Mythology objectives:
Using Edith Hamilton’s Mythology, the student will
•Know the purpose of myths.
•Know the requirements of myths.
•Know the types of myths
•Know characteristics of Greek gods.
•Know key Greek gods and mythology related terms.
•Greek streaming music
Edith Hamilton’s Mythology
Purpose of Myths:
1. Explain origin(s) of world/man
2. Explain nature
3. Explain ways of gods to man
4. Entertainment
Temple of Apollo
Requirements for a myth:
1. Narrative
2. Imaginative, clever, inventive (may explain an event that
wasn’t understood or a “scientific principle.”
3.
4.
5.
6.
Involves super-human beings
Usually improbable or absurd
Often has a moral
Part of the past of a group or race of people
Types of myths:
1. Historical: Built around an event that actually or
supposedly happened (ex. Trojan Wars).
2. Religious: Told about a god or goddess to explain a
religious practice
3. Explanatory: Explain things/events that are not
understood; most myths fall into this group
4. Amusing: Told “just for fun;” aesthetic myths.
5. Allegorical: “symbolic;” things may represent vices
and virtues; reader is to put himself in the place of the
person in the myth.
•Gods and Heroes in the Greek World (01:12)
•Discovery Channel School. 2004.
Discovery Education. 4 January 2009
<http://streaming.discoveryeducation.com/>
Title of the Myth:__________________________________
Summary of the Myth:
Characters:
•Gods/Goddesses?
•Demigods?
•Mortals?
•Mythological Creatures?
Type of Myth:
Explanatory? _____ Amusing? _____Etc?_____
If explanatory, what does it explain? ____________________
Does it have a moral?_____________________________
Greek myths: Man is at the center of the universe.
However, not as dark a picture as previous religions (pagan, nature) with
horrors—human sacrifices
Greek gods in man’s image, yet mortal with extra
powers—traces of magic witches, demons, ghosts, astrology as
before
•Greek Mythology and the Role of the Gods in Human Destiny (01:46)
Greek Mythology and the Role of the Gods in Human Destiny. Discovery Channel School. 1997.
Discovery Education. 4 January 2009
<http://streaming.discoveryeducation.com/>
Greeks began with Homer’s The Iliad (1000 B.C.) then The
Odyssey (ch. 3). Later Herodotus, Hesiod (Ch. 4), Pindar,
Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes, Socrates
(ch. 5), Aristotle, and Plato (ch. 6).
PowerPoint assignment:
1. Minimum of ten slides (not including title).
2. Pictures (when possible) and as much info as
possible (biography; works).
3. Information in size 36
4. Keep noises to a minimum
5. Cite sources on every page in notes
History Channel Greek Gods and Goddesses 1/9
History Channel - Greek Gods and Goddesses 1/9
Titans are the giant sons and daughters of Uranus
Gaia (Earth).
Twelve Titan Gods and Goddesses:
Oceanus and Tethys,
Hyperion and Theia,
Coeus and Phoebe,
Cronus and Rhea—parents of Zeus
Mnemosyne, Themis,
Crius, Iapetus
(Heaven) and
Children of Hyperion:
Eos, Helios, Selene
Daughters of Coeus:
Leto and Asteria
Sons of Iapetus:
Atlas, Prometheus,
Epimetheus, Menoetius
The 12 Titans gods, also known as the elder gods, who ruled the Earth
before the Olympians overthrew them. The ruler of the Titans was Cronus
who was dethroned by his son Zeus. Most of the Titans fought with
Cronus against Zeus and were punished by being banished to Tartarus.
•Some Common Figures from Greek Mythology (01:03)
Some Common Figures from Greek Mythology. Aims Multimedia. 1990
Discovery Education. 4 January 2009
<http://streaming.discoveryeducation.com/>
Zeus
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Roman name: Jupiter
Chief of the Olympians
god of. . .
-. . .the sky
-. . .justice, law and order
-. . .strangers and travelers
Other facts: Rhea hid him from Cronus to
keep from being eaten; he overthrew
Cronus; constantly unfaithful to Hera
• YOUTUBE Zeus
• The stone itself (which may have
been a copy) has a carving of a
knotted net covering its surface, and
has a hollow centre, which widens
towards its base (illustrated, to the
right).
• The Omphalos at Delphi came to be
identified as the stone which Rhea
wrapped in swaddling clothes,
pretending it was Zeus. This was to
deceive Cronus, his father, who
swallowed his children so they could
not grow up and depose him as he
had deposed his own father, Uranus.
• Omphalos stones were said to allow
direct communication with the gods.
• Christian destroyed the site in the 4th
century at the order of Emperors
Theodosius and Arcadius
Hera
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Roman name: Juno
Wife of Zeus
Terribly jealous
goddess of. . .
-. . .motherhood
-. . .wives
Poseidon
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Roman name: Neptune
Zeus’s brother
Cranky and ill tempered
god of. . .
-. . .the sea (trident is symbol)
-. . .earthquakes
-. . .represents bulls and horses
Zeus’ brother
YOUTUBE Poseidon
Hades
• Roman name: Pluto
• god of. . .
• -. . .the underworld
• He is not death. He does not kill anyone.
He simply watches over the dead.
• He carried wife, Persephone, away and
made her queen of the underworld
Athena
• Roman name: Minerva
• Zeus’s daughter (but not Hera’s) Sprung
from his head; his favorite
• goddess of. . .
• -. . .wisdom
• -. . .intelligent warfare
• Athens is her city
• Parthenon is her temple
• Created olive tree
• Owl (wisdom) is her symbol
The Parthenon is the most important and characteristic monument
of the ancient Greek civilization and still remains its international
symbol. It was dedicated to Athena Parthenos, the patron goddess
of Athens. It was built between 447 and 438 BC. and its sculptural
decoration was completed in 432 BC.
Apollo
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Roman name: Phoebus Apollo
Twin brother of Artemis
god of. . .
-. . .light/truth
-. . .prophecy
-. . .music (lyre)
-. . .medicine
-. . .archery
YOUTUBE Apollo
Artemis
• Roman name: Diana
• Twin sister of Apollo
• goddess of. . .
• -. . .the hunt (deer sacred to her)
• -. . .chastity
Hephaestus
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Roman name: Vulcan
Hera’s crippled son; only ugly/lame god
Married to Aphrodite
Blacksmith of the gods/god of fire
Vulcan-Birmingham
Aphrodite
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Roman name: Venus
Married to Hephaestus
goddess of. . .
-. . .love/beauty
-. . .desire
Sprung from foam and sea
The Rock of Aphrodite is a few kilometres to the west of
Pissouri village, Cyprus. Legend has it that Aphrodite,
goddess of love and beauty, rose from the waves in this
spot. Blown by the wind, Aphrodite's first stop was on the
island of Cythera, but this was such a tiny island that
Aphrodite kept moving and eventually got to Cyprus,
where she began living in Paphos.
Ares
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Roman name: Mars
Son of Zeus and Hera
god of. . .
-. . .mindless war
Not as important to Greeks as the Romans
Hestia
• Roman name: Vesta
• Daughter of Zeus and Hera
• Goddess of the hearth, of the right
ordering of domesticity and the family
• Each city had a public hearth sacred to
her; where the fire never went out
• In Rome, fire cared for by six virgin
priestess called Vestals.
Hermes
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Roman name: Mercury
Tricky and sneaky/cunning
Messenger of the gods
god of. . .
-. . .thieves and deceivers
• WORKSHEETS NOW
Other gods!
Eros
• Roman name: Cupid
• Son of Aphrodite
• Helps people fall in love with each other
Persephone
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Roman name: Proserpine
Daughter of Zeus and Demeter
Becomes the queen of the underworld
goddess of. . .
-. . .Spring
Pan
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Roman name: Pan
Associated with Dionysus
Has goat ears and legs
god of. . .
-. . .shepherds and flocks
• YouTube Pan Dance
Terms to
know:
Mt.
Olympus:
home of
the gods
•Mount Olympus and the Gods of Greek Mythology (02:20)
Mount Olympus and the Gods of Greek Mythology. Discovery Channel School. 1997.
Discovery Education. 4 January 2009
<http://streaming.discoveryeducation.com/>
Elysian Fields:or sometimes Elysian plains, were the
final resting place of the souls of the heroic and the
virtuous (test).
Elysium, also known as the Elysian Fields, in Greek mythology was a
pre-Hellenic paradise, a land of perfect peace and happiness. In the
works of Homer, Elysium was a land at the farthest and westernmost
edge of the world to which the great heroes were carried, body and soul,
and made immortal.
Charon: and boatman ferries souls of dead across
water to gate to Tartarus
He only accepts the dead which are buried or burned with the proper
rites, and if they pay him an obolus (coin) for their passage. For that
reason a corpse had always an obolus 1 placed under the tongue.
• Charon, Athenian red figure
lekythos
C5th B.C., Rhode Island
School of Design
Tartarus—Underworld; lower region of the dead.
Tartarus is the lowest region of the world, as far below earth as earth is
from heaven. According to the Greek poet Hesiod, a bronze anvil falling
from heaven would take nine days and nights to reach earth, and an
object would take the same amount of time to fall from earth into
Tartarus. Tartarus is described as a dank, gloomy pit, surrounded by a
wall of bronze, and beyond that a three-fold layer of night. While Hades
is the main realm of the dead in Greek mythology, Tartarus also
contains a number of characters. In early stories, it is primarily the
prison for defeated gods; the Titans were condemned to Tartarus after
losing their battle against the Olympian gods. However, in later myths
Tartarus becomes a place of punishment for sinners. It resembles Hell
and is the opposite of Elysium, the afterlife for the blessed. When the
hero Aeneas visits the underworld, he looks into Tartarus and sees the
torments inflicted on characters such as the Titans, Tityos, Otus and
Ephialtes, and the Lapiths. Rhadymanthus (and, in some versions, his
brother Minos) judges the dead and assigns punishment.
Cerberus: Three headed dragon tailed dog who
permits all spirits to ENTER but none to return.
He was overcome several times:
Hercules' final labour was to capture Cerberus, which he did by
wrestling it into submission.
Orpheus used his musical skills to lull Cerberus to sleep.
Hermes put him to sleep with water from the river Lethe.
In Roman mythology, the Sybil of Cumae lulled Cerberus to sleep with
drugged honeycakes in order to permit Aeneas fuller entry to the
underworld.
In a Greek tale, Psyche also lulled Cerberus to sleep with drugged
honeycakes.
In The Inferno, Cerberus punishes the gluttons and is passed by Virgil
and Dante due to Virgil throwing him a body part of one of Cerberus'
victims.
Heracles and threatened Cerberus, Attic black-figure neck-amphora, ca. 540 BC
Styx river: river which separates underworld from the
world above;
Styx it is said winds around Hades (hell or the underworld are other
names) nine times. Its name comes from the Greek word stugein which
means hate. This river was so respected by the gods of Greek
mythology that they would take life binding oaths just by mentioning its
name. If a god gave his oath upon the river Styx and failed to keep his
word, Zeus forced that god to drink from the river itself. The water is
said to be so foul that the god would lose his/her voice for nine years.
It is thought that Charon, the old ferry man who ferries the dead onto
the underworld, crosses the river Styx, but this is a misconception.
Charon crosses the river Acheron where also Cerebus stands his eternal
guard.
Thetis dipping Achilles in the Styx River, Daumier 1842
Where is the REAL river Styx?
• There are five rivers that separate Hades
from the world of the living, they are:
• Acheron - the river of woe;
• Cocytus - the river of lamentation;
• Phlegethon - the river of fire;
• Lethe - the river of forgetfulness;
• Styx - the river of hate.
Delphi: Delphi was the site of the Delphic oracle,
most important oracle in the classical Greek world,
and it was a major site for the worship of the god
Apollo.
People came from all over Greece and beyond to have their questions
about the future answered by the Pythia, the priestess of Apollo. And
her answers, usually cryptic, could determine the course of everything
from when a farmer planted his seedlings, to when an empire declared
war.
Arguments over the correct interpretation of an oracle were common,
but the oracle was always happy to give another prophecy if more
gold was provided. A good example is the famous incident before the
Battle of Salamis when the Pythia first predicted doom and later
predicted that a 'wooden wall' (interpreted by the Athenians to mean
their ships) would save them.
Julian the Apostate (331/332– - 26 June 363), a Roman emperor, tried to
revive classical Greek culture in the mid 4th century AD. He is said to
have consulted the Oracle of Delphi. The Pythia responded with the
following oracle:
Tell to the king that the carven hall is fallen in decay;
Apollo has no chapel left, no prophesying bay,
No talking spring. The stream is dry that had so much to say.
This was probably the last advice from the Oracle of Delphi. The Oracle
said that the time to revive classical Greek culture has passed, Apollo is
dead. Some say that the reason for this answer was that there was no
“narcotic” gas coming anymore from the ground in Delphi that was used
to set the Pythia in trance. Today scientists believe that the gas contained
ethylene that in low concentrations produce trancelike states.
Plutarch said that the pneuma smelled like sweet perfume. He also
describes how in his times the emission was weak and irregular, the
cause, in his opinion, of the weakening influence of the Delphic oracle in
world affairs. He suggested that either the vital essence had run out or that
heavy rains had diluted it or a earthquake four centuries earlier had
Differences between Roman and Greek gods!