Www.cdschools.org



English 120 & 022

Mrs. Wiley Name______________________

The Greek Gods Video Notes

1. MOUNT OLYMPUSis the highest peak in Greece and the home of the Greek gods and goddesses.

2. Gods have been woven in to tales of ADVENTURE, HEROISM, AND SEXUAL CONQUEST.

3. According to Professor Mary Lefkowitz, the Greek gods were just as real as any other god in ANY OTHER RELIGION.

4. Ancient Greeks claimed to have had encounters with these unworldly beings. Some claimed to have been cured of illness or to have BORNE SONS OF GODS.

5. The origins of the Greek gods were handed down by storytellers such as HOMER whose classics THE ILIAD and THE ODYSSEY capture the divinities.

6. Since the beginning of time, cultures have tried to explain the origins of MAN’S EXISTENCE.

7. According to the Greeks, the first rulers were the TITANS, THE CYCLOPS, AND THE GIANTS.

8. Cronos and Rhea, Titans who were children of Mother Earth, gave birth to DEMETER, HADES, ZEUS, POSEIDON, HESTIA, AND HERA.

9. CRONOS devoured his children because he was afraid he would lose power to them.

10. RHEA, the wife and sister of Cronos, deceived him with the sixth child. She gave Cronos a stone to swallow instead of his newborn son.

11. The sixth son was ZEUS.

12. He later got revenge when he made Cronos VOMIT up the other children.

13. The powerful siblings were reunited in a war against CRONOS AND HIS BROTHERS.

14. During the Battle of the TITANS, CRONOS and his brothers were bound in chains and hurled into oblivion.

15. Zeus and his siblings were proclaimed GUARDIANS of the universe and given special powers.

16. Zeus was the SUPREME RULER of the gods and mortals; his weapon was a THUNDERBOLT.

17. The gods made their home on MT. OLYMPUS where they feasted on ambrosia and drank nectar.

18. The gods possessed human FRAILTIES but would never die.

19. No MORTALS were allowed on Mt Olympus, but the gods frequently mingled and MEDDLED with humans.

20. Gods took human forms, but could instantly transform themselves into a BIRD, a TREE, or a violent STORM.

21. Mortals prayed to ZEUS to punish enemies or to end a drought.

22. Many GREEKS claimed to be descendents of ZEUS.

23. According to Professor Herbert Golder, most of Zeus’s interactions with humans were SEXUAL.

24. Women who bore Zeus’s children were happy because the child would be significant in HISTORY.

25. Zeus’s wife, Hera, the protector of MARRIAGE and FAMILY was infuriated with his infidelity.

26. Sites of temples to gods were often chosen because a human claimed to have seen A GOD.

27. Some sites were chosen because of LIGHTNING STRIKES.

28. A giant 40 foot statue of Zeus made out of GOLD and IVORY was erected in Olympia. This was so magnificent that it was declared the 7TH WONDER of the Ancient World.

29. The first Greek athletic festival, a tribute to Zeus, was called the OLYMPIC GAMES. First held in 776 B.C.E. and every four years after that, the games honored Zeus with games and animal sacrifice.

30. By 700 B.C.E., the worship of the GODS was firmly entrenched in various cults to glorify the gods.

31. SECRET RITUALS were performed to ask the gods to ensure a harvest or a healthy baby.

32. MYSTERY cults were formed to deal with concern about the AFTERLIFE. The most famous of these was founded in Eleusis, fifteen miles north of Athens.

33. The Eleusian mysteries honored the goddess DEMETER.

34. Demeter, goddess of GRAIN and ALL THE GROWS, protected the crops until harvest.

35. PERSEPHONE was Demeter’s daughter.

36. Hades dragged PERSEPHONE to the lower world. For 9 days and nights, Demeter searched for her 14 year old daughter.

37. Demeter neglected the crops because of her grief; farmers’ fields became BARREN.

38. Zeus intervened. HADES agreed to return Persephone if she hadn’t EATEN ANYTHING in the lower kingdom.

39. Hades trickled Persephone into eating POMEGRANATE SEEDS. She was forced to spend three months of the year in the lower world and nine months with her mother.

40. Demeter and Persephone became symbols of the SEASONS; when Persephone was above, Demeter blessed the land with SPRING & SUMMER. When Persephone was in the underworld, the earth was COLD AND BARREN.

41. GREEK POETRY and ART tell us of these mysterious religions.

42. Often over 15,000 people would walk from Athens to Eleusis in tribute to DEMETER.

43. One theory about the initiation ceremonies of the Eleusian mysteries is that initiates were given a HALLUCENIGENIC DRUG made from wheat, Demeter’s symbol.

44. Some Greek women became involved in the cult of DIONYSUS, the god of WINE.

45. DIONYSUS was the son of Zeus and his mistress SEMOLE. Hera killed Semole in a jealous rage. Zeus rescued the unborn baby and sewed him into his THIGH until the child was ready to be born.

46. DIONYSUS intoxicated his female followers with wine and song.

47. These rituals allowed people to get away from BORING, EVERYDAY LIFE.

48. Supposedly the frenzied state of these women caused them to sometimes murder ANIMALS and SMALL CHILDREN.

49. The worship of Dionysius was a safety valve for Greek women who led severely RESTRICTED lives.

50. The remains of the THEATER of Dionysus are located in ATHENS.

51. With the largest cult following, APOLLO was said to have brought light and heat to the earth.

52. APOLLOwas the god of light, music, and prophecy.

53. He was the son of Zeus and LETO, and had a twin sister named ARTEMIS, goddess of wildlife.

54. APOLLO was the epitome of youth and awesome power.

55. His CHARIOT rode across the sky each morning to provide energy and light to the world.

56. Apollo possessed evil traits that caused PLAGUES and DARKNESS.

57. HOMER, the poet, claimed Apollo descended from the heavens shooting arrows into men and animals.

58. According to Professor Margaret Miles, Greek gods didn’t start out as all GOOD or all EVIL; they were a mixture of the two like humans.

59. Apollo had a weakness for WOMEN. He fell in love with DAPHNE and chased her into the woods.

60. She was incapable of returning his love, so she changed in a laurel tree. Apollo made the tree sacred, thus the LAUREL WREATH became the prize at the OLYMPICS.

61. Apollo was also known for his amazing feats. DELPHI became a sanctuary for Apollo.

62. Since Apollo claimed the gift of PROPHECY, his oracle was at Delphi.

63.Delphi became an international sanctuary by the eighth century BCE; pilgrims traveled to make OFFERINGS and ask ADVICE.

64. NOTHING IN EXCESS and KNOW THYSELF are Apollo’s words of wisdom.

65. Figures whose fathers were gods and whose mothers were mortal were called HEROES.

66. Asclepius, son of Apollo, was known for his HEALING POWERS. ZEUS kills him out of jealousy.

67. Archeologist Nanno Marinatos compares him to JESUS for his leadership and healing qualities.

68. Epidaurus is the site of the first HOSPITAL where people sought healing powers.

69. Eventually CHRISTIAN built a church dedicated to the healing saints overtop of the hospital.

Part II: Goddesses

70. Hera was the matron of goddesses, protectors of the FAMILY and MARRIED WOMEN. She was married to the adulterous Zeus.

71. Hera often assisted WARRIORS in their pursuit of victory.

72. APHRODITE was the instigator of love affairs between gods and mortals.

73. Aphrodite symbolized the essence of BEAUTY, LOVE, DESIRE.

74. One legend says that she is the daughter of Zeus. Another said that she sprang from the bleeding TESTICLES of Uranus, god of the sky, after he was castrated by his son Cronos.

75. Aphrodite had a fondness for ROSES and DOVES. She loved casting spells and creating love affairs between gods and MORTAL WOMEN.

76. Aphrodite was married to the lame god, HEPHAESTUS, patron god of laborers; however, Aphrodite often cheated on him.

77. Her son Eros, also know as CUPID, helped set up affairs by using his magic BOW AND ARROW to pierce hearts. He was considered the most beautiful god because he inspired the emotion of love.

78. VIRGINITY was considered a strength by some goddesses such as Athena who decided never to marry.

79. Zeus swallowed Athena’s mother METUS before she gave birth to Athena because he feared Athena’s POWER.

80. A throbbing pain in his head revealed ATHENA sprouting from Zeus’s head dressed in warrior armor.

81. Athena symbolized WISDOM, JUSTICE,  AND RIGHTEOUS WARFARE.

82. ATHENSis named for the goddess Athena because of the olive tree she created there.

83. Ancient Athenians paid homage to Athena at the Acropolis by building the PARTHENON with a 40 foot gold and ivory statue of Athena inside.

84. Sacrifices, prayers, singing, and processions signified the role of the GODS in the Greeks’ lives.

85. All religious traditions have a MYTHOLOGYat one time or another according to Professor Herbert Golder.

Part III: Heroes

86. Most Greek heroes were DEMI GODSwith a god father and a MORTAL mother.

87. Heroes were HUMANSwho possessed magnificent powers.

88. HERCULES symbolized the ultimate SUPERHUMAN.

89. Because he was the son of Zeus and a mortal woman, Hera tried to have Hercules killed as an infant. She sent two SNAKES to strangle him in his crib.

90. At age eight, Hercules strangled a LION that had been killing sheep.

91. The crossroad in his life came when he had to choose between an easy path or JUST PERSON for mankind.

92. Hera still interfered with his life. She caste a spell on him; in his madness, he killed HIS WIFE AND CHILDREN.

93. Hercules considered suicide, but he sought advice at DELPHI. He redeemed himself by serving a king for twelve years.

94. His story is told in the tale, THE 12 LABORS OF HERCULES.

95. At the end of his mortal life, he was BURNED ALIVEto melt away all his corruptible mortal parts and become a god.

96. Today, the city of Hissailik is thought to hide the ruins of the ancient city of TROY.

97. In the eleventh century B.C.E., the TROJAN WAR was a decade long battle. Homer’s THE ILIAD recounts the conflict.

98. The trick of the TROJAN HORSE allowed the Greeks to take Troy.

99. Greek philosopher Heraclites questioned the existence of gods who were DISHONEST THEIVES.

100. The Greek gods and goddesses continue to exist because we read and talk about them. ITALY and GREECE have strong traditions of ancient deities.

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download