Jennifer Meister
EME 4406
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Origins of Greek Mythology
Mount Olympus
The Major Greek Gods
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Zeus
Hera
Poseidon
Hades
Aphrodite
Hestia
Ares
Athena
Apollo
Artemis
Hermes
Hephaestus
Demeter
Persephone
Dionysus
Eros
Heracles
The Muses
Your Assignment
For more information
• Resulted from a common belief of the people of ancient
Greece and Asia Minor in a group of gods known as The
Olympians
• The remains of an ancient Greek religion
• Where the major gods live
• Also where they assemble to hold court
• It is unclear whether Mt. Olympus was actually a mountain or
a part of the heavens
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Roman name Jupiter
God of the sky and ruler of all gods
After overthrowing his father, Cronus, he drew straws with brothers
Poseidon and Hades and won, becoming the Supreme ruler of gods
Weapon is a fire-bolt, punishes those who lie
Hera is his wife, but is famous for his affairs
Represented as the god of justice and mercy, protector of the weak and
punisher of the wicked
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Roman name Juno
Zeus’s wife and sister
Supreme goddess, goddess of marriage and childbirth
Zeus courted her unsuccessfully, turned himself into a bird, when she
held the bird he turned back into his natural shape and raped her. She
married him to cover her shame
• Jealous of Zeus’s affairs
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Roman name Neptune
Brother of Zeus and Hades
Drew lots with brothers after defeating father, became God of the sea and
protector of all waters
Wife Amphitrite, granddaughter of the Titan Oceanus
Second only to Zeus in power amongst the gods
Greedy
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Roman name Pluto
Drew the worst lot with brothers Zeus and Poseidon
Lord of the Underworld, ruled over the dead
Greedy, wanted to increase his subjects
God of wealth and King of the dead
Wife is Persephone, he abducted her
Has a helmet that makes him invisible
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Roman name Venus
Goddess of love, desire and beauty
Wife to Hephaestus
Daughter of Zeus and Dione
Mother of Aineias
Lover to Ares
Owner of a magic girdle that makes anyone she wishes want her
Represented sex, affection, and the attraction that binds people together
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Roman name Vesta
Zeus’s sister
Virgin goddess, goddess of the Hearth
Holds no part in myths
Of all the gods, she is the mildest, most upright, and most
charitable
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Roman name Mars
Son of Zeus and Hera, disliked by both
God of war
Considered murderous, but a coward as well
Lover of Aphrodite
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Roman name Minerva
Virgin goddess of reason, intelligent activity, arts and literature
Daughter of Zeus, sprang out of his head fully grown in armor
Invented the bridle which allowed man to tame horses, the trumpet,
flute, pot, rake, plow, ship, and chariot
The embodiment of wisdom, reason and purity
Zeus’s favorite child, she was allowed to use his weapons, including
his fire-bolt
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Son of Zeus and Leto
Twin brother to Artemis
God of music, healing, light, and truth
Archer, hunts with arrows
Most important daily task is to harness his
chariot with four horses and drive the sun
across the sky
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Roman name Diana
Twin sister of Apollo
Daughter of Zeus and Leto
Goddess of chastity, virginity, the hunt, the moon and
the natural environment
• Protector of the young
• Caused her mother no pain when she was born, came
to preside over childbirth
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Roman name Mercury
Son of Zeus and Maia
Cleverest of all gods
Messenger to the gods, wore winged sandals, a winged hat
and carried a magic wand
God of thieves and commerce
Guided the dead to the underworld
Invented the pipes, the musical scale, astronomy, weights
and measures, boxing, and gymnastics
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Roman name Vulcan
Son of Zeus and Hera
The only god to be physically ugly
God of fire and forge
Smith and armorer to the gods
Wife is Aphrodite
Kind and peace-loving
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Roman name Ceres
Goddess of corn, grain and the harvest
Daughter of Cronus and Rhea
Makes the crop grow each year
Daughter Persephone, was abducted by Hades to be his wife. She got so
angry that she set a curse on the world that made the plants wither and
die. Zeus sought to get Persephone back, but since she had eaten while in
the underworld, Hades had a claim to her. It was ruled that she would
spend four months each year in the underworld. During these months
Demeter would grieve and the plants would die, creating winter. Her
daughter’s return brought about spring
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Roman name Proserpina
Daughter of Zeus and Demeter
Goddess of Springtime
Wife of Hades
Symbolized the sprouting of the seeds of springtime
Known as Kore, “The Maiden”
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Son of Zeus and Semele
Only god to have a mortal parent
God of fertility and wine
Patron of the arts
Invented wine
As the ability to drive a man mad
Hated by Hera
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Roman name Cupid
Son of Aphrodite
God of love
Represented blindfolded because love is usually blind
Used arrows that magically produced either
unmanageable love or incredible indifference in the first
person seen by the victim after wounding
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Roman name Hercules
Last mortal son of Zeus
Only man born of mortal woman to become a god upon
his death
Strongest of all mortals, stronger than many gods
Lack of wisdom
Many of his great deeds were done while performing
penance for stupid acts done in anger or carelessness
Sense of justice, was willing to do penance for his actions
Hated by Hera
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Daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne
Known for the music of their song, brings joy to all who hear it
Nine muses each with their own specialty:
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Clio History
Urania Astronomy
Melpomene Tragedy
Thalia Comedy
Terpsichore Dance
Calliope Epic Poetry
Erato Love Poetry
Polyhymnia Songs to the gods
Euterpe Lyric Poetry
• Using the knowledge you now have of Greek mythology, get into groups of four
and create your own myth. The myth can have a moral but does not require one.
Include in your myth descriptions of gods and heroes. Try to incorporate at least
four of the gods we have talked about into your myth. You can also include your
own gods. If you choose to do this, describe in detail these gods and what their
talents are. You may want to include pictures (drawn yourself or collages from
magazines or the Internet) of what these gods might look like. We will later
compile these myths into an anthology of mythology.
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All information in this presentation was found at:
www.messagenet.com/myths/html
www.greekmythology.com/
For more information on this presentation, click on the above
links