 Amanda L. Robbins Ninth Grade Literature Spring Semester 2012

 Mythology and epics  Greek Culture  Greek Gods and Goddesses

 A sacred narrative  Usually to explain how the world or humankind came to be  “Ideology in narrative form” – Bruce Lincoln o Basically, philosophy or religion told as stories  Often includes supernatural characters like epic heroes, gods, or goddesses  May start as: o Overelaborated historical events o Explanation of rituals o Allegory for or personification of natural phenomena  Epics can often be counted as myths if they include creation stories (Ex: in Gilgamesh, the snake eats the plant of eternal life, and this is why he sheds his skin)

 To gain understanding about ancient cultures o Before we had modern science and medicine, people made up myths to explain things; this teaches us about the way they learned, what they valued, etc.  To learn a new belief system o Mythology often relates to stories of gods or goddesses. By reading myths, we learn the ancient religions and the beings associated with them  To view the stories of ancient societies o Stories were not written in ancient cultures for entertainment; they were written with specific purposes in mind (IE to explain natural phenomena, to celebrate gods and goddesses)

 800 BC – 600 AD  Began in Greece, a southern European country o Capital: Athens o Near many seas  Leader in many different cultural movements o Philosophy (reasoning and questioning of life) o Theater o Literature (they were the first to put dialogue in their stories) o Architecture (white columns) o Art (marble statues) o Debate o Language (many root words are based in Greek) o The Olympics  Not just in Greece! o Spread from Central Asia to the western end of the Mediterranean o Grecian Culture outside of Greece is called “Hellenistic Culture”

 Basically, much of our governmental structure, basis of religion, art and architecture, and even language can be tied back to Greek culture  All the way until the 1960s, a young man’s education was not considered complete unless he was taught the “Classics” (Greek language and culture)

 Farming Society o Families grew and produced their own food o Grain, olives (pressed into oil), goat’s milk and sheep’s milk cheese known as feta  Also a warring society o Fought many wars (Spartans were especially trained for battle) o Conquered many lands under the leadership of Alexander the Great  Very creative o Creators of dramatic and comedic theater o Debate as a source of judicial law, problem-solving o Played the first Olympic games  Male-focused o Men were in charge of the farm, wars, government, etc. o Women were delegated to the house only  Religious o Temples devoted to the Gods and Goddesses o Part of a farm’s crop was often given as sacrifice at these temples

 That’s a long story…

 The earth was begun by the goddess Gaia (earth) and the god Uranus (sky)  They had a son, Cronus, who killed his father with a scythe  Cronus and his wife, Rhea, had many children – the first gods and goddesses

 Cronus worried his own children would do what he did, so he decided to kill them by eating them  Rhea saved their last son from death by giving Cronus a stone wrapped in cloth  This son, Zeus, grew up and defeated his father, making him throw up the dead children who come back to life

 King of the Gods  Creator of Mount Olympus, the home of the gods  Throws lightning bolts when mad  Has many children with many different women

 Queen of the Gods  Zeus’s wife  Goddess of marriage  Gets very jealous of Zeus’s women and often curses them

 God of the Sea  Zeus’ brother  Can control storms  Often carries a trident

 God of the Underworld and the dead  Zeus’ brother  Rarely leaves the underworld and guards the river that surrounds it  Kidnapped Persephone and made her his wife

 God of War  Son of Zeus and Hera  Wears the trademark warrior helmet and carries a spear

 Goddess of Wisdom  Daughter of Zeus – sprang out of his head fully formed and has no mother  Also often shown wearing a helmet

 Goddess of Love and Beauty  Daughter of Zeus and Dione, a lesser earth goddess  Wife of Hephestus, who makes Zeus’s lightning bolts  Mother of Cupid

 Twin god and goddess  Children of Zeus and Leto, a lesser goddess  Apollo – god of music and the sun o In charge of driving the chariot that pulls the sun across the sky  Artemis – goddess of the hunt and childbirth o Often shown with a bow and arrow

 God of Wine and Revelry (partying)  Son of Zeus and Semele, a mortal princess  Often dressed in a toga with grapes in his hair  Sometimes bearded and fat, sometimes young and thin

 Messenger of the Gods  Son of Zeus and Maia, a wood nymph  Wears winged sandals and a winged helmet  Carries a staff  Often mischievous and troublemaking  Plays the pipes