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Material is first two weeks of course

(including lectures and textbook readings, up to and including Lecture 5!)
The Gods (Lecture 6 Slides) NOT on Quiz 1
The Olympians
the most important of the Greek gods
the offspring of Rhea and Cronus (who were Titans)
a. Hestia (aka Vesta to the Romans) (Note: we SHOULD know
Roman names as well)
oldest of the offsprings of Rhea and Cronus
embodiment of the hearth in a household (family
fire, where religious ceremonies to the family will be held)
Hestia is not very important in mythology, but very
important in religion
usually called upon first in public
prayers
the one thing she is known for
in mythological writings is her virginity! in Homeric
hymn to Aphrodite, author of hymn mentioned that there
are three goddesses NOT under the influence of Aphrodite
(Hestia, Athena, and Artemis), that is - they were virgins;
but Hestia is unique because she dedicated herself to
virginity whereas the other two just didnt have time for
sex (Artemis was very busy with hunting, while Athena
was very busy with war).
Vestal virgins in Rome were very
important and of high status special priestess to Vesta;
since Vesta not only embody the home but the STATE, so
these priestesses needed to preserve their virginities until
they were 40. Their virginities embody the purity of the
state. These Vestal virgins were buried alive if found out
to have had sex.
b. Hades (aka Pluto to the Romans)
god of the underworld
very highly respected and important
feared but NOT evil
background:
three brothers gambled/chose which
realm would be theirs, but Hades was chosen to control the
Underworld, the land of the dead. He had a lot of subjects. (Zeus
was given the sky, Poseidon was given the sea, and the three
shared the Earth, but Hades doesnt really go up to the surface all
that much in myths)

a lot of mentions of Hades in heroic

stories when heroes go down to the Underworld (common theme)
and Hades confronts them/they stand before Hades
Hades does briefly go up to Earth to
take a wife (Persephone, daughter of Zeus and Demeter)
c. Poseidon (aka Neptune to the Romans)
ruled the seas
recognized by his trident
**special lecture on Poseidon
d. Demeter (aka Ceres to the Romans)
fertility goddess associated with the grains that
grow from the earth
Note that there are many fertility
goddesses (like Aphrodite)
very important since she gives power to the ground
to grow food
portrayed as a matronly person (page 11)
e. Hera (aka Juno to the Romans)
wife of Zeus
known for being shrewish (always nagging her
husband), vindictive, majestic, goddess of women (esp. as wives) and
childbirth
in the Iliad, we see that Hera does not like some of
Zeus decisions and she opposes the will of her husband
pursues the illegitimate children of Zeus and tries to
destroy them
she also goes after the maidens whom Zeus tried
to have sex with / successfully had sex with
worshipped in religion and was considered as a
very powerful goddess
she is the goddess of women as wives; this is why
she always pursued the illegitimate children/partners of Zeus
f. Zeus (aka Jupiter/Jove to the Romans)
portrayal of Zeus in page 16
usually portrayed with a lightning bolt and his pet
eagle (or vulture, or any large powerful birds)
god of the sky and heavens
he is also the weather of god (when lightning
strikes, people would try to appease Zeus)
upheld the order of the universe (either natural
world or humans) and justice
also displays human failings (always yelling at Hera
and threatening her with violence, very impatient, disloyalty, etc.)
sometimes, power of Zeus is portrayed to be very
limited (eg. in Homeric hymn, it was said that Aphrodites power is even
greater than Zeus; or when Zeus was shackled by Hera, Athena, and
Poseidon)
the offspring of Zeus and...

a. Hera

Ares (aka Mars to the Romans)

god of war
but NOT that important to the
Greeks, since the more powerful god of war is Athena
represented the destructive side of
war, while Athena represented the positive side of war (so people
revered her more than Ares)
for the Romans though, Mars was
very important and also a fertility god
Zeus even said: you are the most
hateful to me, for strife and wars and battles are always dear to
you
portrayed with his weapons (pages
24 and 25)
Hephaestus
craftsman god: associated with
Athena since she is the craftsman goddess. Hephaestus is shown
creating weapons and armour while Athena is more domestic
(weaving, etc.)
eg. Achilles needed
armour, and his mother went to Hephaestus for his armour
which was said to be very majestic
said to have an
amazing workshop with magical tools
god of creative and destructive fire
destroyed things with
the heat of fire
eg. Achilles was
about to be swallowed up by river, and Hera wanted to
protect him. She called upon Hephaestus, and Hephaestus
surrounded Achilles with fire which burned the river
very close to Hera one
version of his birth said that she was born to Hera ALONE
and not with Zeus help; but most versions do say that
hes the offspring of Hera and Zeus. Regardless, he is very
close to his mother (tries to protect her from Zeus, etc.)
usually portrayed with tools (pages
27 - 29, 31); page 29 showed him chaining Prometheus, and
Hephaestus had to do this because Zeus ordered him and no one
else could make chains as well as him
hes disabled! no other gods is
portrayed as this
Greeks thought it is
awful being a craftsman, but they value crafts

 in some circles where

he was made alone by Hera, Zeus threw him from Mt.
Olympus and became disabled
married to Aphrodite
ironic and odd since
Aphrodite is the goddess of beauty and she is married to
the god who was physically marred
Ares and Aphrodite
were having an affair, and Hephaestus created an
elaborate trap which caught Ares and Aphrodite in bed
Hebe
embodiment of youthful body (this is
the literal translation of hebe in Greek)
cup-bearer of the gods (serves them
drinks) because she was so beautiful
theres another cupbearer to the gods, Ganymede, a very attractive Trojan
prince. Zeus made him immortal and made him the table
servant of the gods. Ganymedes father, Tros, came
looking for him and Zeus pities him so he sent Hermes to
earth to tell Tros what happened and give him horses in
exchange
story
brought up the issue/topic of sexuality in Ancient
Greece
norma
l sexuality in Ancient Greece: older men can
pursue young male teenagers and have a sexual
relationship with them as long as they are the
dominant figure (since male = dominant). The
younger man can engage in this sexual relationship
but not be too passive since this would be seen as
feminine = bad. Once the younger men reach
maturity (ie. grows a beard), they are no longer
attractive to older men and becomes heterosexual
thereafter and marries a women BUT, the cycle
continues because they can ogle younger men as
well.
married Heracles when he was
made into a god
Eileithyia
goddess of childbirth: goes or does
not go to births. If shes present, kid is born. If not, bad things
happen. Not very important though in myths.
b. Leto:
Apollo and Artemis (twins)

 Apollo: inspires poetry and music

like the muses (closely associated to the muses)
Artemis (aka. Diana to the Romans):
portrayed as an archer; goddess of the hunt, and a virgin goddess
c. Metis:
Athena (aka Minerva to the Romans)
d. Dione:
Aphrodite (aka Venus to the Romans)
Hesiod has an alternate version of
birth (from the genitals of Uranus)
more on Aphrodite later.
e. Maia (mountain goddess):
Hermes (aka Mercury to the Romans)
more on Hermes later
f. Semele (the ONLY mortal consort of Zeus who produced a god):
Dionysus (aka. Bacchus and Liber to the Romans)
Liber means freedom; Dionysus was
a god who set people free from their inhibitions
god of alcohol
The full Olympian List:
(Hestia), (Hades), Demeter, Poseidon, Hera, Zeus, Ares, Aphrodite, Apollo,
Artemis, Athena, Hephaestus, Hermes, and Dionysus
() since Hestia and Hades didnt really reside in Mt. Olympus
The Nature of the Gods
anthropomorphic (looks like humans, but perfect; acted like humans)
idealized (look like humans, but perfectly beautiful in every way (except for
exception of Hephaestus); and very powerful)
immortal (biggest difference between humans and gods -- immortality)
heros struggle: wants to achieve immortality
conflict between his mortal side and his divine side
polytheistic (a lot of gods!)
development (ancient Greeks would wonder how one can create
such beautiful crafts, and they give the reason that theyre being inspired by a
god, etc.)
hierarchy of gods
Olympian gods as the most important gods
Chthonic gods (like Hecate)
Heroic gods (like Heracles)
Minor gods/nymphs/etc.
today, religions are very monotheistic
fatalistic (Herodotus)
Herodotus wasnt able to completely separate himself from
mythology (eg. Solon and Croesus)
thought that the world worked in a certain way; he
thought that if you got too successful (ie. uninterrupted success), then the
gods will become jealous and gods will restore balance

 Solon and Croesus: Solon was a wise man from

Athens, and he leaves Athens to travel the world; he meets Croesus and
Croesus says to Solon: whos the happiest person in the world?; and
Solon thinks, and says that its a guy named Thelus who died gloriously in
battle; Croesus then asks for who he thinks is the second happiest man,
Solon still did not say that its Croesus; eventually, Croesus kingdom was
captured by another and he died horribly
Polycrates: has a friend, Amasis (king of Egypt),
and he tells Polycrates that hes worried about him because hes too
successful and if he continues to be successful, the gods will be jealous;
so Polycrates gets rid of his signet ring and threw this on the ocean; a
fisherman catches this fish and says that its fit for the king, so the ring
went back to him; Amasis said hes cutting ties with Polycrates because
clearly the gods have it out for Polycrates; and Polycrates did go down.
eg. Achilles (fate laid out for him -- either he dies in battle or he
becomes a god)
eg. Oedipus (before he was even born, he was prophesized to kill
his father and marry his mother even though he himself didnt do anything wrong
to deserve his fate but his father did; fate dominates you in Ancient Greek
mythology)

Notes:

Read the appendix about gods and religion might be on the midterm