Chapter Seven, Lecture Two Myths of the Olympians
Hephaestus The “blacksmith” god Zeus and Hera or just Hera Lame blacksmith god or just god of the manual crafts and metal working; sometimes just fire. Shows some contempt for labor
Hephaestus Island is Lemnos, where he may have landed after being thrown out from Olympus Assisted by Cyclopes and golden robots Married as a joke to Aphrodite Once trapped Hera in a throne: released her after Dionysus (god of wine) got him drunk and brought him to Olympus
Ares Son of Zeus and Hera Blood-lust in battle Greeks preferred Athena as goddess of strategy in war Few myths Disgracefully wounded at Troy by Athena and Diomedes
Ares Best known for adultery with Aphrodite Caught in flagrante delicto by Hephaestus Fear (Phobos), Panic (Deimos)
Hermes Son of Zeus and Maia Bizarre complexity of attributes: –The ram, the herd, herdsmen, travelers, messengers, liars, thieves, businessmen, leaders of souls to the underworld (psychopompos), orators
Hermes Epithet: Argeïphontes (slayer of Argos) Iconography: traveler’s hat, winged sandals, caduceus The Herm –Erect phallus wards off aggression
Hermes The Homeric Hymn to Hermes The early achievements of Hermes The trickster Invents: sneakers, the lyre, sausage... Conflict between the old aristocrats and the new class of capitalists and men of industry
Hermes Beings associated with Hermes Autolycus (son) –master thief – could make himself invisible –father of Odysseus Pan (son) (to feed?) –shows fertility side of Hermes Syrinx (Pan pipes) –“Panic” of the solitude of the woods Echo (loved by Hermes) got into trouble with Hera
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