Let’s call this one
(according to the Greeks)
MYTH!

• Students will learn the basics of the Greek
Creation story.
• Students will practice note-taking skills, using the visual map as an aid.
• Students will share insight or questions as they develop.
• Students will further their knowledge on mythology, as this story will be referenced for the duration of the semester.

It all sounds so exciting!
But we are sort of wondering…
Is there anything we need to know about mythology in general before we get to the story?
We can’t wait to get started!
Yes!!!
There are some things you will need to keep in mind…

First of all…
Keep in mind that we are studying mythology as
Literature , which deals with characters, plot, themes, and the beliefs of the people who created the stories,
NOT as
Religion, which deals with matters of personal faith.

Secondly,
Keep in mind that myths were spread through oral tradition over hundreds of years before ever being written down.
Remember that game, TELEPHONE, that you played when you were a kid?
What happens to the message as it passes from person to person? Go ahead…try it out…
The same thing happened to myths as they passed from one person to another. So, don’t be surprised if you read one version of a myth and find that it differs slightly from another version of the same myth. That’s normal when working with myths.

Finally,
Keep in mind that myths are symbolic stories. They are not governed by the rules of nature, logic, science, and time. Therefore, if you try to make literal sense of the stories, you’ll drive yourself crazy!
So…
Sit back,
Relax, and
Suspend your disbelief…

Snap Judgment
What can’t you wait to learn about associated with mythology? In other words, you’re losing sleep over wanting this knowledge.
DISCUSS!

At first there was only one thing that existed:
(shapeless void of confusion: had the elements of the world —earth, sky, and sea —all jumbled together, none of which had their own identity)

Here come the
5 elements:
(Underworld)—entity
Nyx
(Night)—entity
(Love)—entity
Erebus
(Darkness)—entity
(Mother Earth)—being

Mommy, where did
Uranus come from?
Well…that’s an interesting situation, although not the
MOST interesting, as you’ll come to see…

Gaia brings another being into the world…and marries him:
People drew a connection between women’s ability to have kids with
Earth’s ability to “give birth” to plants, so Earth was always seen as feminine – early Greeks worshipped female deities
Gaia, the first Great Goddess (Mother Earth), has Uranus as her son (Ruler of the Sky)

Thank you
Gaia and
Uranus for making us look normal!

The ultrasound is in: they are the proud parents of triplets!!!
But…they all have
100 hands and 50 heads
The Hundred-Handed
Giants
I have the worst headache!
3 more were born soon after… they were giants with 1 eye in the middle of their foreheads
“The Cyclopes”

Uranus is threatened by his kids because they are big and scary, and he fears that they will take him over, causing him to lose his power, so… he sends them to Tartarus, where he intends for them to be imprisoned for eternity.
That eventually comes back to haunt him, but I’ll fill you in on that later.

• Oceanus —God of the sea
• Hyperion (Helios ) —God of the sun
• Selene —Goddess of the moon
• Themis —Goddess of prophecy
• Prometheus — “forethought”
• Epimetheus — “afterthought”
• Atlas —strongest Titan (gets in BIG trouble with Zeus later)
• Rhea (Cybele) —Great Goddess
• Cronus (Saturn) —youngest, brightest, and most clever of Titans; god of the sky and ruler of Titans after Uranus (WAIT UNTIL YOU
HEAR THAT STORY)

Snap Judgment
Spielberg is making a movie about the
Titans: which actors/actresses is he hiring to play who? Come up with at least two he should hire.
DISCUSS!

Gaia: “Enough is enough!”
• Gaia develops a plan and confronts her kids for help; of course, they are scared of their father and don’t want to challenge him, but Cronus decides he’s up for the challenge, so he steps forward and goes along with his mom’s plan.
• It’s not likely his dad would EVER forgive him for this one.

Gaia gives Cronus the necessary tool to implement their plan
• She tells him to hide it until the time is right.
• She then seduces Uranus on the seashore.
• Then, taking the sleeping Uranus by COMPLETE surprise, Cronus carries out the plan.
WARNING: What you are about to see is graphic if you have a vivid imagination, so feel free to cover your eyes, especially if you’re a male…
He uses the sickle his mom created to emasculate his father— not exactly father-son bonding!

Snap Judgment
Gaia: a strong, nononsense woman who teaches men not to mess with her, or a complete creep?
DISCUSS!

Next…
Cronus threw his dad’s severed body parts into the sea where it began foaming on the surface of the water.
From the foam rose Aphrodite, goddess of passionate love and beauty, whose name literally means “foam born.”
From the blood of Cronus seeping into the ground, rose the
Giants and the Furies, three fearsome monsters who tormented sinners, expecially those who killed their parents.

How does this connect to
Matriarchal societies?
• Mythology is a reflection of what happens in society
• In Matriarchal societies, the Great Goddess dismembered the Sacred King after he was killed—his blood was used to fertilize the soil
(of Mother Earth) and make it grow
• Cronus emasculating his father is similar because Uranus’ blood from “the accident” allowed life to spring—the
Giants and the Furies

Cronus marries his sister Rhea and they go on to have 5 kids.
HOWEVER, he’s a total hypocrite, because much like his father, he feared losing power, so he swallowed all of his kids whole right after they were born, or so he thought.
1. Hestia (Vesta)—virgin goddess of hearth and home; kindest and most loved of
There are some parallels to Matriarchal ceremonies here: Cronus “eating” his kids as babies might stem from how female priestesses ate the flesh of sacred kings for fertility purposes; again, this just shows that mythology is a reflection of what occurred in societies
6. Not born yet, but a sneak peak: Zeus (Jupiter)—god of the sky (after Cronus), ruler of gods; youngest, most intelligent and powerful of gods; maintains order in the world of mortals; protects strangers and guests

Cronus ignores Rhea’s wishes to allow her to have her children in her life, so she finally goes to her mom for help.
Mom, I need help immediately. My husband is a CREEP and is swallowing my babies!
I have a plan, but we’re going to need the next kid’s help. I think it’s going to be a male who will be a better leader than his father and grandfather both.
(The fact that he’s male and will dominate over the other gods/goddesses might represent the shift from matriarchal to patriarchal societies).

• Immediately after giving birth to the 6 th child, Zeus,
Rhea hands Cronus “the baby”, which he immediately swallows.
• Had he paid more attention, he would have noticed that
Rhea really handed him a rock and sent baby Zeus off with
Gaia for protection until it was safe for him to return.
• Eventually, Zeus came back as a grown god and with the help of his mother and good old
Grandma Gaia, they offered Cronus a drink that made him vomit up his 5 siblings.

Snap Judgment

Cronus went to the Titans for help on his side, but many were not interested in helping him fight the Olympians—eventually though, Atlas was named the leader of the Titan army.
Mount Olympus
Olympians
Mount Othrys
Titans
They fought for 10 years, with the battle going back and forth, and seemingly, there was no end to the fighting, until
Grammy Gaia comes to the rescue, once again, for Zeus

Zeusy Boy, here’s what you do. I miss my kids—the
Hundred-Handed
Giants and the
Cyclopes—and I’m sure they’re sick of
Tartarus. If you and the Olympians release them, I bet they’d be willing to help your side in the war, considering
Cronus betrayed them. What do you say?
I’m in; I’ll take my sibs with me and we’ll bring them back

Zeus’ uncle monsters joined in the fight and gave the Olympians weapons they made while in the Underworld to show their thanks:
-Zeus got thunder/lightning
-Poseidon got the trident to cause earthquakes
-Hades got the invisibility helmet
Finally the Olympians won and those that fought in the
Titan army were sent to Tartarus, except for Atlas (the leader), who got a special punishment; Zeus made sure he would spend eternity using his strength to hold up the sky. THAT WOULD GET OLD, DON’T YOU THINK?

Zeus married his sister Hera and continued the Olympian family:
• Ares (Mars)—god of war (Olympian); had an affair with Aphrodite, Hephaestus’ wife, and
Eros (Cupid) was born: arrows that find love
– The Romans mocked love and appreciated war, hence adored Mars (Ares in Greek)
– The Greeks cherished love and hated war, thus didn’t like Ares because he represented the destructive part of war
• Hephaestus —god of fire and forge
(Olympian); the one and only ugly god; the peace maker amongst gods
• Ilitheia —goddess of childbirth (not really considered an Olympian even though part of this generation)

Snap Judgment
Which god or goddess are you most intrigued by at this point?
Why?
DISCUSS!

– Apollo —god of sun, music, medicine, poetry, archery—the ideal Greek,
BEAUTIFUL, god; associated with the sun
– Artemis —virgin goddess of the hunt; associated with the moon—watched over women as they make transitions; born right before Apollo and helped deliver him

•
Hera—at times, she can viewed as a joke: she rarely
Hestia
—highly respected in every single home; people depended on her to keep them safe
• Artemis—fierce and vengeful woman that’s not tied down by anyone
• Athena—the most respected of all Olympians for her wisdom
Etc.
What does this imply about the virgin goddess, or goddesses without men in their lives?

• With Metis (he swallowed her)/on his own, he had Athena, virgin goddess of wisdom and war—Zeus had a headache and called Hephaestus over (blacksmith) to help; he cut
Zeus’ head open and she popped out fully grown and in armor; his favorite child
• With Maia he has Hermes —the messenger of gods; trickster
• With Semele, a human, he has Dionysos —god of wine and revelry/enjoyment; only god with 1 human parent: Zeus promised Semele he’d do anything for her, and she asked to see him in his full glory, which saddened him because no human could see him this way and live, so he showed her anyway, as promised, and she died immediately. He grabbed the unborn baby and hid him in his thigh until ready to be born and gave to nymphs to raise

• Persephone—she’s the daughter of Demeter and her
“husband” is Hades. Let’s just say she would have left him at the altar if that was option, but I’ll explain more about that later.
• Congrats…they’re triplets— The Fates ! Talk about having power. They decided the lifespan of people’s lives via spinning thread. One spun the thread, one measured the thread, and one cut the thread. This determined the fate of one’s life.
• The Muses —they were children of Mnemosyne, and brought about an appreciation for the arts. Each of the nine Muses was responsible for one branch of the arts.
• The Graces —daughters of Eurynome; they bring grace and beauty wherever they go. They were literally the life of the party.

There is plenty more to hear, but we’ll call it quits for now.
Take this time to work with a partner, and add any needed material to your Greek family tree. We have a lot more mythology to look forward to. I CAN’T WAIT!

Snap Judgment
Why do you think high school students should or should not study mythology?
Think of as many different explanations as you can.
DISCUSS!