Greek Gods Greek Gods, Demi-Gods, Semi-Gods and interesting mortals.
Rhet 201-08 Portfolio The Greek gods
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Transcript of Rhet 201-08 Portfolio The Greek gods
Zeus Apollo Hermes Poseidon Ares
Hephasstus Dionysus Pan Eros Hades
Athena Artimus Aphrodite Hera
Demeter Heracles Oedipus Perseus
Medusa Jason Theseus Minotaur
Atalanta Bellerphon Pegasus Pandora
Atlas Narcissus Orpheus Eurydice
Titans Cyclops Midas Persephone
Zeus Apollo Hermes Poseidon Ares
Hephasstus Dionysus Pan Eros Hades
Athena Artimus Aphrodite Hera
Demeter Heracles Oedipus Perseus
Medusa Jason Theseus Minotaur
Atalanta Bellerphon Pegasus Pandora
Atlas Narcissus Orpheus Eurydice
Titans Cyclops Midas Persephone
Rhet 201-08 Portfolio
The Greek Gods: Where did they come from?
Theories and Stories
18/07/12
Nour Nader Etman
Etman 2
Table Of Content:
Cover letter 3
Journal 1 4-5
Journal 2 6-7
Library Notes 8
Journal 3 9-11
Annotated Bibliography 12-15
Survey Notes 16
Class notes (Paper format) 17-18
First Draft 19-21
Second Draft 22-26
PowerPoint Presentation 27-56
Presentation Notes 57-58
Third Draft 59-72
Final Draft 73-87
Etman 3
Cover Letter:
Writing my Rhet paper was a journey, and a very interesting one at that. I found out a lot
of things and discovered many interesting facts about my topic. Most of all though I did
something I was passionate about, disregarding the grades and assignments, I enjoyed this
experience because it gave me a chance to ponder into something I was always interested in and
further explore it. Having only worked for six weeks I might not have had enough time to find
out and learn everything I wanted to but the amazing thing about researching a passion of yours
is that it doesn’t have to stop here. I will with no doubt continue reading and learning about the
Greek gods and I feel like this course has opened a wide new door for me. I decided to arrange
my portfolio chronologically in order to see the development of ideas and the process that
occurred. My portfolio has both typed content and hand written notes I took in class and it also
includes my presentation because I felt these were essential to give an all inclusive understanding
of the progression in my research.
Etman 4
Nour Nader Etman
900111220
Possible Topics
I was thinking about researching topics that we started discussing last semester in my seminar
course “who am I?” One of the main things that I was really interested in was exploring the left
and right brain, and why our society values left brain abilities more than right brain talent. It’s
more probable for parents to support their kids, for example, if they want to major in engineering
rather than art. As a person that has always preferred the non science subjects to the scientific
ones I think I can relate to this very much. I see it around me every day when I ask my friends
what they plan on studying or why they aren’t majoring in what they are really passionate about.
I honestly believe that if a person works in something they really love the results of their work
will be more outstanding than working or studying something you think society would approve
of.
Another topic that I was always interested in was Greek Gods and their ancient beliefs. I had a
project about ancient Greece in school and the largest part I discussed was their Gods and all the
different things they ruled I found it very fascinating. I loved how they gave them a story, made
them a family how it symbolized that one cannot exist without the other. It was also interesting
to read the characteristics they attributed to these Gods. Like how the god of war was considered
murderous but also a coward.
Etman 5
I am also very passionate about women rights and how here in Egypt women are, until now,
looked upon as lesser than men. Our society doesn’t understand the concept of single moms or of
women who have a goal in life other than getting married and having a dozen kids. Even with all
the women rights that are implemented like educational and voting rights, our society didn’t
really change their perspectives. Women are still expected to do the things they did before any of
their rights were granted. People question women who would choose career over family yet
applaud a man who does that and say he is committed to becoming successful. Being a woman
shouldn’t give us any less of a right to be independent like men.
I think I have decided to research Greek Gods. The topic has always intrigued my interest and
this would be a great opportunity to try and explore it further. Greeks were remembered in
history for everything from their architecture to their beliefs, maybe they were on to more than
we gave them credit for. I would like to understand more about how these Gods came into their
beliefs and what they believed about them exactly. Right now all I know is the names of the
Gods and what they are in charge of, I am hoping to learn more.
Etman 6
Nour Nader
900111220
Research Notes
There are a lot of theories when it comes to Greek Gods, and because they weren’t something solid it is
difficult to find which is correct and which is not. Something all the sources agreed upon though was
how they were passed on, in the form of stories, from parents telling their children and maybe that is
why they may vary and they may have been altered through time.
I found a couple of books in the library, a particularly interesting one called “The Greeks and their Gods”.
The chapter in the book that talks about their origins mentions that religion as a whole originates from
art and poetry. The theory was that any art wasn’t a direct creation of the artist rather an urge that
needed to get out something from within them that they didn’t have control over; this feeling came out
in the form of myths and poems.
In an online article called “Understanding the Origin of the Greek Gods” it explains the story that was
told about how they all came into existence and how the Olympians, Zeus’ family, came into control. It
started with 5 divinities. One of them was “Earth”; she then had some children with “The sky”. One of
the children grew to over through his father and proceeded to have children of his own, who eventually
overthrew him, lead by Zeus who then became the king of Gods and married his sister Hera the goddess
of marriage and childbirth.
The book “Religions of the ancient Greeks” also mentions this story, stating that the Greek gods might
have been influenced by the Near Eastern Gods as similar versions of the story existed in their
languages. Some theories even mention the possibility that they might have been stolen from the
Egyptians. The Greek Gods although maybe influenced by the near east had their own twists to them
Etman 7
that were very Greek. The myths that the stories of these Gods originate from are said to have discussed
fundamental issues in their society. Among other theories religious scriptures being the origin was
mentioned.
An additional theory mentioned in Wikipedia was that the Gods were actually once real human being
that were given divine attributes due to their positions, maybe kings or people of power. Then the
legends that we hear now are just alterations of real stories that made them seem God-like divine.
Citation:
"Understanding the Origin of the Greek Gods." For Dummies. Web. 12 June 2012.
"The Origin of the Greek Gods." The Origin of the Greek Gods. N.p., 15 Oct. 2006. Web. 12 June 2012
"Greek Mythology." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 06 Dec. 2012. Web. 12 June 2012
Guthrie, W.K.C. The Greeks and Their Gods. Boston: Beacon, 1954. Print
Price, Simone. Religions Of The Ancient Greeks. New York: Cambridge UP, 1999. Print.
Etman 9
Nour Nader
900111220
I-search Topic
My topic started off as Greek Gods but it was too general and broad, I thought about talking
about one particular God but that would have made it too narrow, so as I read the many sources I
found I decided I would try to find out where these Gods originated from.
The more I read the more I found out that it was very indefinite and that I wasn’t really going to
find a specific answer. I read a lot of theories and a lot of them were very interesting but I found
out that my search had to be split into 2 parts.
My research question is:
What is the Origin of Greek Gods?
With 2 sub questions:
Where did the Gods come from according to Mythology?
Where did the mythology stories of the Gods originate from?
In the first question I explore the ancient Greek theory of how they’re gods came into existence.
It tackles the stories that they told through the generations about the creation of earth and how
the Olympians took control of the world. This is the part where I talk about their myths; things
that we now know are impossible and couldn’t possibly be true.
Etman 10
The second question addresses the unknown origin of these stories. How did they come up with
such an out of this world scenario? There are a lot of theories regarding this, but all agree that the
way these myths were kept going was by retelling it over and over.
In my new sources, I found a website called Ancient Greece, it explains as a summary the family
tree of the Gods, and then continues to give details about each God. This will help me in my first
sub question.
Another online article called “origins of the world” added to the story of how Zeus became the
king of the gods by explaining how he got his all famous lightning bolt. Apparently when he
overthrew his father he let out the Cyclopes which had been imprisoned, they then offered him
the lightning bolt as a thank you, they were the only ones who could make theses lightning bolts.
“Greek Gods Greek Myths” explains about the history of the creation of the gods, the peoples
need for them and what their purpose was. Though this article mentions that their religion didn’t
have scriptures, this statement contradicts a previous source I had read. This source is very useful
in answering my 2nd question it is coming from a historical point of view rather than a mythical
one.
The final source I found called “The creation of the first Greek gods” mentions that the Greeks
reason for coming up with the stories of the Gods was to justify “the various abstract
significances like Love, Birth or Death.” This is why the God world was a lot alike our human
world. Full of passion, hate, jealousy and betrayal, they were no saints, the gods, just really big
and strong human.
Etman 11
Citation
1. "Ancient Greek Gods and Myths." Mythology. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 June 2012
2. Davidson, James. "The Origins of the World." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media,
01 Nov. 2008. Web. 13 June 2012.
3. "Greek Gods." All About History. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 June 2012.
4. "Theogony - The Creation of the First Greek Gods." Greek Mythology. N.p., n.d. Web. 13
June 2012
Etman 12
Nour Nader Etman
900111220
Annotated Bibliography
"Ancient Greek Gods and Myths." Mythology. Web. 13 June 2012
It explains as a summary the family tree of the Gods, and then continues to give details about
each God. The website arranged the information very well and made it easily accessible. It talks
about each God’s story and the myths that have been told about them. Stories like how Hera was
jealous of Zeus’ multiple affairs and how Poseidon created the horse were mentioned among
others.
Davidson, James. "The Origins of the World." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 01
Nov. 2008. Web. 13 June 2012.
The theory of the gods’ birth was told here but it was more elaborate. The article added to the
story of how Zeus became the king of the gods by explaining how he got his all famous lightning
bolt. Apparently when he overthrew his father he let out the Cyclopes, who had been imprisoned,
they then offered him the lightning bolt as a thank you, they were the only ones who could make
theses lightning bolts.
Graves, Robert. Greek Gods and Heroes. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1960. Print.
Graves goes deeper into Greek mythology and discusses various stories and legends. The most
interesting part for my research was his chapter on the end of the Olympians. A story of how the
Etman 13
last Olympian worshiping king was killed and how this marked the end of Zeus’ reign was
explained. Graves then tells us that even though they don’t rule anymore they are still around us,
in the star constellations that the Christians never changed and in the stories they left behind. The
Greek gods left a truly unforgettable mark of the world.
"Greek Gods." All About History. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 June 2012.
In this article the history of the creation of the gods is explained, the peoples need for them and
what their purpose was. Though this article mentions that their religion didn’t have scriptures,
this statement contradicts a previous source I had read. This source is very useful in finding out
why the Greeks came up with these myths about the gods; it is coming from a historical point of
view rather than a mythical one.
"Greek Mythology." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 06 Dec. 2012. Web. 12 June 2012
An additional theory mentioned in Wikipedia was that the gods were actually once real human
beings that were given divine attributes due to their positions, maybe kings or people of power.
The legends that we hear now then are just alterations of real stories that made them seem God-
like divine. This is a very logical theory; after all, these myths have been around for a long time
and have undoubtedly been altered from generation to generation. Like any story that has no
origin, people change it until it becomes something totally different than the original.
Guthrie, W.K.C. The Greeks and Their Gods. Boston: Beacon, 1954. Print
In a chapter in Guthrie’s book he talks about the origins of the Greek gods and their religion, he
mentions that religion as a whole originates from art and poetry. The theory was that any art
Etman 14
wasn’t a direct creation of the artist rather an urge that needed to get out something from within
them that they didn’t have control over; this feeling came out in the form of myths and poems.
This is a very interesting theory that I thought looked at more than just the Greek gods but also
religion as a whole and how art and beauty are interrelated with the divine.
"The Origin of the Greek Gods." The Origin of the Greek Gods. N.p., 15 Oct. 2006. Web. 12
June 2012
A theory here mentions the possibility that the idea for the Greek gods might have been stolen
from the Egyptians. The fact that the gods might have once been mortal men is also considered
here. The article then explores the connection with Egyptian gods further. This supports another
one of my sources that mentions the Greek’s inspiration coming from other cultures.
Price, Simone. Religions Of The Ancient Greeks. New York: Cambridge UP, 1999. Print.
The story about the birth of the gods is also mentioned here, but it states that the Greek gods
might have been influenced by the Near Eastern gods as similar versions of the story existed in
their languages.. Although the Greek gods may have been influenced by the near east, they had
their own twists to them that were very Greek. These myths that the stories of the gods originate
from are said to have discussed fundamental issues in the Greek society at the time. Among other
ideas, a theory stated that there were religious scriptures which were the origins of the Greek
gods. The fact that Price mentioned that they were influenced by other cultures makes a lot of
sense. There were only a few cultures present at the time and they definitely formed a lot of ideas
from each other. Their religion is very likely to be one of them.
"Theogony - The Creation of the First Greek Gods." Greek Mythology. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 June
2012
Etman 15
This source mentions that the Greeks reason for coming up with the stories of the Gods was to
justify “the various abstract significances like Love, Birth or Death.” This is why the God world
was a lot alike our human world. Full of passion, hate, jealousy and betrayal, they were no saints,
the gods, just really big and strong human.
"Understanding the Origin of the Greek Gods." For Dummies. Web. 12 June 2012.
It is explained here the story that was told about how the gods came into existence and how the
Olympians, Zeus’ family, came into control. It started with five divinities. One of them was
“Earth”; she then had some children with “The sky”. One of the children grew to over throw his
father and proceeded to have children of his own, who eventually overthrew him, led by Zeus
who then became the king of Gods and married his sister Hera, the goddess of marriage and
childbirth. This is considered the origin of the world according to the Greeks. The article
explained clearly an otherwise complex story of the birth of the gods. I found this source very
useful to give me insight on how the Greeks thought.
Etman 19
First Draft:
The Greeks were one of the oldest civilizations that existed on earth. They affected a lot
of what we know now and even how we live. One thing though that people never took seriously
was their religious beliefs and their gods; but what do we really know about these gods other
than what we see in the movies and on TV? I personally didn’t know much. I knew that there
was more to know though and that’s why I decided to choose this as my I-search Topic. The
Greeks had a lot of gods and a number of myths to go with them which made it hard for me to
decide what exactly I wanted to research. I read the many sources I found and decided to try to
find out where these Gods originated from. The more I read the more it was apparent that the
answer was very indefinite and that I wasn’t really going to find something specific. I read a lot
of theories and a lot of them were very interesting but found out that my search had to be split
into two parts. There are those theories about where the stories about the gods came from and
there are the stories of how the gods themselves came into existence. I will be discussing both
further in my paper.
The Greeks had a very vivid imagination and came up with creative extraordinary myths.
The one about the gods’ birth is no exception. There are a lot of different versions of the story
but they all boiled down to the same idea. The world started off as nothing but Chaos, but from
this chaos five divinities came into shape. “Gaia (the mother Earth), Tartarus (the underworld),
Erebus (the darkness that covers the underworld), Night (darkness that covers Earth), and Eros
(Love).” (“Understanding Greek Gods”) From these five originated everything we know now.
The darkness of the underworld, Erebus, and the darkness of the earth, Night, produced six
children together. They created the Day called Herma, Light whose name was Phôs and then
Etman 20
Doom, Death, Misery, Deceit, and Discord. These Guys while important aren’t where the gods
originated from, so let’s go back to where it all began, Gaia, the earth.
Gaia, on her own, made the mountains and the seas but most importantly she gave birth
to Uranus referred to as the sky or heaven. (Davidson, James) The Earth took the sky as her lover
and Gaia and Uranus had kids. The order in which of their groups of kids came first is unclear
but basically they had Hekatoncheires, Cyclopes and The Titans. Both the Hekatoncheires and
the Cyclopes were monsters. Hekatoncheires had “not one but fifty heads and a hundred arms
fitted to their massive shoulders” (Davidson, James) While the Cyclopes were giants with one
eye in the middle of their forehead. The most important group of children in our story though are
the Titans. Uranus didn’t like any of his children and shoved them back into the earth’s womb,
Gaia was very unhappy with that and devised a plan to get back at her lover. She asked the
Titans for help but only the youngest Coronus (sometimes spelt Koronus) would help his mother.
“ Gaia made a huge sickle out of flint and gave it to Cronos with some pretty explicit
instructions.” The next time Uranus was to lay with Gaia Coronus attacked him. He castrated his
own father. When Coronus threw his father’s genitals into the sea it created foam, this foam took
the shape of a woman and later came from it one of the most famous goddesses we know now,
Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty. After having castrated his father Coronus was now in
charge but his father left him with something that would haunt him forever a prophesy. He told
him that one day one of his sons would turn on him, just as he had done.
The prophesy didn’t shake Coronus though, he was too overwhelmed with power to care
at the time. He married his sister Rhea and when they came to have children he didn’t forget the
prophesy. As a solution he decided he would swallow all his children. The gods never learned
that eating your children or shoving them back up their mom never pleased the ladies. Rhea of
Etman 21
course didn’t like her husband’s actions so she went to her parents for help. The plan was, when
Rhea was to give birth to her youngest and sixth child she would do it in secret and hide the
baby, giving Coronus a stone to swallow instead.
Zeus grew up safely on Crete. The Nymphs gave him milk from a magical goat
named Amalthea, and the Curetes, minor gods who had the job of protecting him, banged
their spears against their swords every time baby Zeus cried, and that way Cronos never
heard him. (“Understanding Greek Gods”)
Zeus matured really fast and surely enough overthrew his dad. After beating his father in
a wrestling match he forced his to cough up his brothers and sisters. From Coronus’ stomach
came out five gods and goddesses; they were Hera the Goddess of marriage, Poseidon, God of
the sea, Hades the God of the underworld, Hestia, Goddess of the hearth and Demeter, Goddess
of crops and the harvest. Zeus was now in charge! He took his siblings and went to mount
Olympus were they made their home. Zeus and Hera got married and gave birth to most of the
Olympian gods we know now. Zeus also set free the Cyclopes and the Hekatoncheires who
helped him beat the Titans by manufacturing his all famous lightning bolts that only they, the
Cyclopes, could make. Here ends our story of how the gods were born, and how Zeus became
the one on the throne.
Stories like this one have been passed through the ages from generation to another, but
who came up with them? Why? This is what I had set to find out. One of the theories that
Etman 22
Second Draft:
The Gods:
Where did they come from?
The ancient Greeks were one of the oldest civilizations that existed on earth. They
affected a lot of what we know now and even how we live. One thing though that people never
took seriously was their religious beliefs and their gods; but what do we really know about these
gods other than what we see in the movies and on TV? I personally didn’t know much. I knew
that there was more to know though and that’s why I decided to choose this as my I-search
Topic. The Greeks had a lot of gods and a number of myths to go with them which made it hard
for me to decide what exactly I wanted to research. I read the many sources I found and decided
to try to find out where these gods originated from. The more I read the more it was apparent that
the answer was very indefinite and that I wasn’t really going to find something specific. I read a
lot of theories and a lot of them were very interesting but found out that my search had to be split
into two parts. There are those theories about where the stories about the gods came from and
there are the stories of how the gods themselves came into existence. I will be discussing both
further in my paper.
The Greeks had a very vivid imagination and came up with creative extraordinary myths.
The one about the gods’ birth is no exception. There are a lot of different versions of the story
but they all boiled down to the same idea. The world started off as nothing but Chaos, but from
this chaos five divinities came into shape. “Gaia (the mother Earth), Tartarus (the underworld),
Erebus (the darkness that covers the underworld), Night (darkness that covers Earth), and Eros
(Love).” (“Understanding Greek Gods”) From these five originated everything we know now.
Etman 23
The darkness of the underworld, Erebus, and the darkness of the earth, Night, produced six
children together. They created the Day called Herma, Light whose name was Phôs and then
Doom, Death, Misery, Deceit, and Discord. These Guys while important aren’t where the gods
originated from, so let’s go back to where it all began, Gaia, the earth.
Gaia, on her own, made the mountains and the seas but most importantly she gave birth
to Uranus referred to as the sky or heaven. (Davidson, James) The Earth took the sky as her lover
and Gaia and Uranus had kids. The order in which of their groups of kids came first is unclear
but basically they had Hekatoncheires, Cyclopes and The Titans. Both the Hekatoncheires and
the Cyclopes were monsters. Hekatoncheires had “not one but fifty heads and a hundred arms
fitted to their massive shoulders” (Davidson, James) While the Cyclopes were giants with one
eye in the middle of their forehead. The most important group of children in our story though are
the Titans. Uranus didn’t like any of his children and shoved them back into the earth’s womb,
Gaia was very unhappy with that and devised a plan to get back at her lover. She asked the
Titans for help but only the youngest Coronus (sometimes spelt Koronus) would help his mother.
“ Gaia made a huge sickle out of flint and gave it to Cronos with some pretty explicit
instructions.” The next time Uranus was to lay with Gaia Coronus attacked him. He castrated his
own father. When Coronus threw his father’s genitals into the sea it created foam, this foam took
the shape of a woman and later came from it one of the most famous goddesses we know now,
Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty. After having castrated his father Coronus was now in
charge but his father left him with something that would haunt him forever a prophecy. He told
him that one day one of his sons would turn on him, just as he had done.
The prophecy didn’t shake Coronus though, he was too overwhelmed with power to care
at the time. He married his sister Rhea and when they came to have children he didn’t forget the
Etman 24
prophecy. As a solution he decided he would swallow all his children. The gods never learned
that eating your children or shoving them back up their mom never pleased the ladies. Rhea of
course didn’t like her husband’s actions so she went to her parents for help. The plan was, when
Rhea was to give birth to her youngest and sixth child she would do it in secret and hide the
baby, giving Coronus a stone to swallow instead.
Zeus grew up safely on Crete. The Nymphs gave him milk from a magical goat named
Amalthea, and the Curetes, minor gods who had the job of protecting him, banged their
spears against their swords every time baby Zeus cried, and that way Cronos never heard
him. (“Understanding Greek Gods”)
Zeus matured really fast and surely enough overthrew his dad. After beating his father in
a wrestling match he forced his to cough up his brothers and sisters. From Coronus’ stomach
came out five gods and goddesses; they were Hera the goddess of marriage, Poseidon, god of the
sea, Hades the god of the underworld, Hestia, goddess of the hearth and Demeter, goddess of
crops and the harvest. Zeus was now in charge! He took his siblings and went to mount Olympus
were they made their home. Zeus and Hera got married and gave birth to most of the Olympian
gods we know now. Zeus also set free the Cyclopes and the Hekatoncheires who helped him beat
the Titans by manufacturing his all famous lightning bolts that only they, the Cyclopes, could
make. Here ends our story of how the gods were born, and how Zeus became the one on the
throne.
Stories like this one have been passed through the ages from generation to another, but
who came up with them? Why? This is what I had set to find out. One of the theories of how
these stories were made up was that the Greeks came up with these gods after hearing and being
Etman 25
influenced by other cultures at the time. The Near Eastern gods had similar versions of the story
in their languages. Although the Greek gods may have been influenced by the near east, they had
their own twists to them that were very much Greek. Another culture that was mentioned that
might have influenced them was the Ancient Egyptian culture. This theory proved to be the most
popular, out of the theories I found, in my survey. I believe the reason for that was because most
of the people that took the survey were Egyptian and tend to go for anything with their country’s
name in it.
The theory ranking in second place was surprisingly that religion as a whole originates
from art and poetry. The theory was that any art wasn’t a direct creation of the artist rather an
urge that needed to get out something from within them that they didn’t have control over; this
feeling came out in the form of myths and poems. This is a very interesting theory that I thought
looked at more than just the Greek gods but also religion as a whole and how art and beauty are
interrelated with the divine. 33.3% of the people who took my survey believed that this was more
plausible than the other options; I didn’t think that many people would go for something like art
and poems as the origins or religion but I was proved wrong.
Least popular theory was that the gods might have been real humans at a point. The
theory proposes that they were human beings that were given divine attributes due to their
positions, maybe kings or people of power. The legends that we hear now then are just
alterations of real stories that made them seem God-like divine. This is a very logical theory;
after all, these myths have been around for a long time and have undoubtedly been altered from
generation to generation. Like any story that has no origin, people change it until it becomes
something totally different than the original. Why I think this was the least theory chosen might
be because people don’t like to attribute human characteristics to gods, even if it is not the gods
Etman 26
they believe in. They like making gods seem untouchable and perfect. What sets apart the Greek
gods though was that they were not saints, but they live like humans to a huge extend. They had
jealousy, fighting and problems very similar to what we humans go through. Even though this
wasn’t a popular choice I still think it’s highly plausible.
In the survey I conducted I looked more into the reasons why the Greeks felt the need to
have gods. The most popular choice was “To explain natural phenomena they didn’t understand
(eg. Sunrise and sunset)”, only a little behind it came “To justify the various abstract
significances like Love, Birth or Death”. People probably chose these because they are what
seems to be the start of all religions. Like how the prophets usually find put that God is out there
when they look around the beautiful earth and think that there has to be something more out
there. The least chosen was “To make sure that the people stayed in line” this gives the
indication that people look at the need for religion as something less of a way to control people
and more of a way to understand the world around us.
I also decided to see why people thought these myths survived all this time and are still
around till now. 58% thought that it was because of the fact that they were part of history. The
rest of the people were equally split between “They have been retold with the purpose of
entertainment” and “They have been passed on to teach children values”. My last question was
aimed to see who was the most popular god or goddess other than Zeus. The two most mentioned
names were Poseidon and Aphrodite. Another thing I noticed was that a lot of people confused
the Greek gods with the roman gods because of the similar attributes.
Etman 59
Third Draft:
The Gods:
Where did they come from?
The ancient Greeks were one of the oldest civilizations that existed on earth. They
affected a lot of what we know now and even how we live. One thing though that people never
took seriously was their religious beliefs and their gods; but what do we really know about these
gods other than what we see in the movies and on TV? I personally didn’t know much, but I
wanted to. I had a pretty good idea that there was more to know and that’s why I decided to
choose this as my I-search Topic. The Greeks had a lot of gods and a number of myths to go with
them which made it hard for me to decide what exactly I wanted to research. I read the many
sources I found and decided to try to find out where these gods originated from. The more I read
the more it was apparent that the answer was very indefinite and that I wasn’t really going to find
something specific. I read a lot of theories and a lot of them were very interesting but found out
that my search had to be split into two parts. The first part is the stories of how the gods
themselves came into existence; the second part is those theories about where these stories came
from. I will be discussing both further in my paper.
The Greeks had a very vivid imagination and came up with creative extraordinary myths.
The one about the gods’ birth was no exception. There are a lot of different versions of the story
but they all boiled down to the same idea. The world started off as nothing but Chaos, but from
this chaos five divinities came into shape. “Gaia (the mother Earth), Tartarus (the underworld),
Erebus (the darkness that covers the underworld), Night (darkness that covers Earth), and Eros
(Love).” (“Understanding Greek Gods”) From these five originated everything we know now.
Etman 60
The darkness of the underworld, Erebus, and the darkness of the earth, Night, produced seven
children together. They created the Day called Herma, Light whose name was Phôs and then
Doom, Death, Misery, Deceit, and Discord. These Guys while important aren’t where the gods
originated from, so let’s go back to where it all began, Gaia, the earth.
Gaia, on her own, made the mountains and the seas but most importantly she gave birth
to Uranus referred to as the sky or heaven (James Davidson). The Earth took the sky as her lover
and Gaia and Uranus had kids. The order in which of their groups of kids came first is a point of
difference that I found between my 2 sources. James Davidson said that the titans came first but
the article “Understanding the Greek Gods” explained that they were the youngest group of
children. Basically they had Hekatoncheires, Cyclopes and The Titans. Both the Hekatoncheires
and the Cyclopes were considered monsters. Hekatoncheires had “not one but fifty heads and a
hundred arms fitted to their massive shoulders” (James Davidson) While the Cyclopes were
giants with one eye in the middle of their forehead. The most important group of children in our
story though is the Titans. Uranus didn’t like any of his children and shoved them back into the
earth’s womb. Gaia was very unhappy with that and devised a plan to get back at her lover. She
asked the Titans for help but only the youngest Cronus (sometimes spelt Koronus) would help
his mother. “Gaia made a huge sickle out of flint and gave it to Cronos with some pretty explicit
instructions.” The next time Uranus was to lay with Gaia Cronus attacked him. He castrated his
own father. When Cronus threw his father’s genitals into the sea it created foam, this foam took
the shape of a woman and later came from it one of the most famous goddesses we know now,
Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty. After having castrated his father Cronus was now in
charge but his father left him with something that would haunt him forever a prophecy. He told
him that one day one of his sons would turn on him, just as he had done.
Etman 61
The prophecy didn’t shake Cronus though; he was too overwhelmed with power to care
at the time. He married his sister Rhea and when they came to have children he didn’t forget the
prophecy. As a solution he decided he would swallow all his children. The gods never learned
that eating your children or shoving them back up their mom never pleased the ladies. Rhea of
course didn’t like her husband’s actions so she went to her parents for help. The plan was, when
Rhea was to give birth to her youngest and sixth child she would do it in secret and hide the
baby, giving Cronus a stone to swallow instead.
Zeus grew up safely on Crete. The Nymphs gave him milk from a magical goat named
Amalthea, and the Curetes, minor gods who had the job of protecting him, banged their
spears against their swords every time baby Zeus cried, and that way Cronos never heard
him. (“Understanding Greek Gods”)
Zeus matured really fast and surely enough overthrew his dad. After beating his father in
a wrestling match he forced his to cough up his brothers and sisters. From Cronus’ stomach came
out five gods and goddesses; they were Hera the goddess of marriage, Poseidon, god of the sea,
Hades the god of the underworld, Hestia, goddess of the hearth and Demeter, goddess of crops
and the harvest. Zeus was now in charge! He took his siblings and went to mount Olympus were
they made their home. Zeus and Hera got married and gave birth to most of the Olympian gods
we know now. Zeus also set free the Cyclopes and the Hekatoncheires who helped him beat the
Titans by manufacturing his all famous lightning bolts that only they, the Cyclopes, could make
(James Davidson). Here ends our story of how the gods were born, and how Zeus became the
one on the throne.
Etman 62
Stories like this one have been passed through the ages from generation to another and
have gone through a lot of changes over the centuries to become what we know now, but who
came up with them? Why? This is what I had set to find out. One of the theories of how these
stories were made up was that the Greeks came up with these gods after hearing and being
influenced by other cultures at the time. The Near Eastern gods had similar versions of the story
in their languages (Simone Price). Although the Greek gods may have been influenced by the
near east, they had their own twists to them that were very much Greek. Another culture that was
mentioned that might have influenced them was the Ancient Egyptian culture ("The Origin of the
Greek Gods."). This theory proved to be the most popular, out of the theories I found, in my
survey. I believe the reason for that was because most of the people that took the survey were
Egyptian and tend to go for anything with their country’s name in it.
The theory ranking in second place was surprisingly that religion as a whole originates
from art and poetry. The theory was that any art wasn’t a direct creation of the artist rather an
urge that needed to get out something from within them that they didn’t have control over; this
feeling came out in the form of myths and poems This is a very interesting theory that I thought
looked at more than just the Greek gods but also religion as a whole and how art and beauty are
interrelated with the divine. “Religion arose from the awareness of beauty and the earliest
revelation of the divine was through poetry” (W.K.C. Guthrie).. 33.3% of the people who took
my survey believed that this was more plausible than the other options; I didn’t think that many
people would go for something like art and poems as the origins or religion but I was proved
wrong.
Least popular theory was that the gods might have been real humans at a point. The
theory proposes that they were human beings that were given divine attributes due to their
Etman 63
positions, maybe kings or people of power ("Greek Mythology."). The legends that we hear now
then are just alterations of real stories that made them seem God-like divine. This is a very
logical theory; after all, these myths have been around for a long time and have undoubtedly
been altered from generation to generation. Like any story that has no origin, people change it
until it becomes something totally different than the original. Why I think this was the least
theory chosen might be because people don’t like to attribute human characteristics to gods, even
if it is not the gods they believe in. They like making gods seem untouchable and perfect. What
sets apart the Greek gods from other gods was that they were not saints, but they live like
humans to a huge extend. They had jealousy, fighting and problems very similar to what we
humans go through. Also a lot of the myths mention interaction between the gods and humans.
Even though this wasn’t a popular choice I still think it’s highly plausible.
In the survey I conducted I looked more into the reasons why the Greeks felt the need to
have gods. The most popular choice was “To explain natural phenomena they didn’t understand
(eg. Sunrise and sunset)”, only a little behind it came “To justify the various abstract
significances like Love, Birth or Death”( "Theogony - The Creation of the First Greek Gods.").
People probably chose these because they are what seems to be the start of all religions. Like
how the prophets usually find out that God is out there when they look around the beautiful earth
and think that there has to be something more to all this. The least chosen was “To make sure
that the people stayed in line” this gives the indication that people look at the need for religion as
something less of a way to control people and more of a way to understand the world around us.
I also decided to see why people thought these myths survived all this time and why they
are still around till now. 58% thought that it was because of the fact that they were part of
Etman 64
history. The rest of the people were equally split between “They have been retold with the
purpose of entertainment” and “They have been passed on to teach children values”.
My last question was aimed to see who were the most popular god or goddess other than
Zeus. The goddess that was mentioned the most was Aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty.
Poseidon god of the sea was also mentioned a lot. Another thing I noticed was that a lot of
people confused the Greek gods with the roman gods because of the similar attributes they have.
The Romans basically had the same gods as the Greeks but with different names.
After going through all these theories I don’t really have a definite answer yet, but I
understand so much more about the Greek gods. People may think that these are just weird
stories that are seemingly useless now but learning about these myths can be very enlightening.
Like the story of Narcissus and Echo which talks about how we must not be vain and how we
should direct our love towards others rather than ourselves (Robert Graves). This is only one
example though most of the Greek myths have a deeper meaning to them but people just look at
them as obstinacies. In the end I would just like to say that I have thoroughly enjoyed doing this
research and will probably continue reading about the gods after the course. These people, the
Greeks, have created amazing history and their religious belief is just as spectacular.
Etman 65
Work Cited
"Ancient Greek Gods and Myths." Mythology. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 June 2012
Davidson, James. "The Origins of the World." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 01
Nov. 2008. Web. 13 June 2012.
Graves, Robert. Greek Gods and Heroes. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1960. Print.
"Greek Gods." All About History. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 June 2012.
"Greek Mythology." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 06 Dec. 2012. Web. 12 June 2012
Guthrie, W.K.C. The Greeks and Their Gods. Boston: Beacon, 1954. Print
"Origin of the Greek Gods, The" The Origin of the Greek Gods. N.p., 15 Oct. 2006. Web. 12
June 2012
Price, Simone. Religions Of The Ancient Greeks. New York: Cambridge UP, 1999. Print.
"Theogony - The Creation of the First Greek Gods." Greek Mythology. N.p., n.d. Web. 13
June 2012
"Understanding the Origin of the Greek Gods." For Dummies. Web. 12 June 2012.
Etman 66
Annotated Bibliography
"Ancient Greek Gods and Myths." Mythology. Web. 13 June 2012
It explains a summary of the family tree of the Gods, and then continues to give details about
each God. The website arranged the information very well and made it easily accessible. It talks
about each God’s story and the myths that have been told about them. Stories like how Hera was
jealous of Zeus’ multiple affairs and how Poseidon created the horse among others were
mentioned.
Davidson, James. "The Origins of the World." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 01
Nov. 2008. Web. 13 June 2012.
The theory of the gods’ birth was told here but it was more elaborate. The article added to the
story of how Zeus became the king of the gods by explaining how he got his all famous lightning
bolt. Apparently when he overthrew his father he let out the Cyclopes, they had been imprisoned
by the titans, as a thank you they offered him the lightning bolt. They were the only ones who
could make theses lightning bolts giving Zeus a one-of-a-kind weapon
Graves, Robert. Greek Gods and Heroes. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1960. Print.
Graves goes deeper into Greek mythology and discusses various stories and legends. The most
interesting part for my research was his chapter on the end of the Olympians. A story of how the
last Olympian worshiping king was killed marking the end of Zeus’ reign and the end of the
Olympians’ power was explained. Graves then tells us that even though they don’t rule anymore
they are still around us, in the star constellations that the Christians never changed and in the
stories they left behind. The Greek gods left a truly unforgettable mark of the world.
Etman 67
"Greek Gods." All About History. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 June 2012.
In this article the history of the creation of the gods is explained, the peoples need for them and
what their purpose was. Though this article mentions that their religion didn’t have scriptures,
this statement contradicts a previous source I had read. This source is very useful in finding out
why the Greeks came up with these myths about the gods; it is coming from a historical point of
view rather than a mythical one.
"Greek Mythology." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 06 Dec. 2012. Web. 12 June 2012
An additional theory mentioned was that the gods were actually once real human beings that
were given divine attributes due to their positions, maybe kings or people of power. The legends
that we hear now then are just alterations of real stories that made them seem God-like divine.
This is a very logical theory; after all, these myths have been around for a long time and have
undoubtedly been altered from generation to generation. Like any story that has no origin, people
change it until it becomes something totally different than the original.
Guthrie, W.K.C. The Greeks and Their Gods. Boston: Beacon, 1954. Print
In a chapter in Guthrie’s book he talks about the origins of the Greek gods and their religion, he
mentions that religion as a whole originates from art and poetry. The theory was that any art
wasn’t a direct creation of the artist rather an urge that needed to get out something from within
them that they didn’t have control over; this feeling came out in the form of myths and poems.
This is a very interesting theory that I thought looked at more than just the Greek gods but also
religion as a whole and how art and beauty are interrelated with the divine.
Etman 68
"The Origin of the Greek Gods." The Origin of the Greek Gods. N.p., 15 Oct. 2006. Web. 12
June 2012
A theory here mentions the possibility that the idea for the Greek gods might have been stolen
from the Egyptians. The fact that the gods might have once been mortal men is also considered
here. The article then explores the connection with Egyptian gods further. This supports another
one of my sources that mentions the Greek’s inspiration coming from other cultures.
Price, Simone. Religions Of The Ancient Greeks. New York: Cambridge UP, 1999. Print.
The story about the birth of the gods is also mentioned here, but it states that the Greek gods
might have been influenced by the Near Eastern gods as similar versions of the story existed in
their languages. Although the Greek gods may have been influenced by the near east, they had
their own twists to them that were very Greek. These myths that the stories of the gods originate
from are said to have discussed fundamental issues in the Greek society at the time. Among other
ideas, a theory stated that there were religious scriptures which were the origins of the Greek
gods. The fact that Price mentioned that they were influenced by other cultures makes a lot of
sense. There were only a few cultures present at the time and they definitely formed a lot of ideas
from each other. Their religion is very likely to be one of them.
"Theogony - The Creation of the First Greek Gods." Greek Mythology. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 June
2012
This source mentions that the Greeks reason for coming up with the stories of the Gods was to
justify “the various abstract significances like Love, Birth or Death.” This is why the God world
was a lot alike our human world. Full of passion, hate, jealousy and betrayal, they were no saints,
the gods, just really powerful humans.
Etman 69
"Understanding the Origin of the Greek Gods." For Dummies. Web. 12 June 2012.
It is explained here the story that was told about how the gods came into existence and how the
Olympians, Zeus’ family, came into control. It started with five divinities. One of them was
“Earth”; she then had some children with “The sky”. One of the children grew to over throw his
father and proceeded to have children of his own, who eventually overthrew him, led by Zeus
who then became the king of Gods and married his sister Hera, the goddess of marriage and
childbirth. This is considered the origin of the world according to the Greeks. The article
explained clearly an otherwise complex story of the birth of the gods. I found this source very
useful to give me insight on how the Greeks thought.
Etman 70
Appendix 1
(Survey Questions)
This is a survey for my English research paper about the Greek gods and their myths. Please help
me by taking a few minutes to fill this out. Thank you :)
*1. Age:
*2. Gender:
Gender: Male
Female
3. Rate your knowledge of the Greek gods (1 being the lowest and 5 being the highest)
1
I don't know anything
2 3 4
5
I consider myself an expert on the subject
*4. Have you ever been interested in the Greek gods?
Have you ever been interested in the Greek gods? Yes
Etman 71
No
*5. Where do you think the Greek Myths about the gods originated from?
The gods were once real humans
They were influenced by gods from other cultures at the time (Near east, Egyptian, etc..)
They originated form poems and art
*6. Why did the Greeks come up with these gods?
To justify the various abstract significances like Love, Birth or Death
To make sure that the people stayed in line
To explain natural phenomena they didn’t understand (eg. Sunrise and sunset)
*7. Why do you think these myths have survived until now?
They have been passed on to teach children values
They have been retold with the purpose of entertainment
They are part of history
8. Name a Greek God or Goddess you know and what they rule (Other than Zeus)
God:
Etman 73
Final Draft:
Nour Nader
Rhet 201- 08
Michael Gibson
I-search paper
18/07/12
The Greek Gods:
Where did they come from?
The Theories and the Myths
The ancient Greeks were one of the oldest civilizations that existed on earth. They
affected a lot of what we know now and even how we live today (Roy D'Silva). Despite this, one
thing that some people seemed to have a problem taking seriously was the Greeks’ religious
beliefs and their gods; but what do we really know about these gods, other than what we see in
the movies and on TV? I personally didn’t know much, but I wanted to. I had a pretty good idea
that there was more to know and that is why I decided to choose this as my I-search Topic. The
Greeks had a lot of gods and a number of myths to go with them which made it hard for me to
decide what exactly I wanted to research. I read the many sources I found and decided to try to
find out where the idea of these gods originated from. The more I read the more it was apparent
that the answer was very indefinite and that I wasn’t really going to find something specific. I
Etman 74
read a lot of theories and many of them were very interesting but found out that my search had to
be split into two parts. The first part is the stories of how the gods themselves came into
existence; the second part is those theories about where these stories came from. I will be
discussing both further in my paper.
The Greeks had a very vivid imagination and came up with creative extraordinary myths.
The one about the gods’ birth was no exception. There are a lot of different versions of the story
but they all boiled down to the same idea. The world started off as nothing but Chaos, but from
this chaos five divinities came into shape. “Gaia (the mother Earth), Tartarus (the underworld),
Erebus (the darkness that covers the underworld), Night (darkness that covers Earth), and Eros
(Love).” (“Understanding Greek Gods”) From these five originated everything we know now.
The darkness of the underworld, Erebus, and the darkness of the earth, Night, produced seven
children together. They created the Day called Herma, Light whose name was Phôs and then
Doom, Death, Misery, Deceit, and Discord. These guys while important aren’t where the gods
originated from, so let’s go back to where it all began, Gaia, the earth.
Gaia, on her own, made the mountains and the seas but most importantly she gave birth
to Uranus referred to as the sky or heaven (James Davidson). The Earth took the sky as her lover
and Gaia and Uranus had kids. The order in which their groups of kids came first is a point of
difference that I found between my two sources. James Davidson said that the Titans came first
but the article “Understanding the Greek Gods” explained that they were the last group of
children. Basically Gaia and Uranus had the Hekatoncheires, the Cyclopes and the Titans. Both
the Hekatoncheires and the Cyclopes were considered monsters. The Hekatoncheires had “not
one but fifty heads and a hundred arms fitted to their massive shoulders” (James Davidson)
While the Cyclopes were giants with one eye in the middle of their foreheads. The most
Etman 75
important group of children in our story though is the Titans. Uranus didn’t like any of his
children and shoved them back into the earth’s womb. Gaia was very unhappy with that and
devised a plan to get back at her lover. She asked the Titans for help but only the youngest
Cronus (sometimes spelt Koronus) would help his mother. “Gaia made a huge sickle out of flint
and gave it to Cronos with some pretty explicit instructions.” The next time Uranus was to lay
with Gaia Cronus attacked him. He castrated his own father. When Cronus threw his father’s
genitals into the sea it created foam, this foam took the shape of a woman and later came to form
one of the most famous goddesses known as Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty. After
having castrated his father, Cronus was now in charge, but his father left him with something that
would haunt him forever, a prophecy. He told him that one day one of his sons would turn on
him, just as he had done.
The prophecy didn’t shake Cronus much; he was too overwhelmed with power to care at
the time. He then married his sister Rhea and when they came to have children he didn’t forget
the prophecy. As a solution he decided he would swallow all his children. The gods never
learned that eating your children or shoving them back up their mom never pleased the ladies.
Rhea of course didn’t like her husband’s actions so she went to her parents for help. The plan
was, when Rhea was to give birth to her youngest and sixth child she would do it in secret and
hide the baby, giving Cronus a stone to swallow instead.
Zeus grew up safely on Crete. The Nymphs gave him milk from a magical goat named
Amalthea, and the Curetes, minor gods who had the job of protecting him, banged their
spears against their swords every time baby Zeus cried, and that way Cronos never heard
him. (“Understanding Greek Gods”)
Etman 76
Zeus matured really fast and surely enough overthrew his dad. After beating his father in
a wrestling match he forced him to cough up his brothers and sisters. From Cronus’ stomach
came out five gods and goddesses; they were Hera the goddess of marriage, Poseidon, god of the
sea, Hades the god of the underworld, Hestia, goddess of the hearth and Demeter, goddess of
crops and the harvest. Zeus was now in charge! He took his siblings and went to mount Olympus
where they made their home. Zeus and Hera got married and gave birth to most of the Olympian
gods known in modern times. Zeus also set free the Cyclopes and the Hekatoncheires who
helped him beat the Titans by manufacturing his all-famous lightning bolts that only they, the
Cyclopes, could make (James Davidson). Here ends our story of how the gods were theoretically
born, and how Zeus became the one on the throne.
Stories like this one have been passed through the ages from one generation to another
and have gone through a lot of changes over the centuries to become what they are now, but who
came up with them? Why? This is what I had to find out. I found a lot of sources, but it was a
little difficult going through them and using only what was related to my research. In these
sources were a lot of theories that answered my question, but not one in specific. I decided to
conduct a survey and see which of these theories people found more convincing and believable. I
had a hard time figuring out how to shape my questionnaire because my topic wasn’t one of
opinion rather one of history. When I took it from an opinion point of view, I was able to come
up with questions that really helped me in my research.
One of the theories of how these stories were formulated was that the Greeks came up
with these gods after hearing and being influenced by other cultures at the time. The Near
Eastern people had similar versions of the story in their languages (Simone Price). Although the
Greek gods may have been influenced by the near east, they had their own twists that made them
Etman 77
very much Greek. An example of these cultures that might have influenced them was the Ancient
Egyptian culture ("The Origin of the Greek Gods."). This theory proved to be, in my survey, the
most popular out of the theories I found. I believe the reason for this might be because most of
the people that I surveyed were Egyptians who tend to go for anything with their country’s name
in it.
The theory ranking in second place was surprisingly that religion as a whole originates
from art and poetry. This theory suggests that any art wasn’t a direct creation of the artist rather
an urge that needed to get out, something from within them that they didn’t have control over;
this feeling came out in the form of myths and poems. “Religion arose from the awareness of
beauty and the earliest revelation of the divine was through poetry” (W.K.C. Guthrie). This is a
very interesting theory that I thought looked at more than just the Greek gods but also religion as
a whole and how art and beauty are interrelated with the Divine. 33.3% of the people who took
my questionnaire believed that this was more plausible than the other options; I didn’t think that
many people would go for something like art and poems as the origins of religion but I was
proved wrong.
The least popular theory was that the gods might have been real humans at one point. The
theory proposes that they were human beings who were given divine attributes due to their
positions, maybe kings or people of power ("The Origin of the Greek Gods."). The legends that
we hear now then are just alterations of real stories that made the charters seem more divine.
This is a very logical theory; after all, these myths have been around for a long time and have
undoubtedly been altered from generation to another. Like any story that has no documented
origin and was passed on through oral means, people change it until it becomes something totally
different than its original context. Why I think this was the least theory chosen might be because
Etman 78
people don’t like to attribute human characteristics to gods, even if the gods have already been
dismissed as mythical. They like making gods seem untouchable and perfect. What I found
though, that sets apart the Greek gods from most of the other mythical gods, was that they were
not faultless, but lived like humans to a great extent. They had jealousy, fighting and problems
very similar to what we humans go through. Also a lot of the myths mention interaction between
the gods and humans, sometimes even leading to a half human half god combination. Even
though this wasn’t a popular choice I still think it’s highly plausible.
In the survey I conducted I looked more into the reasons why the Greeks felt the need to
have gods. The most popular choice was “To explain natural phenomena they didn’t understand
(eg. Sunrise and sunset)”. Only a little behind this theory came “To justify the various abstract
significances like Love, Birth or Death”( "Theogony - The Creation of the First Greek Gods.").
People probably chose these because they are what seems to be the start of all religions, like how
the prophets usually find out that God is out there when they look around beautiful earth and
think that there has to be something more to all this. The least chosen was “To make sure that the
people stayed in line” which gives the indication that people look at the need for religion as
something less of a way to control people and more of a way to understand the world around us.
I also decided to see why people thought these myths survived all this time and why they
are still around till now. 58% thought that it was because of the fact that they were part of
history. I think the majority chose this because they wouldn’t think that people might be
interested in these myths for any reason other than historical education. The rest of the people
were equally split between “They have been retold with the purpose of entertainment” and “They
have been passed on to teach children values”. People may think that these myths are just weird
stories that are seemingly useless now but learning about these myths can be very enlightening.
Etman 79
Like the story of Narcissus and Echo which talks about how we must not be vain and how we
should direct our love towards others rather than ourselves (Robert Graves). This is only one
example of how the Greek myths have a deeper meaning to them, but people just look at them as
obstinacies. The reason that teaching children morals wasn’t chosen as much could be because
people don’t know these myths and the values behind them.
My last question was aimed to see who was the most popular god or goddess other than
Zeus. The goddess that was mentioned the most was Aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty. Like
my expectations, Poseidon, god of the sea, was mentioned a lot as well. I thought both Poseidon
and Hades would have had the most mentions since they are all over the movies and films but
surprisingly Hades wasn’t mentioned as often. Another thing I noticed was that a lot of people
confused the Greek gods with the Roman gods because of the similar attributes they have. The
Romans basically had the same gods as the Greeks but with different names.
My research helped me understand how Egyptians see these myths and theories. Out of the
90 responses I got only 3 people rated themselves as experts on this topic in addition to 13
people who rated themselves close to that. The average rating was 2.33 with a maximum of 5,
this shows that their knowledge of the subject wasn’t much, yet 64.1% of them admitted that
they have been interested in Greek gods at a point in time. This made me conclude that very few
Egyptians actually dig deeper into what they like; most don’t really follow their passion and
most of the times just look at the surface of things. The range of ages was between 10 and 53 and
I had almost the same number of male and female (53.3% - 46.7% respectively). The sample was
varied and had a big range which I thought gave me more accurate results.
Etman 80
After going through all these theories I don’t really have a definite answer yet, but I
understand so much more about the Greek gods. I gained insight on how people see myths and
mythological gods and understood more about their way of thinking. I was also able to decide on
which theory I believed in more even if it wasn’t the most picked in my survey, this helped me
understand a little better who I am and how I think. My humble opinion is that the Greek gods
were once real human beings and that people need to research more about their interests in order
to enrich themselves as individuals.
Etman 81
Work Cited
"Ancient Greek Gods and Myths." Mythology. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 June 2012
Davidson, James. "The Origins of the World." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 01
Nov. 2008. Web. 13 June 2012.
D'Silva, Roy. "Greece Facts: Interesting Facts About Greece." Buzzle.com. Buzzle.com, 05
Jan. 2012. Web. 17 July 2012.
Graves, Robert. Greek Gods and Heroes. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1960. Print.
"Greek Gods." All About History. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 June 2012.
Guthrie, W.K.C. The Greeks and Their Gods. Boston: Beacon, 1954. Print
"Origin of the Greek Gods, The" The Origin of the Greek Gods. N.p., 15 Oct. 2006. Web. 12
June 2012
Price, Simone. Religions Of The Ancient Greeks. New York: Cambridge UP, 1999. Print.
"Theogony - The Creation of the First Greek Gods." Greek Mythology. N.p., n.d. Web. 13
June 2012
"Understanding the Origin of the Greek Gods." For Dummies. Web. 12 June 2012.
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Annotated Bibliography
"Ancient Greek Gods and Myths." Mythology. Web. 13 June 2012
It explains a summary of the family tree of the Gods, and then continues to give details about
each God. The website arranged the information very well and made it easily accessible. It talks
about each God’s story and the myths that have been told about them. Stories like how Hera was
jealous of Zeus’ multiple affairs and how Poseidon created the horse among others were
mentioned.
Davidson, James. "The Origins of the World." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 01
Nov. 2008. Web. 13 June 2012.
The theory of the gods’ birth was told here but it was more elaborate. The article added to the
story of how Zeus became the king of the gods by explaining how he got his all famous lightning
bolt. Apparently when he overthrew his father he let out the Cyclopes, they had been imprisoned
by the titans, as a thank you they offered him the lightning bolt. They were the only ones who
could make theses lightning bolts giving Zeus a one-of-a-kind weapon
Graves, Robert. Greek Gods and Heroes. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1960. Print.
Graves goes deeper into Greek mythology and discusses various stories and legends. The most
interesting part for my research was his chapter on the end of the Olympians. A story of how the
last Olympian worshiping king was killed marking the end of Zeus’ reign and the end of the
Olympians’ power was explained. Graves then tells us that even though they don’t rule anymore
they are still around us, in the star constellations that the Christians never changed and in the
stories they left behind. The Greek gods left a truly unforgettable mark of the world.
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"Greek Gods." All About History. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 June 2012.
In this article the history of the creation of the gods is explained, the peoples need for them and
what their purpose was. Though this article mentions that their religion didn’t have scriptures,
this statement contradicts a previous source I had read. This source is very useful in finding out
why the Greeks came up with these myths about the gods; it is coming from a historical point of
view rather than a mythical one.
"Greek Mythology." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 06 Dec. 2012. Web. 12 June 2012
An additional theory mentioned was that the gods were actually once real human beings that
were given divine attributes due to their positions, maybe kings or people of power. The legends
that we hear now then are just alterations of real stories that made them seem God-like divine.
This is a very logical theory; after all, these myths have been around for a long time and have
undoubtedly been altered from generation to generation. Like any story that has no origin, people
change it until it becomes something totally different than the original.
Guthrie, W.K.C. The Greeks and Their Gods. Boston: Beacon, 1954. Print
In a chapter in Guthrie’s book he talks about the origins of the Greek gods and their religion, he
mentions that religion as a whole originates from art and poetry. The theory was that any art
wasn’t a direct creation of the artist rather an urge that needed to get out something from within
them that they didn’t have control over; this feeling came out in the form of myths and poems.
This is a very interesting theory that I thought looked at more than just the Greek gods but also
religion as a whole and how art and beauty are interrelated with the divine.
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"The Origin of the Greek Gods." The Origin of the Greek Gods. N.p., 15 Oct. 2006. Web. 12
June 2012
A theory here mentions the possibility that the idea for the Greek gods might have been stolen
from the Egyptians. The fact that the gods might have once been mortal men is also considered
here. The article then explores the connection with Egyptian gods further. This supports another
one of my sources that mentions the Greek’s inspiration coming from other cultures.
Price, Simone. Religions Of The Ancient Greeks. New York: Cambridge UP, 1999. Print.
The story about the birth of the gods is also mentioned here, but it states that the Greek gods
might have been influenced by the Near Eastern gods as similar versions of the story existed in
their languages. Although the Greek gods may have been influenced by the near east, they had
their own twists to them that were very Greek. These myths that the stories of the gods originate
from are said to have discussed fundamental issues in the Greek society at the time. Among other
ideas, a theory stated that there were religious scriptures which were the origins of the Greek
gods. The fact that Price mentioned that they were influenced by other cultures makes a lot of
sense. There were only a few cultures present at the time and they definitely formed a lot of ideas
from each other. Their religion is very likely to be one of them.
"Theogony - The Creation of the First Greek Gods." Greek Mythology. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 June
2012
This source mentions that the Greeks reason for coming up with the stories of the Gods was to
justify “the various abstract significances like Love, Birth or Death.” This is why the God world
was a lot alike our human world. Full of passion, hate, jealousy and betrayal, they were no saints,
the gods, just really powerful humans.
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"Understanding the Origin of the Greek Gods." For Dummies. Web. 12 June 2012.
It is explained here the story that was told about how the gods came into existence and how the
Olympians, Zeus’ family, came into control. It started with five divinities. One of them was
“Earth”; she then had some children with “The sky”. One of the children grew to over throw his
father and proceeded to have children of his own, who eventually overthrew him, led by Zeus
who then became the king of Gods and married his sister Hera, the goddess of marriage and
childbirth. This is considered the origin of the world according to the Greeks. The article
explained clearly an otherwise complex story of the birth of the gods. I found this source very
useful to give me insight on how the Greeks thought.
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Appendix 1
(Survey Questions)
This is a survey for my English research paper about the Greek gods and their myths. Please help
me by taking a few minutes to fill this out. Thank you :)
*1. Age:
*2. Gender:
Gender: Male
Female
3. Rate your knowledge of the Greek gods (1 being the lowest and 5 being the highest)
1
I don't know anything
2 3 4
5
I consider myself an expert on the subject
*4. Have you ever been interested in the Greek gods?
Have you ever been interested in the Greek gods? Yes
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No
*5. Where do you think the Greek Myths about the gods originated from?
The gods were once real humans
They were influenced by gods from other cultures at the time (Near east, Egyptian, etc..)
They originated form poems and art
*6. Why did the Greeks come up with these gods?
To justify the various abstract significances like Love, Birth or Death
To make sure that the people stayed in line
To explain natural phenomena they didn’t understand (eg. Sunrise and sunset)
*7. Why do you think these myths have survived until now?
They have been passed on to teach children values
They have been retold with the purpose of entertainment
They are part of history
8. Name a Greek God or Goddess you know and what they rule (Other than Zeus)
God: What they ruled: