Bellringer
• If myths aren’t real, why do we study
them in history class?
Agenda
1. Myths
2. Stories from Greek Mythology
3. Create your own myth!
Objectives
Students will be able to…
34. Understand the purpose and
characteristics of Greek
Mythology.
Mythology
Objective #34
• What is a myth?
• Why did the Greeks have myths?
• What made them so important?
Greek religion
What kind of religion did the
Greeks practice?
• Polytheistic
• Worshipped the gods
through:
– Prayer
– Sacrifice of animals,
wine and olive oil
– Festivals in honor of
the gods
Greek Mythology
• Stories about the gods
and humans
• Explained events in
nature, in life and the
behavior/qualities of
human beings
GREEK GODS & GODDESSES
Zeus
• King of Olympian
gods
• God of the sky
• Symbols:
– Eagle
– Lightening bolt
Hera
• Wife of Zeus
• Goddess of marriage
Apollo (the Sun God)
• God of music, healing
and prophesy
• Symbol: Lyre
Artemis
• Goddess of the hunt
• Helped women during
childbirth
• Symbol – the bow
• Sacred Animals –
– Snake & deer
Athena
• Goddess of wisdom
& war strategy
• Daughter of Zeus
• Symbols:
– Owl
– Olive branch
Aphrodite
• Goddess of love,
beauty & fertility
Greek religion today
•
Architecture:
– Government buildings in
Washington D.C
•
Literature:
– Percy Jackson and the
Olympians
•
Movies:
– Clash of the Titans
– Wrath of the Titans
Phrases from Greek
Mythology
• Listen to these stories and match them
to the phrases on your chart. Then,
–Summarize the story
–Explain the meaning of the phrase
–Think up a modern application of the
phrase
• When done, you can create your own
myth for homework!
Back up Slides
Major Greek Gods
• Aphrodite: The most attractive goddess of Mount Olympus.
She was the goddess of Love, Beauty and Eternal Youth,
arousing desire to gods and humans as well as birds and
beasts. In addition, she was connected with the death/rebirth
of nature and human beings. Nevertheless, Aphrodite was a
rather weak, frightful goddess, according to the Iliad.
Aphrodite's symbols were the girdle, which she was using to
compel love, the seashell and the mirror. Her sacred animal
was the dove.
• Apollo:
The Greek god of the Music, also called the Sun God.
He invented the lute (a plucked string instrument with a body shaped like a
pear), but most popular he was for his playing the lyre. Apollo excelled in
important music contests, competing against Greek god Hermes and the
Satyr Pan as well as other deities.
In addition, Apollo owned the precious gift of prophecy, given to him by his
father Zeus in his infancy, and was the patron of the ancient city of Delphi,
where the first oracle in Ancient Greece was located.
Apollo and Artemis are twin children of Zeus.
His symbols were the lyre, the tripod, and the laurel tree.
• Ares: the Greek god of War, was
the son of Zeus and Hera. Just like
his mother Hera, Ares had a very
difficult character to deal with
and was therefore rather
unpopular among the other
deities and mankind.
• For this reason, no Greek city
wanted to have him as its patron.
• He often had conflicts and fights
with Artemis, the goddess of the
Hunt and also with his sister
Athena, especially during the
Trojan War.
• His symbols were the spear and
the dog.
• Athena: the Goddess of Wisdom, was
born fully grown and armed out of Zeus’s
head after he swallowed Metis, her
mother.
• Athena was the goddess who taught
mankind various skills such as weaving and
sewing to the women and agriculture and
metallurgy to men and was always giving
precious advice and stood by on any
danger.
• She was known as "Athena Nike" (Athena
the victorious), as she was believed to
have given the Athenians the victory
during the Persian War.
• Athena's symbols were the distaff and the
aegis- a goat-like shield, to which the head
of the Gorgon Medusa was fastened in
order to terrify the opponents. Athena's
sacred animal was the owl, the symbol of
wisdom.
• Artemis: the Virgin Huntress, was
associated with the moon, nature,
and childbirth.
• Apollo (the Sun God) and Artemis
are twin children of Zeus. Artemis
was born before Apollo and had
helped her mother Leto to give
birth to her little brother.
• Artemis had absolute sovereignty
over nature and was said to bring
fertility to all places that
worshipped her. Usually
accompanied by Nymphs and
Oceanids, Artemis loved to hunt
with arrows dipped in poison;
oddly enough, Artemis was both a
killer of wild animals and their
protector.
• Her symbol was the bow and her
sacred animals were the snake and
the deer.
• Demeter: was a peace-loving deity and the source of all growth and
life; she was the goddess who provided all nutrition on the earth and
taught mortals how to cultivate the earth and ease life.
• Demeter was most appreciated for introducing wheat to mankind,
making man different from animals.
• She was Zeus’s sister.
• Her symbols were the ear of wheat and the grains.
• Dionysus: was a god known
for his lightheartedness and
always offered his help to
anyone in need.
• He was the god of wine and
theater. He was therefore
very popular among gods and
mortals and many festivals
were being held every year in
his honor.
• Dionysus was one of the
Olympian gods who actually
did not live in Mount Olympus
but was constantly travelling
around the world together
with Satyrs and Maenads in
order to discover the secrets
of winemaking.
• The sacred animal of Dionysos
was the panther.
• Hades: was the Greek god of the Dead and, according to Plato, [1] he
should be considered as one of the Olympian gods.
• Hades was the supreme ruler of the Underworld. Almost never did he
leave his gloomy kingdom but was residing there instead, surrounded
by darkness and silence.
• Hades' helper was Charos, the angel of dead. Charos had the duty to
transfer the dead people 's souls with a boat over the River Acheron
from the world of the living to the world of the dead.
• Hades had a dog with three heads which was named Cerberus.
• His sacred symbol was the helmet, which helped him stay invisible.
• Hephaestus: The God of Fire “The Blacksmith”
• A kind and loveable god, but was the only deity who was physically
ugly and lame. When his mother Hera saw him for the first time,
she was so frustrated that she took her son and threw him from
Mount Olympus to the depths of the seas, causing a deformation to
his leg. Hephaestus was finally rescued by two Nereids, Thetis and
Eurynome, who raised him for nine years inside a cave, far away
and hidden from his cruel mother.
• Hephaestus had his working lay beneath the crater of the volcano
of Aetna in Italy. There, he was working together closely with the
one-eyed Cyclops to create strong thunderbolts for his master Zeus.
• Hephaestus was also famous for having created the first woman of
the ancient world, Pandora.
• His symbols were fire, the axe, the pincers and the hammer.
• Hera: the Queen of the Gods,
• She is most often associated with bitterness and
jealousy relating to her husband. Although Hera was
one of the fairest goddesses in Mount Olympus, Zeus
gave Hera plenty of reason to be suspicious and
jealous; Hera therefore used to stay in high places in
order to keep an eye on her husband's doings. There
were times she would also interfere, causing harm to
Zeus' mistresses, since Zeus himself was invincible.
• Hera's symbol was the pomegranate, a symbol of
fertility
• Her sacred animal was the peacock.
• Hermes: wore wings on his sandals and therefore was the
speediest of all Greek gods. Because of his speed, Hermes
received the role of the messenger and conductor of souls to
the Underworld.
• Hermes was the only Olympian god who was authorized to
visit Heaven, Earth and also the Underworld and enjoyed this
way popularity among all the Greek gods and spirits.
• It is well known that Ancient Greeks endowed their gods
with human weaknesses. Hermes, for instance, felt an
irresistible impulse of stealing ever since his infancy and
quickly developed as the god of the cheaters and the thieves.
• Hermes was a messenger of all gods, but mostly he was
known for performing duties for his father Zeus with great
pleasure. Zeus appreciated Hermes' wits highly and always
asked for Hermes' assistance throughout his decisions,
especially when it came to cheating on his wife Hera.
• He is known for his winged sandals and staff.
• Poseidon: the Greek god of the Seas
• Considered to be the bad-tempered, moody
and greedy god among the Olympians. Once
insulted, he would revenge himself, like he did
in the case of Odysseus.
• Poseidon was the Greek god responsible for
natural and supernatural events, mainly the
ones associated to the sea world. He
possessed a trident which was so powerful
that it could shake the earth. Poseidon could
cause tempests and earthquakes, drown
lands, shatter rocks and had the ability to
finally bring back peacefulness. Poseidon
possessed two palaces, the one was up in
Mount Olympus and the other was located in
the depths of the seas and was bejewelled
with gold and precious gems.
• Usually Poseidon preferred to stay with his
wife Amphitrite beneath the ocean.
• His symbol was the trident and his sacred
animals were the dolphin and the horse.
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Zeus: King of the Gods and master of the
thunderbolt
Had his golden throne on the highest summit of
Mount Olympus and was respected and awed by all
Gods and mortals. He was the "Lord of Justice",
punishing anyone who lied or broke an oath, but was
fair and always striving to keep a balance of all
things.
Furthermore, Zeus was responsible for the weather
and was shaping it according to his temper. When in
high spirits, Zeus was blessing the world with fine
weather; in case of bad mood, however, he would
throw rain, winds, lightnings and thunderbolts to
cause disaster to the mortals.
But even Zeus' powers had their limits, for, however
powerful as he was, he had neither the right nor the
ability to intervene the decisions of the Fates.
Zeus was carefree and loved to laugh out loud. He
possessed the perfect knowledge and was just,
merciful and prudent. However, he was rather
unpredictable, and not known for his faith to his
wife, Hera.
The main symbol of Zeus was the thunderbolt. His
sacred animal was the eagle.