daughters of Zeus and
  Mnemosyne, the goddess of memory. They were
  believed to inspire all artists, especially
  poets, philosophers and musicians.
• The narration usually begins in the middle point
  of the action the events that happened before
  the narrative opening are introduced later.
• Flashbacks

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Narrative features of epic poetry

• Epic poems were initially performed as oral
  traditions by wandering professional bards, also
  called minstrels or rhapsodes.

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Features continued

• epithets- descriptive words or phrase that become
  a fixed formula.
• These develop the characterization by reinforcing
  particular aspects of a character.
• They are used over and over
• Examples Honest Abe
• wine-dark sea
• the gray-eyed goddess Athena

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Features Continued

• Similar phrases used to introduce and/or conclude
  speeches which describe everyday life (e.g.
  beginning a meal) or events (e.g. Dawn). These
  are designed to give the bard a staged pause to
  assist in composition and to assist with the
  poetic metre.

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Features Continued

• The physical setting is created by
• Imagery
• Homeric Similes - extended similes which compare
  heroic or epic events to everyday things
• metaphors
• Personification

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Homer not Simpson

• Poet traveling rhapsode/minstrel
• thought to be blind
• lived around Chios (Asia Minor)

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Homer

• Authored the Iliad - war epic
• Authored the Odyssey journey epic
• Passed down orally written down by someone else
• Stories about events between 900 and 700 B.C.

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Homer

• Ancient Greeks believed Homers stories to be
  true.
• The Greeks of the 5th century B.C. used the epics
  as ethical textbooks in their schools.

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The Iliad -- The Trojan War

• Background for the Odyssey
• Action is set in the tenth and final year of the
  Trojan War
• According to the epic, the Greeks attacked Troy
  to avenge the insult suffered be King Menelaus
  when his wife ran off with Paris of Troy
  (Believed to be Western Turkey).
• The audience for the Odyssey would already know
  this story.
• Many believed that Troy was located in modern day
  Turkey. Real battles would have taken place as
  early as 1200 B.C.

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Ancient Greece
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Modern Greece
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The beginning of the war Paris, Prince of Troy

• Paris was initially raised as a shepherd because
  of a prophecy that he would be the downfall of
  Troy.
• Zeus (King of the Gods) decided that Paris would
  settle a quarrel between Hera, Athena and
  Aphrodite.

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The Quarrel

• Peleus and Thetis got married
• They didnt invite Eris, the goddess of discord
• She threw an apple into the banquet inscribed To
  the most beautiful
• The goddesses fought over it
• Paris was called to settle the fight

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The Bribe

• The goddesses tried to bribe Paris.
• Athena offered Paris wisdom and skill in battle.
• Hera offered Paris political power and control of
  all of Asia.
• Aphrodite offered Paris the love of the most
  beautiful woman in the world.

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Paris Chooses

• Paris awarded the golden apple to Aphrodite
• Aphrodite suggested Helen of Sparta as the most
  beautiful mortal woman.
• She was already married

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Helen of Sparta

• Helen was so beautiful and wealthy that her
  father was not sure who she should marry.
• He feared retaliation from those not selected to
  wed Helen.
• Helen of Sparta is better known as Helen of Troy.

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Helen of Sparta

• A plan was proposed that whoever was chosen would
  be defended by all of Helens suitors.
• Helen chose Menelaus to wed.

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Helen of Sparta Paris of Troy

• Paris went on a diplomatic mission to Sparta.
• With Aphrodites help, Paris seduced or kidnapped
  her (accounts vary) and took her back to Troy as
  his wife.
• All the Kings of Greece were called upon to make
  good on their oaths to retrieve Helen.

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The Spartan Fleet

• A fleet of more than a thousand ships was
  gathered and commanded by Agamemnon (Menelaus
  brother).
• The forces consisted of 28 contingents from
  mainland Greece, the Peloponnese, the Dodecanese
  Islands, Crete and Ithaca, amassing a force of
  100,000 soldiers.

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Ancient Greece
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The War

• The Greek armies besieged Troy for nine long
  years, but were never able to penetrate the city
  walls of Troy.
• The events of Homers Iliad begin at this point.

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The End of the War

• The Greek army appeared to have set sail for
  home.
• They left the giant wooden horse as a peace
  offering - at least that is what the Trojans
  thought. - The Trojans moved the giant horse from
  the shoreline into the city of Troy.
• The Trojans were overjoyed that the ten year
  siege was over.

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The Ruse Succeeds

• The city of Troy erupted into a drunken
  celebration.
• The Greek soldiers suddenly emerged from the
  giant wooden horse.
• The Greeks opened the city gates to allow their
  fellow soldiers into the city of Troy.

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The Trojan Horse
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The Odyssey

• The story of the journey of Odysseus and his men
  trying to get home after the Trojan War.
• 10 years
• an epic about humans on the journey of life
  overcoming temptations along the way.

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Odyssey

• The word has come to mean an epic voyage in
  modern English.