SOME FACTS ABOUT MYTHOLOGYJUST THE BASICS

CIVILIZATIONS

• GREECE• ROME

PURPOSES

• RELIGION• GUIDE THEM IN THEIR DAILY LIVES• MAKE THEM FEEL SECURE IN AN

UNKNOWN WORLD (explain phenomenon)

• LITERATURE AND ENTERTAINMENT

MYTHS

• INCLUDE NATURE, GODS, GODDESSES, MONSTERS, HEROES

• THEY SOMETIMES CONTRADICT EACH OTHER BECAUSE STORIES WERE PASSED DOWN BY WORD OF MOUTH

Types of Myths

• Divine myths -tales referring to the gods

• Heroic myths - tales related to kingdoms on earth, heroes and heroines

PERSONALITIES OF THE IMMORTALS

• IMPERFECT--MADE MISTAKES• MANY CHARACTERS • INVOLVED THEMSELVES IN

HUMANS’ LIVES• CREATED BY THE UNIVERSE

GREEK & ROMAN GODS

• NAMES DIFFER• STORIES ARE SIMILAR

BASIC FACTS• HOME: MT. OLYMPUS• FOOD: AMBROSIA• DRINK: NECTAR• ZEUS, AN OLYMPIAN, WAS KING• 13 MAIN GODS & GODDESSES RULED IN

A GROUP CALLED THE PANTHEON

BEGINNINGS

• GAEA (THE EARTH/FEMALE) MARRIED URANUS (SKY/MALE)

• THEY HAD 3 SETS OF CHILDREN– TITANS (GOOD-LOOKING & STRONG)– CYCLOPES (ONE-EYED GIANTS)– 100-HANDED GIANTS (NOT

ATTRACTIVE)

• BECAUSE THEY WERE SO UGLY, URANUS CAST OFF THE GIANTS AND CYCLOPES TO TARTARUS.

• THIS MOVE ENRAGED GAEA.

Gaea’s Revenge

• She helped Cronos overthrow Uranus.• Uranus then made a prophesy that one

of Cronos’s children would overthrow him one day.

Cronos

• Cronos then became the lead god.• Married Rhea• Children: Hestia, Pluto, Poseidon, Hera,

and Demeter• Cronos, afraid of the prophesy,

swallowed all of his children as soon as they were born.

• Rhea and Gaea were angry and plotted against Cronos

• Rhea’s next child was Zeus• She gave Cronos a stone wrapped in a

blanket to swallow instead of the baby• She hid Zeus in a cave on the island of

Crete

Overthrowing Cronos

• Rhea & Gaea mixed a potion to give to Cronos which would make him throw up the children he had swallowed. Zeus was the cupholder.

• Now they could fight.• Cronos and the Titans vs. Zeus, his 5

brothers and sisters, some other gods, monsters, 100-headed monsters, and Cyclopes

THE VICTORY

• Zeus took over Mt. Olympus, becoming king of the gods.

• 13 gods and goddesses created the pantheon.

• They ruled for 1000 years.• Zeus, an Olympian and jealous playboy,

married Hera.

Greek Family TreeUranus & Gaea

Cronus & Rhea

Hestia

Demeter

Poseidon

Zeus

Athena

Persephone

Apollo

Artemis

Aphrodite

Hermes

Hades

Hera

Ares

Hephaestus

12 god and goddesses

ZEUS (zoose or zyoose; Roman name Jupiter) was the supreme

god of the Olympians. He was the father of the heroes Perseus and Heracles Zeus was the youngest

son of the Titans Cronus and Rhea. When he was born, his

father Cronus intended to swallow him as he had all of Zeus's

siblings.

HERA (HEE-ruh) was the goddess of marriage. Hera was the wife of Zeus and Queen of the Olympians. Hera

hated the great hero Heracles since he was the son of her husband Zeus and a mortal woman. When he was still an

infant, she sent snakes to attack him in his crib. Later she stirred up the

Amazons against him when he was on one of his quests.

DIONYSUS (dye-oh-NYE-sus) was the god of wine. Dionysus was the

son of Zeus and the mortal heroine Semele.

It was Dionysus who granted Midas the power to turn whatever

he touched into gold, then was kind enough to take the power

back when it proved inconvenient.

APHRODITE (a-fro-DYE-tee) was the goddess of love, beauty and

fertility. She was also a protecter of sailors. The poet Hesiod said

that Aphrodite was born from sea-foam. Homer, on the other hand, said that she was the daughter of

Zeus and Dione.

APOLLO (uh-POL-oh) was the god of prophesy, music and

healing. Like most of his fellow Olympians, Apollo did not

hesitate to intervene in human affairs. It was he who brought

about the demise of the mighty Achilles.

ARES (AIR-eez) was the god of war, or more precisely of warlike frenzy. Though an

immortal deity, he was bested by Heracles in battle and was

almost killed when stuffed into a jar by two giants.

ARTEMIS (AR-ti-mis) was the virgin goddess of the hunt. She helped

women in childbirth but also brought sudden death with her arrows.

Artemis and her brother Apollo were the children of Zeus and Leto. In

some versions of their myth, Artemis was born first and helped her

mother to deliver Apollo.

ATHENA (a-THEE-nuh) was the goddess of crafts and the

domestic arts and also those of war. She was the patron goddess

of Athens. Her symbol was the owl. She was originally the Great

Goddess in the form of a bird. She has come to be regarded as a

goddess of wisdom

DEMETER (dee-MEE-tur) was the goddess of agriculture. Demeter as the sister of Zeus and the mother of Persephone. When depicted in art, Demeter is often shown carrying a sheaf of grain.

HEPHAESTUS (he-FESS-tus) was the lame god of fire and crafts or

the two together, hence of blacksmiths. Hephaestus was the son of Zeus and Hera or, in some

accounts, of Hera alone. He limped because he was born lame, which caused his mother to throw

him off Mount Olympus.

HERMES (HUR-meez) was the messenger of the gods and guide of dead souls to the Underworld. A

prankster and inventive genius from birth, Hermes aided the

heroes Odysseus and Perseus in their quests. Hermes was the son

Zeus and a mountain nymph.

POSEIDON (puh-SYE-dun) was the god of the sea, earthquakes and horses. Although he was officially one of the supreme gods of Mount Olympus, he spent most of his time in his watery

domain. Poseidon was brother to Zeus and Hades. These three gods divided up creation. Zeus was ruler of the sky,

Hades had dominion of the Underworld and Poseidon was given all water, both

fresh and salt.

Other Characters

TitansEpimetheusPrometheusAtlasand flocks.

Other god and godessess•Hades – god of the underworld•Hestia – goddess of the hearth•Persophone – queen of the underworld•Aeolus – god of the wind•Eros – god of love•Pan - was a god of shepherds and flocks.

Heros

Map of Ancient Greece