Introduction to Mythology
• Before the Greeks, mankind was afraid of the unknown and
used sacrifice as a way to appease angry spirits or
predators.
• The “Greek miracle”: the Greeks eventually evolve past the
idea of human sacrifice to a more enlightened people; gods
were used to explain the unknown
• Myth was used not only as entertainment but also early
science.
• Gods were made in man’s image to show how humans
became the center of the universe.
• Because they looked like humans, gods showed the
perfection of the human form and emphasized the ideal of
beauty, strength, wisdom, etc.
• This also gave the gods flaws, making them more relatable.
Creation of the World
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From nothing, there came Chaos
Night and Erebus were born of Chaos
Love was born of Erebus
Light and Day were born of Love
The Birth of the First Creatures
Ouranos (Heaven) and Gaia (Earth)
parent the first creatures
1. Three monsters with 100 hands, 50
heads
2. Three Cyclopes (one-eyed giants)
3. Titans (as powerful as brothers,
but not purely destructive
*****Gaia = geo (prefix meaning earth)
titanic = enormous, strong,
powerful
The Titans
• Cronus (Saturn): most powerful, father
of Zeus
• Ocean: river encircling the earth
• Hyperion: father of sun, moon, and dawn
• Mnemosyne: memory
• Themis: justice
• Atlas
• Prometheus
Brothers, who together
• Epimetheus
caused the fall of man
*****mnemonic = intended to assist the
memory
Daddy Issues
• Ouranos was a terrible father: hating
his 100-handed sons, he locked them
in the earth
• Gaia begged her son Cronus to help
• Cronus overthrew Ouranos and
wounded him
From his blood, Giants & Furies are born
• Cronus is lord of the universe for
untold ages
He never actually frees his brothers (you know,
the reason he was supposed to fight dad in the
first place)
War: Gods v Titans
And More Daddy Issues
 Cronus & sister-queen Rhea have 6
children
Hades, Demeter, Hera, Poseidon, Hestia, Zeus
 Prophecy: one of Cronus’s children will
overthrow him
 Cronus swallows all his babies whole
 Rhea is not pleased
– Secretly sends 6th baby (Zeus) to
Crete
– Gives hubby a rock wrapped
in a blanket, which he swallows
– Zeus grows up, makes dad throw
up his siblings, and war is on
Taking Sides
• Titans, obviously, side with Cronus
and fight Zeus and his siblings
• War almost wrecks the universe
• Titans lose for 2 reasons
– Zeus frees the 100-handed
monsters, who naturally
fight on his side
– Titan Prometheus
fights for Zeus
Crime and Punishment
• Zeus punishes the Titans in a big
way
Most are bound in chains under the earth
Atlas is forced to carry the earth
on his back/shoulders
*****atlas: a book of maps
1. Zeus (Jupiter)
 Lord of the sky, rain god, cloud gatherer
 Grand but flawed
◦ Deceivable
◦ Has a serious weakness for females
◦ Fate is stronger than he is
 Breastplate: Aegis
 Weapon: thunderbolt
 Bird: eagle
 Oracle: Dodona
(priests interpret his
will through the rustling
of oak leaves)
2. Hera (Juno)
 Wife and sister of Zeus
 Protector of marriage
 ONLY in the tale of the Golden
Fleece, she protects and inspires
heroes
 Venerated in every home
◦ Daughter Ilithyia helps women in
childbirth
 Jealous, spiteful, vindictive
◦ Constantly tortures her husband’s
lovers
 Animals: cow, peacock
 City: Argos
3. Poseidon (Neptune)
 Ruler of the sea
 Second only to Zeus
 Wife is Amphitrite, a Nereid, granddaughter of
Ocean
 Undersea palace is splendid,
but he hangs out on Olympus
most of the time
 Storm and calm are
under his control
 Drives golden car
over waters
 Gave man the first horse
 Called Earth-shaker
 Carries a trident
4. Hades (Pluto)
 Ruler of the underworld and
the dead
◦ He is NOT death: Death is Thanatos
 God of wealth & precious metals
under the earth
 Has a helmet that makes
the wearer invisible
 Not popular on Olympus
 Unpitying, inexorable, but just
 Wife is Persephone, daughter
of his sister Demeter
5. Pallas Athena (Minerva)
 Daughter of Zeus alone: sprang from his head in full armor
 Zeus’s favorite child: trusted to carry his Aegis and thunderbolt
 Goddess of the city
◦ Protector of civilized life, handicrafts, agriculture
◦ Inventor of bridle
◦ Gave man the olive tree
 In the Iliad ONLY, she is a fierce battle
 The leader of the 3 virgin goddesses
 In Greek poetry she embodies 3 virtues
◦ Wisdom
◦ Reason
◦ Purity
 City: Athens
 Bird: Owl
 Tree: olive
goddess
6. Phoebus Apollo
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Son of Zeus and Leto
The most Greek of all the gods
Beautiful
Master musician
Archer god
Teaches men the art of healing
God of Light
God of Truth: never speaks falsely
His oracle at Delphi is the most important
oracle
◦ Its center is the stone Cronus swallowed instead of Zeus
 Associated with the sun
◦ He is NOT the sun god: the sun god is Helios
 Dual nature
◦ Sometimes beneficent, a peace-maker, communicator of divine will
◦ Sometimes cruel and pitiless
 Tree: laurel
 Animals: many, but especially the dolphin and crow
7. Artemis (Diana)
 Apollo’s twin, daughter of Zeus
and Leto
 One of the 3 virgin goddesses
 Lady of the wild things, huntsman
for the gods
 Protects the young
 Carries silver arrows
 Dual nature
◦ Protects young, helps women with
swift, painless death
◦ Fierce and vindictive
 Associated with the moon
◦ She is NOT the moon goddess:
the moon goddess is Selene
 Tree: cypress
 Animals: all wild animals, but
especially the deer
8. Aphrodite (Venus)
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Goddess of love and beauty
Laughter-loving
Beguiling: steals the wits of the wise
Laughs at those she conquers
Parentage is questionable
– In the Iliad: daughter of Zeus and Dione
– In later poems: sprang from the foam of
the sea, landed on Cyprus
• Dual nature
– Beautiful, brings light, joy, loveliness
– Treacherous and malicious
• Wife of Hephaestus, the only ugly god
• Tree: myrtle
• Birds: dove, sparrow, swan (drives a
chariot pulled by swans)
*****aphrodisiac = something that arouses desire
venereal = pertaining to sexual desire
9. Hermes (Mercury)
• Son of Zeus and Maia (daughter of Atlas)
• Zeus’s messenger
– Graceful and swift
– Wings on sandals, hat, & wand (the Caduceus)
• Most cunning of gods: master thief
– The day he was born, he stole Apollo’s herds
– Won Apollo’s forgiveness by giving him his
invention: the lyre
• God of commerce and the market
• Guide of the dead
• Appears more often in myths than any other god
*****mercurial = quick-witted, lively, changeable
hermaphrodite = has reproductive organs of both
sexes (comes from a myth about Hermes’s child
with Aphrodite)
10. Ares (Mars)
 Son of Zeus & Hera: they can’t stand him
 God of war
◦ Hateful and ruthless
◦ Homer calls him murderous and bloodstained
◦ Innately a coward, runs away when wounded
 Attendants
◦ Eris: goddess of discord
◦ Strife: Eris’s sister
◦ Enyo: war goddess, who hangs with Terror,
Trembling, and Panic
 Romans liked Mars better than Greeks did
Ares
 Figures very little in myth
 Lover of Aphrodite
 No cities where he is worshipped
 Bird: vulture
 Animal: dog
11. Hephaestus
(Vulcan or Mulciber)
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Questionable parentage
– Sometimes son of Zeus and Hera
– Sometimes just Hera’s son (like Athena is just his)
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God of fire
The only ugly god, and has a limp to boot
– Some myths say Hera saw he was ugly & threw
– him off Olympus
– Others say he defended Hera against Zeus, so
– Zeus threw him
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Workman of the immortals
– Makes their dwellings, armor, furnishings, weapons
– Has handmaidens he made out of gold
– His workshop can be found under this or that volcano
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Wife
– Iliad: one of the three Graces
– Odyssey: Aphrodite
• Kindly, peace-loving, popular with mortals
• Patron of handicrafts, as is Athena
*****volcano
12. Hestia (Vesta)
• Sister of Zeus
• One of the 3 virgin goddesses
• Goddess of the hearth and home
– Mortal meals begin & end w/ offering to
her
– Each city had a public hearth in her
honor
– Newborns must be carried around
hearth to be received into the family
• In Rome, her priestesses are
virgins, called Vestals
• No distinct personality, plays
no part in myths
*****vestal = virginal
Eros (Cupid)
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God of love, his home is in men’s hearts
Represented blindfolded
Said to be Aphrodite’s son
Dual nature
– Cannot do or allow wrong; force can’t come near him
– In later myths, mischievous or even evil
• Attendants
– Anteros: avenges slighted love
– Himeros: longing
– Hymen: god of wedding feast
*****erotic = arousing desire
cupidity = greed
The Graces &The Muses
• Daughters of Zeus
and Eurynome
(daughter of Ocean)
 Triple incarnation of
grace and beauty
◦ Aglaia: splendor
◦ Euphrosyne: mirth
◦ Thalia: good cheer
 No party is complete
without them
 Daughters of Zeus
& Mnemosyne
 Take away men’s
unhappy thoughts
 Can make lies
sound true
 Inspirers of men
 There are 9
 Some include:
poetry, history,
comedy, tragedy
Zeus’s Cabinet on Olympus
 Themis: divine justice
 Dike: human justice
 Nemesis: righteous anger
 Aidos: reverence (the shame that keeps
men in line
*****nemesis = an opponent or rival that
cannot be overcome; an agent or
act of retribution
Demeter (Ceres)
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Goddess of the harvest
Mother of Persephone
Lost her daughter
– Persephone wandered too far, enticed by a flower
– Hades dragged her through a chasm to the underworld
Demeter left Olympus to search for Persephone
Neglected the earth, harvests suffered
– Zeus is alerted by suffering humanity, sends Hermes for Persephone
– Persephone ate pomegranate seeds in the underworld: if you eat anything
down there, you can’t leave
Compromise
– Persephone must live with Hades in underworld for 4 months per year
– When Persephone is gone, Demeter mourns, fields are barren = winter
– On Persephone’s return, life returns = spring
– Persephone is the goddess of the spring
*****cereal
Dionysus (Bacchus)
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Son of Zeus and Semele
– Hera, jealous, tricks Semele: make Zeus promise (by the River Styx) to show
himself in all his glory
– Semele is killed by the burning light of his glory
– Zeus snatches the child, near birth, to store in his thigh: Provides immortality
– Hera asks Titans to kill him, Rhea brings him back to life.
God of the vine: born of fire, nursed by rain
– wanders the earth, teaching the culture of the vine
– Worshipped everywhere but his country
– Followers feel a stronger connection because wine make them feel more
powerful, like a god
Followers are Maenads, or Bacchantes
– Women frenzied with wine rush across fields & woods in ecstasy,
tear wild creatures & devour
– Their beauty is counteracted by their bloody feasts
Dual nature
– Beneficent and kind
– Cruel, driving men to terrible deeds
*****bacchanal = an occasion of drunken revelry
Lesser Gods of Earth
• Pan
– Son of Hermes
– God of goat herders, home is in wild places
– Frolics with nymphs
– Sounds heard at night are credited to him: panic
• Sirens
– Their song lures sailors to death, but is irresistible
– No one knows what they look like
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Satyrs: half man, half goat
Centaurs: half man, half horse
Oreads: mountain nymphs
Dryads: tree nymphs
Lesser Gods of Earth (cont.)
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Aeolus: god of the winds, father of the 4 winds
– Boreas (Aquilo): north
– Zephyr (Favonius): west
– Notus (Auster): south
– Eurus: east
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Fates
– 3 females, stronger than the gods, who give men their inherent good or evil
at birth
– Clotho: spins thread of life
– Lachesis: assigns destiny
– Atropos: carries shears to cut the thread of life
*****zephyr = gentle breeze