The Greek and Roman Gods

1. The Greek and Roman Gods The Origins of the Gods

2. Creation of the World • From nothing, there came Chaos • Night and Erebus were born of Chaos • Love was born of Erebus • Light and Day were born of Love

3. Ouranos (Father Heaven) and Gaia (Mother Earth) parent the first creatures 1. Three monsters with 100 hands, 50 heads 2. Three Cyclopes (one-eyed giants) 3. Titans (as powerful as brothers, but not purely destructive; even beneficent) *****Gaia = geo (prefix meaning earth) titanic = enormous, strong, powerful

4. The Titans • Cronus (Saturn): most powerful, father of Zeus • Ocean: river encircling the earth • Hyperion: father of sun, moon, and dawn • Mnemosyne: memory • Themis: justice • Atlas • Prometheus • Epimetheus *****mnemonic = intended to assist the memory

5. The Conflict Begins… • Ouranos hated his 100-handed sons, so he locked them in the earth • Gaia begged her other children for help; only Titan Cronus agreed • Cronus overthrew Ouranos and wounded him • From his blood, Giants & Erinyes (Furies- punish sinners) are born • Cronus is lord of the universe for untold ages • He never actually frees his brothers

6. War: Gods v Titans • Cronus & sister-queen Rhea have 6 children • Hades, Demeter, Hera, Poseidon, Hestia, Zeus • Prophecy: one of Cronus’ children will overthrow him • Cronus swallows all his babies whole • Rhea wants to save her last child • Secretly sends 6th baby (Zeus) to Crete • Gives Cronus a rock wrapped in a blanket, which he swallows • Zeus grows up, and returns to free siblings

7. Taking Sides • Titans, obviously, side with Cronus and fight Zeus and his siblings • War almost wrecks the universe • Titans lose for 2 reasons • Zeus frees the 100-handed monsters, who naturally fight on his side • Titan Prometheus fights for Zeus

8. Crime and Punishment • Zeus punishes the Titans in a big way • Most are bound in chains under the earth (in Tartarus- sometimes Tartaos) • Atlas is forced to carry the earth on his back/shoulders *****atlas: a book of maps

9. Zeus (Jupiter) • Lord of the sky, rain god, cloud gatherer • Grand but flawed • Deceivable • Has a serious weakness for females • Fate is stronger than he is • Breastplate: Aegis • Weapon: thunderbolt • Bird: eagle • Oracle: Dodona (priests interpret his will through the rustling of oak leaves)

10. Hera (Juno) • Wife and sister of Zeus • Protector of marriage • ONLY in the tale of the Golden Fleece, she protects and inspires heroes • Venerated in every home • Daughter Ilithyia helps women in childbirth • Jealous, spiteful, vindictive • Constantly tortures her husband’s lovers • Animals: cow, peacock • City: Argos

11. Poseidon (Neptune) • Ruler of the sea • Second only to Zeus • Undersea palace is splendid, but he hangs out on Olympus most of the time • Storm and calm are under his control • Drives golden car over waters • Gave man the first horse • Called Earth-shaker • Carries a trident

12. Hades (Pluto) • Ruler of the underworld and the dead • He is NOT death: Death is Thanatos • God of wealth & precious metals under the earth • Has a helmet that makes the wearer invisible • Not popular on Olympus • Unpitying, inexorable, but just • Wife is Persephone (Proserpine), daughter of his sister Demeter

13. Pallas Athena (Minerva) • Daughter of Zeus alone: sprang from his head in full armor • Zeus’s favorite child: trusted to carry his Aegis and thunderbolt • Goddess of the city • Protector of civilized life, handicrafts, agriculture • Inventor of bridle • Gave man the olive tree • In the Iliad ONLY, she is a fierce battle goddess • The leader of the 3 virgin goddesses • In Greek poetry she embodies 3 virtues • Wisdom • Reason • purity • City: Athens • Bird: Owl • Tree: olive

14. Phoebus Apollo • Son of Zeus and Leto • The most Greek of all the gods Tree: laurel • Beautiful, Master musician, Archer god Animals: many, but especially the dolphin and crow • Teaches men the art of healing • God of Light • God of Truth: never speaks falsely • His oracle at Delphi is the most important oracle • Its center is the stone Cronus swallowed instead of Zeus • Associated with the sun • He is NOT the sun god: the sun god is Helios • Dual nature • Sometimes beneficent, a peace-maker, communicator of divine will • Sometimes cruel and pitiless

15. Artemis (Diana) • Apollo’s twin, daughter of Zeus and Leto • One of the 3 virgin goddesses • Lady of the wild things, huntsman for the gods • Protects the young • Carries silver arrows • Dual nature • Protects young, helps women with swift, painless death • Fierce and vindictive • Associated with the moon • She is NOT the mood goddess: the moon goddess is Selene • Tree: cypress • Animals: all wild animals, but especially the deer

16. Aphrodite (Venus) • Goddess of love and beauty • Laughter-loving • Beguiling: steals the wits of the wise • Laughs at those she conquers • Parentage is questionable • In the Iliad: daughter of Zeus and Dione • In later poems: sprang from the foam of the sea, landed on Cyprus • Dual nature • Beautiful, brings light, joy, loveliness • Treacherous and malicious • Wife of Hephaestus, the only ugly god • Tree: myrtle • Birds: dove, sparrow, swan (drives a chariot pulled by swans) *****aphrodisiac = something that arouses desire venereal = pertaining to sexual desire

17. Hermes (Mercury) • Son of Zeus and Maia (daughter of Atlas) • Zeus’s messenger • Graceful and swift • Wings on sandals, hat, & wand (the Caduceus) • Most cunning of gods: master thief • The day he was born, he stole Apollo’s herds • Won Apollo’s forgiveness by giving him his invention: the lyre • God of commerce and the market • Guide of the dead • Appears more often in myths than any other god *****mercurial = quick-witted, lively, changeable hermaphrodite = has reproductive organs of both sexes (comes from a myth about Hermes’s child with Aphrodite)

18. Ares (Mars) • Son of Zeus & Hera: they can’t stand him • God of war • Hateful and ruthless • Homer calls him murderous and bloodstained • Innately a coward, runs away when wounded • Attendants • Eris: goddess of discord • Strife: Eris’s sister • Enyo: war goddess, who hangs with Terror, Trembling, and Panic • Romans liked Mars better than Greeks did Ares • Figures very little in myth • Lover of Aphrodite • No cities where he is worshipped • Bird: vulture • Animal: dog

19. Hephaestus (Vulcan or Mulciber) • Questionable parentage • Sometimes son of Zeus and Hera • Sometimes just Hera’s son (like Athena is just his) • God of fire • The only ugly god, and has a limp to boot • Some myths say Hera saw he was ugly & threw him off Olympus • Others say he defended Hera against Zeus, so Zeus threw him • Workman of the immortals • Makes their dwellings, armor, furnishings, weapons • Has handmaidens he made out of gold • His workshop can be found under this or that volcano • Wife • Iliad: one of the three Graces • Odyssey: Aphrodite • Kindly, peace-loving, popular with mortals • Patron of handicrafts, as is Athena *****volcano

20. Hestia (Vesta) • Sister of Zeus • One of the 3 virgin goddesses • Goddess of the hearth and home • Mortal meals begin & end w/ offering to her • Each city had a public hearth in her honor • Newborns must be carried around hearth to be received into the family • In Rome, her priestesses are virgins, called Vestals • No distinct personality, plays no part in myths *****vestal = virginal

21. Lesser Gods of Olympus

22. Eros (Cupid) • God of love, his home is in men’s hearts • Represented blindfolded • Said to be Aphrodite’s son • Dual nature • Cannot do or allow wrong; force can’t come near him • In later myths, mischievous or even evil • Attendants • Anteros: avenges slighted love • Himeros: longing • Hymen: god of wedding feast *****erotic = arousing desire cupidity = greed

23. Hebe and Iris Hebe Iris Goddess of the rainbow Messenger of the gods • Goddess of youth • Daughter of Zeus and Hera • Cupbearer to the gods • Marries Hercules

24. The Graces • Daughters of Zeus and Eurynome (daughter of Ocean) • Not separate personalities, except in one myth, in which Aglaia marries Hephaestus • Triple incarnation of grace and beauty • Aglaia: splendor • Euphrosyne: mirth • Thalia: good cheer • Dance to music of Apollo’s lyre • No party is complete without them

25. The Muses • Daughters of Zeus & Mnemosyne • Take away men’s unhappy thoughts • Companions of Apollo • Can make lies sound true • Inspirers of men • There are 9 *****hymn = song to god

26. Gods of the Waters • Poseidon • Ocean • Pontus: deep sea • Nereus: son of Pontus; old man of the sea, has 50 daughters called Nereids • Triton: trumpeter of the sea (uses conch shell) • Proteus: shape-shifter, sees the future • Naiads: water nymphs (freshwater) • Nereids: water nymphs (saltwater)

27. Mythological Locales

28. The Underworld • Rulers: Hades and Persephone • Location • Beneath secret places of earth (Iliad) • Over edge of world, across ocean (Odyssey) • Various entrances in caverns & deep lakes (later poetry) • Rivers separating underworld from earth • Acheron: woe • Phlegethon: fire • Cocytus: lamentation • Lethe: forgetfulness • Styx: the unbreakable oath

29. Divisions of the Underworld • Tartarus • Prison of sons of earth • Deepest region • Wrongdoers are punished here • Erebus: where the dead pass & are judged when they die • Elysian Fields: place of blessedness, where the good go • Important Figures • Cerberus: 3-headed dog guards entrance (you can come in, but you can’t leave) • Judges: Minos, Aeacus, Rhadamanthus • Erinyes (Furies) • Greeks believed they pursued sinners on earth • Romans placed them in underworld, punishing dead sinners • Sleep and Death: brothers, send dreams from underworld

30. Two Great Gods of Earth Demeter and Dionysus

31. Demeter (Ceres) • Goddess of the harvest • Mother of Persephone • Lost her daughter • Persephone wandered too far, enticed by a flower • Hades dragged her through a chasm to the underworld • Demeter left Olympus to search for Persephone • Neglected the earth, harvests suffered • Zeus is alerted by suffering humanity, sends Hermes for Persephone • Persephone ate pomegranate seeds in the underworld: if you eat anything down there, you can’t leave • Compromise • Persephone must live with Hades in underworld for 4 months per year • When Persephone is gone, Demeter mourns, fields are barren = winter • On Persephone’s return, life returns = spring • Persephone is the goddess of the spring

32. Dionysus (Bacchus) • Son of Zeus and Semele • God of the vine: born of fire, nursed by rain • wanders the earth, teaching the culture of the vine • Worshipped everywhere but his country • Pirate kidnapping • Held for ransom, one helmsman recognizes his godhood, but no one listens • Ropes break, wind fills sails without moving the ship, wine streams across the deck, vine covers sail, ivy twists around mast • Pirates jump overboard, but turn to dolphins, only helmsman avoids this fate • Followers are Maenads, or Bacchantes • Women frenzied with wine rush across fields & woods in ecstasy, tear wild creatures & devour • Dionysus feeds them and helps them sleep it off • Their beauty is counteracted by their bloody feasts • Dual nature • Beneficent and kind or Cruel, driving men to terrible deeds *****bacchanal = an occasion of drunken revelry

33. Lesser Gods of Earth • Aeolus: god of the winds, father of the 4 winds • Boreas (Aquilo): north • Zephyr (Favonius): west • Notus(Auster): south • Eurus: east • Gorgons • 3 earth-dwellers • Monsters: dragon-like, snakes for hair, look turns a man to stone • Graiae • 3 gray sisters to the Gorgons • Share one eye • Sirens • Their song lures sailors to death, but is irresistible • No one knows what they look like • Fates • 3 females, stronger than the gods, who give men their inherent good or evil at birth • Clotho: spins thread of life • Lachesis: assigns destiny • Atropos: carries shears to cut the thread of life *****zephyr = gentle breeze