I. Greek and Roman Mythology a. What is a myth? i. A traditional story rooted in primitive folk beliefs of cultures ii. Uses the supernatural to interpret natural events iii. Explains the cultures view of the universe b. In the beginning i. …was chaos (shapeless nothingness) ii. chaos had 2 children- night(darkness) and erbus (death) iii. Mysteriously, love was born out of darkness and death c. and then… i. love created light and day ii. Then earth was created iii. The earth bore heaven to cover her and be a home for the gods. d. The first parents i. Mother earth = Gaea (Gaia) ii. Father Heaven= Ouranos (Uranus) iii. They had three kinds of children 1. Three monsters with 100 hands and 50 heads 2. 3 Cyclopes 3. the titans e. The titans (The Elder Gods) i. Enormous size, incredible strength ii. Cronos (Saturn): ruler of the titans iii. Rhea- wife of Cronos iv. Ocean- river that encircled the world v. Iapetus- father of Prometheus f. Principal Gods i. Cronos and Rhea were parents of: 1. Zeus (Jupiter) 2. Poseidon (Neptune) 3. Hades (Pluto) 4. Hera (Juno) 5. Hestia (Vesta) 6. Demeter (Ceres ii. Other Olympians include 1. Athena (Minerva) 2. Ares (Mars) 3. Hebe (Juventas) 4. Hephaestus (Vulcan) 5. Apollo (Apollo) 6. Artmis (Diana) 7. Hermes (Mercury) 8. Aphrodite (Venus) g. Zeus i. Roman name: Jupiter (also Jove) ii. Supreme god of the Olympians iii. Fathered many characters in mythology h. Hera i. Roman name: Juno ii. Zeus’s sister and wife iii. Jealous protector of marriage iv. Punished the women Zeus fell in love with J. Poseidon i. Roman name: Neptune ii. God of the seas and waters iii. Earth shaker k. Hades i. Roman name: Pluto ii. God of the underworld/dead iii. Kidnapped Persephone L. Hestia I. Roman name: Vesta ii. protector of wives M. Demeter i. roman name: Ceres ii. goddess of the harvest iii. goddess of the earth n. Athena i. roman name: Minerva ii. Goddess of Wisdom and war iii. Sprang from Zeus’s head o. Area i. roman name: Mars ii. God of war iii. Son of Zeus and Hera iv. Bloodthirsty and merciless p. Hephaestus i. Roman name: Vulcan ii. God of fire/forge iii. Son of Zeus and Hera vi. Kind, unlike his brother q. Apollo i. Roman name: Apollo ii. God of light/ sun and music iii. brother of Artemis r. Artemis i. Roman name: Diana ii. Goddess of the Moon/Hunt iii. Sister to Apollo s. Hermes i. Roman name: Mercury ii. Messenger of the Gods iii. Appears in more myths than any other character t. Aphrodite i. Roman name: Venus ii. Goddess of Love and Beauty iii. Sprang from the ocean foam u. Dionysus i. Roman name: Bacchus ii. God of Wine iii. Patron god of the Greek stage vi. A God of the Earth v. Persephone i. Roman name: Proserpina ii. Goddess of the Underworld iii. Daughter of Zeus and Demeter vi. Abducted by Hades w. Hebe i. Roman name: Juventas ii. Goddess of Youth iii. Cupbearer to the Gods vi. Restored youth to the aged x. Eros i. Roman name: Cupid ii. Young God of Love iii. Son of Aphrodite and Hephaestus y. Iris i. Goddess of the rainbow ii. Messenger for Zeus and Hera iii. Daughter of the titan Thaumus and the nymph Electra z. The Muses i. Nine daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne ii. Inspired artists of all kinds iii. Goddesses who presided over the arts and sciences vi. He is happy whom the muses love aa. The Graces v. Three goddesses of Beauty vi. Aglaia (Splender) vii. Euphrosyne (Mirth viii. Thalia (Good Cheer) bb. The Erinnyes (The Furies) I. Three Goddesses of Vengeance II. They Punish evildoers cc. The Fates i. Roman name: Parcae, Moirae ii. Three sisters iii. They weave measure and cut the thread of life for humans dd. Pan music i. Roman name: Faunus ii. God of sherpherds and flocks, woods, hunting and rustic iii. Lover of nymph who typically ran from his advances iv. Invented pan pipes v. Hindquarters, legs, and horns of a goat ee. The Satyrs ix. Gods of the woods and mountains x. Goatmen xi. Companions of Dionysus xii. They like to drink ff. The gorgons xiii. Three snake- haired monsters xiv. Medusa is most well-known xv. Their look turns men into stone gg. The Centaurs xvi. Half man, half horse xvii. Savage creatures (Except Chiron) xviii. Followers of Dionysus