An Introduction to Characters from Greek Mythology

--TVHS Myth/Sci Fi, Mrs. Solt—

OUT OF CHAOS

• Chaos=Emptiness

• Out of chaos the first three immortals emerge

• Gaea

• Tartarus

• Eros

THE WORLD BEGINS WITH CHAOS

• Gaea (or Gaia)=Mother Earth, the great mother of all.

• Pronounced JEE-uh

• Gave birth to the sky, mountain, and sea gods

GAEA

• Tartarus=Underworld

• Pronounced TAHR-tur-ruhs

• Considered both a god and a place

• Opposite the dome of heaven. It would take nine days to fall from earth to Tartarus.

TARTARUS

• Eros=Love

• Pronounced AIR-ohs

• Chaos and Eros created the universe

• The Roman version is the god Cupid

EROS

RECAP

THE CHILDREN OF GAEA

• Gaea’s immaculate births create• Uranus• Ourea• Pontus

• Uranus=Father Sky

• Pronounced yoo-RAY-nuhs

• After marriage to Gaea becomes ruler of the sky

• This represents a shift from matriarchal to patriarchal rule

URANUS

• Ourea=Mountains (plural)

• The ten Ourea include Olympus

• Mountains were occasionally depicted in classical art as bearded old men rising up from between their craggy peaks.

• Each mountain had its own nymph

OUREA

• Pontus=Sea

• With Gaia, he became father of Nereus (the Old Man in the Sea), Thaumas (danger of the sea), Phorcys, Ceto, Furybia.

• With Thalassa (a sea goddess) he became father of Telchines and all the life of the sea.

PONTUS

RECAP

GAEA MARRIES URANUS

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• Gaea and Uranus bore

• Hundred-Handed (or Hundred-Headed) Giants

• Cyclopes

• Thirteen Titans

• The Hundred-Handed Giants were three figures of great strength.

• Some references report they had one-hundred hands and fifty heads.

THE HUNDRED-HANDED GIANTS

• Singular (Cyclops) pronounced SY-klahps

• Plural (Cyclopes) rhymes with sy-KLAH-peez

• Three were born to Gaea and Uranus

• Brontes, Steropes and Arges

• The Cyclopes were craftsmen and later built palaces for the Gods on Mount Olympus

CYCLOPES

• These are the first of what we commonly refer to as the Greek gods.

• The first generation who ruled “the Golden Age” of Greece consisted of twelve main Titans (a thirteenth is also sometimes referenced)

• From this first group, Cronus and Rhea are important members.

• The second generation of Titans was also important

TITANS

• Oceanus (o-SEE-uhn-us): God of the Sea.

• Thetis (THEE-tis): Sister and wife of Oceanus.

• Hyperion (hy-PEER-ee-uhn): God of the Sun.

• Theia (THEE-uh): Sister and wife of Hyperion.

• Themis (THEE-mis): An earth goddess.

• Rhea (REE-uh): An earth goddess.

• Mnemosyne (nee-MOS-uh-nee): Goddess of Memory.

• Iapetus (eye-AP-puh-tus): No notable responsibilities.

• Coeus (Koy-os): No notable responsibilities.

• Phoebe (FEE-bee): No notable responsibilities.

• Crius (KREE-uhs): No notable responsibilities.

• Cronus (KROH'-nuhs) : The brightest, strongest, and cleverest of all.

THE TITANS

• Uranus was afraid of the Giants and Cyclopes.

• He bound them up immediately after they were born and threw them deep into Gaea’s womb (buried in the earth)

• Some accounts say they each fell for nine days and nine nights, landing in Tartarus on the tenth day

• This event creates a silent chasm between Gaea and Uranus

URANUS AND HIS CHILDREN

• Gaea bided her time until she could take revenge for the disappearance of her beloved children.

• She made a sickle and asked the Titans for their help in her plan.

• Cronus was the only willing volunteer.

GAEA’S REVENGE

• Cronus used the sickle to ambush his father and castrate him, throwing the cut parts into the sea.

• The sea surrounded the parts with foam.

• The blood flowed back into the Earth (Gaea)

• Cronus became God of the sky in place of his father

THE ATTACK OF CRONUS

• Aphrodite=goddess of beauty and sexual desire

• Pronounced af-roh-DY-tee

• Born out of the foam

APHRODITE

• The three Furies:• Snakes for hair

• Dogs’ heads

• Black bodies

• Bats’ wings

• Bloodshot eyes

• Tormented those who committed patricide, matricide, or who broke oaths, driving the sinners to insanity

FROM THE BLOOD OF URANUS . . .

• The Giants

• Snake tails

FROM THE BLOOD OF URANUS . . .

• Cronus ignored his promise to free his brothers

• This angered Gaea

• She waited for the opportunity for revenge

• Her prophecy: the sons of Cronus would one day overpower him, as he had done his father

GAEA’S PROPHECY

RECAP

RECAP

CRONUS MARRIES RHEA

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• Hestia

• Demeter

• Hera

• Hades

• Poseidon

• Zeus

Known as the Olympians (because they eventually went to live on Mount Olympus)

CRONUS AND RHEA BORE

• Cronus feared the prophecy

• He thought he could cheat the Fates

• After the birth of each child he swallowed him/her

CHEATING THE FATES?

• With the advice of Gaea, Rhea birthed and raised Zeus in secret in a cave in Crete

THE SECRET LIFE OF ZEUS

• After the birth of Zeus, Rhea held out her new “baby” for Cronus.

• He immediately swallowed it, thinking he had swallowed his new baby.

• In fact, he had swallowed a rock.

TRICKING CRONUS

• Zeus poisoned his father

• Cronus threw up the children he swallowed

• The children took revenge on Cronus

• 10 year war between Cronus and Titans vs. Zeus and his siblings

PROPHECY BECOMES REALITY

• Gaea told Zeus of her lost children.

• Zeus and his brothers rescued Gaea’s children in Tartarus, and they joined the fight.

• In exchange for their freedom, the Cyclopes gave

• Zeus the gift of thunder and lightning (symbolized in the thunderbolt)

• Poseidon a trident, and

• Hades the helmet of invisibility

UP FROM TARTARUS

• Hera (HIR-uh): Goddess of marriage

• Poseidon (puh-SY-duhn): God of the sea

• Hades (HAY-deez): God of the underworld

• Hestia (HES-tee-uh): Goddess of the hearth

• Demeter (dih-MEE-tur): Goddess of crops and the harvest

CHILDREN WHO EMERGED FROM CRONUS

• The two sides fought heavily, but couldn’t kill each other (they were al immortal)

• Earth and sea were in a great upheaval

• The mountains quaked

• Even Tartarus felt the impact

• War ends from destruction caused when Zeus threw his thunderbolt and the Titans were captured and taken to Tartarus

THIS IS WAR!

• The Hundred-Handed Giants are sent to be guards of Tartarus

• Atlas (son of the Titan Iapetus) fought against the Olympians during the war.

• His brothers Prometheus (proh-MEE-thee-us) and Epimetheus (ep-ee-MEE-thee-us) instead made an alliance with the Olympians during the war.

• Instead of being sent to Tartarus, Zeus made Atlas stand on the edge of Gaia and hold up Uranus on his shoulders to prevent the two from coming together again.

• NOT holding up the earth but the celestial spheres

• The three male gods (Olympians) drew lots for kingdoms

• Zeus=Sky

• Poseidon=Sea

• Hades=Underworld

• Before his marriage to Hera (Olympian), Zeus was married to:

• Metis (MEE-tis)—daughter of Oceanus and Thetis (Titans)

• Themis (Titan)

• and Mnemosyne (Titan)

• Also had interest in Demeter (Olympian), who didn’t go for him.

• Before his marriage to Hera, he was also involved with Leto—daughter of Coeus and Phoebe(Titans).

His numerous affairs after his marriage with Hera:

• Europa

• Io

• Semele

• Ganymede

• Callisto

• Maia

• Metis

• Dione

• Danae

ZEUS=LADIES’ MAN

ZEUS MARRIES HERA

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• WITH DEMETER: Persephone (pur-SEF-uh-nee): queen of the Underworld

• WITH DIONE: Aphrodite (af-roh-DY-tee): goddess of love

• WITH HERA:

• Hephaestus (huh-FES-tuhs): metal smith

• Ares (AIR-eez): god of war

• Eileithyia (ehl-IH-thee-uh): goddess of childbirth and labor pains

• Hebe (HEE-bee): goddess of youth

• WITH LETO:

• Apollo (a-POL-lo}: god of prophecy, medicine, archery

• Artemis (AHR-tuh-mis): goddess of hunt

• WITH MAIA: Hermes (HUR-meez): Zeus’s messenger

• WITH METIS: Athena (a-THEE-na}: goddess of arts, crafts, and defensive war

• WITH MNEMOSYNE: the Muses

• WITH THEMIS: Horai (Seasons) and Moirai (Fates)

CHILDREN OF ZEUS: GODDESSES

• Zeus was also the father of the first mortals

• First generation: Race of Gold

• Description: Peaceful and just

• Relationship with the gods: good

• Aging: Didn’t show age

• Weather: Had eternal spring

• Death: Died peacefully and their spirits roamed the mists and taught other mortals to be just

CHILDREN OF ZEUS: MORTALS

• Second generation: Race of Silver

• Description: Didn’t do as well. Selfish with lots of injustice and war

• Relationship with the gods: No effort to appease or respect the gods. They made Zeus angry.

• Aging: Big “babies” (not literally) living with their mothers for 100 years, though their bodies aged, their spirits remained young.

• Life: More difficult. Had to build houses because of he weather. Had to toil in the fields as food as scarce.

• Weather: had four seasons

• Death: Spirits entered Underworld when they died

CHILDREN OF ZEUS: MORTALS

• Third generation: Race of Bronze

• Description: A cruel race

• Relationship with the gods: Loved Ares above all gods

• Aging: Died young because of their violent natures and obsession with war

• Death: Spirits entered Underworld when they died and left no trace behind

CHILDREN OF ZEUS: MORTALS

• Fourth generation: Race of Heroes

• Description: More virtuous and noble than recent generations. Some died in war against Troy (and other wars)

• Relationship with the gods: Cared for by Zeus

• Death: Zeus placed war survivors along the shores of Oceanus forever where grief couldn’t touch them and a harvest of fruit comes three times a year.

CHILDREN OF ZEUS: MORTALS

• Fifth generation: Race of Iron

• Description: Greedy, unjust, fraudulent. Always busy trying to acquire new wealth.

• Tore into the earth to mine its riches. Traveled to other lands to conquer and gain wealth.

• These activities resulted in wars.

• This was Hesiod’s own generation, to whom he wrote the poetry of the gods to warn them to turn back to the gods to avoid destruction.

CHILDREN OF ZEUS: MORTALS

Images:

• http://www.maicar.com/GML/Chaos.html

• http://www.gods-heros-myth.com/godpages/gaea.html

• http://pstevensfhs.wikispaces.com/Tartarus#

• http://www.illusionsgallery.com/Eros.html

• http://lucastamos.webs.com/lesson1.htm

• http://www.theoi.com/greek-mythology/rustic-gods.html

• http://www.theoi.com/Protogenos/Pontos.html

• http://daegames.blogspot.com/

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Redon.cyclops.jpg

• http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/arts/report/041010_titans/clash-titans-film-crash-and-burn/

• http://www.google.com/imgres

• http://mythologeek.wordpress.com/2011/02/01/the-dingo-didnt-eat-my-baby-you-did-greek-origin-myth/

• http://www.showiphonewallpapers.com/iphonewallpaperslist_12174.htm

• http://www.polyvore.com/aphrodite_born_from_ocean_foam/set?id=50908148

• http://paleothea.com/Goddesses.html

• http://www.theoi.com/Gigante/Gigantes.html

• http://trumpetministries.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/prophecy.jpg

• http://greeklegends.wikia.com/wiki/Titan

SOURCES

Images Continued:

• http://www.olympic-grill.com/olympus.php

• http://tellison.edublogs.org/

• http://www.zeusfather.com/zeus-father-cronus-and-his-6-son-avoiding-fate-doesnt-have-a-happy-ending/

• http://www.we-love-crete.com/zeus-cave.html

• http://greekmythologywiki.wikispaces.com/Cronus

• http://blogs.hcpro.com/icd-10/2012/09/whats-in-that-cup/

• http://thunderbolt-guides.blogspot.com/2011/06/zeus-lightning-bolt.html

• http://www.giantbomb.com/trident/93-1414

• http://www.onrpg.com/MMO/Realm-of-the-Titans/review/Realm-of-the-Titans---Rough-Edged-and-Wild

• http://mythological-legends.blogspot.com/2010/05/titanomachy.html

• http://www.thehillishome.com/2011/01/first-bite-the-atlas-room/

• http://secretaryofinnovation.com/2011/02/03/super-bowl-xlv-which-half-of-you-are-going-to-eat-your-hats/

• http://www.coolchaser.com/graphics/tag/hera

• http://poximyfovoc.comule.com/battle-of-mount-olympus.php

Pronunciations: http://www.pantheon.org/miscellaneous/pronunciations.html

Reference: Rosenberg, Donna. World Mythology. Chicago: 1986.

SOURCES