It’s the study of “myths”

a. Nature1. Where did earth come from?2. Heavens

1. Sun, moon, stars, comets, clouds, storms, thunder, lightning

3. Seasons1. Climate, rain, fertility, agriculture

4. Geography1. Oceans, mountains, forests, rivers,

b. Man1. Where did man come from?2. His life

1. Birth, growth, reproduction, death

3. His victories1. Glories in battle and against adversity

4. His defeats1. Misfortunes, adversities, unhappiness

5. His end1. Rewards and punishments, the afterlife

c. Gods1. Where did the gods come from?2. How many gods are there? 3. What regions do they inhabit?4. What roles do they fulfill

1. Powers and weaknesses, characteristics and character flaws

The major source of our knowledge of ancient myths is from literature. Homer’s Iliad and Homer’s Odyssey Hesiod’s Theogony and Works and Pays Virgil’s Aeneid Ovid’s Metamorphoses▪ There are several other minor works of Greek

mythology, as well as mythos from other cultures including Norse, Chinese, and Native American culture.

Roman mythology is largely based on Greek mythology, with many of the names and stories changed to fit Roman values and needs; however, the universe and hierarchy of the gods is quite similar

Because it’s Interesting Entertaining Shows how the ancient people viewed

their world Going to show up in references all

around for the rest of your life…

In Literature Famous examples include▪ Dante’s Inferno▪ Sophocles’ Oedipus▪ Euripides’ Trojan Women▪ Goethe’s Iphigenia In Taurus▪ Shakespeare’s Troilus and Cressida ▪ Racine’s Andromache▪ Aeschylus’ Prometheus Bound▪ WM Morris’ Life and Death of Jason

In Music Ravel’s Daphnis and Chloe Maeterlinck’s Peleas and Melisande Holst’s The Planets Gluck’s Orpheus and Eurydice Wagner’s Ring of the Nibelungen Mozart’s Jupiter Symphony

In the Arts Mythology has been a source of subject

matter and inspiration to painters and sculptors since art began.

The Renaissance saw the reintroduction of the myths into various art forms.

Today’s artists borrow heavily from ancient myths and create their own myths through surrealism and symbolic art

In advertising Brand names based on mythological

characters indicate high quality▪ Atlas Cement▪ Midas Mufflers▪ Mercury Cars▪ Ajax Cleaner▪ Venus Pencils▪ Apollo Pianos

In History Study of the Iliad and Odyssey and other

myths can▪ Produce facts about ancient people not

discoverable through formal research ▪ Cite causes for war▪ Show religious beliefs of an ancient people▪ Provide anthropologists with keys to

understanding a people’s history

In Language Mythology is the source of words such as ▪ Janitor- Janus▪ Martial- Mars▪ Museum- Muses▪ Volcano- Vulcan▪ Hypnotism- Hypnos▪ Days of the Week▪ Thursday (Thor’s day) Missiles (Nike)Months of the year (March= Mars) Birds (Phaethon)

Psychologists Who see in myths the expression of

subconscious needs for love, acceptance, self-worth, and power

Theologians Who study religions and myths to

understand people and their own religion Students of Literature

Who must understand myths to understand much of poetry and other works

APHRODITE (a-fro-DYE-tee; Roman name Venus) was the goddess of love, beauty and fertility. She was also a protectress 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.

In Homer's Iliad , Aphrodite saves Paris when he is about to be killed in single combat by Menelaus. The goddess wraps him in a mist and spirits him away, setting him down in his own bedroom in Troy. She then appears to Helen in the guise of an elderly handmaiden and tells her that Paris is waiting for her.

Helen recognizes the goddess in disguise and asks if she is being led once more to ruin. Aphrodite had bewitched her into leaving her husband Menelaus to run off with Paris. She dares to suggest that Aphrodite go to Paris herself.

Suddenly furious, the goddess warns Helen not to go too far, lest she be abandoned to the hatred of Greeks and Trojans alike. "I'll hate you," says the mercurial goddess, "as much as I love you now."

APOLLO (uh-POL-oh; Roman name Apollo) 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. Of all the heroes besieging the city of Troy in the Trojan War, Achilles was the best fighter by far. He had easily defeated the Trojan captain Hector in single combat. But Apollo helped Hector's brother Paris slay Achilles with an arrow.

When someone died suddenly, he was said to have been struck down by one of Apollo's arrows. Homer's epic of the Trojan War begins with the god causing a plague by raining arrows down upon the Greek camp.

As god of music, Apollo is often depicted playing the lyre. He did not invent this instrument, however, but was given it by Hermes in compensation for cattle theft. Some say that Apollo did invent the lute, although he was best known for his skill on the lyre.

He won several musical contests by playing this instrument. In one case he bested Pan, who competed on his own invention, the shepherd's pipe. On this occasion, King Midas had the bad sense to say that he preferred Pan's music, which caused Apollo to turn his ears into those of an ass.

ARES (AIR-eez; Roman name Mars) 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. When another hero wounded him during the Trojan War, he received scant sympathy from his father Zeus. In appearance, Ares was handsome and cruel. He is often depicted carrying a bloodstained spear. His throne on Mount Olympus was said to be covered in human skin.

The Roman god Mars, with whom Ares was identified, was the father of Romulus and Remus, the mythological founders of Rome. Thus he was more important to the Romans than his Greek counterpart. He was also more dignified.

ATHENA (a-THEE-nuh; Roman name Minerva) 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. By the late Classic, she had come to be regarded as a goddess of wisdom Zeus was once married to Metis, a daughter of Ocean who was renowned for her wisdom. When Metis became pregnant, Zeus was warned by Earth that a son born to Metis would overthrow him, just as he had usurped his own father's throne.

So Zeus swallowed Metis. In time he was overcome with a splitting headache and summoned help from the craftsman god Hephaestus (or, some say, the Titan Prometheus). Hephaestus cleaved Zeus's forehead with an ax, and Athena sprang forth fully armed.

ARTEMIS (AR-ti-mis; Roman name Diana) 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.

DEMETER (dee-MEE-tur; Roman name Ceres) was the goddess of agriculture. Demeter as the sister of Zeus and the mother of Persephone. Persephone was gathering flowers in a meadow one day when a huge crack opened up in the earth and Hades, King of the Dead, emerged from the Underworld. He seized Persephone and carried her off in his chariot, back down to his realm below, where she became his queen. Demeter was heartbroken. She wandered the length and breadth of the earth in search of her daughter, during which time the crops withered and it became perpetual winter.

HEPHAESTUS (he-FEE-stus or he-FESS-tus; Roman name Vulcan) 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.

HERA (HEE-ruh; Roman name Juno) 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.

HERMES (HUR-meez; Roman name Mercury) 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. As a newborn he was remarkably precocious. On his very first day of life, he found the empty shell of a tortoise and perceived its utility as a sounding chamber. Stringing sinews across it, he created the first lyre.

POSEIDON (puh-SYE-dun or poh-SYE-dun; Roman name Neptune) 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.

ZEUS (zoose or zyoose; Roman name Jupiter) was the supreme god of the Olympians. He was the father of the heroes Perseus and Heracles, the latter of whom once wrestled him to a draw. 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: Poseidon, Hades, Hestia, Demeter and Hera. But Rhea hid the newborn in a cave on Mount Dicte in Crete. (To this day, the guides at the "cave of Zeus" use their flashlights to cast shadow puppets in the cave, creating images of baby Zeus from the myth.)