Chapter 5 “Other Deities”

 God of healing  Born a mortal, deified after death  Father—Apollo  Mother—mortal Coronis  Educated in the art of medicine by a wise centaur  Fame spread

 Daughter Hygeia—personification of health  Daughter Panacea— “cure-all”  2 sons—served in Trojan war as warriors and physicians

 Asclepius began resurrecting the dead until Zeus struck him with a thunderbolt  Depicted with a staff with a snake coiling around it (caduceus—still the symbol of the medical profession)  Hermes is often seen carrying the same staff (herald’s staff without the snake).

 Daughter of Zeus and Hera  Goddess of childbirth  An aspect of Hera herself  Hera prevented Eileithyia from attending Leto’s childbirth, delaying the birth of the twins Apollo and Artemis

 Goddess of the dawn (Aurora)  Epithets: “rosy-fingered,” “saffron-robed”  Depicted in art with wings  Several love affairs  Most famous with Tithonus—she loved him so much, she asked Zeus to give him immortality but forgot to ask for eternal youth; Tithonous grew older and older until he turned into a grasshopper

 Sister of Ares  Goddess of Strife  Instigated the judgment of Paris, and therefore, the Trojan War.  Hesiod shows her as two-fold:  Bad—she fosters war and conflict  Good—she promotes competition

 Most handsome of all mortals (according to Homer)  Became cupbearer to the gods (replaced Hebe, daughter of Hera, which also enraged Hera)  Supposedly Zeus appeared as an eagle and carried him off to Mt. Olympus  Eagle and Aquarius (water-bearer) are next to each other in the sky (constellations)

 Name means “youth”  Cupbearer to the gods (until replaced by Ganymede)—poured nectar  Daughter of Zeus and Hera  When Heracles was deified, Hebe became his wife.  Power to rejuvenate

 Goddess of sorcery and magic  Helped Demeter search for Persephone (became her attendant)  Association with underworld tied her into the idea of magic and witchcraft, ghosts, etc.  Worshipped at crossroads, especially where 3 roads meet  Sometimes seen as having 3 faces

 Sol, sun-god  Ability to see everything  Saw Hades abduct Persephone  Saw Ares’ and Aphrodite’s indiscretion  Greek island of Rhodes was center of worship  Tradition of throwing chariot and 4 horses into the sea  Colossus of Rhodes (giant statue of Helios at entrance to city) was one of 7 wonders of the world

 Spirit of sleep (Somnus)  Twin brother of death (Thanatos or Mors)  Hera bribed him into putting Zeus to sleep while the Greeks gained over the Trojans in war.  Son—Morpheus (god of dreams—morphine derives its name from him)

 Personification of the rainbow  Link between human world and divine  Messenger of the gods in some myths  Winged  Name survives as the name of the flower and the colored part of the eye

 Two-faced god—looking forwards and backwards (January—look back at previous year—look forward at the new year)  No Greek counterpart  Guardian of doorways  God of beginnings and endings  Gates to his temple closed in peace, open in war

 Goddess of retribution  Those harmed by anyone who violated moral order could call on Nemesis for revenge.  May have been mother of Helen of Troy

 Winged goddess of victory  Associated with Pallas Athena

 God of shepherds and flocks  Son of Hermes and shepherd’s daughter  Bearded with two horns and feet of a goat  As a baby, his nurse ran away from him in fear; Hermes took him to Mt. Olympus  Pan “all” because he delighted all the hearts of the Olympians  Created the pan-pipe  Sinister side—produced a fealing of terror in travelers crossing lonely places—feeling of “panic.”

 The moon or Luna  Story of shepherd boy, Endymion, whom she cast into an eternal sleep preserving his youth and beauty; she watched him sleep every night.