mythology unit 1 and unit 2
Epithets
pallas- either maiden or weapon- bearing glaukopis- owl- eyed or grey- eyed parthenos- maiden aegiphora- shield bearer. the shield protects herself and Athens they are descriptive names of a god or person with either ritual or literary significance
Hades
the invisible ( he gets a hat that makes him invisible) king of death God of wealth (Ploutos)
Early Bronze Age
(3000-2100) emergence of social rankings, most people live in small villages headed by hereditary chiefs
Neolithic Age
(7000-3000 BC) new stone age, first permanent farming settlements.
next they sing about
. Then, next, the goddesses sing of Zeus, the father of gods and men, as they begin and end their strain, how much he is the most excellent among the gods and supreme in power. And again, they chant the race of men and strong giants, and gladden the heart of Zeus within Olympus, -- the Olympian Muses, daughters of Zeus the aegis-holder.
the goddess ( Zeus's daughters) sing first about
And they uttering their immortal voice, celebrate in song first of all the reverend race of the gods from the beginning, those whom Earth and wide Heaven begot, and the gods sprung of these, givers of good things.
elements of mythology
A story( from Greek Mythos), supernatural or liminal characters- characters that exist on both sides of the threshold. examples include Achilles, Odysseus, Aeneas. they are not seen as fully human and not seen as fully gods either, cultural and universal symbols- hunting, sailing, national origins( cultural symbols), seasonal change, death and rebirth, Family stribe(, " A traditional story with collective importance"
Delphic oracle
After his birth Apollo moves quickly to Delphi to establish his temple. this becomes the most important pan- Hellenic oracle Built above an area where Apollo built a python. Functioned from ca. 800 BC- 394 AD oracles are given the prophetess Pyhia it was originally a young virgin from the nearby village, but the role expands to older women. she breathes in these vapors that are believed to help trigger her prophecy. she sits of a brown tripod in the adytum. visitors would offer a sacrifice and ask a yes or no question. the priest would interpret the Pyhia's answer. the responses to the questions were always vague.
Athena and Arachne
Arachne boasts that her weaving is better than Athena's Athena disguises herself Reveals herself after Arachne's boasting and sets up a contest to weave a robe Athena's is full of images about mortals who challenge the gods Arachne's is about sex escapades of the gods Athena is wrathful about arachne's excellence and Arachne hangs herself Athena lets her live forever hanging herself and gives her hecate's (evil goddess of witches and poisoners) poison. it goes along with how spiders hang from their webs
What is love?
Aristophanes: there used to be 3 genders Male- male, male- female (Androgynous) and female-female Each had 4 arms, 4 legs, 2 heads, 2 sets of genitals (but on the other side)etc. one was on one side of the body and the other was on the other side of the body the double beings tried to attack the gods, so Zeus split them apart with a lightening bolt the new half creatures wasted with wasted with desire, so Zeus in pity of them invented a new plan: he turned the parts of generation around to the front and now one will sew the seed into the other ( this is why we now have sex) women who were attracted to men were adulterers and women who were attracted to other women were prostitutes and males who are attracted to males are the only good ones. he is explaining who do some men love men, whey do some men love females and why do some females love females. it all has to do with how they were born when they were a double being before they were split.
Eleusis
Demeter in disguise arrives at Eleusis and is treated well by the rulers there. the rulers ask her to be the nurse for their child, Demophoon, and to repay their kindness, Demeter makes the boy immortal. she can do this by dipping the child in the river or put him in a fire to burn off the child's mortality.
The Theogony of Hesoid
his a evolution story relating to genesis
earth and the sky
Earth and the sky got married. they had three CYCLOPES, who forged fire and lightening, three HECATONCHIRES, who were strong and monsterous creatures, and twelve TITANS
symbols of Artemis
Epithets- Potnia Theron, Lydia, Arrow- covering Icons- Bows and arrows, Deer, occiaonally with a lyre
Hephaestus
God of volcanoes and forges, patron of smiths Chief promoter of civilizations and cities limp but made beautiful art Contradiction: Greeks loved art and pottery, but it was a disgusting process to complete. ( what he represents is not really what he embodies)
Gilamesh
Gods want to destroy humans, but Zuisudra escapes on a boat to a mysterious place beyond the waters of death
Hellenistic period
Greece is torn apart by multiple internal wars after the death of Alexander the Great. Rome begins using Greece as the base of operations Greeks begin adopting roman culture Rome expands beyond Italy 264-126 Punic Wars first Latin literature is basic translation of Greek plays and epics
Aphrodite
Her gods and men call Aphrodite, and the foam-born goddess and rich-crowned Cytherea, because she grew amid the foam, and Cytherea because she reached Cythera, and Cyprogenes because she was born in billowy Cyprus, and Philommedes (9) because sprang from the members.
Release of Prometheus
Heracles, one of his labors, killed the eagle Zeus allows this to happen because Prometheus helped Zeus with a prophecy: the son of thetis, whom Zeus admired, would be greater than his father Zeus arranges for Thetis to marry Peletus and their son is Achilles. if Achilles would have been born to Zeus and Thetis then he would have been the most powerful god and not just the most powerful human.
Birth of Apollo
Homeric hymm to Apollo: after Zeus impregnates Leto, Hera decreed that no land that sees the light of day should receive Leto's children. Delos and Ortygia were floating islands that were at times underwater, so the ban did not apply. Artemis is born on Ortygia and helps Leto give birth to Apollo on Delos. Hera consents to send Eileithyia ( goddess of child birth) to Leto but when Artemis and Apollo were born, the islands were fixed in their spots. Apollo rewards Delos ( because they accepted his mother) with a temple that would become a major pan- Hellenstic site Epithets- far shooter, Pythian, Delian, Delphian, healer, Phanaeus ( bright) Symbols: bow and arrow ( but not for hunting) lyre
Athena's images
owl snake body armor or spear, helmet, aegis craft work- weaving
Baubo and Iambe
Lambe shouts lascivious verses at Demeter to make her laugh because she is so sad that Persephone is in the underworld. ( the jokes were like roasting someone today or telling them a dirty joke to cheer them up). it didnt work though and as Demeter continues to cry, the old nurse Baubo offers her a drink. when Demeter refuses, she flashes her genitals and makes Demeter laugh. ( it explains why Iambic poetry is playful in nature and is sort of mean and dirty and people complete to come up with the better version). ( the female in the Starbucks sign is Baubo) Baubo means dildo in Greek
Zeus
Lord of the sky and king of gods his consort is Hera, but most of his myths are about his sexual conquests his main area of control is the weather his strength is irresistible and unquestionable he can often be pleaded with and be manipulated Iconography- Aegis, thunderbolt Presides over law and justice (dike) one of his major roles is as protector of Xenia ( reciprocal hospitality- in ancient times there was not formalized travel in ancient society so most people depended on being able to stay at strangers houses as a way to find lodging so when they do that to you you do the same thing). this extends even in later generations. most violations to this is the robbing your host and killing your guest. Examples of myths: Paris and Helen, Odysseus
Zeus' affairs
Metis ( Athena) Themis ( Horae and Moerae) Eurynme (Graces) Mnemosyne (Muses) Demeter (Persephone) Leto ( Apollo and Artemis) Ganymede
myths about Artemis
Niobe- bragged that she had more children than Leto ( Artemis and Apollo's mom) so Artemis and Apollo shot all of Niobe's kids down. ( address the fear of the loss of children and being thankful to the gods for your children Agamemnon and Iphigenia- Agamemnon kills a deer that is sacred to Artemis and bragged that he was a better hunter than Artemis. Agamemnon is the leader of all of the forces that were going to Troy. on his way to Troy, his ships become motionless and he has to sacrifice his daughter to Artemis. ( starts the Trojan war) Orion and Artemis- Orion pursues and then rapes Merope, the daughter of king Oenopion Oenopion blinds him and Orion goes East he has an affair with Eos Artemis/Gaia kills him with a scorpion
linear A
Records Minoan language, used to record events at palace, not related to Greece, undecipherable
Pandora
Prometheus warns his brother Epimetheus (afterthought) not to take any gifts from Zeus, but forgets when he sees this beautiful new creation. She opens a jar and allows pain, disease, and torment to escape. hope was trapped inside the jar
Deception of Zeus
Prometheus wraps meat in the ox' stomach and bones in the fat Zeus sees through the trick but takes the fat Aetiological- Why Greeks ate meat even when they were supposed to sacrifice it to the Gods.
Modern Interpretation/ Reception
Prometheus- often a symbol for rebellious groups especially romantic poets ( spirit of the human spirit will conquer evil) Prometheus ( guy who thinks things through) vs. Epimetheus ( guys he gets derailed by love) ( showcase the importance of thought) Pandora: Aetiological answer to marriage/ women/ suffering described as being lazy and unproductive men produce food, women consume it it might not be a dislike of women as opposed to a dislike of monogamy
Roman Empire
Rome controls all of the Mediterranean and most of Europe by the 2nd century, Christianity becomes a major sect in the community,. myths were rejected but still used to explain new ideas
Uranus
Uranus hated his children, and as they were about to be born he hid them in the depths of Gaia, the mother earth.
images of Venus
Venus is the Roman equivalent of Aphrodite
the olympains
Zeus (Jupiter) Hera ( Juno) Poseidon (Neptune) Hades (Pluto) Apollo ( Apollo) Hestia ( Vesta) Aphrodite ( Venus) Artemis ( Diana) Athena (Minerva) Hephaestus (Vulcan) Ares ( Mars) Hermes ( Mercury) Demeter (Ceres) Persephone ( origin unknown) Dionysus (Bacchus) Greek name ( Roman name)
themes in the creation
Zeus and Cronus as tricksters ( when they take power) Cronus and Uranus as ogres ( very scary and evil and dumb rulers) Dragons as ancient guardians ( There was a fragon at the cave with Zeus, Typhon was a dragon) Family conflict ( succession stories, and with the god who wanted to prove that he could handle his father's sun charriot). power from female to male; attempts to reclaim the power by the female leads to terror female presence is constant
Zeus ans succession myht
Zeus is now the king of the gods. Metis is pregnant with Zeus' child so out of fear that the child will over throw him, Zeus swallows Metis rather than the child. Zeus eventually overcomes the succession problem by performing both the male and female duties of birth and gives birth to Athena through his head. he reproduced asexually. power usually comes from female to male, but in Zeus' case he is getting power from male to female by giving birth to the female goddess Athena. usually the male holds the power, but gets it from the female, in the case of Zeus though by giving birth to a female he retains the power.
oceanus
a river that circles the entire world. creates 6000 oceanids ( springs, waterfalls ect.) with Tethys
a myth may contain
a sense of time. some of them occur without a sense of time. sometimes contains a setting but not always
Atrahasis
about 200 years after Enuma Elish "extra-wise" humans are created to help the gods, but they make too much noise Atrahasis survives and repopulates the earth
Poseidon
brother of Zeus Lord of the sea competed with Athena to be protector of Athens Married to Nymph Amphitrite Father of Polyyphemus ( cyclops who will take vengeance on Odysseus) symbols- trident, horses, impregnated Medusa( when Medusa was mortal she and Poseidon had sex on the floor of Athena's temple and Athena was not happy about it so she turn Medusa into what she is today) epithets- earth shaker Vindictive- ocean and earthquakes were very frightening for the Greeks
Persephone
also known as Kore virgin daughter of Zeus and Demeter she is abducted by Hades who sees her in the fields and who wants her to be his wife Demeter looks for her and cant find her anywhere. she is so distraught by her absence that she cultivated crops not to grow the other gods get involved because if the crops don't grow, then the animals don't eat and then they die instead of being sacrificed to the gods, so they try to convince Hades to give Persephone back to Demeter. the problem was though that Persephone ate a pomegranate from the tree of the underworld while she was in Hades which meant that she could never be completely removed from the underworld so she now has to spend a 1/3 of the year in Hades and the rest on earth with Demeter afterwards. ( this explains the seasons, when she is in the underworld, Demeter is depressed and no crops grow (winter) and when she is with Demeter crops grow ( fall and spring)).
Aphrodite
also known as Venus was born from the genitals of Uranus ( Cronos's father). she is the goddess of beauty and love
a myth does not contain
an author or specific story teller authors adapt the stories to their own purpose in oral transmission
furies( creatures who kill people who kill their relatives) and giants( earth monsters)
are created from the blood from Uranus when Cronus castrates him
myceanae
around 1600 becomes main power certain in Greece, other small kingdoms emerge, first shaft graves. Greece does not exist yet
fallout of the batte
atlas is banished to the edge of the world to hold the heavens off of the earth. Gaea turns on Zeus and creates Typhon either woth Tartarus or asexually because she wants her power back from Zeus. because of Typhon all of the other gods run away to Egypt and disguise themselves as animals Zeus fights Typhon by himself with his thunderbolt and Cronus' sickle. Zeus is about to beat him so Typhon injures Zeus and takes him to a cave. ( he takes away all of his muscles, so Zeus cannot move. Hermes gives Zeus back his muscles and Zeus now able to move chases Typhon on a chariot across the earth. he eventually captures him and buries him under Mount Etna in Sicily. mount Etna is a volcano and Typhon is a fire breathing monster that is the reason why Mount Etna is a volcano.
night
bare Nemesis (Indignation) to afflict mortal men, and after her, Deceit and Friendship and hateful Age and hard-hearted Strife.
punishment for mortals (humans)
because we have fire, now we are going to have to work. the gods are not going to supply us with what we want anymore. Hephaestus creates a new human with the face of a maiden. ( Athena teaches her how to sew and do other women's craft work, Aphrodite gives her beauty and heartbreak, Hermes gives her thievish morals and "the soul of a bitch" her name is Pandora- "all gifts" Women are considered the worst punishment of all
a myth contains
characters: people who's actions and choices that define their role. Narration: beginning, middle and end
Velazquez
created the painting The Toilet of Venus- it is the only nude to survive the Spanish inquisition. she is looking at herself in the mirror and it showcases her beauty.
themis
divine law, fixed/ settled, controlled by the Delphic oracle before Apollo, will supply Zeus with kids
types of myth
divine myths- stories about gods and goddess and are aetiological- telling a story of why something exists legends- tells stories about human hero and heriones. take place in a semi- historical settings folktales- stories about ordinary people, never intended to be taken as true. they usually teach behavior. they also incorporate motifs and types (quest etc. ) most stories are a combination, especially of legends and folktales
Apollo's loves
famous for unhappy love affairs prophetess Cassandra, daughter of king Priam ( apollo gives her the gift of Prosphesy but when she wont sleep with him she keeps the gift but Apollo has made it so no one will ever believe her). ( she warned the greeks about people being inside the wooden horse, but no one believed her and they were ambushed). Sibyl and the grains of sand ( she asks Apollo for the gift of life, and then refuses to sleep with him so he makes it so she has eternal life but she continues to age). Nymph Daphne ( Aphrodite and Cupid are upset with Apollo so they shoot him with an arrow that makes it so that he will fall in love with the first person he sees and shoots Daphne with an arrow that makes it so she will hate the first person she sees and they see eachother. and so to get away from Apollo, she prays that she is turned into a tree and because she is a nymph it comes true) Hyacinth ( a young man who Apollo loved and whom Apollo named a flower after) Apollo + Coronis - Asclepius ( Apollo kills Coronis, even though he regrets it and tries to bring her back to life but can't and takes Asclepius to Chiron (a sentar))
Prometheus
he is the protector of humans he attempts to deceive Zeus on human's behalf folktale elements: clever trickster that deceives dumb ruler teaches humans civilization ( building, literature, math)
Theft of Fire
for revenge, Zeus takes fire from humans Prometheus steals it from heaven, but after this the humans must tend for themselves, without the earth yielding good things. ( this allows humans to live basically) As punishment Zeus order Prometheus chained to mountain where a giant eagle would everyday come and eat his liver.
Arges
gave Zeus the thunder and made the lightening bolt
metis ( cleverness)
gives Zeus an emetic for Cronus, Cronus vomits the other children up and the rock. this begins the titanomachy (clash of the titans). wins by Zeus freeing the Hecatonchires, who pursue the titans and now serve as jailers in taratus.
Eos
goddes of Dawn, had many love affairs. most famous one was with Tithonus, a Trojan prince. she asked Zeus to give him immortality, but he continued to age. shriveled until he transformed into a cicada
mnemosyne
goddess of memeory
the age of man
golden age: during the rule of Cronus. eternally youthful now spirits silver age: Rule of Olympians, prideful. babies for 100 years and then grew old and died fast Bronze age: people who were created by Zeus. warlike age of heroes- created by Zeus, legends in famous wars ( Thebes, troy), now ruled by Cronus when they die they go to taratus and are ruled over by Cronus Iron age- Zeus created it and it is the present age
gaea and ouranos
have birth to the titans. cyclopes and hecatonchires
middle bronze age
indo- European speakers and gods brought to Greece. conflict in Lerna and other areas of central Greece. ca. 1900, palaces and linear A appear in Crete. continued development in northern Italy. arrival of indo- European speaker; significant levels of cultural and linguistic blending
hittite myth
kumarbi bites off the genitals of the sky- god Anu Teshub is born from these then over throws kumarbi
lycaon ( the bad guy), Deucalion (noah), Pyrrah ( noah's wife)
lycaon is a really evil king Zeus goes to see him in disguise, but he leaves hints of who he really is Lycaon wants to test out the theory so he feeds Zeus soup made from a dead human Zeus figures it out and turn Lycaon into a wolf and destroys his castle As punishment for what Lycaon did, Zeus decides to punish all humans some gods are upset that they will not receive sacrifices wants to destroy the earth with thunderbolts, but there is a prophecy that says that the heavens perish if the earth does, so he decides to use a flood instead. Deucalion and his wife Pyrrah are spared and land on Mount Parnassus they go to the oracle of Themis and ask how they can repopulate the earth " toss the bones of your mighty mother over your shoulder" the bones of their mother are rocks or stones because both of their mothers are Gaea, the earth goddess Hellen is Deucalion and Pyrrah's son and from him come all three maajor trobes of Greeks
Praxiteles
made the sculpture Aphrodite of Knidos. before his time if a women was portrayed to be nude, then it was automatically perceived that she was a prostitute (archaic period). During the Hellenstic period though things are different and the concept of the sculpture is that she has just finished bathing and that is why she is nude. the fact that in alot of her pictures she is not looking straight ahead means that we are sort of catching her unaware
Cronos
married and had kids with Rhea, and ate all of them because he was scared that they would overthrow him. because of that Rhea hid Zeus the last born from him) and gave him a rock to swallow instead. when Zeus was older, he killed his father, saved all of his relatives, married his sister Hera and became the God of all Gods.
Selene
moon goddess falls in love with a shepard named Endymion. convinces Zeus to put him in an eternal sleep. bears 50 daughters while he is a sleep
early dark/ iron age
mycenae is destroyed by invaders complete cultural and literary decline ca. 1000 mainland greeks resettle in to Ionia as dorians take over mainland
1490- 1200
mycenae takes over Crete, destroys knosses and becomes a central power. 1450 linear B
Aphrodite
non- virgin goddess Goddess of love and sex opposite origin / role of Athena- uncontrolled force of men Born from castrated penis of Uranus, therefore Zeus's and the Olympians Aunt she is the only goddess that is known for being an adulterer and promiscuous most of the stories about her come from outside of Greece, which reflects her eastern origin. there was cult worship of her and common ritual prostitution: well born aristocratic women would prostitute themselves before they were married and the idea was that this would allow for fertility. Anchises- she sees Anchises, a trojan prince on a hill and deguises herself as a beautiful mortal. she sleeps with him and reveals her divinity. ( if a god or a goddess sleeps with a mortal, a pregnancy will always result). she says that she will come back with their child in 5 years and warns him not to reveal her parentage. Anchises does and their son Aeneas escapes troy when it is eventually destroyed and founded the Roman race Aphrodite has an affair with Hermes and it produces Hermaphroditus. he is a very good- looking man, but young and innocent. Nymph Salamacis sees him, pursues him and prays to be joined to him forever. ( this explains why a hermaphrodite is half male and half female because they are joined together). Aphrodite sleeps with Dionysus and they have a son Priapus, who was an Asian garden deity. he has a constant erect phallus that wards off evil eye. ( it brings the message if you mess with my stuff this is what is going to happen to you).
Piero di Cosimo
painted the picture Aphrodite and Ares. there is a bunny by the child in the picture to symbolize fertility. there is also Ares with no armor on to symbolize him being undone by love and to symbolize that Aphrodite has the power over him now
Botticelli
painted the picture the Birth of Aphrodite.
Hera
non- virgin goddess. goddess of weddings and marriage ( nagging wife goddess) could renew her virginity yearly by bathing in a spring, thus her association with marriage because it makes her relevant to marriage of that time. may have originally been associated with fertility of livestock. originally worshiped in Argos, Samos, and Olympia ( where she has a temple dedicated to her that is older than the one of Zeus). her children were Ares ( violent war), Eris (strife), Eileithyia ( childbrith), Hebe ( youth), and hephaethus ( black smith) Contradiction: is that she is the goddess of childbirth, queen of gods but was an awful mother. Heracles ( Zeus's child, but not Hera's) Apollo/ Artemis Dionysus/ Semele Hephaestus ( god of working metal of wood) ( could not walk so she throw him out of the house and so he traps her in a throne. as a bribe for her release, he gets Aphrodite as his wife). symbols- cow, peacock Epithets- queen, cow-eyed
Demeter
non- virgin goddess. she was bad at sex but was great at being a mother. ( meter= mother) Posiedon was attracted to her and tries to pursue her. she tries to avoid him by changing into a horse, but so does he and they have Arion ( winged horse) she sleeps with Iasion and Zeus gets jealous so he kills Iasion, but she gives birth to Ploutios ( wealth that is kept from agricultural produce) she sees this guy Mekon but he is killed and so she turns him into a poppy seed ( makes sense as to why poppy seeds are red because of the blood from Mekon) she is the goddess of cultivated land symbols- grain, flowers, and harvest symbols as well as chariot Epithets- chthonia ( something that grows out of the ground) and fruit- bearer
rise of the titans symbolism
nothing can happen on the earth's surface until Uranus (sky) is severed from perpetual union with Gaea (Earth). Aphrodite's birth is a representation of irresistible and destructive forces of sexual attraction.
Enuma Elish
orally composed Separation of Apsu and Tiamat and give birth to lahmu and lahamu ( Mr. and Mrs. mud) Ea, the wise, kills aspu and fathers marduk marduk receives winds as a toy tiamat turns on Ea and other gods and fights marduk Marduk then splits the gods into their realms
hyperion
original sun god, has the children Helios (sun), Selene( moon) and Eos (dawn)
Virginity of Artemis
originally the goddess of early motherhood protector of young (animals and humans), but a virgin not androgynous like Athena. unlike Athena, Artemis is pretty and anyone who tries to take her virginity away from her she will kill them Actaeon is famous hunter who accidently sees Artemis bathing and so Artemis turns him into a deer and his hunting dogs chase and kill him
Heliconian Muses praise.....
praising Zeus the aegis- holder and queenly Hera of Argos who walks on golden sandals and the daughter of Zeus the aegis-holder bright-eyed Athene, and Phoebus Apollo, and Artemis who delights in arrows, and Poseidon the earth-holder who shakes the earth, and reverend Themis and quick-glancing (1) Aphrodite, and Hebe with the crown of gold, and fair Dione, Leto, Iapetus, and Cronos the crafty counsellor, Eos and great Helius and bright Selene, Earth too, and great Oceanus, and dark Night, and the holy race of all the other deathless ones that are for ever. through and clothed in the mist of the nighttime.
Paleoithic Age
pre- 7000 B.C, old stone age, some evidence of communities. 7200 first evidence of a burial 40,000 B.c. on parts of the Italian peninsula inhabitated neanderthal men and homo sapien men
chaos
provides the beginning for creation. out of chaos came the universe. From Chaos came Ge (Earth and fertility mother), Tartarus ( under side of earth), Eros (attraction) the fairest of all the immortals saves us from all our sorrows but ruins our hearts' good sense, Erebus (darkness), and Night(Nyx).
late dark/ iron age
rapid population growth, new trade developing, greek alphebet developed around 800 and first olympic games in 776 etruscans have a large, refined civilians for most of this period 700s greeks begin settling in Magna Graecia and most of south Italy. Sicily is a Greek colony 753 romulus (founded Rome) and remus iron age huts on palatine hill
the titans
relatively unimportant in either cult worship and in art represent the primary natural causes of the earth Oceanus st.
archaic period
rise of city states in mainland (athens, sparta etc.). they are politically autonomous. Persian conflict in 499 when Ionian Greeks rebel from Persian empire 753-510: Rome monarchy, "7 kings of Rome" 510: end of monarch and beginning of republic, rise of Latin
classical period
rise of culture and literature: Socrates, Plato etc. Rome is growing. myths and gods from Italian culture are assimilating into Roam culture
linear B
script related to linear A, but records a form of proto- greek language ( Mycenaen) mostly deciphered in 1950 1250 the Trojan war
myth
short story, some type of cultural aspect to it. they tell a truth, a cultural truth. symbolic truth maybe even a literal truth. it is a traditional story that often involves supranational beings or forces, which embodies and provides an explanation for something such as the early history of society, a religious belief or ritual or a natural phenomenon.
Apollo
son of Zeus god of shamans, archery, healing and prophecy twin brother of Artemis representation of Greek aristocratic ideology control and golden mean ( not moving to far to the right or too far to the left. i am working hard and diligent, but not getting overwhelmed by passion)
Ares
son of Zeus and Hera God of uncontrolled war and blood lust Primary story is his affair with Aphrodite ( people like to use this story to prove that these Greek myths are not true) he was the national god of Rome ( as mars) his pictures portray him as a solider Hephaestus finds out about the affair and sets a trap for the two of them. they are caught in unbreakable and invisible chains and all of the gods laugh at them. symbols- typical war armor ( often looks the same as human war armor) many children but no wife: Phobos ( panic) Deimos ( fear) Harmonia Eros
Hestia
stays home and cares for Olympus. she is the goddess that cares for all of the other Olympians closely associated with personal religion and internal space Contraction: she says at home and performs a wife's duty, but also maintains her virginity ( thought to be the ideal Athenian woman) Vesta becomes and important national deity for Rome Iconography- she usually has her head covered and sometimes holding a tree branch or a pot
helios
sun god, drives big chariot driven by horses. he is pulling the chariot across the sky. he has a sin named Phaethon and he attempts to drive the chariot but cant. Libya is a desert because Phaethon drove the chariot with the sun too close to the ground and scorched the ground.
gaea and pontus
they have offspring together. most of them are monsters (Medusa, Pegasus, Cerberus, chimera, sphinx, harpies etc.). Achilles is their great grandson
earth and starry heaven
told kronos that he would be over thrown by his son
artemis
twin sister of Apollo Huntress, goddess of animals (Potnia Theron= Queen of the wild animals) fiercely guards her virginity worship of her may at one point involve a human sacrifice there is always a story of death relating to Artemis her primary temple in Ephesus considered one of the 7 wonders of the world
origin of mortals
very little Greek source material for the actual creation of humans. Prometheus is typically referred to as the maker of humans. he is a titan and is the son of Lapetus. he took Zeus' side in titanomachy. his name means "Forethought". he is thought of as being a trickster. it is thought that humans were made out of the "divine seed" still left in the earth. humans are sculptured out of clay in the images of gods. we are made to where we can look up to the gods and worship and praise them Similarities to Babylonian Enuma Elish- we were made to be servants of gods and we were fashioned from the ground similarities to the Old Testament- the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, but also we were made in god's image.
Athena
virgin goddess, born from the head of Zeus fearful goddess of war not wild, controlled but manipulative goes with the Greek philosophy of maintaining control and they fear the goddess Aphrodite because she causes people to lose control some aspect of androgyny (masculine and feminine) "different" virgin, different from women ( not sexual, even though most normal Athenian women's jobs are to provide children) Female, so different from men ( she is seen as being the ideal male but she is female) patron goddess of Athens she completed against Poseidon to become the patron of Athens they each gave the Athenians a gift, Poseidon gave them a salt spring and Athena gave them the first ever olive tree the Parthenon is the main temple in Athens dedicated to her every fourth year is a large processional for all of the high- born virgins in Athens she invents chariots, ships and the spinning wool celebrated with Panathenaea on her birthday "Wisdom" is only in the classical period
flood myth
ziusudra was a sumarian who was saved when Enki (freshwater god) destroyed the earth with a flood builds a boat brought on multiple animals ( god was not happy with them) Atrahasis was preserved in a flood designed to control the human population ( there were too many humans) Noah preserved and create a covenant with Yahweh