Greek and Roman Mythology Notes

Mythology

What is Mythology?

  • "Ology" = Study Of
  • Myth = Story about supernatural beings.
  • Used to describe "your world"
  • Every "culture" has its own Mythology!
    • The way that cultures "teach" what is appropriate or desired behaviors.
    • Explain a culture’s surroundings/world.

Myths Handed Down Orally

  • What is the "problem" w/ the oral interpretation of myths?
  • Myths Explain:
    • Nature
    • Man’s origin
    • Gods/Religion

Mythology vs. Religion

  • Greek/Roman Mythology was what Organized religion is today
  • Greeks/Romans believed that their "gods" were actual gods, like today
  • Polytheism vs. Monotheism.

Why is Mythology Important?

  • Allusions in Literature
    • Bible
    • Greek & Roman Mythology
  • Teach Morals and Ethics:
    • Organizing of a society.
    • Oedipus Example:
    • What is considered "OK" in a society.

Roman vs. Greek

  • Greek Gods came 1st
  • The “Roman” named gods 2nd
    • After Rome “Conquered” Greece.
    • "Stole" their gods

How the World was Created?

  • Cosmology = Study of the universe.
  • Things to discuss
    • ++ = Plus Sign
    • Personification
      • I wandered lonely as a cloud.
      • Cloud is a cloud, and “alive” or the personified thing.
    • Immortality
    • Overthrowing Dad
    • Idea of Tartarus

Greek Cosmology

  • Chaos
  • Gea + Uranus
  • Gea
    • Geography, Geology, Geometry
    • Character is Mother Earth. Also represents the earth itself.
  • Uranus
    • Sky God. Also represents the sky.
  • Personification: These were “gods” too. Human Form.

Cosmology

  • Chaos
  • Gea + Uranus
    • First Generation
      • Titans & 100 Handed Ones & Cyclopes
      • Prometheus
      • Epimetheus
      • Rhea
      • Chronus
      • Uranus imprisons the 100’s and Cyclopes in the underworld – Tartarus.
      • Castration of Uranus: Gea gets Chronus to overthrow his father (recurring theme in Greek Myth). Gea leaves a Sickle next to their bed. Chronus castrates Uranus. From his blood we get the Giants & Furies.

Second Generation

  • Chaos
  • Gea + Uranus
  • Chronus + Rhea
    • Chronus is famous for his sickle or scythe.
    • Chrono = Time.
    • Becomes Father Time.
    • Father Time, The Grim Reaper, and “Tick Tock” the Croc.

The First Parents

  • Mother Earth = Gaea (Gaia)
  • Father Heaven = Ouranos (Uranus)
  • They had three kinds of children:
    • Three monsters with 100 hands and 50 heads
    • Three cyclopes
    • The titans
  • These were the first characters that had the appearance of life, although it was unlike any life known to man.

The Titans

  • There were many of them.
  • Enormous size, incredible strength
  • Cronos (Saturn): Ruler of the titans
  • Rhea: Wife of Cronos

The Principal Gods

  • Cronos and Rhea were parents of
    • Zeus (Jupiter, Jove)
    • Poseidon (Neptune)
    • Hades (Pluto)
    • Hera (Juno)
    • Hestia (Vesta)
    • Demeter (Ceres)
  • Other Olympians include
    • Athena (Minerva)
    • Ares (Mars)
    • Hebe (Juventas)
    • Hephaestus (Vulcan)
    • Apollo (Apollo)
    • Artemis (Diana)
    • Hermes (Mercury)
    • Aphrodite (Venus)
    • Dionysus (Bacchus)
    • Persephone

Third Generation - Olympians

  • Chaos
  • Gea + Uranus
  • Chronus + Rhea
  • Hera, Hestia, Demeter, Hades, Poseidon,
  • And Finally/Lastly – Zeus.
  • Rhea has 5 of 6 original olympians.
  • Chronus EATS his children.
  • Rhea then has Zeus.

Baby Zeus

  • Zeus is raised on an island in Mediter.
  • Zeus then overthrows his father.
  • Rhea/Zeus give Chronus a potion to get him to vomit up Zeus’s siblings.

Titanomachy

  • War of the Titans
  • Zeus's Side: His 5 brothers & Sisters.
  • Chronus Side: Titans

Zeus Wins the Titanomachy

  • Prometheus (can see the future) was a titan that foresaw that Zeus would win (and how).
  • Pro goes to Zeus and tells him how to win. Free the 100’s and Cyclopses from Tartar.
  • 100’s and Cyclops fought for Zeus. Cyclops made Thunderbolts for Zeus.
  • Chronus becomes father time.

The World is Divided into 3 Regions

  • Three Brothers

The Olympians

Zeus

  • Roman Name: Jupiter (also Jove)
  • Supreme god of the Olympians.
  • Fathered many characters in mythology

Hera

  • Roman Name: Juno
  • Zeus’s sister and wife
  • Jealous protector of marriage
  • Punished the women Zeus fell in love with

Poseidon

  • Roman Name: Neptune
  • God of the Seas and Waters
  • "The Earthshaker”

Hades

  • Roman Name: Pluto
  • God of the Underworld/Dead
  • Kidnapped Persephone

Hestia

  • Roman Name: Vesta
  • Goddess of Home
  • Powerful Protector

Demeter

  • Roman Name: Ceres
  • Goddess of the Harvest
  • A Goddess of the Earth

Athena

  • Roman Name: Minerva
  • Goddess of Wisdom and War
  • Sprang from Zeus's head

Ares

  • Roman Name: Mars
  • God of War
  • Son of Zeus and Hera
  • Bloodthirsty and merciless

Hephaestus

  • Roman Name: Vulcan (Mulciber)
  • God of Fire/Forge
  • Son of Zeus and Hera
  • Kind, unlike his brother

Apollo

  • Roman Name: Apollo
  • God of Light/Sun and Music
  • Brother of Artemis

Artemis

  • Roman Name: Diana
  • Goddess of the Moon/Hunt
  • Sister to Apollo

Hermes

  • Roman Name: Mercury
  • Messenger of the Gods
  • Appears in more myths than any other character

Aphrodite

  • Roman Name: Venus
  • Goddess of Love and Beauty
  • Sprang from the ocean foam

Dionysus

  • Roman Name: Bacchus
  • God of Wine + Fertility
  • Patron god of the Greek stage
  • A God of the Earth

Persephone

  • Roman Name: Proserpina
  • Goddess of the Underworld
  • Daughter of Zeus and Demeter
  • Abducted by Hades

Prometheus & Creation of Man

  • Pro-metheus = Foresight – See the Future
  • Epi-metheus = Hindsight – See the Past
  • Prometheus – counselor to Zeus – During the Titanomachy. Helped Z win w/ “monsters.”

Prometheus & Creation of Man

  • Zeus – wipes out life on earth w/ a flood…(sound familiar?).
  • Tasks Pro & Epi w/ re-populating the earth.
  • Epi rushes and makes 100’s of species of animals and gives them all the cool physical gifts to help them survive.

Prometheus & Creation

  • Prometheus makes “Man” out of clay (sound familiar?) but all the cool gifts are taken.
  • Pro give man the ability to “reason” and “think.” We are the smartest, according to Greek Myth.

Pro & Fire

  • He also stole fire from Gods & Mt. Olympus and gave it to man to help him survive.
  • Man used fire to cook, stay warm, and create tools and weapons.
  • Zeus got pissed that Pro went against his wishes & stole from the Gods.

Pro & Epi & Pandora

  • Zeus creates Pandora & her Magic Box.
  • Zeus sends Pandora w/ a “Box” (dowry) to Prometheus. Pro, who can see the future, sees a trick, and sends her away.
  • Zeus sends Pandora to Epimetheus, who with Pandora, opens her magic box. Unloose all the evils of the world onto Mankind. Only spirit of hope is kept in box. Hence, we keep hope.

Pro & Punishment

  • Prometheus’s punishment:
  • Pro is chained to a rock
    • Every morning, Zeus’s eagle eats Pro’s guts out and he suffers through that pain.
    • Every night, Pro regenerates back to whole, and goes through the whole ordeal again.

Persephone & Seasons

  • Demeter’s (the goddess of grain, food) daughter Persephone sparked the interest of Hades.
  • One day, Hades “Kidnaps” Persephone and takes her to the underworld.
  • Demeter was devastated. When Demeter is sad, crops won’t grow, and the world of man gets cold and snowy. Humans were starving.

Demeter & Persephone

  • Zeus forces a bargain after Persephone eats part of a pomegranate (if you eat in the U, you must stay).
  • Different bargain…part of the year (winter), Persephone must stay in the underworld.
  • The other part of the year (spring-fall), she can return to her mother.

The Seasons

  • When Persephone is in the underworld, Demeter is sad, and it’s winter.
  • When Persephone is with her mom, Demeter is happy, and stuff can grow. That’s called Spring, Summer, and Fall.

Eros

  • Roman Name: Cupid
  • Young God of Love
  • Son of Aphrodite and Hephaestus

The Muses

  • Nine daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne
  • Inspired artists of all kinds
  • Goddesses who presided over the arts and sciences
  • “He is happy whom the muses love.”
  • Clio, Urania, Thalia, Melpomene, Erato, Calliope, Euterpe, Terpsichore, Polyhymnia

The Graces

  • Three Goddesses of Grace and Beauty
  • “They give life its bloom.”
  • Aglaia (Splendor)
  • Euphrosyne (Mirth)
  • Thalia (Good Cheer)

The Erinnyes (The Furies)

  • Roman Name: Furiae or Dirae (The Furies)
  • Three Goddesses of Vengeance
    • Tisiphone
    • Alecto
    • Megaera
  • They punish evildoers.

The Fates

  • Roman Name: Parcae, Moirae
  • Three sisters
    • Clotho (“The Spinner”)
    • Lachesis (“The disposer of lots”)
    • Atropos (“The cutter”)
  • They weave, measure, and cut the thread of life for humans.

The Satyrs

  • Gods of the woods and mountains
  • “Shepherd gods”
  • Goat men (like Pan)
  • Companions of Dionysus
  • They like to drink, dance, and chase nymphs.

The Gorgons

  • Three snake-haired monsters
  • Medusa is most well-known
  • Their look turns men to stone.

The Centaurs

  • Half man, half horse
  • Savage creatures (except Chiron)
  • Followers of Dionysus