T HE G REEK AND R OMAN G ODS
The Origins of the Gods
The top 12 of Olympus

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Three monsters with 100 hands, 50 heads known as Hecatonchires.
Three Cyclopes (one-eyed giants)
Titans** (as powerful as brothers, but not purely destructive)
*Gaia = geo (prefix meaning earth)
**titanic = enormous, strong, powerful

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D ADDY I SSUES
 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)

W AR : G ODS V T ITANS
A ND M ORE D ADDY I SSUES
 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 6 th baby (Zeus) to Crete
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Gives hubby a rock wrapped in a blanket, which he swallows
Zeus grows up, makes dad throw up his siblings, and war is on

T AKING S IDES
 Titans, obviously, side with Cronus and fight Zeus and his siblings
 War almost wrecks the universe
 Titans lose for 2 reasons
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Zeus frees the 100-handed monsters, who naturally fight on his side
Titan Prometheus fights for Zeus

C RIME AND P UNISHMENT
 Zeus punishes the Titans in a big way
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Most are bound in chains under the earth
Atlas is forced to carry the earth on his back/shoulders
*****atlas: a book of maps

Z EUS (J UPITER )
 Lord of the sky, rain god, cloud gatherer
 Grand but flawed
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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)

H ERA (J UNO )
 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

P OSEIDON (N EPTUNE )
 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

H ADES (P LUTO )
 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

P ALLAS A THENA (M INERVA )
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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
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Protector of civilized life, handicrafts, agriculture
Inventor of bridle
Gave man the olive tree
In the Iliad ONLY, she is a fierce battle goddess
The leader of the 3 virgin goddesses
In Greek poetry she embodies 3 virtues
 Wisdom
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Reason purity
City: Athens
Bird: Owl
Tree: olive

P HOEBUS A POLLO
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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
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Sometimes beneficent, a peace-maker, communicator of divine will
Sometimes cruel and pitiless
Tree: laurel
Animals: many, but especially the dolphin and crow

A RTEMIS (D IANA )
 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 mood goddess: the moon goddess is Selene
 Tree: cypress
 Animals: all wild animals, but especially the deer

A PHRODITE (V ENUS )
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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
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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

H ERMES (M ERCURY )
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Son of Zeus and Maia (daughter of Atlas)
Zeus’s messenger
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Graceful and swift
Wings on sandals, hat, & wand (the Caduceus)
Most cunning of gods: master thief
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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 sexes hermaphrodite = has reproductive organs of both
(comes from a myth about Hermes’s child with Aphrodite)

A RES (M ARS )
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Son of Zeus & Hera: they can’t stand him
God of war
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Hateful and ruthless
Homer calls him murderous and bloodstained
Innately a coward, runs away when wounded
Attendants
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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

H EPHAESTUS (V ULCAN OR M ULCIBER )
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Questionable parentage
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Sometimes son of Zeus and Hera
Sometimes just Hera’s son (like Athena is just his)
God of fire
The only ugly god, and has a limp to boot
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Some myths say Hera saw he was ugly & threw him off Olympus
Others say he defended Hera against Zeus, so Zeus threw him
Workman of the immortals
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Makes their dwellings, armor, furnishings, weapons
Has handmaidens he made out of gold
His workshop can be found under this or that volcano
Wife
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Iliad: one of the three Graces
Odyssey: Aphrodite
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Kindly, peace-loving, popular with mortals
Patron of handicrafts, as is Athena
*****volcano

H ESTIA (V ESTA )
 Sister of Zeus
 One of the 3 virgin goddesses
 Goddess of the hearth and home
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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

L ESSER G ODS OF O LYMPUS

E ROS (C UPID )
 God of love, his home is in men’s hearts
 Represented blindfolded
 Said to be Aphrodite’s son
 Dual nature
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Cannot do or allow wrong; force can’t come near him
In later myths, mischievous or even evil
 Attendants
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Anteros: avenges slighted love
Himeros: longing
Hymen: god of wedding feast
*****erotic = arousing desire cupidity = greed

H EBE AND I RIS
Hebe
 Goddess of youth
 Daughter of Zeus and
Hera
 Cupbearer to the gods
 Marries Hercules
Iris
 Goddess of the rainbow
 Messenger of the gods

T HE G RACES
 Daughters of Zeus and Eurynome (daughter of
Ocean)
 Not separate personalities, except in one myth, in which Aglaia marries Hephaestus
 Triple incarnation of grace and beauty
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Aglaia: splendor
Euphrosyne: mirth
Thalia: good cheer
 Dance to music of Apollo’s lyre
 No party is complete without them

T HE M USES
 Daughters of Zeus &
Mnemosyne
 Take away men’s unhappy thoughts
 Companions of Apollo
 Can make lies sound true
 Inspirers of men
 There are 9
 Clio: history
 Urania: astronomy
 Melpomene: tragedy
 Thalia: comedy
 Terpsichore: dance
 Calliope: epic poetry
 Erato: love poetry
 Polyhymnia: songs to gods
 Euterpe: lyric poetry
*****hymn = song to god

Z EUS ’ S C ABINET ON O LYMPUS
 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

G ODS OF THE W ATERS
 Poseidon
 Ocean
 Pontus: deep sea
 Nereus: son of Pontus; old man of the sea, has 50 daughters called Nereids
 Triton: trumpeter of the sea (uses conch shell)
 Proteus: shapeshifter, sees the future
 Naiads: water nymphs (freshwater)
 Nereids: water nymphs (saltwater)

M YTHOLOGICAL L OCALES

T HE U NDERWORLD
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Rulers: Hades and Persephone
Location
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Beneath secret places of earth (Iliad)
Over edge of world, across ocean (Odyssey)
Various entrances in caverns & deep lakes (later poetry)
Rivers separating underworld from earth
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Acheron: woe
Phlegethon: fire
Cocytus: lamentation
Lethe: forgetfulness
Styx: the unbreakable oath

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Divisions of the Underworld
 Tartarus
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Prison of sons of earth
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Deepest region
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Wrongdoers are punished here
Erebus: where the dead pass & are judged when they die
Elysian Fields: place of blessedness, where the good go
Important Figures
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Cerberus: 3-headed dog guards entrance (you can come in, but you can’t leave)
Judges: Minos, Aeacus, Rhadamanthus
Erinyes (Furies)
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Greeks believed they pursued sinners on earth
Romans placed them in underworld, punishing dead sinners
 Sleep and Death: brothers, send dreams from underworld through 2 gates
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Horn: true dreams
Ivory: false dreams

T WO G REAT G ODS OF E ARTH
Demeter and Dionysus

D EMETER (C ERES )
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Goddess of the harvest
Mother of Persephone
Lost her daughter
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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
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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
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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

D IONYSUS (B ACCHUS )
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Son of Zeus and Semele
 Hera, jealous, tricks Semele: make Zeus promise (by the Styx) to show himself in all his glory
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Semele is killed by the burning light of his glory
Zeus snatches the child, near birth, to store in his thigh
God of the vine: born of fire, nursed by rain
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 wanders the earth, teaching the culture of the vine
Worshipped everywhere but his country
Pirate kidnapping
 Held for ransom, one helmsman recognizes his godhood, but no one listens
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Ropes break, wind fills sails without moving the ship, wine streams across the deck, vine covers sail, ivy twists around mast
Pirates jump overboard, but turn to dolphins, only helmsman avoids this fate
Followers are Maenads, or Bacchantes
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Women frenzied with wine rush across fields & woods in ecstasy, tear wild creatures & devour
Dionysus feeds them and helps them sleep it off
Their beauty is counteracted by their bloody feasts
Some refuse to believe
 Lycurgus, king of Thrace, is struck blind by Zeus
 Pentheus, king of Thebes & Dionysus’s cousin, is ripped to pieces by Maenads that include his own mother
Dual nature
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Beneficent and kind
Cruel, driving men to terrible deeds
*****bacchanal = an occasion of drunken revelry

L ESSER G ODS OF E ARTH
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Pan
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Son of Hermes
God of goat herders, home is in wild places
Frolics with nymphs
Sounds heard at night are credited to him: panic
Silenus
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Worships Dionysus
Always drunk, rides an ass because he can’t stand up
Castor and Pollux
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Twins, one is mortal, the other is immortal
Couldn’t bear to be parted by death, so Pollux shares his immortality w/ Castor
Satyrs: half man, half goat
Centaurs: half man, half horse
Oreads: mountain nymphs
Dryads: tree nymphs

L ESSER G ODS OF E ARTH ( CONT .)
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Aeolus: god of the winds, father of the 4 winds
 Boreas (Aquilo): north
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Zephyr (Favonius): west
Notus (Auster): south
Eurus: east
Gorgons
 3 earth-dwellers
 Monsters: dragon-like, snakes for hair, look turns a man to stone
Graiae
 3 gray sisters to the Gorgons
 Share one eye
Sirens
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Their song lures sailors to death, but is irresistible
No one knows what they look like
Fates
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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

T HE C REATION OF M AN
 2 Titans who sided with Zeus are responsible for creating man
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Epimetheus
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Name means “afterthought”
Scatterbrained
Gave best gifts to animals before making man, leaving man with nothing
Prometheus
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Name means “forethought”
Thought of a way to give man superiority
Fashioned man into a nobler shape: upright
Lit a torch from the sun and gave man fire to protect him

T HE F ALL OF M AN
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Only men exist at first
Zeus becomes angry with Prometheus and with man
 Prometheus helps man trick Zeus
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2 sacks from a slaughtered ox: one has bones, covered with juicy fat, the other has the edible meat, covered with entrails
Zeus chooses the pretty fat to be sacrificed to him and later learns he got the raw end of that deal
Man’s punishment is woman
 Zeus creates Pandora
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Gods gift her with every lovely quality (Pandora = “gift of all”
Zeus gives Pandora to Epimetheus as wife (he accepts, in spite of Prometheus’s warning not to accept gifts from Zeus)
Pandora is also given a box, with a warning never to open it
Of course, she opens it, and plagues, sorrow, & mischief fly out
Only hope is left in the box
Prometheus’s punishment is more gruesome
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Chained to a mountaintop
Each day, an eagle tears out his liver
The liver always grows back overnight, so the process can repeat itself.
Did you know? The liver is the only organ that regenerates itself.

T HE D ELUGE
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Men are so wicked, Zeus sends a flood to destroy them
Only Mt. Parnassus is not quite covered.
9 days, 9 nights of rain
2 people are saved
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Deucalion (Prometheus’s son) & Pyrrha (Epimetheus’s daughter)
Prometheus advises them to hide in a wooden chest
They are faithful to Zeus and allowed to live
Repopulating the earth
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A voice tells Deucalion to throw the bones of his mother behind him
Earth is mother, stones are her bones
The stones take human shape.