In the beginning…
…there was chaos
And out of chaos….
Gaea, Mother Earth, was created
And Gaea gave birth to
Uranus, the sky
Uranus rained down on Gaea…
And plants, animals, and rivers appeared
Gaea and Uranus had many
children…..
Their first born were the twelve Giant Titans,
six boys and six girls.
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
Uranus hated the Cyclops and the
Hecatoncheires, because they
were ugly
• And he threw them into Tartarus – the
deepest pit of the underworld.
Gaea was furious. She urged the
Titans to overthrow their father and
rescue their brothers in Tartarus.
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.
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.)
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.
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.
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.
They armed Zeus with a
thunderbolt that shook the
universe.
They made Poseidon a trident that
could split the seas.
They gave Hades a helmet of
darkness that made him invisible to
his enemies.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Mt. Olympus
Mount Olympus is a real mountain in the north of Greece. Gradually, it
became associated less and less with an actual mountain and more with
an imaginary place high above the earth. According to the ancient
Greeks, the gate to Olympus was made of clouds and it was guarded by
four goddesses, the Seasons. Each god had his or her own dwelling
place, but Olympus was home base.
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)
Zeus
King of the gods
• Women loved him
and he loved them.
• He changed this
shape as easily as
he changed the
weather.
• He was fair and
wise but got angry
when someone
missed behaved.
• He was dominating
and powerful.
• Symbol:
Lightning
bolt
Hera
Queen of the gods
• Goddess of the family
• Very beautiful but
jealous!
• She schemed against his
many wives and
children.
• Symbol:
pomegranate
(symbol of
fertility)
Hera, queen of the gods
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
Poseidon
Ruler of the sea
• Responsible for natural
and supernatural events
• He is moody, his temper
could be as violent as the
sea that he rules.
• He created the first
horse, from a rock.
• He rides the waves and
travels to Olympus in his
horse-drawn chariot.
• Symbol:
Trident
Hades
Supreme ruler of the underworld
• God of the dead
• He is grim and gloomy.
• He lives in the underworld.
• Symbol: Helmet
(helped him stay
invincible)
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.
Dyonysus
Bacchus
Joyful god of wine
Aphrodite
Goddess of love and beauty
• Mother of Eros
• Wife of Hephaestus
• She has no parents, she
rose out of the sea on a
cushion of foam.
• She is beautiful and
sometimes jealous.
• Symbol: Dove
Apollo
God of sun, music, poetry
• Twin to Artemis
• Gift of prophecy
• Dangerous with his
arrows.
• He is very thoughtful and
offers good advice.
• He has a tender side, he
heals the sick, cares for
animals and brings
delight with his music.
• Symbol: Lyre
Ares
God of War
• Not well liked by the
other gods
• Ares and Aphrodite had
a daughter—Harmony
• He is a cruel, badtempered coward who
loves war.
• He is a bad loser and
stirs up trouble.
• Symbol: Spear
and dogs
Artemis
Goddess of moon and hunt
• Twin to Apollo
• Absolute power over
nature
• Was given a boy and
arrow from her father so
she could hunt with her
brother Apollo
• She is determined and
strong.
• She loves animals and
children.
• Symbol: Bow
Athena
Goddess of wisdom and war
• Approached war in terms
of Justice
• She was born by
springing out of Zeus’s
head when he had a
headache.
• She was her father’s
favorite advisor.
• She was a warrior who
hated war.
• She admired courage
and fairness and sought
peace.
• Symbol: Staff
and Owl
Demeter
Goddess of agriculture (grain)
• Mother of Persephone
• Taught mortals harvest
• Loved her daughter and took
her wherever she went as she
tended her grain fields
• Symbol: Wheat
Dionysus
God of wine and festivities
• Party Guy
• He traveled the world
over, teaching the art of
wine making.
• His mother was struck
dead by lightning before
he was born (accident by
a jealous Hera).
• Symbol: Grapes
Hephaestus
God of metal working
• Born with bad luck
• He was so weak and lame
that Hera took one look at
him and dropped him out
of Olympus.
• Thetis (sea goddess)
recused him and he lived
with her in secret).
• Only physically ugly god
• Husband to Aphrodite
– She played him
• Symbol: Fire,
ax, and hammer
Hermes
Messenger God
• Fastest because of his winged
shoes
• Only god who could visit
heaven, earth, and
underworld
• He is a very clever boy, his
father Zeus is amused by his
behavior.
• He is Zeus’s personal
messenger and helper.
• Symbol: Wings
Hestia
Goddess of the hearth
• She rarely left her place
by the hearth, her job was
to make sure the sacred
fire of Olympus never
died out.
• She as the gentlest of the
Olympians and chose not
to marry.
• Kind and forgiving
• Symbol: Flame
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
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
Cerberus
• Watch dog of
the underworld
• Prevent the
dead from
exiting
• Three heads,
very scary
Eros
God of Love
• Son of Aphrodite
• Is wild and mischievous
• His greatest delight is to zip
around shooting arrows of
desire to innocent victims
who fall instantly in love!
• Falls in love with beautiful,
mortal Psyche
• Convinces Zeus to make her
immortal
Muses
• 9 beautiful, intelligent deities
• Each Muse was in charge over an
intelligence
• Required to praise them in epic poetry
common characteristics of myths
1.
Myths teach a lesson or explain the natural
world
Winter came when Persephone was forced to spend part of
the year underground. The striking of Thor's hammer caused
thunder.
2.
Myths have many gods and goddesses
Many myths had a huge cast of characters that had specific
jobs. Zeus controlled the heavens, Poseidon controlled the
seas and Hades ruled the underworld.
3.
The gods and goddesses are super-human
Jason won the golden fleece by performing impossible tasks.
Atlas held up the world.
4.
The gods and goddesses have human
emotions
Pandora was curious. Loki and Eros were mischievous. Hera
was jealous.
5.
Myths contain magic
The sons of the North Wind and Pegasus could fly. Ciice
transformed men into pigs. Athena was born from Zeus' head.
6.
Gods and goddesses often appear in
disguises
Hera appeared to Jason as a old woman. Aphrodite became
a hunter.
7.
Good is rewarded and Evil is punished
Baucis and Philemon were rewarded for their generosity to
Zeus, but Prometheus was punished for stealing fire from the
gods.
8.
Myths can be violent (within reason,
PLEASE!)
Thor killed Thrym with his hammer. Prometheus' liver was
eaten by vultures!
common characteristics of myths check List
Does this myth include
this?
Myths teach a lesson or
1 explain the natural world
.
Myths have many gods
2 and goddesses
.
The gods and goddesses
3 are super-human
.
The gods and goddesses
4 have human emotions
.
Myths contain magic
5
.
Gods and goddesses
6 often appear in disguises
.
7
.
Good is rewarded and
Evil is punished
Myths can be violent
8 (within reason,
. PLEASE!)
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