SOME FACTS ABOUT
MYTHOLOGY
JUST THE BASICS
CIVILIZATIONS
• GREECE
• ROME
PURPOSES
• RELIGION
• GUIDE THEM IN THEIR DAILY LIVES
• MAKE THEM FEEL SECURE IN AN
UNKNOWN WORLD (explain
phenomenon)
• LITERATURE AND ENTERTAINMENT
MYTHS
• INCLUDE NATURE, GODS,
GODDESSES, MONSTERS, HEROES
• THEY SOMETIMES CONTRADICT
EACH OTHER BECAUSE STORIES
WERE PASSED DOWN BY WORD OF
MOUTH
Types of Myths
• Divine myths -tales referring to the gods
• Heroic myths - tales related to kingdoms
on earth, heroes and heroines
PERSONALITIES OF THE
IMMORTALS
• IMPERFECT--MADE MISTAKES
• MANY CHARACTERS
• INVOLVED THEMSELVES IN
HUMANS’ LIVES
• CREATED BY THE UNIVERSE
GREEK & ROMAN GODS
• NAMES DIFFER
• STORIES ARE SIMILAR
BASIC FACTS
•
•
•
•
•
HOME: MT. OLYMPUS
FOOD: AMBROSIA
DRINK: NECTAR
ZEUS, AN OLYMPIAN, WAS KING
13 MAIN GODS & GODDESSES RULED IN
A GROUP CALLED THE PANTHEON
BEGINNINGS
• GAEA (THE EARTH/FEMALE)
MARRIED URANUS (SKY/MALE)
• THEY HAD 3 SETS OF CHILDREN
– TITANS (GOOD-LOOKING & STRONG)
– CYCLOPES (ONE-EYED GIANTS)
– 100-HANDED GIANTS (NOT
ATTRACTIVE)
• BECAUSE THEY WERE SO UGLY,
URANUS CAST OFF THE GIANTS
AND CYCLOPES TO TARTARUS.
• THIS MOVE ENRAGED GAEA.
Gaea’s Revenge
• She helped Cronos overthrow Uranus.
• Uranus then made a prophesy that one
of Cronos’s children would overthrow
him one day.
Cronos
• Cronos then became the lead god.
• Married Rhea
• Children: Hestia, Pluto, Poseidon, Hera,
and Demeter
• Cronos, afraid of the prophesy,
swallowed all of his children as soon as
they were born.
• Rhea and Gaea were angry and plotted
against Cronos
• Rhea’s next child was Zeus
• She gave Cronos a stone wrapped in a
blanket to swallow instead of the baby
• She hid Zeus in a cave on the island of
Crete
Overthrowing Cronos
• Rhea & Gaea mixed a potion to give to
Cronos which would make him throw up the
children he had swallowed. Zeus was the
cupholder.
• Now they could fight.
• Cronos and the Titans vs. Zeus, his 5
brothers and sisters, some other gods,
monsters, 100-headed monsters, and
Cyclopes
THE VICTORY
• Zeus took over Mt. Olympus, becoming
king of the gods.
• 13 gods and goddesses created the
pantheon.
• They ruled for 1000 years.
• Zeus, an Olympian and jealous playboy,
married Hera.
Greek Family Tree
Hestia
Athena
Demeter
Persephone
Poseidon
Uranus &
Gaea
Cronus &
Rhea
Apollo
Zeus
Hades
Hephaestus
Hera
Ares
Artemis
Aphrodite
Hermes
12 god and goddesses
ZEUS (zoose or zyoose; Roman
name Jupiter) was the supreme
god of the Olympians. He was the
father of the heroes Perseus and
Heracles Zeus was the youngest
son of the Titans Cronus and
Rhea. When he was born, his
father Cronus intended to swallow
him as he had all of Zeus's
siblings.
HERA (HEE-ruh) was the goddess of
marriage. Hera was the wife of Zeus
and Queen of the Olympians. Hera
hated the great hero Heracles since he
was the son of her husband Zeus and
a mortal woman. When he was still an
infant, she sent snakes to attack him in
his crib. Later she stirred up the
Amazons against him when he was on
one of his quests.
DIONYSUS (dye-oh-NYE-sus) was
the god of wine. Dionysus was the
son of Zeus and the mortal
heroine Semele.
It was Dionysus who granted
Midas the power to turn whatever
he touched into gold, then was
kind enough to take the power
back when it proved inconvenient.
APHRODITE (a-fro-DYE-tee) was
the goddess of love, beauty and
fertility. She was also a protecter
of sailors. The poet Hesiod said
that Aphrodite was born from seafoam. Homer, on the other hand,
said that she was the daughter of
Zeus and Dione.
APOLLO (uh-POL-oh) was the
god of prophesy, music and
healing. Like most of his fellow
Olympians, Apollo did not
hesitate to intervene in human
affairs. It was he who brought
about the demise of the mighty
Achilles.
ARES (AIR-eez) was the god of
war, or more precisely of
warlike frenzy. Though an
immortal deity, he was bested
by Heracles in battle and was
almost killed when stuffed into
a jar by two giants.
ARTEMIS (AR-ti-mis) was the virgin
goddess of the hunt. She helped
women in childbirth but also
brought sudden death with her
arrows. Artemis and her brother
Apollo were the children of Zeus and
Leto. In some versions of their myth,
Artemis was born first and helped
her mother to deliver Apollo.
ATHENA (a-THEE-nuh) was the
goddess of crafts and the
domestic arts and also those of
war. She was the patron goddess
of Athens. Her symbol was the
owl. She was originally the Great
Goddess in the form of a bird. She
has come to be regarded as a
goddess of wisdom
DEMETER (dee-MEE-tur) was the
goddess of agriculture. Demeter
as the sister of Zeus and the
mother of Persephone. When
depicted in art, Demeter is often
shown carrying a sheaf of grain.
HEPHAESTUS (he-FESS-tus) was
the lame god of fire and crafts or
the two together, hence of
blacksmiths. Hephaestus was the
son of Zeus and Hera or, in some
accounts, of Hera alone. He
limped because he was born lame,
which caused his mother to throw
him off Mount Olympus.
HERMES (HUR-meez) was the
messenger of the gods and guide
of dead souls to the Underworld. A
prankster and inventive genius
from birth, Hermes aided the
heroes Odysseus and Perseus in
their quests. Hermes was the son
Zeus and a mountain nymph.
POSEIDON (puh-SYE-dun) was the god
of the sea, earthquakes and horses.
Although he was officially one of the
supreme gods of Mount Olympus, he
spent most of his time in his watery
domain. Poseidon was brother to Zeus
and Hades. These three gods divided
up creation. Zeus was ruler of the sky,
Hades had dominion of the Underworld
and Poseidon was given all water, both
fresh and salt.
Other Characters
Titans
Epimetheus
Prometheus
Atlas
and flocks.
Other god and godessess
•Hades – god of the underworld
•Hestia – goddess of the hearth
•Persophone – queen of the
underworld
•Aeolus – god of the wind
•Eros – god of love
•Pan - was a god of shepherds and
flocks.
Heros
Map of Ancient Greece