Introduction to Greek Mythology
What Is A Myth?
• A myth is humanity’s earliest imaginative
attempts to explain the universe, its creation, and
its working
• A myth reveals a way of life and thought of a
particular culture
• Western civilization traces its roots back to Greek
culture
• Greek myths are all that is left of the ancient
Greek religion. About 1200 b.c.e., the residents of
Greece and Asia Minor shared a common belief in
the deities known as The Olympians.
Where Do We see mythology Alive today?
Mercury
Venus Pencil
Nike
Achilles tendon
Ajax
Panasonic
Creation myths
The creation of the gods and the creation of the earth
Chaos
• Confusion, no limits, no bounds, an abyss
• There was disorder, but in it was hidden all
things that exist
• Eventually Chaos ceased
• Out of Chaos were created Erebus (Darkness)
and Nox (Night) – produced energy called Eros
(Love)
• Resolved into two beings – deities
• Gaea – Mother Earth and Uranus –
Overhanging heavens
• The memory of chaos still remains in night –
darkness in which chaos lives
Gaea and Uranus
• Gave birth to many children both ugly and
beautiful
• 12 Titans, 3 100 headed hecatoncheries,
and 3 one eyed Cyclopes
• Father – Uranus – hates all children
especially the six ugly ones
• Confines them to the lower region of the
earth called Tartarus
• How does Gaea feel about all of this?
Gaea is angry
• Calls upon the Titans for help
• All of them are too scared to fight against
their father except for Cronus
• He uses a sharp sickle to slay Uranus
• Uranus promises punishment to the Titans
– “You will be punished for
this…Ahhhhhh.”
• Cronus is now ruler
Cronus Marries Rhea
• Cronus first divides his empire among the
Titans
• Cronus feared his own children – 3
daughters and 3 sons
• He decides to swallow all of his children
• His last son – Zeus – lives
• Zeus is exiled to Crete
Zeus Defeats Cronus
• Cronus vomits up his children
• Zeus returns as Cronus’ cupbearer
• The children that were vomited up elect Zeus as
their new leader
• Cronus at this point hasn’t been defeated
• War is now waged against him
• Zeus frees the “uglies” from Tartarus
• Zeus was provided with lightening bolts by the
Cyclopes
• The Hecatoncheires rained down boulders –
Titans believed the mountains were falling
Zeus and the Olympians
• All of the Titans were
exiled except for Atlas
– punished by holding
the world on his
shoulders
• Zeus now reigns over
Mt. Olympus
The Creation of man by Prometheus
• Prometheus – Forethought
• Epimetheus – After thought
• Spared imprisonment in Tartarus (didn’t
fight with fellow Titans)
• They were asked the task of creating man
• Prometheus shaped man out of mud and
Athena breathed life into his clay figure
Creation of man cont’d
• Prometheus assigned
Epimetheus the task: give
creatures of the earth
various qualities
• Epi. gave all the good
qualities away and none
were left for man
• Prometheus decided to
make man stand upright
and gave them fire
Man
• Prometheus loved man
• Man must sacrifice a
portion of each animal to
the gods (The Odyssey)
• Prometheus decides to
trick Zeus
• Zeus is angry – he takes
fire away from man
• Prometheus gets fire from
the sun – Zeus very
angry. Zeus inflicts
punishment on both man
and Prometheus
Man’s Punishment
• Zeus has Hephaestus create a mortal beauty
• She received gifts of wealth and a deceptive
heart and a lying tongue
• Thus, Pandora was created
• Pandora was given a box to take with her
• Prometheus warned Epimetheus about
accepting gifts from Zeus
• Epimetheus became enraptured by Pandora’s
beauty, and he let her stay
• Her curiosity about the box heightened and
eventually she opened the box
What come out of Pandora’s box?
• Out of the box flew
the following things:
Evils
Sorrows
Plagues
Misfortunes
Hope?
The Different ages
• The Golden Age: When the whole earth was a paradise.
Everyone was living in harmony with each other. From
the beginning of the universe until Zeus takes over
• The Silver Age: Race of man started to decline. Man
had less respect for the gods and were absorbed by
material pleasure
• The Brazen (Bronze) Age: Constant violence and
warfare. This period produced the heroes of the Trojan
War
• The Iron Age: A period of poverty and misery, cold
weather, crop shortages, and dwindling food supplies
The many lovers of Zeus
• Zeus had three wives
prior to Hera: Metis,
Themis, Mnemosyne
• He wanted Demeter,
but she rejected him
• Eurpoa, Io, and
Semele are just a few
of his lovers