Greek Mythology

Lecture #1A brief preview of what we will learn this

semester!

What is Myth?• Derived from the Greek word mythos

meaning “word,” “speech,” “tale,” or “story.”

• May be written or spoken, but could also be conveyed through painting, sculpture, music, dance, or theatre

• Stories that have been handed down through many generations

• Myth is a term for stories primarily concerned with the gods and humankind’s relations with them.

• Myth is intertwined with religion.

The Olympian Gods

Zeus (Jupiter)

• Epithets- aegis-bearing, high thundering, cloud gathering, – Epithets- A term used to

characterize a person or thing

• King of the gods, god of the sky, weather, and justice

• Attributes- Lightning bolt, aegis, oak, eagle

• Son of Cronos and Rhea

Poseidon (Neptune)

• Division of Cosmos: Sea• Epithets- earth shaker,

Savior of sailors, Bull of the sea

• God of water, earthquakes, and horses

• Associated with the Trident• Son of Cronos and Rhea• Married to Amphitrite

Rough, stern, and ferociously violent

Hades(Pluto)

• Division of Cosmos: Underworld

• Epithets- Unseen one, Zeus, Chthonius , Polyxenos, Necron Soter

• Dis/Pluto, Ploutos- “wealth”• God of death and the dead• Took Persephone as wife• Passive rather than evil

Demeter(Ceres)

• De + meter = mother earth

• Deo, Ceres= Cereal• Goddess of

Agriculture, harvest, fertility of the earth

• Attributes: torch, sheaf of wheat, poppy, cornucopia

• Daughter of Cronos and Rhea

• Mother of Persephone

Hera(Juno)

• Queen of the gods, wife of Zeus

• Goddess of women, marriage, and childbirth

• Epithets- ox-eyed, white-armed

• Peacock• Daughter of Cronos and

Rhea

Athena(Minerva)

• Epithets- Nike, Ergane, Hippias, gray-eyed, bright-eyed

• Goddess of war• Powers and skills- Wisdom, severe

moral earnestness, weaving• Virginity= untamed power• Daughter of Zeus and Metis

Aphrodite

(Venus)

• Goddess of love, beauty, sex, and procreation• Power over all living creatures, including the gods• Associated with swans, sparrows, doves, and dolphins•Judgment of Paris•Mother of Eros (Cupid)

Apollo • God of prophesy, the

arts, archery, young people, healing, and plague

• Epithets- far-darter, Phoebus

• Attributes- wreath and branch of laurel, bow and quiver, raven, and lyreArtemis

(Diana)• Bringer of sudden death• Goddess of the hunt, wilderness, and wild animals• Virgin, goddess of young people (esp. women) and childbirth

Twins of Leto and Zeus

Hermes(Mercury)

Dionysus

(Bacchus)

• Epithets- Logios, psychopompos• God of travelers, boundaries,

luck, shepherds and cowherds• Known as and Inventor and

trickster• Associated with winged sandals,

caduceus• Led souls traveling to the

underworld• Messenger of the gods• Son of Zeus and Maia• Epithets- Giver of many joys• God of vegetation, the vine, wine,

revelry, and ecstatic release• Innate wildness of humanity• Associated with Thyrsus, leopard,

drinking cup and fruit vine• Son of Zeus and Semele• Known as the “foreigner”. Was not

an original Olympian, replaced Hestia

Ares(Mars)

• God of war and battle • Brutal, strong, “divine

swashbuckler”• Hotheaded• Affair with Aphrodite• Son of Zeus and Hera

Hephaestus

(Vulcan)•Epithet- The lame one•Divine artisan, god of fire•Created items of importance•Thrown of Mt Olympus• Husband of Aphrodite•Son of Zeus and Hera