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Greek Mythology

Mrs. Rhoads In the beginning…

– A dark and swirling mass of wildness. • Born of chaos were two children: Night and (depth where dwells). • Love sprang forth next, providing order and beauty. • Love created Light and Day. Creation continued…

appeared next and was called Gaea (pronounced Jee-ah). Gaea was personified as female. • The also appeared and was called . Uranus was personified as male. • Gaea and Uranus were the parents of a generation of , and . Creation…

• The Titans were the first race of gods. They were and powerful beings that had power of the heavens and earth. • Two of the Titans, (male) and (female) were the parents of six of the Olympian : , , , , and . An important Titan

– brother of and . Held the heavens on his shoulders. A tasty

• One myth tells that Cronus received a prediction that one of his children would overthrow him one day. To guarantee this would never happen, Cronus ate his children as soon as they were born. When Rhea gave birth to her son, Zeus, she decided to give Cronus a stone wrapped as a baby instead of their son. She gave the real baby to who cared for him and raised him. A year later, he returned –fully grown – to save his brothers and sisters, overthrow his father and assume rule over the gods and . The other Olympian deities

, , , , , , and (see tablet notes for parentage). • All of the Olympians lived at the home of the gods and , . Creators of man

• Zeus gave the duty of creating animals and man to two Titans who were brothers: • Prometheus – his name means forethought • Epimetheus – his name means afterthought Creating man

• After Epimetheus created all the animals, birds and other creatures of the earth and gave them special gifts (fur, wings, etc.), Prometheus created man. • Prometheus made man in the gods’ image, made man to walk upright and gave man the gifts of fire (heat, light, cooking and protection) and the best cuts of meat. Creating man…

• Zeus was angry that man was empowered, so he punished Prometheus by chaining him to a rock on a mountain and sending an to peck and devour Prometheus’ liver every day.

Woman…

• To ‘get back’ at man, Zeus created the first woman, , and sent her to earth along with a chest/box that should NEVER be opened. • Epimetheus fell in love with Pandora and married her despite his brother’s warnings. Pandora was so curious about the contents of the box, she opened it. All the evils of the world escaped, but Pandora closed the box in time to keep inside. Races of man

• Golden race: mortal, but lived like gods without sorrow, toil and pain; beloved of the gods; had enough food; when they died, they became pure spirits who served as guardians of mankind. • Silver race: Inferior to the previous race; had little intelligence; injured each other; died, but their spirits did not live on. Races of man

• Brass race: terrible men; strong, but were lovers of war and violence; they were destroyed by their own hands. • -like heroes: fought in glorious wars; had adventures; when they died, they went to the isle of the blessed, where they lived in perfect bliss forever. Races of man…

• Iron race (current race) – live in evil times; have evil natures; never have rest from toil and sorrow; as generations pass, each grow worse; sons are always inferior to their fathers.

Other Olympians

• Demeter () – Zeus’ sister; of and corn; Persephone’s mother; involved in the change of season’s myth. • Persephone – Daughter of Demeter and Zeus; Hades’ wife; queen of the ; involved in the change of season’s myth. …and another Olympian

• Hebe – goddess of youth; daughter of Zeus and Hera; ’ wife. Minor, but popular, deities

– messenger goddess; goddess of the rainbow (multi-colored cloak) • Graces – three goddesses; sang; brought cheer and happiness to banquets; “gave its bloom” • – nine goddesses who inspired scholars and artists; (history, astronomy, , comedy, dance, poetry, love poetry, songs to the gods and lyric poetry). continued

• Fates – three fates; one spins the thread of life; one determines the length of the thread (life); and one cuts the thread of life • - also known as the Furies; three of them; punished the evil doers. • Graiae – pronounced grī-ee; also known as the gray sisters; three of them; shared one eye and one tooth in turn; gave directions to the home of their sisters, the . , Nymphs and • Naiads – water nymphs that lived in and presided over lakes, rivers, springs and . • Nymphs – lesser deities; beautiful girls; eternally young; involved with gods and mortals; found in woodland areas. • Maenads – also known as Bacchantes; followers of , the god of ; when they became too drunk, they would run wildly across the countryside tearing to pieces the wild creatures they met and devoured the bloody pieces of flesh.

Creatures Creatures

– creature that is half man and half horse. • – creature that is half bull and half man. • – three sisters with for hair, scaly skin, claws, tusks of a and golden wings; two were immortal; one was mortal, . More creatures

– the three-headed hound that guards the entrance to the Underworld. • – beings that were half man and half . • – fierce, stinky winged monsters with faces of women, bodies of vultures and sharp claws. Roman deities

• The Romans “adopted” the Greek gods because the Romans didn’t have definitely personified gods of their own. • Romans were of a deep religious feeling, but lacked imagination. • Their gods were practical, but vague. Some were known for their realms: One who guards the Cradle; One Who Presides over Children’s Food. Numina

• “Those that are Above” • The Powers of the the Wills • The Will-Power

• Saturn is the counterpart for the Greek Cronus. • Married to (Harvest Helper) • When he reigned in , it was the . •

• Two-faced god • The god of good beginnings, which are sure to result in good endings. • January/the New Year

• Saturn’s grandson • Like the Greek • Rustic god •