The Olympian Gods again

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The Olympian Gods (again)

• A smith, a lovely lady, and a lush.

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Hephaestus/Vulcan

• Whos your daddy?
• Hephaestus had none.
• Hera conceived him to spite Zeus
• Some versions retaliation for having Athena by
  himself
• Not pretty-- in fact, crippled
• Ugly dude from the get go
• Crippled from Heras rejection or Zeus gave him a
  toss after a squabble

Hey, youd limp too if you were tossed of Mt.
Olympus!
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The ugly man finds a home

• After he fell, he was rescued and raised secretly
  for 9 years in a cave.
• Learned a few skills in the forge
• Spite mommy made a beautiful thrown of gold
• She loved it and sat down.
• Curses! A trap! No one could help her get free
• Hephaestus invited to Olympus where the gods
  tried to get the answer by getting him drunk.
  Only Dionysus could get the answer from him.
• Invited to stay at Olympus and eventually
  reconciled with Mommy-dear

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A Handyman

• God of fire, the forge, and smiths
• Office located in volcanoes, god of volcanoes
• Vulcan, volcanic, get it?
• The original Cyclopes become assistants
• Nothing he cant build!
• Chains for Prometheus, arrows for Apollo and
  Artemis, armor, all the houses on Olympus, Shield
  of Achilles (Thetis raised Hephy and birthed
  Achilles).

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A gentle man

• Tried to bring peace during quarrels
• Once refilled everyones cup during a dinner
  argument the sight of the hobbling, ugly god
  made everyone laugh and forget the argument
• People of Athens loved him peaceful, kind,
  patron of craftsmen.
• Hephaestion a temple in Athens dedicated to him
• A peaceful man who did get angry from time to
  time

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Aphrodite,Venus, Cyprian, Bridal Aphrodite,
Aphrodite of the Deep Sea, Heavenly Aphrodite
(Insert your favorite name for an attractive lady
here)

• Sometimes born in foam of Uranuss, umm, well,
  ah, er, yeah, you remember that story.
• Other times, Zeus conceived her with Dione, an
  Oceanid
• Floated to shore in a shell, landed in Cyprus
  where flowers sprouted wherever she stepped.

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Aphrodite unknown name origin, but may mean
foam-born

• Beautiful, sexy, had the power to make people
  fall in love (even gods, except)
• Weapon of choice a magic girdle
• Anyone wearing it will be irresistible to
  everyone who sees the person.
• Once lent it to Hera to recapture her man!
• Enjoyed helping mortals obtain their beloved, and
  enjoyed making gods squabble over affairs.

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She took home a lot of senior superlatives

• Goddess of love, sex, reproduction
• Worshipped by
• Brides (to make marriage and wedding bed good)
• Prostituteshey, the oldest profession!
• Poets (they love to write about love)
• Just about everyone love makes the world go
  round!

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• In some versions, she had a son, Eros (daddy is
  Ares).
• Other versions, Eros is older than most of the
  gods.
• Cupid small, pudgy, darling baby
• Eros a vindictive, malevolent teen whose arrows
  are full of mischief and even death! (Although
  sometimes can be a swell guy)

Eros/Cupid

• Erotic comes from the name Eros
• Eros had a very popular following
• Embodies physical desire
• Very popular in homosexual relationships during
  the classical period of Greece.

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• As the Myths Turnor
• All My Gods
• Aphrodite married Hephaestus Beauty and the
  Beast.
• Some versions say it was an arranged marriage by
  Zeus
• what kind of a sick and twisted joke is that?
• to get revenge from when Aphrodite refused his
  pick up lines (insert favorite pickup line here)

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• Aphrodite was really in love with Ares (why him?)
• Hephaestus wanted to catch them sleeping in their
  wedding bed.
• Rigged a booby trap
• Busted one naked goddess of love trapped with a
  naked god of war.

• Hephaestus brought the gods back with him to see
  their naughty behavior
• Everyone had a good laugh, except for the two
  naked, trapped deities.
• Then, the mood soured.
• Shame on Hephaestus for such a lowly trap!

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Dionysus, Bacchus, Twice Born, Acratophorus
(Bringer of Unmixed Wine), Nocturnal,
Torch-bearing, Citizen Dionysus

• Only Olympian to have a mortal mother.
• Zeus promised Semele (mom) anything, made that
  pesky oath.
• She wanted to see him in full glory.
• Not a good idea she died instantly.
• Zeus took unborn baby and put in his his thigh
• Dont ask me how that worked! Who needs detail
  anyway?
• After being born (dont ask how that worked
  either), Hermes rescued him (Jealous Hera) and
  took him to be raised by nymphs (young, scantily
  clad women)

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• Dionysus missed his mom, asked Hades for her
  back.
• He agreed. Semele and Dionysus went to live on
  Olympus
• Hera became upset (go figure) and made Dionysus,
  his mom and the nymphs who raised him go insane
  with madness.

• Hera relented eventually
• Dionysus became
• God of madness
• God of wine
• God of parties
• God of the vine/ivy
• God of vegetation
• A very popular god

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• Followers of Dionysus
• Pan and other Satyrs (aka Fauns)
• Half human, half goat
• Ran around woods drinking, playing pipes,
  dancing, having lots of sex
• Very erotic creatures with all sorts of perverse
  depictions

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• The Maenads/Bacchae
• Women followers of Bacchus
• Known to dance, sing, drink, and have orgies in
  honor of Bacchus
• These ceremonies eventually transformed into
  dramatic plays rituals to honor Dionysus (first
  ever theatrical character)
• Mythically, the Bacchae would go mad and tear
  animals and even humans apart with hands and
  teeth.