It’s All
Greek to
Me!
Introduction to Greek Mythology
Greek Gods
• Greek religion was
POLYTHEISTIC.
• The Greeks created their
gods IN THEIR OWN
IMAGES.
• Greek mythology is largely
made up of stories about
gods and goddesses, but it
CANNOT be read as a Greek
Bible.
The Greeks believed . . .
• The UNIVERSE created
the gods.
• Before there were gods,
Heaven and Earth had
been formed. They
were the first parents.
• The TITANS were their
children, and the gods
were their
grandchildren.
TITANS or THE ELDER GODS
• Enormous size and
incredible strength
• CRONUS—ruled over the
Titans until his son Zeus
dethroned him; Cronus
then fled to Italy and
brought in the Golden
Age, a time of perfect
peace and happiness.
Other Titans
• OCEAN: River that was supposed to
encircle the earth
• TETHYS: Ocean’s wife
• HYPERIOD: Father of the sun, the moon,
and the dawn
• MNEMOSYNE: Memory
• THEMIS: Justice
• IAPETUS: Father of Atlas (who bore the
world on his soldiers) and Prometheus
(who was the savior of mankind)
• These gods were NOT banished when
Zeus came to power.
MT. OLYMPUS
• Home to the Twelve Olympians—
the children of the Titans
• First held to be GREECE’S
highest mountaintop
• Or maybe a mysterious region
far above the mountains of the
earth
• Entrance was a great gate of
clouds kept closed by the
Seasons
• Inside, the gods lived, slept,
feasted on AMBROSIA and
NECTAR, and listened to Apollo’s
lyre
• No wind, no rain, no snow
TWELVE OLYMPIANS
(How many did you get?)
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Zeus
Poseidon
Hades
Hestia
Hera
Ares
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Athena
Apollo
Aphrodite
Hermes
Artemis
Demeter
Hephaestus
ZEUS (Jupiter)
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Supreme ruler
Wielded the thunderbolt
Not omnipotent nor omniscient
Falls in love with one woman
after another (goddesses &
mortals)
• Will do anything to hide his
infidelity from his wife
HERA (Juno)
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Goddess of marriage and the family
Zeus’ wife and sister
Protector of marriage and heroes
Punishes the many women Zeus falls in love
with
POSEIDON (Neptune)
• God of the seas
• Zeus’ brother and second in
eminence
• Splendid palace beneath the
sea
• Gave the first horse to man
• Controlled storm and calm
• “Earth-shaker”
• Carries a trident
HESTIA (Vesta)
• Goddess of the
Hearth
• Zeus’ sister
• Virgin-goddess
• Protector of
newborn children
HADES (Pluto)
• Ruler of the Underworld and
the Dead
• Zeus’ brother and third in
eminence
• God of Wealth (precious
metals hidden in the earth)
• Rarely left his dark realm
• His wife is Persephone—
carried her away from earth
and made her Queen of the
Underworld
HERMES (Mercury)
• Zeus’ messenger—
Messenger between
gods and mortals
• Son of Zeus and Maia
(daughter of Atlas)
• Graceful and swift
• Winged sandals
• Master thief
Great Gods of Earth
• Demeter (Ceres):
• Goddess of fertility;
Goddess of Grain and
Agriculture; Harvest;
This god is a woman
because women
tended to the crops
while men were
hunting and fishing
ATHENA (Minerva)
• Goddess of Wisdom
• Daughter of Zeus alone—
sprang from Zeus’ head
• Battle-goddess; fierce and
ruthless
• Goddess of the City
• Zeus’ favorite child
APHRODITE (Venus)
• Goddess of Love and
Beauty
• Child of Zeus and Dione
• Sprung up from the sea
foam
• Beautiful and golden
• Soft and weak
• Wife of Hephaestus
ARES (Mars)
• God of War
• Son of Zeus and
Hera
• Hateful
• Lover of Aphrodite
• SYMBOL: vulture
ARTEMIS (Diana)
• Goddess of the hunt
• Daughter of Zeus and
Leto
• Apollo’s twin
• Maiden goddess of
Olympus
• Lady of Wild Things;
Goddess of the Moon
• SYMBOLS: moon, deer
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APOLLO (Phoebus)
God of Healing
God of Light
God of Truth
Son of Zeus and Leto
Master musician, plays on his
golden lyre
• Archer-god
• Wears a laurel on his head
• Carries the sun across the
sky in his golden chariot
HEPHAESTUS
(Vulcan)
• God of Fire and
Craftsmen (blacksmith)
• Son of Hera and Zeus
• Ugly, has a limp
• Kind, peace-loving
• Popular on earth and in
heaven
Lesser Gods of Olympus
EROS (Cupid): God of Love;
Aphrodite’s companion and
son; naughty boy,
archer-god
PAN: Earth god of woods and
fields, half man and half
goat; Hermes’ son
– NYMPHS: beautiful young goddesses of nature
• Dryade: Nymph of the woods
– FATES: Three goddesses who control mortal destiny
• Clotho (spinner of thread of life), Lachesis (disposer
of lots), Atropos (cut thread of death)
– MUSES: Nine goddesses of the arts; Daughter’s of
Zeus and Mnemosyne
• Clio (history) Urania (astronomy), Melpomene
(tragedy), Thalia (comedy), Terpsichore (dance),
Calliope (epic poems), Erato (love poems),
Polyhymnia (songs to Gods), Euterpe (lyrical
poems)
– NEREIDS: Daughters of Poseidon
– GRACES: daughters of Zeus who represented beauty
– IRIS: Goddess of the rainbow; messenger
– Queen PERSEPHONE: Daughter of Demeter’
was abducted by Hades and made queen of the
Underworld
– AEOLUS: King of the Winds
• North Boreas (Aquilo)
• West Zephyr (Favonius)
• South Notus (Auster)
• East Eurus
– SIRENS: Lured sailors to their death with
singing
• CLASSICAL ALLUSIONS, or
references to aspects of Greek
mythology, can be spotted in almost
any piece of reputable literature.