Satyr
• Friends of Dionysus and
Pan
• Often played
Flutes/Pipes
• roguish but fainthearted folk —
subversive and
dangerous, yet shy and
cowardly
• Loved wine and women
• showed mortals how to
cultivate grapevines and make
wine
• often represented on Attic
vases with a drinking horn and
vine branches
• According to tradition, Dionysus
died each winter and was reborn
in the spring. To his followers,
this cyclical revival, accompanied
by the seasonal renewal of the
fruits of the earth, embodied the
promise of the resurrection of
the dead.
• Centaur – Half-man/Half-horse
• Intelligent, civilized, and kind
• According to myth, he taught legendary
heroes such as: Asclepius, Asclepius,
Aristaeus, Ajax, Aeneas, Actaeon,
Caeneus, Theseus, Achilles, Jason,
Peleus, Telamon, Heracles, Oileus,
Phoenix, and in some stories, Dionysus.
Nymphs, in Greek and Roman
mythology, lesser divinities or spirits of
nature, dwelling in groves and
fountains, forests, meadows, streams,
and the sea, represented as young and
beautiful maidens, fond of music and
dancing. The nymphs were
distinguished according to the part of
nature they personified, and included
the Oceanids, or daughters of Oceanus,
the ocean that flows around the earth;
the Nereids, or daughters of the sea
god Nereus, nymphs of the
Mediterranean Sea; the Potameides,
river nymphs; the Naiads, nymphs of
springs and freshwater streams; the
Oreads, nymphs of mountains and
grottoes; and the Dryads, nymphs of
the forests
Athena
• Born from Zeus’s head
• Competes with
Poseidon for Athens
– Poseidon gives saltwater
– Athena gives olive tree
• She wins, city is named
for her
Hermes
• Winged Sandals,
Winged Hat, Golden
Caduceus
• Trickster: Steals cattle
from Apollo by making
them walk backwards,
then denies ever having
done it
Hesperides
• Nymphs commissioned
by Hera to protect her
garden in the West
• Occasionally, they
would steal from the
garden
• A hundred-headed
dragon, Ladon, is put in
the garden as a second
protector
Artemis
• carries a bow and
arrows
• goddess of the hunt,
wild animals,
wilderness, childbirth,
virginity, fertility, young
girls and disease in
women
• Tied to Orion
The Big Three
• After the battle with the
Titans, they all draw lots
• Zeus wins, Hades loses
Apollo
• Patron of Delphi
• Python is sent by Hera
to kill him and his sister
• Once old enough, he
tracks it down, kills it in
Delphi
• Pythian Games are
instituted so Apollo can
purify himself
• Precursor to Olympics
Oracle at Delphi
• Also called the “Pythia”
• Process
– Sacrifice and Question
– Question presented to
Pythia
– Entered her trance
– Priest would interpret
• Some say her trances
were crazed
Athens
• Capital of Greece
• Ruled by Aegeus and
Theseus
• Home of the Acropolis
• Represents artistic
development
• Often considered the
most important city in
Greek mythology
Gorgons
• 3 Sisters: Medusa,
Euryale, & Sthenno
• Whoever looked at
them turned to stone
• Guardians of the
entrance to the
Underworld
Pan
• Son of Hermes & either
Penelope or Callisto
• god of shepherds and
flocks, of mountain
wilds, hunting and
rustic music
• Companion to Satyrs
and Nymphs
• Believed to be dead
Nemean Lion
• Sent to Memea to
terrorize the town
• Killed by Hercules
• Pelt is a spoil of war
• Heritage
– Either son of Typhon and
Echnida
– Or, Zeus and Selene
– Or, Chimera
Typhon
• Fathered by Tartarus
• Final son of Gaea
• Most deadly monster in
mythology
• Hands reached from
East to West
• Had 100 dragon heads
• Bested by Zeus, trapped
in Mount Etna
Echidna
• Mother of all monsters
• the goddess fierce Echidna who is
half a nymph with glancing eyes
and fair cheeks, and half again a
huge snake, great and awful, with
speckled skin, eating raw flesh
beneath the secret parts of the
holy earth. And there she has a
cave deep down under a hollow
rock far from the deathless gods
and mortal men. There, then, did
the gods appoint her a glorious
house to dwell in: and she keeps
guard in Arima beneath the earth,
grim Echidna, a nymph who dies
not nor grows old all her days.
Chimera
• Part Lion, Part Goat,
Part Snake
• Breathes fire
• Killed by Bellerophon
Trojan War
• Ten year war between
Troy and Greece
• Plan of Zeus
• Depopulate the earth,
especially of his
demigod descendants
• Iliad, Odyssey
• Achilles, Odysseus,
Paris, Hektor,
Agamemnon
Arachne
• Divine Myth despite the
use of mortals
• Arachne challenges
Athena to weaving
contest
• Athena destroys
Arachne’s piece
• Arachne hangs herself
• Out of pity, Athena
makes her a spider
Love Triangle
• Ares and Aphrodite
• Eros, Arethousa,
Phobos, Deimos and
Adrestia
• Helios firsts sees the
affair, tells Hepheastus
• Builds the net
• Catches them and
shows them off to the
god
Orpheus
• Son of Apollo
• Married and widowed
on the same day
• Hades agrees to give
her back if he leaves
without looking back
• Forgot and turned
around