ANCIENT INDIAN MYTHOLOGY & SCIENTIFIC RELEVANCE

ANCIENT INDIAN MYTHOLOGY & SCIENTIFIC RELEVANCE

KUNAL , ARPIT, BRIJESH , RAJAT IX-B

D A V PUBLIC SCHOOL , DWARKA

INTRODUCTION TO MYTHOLOGY

HEROES GODS MONSTER OF THE GREEK MYTHS

MYTHOLOGYA usually traditional story of events that serves to unfold part of the world view of a people or explain a practice, belief, or natural phenomenon . Myths often involve divine, supernatural, and/or heroic characters.

MythologyOR A collection of fictional stories involving the actions of gods, goddesses and other imaginary characters, intended to explain the unexplainable.

Classical Greek Mythology

A collection of stories about a set of gods, based upon oral tradition, as told and recorded by the ancient Greeks

Myths served as entertainment, a sense of national/regional pride, and religious education

Oral TraditionThe practice of passing along stories, tales, and folklore by word of mouth

Oral tradition is responsible for many of the “inconsistencies” of ancient mythology.

FantasyHighly imaginative writing that contains elements not found in real life

Many science fiction and fantasy books, movies and comic books are based upon the style and manner of myths.

Legends• Definition: fictional stories loosely

based upon real/historical people and events.

• Also known as “tall-tales”

• Are rooted in facts, but stories have been changed through the years…WHY?

Fables•Definition: A brief story, often

containing animal characters that teaches a lesson or moral

•Fables deal with “useful truth”

“The Classicists”Greek mythology existed for hundreds of years before these stories were ever recorded with written words.

The scholars/poets who recorded the myths are known as “classicists.”

The major classicists of Greek Mythology include Virgil, Homer, and Ovid.

The Importance of Myths

Myths were critical to the ancient Greeks

These stories touched all aspects of Greek life, including art, music, architecture, military endeavors, religion, and education.

Greek myths and sunlight are represented by moral quality. Heroes are set in sunlight, monsters belong to the darkness.

Myths were critical to the ancient Greeks

Categories of MythsMyths of creation : these explain the beginning of time, space, and man

Myths of explanation : these explain the great questions of the universe

Myths of morality : these teach lessons and reinforce cultural morality

Why Study Mythology?

Greek myths are the foundations for the arts as we know them, including movies, television, commercial products, sports, music, and comic books.

A knowledge of Greek mythology enhances a person’s ability to understand and appreciate the world as a whole.

The Pantheon

• There are many gods, goddesses, demi-gods (half-gods) and supernatural beings in Greek Mythology.

• The twelve main gods and goddesses are known as the Pantheon.

Zeus:• King of the gods, ruler of Mt. Olympus• Also god of lightning• Was a powerful and aggressive ruler• Struck Earth with lightning bolt when upset• Waged constant war with wife and sisterHera• Cheated on wife countless times, and had

numerous children with mortals, gods, and other creatures

Zeus

Athena

• Goddess of wisdom and warfare, mistress of strategy• Taught men how to use an ax, plough, wheel, sail.

Taught women how to spin and weave (Arachne story...)

• Mother was Metis, a Titaness• Zeus became paranoid that his child would harm

him, so he eats her whole.• Zeus developed a splitting headache • Hephaestus split his head open with a chisel, and…

Athena

The “Rebirth” of Athena

• Athena jumped out of Zeus skull, full-grown and wearing battle armor.

• One of the most popular and respected immortals

• Athens, Greece is named for her

Poseidon

Poseidon

•God of water•Never had children with sea nymph-Thetis because any

son of Thetis would be greater than Poseiden•Thetis had a son from Peleus whose name was Achilles

therefore the prophecy came true.•Difficult, quarrelsome, greedy, liked jokes•Thought up creature...octopus, squid, jellyfish, swordfish,

dolphin, etc.•Was trying to perfect the horse for Demeter and that is

why we have the camel, hippo, giraffe, donkey, and zebra

Hades

HADES

• God of the Underworld• Greeks buried their dead with a coin so that when they entered

"Hades" they could pay the fare on their way to the river Styx• Cerberus- 3 headed dog that guarded the gate• 3 judges awaited the dead - Minos, Rhadamanthys and Aeacus.• > if judges were displeased - bad punishments• > if judges were pleased - Elysian Fields• Palace grounds were called Erebus- deepest part of the

underworld

CREATED BY:KUNAL,ARPIT,BRIJESH,RAJAT

CLASS: IX-B ROLL NO:18,6,7,29

THANKS ~THE END ~