An Intro to Mythology

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Myth…defineda. Stories created to

answer questions; they explained where things came from or why they exist

b. Traditional tales of typical people

c. Stories passed from generation to generation

4 essential elements of mythology

Every myth will have one or all of

these characteristics

a. The intervening of dieties in human affairs

b. Supernatural Characters

c. Fantastic Creatures

d. Extraordinary Events

Ancient Greek myths evolved over hundreds of years.

They were first told from one person to another.

Details changed with each telling of the story (think of it as an ancient version of the telephone game!)

The Olympians (AKA the most powerful Greek gods)

Lived atop Mount Olympus Had human feelings like love, jealousy and

anger. All Olympians were descended from Kaos They are ruled by Zeus—without him, the other

Olympians would be held captive in their father, Kronus.

They were only a small part of the family of immortals who ruled over the earth and the sky.

They were immortal (could never die.)

Cronus

And Rhea

DemeterAndZeus

Hera and Zeus

PoseidonHadesPoseidon Hestia

Athena Ares Hebe HephaestusPersephone

And the story goes…

• The earth was once ruled by the Titans, Giants and Cyclops. Kronus was their leader. Kronus and his wife Rhea had 5 children.

• Kronus feared that he would lose his power, so he devoured his children.

• Rhea gave birth to a sixth child, she decieved Kronus by swaddling a stone.

So….• The 6th child, Zeus was saved.• Zeus grew up and sought revenge• Got Kronus to take a potion and he vomited

up the children he swallowed• Siblings raged war against the Titans• Kronus and Titans were chained up and

then hurled into oblivion• Zeus and family became the guardians of

the universe

The 12 Great Olympians

Zeus

Pluto

HephaestusVulcan

Apollo

Apollo

Hermes

Poseidon

Jupiter

Ares

Neptune Mars

Hades

Artemis

Mercury Diana

The Greek Deities and their Roman counterparts

Hera

Juno Venus

Aphrodite Hestia

Vesta Minerva

Athena

12 Great Olympians

Zeus/Jupiter: king of the gods; thunderstorms

Poseidon/Neptune: sea, earthquakes, horses

Hades/Pluto: underworld

Ares/Mars: War

Hephaestus/Vulcan: fire, craftspeople

Apollo/Apollo: sun, music, poetry, prophecy

12 Great Olympians continued

Hermes/Mercury: messenger, trade, thieves

Hera/Juno: queen of the gods, marriage

Hestia/Vesta: hearth/home, community

Athena/Minerva: wisdom, practical arts, war

Aphrodite/Venus: love

Artemis/Diana: the moon, hunting

Minor Deities

Dionysus/Bacchus: revelry, wine

Demeter/Ceres: harvest/agriculture

The gods had certain standards (rules) that were told through myths.

Some rules were: man and woman had to show hospitality to strangers and they

had to keep their pride in check.

In the eyes of the gods, excessive pride (hubris) was the worst offense possible and it deserved the worst punishment. Just ask Odysseus!

Let’s talk about the epic!

An epic is a story of a civilization’s values and meanings

It is a long narrative (The Odyssey is 24 books long.)

Characteristics of the epic

Usually told in poetic form Has set conventions Has heroes Heroes embody the values of the

civilization and engage in battles that reflect the issues of the civilization

The actions of the heroes are significant They affect their people They reveal meaning in life and death

Story begins in medias res (in the middle of things)

The writing begins with the invocation the the muse

All Greek epics were put together with the same “ingredients” called epic

conventions

Epic Conventions Begins with statement of theme Has epithets (nicknames) Uses catalogues Long winded characters Gods intervene in the affairs of humans Journey to the underworld Epic transgressions Vast settings Epic similes Arming of the hero Heroes embody the values of their

civilizationThese conventions can be applied to all epics

in one way or another!

Modern Epics

Tragic Hero

Born of noble birth with potentially heroic qualities

Fated by the gods to doom and destruction

Struggles against fate Cannot accept diminished view of self and,

because of a personality flaw, the hero fails in his/her struggle.

Hero is enlightened through suffering Has his/her true identity revealed

Tragic FlawAll tragic heroes have a tragic flaw. A tragic flaw is an error or defect in the tragic hero that leads to

his downfall.

Pride or ambition could be tragic flaws.

Flaw may be the result of bad character, bad judgment, and inherited weakness. The hero

isn’t perfect!

Oedipus—the Ultimate Tragic Hero

• Laius, the King of Thebes learns from the Oracle that his child would one day kill him and marry his wife, Jocasta.

• Eventually, they have a son and Laius left him abandoned on a mountaintop to die.

• Baby is rescued by a shepherd and adopted by the king and queen of Corinth.

• When Oedipus grows up, he learns from the Oracle that he is destined to kill his dad and marry his mom, so he leaves Corinth.

• When leaving, he meets an old man in a chariot. Neither were willing to give up the right of way, so they fight and Oedipus kills the man.

• Oedipus travels to Thebes, answers the riddle of the Sphinx, and becomes the new king (marrying the queen)

• 25 years later, a plague hits Thebes and Oedipus is told the only way to lift the plague is to find and banish or kill the person who killed Laius.

• Finds out that he was adopted and the man he killed on the road was Laius (his father) and he had married Jocasta (his mother)—the prophecy came true.

• Jocasta commits suicide and Oedipus blinds himself and exiles himself from Thebes forever.

FYI…Although a very old form of literature,

mythology and epic aspects still contribute to our lives today. Don’t

believe us? Look at advertising, movies, and television, you’ll see what

we mean!

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