MythologyWhat Everyone Should Know

From A - Z

What is a myth?

Myths are traditional stories about gods, goddesses and mortals with special powers. Myths were passed down by oral tradition to explain the natural world, and became an important part of the religious beliefs of ancient peoples. Myths are still an important part of our culture, because they often describe timeless ideas such as the creation of the world, the forces of nature, the battle between good and evil, and universal human characteristics and emotions.

Where do myths come from?Every culture has some form of myths. The Incas, the Mayas, and the Aztecs all myths that were passed down through their history. The North Germans and Scandinavians created myths as well. The Egyptians created large temples and pyramids in honor of their gods. The ones we usually think of first when we mention mythology are those of classical mythology, which come from the ancient Greek and Roman civilizations.

Greek or Roman?In classical mythology, many of the gods and goddesses have two names: a Greek name and a Roman name. When the Greek civilization declined, Romans conquered much of Europe and parts of Asia. They took over many of the Greek myths and gave the gods and goddesses new names in their own language, Latin. In the next slides, when two names are given, the Greek name will be given first, and the Roman name will follow in parentheses.

AchillesAchilles a great Greek warrior in the Trojan War. He was a main character in Homer’s The Iliad. Plato called him the most handsome of the heroes gathered in Troy. The only way to kill him was to attack his one weak spot, his heel. When Achilles died because of a small injury to his heel, the term is now used to describe weakness in a person’s character.

Adonis

Adonis was a Greek young man who was so good-looking, even Aphrodite, the goddess of love, fell in love with him. Today, any young man who is extremely handsome may be referred to as an Adonis.

Agamemnon

Agamemnon was the Greek king who led his forces against Troy in the Trojan War.

AmazonsThe Amazons, in Greek mythology, were a race of female warriors who were known for their great size, strength, and fierceness.

Aphrodite (Venus)

Aphrodite was the beautiful goddess of love and beauty. She was said to have been born from the sea foam. Some artists portray her rising out of the sea on a sea shell.

ApolloApollo was the god of prophecy, music, poetry, medicine and light. He was very important for both the Greeks and the Romans. He controlled many of the activities of civilization. People often went to his oracle, or shrine, in the city of Delphi, to ask for guidance.

Head of Apollo – Vatican Museum

Ares (Mars)

• Ares was the god of war. He was the son of Zeus and Hera.

Artemis (Diana)

• Artemis was the goddess of the hunt. She is often pictured with a bow and arrow and a deer.

Statue of Diana – Louvre Museum

Athena (Minerva)Athena was the goddess of wisdom. She was also the warrior and protector of Athens and other Greek cities. She had an unusual birth. She was born full grown and fully in armor from the head of Zeus.

Statue of Athena - Athens

AtlasAtlas was a Titan who rebelled against the gods, and so he was punished by being forced to hold the earth and sky on his shoulders for all eternity. Today, a person who is very strong, is sometimes called an atlas. An atlas is also a book of maps of the earth.

Atlas supports a globe, on Collins Street,Melbourne, Australia

Cerberus

• Cerberus was a three-headed dog that guarded the gates of the underworld, Hades. He allowed the dead to enter, but not to leave.

CyclopsThe Cyclopes were giants that only had one eye, set in the middle of their foreheads. The best known Cyclops imprisoned the Greek hero Odysseus and his men, but was tricked and they escaped when they put out his eye.

DaphneDaphne was a nymph that Apollo fell in love with. However, she was not in love with him and tried to escape from him. She asked the gods to help by turning her into a laurel, or bay tree. Apollo adopted the bay leaf as his symbol.

DaedalusDaedalus was a famous Greek inventor who built the Labyrinth, a great maze from which no one could escape. His son, Icarus, fell into the sea and died when he failed to follow his father’s advice and flew too close to the sun.

Delphic Oracle• The Delphic Oracle was a temple in the city of

Delphi, where people would go to try to find advice and guidance about their future. A priestess, also called an oracle, gave puzzling messages (also called oracles) to people from the god Apollo. Priests heard the oracles and explained and interpreted them for people.

Ruins of the temple in Delphi

Demeter (Ceres)Demeter was the goddess of grain and farming. Her daughter, Persephone, was kidnapped by Hades, god of the underworld. Demeter made all the crops wither and die while she looked for her. Zeus then allowed Persephone to return, but she had to go back to the underworld for four months every year because she tasted four pomegranate seeds when she was there. Every year, when Demeter finds her daughter, her happiness brings spring, but when she loses her again, winter begins.

Dionysus (Bacchus)

Dionysus was the god of wine. He showed people how to turn grapes into wine, and often wears a wreath of grape leaves on his head.

Echo

Echo was a nymph who loved Narcissus. When he rejected her, she wasted away until nothing was left of her except her voice.

Our word echo comes from this story.

Eros (Cupid)

• Eros was the god of love and is often identified as the son of Aphrodite. When he shot arrows into people’s hearts, they would fall in love. Eros, or Cupid, is often portrayed on Valentine’s Day cards as a baby dressed in pink or red carrying a bow and arrows.

Eurydice

Eurydice was the wife of Orpheus. When she died, Orpheus followed her to the underworld. He charmed Hades with his music to secure her release. However, on his way out, Orpheus disobeyed Hades and turned back to see if Eurydice was following, and ended up losing her forever.

FatesThe Fates were three old women who decided how long every one would live, and what would happen in their lifetime. Everyone’s life was represented by a thread. One Fate spun the thread, one Fate measured it, and one Fate cut it resulting in death.

Furies

The Furies were ugly goddesses of revenge who had snakes for hair. They would chase people who were guilty of terrible crimes and drive them insane.

Golden FleeceThe golden fleece was a gold woolen coat that had been taken from a magical winged ram. It was a prize sought by Jason, a Greek hero, on one of his quests.

Gordian Knot

The Gordian knot was a very complicated knot tied by a Greek king. Whoever untied the knot was supposed to be able to rule all of Asia. There was a story that Alexander the Great undid the knot by cutting through it with his sword.

Hades (Pluto)

• Hades was god of the underworld, the gloomy place where the dead lived. Hades was also the name of the underworld.

Hector

Hector was a noble warrior and a leader of the Trojan army during the Trojan War. He was slain by Achilles, who dragged his body around the city of Troy.

Helen of TroyHelen, thought to be the most beautiful woman in the world, was born in Greece. However, she became Helen of Troy because she was kidnapped by Paris of Troy and he made her his princess. The Trojan War started when the Greeks sent a fleet of ships to attack Troy and win her back.

Hephaestus (Vulcan)

• Hephaestus was the god of fire, and was also the blacksmith of the gods. He used his fire to make their tools and weapons.

Hera (Juno)Hera was the wife of Zeus and the queen of all the Greek gods and goddesses. She was also the goddess of marriage. She sometimes would take the shape of a bird.

Hercules

Hercules was the strongest man in the world, and a great Greek hero. He proved his might by performing a series of supposedly impossible tasks known as the Twelve Labors of Hercules.

Hermes (Mercury)

Hermes was the winged messenger of the gods. He wore winged sandals and a winged cap which allowed him to fly very fast. He also carried a magic wand.

IcarusIcarus, the son of the inventor Daedalus, who failed to follow his father’s instructions. Daedalus had made wings of wax that he and his son used to escape from an island where they were imprisoned. Icarus was told not to fly too close to the sun, but he ignored the warning, and the wings melted and he fell into the sea and was drowned.

Jason and the Golden FleeceJason had to set sail to search for the Golden Fleece in order to claim his rightful throne. The task was thought to be impossible because the Fleece was so far away and guarded by a terrible snake. Jason, sailed his ship the Argo, with some other Greek heroes called the Argonauts. They had many perilous adventures, but were able to recover the Fleece.

Labyrinth

• A great maze invented by Daedalus. It had many passages and dead ends. Those who entered would get lost and never come out. A great monster, the Minotaur, was kept at the center.

Medusa• Medusa was a Gorgon, which was a terrible

monster with snakes for hair. Whoever looked at her directly turned into stone. Perseus, a Greek hero, was able to kill her by looking at her reflection in a polished shield as he swung his sword.

MidasMidas was a greedy king who wished everything he touched would turn to gold. The gods granted him his wish, and found out he could not even eat, because his food turned to gold before he could eat it. He begged the gods to take away his power so he would not starve to death.

Minotaur

The Minotaur was a monster that was half man and half bull, and was kept in the Labyrinth to destroy those who entered. He was finally destroyed by the Greek hero Theseus.

NarcissusNarcissus was a handsome young man who gazed into a pond and fell in love with his own reflection. He wasted away staring at himself, and the gods turned him into the flower now called the narcissus.

Nymph

A nymph was a female spirit who lived in forests, bodies of water, and other places of natural beauty.

Odysseus (Ulysses)

Odysseus was another Greek hero who fought in the Trojan War. He encountered many adventures, and his journey, or odyssey, lasted ten years. He was finally reunited with his wife Penelope and his son. His story is told in The Odyssey by the epic poet Homer.

OedipusOedipus was a great king, but a tragic one. He solved the riddle of the Sphinx and saved the city of Thebes. However, the Delphic Oracle predicted he would kill his father and marry his mother. Since he had been abandoned in childhood, he did not know his parents. He ended up arguing with an old man on the road to Thebes and killed him, not knowing it was his father. After he save the city of Thebes, he married the queen, his mother. When he found out the prophecy had come true, Oedipus blinded himself.

Olympus

Mount Olympus is an actual mountain in Greece, the highest in the country, and the legendary home of all the Greek gods. The Olympic games were held every four years on the plain of Olympus in honor of Zeus. Our modern Olympic games originated from these.

Orpheus

The husband of Eurydice and a great musician, who could play and sing almost as well as the gods themselves.

Pan

Pan was the god of shepherds and their flocks. He was half man and half goat and played tunes on musical pipes.

Pandora’s Box

Pandora’s Box was a box Zeus gave to Pandora, the first woman. He warned her never to open it. However, her curiosity got the better of her and she opened it. When she did, she let out all the evils, sorrows, and miseries that have plagued the world ever since. However, there was one good thing in the bottom of the box…hope.

Paris

Paris was the prince of Troy who kidnapped Helen, which started the Trojan War. He was also the warrior who killed Achilles by shooting an arrow into his heel.

Pegasus

• Pegasus was a winged horse that could fly above the earth.

Penelope

Penelope was the wife of Odysseus and many men tried to woo her while Odysseus was away for ten years. However, Penelope had faith in her husband and believed he would return, so she remained true.

Persephone (Proserpina)

• The goddess of spring and the daughter of Demeter who was kidnapped by Hades and became the queen of the underworld.

Phoenix

The phoenix is a mythical bird that burns itself to death, and arises out of the ashes as a new phoenix.

Poseidon (Neptune)• Poseidon was god of the sea, and one of the

most powerful gods, after Zeus, his brother.

Prometheus

• Prometheus was a Titan who stole fire from the gods and gave it to humans. He was punished by Zeus, who had him chained to a rock while a great eagle gnawed at his liver. He was rescued by Hercules.

Psyche

Psyche was a beautiful girl who fell in love with Cupid. After a long series of tests given by Cupid’s mother, Venus, Psyche was given immortality and allowed to marry Cupid.

PygmalionPygmalion was a sculptor and a king of the ancient island of Cyprus. He feel in love with a statue he carved, and begged Aphrodite to find him the perfect woman. Aphrodite brought the statue to life so Pygmalion could be with his best beloved.

Romulus and Remus

Romulus and Remus were twin brothers. They had been taken from their mother and abandoned when they were just babies. A female wolf found them and cared for them until they were taken in by a shepherd. Romulus later founded the city of Rome.

Saturn

• Saturn is the Roman name for the king of the Titans. He was the father of Jupiter.

SphinxThe Sphinx was a terrible monster that had the body of a winged lion and the head of a woman. She devoured anyone who could not solve her riddle. When Oedipus did, the Sphinx killed herself. The most famous statue of a sphinx is the huge one near the Great Pyramids in Egypt.

Styx

• Styx was a river that the dead would have to cross on their way to the underworld.

Titans

The Titans were a race of incredibly strong giants who ruled the universe until Zeus and the gods overthrew them.

Zeus in battle with the Titans

Trojan HorseThe Trojan Horse was a gigantic wooden horse left outside the city of Troy by the Greek army. Inside it hid some of Greece’s best soldiers. Another Greek soldier, who pretended to have deserted, tricked the Trojans into bringing it inside their walls. At night, the Greek soldiers crawled out and conquered the city.

Trojan War

The Trojan War began when Paris kidnapped Helen and the Greeks sent a fleet to the city of Troy to get her back. The war went on for ten years. Then finally, the Greeks came up with a plan, and placed the Trojan Horse outside the walls of the city. When the city brought it inside its walls, the city of Troy was conquered and destroyed.

TroyTroy was a powerful ancient city in Turkey. It sat on a hill overlooking the sea, and it was well protected by high walls. Its people were called the Trojans, and it was destroyed at the end of the Trojan War.

Ruins of the walls of Troy

Zeus (Jupiter)Zeus was the youngest son of the Titans Cronus and Rhea. He and his siblings fought to gain control of the universe from the Titans and his father. Zeus and his brothers Poseidon and Hades divided up creation between them. Zeus became the absolute ruler of all the gods and goddesses of ancient Greece. He controlled thunder and lightning, and used thunderbolts as weapons. He was more powerful than all the other gods and goddesses.