Greek Mythology
*Myths - Traditional stories about god and
heroes.
*The Greek people believed in many gods and
goddesses. They were thought to have
affected people's lives and also thought to
shape events.
*The gods and goddesses were thought to
control nature. Some examples of the
control over nature are: Zeus ruled the sky
and threw lighting bolts, Demeter made the
crops grow, and Poseidon caused earthquakes.
*The 12 most important gods and goddesses
lived on Mt. Olympus. Mt. Olympus was the
highest mountain in Greece.
Zeus
*God of the Sky and Ruler of the
Olympian gods. He is lord of the
sky, the rain god.
*He is represented as the god of
justice and mercy, the protector of
the weak, and the punisher of the
wicked.
Poseidon
*God of the sea and protector of all the
water.
*Widely worshiped by seamen.
*His weapon is a trident, which can shake
the earth, and shatter any object.
*He is second only to Zeus in power amongst
the gods.
*He was greedy. He had a series of disputes
with other gods when he tried to take over
their cities.
Hades
*Hades is the god of the undedrworld and ruler
of the dead.
*He is also the god of wealth, due to the
precious metals mined from the earth.
*He is a greedy god who is greatly concerned
with increasing his subjects.
Hestia
*She plays no part in myths.
*She is the Goddess of the Hearth, the
symbol of the house around which a new born
child is carried before it is received into
the family.
*Of all the Olympians, she is the mildest,
most upright and most charitable.
Hera
*She is the supreme goddess, goddess of
marriage and childbirth and takes special
care of married women.
*Most stories concerning Hera have to do
with her jealous revenge for Zeus's
infidelities.
*Her sacred animals are the cow and the
peacock.
*Her favorite city was Argos.
Hermes
This was the messenger of the gods. He was also the
god of the market.
He was the cleverest of the Olympian gods.
He is the god of thieves and god of commerce. He is the
guide for the dead to go to the underworld.
Aphrodite
Aphrodite is the goddess of love, desire and
beauty.
She represented affection and the attraction
that binds people together.
The myrtle is her tree. The dove, the swann,
and the sparrow her birds.
Athena
*Athena is the Greek virgin goddess of
reason, intelligent activity, arts and
literature.
*She is the goddess of the city,
handicrafts, and agriculture.
*She was Zeus's favorite child and was
allowed to use his weapons including his
thunderbolt.
*Her favorite city is Athens.
*Her tree is the olive. The owl is her bird.
Apollo
He was the god of light, music, poetry,
healing, and fortune telling.
He is often described as the "most Greek of
Greek gods."
He is famous for his oracle at Delphi.
People traveled to it from all over the
Greek world to find out their future.
Ares
*He is the god of war.
*He is considered murderous and bloodstained
but, also a coward.
*His bird is the vulture. His animal is the
dog.
Artemis
*She was goddess of the hunt, the moon, and
the natural environment.
*She is the huntsman of the gods. She is the
protector of the young.
*The cypress is her tree. All wild animals
are scared to her, especially the deer.
Hephaestus
*He is the god of fire and the forge.
*He is the only god to be physically ugly.
He is also lame.
*He is kind and peace loving.
Greek Mythology cont.
*Greek gods looked and acted like humans.
*Greek people followed many rituals in order keep their
gods happy. A ritual is a set of actions carried out in a
fixed way. The people would give the god and goddesses
gifts and pray to them.
*The Greeks believed that each person had a certain fate
or destiny. Certain events were going to happen to
people no matter what they did.
*They also believed in prophecy. A prophecy is a
prediction about the future.
*To discover the future, many Greeks would visit an
oracle. An oracle was a sacred shrine where a priest or
priestess spoke for a god or goddess. The most famous
oracle was at the Temple of Apollo at Delphi.