Notes on Greek Mythology
The Beginnings
(much thanks to Ingi and Edgar Parin
D’Aularie)
• Night Sky: Uranus
• Mother Earth: Gaea
(or Gaia)
•1st set of kids: the Titans
•Famous Names: Prometheus, Epimetheus,
Atlas, Rhea, and CRONUS
•2nd set of kids: the Cyclopes and the 3
fifty-headed, hundred-handed giants
• The son overthrew his
father, but feared that his
son would do the same, so
he swallows his children:
Hestia, Demeter, Hera,
Hades, and Poseidon
• This is Goya’s famous
painting: Saturn Devouring
his Son
• Zeus gets away because Rhea gives Cronus a rock
wrapped in baby clothes
• Zeus is spirited away to CRETE, where he’s raised
by nymphs and a magical goat (yes, a goat) named
Amaltheia
• Metis tricks Cronus into drinking a potent herb, and
he throws up the kids, who are fine b/c they’re gods
• Thus begins the battle with the TITANS
The Beginnings of The Trojan War
• It starts w/a wedding and
a beauty contest
• The goddess Eris(Strife)
said that she would give to
the fairest at the wedding
of Peleus and Thetis this
gift – the apple.
• “to the fairest” was written
on it.
The Judgement of Paris
The golden apple sparked a
vanity-fueled dispute
between Hera, Athena, and
Aphrodite that eventually
led to the Trojan War. The
Apple of Discord became
symbol for disputes for
people who purposely cause
quarrels.
Another Image of The Judgement of Paris
But Helen is already married to Menelaus of Sparta
Other Images of Helen
However, Aphrodite made good on her
promise and got her son to…
•make Helen fall in love with Paris and the
two of them got on a boat and sailed for
Troy.
•Paris had been visiting Sparta and was a
guest of King Menelaus. Menelaus went
out of town for a bit, and that’s when the
“abduction” or kidnapping happened.
Images of Paris “abducting” Helen.
Stories vary on exactly how
More Paris “Abducting” Helen…
JUMP TO “SOME IMPORTANT
NAMES” ON YOUR NOTES
Agamemnon: king of Mycenae, brother-in-law
to Helen, soon-to-be leader of Greek
armies, will survive the Trojan war, husband
of…
Clytemnestra: Helen’s sister, furious with her
husband, takes a lover (Aegisthus) during
the 10 years he’s gone
Aegisthus: together w/Cly, they plot to…
Orestes
• The son of A and C who is emotionally
walloped by this whole mess. His mother
has just killed his father. Should he kill
his mother in revenge? But that’s
matricide.
• This craziness becomes a Greek Tragedy
(literally, The Orestia Trilogy)
Achilles
• Son of Peleus and Thetis, and soon to be
the best Greek warrior in the Trojan War.
• He will die in this war but achieve great
fame during it as well.
• His tale is told in The Iliad
Now go back to Helen’s father’s idea:
Some lineage stuff:
- Helen and Clytemnestra are sisters, sort of.
- They marry brothers: Menelaus (of Sparta) and
Agamemnon (of Mycenae), both of whom fight in the
Trojan War later
- EVERYONE wants to marry Helen, and one of
these admirers was Odysseus, but he asked for her
gentle cousin’s (Penelope’s) hand in marriage instead
• Their father, King Tyndareus solved the problem of
the hundreds of suitors with Odysseus’ help: the King
must ask all the suitors to accept the one he chose for
Helen’s husband and swear to stand by and help to
win her back should anyone try to harm her. The
suitors agreed. Each one hoped that the choice would
fall on him, and they all took the oath, so when her
father gave Helen to Menelaus, they were mostly
okay with it.
• But then Helen is apparently kidnapped and her
father calls in this favor and reminds all of the oath
Thus Began The Trojan War
“Was this the face that
launch'd a thousand ships,
And burnt the topless
towers of Ilium? “
~Christopher Marlowe
So, Odysseus comes up with this idea…years
later
And Troy Falls…
And so, the Odyssey begins
as Odysseus tries to find
his way back to Ithaca.
Let’s hope he learns
something on this
mythic journey…