Greek

Mythology,
Epic Poetry,
And
The Odyssey

Greek Mythology
Mythology is the study of myths
Myths are stories involving gods,
goddesses, and heroes.

Why did myths begin?

To entertain
To explain natural
phenomena
To explain the relationship of god
to man
To teach lessons and morals

Homers The Odyssey

The Odyssey is an epic poem based on
Greek mythology

What is an Epic Poem?

A long narrative poem about a national or
legendary hero.

Characteristics of an
Epic Poem:
Incorporate myth, legend, folk
tale, and history
Have a grand tone
Heroes and their adventures
appear larger than life (Epic Hero)
Many were drawn from oral
tradition

The Ancient Gods of Greek

MythologyThe Family Tree

It All Started with

Chaos
The world was

Uranus hated these

formed from a great children and sent
mass called Chaos.
them to the
underworld.
Out from Chaos
came Gaea, the
On their second try,
earth Goddess.
Uranus and Gaea
produced seven
She gave birth to a
Titans: CLYMENE
son, Uranus, and
HYPERION CRONUS
together they had
PHALLA
PHOEBE
six children. Three
50 headed & 100RHEA &
handed giants and
TETHYS
three one-eyed
Cyclopes.

The Betrayals
Continue
...
Gaea, however,
was still
Cronus married Rhea.
upset that Uranus
banished their other
children.
She told the Titans what
Uranus had done and
asked them to seek
revenge.
Cronus (their son) did
seek revenge by
castrating Uranus, and
becoming the new ruler.
But, when he saw the
other children, he agreed
they were too ugly to
allow out of the
underworld.

They had five children,

but since Gaea had
warned him that one of
his kids would
overthrow him, Cronus
swallowed his own
children.
Rhea was tired of this,
so she hid the sixth
child, Zeus, in Crete.
When Cronus asked for
the child, Rhea wrapped
a rock in clothes and
Cronus swallowed it.

Zeus Takes
Vengeance
Zeus grows up, Rhea tells him the story

about his siblings, and he plots revenge

against Cronus.
He poisons Cronus, and his siblings pop
out of Cronuss belly (after the rock, of
course).
After this, Zeus tries to take over, but the
other Titans wont recognize him, so they
start a war.
Gaea tells Zeus about her first six
children, and with their help he wins
against the Titans. Then he takes the
whole family to Mt. Olympus (Thus the
name Olympian Gods).

Zeus
After overthrowing his
father Cronus, Zeus drew
straws with his brothers
Poseidon and Hades. Zeus
won the draw and became
the supreme ruler of the
gods.
He is lord of the sky, the rain
god.
His symbol is a thunderbolt
which he hurls at those who
anger him.
He is married to Hera, but is
famous for his many affairs
with goddesses and mortals.
He is also known to punish
those that lie or break oaths.

Zeuss Wife, Lovers &

Kids

Poseidon
Brother of Zeus and Hades
Lord of the sea.
To impress Demeter, Poseidon
created the first horse. In
some accounts, his first
attempts were unsuccessful
and he created a variety of
other animals in his quest.
His symbol is a trident, which
can shake the earth and
shatter any object.
He is second only to Zeus in
power among the gods.
He has a difficult,
quarrelsome personality, is
greedy, and has many
disputes with other gods.

Hades
Brother of Zeus and Poseidon.
He had the worst draw and was
made lord of the underworld,
ruling over the dead.
He is a greedy god who is greatly
concerned with increasing his
subjects and doesnt want any of
them to leave.
God of wealth, due to the
precious metals mined from the
earth.
He has a helmet that makes him
invisible.
He rarely leaves the underworld.
He has no pity and is mean.
His symbol is a sceptera two
pronged staff.

 Daughter of Zeus, she sprang from

his foreheadfull grown and in
armor.
The goddess of wisdom, war, the
arts, justice and skill.
She is fierce and brave in battle.
She invented the bridle, which
permitted man to tame horses, the
trumpet, the flute, the pot, the rake,
the plow, the yoke, the ship, and the
chariot.
She represents wisdom, reason, and
purity. She was Zeus's favorite child
and was allowed to use his weapons,
including his thunderbolt.
Her symbols are the olive tree and
the owl.
She is a virgin goddess.

Athena

Hermes

Hermes is the son of Zeus and

Maia.
He is the god of messengers,
safe travel, good fortune,
trickery, and truth.
While Hermes can never tell a
lie, he may not always tell the
whole truth.
He is the fastest of the gods.
He wears winged sandals, a
winged hat, and carries a magic
wand.
He guides the dead to the
underworld.
He invented the lyre, the pipes,
the musical scale, astronomy ,
weights and measures, boxing,
gymnastics, and the care of
olive trees.

Circe
Circe, daughter of
the sun god Helios,
was a sorceress
best known for her
ability to turn men
into animals with
her magic wand.
She was jealous of
Scylla, a beautiful
young woman, and
turned Scylla into
a sea monster.

The Sirens
The Sirens are
creatures with the
head of a female and
the body of a bird.
They lived on three
small rocky islands,
and with the
irresistible charm of
their song, they lured
sailors to their death
on the rocks
surrounding the
island.

Scylla
Circe, jealous of Scylla,
poisoned the water
where Scylla bathed.
Scylla became a
monster with twelve
feet and six heads,
each with three rows of
teeth. Below the waist
her body was made up
of hideous dog-like
monsters.
She threatened passing
ships, and in the
Odyssey she ate six of
Odysseuss
companions.

Helios
The god of the sun.
His chariot rises in
the East and
descends in the
West (like the sun).
Warm, friendly and
compassionate,
Helios respects
truth and honesty.
Helios was keeper
of the sacred cattle.
His symbol is the
chariot.

Calypso
Calypso was a nymph, the
daughter of the Titan Atlas.
She lived on the island of
Ogygia.
Calypso fell in love with
Odysseus, taking him as
her lover and promising
him immortality if he would
stay with her.
In Greek mythology,
nymphs are spirits of
nature. They are minor
female goddesses and the
protectors of springs,
mountains, and rivers.

The Muses
These are the 9
daughters of
Mnemosyne and Zeus
Each is in charge of a
different art or science
and inspires those who
excel at these pursuits.
Clio = history
Urania = astronomy
Melpomene = tragedy
Thalia = comedy
Terpsichore = dance
Calliope = epic poetry
Erato = love poetry
Polyhymnia = songs
Euterpe = lyric poetry

Homer
Author of The Iliad and
The Odyssey
The Iliad tells the story
of the Trojan War.
The Odyssey tells the
story of Odysseuss
long trip home after
the war.
Scholars think Homer
lived between 1500 B.C
and 700 B.C.
Most scholars believe
he was blind, but there
is no evidence to verify
this.

Homer Continued
Homer used the
legendary material of
the Trojan war as the
basis for his poems
adding original plot
structure, realistic
characters, dialogue
and detail, and tales of
fabulous monsters.
The study of Homers
epics became the basis
of Greek education.
Homer made his
characters believable
by giving them both
good and bad traits.

Who Knew an Apple

Would Start it All?
According to Greek mythology, all the gods were
invited to a wedding, except Eris, the goddess of
strife or trouble. (Who wants trouble at a
wedding?)
She went anyway and brought a golden apple that
had "For the fairest" (the most beautiful) written
on it.
Hera (Zeus's wife), Aphrodite (Zeus's daughter),
and Athena (Zeus's daughter) all made a claim for
the apple, and they appealed to Zeus for
judgment.
He refused to decide a beauty contest between
his wife and two of his daughters, and the task of
choosing a winner fell to Paris, a male mortal.

The Judgment of Paris

The three great
goddesses offered Paris
bribes.
Hera promised him power.
Athena offered him
wisdom.
And Aphrodite offered him
the most beautiful mortal
woman in the world
(Helen) as his wife.
In the famous Judgment of
Paris, Paris gave the apple
to Aphrodite. (He wanted
Helen for himself!)

Theyre Fighting Over a

Girl??
Helen, a mortal daughter
of Zeus, was the most
beautiful girl in the world.
Only there was a huge
problemshe was already
married to King Menelaus.
Paris went to Sparta, met
and fell in love with Helen,
and they ran away
together to Troy (Pariss
home).
Menelaus demanded that
his wife be returned, and
when Paris refused The
Trojan War began.

The Trojan War

Due to a promise they
had made to King
Menelaus to help him
defend Helens honor,
all the kings of Greece
went to Troy to fight to
get Helen back.
The Greeks fought the
Trojans for 10 years.
Odysseus came to the
rescue with a strategy
to win the war that
involved a huge wooden
horse.

The Trojan Horse

To gain entrance into Troy,
clever Odysseus ordered a
large wooden horse to be built.
Its insides were hollow so that
soldiers could hide within it.
All the Greek ships sailed away
and left the Trojan horse
behind. (To make it look like
they had given up.)
The Spartans thought they had
won the war, brought the horse
into the city, and had a
drunken celebration.
While the Spartans slept,
Odysseus and his men climbed
out of the horses belly, let
their comrades into the city,
and slaughtered the Spartans.

The Odyssey
Its an 11,300
line epic poem
divided into 24
books
(chapters.)
It was passed
down orally
between the
generations.

3 Parts to the Story

1. Odysseuss wanderings for 10
years after the Trojan War.
2. What happens in Ithaca to his
wife, Penelope, and his son,
Telemachus, while he is gone.
3. What happens when Odysseus
returns home to reclaim his
throne and family.

So, how long has

Odysseus been away

Themes of The
Odyssey

loyalty &
devotion
wandering hero
triumph of good
over evil
obedience to the
laws of the gods
Greek ideal of a
strong body &
strong mind

Odysseus
The son of Laertes and
the ruler of the island
kingdom of Ithaca.
He was one of the
most prominent Greek
leaders in the Trojan
War, and is the epic
hero of The Odyssey.
He was known for his
cleverness and
cunning, and for his
eloquence as a
speaker.
Favored by Athena

Timeline of Odysseuss
Adventures
20 Years Missing!
Fights in
the Trojan
War
(10 years)

Land of
the
Lotus
Eaters

Circes
Island
(1 year)
Island of
Aeolus

Land of the
Laestrygonians
(cannibals)

Island
of
Cicone
Land of
the
Cyclopes

Lured by Sirens,
trouble at sea
against Scylla
and Charybdis

Island of
Helios
(Stranded
about 1
month-crew
ate cattle)

Calypso
keeps O
for 7
years

Zeus
destroys
ship. O
fights
Charybdis
alone
O washes
ashore at
Phaeacia-

HOME!

Penelo
pe
Penelope was the
daughter of Icarius
and a first cousin
of Helen of Troy.
She was the wife of
Odysseus.
She was famous for
her cleverness and
for her faithfulness
to her husband for
20 years.

Telemachus
Odysseus and
Penelopes son
Favored by Athena
She helped him
gain selfconfidence and
assertiveness when
his father was gone
for so many years.
(He grew up
without a father.)

THE END
Of taking notes,
anyway.