Among the eight characteristics of myth presented in class, the six characteristics that I chose are:
a. myths have many gods and goddesses.
Starting from the twelve Olympians made up of a divine family. Zeus, the supreme ruler.
Poseidon, the ruler of the sea. Hades, the ruler of the dead. Hestia, the Goddess of the Hearth. Hera, the
protector of marriage. Ares, the God of War. Athena or Pallas Athena, the daughter of Zeus, is known as
the Goddess of the City. Phoebus Apollo, son of Zeus and Leto, the God of Truth often called "the
greekest among the Gods." Artemis, Apollo's twin sister, the Goddess of wild animals, hunt, vegetation,
chastity, and childbirth. Aphrodite, the daughter of Zeus and Dione, is known as the Goddess of Love
and Beauty. Hermes, son of Zeus and Maia, the God of Speed. Sequentially, Hephaestus is known as the
God of Fire.
b. the gods and goddesses have human emotions.
One example is Cronus, a titan God who overthrew his father, Uranus. In fear of a prophecy that
he would be, in turn, overthrown by his son Zeus, Kronos swallowed each of his children as they were
born.
c. Myths contain magic.
Proteus occasionally, said to be Poseidon's son, had the power to both, foretelling the future
and changing his shape at will.
d. Gods and goddesses often appear in disguises.
For instance, Zeus transforming into one animal or another to impregnate his latest infatuation.
e. Good is rewarded and evil is punished.
The punsihment is when, Demeter cursed Erysichthon with an Insatiable Hunger. Erisychthon
was a king with a serious case of hubris. He desired a large banquet table, so naturally, he cut down
trees from Demeter's grove. In return, she cursed him with never-ending hunger. He would yearn for
anything digestible and eat it, but the hunger, was insatiable. In frustration, Erysichthon ended up eating
his flesh until he perished. On the other hand, the good one is, when Baucis and Philemon, a poor piuos
couple, hospitably welcomed Zeus and Hermes, disguised as wayfarers, who have been rejected by the
neighbors, when they asked a place to sleep for a night. As a reward, they were saved from flood that
drowned the rest of the country; their cottage was turned into a temple, and at their request they
became priest and priestess of it. Long after, they were granted their wish to die at the same moment,
being turned into trees.
f.
Myths teach a lesson or explain the natural world.
Poseidon had complete power and control over the ocean. He could create storms to sink ships
or clear weather to help them along. He could also cause earthquakes on land which earned him the
title "earth-shaker."