Introduction to

Greek Mythology
Mythology:

 The study of “Myths”—and myths are stories

about supernatural beings in early times,
which were handed down orally from one
generation to another
 Myths attempt to explain such things as:
 Nature- Where did Earth come from? Heavens?
Seasons? Geography?
 Man- Where did we come from?
 Gods- Where do the gods come from?
The Greeks and Romans believed in
polytheism…

 Poly=many
 Theism=God
 Polytheism=many gods
Why do we study Greek Mythology?
Some references you may have
seen…
The creation of the world (according
to Greek Mythology)
 First there was Chaos

 Out of Chaos emerged

two beings: Gaea
(Mother Earth) and
Uranus (Heavens)
Gaea and Uranus had several
children
Titans Monsters
 Oceanus and Tethys  3 of each:
 Hyperion and Thea  Hecatonchires (hundred
hands
 Coeus and Phoebe
 Cronus and Rhea
 Mnemosyne
 Themis  Cyclopes (one-eyed)

 Crius
 Lapetus
Uranus hated all his children but
especially the monsters…
 Locked the monsters in Tartarus
 Gaea was upset and asked the Titans to help
 Cronus, the youngest and strongest,
overthrew is father, Uranus, and seized the
rule of the Universe.
 Cronus took Rhea for a wife and divided the
Earth among his fellow Titans
 Cronus and Rhea had 6 children: The
Olympians
Cronus feared that his children would
overthrow him the way he overthrew his
father…
 Cronus swallowed all of his children…except the
last one.
 Rhea replaced the infant with a stone to prevent
Cronus from swallowing Zeus. He grew up in
hiding (Crete)
 When Zeus was grown he made his dad
regurgitate his siblings
 Zeus and his siblings raged war against their
father, Cronus
Titanomochy , or War of the Titans

Cronus VS Zeus
 Titans  His siblings
 Mount Othrys  Hecatonchires & Cyclopes
 Mount Olympus

Zeus, with the use of his lightning bolt given to him by the
Cyclopes, defeated Cronus and his army. Most of the
Titans were confined to Tartarus. Zeus divided the world
among his sibling gods…
Zeus
 is the king of the gods,
 the ruler of Mount Olympus
and the god of the sky and
thunder.
 His symbols are the
thunderbolt, eagle, bull, and
oak.
 His siblings: Posiedon,
Hades, Hestia, Demeter, and
Hera
 Had many affairs and
many offspring
Hera
 Wife and older sister to
Zeus
 Queen of Olympians
 Goddess of childbirth and
marriage
 Symbols: pomegranate
 She took many forms,
among them that of a bird.
 Vindictive, jealous of
Zeus’s affairs
Poseidon
 God of the sea, horses,
and earthquakes
 One of the supreme Gods
of Mount Olympus, but
he spent most of his time
in his watery domain.
 Symbols: Trident,
dolphins, horses
Hestia

 Goddess of Hearth and

Home
 Honored at meal times
 She was thought of
as the kindest and
mildest of the
kindest and mildest
of the goddesses.
 She represented
personal and
communal security
and happiness.
Demeter

 Goddess of Agriculture
 Often shown carrying a
bundle of grain
 Symbols: wheat,
poppies, cornucopia
Aphrodite

 Goddess of love, beauty

and fertility
 One legend states that
she is the daughter of
Zeus and Dione.
QuickTime™ and a
decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
Another legend says
that she was born from
sea- foam
 She is associated with
the dove
Athena

 Goddess of
wisdom and war
 She was the patron
goddess of Athens
QuickTime™ and a  Her symbol is the owl
decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
 She is the favorite daughter
of Zeus
 Protector of the
city
Hades

 God of the underworld

 “King of the
Dead”
 Symbols: Cerberus,
Bident, and Cypress
The Hero
 Many mythological stories feature Heroes
 Heroes have specific traits:
 Unusual circumstance of birth; danger or royalty
 Leaves family or land and lives with others
 An event leads to an adventure or quest
 Hero has special weapon only he can wield
 Hero has supernatural help
 The hero must prove himself many times while on
the adventure
 Hero experiences atonement with his father
Some heroes you may know…
An Epic Poem

 A long narrative poem originally told (and

later written) in a dignified style and
presenting characters of high position
engaged in a series of adventures (episodes)
that are important to the history of a nation
or race.
Characteristics of the Epic:

1. The hero is a figure of imposing stature, of

national importance, and of great historical
or legendary significance
2. The setting is vast in scope
3. The action consists of deeds of great valor or
requiring superhuman courage
4. Supernatural forces interests themselves in
the action
5. The epic poet recounts the deeds of the
heroes with objectivity
Example of an epic poem: