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 Mythology-
The Family Tree
 It All Started with Chaos
The world was formed Uranus hated these children
from a great mass called and sent them to the
Chaos. underworld.
Out from Chaos came On their second try,
Gaea, the earth Goddess. Uranus and Gaea produced
seven Titans:
She gave birth to a son, CLYMENE
Uranus, and together HYPERION
they had six children. CRONUS
Three 50 headed & PHALLA
100-handed giants and PHOEBE
three one-eyed Cyclopes. RHEA
TETHYS
 The Betrayals Continue . . .
Gaea, however, was still Cronus married Rhea.
upset that Uranus They had five children, but
banished their other since Gaea had warned
children. him that one of his kids
She told the Titans what would overthrow him,
Uranus had done and Cronus swallowed his own
asked them to seek children.
revenge. Rhea was tired of this, so
Cronus (their son) did she hid the sixth child,
seek revenge by castrating Zeus, in Crete.
Uranus, and becoming the When Cronus asked for
new ruler. the child, Rhea wrapped a
But, when he saw the other rock in clothes and Cronus
children, he agreed they swallowed it.
were too ugly to allow out
of the underworld.
 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
 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.
 Athena
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.
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.
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.
To gain entrance into Troy,
clever Odysseus ordered a large
wooden horse to be built.
The Trojan Horse
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.
 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
 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 from home?
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!
Island of
Helios
Land of Circes (Stranded
the Lotus Island about 1
Eaters (1 year) month-crew
Fights in ate cattle) Calypso
Island of
the Trojan keeps O
Aeolus HOME!
War for 7
(10 years) years

Zeus
Land of the destroys
Island Laestrygonians ship. O
of (cannibals) fights
Cicone Charybdis
alone
Land of
Lured by Sirens, O washes
the
trouble at sea ashore at
Cyclopes
against Scylla Phaeacia-
and Charybdis
 Penelope
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
Athena helped him gain
self-confidence and
assertiveness when his
father was gone for so
many years. (He grew
up without a father.)
THE END
Of taking notes, anyway.