Mythology

1. Mythology Greek gods and goddesses

2. DAY 1

3. How Myths Have Influenced Our Language: HW Review ATLAS HERCULES MYTH: Son of Zeus; famous for strength and adventures/ “Twelve Labours” CULTURE: “Herculean task”—a task requiring great effort/strength SOURCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hercules_in_popular_cultureercules; • MYTH: Titan who held up the celestial sphere • CULTURE: Cartography (the study of maps) • SOURCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlas_(mythology)

5. LABYRINTH MIDAS • MYTH: Elaborate structure to hold Minotaur (half man/half bull) • CULTURE: Maze/ difficult to navigate course • SOURCE:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labyrinth • MYTH: King with ability to touch items to turn to gold • CULTURE: “The Midas touch” if you can make $ quickly/easily • SOURCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midas

7. PAN SISYPHUS • MYTH: God of the wild (shepherd god); hindquarters, legs, and horns of a goat; fertility; Spring; music • CULTURE: Pan pipes; panic (sudden fright) • SOURCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan_(god) • MYTH: King punished by having to continuously push boulder up hill • CULTURE: Sisyphean= endless task/labor • SOURCE: • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sisyphus

9. TANTALUS TITANS • MYTH: Punished—had to stand in pool of water with fruit eternally eluding his reach and water always too far to drink • CULTURE: “Tantalize”= experience of something always being out of reach • SOURCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tantalus • MYTH: Race of powerful gods/ immortal giants of extreme strength & endurance • CULTURE: Large objects have been said to be “titanic” in size (i.e. the Titanic); Tennessee Titans (football) • SOURCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titan_(mythology)

11. What is a Myth? (directly from p 1013) • MYTHS are stories that are nearly always religious. Most cultures have myths that explain natural phenomena such as seasonal changes, fire, lightning, drought, floods, and death. Myths also teach moral lessons, explain history, and express, as dreams do, the deepest fears and hopes of the human race. • MYTHIC CHARACTERS have notable characteristics. Several myths also feature horrible animals and monsters with terrifying strength, which are difficult to escape from or subdue. Characters in myths are often gods or goddesses, which frequently interact with humans (many times as if in a game).

12. Example Myth: Persephone and the Seasons • Demeter (goddess of crops)+ Zeus (king of the gods)= child named Persephone • Hades (god of underworld) kidnapped Persephone • Demeter tries to find her—eventually, finds out that Hades took her and complains to Zeus (Hades’ brother) to make him give her back • Zeus refuses, so Demeter decides not to do her job w/crops, so nothing growsFAMINE • Zeus eventually makes Hades let Persephone go • While she was in the underworld, Persephone ate a pomegranate seed…because of her action, she has to return for 1/3 of the year to the underworld as Hades’ wife • Demeter mourns Persephone for 1/3 year, so crops don’t grow • MYTH EXPLAINS THE YEARLY CYCLE OF GROWTH, HARVEST, AND WINTER

13. Example Myth 2: “Pandora’s Box”

14. Greek Prefixes #1-10 • a- [an- before a vowel] not, un-, -less;  abiotic • amphi- both, on both sides, around, about;  amphibrach=short on both sides; amphibious= able to live on both land and water • anti- instead, against, in opposition to;  antidote something given against • bi – two; bicycles have two wheels • chron- having to do with time; chronology of an author’s life • dyn- power, force; dynamite is an explosive • dys- [Greek, dus-] ill, un-, mis-, difficult, bad;  dysphoria difficult bearing • ec-, ex- [Greek, ek, ex] out, from, off;  exegesis act of leading out (critical explanation) • ecto- [Greek, ekto-] on the outside;  ectoderm outer skin • endo- within, inside, internal;  endoscope instrument for observing inside

15. DAY 2

16. Odyssey Webquest • http://www.carlos.emory.edu/ODYSSEY/GREECE/welcome.html

17. DAY 3

18. TWELVE OLYMPIAN GODS

26. Hestia GODDESS OF THE HEARTH AND HOME Roman Name: Vesta Hestia never plays a part in any Greek myth. Even though she wasn't exciting enough to make it into their stories, the Greeks honored Hestia with their dinnertime prayers, asking her to bless their food and protect their homes. City-states had a central hearth dedicated to the goddess, where the fire never went out. She was the third of the virgin goddesses. To the Romans she was the patron goddess of the Vestal Virgins, who in the Temple of Vesta kept the hearth fire of Rome forever burning. Hestia is one of three virgin goddess, along with Athena and Artemis.

28. Ares GOD OF WAR  ROMAN NAME: MARS Ares is the cruelest member of the Olympians, hated by all (even his mother, Hera).  This god is known for his ruthlessness when he has the upper-hand and his cowardice when the tides turn against him.  Even the Greeks disliked this terrible god.  There were no temples to Ares in ancient Greece. Aphrodite, in one of her many infidelities, started an affair with Ares, which was his motivation to fight for the Trojans in the great war.  Martial (having to do with war) and March are coined from his Latin name. His bird is the vulture, and his animal the dog.

29. Athena GODDESS OF WISDOM, REASON, & PURITY Roman Name: Minerva Athena is Zeus's favorite daughter and is allowed to use his weapons, including the thunderbolt. She sprang full grown in armor from his forehead, thus has no mother. She is fierce in battle but only fights justly. Her favorite city is Athens. Her tree is the olive tree. Her animal is the owl.

30. Artemis GODDESS OF THE HUNT Roman Name: Diana Artemis is daughter of Zeus and Leto; her twin brother is Apollo. She is the goddess of wild things and, like Apollo, hunts with silver arrows. She is associated with the moon and the deer.

32. Aphrodite • ROMAN NAME:  Venus • Goddess of Love, Desire, and Beauty • In addition to her natural gifts, she has a magic girdle that compels anyone she wishes to desire her. There are two accounts of her birth. One says she is the daughter of Zeus and Dione. The other says that when Cronus overthrew Uranus and tossed him into the sea Aphrodite then arose from the sea foam of a giant scallop and walked to shore on Cyprus. She is the wife of Hephaestus.

33. Psyche Cupid (Eros) and Psyche Eros • Son of Aphrodite • Shoots people with darts to make them fall in love • Aphrodite wanted Eros to make Psyche, a beautiful princess, fall in love with a loser, but Eros accidentally shot himself, so he fell in love with Pscyhe—she eventually joins the Olympians • Falls in love with Eros • Aphrodite dislikes her (a challenge to her beauty), and makes her perform difficult tasks to be with Eros

34. Cupid (Eros) and Psyche

35. Hermes ROMAN NAME:  MERCURY MESSENGER OF THE GODS SON OF ZEUS Hermes, the most mischievous and clever of the gods, also served as a psychopomp, a guide of dead souls to the Underworld.  One of the youngest gods, Hermes showed his ability to cause both trouble and delight at an early age.  On the day of his birth, Hermes snuck out from his cradle and whisked away the cattle of his elder brother Apollo.  A witness soon reported this to Apollo, who came to Maia, Hermes's mother, demanding the return of his livestock.  Maia insisted that Hermes had been in his cradle the entire time.  Hermes was quickly found out and forced to return the cattle.  But in reparation for his actions against Apollo, the newborn god created a lyre from the shell of a turtle.  He presented the stringed instrument to his older brother.  His anger melted away, Apollo presented Hermes with a magical sleep-inducing staff called the Caduceus. 

36. Once Zeus realized his young son would cause nothing but trouble if his mind weren't constantly occupied, he gave him the job of Olympian Messenger.  He was given a winged cap and sandals to assist him in his duties.  Due to the nature of his job, Hermes appears most often of all the gods.

38. Greek Name Roman Name Divine Realm Aphrodite Venus Love, beauty, fertility Apollo Apollo Archery, music, prophecy, healing, light Ares Mars War Artemis Diana Hunting, the moon Athena Minerva Wisdom, war Demeter Ceres The harvest, grain, corn Dionysus Bacchus Wine, festivity, the theater Eros Cupid Love, sexual desire Hades Pluto The underworld, the dead Hephaestus Vulcan Fire, the forge, smithery Hera Juno Marriage, queen of immortals Hermes Mercury Messenger, commerce, science, doctors Hestia Vesta The hearth Pan Pan Wild beasts, the forest Persephone Proserpine Queen of the underworld Poseidon Neptune The sea Zeus Jupiter Thunder, the heavens, king of immortals

39. PREFIXES #11-17 • exo- outward, external;   exosphere= the outermost part of the atmosphere • inter – between; interstate= highway connecting states • mal – bad; malfunction= failure to function properly • mis–wrong; misunderstanding • mono- one, alone; no competition exists with monopolies • hypo – under, too little; hypoglycemic= low level of glucose in blood • hyper- [Greek, huper] above, beyond, exceedingly;  hyperbole= exaggeration

40. Outline Format for HW • See website

41. DAY 4

42. Introduction to the Odyssey A TRULY EPICEPIC POEM

44. Background to Odyssey HW Background • Homer credited with gathering stories about great war—Illiad and Odyssey • Historical struggles for control of waterway—Aegean Sea to Sea of Marmara and Black Sea—as early as 1200 B.C. • Illiad—10 year war fought outside of Troy (modern day western Turkey) • War between Troy and alliance of Greek Kings—Illiad credits war to jealousy—Helen abandoned Menelaus (husband, Greek king) and ran off with prince of Troy (Paris) • Odyssey tells story of attempt of Greek soldier, Odysseus, to get home after Trojan war—all Western epic poems follow basic patterns of these poems Epics and Values • Epics: long narrative poems that tell of adventures of heroes who embody values of civilizations • Greeks taught Greek values to children through poems • Homer’s epics are heart of epic tradition—later epics include Aeneid, The Divine Comedy, Mahabharata and Ramayana, etc. • Illiad—model for epic of war • Odyssey—model for epic of the long journey—Homer’s most influential story because of legacy within literature

45. Background to Odyssey HW The War-Story Background: Violence and Brutality • Greek kings under leadership of Agamemnon, brother of Menelaus, during Trojan War—sent a thousand ships to Troy—Greeks eventually were victorious—butchered citizens, except those they took as slaves • Achilles died in battle in final year of war (10 years total) • Agamemnon murdered by unfaithful wife when he returned home from Troy • Other homecoming story—Odysseus, who was smart and strong—Odyssey Odysseus: A Hero in Trouble • Heroes were special class of aristocrats • Pain and death, but on top of the world—between ordinary people and gods • Odysseus is a hero in trouble—we also face world of difficult choices, unfair authority, hard work • Tone/Mood= melancholy, cynicism, doubt—people lack respect for the hero • Odysseus married to faithful Penelope, a strong woman—son was Telemachus (baby when father left for war) • Odysseus tried to not have to go to war by pretending to be insane—men threw baby in front of plow and he turned it aside (proving he was sane)

46. Background to Odyssey HW The Wooden-Horse Trick • Odysseus was a great soldier/commander—thought up wooden-horse trick that led to downfall of Troy • Hid Greek soldiers in belly of wooden horse (thought to be peace offering)—hid ships—at night, the Greeks inside belly opened up gates and let in entire Greek army to begin final battle of war The Ancient World and Ours • Harsh, violent world—“primitive” society—not like Athenian culture to develop several centuries later A Search for Their Places in Life • Theme: central idea= people searching for right relationships with one another and people around them—want to find proper places in life • Story begins with Telemachus, son, at 20 years old…threatened by rude, powerful men wanting to marry his mother • Father is stranded on island trying to get back home—10 years since he sailed from Troy, where he had spent 10 years in battle [Book 1 begins with Odysseus on island with Calypso, where he had been for 7 years] • Odysseus having a “midlife crisis”—searching for inner peace and natural balance to life—we are all also searching for real identities/true selves

47. Background to Odyssey HW Relationship with the Gods • Myths: traditional stories, rooted in a particular culture, that usually explain a belief, ritual, or natural phenomenon • Essentially religious because concerned with relationship between human beings and gods • Homer is religious—gods control all things—Athena, goddess of wisdom, is always with Odysseus • God against Odysseus is Poseidon, god of the sea—arrogance and brutishness • Odysseus can also be cruel/violent Who was Homer? • No one knows for sure who Homer was—believed to be a blind minstrel • Some scholars think there must be 2 Homers; others think he’s a legend—too good to be true? • Model for wandering bards/minstrels later called rhapsodes • Rhapsodes: “Singers of tales”—historians/entertainers/mythmakers • No books/written history, so people sang recent events or doings of gods/goddesses

48. Background to Odyssey HW How Were the Epics Told? • Originally, epics were told aloud by people who couldn’t read/write • Much repetition in epics because storytellers followed formulas—gave singer/audience some breathing time so singer could think of what would come next in story • Homeric (epic) Similes: extended comparisons • Compare heroic/epic events to simple, everyday events • Example: “She brushed it away from his skin as lightly as when a mother/Brushes a fly away from her child who is lying in sweet sleep.” • Wouldn’t have enough time to sing all stories, so would shorten them based on how much time was available A Live Performance • Alcinous, in Book 8, particularly wonderful singer—Homer himself? • Anticipation surrounds rhapsodes/live performances

49. Homer 8th century B.C. (700s) • Illiad appears to come first, followed by the Odyssey • Impossible to say how much of the poems are original to Homer • No firm evidence has been found of Homer’s existence—may not have been one real individual • Probably multiple versions of same stories