Classical Greek Mythology - Final

Thetis

• She has the gift of prophecy

• She is a sea nymph

• Mother of Achilles

Peleus

• Hero & king of Phythian

• Thetis’ husband

• Achilles’ father

• Son of Aeacus, king of Aegina, and Endeis, a nymph.

Zeus’ Prophecy with Thetis

Zeus receives a prophecy that the child born from him and Thetis will overthrow him. To prevent that, he forces Thetis to marry a human man, Peleus.

Thetis and Peleus Wedding

• The Gods attended Thetis and Peleus’ wedding.

  • The Gods celebrated their wedding.

• Thetis and Peleus’ marriage sown the seeds of the Trojan War.

The Apple of Strife

• Eris, the goddess and personification of Strife & Discord

  • Eris throws an apple between the goddesses Athena/Minerva, Hera/Juno, and Aphrodite/Venus. The three goddesses chose Zeus to judge who among the three is the most beautiful, they tried to bribe Zeus to choose them. 

  • Zeus was against choosing the most beautiful of the three goddesses, so he made Paris/Alexander the judge.

The Judgement of Paris: Who Does He Choose?

Aphrodite/Venus

How did the Goddess try to bribe Paris?

• Athena tries to use her prowess in battle

• Hera is the master of the cities of Asia & Europe

• Aphrodite tries to give Helen of Sparta to Paris

Achilles

• Hero of the Trojan War

• The Greatest of all Greek warriors

• A central character of Homer’s Iliad

Prophecy Before Troy (short life, fame, honor/long life, but unknown)

Who revealed the prophecies to Achilles?

• Thetis

The prophecies to Achilles:

• Live a long, uneventful life

• Achieve everlasting glory, but die young

The Sacrifice of Iphigeneia

Iphigeneia is sacrificed by her father, Agamemnon, to Artemis in exchange for wind to blow the Greek fleet to Troy.

Iliad: Characters

• Artemis

• Agamemnon

• Achilles

• Menelaos

• Zeus

• Hector

• Patroclus

• Priam

• Paris

• Athena

Iliad: Homeric warrior ethos (Timē and Kleos).

• Kleos: Game

• Timē: Honor

Odyssey: Character

• Odysseus

• Penelope

• Telemachus

• Athena

• Poseiden

• Zeus

• Calypso

• Circe

• Antinous

• Polyphemus

• Aeolos

• 100+ suitors

Odyssey’s Wanderings: Who Does He Meet?

• Phaeacians: Descendants of Poseidon

• Polyphemus

• Circe

• Calypso

• Scylla

• Aeolos

• Poseidon

• Nestor

Odyssey: Characters in the Underworld

• Elpenor

• Teiresias

• Achilles

• Agamemnon

Odyssey Plot

Odysseus' 10-year struggle to return home after the Trojan War. While Odysseus battles mystical creatures and faces the wrath of the gods, his wife Penelope and his son Telemachus stave off suitors vying for Penelope's hand and Ithaca's throne long enough for Odysseus to return.

3 Greek Tragedies

1. “Aeschylus”

   • Author: Oresteia

2. “Sophocles”

   • Author: Antigone

3. “Medea”

   • Author: Euripides

Aeschylus’ Oresteia

• The murder of Agamemnon by Clytemnestra

• The murder of Clytemnestra by Orestes + Orestes’ trial

• The end of the curse of the House of Atreus

Sophocles’ Antigone

Antigone, the daughter of Oedipus, defies King Creon's decree to bury her brother, Polynices, who is considered a traitor. Antigone's defiance is driven by her overwhelming belief in the divine law. Her sister, Iseme, who is afraid of consequences, refuses to help her. Ultimately, Antigone ends her life to honor her brother's memory.

Euripides’ Medea

• Medea, a sorceress and princess, enacts revenge against her husband, Jason, after her deserts her and marries Glauce, the daughter of King Creon. Medea sends her son to deliver a beautiful dress laced with poison to Jason’s wife, Glauce, who dies when putting on the dress.

• Medea is the granddaughter of Helios and niece of Circe

The Oresteia: Aeschylus

The trilogy chronicles the House of Atreus, from Agamemnon's murder by Clytemnestra to Orestes' trial and acquittal by the jury-court at the Areopagus.

Who is the founder of “The House of Atreus”?

Tantalus

The Court of Athens: Who is Who?

• Judge: Athena

• Jury: The Athens

• Prosecution Team: Furies and Clytemnestra

• Defense Team: Apollo and Orestes

Oedipus Rex (the king) Sophocles & The Sphinx

Oedipus, the king of Thebes, unwittingly fulfills a prophecy that he would kill his father and marry his mother. Thebes, a city plagued by a fertility plague. Oedipus, after solving the riddle of the Sphinx, discovers the truth about his parents and the city's fate. The play culminates in Oedipus's realization of his crimes and his tragic end, as he gouges his eyes in despair.

• Oedipus’ answer to the Sphinx’s riddle is man.

Freud

• Freud used Greek myths, such as the story of Oedipus explain his theories.

• The story of Eros and Thanatos inspired Freud to create a psychological theory that a person’s instincts fall into one of two categories: the Eros category or the Thanatos category.

• Freud believed that the stories people told themselves were their own myths, which could tell much about themselves, and he could make sense of these stories with the help of classical mythology.

Antigone Sophocles: What is Antigone’s Crime?

Burying his brother, Polynices

Euripides “Medea”

• Medea, a sorceress and princess, enacts revenge against her husband, Jason, after her deserts her and marries Glauce, the daughter of King Creon. Medea sends her son to deliver a beautiful dress laced with poison to Jason’s wife, Glauce, who dies when putting on the dress.

• Medea is the granddaughter of Helios and niece of Circe

Crew of Argo

The Argonauts

• A band of heroes that accompanied Jason to Colchis in his quest to find the Golden Fleece.

Jason’s Labor at Colchis

• Defeat a dragon

• Find the Golden Fleece

Euripides: The Trojan Women

• Hecuba: Trojan Queen

• Cassandra: Hecuba’s daughter

• Helen

• Andromache

The Romans

Began public health and sanitation systems

Romulus and Remus

Sons of the King and Queen of Alba Longa

Cincinnatus & the office of Dictator

One of Rome's famous dictators

The Aeneid

Aeneas is a Trojan hero in Greek and Roman mythology. He was a defender of Troy during the Trojan War. After the war, Aeneas was commanded by Hector in a vision to flee and find a great city overseas. He managed to escape and settle in the West, where he became the ancestor of the Romans. The Aeneid, written by Virgil, tells of the legendary foundation of Lavinium, parent town of Alba Longa and of Rome, by Aeneas.

The Augustan Background

• Virgil

• Ovid

Aeneas and Piety

• Aeneas

  • A mythical Greek warrior who was a leader on the Trojan side of the Trojan War.

• Piety

  • Religious devotion

Escaping Troy: What does Aeneas see, and who/what does he escape with?

• His son, Ascanius

• Household gods

Dido and Carthage

Dido, also known as Elissa, is the founder and first queen of Carthage. The daughter of Tyrian king Mutto and wife of Sychaeus, she fled to Africa after her husband was killed by her brother Pygmalion. There, she bought land from a chieftain named Iarbas and established Carthage.

Book 6: Aeneas in the Underworld

• Untimely Deaths

  • Infants

  • Suicide

  • A person is condemned unjustly

• Fields of Mourning

  • Victims of unrequited love

  • Warriors who fell in battle

  • Brave warriors

  • Tartarus punishment

  • Fields of Elysium

Sybil of Cumae

• The Cumeaean Sibyl was a priestess presiding over the Apollonian oracle at Cumae, a Greek colony near Naples, Italy.

• Sibyl comes from the ancient Greek word “Sibylla,” which means prophetess

• The Cumean Sibyl’s prophecies were in Greek Hexameters and were handed down in writing.

The 5 rivers of the underworld

1. Stys: River of Hate

2. Lethe: River of Forgetfulness

3. Phlegethon: River of Fire

4. Acheron: River of Woe

5. Cocytus: River of Wailing

Styx

River of Hate

Lethe

River of Forgetfulness

Phlegethon

River of Fire

Acheron

River of Woe

Cocytus

River of Woe

The judges of the Underworld

1. Minos

2. Rhadamanthus

3. Aeacus

The Cardinal Sinner

1. Prometheus - Has his liver eaten every day

2. Tantalus - Unable to eat or drink water, which both escape from his reach

3. Ixion - Strapped to a wheel that turns, which makes him forever dizzy

4. Sisyphus - Rolls a boulder up a hill, but it rolls down when he reaches the top.

Areas in Hades

1. Elysium (A paradise for virtuous and heroic souls)

2. Tartarus (A deep abyss for punishment)

3. Asphodel Meadows (A neutral zone for ordinary souls)

The Parade of Romans

Greek festivals significantly influenced Roman celebrations, highlighting the impact of cultural exchange. Incorporating Greek customs, such as theatrical performances and athletic competitions, created a distinctive blend of cultural practices in Roman society.

Dante’s Inferno

• Cerberus: A three-headed dog guarding the gates of the underworld.

• Minos: A giant beast who presides over the Second Circle of Hell, deciding where souls shall be sent for torment.

• Tydeus: A legendary king of Thebes who killed Menalippus and chewed on his skull in celebration.

• King Athamas: A mythical king of Boeotia, a reference to the legendary king of Thebes.

• King Arthur

Orpheus & Eurydice

• Synopsis: The myth of Orpheus and Eurydice is a poignant tale of love and loss. In it, Orpheus, a gifted musician, descends into the Underworld to retrieve his beloved wife, Eurydice, after her untimely death.

• Orpheus

  • Son of Apollo and the Muse

  • He is considered the greatest Musician in Greek mythology

  • His music charms all living and nonliving things

• Eurydice

  • A beautiful wood nymph

  • A venomous snake bite causes her death