Part I - A Primer on Greek Mythology

1. Part I - A Primer on Greek Mythology

2. What is Myth? • A myth is actually a set of stories that is significant to a culture.  • Tend to be fictional, but it is not a requirement.  • Real life Myth: • George Washington • “larger than life” status that American history has given • Washington is a symbol.

3. The Problem With Greek Mythology • Greek mythology is rife with inconsistencies.   • many of the stories are going to sound absolutely ridiculous and, at times, even contradict each other. • Greeks were creating stories based on their own fallible human nature.  • Greek gods are often as cruel, inconsistent, and sinful as humans are.   • Greeks were not attempting to create a system of absolute truth • simply telling stories to explain the world around them. • when the Romans adopted Greek mythology, they gave Roman names to each of the characters

4. The War of Deities • In the beginning of time there was Father Heaven (Uranus) and Mother Earth (Gaea).   • They bore children known as the Titans.   • Cronus(Saturn) and Rhea (Cybele) led the Titans in a rebellion against Father Heaven and Mother Earth.   • The Titans defeated their parents and became the rulers of the heavens.

5. The War of the Deities • Cronus and Rhea had children known as the Olympians.   • The Olympians = the Greek gods led by Zeus and Hera  • Cronus devoured his children   • Rhea defied Cronus by tricking him into eating a stone wrapped in swaddling clothes in place of the infant Zeus. • Zeus ambushed Cronus and forced him to vomit up the Olympians, who had apparently survived and grown to maturity in Cronus’ stomach.   • With the help of Prometheus, a rogue Titan, the Olympians defeated Cronus • Zeus took his place as ruler of the heavens   • Zeus punished most of the Titans by imprisoning them • The Titan named Atlas received a unique punishment: he was doomed to carry the weight of the world upon his shoulders.  Prometheus, since he aided the Olympians, was not punished.

6. Today’s Wrap Up Every culture and era has its beliefs about deities and their roles in the universe, but only a handful have been as enduring and influential as Greek mythology.  Their pantheon was neither a religion nor a set of cultural fables, but rather something that landed right between those marks.