1. Greek Mythology Defying The Gods

2. Themes
The Greek gods and goddesses were much like people. They had pride, jealousy, love, and the thirst for revenge. When the Greeks gave their gods human qualities it was a “miracle” and created a new “humanized world” of gods.
The gods rewarded honorable behavior and obedience, while people who dishonored themselves or defied the gods paid a high price.

3. The stories of defying the Gods
Arachne Athena
Prometheus Zeus
Pandora
Daedalus and Icarus

4. Arachne

5. Characters-Arachne
Arachne was a great mortal weaver who boasted that her skill was greater than Athena’s.

6. Characters-Pallas Athena
Athena was the goddess of wisdom, courage, inspiration, civilization, warfare, strength, strategy, the arts, crafts, justice and skill.

7. Plot
Arachne was a young woman who arrogantly offended the goddess Athena. The offended goddess set a contest between the two weavers. Ultimately, the goddess turned Arachne into a spider. Arachne simply means "spider“ in Greek.
To this day spiders are
called “arachnids” in
English.

8. Theme
The story of Arachne’s scornful and overweening pride was told throughout ancient Greece and it helped serve as a warning to all mortals to respect the gods.

9. Prometheus

10. Characters-Prometheus
Prometheus (forethought)is a Titan, and brother to Atlas, Epimetheus and Menoetius. He was a champion of mankind, known for his wily intelligence. He stole fire from Zeus and gave it to
mortals, for which he was
punished.

11. Characters-Epimetheus
Epimetheus (afterthought)
was the brother of Prometheus.
While Prometheus is
characterized as ingenious
and clever, Epimetheus is
depicted as foolish.

12. Characters-Zeus Zeus the "Father of Gods and men" ruled the Olympians
of Mount Olympus as
a father ruled his
family. He is the god
of sky and thunder
in Greek mythology.

13. Plot
Prometheus was asked to create mankind. However, his brother Epimetheus, had already given other animals the best qualities. Prometheus then stole fire from Zeus.
Zeus punished Prometheus for his crime by having him bound to a rock while an eagle ate his liver every day, only to have it grow back to be eaten again the next day. Hercules tried to convince Prometheus to surrender to Zeus, but he refused.

14. Pandora

15. Characters-Pandora Pan=all, across
Pandora was the first female on earth. Zeus ordered Hephaestus, the god of craftsmanship, to create her, using water and earth. Each god helped create her by giving her
“seductive” gifts. Hence
her name: Pandora,
"all-gifted"
Pan=all, across
Dora=gift

16. Plot
When Prometheus stole fire from heaven, Zeus took vengeance by presenting Pandora to Epimetheus, Prometheus' brother. Pandora had her jar of gifts, which she was not to open under any circumstance. The jar is always called a “box” nowadays, “Pandora’s box.”

17. Plot
Overcome by her natural curiosity, Pandora opened the box, and all evil it contained escaped and spread over the earth. She hastened to close the lid, but the contents of the box had escaped. Only one thing remained,
which lay at the
bottom. This was
Hope. Hope saved
Mankind.

18. Daedalus and Icarus

19. Characters-Daedalus
Daedalus was a skillful craftsman and artisan. Daedalus
Means “cunning
worker.”

20. Characters-Icarus
Icarus is the son of the master craftsman, Daedalus. He
Would become the
mythical pioneer of the
attempt to overcome
the skies.

21. Plot
Icarus attempted to escape from Crete using wings that his father had constructed from feathers and wax. He ignored his father’s instructions
not to fly too close to
the sun, and the
melting wax
caused him to
fall to his death.

22. Theme
The exhilaration of being able to fly went to Icarus’s head, and he became over-ambitious, forgetting that it his power was only temporary and fragile. This is the “sin of pride.”

23. The End