Greek Mythology

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Greek Mythology

• A
• Review
• Presentation

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Myth? Whats a myth?

• A myth is a traditional story accepted as history
  and often formerly the religious beliefs of a
  culture, which help to explain the cultures
  world view.
• The myths of the ancient Greek culture inform and
  amuse us even thousands of years later since
  their gods are so human in their actions and
  emotions.

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The Ancient Greek Universe

• The Greek gods lived in an area possibly in the
  heavens above the earth or on a beautiful
  mountain on earth called Mount Olympus where they
  hold court and watch humans with mixed feelings.
• The Underworld (called Hades) was a place inside
  the earth where the spirits of the dead had a
  shadowy and unpleasant dream-like existence.
• Tartarus is deeper than Hades and the truly bad
  place where the spirit of wicked people existed
  in some form of punishment.

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The Major Greek Gods

• Zeus, the king of the Greek gods, defeated his
  Father Cronus, drew lots with his brothers
  Poseidon and Hades, and won the draw, thus
  becoming the supreme ruler of the gods. He is
  lord of the sky, the rain god. His weapon is a
  thunderbolt which he hurls at those who displease
  him. He is married to Hera. He is also known to
  punish those that lie or break oaths.

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Hera

• Hera, queen of the gods, is the protector of
  marriage and takes special care of married women.
  
• She once rebelled against Zeus but was punished.
• She often does mean things against Zeuss friends
  to hurt him.

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Poseidon

• The brother of Zeus, he is the god of the seas.
• He was widely worshipped by sailors.
• He created the horse to please a girl with whom
  he was in love.

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Hades

• Hades is the other brother of Zeus and drew the
  Underworld as his kingdom.
• He is greedy and likes to increase the number of
  the dead in his realm.
• Hades is also the god of wealth.

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Hestia

• Sister to Zeus and his brothers, she is not in
  many myths.
• She is the goddess of the hearth or fireplace and
  had an altar with a sacred fire continuously
  burning in every town.

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Ares

• Ares, the son of Zeus and Hera who both hate him,
  is the god of war.
• Ares is a coward but inspires bloodshed,
  destruction, and death.

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Aphrodite

• Aphrodite is the goddess of love, desire and
  beauty. In addition to her natural gifts she has
  a magical girdle that compels anyone she wishes
  to desire her.
• She was born from a giant seashell.

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Apollo

• Apollo is the god of music, playing a golden
  lyre the Archer, far shooting with a silver bow
  the god of light, who carries the sun in his
  chariot across the sky daily and the god of
  truth, who cannot speak a lie.

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Athena

• Athena sprang full grown in armor from Zeuss
  forehead, so has no mother. She fiercely defends
  the home from outside enemies. She is the
  goddess of the city, handicrafts, and
  agriculture. She is the embodiment of wisdom,
  reason, and purity.

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Artemis

• Sister to Apollo, Artemis is the lady of all wild
  things, which (espe- cially the deer) are sacred
  to her. She is the protector of the young.
  Associated also with the moon, she is a virgin
  goddess and the goddess of chastity.

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Hephaestus

• Hephaestus is the only god to be physically ugly,
  and he is also crippled.
• He is the god of fire and the forge, using a
  volcano as his forge, and is the smith and
  armorer of the gods. He is the patron god of
  both smiths and weavers.
• He is kind and peace loving.

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Hermes

• Hermes is Zeuss messenger. Fastest of the gods,
  he wears winged sandals and a winged hat and
  carries a magic wand.
• He is the god of thieves and god of commerce. He
  is the guide for the dead to go to the
  underworld.
• He invented the lyre, the pipes, the musical
  scale, astronomy , weights and measures, boxing,
  and gymnastics.

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Notes

• The ancient Greek gods are now our myths although
  once parts of a religion.
• Their stories are interesting and even fun
  because they are so like human beings.
• Greek mythology is still all around us in movies,
  music, and television.
• The Romans later absorbed major Greek gods into
  their own culture.

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Greek Mythology

• Watch for the names of Greek gods and heroes like
  Hercules
• (Heracles) in music, film, and other types of
  entertainment, law, science, government, and
  mathematics.