Mythology Review

Mythology Review

Olympians and Titans • Apollo • God of Light, Archery, Art, and Music • Favorite of the Greeks and Romans • Son of Zeus and Leta • Athena • Goddess of Wisdom and Knowledge, sprung fully grown from Zeus’ head in full armor • Her Roman name was Minerva • Artemis • Goddess of the Moon, Chastity, Hunting, and Archery • Twin sister of Apollo and Daughter of Zeus • Her Roman name was Diana, or Diane

Olympians and Titans • Zeus- • King of the Gods, God of Thunder and Lightning, • Overthrew his father, Cronus, and the other twelve Titans • His Roman name was Jupiter, sometimes Jove • Hera • Queen of the Gods, Goddess of Motherhood and Marriage, • Known for being vain, arrogant, and jealous, especially of the woman her husband had affairs with, and hostile to their offspring • Her Roman name was Juno

Olympians and Titans • Uranus- • sometimes known as Father Sky, he was the father of the Titans, the youngest of which, Cronus, castrated him with a sickle and overthrew him • Sometimes known as Ouranos • Gaia- • sometimes known as Mother Earth, she was the mother and wife of Uranus and the mother of the Titans, the youngest of which assisted her in freeing her children, which her husband Uranus had had imprisoned in the bowels of the earth, buried alive in Tartarus

Olympians and Titans • Cronus- • the youngest of the twelve Titans and all of Uranus offspring, castrated his father Uranus with an adamantine sickle. • His Roman name was Saturn, but he is also known as Father Time • Rhea- • the mother of the Olympian gods, she is the wife and sister of Cronus and the mother of Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Hestia, and Demeter

Olympians and Titans • Poseidon- • the brother of Zeus and a son of Cronus. Poseidon carried a trident made for him by one of the Cyclopes (the same who fashioned Hades helmet and Zeus thunder bolts) • After he and siblings defeated Cronus and the Titans, the cast lots for the heavens and earth, and Poseidon was given dominion over the seas • His Roman name was Neptune • Hades- • also the brother of Zeus, he was given dominion of the Underworld, which was named after him. Eventually, he fell in love with Persephone, the daughter of his sister Demeter, and kidnapped her and forced her to marry him.

Olympians and Titans • Prometheus- • sometimes known as the bringer of light, this Titan was the son of Iapetus, a brother of Cronus, and himself the brother of Epimetheus and Atlas. Zeus punished Prometheus for stealing fire and giving it to men by chaining him to a rock and having an eagle, or a vulture, tear out his liver, which grew back daily. • He is the father of foresight • Epimetheus- • the brother of Prometheus and Atlas, this Titan gave all the animals their gifts, but had none for man, which is the reason Prometheus felt sorry for men to begin with. His known as the Father of Excuses and Afterthought, or hindsight.

Hermes- • son of Zeus and grandson of Atlas, on his mother’s side, this messenger of the gods was renowned for his wit and intelligence as well as his speed and athleticism. He had a winged pair of sandals and a winged cap, which lent him additional swiftness and speed • His Roman name is Mercury • Dionysus- • the son of Zeus and Semele, this Olympian is the god of wine, revelry, orgies, and drama • His Roman name was Baachus

Ares- • this god of war and battle was the son of Zeus and Hera. He was liked least by the Greeks, but very admired by the Romans. Once, he fell in love with Aphrodite and they had an affair. Hephaestus, Aphrodite’s wife, caught them and made fools of them in front of all Olympus. • His Roman name was Mars. • Aphrodite- • the Goddess of love, she was born when Cronus was castrated and part of him was flung into the sea. Aphrodite rose up from that divine sea foam. She was the most beautiful of the gods and plays a prominent part in the Trojan war as she gave Helen, another man’s wife, to Paris in the first place. • Her Roman name was Venus.

Hephaestus- • this son of Zeus and Hera was crippled when his father threw him off of Mt. Olympus. He is the god of craftsmanship and his forge supposedly lay under Mt. Etna. He created an invisible net, in which he trapped his hussy of a wife and his ungrateful brother Ares while they were in a very private act. • His Roman name was Vulcan. • Eros- • the son of Cupid in some myths, and the son of Erebus and Nyx in others, Eros is the god of love and desire, and also of order and harmony in the universe. • His Roman name was Cupid.

Demeter- • Demeter is a daughter of Cronus and Rhea and sister of Zeus by whom she became the mother of Persephone. When Persephone was abducted by Hades, lord of the underworld, Demeter wandered the earth in search of her lost child. During this time the earth brought forth no grain. The myth of Demeter and Persephone is an early attempt to explain the natural phenomenon known as Winter • Iris- • In Greek mythology, Iris is the personified goddess of the rainbow. She is regarded as the messenger of the gods to mankind, and particularly of the goddess Hera whose orders she brought to humans. Iris is the daughter of Titan Thaumas and the nymph Electra. She is portrayed as a young woman with wings and her attributes are a herald's staff and a water pitcher.

Themis- • Themis is one of the daughters of Uranus and Gaia. She is the personification of divine right order of things as sanctioned by custom and law. She has oracular powers and it is said that she build the oracle at Delphi. By Zeus she is the mother of the Horae and the Moirae. Themis is depicted as a stern looking woman, blindfolded and holding a pair of scales and a cornucopia. Her Roman name is Justitia. • Fates- • The Fates, or Moirae, were the goddesses who controlled the destiny of everyone. They were: Clotho, the spinner, who spun the thread of a person's life, Lachesis, the apportioner, who decided how much time was to be allowed each person, and Atropos, the inevitable, who cut the thread when you were supposed to die. Even though the other gods were almighty, all were subject to the whims of the Fates. The Fates were very important, but it is still unknown to who their parents were.

Olympians and Titans • Furies- • The Furies, or Erinyes, who are the daughters of Gaia and Uranus. They resulted from a drop of Uranus' blood falling onto the earth. They were placed in the Underworld by Virgil and it is there that they reside, tormenting evildoers and sinners. However, Greek poets saw them as pursuing sinners on Earth. The Furies are cruel, but are also renowned for being very fair. • Graiai- • The three "old women" or "gray ones" from Greek mythology. They are the daughters of Phorcys and Ceto, sisters and guardians of the Gorgons. They were gray-haired from birth and have only one eye and one tooth, which they share among them. They are Enyo ("horror"), Deino ("dread") and Pemphredo ("alarm").

Couples • Pandora and Epimetheus • Pandora was the first woman and responsible for bringing sin and evil and sickness and death into the world • Pyrrha and Deucalion- • these two were the parents of humanity of after the flood. They threw stones over their shoulders • Perseus and Andromeda- • This couple hooked up after Perseus slew a giant a sea-monster

Other figures and heroes • Narcissus and Echo- • Narcissus was too much in love with himself and Echo was too much in love with Narcissus • Sirens • These crooning creatures were monsters who lured ships of sailors to rocky coasts with wonderful songs, and then devoured them when their ships crashed. • Nessus- • half-man and half-horse tricked Hercules’ wife into accidentally poisoning him with centaur blood

Stories of Human Behavior • Daedulus and Icarus- • architect father and bird-brained son try to escape crazy bull king’s tower and the father makes it, but Icarus, prideful and not mindful of his elders like a good Greek boy, flew too high. Melted wax doesn’t hold feathers. Gravity is a b…bit of drag. That’s how Daedulus became single, engineer, bachelor

Stories of Human Behavior • Minotaur- • Poseidon makes Queen of Minos fall in love with the beautiful bull to punish Minos for going back on his promise. The bull is a symbol of power. The Queen falls in love with a symbol of power…hmmm. I wonder what ancient Greeks thought women really want? • King Minos • This ancient King wass ashamed of his half-bull, half man step-son and hides him in engineer Daedulus’ labyrinth, sacrificing maidens until Theseus and Ariadne put an end to the beast’s life.

Sounds of Stories of Sorrow • Orpheus and Eurydice • Eurydice loved this rock-star and he loved her, so much so that he went to Hades, putting Hades’ three headed guard dog Cerberus to sleep and charming the normally unmoved Hades himself in order to get her back. But like most men, he didn’t trust the god of the dead to keep his word. He looked back and Eurydice was lost forever. Reminiscent of the story of Lot and his wife, who was turned to a pillar of salt. Makes you wonder if Orpheus invented the blues…

Heroes • Achilles- • this legendary warrior chose to die early and leave a good looking corpse rather than be a long-living family man. Son of Thetis, this demi-god was killed by a divinely inspired arrow from a certain prince of Troy. • Hercules- • this prototypical Superman was strong, fast, determined, smart, and prone to violent rages. He killed many people, innocent and guilty, and ultimately went to Olympus instead of Hades.

Heroes • Oedipus- • this clever cripple was the son of a king, whom he accidentally killed, and the husband of a queen, who incidentally turned out to be his own mother. Although smart and brave, the tragic warrior came to no good end. • Odysseus- • this crafty and egotistic King had it all, including a faithful wife and a crew, but it took 10 years of fighting Trojans and 10 years of wandering on the seas of the Mediterranean before he finally came home.

Symbols • Midas • GOLD • Pegasus • Power and Freedom • Eagle • Power and speed (Zeus) • Owl • Knowledge and Wisdom • Peacock • Pride and Arrogance • Snake • Evil

Mythology Review