Ancient Greece
Background and History for The
Odyssey andThe Iliad
Ancient Greece

Ancient Greeks introduced some of
Western civilization’s most cherished
ideas:
– individual freedom
– democracy
– power of rational thought
Political Life
Many city-states expected all citizens to become
involved in politics.
 An assembly passed laws and elected generals

– Any citizen could be part of the assembly and submit
laws for debate
Each year, 500 citizens were randomly chosen to
serve on the Council of 500
 Many political positions were paid so even the
poor could hold office
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Education and Philosophy

Valued education
– believed human beings could be perfected
Greek teachers taught students to think
for themselves
 Three famous Greek philosophers

– Socrates:
 dedicated himself to reason, truth, and virtue
 believed that true happiness depended on the
goodness of one’s soul
Education and Philosophy
– Plato:
 Socrates’ student
 founder of the first school of higher education (The
Academy)
 expanded Socrates’ ideas into a philosophical system
that examined the nature of reality
– Aristotle:
 Plato’s student
 tutor to Alexander the Great
 emphasized scientific observation
– studied plants, animals, the human body, language,
literature, ethics, politics, and logic.
Athletics

Olympic Games
– every 4 years athletes would gather to
compete in athletic events
– Olympics were so important to the Greeks
that even war would stop for the games
– events included: boxing, wrestling, the
javelin and discus throws, and races
Literature
with the epics The Iliad and The
Odyssey, both written by Homer
 400 BC – drama became the most
important literary form
 Begins
– created the dramatic forms:
 tragedy
–a serious drama about the downfall of a tragic
hero
–example: Oedipus the King
 comedy
–story or play that ends in love, marriage, or a
celebration
The 12 Olympians
Ancient Greek Gods and
Goddesses
Religion

There were no sacred writings or bible
– Developed a rich set of myths (traditional stories)
about their gods

Worship centered on an elite group of gods, the
12 Olympians
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12 Olympians, headed by Zeus and Hera
gods had human qualities: love, hate, and jealousy
gods lived forever
gods fought and competed with one another
live at the top of the highest mountain in Greece:
Mount Olympus
12 Olympians

Zeus (Roman god: Jupiter)
– supreme god of the Olympians
– youngest son of the Titans Cronus and Rhea
– vanquished his father and the other Titans,
imprisoning most of them in the underworld
of Tartarus
– he and his brothers, Poseidon and Hades,
divided up the world
– Zeus ruled the sky and was given supreme
authority over the earth and Mount Olympus
12 Olympians

Zeus (Roman god: Jupiter)
– God of the sky and thunder
– Symbols: thunderbolt, eagle, bull and oak
12 Olympians

Artemis (Roman name: Diana)
– virgin goddess of the hunt
– usually depicted as a young woman wearing
buckskins, carrying a bow and quiver of
arrows; also associated with the moon
12 Olympians

Hephaestus (Roman name: Vulcan)
– the lame god of fire and crafts;
blacksmiths; artisans; sculptors;
craftsmen; technology
– son of Zeus and Hera
– builds marvelous palaces on Mount
Olympus
– made armor for Achilles during the
siege of Troy
– created the first woman, Pandora
12 Olympians

Aphrodite (Roman name: Venus)
– goddess of love, beauty and fertility
– protector of sailors
daughter of Zeus and Dione; although the
poet Hesiod said she was born from seafoam
 Associated with dolphins, doves, swans,
pomegranates, lime trees
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12 Olympians

Hera (Roman name: Juno)
– wife of Zeus and queen of the Olympians
– goddess of marriage
•The cow and peacock are sacred to her
12 Olympians

Athena (Roman name: Minerva)
– goddess of crafts, domestic arts, and war
– patron goddess of Athens
– said to have been born from
Zeus’s forehead, fully armed
– Attended by an owl
– Usually depicted with a helmet
and shield with Gorgon Medusa’s
head on it
12 Olympians
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Apollo (Roman name: Apollo)
– god of prophesy, music and healing
– he brought about the demise of Achilles,
guiding Paris’s arrow
– often depicted playing the lyre and
carrying a bow
12 Olympians
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Demeter (Roman name: Ceres)
– goddess of agriculture, grain, and fertility;
nourisher of youth
and the earth
– sister of Zeus
12 Olympians

Hermes (Roman name: Mercury)
– messenger of the gods and guide of
dead souls to the underworld
– son of Zeus and a mountain nymph
– known for his helpfulness to mankind
– inventor of fire
– depicted with a staff or caduceus
(staff entwined with snakes)
12 Olympians
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Ares (Roman name: Mars)
– god of savage war, bloodlust
– handsome and cruel
– depicted carrying a bloodstained spear
– throne on Mount Olympus is said to be
covered in human skin
– Sacred animals: barn owl, woodpecker, eagle
owl, and vulture
12 Olympians

Dionysus (Roman name: Bacchus)
– god of wine
12 Olympians
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Poseidon (Roman name: Neptune)
– god of sea, earthquakes, and horses
– spent most of his time in the sea
– brother to Zeus and Hades
– known to drive his chariot through
the waves in unquestioned
dominance
– Usually pictured with a triton
12 Olympians

Hades (Roman name: Pluto)
– not one of the 12 Olympians because he
resides in the underworld and not on Mt.
Olympus
– god of the dead and the underworld
12 Olympians

Hestia (Roman name: Vesta)
– Not always considered one of the
12 Olympians
 She gave up her seat to Dionysus so that she
could tend to the sacred fire on Mt. Olympus
– Goddess of hearth, domesticity, and family
– Known for warmth, generosity, and kindness
– Sister of Zeus, Poseidon and Hades
12 Olympians

Persephone (Roman name:Proserpina)
– Not one of the 12 Olympians because
for 6 months out of the year she
resides with Hades in the underworld
– Usually depicted carrying a sheaf of
grain
– Daughter of Demeter
Vocabulary List #3
hubris – (n.) extreme pride or self-confidence
fate – (n.) an inevitable, and often adverse, outcome
3. plunder – (v.) to take goods by force, usually in war
4. loiter – (v.) to delay an activity for no obvious reason
5. wrath – (n.) a strong, vengeful anger
6. scepter – (n.) a staff or baton carried by a leader as a
symbol of authority
7. gallant – (adj.) nobly chivalrous and often selfsacrificing
8. rampart – (n.) a protective barrier
9. grovel – (n.) throwing oneself to the ground
10. scourge – (n.) an instrument of punishment or
criticism
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