1. Greek Mythology

2. In the beginning... …was Chaos (shapeless nothingness)
Chaos had two children:
Night (darkness)
Erebus (death)
“All was black, empty, silent, endless.”
Mysteriously, Love was born of darkness and death.

3. And Then… When Love was born, order and beauty began to flourish.
Love created Light and Day.
Earth was created.
She was the solid ground, but also a personality (Gaia).
The Earth bore Heaven to cover her and be a home for the gods.

4. The First Parents Mother Earth = Gaia Father Heaven = Uranus
They had three kinds of children:
Three monsters with 100 hands and 50 heads (Hecatoncheires)
Three Cyclopes
The Titans
These were the first characters that had the appearance of life, although it was unlike any life known to man.

5. The Titans There were many of them. Enormous size, incredible strength
Cronus (Saturn): Ruler of the titans
Rhea: Wife of Cronus
Ocean: River that encircled the world
12 Titans in all (6 boys and 6 girls)

6. A Father’s Love
Uranus hated his ugly children and threw them away in the underworld.
This greatly angered Gaia and she convinced Cronus, one of the Titans to overthrow Uranus.

7. Cronus succeeds in overthrowing Uranus and becomes the new Lord of the Universe.
But Cronus is worried that one of his sons would overthrow him, so he swallowed each child as it was born.

8. This makes Rhea angry and she hides her youngest child, Zeus.
She tricks Cronus by giving him a rock wrapped in a blanket.

9. A New Leader
Zeus was raised in secret and eventually came back to overthrow Cronus.
He freed his 11 brothers and sisters from Cronus’ stomach and together they fought the Titans.

10. The Theogony A long narrative poem written by Hesiod
The war lasted 10 years between the Gods and the Titans.
Finally, Cronus and the Titans were defeated.
The rule of the Universe was divided into 3 kingdoms and the three brothers (Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades) cast lots to determine who won what.

11. What Happened to the Titans
The Titans that fought against the Gods were subjected to great torture and torment.

12. Typhon
A horrible monster, who with his mate Echidna, are said to give birth to all the monsters of the world.
Battles Zeus for supremacy of the universe.
Zeus eventually succeeds, but only by dropping a mountain on Typhon

13. Offspring of Evil The offspring of Echidna and Typhon would include:
Cerberus
The Hydra
The Chimera
The Gorgons
The Sphinx

14. The Great Olympians
The Cyclopes built a palace on Mt. Olympus for Zeus with 12 thrones. One for each of his brothers and sisters

15. The Gods and Goddess of Greece

16. Zeus (Jove/Jupiter) King of the gods Ruler of the sky and weather
Upholder of oaths
Hospitality
Symbol is the thunderbolt

17. Poseidon (Neptune) Brother of Zeus Ruler of the sea Horses Earthquakes
Married to the sea-nymph, Amphitrite
As the god of horses, he would often adopt the shape of horse.
Symbol is the Trident

18. Hades (Pluto) Brother of Zeus God of the Underworld/ Dead
Kidnapped Persephone
His symbol is the helmet that makes him invisible

19. Hera (Juno) Sister of Zeus Wife of Zeus Queen of the gods
Upholder of marriage
Her Symbol is the Peacock

20. Demeter (Ceres) Sister of Zeus Goddess of the earth Corn Crops
Mother of Persephone
Symbol is a bundle of grain

21. Hestia (Vesta) Goddess of the Home Goddess of the Hearth
A Powerful Protector
Doesn’t really have a symbol, but her symbol is the home.

22. The Next Generation
The next generation of Gods/Goddesses are the children of the original Olympians.
They were still just as powerful as their fathers and mothers.

23. Athena (Minerva) Daughter of Zeus Goddess of wisdom and war
guardian of Athens, the city named for her
defender of heroes,
According to legend, Athena sprang fully-grown and fully-armed from the head of her father, Zeus, ruler of the gods on Mount Olympus.
Symbol is the Owl

24. Ares (Mars) Son of Zeus and Hera god of War
known for his thirst for battle and blood
Symbol: Sword and Spear
While Athena was seen as strategic in war, Ares was seen as unpredictable and violent.

25. Apollo (Apollo) Son of Zeus, twin brother of Artemis
god of healing and music
god of light and the sun; truth and prophecy
god of music
Symbol: Golden Chariot and Harp

26. Artemis (Diana) daughter of Zeus and twin sister of Apollo
Virgin goddess of the hunt and moon
goddess of childbirth
Symbol: Silver bow and arrow

27. Aphrodite (Venus) Born from sea foam
Iliad considers her to be a daughter of Dione
Some versions call her a daughter of Zeus
Married to Hephaestus, but has affair with Ares
Love
Beauty
Pleasure
Her symbol is the dove

28. Hermes (Mercury) Son of Zeus Messenger of the gods Travelers Theft
Commerce
Symbol is his Winged Sandals
Also responsible for leading the dead to Hades

29. Hephaestus (Vulcan) God of fire and forge Blacksmith Son of Hera
He was born lame, and Zeus rejected him, throwing him off of Olympus to the earth
Symbol is the forge
Built gold palaces for each of the Gods on Olympus

30. Dionysus (Bacchus) Son of Zeus (and Persephone?)
God of Wine and Liberation
Also music, theater, and fertility
Symbol is wine

31. Persephone (Proserpina)
Daughter of Demeter
Wife of Hades (kidnapped by Hades)
Queen of the underworld
Spends three months in the underworld (winter) and nine months with her mother (summer)

32. Eros (Cupid) Son of Aphrodite God of Love
Symbol is his arrows he used to make mortals fall in love

33. Other Gods and Monsters

34. The Muses Nine daughters of Zeus Inspired artists of all kinds
Clio, Urania, Thalia, Melpomene, Erato, Calliope, Euterpe, Terpsichore, Polyhymnia

35. The Furies They punish evildoers Goddesses of vengeance
Appear from blood spilled on the ground

36. The Fates Three sisters Shared an eye and a tooth
They weave, measure, and cut the thread of life for humans.

37. Charon
Would ferry the dead across to the Underworld
Would have to pay

38. Pegasus Flying horse Sprang from the blood of Medusa
Zeus’ pet, would help people he favored

39. The Satyrs Gods of the woods and mountains “Shepherd gods”
Goat men (like Pan)
Companions of Dionysus
They like to drink, dance, and chase nymphs.

40. Centaurs Half men, half-horse Companions of Dionysus
Protector of the woods
Very crude and uncivilized

41. The Gorgans Three snake-haired monsters
Medusa is most well-known (and the only mortal one of the three
Their look turns men to stone

42. The Hydra A three headed dragon that guarded a sacred spring.
Spewed fire and poison from its many mouths
Every time a head is cut off, two more grow in it’s place
Killed by Hercules

43. Scylla and Charybdis
A six-headed dragon and a whirlpool monster that guarded a seaway near Greece.
“A Rock and a Hard Place”

44. Cyclops
One-eyed monsters
Giant creatures
Uncivilized

45. Minotaur Son of King Minos (wife and bull) Half-man, half-bull
Built a great maze called the Labyrinth to contain the creature
Ate humans
Killed by Theseus

46. Sirens Half-woman, half-bird
Would lull sailors to their doom with their seductive songs

47. Cerberus The three-headed Hell hound
Kept the dead from leaving the Underworld
Didn’t care who came in
Hades’ Hound

48. Harpies Female monster that was half bird, half woman.
Known to snatch children and food from evildoers.
Name literally translates to “snatcher.”
The “hounds of Zeus.”

49. Amazons
Translates to “one-breasted,” would cut off right breast to be better archers.
All woman warrior society.
Some of the greatest warriors in all of the Greek world.

50. The Heroes

51. Heracles (Hercules) Son of Zeus, hated by Hera
Had great physical strength
Had to complete a series of tasks called the twelve labors.
Greatest of the heroes

52. Perseus Son of Zeus Loved by the Gods Killed Medusa
Saved wife Andromeda from a sea monster.

53. Theseus
Son of Poseidon
Killed the Minotaur
Becomes King of Athens

54. Bellerophon Son of Poseidon.
Known as the “greatest hero before the days of Perseus and Heracles.”
Tames the winged horse Pegasus.
Slays the Chimera.

55. Odysseus (Ulysses) King of Ithaca Fought in Trojan War
Built the Trojan Horse
Angers gods
Has a long journey home
Homer’s The Odyssey

56. Jason and the Argonauts
First sailors on the ship the Argo.
Go to find the Golden Fleece.
Battles dragon and army of dead to get it.