Reading
Mrs. Schultz

• The only being at the beginning of time.

• Uranus —Sky God
• Gaia or Gaea —Earth Goddess

• Son of Uranus and Gaia
• Killed his father, Uranus
• Prophecy was that Cronus would be killed by his child
• Cronus swallowed his children whole

• Wife of Cronus
• Tricked him into swallowing a rock instead of son Zeus
• Zeus was raised by another family and came into greatness so Cronus spared him.

• Cronus had the help of the titans.
• Zeus had the help of the Cyclopes and the
Hundred-Handed Ones.

• Zeus —God the Sky
• Poseidon —God of the Sea
• Hades--God of the Underworld

• Mount Olympus, Greece

Chapter 2:
Let’s Start With the Ladies—The
Goddesses
• Demeter
– Goddess of Crops and Agriculture
– Happy—fields are green, grasses grow
– Sad—fields and grass suffer
– Mother of Persephone
– Myth explains seasonal changes

Let’s Start With the Ladies
The Goddesses
• Hera
– Sister and wife of Zeus
– Queen of the Gods
– Mean, jealous
– Hated Heracles (Hercules)
– Drove Heracles to kill his own sons
– Often tried to kill him; always lost

Let’s Start With the Ladies
The Goddesses
• Hestia
– Halo over her head
– Guardian Angel of Goddesses
– Helped orphans and lost children
– Helped people enjoy family life

Let’s Start With the Ladies
The Goddesses
• Athena
– Goddess of Wisdom
– Born from Zeus’s head (big headache!)
– Hephaestus hit Zeus in the head with an ax and out popped Athena.
– She came out full grown and with a sword

• A human girl, Arachne, bragged about being the best weaver around even though
Athena invented weaving.
• Athena challenged her to a contest and
Arachne lost.
• Arachne hung herself; Athena turned her into a spider. (Hmmm…arachnids?)

• Goddess of Love
• Born from the sea and the dismembered pieces of Uranus
• Most beautiful woman ever seen!
• Men brought her gifts, and Hera made her choose Hephaestus

• The goddesses were arguing over who was the most beautiful. Paris chose
Aphrodite in order to get the most beautiful girl in the world, Helen of Troy.
• Helen left Menelaus and caused the
Trojan War.

• Spartans vs. Trojans
• All because of Helen of Troy!

Chapter 3: Let’s Hear It for the Boys
The Gods
• Hades
– God of the Underworld
– Ruled the dead
– God of Wealth
– Invisible helmet
– Kidnapped Persephone

• Poseidon
– God of the Sea
– Uses a three-pronged trident
– Violent and unpredictable
– Greedy
– Second in command to Zeus

• Zeus
– God of the Sky
– Father of them All
– King of all Gods
– Fathered many gods and goddesses

Chapter 4:
The Many Children of Zeus
• Apollo
– God of the Sun
– Most handsome
– Son of Zeus and Leto
– Taught wisdom not material gifts
– Invented music
– Killed Marsyas and nailed his skin to a tree where a river formed —still there today!

• Ares
– God of War
– Son of Zeus and Hera
– Always in armor and wearing a helmet
– Out of control temper!
– Loves Aphrodite

• Dionysus
– God of the Vine
– Invented Wine
– Brings joy and anger to people
– Wine is both sweet and sour
– Known to drive people crazy
– Born from Zeus’s thigh

• Hephaestus
– God of Smithing
– Son of Zeus and Hera
– Born small and ugly
– Hera threw him off a cliff
– Amazing craftsman
(thunderbolts, jewelry, trident)
– Married Aphrodite

• Hermes
– Messenger God
– Son of Zeus and Maia
– Rotten and mischievous
– Stole Apollo’s cows
– Played the lyre
– Winged shoes
– Worked for Hades and Zeus

• Perseus
– Son of Zeus and Danae
– Grandfather sent Perseus and Danae away
– King Polydictes raised them; King wanted to marry Danae
– Sent Perseus to get Medusa’s head
– Gets head and kills grandfather
– Saved Andromeda

Chapter 5: Top Ten Lesser Gods
• The Erinyes (Tisiphone, Mageara, Alecto)
– Responsible for punishing crimes
– Also called “Furies”
– Followed bad, evil people and drove them to their deaths
– Came from the blood of Uranus

Chapter 5: Top Ten Lesser Gods
• Eris
– Unpopular
– One of the women to indirectly caused the
Trojan War

Chapter 5: Top Ten Lesser Gods
• Eros
– God of Love (Cupid)
– Son of Aphrodite
– Blinded because love is blind
– Arrows he throws are magically treated

Chapter 5: Top Ten Lesser Gods
• The Fates
– Decided each person’s identity
– Chose if you were good or evil
• Clotho-Spinner, Spun the thread of life
• Lacheis-Measurer, Decided the length
• Atropos-Shears or cuts the thread

Chapter 5: Top Ten Lesser Gods
• The Graces
– Sang and danced for the gods
– Daughters of Zeus and Eurynome
• Aglaia —splendor
• Euphrosyne —mirth
• Thalia —good cheer

Chapter 5: Top Ten Lesser Gods
• Hebe
– Goddess of Youth
– Daughter of Zeus and Hera

Chapter 5: Top Ten Lesser Gods
• The Muses
• Clio —History
• Urania —Astronomy
• Melpomene —Tragedy
• Thalia —Comedy
• Terpsichore —Dance
• Calliope —Epic Poetry
• Erato —Love Poetry
• Polyhymnia —Songs to the Gods
• Euterpe —Lyric Poetry

Chapter 5: Top Ten Lesser Gods
• Nemesis
– Helped to avenge those who were wronged
– People were scared of her!

Chapter 5: Top Ten Lesser Gods
• Pan
– God of Goatherds and Shepherds
– Son of Hermes (half goat/half man)
– Goat horns and feet
– Term “panic” comes from him

Chapter 5: Top Ten Lesser Gods
• Thanatos
– God of Death
– Friendly with Hades
– Lived in the Underworld

• Medusa
– Mortal girl
– Athena changed her hair to snakes when she caught her with Poseidon in Athena’s palace

• Medea
– Wife of Jason, she could cast spells
– Jason left her and she made his new bride a wedding dress that killed her
– She killed her own sons to get back at Jason

• King Midas
– Everything he touched turned to gold
– His daughter turned to gold
– He asked to be changed back and was

• Daedalus
– Great inventor
– Killed his nephew Talos because he was bragging about being a better inventor
– Athena forced him to leave Athens
– Escaped the Labyrinth with his son Icarus

• Pandora
– Made by Hephaestus out of clay
– Athena breathed life into her
– She opened the box that brought disease and bad thoughts to the world.

• King of Thessaly
– His children were rescued by the magical ram
• Narcissus
– In love with himself

• Argus
– AKA Panoptes
– 100 eyes
– Giant
– Killed by Zeus

• Centaurs
– Part human and part horse
• Cerberus
– 3 Headed Watch-Dog
– Guarded the Underworld for Hades

• Charybdis
– Daughter of Poseidon
– Killed people for fun
• Cyclopes
– One eye in forehead
– Gigantic monster

• Harpies
– Face of a woman
– Body of a vulture
• Nymphs
– Fairies in the woodlands and ponds

• Pegasus
– Winged flying horse
– Son born out of Medusa’s head
• Phoenix
– Bird of Apollo
– Could burn and rise from the dead
• Sirens
– Half bird/Half woman
– Enchanting songs lured sailors to death