Greek Gods

1
Greek Gods Oracles

• Ancient Greece
• Mrs. Burak

2
The Gods

• Greeks believed that Gods were everywhere
• land, sea, sky, moon, oak trees,
  olives, floods, other natural disasters
• Everything that happened, good or bad, was
  willed carried out by deities

3

• Their beliefs in higher beings seem almost
  childlike and simple to us.
• Every object or force of earth an sky, every
  blessing, every terror, every quality of life was
  personified a God.

4

• The Greeks imagined their Gods to be humanlike in
  body form and to react like super humans showing
  love, hate, jealousy, anger, and revenge.

5

• These immortal God (there were 12) lived atop
  Mount Olympus, a snow-capped peak in northern
  Greece.

6

• Religion-no priesthood, but had regular officials
  who acted as priests. This was not a job, but
  simply a duty for a citizen.

7

• Religious festivals to the Gods were numerous and
  generally joyous occasions. Poleis had gods or
  goddesses and put up statues of them and
  dedicated temples to them.

8

• Inside these beautiful temples, an altar was just
  in front of the gods statue, but since the
  Greeks had so much respect for the deity, they
  did not enter the temple.

9

• Instead, they worshipped at the entrance. A
  sacred fire at the altar was always kept burning.
• Greeks worshipped their Gods much of the time.
  They gave them wine, milk, cakes, pastries and
  pigs.

10

• Animals were sacrificed and would have their
  throats slit open and the blood sprinkled on the
  altar. Once a piece of flesh was offered to the
  gods, those present shared the rest after the
  offering was burned.

11
Two Lasting Achievements

• Drama
• Olympics

12
The 12 Major Greek Gods
13

• Lived on Mount Olympus
• In addition to Gods and Goddesses there were
  demons, fairies, sirens, nymphs, and mortal
  heroes.

14
Zeus

• Ruler and King of all gods on Mount Olympus also
  god of the weather, hence the expression
  Thunderbolts of Zeus.

15
Aphrodite

• Goddess of beauty and love

16
Apollo

• God of the sun and patron of many things,
  including archery, music, prophecy, and medicine.

17
Ares

• God of war and combat

18
Artemis

• Goddess of the moon-guardian of cities, young
  animals, and women

19
Athena

• Goddess of wisdom, patron goddess of Athens
  patron of household crafts, daughter of Zeus

20
Demeter

• Goddess of crops giver of grains and fruit

21
Dionysus

• God of fertility, of joyous life and hospitality,
  and of wild things, and god of wine

22
Hephaestus

• God of fire and of artisans husband of
  Aphrodite he was the only ugly God

23
Hera

• Wife of Zeus, protectress of marriage, of
  children, and of the home.

24
Hermes

• God of orators, writers, and commerce protector
  of thieves, and of mischief-makers messenger to
  mortals, son of Zeus

25
Poseidon

• God of the oceans, seas, and earth-giver of
  horses to mortals.

26
The Oracles
27

• In fear of offending the many gods, the Greeks
  used every possible way to find out beforehand
  what lay in the future.
• Tried star-reading, interpreting dreams and
  flight patterns of birds, and oracles

28

• Oracles were established all over Greece. The
  oracles of Zeus at Dodona and of Apollo at Delphi
  became famous.

29

• Greeks believed females were more intuitive. At
  Delphi, three priestesses, were trained to
  consult the god Apollo through the medium of a
  trance.

30

• One priestess, The Pythia, took a high seat on a
  tripod in the grove of olive trees near
  decomposed earth and gaseous area, inhales
  vapors, chewed on laurel leaves, and then passed
  out in convulsions.

31

• Somehow the priestess was able to utter a
  sentence or two of incoherent words which the
  nearby priests translated for the people
  awaiting.

32
(No Transcript)