Greek and Roman Mythology English I Class notes

What is a myth? The word “myth” comes from the Greek word mythos meaning “story” or “legend.”

Definition of myth A myth is a sacred story that typically revolves around the activities of a supernatural being, such as a god, demigod, goddess, or such entity.

Purpose of a myth It will seek to explain at least some aspect of the origin of things. Example: The Greek myth of Prometheus, a human being who stole the secret of fire from the gods and was punished with everlasting torment, purported to explain the origin of mankind's use of fire.

Who wrote them? A myth has no attributable author and would typically have come into existence through oral tradition.

What is Greek Mythology? Greek Mythology is a collection of myths that Greeks used to explain their world. Although we now view these stories as fiction, the Greeks believed them to be true.

The Greeks & Their Beliefs The Greeks had many gods. The Olympian gods resembled the Greeks’ need to be grandiose. Because the Olympian gods mirrored the Greeks, they were heavily flawed. Because the Greeks focused on being grandiose, the Olympian gods were mostly portrayed as physically strong, beautiful and intelligent.

The World according to the Greeks Both good and evil comes from the gods. Heroes and monsters came from the gods. This idea has influenced all religions that came after. Many of the conflicts that are portrayed in the myths are between family members.

In the beginning... Chaos In the beginning there was no earth, sky or sea. There was only confusion and darkness, called Chaos. Chaos had two children: Night (darkness) Erebus (death)

And then... Mysteriously, Love was born of darkness and death. Love created Light and Day. Earth was created Chaos gave birth to Mother Earth. She eventually gave birth to a son, Uranus, also known as Father Heaven. Mother Earth and Father Heaven had many children.

The First Parents Gaea (Mother Earth) Uranus (Father Heaven) They had three kinds of children: The monsters The Cyclopes The Titans

The Monsters First, they had three monstrous sons. Each had fifty heads and one hundred hands.

The Cyclops They had three more sons - the Cyclops. They were just as big and just as ugly. They had one eye in the middle of their foreheads. They were as strong as Earthquakes and Tornadoes combined.

The Titans The first gods Enormous size, incredible strength Six sons and six daughters Brothers: Oceanus, Coeus, Crius, Hyperion, Iapetus, and Cronus Sisters: Thea, Rhea, Themis, Mnemosyne, Phoebe, and Tethys.

Birth of the Olympians Among their children was the greatest Titan, Cronus. Cronus gained power from his father, Uranus, by castrating him. Then, Cronus became ruler over heaven and Earth and married his sister, Rhea. From their union came the Olympian gods.

Zeus is born Power changed Cronus and made him evil. He was so afraid that one of his sons was going to do to him what he did to his father that he swallowed all of his children immediately after their birth. Rhea secretly gave birth to her sixth child, Zeus, and gave him to Mother Earth.

Rhea’s Plan When Cronus asked to see the sixth child, Rhea handed him a rock wrapped in a blanket. Just like her previous children, Cronus swallowed the rock without hesitation, just as she had planned.

Zeus’ Promise Zeus was safely being raised by Nymphs and shepherds. Eventually Zeus grew up and Rhea, his mother, told him about what Cronus did to his siblings. Zeus made a promise to his mother that he would make Cronus pay for what he did

Zeus’ Revenge When Zeus returned to his mother, she disguised him as a servant and concocted a poisonous potion for him to put into Cronus’ drink. The concoction caused Cronus to vomit up each of his five children, one by one. Once everyone was freed, the six children decided to battle against Cronus.

After the battle was over… The war lasted ten years. Finally, when it ended, Zeus and his siblings were victorious. Now that the battle was over, the three brothers had to decide who was going to rule the universe. It was decided that Hades would rule the underworld, Poseidon would rule the sea and Zeus would rule the heaven and become ruler of all the gods of Mt. Olympus.

The Principal Gods Cronos and Rhea were parents of Zeus Poseidon Hades Hera Hestia Demeter

Zeus

Poseidon

Hades

Hera

Hestia

Demeter

Your Research Project You will research one of the Greek gods or goddesses and create a PowerPoint presentation to present orally to the class.

Research and Outline You will choose or be assigned a god or goddess from mythology to research You will have three days to gather information and create your presentation

Create a PowerPoint Presentation Begin by typing your information into the PowerPoint document. Once you have your information in, you may add pictures, animation, etc.

Presentation Requirements: Your Power Point Presentation should include at least six (6) slides with the following information: Your Name Name of god/goddess A picture of god/goddess Roman Name Nickname Job of the god/goddess Symbol or emblem of god/goddess Weapon of the god/goddess Family Genealogy (parents, wife/husband, lovers, children, etc.) Other interesting facts Bibliography (Sources)

Evaluation The teacher will use a rubric to critique each presentation. Students will use the information from all reports to successfully pass a test on Mythology.

Storing Your Information Each student should have a personal flash drive on which to save his/her document. If you do not have a flash drive, you will need to save your presentation to google docs. It is your responsibility to have your presentation saved and ready to present on the day it is due!!!

Final word If you have a computer, PowerPoint and Internet at home, you may work on this project at home; however, for those students who don't have these advantages, we will spend adequate time in class to complete the project if you work diligently. If you would like to work on it outside of the classroom or find you need more time to complete any section that involves a computer, you can use the computers in the library before school, after school, or during lunch; I will be happy to write you a pass.

Gods/Goddesses Zeus Hera Poseidon Hades Hestia Demeter Athena Apollo Artemis Aphrodite Hermes Ares Hephaestus Dionysus The Erinyes The Gorgons

Athena

Apollo

Artemis

Aphrodite

Hermes

Ares

Hephaestus

Dionysus

The Erinnyes (The Furies)

The Gorgons