MythologyChelsie, Clarissa, Savannah

Hera

• Hera’s parents are Cronus and Rhea making her a full god. • Hera was the wife and

sister of Zeus and the goddess of marriage and family. Hera was however Zeus’s 7th lover and is often said that she put him in seventh heaven.• People pay attention to

this myth because it gives the idea that marriage and family can last no matter what goes on.

Zeus went behind Hera’s back and created a daughter, Athena, from his head. Furious as ever, Hera turned around and created a son of

her own, Hephaestus. Still furious, she and Zeus separated for a year. Zeus tried to get her to come back and finally used her jealous

nature against her and created a goddess made of wood to create the image of a bride. When word got around that Zeus was “going to

remarry,” Hera appeared in an instant over jealousy to stop what was about to happen.

When she arrived and realized it was just wood and a plan, she and Zeus reconciled. This day is

called Daidala and is celebrated as a festival each year.

Theme: No matter how bad things may seem, they can always get better.

Today, the allusion of Hera is within any good marriage.

Poseidon• Cronus and Rhea are Poseidon’s

parents making him a full god.• Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon are

all brothers. Together they shared their power, Zeus became ruler of the sky, Hades was the ruler of the underworld and Poseidon became ruler of the sea. With this Poseidon had a trident he carried which gave him the power to create earthquakes or large storms at sea as well as making it a calm peaceful day.

Poseidon• At one point, Poseidon desired to

have the goddess, Demeter, so to prove his love he was going to create the most beautiful creature she had ever seen. After several tries, he finally made the horse, but with it taking so long Demeter had lost interest leaving Poseidon with nothing but the horse. Later however it turns out Poseidon was a shape shifter. He was able to shape into the form of the horse. When Medusa was killed by Perseus, a Pegasus flew from her neck. It is believed that could have been Poseidon in his horse form. He was also able to grant shape shifting power to others.

Today: Today we

have Olympic Games held in various

countries. The games in Isthiam

are in honor of

Poseidon.

This particular myth maybe exists because it’s the explanation to horses, along with the idea of a Pegasus. Also when storms happen, such as earthquakes, tsunamis, and hurricanes, it’s fun to think of a nonscientific way as to why things are the way they are.

Medusa• Phorcys and Ceto are Medusa’s parents and although

starting out as a human, she was cursed so she is considered a monster.• Originally Medusa was a golden haired fair goddess.

She worked as a priest for the goddess Athena. Medusa met Poseidon and fell in love, leaving the priest life behind to get married. As a punishment, Athena cursed Medusa by turning her golden hair into venomous snakes, her face into an ugly woman, and gave her skin a green tinge. Feeling horrendous, Medusa fled from home and stayed on the go. When she came upon others, if they were to look her in the eyes, they would turn to stone. • Today, Medusa is shown in movies such as Percy

Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief. By having Greek mythology beings in movies, it is educating people while entertaining them at the same time.

Medusa• Connection: Medusa in the Greek

mythology can be compared to Lot’s wife in the Bible. Lot and his wife were running from the cities as they were being destroyed. An angel told then “look not behind thee.. lest though be consumed.” Lot’s wife ignored this and look back at the city and was turned into a pillar of salt. Medusa is able to turn people into stone if they gaze into her eyes. You have that connection between the two stories, the end result fairly similar.• It is believed that as Medusa crossed

the continent of Africa, strands of her “hair” would fall out and for this reason, there are many venomous reptiles crawling the surface of Africa today.

- When Perseus killed Medusa, there is this idea that Perseus saves damsels in distress and defeats the monsters he comes across. o Because he was able to kill Medusa, it goes to

show that she may appeared strong on the outside, but on the inside she was a damsel in distress. Weak and defeated.

Hades• Origin: The origin of Hades name is uncertain, but has been pronounced to

mean “The Unseen One”.

• Story: Hades was the son of Cronus and Rhea. He was the oldest and brother of Poseidon, Hera, Demeter, Zeus, Hestia, and Chiron. His story begins when he was swallowed by his father at a young age. His other siblings helped him be regurgitated and together they overthrew their father and the rest of the elders. Each son drew for lots that would determine which region they ruled. Hades drew the underworld whereas today we see it in comparison with hell. Hades abducted Persephone from the earth through trickery and she later became his wife and queen of the Underworld.

• Symbolism: The Cerberus was a three headed dog that was Hades’ companion in guarding the underworld. Other important symbols are his helmet and two pronged fork, the planet Pluto, treasures of gold and silver along with gems, black horses, and shadows.

• Theme: Once evil always evil.

Demeter• Origin: Demeter was the daughter of Cronus and Rhea. Her name means

“She of the Grain”.

• Story: Demeter is the Goddess of the harvest, who presided over grains and the fertility of the earth. Demeter’s story is mostly told in combination with her daughter, Peresephone. Demeter searched for nine days in hopes of finding her daughter. She then was foretold that Peresephone was abducted by Hades and held in captivity in the underworld. Over grief and mourn Demeter lost herself. The earth started to slowly die and life was in the dark. As Demeter wandered in desolation she came upon a well and sat there. She had nowhere to go. Four young maids had seen her and asked what she was doing. When Demeter told them they all ran back to their home and asked their mother if Demeter could come to their home. She was welcome too. There she took care of the children and made herself a new home.

• Symbolism: Some important symbols are a sheaf of grain, a conical headdress, a scepter, a torch, and a sacrificial bowl.

• Theme: Instead of waiting for an outcome strive for it and do it yourself.

Minos• Origin: Minos was the son of Zeus and Europa. His

name means “King” in Cretan.

• Story: Minos was the King of Crete and governed the kingdom for many generations. He was held at a high esteem by the Olympian gods. For this reason he was known as the “good” king. After he died he was made one of the Three Judges of the Dead.

• Symbolism: Minos is symbolized with a crown

• Theme: No one will notice until greatness is achieved and then people will remember.

Today..

• Many of these Gods are used in books to describe their stories. Today we read Percy Jackson books which talk about many of these characters once known as Gods and Goddesses.

Zeus

• Overthrew his father, Cronus, succeeded the throne and became Supreme Ruler, lord of the sky and rain. His weapon of choice was a thunderbolt.

• He is a God because people see him as wise, caring, fair, and a prudent God, though unpredictable.

• Theme: Fate, Self-confidence

• Myths are used as a type of back story for a lot of things and a number of myths help with several social problems in society. They are also a good base of origin and history.

• Zeus is used a lot in modern society for such things as company names, his name symbolizes a great and powerful lord of all other gods.

Continued…

• Zeus, God of the sky and ruler of the Olympian gods, overthrew his father because he was afraid mostly of what his father would might have had the chance to do. Zeus eventually became the Supreme Ruler, especially of the sky and rain. His brother Hades became the ruler of the underworld, Poseidon the ruler of the sea, and he had Demeter, Hestia and Hera all as siblings.

• Zeus’ symbols are the eagle, the oak tree, and his weapon a thunderbolt.

Odysseus• Odysseus was the king of Ithaca and ended up

leaving and going to the war when Troy fell. Odysseus was the man who convinced 50 Greek heroes into the Trojan horse. After the fall of Troy the Trojan army left on their ships travelling lost at sea going from island to island. Eventually most of the ships were destroyed and Odysseus was the only survivor although it took him approximately ten years to return home. He proved to Penelope, his wife, that it is him and killed all other suitors. His father was Laertes and mother Anticlea.

• Theme: Courage and bravery, possibly respect.

• Odysseus is more or less a role model in modern society because of his journey home, the things he faced and how he had managed

to get home to his family, even though it took about ten years.

Works Cited

"Greek Mythology: Poseidon." Greek Mythology: Poseidon. Web. 31 Aug. 2015."Medusa." Medusa. Web. 31 Aug. 2015."Odysseus." , Greece, Greek Mythology. Web. 31 Aug. 2015."Stories of Hera 1 : Greek Mythology." STORIES OF HERA 1 : Greek Mythology. Web. 31 Aug. 2015."Zeus • Facts and Information on Greek God of the Sky Zeus." Greek Gods & Goddesses. Web. 31 Aug. 2015.  MLA formatting by BibMe.org.