In the beginning…
…there was chaos
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And out of chaos….
Gaea, Mother Earth, was created
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And Gaea gave birth to
Uranus, the sky
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Uranus rained down on Gaea…
And plants, animals, and rivers appeared
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Gaea and Uranus had many
children…..
Their first born were the twelve Giant Titans,
six boys and six girls.
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Later more children were born…..
• Three were the mighty Cyclops, one-eyed
giants
• And three were the Hecatoncheires,
monsters with a hundred arms and fifty
heads
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Uranus hated the Cyclops and the
Hecatoncheires, because they
were ugly
• And he threw them into Tartarus – the
deepest pit of the underworld.
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Gaea was furious. She urged the
Titans to overthrow their father and
rescue their brothers in Tartarus.
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Only Cronus, the youngest , was
brave enough.
• He attacked Uranus with a sickle and banished
him from earth.
• Cronus replaced his father as Lord of the
Universe. But he was cruel and did not free his
brothers from Tartarus.
•
•
Cronus married his sister, Rhea,
and they had many children.
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Cronus was afraid that one of his
own children might overthrow him
just as he had overthrown his
father.
• So as each child was born, he swallowed
it whole. (Remember he was a giant Titan
and his children were much smaller. )
• Also the children were gods (immortals) so
they could not die. They remained alive
and grew inside his stomach. (Imagine the
indigestion.)
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Rhea was horrified and finally she
tricked Cronus by feeding him a
rock wrapped in a blanket.
• Zeus was raised on the island of Crete by
gentle woodland nymphs who fed him
honeyed milk. When the baby would cry,
the Curettes – Zeus’s guards – clashed
their weapons to hide the sound from
Cronus.
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Zeus grew into one of the strongest
gods and Rhea, his mother, wanted him to
overthrow Cronus. Rhea gave Cronus a
drink that
made him throw up the stone and his
unharmed children – among those were:
Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, and
Poseidon.
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The children were all reunited and
gratefully joined their brother. Zeus
freed their uncles (the monsters)
from Tartarus, and together they
prepared to fight the Titans.
The cyclops made weapons.
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They armed Zeus with a
thunderbolt that shook the
universe.
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They made Poseidon a trident that
could split the seas.
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They gave Hades a helmet of
darkness that made him invisible to
his enemies.
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For ten years a war raged between
the old gods (Titans) and the new gods
(Olympians). At last Cronus and the
Titans were defeated and thrown into
Tartarus to be guarded by their own
hundred-armed brother.
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The universe was divided among
the three brothers.
Zeus was King of the gods and
heaven and earth.
Poseidon became god of the seas.
And
Hades became god of the
underworld.
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The Cyclops (children of the Titans,
Cronus and Rhea) built the
“Olympians” a palace on Mt.
Olympus.
• Zeus lived there with his brothers, sisters, six of his
children, and Aphrodite (goddess of love) forever.
• The gods dined on nectar and ambrosia, the food and
drink of the gods and they could change shape or form
to mingle and control the mortals on earth.
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Each god and goddess has special
powers and we will learn about
each one. These are the gods and
goddesses that live on Mount
Olympus.
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Mt. Olympus
The magical kingdom of all of
the Gods and Goddess. Ruled
by Zeus!
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King and Queen of Mt.
Olympus
Greek
Name
Roman Name
Description
Zeus
Jupiter
Hera
Juno
King of the Gods
(Player)
Queen of the Gods
Goddess of family
(Jealous)
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Zeus,
Jupiter
• King of the
gods
• Women
loved him
and he
loved them.
• Symbol:
Lightning
bolt
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Hera, Juno
• Queen of the
gods
• Goddess of the
family
• Symbol:
pomegranate
(symbol of
fertility)
Hera, queen of the gods
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Brothers of Zeus
Greek
Name
Roman Name
Description
Poseidon Neptune
Ruler of the seas, brother
of Zeus
Hades
Brother of Zeus, ruler of
the Underworld.
Pluto
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Poseidon,
Neptune
• Ruler of the sea
• Responsible for
natural and
supernatural
events
• Symbol:
Trident
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Hades,
Pluto
• Supreme ruler
of the
underworld
• God of the
dead
• Symbol: Helmet
(helped him
stay invincible)
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Greek Name
Roman Name
Description
Aphrodite
Venus
Goddess of love, romance, and
beauty
Apollo
Apollo
God of sun, music, and poetry.
Twin of Artemis
Ares
Mars
God of War
Artemis
Diana
Goddess of the hunt and moon.
Twin of Apollo
Athena
Minerva
Goddess of wisdom and war
Demeter
Ceres
Goddess of agriculture
Hephaestus Vulcan
God of fire and forge
Hermes
Mercury
Messenger of the gods
Hestia
Vesta
Calm goddess of home and
homelife.
Bacchus
Joyful god of wine
Dyonysus
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•
•
•
•
Aphrodite,
Venus
Goddess of
love and beauty
Mother of Eros
Wife of
Hephaestus
Lover to Ares
Symbol: Dove
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•
•
•
•
Apollo,
Apollo
God of sun,
music, poetry
Twin to Artemis
Gift of
prophecy
Symbol: Lyre
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•
•
•
Ares, Mars
God of War
Not well liked
by the other
gods
Ares and
Aphrodite had
a daughter-Harmony
Symbol: Spear
and dogs
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•
•
•
•
Artemis,
Diana
Goddess of
moon and hunt
Twin to Apollo
Absolute power
over nature
Symbol: Bow
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Athena,
Minerva
• Goddess of
wisdom and
war
• Approached
war in terms of
Justice
• Symbol: Staff
and Owl
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•
•
•
•
Demeter,
Ceres
Goddess of
agriculture (grain)
Mother of
Persephone
Taught mortals
harvest
Symbol: Wheat
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Dionysus,
Bacchus
• Goddess of
wine and
festivities
• Party Guy
• Symbol: Grapes
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Hephaestus,
Vulcan
• God of metal
working
• Only physically
ugly god
• Husband to
Aphrodite
– She played him
• Symbol: Fire,
ax, and hammer
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•
•
•
•
Hermes,
Mercury
Messenger God
Fastest because of
his winged shoes
Only god who
could visit heaven,
earth, and
underworld
Symbol: Wings
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Hestia, Vesta
• Goddess of the
hearth
• Kind and
forgiving
• Symbol: Flame
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Name
Description
Persephone
Queen of the Underworld; Daughter of
Demeter
Cerberus
Three headed dog off the Underworld.
Eros
God of love; son of Aphrodite
The Fates
Three fates: spin measure, and cut life
The Muses
Nine beautiful deities
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Persephone
• We will read the
story.
• Hades loved her
and stole her from
her mother,
Demeter
• She spends 6
months with Mom
and 6 months with
husband
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Cerberus
• Watch dog of
the underworld
• Prevent the
dead from
exiting
• Three heads,
very scary
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•
•
•
Eros, Cupid
We will read the
story.
Son of Aphrodite
Falls in love with
beautiful, mortal
Psyche
Convinces Zeus to
make her
immortal
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•
•
•
•
The Fates
Clotho-spins the
thread of destiny
Lacesis- measures
Atropos-cuts
Determined every
mortal’s life
No other god could
alter their decision
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Muses
• 9 beautiful, intelligent deities
• Each Muse was in charge over an
intelligence
• Required to praise them in epic poetry
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