Transcript Brief Introduction to European Culture---

Greek Mythology
1.What is the significance of learning
Greek mythology?
1) Greek mythology reflects the Greeks’
a.deification of natural forces
b.idealization of human powers
c.perception, interpretation and
personification of the universe
d.rich and colorful treasure of oral
literary creation in the primitive society
2) It provides lifelike materials for us to
understand early human civilizations
a.mode of production—farming
b.social structure—matriarchal
c.family structure—communal marriage
2.In what aspects does it influence the
shaping of the European culture?
a.development of Roman culture
b.development of Christian culture
c.as subjects for artistic creation in-painting, sculpture, music, literature
3.What are the three principal types of
figures involved in Greek mythology?
1) Gods
a.The creation of Gods
b.Cronus and Rhea
c.Zeus and the Olympian Gods
d.The Offspring of Zeus
e.Disruptive Deities
2) Mortals
a.The creation of Human Beings
b.The Greek People
3) Heroes
a.Jason and the Golden Fleece
b.Meleager
c.Heroes of the Trojan War
d.Heracles and Theseus
e.Oedipus
4.Are the images of gods in Greek
mythology the same as that of God in
Christianity?
a.with human emotions among us
b.dominating, almighty above us
5.What are the Greek gods in nature?
a.symbols of human desire to show
authority
b.symbols of human desire to punish
anyone against authority
c.symbols of human such emotions as
jealousy, love, and grief
d.idealized human forms
6.What are the Greek heroes in
nature?
a.supermen empowered by gods
b.symbols of god-man relationship
7.What are the functions of Greek
mythology?
1) Explanation
2) Exploration
3) Legitimation
4) Entertainment
8.What are the origins of Greek
mythology?
The Middle Eastern mythologies
9.How did it develop?
By oral and written literature, and artistic
works of sculpture and decorated pottery
The Greeks built the Temple of Apollo at Didyma, Turkey (about 300 bc). The
temple supposedly housed an oracle who foretold the future to those seeking
knowledge. The predictions of the oracles, delivered in the form of riddles,
often brought unexpected results to the seeker. With Ionic columns reaching
19.5 m (64 ft) high, these ruins suggest the former grandeur of the ancient
temple.
After wounding his father and taking away his power, Cronus became ruler of
the universe. But Cronus, in turn, feared that his own son would supplant him.
When his sister and wife Rhea gave birth to offspring—Hestia, Demeter, Hera,
Hades, and Poseidon—Cronus swallowed them. Only the youngest, Zeus,
escaped this fate, because Rhea tricked Cronus. She gave him a stone
wrapped in swaddling clothes to swallow in place of their baby son, Zeus.
Zeus in Greek
mythology was
ruler of both the
Olympian gods
and the human
race. Sometimes
he is portrayed as
a just and merciful
defender of the
weak. At other
times he appears
to be passionate,
inconstant, and
vengeful. This
ancient Greek bust
of Zeus is in the
National Museum
in Naples, Italy.
Hermes Holding
Infant Dionysus
the
(about 340 bc) is
attributed to the Greek
sculptor Praxiteles.
Dionysus, the god of
wine, had two distinct
aspects—ecstasy and
violence. The followers
of Dionysus often
worshiped him in
drunken revelry. This
statue of him as an
infant with Hermes, the
messenger of the gods,
was originally made for
the Temple of Hera at
Olympia.
Battle of Lapiths and Centaurs
In Greek mythology, the centaurs were notorious for
uncivilized behavior. When the Lapiths—neighbors of the
centaurs—invited them to a wedding feast, they
attempted to carry off the bride and other women.
Dionysus, also known as Bacchus, was the Greek god of wine and
was celebrated in annual festivals.
The Sirens
In Greek
mythology
sirens were sea
nymphs who
lured sailors
with their
sweet singing,
causing their
ships to
founder.
Odysseus
overcame the
temptation by
tying himself to
his ship’s mast
This modern
reconstruction of the
legendary Trojan Horse
stands at the
archaeological site of
Troy in what is now
Turkey. During the
Trojan War, attacking
Greek soldiers hid in a
hollow wooden horse,
which the unsuspecting
Trojans brought inside
the city walls of Troy.
The Trojan War ended
soon afterward with a
Greek victory.
In the classical myth Penelope waited 20 years for her husband,
Ulysses (the Latin name for the Greek hero Odysseus), to return from
the Trojan War.
Struggle of Hercules with the Hydra of Lerna
Hercules engaged in one of his twelve great labors, battling a nine-headed
serpent called the Hydra. Each time one of its heads was cut off, the Hydra
would grow two more in its place. Standing to one side with a torch is
Hercules's nephew Iolaus, who, according to one version of the story, helped
to cauterize the necks of the monster after Hercules cut the heads off,
thereby preventing them from growing back.
Oedipus and the
Sphinx
French painter
Jean-AugusteDominique Ingres
was a superb
draftsman who
created numerous
depictions of
historical and
mythological
figures. Shown
here is his
Oedipus and the
Sphinx (1808),
Artemis, Goddess
of the Hunt
The Greek
goddess Artemis
was associated
with hunting and
wild animals. She
was also
connected to
childbirth, nature,
the harvest, the
moon, and the
protection of
young women.
Venus
Adonis
and
Adonis was a
Greek
mythological
figure noted
for his great
beauty.
Three Gorgons,
monstrous,
dragonlike sisters
with snakes for
hair, who were
shunned because
they turned all
who looked at
them to stone.
The only mortal of
the three, Medusa
was killed when
the young hero
Perseus severed
her head.
Death of Achilles
Achilles, a Greek mythological hero, was invulnerable to
injury except on one of his heels.
Palace at Knossos
The ancient city of Knossos was a center of the Minoan civilization, an
advanced society on Crete named after Minos, a legendary Cretan king.
Skilled in such fields as engineering and architecture, the Minoans
constructed the palace at Knossos in 1700 bc.
Dido Receiving Aeneas
According to the Roman poet Virgil, Venus caused Dido to fall in love with the Trojan
warrior Aeneas when he was shipwrecked at Carthage. When he was forced to
continue his journey to Rome, Dido killed herself. Dido Receiving Aeneas and Cupid
Disguised as Ascanius, created in the 1720s by Italian artist Francesco Solimena, is in
the National Gallery in London, England.