GREEK AND ROMAN MYTH Critical Thinking Not having the answer before asking the question Herodotus, the historian on homer and hesiod “ It was Homer and hesiod who created for the greeks a genealogy of the gods, gave the gods their epithets, distributed

Critical Thinking

Not having the answer before asking the question

Herodotus

the historian on homer and hesiod " It was Homer and hesiod who created for the greeks a genealogy of the gods, gave the gods their epithets, distributed their honours and assigning them their domains and characteristics.

Hesiod

700 BCE?

Believed to be the poet of "theogony" and "works" and "days"

Supposedly lived in boeotia

Supposedly defeated homer in a poetic contest

Zeus

Area of concern: the sky, kingship

Attributes: beard, eagle, thunderbolt

Based on the same root as roman Iuin Iupiter (Jove) and Sanskrit Dyaunsh pita ( both "sky father")

Behaves like ouranous and kronos when he swallows metis

Typhoeus (typhoon)

Son of gaia and tartarus

Challenged the Rule of Zeus and was defeated

Olympia

An independent sanctuary with a famous temple of Zeus, that contained a famous temple to the god ( one of the famous 7 wonders)

Site of contests that became known as the olympic games

HESIOD HINTS THAT ZEUS MAY EVENTUALLY LOSE HIS KINGSHIP

Zeus must face threats after he defeats the titans

Zeus is the third ruler of the universe

Hephaestus has conflicted loyalties despite being an olympian

THREATS AGAINST ZEUS

The child of metis is a potential threat to Zeus' kingship

Typhoeus challenges Zeus for control over the universe

Prometheus is eventually freed and is free to challenge Zeus again

METIS

First wife of Zeus

Got tricked by zeus into being eaten by him so that she wouldnt give birth to athena

RULERS OF THE UNIVERSE

Ouranus is the first ruler

Kronos is the second ruler

Zeus is the third

HEPHAESTUS

Single parent- Hera

Thrown from olympus due to being ugly

LYDIA

Ancient kingdom in the western region of what is now modern turkey

First political state to use coins

Center of an empire in the 6th century BCE that included several Greek cities

JACQUES DERRIDA

Born algeria 1931

Died paris 2004

Philosopher who deconstructed the exchange of gifts by claiming that all gifts imply a return gift

(ie a gift that does not imply a return gift is an impossibility)

THESIS

A statement based upon facts that a reasonable person could disagree with

PROMETHEUS

Brother of epimetheus

Attributes: Fire, Eagle, Caring for man

Areas of concern: Technology and man

Pandora

Wife of epimetheus

The first mortal woman (?)

Created by the gods as a punishment for prometheus after he steals fire from zeus for mankind

THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS AND ZEUS IS A STORY OF A GIFT EXCHANGE GONE WRONG

Observation One: Prometheus and Zeus are the subjects of GIVE and TAKE. Zeus is never the object

Prometheus GIVES the choice of one portion of the sacrifice and Zeus takes one portion

After prometheus TAKES the fire, Zeus GIVES pandora to epimetheus

Zeus GIVES Prometheus to the Eagle to eat just as Prometheus gives one portion of the sacrifice to Zeus

Observation Two: Pandora, Fire and the sacrificial portions are the objects of giving and taking but never the subjects.

Prometheus GIVES and Zeus TAKES the sacrificial portion

Zeus tries to withhold GIVING but Prometheus TAKES fire

Prometheus tries to make Epimetheus withhold TAKING and Zeus GIVES Pandora

Observation Three: Men and epimetheus are the indirect objects of GIVING but never the objects and Pandora is both a direct and indirect object

HUMANISM

The assumption that human beings were essentially the same in the ancient world as in the present

HISSARLIK

An archeological site in modern Turkey

Location of the roman ilium

Excavated by heinrich schliemann who claimed he found the lost city of Troy

HOMER

Believed to be the author of the Iliad, the Odyssey, and the Homeric Hymns

Allegedly born in different places such as Chios or smyrna

APOLLO

Son of zeus and leto

Areas of concern: Music, Healing, Propechy

Attributes: Kithara(lyre), Bow, Laurel

NOT the god of the sun

ACHILLES

Who he is: Son of Peleus (a mortal king) and the sea goddess Thetis. A demigod, making him the greatest Greek warrior.

Fame: Known for his near invincibility—his mother dipped him in the River Styx, leaving only his heel vulnerable.

Role in the war:

The central figure of Homer's Iliad.

Withdraws from battle after his quarrel with Agamemnon.

His return to battle after Patroclus' death changes the war's momentum.

Kills Hector, the greatest Trojan warrior.

Personality: Proud, passionate, often driven by rage. He embodies both the glory and the tragedy of war.

DIOMEDES

Who he is: King of Argos, son of Tydeus. Unlike Achilles, he's fully mortal but still among the best warriors of Greece.

Fame: Known for his incredible bravery and cunning. In Book 5 of the Iliad (often called the "Aristeia of Diomedes"), he goes on a rampage:

Wounds Aphrodite, the goddess of love, when she tries to protect her son Aeneas.

Even strikes Ares, the god of war, forcing him to flee.

Role in the war:

A loyal, level-headed fighter—unlike Achilles, he doesn't let pride keep him from battle.

Teams up with Odysseus on night raids and strategic missions.

Personality: Brave, disciplined, and practical—less fiery than Achilles, but admired for his balance of strength and wisdom.

WAS THERE A TROJAN WAR

The Iliad gives us a glimpse of the culture and politics of the late Bronze Age (ca 1200 BCE)

Observation One: Homer refers to many obsolete technologies that were used in the late Bronze Age

Observation Two: There are personal names in the Iliad that are used for the significant persons and peoples that can be found in the late Bronze Age documents

Observation Three: There are places named in the Iliad for places that were very important in the bronze age but not in historical greece

BRONZE AGE

A time period ( roughly 3300-1200 BCE) when bronze was the primary metal used for weapons and tools in urban culture that also usually had a form of writing

HITTITIES

A powerful kingdom in Turkey that collapsed at the end of the bronE age

The destruction of their capital....

ARES

Concern war

Attributes: sword, shield

DIOMEDES

Diomedes

Son of tydeus

HEINRICH SCHLIEMANN

1822-1890

German businessman

Excavated hissarlik( maintained he found troy)

Excavated Mycenae ( made spectacular discoveries in tombs)