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Folk Tales: stories that have been handed down by word of mouth from generation to generation
Basic Definitions
Myth: a folk story that transmits the beliefs and values of a culture. Most often it tells about gods and goddesses, thus carrying religious meaning; or a myth may tell about heroes who symbolize the aspirations of that culture.
Epic: A long narrative poem in grand style that tells the story of a folk hero.
Saga: a long prose narrative that tells the story of a folk hero. The term is limited almost exclusively to the hero stories of Norway and Ireland.
“INTRODUCTION TO CLASSICAL MYTHOLOGY” –
E. Hamilton Folklore is filled with horror, terror, and magic and recounts stories that human sacrifice appeased the gods.
This fits with the basic definition of what makes a religion:
a) Fear: The horrors of the primeval forest
b) Sacrifice: defense from fear
c) Ritual: magic to fend off evil; to control fear.
The Iliad is the first written record of Greece with mythology beginning with Homer.
The Greeks fashioned their gods in their own image, unlike other cultures (combinations of unimaginable creatures were the gods of other cultures).
Tiamet (Babylon)
“Human gods…made heaven a pleasantly familiar place” but still the gods were powerful, to be revered and feared. However, they were also a source of amusement and entertainment (Zeus’s love affairs, etc.)
The deities existed on earth too, in the rivers and woods (mirroring the beauty of nature).
John Watterman
Hamilton identifies the miracle of Greek mythology: “a humanized world, men freed from a paralyzing fear of an omnipotent unknown.”
“While the myths and stories might be fantastically nonsensical, they are presented and take place in a world which is basically rational and matter of fact.”
Actual locations were associated with the stories & divinities.
Fear of the terrifying irrational doesn’t exist
Magic is rare (no men and only 2 women with supernatural magical powers)
No witches or wizards of dark forests; only Circe and Medea are witches and they are beautiful.
No astrology (belief that stars influence man’s fate and lives)
No magical priests; priests and priestesses were simply mouthpieces of the gods, but were unable to control the deities.
Ghosts don’t appear on earth; “the piteous dead” could only be found in the Underworld.
The Greek myths vary from their counterparts:The Greek myths vary from their counterparts:
While you could not predict the whims of the gods, the beauty of their world was not terrifying like that of other cultures.
The gods were flawed with almost every one of them capable of acting contemptibly or cruelly
There are also beast-gods (satyrs, centaurs, minotaur)
Some stories allude to a time of human sacrifice; yet, unlike their counterparts, incredibly few references to this exist
The creatures (harpies, gorgon, hydra, chimera) give the hero his opportunity for glory
Other characteristics of Greek mythologyOther characteristics of Greek mythology
The myths of ancient Greece are not to be read as a bible
A real myth offers an explanation to a natural phenomenon, to explain creation and the creation of different natural objects and phenomena (flowers, trees, animals, thunder, storms)
Mythology is man’s early science
Some myths are purely entertainment (early literature)
There is some religion there
a) some teach values and cultural mores
b) “there is a deepening realization of what human beings need and what they must have in their gods”
Mythology vs ReligionMythology vs Religion
Zeus was once a rain god (creation / nature)
He also doled out justice and punished those who disobeyed the cultural mores ( values & rules)
These mores included:a) Be hospitable
b) Honor the gods
c) Don’t lie or break oaths
d) Honor burial practices
e) He will bring his wrath down on those who do evil on the suppliant (earnest beggar), the stranger, or orphan children
The Greeks recognized justice as a gift from Zeus, setting them above other animals
Hesoid wrote “Fishes and beasts and fowls of the air devour one another; man has justice.
Zeus is a complex deityZeus is a complex deity
Statue of Zeus at Olympia, his
temple
The AgesThe Ages
o Age of happiness and innocenceo truth and right prevailed without need of law,
magistrate, or punishmentso no weaponso good existed without toil; rivers flowed with milk &
honey
1. Golden Age
The AgesThe Ages
o Zeus shortened spring and divided the year into
seasonso Men endured extremities
of heat and cold and were forced to build houseso Toil and sowing now
required for food
2. Silver Age
The AgesThe Ages
o Man was more savage of tempero Readier to strife of arms (battling with weapons)o Man, however, was not altogether wickedo Wars! (Like the Trojan War)
3. Bronze (Brazen) Age
The AgesThe Ages
o Crime flooded the eartho Modesty, honor and truth fled; replaced by fraud
and cunning, violence, & the wicked love of gaino Trees torn down for vessels which marred the
surface of the oceano The earth was divided off into possessionso Men began to dig into the earth’s bowels for ores
of metals: first iron then goldo War and weaponso Families could not trust even each othero All gods abandoned the earth; last was Astraea (innocence and purity) and she finally departedo Zeus / Jupiter summoned all the gods,
explaining the condition of the world, and told of his desire to destroy all inhabitants and start again.
4. Iron Age
The AgesThe Ages
o Zeus besieged the earth with rain and Poseidon released the rivers to flood the lando Only Mt. Parnassus was left and Deucalion and Pyrrha, of
the race of Prometheus, found refugeo Zeus noted them as good pious people and ceased the rain and floodo Deucalion & Pyrrha found a temple and entered, asking the gods what to doo They were told to leave and cast the bones of their mother behind them. They eventually understood this to mean the stones of the earth (the bones of the ultimate mother – earth)o As they did, the stones turned into humans, those thrown
by Deucalion became men; by Pyrrha, womeno For his part (giving fire to man), Prometheus was
punished by being chained to a rock on Mt. Caucasus where a vulture preyed on his liver.
4. Iron Age : The Great Flood
CosmogonyCosmogonyFirst there was Chaos
From Chaos came Nyx or Nox (Night) and Erebus (Darkness)
Night and Erebus gave birth to Eros (Love)
Also created were Gaia (Earth) and Tartarus (Underworld)
Some divine force separated the elements (heaven from earth, sea from sky, etc.)
Gaia gave birth to 3 beings:
Ouranos (Uranus): Sky
Pontus: Sea
Mountains
Uranus, born to Gaia in her sleep, mates with his mother to give birth to the remainder of the Earth’s elements (waters, forestry, beasts). They also produced the Titans & Titanesses, Cyclops, and hundred-armed giants with 50 heads (there were only 3 of them, thank goodness), the Hecatoncheires
Cosmogony (continued)Cosmogony (continued) Nyx mated with Erebus to produce Hemera (Day), Light,
and Aether (Air)
Nyx (by herself) produced:• Thanatos (Death)• Hypnos (Sleep)• Moros (Doom)• Nemesis (Retribution)• Oizys (Pain)• Momus (Sarcasm)
• Eris (Strife)• Keres (female spirits of death)• Geras (Old Age)• Oneiroi (Dreams)• Moirai (Fates)
Thanatos NYX
Cosmogony (continued)Cosmogony (continued)
o Ouranos was afraid of many of his children and imprisoned most in Tartaruso He kept the Titans (12 of them) locked in Gaia’s wombo Gaia couldn’t take it anymore so she fashioned a very sharp sickle and give it to the Titanso Cronus, the youngest, offered to helpo He separated Dad from Mom; and … it fell into the seao Aphrodite was born of the foam and emerged from the sea fully growno From his blood sprang the Giants, the fourth race of monsters, and the Erinys (or the Furies), who pursued sinners, those guilty of unpunished crimes… especially patricide and matricide. They were ghastly with snakes in their hair and their eyes that wept blood.
Cosmogony (continued)Cosmogony (continued)
o Cronus first freed all his siblings then re-imprisoned the Cyclopses and giants out of fearo He married his sister, Rhea.o Knowing of a prophecy that declared one of his children would overthrow him for power, he swallowed all of his children whole.oWhen her sixth child was born, Rhea appealed to her parents for help. They sent her to Crete where she had Zeus. She wrapped a large stone in swaddling clothes and gave it to Cronus.oWhen Zeus was old enough, he became a servant of Cronus, gave him an elixir which freed his ingested brethren.oHe then, with his siblings, freed the Cyclops and Hecatoncheires, and took the throne from Cronus.
Cosmogony (continued)Cosmogony (continued)o Cronus’s army of Titans was imprisoned to Tartarus.o Atlas escaped, but got a worse punishment: to hold the weight of the sky and earth on his shoulders.oThe Giants also tried to rebel, but were beaten by the gods with the help of Hercules. They, too, were sent to Tartarus.
Cosmogony (continued)Cosmogony (continued) More mythological trivia: The Titans
MALE• Cronus (Saturn)• Oceanus• Hyperion• Iaptus• Ophion
Zeus battles the Titans
FEMALE• Rhea (Ops)• Themis• Mnemosyne• Eurynome
Cosmogony (continued)Cosmogony (continued)o Cronus yields power to Zeuso Oceanus to Poseidono Hyperion to Apollo (Hyperion was the father of Sun, Moon, and Dawn oThere are two accounts of Cronus’s / Saturn’s rule: a) his reign is said to be the Golden Age of innocence and purity b) he is a monster who swallowed his own children
o Zeus first marries Metis (Prudence) [she was the daughter of Oceanus & cousin to Zeus] who gives Cronus a draught causing him to disgorge his children. Titans were vanquished; Olympians assumed the rule of the worldo Zeus is given control of the heavens; Poseidon, the ocean; Hades, the realm of the dead (Pluto / Dis)
The Major Olympian GodsThe Major Olympian Gods
Zeus (Jupiter or Jove)• God of the heavens / king
of the gods• Thunder: his weapon• Aegis: shield• Eagle: favorite bird• Oak: tree• All of these are symbols
of power, strength, & size• Known for his
philandering – slept with almost every goddess, nymph & mortal woman, and had MANY children
The Major Olympian GodsThe Major Olympian GodsPoseidon ( Neptune )
• god of the seas, rivers, oceans & of earthquakes
• Symbols: trident (a symbol of power), horses, & bulls
• Married to Amphitrite, but had several affairs (including one with Medusa – before she was ugly)
• Powerful… but was unable to win any argument or conflict with his niece, Athena.
• Sometimes depicted as greedy and quarrelsome
• All sea-faring city-states worshipped him (such as Troy & Phaeacia)
The Major Olympian GodsThe Major Olympian GodsHades (Pluto / Dis) dis = wealth (Latin)• God of the Underworld• Claimed ownership of all
metals & gems below surface of the earth
• Private & a loner; did not welcome “visitors” & rarely let anyone who entered the Underworld leave again
• Symbols: helmet of invisibility (it allowed him to leave the Underworld unseen, as he was not a welcome visitor), and a cornucopia (usually filled with precious gems).
The Major Olympian GodsThe Major Olympian GodsHades• The Underworld / Tartarus
was guarded by Cerberus, a vicious three-headed watchdog
• The Underworld could only be accessed by Charon, the ferryman on the River Styx
• While Hades was cold & grim, he was neither vicious or evil (except for that incident with Persephone).
• He oversaw all of the punishments of the dead mandated by the gods (like Tantalus)
The Major Olympian GodsThe Major Olympian GodsHera (Juno)• Queen of the gods• Jealous & vindictive• Protector of wives; goddess of
marriage & childbirth• The peacock is her sacred
bird (Argus)• Also associated with the cow
(seen as an animal providing nourishment & watchfulness – like Hera over her subjects)
• Iris, goddess of the rainbow, is her personal messenger
• Constantly chases her husband around – and punishes his lovers.
The Major Olympian GodsThe Major Olympian GodsHestia (Vesta)• Goddess of the hearth & home• Firstborn daughter of Cronus &
Rhea• Symbol is the hearth-fire, symbolic
of home & family• Always kept the peace• Few official temples were built to
her, but every hearth was a tribute to her.
• Every city has a public hearth dedicated to her that was never allowed to go out
• Remained a virgin goddess in order to settle a fight between Apollo & Poseidon over her; she felt maintaining her chastity would be the most peaceful way to end it.
The Major Olympian GodsThe Major Olympian GodsDemeter (Ceres)• Mother earth; goddess of grain,
agriculture, fertility and the harvest; known as the corn-goddess.
• First loaf of bread from the harvest is sacrificed to her
• Symbols: poppy, narcissus, ear of corn
• Her daughter with Zeus, Persephone (Proserpine), became Hades’ wife
• Associated with the changing seasons (story of Hades & Persephone)
The Major Olympian GodsThe Major Olympian GodsAres (Mars)• God of war• Symbols: weapons, armor (obviously –
they symbolize war)• Bird: vulture (prey on the dead)• Sacred animal: dog• Son of Zeus & Hera (neither one of
which liked him very much)• Embodied the destructive forces of war
(unlike Athena who was in charge of the intelligent & orderly use of war to defend the city)
• The Greek people didn’t like him very much
• Athena defeated him anytime he fought opposed to her
The Major Olympian GodsThe Major Olympian GodsAres • He was ferocious, loud, and
generally unpleasant to be around – but was also tall and handsome
• Lover to Aphrodite (goddess of love & beauty).
• Together, Ares & Aphrodite represented the wild impulses the subvert order & organization – the irrational
• They had three sons:Eros (Cupid): God of Love
Deimus (Fear) Phobus (Panic)
The Major Olympian GodsThe Major Olympian GodsAthena (Minerva)
• Goddess of wisdom, military strategy (war), handicrafts, the arts, justice, and industry; patron of Athens
• Invented the bridle, yoke, pot, trumpet, flute, chariot, and the ship
• Born fully from the head of Zeus (mother was Metis, who was devoured by Zeus when he heard a prophecy that after Metis had the daughter she was impregnated with, she would have a son who would overthrow him)
• She wore a helmet & breastplate and carried a shield with the head of Medusa on it (Medusa / Poseidon/ Pegasus story)
• Symbols: owl, olive tree (her gift to Athens), often accompanied by her pet snake (Athenians believed it protected the city)
The Major Olympian GodsThe Major Olympian GodsAthena
• Daddy’s little girl!• Had the honor of carrying Zeus’s aegis: a
poncho-like garment made of goatskin with a fringe that was impervious to any weapon, including Zeus’s own lightning (The US Navy has a class of warships called the Aegis Combat System cruisers)
• Also known as Pallas, a name she assumed after the death of her friend
• Her pet city was Athens, but was seen as a patron goddess to most civilized cities. She protected cities, encouraged crafts & agriculture, and taught humans to tame wild horses
The Major Olympian GodsThe Major Olympian GodsAthena
• Won the city of Athens from Uncle Poseidon, who also wanted it. She usually won whatever she wanted anyway.
• Athena’s temple: Parthenon on the Acropolis
• One of the three virgin goddesses
The Major Olympian GodsThe Major Olympian GodsApollo / Phoebus (Apollo)
• Son of Zeus & Leto• Twin brother to Artemis• Portrayed as an extremely handsome man –
but had lots of trouble in his love life• God of light, prophecy, healing (taught man
medicine), poetry, and music• Also an athlete• Sacred tree was the laurel (story of Daphne)• Sponsor of the oracle at Delphi• Symbols:• The lyre (Greek harp which he invented) Bow (identifies him as the Archergod Laurel Tree Dolphin• Also known as Phoebus, bright or shining Apollo & Daphne
The Major Olympian GodsThe Major Olympian GodsArtemis (Diana)
• Apollo’s twin; daughter to Leto & Zeus• Loved the woods and wild animals• Goddess of the hunt & wild things• Watched over young animals• Another of the virgin goddesses (asked
Zeus for permission to remain a chaste huntress when besieged by suitors on Mt. Olympus)
• Symbols: bow and arrow, the moon, the stag, the cypress tree
• Beautiful…but not a goddess to trifle with• Aceton, a hunter, accidentally spied her
bathing in a pond. She turned him into a stag & he was ripped apart by his own dogs
• Demanded chastity from her followers
The Major Olympian GodsThe Major Olympian GodsAphrodite (Venus)
• Goddess of love and beauty• She actually predated Zeus & the
other Olympians (created from Uranus…sort of)
• Some myths depicted as flaky & ridiculous, others as generous & benevolent, all as passionate.
• Symbols: the shell that carried her to shore; swan, sparrow, dove; myrtle tree, the rose
• She had a magic girdle that made its wearer an object of desire for everyone who saw her
• Married to Hephaestus (she knew he wouldn’t cheat on her, but she could cheat on him.)
The Major Olympian GodsThe Major Olympian GodsAphrodite (Venus)
• Her real love was Ares (Love & War)• Had 4 (or 5?) children with Ares:
Deimos & Phobos (Fear & Terror/Panic) and Eros (Love) were among them.
• Always happy to help young lovers, and enjoyed causing her fellow gods to fall in love with mortals
• Harshly punished those who refused to honor her…or thought others were as beautiful as she
• She fell in love with Adonis, the most handsome of mortal men. He was killed by a wild boar. She couldn’t help him, but she kissed him as he died and everywhere his blood touched the ground, blood-red anemones, or windflowers, sprang up.
The Major Olympian GodsThe Major Olympian GodsHephaestus (Vulcan)
• God of fire & the forge (god’s blacksmith); sculpture, and metals
• Symbols: anvil & forge• Extremely skillful; could make
anything he wanted; provided gods with special armor & weapons
• Hera’s son alone (her retaliation against Zeus for having Athena by himself)…of course a goddess couldn’t begin anything wonderful on her own, unlike Zeus.
• He was so ugly, Hera threw him off of Olympus
• He grew up on the island of Lemnos, which was thenceforth sacred to him
The Major Olympian GodsThe Major Olympian GodsHephaestus
• Later in life, lived on Mt. Olympus and enjoyed a certain amount of respect
• Married to Aphrodite (but remained frustrated by her affairs)
• Ancient Greeks believed his forge was under a volcano and volcanic eruptions meant that he was working
• Liked by most gods, except Ares (not so good for a war-god!)
• Athens worshipped him too because he was peaceful and kind, and was a patron of craftsmen
The Major Olympian GodsThe Major Olympian GodsHermes (Mercury)
• Messenger god, particularly to Zeus• God of commerce, traders, wrestling,
and other gymnastic exercises, astronomy, thieving, and all that required skill & dexterity
• Son of Zeus & Maia, daughter of Atlas• Symbols: wore a winged cap (the
Petasus) & winged sandals (the Talaria) -- both show the speed of a messenger; also symbolic was the caduceus (ancient symbol of heralds) that he carried, and the shepherd’s crook
• Beautiful young man
The Major Olympian GodsThe Major Olympian GodsDionysus (Bacchus)
• God of wine, vegetation, fertility• Son of Zeus & Theban princess Semele• Had a strange birth: actually born from
Zeus’s thigh (to protect Dionysus from Hera who already led Semele to her death….incineration, actually)
• After Dionysus was born, Hermes brought him down to earth to be raised by nymphs
• Symbols: vine or ivy; the masks worn in theater also symbolized Dionysus
• Last to join Olympus (Hestia shared her seat on the Pantheon with him)
• Viewed as a promoter of civilization, a lawgiver, and a lover of peace.
Disney’s take on mythology:
Fantasia
The Lesser DeitiesThe Lesser DeitiesEros (Cupid)
• God of love• Son of Aphrodite• Shot arrows / darts of
desire into the hearts of men & gods – even Zeus was not immune to his arrows
• Sometimes depicted as wearing a blindfold (Cupid) as love is often blind.
• Married to Psyche• Spartans paid homage to
him before battle Eros & Psyche
The Lesser DeitiesThe Lesser Deities
Anteros
• Sometimes represented as the avenger of slighted love
• Sometimes the symbol of reciprocal affection / mutual love
The Lesser DeitiesThe Lesser Deities
The Muses• 9 daughters of Zeus &
Mnemosyne (Memory)• Resided over the arts,
literature & science.• Calliope: epic history• Thalia: comedy• Clio: history• Euterpe: love poetry• Melpomene: tragedy• Erato: love poetry• Polyhymnia: sacred poetry• Urania: astronomy• Terpsichore: Choral dance &
song
“He is happy whom the Muses love” -
Hesoid
The Lesser DeitiesThe Lesser Deities
The Graces• Goddesses presiding over the
banquet, the dance, and all other social enjoyments and the elegant arts; goddesses of charm, beauty, nature, human creativity, and fertility
• 3 of them
• Euphrosyne: Mirth• Aglaia: Splendor or Beauty• Thalia: Good Cheer
The Lesser DeitiesThe Lesser Deities
The Fates (Moirai)• Spun the thread of human
destiny• Daughters of Themis (Law)• They assign a man good or
evil• Three of them
• Clotho: spinner (spun the thread of life)
• Lachesis: Disposer of lots (Determined length and lot of life)
• Atropos: Cutter (cannot be turned; cuts the thread of life
The Lesser DeitiesThe Lesser Deities
The Erinnys or Eumenides (Furies)• 3 goddesses who
punished the crimes of those who escaped or defied public justice
• Their heads were wreathed with serpents; they wept blood from their eyes
• Names: Alecto, Tisophone, Magaera
The Lesser DeitiesThe Lesser Deities
Nemesis
• Avenging goddess• Represents the
righteous anger of the gods, particularly towards the proud and insolent
• Provided balance in the world; she was the counterpart of Fortuna, who had the power only to bless
The Lesser DeitiesThe Lesser Deities
Pan (Faunus)• Son of Hermes• God of flocks &
shepherds• Favorite residence in
Arcadia• Pictured as mostly
human but with the feet and horns of a goat
• Often depicted playing the flute
• Always chasing woodland nymphs, but rejected because he is ugly
• Hearing his flute was said to cause PAN-ic.
The Lesser DeitiesThe Lesser Deities
Satyrs• Deities of the woods &
fields• Covered with bristly
hair; their heads were decorated with short, sprouting horns and their feet were like that of the goat
• Traveled with Dionysus to spread the cultivation of the grape
From How to Read Literature Like a Professor • Myth is a body of story that matters
“Landscape with Fall of Icarus” – Pieter Brueghel. Ordinariness & tranquility. Life goes on in the face of our private tragedies.
