In the Beginning… Greek Mythology

What is Mythology? The human race has always asked questions.  Why are we here?  Why did this happen?  How did we get here?  How/when will it all end? ► These questions are the seeds in which myths were produced. ► Myths are stories that were/are told to explain creation, hatred, death, sickness, discord and almost anything else you can think of. ► Most myths revolve around divine beings interacting with humans and therefore myths have played a role in establishing religion, values, and customs in the various cultures of the world.

Purpose of Myths ► A myth answers the “why” questions ► Myths define/identify the values and characteristics of a culture ► Myths were constructed through oral tradition ► Myths provide entertainment

Myth Influences on Society ► Just look around and you’ll see vast evidences of myth influence in our culture. Here are a few examples…  How many of you are wearing Nike’s today? ► Nike, in Greek mythology, was the goddess of victory.  Have any of you ever heard of the Ford Mercury automobile? ► Mercury, in Roman mythology, was the god of commerce and messenger of the gods  Ever wondered where the phrase raining cats and dogs came from? ► In a Teutonic myth, the wind was a huge dog, chief attendant to Odin, the god of wisdom, war, and the cosmos. When it rained hard, Odin's dog was chasing a cat, in the form of rain. So when it poured, Odin dropped "cats and dogs" from the sky. ► Even now you can find mythological influences in literature, comic books, school mascots, cartoons, transportation, television and movies.

► Myth – a story of forgotten or vague origin, basically religious or supernatural in nature, which seeks to explain or rationalize the universe and all that is in it ► All myths are, at some stage, actually believed to be true by the societies that used or originated the myth ► The chronological order of myths goes from focusing on the gods to the gods interacting with men to heroic men

► The stories were created around 1200 BC but were not written down until about 800 BC. Until then they were passed down by word of mouth. ► The stories mainly survived three ways: 1. Homer 2. Hesiod 3. The Homeric Hymns

How did Greek Myths Begin? ► Shepherds and herdsmen didn’t worship idols but rather cherished light and beauty. ► Decided to worship this light and beauty and created stories about its origin

According to the shepherds… ► Originally there was a shapeless nothingness called Chaos. From Chaos came two children – Night and Death. ► From night and death was born Love who then created Light and Day. After Light and Day were born, Mother Earth and Father Heaven appeared – there is no real story to explain how.

► Gaea, known to us as Mother Earth, fell in love with Uranus, known as Father Heaven. ► He became her lover and her husband ► Soon after Gaea and Uranus have many children. ► The first children are known as the Titans.

Titans Uranus and Gaea Cronus and Rhea Coeus and Phoebe Oceanus and Tetyus

Titans ► Glorious gods and goddesses ► Supreme rulers ► Enormous in size with incredible strength ► Mountains were created to give them each a throne ► Both Uranus and Gaea loved these children

Other Children ► 3 Cyclopes - each born with only one eye in the center of his forehead; gigantic with devastating power and strength ► 3 Monsters with 50 heads and 100 hands – these were hated by Father Heaven and he imprisoned them – these were hated by Father Heaven and he imprisoned them

Mother Earth Strikes Back ► She found out what Father Heaven had done to her sons and asked for help. ► The only one brave enough was the Titan Cronus. He fatally wounded his father, and from his blood came the monsters called Giants. ► After this, Cronus took charge and ruled with his wife/sister Rhea.

Cronus and Rhea ► Had many children ► Cronus heard prophesy that one of his children would dethrone him, so after every birth, he would eat his child. ► Rhea, getting tired of losing children, tricked him when their sixth child was born, and Zeus lived.

► Zeus challenged Cronus, and a war broke out. Before that Zeus was able to wound Cronus and release his brothers and sisters from inside of him. They fought with Zeus, along with Prometheus, a son of another Titan, and the monsters that Father Heaven had locked away. He was able to defeat Cronus and the other Titans. After battles with the remaining monsters, Zeus became supreme ruler.

► Atlas – a Titan was forced to bear the world on his shoulders as a punishment from Zeus because he fought against Zeus in the war with the Titans

Making Men ► Once Zeus had gotten rid of all the monsters, Earth was ready for mankind. ► Another version is that the gods kept making different races of men until they found one that worked.

► Zeus gave the challenge of filling Earth to Prometheus, who was very wise, and his brother, who was very impulsive ► Prometheus’s brother gave all the best gifts to the animals before man was made. Prometheus helped man out by standing him upright and giving him fire. ** ► Zeus became angry that Prometheus was helping man out so much that as revenge he created the first woman – Pandora.

Pandora’s Box ► Zeus created a sweet and beautiful creature to bring evil to men. She was curious, like all women are. ► All the gods gave her gifts, mostly bad ones, to be put into a box. She was told never to open the box. ► Her curiosity got the better of her, and she opened the box and let out all manner of evils, like Sorrow and Mischief, into the world of humans. ► The only good in the box was Hope, which went out into the world as well. That is what allows humans to go on throughout the evil.

What happened to Prometheus? ► Prometheus loved the humans he had made. He hated to see Zeus mistreat them. ► To help them succeed and thrive, he gave humans fire despite Zeus commanding him not to. ► As punishment, Zeus had Prometheus chained to the top of a mountain where a bird would eat his liver out every day. Prometheus accepted this fate because he knew that one day a great hero would set him free. Hercules