Transcript Greek Mythology

Greek Mythology
Warm Up Questions
 What is a myth? (I know you’ve
answered this, but do it again please so
we can discuss the answer)
 Why did the Greeks pray to many gods
and goddesses
 What does polytheistic mean?
Creation of Gods
 Many natural disasters and human emotions
were unexplainable to the ancient Greeks
 The Greeks created fables (stories) about the
creation of the world, and the birth of the
gods
 This way they could answer those
unanswerable questions
 Life, love, death, birth, earthquakes, tsunamis,
volcano eruptions, rain, lightning etc.
Olympians
 The Olympians were the main and strongest
gods in Ancient Greek religion
 Polytheism: the worship of more than one
god/gods
 There were 12 main Olympians and they lived
on Mount Olympus--the highest mountain in
Greece
 Why say the gods lived here?
 The overthrew their ancestors, the Titans,
and became rulers of the heavens and earth
Olympians cont..
 The gods had many human characteristics:
the looked human (most of them), they
married, they felt anger, sadness, and all the
human emotions we feel
 However: they never aged, and they never
died
 There were 12 total and their leader was
Zeus
Zeus
 The last child of the Titans Cronus and Rhea
 His father, Cronus, jealous of his children,
swallowed all of them
 BUT…Zeus managed to escape and overthrew
his father, setting his siblings free
 He married his sister, Hera, but was not
faithful
 Zeus had many children due to his marriage
and numerous affairs
Zeus cont..
 He sat on the golden throne at the highest
point on Mount Olympus
 He was the Lord of Justice, punishing those
who lied, but was considered fair
 Responsible for the weather, and the weather
reflected his mood
 Happy= sunshine
 Sad= rain
 Angry= watch out!! Throw high winds, lightning
bolts, and thunder to cause natural disasters
Zeus cont..
 Zeus’ powers had their limits
 He could not intervene in the decisions of
the Fates
 Ones who have the power to decide mankind’s
outcomes
 Very strong, and unpredictable
 His symbols are thunderbolt (a gift from
the Cyclopes because he freed them
from Cronus) and the eagle
Poseidon
Father and mother were Cronus and Rhea
 Older brother of Zeus
 The Greek god of the seas, responsible for various
naturally occurring events
 Earthquakes, floods, crumbling rocks, rough and calm seas
 Main weapon was the Trident
 So powerful the Trident was, it could shake the earth
 Had palaces both on Mount Olympus, and at the very
bottom of the seas
 Preferred to stay here
Poseidon cont..
 Married to Amphitrite
 His symbol was the Trident-a three
pronged spear
 Sacred animals were the dolphin and
the horse
 Which he made to impress a woman
named Demeter
Hades
 Supreme Ruler of the Underworld
 Not the god of death. Thanatos is the god of
death
 Think of Satan or the devil
 Son of Cronus and Rhea
 Brother to Zeus and Poseidon
 Wife was Persephone
 Kidnapped her from her mother Demeter and
brought her to the underworld
 Known as the “rich one” since he possess all
the riches in the earth
Hades cont..
 Almost never does Hades leave the
underworld
 He prefers to live in darkness and silence
 Hades had two helpers
 Hermes: who would bring the souls to the
underworld
 Charon: who would take the souls across
the river, Styx, from the living world to the
world of the dead
Hades cont..
 He was known for having very sad features
 A dark beard
 Long, dark hair that came over his face
 Dark, dark eyes
 He does have a loyal dog
 A soul eating, three headed dog names Cerberus
 His sacred symbol was the helmet, which
kept him invisible