Intro Greek Mythology

Introduction to
What is mythology?
● Mythology was an early form of science to the
Ancient Greeks because it helped them explain
things that they didn’t understand.
● We now consider these stories, or myths, to be
fiction.
● Myths are traditional stories of gods, kings, heroes,
and creatures that were originally told orally.
The purpose of myths was to explain the aspects of
life that the people didn’t understand.
What happens to us when we die? How was the world created?
Why can we see our reflection in Why do we have four seasons?

water?
How is lightning created?
Why do we fall in love?
How was fire created and why do
Why do our voices sometimes we have it?
echo?
Understanding the Ancient Greek People
They believed...
● Death was inevitable and final so the goal was to
become a legend through good deeds
● Honor was an important virtue so the Greeks were
very vengeful if they felt they were wronged
● The gods mirrored human emotions and physical
appearance
● The Greeks were polytheistic, which means they
believed in many gods
Where did mythology come from?
● It was written by the Greek poet, Hesiod who lived
around 700 b.c.
● He wrote two literary works (poems):
• Work and Days
• Theogony
Work and Days
● Details the five ages of man and their rise and fall.
• The Golden Age (Cronos still ruled the gods)
*Mankind lived in total harmony and interacted with the
gods.
• The Silver Age (Zeus took power during this age)
*Mankind would live as children for hundreds of
years. They did not pay tribute to the gods so Zeus
destroyed them all.
Work and Days
• The Bronze Age
* Mankind was tough and warlike. Making weapons from bronze,
they eventually destroyed themselves through war.
• The Heroic Age
* This is when heroes and demigods lived.
• The Iron Age (the age we are currently in)
* Hesiod felt he lived in this age. He believed mankind's lack of
shame and moral code would lead to the gods abandoning
mankind and the eventual destruction of mankind.
Theogony
● Traces the history of the world from its creation
through the battle between the Olympians and the
Titans to the ascension of Zeus as the absolute
ruler of all of the Olympian gods
The Greek Creation Myth
● The first god was Chaos (vast and unorganized space from which
all other things originated).
● Chaos gave birth to Gaea (the Earth), Eros (Desire/love), Tartarus
(the Underworld), Erebus (Darkness), and Nyx (Night)
● Erebus and Nyx created the Sky (Uranus), Mountains, and Sea
● The Uranus and Earth gave birth to 3 different groups:
○ 12 Titans (powerful beings who ruled during the Golden
Age)
○ 3 Cyclops (one-eyed giants)
○ 3 Hecatonchires (hundred-handed giants)
Greek Creation Myth
● The 12 Titans married between themselves and had children of their own.
● Titans, Cronos and Rhea, gave birth to 6 Olympian gods: Hestia, Demeter,
Hera, Hades, Poseidon, and Zeus.
● Cronos, leader of the Titans, was worried about a prophecy that said one of
his children would overthrow him; therefore, he swallowed each of his
children as they were born.
● Rhea tricked Cronos into swallowing a rock instead of his youngest child,
Zeus. She also tricked him into vomiting up his other 5 children. This is
what started the war with the Titans.
● Eventually, Zeus defeated the Titans, which made him king of the gods.
Other creatures of mythology
● Centaurs: half-man and half-horse
● Satyrs: half-man and half-goat
● Minotaur: half-man and half-bull
Characteristics of the Olympian gods
● The gods and goddesses were immortal, which meant that they
would live forever.
○ Humans are mortal, which means that they eventually die.
● The gods, like humans, had flaws and experienced a range of
emotions.
○ Examples of flaws: pride, cruelty, stubbornness, lust for power,
jealousy
● The gods would sometimes help humans or punish them as they saw
fit. The gods would even have romantic relationships with humans.
● Mount Olympus was the mythical home to the gods.
● A council made up of 12 gods and goddesses resided as the rulers of
Mount Olympus.
● The names of those 12 gods would sometimes change depending on
who was telling the story.
● No humans were allowed on Mount Olympus so the gods would
frequently make trips to Earth.
• Roman Name: Jupiter
• Lord of the sky
• God of thunder and lightening
• Married to Hera
• Symbols: lightening bolt, eagle
• Roman Name: Neptune
• God of the sea, earthquakes,
and horses
• Married to a sea nymph named
Amphitrite
• Known for his mood swings—
violent rage one minute and
calm the next (much like the
seas he controlled)
• Symbols: trident, horse
• Roman Name: Pluto
• God of the underworld
• Considered to be very rich because of
all the precious metals that can be
found under the earth
• Symbols: helmet of invisibility
• Roman Name: Juno
• Goddess of marriage and childbirth
• Married to Zeus (Hebe, Hephaestus, and
Ares are their children)
• The Romans named the month of June as
the season of marriage after Hera (Juno)
• Symbols: cow, peacock
• Roman Name: Ceres
• Goddess of agriculture
• Lived on earth where she could be close to
the crops
• During fall and winter she mourns her
daughter, Persephone
• Symbols: cornucopia, ear of wheat
• Goddess of springtime
• While out gathering flowers,
Persephone was kidnapped by
Hades. She was forced to
become his wife.
• She returns to her mother,
Demeter, during the spring and
summer, but she must spend
the fall and winter with Hades.
• Symbols: flowers
• Roman Name: Venus
• Goddess of love and beauty
• She was born from the sea
foam
• Symbols: swan, dove
• Roman Name: Vulcan
• God of the forge and fire
• The only ugly god—when Hera saw her
unattractive son, she threw him out of heaven,
which crippled his leg
• Volcanic eruptions were caused by him as he
worked in his forge
• Symbols: fire, hammer, volcano
• Roman Name: Mars
• God of war
• Cruelest member of the
Olympians
• Symbols: spear, helmet,
sword
• Roman Name: Minerva
• Virgin goddess of wisdom and battle
• She was not born; she sprang, fully-
grown, from Zeus’s head
• Athens, the capital of Greece, is
named after Athena
• Symbols: helmet, spear, owl, olive
plant
• Roman Name: Phoebus Apollo
• God of light, truth, poetry, prophecy, and
music
• “Most Greek of all the gods”: he represented
the ideal man because he was handsome,
athletic, intelligent, talented, and good.
• He has a twin sister (Artemis)
• Symbols: lyre, laurel
• Roman Name: Diana
• Virgin goddess of the moon, the
hunt, and protector of maidens and
wild creatures
• Twin sister of Apollo
• Symbols: moon, silver arrows, bow
• Roman Name: Mercury
• Messenger of the gods
• The most mischievous and clever of
the gods
• Guides dead souls to the underworld
• Symbols: winged helmet,
• winged sandals
• Roman Name: Bacchus
• God of the vine and wine; patron of the
theatre
• Symbols: grape vine, masks of comedy and
tragedy
• Roman Name: Vesta
• Virgin goddess of hearth and home
• Symbols: fireplace, fire

Intro Greek Mythology

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Intro Greek Mythology

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Intro Greek Mythology

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Introduction to

Why can we see our reflection in Why do we have four seasons?

You might also like