Greek mythology developed to explain natural phenomena and the origins of man. The Greeks believed in many gods and goddesses who lived on Mount Olympus and influenced human affairs. According to myth, Gaia and Uranus were the first beings, from whom the Titans and other creatures emerged. Cronus overthrew his father Uranus and imprisoned the monsters, then Zeus overthrew Cronus to become king of the gods. Zeus and the Olympians defeated the Titans and ruled the world from Mount Olympus.

1. Introduction to
Greek Mythology

2. Mythology:
 The study of “Myths”—and myths are stories
about supernatural beings in early times,
which were handed down orally from one
generation to another
 Myths attempt to explain such things as:
 Nature-Where did Earth come from? Heavens?
Seasons? Geography?
 Man- Where did we come from?
 Gods-Where do the gods come from?

3. The Greeksand Romans believed in
polytheism…
 Poly=many
 Theism=God
 Polytheism=many gods

4. Whydowe studyGreekMythology?
Interesting and Entertaining
Shows how ancient people
viewed the world and gives us
an account of their history
It is constantly referenced to in
everyday life

5. Somereferencesyoumayhaveseen…

6. Thecreationof theworld(accordingto
GreekMythology)
 First there was Chaos
 Out of Chaos emerged
two beings: Gaea
(Mother Earth) and
Uranus (Heavens)

7. Gaea andUranus hadseveralchildren
Titans Monsters
 Oceanus andTethys
 Hyperion andThea
 Coeus and Phoebe
 Cronus and Rhea
 Mnemosyne
 Themis
 Crius
 Lapetus
 3 of each:
 Hecatonchires (hundred
hands
 Cyclopes (one-eyed)

8. Uranus hatedallhischildrenbut
especiallythemonsters…
 Locked the monsters inTartarus
 Gaea was upset and asked theTitans to help
 Cronus, the youngest and strongest,
overthrew is father, Uranus, and seized the
rule of the Universe.
 Cronus took Rhea for a wife and divided the
Earth among his fellowTitans
 Cronus and Rhea had 6 children:The
Olympians

9. Cronusfearedthathischildrenwouldoverthrow
himthewayheoverthrewhisfather…
 Cronus swallowed all of his children…except the
last one.
 Rhea replaced the infant with a stone to prevent
Cronus from swallowing Zeus. He grew up in
hiding (Crete)
 When Zeus was grown he made his dad
regurgitate his siblings
 Zeus and his siblings raged war against their
father, Cronus

10. Titanomochy,orWaroftheTitans
Cronus VS Zeus
 Titans
 Mount Othrys
 His siblings
 Hecatonchires & Cyclopes
 Mount Olympus
Zeus, with the use of his lightning bolt given to him by the
Cyclopes, defeated Cronus and his army. Most of the
Titans were confined toTartarus. Zeus divided the world
among his sibling gods…

11. Zeus
 is the king of the gods,
 the ruler of Mount
Olympus and the god of
the sky and thunder.
 His symbols are the
thunderbolt, eagle, bull,
and oak.
 His siblings: Posiedon,
Hades, Hestia,
Demeter, and Hera
 Had many affairs and many
offspring

12. Hera
 Wife and older sister to
Zeus
 Queen of Olympians
 Goddess of childbirth and
marriage
 Symbols: pomegranate
 She took many forms,
among them that of a
bird.
 Vindictive, jealous of Zeus’s affairs

13. Poseidon
 God of the sea, horses,
and earthquakes
 One of the supreme
Gods of Mount
Olympus, but he spent
most of his time in his
watery domain.
 Symbols:Trident,
dolphins, horses

14. Hestia
 Goddess of Hearth and
Home
 Honored at meal times
 She was thought of as
the kindest and mildest
of the kindest and
mildest of the
goddesses.
 She represented
personal and communal
security and happiness.

15. Demeter
 Goddess of Agriculture
 Often shown carrying a
bundle of grain
 Symbols: wheat,
poppies, cornucopia

16. Aphrodite
 Goddess of love,
beauty and fertility
 One legend states
that she is the
daughter of Zeus and
Dione. Another
legend says that she
was born from sea-
foam
 She is associated
with the dove
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17. Athena
 Goddess of wisdom
and war
 She was the patron
goddess of Athens
 Her symbol is the owl
 She is the favorite
daughter of Zeus
 Protector of the city
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18. Hades
 God of the underworld
 “King of the Dead”
 Symbols: Cerberus,
Bident, and Cypress

19. TheHero
 Many mythological stories feature Heroes
 Heroes have specific traits:
 Unusual circumstance of birth; danger or royalty
 Leaves family or land and lives with others
 An event leads to an adventure or quest
 Hero has special weapon only he can wield
 Hero has supernatural help
 The hero must prove himself many times while on
the adventure
 Hero experiences atonement with his father

20. Someheroesyoumayknow…

21. AnEpicPoem
 A long narrative poem originally told (and
later written) in a dignified style and
presenting characters of high position
engaged in a series of adventures (episodes)
that are important to the history of a nation
or race.

22. CharacteristicsoftheEpic:
1. The hero is a figure of imposing stature, of
national importance, and of great historical
or legendary significance
2. The setting is vast in scope
3. The action consists of deeds of great valor or
requiring superhuman courage
4. Supernatural forces interests themselves in
the action
5. The epic poet recounts the deeds of the
heroes with objectivity

23. Exampleofan epicpoem: